paulapatti4

So excited to see a live report! I will be on the 9/30 sailing, also my first Oceania cruise and look forward to hearing your observations and thoughts.  Wishing you a fabulous week.

Paula

Also new to Oceania, is there a way to pre-book spa/ appointments? Or can this only be done once you are on the ship?

Thanks~Paula

Hi Susan-

Will keep an eye out for you,  I'm sure we will cross paths at some point.

With reduced capacity, I believe I will be seeing all of my fellow passengers.

Safe travels.

Paula

Hi Susan-

The same thing happened to me! I received approved waiver and I have Y next to "Have you had contact with someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days?"  Seems odd we both would have made the same error. Hmmm....thinking it wasn't us-😉

For future cruisers, I submitted the BTA at 7:15 pm EST and received my approval at 9 pm EST. 

The quickest facility I could find in my area for PCR testing was Quest labs- turn around time 1 day from pick-up of specimen. Test done Monday morning and results back Tuesday 5 pm.

Now that I have the BTA approval, I can start packing and printing documents.

Friday is coming fast!

Paula

Hi Susan-

I'm anxiously awaiting my PCR test results. The suitcase is out with clothes sitting beside it- not putting anything in until BTA is submitted-didn't want to jinx myself.

Looking forward to starting vacation.😀

Paula

Thank you for posting a link to the review!

Based upon all the research and tips posted by all who have experienced Bermuda trips, I took a leap and booked the 8/13 sailing.😀

This will be my first Viking trip but from all of feedback and reviews, thinking this will just be the start of my relationship with Viking.

I can't tell you how much I have relied on the information gathered on cc to guide me through what I need to prepare for the trip and what to expect along the way.

Tomorrow will be Covid PCR test and fingers crossed, Tuesday I can submit BTA form.

Unfortunately the roll call started for 8/13 is silent, I'm sure I will connect with fellow cruisers once I step on to the ship.

Again, thank you for all your posting, tips and words of wisdom. I believe the term used was trail blazers and that aptly describes all of you!

Paula

Thanks Julie MS. It is just frustrating that we did request cash refund to both Celebrity and TA as well as completing the template they sent us and don't understand why they would send FCC.

And there is no reason to charge us a penalty for cruise cancellation-the cruise line cancelled on us.

In the scheme of things we are fortunate. With the continued stay at home orders I'll have time to devote on the refund process,looks like many more hours will be needed.

Paula

We were scheduled for 3/14 Summit sailing that cancelled 3/13/20. Started the refund process on 3/17. Sent request to Celebrity and from reading the boards determined I better go thru TA( large on-line agency in New England). Sent emails as they are working from home, not taking calls. Received a form from TA to fill out acknowledging we were forfeiting the FCC. Completed and haven't heard a word in 3 weeks. Initiated dispute with my credit card last week. Today received an email from Celebrity with a FCC minus the penalty amount for cancelling the cruise.🤦‍♀️

I'm at a loss of words...I was clear with both Celebrity and TA that I wanted refund and signed a form acknowledging I was not taking the larger dollar amount of FCC. All cruises were cancelled as of 3/14 (and I was in San Juan on 3/13) the penalty for cancelling is a new wrinkle in the process.

Just sent off another email to TA to request an explanation. Not sure if I can continue the dispute process with my credit card now that Celebrity issues FCC.

Paula

Hi-

This was my situation this week. The remaining passenger is re-priced as a single occupancy.

For me it was either pay double to travel solo or the cancelling passenger gets FCC.

This was as of Thursday.

Paula

Looking forward to your review. We are a group of six on the 3/14 sailing, same itinerary and in Aqua.😀Less than 3 weeks, we want to hear everything-enjoying your photos too.

Thank you for taking the time to post a review-

Paula

I've found several great restaurants in South Boston. Highly recommend Fox and Knife, one of the best restaurant experiences I've had this year.  Also, I like the Paramount on Broadway.

My experience driving in South Boston during day light hours, there is plenty of foot traffic around the area where Bay Side hotel is located.

Hi-

I sail tomorrow( Serenade) and my bid still shows as pending( bid on a balcony, currently in outside).

Was holding off printing Set Sail pass and luggage tags hoping to hear good news, since it's less than a day away, thought time to get printing. Set Sail printed fine, luggage tags are now grayed out and when I click into them I receive a message they are still processing, come back later. The luggage tags had previously been there when I checked( daily for the past week), anyone see this before? Not sure if I should still keep up my hope for a balcony?

Thanks!

Paula

Thank you for the explanation-now it makes sense. 😉

I'm confused-trying to figure out why departing from Bayonne would be acceptable but departing from Boston is not? The ports outside the US are a few days after Boston? Maybe I'm missing something?

We had a deck 6 Havana aft wrap-we didn't use it as much as we thought we would- it was very sunny and warm. Also, several days we noticed a lot of soot-we tried to keep up with cleaning the deck but were not very successful. Surprised the room attendant did not attempt to do any cleaning on our balcony nor the 2 next to ours( traveled as a group). It was nice to open all 3 balconies and walk to each others rooms. My sister ruined a pair white shorts after sitting on deck chair -the soot didn't come out in the wash.:(

We would not go on Carnival again unless it was in Havana room. My sister stayed in Havana interior and also noted she spent a lot of time in the Havana area and didn't miss a balcony at all (also, saved $$ being an interior room).:D

Paula

The MDR menu is different from windjammer and the dinner menu. First off-they have a salad bar where you select your ingredients and the staff prepare your chopped salad-excellent! You can also order appetizer, entree and dessert. The day I went there was a salmon dish, a lobster roll, beef/veal cannelloni(which is what I had) and 1-2 more choices that I can't recall.

It was a pleasant meal in a relaxed setting.:)

This is my favorite Marriott property. I'm cruising in May out of Miami and will stay here post cruise and fly home out of Ft. Lauderdale. This will be my 4 th. stay at this location; always an excellent experience. There Spa/ gym areas are also very nice.:)

Paula

The puzzles are all in English. There are several different tasks that need to be completed to get to the final solution. You will be in a group-anywhere from 6-12 people. We worked together, there was not any one task that anyone has to do alone-we helped, or at least tried to assist. In my group, folks drifted in and out of tasks depending if they were interested or comfortable with the task. I'm not good with crossword puzzles and did not participate on those. For example, the first thing you do in the room is look for clues and gather the items found. There are locked boxes, metal pieces that are color colored, maps that need to be looked at as well as crossword puzzles, word search type activities. We had different folks working on different puzzles then putting the pieces together to get to the solution. I'm English speaking/reading and wasn't very good-lol. I was glad to have the young adults/teens as they were quicker and more intuitive than myself. I say give it a try-it's an hour on a sea day. And if you have some knowledge of the solar systems, you will have a huge step up on me.:)

For activities in Sea Plex-I noticed the staff spoke to the participants( particularly trapeze) in multiple languages. In fact, I noticed at muster, the end of muster instructions were delivered in 5 languages( I counted as I hadn't noticed that before). I thought this was one of the most multi-lingual passenger groups I've cruised with- I think you will find camaraderie among the folks and have a great time. I meet a group of 4-they couldn't solve it and returned for a second session to try again-:D. I hope this gives you a better picture of what to expect-really, it's a casual session and the activity person stays with you to answer questions.

"Was the solarium warm on day 1 and 7? Bathing suit warm?"

Yes-the solarium was warm enough for bathing suits. Day 7 was only really cold day outside and the solarium was crowded and I spent more time in the thermal suite on this day versus the solarium.

Thermal Suite-you can purchase a weekly pass for $99 + 18% gratuity or $179 for a couple.

The thermal suite consisted of heated lounges, steam room, sauna and rain shower. I was able to get a heated lounge chair every time I went to the thermal suite.:)

Since day 7 was a colder day, for me it was a good opportunity to go to the MDR lunch. It's so easy to skip the MDR with other options available but encourage everyone to try lunch in MDR at least once-it's a good experience. I was on MTD and seated in Americaon Icon or Silk; lunch was in Chic. Each dining room has a different look-Chic was a more attractive venue IMHO versus Silk.

I'll try to answer questions regarding the puzzle room-I was on the 2/26/17 sailing. I was unable to book on-line, others I met stated they saw it available only for a day or two before noting it was again listed as not available, check on-line.

I boarded around noon and from reading the boards was aware there is a "box office" set-up at the back of the Royal Theater on deck 4. There are staff there with laptops to do activity bookings. The puzzle room was all booked and I was added to a wait list. The staff inquired if I wanted any other reservations and even though I had said all along I didn't want to do IFly/North Star I surprised myself and made IFly appt. for the next day at 9:40 am. I declined the North Star appt.

Back to puzzle room-there is no information posted about the puzzle room. I was able to find out they do it in the Teen Room on sea days at 10:30, 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30 pm. I was called at the end of the week and message left notifying me a time slot opened up and where to go. The Teen Room is outside the Sea Plex. I wasn't very good with solving the puzzles, luckily we had some teens/young adults who were more knowledgeable and better puzzle solvers than myself.

For those that can't get reservations prior to boarding, don't give up-there are opportunities to get reservations after boarding the ship.

I also did bumper cars twice-wait time about 20 minutes. The bumper cars, roller skating and trapeze all use the same deck space. They can only run 1 of these activities at a time. For bumper cars-for those with children, age to ride in the bumper cars is 5 yrs. old and they can't be a driver of car until age 8 yr. They do check the childrens sea pass cards to confirm their ages. Also, if they are going to be a passenger with an adult -the adult has to be a relative, again they check the sea pass cards to insure they are a relative. Some folks in line were perturbed by the rules-I felt bad for the activity staff. They parents would try to talk the staff into making an exception( but my son turns 5 next month). When they do activity such as roller skating/ bumper cars the times ran for 2-3 hrs ( ie.7-10 pm).

General information:

I thought 270 was one of the best venues I've experienced and had all breakfast and most lunches there. Even went for breakfast prior to debarking the ship. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in Chops -I felt the beef tenderloin in the MDR was a better meal. That is one of the great things about a large ship, lots of options and something for everyone.

The solarium was also one of my favorite locations, warm and sunny.:)

Paula

You have a fun family!!! Awesome video.

We will be on Vista in May and you inspired us to take videos in addition to pictures.

Thanks~Paula

Hi,

I'm sailing on Anthem next month and was unable to make My Time dining reservations for my preferred times. Looking at alternate venues and did book Solarium Bistro for 1 night. Looking at Michael's Pub and haven't seen anything written about the menu, cost, service etc. I believe it's a la carte, have you seen the menu? Any feedback on menu, pricing and service, quality of food would be appreciated.

Enjoy the remainder of your cruise!

Thanks~Paula

Thank you for taking to time to post the videos-it helps those of us waiting for our cruises(5/17) and helps build our excitement for what is in store for us when we finally get onboard.

Paula

Thank you Lou and Deb - your review and pictures are have helped me immensely in planning my next cruise. I've never cruised Carnival and have anxiously been trying to research Vista-cruising May 2017 with family.

My partner enjoys photography and we come home with thousands of pictures that get edited down- I can only imagine the volume of pictures you have taken/sorted through to provide us with this awesome review. Not to mention your time and talent-your review was well balanced and comprehensive.

Paula

Hi all!

We try to get to the FOD if it doesn't conflict with dinner/shows. We are traveling with my sisters-sometimes it's like trying to herd cats-they go off in different directions and I spend more time trying to find them Really, I consider myself blessed to have these women in my life and look forward to spending time with them(we have a lot of laughs).

We have met some great folks over the years at FOD and hope to get to meet all of you over the course of the week. With this crazy weather-we may be looking for a dry, cozy spot for cocktails. It will be an adventure!

Paula