Redtravel

We have traveled many times on Oceania. Made usual reservations in advance for 4 specialty restaurants. Got email confirmations and the 4 reservations were and are still listed on “My Oceania”. Imagine my surprise when we checked in for our Vista cruise and were given a slip that only listed 3 reservations. Where did the reservation go ? I was told that there is nothing they can do about it. Any suggestions?

Don’t know what happens if you are on the ship when they skip a port. With Simply More, we booked our excursions when we made our booking. Booked excursions before cruise. Needed 6 pp to get 25% discount. A few weeks later, the itinerary changed. One excursion was to a port that was eliminated. That brought us down to 5pp. Price went up. Called Oceania and booked an additional excursion. Price dropped. Result was booking 6 excursions was cheaper than booking 5.

Room service can be a good choice especially when you cannot go to dining venues. On our last cruise, we got to the ship after 3 pm. (Used Oceania air. ). Waves was crowded. terrace closed. We ordered room service. It came quickly. Food was delicious. Enjoyed dining on our private veranda. You can order from the menu. You can also ask for items not on menu. Usually you can get them. You can also order room service be delivered to you anywhere on the ship.

Sent a scan of both sides of the voucher to my TA. I still have the original.

We left another cruise line when they went to all inclusive. We didn't mind the price increase. We did mind the drunks. Recently we heard that that cruise line went back to cruise only. For those that drink, they offer a beverage plan. Oceania SM has its problems. It started in October. It will likely take time to work out those problems. Offer more excursions with varied starting times. With Olife, I always found excursions. If I booked late, choices were limited. For better choices, book early. For those people who get excursions cancelled by the ship or miss a port, compensation should be offered.

Got the offer about a week after a cruise. WE did book another cruise within the 45 day limit. Gave all the info to my TA. No new invoice yet. Final payment will be due in February. If the offer is legit, it should be applied then.

Relax. Unless you bring lots of extra clothing, you will find adequate storage. It’s way better than Celebrity Solstice ships that have 3 drawers and over bed cabinets. I am short and cannot reach high shelves. On a 10 day cruise, I bring 5 -6 days worth of clothes. Plan on using laundry service. In a rush, do it yourself. If you don’t mind the 3 day return, send it to the laundry service. Laundry usually is returned in 1-2 days. The only time that they took 3 days was on Marina in June. See you on Vista. 1/9

For our upcoming Vista cruise, I forgot that it was time to make reservations. Slept through the night. Expected to find slim pickings. When I logged in next day, only restaurants listed were Embers and Polo. Made those reservations. Strangely after I made those 2 selections, Toscana and Red Ginger showed open reservations. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to make my allotted reservations at decent times at sharing table. I know from previous experience that some reservation spots are held back and can be reserved on the ship. On some longer cruises, we have asked for additional reservations in some restaurants. We have also cancelled some reservations after a very busy day. The maitr’d in GDR has offered specialty reservations to some people who were waiting for a table in GDR. Sometimes you get lucky. Regardless food is excellent in all venues. Terrace Is my choice for dinner especially in warmer areas. Nice to sit outside . Buffet has same menu as GDR plus.

My spouse uses cane or walker. Walker on the ship helps with sudden movement. Off the ship, using a cane works in most places. When selecting excursions, read the description carefully. If it’s not suggested for people with mobility issues, we don’t choose it. Skip any strenuous tours. While I did enjoy hiking up mountains when I was young, I know that my hiking days are past. Same goes for kayaking, sailing, and scuba diving. Dirty Harry said , “ a man has to know his limitations”. If at some point we encounter uneven surfaces, my spouse waits for me. Just inform the tour guide that you have some concerns. Most guides are helpful. In some ports, we hire private guides.

Viking is good for guests visiting new ports. Included tours are mostly easy panoramic walls or rides. Considering that your fare includes a tour in each port, Viking charges too much for optional tours. Like the audio system. The waiting to book tours is crazy. Oceania allows you to book tours after you make a deposit. Booking earlier gets you better selection. Oceania simply more allows you a set amount to be spent on excursions. You choose how to spend the money. Lots of decent choices. If you visit old ports, either skip booking a tour or indulge in a new experience. Not a fan of included drinks with meals. Prefer not including any alcoholic drinks. Each O or VO do a nice cruise.

Enjoy the cruise. Do the survey or skip it.

Old school paper survey forms are no longer used. I haven’t seen those forms in many years. Perhaps it costs too much to print, distribute, and process. Maybe it’s an attempt to go green. As for me, after attempting to do the online on the cruise survey, I gave up without being able to logon. Found out later that they only send out one survey per cabin. My spouse had completed the form. Second person in the cabin gets shut out. Now I don’t waste my time with the survey. I enjoy my cruise.

Thanks. It looks amazing. I love the apple tatin.

Jacques is amazing. I will miss it on my Vista cruise. The Embers menu looks ok. There are many choices. It reminds me of a diner menu. Living in New Jersey, we eat at diners regularly. There are no restaurants in my area that serve French food. That makes eating at Jacques a real treat. When traveling, I enjoy eating foods that I don’t get at home.

If you can log on and take the survey, you are in the minority. It is not obvious. I have tried with no success. Also, while cruising, I don’t want to waste time completing a survey. Best surveys are completed at least a week after getting home. If Oceania really valued opinions they would give you at least 2 weeks to complete. If they emailed the survey link, they would get more responses.

We usually avoid cabins under the pool deck or above a bar. It can be very noisy. We were under pool deck on a Royal Caribbean ship. The noise was terrible. However, on Oceania, we like deck 8. Oceania guests aren’t late night pool party people.

We usually prefer tables for 2. However, we enjoy sharing sometimes. It can be fun. We have met people at shared tables that have become close friends. That was before the pandemic. When we resumed sailing during the pandemic, I was very cautious about getting too close to people. That included on a ship or at home. We limited our social meetings. For that reason, we opted to book cabins in categories that got early bookings in specialty dining. That was how we got tables for 2 at good times. On our most recent Oceania cruise on Marina, we got tables for 2 except at Polo. At Polo, we shared a table. We had a great time. Upcoming cruise we chose sharing tables.

About 20% of the crew changes after every cruise. Crew leave and often return to a different ship. Last year we went to Marina twice. The crew was completely different. Both cruises were great.

Big ships often get large affinity groups. We were once part of a group of 200 on the galaxy. We had private events in areas of the ship. We also were all seated in a closed off section of the MDR. If you were on a small ship, a large group could be a problem.Relax and enjoy .

Formal attire is not usually found on Oceania. If you like getting dressed up, do it.

Dress up if you like. However, don’t be upset when you see the people who are casual every night. Celebrity calls it chic night. Most people do their own thing. On my last X cruise, many people wore tees and shorts every night. Since X doesn’t turn guests away when they dress in shorts, they are now acceptable dress. Your cruise, wear anything you like.

I like both Oceania and Windstar. They each have good and not so good features. Food and service is good on both lines. If you like a big pool, lots of activities, a nightly shows, like SM, Oceania is best. Windstar is best for relaxation. Food is excellent on both. Given that we seldom drink and often prefer doing our own thing in the Caribbean, we will be on Windstar winter 2025. We are hopeful that Oceania will review SM and bring back cruise only fares.

5 of the original ports have been changed. Of course, ports can get changed for many reasons. I have had it happen. Reasons were safety, weather, port not accessible, construction, and the lockdown. Yes. I was on Sirena’s last cruise before the Covid lockdown. Of course itineraries change due to war. This cruise has changed due to unrest and war. However, this is not the cruise that people bought. Refund should be automatic if guests request it. Disappointed in Oceania.

Cruise lines are saving money by not sending out luggage tags. Don’t print your own. Just ask the porters at the pier to attack tags. They use tags that are strong.

We are not interline. However, we got a nice discount. We booked very late…2 weeks prior. WS had changed an itinerary close to the sail date. The cruise had less than half the capacity. If you look at WS specials, short dated cruises are heavily discounted. The Star Legend changed location due to the war in Middle East. Instead it will sail in the Med. Med in the winter is not great. Weather can be wet and cold. We sailed in the Med in October, not WS. It was cool. The ports in the Med are popular in the spring and summer. By October, most tourists are gone. We found lots of closed cafes and shops. Historic sites were open.