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What you saved on the new fare will be spent on the excursions. Usually with Olife, we booked the allotted “free” excursions and hired private tours for other ports.

Once we paid the deposit, we could see the excursions.

We booked that cruise. The $1000 shore excursion credit with Simply More compared to previous O life 8 excursions (each cost maximum of $200)for 14 night cruise may not be seen as an improvement. The excursion prices are high. Starting to wonder who gets SimplyMore.

Marina had been scheduled for renovations during the pandemic. It got rescheduled. Think it’s April May 2024? where do they do the dry dock? How long was Riviera in dry dock? Did it meet the scheduled time period? How risky is it to book the first cruise after dry dock?

One login per cabin was adequate. When we cruise, it’s nice to have WiFi. Check news, get port info, and look at emails. However on vacation, we spend less time online than at home. It’s vacation. Disconnect and relax.

T-Mobile is German based. I have a stronger signal in Europe than in USA. Just switched from ATT to T-Mobile. T-Mobile has good deals if you switch…rebates and new phones only pay the taxes. In Europe, T mobile is free data and texts. Calls are 25cents per minute. Att international plan cost $10 per 24 hour period if you use your phone for anything.

Premium air isn’t usually available even way in advance. We are on the wait list for a cruise in May 2024.

The survey is a joke. If they were really interested, they would send the survey after the cruise. I don’t think that they care.

Asked my TA about booking cruise only. She said that it isn’t an option. Everyone gets simply more. Only option is with or without air. not sure if this will last. We were on Celebrity and booked All In. When we booked cruise only wasn’t an option. We are not drinkers. There were many drunks on that cruise. It was enough to drive us away from Celebrity. Now I noticed that cruise only is an option. oceania Olife was a good fit for us. We either took excursions in new ports. Cruise only worked for us on most cruises.

People working on the ships turn over often. We were on Marina in December and June. We didn’t see any of the crew from the previous cruise. Asking who is on the ship only works for that cruise. Next cruise may have new crew. On June cruise, our CD was a one and done. She kept saying that she was filling in on that cruise and was going back to Regent after the cruise.

We were on Marina again in June. Still a beautiful ship. However, the crew was new. This was our 5 th cruise on Marina. Didn’t recognize anyone working on the ship. This time the cruise had issues that I wanted to address on the survey. Went to guest relations and asked for our passenger numbers. Relations guy was amazed that I didn’t know those numbers. That was typical of guest relations on this cruise. My spouse did the online survey. Next I tried to do it. Not surprised when I couldn’t log into it. Called Guest relations who told me computer issues should be addressed by the computer person. Anything that you asked for at guest relations or the concierge was dismissed. They were clueless. When I got home, I sent email to Oceania detailing concerns. Got immediate email that my email was received. No other response.

So it isn't me. We are booked on May 18 th cruise and cannot find prices for excursions Nor any info how to use the SM credit. Also, being the first cruise after refit has me worried. For that reason, we booked cruise with air. Not thrilled using O air. However, if cruise is changed, it's on O. We used O air in June. It was our first time using O air. The price was good. The routing was bizarre.

Spoke to TA yesterday to book a cruise. I asked if there was a cruise only option. TA said no. Everyone booking must take simply more. Only option is with or without air. That limits what type of cruise that I would book with Oceania. Having cruised for many years, we have taken many excursions. As we aged, we have slowed down. My spouse has mobility issues. Now, we only book ship excursions that are slow paced to see new places or book a private guide for just the two of us. Now, if we book Oceania, we are paying for shore excursions whether or not we want to take them. That limits us to only booking cruises that have ports that are either new to us or have an excursion that we haven’t taken previously. We love Caribbean cruises in the winter for the warmth. Last winter when we sailed on Marina, we had such a great time that we booked a Caribbean cruise on Vista winter 2024 cruise only. Still have that booking and am looking forward to it. With simply more including shore excursions, the present price for that cruise has increased. Looks like we will be looking for a different cruise for winter 2025. We are looking at a summer 2024 that has some ports that are new to us. It includes a $1000 shore excursion credit. With Olife I knew how to book excursions. Now, I am clueless. I can see excursions for ports. No prices are showing. Has anyone tried to book excursions using a simply more credit? If so, how does it work?

I wish you an uneventful trip. I have experienced strikes( city museums, vaparettos, taxi drivers), high water, taxis that won't pickup at hotels, not finding porters which are required now to handle baggage,etc. It's Italy where strikes are scheduled and happen often.

Sailing in or out of Venice has always been a challenge. It has so many restrictions that make it the most tourist unfriendly port. While seeing Venice is a kick, the taxis ( land or water) and vaparettos can be a challenge.

We were on Marina in June. Never got luggage tags or usual mailed docs. We got an email telling us our flights and when to do online checkin. Previously we got a nice booklet with all the info for the cruise. My guess is that O wanted to save money. However, while we were on the O transfer bus going to the ship, people were punching out cabin luggage tags . Odd? When we got to the port, we had the porters attach luggage tags with our cabin number hand written on them. It worked. Our bags were delivered to our cabin quickly.

You are going to be billed for the tips. It would make sense if tips were included in the basic cruise fare. Many cruise lines do it. On some we prepay tips.

I can understand your concern. Just sailed using Olife air. We had 5 flights. Got advanced seat assignments on 4 out of 5 . I spent hours contacting reps, TA, airlines, etc. trying to get seat assignments. The big concern was a long haul flight on Eurowings Discovery. We were told we couldn’t get seats until 23 hours before flying when we checked in online. I did my online checkin and was assigned an aisle seat. My spouse did online checkin and got message that seats would be assigned at the airport. Crazy? Called Eurowings and was told that we both had aisle seats across the aisle from each other. Too good to be true? My TA also called and got the same info. When we got to airport, we checked our bags and got boarding passes. Somehow, my aisle seat became the middle of a row of 4 across. I asked for a different seat and was told that nothing could be done. I am short and my knees touched the seat back in front of me. Think crushed for 9 hours. It was our first time using O air.

Love extended verandas on Riviera and Marina. They are category B3. Book early if you want one. On Vista, extended verandas are concierge class. Worth paying more.

If you don’t want to pay in full for a Viking cruise, wait to book. You won’t have as good a selection of cabins. The cruise may sell out. If the cruise is selling well, prices may rise. If the cruise isn’t selling well, you may get a lower price. It’s a gamble. Other cruise lines are more flexible with final payments and price adjustments. As long as Viking fills their ships, they will continue with full payments on demand. Once you book and pay, cruise price is fixed. It’s like buying airline tickets.

If the port talk or entertainment ends close to the time the restaurant opens, you often will find a line. On riverboats, it happens daily. There is one seating. If you want dinner, you should be there when it opens. There is a mad dash to get into the dining room to get a table..no maitr’d . On river, the only option beside the restaurant is the forward lounge area. Nice for breakfast or a small meal. At dinner, most people eat in the restaurant. Miss dinner time, you may be hungry. On ocean, you are seated by a maitr’d . There is more seating and the dinner time is extended. On ocean, there are options…buffet, restaurant, room service, and specialty dining.

Be cautious. Avoid crowding. In Europe, hardly anyone wears. Asks. On Marina end of June, on.y saw a few people wearing masks. On planes, more people wore masks. I on,y wore a mask when sitting next to a stranger. Last year on a Celebrity cruise, my spouse got Covid. I haven’t had it. We both test often.

How about dv2 cabins on deck 5?

We will be on Mars. Do I need to bring an adapter?

I never used to care until my spouse had mobility issues. Works best if spouse’s side of bed is nearest the bathroom. When necessary we have switched sides. On one cruise, when the ship was in high seas, neither of us could stand up and walk around the bed. The person further away from the bathroom had to roll across the bed.