Redtravel

Used Olife air. We got to the ship 2 hours before it sailed. That’s cutting it too close.

On Marina now. Using laundry service provided in concierge class. Wash is good. It comes back in 2 days, nicely folded. Please not cannot send out laundry last 4 days, even though info said last 3 days. Can still do my own wash. You can pack light. Also, note people are dressing casual day and night. I am not wearing fancy clothing.

We were in 428. No smell

Nonstop flights…you got lucky. My Viking air in August has one stop in each direction. It also has crazy times like leaving Bergen our first flight is 6:15. Also flying on Eurowings Discovery. It’s owned by Lufthansa. It is a cheap airline. We just flew on Eurowings last week to take a cruise on another line. The seats were narrow and had very little legroom. Think sardine can.

Please teach your crew English. The buffet crew smiles nicely, but many don’t understand what you want. There have been too many times that I asked for something and was handed something else.

Coffee at baristas is good. Forget coffee elsewhere.

On Marina now. They have local currency. However, it’s expensive. Their conversion rate is inflated plus the charge extra 5% service fee. It can only be charged to your onboard account. The real question is why do you need it? Use your credit card. I have foreign money from previous trips. Haven’t used it. Plastic is accepted everywhere.

Haven’t seen it. Had Vietnamese coffee in Terrace today.

Nobody has any info! There was an announcement that there would be a rep from Kiel in the lobby until 1 pm if you wanted maps or info. He was there. No maps. He said that he ran out and we should go to guest services to get a map. Lady at gs said we should go to the Kiel rep. Then she said they couldn’t copy a map because of copyright laws. Yesterday I got a copy of map of Skagen at gs. Then she reluctantly found a map online and copied it. Poor quality and completely useless. I went online and found a street map. on my last cruise on Marina in Dec. 2022, the concierge would provide us with maps and info if we asked for it. Concierge on this sailing said to go to gs. It’s a 3 ring circus and everyone is clueless. Before you leave home, print maps or put them on a device. Don’t rely on getting any info on the ship. The rest of the cruise is very nice.

On past cruises, we only got a letter saying we were on that cruise. At pier, after we were checked off a list, they attached cabin tags, and let us on the ship. On the ship, we checked in and got our cabin key, etc. it’s low key and seems to work. Other cruise lines send out luggage tags and fancy booklets with cruise info . That info can be found on the web. Never needed luggage tags. Arrive at pier and then attach tags works.

On Marina now. No mention of any changes. Perhaps the crew doesn’t know about it. probably, your best place to get info will be your TA. Promo if booking onboard doesn’t include any reduced fares. When we booked onboard in 2022, we got reduced fares, OBC, and reduced deposits. It was a good deal. Now booking onboard includes reduced deposits and OBC varying with length of cruise.

I have done both train rides. They are both excellent, but different. Flam train is amazing. You can buy a ticket and take the ride without buying a ship excursion. We did. Got off ship early, walked up to the train ticket booth, and took the early train. Cost us much less than if we had bought the trip from the cruise line. Being early, the train wasn’t crowded.

If I had booked early, I probably would’ve booked my own air. However, booking late has its good and bad points. Booking late got us a good discount, but getting air was a problem. The flights that I like were mostly booked or the price for air was outrageous. That left us with option of not going or booking with O air. It’s the first time using O air. Even though our air arrangements were crazy, we did get to the ship. Traveling is an adventure.

We got a good deal on the cruise fare and the air. Oceania’s air price was much better than anything that I could book. While it wouldn’t be my choice of air, it did get us to the cruise.

We booked late. When I looked at air, most flights that I would’ve liked were full or very expensive. Took O air. From PHL to FRA Eurowings discovery is a bargain line, a subsidiary of Lufthansa. oceania paid for luggage, but not seat assignments. We were assigned seats at the airport. seats were very narrow with very little legroom. They had old entertainment systems. Sold earphones. Food was ok. Happy that I brought food and water. We were ontime. We changed planes in FRA to Lufthansa and flew to Gatwick. Oceania transfer took us by bus to Southampton. we usually fly in at least a day before a cruise. However, due to some constraints we chose to fly in the day of the cruise. We were a bit stressed out, but happy that it worked out. We got to the ship at 2:30, got our luggage delivered quickly, and sailed at 5 pm.

Buffet should post names of items and list ingredients. Many people have allergies or just don’t like items. I hate nuts and bananas. I keep asking the servers at the buffet if items have nuts. Today at lunch, I asked the server what kind of cookies were being served. She responded, “Peanut butter, pecan something, and don’t know.” Took don’t know. It had nuts! Also she told me that tart had no nuts, only raisins and apples. Took it. No raisins and nuts again!

On Marina now. In December, we thought that the cookies were bad. Now they are even worse. One bite and done. They aren’t tasteless. They taste BAD. Baristas has nice sweets and excellent coffee.

On Marina now. Board yesterday. I saw very few masks. It is quite a change from my 2022 cruises when many people wore masks. I did wear a mask on the plane. Even there most people didn’t wear masks. People are living like the pandemic is over. We even shared a table for lunch. That didn’t happen on previous cruises. I brought masks and hope not to need them.

We like to go to tea on sea days. I did bring my mahjong card. Maybe another time or day.

Competition is pushing cruise lines to look at their closest competition and try to match their offerings. Not sure who is Oceania’s major competitor. Likely Azamara or Viking. Oceania, Azamara and Viking attract similar people. While there are exceptions, they are full of older professionals, mostly retired, who have money. They usually are looking for deluxe accommodations, pleasant entertainment, superb dining, and excellent service. They enjoy traveling in comfort. The new changes seem make Oceania like Viking. WiFi for everyone, drinks at lunch and dinner, money for excursions, tips not included, laundry room for self service no fees, and air with included transfers.

Is OBC from a travel agency refundable? I know OBC from Oceania is not refundable. On some cruise lines, you can. Cash out OBC from a TA. My TA gave us OBC for our upcoming cruises. I usually request it posted before we sail if I want to book excursions or spa treatments. She said that Oceania doesn’t allow TAs to post OBC before embarkation. OBC direct from Oceania is posted and can be used.

WiFi included for all is a good thing. The rest of the changes may not please everyone. I am not a drinker. At a special function, I might have some wine. I prefer soft drinks. We started cruising on Azamara when drinks weren’t included and specialty restaurants were $5 cover fee. It was great. As time went by, more things were included. Including tips was ok. Next came included drinks. When it introduced, all booked passengers got the drinks for no extra charge. When Az announced changes, everyone that had already booked was included free. Nice, but as expected the next year prices increased. We felt like we were being forced to pay for drinks that we didn’t want. Looking for a better fit, Oceania was perfect. Now I am not too sure. On some cruises I take shore excursions. When I sail in the Caribbean, I skip excursions and just relax. After many years of cruising, I have taken many excursions, there may not be any excursions that call out to me. Been there, done that. Olife gave you a choice.

Bring only clothing that can easily be washed and will dry quickly. Wear heaviest clothing and shoes on a plane. Pack 2-3 of each type of item. 2 short sleeved shirts, 2 longer sleeved shirts, 2 dress shirts, 2 pr. Shorts, 2 pr. Long pants, etc. Plan clothing that can be mixed and matched. Black or dark pants work better than lighter colors. Tops in solid colors or a small print. One of each of these: Lightweight sweater, polartec hoodie, goretex rain jacket, umbrella, bathing suit+ cover up, hat, scarf. For cold climates, bring a puffer jacket that folds up into its own bag. It can also be used on a plane if it is cold or as a lumbar support. Shoes: take old shoes that are comfortable…walking shoes, dress shoes, rubber flip flops or swim sneakers, and if warm bring sandals.

Go to a specialty restaurant or buffet on day 1 will avoid that line into GDR. As cruise passes the GDR is less crowded. The Terrace buffet is an excellent venue. It serves everything on the GDR menu plus grilled items and sushi. Often the buffet gets crowded. On our last O cruise in 2022, the first 4 nights were crowded in the GDR. After that, the GDR was empty.

Noticed your posting. We are sailing with you on Marina. We have sailed on Celebrity many times. We are elite plus. Celebrity does a nice cruise. Ships are big. At times, you may experience crowds. With 2000+ guests, it is huge compared to Windstar, Azamara, and Oceania. On a big ship, there are lots of activities. Smaller ships offer fewer options. Smaller ships are less crowded. Windstar and Oceania have excellent service and fabulous food. Celebrity has good food. Aqua class has spa type menus and a separate dining room for breakfast and dinner. Lunch is in the buffet except for sea days. We tried aqua class once. We thought menus were ok, but liked main dining room menus better. We also didn’t like our aqua class cabin above the buffet. If you book aqua class, book on deck 9. Those cabins are quieter and are shaded. We prefer concierge cabins on deck 8. Infinity is a Millenium class ship. Last time we were on Infinity in 2013, it needed a renovation. Not sure of its condition. We did sail on a Millenium class ship, Summit June 2022 after renovations. Summit was nicely renovated.