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Thanks to whoever posted the code for Mississippi River cruises.  RS24 saved us $

We are booked.

On riverboats, there is usually a gentle walker version. We always take it. If they don’t offer it, the regular tour is often not very strenuous.  We never take any difficulty strenuous tours. It doesn’t work for us.  We don’t want to hamper the pace of the tour. Opt out if the tour is too demanding.  We were on Grand European riverboat cruise, Marksburg Castle was the only included tour for Koblenz. Level was demanding. Read online how demanding it was to walk up the uneven roads to the castle. There was no other included option. We chose to skip that tour, and just walked around the old town. Sometimes people take included tours that aren’t suitable for them.  They go on a tour because they paid for it.  One gentleman took the Marksburg tour and had a heart attack . He died.  It would be nice if there were options to suit a variety of mobility challenges.  

Nothing is perfect.How problems are resolved matters. On Vista 1/9 cruise. We hit some problems. They were handled well.  We had a good time.  

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Souffles?  I rarely have any desserts other than a souffle or -- if I don't like the daily offering -- ice cream. 

 

I have had the Key Lime pie a time or two.

 

The cookies are not worth the calories. I save mine for the croissants.

Love the croissants. Had one every morning. Breakfast pastry is good. Desserts aren’t my thing. I love cookies. Oceania needs better recipes for cookies.  My favorite cookies are Girl Scout thin mints.  

Vietnamese coffee was my Slocombe favorite.  Some flavors are good. Some are strange.  Vanilla is always available.  Yummy! Ice cream on Oceania is good.  Other Desserts ? Cakes tarts, and cookies on Oceania aren’t my thing.  There was an apple tart one night at dinner in GDR that was outstanding. Best pastry is in the Bakery.  Eclair is amazing. 

As cruise progressed the offer $250 dropped to $100 OBC.  We didn’t book. We have a spring cruise booked. It will be using Simply More. While we have used the credit for excursions, we seldom drink. We wonder what will be the vibe if most people have included drinks. On Vista last week, there were people who drank too much. It wasn’t pretty. There were some very loud obnoxious people onboard. 

On 1/22/2024 at 2:33 PM, Torquer said:

The per item prices are indeed in the stratosphere to do all your laundry that way.  For our next cruise, we are in a suite so we get 3 bags of laundry for free.  But for a 20-day cruise (one single segment) that is not nearly enough for 2 people.  Does anyone know if they have a per-bag price after we use the 3 free bags?  I could not find this info anywhere.

Sometimes there is a bag special.  Just off Vista 10 day cruise. There was no bag special. I used the onboard laundry machines. It was convenient,easy, and quick. The concierge free laundry has restrictions that can be a problem.  Bag limit is 20 items, turn around is 3 days, some days are excluded, and everything is folded.  

Before you comment on Vista’s pizza at Waves, try it. It’s that good.  On previous Oceania cruises, we usually had dinner at GDR or a specialty restaurant. We skipped dining at the Terrace Buffet for dinner. That was until a guest told us that dinner at Terrace was great. It has more options than GDR.  Now that Waves is open at night, there are even more choices.  We ordered pizza at Waves to be delivered inside Terrace Buffet. While we were waiting, we had some delicious sushi. At home, we often get pizza for dinner.  Would like to see Waves pizza on lunch menu.  Terrace has pizza, not nearly as good as Waves pizza. 

Just relax. It will work out.

I was on Vista last week. It was booked in 2022, cruise only.  It was before Simply More was announced. We had a great time. We often sail on Oceania and do a winter Caribbean cruise. We had been to all of the ports on previous trips. We weren’t interested in excursions. The attraction was warmth, good food, and excellent service. We had a great time. Would love to do it again. However, unlike previous winter cruises, we didn’t rebook.  Visited future cruise lady asking if we could book cruise only. She adamantly said no.  If you book any Oceania cruise, you get Simply More.  Her rationale was people pay for a cruise and don’t use all the features of the ship.  They consider excursions the same as using the spa. Some people will use it. Some won’t. Everyone pays for it. Not exactly.  We were rather annoyed at the attitude.  For us Simply More May work on some itineraries, not the Caribbean. We are booked on a Med cruise with Simply More. The excursions work on that trip.  When we compared price winter 2024 and same cruise for winter 2025, we decided to move on.  While we like Oceania, we are looking at other cruise lines for winter 2025.  We will only consider booking Oceania on cruises that have excursions that interest us.  

29 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

One of the few places to get wings too. Just be sure to place several orders if you like wings--the serving is only three wings.

 

Good info. We ordered pizza. While waiting, we had sushi at Terrace Buffet.  Sushi and pizza were both excellent.  

3 hours ago, SellaVee said:

Same experience here last August on Marina.  We got the tote - although it was more like a messenger bag, but no cap.  Our letter told us to ask for one on our next Oceania cruise, but I'm not happy with the excursion credit idea in Simply More, which is why I'm browsing the Regent Board.  I know they have included (ie paid for) excursions, but since Oceania is no longer à la carte, I'm looking elsewhere.  They’ve lost their USP.

We were on Vista last week. My spouse went to seethe loyalty concierge and asked for the caps. They sent one cap to our cabin.

On 10 night cruise on Vista, we only ate in GDR 4 nights and one lunch.  Most meals were at Terrace Buffet.  We ate twice at Ember and once at each of the other 3 restaurants.  For lunches, ate at Waves a few times, Aquamar once, and frequently visited Baristas and the Bakery.  Bakery is a nice addition to Baristas.  Called room service once. Lots of choices All are ok.

Hoi An is fascinating

5 minutes ago, PrivateIdaho said:

Oh dear, hope you had trip insurance. Pre Covid, we never did trip insurance. Now, never leave home without it. Hope your spouse is 100% now. 

Just sailed on Vista.  Nice trip.

We just sailed on Vista in a standard veranda.  When we booked, we knew that we would probably have to share tables.  While we prefer table for 2, we don’t mind sharing. When restaurant bookings open, I thought that I was able to get all 4 reservations at acceptable times. 1@6:30.  2@ 7:00 1@7:30 

when we checked in, we were handed a card with the list of dining reservations. It had 3 reservations, not 4.  Went to dining concierge, waited in a long line, and eventually had 4 reservations.  I had a copy of my dining reservations screenshot. Day 3, we went to Ember. Raja, the maitr’d said we weren’t on his list. We told him what happened. He was very nice. He seated us. Next day, Raja, told us that he had checked on our other reservations.  Our other reservations were at booked times. Even got an extra reservation at Ember.    
Problems can happen.  It’s how they are resolved that matters.  Raja was amazing. 

3 hours ago, PrivateIdaho said:

Unfortunately gty was all that was available in Veranda cabins. And yes, we like to live on the edge. 😂

Good luck. Hope it works out.  Usually somebody cancels as you get close to the cruise.  It happened to us last year.  We were all packed, ready to fly the next day, my spouse took ill, and needed emergency surgery. We canceled 24 hours before cruise.

Just off Vista.  Ate at most venues. Some good. Some less desirable. None were bad.  We were eager to try the new additions.  Liked Ember and Waves evening Pizzeria .  Waves is open at night as an Italian bistro. Tablecloths and service similar to the Terrace Buffet. Not thrilled with Aquamar kitchen.  Pizza at Waves was excellent.  Ate there last night of cruise.  We ate inside at the Terrace buffet.  Waves delivered our pizza to us.  It was really good.  Terrace Buffet at dinner is a great choice. It has everything on GDR menu plus grilled item, freshly prepared sushi, and salads.

Try the pizza. 

At the repeaters party, there were no restrictions. Nice to order anything. They introduced the officers, announced the couple onboard who had sailed most, and left. Also, the doors to Horizon were closed until the 5:45 shown on the invitation.  The line waiting was long. 

37 minutes ago, PrivateIdaho said:

Thanks for the info. We booked yesterday and were given a guaranteed Veranda cabin, which means we don’t get to pick a location, it will be assigned. In the past, we were told what was available and we selected. This could be interesting. 

Guarantee can be good or bad.  I used to book them on Celebrity. Got some very nice upgrades. I am elite plus. My TA used to book gty and request certain locations. Never had a bad cabin.  Oceania is not as generous.  You can get undesirable cabins.  Friends booked gty and got the last veranda cabin on Nautica. It has a partially blocked veranda.  Oceania also overbooks.  If you don’t get a cabin assignment, you may not sail.  Be careful. Our most recent cruise, we were got email offer 4 days before sailing with an offer to move to a different cruise. It wasn’t the same itinerary. It was in March. Payoff wasn’t much. We sailed. Met several people who also got the offer. Watch out. Unless you like to live on the edge, don’t book gty on Oceania.

Do they really care?   Oceania has a good product.However, they don’t listen to guests. This was my 3rd O cruise since pandemic.  On previous 2 cruises, I made the same comment.  Put signs in front of dessert items at the buffet. It would make selections easier.  Each person asks the server what each item is.  It’s crazy. I guess Oceania is take it or leave it.  Had a nice cruise. However, there are issues that could be solved if they only listen.  I will post a review when I unpack. Bags are still in my foyer.

Those surveys are ridiculous. Bigger ships get more votes. My favorite is Windstar.

8 hours ago, Hlitner said:

The solution is actually quite simple.  The resorts and cruise ships simply need enough loungers for everyone!  We have been on plenty of ships that has enough loungers (although folks may not find an empty one where they prefer).  When we saw the Vista (from our balcony on the Sky Princess (which was docked next to the Vista) we were shocked at how few deck loungers/chairs we saw on the vessel.  We posted this on CC, and plenty of O fans assured us we were wrong and there were plenty of loungers.  Really?

 

Hank

You are right.  Hard to find a chaise on pool deck in shade any day. Those big beds eat up too much space.  This is the first time that I ever went to reception and complained on a port day.  The deck has several small separated areas which hold a few chaises or chairs. The partitions might look interesting, but they eat up deck space. Poorly designed use of space. The GDR is also partitioned into small spaces.  There it works. Not on pool deck.  

Didn’t even hear the usual survey winner announcement. Is this another way to save O money?

Vista has real problems. Those big beds take too much space. Not enough shade.  Last Vista cruise had many chair hogs even on port days.  Sat on my own veranda more than I liked.