janecambridge

Good morning.

Personally we leave the gratuities as they are so all members of the ships crew reap the benefit for their hard work and not just the ones we meet...But many people do remove gratuities on embarkation and tip who they want..It's a personal thing.I can only go by other Cruise ship companies we have sailed with.

I too am new to Oceania,and am unable to answer anything else on your thread but talking about speciality restaurants,please may I ask someone to let me know when these restaurants become possible to pre book online.We are concierge level and sail in August.thank you.

Being new to Oceania,first cruise with them in August,please could you explain what R and O ships are? It is coming up alot on various threads.

Many thanks.

New to Oceania and have our first cruise booked in August.

Please could you tell me what OLife is?

Also,I am unable to find January 1st sales in the UK.Is it just USA that get the sales this month?

Thank you..

Yeh,thanks ORV...:D

Just seen the cost of the helicopter flight and I think it may be too steep..

Not sure if it is worth the cost after reading on here the good alternatives .

Thanks anyway.:)

Observations should always be appreciated on these boards JACKHAWK.

 

they are helpful to many :)

I agree.!

Thank you ORV...:)

Thank you for your report ORV.We are sailing Oceania for the first time in August and have the same type of cabin as you,near the concierge lounge.I am concerned to read about the noise.We are booked in 9011.do you think we will be ok there?

There is obviously people that were sick but chose to keep enjoying themselves & spreading the joy to all

 

I can only imagine if people get off the ship onto the islands it could spread quickly onshore

 

 

I have been stricken with e. Coli onboard the ship & I am sure I got the Noro in May but had no symptoms until after we got home then it hit

I took all the precautions while on the ship & shore not to get ill

The person who had the virus becomes immune to this year’s particular strain and secretes antibodies with the virus so it isn't contagious anymore to him, even though it is highly contagious to others.

 This could mean that if your spouse had the virus in October but you didn't, in January he could bring it home and give it to you without ever being sick himself.

Some cruise liners have now got rid or replaced their trays due to being unable to clean the trays at a high enough temperature to kills the viruses.This is in buffet areas and room service...

Decent hand sanitisers now in the Uk contain at least one chlorine type that kills viruses.They should be antiviral sanitisers as opposed to antibacterial for norovirus but nothing is as good as proper hand washing, 20 seconds or more..alcohol based handgels do not kill norovirus..

Norovirus can also be found in uncooked shellfish...

There seems to be a lot of confusion on the subject and I was wondering if the information on this virus has been given to each passenger and member of staff?

Hope they are cleaning the " mouse" on each computer after each use!

Am I right in saying that Privee has a fee and has to be pre Booked? Do you book it as a couple and meet others or do you have to book 10 people in?

Thank you for the wonderful photos.We have just returned from Cunard Grills and nothing was a spectacular as the food I see here.

We are on our first Oceania cruise in August and can't wait.Everything looks top notch ( and better than Regent....ssssshhhh)

Will we ever be able to return to another cruise line after experiencing Oceania...?

I am pondering over the helicopter ride over mount Etna ( in August) and wondered if anyone had done this, if they felt it is worth the cost?

Thank you.

We stepped off QV this morning after a 3 night trip.I booked Princess Grill as a treat for us both after some medical bad news! I bought the cruise a long time ago and sadly the price reduced a lot before we set sail.But There was nothing I could do about that.

There were at least 3 groups of people of 50 or more onboard.A free trip for them with obc.

I have mixed feelings.We have cruised in QV only once before and loved it.(balcony).

Our cabin was superb and loved the little extras of grills.cabin steward was efficient and kept the cabin in good order.

The grills lounge got very busy in the evening and seemed to be quite cold.

I was slightly disappointed with the restaurant.The first 2 lunches were mediocre and not much choice.The first dinner was also average.After that we had A la carte menu and it all improved.The courses came very quickly and it seemed that we could not alter a thing.e.g we asked for cream on the side,no.black forest ham sliced thinly,no.kippers with no butter,no.etc...It almost seemed like we were a nuisance...

Also every course was brought to the table very quickly as were the cream teas in the grills lounge..

We had our itinerary changed due to gales and we went to Zebbrugge a day early.But we were rewarded the following day with a sail along the southern coast of England,to the Eddystone lighthouse. A really appreciative change of course..

We were unaware until the last day,that tea and coffee is free in grills lounge as are soft drinks as long as not diet drinks.It was lovely to get a tonic in a bottle and not from a hose! All bar staff were superb and professional.

I had acupuncture for my knee,paid a hefty sum for 8 needles and 20 minutes rest on a bed.And...it didn't work.Maybe a course would be better.

Met some lovely people and would hopefully,one day be able to afford to go grills again,but for a few days longer.

I think that if you miss the obc sale,there will be something else.We booked todays cruise very early on in the year for 3 nights and got $500 obc !! But over the course of the year there have been different offers and eventually we could have booked a QG for the original balcony price with no other offers included.Its almost like you can win either way..

Thank you Hattie.We are just having breakfast,ready to leave for Southampton to jump on behind you....Weather hasnt been too bad down:) south so hope you have a good journey.That goes for all of you leaving the ship today.

You need to pack one of these:

 

Or pick a cabin next me.:D

Hi Pepper

 

You are quite correct. However, Cunard have not been offering any discounts on Grills since Peter Shanks left, and his successor declared that he wanted to add value to the brand.

 

Therefore, it seems to me that the Grills pax are subsidising the cheapo prices, and losing out as the perks diminish.

 

Stewart

I am on Victoria next week and after booking well in advance for the cabin I want (PG),the prices for PG and QG have come down to almost as little as a balcony was.

Thank you all so much for your very helpful replies. Sorry for the delay but I've had a real problem trying to log in to cruise critic on my iPad but finally managed it via safari.

 

The photographs of the cabin look amazing and we are getting very excited now. Mum and dad were round for dinner last night and all we talked about was our upcoming cruise.

 

I received an email back from Cunard advising that the white space is a crew cabin/office.

 

So grateful for our upgrade and if anyone has any insider tips for our first time with Cunard, we would love to hear them :D

Slightly off subject,but I too have had trouble logging in on my iPad...Have to use a desktop...

Nope.miami around Carribbean..may have been a few Germans,not that we noticed...

It was Regent.....:eek:

We were with another cruise company last year at this time and they marked the day,not with poppies or services in remembrance,but a German lunch and German music...

I am sure you will have a great time.Victoria is a beautiful ship and no,it won't feel stuffy for you..

Besides that,I am sorry to hear that your mum is not well enough to travel.What a terrible shame for her too.I hope she recovers soon,so you can tell her to rebook another week with you both once you have recovered from your fantastic trip.

love it....:)