Woodrowst

My wife and I just got our final documents for boarding the Venture in 2.5 weeks. Everything looked fine except that they downgraded us from a V2 to aV4 cabin. There was no previous notice of the cabin change from our final payment invoice. The new cabin is in an inferior place to the cabin we booked. I have a call into my TA, but thought I'd check to see if this has happened to anybody else and to listen to any and all pieces of advice. Thanks!

My wife and I sail for our first Seabourn cruise next month on the Venture. We have been notified that we both have the benefit of a complimentary, "Seabourn Club Signature Massage". But there was no information on how to book it. I went into our online account and did not see how to select a time. I also did a search of the Seabourn cc forum but could not seem to find any information on this topic. Thanks for any help from those who have booked signature massages. David

They adjusted the dates a bit and we assumed that a berth in Istanbul was not available on the new disembarkation day. Having said that, we never asked for a reason so I cannot provide a definitive answer.

This is why post-Covid we now typically book air through the cruise line. Itineraries can be fluid. We took an Oceania cruise this summer and had the disembarkation port changed from Istanbul to Barcelona. Oceania updated our flights at no cost. Easy peasy.

Could you please explain “I recently emailed my fidelity statement for a Princess cruise.”? I do not understand what that sentence means. Thanks!

I agree with all the other comments that it is no problem. My only two cents to add is that you need to be comfortable being around people who are dressed less formally than you are.

I regret to inform both SATaxman and 1985rz1 that you application to the Martini Tribe has been denied 😊😊

A couple of points: 1). One reason to order a Martini instead of gin on the rocks is that you get more gin. Many years ago a bartender shared that secret with me. He told me that if you order gin on the rocks you get one shot of gin. But if you order a Martini you generally get two shots. Both are typically the same price. So if you do not like vermouth you can order a very, very dry Martini (which has a tiny amount of vermouth) and enjoy the extra quantity. 2)). The James Bond movies did a disservice to Martini drinkers by suggesting that a Martini should be shaken. A Martini should always be stirred, not shaken. Shaking bruises the gin. Bruising refers to slivers of ice that break off during the shaking process that then float in the glass and distract from the drinking experience. Since Martinis are meant to be sipped, you don’t want to sip on a sliver of ice.

I fully support shank63. As a purest and member of a group of fellow professionals called the “Martini Tribe”, it is painful to see references to vodka drinks as martinis. It is true that gin starts as vodka before the botanicals are added. But the term “Martini” should be reserved for gin, some vermouth, and - if desired - olives (always pitted and never with pimento which adds a bad aftertaste, blue cheese - the horror - or anything else stuffed inside it); lemon twist, or pickled onions (if a Gibson is desired). I have nothing against vodka and those that enjoy it. Just call your libation a vodka drink instead of a Martini. ☺️

I use a number of sites to check port arrivals and none of them list any Seabourn Antarctica trips departing from Ushuaia. The port itself does not seem to have a website. Any ideas as to why Seabourn trips are missing from Ushuaia departure lists? Our cruise is departing in January and it seems strange to not see it listed.

That was my assumption too. Then why would the OP say she would prefer FCC? I am confused ☺️

If that is what she meant, then why would future cruise credit be better than a refund? Wouldn’t a refund be more desirable as it is cash on hand?

I am not familiar with “FFC”. What is it and why is it better than a refund?

Not sure why you think iPhones cannot be used as a hotspot. I have used my iPhone for years as a hotspot for my iPad. Any apple product will work with hotspot created with an iPhone.

I certainly respect your decision. But if you are up for it, Old Havana in Miami is right at the cruise ship terminal and has many Cuban restaurants with authentic dishes that can’t be duplicated on the ship.

There are many threads on cruise critic where people ask for the earliest boarding time possible. One of the themes that you will see from experienced cruisers is that many enjoy the port city in the morning, have a nice and quiet local lunch with local cuisine and then mosey over to the ship in the afternoon. This is how we typically do it (if applicable to the given port) and is much much more relaxing than joining the “first to be aboard” crowd. You don’t have to deal with crowded lunch venues and lines where everyone is trying to eat at the same time and you do not have to schlep your carry on luggage around with you until your cabin is available. An added bonus is that boarding later in the day means no lines at all for check in. Just be sure to embark at least 2 hours before the last boarding time listed so that you don’t have to worry about missing the ship.

For more information about the closing of the World Trade Center dock to cruise ships see https://www.cruisehive.com/partial-barcelona-cruise-ship-ban-to-begin-in-october/109202

The answer to your first two questions is: you never know. It is up to the harbor master to assign docking assignments and our experience in Barcelona is this can change right up to the last day of the cruise. On our recent Dubai to Barcelona Oceania cruise the specific disembarkation terminal was only announced two days in advance. If there are no delays ( a big “if”) you might be able to be at the taxis at 8:20am. But that assumes that that everything goes like clockwork and lots of things can gum up the works. We have disembarked twice in Barcelona and both times there have been plenty of taxis. But you can wait for up to 20 minutes depending on how long the line is. if you are asking because you want to make an early morning flight (seemingly the most common reason people ask these questions on cruise critic) you can search for strings that address this. You will find the consensus is not to try to make an early flight. Too many things can go wrong and it is not worth worrying about it while you are on vacation. The advice is to take an afternoon flight or stay a day and enjoy the wonderful city of Barcelona.

You did not define “need” and that is a part of the decision making. If it is a matter of something like getting fired if I don’t get home that day then yes, the 11:00am, while not advisable because of all the moving parts that can go wrong, is doable. But assuming we are really talking about (strongly) want vs. need, an emotion-based question for all in your party to ask themselves is: how much would I worry during the cruise about missing the flight home and would it interfere in my enjoyment in any way? If the answer is yes from anyone I would consider schedule a later flight or the next day’s flight. Cruises are too expensive to spend time during them worrying about whether you will make your flight home.

I suspect you meant “grilled to order” rather than “fresh grilled”. The lobster and steak are frozen rather than fresh - a necessity with being at sea for many days.

I think referring to Oceania shore excursions as having hoards is using quite a bit of hyperbole and can be misleading to those who are thinking through the type of tour they want to take. Every Oceania excursion I have taken had empty seats on the bus and there were never over 30 people (and often less). I don’t really think that is a “hoard”. In a previous post I mentioned that I have been on both OE and regular tours that were enjoyable. I have also been on enjoyable tours I arranged privately. All three approaches have their advantages and disadvantages; it is a matter of which advantages work best for you in a particular port. We all have our favorite approach, but I don’t think we need to prop up our favorite by denigrating the other ways of touring.

When cruising on Oceania we typically eat in one of the speciality restaurants on the last night as it gives us a nice sendoff with a nice meal in a nice setting. Oceania does not do anything special to note the ending of a cruise. It is not like the old days when cruise lines would have a special dinner with chateaubriand and a baked Alaska parade. I do apologize for glaringly showing my age ☺️

I am really sorry that you are going through this anxiety provoking and expensive situation. It is a major reason why I have switched gears in booking air. Previous to covid, I always made my own air arrangements and that was great. Since cruising resumed post-covid, I have seen many cruise critic posters note embarkation/debarkation ports changes as well as date changes and even cancellations of the entire cruise. So now, and for the foreseeable future, I make air arrangements through the cruise line. The cost may be a bit higher (sometimes lower) and possibly have a bit more inconvenient routing (or not), but I know that the cruise line is now on the hook for changes. This paid off when a cruise I took three months ago had its debarkation port changed from Istanbul to Barcelona. The cruise line took care of rebooking the ticket with no cost to me. Please understand that I have great empathy for your situation and am not criticizing you for not doing what I do. I only wanted to bring up an option for readers to consider.

I agree with davenci. I have taken both OE and regular Oceania tours and enjoyed both. It is really a matter of deciding if you would benefit from a smaller group for a particular excursion. My experience is that the two types of tours are not so different that only the OE would be enjoyable. It is more of an enhancement in the right situation.

If you can do so without rolling your eyes, could you explain to those of us who are not digital natives why an app is important? What would you want to do with it that cannot be done otherwise? Inquiring minds want to know ☺️