SellaVee

We love the Windstar sailing ships, and will soon take our 5th Oceania cruise, but for FP we chose Paul Gauguin, and absolutely loved it. It was great spending time with the Gauguines, and we loved everything about it. I will say that I found the passengers on board a good bit louder and more exuberant than on either WS or PG. This is not meant as a criticism. It was strange at first because both the other lines can bye very quiet. There was a French group on board who were great fun at the karaoke. It was a very jolly experience. We're from the UK, so FP is a big commitment of both time and money. We spent some time in Santa Monica, them more time in Moorea, so that we were completely over the jet lag by the time we boarded. If I was to do it again I'd go back on the PG.

@vlthom and @Woofa, it was because Marina hasn’t been refurbished that I thought to ask about USB ports. We were in Sicily last month and took and adapter and my 3 pin plug with us as we were staying in some very old hotels. I found it a bit clunky so I've ordered a plug with both European and UK fittings so that I can use it both at home and on holiday, and it has 4 ports. I’m sure we have a US adapter somewhere. I'm pleased we'll have so many European sockets even though we'll probably use just one. I am surprised that Oceania doesn’t have enough plug adapters on sale because I really thought we would have ports in the room and it was only the discussion of the delay to Marina's refurb that made me thing maybe not. I wonder how many people get caught out.

Thanks @Snaefell3. I've gone for an Anker plug in type that has both European and UK options. I agree that it's tidier in use. I needed a new European style fitting in any case. I'm just glad I thought about it before I got onboard.

Thank you @FlyerTalker. I already have an Anker powerbank for charging my phone "on the go" , so I know the brand. I have a fairly solid 3 pin plug with 3 ports that charges my devices pretty well, but it's a bit clunky to attach it to a plug adapter. I think I'll look for one with a European plug, as I’m more likely to use it again than a US plug, and there might be a voltage problem. If I buy a UK one I'll still have the plug problem.

I'm struggling to find up to date information on whether Marina has USB ports in the cabins. If not, what is the best option? I have a standard UK plug that has 3 USB ports built in, but this would need an adaptor. For UK devices should I just get a European version of a plug with multiple ports?

So does that mean you've no plans to cruise on any of Oceania's ships?

Neither did I. I thought it was funny, and was going to ask if I could come to the party!

This couple weren't on Oceania, and had never cruised before, so not very cruise savvy. I've gotten used to paying gratuities and it saves running around with envelopes at the end. I have never been offered free gratuities by a travel agent, though I did once get them as a perk from Oceania. Nor have I ever been offered a rebate, but I do shop around and try to get a discount. I like to get more than one quote, from both online and high street. I don't think there are many high selling Oceania agents in the UK, compared to the US simply because the market is so much smaller. Agents get more commission back from O depending on how much they sell.

Is soap powder or liquid supplied, or dispensed by a coin op machine. I remember there being a very small charge back in the day.

We've mainly cruised with Windstar and Oceania, so I've been used to paying gratuities, but friends of ours on their first cruise got a real shock when they found they had to pay them.

Two weeks from today we'll be on board Marina, and all I have received so far from Oceania is an online check in instruction, plus a few brochures regarding sales etc, and a letter suggesting we might like to book another cruise.

Thanks, @basor, that's very useful to know. The metal water bottles are a new thing since we last cruised with O.

Are water bottles being provided, and are there binoculars in the stateroom?

Is it really any of your business? Maybe keep in mind what is your business, and what isn't. Just a suggestion.

I saw a programme once about a town that had fairly recently become a cruise port. The staff in the charity shops (thrift stores?) were interviewed and they said ships' crew would come in and buy quite a lot. Duvet covers were popular apparently. Imagine they bring food aboard for variety.

Having you considered looking on the website for the new fare? You can no longer get the O Life promo fares, if that's what you mean, but if that's what you’ve already booked you can, I believe, keep it, or you can choose to move to Simply More and pay any supplement that's required. The (new) Simply More fare always comes with excursion credit and the basic drinks package. I learned all this by reading the very many previous posts on this subject. I might find it annoying that we have to pay for amenities we don’t want, but I don’t see that it's confusing. It's been explained on her countless times!

I expect it will be the same as it always has been with some people on a plan, some bringing their own wine on board, some buying wine by the glass or bottle, and some not drinking alcohol at all. They've been coping for decades, what makes you think there will suddenly be a problem?

@Sujormik , We're on Marina soon, and I do appreciate your posts, and hearing about the good and the bad. I was though, surprised about the popcorn and pretzels comment. Firstly, if I was really craving popcorn or pretzels I might look for some ashore, and, given that Oceania has a huge breakfast offering, Barista's for coffee and cookies, lunch in various venues, afternoon tea and then dinner, I don't know that it's reasonable to expect them to provide everyone's favourite snack as well. Would you expect them to pride Haribo, Maltesers, potato crisps in every variety, and that well known Scottish delicacy, tablet? Sometimes you just have to make do.

Oh, I don't know, maybe they could learn from experience? I don't see why we should have to lower our expectations - unless they change their name to Shore Excursion Sales.

Skagen was on our Baltic cruise a few years ago, and it was cancelled then too. I wonder how often it's cancelled.

A few thoughts on Viking. When they began Ocean cruising they already had a fan base from their river cruises. Not every river cruiser would be interested in Ocean cruises, but Viking had built a reputation. We went on a river cruise on the Danube, to see the Christmas markets. Amazingly, in winter, the Danube was too low to permit passage along its whole length. By the time we sailed, this had happened on a few cruises and Viking had gotten it's act together. On arrival in Budapest we were put up in a hotel in the town centre and a meeting was held. The solution we were given was onboard credit for everyone, and all the paid excursions were to be free. (Viking offered a free excursion in every town, plus some extra ones which attracted a fee.) Plus some ship swopping. We spent the first night in the hotel, then went on a tour that finished by taking us to our ship further along the river. We had three nights on board then our next excursion took us to a sister ship, identical to the first one, with a new set of welcome goodies (Chocolate Santa, biscuits etc) and more onboard credit. A further three nights onboard completed the cruise. With so many ships in it's fleet, Viking was able to sail, by this "meet in the middle" strategy, while other companies had vessels tied up and listing at the quayside, and were busing their passengers around from hotel to hotel. The lack of water was a huge problem, but Viking were able to solve it, and that's how to build a reputation. We've been invited to lunch on board one of the Viking ships, and I have to say I prefer the vibe on Oceania, so I've not been tempted to switch, yet.

We only have your word for that. 😁😁 Naively, I though influencers blogged and did TikTok and Youtube type stuff. I never thought of them posting on here.

So, hands up, people, which of you are influencers?

@Peter Lanky I’ve reached the same conclusion. This year's is the first O cruise where we considered taking the excursions, mainly because we're going to some remote places. But like you, while I enjoy cruising, I'm much less keen on sitting on a coach. We've done 4 cruises already, including SE Asia, and the Baltic with 3 days in St Petersburg, and we've only ever done private tours or exploring on our own. As it turns out we've managed to find independent tours in the remote places, just as well given the O excursions we wanted were fully booked.

I've done the maths. On a 15 day cruise we have $400 pp O Life to spend which works out at $26.67 per day. Red wine costs at least €14 plus 20% gratuity, so $16.80. You only need to drink 2 glasses of wine at dinner for the basic package to be advantageous at the rate we're paying. White wine can work out at $14.40, so you still win. If you have a glass of wine at lunch and 3 at dinner it works out at up to $67.20 per day. A drink at bedtime would be extra and not covered by the basic drinks package, but if you brought the full package it would be. Bearing in mind that we have only 1 sea day on our cruise, we won't be having a lunchtime drink on board very often, and I usually have a soft drink then, otherwise I need a siesta, although my beloved will have a beer. I might have a cocktail before dinner, but not enough to justify the extra €30 to upgrade to the full package. We had hoped to choose the excursions for our O life perk but the ones we wanted were full, so we're taking the drinks package instead. We've previously taken our own wine on board and that worked out fine, but we were cruising the Baltic with stops in Europe to stock up. I was less sure about buying wine in Norway. If you don’t have a O Life perk to use it would still pay you to take the basic package of wine with meals. Just 3 glasses of white wine per day would cost $43.20. Your bedtime drink would cost extra, but you could bring your own alcohol on board and have it in your cabin, mixers are free and you can choose what you'd like your fridge to be stocked with. That's the less sociable option, but if you like your own company it works. I hope this helps.