alcpa1

Are you traveling through the canal? Have you been to Panama City before? Have you toured the Miraflores Visitor's Center? Whatever you do DO NOT wander beyond the pier in Colon. It's nasty and dangerous. When you answer the first questions there should be some good responses.

Oh how ironic because one week ago O changed our Sirena Cartagena to Miami embarkation to Panama City to Miami through the canal. With the length of time it takes to book a transit reservation one would think (not anyone at O) that the altered itinerary would have been announced months ago. Gone are our days in Cartagena's walled city and one of our ports and an added sea day...........oh well.

We have a scheduled stop at Barbuda coming up and from the little I know there are few tour options available particularly for people with disabilities. I would also hope that the island has recovered substantially from Irma. Any suggestions and information would be greatly appreciated.

PS We were on the same cruise as Joel Barry.

We had the children of friends in Sao Paulo and really wanted to see their newest baby but they urged us not to come. They mentioned distance and, of course, the traffic. We stayed in Santos and went to the Coffee Museum as well. They opened on their closed day for tours BTW. We spent a wonderful couple of hours at the botanical gardens and toured the outskirts of the city. We hated to miss the children but in the end thought it was the wisest thing we did.

Don't bring your own extension cord. Ask your cabin steward for one.

The major cruise lines have contracts with the port into 2025. The news reports are varied and some suggest that it will just be the day stops that are banned and embarkation and disembarkions will be permitted. I am wondering about overnights since we have one on Azamara next year. The authorities are also banning weed on the streets and instituting restrictions within the Red Light District. Rowdy bachelor parties, especially British ones, are being discouraged. The Dutch want their Amsterdam back!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the notice. I will follow it closely as we are scheduled to overnight there next August on the Onward.

Welcome, We haven't been to all of the ports on your itinerary but we are taking a similar sailing next year and I have already started my research so I will join others with recommendations. The following are the places we have been: Berlin - I don't know where you are docking but it's about 3 hours by train from Rostock/Warnemunda. It's about the same by shore excursion bus. You can actually pack in some of the major sites but mostly drive bys. That's not the worst thing. I'd imagine you will go to the wall, the Brandenburg Gate, a memorial and/or a museum or two. Halfapair is spot on for Gdansk. Stockholm - The Vasa Museum should be high on your list. Wandering the old streets in Gamla Stan passing the palace and perhaps seeing the changing of the guard is another option. Stockholm has some fabulous museums and gardens. Plan part of your visit driving around the most compact part of the city. There are ferry and boat tours of the small islands surrounding the center of the city too. Copenhagen - We have been five times and during our last visit we finally got to check off our must do list. Take a canal cruise. You will see everything from a differrent perspective. If you are there late go to Tivoli Gardens. When walking avoid wandering into bike lanes. The wonderful Danes are particularly fierce when it comes to their bike lanes. There are also parts of the city where you should be aware of your surroundings and guard your valuables. London - You can never have enough time in London.There's just so much to see. Churchill's War Room is worth a visit. We always go to the theatre in London. We've seen everything from Shakespear to Phantom to Hamilton. You can venture to Windsor, or Greenwich easily. Guide books aka Google will give you a gazillion options. For a first timer plan on 4 or 5 days in London and 3 or 4 in Copenhagen before and after your cruise. Now use the Destinations/Ports of Call boards for the Baltic and England to help with your research. Join the Roll Call for your sailing. You will meet others sailing on your ship and you can plan together. Come back and ask all of the questions you might have after using Cruise Critic and other forums.

We've had mixed excursions with Viator over the years. When we do our extensive excursion planning I go to multiple sites. Some guides work for multiple third party vendors. Check out Tours by Locals and Get Your Guide. On a March-April Portugal/Spain itinerary we used three different vendors but our best two tours by far were with Get Your Guide.

I can't remember if Azamara allows a home-type extension cord. Many cruise lines do not. But they will provide everything you need. Your steward will tape down the cord. While the yellow cord is larger than a typical cord it is not big enough to trip over. By day 2 you won't even notice it. Enjoy your cruise!!!

We were in Palma in April (Holy Week) on an island trip. One day there were at least 5 large ships which we could see from our hotel window. If you want to shop anywhere on the island, be aware that many of the more upscale shops and restaurants open when they want to no matter what their signs might say. Depending on the length of your port stop, even with other ships, just plan wisely. Don't bother with a boat tour at Silas. It definitely wasn't spectacular.....interesting but not anything I would recommend. Palma is a city and there are definitely some worthy sites scattered about. Just walking the alleyways was fun and after four days we were still discovering new areas within walking distance of our hotel. I don't remember when we were in Santorini but it's been a while. The issues everyone has noted is the return to the ship. I concur.

Another vote for Overlord.. We did the same trip as Redraider1966.

Since you can no longer get that close to Stonehenge, and it will be crowded, I'd opt for Winchester. The village is walkable and not as vast as Windsor for someone sleep deprived.

We have been through BCN a number of times, sometimes even after a cruise. Are you flying a US carrier? If you are the gates are a hike from check in....think a good 15+ minutes after another security check for international flights. It is no exaggeration that the recommendation of 2 1/2 to 3 hours is not just folly. In April '23 using a priority check in and handicapped security it took us every bit of 2 1/2 hours. In the initial security screening you have to empty your carry on of liquids and electronic devices. It's impossible to know when you can actually disemark too.

CHEZMARYLOU, We have sailed with you many moons ago. We remember Celebrity when it was a stellar cruise line. We have one more booked and that's it. You are probably itinerary driven by now just as we are. We no longer want large ships. We no longer want culinary cutbacks and service charges that used to be covered under our fare. There is a sense of calm when we board O. There are some unique itineraries. There are also longer sailings with the options for world cruising. What you might miss on O are the everpresence of the officers. There is no Captain Kate in the fleet! The R ships present a few issues especially the bathrooms in every class except the suites. But the same can be said about Azamara and we sail them too. When the new pricing structure is revealed next month we too will evaluate our O plans as others have mentioned.

Lucky you. We had an O cruise to Alaska cancelled due to Covid. The replacement ports of Vancouver for Seattle are a winner for you. You will be sailing in the Inland Passage. The Pacific can be hit or miss in September. If you are going to Icy Straits (Hoonah) you can do a whale watch there. There are fewer boats so book early. The whale watching fleet sails in the same general area in Juneau so the captains have to watch boating traffic while spotting whales. Hoonah is much better. Vancouver is a wonderful city. Plan a ride, or walk, through Stanley Park. saunter through China Town, visit the Farmer's Market on Granville Island, check out a museum or two and the list goes on and on. The only issue you need to be aware of is September. Tourist venues start to shut down by mid-month, That also includes car rentals. Plan early. On the other hand one of the most awesome days is a small group tour (not Ocenia's) from Skagway across the border into Canada and if time permits a visit to Emerald Lake and Carcross. Awesome Alaska awaits.

Make an appointment early in your cruise. The Ambassador will have more free time then. As for insurance.............with pre-existing conditions you must book within two weeks of paying the deposit. What we have done in the past is determine which insurance company we will use before we sail because we have a basic idea of cruise cost, independently booked air and hotel, and a general feel for the cost of excursions after cruising for over 40 years. When we get the cruise booked to our satisfaction we can handle the insurance with our internet minutes and relax and enjoy the remainder of our trip. We do this because we rarely return home on debarkation day.

We've had everything from gratuities, OBC's, gratis shore excursions, to rebates and combinations of the above. Not to mention flowers, sparkling wine and fruit is our cabin. But we also had one of the top selling O agents offer absolutely nothing when trying to book two cruises. She got a polite thank you and we moved on. I guess booking three or four cruises a year on some of the "better" lines just wasn't good enough. My point is shop around and create a working relationship with your travel agent.

If my memory serves, I don't think the dividers open on deck 9. They do on the deck 11 Aqua cabins.

Just as an FYI or two......... It can get crowded. There is also an ironing board, and iron, of course. The dryers are on top and short me had to have help getting my things out. If I had been smart I would have brought a hanger to help grab everything that refused to leave the back of the machine.

I'd second Winchester or Bath. Winchester might be slightly less crowded.

Definity include Geirianger. You can also take a small boat trip from the town but make sure you are on deck for the sail in and sail out. The waterfalls might be flowing more swiftly at the beginning of the season but spotting homes in the most incongruous places is part of the adventure.

Please don't board thinking you are on Celebrity. The experience is totally different. Go with an open mind. We just convinced two couples to join us on O and I told them, just last night, forget what you think you know about cruising. Give O a shot. As for an app forget about it!!!! A spreadsheet is so easy to do. It's just a different method of entering your info.

Oceania is not alone in "fine print." We have had the same issues especially before we began to inquire of every booking about "group" rates. That's a fine catch all too.