avalong

1 hour ago, mkcinmur said:

We had a similar experience with celebrity years ago and never will we sail with Celebrity again...Even worse than the room problems is the dismissive treatment by the staff...

Yes, if only the staff would at least act like they cared and apologize. That really goes a long way when there are problems.

The article said that the Breeze would be there full-time starting in February of 2024. Hopefully the Wind Spirit will be there until then.

2 hours ago, LPCFlorida said:

We got off of Riviera in Barcelona on Apr 2. I tested positive the next day. We were going to extend stay in Barcelona for a few days, anyway, but then I went to do the official test so I can catch my flight home and tested positive at the clinic. They told me I had to stay in Barcelona until negative. I went to the farmacia and bought home tests and within two days tested negative so I went back to the clinic and tested negative there. Oceania had rebooked our flights for the next morning so we happily went to the airport with our negative tests so we could come back to the US. Do you know who asked us for those negative test papers? NOT ONE SOUL! We got on the Tampa flight to Frankfurt, then to Washington DC, then to Tampa, and not one person ever asked us for a negative test re-enter the US. 
 

Wow..... just wow.  The level of incompetence at every level is truly mind-boggling.

31 minutes ago, ORV said:

Do you know if she is in the 270 day window since her last shot? 

Her last shot was more than a year ago.

21 hours ago, susiesan said:

Apparently Spain just changed the rules for testing before boarding a ship there from 3 days before to 24 hours before. People boarding NCL ship Norwegian Star today  are being tested at the pier by NCL and not being charged. With Riviera boarding in BCN April 4 I wonder if Oceania will do the same? The current info about testing 72 hours before boarding in Europe is out of date. I cannot find anything where Oceania has updated this to show covid test required 24 hours before.

 

Also, the EU just changed the vaccine rules. If your vaccination is over 270 days you must be boosted to board ships. There are people in Barcelon getting ready to cruise who are being denied boarding because they haven't had a booster. This just changed April 2. Some people were already in Europe when the change was announced and  couldn't do anything about this.

 

O cruisers in Europe this summer: be sure you have received your booster or no cruise for you.

My sister-in-law boarded Riviera today and has not had a booster shot.  Looks like the new rule is not being enforced uniformly.

On 3/31/2022 at 8:56 AM, Ernie56 said:

I can add some first hand insight (didn’t think my first CC post would be about Covid).

my wife and I joined Riviera in Miami on 18 March and due to get off in Barcelona next week. I got a sore throat Tuesday evening 29 March, tested positive Wednesday first thing and thirty minutes later did the walk of shame from deck 9 to an isolation stateroom (with veranda) on deck 7 from where I am now posting. My wife tested negative and stayed behind on deck 9 but is now being tested every day.

I am informed that the current rules require 7 days isolation so I will have to do a couple of days at hotel in Barcelona, all organised by Oceania. The rules are likely to be relaxed imminently (in Spain at least) but Oceania may have to follow other protocols.

Not sure where I picked it up. Tested negative on Saturday 26th prior to call at Lisbon. Unlikely I got it in Lisbon on Monday as insufficient incubation time. Only other stop was Nassau on 19th. I haven’t attended any art classes or similar. 
someone asked if there would be a pro rata refund for the Covid isolation period. The answer is no and I would not expect one. I am told that Unused OBC will be given as a future cruise credit.

not a great end to our cruise but I think Oceania have so far been pretty efficient.  I think situations like this are going to happen wherever you vacation as we return to pre-pandemic lifestyles and it will not put me off cruising in the future. 

 

Are you having any difficulty with meal delivery? Are your meals arriving in a timely fashion and still hot (or chilled, as the case may be)? I ask because someone over on the Princess board is having a terrible time with meals while in quarantine. I'm hoping the service is better on Oceania (which you would expect). What say you?

Do NOT lock your keys in the trunk of your car when the tide is coming in. Talk about stress......

(altho' I think they've changed the parking situation since that happened and cars are no longer in danger from the incoming tide. Not sure tho)

Oh no. So sorry to hear it.

Yes, I forgot about trip insurance. I always insure the deposit anyway in order to get the pre-existing condition waiver. Something to think about. 

But  still, the policy seems draconian and out-of-step with the rest of the industry.

I was considering Silversea for the first time and discovered that the port-to-port itinerary I was researching has a non-refundable deposit. I've never heard of such a thing and it was definitely a deal breaker. Is this a new policy? If so, how are you repeat customers reacting to this? 

The airport is huge. I remembering having to walk a very looooong way to make our connection. That walk was, in and of itself, pretty time-consuming.  It's been a few years so I no longer remember which airlines were involved. 

Our cruise 5 or so years ago which included some Nova Scotia ports as well as Bar Harbor, Maine, had a lobster extravaganza one night, but it was in Bar Harbor, not Nova Scotia. I don't recall there being local lobsters brought aboard in Nova Scotia.

Is there a pianist or singer in the bar during the cocktail hour?

20 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Thanks.  Our Tulip Time cruise in April includes stops in Antwerp and Ghent.  Antwerp excursion choice is easy (walking tour that includes the Cathedral) – but I'm having trouble picking for Ghent:  (a) full-day Highlights of Ghent and Bruges, but it's not clear that we can actually see the famous Ghent altarpiece; (b) half-day walking tour of Ghent that seems to include the Cathedral; (c) full-day Bruges; (d) half-day Chocolate workshop.

 

My plan is to take (a) if assured we can see the altarpiece, and use the free time in Bruges to see Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child at the Church of Our Lady.  But another idea is to take the train from Ghent to Bruges, do a thorough walking tour on our own, train back to Ghent and see the Altarpiece on our way back to the ship.

When I was in my 20's I visited Bruges and wandered around the Church of our Lady on my own (no tour). Much later I read the Agony and the Ecstasy and learned there was a Michelangelo in that church that I had completely missed. Haven't been back to Bruges since. Be sure to see that painting for me.

How disappointing for you. It does seem pretty weird if cruises leaving BEFORE yours aren't impacted.  Sounds like it has more to do with "ship realignment" than covid. 

We have a cruise booked on the Legend in July (Norway) which is round-trip out of Copenhagen. Denmark is exploding with covid right now and is on the CDC no-go list, so we're watching how that develops. Hopefully by July it will have calmed down. On the other hand, maybe we'll get cancelled too.

We live in Belmont Shore. Very close to you!

Your gut is correct!

Great time of year to do that cruise! We took several WS tours on that cruise and they were very good. I recall there being 20 - 25 people on the tours, maybe 30. 

Just had lunch in a restaurant in Long Beach, Ca overlooking the Regatta in the distance. Sigh. 

I've sailed both Wind Spirit and PG and preferred the Wind Spirit, mainly due to the gregariousness of the crew. No elevator on Wind Spirit if that matters to you. 

2 hours ago, brittany12 said:

Call me old-fashioned. But I am one of the few who still believe in proper dress standards. I want go be in the company of others in tight quarters—like a small ship cruise— who look and dress good. Makes me and my wife feel good and just sharpens up the whole atmosphere. This is not Carnival, MSC, or Las Vegas. Sorry, but polos and chinos in any serious restaurant  just do not cut it for me. Nor shorts.  Certainly not for dinner. Next it will be flip-flops, baseball caps and tank tops. I want my cruise line  not to revert to the lowest common denominator.  So much in life already has.I feel comfortable in sports jackets, have a few nice ones and don't feel I have to accept the slings and arrows of the "anything should go" crowd. How hard is it to have a little elegance? I'm bracing for the attack.

I feel this way about proper grammar. It just sets a tone....

Can anyone else out there weigh in on the current status of the mattresses in the older staterooms? We are currently booked on the Star Legend in one of the new staterooms and will want to switch to an older stateroom IF the mattresses are firmer there. TIA. 

23 hours ago, milepig said:

Beware the mattresses in the new cabins.  There's a huge lump down the middle of the bed and no support on the sides, so you sink down almost to the floor when you set on it or try to get into bed. It felt like we were scaling a mountain. Then once you're in you feel like you could roll off at any time. Onboard staff said there was nothing they could do.

Are you certain they are only in the new cabins?

11 hours ago, milepig said:

If you are interested in quiet relaxation, Do note that WS is now piping music through the entire ship 24x7. So much for just sitting and  watching the waves. We persuaded them to turn it off in Yacht Club at least, but we were told that the new music policy came from corporate. It’s going on our evaluation. 

Oh no. They've badly misjudged their customer base. Please include in your evaluation that I hate it too. :-)

6 hours ago, lisajltx said:

Quick question, where do you put water shoes when wearing fins? 
 

Thanks!

If I'm snorkeling off a boat in deeper water I find that I don't need  water shoes. If I'm entering the water from the beach, I either put my fins on and walk backwards into the water, or walk into the water with my water shoes on, put my fins on in shallow water and toss the water shoes back onto the beach near my towel, etc. I'm interested to hear what other people do!

4 hours ago, Redtravel said:

I travel with both cruise lines.  Windstar has superb service and food.  They fall short on entertainment.  Windstar is ideal for quiet relaxation.

Windstar is more expensive. They charge extra for many things that Oceania includes.

 

Oceania has excellent service and fabulous food.  We love the various dining venues. They offer more variety,  Oceania also includes free wifi and now free covid testing when needed.  Oceania has good service. 

 

We travel on both lines.  Our next cruise is Oceania.

 

 

We've cruised both, although admittedly only once (so far) with Oceania. I didn't notice that Windstar charged for things that were included with Oceania. That's so interesting. Could you give some examples?