golferwayne

53 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

If you used  a TA it is their booking  so  it is up to them to inform you

 

 

JMO

We booked Oceania via a travel agent for a Barcelona to London cruise.  I subsequently added the cruise to my Oceania account. My wife, myself and our travel agent received the notice of Itinerary Update. 

Could be having an Oceania account, with email addresses, is why I received the notice from Oceania.

Out TA has a reserve on Concierge D, 829 on the Splendor in Dec 2023.  Any comments on unit.  I'm concerned about the balcony as it is angled out from suite 831's and wonder if this creates any privacy issue.  Appreciate any info

Great story - thank you for posting. What part of Thailand were you able to do this? Our "adventure" was outside of Chiang Mai. I cannot imagine sitting on an elephant for 5 hours -- quite a long time. Think that I would be sore for days:) Our Port Elizabeth ride will be half an hour plus walking through the bush with the elephant.

We visited the "Thai Elephant Home" which is under an hour outside Chiang Mai. While the elephant ride was more comfortable than I expected, except for the coarse hair chaffing the skin, I slightly overstated the actual duration on the elephant. We were picked up before 8:00AM, and were dropped off back at our hotel before 6:00PM with a welcome/information session, a lunch break and some time to clean up before our return to Chiang Mai. In any case it was one very memorable day even if my memory is not totally accurate re times:). It was nearly perfect when I was in my 20s.;)

Elephant Camp by Air. There are two or three excursions in Port Elizabeth that go to this camp. Only the one by air has a close up and personal experience with the elephants (riding them as well as taking them for a walk, etc.) It should be a much more realistic experience than we have had in the past with elephants (these elephants do not wear saddles as they do in Thailand). Although this excursion is quite pricey, we don't plan on being in that part of the world again. The excursions on this itinerary are on the high side with the game reserve excursions running around $200/person so the excursions can really add up.

 

We are doing a pre-cruise 3 night safari that Regent offered early on at no cost. It is actually an overnight in Cape Town -- 2 nights at the game reserve (Eagles Crag in Port Elizabeth) and 3 game drives. This is probably similar to what Oceania is offering post cruise.

 

Hoping that Oceania and Regent keep the excursions separate -- only because of the number of passengers involved in combining the two ships.

 

When can you book excursions? I'm puzzled as to why Oceania does not have excursions listed. Congrats on the $1,500 savings!

Way off topic but I can't restrain myself. Just a minor correction re Elephants in Thailand. My wife and I visited Thailand as part of a three country "bucket list" holiday in December 2013. We visited an Elephant farm where we spent 5 hours riding "bareback". One of the attractions to this excursion. There are other Thais elephant farms offering "basket free" experiences. Seeing the mahouts caring for and guiding the elephants was equally enjoyable. BTW: while returning to home base on the ride we did encounter other tourists riding in baskets, and it did not look comfortable for the people or elephants.

Elephants are such majestic animals, it is a real shame to see them with a basket on their back.