Rainbow3fe

2 hours ago, Jancruz said:

I sorry to tell you but he was not telling the truth..remember the reps are the last to know anything..this is not a practice..!!

Jancruz1

It sounded like he cared. 😥

8 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Yeah, we like SM, for the drink package and some excursions.  But….you know we have picked out a couple of cruises we can book by the end of the month to get SM and they will just happen to fall within the 30 days of our next sail date so we can get the onboard booking benefits! So there Oceania!!😁

I have a feeling Oceania management is watching to see how many customers book SM during the small window. They'll get a better handle on what we want for the future.

3 hours ago, clo said:

I totally agree with you. Sites like this give people an opportunity to complain without any consequences. In other situations I've been known to go to the top pretty darn quickly. If someone cares a lot about this decision I'd suggest they speak up. And do so strongly. We've only traveled with O a couple of times and LOVED it. But I'll be looking around at others now.

      We have 3 upcoming O cruises booked. 

 We won't necessarily be looking elsewhere but will check out Regents.

4 hours ago, jonthomas said:

Some of us have reached a point when bargains on Celebrity no longer matter.

 

Would rather travel less.

🌊😎Oh yes, I agree. Our one Celebrity cruise was so disappointing that we could hardly wait to return to Oceania. 

      I'll only address the most annoying Celebrity issues.

   Food was a poor quality.  The menu read nicely but food was awful even in Aqua Blu and specialty restaurants.  

     The Buffet was a shopping mall style Food Court. Food was terrible.  We had pizza for lunch daily because it was fairly tasty. 

     Can you imagine that they really charged extra for certain flavors of ice cream?

     Enough about them. 

     We love Oceania and will continue to cruise with them. We decided to check Regents prices in the future to see if there's something interesting that pops up.

    Safe travels

     If you're unhappy with the new plan, I suggest calling Oceania to address your concerns to a representative. Posting it here will do us no good. If Oceania knows how people feel, they will have a better idea of how to proceed.

        The representative I spoke to yesterday said Oceania is listening to the customer comments. They have not decided whether they're going to continue this way after Jan 1.

       Please don't argue with me about this. I am just relaying his thoughts to you. He felt it was going to be a limited time plan so Oceania could get passenger feedback.

Safe travels

😎🌊

2 hours ago, Jayne E said:

Hijacking topic????

Sure. Why not? We are beating a dead horse. Simply More is dead and each of us will decide whether to stay with Oceania or look elsewhere.

1 hour ago, Cruzin Terri said:

You are sadly mistaken.

They are spectacular. Niagara Falls doesn’t come close.

The story goes that when Eleanor Roosevelt visited IguatzuFalls she said “poor Niagara”. Just sayin’

2 hours ago, jonthomas said:

Would love to do that, but need to convince someone to share that experience, not ready to do that on our own.

There are many ways to rent rooms in villas and wineries. You'll have homecooked breakfast and can share lovely common spaces. It’s really a great experience. 

48 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@Rainbow3fe Wow, this sounds so nice.  Up until last year, all we ever did was go to the port a day early.  Last year, yes on Oceania Cruises, we went to Athens for a day before the cruise. It was over the top GREAT and I could have stayed a lot longer.  At the end of the trip, we stayed and extra day in Barcelona.  That was just OK. 

 

About five months after this cruise, I took my daughter back to Europe not on a cruise.  A few days in several places and it was a much different trip.  Not better or worse just different.  I am so glad I had these two experiences.  Your approach of spending much more time is now on my bucket list.  Thank you for sharing.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Enjoy🎉

You'll find that it's fun to spend time exploring before or after a cruise. 

Before our upcoming Vista Athens cruise we're staying at an apartment in Santorini for a week then flying over to Athens for 4 nights. 

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

We are taking our three teenage grandkids to Italy in 2026 for two weeks and we will be using Airbnb like services for sure. to save cost but we need 2-3 bedrooms.

Also check out Agriturismo.it  because the small working vineyards need income so they offer accommodations to tourists.

45 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We are now combining longer land trips with our cruises, in January we did 22 days by cruise with a 13-day driving trip in Australia. Next March we are doing a week on land before our South America Marina cruise. These land days bring downs our overall cost per day for any vacation.

 

We are in our mid 70's and more adventurous than 10 years ago after extensive overseas traveling since covid has shown how easy and safe international travel can be.

We have always combined land trips with our cruises. We have spent anywhere from a week to a month, either before or after the cruise, depending on where we're cruising. One needs to either be retired or can do their work remotely.

39 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

 

I guess it also depends on your point in life..we were much more adventurous 10 years ago...

 

the only thing I still crave is what some of you are doing..getting a group of friends together, renting a villa in tuscany or provence....and just living the dream...

 

but alas that is not going to happen either...no one else we know has that dream....

        We have had great experiences staying in small villas and vineyards in Tuscany. There are many that have 4-8 rooms and rent to individual couples. You still enjoy the wonderful homecooked breakfasts and comfortable common areas.  We rent a car and do day trips to small hilltop towns. If you're interested check out Airbnb or agriturismo.it 

2 minutes ago, TahitiSun said:

We are currently booked under SM, so we have the SM drink package.  Are we still able to upgrade to the prestige drink package for $30/day?

I would think so. 

20 minutes ago, Woofa said:

I have a question.  In truth this does not affect us at all with only 1 cruise so far.  I am getting the idea over the last few pages that people are saying the new program will be a  major issue for high loyalty level customers taking long cruises because they believe instead of free gratuities they will get $250 per stateroom.  Please forgive me if I missed this but I read the changes at included gratuities for all guests on any length cruise then on top the loyalty levels get the additional $250 per stateroom.  So in fact those customers actually gain the $250.

And I know it has been mentioned in this thread that it is possible, some TA's like ours who included gratuities on most cruises (we recently found out not all as our Thanksgiving Marina cruise is not covered,) might be able to substitute a different perk.

Can someone clarify?  

      If everyone is getting the gratuities then Oceania Club Silver and above are losing that nice loyalty reward.

     We aren't gaining $250 because $125 pp isn't nearly enough to compensate for loss of gratuities as a perk. The loyalty incentives are now minimal. 

On 9/1/2024 at 4:13 PM, Woofa said:

Adding my two cents.

Don't forget that you can, to a degree, mix and match to complete your dinners.  A quick stop by Terrace for some pre dinner sushi, then perhaps a drink at the bar.  Main course at a specialty, if reserved, and if the flavor suits your fancy, finish with a daily souflee in the MDR.  Of course, your on vacation, two desserts are even better.

We also like to enjoy sushi before going to a speciallty restaurant for dinner. We usually have it with a glass of wine out on our Veranda. As far as dessert, we don’t go that far but it's a great suggestion.

10 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

I would like to see O update the loyalty benefits, with improved incentives.

Not going to happen.

Has anyone found out about the new Oceania Club perks?

     Do you think they'll be in effect for our current bookings on future cruises? We have 1 OLife and 2 SM coming up. I hope they'll honor the original Club level rewards. 

On 9/2/2024 at 8:23 PM, doggfan7 said:

Sorry for this Oceania newbie question, but does Terrace Cafe usually have the same menu items for dinner that are served in the MDR that evening?

     Mostly the same but different specials in GDR.

      Newbies should know that almost every night there's fresh sushi in TC. They will always freshly grill your choice of meat, fish or lobster. There are also specialty local food nights. Read Currents for the next day's highlights. 

2 hours ago, IDL said:

I agree that the vibe and menu at Waves changes for their dinner pizza service but it certainly not romantic nor was I expecting it to be as it has a “pizza joint” feel as opposed to a small, romantic Italian restaurant feel. 

    Our views of romantic settings differ. 

     We think it's romantic to sit out on a terrace with a glass of wine, watch the waves and stars and enjoy pizza with salad and fresh burrata. We felt the bright lights were annoying. 

34 minutes ago, Harters said:

Before our Nautica cruise last year, we'd read on CC about the size of the shower cubicle in the standard bathroom. Decided to book a penthouse. Proved to be a good decision, IMO. 

Everyone has different priorities.  We we'd rather struggle with the tiny shower and save the $$ for other things.  We go on the R Class ships because of the wonderful itineraries.  Veranda staterooms are lovely and very comfortable.  Oceania has  fabulous food, attentive crews and really nice passengers. 

5 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

I booked my first Oceania Cruise when Simply More did not exist.  It did become available even for the cruise I was on, a few months before.  However, we did NOT have simply more.  Add to this, we booked our next cruise with Simply More while onboard, before they reduced the OBC for excursions which happened a few months after the SM program began.

 

When Simply More happened, many previous guest were upset.  Especially about the inclusion of the Beer/Wine at lunch and dinner with Simply More.  For different reasons, each of these guest would have rather had the price reduction then the basic drink package.  Many were really uncomfortable with this change.  It became clear, that many previous guests considered the "choose what you want and don't pay for what you don't want" concept to be the way to go, now it was gone with SM.  This is what made Oceania a Premium-Plus/Luxury and not a Luxury/Ultra-Luxury brand. 

 

Other guest wanted these items included for their own reasons.  "Can't please everyone every time".  This NEW change which I am not sure yet if it is good or bad for the masses, seems to be coming from listening to the guest.  Or at least that what it is billed as on a recent article I read. The real test will come when the cruises are priced out and comparing them against the same cruise with Simply More.  That will be the next topic to be discussed over and over again. 

 

I personally believe that a guest can make anything work with a little due diligence.  I also think cruise brand loyalty does not allow for willingness to try different brands for different reasons.  We the consumer need to judge each cruise, each brand, each offering against the majority of likes/dislikes we have in the way we want to cruise.  Be open, be flexible and be fair with the only one that matters, you and your family. The fact is, over time, our taste, wants and needs change.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

     I think you're missing the main reason that long time loyal Oceania cruisers are upset.  Everyone will get gratuities.  An Oceania Club perk was that If you have 10 or more Oceania cruises, they're gratis. A $250 per stateroom instead of these gratuities will be a loss of anywhere from $100 up to over $1000 depending on the length of the cruise. A 14 day cruise @ $18 × 2 × 10 = $360. Those of us who go on longer cruises will be losing even more $$.      The drinks, excursions and air credits are now defunct. I can accept those changes and move forward. The bottom line is that prices will go up dramatically 

On 8/31/2024 at 3:23 PM, Flatbush Flyer said:

Waves usually does have a daily special. In the past, they’ve tried (and murdered) a Philly CheeseSteak sandwich.

The only big difference from the GDR or other venue dining is the casualness of the dress, which (depending on what/where you were doing prior to sitting down) can occasionally get out of hand with some folks not wearing (but definitely needing) a swimsuit coverup.

Remember, too, that Waves becomes a pizza place in the evenings. How’s the pizza? It depends on your frame of reference. If this picture looks at all familiar, then Waves (like so many pizzerias across the U.S.) will be a disappointment. That said, however, it’s passable.

We prefer L & B's squares.

Waves pizza is a fun experience but they need to do something about the bright lights out there if is it's supposed to be a romantic evening. 

8 hours ago, durberville said:

Agreed. As a first time Oceania cruiser (October) the Simply More amenities attracted me.  I was planning to book another cruise onboard or at the very least research another based on how I enjoyed this one.  (Have several cruises bookmarked). 
 

Now, with this new offering they are taking away my included drink package, my shore excursion credit, and offering nothing more than gratuities (which are a fraction of value) for what seems to be confirmed - the same price. Without a reduction in fare to reflect the missing amenities I have no intent of booking a new cruise. 
 

Taking benefits away, in any environment is always a negative move and difficult to sell. 

You're not going to lose your SM. You might still be able to book another cruise with SM If you find a future cruise that interests you.

Many people love the small ships. We prefer booking the small R Class Oceania ships because they're able to go to ports and go up rivers where larger ships cannot.  We suffer the small bathroom because we like the more interesting itineraries. We often use the lovely Spa showers. 

6 minutes ago, clo said:

The travel agent we've used included gratuities so nothing for us. And since we like wine with lunch and/or dinner...?

I agree. It may take them another two years to change it back to something more palatable.

11 minutes ago, ORV said:

No one in management has mentioned any changes to the O Club perks, only people on this board. 

In regards to # 2, I’m pretty sure you are misunderstanding what you’ve read here. Silver level will still get included gratuities, plus an additional $250 OBC just like we always have anytime our TA is providing grats as a perk. Be it from them or a Pass through, commonly referred to as OCCAP. 

I dusagree with your assessment.

If everyone else is also getting included gratuities then a $250 credit means a HUGE  decrease in value of the Oceania Club perks. $250 is nothing like the approx $800  in gratuities we will receive on our November cruise.

    In my opinion Oceania should add to the Club Level perks if they want to keep their loyal longtime cruisers.