Cliff-FLL

Actually, I think it's moved past changing and has already changed. When travelling through Europe, I find that a large number of restaurant patrons are wearing jeans. Even in Michelin-starred restaurants, it seems that at least half the people are wearing some form of jeans. (Regardless of whether I'm wearing jeans or slacks, I still wear a sport coat and a button-down dress shirt.) In the US, it seems that there are still some restaurants that are desperately holding on to "everything goes...except jeans." I remember being in one, no-jeans place and someone was wearing horrible looking polyester slacks and a T-shirt with paint stains - but he was okay because he wasn't wearing jeans.

I've had some mixed results in retrieving a partially-consumed bottle when eating at Waves and Terrace. Quite frankly, it can take a bit of time and, on more than one occasion, I'd already finished the meal by the time they brought the wine - and I'm not a fast eater. I've found this to be a more frequent occurrence at Waves than Terrace. I have, now and then, taken the bottle of wine back to the suite with me and returned with it (in a wine sleeve, of course) the next day. If there's a concern, I simply show them yesterday's receipt.

Yes. In fact, that was how we found out initially that it was cancelled, prior to receiving their email. Oddly, they didn't just give us 2 payments of $300 or 1 payment of $600. Rather, they gave us 1 payment of $478 and a second of $122. Remember, Miami operates in mysterious ways.

Perhaps, but Oceania doesn't think that so we're back to some jeans being acceptable.

We also used to call them "Sunday-go-to-meeting" clothes, which also included unblemished, dark-blue jeans with an ironed-in heavy crease down each leg.

The other day, I received an email from the US Postal Service, stating they have a package me but the sender used the wrong mailing address. In order for them to forward it to my correct address, I needed to pay an additional "1,19 USD" - and there was a convenient link so I could enter my credit card information! Of course, USPS is so cutting edge, they've stopped using those dated decimal points and have switched to the European standard of a comma. Also, it's very kind of them to specify "USD", so I didn't think they wanted to get paid in Loonies or Euros.

Nah, it's much more fun to speculate...

Got the same thing. Gosh, makes me feel just like a Walmart shopper!

We called them about it and it was explained that they were taking Privée in a new direction and they wouldn't be booking it as a private venue any longer. FWIW, they will, after all, be doing wine pairings and using some of the old La Resérve menus. We were also told that we could not book it until we were on board, as the menus will be rotating regularly during the cruise.

Let's see... They've eliminated Jacques, Privée, & La Réserve. Instead, we now have Ember, which seems to be curiously close to an upscale Denny's and a new, hybrid version of La Réserve and Privée that sounds iffy. Tell me again how Vista is supposed to be an improvement on Marina & Riviera.

I would have been inclined to tell you, "I can't wait to see YOUR new house when you hang that up..."

We got the same email, along with a refund for both nights we'd booked. I may have misinterpreted the explanation, but it appears that the Privée concept will be merging with the La Réserve. Privée will continue to be a limited-seating dining venue but the guests will have paid separately for special, exclusive menus, just as they currently do with La Réserve. There will not be wine pairings and they will no longer be renting it to private groups. As I said, I'm sure I have some of the details wrong but, if I know Cruise Critic, they'll be someone in the wings ready to pounce. Catherine & Linda - Sorry! No Privée in September!

And another Oceania brochure arrived with today's WSJ! 🙄

The last time we used Southampton (2019), we used Airport Pickups London to get us there and back. For LHR, it ran about £155 / US$200 each way, which was for an “Executive” minivan. That same vehicle is now about £200 / US$245. You can also get a standard minivan for about £50 less. They were there early and quite pleasant. https://www.airport-pickups-london.com/

And they're still doing the WSJ insert. I haven't tracked it, but it seems that they include an Oceania brochure every 7-10 days.

Last one was on Marina, 19 November - 4 December 2022, Barcelona to Miami. Next is Vista, 30 August - 17 September 2023, Southampton to New York. We already have 2 scheduled for 2024 and 1 on the books for 2025.

We sailed out of Southampton in August 2019 and it's not an experience I look forward to repeating when we're there in August of this year. (I believe we were in the Queen Elizabeth II Cruise Terminal, but don't hold me to it.) Ours was a drab, depressing, terminal building that was clearly not intended to be a cruise terminal when it was built and hadn't aged well. We were dropped off by the taxi in front of the building, only to be told by employees after our luggage was curbside and the cab was gone, that the luggage drop was at the far end of the circle. Of course, none of the stevedores could come over and get it, so we had to haul everything ourselves. Once inside the terminal, we encountered uncomfortable seating and a group of junior-high hall monitors that kept telling everyone that they must remain seated at all times. Checking in was a mess, although I don't recall the specific issues. (I think I'm still blocking out most of my experience there.) In any case, if you're sailing out of Southampton, be prepared for quite an unpleasant experience.

No, really - it's a website issue.

French dip, fish & chips, cheeseburgers, mac & cheese. Yeah! We're talkin' Denny's on steroids!

On week-ends, they've finally begun posting at the top of the home page the times & dates when they will be doing site maintenance. They're also posting what areas are affected and what info/functionality won't be available. It's just like a real business site. That said, I don't understand their "Access Denied" issue, though it happens on a somewhat-regular basis. Sometimes, I just hit the back button, get the message, and, no matter what I try to do on their site, I get the "Access Denied" error message. No rhyme or reason. Just Oceania being Oceania, I guess.🙄

I was hoping it would be open for lunch but, according to the O website, it's only open for dinner from from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm. They have another new restaurant, Aquamar, that will be open for breakfast & lunch but, looking at the sample menus, there's very little I'd like for breakfast or lunch.

Occasionally, when we've needed to print documents that contained private or sensitive information, we've sent the documents via email to the Concierge in the Executive Lounge. He prints the documents and either brings them to our suite or lets us know they're ready for pick-up. This way, the documents aren't just sitting at the printer, open to view of anyone who walks by.

The other thing to consider is how much do you really like champagne? I enjoy it but I can't imagine spending a whole night drinking it - especially not at nearly $500pp. We've been sailing Marina & Riviera since they were introduced and have had every menu in La Réserve, but we've never had sufficient interest to do the DP dinner. (I'd love to try the menu, just without the DP.)

Well, not so much anymore. The vests served a purpose in the past, when they quickly identified specially-trained service animals to hotels, restaurants, stores, etc. Unfortunately, everyone who wanted Fluffy to go to Publix with them slapped a vest on her and dared anyone to challenge them. They are now meaningless pieces of dog clothing. Service dogs are not required to wear identifying vests and owners are not required to carry paperwork that proves the dog's training. Right now, anyone can buy a "Service Animal" vest from Amazon or a pet-related store and, as I'm sure we all know, these same people would have no hesitation in lying about their dogs service training. 🤬

The real problem is that so many businesses are afraid of lawsuits, they refrain from asking about the animal's training and qualifications. Classic example is Publix, where no one is ever questioned about their "service" animal, despite complaints and clear indications that the animal is a pet, not a service animal.