Westyone

Wish O would treat us ( and every cruiser regardless of cabin booked) ‘like gold’, especially cruisers new to the line who are more likely, I’m guessing, to appreciate the info, and who might become repeat cruisers.

We cruise out of NYC so I have gone to the terminal website to confirm if it is Manhatten or Brooklyn. (Manhatten). But I would think O should provide me with that info rather than me searching it out. The terminal could be wrong and is not responsible for us going to the right pier.

We are really looking forward to this cruise and to trying a new (for us) line. I really don’t want to belabor the point or start off the cruise feeling bitter. To me this is just marketing/customer service/organizational management 101.

My gratitude to you experienced O cruisers and frequent posters who are so gracious with your offer of info, help and reassurance.

:D

Thanks Stan &Jim!

We may be on the same cruise as we also leave on 25th. We have received nothing and we cruise in 17 days. A few weeks ago TA said we should get it ‘soon’. I called O myself July 3, rep checked and said ‘soon’. Since this is our first O cruise it would be nice to have the booklet with the info, when to arrive at port, pier number......... We did get confirmation that we paid on May 29 and room number.

Trying not to sweat the small stuff. :confused:

At least with Celebrity the info was available when we lodged into the website and we could print it ourselves.

Thank you for the reassurance. When I spoke with the Oceania customer service rep two days ago, she put me on hold to call the printer. According to the rep, all July sailings were in the process of being printed and we will get the packet soon. She said nothing about an email.

I’m not stressing (I don’t think :D). It would just be nice to get this famous classy ‘blue book’ that posters have written about, especially since this is our first cruise with Oceania.

We sail July 25 (3weeks away) and have received nothing. My TA says it is coming but I’m not sure how much experience he has with Oceania. I called Oceania before the holiday. She said the ‘blue book’ was being printed! Some other info was going out to my TA today and he will send it to me. This is our first Ociania cruise and I am not comfortable that we have gotten no info this close to cruising. We booked the end of May.

I am a planner and certainly would like the info. Since it is not coming from Oceania, I do appreciate the info from you experienced Oceania cruisers that I am finding here!

What used to be CSA still has a pre-exist waiver at final payment policy.

https://www.generalitravelinsurance.com/

I just bought CSA and learned after reading info that it is a secondary policy for medical. This means you have to submit to primary carrier first (Medicare in our case), then any other (AARP in our case), then to CSA which will pay what is left. What this means is that there is a lot of paperwork to do and likely a period of time until you get paid. For us the CSA policy cost a bit less than most of the other carriers and most likely because it is a secondary insurer. Don’t know for sure if the others were primary policies or not as I decided to keep the CSA. We are doing the NE/ Bermuda cruise and since most ports are in US Medicare would likely cover any medical costs anyway.

Just something of which to be aware in case quick repayment would be important to you.

Can you tell us more. What did you perceive was the positive effect vs tipping at the end of cruise based on how much you used your butler?

Very disappointed to hear this!! IF we liked being on the front or back of ships I would have booked a higher level suite. We have not checked luggage anywhere for years and years and always have our carryon with us which is why we book suites and expect them to be ready! I will have to really rethink this cruise and our embarkation plans.

I assume that you are in PH since you don’t like front or back of ship. May I suggest that you just board after 1:00 or 2:00 when you are certain to have your room ready.

There’s a lot of work/cleaning/preparing for the crew to do on turn-around day. I would think there is a bit of a wait on most if not all ships. Please share what cruise line you have sailed on which your mid-level suite was always ready before noon.

Thanks

Hey, Orv.....cruise vacations are more about drinking than laundry, IMHO. I drinks a bit, too, until the headache settles in.:cool:

Thank you all so much for the info and, importantly, your encouragement.

I often hesitate to say we are in a higher suite. Seems on the Celebrity board some passengers had negative comments about people in suites and those in scooters. Because of my husband’s situation we do spend a lot of time in our room. Husband would go stir crazy even in PH I think. Considered a Vista but was concerned the balcony would be too windy to use when at sea, and we use our balcony a lot. Hence the OS. :D Life is short, may as well enjoy. Seems cruising is our only travel option these days. Thank goodness we live close to some ports.

We booked an Owner’s suite. 🤩

O my gosh, thank you all for such quick replies!

We are in a suite so I’m thinking we can drop off our carry on’s, grab the scooter which will be waiting there and head to lunch. Or we could take the wheelchair (smaller than the scooter). Your responses are encouraging. I was thinking of getting to the ship between 11:00 and 11:30.

The ship embarks in Manhattan and we are taking a car service from Jersey. Our options are to eat at home before we leave or on the ship. Not practical for us to enjoy lunch in the City with our suitcases and me pushing a wheelchair.

So looking forward to the more sedate atmosphere you all have been describing on your posts and meeting some great fellow travelers. Can’t wait for that first glass of bubbly, a lounge chair and view of the sea!

I understand that the only restaurants open for embarkation lunch are Waves and Terrace on Insignia. There are no ‘sit down and be served’ restaurants open.

This will be our first Oceana cruise. Most of our other cruises have been on Celebrity in a suite, and so were able to have a less hectic embarkation lunch in Luminae.

My husband is a double amputee and uses a scooter to get around the ship. We’ve learned that Celebrity’s buffet was usually too hectic for him to navigate in a scooter and so we’ve avoided it.

I’m wondering if it will be too crowded and hectic for lunch on insignia that first day? We are in a suite and so can board as early as 11:00 am. Should we plan on eating lunch on shore and board latter, or will he be able to maneuver the buffet from his scooter. Alternatively, could he wait at a table while I get a plate for him?

Thanks in advance to all you experienced Oceana cruisers. I’ve learned a lot from your posts!

Thank you to Marleycruiser and jcpc re your disembarkation experience. I am calling our car service to change our pickup time to 9:00.

When I disembarked on July 16th, I had my car service pick me up at 8:30 am. I was in the car and on the way home at 8:40 am. I've done this several times on Summit in Bayonne and I am always off the ship by 8:30 am. The Michael's Club Concierge would escort us off the ship, right to our luggage, and then take it one step further and escort us to a private line for Customs.

That is quick! Just so I understand........you left michaels at 8:30 and you were in the car at 8:40?!?! 10 minutes!

Marleycruiser, how was the disembarkation process? What time did you leave MC and how long did it take to get your luggage, go through customs and get outside. Were you escorted through any part of the process?

We are sailing next week in a suite and our car service suggested meeting us at 10:00 am. I'm kinda thinking that is late. While we will be in no hurry and we do want to avoid the mad rush, we don't want to sit around in Michaels with nothing to do either.

Thanks

I have called special needs because I had questions. I ended up giving them the info from the form and they said there was no need to return the form as they had my request noted.

Rooms generally open at 1:00 or 1:30 in our experience. We have never asked if we could get the rented wheelchair/scooter early but it's worth asking.

We now always take a folding travel wheelchair so we are not dependent on waiting for someone to bring a chair to us at the beginning or end of a cruise. At the end of the cruise you are supposed to leave the rental in the room and wait in a designated area to meet up with pushers. On good days we put the carryon on the wheelchair and my husband pushes for support. On other days he holds the carrying on his lap and I push.

We got our travel chair 10 years ago with my husband's first amputation. Initially he used it to get around the house but now I keep it in the trunk of the car for when he needs help getting into a restaurant or Doctor appointment. We also use it for plane travel and check it at the plane entrance. It is only 18 pounds and folds to fairly small dimensions. We got ours at a local surgical supply store but they are available at allegro.com for as little as $130. It was well worth the cost for us as my husband always has some place to sit and we don't have to wait for a pusher if it is busy.

Have a great cruise!

This is just a suggestion. Maybe this could be a more productive thread if those posting to it listed the difficulties they are experiencing on the website. Maybe if multiple users list the problems they have the list would be more likely to be addressed. It may not, but there are already multiple threads where cruise critic members argue their points, but none that I've found so far that list the difficulties,inaccuracies and omissions without criticizing either the CEO or each other. I offer this as a suggestion only and would not take it upon myself to tell others what they should do. I've not been able to find a thread so far with the approach I've suggested. :)

I suggest the CEO go on the website and try searching for a cruise herself. If she uses an iPad she won't be able to get off the home page. Or she can have an assistant try it and give her a detailed report. With all due respect, it's not my/our job to do the work for her. I'm sure her IT consultants are getting big bucks for revamping this non-functional website.

My husband is a double amputee and can only walk very short distances. We sailed on Summit out of Cape Liberty a few years ago and are sailing again in August. We have also sailed on other itineraries over the years.

First, contact the Special Needs Department and let them know you need wheelchair assistance at the pier. Our TA always sends us a form to mail or fax in but phone calls also work.

(Www.celebritycruises.com/specialneedsform; for info: celebritycruises.com/access. Email: special_needs@celebrity.com. 886.592.7225 or 954.628.9708.)

If you have sailed celebrity before you could also try calling Captains Club and politely and naively asking them. They can be helpful.

All this will make sure your record in noted.

When you arrive at the port let the porter know you need wheelchair help and he will call for a chair and a pusher who will whisk you through. This may take some time depending on how crowded it is. We bring our own transport wheelchair to avoid the wait. Once you get through security you will see a line for handicapped checkin. We sail in suites so our experience is a bit different at this point, but your pusher will then take you onto the ship.

My husband rents a scooter to use on the ship. The Dockyard in Bermuda has the cutouts in the sidewalks but my husband still found it difficult to get around and over bumps. It may be a little easier with a wheelchair as you can tip it to get over bumps. My husband ended up going back to the ship, but the positive thing there is that you have the ship to yourself when everyone else is out.

Also try searching on the disability forum on this site for more info.

We usually get to the port before lunch and it can be crowded. Some on these forums suggest getting to port after lunch to avoid the crowds. Again try searching for info as I have no experience with latter check in.

I'm happy to answer any other questions you may have. Cruising is a wonderful way for persons with limited mobility to travel.

Sorry but the Fact IS with the share price at an all time high of $116, there's no need to appeal to a few regulars on CC. :')

I cannot even access info on my iPad. I click but nothing happens.

The share price will likely not remain high with a non-functioning website. Consumers rely on websites for info on a company's products and services. I am interested in researching another cruise and have given up. I am being forced to give up on Celebrity after all our cruises and to search elsewhere.

Well it is indeed unfortunate that you have taken my comments out of context of the threads they were written in. You also don't seem to have taken note of the horrible and undeserved personal comments I have received. Therefore, your scolding is rather baseless. And really, how is it that you have taken upon yourself to speak for everyone? Was there an election I missed?

I absolutely can express contrary opinions. If you, or anyone else, comes back at me with snide, disrespectful, or insulting responses.... expect the same in return. I almost never throw the first volley.

I have been on cruise critic as a lurker for many years and registered for about seven years. Most posters are courteous even when they tactfully disagree. I read for informtion and rarely post.......until recently.

NEVER have I encountered a reaction to a poster by so many people as to Fishie. So, my dear Fishie, you must ask yourself what is it in your wording that is illiciting such response to your vitriol, self righteous posts............. There has been an election and we are saying knock off your attacks. Your few supporters are likely those who have not read your many acidic remarks.

I want to engage with the many interesting, friendly, informative and even humerous posters here. Therefore, if I see a post from you in the future, I will simply skip it. I feel sorry for you. Perhaps a consult with a therapist is in order for you.

Hopefully the moderator will consider sanctioning you for a while so the rest of us can get back to positively sharing info and the anticipation of our next cruise.

Very well said. My thought exactly, and from the various responses to Fishie from many others on this post and other posts we are not alone. Why Fishie puts such effort in being unkind and even nasty to posters you don't even know is beyond me.

We've been on several M class Royals and twice on Summit. No problems or complaints. Don't remember the room numbers but they were all on the port side as that is where our TA seems to book us for some reason. Enjoy.

:) A rational answer nicely put.