ToxM

2 hours ago, rialannah said:

There is good news and bad news.  A few years ago an excellent sports tv channel (Sports24) was established specifically for planes and cruise ships.  Many of the major cruise lines signed up, including Oceania, and some of the major airlines such as Emirates and Singapore.  The coverage included live major sport as well as replays from USA, Europe and Australia among others.

We watched it throughout our cruise on Nautica last July/August. 

We boarded Vista on  May 13 and watched great coverage of NBA playoff games, Rome 1000 tennis, PGA Golf, English premier league soccer, Australian football etc.

Then a few days ago the channel just disappeared.  I finally enquired as to what had happenned.  I was told that O had failed to complete negotiations for renewal of the contract before the subscription expired and that 'they were working on it'.

For us sports lovers this is a real loss.  Who knows when it will be restored.

Oh no! That’s a freak shame! Hubby and I are not huge night time entertainment people, and after I have donated to the casino we enjoy relaxing in the cabin watching telly or reading on the verandah. We got a real taste for Aussie Rules Football while on our TA last year. That sport channel was actually excellent for UK football as well which is important to Marital Unit. 

How silly of O!

3 hours ago, cAPS lOCK oN said:

You definitely can request it, and will probably get what you ask for, especially if you do it in advance. My son-in-law had his TA ask about Monster Energy drinks and his suite had tons of the stuff.

Thank you!

Another newbie question here. When I cruise on Oceania I email guest relations beforehand and ask for Root Beer, they have always managed this for me. I notice the form above doesnt mention Root Beer - can I still request and do you think it will be honoured? 

Thanks in advance!

I hope they reconsider Horizons having coffee and pastries. It is my favourite first breakfast venue.

Sounds like it is lovely though!

22 minutes ago, JDincalif said:

Just for smiles - this old menu suggests that Oceania was experimenting with sorbet flavors that even Humphrey Slocombe hasn't dreamed of 😱

I am very brave, but that is a step too far for me! HAHA!

Outdoor smoking area looks a bit of a letdown. The nicest outdoor smoking areas are on the R’S where the area has lovely squishy seats and a nice social feel. it also has a hidden heater for the middle of the Atlantic 😉

20 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

It looks like a lovely room for relaxing. If the ventilation was designed and installed properly, no one will notice (and comment about) the smoke. Win-win!

I wonder if it has doors on it like The R class. Looks lovely,  and I hope they installed good ventilation 🙂 

Smoking lounge looks very opulent, very nice!

We always sort our own airfare, due to my ample size I prefer to travel biz and the air “credit” we get will go some way, usually along with air miles to get us what we want. 

I quite enjoy hunting for the right deal anyway (maybe I am weird!). 

3 hours ago, basor said:

Only for dinner no reservations required for lunch 

God to know, I’d be happy to have lunch in there with that menu!

The menu looks nice, and I am sure the food is lovely, but not sure it would warrant booking as a speciality? 

It doesn’t LOOK like a speciality menu to me. 

The menu is more casual than the GDR and if there were a pecking order of venues on O for me this would sit below the GDR and at around the Terrace and pizza sit down option.

I like both Terrace and the pizza place btw!

Sounds like there is going to be an all inclusive option coming out. 

8 hours ago, Jancruz said:

Rather than all this speculation, wouldn't it make more sense to just wait until the first (or second, or third) reviews are in, which will be soon, to form opinions about Vista?

Jancruz1

plus 1

Stop being so sensible Jan, this is the O board 😉

The best kept secret for PH’s on the R class… 8000 - 8004 - under the card room, near to the lift, next to the officers quarters, 8000 is our favourite as there is a windbreak of the side of the CD’s cabin so no wind on the balcony. 

If you are confident you can take being near the bow they are a fantastic set of cabins.. even better they are PH3’s so cheaper as well. 

Hilton is the hotel used by O I believe. There is lots and lots of accommodation on Barbados, not so much in Bridgetown as it’s not really the touristy places. Worthing is a nice area with good hotels, but the island is small, Expedia is your friend 🙂

So… on my last cruise we visited the nice future cruise ladies and got one of the book on board deposits (can’t remember the correct term right now).

I am thinking I would like to do South Pacific in 2025 - Marital unit will not want to do it. 

Can I use the deposit certificate that is for two people and apply it to a booking just for one, or are O going to be nit picky about the semantics of the booking?

Southampton is used to hosting very large cruise ships and the process for check in will be quick and easy. It’s a big port so make sure your ride there follows the signage to the correct terminal. I haven’t used the Horizon Terminal but from what I have seen of it .. it looks very nice. 

I also think that pre and post covid are important distinctions. 

I have done three “post covid” (not sure we are ever going to be post, maybe post restart is a better term) cruises, all distinctly different in terms of passenger count, rules for staff, rules for passengers etc. 

Last Xmas voyage - Riviera

Next - Voyager RSSC Jan ‘25 (it’s still NCL!!)

Next Oceania - Nov ‘25 - Sirena

Thanks for your reports, it’s been lovely! 

We aren’t back on O til November 2024, but it’s doing a TA on Sirena in our fave cabin. 

Sirena is a special lady. 

Happy Birthday! What a great trip you have had and I am very happy for you regarding the sticky buns!

Sadly the worst example of misunderstanding of food on O was halloumi. That great bacon cheese was not even slightly grilled to bring out the bacony superweaponised core and was a rubbery mess when it was slapped onto my plate. 

i wanted to fling it onto a grill myself and show the chefs how it should be done. 

It was sad but clearly a case of a chef not understanding the secret of Halloumi. 

17 hours ago, JPR said:

We were on Marina very recently and the British passengers were not complimentary regarding what they deemed the poor attempts at fish & chips, mushy peas, shepherd’s pie, etc. Roast beef was fine with ok Yorkshire Pudding.

We had a fun few minutes looking at the British Night buffet - it wasn’t up to much and was more what they thought things should be. Hubby always get excited when there is Fish and Chips on the Terrace menu but whoever tells the chefs how to do Mushy Peas is causing great offence to Brits LOL. He’s a northerner so mushy peas are a food group for him. 

While it may seem that we don’t have much of a cultural food heritage, done correctly it would surprise many of you. 

The Indian night buffet was amazing - the exec chef told me while they were planning it he told his chefs to cook like they were cooking for their sister’s wedding and left them to it. It was amazing and lovely. 

They do speciality buffets on two nights so that if you have a reservation in a speciality you can enjoy the still go to the speciality buffet the other night. 

24 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

Sirena, Tuscan Steak was good, Red Ginger was better.

That was our finding as well. 

I do think Toscana is nearing its best before date having eaten on the scaled down version on Sirena, and the full blown versions on Marina and Riviera.

May Red Ginger live forever, however.  

Bravo for your perseverance. I had one disappointing experience and inspected most days and decided it would be the same heartbreak. 

Sirena sounds perfect. It was a year today we boarded for our TA. I am definitely living vicariously through your posts 🙂

35 minutes ago, davencl said:

We were on the Sirena 10 days 1/10 to 1/20.  There is a pizza window in the Terrace Cafe.  Really good pizza

The pizza from the window is so so good!