alaskaca

It was.  It was a 12 day voyage, on the Regatta, Seattle to Seattle, June 16, 2016.  As you will note there was a typo in the date...2016 vs 2019.....FFSK.

The Marriott Waterfront was our pre cruise hotel in 2019. We had no problem crossing the street and rolling our luggage to the port ourselves. 
We loved the location, very walkable. 

17 minutes ago, tobique33040 said:

Oh I didn’t realize there is an air credit if you do the Simply more. I’d rather do the More than have to pay individually. I’m used to Viking where it’s pretty easy to figure out😊. But I’d like to have another go to cruise line. Thanks very much. 

Our only negative with Oceania is their communication in many situations is horrible, either written or having all phone reps on the same page.
I truly don’t understand an organization that excels in so many areas, not able/willing to to correct this. 

9 hours ago, tobique33040 said:

So the Sirena was refurbished in 2019. Is the bathroom nice but tiny? Thank you for the information. Everything we can learn is helpful. 

We have cruised with Oceania since 2013, we’re retired so we focus on itineraries in the 4 to 6 week range.
All travel so far has been have on the R ships, in A cabins. Love them!!  
We find the bathrooms small, but not tiny and very nice. The storage on the R ships  is also very well laid out.

Also the advice here on doing your own air travel and take the air credit is very wise in my opinion.
Happy thinking and planning😊

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

Sunday, November 5, 2023: Pre-Cruise Communication

 

Summary: Flight leaves 06:33 am, November 7, 2023.  Pre-Cruise Hotel is on November 8, 2023. Cruise departs on November 9, 2023 out of Athens, Greece.  This final preparation allows for excitement to build.  Your vacation should have a Before, During, and After element of joy. 

 

• Pre/Post Cruise Hotels:  Both hotels have sent information sheets and confirmations this morning. I am always afraid I booked the wrong dates.  
• Travel Insurance: We used Allianz Insurance Company, full coverage including cancel for any reason. This morning a final confirmation was sent.  I noticed the return date was off by one day and fixed it. 
• Packing:  All bags are packed.  My wife has packed three times, changing items each time.  I was FORCED to go clothing shopping and YES I have an jacket for dinner. The luggage is in the SUV already.
• Money:  I had my bank order me both types of currency for our itinerary to cover little inexpensive items on the street. Easier to do than I thought. 
• Journey Document: Final version is at the Printer for pick up tomorrow.  A work of art that no one will read or look at including myself.  However really helps me when you check in to hotels and the ship. It was fun to do. 
• Butler Letter: Final version was printed, and sealed.  This letter is far less detailed and lengthy as I have done in the past.  I did one for our guests as well. 

Conclusion: Basically all checks and cross checks are done.  The biggest challenge we have is staying on our diets until we leave.  It is so easy to go off the deep end even before you are on vacation.  If you never had a weight problem, I envy you. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

 

Bon Voyage!!  It has been a pleasure to read all your posts as you prepared for this cruise.  I have learned some things along the way and  for that I thank you.  Safe travels to you and your entire group. Enjoy every moment!

2 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

@Yesimapirate Funny thing happened this morning at 05:15 AM. It is 14 days before our flight.  Delta offered an upgrade for our guest (best friends) from "Refundable Coach" seats to "Delta One Business Class Suite" for $698.00 each.  Yesterday, the amount for upgrade was $2,850.00 each. We booked our our flights but if we had booked with Oceania Air, the upgrade amount to "Coach Premium" would have been $299.00 per person each way. I saw that and knew that those seats would be gone quickly.  The number of Business Class seats went from 12 yesterdays to 6 today.  

 

I immediately upgraded them both and did not even ask.  My friend is on a limited budget, he always says no to extra's so I figured to have them in Business Class with my wife and I on the longest 10.5 hour flight is worth the money. I am quite sure he will say "NO", but be very surprised when he sees his seat on the long haul flight in JFK.  

 

 

 

Sthrngary, what a generous and kind thing to do!! 💗

22 hours ago, Woofa said:

I would agree that choice is a very good thing.  I have no doubt that an App will come but not because I believe the current O cruiser will use it.  Rather an App is what O will need to entice the next generation of cruisers who will make or break the line in the future.

I think this thread so far shows a good indication of the current O cruiser.  While I may be wrong, I would go so far as to say that many would much prefer not to be sailing with a majority of cruisers who would be carrying phones throughout the ship.  And lets face it, these are for the most part small ships, many if not most cruisers are repeaters and while there are activities, they are low-key.  

I think that O has its work cut out for them figuring out a way to make the next generation happy while making sure not to alienate those that cruise and pay the bills now.

We are a younger demographic on O.  I am early fifties and my wife late forties.  I can tell you honestly that I don't believe most of my peers would be happy sailing O.  As an example we met a nice couple on Riviera.  Maybe slightly older than us but still younger than the average.  We had breakfast the final morning before departure and were discussing the fact that we had put down a deposit for a future cruise.  They agreed they loved the ship, their room and the food but, would not be sailing O again, at least not for some time.  There was just not enough activity for them.  They were still looking for action.  He was in the casino every night, bored after spending an hour or two at the pool.  To us, it was the opposite.  Two hours for dinner was a welcome experience.  Playing bridge on sea days a pleasure.  We fit in perfectly with what has been termed the relaxed elegance of O.  They did not.  Its OK, plenty of lines out there for everyone, go where you are happiest.  But, I do believe that it will be harder for O to excite the younger generations which start with my group and get progressively more tech oriented and immediate satisfaction oriented as they get younger.

I believe that O was created to cater to a specific audience and its success over its history shows how well they succeeded.  The reality however is that as that audience ages and cruises less they will need to do certain things to ensure the next generation of O cruisers takes their place.  Don't kid yourself, at least here in America it is quite a bit different.  

And lets remember that O is still a relatively small niche, they don't have fleets of mega ships to fill.  I believe they are doing their best to find a happy medium between living for today and planning for tomorrow.  They are certainly not perfect and of course there is no way around the Covid shutdown which I am sure removed all easy decisions and allows even less room for error.

 

Spot On +1

Having done a couple of ATW segments and will not hesitate to do more for all of the above reasons that have been so well expressed above.

16 hours ago, ORV said:

Interesting how people are talking about prices going up, but pretty much anything not selling in the next 6 months seems to have had the Ultimate added to it. In the past month I have received 4 mailers printed up for the Ultimate itineraries. In the past these would only be a notice from a TA, not a special printed mailer. This tells me they are having trouble filling their itineraries. I could be wrong. 

I don't think you are wrong ORV.  I was commenting to DH this week that in all our years of cruising with O (2013) I have never seen the amount of cruises that have the OLife Ultimate benefit attached. 

With that being said, along with the shortening of port times and other negative issues that are constantly being discussed on CC, I believe the cruise lines are in trouble, with huge debt as well as new ships being built, they are doing everything they can to survive.   

23 hours ago, JoePDX said:

Picked up the current cruise brochures and pouring over them for our next adventure.   I am really considering a South Pacific sailing from Australia to the west coast.   Sounds completely leisurely!  And only one long flight to endure.

 

Joe with Jeff in tow 
 

 

 

 

Highly recommend!!!  We did this back in 2018, Sydney to LA.  It was a segment of the world cruise.  We flew into Sydney, stayed at the Intercontinental for just under a week.  Between the ferries and the bus system we were able to go everywhere we wanted.  It is on our repeater cruise list.  The combination of sea days and days in port were just perfect.....relaxing!!

2 hours ago, ORV said:

When does this event happen?

30 minutes ago, spindrift said:

I wanted to comment on room choice. My late husband And I went to the Antarctic, as well as the Arctic, and we had a room with a balcony. That was the greatest choice we could’ve made. Standing on the veranda isn’t as cold as you might think it is. We did stand up against the windows on some days but it makes such a difference to feel it live as opposed to looking through a window.

I so agree!!  Totally different, depending on what side of the glass you are on!!

We also enjoy Terrace Cafe.  Enjoy sitting outside and relaxing.  If it is crowded, you can always take your plate and find a table in Waves.  Have a wonderful cruise!

2 hours ago, ToxM said:

I always start these with the best intentions, have a great time and then stop updating. Apologies in advance. Take the lack of posting as a symptom of a bad case of having a lovely time. 

 

So here we are. I will update as and when, this certainly isn’t a day by day or anything like the really great TR’s people post. I’ll do my best, others on board can add as they see fit. the pics will be wonky, the joy will be real and the fun will be had. 

 

We leave for Heathrow tomorrow evening after I come back from the hairdressers. Night at the Marriott, then off to Heathrow to camp in the Virgin Clubhouse til our flight to Miami. We overnight at the Intercontinental and are taking a day after disembarkation to stay at The Betsy in South Beach before we leave.  

 

All the packing is done (apart from Marital Unit, but he’s a terrible packer and I take no responsibility for anything he puts in his case). There’s very noticeably less paperwork than my last two cruises and nothing will be shoved up my nose in preparation - apart from copious amounts of First Defence at the airport and on the flight. 

 

I am taking some home tests with us as a precaution - friends on Insignia have reported that testing is costing upwards of 250 bucks on there, so if I do think I have got the dreaded lurgy we can do our own tests. If we do catch it (not had it yet) I am taking a small library of books, have loaded up the iPad with TV shows and will happily sit on the balcony, have food bought and sit and enjoy the view while I recover. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen (I am bringing a selection of pharmaceuticals to deal with anything that we might get). If I can do Barbados for a week, TA to Barcelona, 2 days in Barcelona then Monaco to Barcelona 10 days later and not get it, maybe I am one of the lucky ones. Famous last words!

 

We are in a B3, the ship looks to be full. I have never been on holiday over the festive season, so I don’t know quite what to expect. I am looking at it as being no washing up, no buying loads of food in, no trips to see relatives, no paying huge amounts of money to heat our home and a respite from the horrible weather we have been having. We recently lost our dog (3 weeks ago). It was a tough last 6 months with him and the pain is still very real, although he hadn’t been well for a long time. We need a rest and a bit of time away to heal.

 

I am going to be eating great food, having a dip in the pool, maybe getting off the ship occasionally, having the odd cocktail, playing slots and playing poker and reading all these books I am taking with me. 

 

I have packed too many clothes, I am far too excited and frankly I don’t care about either..

 

Looking forward to seeing what the next two weeks or so will bring 🙂

Safe travels to Miami and wishing you a wonderful cruise. Will look forward to and appreciate anything you share about your upcoming adventure. Hope being away gives you time to heal from the loss of your dog. Bon Voyage!

3 hours ago, govanguy said:

Prestige Select drinks package.

 

Can I use this package whilst on Great Stirrup Cay?

The last time we stopped there was in 2020 and at that time  using our prestige package was not an option on GSC....cash or credit card.  Hope someone else chimes in with more current info for you.

22 minutes ago, cruiseaholic78 said:

I think you might be interested in this wonderful pdf made by someone on the RTW cruise. Incredible details and photos

Happy Planning

Rosalyn

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=1154207&key=18c5d954c19cce7d0871dcb0229fb898 10.84 MB · 103 downloads

 

 

That is Erin, CC member 2552phxcrzr.  She is such a wealth of information and writes a great blog whenever they travel.

3 hours ago, Mareblu said:

From memory, the wines were by the bottle in the Prestige Package.  

Last time cruising, Feb/March 2020, the Prestige Pkg included wine by the glass. 

4 hours ago, ToxM said:

My 50th birthday TA trip was one of my many live from failings, I reported on the main stuff but fell over on the in-depth because I was having such a good time!

 

 

Not a failing in my book! 

Stroke egos...really!? 

I enjoy them, and when cruising started back up, those reports were like a gift!!  

Reading about anything and everything the poster wanted to share about the ship, crew, food, excursions, shows, etc. Anyone that takes time out of their vacation to share with the rest of us that don't happen to be taking one, gets a hearty Thank You! from me for their efforts.

At one time the Princess, Royal Caribbean, Disney and Carnival offered discounts or additional incentives to our military and veterans. Not sure what the ‘after Covid’ policies are. 
Enjoy your upcoming Oceania cruise. 

54 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

How does this work? Already booked cruise. Is it too late to get it?

I’m unaware of any ‘military service discount/credit’ being available when sailing Oceania.
What info have you read making you think otherwise?

41 minutes ago, mrsheat391 said:

We are sailing on Oceania Regatta to Alaska in May. Would someone be so kind as to help me understand the attire that Oceania suggests? This zoo keeper has no idea what country club casual refers to. 
 

I understand what is required for dinning, however can I wear my jeans around the ship? 
 

Thank you for any help you can give. 

Short answer, yes. 

In our sailings to Alaska, I take a pair of  jeans, yoga pants, trail pants and shorts.  This provides me with what I need for the excursions or daily life on the ship, outside of the evening dining venues, which it sounds like you have covered . 

The key to Alaska, in my opinion, is layers, layers, layers.   Enjoy your cruise!!!  Alaska is a cruise we could take every year. 

38 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Often a (very) few posters are caustic or condescending. At least one also often includes very substantial and helpful information. I find it beneficial to “ignore” the tone but scan for gems of information.

After all, I don’t know those posters, and wouldn’t recognize them if we sailed together anyway. In other words, I don’t care what they think(opinion), but I want to benefit from what they know (facts).

JMO.

Well said, PhD-iva.....so glad you and your perspective here on CC.

Having  sailed with "at least one" on a cruise in 2018 from Sydney to LA he is neither caustic or condescending in person, but truly a wealth of Oceania knowledge.

Did a quick search of Oceania and the Zen Desk along with Cruise Critic and not finding the specifics of how many cruise credits are earned on a voyage.  

The following is a list I have and wonder if this is still current information.....

Cruises up to 24 days will receive one cruise credit

Cruises 25-34 days will receive two cruise credits

Cruises 35-44 days will receive three cruise credits

Cruises 45-54 days will receive four cruise credits

Cruises 55-64 days will receive five cruise credits

Cruises 65-99 days will receive seven cruise credits

Cruises 100-157  days will receive ten cruise credits

Cruises 158+ days will receive fifteen cruise credits

If anyone has a link to that information, please post it.

Thank you!

1 hour ago, ToxM said:

Halfway through packing (it’s a bit like labour just without the epidural or the bodily fluids), due to how I found that buying clothes during our long and brutal lockdowns for cruises that were eventually cancelled actually made me feel a lot better generally I now have a very extensive wardrobe of cruise clothing. 

 

Most of the trousers are capri length, most are white or some other neutral shade. 

 

it looks like I am taking two pairs of long trousers on my next trip and the rest are cropped. Pairing with a simple tunic top or shock horror a T-shirt, brazenly and without remorse in the evenings.

 

I may even add pumps (think converse) to my outfit - I don’t do heels or slinky sandals. 

 

I think you can be smart casual with the above on. As long as I don’t fling my food around like an ape I am sure the other guests and staff won’t mind. 

 

Last time I was lucky enough to be on Oceania there was a chap who was at the speciality restaurants a lot of the times we were in them. We were on a cruise around the med and he wore a 10 gallon hat whilst seated at the table. he could have stored an extra portion of food under it, it was that big. It didn’t offend me, I just thought it was amusing. 

 

Wear what you are comfy in, what you would not have a problem wearing to a nice restaurant and have a fabulous time 🙂

You are someone I would enjoy cruising with!!! And the packing, birth analogy, nailed it!!😂