pinotlover

Just thinking outside the box for a moment. On a personal level, I’ve never gone hungry in any cruise ship, so what the GDR will serve next Thursday or a week from Friday was never must know information. On Oceania, I’m always fairly assured I’ll find something I’ll like. I suppose other Inquiring Minds like to know weeks in advance. The current SOP of Oceania is a familiarity of menus between the GDR and the buffet. So if one didn’t like the GDR offerings, then outside of the buffet grill they may not like the Terrace Cafe offering either. Options: the Specialties. Here’s the catch though: the other Lines mostly charge for Specialty reservations while Oceania doesn’t. Therefore, if one doesn’t like the menu for a week from Tuesday, on another line, they can PAY, to do something different. Oceania may not want that long 08:00 lineup at the Specialties Reservations Desk, based on the posted menu, for something they’ll make no money on. Therefore, you learn the dinner menu after lunch when any and all Specialties reservations are typically gone. As Forrest Gump would say “ Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’ll get until you open the box!” Some of us can handle that just fine, as a bit of mystery and surprise enhances life. Others want to know exactly what’s in the box and precisely where each chocolate is located within the box before they buy it. For us, Oceania spending the money to develop and maintain an app that tells me what the GDR will serve a week from next Tuesday would be a waste of funds. Others feel differently.

Which boarding time did you request? Just a guess. If Oceania gave you a later boarding time, as a Concierge, perhaps that means they know the ship is arriving at port later than normal, thus….

I don’t have another A ship booked until our 25 day Alura cruise. Not sure we’ll book Ember again. Ho-hum food and loud.

We have learned to avoid lobster on any Oceania ship. Plenty of good food otherwise and the chances of getting an overcooked rubbery lobster is to great to mess with them.

Getting us prepared for higher prices with the new April release. Don’t worry Mauibabes, the price hike on existing non selling cruises will be followed by a April Fools Day sale, then Mother’s Day Sale, then Memorial Day Sale, then etc.

I believe these are the dollars AZ will reimburse one for a missed port, nothing to do with actual port fees.

I would love to have a recording, or better yet the transcript, of Captain Max’s lunch time messages on the costs of port fees for the ships. It was exorbitant, and far surpassed any earnings the ships may make for the stops. The ports are there for the itineraries to draw customers. Everything beyond that is expense.

With our multiple cruises on Oceania, we have reasonable expectations on what to expect. We know which foods they generally do well, and what to avoid. Therefore, even though we still get some excellent meals, some mediocre, and some poor ones; we generally trend to very good because we don’t reorder those that have proven substandard. We only rarely see less than great service, but it does occasionally happen. They are wine stewards, not sommeliers. Expect no more. Overall, as far as food and services go, I don’t believe Oceania has declined much since Covid. Destination Services has always been a train wreck, so we try to book our own private tours. I believe the greatest difference between now and pre Covid on O is the number of ports now missed and or the number of port hours cut. It went from a rare occurrence, to happening most every cruise. Outside of the debt issues and saving money, this no longer has anything to do with Covid.

Reflecting on some earlier comments, we attended a future cruise OCA event in probably 2016 or 2017. The OCA asked the crowd, after the presentation “ what cruise(s) would any of you like to see or do?” Hands shot up and the first reply was “ A circumnavigation of Japan!” Lots of applause followed. The OCA laughed and said they hear that every time the question is asked, but don’t see it happening in the near future. We’re at 6-7 years later, and Oceania still hasn’t shown interest in it. Personally believe they’d quickly sell out even an O or A ship if they only would offer it. I’m guessing it’s beyond the limits of their current Logistical Supply system.

This isn’t difficult. We had people on O cruises that signed up for three walker ship tours that couldn’t walk 50 yards without a break. We had people reserving loungers and leaving the ship for tours. We’ve had neighbors that are deaf that play their tv on extra loud. While Oceania chooses not to adequately address these issues, the primary problem is actually the quality of attitudes of fellow cruisers not Oceania. Does YWYW mean you can blast your tv 24/7? Seems to be a point of contention. Where is the difference between someone that puts down personal belongings on a lounger at 07:00 and doesn’t show up again until 14:00, and someone turning their tv on full blast at at 05:30 and may or may not turn it off all day? I have a descriptive adjective for both and it doesn’t vary . Separating Oceania short falls from horribly rude passengers is a crapshoot. Define YWYW.

We were in a PH on Deck 10 and didn’t have issues. Friends in a PH on 11 did. The difference wasn’t the Deck, the difference was his neighbors played their tv loudly nearly 24/7. Our neighbors, like us, rarely turned theirs on. Also some people naturally speak in a lower tone, while others feel they have to SHOUT every syllable. I believe these factors are as much the problem as the thin walls. Unless they’re traveling with you, and book next to you: You can’t pick your neighbors.

There was a decent pathway UP to the Virgin Mary House. A wheelchair could never enter the House and anyone with mobility issues would struggle to get through. It would mostly be the uphill climb to view the building from the outside.

We were there last June from off the Vista. I would say that anyone expecting 2,000 year old ruins, in an earthquake zone, to be “ accessible “ has more than physical limitations! 🤔

True. We typically wait until around 7:00 to go to the GDR or Terrace. This gives ample time for all those with walkers, scooters, and/or other mobility issues to get easily seated and for us not to be in the way. Even at 7:00, on most nights in either venue, we can still get a two top when desired. Might be more difficult in the TC , but we rarely eat dinner there. We most typically tell the hostess sharing and are seated immediately in the GDR. Often, even with the sharing request, we still dine alone because of a lack of others accepting to do so. We don’t have to dine alone, we don’t have to have a special specific table, and we don’t have to have any specific waiter if on duty. If any of those qualifiers do apply, one may want to arrive a bit earlier.

What a concept! Look at Oceania’s website! 😂

IMO, the biggest downside for most of us , with this unfortunate occurrence, is the aftermath. Disembarkment on Oceania is a Charlie Foxtrot on a good day. Far too many people that shouldn’t be attempting to disembark with their luggage in tow, do. They read about these few unfortunate incidents and refuse to utilize the regular luggage services. I don’t have a solution because none of us can manage the dock workers, but being diligent on O’s part in responding to issues such as this could go a long way.

We are doing an O cruise to Japan starting on 4/1. Doing private land tours on both sides of the cruise. Will report back experiences late April.

Azamara does more overnights and late departures than Oceania and is less inclined to skip ports. For some of us this is important. I had a fairly lengthy conversation about Azamara with my TA who sells a lot on both lines. She says that even though Azamara certainly has its issues, the overall satisfaction level of her Az clients has been significantly higher than that of O customers for the past couple of years. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. A simple how do you personally compare. Oceania still has the edge on food although the differences have narrowed. However, Azamara does a lot more late departures. Most of her clients don’t go to Japan to eat Americanized Italian, Americanized French, and Americanized American. They can get all of the above at home. The late departures mean they eat dinner ashore and get authentic local cuisine that’s not available at home. For those customers, the late departures more than compensate for any edge in ship food. Ship food is something they eat when local cuisine isn’t available. Cruisers versus Travelers, to each their own.

It is my hope that the Riveria replaces the Regatta, with the next new cruise release, and starts doing the OZ circumnavigation, NZ, and the route to FP. Then it can do the seasonal swings and stay in that part of the world. Until then it has to find new homes.

Martinis is right there and convenient! Putting in a crepe place or other food and beverage joint in the main atrium would make the ship look like a shopping mall and detract from the elegance of the ship. Just imo.

Purely luck of the draw. Purely. On our Vista cruise our neighbors were like us, rarely turned the tv on. Peacefully silent. Other cruises we had to call the front desk near every night. TV blared 24/7. Large commotion one night with security. They had received multiple complaints and were pounding on the cabin door while the obviously near deaf inhabitants slept away. The smart TVs should have a connection to the central control area where volumes can be adjusted from central control. Most assisted living facilities already have this. They don’t pound on quarters doors, they drop the volume from the front desk. Good Luck. You don’t get to pick your neighbors!

I was being a bit facetious 🙃, but even Egypt, a mostly Islamic country, isn’t going to bleed revenue indefinitely. I expect something to happen there.

As of January 2023, Egypt made $743 million per month on the Suez Canal. For Egypt that was a helpful chunk of change. Now, not only have they lost a major portion of that, but tourism is now way off. Won’t take long before Egypt decides to invade Yemen and straighten things out. I will highly recommend Uniworld River Cruises for a trip on the Nile and Cairo. They take security seriously, conduct great tours, and the food is overall better than on Oceania. They also have a pre/post cruise extension to Petra.

The short moral of the story: No one can tell you what either the weather or the Internet service will be on your cruise. It’s highly obvious, from multiple posts that both change regularly. Additionally, what is “ good or acceptable “ internet service is far more subjective than any food discussions. Good Luck!