pinotlover

Different airports, different parts of the world are hit with specific security alerts on a regular basis. Airlines and/or airports implement differing precautions and procedures without unduly alerting or alarming passengers. Differing precautions used this week may not be in effect next week..

I wrote this back several years ago on the cruise air forum, but here goes again.  One of the Lufthansa owned airlines, and Star Alliance partners is Brussels Airlines. We flew them Prague to Brussels, then UA back to the States. That Brussels Air flight was one of the best and easiest boarding experiences we’ve ever experienced. One carry on ( excluding a purse) per person. Max carryon weight was 8 kilos. Every bag and carry on was weighed at the checkin counter and checked for appropriate size. One’s single carryon was given a color coded tag attached by the attendant. When you boarded, one was only allowed that single carryon. If you tried to slip something else through at the gate, it was gate checked to final destination at 100 Euros per bag.  Airport purchased items were exempt.
 

Boarding went fast and smoothly. No searching for overhead space, no one trying to cram in carryons. Imo oversized suitcases being dragged down the aisle. I wish every airline did this. 
 

p.s. All those people playing the “ live out of the carryon “ game will need a different airline.

A couple of things;

If you have a TA, they also got the email on the cancellation.

The credit card use to book the tour will shortly be refunded.

Your TA is probably waiting for O to decide what they’re doing in the new port before reacting. I’m surprised the email on the cancellation didn’t come via your TA. Lazy work on their part. Good Luck!

26 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Only problem is that I hate Vegas. 🤣

Yep, Vegas isn’t a place for wanting to go to bed by nine, not interested in great production shows, or interested in possible iffy food. 

FT;

Oceania bought two separate round trip tickets for us. One for each carrier., with their own distinct codes. UA had no knowledge, in their system, of the SAS ticket. When we checked in at BNA, we had to show our SAS tickets to get the flights put together for baggage purposes. What we didn’t catch was our Oceania UA ticket allowance was two checked bags each, while our SAS ticket only allowed for one. On our return flight we had to pay charges on the one additional bag we had.

Had we booked this flight ourselves, it would have all been with the marketing carrier ( UA) for the entire itinerary as you suggested.

I’ll add another scenario one must understand and get specific information on. On which airline (s) will you be ticketed? Point in fact;

I paid a deviation to be booked on a specific itinerary on United Airlines from BNA-Copenhagen then Stockholm-BNA. All fine a good until seat selection.Oceania, using its contracts,  booked me on the UA leg round trip to EWR, but booked the two international legs on SAS. United had no knowledge of my SAS connections, and I could only book the UA seats for their legs. SAS had its own rules on seat selection, and that was a far harder and different scenario. 

Oceania had indeed booked and ticketed my flights, but not in a method that was originally apparent. This led to some original confusion on both my TA and my part.

19 hours ago, loge23 said:

Almost forgot! Also available is a Champagne Montaudon and Prosecco!

Which ship are you either currently on or have recently departed that was serving Montaudon as the Champagne selection? To my experience it hasn’t been served since perhaps pre Covid when O brought back the horrendously poor German. The current champagne is fine( Heidseck blue top) but it’s not Mountadon. Has Oceania recently changed champagne?

On 2/15/2024 at 9:30 AM, MSEm said:

We are booked on the O. Rivieria cruise around Japan in March 2024. Will Oceania transport from the airport to the hotel?  Where would we meet the Oceania rep at the airport.

Thanks for any information on airport transfers.

 

Answer depends totally upon the airport in question. As pointed out above, in some airports one will be meet at baggage claim and assisted. In other airports outside personnel are not allowed into the baggage claim area and people are meet after they pass through customs and enter the main terminal. Best to query the individual airport for accurate information . 

The crux of the matter is corporate cash flow. Oceania doesn’t want to expend the cash until absolutely necessary, and the airlines don’t recognize the ticket and allow seat selection until they have cash in hand.

The cruise and other travel industry’s use of bulk rate discount flight fares is rather complicated and as pointed out above it rarely includes a block of seats on any flight. That’s a different scenario that is only rarely used.

22 hours ago, Acrusa said:

it seems the 7 day cruises are 6 pm as opposed to longer cruises at 6:30m for specialty restaurant 

100 % true. This gets repeated over, and over, and over again. I don’t understand why it’s so hard to grasp.

Regular opening hours for the Specialties and other dining venues is 6:30.

On 7 day cruises, where everyone is guaranteed a reservation in each Specialty, if the ship is full, they often do 6:00 reservations so to accommodate all the guarantees. 
 

Not a difficult concept. However, if one is on a 17 day Grand Voyage ( called B2B by some) consisting of ( for example) a 7 day segment and a 10 day segment , they may see different opening hours during their GV, but consistent for each segment.

What part of this needs further explanation? If on a 10 or 10+ day voyage or segment, opening hours are 6:30.

I share the OP’s sentiments, however I recognize the vast number of passengers ( even on O) that could care less about the ports or where the ship goes. They cruise for the ship. The giant water slides, the climbing walls, the multiple pools, the entertainment, great bars, and 15 + restaurants to choose from. Just like Oceania passengers, they only rarely get off the ship, and it’s not to take an afternoon nap.
 

Some people go to NYC, London, or Paris on vacation; while others go to the country. Even though I most often go to more remote locations for holiday, we still take eating trips to NYC, Charleston, New Orleans, and Vegas with plenty of crowds. Trust me, Vegas is no less exorbitant than any mega cruise ship, and you never worry about cut port time.

16 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

We're discussing sales in general, sales in history, and possible sales in the future. So, we can "know" about the first two, but can only be hopeful about the third. Assuming one pays attention to the future.

 

To paraphrase a great thinker, those who don't know the past are doomed not to be primed to take advantage of the future.  

There is definitely a consistency to all of this. Oceania releases cruise schedules on a regular basis. Some of those cruises mostly get snapped up the first week after release and are never on sale. Some cruises languish and are very slow to fill. Oceania runs sale after sale trying to lure people to those cruises. If still unsuccessful near cruise dates, they do silent sales.

Some of the cruises are highly competitive. Only so many places ships can sail during our winter months. The Carribe gets slammed with ships of all sizes and costs vying for our business. Even many regular O cruisers see no point in paying O prices for a 7-10 float around the Carribe to beat the cold. It takes sales every year to fill the R ships, the O ships, along with the new A ships. Even with all the sales they are rarely full because everyone is running sales. We see sales because of excess capacity. In April we’ll see a new release of cruises that will down the road require sales to fill.

So my guess is we’ll have a big President’s Day Sale in another attempt to fill all those cruises released two years that still not enough people have signed up for.

A lot of debt to be serviced. Cash flow is King!

One issue with this scenario.

Did the Captain wake up on Embarkment Day and make the itinerary change?

Did corporate make it on Embarkment Day?

If not, when was the decision for the change in itinerary made? Why was it not communicated then to the passengers? Why wait until boarding to announce itinerary changes? 
 

Was NCL ever intending to do the published itinerary? Bad corporate communications breeds mistrust. NCLH excels at bad corporate communications.

6 hours ago, IDL said:

How far in advance does Oceana publish the pricing of the shore excursions for a specific cruise? 

Typically twelve months in advance for the tours arranged. I have seen them add new tours up until six months in advance. 

For those numerous posters here that bought and own NCLH stock, how are the current earnings doing? In the red or black? 

47 minutes ago, ORV said:

To add pic 

The volcano is lovely in the background. I remember it well. A group of us did a great private tour there, and we did indeed have a wonderful German style lunch in one of the villages. Very picturesque area. Indeed.

2 hours ago, ORV said:

Last night of course was the Super Bowl and Oceania had a very nice setup in Horizons with 3 or 4 big screens and snacks and food. I forgot my camera so didn’t take any photos. It was well attended and apparently from the cheers early on there were probably quite a few disappointed west coasters in the end. We watched the second half from the room. 
 

Nice to see the Chiefs win again. 
 

We’re in Puerto Monte today. Weather in the mid 60s and sunny. I thought it would be warmer. 

I seem to remember, when we visited there last year, that it got significantly warmer when we went inland to the waterfalls and the big lake. It was only cool on the ocean.

It was cloudy and cool all day in port, but inland the sun was shining and a very pleasant day.

45 minutes ago, ORV said:

No , it doesn’t show up on the online acct. You might see it on the invoice if your TA uses the Oceania invoice and it is an Ocapp pass through or other consortium. If it’s directly from the TA then when you get to your room it should be on a card in your stack of documents. 

+1

Be specific with your TA. I know of O cruisers that were told by their TA they ( the TA) was paying the gratuities.. What it really meant was they were putting significant funds into their account as OBC to cover the gratuities. After blowing through said OBC, the gratuities still had to actually be paid. 
 

Understand clearly what has been offered and provided.

The number of required excursions for the discount is dependent upon the total number of port days on your cruise. For example, it’s a different number if you’re on a 7 day cruise as opposed to a 15 day cruise.

I always have my TA book my ship excursions.

5 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

 

And the core focus of many of the posters here and other other lines (and social media, in general) is revealed.

A lot of it is the “ Eye of the Beholder “ thing.

If I report that I had eight (8) really good meals aboard ship, and two (2) mediocre ones; to the Cheerleaders I’d be a complainer; and to others I’d merely be giving a balanced accurate account..

At the breakfast buffet in Barista, they also had bagels and loxes, a selection of meats and cheeses, along with fresh fruit. Also, during early breakfast hours they were baking items. Not sure how long all this continued because we were always gone off on tours as soon as the ship docked. Therefore, those arriving after 8:00-8:30 may have different experiences.

2 hours ago, vipro said:

Is the coffee free in barista all day long? I am talking about cappuccino or latte. Not those special coffee (if they have any)?

Coffees (without booze) are always free.

We loved the Barista on Vista and it’s food selection. I believe the issue, for some, lies with Mauibabes comments above. There were several people that park there for hours; sipping coffee, visiting with friends, surfing the internet, a one group I remember played cards there most every day. What this meant was that people that just wanted a coffee and a quick bite often didn’t have a place to sit. I realize just broaching the question of: Is the Barista actually an appropriate place for the all day Bridge game?, will start a war on people’s perceived personal rights. Just be aware that some camp out there for hours, so you may either be standing and eating, or taking it back to your cabin.

1 hour ago, Travrat said:

I thought Wellington, NZ was a docking port. Our upcoming cruise doesn’t have it as a port with tenders

You’re right! Wellington was the port with the big terminal and where the dogs caught the really ignorant guy trying to take bananas ashore from the ship. This was after Carr, our CD, announced repeatedly not to take any food from the ship ashore. The passenger was eat up with stupid, and the authorities had him instantly. Now I can’t remember which NZ port had the long tender in. 

44 minutes ago, basor said:

On our Vista cruises the Barrista/bakery area was in high demand and the tables and chairs were full most of the day...people were enjoying both the offerings from the bakery and barristas.  When the menu changed between breakfast and lunch at the bakery there was a line.   The only time we were able to walk in and easily find a place to sit was mid/late afternoon.  It filled back up when it switched to wine and appetizers in the evening.

We often had breakfast/brunch there on days when a smaller meal with a view and a delicious coffee  from barristas was perfect versus the larger Terrace or Waves.  We did love Aquamar for breakfast/lunch too and sometimes would grab a goodie from there and take it up to barristas to add to the items from there and enjoy the view!

Just a different reaction to barristas/bakery .......

 

On the Ivista, we found Baristas a wonderful place for breakfast. We later heard it became terribly over crowded. Time will tell!

32 minutes ago, Snaefell3 said:

Let me try.  😉 

 

You left Antarctica's continental waters a day early.  Let me think, now...  2 extra hours in Punta Arenas in return?  Yeah, I could complain (well, until you mention how much Drake Shake you avoided 🙂 )

+1 , ok was laughing when he posted it!