pinotlover

Personally, I’m not sure what the initial pricing means anymore. We were on the Vista in June and the ship wasn’t full, plus the cruise had been included in various sales. We’re looking at a GV (B2B) on Allura. The cruise is two years out and one segment is a Trans A. We’re not one of those that absolutely have to have a particular cabin, so with Oceania’s practice of constantly running sales, I see zero reason to book right now. Perhaps a four (4) Category upgrade sale will come along, or maybe something more interesting will appear next month when the remaining 2025 cruises are released. I clearly see the current pricing as a first offer for a cruise on a new ship. Historically, the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th offer has been a better deal. Therefore I’m mostly ignoring prices on the 1st offer and examining itineraries.

That’s debatable! Posted signs ( for the non oblivious) clearly state your temperature is being taken upon boarding. On an earlier cruise, the staff was reporting passengers with troubling coughs and appearing blush. I talked with fellow passengers that had been directed to medical for testing. Security escorted some to medical in that cruise that didn’t go voluntarily as directed. It’s not necessarily all voluntary.

They were still doing quarantine on the Vista in June, if that’s what you mean by “ isolation “.

Although I have sympathy for your cause, I wouldn’t make comments or speculate on prices until Oceania releases the remains new 2025-26 Simply More cruises and prices next month. My guess is the price differential will be nil.

Some passengers are physically unable to get their luggage off the ship alone. Depending upon the port, you may not have a terminal but would have to navigate the stairway offloading. See first sentence. Disembarkment can be chaos. People ignoring ( a popular Oceania passenger action verb) their assigned de boarding colors and pushing, shoving, and otherwise rude behavior. Hauling your own luggage off adds to that. As bad as boardamania can be, at some ports, disembarkment can make it look pleasant. We always disembark it the latter groups to let the hordes go first.

Remember that in some waters, such as within Italian waters, the Casino can’t be open. Location counts.

Just as a reminder for you, with the new A Class ships there is no more “ dining under the stars”. The patio is now completely covered. As much as I really enjoyed the new vista design, this is one change I didn’t like. On pleasant evenings, I loved sitting outside looking at the stars while enjoying our meal. No longer possible. The restaurant manager told me this change was done because passengers wanting to eat lunch aboard, typically while docked in port, complained so much about the noon time heat and sun, so the entire area was covered. 😩

Yes! Must do so 24 hours before said your.

My pure speculation, because something similar happened on Nautica in 2019, is that something broke down and they didn’t have a replacement aboard ship. Miami had to order the parts and have those parts meet the ship at a major port with a significant airport to get the parts there.

Nothing unusual about your food descriptions. Our experience is some meals are excellent, some good, many mediocre, and a few occasionally poor. The issue of bland food will not be overcome. Many O passengers, including posters on this Forum, only want bland. Since bland is less expensive than enthralling seasoned, the bland crowd unfortunately will win.

We usually don’t go to bed until 11 or after, so night time is rarely a problem. Biggest problem is from those in bed pre 9:00 and up 5ish and immediately turn on tv. Worst scenario is when one’s bed backs the other cabin’s tv. Don’t dismiss the clowns that bring their own speakers to amplify the tv! Pretty crazy when people fly half way around the world hauling their own speaker system and complain about the space a sports jacket takes up! 🙄

Nothing, in those regards, has changed post Covid.

Not necessarily accurate. Check the port authorities. I’ve been on cruises where once newly checked in, we couldn’t leave the ship. B2Bers were in a different situation. If you don’t want to necessarily be stuck on a ship, don’t check in. Why risk it? My hotels have always held my luggage until I came to get it.

They still had them occasionally in March on the Marina. It was never advertised in Currents or part of the CD’s announcement. Some days they had it, others not. One physically had to walk by to see if it was open on any given evening. Nice event when it’s held. A bit pricey on the wines, but a wonderful change up food wise with the tapas selections.

Depends upon how you spend your money. One Adriatic cruise: Athens - Venice. Along the way: Argostoli, Corfu, Kotor, Koper, Ravenna, Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar. Maybe not in order, but all on one cruise with a couple sea days thrown in. One cruise, one cost. On Oceania it would take at least 2 separate cruises, if not three, to see all those ports. That single Viking cruise cost us a lot less than multiples on Oceania.

For those of us cruising primarily for the itinerary, there are certain times where Viking has a vastly superior itineraries. People may well opt to pay that year in advance for that particular itinerary not available on O or SB. For all those cruisers, cruising primarily for the ship, this isn’t a consideration. Apples and Oranges.

Not necessarily an age. Mostly a mental and/or physical condition imo. As the saying goes for a young teen “ 13 going on 20”, you have the same at the other end. It may well be 65 going on 90!

I never said I speak for “ all” Oceania passengers. Far from it. Many doesn’t equal all. I can say that the push for simple and bland on Oceania is bigger than on other lines. This issue isn’t limited to Oceania. One of my largest clients had a huge Cajun night last Friday. Two different sittings of outrageous great Cajun food. What part of Cajun brings to mind simple and bland? Quite a few guests ( mostly geriatric) left complaining the food was too spicy. He options weren’t really hot and spicy but very favorable. Go elsewhere on Cajun night, but don’t demand the chef make bland dishes.

I posted at the very beginning, some would find Embers duel delightful, while others not so much. A huge portions of Oceania.

It was once explained to me that O’s incredible computer system doesn’t always properly account for cruise cancellations. That is when someone cancels a cruise, the tours, particularly any OLife tour, for which they had signed up for doesn’t always get credited back with an opening. It doesn’t get worked out until just prior to the cruise.

The OP will undoubtedly look great and appropriate in her cocktail dresses. While some strive and thrive on always being the lcd, many of us don’t choose that path in life. Dazzle away! 🥂

Mauibabes cut the layers of demarcation. We cruise for the ports. My DW isn’t into knit, darn, and gossip. We realize many of O cruisers are. Absolutely don’t set your expectations too high, especially with the food. Our experience on Oceania is some meals are excellent, some good, some mediocre, and only rarely some poor. We truly want to eat with those lucky cruisers that says every meal is outstanding! It’s like winning the lottery day after day. Oceania overall provides a very good product. Their post Covid routine of posting fake itineraries, to be realigned upon boarding, has diminished that product, imho, except for those obviously more interested in knitting, darning, and gossiping as opposed to port visits. This will never be worked out. We are all different. Give Oceania a chance and base your decisions upon your preferences and priorities of cruising .Mostly I believe they will meet your needs. We cruise based upon the itinerary. Sometimes Oceania has the best, other times not. Our best meals on a cruise are rarely on any ship. . Enjoy your cruises!

Since the ships won’t magically run out of wine inventory on 10/1, we know they’ll be pouring what they have on hand, which is likely to be identical to the wine list on 9/30. If you look at vintages, some of the wines poured this past year were acquired pre Covid.

We’re much more civilized and in the middle! Taking a group to Tuscany. We’ll spend a few days each in Florence, Greve In Chianti, and Montalcino; then travel around those bases with fewer moves. No packing and unpacking daily.

Finally, my point. If Oceania wants to play save the planet and putter along at 10 knots instead of 17 knots, their choice. If that decision means port times at any given destination is X-Y, their choice. The computer algorithms can calculate that now in advance of itinerary release. The computer algorithms can calculate that 6 months prior to sailing. Stop the lies and post the true itinerary upfront. Stop the nonsense of the bait and switch and waiting until we board to give us the true planned itinerary.