pinotlover

If you’re staying at a major hotel pre cruise, you can have the the party send it to the hotel. Notify the Concierge or front desk. When traveling abroad on business, we had documents sent to us quite often like this.

Don’t use US Mail. Have the party send it FedEx or UPS! Using the regular mail may take until the 2028 election to receive.

1 hour ago, DrHemlock said:

.  We do miss the name badges that included country of origin -- even though the lettering was usually too small to read from a respectful distance so there was that embarrassing moment of leaning in to peer at the person's chest.

😂. Exactly! One would think that those proclaimed sophisticated travelers would just ask the room stewards where they were from if they couldn’t read the name tags. Nope face plants to the ummm chest seemed appropriate. It didn’t take that change long to happen! 🙄

A few random comments:

1.  Oceania oftentimes adds to and subtracts from ( cancels) tours as situations warrant. I’ve seen shore tours added 5-6 months pre-cruise. Others similarly cancelled.This means that the pdf one requested upon booking, 12+ months out, may not be accurate or up to date.

2. For those few exceptional ship tours we choose, I send the tour descriptions to my TA and she books them. I have no desire to spend time on the phone ( including possibly on hold) talking to a phone rep. My way, it’s all in writing so I can compare what I received to what I requested thus eliminating any chances of verbal mis communication. 
 

3.  This 25% off thingy has become a quagmire for some. There may be different results for different folks. If Oceania cancels a port, or more importantly altered port times before you board, this may upset your plans. We boarded the Vista last June to learn 3 or 4 ports had 2 or more hours clipped off them. People likewise learned this resulted in some cases of cancelled tours. If the passengers didn’t rebook tours to get back to their minimum requirements, tour prices were recalculated accordingly. This created havoc. This policy was not employed for tours cancelled because of weather or other reasons after the start of the cruise. Unless one just prefers expensive ship tours, chasing that 25% off can be a fool’s folly. Book what you think you’d like to do and let the chips fall as they may. I’ve seen too many book additional tours, they didn’t really want, just to get 25% off an expensive tour they really wanted, to then have that tour cancelled.

19 minutes ago, gaeltrav said:

You need a jacket or sweater in the main theatre as it can be freezing with the air conditioning at times

Absolutely!

Plus, this isn’t a commonly held practice for many, but at times my DW decides to dress very nicely, look very pretty, and not do the LCD thing. When she does, I feel compelled to step it up and dress more nicely.

One of the fashion statements onboard is the lady nicely dressed, a bit of bling, and dolled up, while the husband wear his Izod polo shirt 1-2 sizes to small, or a 2002 era flowery Hawaiian shirt, or what appears to be an old bowling league shirt. 🙄. The restaurant hostess is looking around trying to find who goes with the guy, as it assuredly can’t be the nicely dressed lady standing nearby! 😂

If my DW prettifies, I prettify!

I have never understood the disdain for sport jackets. While I understand the hassle of packing a tux, my sport jacket folds neatly requiring little room.

All this reminds me an Alaskan cruise we did, on another line, with a gentleman that only wore shorts. Nice guy, but he was adamant he only wore shorts 365, didn’t even own a pair of regular trousers. He thought it old fashioned and outrageous that he couldn’t dine in the GDR or Specialty restaurant. Thing is, he knew what the rules were when he booked. 
 

Whether old fashioned or not, different establishments have different dress codes, if they have any at all. Dress codes may well be a reason to choose or not choose a line. Different strokes for different folks. Oceania’s are rather simple and straightforward. What t’s me are those that blatantly attempt to not adhere to them. 

12 hours ago, osandomir said:

I posted based on what we were told by the Future Cruises Consultant onboard Sirena last month.

I wasn’t disagreeing with your post. Just a reminder we were told the exact same thing last year and the release was finally made last month. With the world in such turmoil, I don’t believe the cruise lines, outside of Viking, are comfortable releasing itineraries more than two years out. The current new release, with lots to choose from, has only been out a month! Predictions on when the next release will be is a wag.

If I made any projections as a date, it would be after the release of the 2027 ATW. Now , when will that be?? 🤔

13 minutes ago, osandomir said:

Probably it’ll be about September this year.

Or April of next year, as was this year’s release. 
 

A wag is a wag this far out.

8 minutes ago, gailellen12 said:

For those who are doing adjacent cruises on the transition day?  (end of first cruise; beginning of second). I will be staying aboard the two cruises for the whole 33 days and would love to see London from Southampton port. Thanks in advance. 

Best posted on your Roll Call. Follow the tab above and find yours.

P.S.  when you make a posting like this giving no dates, no ship, or any other relevant information it’s often ignored.

12 minutes ago, FetaCheese said:

If known, please post scheduled Drydock period for any Oceania ship.

Marina is just current, Riveria’s was in 22. Vista is still new. FDR said there would be no more upgrades or overhauls on the R ships.

Looks like the answer is “ well in the future when one of the required inspections are due.

Funny story on those old name tags. Thanks for the laugh! 😂

I believe the cruise lines obtain their crew from where and when they can. India is now the most populous nation in the world, so no surprise about their increased presence.

Fwiw, I remember when Oceania had a significant presence of Ukrainians and other Eastern Europeans. I don’t believe it was policy change that altered that.

3 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

You don’t actually make a ‘booking’ for a waitlisted category. There are two types of waitlist, paid and free.

 

When a category is full you can ask to be put on the waitlist and if and when a cabin, in the category you are waitlisted for, becomes free and you are top of that waitlist the cabin will be offered to you at the price on the day it becomes free. You have the choice to accept or not.

 

The only difference with a ‘paid’ waitlist is that you are closer to the top of the list. In the UK the price is £300. If a cabin becomes available you can then choose to book it or have a refund of the £300.

In my experience I was on a waitlist  but chose not to pay the £300  and was still offered a cabin a week or so later.

Very correct. Let me add the obvious. If one books a waitlist 1.5 years pre cruise, the odds of getting a cabin is extremely high. If one books a waitlist after the final payment date of the cruise, the odds diminish significantly. Can still happen, just greatly reduced odds. Timing is everything!

Fwiw, and solely imo, not all upgrades are positive. Omitting the extended veranda cabins, most of the cabin designations are made from the center of the ship , dropping as you moves outward. The reason PH3s will be waitlisted with PH1 or PH2 available is not price. The noisiest cabin I was ever in was a PH1, on the Marina, directly under a portion of Waves. A plethora of jet lagged passengers, that couldn’t sleep, dragging the chairs across the floor ( which was my ceiling) every morning starting at 4:00 or so. The PH was nice, but we may have been a lot happier in our quiet A2. Moral of story, ask which room the upgrade offer is for. There may well be a reason no one else has booked it.

16 hours ago, clo said:

I mean no offense but are the 'nicer' restaurants you go to on land able to provide those things?

I can partially explain this.

I live in the U.S. heartlands. Everyday between 4:00-6:30 pm during local programming and news, there is a continuous onslaught of advertising by personal injury attorneys seeking clients injured by multiple means. Sometimes there are around 10 such commercials in a half hour stretch. They claim to have some one standing by to answer the phone 24/7.

The effect of that is a very expensive insurance rider if a restaurant lists an item as being GF. It takes a lot of GF sales to pay for that rider, a level which many establishments will never achieve. Waitstaff is also trained to not claim that any items on the menu are GF. Those carrot and celery sticks, no guarantees, eat at your own risk.

If you read CC here very often a familiar cry is “ well I’d sue “; “ I’d be suing somebody “; “ You should sue!” The litigious nature of American society can both protect people and likewise create the absurd. I don’t know the exact laws in effect for a foreign flagged ship at sea, nor the actual promise made to any passengers , from the chef, regarding GF and/or other allergen. Just saying it is something very difficult for any small to medium sized restaurants to do. Guaranteed actions of a lot of perhaps low skilled employees is risky business.

I think the most entertaining Boardamania story came from a couple that are currently on, I believe, their 3rd Oceania ATW. Even though it has been a R ship, Boardamania on the ATW is extreme, and the reason O has supposedly gone to multiple ports to dampen the effect.

People that are going to be on a ship for 180 days, with about a third of those sea days, lining up ( or attempting to in Miami) hours early to get that lunch in the TC! 😂 The lady said she couldn’t imagine how bad it will be on the larger Vista! 😳

Their new SOP: depending upon itinerary, book one or two cruise segments aboard the ship pre ATW, and go to South Beach until all aboard. Their TA gets them all the same benefits for those early segments as the ATW.

12 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We have really embraced the "no no" term and think it is right on!  Where to avoid the no-no?  Having been on 18 cruise lines (#19 coming up late this year) we can think of no line that ignores the no-no's except, perhaps, the Explora Journeys folks.  That being said, they are a new line (with very deep pockets) who will likely learn as they go and may well bow to the "no no pressure."  I doubt if a ghost pepper will ever find its way onto a cruise ship (unless smuggled by a passenger).  And basic things like garlic, onions, and oregano seem to be more and more underused.  I could not help but notice that pizza in Waves, is made without oregano (unless it is specifically requested).  In Italy, it would considered an essential ingredient.  

 

Hank

Don’t forget the Waves Marguerite pizza without a hint of basil! That’s like a cheeseburger without the cheese. It’s not really a cheeseburger and it’s not really the pizza as advertised.

12 minutes ago, WESTEAST said:

Agree it is the Port Authority that controls entry.  Example in March, our embarkment in Yokohama was chaotic: marched all passengers into an outdoor kiosk to sit where we waited in the cold with no priority to stateroom category nor designated online check-in time. People were angry. Being part of the three day land package at the Tokyo Hilton and hence, there were many buses arriving at the port at the same time which contributed to the problem. However, no Oceania rep was present nor communication provided. Notified our Concierge and he indicated that Oceania should have done a better job in assisting passengers and they are looking at how they can improve (really as this is not the first time embarking from this port)! This was our worst embarkment experience as typically there are queues set up by stateroom category and generally goes smooth per your online check-in time.

We were on the next cruise out of Yokohama. Same situation. We were unfortunately on one of those Oceania pre cruise bus dumps that turned a poor situation bad. 
 

28 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Just beware of the FP cruise ship restrictions (i.e. no more than 1200 cruise passengers, per day, on Bora Bora).  

 

Hank

Thanks, but Paul Gauguin ships have that covered.

8 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

@pinotlover @MEFIowa

Food for thought!
We are travelling on the first Marina cruise after her refurbishment so obviously the entire cruise contingent will be embarking on the same day. The cruise is ‘waitlisted’ so that will be 1200+! Given that the ship isn’t debarking any passengers I wonder if the cabins will be available earlier than normal? 
You’ve certainly given me food for thought about boarding times.

I would never show up for that level of Boardamania. You know many of the self absorbed will show up early regardless. Plan on arriving at 3ish and avoid the mess. That lunch in the TC isn’t that special to take on that level of Boardamania regardless of how much one might like the TC.

You already know that Oceania will dump bus loads of folk around noon of people staying on their hotel plans. 😳

Only guessing that by law since Oceania changed the itinerary so dramatically, people will get free cancellation. I won’t fly two hours to Miami for a 7 day cruise, couldn’t imagine flying across the pond for one! I’d wait until final word from O and cancel . 

Through the end of 2025, which is the furthest we’ve planned we have 2 Oceania cruises; one Uniworld river cruise; and four land trips planned. The land trips include Tuscany;  Willamette Valley , Crater Lake, and the Oregon coast; Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, and northern Vermont; and a fly fishing trip to the Rockies ( CO).

If possible, we may try to squeeze another trip in from Washington, DC and down to the Cape in NC with lots in between. This may have to wait until 2026. The DW wants to return to the FG again. Don’t know if that will be on Paul G ( which we find superior in the FP) , or an over the water in Bora Bora. That’ll be 26 also.

On 2/9/2024 at 11:54 AM, WildWanderers said:

Hi All,

 

There is a difference between "online check-in" (title of this thread) and boarding at the port (most of the discussion in this thread).  And it can be an important distinction.

 

I raise this only because of an incident in Miami when folk were boarding for Gems of the Leewards on the Insignia on December 17, 2023.  People did not get to board until late afternoon even if they had been waiting since early morning due to a major storm and the Insignia losing its place in the queue for docking.  

 

When we left the ship (as required as we were continuing on a back-to-back), and then went to re-board, we passed through the people waiting to embark.  Many of them were angry that they could not just get onto the ship because weeks ago they had done the online check-in, and they thought that should be enough, that they should be able to "bypass all of these other people", who in fact, unbeknownst to them, had also done the online check-in.

 

It is true that there was not very good communication that day, but the misunderstanding that online check-in meant that no boarding procedures were required was not something I would have foreseen as requiring communication.  What I found unfortunate was that the Insignia never let these boarding people know that the Insignia was not allowed (via local? regulation) to provide food and water to the folk waiting to board, before they boarded, that it was the responsibility of the port authority to care for the boarding folk.  Unfortunate because many of the folk who boarded that day blamed Insignia, and never got over it.

 

The value of communicating, clearly.

 

Cheers from Greg of the WildWanderers.

 

 

I believe that part of this issue revolves around Oceania maintaining a one size fits all approach vs what happens at the port. We have done Embarkment where the passenger turnaround approached 95%, while on other days it was closer to 25-30%. On an O ship that represents a substantial number of people differential.

Some ports run checkin and immigration very smoothly and efficiently. For others, immigration can be a huge bottleneck. Some port authorities won’t let passengers into the port until their assigned boarding times, while others allow one in to wait.  Buenos Aires is one of those ports that does both: you can’t get in until your assigned time, and they are notoriously slow in immigration. Two things happened on our boarding day they where 800 were to board that day. 
 

First, Oceania gave out far more early boarding times than the port could handle. Many of those with assigned early boarding times were given new later boarding times upon arrival by the port personnel. Second, all those fans of Boardamania with later times were turned away. They couldn’t enter, to get a new later boarding time until their original assigned time. If the new assignment was more than one hour out, you couldn’t wait in the waiting area. We arrived at our assigned time of 2:00, they took our baggage, and were then given a 3:30 boarding time. So out into the larger port area we went. Some with 11:00 originally assigned times didn’t board until 2:00.

A couple of thoughts. Had only 250-300 new passengers been boarding, it would probably have been a different experience. Only Oceania knows how many new passengers there will be and they have enough experience at some of these ports, they should have severely limited the number of assigned early boarding and stretch them apart further.
Second, there are those that ignore their assigned time that makes Boardamania worse. I believe Oceania mostly has a set procedure and whatever happens at the port happens. Fortunately, BA was a great terminal with lots of shops and restaurants, so plenty to do while you wait to get into the waiting/boarding area.
 

Fwiw, we all made it on the ship. The ship departed maybe an hour late, but we made the relatively close first port on time the next morning. Go with the flow.

1 minute ago, clo said:

So you're talking thousands of dollars there. Well, that explains the cost. Luckily our daughters haven't cost us a dime since they got married 🙂

 

Daughters always costs their Daddy money!! 🥰 🥂

We are 6-7 years older than Gary, and just don’t see life as either or. We have taken island and land hopping cruises in the Med and enjoyed them immensely. We did a 12 day Vista cruise last summer hitting multiple ports that a day visit was fine for. That cruise had a 3 day stop in Israel, so we got off the ship and spent the nights in Jerusalem which made the logistics for our tours far simpler.

Leading a Group to Tuscany in September for 15 days. Spending nights in Florence, Greve in Chianti, and Montalcino. Could we just stay at one location and make longer commutes every day? Yes, but those easy pack/unpacks makes the rest of our adventures so much easier. Additionally, like a cruise, every day is not doing wine tastings. I have down days planned for the hot springs, shopping, or just doing nothing. 
 

We’ve done combo trips of doing Lake Como and the Piedmont/Barolo wine area staying in Monteforte. Etc, etc. 

There are times for cruise ships and times for land trips. We are still physically able to enjoy both. A land trip doesn’t have to be “ pack and unpack every day or every other day “!

Fwiw, We took the granddaughters on vacation last summer. Age 10 &12. They wore grandpa out!! 😂 Much like the 30 year old daughter, they would have worn us out whether on a cruise or land trip. Comparing trips with them vs Elderly friends is like comparing apples to elephants. 🙄

We’ll be eating Italian food while there. Some prefer Americanized Italian while some of us prefer real Italian when we can get it. Our chosen restaurants for lunch and dinner don’t appear to primarily cater to the NoNos. All that is personal preference.

I was in a resort once that collected everything left on unattended loungers before 9:00. Probably helped as much as anything. 

23 hours ago, Harters said:

We're going to a 5* resort in Cyprus in the autumn where, apparently, they have the same arrangements for sun beds. Obviously, they'll have the space to do that which a ship can't. We're looking forward to seeing how this place compares with the "hotel" side of things on an Oceania ship. It seems to be potentially similar - speciality restaurants, free booze, shows in the evening, etc. 

Not really one of the Lounger people, not for the past 30 years anyway. However, from observation, the issue aboard ship seems to be with those wanting a lounger in the shade. I often see full Sun loungers available, but not those hidden under the overhang. In the 5* resorts we have visited, for those that want them, umbrellas are always available to hide from the sun. Because of space limitations, not so on Oceania ships.

Regarding specialty restaurants: One of the resorts in the Baja had two wonderful Specialties to go with their regular buffet and sit down service restaurants. Several years ago they were forced to go to an allocated reservation system. It had always been first come first with the reservation desk opening at 7:00 am. Lines started forming around 5:30-6:00 in the morning!! That 5:30 was 8:30 ET and those people had no problem getting up that early. For those of us that were on MT or PT, it was an issue. Resort finally changed over to a system much like O. Do it online, in advance, with an allocated number of reservations. Much better system. Allowed us to plan and go into town at least a couple nights for the local flair.