pinotlover

Thank You for a great review. I have long lamented the lack of knowledge of the wine stewards. They are not Sommeliers and shouldn’t be referred to as such. I’m a Riedel man myself, but would gladly take your selection over what is currently used. Our food experience over the last three cruises in the past nine months has been a combination of excellent meals, mediocre meals, and the occasional poor meal. Truly a box of chocolates. We have essentially given up on lobster aboard ship. Our last attempt was on Vista in the Terrace. It was so overcooked it was inedible. Not even able to cut it with a steak knife. We heard reports the same as yours from the lobster in PG. We went to Maine last fall to eat lobster . Lots of food aboard ship, best to skip the lobster. Oceania stopped enforcing the dress code pre Pandemic. Some like to push the limits. A child’s game. Barrista on the Vista is tremendous. I wish they could/would upgrade the other ships to its standard. The skipping of ports is a major issue with us. We cancelled a 35 day cruise on O because of the games they played with cancelling ports on two straight cruises. This is a new development we are watching closely. This issue takes on additional significance because of the new SM program. Will cruisers eat the credits for SM tours planned for missed ports that can’t be rebooked?

In September or maybe October, Oceania is going to release its 2025- 2026 Schedule. Check back after that release. I would love a cruise where the ship hit the major N. African ports all on one itinerary. Oceania obviously feels there is no such demand, amongst it cruisers, for that itinerary, not even one time. So I wait. Viking had an incredible Adriatic itinerary that we jumped on. Oceania shows no desire to duplicate. O wants one to take 3 cruises to hit those all those ports. 🙄. As to the HAL cruise listed, we have little desire to do one TA, with multiple sea days, no less two on one itinerary.

I think it’s labeled as a Cabernet Sauvignon. However, it’s strictly a private label, and since it’s a gift and not for sale, the labeling requirements are suspect. I believe there is cab in it, but not nearly enough to meet US label regs.But again, it’s not sold aboard ship, it’s merely a gift. Never look a gift horse in the mouth! 🤫. Just pass it on!

The Cyclops isn’t part of the wines by the glass package in the various venues. It’s an O Club level gift to the cabin, separate and in addition to the bottle of bubbly for Concierge and above cabins. Yes! Some of the wines in the package are fine. Some are very weak. The situation also revolves around what is actually in stock during one’s cruise. People quickly learn which are the better wines and particularly on longer cruises they can disappear quickly.

Linked to a statement made by Pinion Noir, I once asked a wine steward if I could trade in the red Cyclops wine Oceania gives us and get a free corkage on a bottle of my wine in its place. She laughed and said “ No!”. That wine has no redeeming values. Our room attendant said they can’t take, if left it just goes to the next cruiser. The wine steward said very few people actually bring it to dinner to drink. After the first bottle, people just leave it in the cabin.

Everything won’t change after 10/1. There will still be corkage for bottles of wine brought into the venues that are not from the ship.

Oceania does not enforce the six bottle limit. They allow you to bring whatever you choose aboard. This applies to wine, beer, and liquor. Please, no what outs ! 🙄 If it contains alcohol, it’s included in the above.🥂

I wasn’t offended and hope you weren’t. My response is merely to point out that a percentage of Oceania cruisers either don’t or can’t do shore tours. This credit isn’t going to prompt people to do otherwise. For many, it’s merely a price hike. They’ll have to decide whether the new product, at the new price, is something they want. The second paragraph merely lays out why Oceania has to do things differently. 1. Cruise Only obviously isn’t generating the needed revenue. 2. Oceania continually needs to run endless “ sales” to fill its ships. They only do that because the current programs aren’t meeting a wide enough audience’s wants. Something different is required. Whether SM is the answer, only time will tell.

Thank you to the OP for a thoughtful, informative, and insightful review of the Owners Suite. I believe it’s been years since we’ve seen one. 🍷

Not in many of O cruiser’s case. Vineyard View ignores all the cruisers that cruise for the ship only. He ignored all those that rarely, if ever, even get off the ship in ports. Most importantly he ignored all those that aren’t so senile to understand they’re not in any physical condition to get off the ship for tours. If they do start doing tours, we want to ensure they all go on the ship tours with Vineyards View! 😇 For many, Simply More is merely a fare increase. Probably a fare increase Oceania needs, but a fare increase regardless. In these days of staggering debt, if you don’t take Oceania Air ( a profit center); if you don’t take Oceania shore tours ( a big profit center); and you never buy Oceania’s booze ( a profit center), then Oceania is probably either going to be charging you more upfront, looking to replace you with a different customer base , or both. Life goes on.

Yes

Also, when in rough seas and the water is sloshing vigorously, the pool will be drained and not refilled until calmer waters. It will be cleaned thoroughly before refilling.

Your primary question has been well answered. I will add a second point which for some reason catches some unprepared. Ensuite dining, from the Specialty restaurants or the GDR, from your butler is available: During the regular hours of that venue. I have heard quite a number of past cruisers in despair because they couldn’t order in that Polo Grill meal at 4:30 in the afternoon. The restaurants don’t open until 6:30, so you can’t order until then.

I believe we’ll have to wait and see. On my Viking cruise, we had ship tours provided at every port. Many didn’t interest us, so we took private tours. Most all of them were filled by like souls via our Roll Call. Some people, even with the free provided tours, opted to stay aboard ship and relax. I believe both of these scenarios will continue on Oceania at about the same rate as current regardless of SM. We are NOT going to fly halfway around the world, to visit a possible bucket list port/site, and then take a ship tour we have no interest in! Those that just want to primarily cruise will continue to do so, tour credits or not. Likewise, we may have had the drinks package and still either bought a bottle of wine ,or pay corkage on a bottle . We don’t feel obliged to only drink what the package offers. We have the option of converting our next cruise to SM. Oceania doesn’t offer enough tours we’re interested in to eat up the credits or cover the added costs. We’ll stay OLife for that cruise. For future booking, where SM is the only option, SM merely reflects a portion of the total cost of the cruise. The question becomes:Is Oceania offering the best itinerary and offerings with that cruise. Just because SM is our only choice on O, we don’t feel obligated to take any tours with them or to drink their wine on any given night.

You must have their booking #.

Redtravel; It doesn’t surprise me at all concerning the availability of PE upgrades. For those airlines actually offering PE services it has become a very popular class of service. What your TA is really saying is the airlines aren’t releasing PE seats for discounted fares, thus Oceania has none to offer. I’d consider paying the airline offered insurance and booking my own flights where PE is still available . I don’t fit well into an economy seat for 8-9+ hours.

On the rare occasions I book an Oceania shore excursion, I always have my TA do it. This is especially the case when booking 3 or more!! Unlike those above that obviously enjoy spending an hour or more on the phone with dial a Clerk, I refuse to do so. She always comes back with the correct pricing and the numbers correct. I never begrudge her commissions either. There are options to all this frustration.

I personally dislike the entire communistic concept of pooled tips. The wait team across the restaurant did absolutely nothing for me. Why should any part of my tip to my waiter go to them? Some waiters will only work in venues where tips are pooled and shared. Others will only work in venues where they get what they earn. When I walk into a new restaurant, I grade them on food and service quality. I don’t obsess over tipping policy, or ask how it’s administered there.

First come first service. I did not see any one Bogarting them like happens with the loungers on the pool deck.

Having sailed on Vista, and eaten in Embers, this is my perspective. A high percentage on every Oceania cruise is Americans. Embers is a replica of the multiple upscale chain restaurants Americans eat in daily. Embers serves the non descript food many Americans want, at a faster pace than the other restaurants . We had quite a few passengers on our cruise that enjoyed Embers. You can read hundreds of posts here where many just want simple bland food. Embers delivers for them. We found the food mediocre, along with the service, and the noise deafening. We were at a two top and could barely hear one another. Jacques is gone on the new A Class ships. People need to get over it! A bit of creative marketing actually. As the R ships are rotated out of service, the O Class ships without all the A Class improvements, then approaching 15+ years old becomes the older ships. For all those Jacques fans, the restaurant becomes a draw for the “ older” ships. Smart, I say. If everything else was the same, people would generally take newer.

This has been stated on multiple times and here goes again. Additional Specialty reservations can be made on the day of the planned meal. Go to the Dining Reservation Desk, typically located on deck 5, and talk the the reservation clerk there. Best to go early in the morning, additional reservations are first come first served with some cabin status preferences.

You forget one important detail. The Air department is a profit center for O. What they pay for air has little to do with the air credits. The air credit should merely be viewed as what they charge YOU for the ticket. Not what they pay for the ticket.

Good luck with this plan!! 😂 On Vista, quite a number would be dropping Embers for a different reservation! Except on long cruises, it’s hard to get a second reservation in Jacques even with a butler. The quoted plan will have very little success today. Since it’s the OPs first time abroad, I’d recommend trying each of the venues to determine how they match up with your tastes. Experience them, before you judge them.

Oceania shore excursions are added to the listings all the time. Some may not appear until 4-6 months out. Some are also cancelled even after originally being offered. It wasn’t that long ago they didn’t appear for booking until around 9 months out. From the multiple complaints on my latest three cruises, in the past nine months, concerning tour descriptions not matching up with the actual tours, I’d be inclined to not book shorexs too early.

With the potential doubling of people trying to surf, stream, etc, will the system handle it? I’m not sure this is a plus or a negative. Starlink was very nice on the Vista, but there were still times service was slow to non existent. Now a doubling of potential users! 🙄