pinotlover

Some posters here are interested in GMs, Exc Concierge, and Chef. I’m much lower key. Where’s our butlers? Is Churchill still on O ships? How about Manny?

True. There are also some lines that offer more late departures and overnights at the same ports visited than others do.

1. First of all, let’s get past the “ unlimited “ claim. If one is in any restaurant and the wine steward only makes it to your table 2-3 times during the meal, you only get that many drinks.Therefore, claims of unlimited are laughable. On full capacity ships the Terrace is for Teatotallers. One might only see a wine steward once during their meal. How unlimited does one (1) sound? 2. Once aboard, you will find a bar menu in each of the bars and restaurants. A. The wines “ By the Glass” are exactly the same in all venues. Those wines are included in both packages. B. The liquor drinks on the menus may vary by venue. For example, in Martinis the bar menu typically features a host of martinis!! These are included in the premium package. All drinks may not be available in all the bars. C. The Specialties often have drinks and wine listed on the DINNER menu ( not the bar menu) that are not included in the Packages . ASK before ordering. D. Waves Bar and the Terrace Cafe are infamous in having daily special beers, wines, and fufu drinks that are not in the bar menu and are not included in the packages. Be aware of what you order. 3. the Wines by the glass rarely if ever change during a cruise. They might run out of a wine and replace it with another, or they may just be out of that wine for the remainder of the cruise. My tip is once you get the bar menu, and the list of wines therein, study it a bit because that’s what you’ll have for the cruise unless you buy other wines. 4. Even though certain mixed drinks may be included in the package, all such drinks are not available in all venues. One might not be able to get that martini they liked in Martinis in Horizons or Toscana.

Is this policy still enforce? Will it be so after 9/1? The first come first serve system this established was highly controversial because it supplanted the written Oceania policy of boarding by room category.

A question. I know the bigwigs are aboard which may affect things, but are they enforcing the dress codes in the GDR and Specialties, or is it still hit or miss?

You might ask this question to your TA, no one here can say for sure. Otherwise, you will get your blue book that will have all your boarding details closer to your sailing. It does sound as if the ship might be arriving a bit later back to port for Disembarkment and boarding is pushed out a couple of hours. Best bet is to ask your TA .

absolutely. Maybe, maybe not sometimes yes if on the bar menu

Fwiw, our cruise Embarkment is in Bilboa. I believe most everyone is being routed through/to Madrid . You don’t want to go direct from Bilboa, because that would mean transfers from Chatwick. Or you could go BIL-MAD-LHR-LAX. We choose to go in 3 days early and do a private tour of Burgos and the Rioja wine region. We’ll sightsee Bilboa and the Guggenheim on Embarkment Day. The day prior is a Monday and everything is closed. Long story short, you should expect a short flight to Madrid and then connecting from there as necessary.

Let Destination Services or someone know and get their approval. We did a delightful private tour well out into the Croatian country side seeing from beautiful unique sites. No way was getting back to the ship for, imo, a stupidly early 5:00 departure from Split feasible. We ended out tour in the next port which was Dubrovnik. What an absolutely lovely town. We had a wonderful dinner and then strolled the enchanting streets without all the cruising crowds. Next morning out on our private tour of the city, with a stop by our hotel to pickup our bags, prior to reboarding the ship by the designated time. We’re travelers, for us a night in Dubrovnik far outdoes a night aboard. Others have their own opinions on the issue. Truth be told had Oceania done a late departure from Split or particularly Dubrovnik we wouldn’t have spent the night. Guess getting out to sea early and the casino and shops open was more important .

Mauibabes’s recommended is fine if you schedule that reservation for 7:30-8:00. We normally do the GDR for the first evening. Typically we don’t rush aboard and have the early buffet lunch, but have a nice leisurely lunch ashore and wait for mayhem to calm before boarding. Therefore, we may not be particularly hungry that first night. Also, there are the exhausted ones from just flying in and you see literally falling over in the plates trying to stay awake past the first course. More importantly, if one’s Day 2 is a port day, and we’re doing typical private shore tours, then the tour leaders are typically doing meet and greets on Embarkment eve. These are not the giant RC M&Gs, but smaller ones for all the guests participating in the shore excursions. It’s a chance to clarify and coordinate tour details, plus meet your fellow tour members. Alcohol is typically involved. Historically, these were done after the safety drills. Since the formal safety drill appears to no longer be held, I guess start times for those functions are now more flexible. Still, locking one self into a set dinner time on Embarkment night is not practical. Do you realize how many incredible sail aways there often are on Embarkment Day??? Plenty of time to eat in the Specialties. Be careful loading down your schedule on Embarkment Eve. There’s a reason that 6:30 reservation may well be available. I prefer flexibility that first evening.

Hank; While I tend to agree with you, I’m just explaining the way it is. Oceania ships have a set bar menu for that ship/sailing that includes certain wines by the glass, specific beers, and liquors. Anything not listed on that ship wide menu is extra. The answer to your larger question is revenue. A perfect example is in the Terrace ( Buffet). Nearly daily, Oceania displays and is promoting beers and wines to accompany one’s meal. Those items are rarely significantly of better quality or higher in cost than the entrees on the bar menu included in the packages. They do come with an additional cost to the cruiser. Ask before you order.

1. There is no set menu for Embarkment Day in the GDR. The menu typically rolls on about a 14 day schedule, while cruise lengths may be 7,10,12,14, etc. One never knows where they are on the food rotation on Embarkment Day. 2. Their recommendations for food pairings listed on the nightly menus are hit and miss. They are definitely not professionally done.

Wine by the bottle is not included in any package. The Specialties often have dedicated beverages that are not included. Examples are Japanese beer and sake in Red Ginger. Likewise, in Toscana they frequently offer a limoncello that isn’t included on any package. Even in the Terrace they often feature daily special beers or wine that aren’t on any package. They typically never inform you that it’s not included until they bring you the bill. The ONLY wine, beer, or spirits included in the Premium Package are those listed on the drinks menu as “ by the glass “. Everything else, you pay. If you don’t see it listed on the drinks menu( not the food menu) always ask. Chances are you’re paying otherwise.

My current personal view is, I’m just waiting until October when we’re allowed to sail again. At this point, I don’t believe what they DID pre Covid matters much anymore. I likewise don’t believe what they did ( and are doing) on low capacity sailings matters one iota as to future full capacity sailings. Our October Sirena is completely full and still waitlisted. The ship will have been sailing six months by then. Plenty of time to get any kinks worked out. With a completely full ship and crew, We expect to see the new Oceania product, whatever that may be.

We are looking for Bizz Class. May consider dropping down to PE. Their BC tickets are currently a bit steep. Might wait and watch.

Fully aware of that, thanks. If I go AA/BA, this is the only one stop available out of BNA. Everything else is a two stop still requiring LHR. Turkish Airlines is the only other 1 stop, but oh so pricey or with undoable connections.

I need a bit of crystal balling. Looking at BA flight , for next June, through LHR. Specifically BNA-LHR-IST. The advertised flight has a 2 hour 15 minute layover at LHR. If current conditions continue, will that be sufficient layover time?

Therefore, if you are participating in an organized tour, be it ship or private, you need a mobility pass. We got the pass last year. It requires full vaccination.

I’ve spoken with Patrick Watts and he’s pretty confident that the Falklands will reopen this year. Tour operators in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile are likewise fairly confident. All say you will be vaccinated and probably even tested before entry. One did say, without defining the term significant “ if a significant outbreak occurs aboard ship, expect the ship to be turned away”. Therein lies our greatest risk due to the continuing stream of variants hitting us. We’re booked for Feb into March. We’ve had cruises there cancelled two years in a row. If this year doesn’t go, we’re walking away. It’ll just be a cruise we never take. I just don’t have the energy or excitement to do all the extensive planning and prep anymore. I’ve worked with some of these tour operators for three years, it’s 2023 or never. We have a couple traveling with us in the same situation with the same frame of mind.

Without quoting all the previous posts, a couple of comments. 1. I certainly know adamant antivaxers that earlier canceled all their cruises, and that will now sign up again. 2. My greatest fear is how the entire ship may be treated just because it has unvaccinated guests aboard. Like Sunlover, we are on the October Sirena cruise scheduled for Morocco. Those countries may well say that not only can the unvaccinated not come ashore, but the ship can’t even dock!! Oceania will then claim “ it’s just a missed port”. To us, it’s much bigger than a missed port. It’s a missed port only because of the policy changes.We don’t want missed ports for the sole purpose of facilitating the unvaccinated.

Very tight schedule, probably too much so. Your larger issue is whether everything goes to schedule in the canal and locks entering Amsterdam. Being 15-30 minutes off schedule is not unusual.

One of the areas missed is South America. To enter Argentina or Chile one must be vaccinated. We’re on a B. A. -Lima cruise in February. Doesn’t sound like the unvaccinated will even be allowed on the plane to get there. Oceania’s policy means squat. Same goes for the Santiago-BA cruise preceding ours. Once Japan opens back up, does anyone here believe the unvaccinated will be let in? I’m doubtful anyone will get into Australia or NZ unvaccinated either. This new policy has put off information on all of these ports.

I love staying in the smaller Irish villages, hitting the pubs at night, eating a fun meal, drinking a fresh Guinness, and listening to the music in the pubs. So many charming places to stay and visit. I believe that cruises provide an excellent model to visit some regions. I just believe that Ireland and southern England are much better done by land tours. In that both speak English, that makes it even easier.

Disappointed! IMO there is zero reason to drop the vaccination requirements.

According to industry rags, pre Covid the industry book to sail rate was about 3 to 1. That is about for every 3 cruises booked/reserved only 1 actually paid and sailed. The others canceled along the way. Post Covid the number of cancellations are far higher but not yet stated. Viking is reported to have one of the highest book to sail rate. Mostly only those really interested in a cruise puts down their money up front. Oceania’s $750 deposit is chump change for many of its passengers. That’s why so many cruises are waitlisted early on and the waitlists clears. Different lines, different strategies.