Playtennis

Is the Bell Street Pier (Pier 66) still the one that O uses?

Are you saying you can now swap it for wine??

We were on Regatta in April 2016 & Marina 2015 no swapping then

I am talking about A level cabins

I am sure the top suites can do anything with the included wine/spirits

We were in a penthouse last year and were not permitted to swap.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Kuodo travel is amazing! You are in good hands with Meri!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We have reserved a tour with Kuodo for our post cruise. I did some research and found them to be well applauded. It's great to have that confirmed again!!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

You should blame CC -- since they are using the cookies stored on your computer to generate ads that are more relevant to your browsing history.

 

First get a good AV program and run it regularly to get rid of the tracking cookies.

 

Two get an adblocker to block the ads.

I have an add from Uber and I have never used them not do I have their app on my phone. Not sure how this relates to my browsing history.

While it is difficult to prove a negative, since CC has not responded to this thread you could be correct about blaming CC.

Along with these ads I just received a mailing that used my military title in the address. THAT is definitely off a mailing list that the organization bought since it is a very non-military source.

These appear as a start of a new thread. Here are titles that I see right now:

From Tips.life "12 Cancer Causing Food You May Be Eating Daily!"

From Sprint. "Switch your number to Sprint and Save 50%"

One appears on the Oceania board and the other on the roll call list for Regatta.

Two others that I noticed today have already disappeared.

These are NOT pop up ads! They are buried in the CC blogs

I do not see them on my computer but only on my iPhone.

Have seen a number of ads published on the CC boards recently. Is CC generating revenue or are these spams?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We will be on a cruise visiting ports in Central and South America. Does anyone know which shots are required and those that would be better to have but not required?

 

All of the upper outdoor decks are fairly well illuminated at night.

Cabins above the Penthouse level are furnished with binoculars, otherwise bring your own.

You may want to try the aft deck just above the barista. It was used strictly as a walking area and may be less lit. If memory serves, it is the same level as the putting green on the forward part of the ship

I think that what also one needs to take into consideration is what a passenger will consider his/their ...anniversary, etc. we've celebrated on board an anniversary that in actuality was the day after the cruise.

So shoot me[emoji88]

I have been surprised at the shocked comments about the cost of drinks on board the Oceania ships. Some have complained loudly about the 'outrageous' cost.

To that I would like to relate two events.

Last year I stopped into a local dive to kill time before picking up my Chinese dinner order. The joint was small with two TV screens, a pool table and a plume of smoke from cigarettes. I ordered a Jack Daniels, sipped it slowly to time the finish with my drink and left paying $9.50... This was NOT a center city upscale bar but a local bar in a suburban strip mall.

The second event happens in Miami where we stayed prior to our Caribbean cruise on board the Riviera. We got to the restaurant early and paused at the outdoor bar for an appetizer and a drink. We ordered - DW a gin and tonic and I a Gray Goose martini we shared a crab appetizer. Want to guess what the total bill for that was?? $76!!!! $19 for each of the drinks and the other for the crab.

So, I ask you, is $11.50 an outrageous charge for a drink?!?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Does the bathroom on the Riviera (balcony) have a night light?

Yes

To the left of the mirror there is a a little square thingie (technical term) that when u press it it lights up and stays on. It gives u enough light to ensure that u don't fall into the commode but not enough to wake your bed partner

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We understand that the Super Bowl on February 1 WILL be broadcast on our cruise, Riviera out of Miami

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Big Packer fans and our first Oceania cruise; have they been broadcasting the games on the ships? Thanks!

What cruise are you on?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Receiving several offers from Oceania. First we were offered to extend our 2/13 Riviera to a 20 day cruise. Then they asked if we would change to a date in March, for a discount. The latest was to downgrade from a Penthouse Suite to a Concierge balcony, for $2000.00 reduction.

 

I checked the availability and noted that the suites are wait listed. The Verandahs are not. I have only done Penthouse Suites on Oceania. I have seen Verandah and Concierge cabins and would not do that.

 

Business must be good.

If my math is correct, the difference between a Penthouse and a Concierge - even considering dropping from a P3 to an A1, the listed price difference is $800 pp. So for two that really means you were offered a whopping $400 to switch. That's insulting!:eek:

We had a 20 day cruise in September where O started to offer about the same thing for swapping down from a P-1 to an A-1. We at first refused but DW and I did some calculating and set an amount that we would accept. The final offer finally came in and it actually exceeded our goal so we grabbed it. The final offer was for $10,499 difference! THAT was worth it! Found out in a day or two that another couple and received the same offer and also took it. The cruise had been over booked in the P category.

It does pay to figure out what you are willing to accept and then wait.

I'm a little confused on the details. It would depend on which suite he had but on most cruises $5000 wouldn't even cover the difference between an upper suite and a Ocean View.

 

 

 

Perhaps if he had a PH suite on a shorter cruise.

Agree with you; $5,000 is not very much. We were on a 20 day Scandinavian cruise this summer having booked a PH1. We started getting offers to downgrade that were, well, insulting to our intelligence (or at least our ability to add and subtract). About 3 weeks before the cruise we were offered a dollar under $11,000 to move down to an A1. That's a lot of dining out money!! So we grabbed the offer

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Voila ;)

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appgrade.smartbarpro&hl=en

Thanks. It looks like it's for Android phones and not iPhones :mad:

Alternatively, there is an App called Smartbar which will enable you to turn off all roaming EXCEPT the program that you are using.

Thanks to all for your help. We will try all of the methods recommended, the first being treating the phone as if it's in the US, i.e. 00+1+number, thence country code for the UK....

S&J, tried to find the Smartbar app for my iPhone and then did a google for it. The only thing that showed up was dealing with bar codes.

Blue tooth would not affect the calling or data stream.

Verizon's method of using international calling/data is to have you tell them when you are leaving the US and when you are returning to the US. That's the only time it's effective - no contract.

What verizon told me was that the phone is treated as if it's in that country. I asked them about region & city code usage but really did not get a satisfactory answer. I will be calling them again (maybe two more times) to see if the agent can tell me something (different) more concrete. It's not that I don't trust them but....:rolleyes:

DW and I have signed up for an international calling plan for both our phones through our carrier, Verizon Wireless. We have the calling guide for using the phone in country, between countries and to and from the U.S.

However, the only question that remains unanswered is - how do we call each other while there? Would we need to treat the phone as if it's in the U.S. and dial the U.S. country code (00+1+area code and number) or ???

Has anyone had experience with this and can advise us?

Can anyone tell me if there is a ping pong table on the Insignia? If so, where is it located? Thanks for your help.

Wasn't "Ping Pong" the name of the house boy in Elvis Presley's movie "Blue Hawaii"?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Today we finally received the letter of authorization from O to deviate from the ships movement. It took almost 3 weeks. It is definitely a form letter as it suggests that we contact special services prior to final payment to confirm. Final payment was 4 months ago!

Sharing information as is done on these boards is important. One of the other couples on our Scandinavian cruise was going to get off the ship at the Hellesylt stop and miss the ship's movement up the fjord to Geiranger. He was going to take the local ferry over and beat the ship there. After reading my query he decided he'd better get permission too.

SHARE IT ALL! As most of you are most graciously willing to do.

Has anyone signed up for the Musical Evening at the Hermitage?

 

Are you also doing the SPB or our local tours during that day?

Welcome to the CC boards.

You will find the roll call for your cruise here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1825903

That;s the place to find info and others for your tours, etc.

The roll call has been active since April of last year!:eek:

Great start to the voyage! As we will be on Nautica in less than 2 months we look forward to seeing photos of the refurbished ship!

I agree a no brainer but some people like the security of the ship's tours & are willing to pay for it

 

To each his own

 

Lyn

While I agree that MOST O excursions are over priced sometimes they aren't. We are booked on a Caribbean cruise in January. I've researched some tours and snorkeling trips etc. through island companies and then compared them to O's prices. They are comparable. and yes I did look at what we were getting for the $$.

Do they open at midnight EST the day you are first able to reserve? We like to eat pretty early and find those spots are taken very quickly, so we want to get a jump on it next cruise...

 

I've had problems in the past with the website booking reservations - our 45 day out is on a Sunday - is Oceania customer service open on Sunday?

 

Thanks! :)

I was also able to reserve at midnight (EST)

We asked our TA to get us this form. She called Oceania and they said that there no such form and that any required paperwork should be done by the company that booked the excursion. Does anyone have a copy of this form? Maybe it could be mailed to rdmsb1 @ Live dot com.

 

Thanks.

It's not the excursion that you need permission for, it's the need to deviate from the ship's movement, i.e. you ain't getting back on board when the ship leaves a port. For that your TA will need to ask for an "Alternate Port Request".