mauibabes

When we were in Polo on Vista and we noticed the Prime Rib was no longer available but had been replaced by a new high end brand of steak, can not recall the brand though. There were two steaks with one being a huge Tomahawk steak for two. We saw it and figured any good Cardiologist would recommend it be shared among 8 people 🤪🙏 Enjoy if that is your thing. Mauibabes

Check the Roll Call for your cruise as often times people are advertising for additional people to share the fare. When we got off in Trieste in May, we joined a family so there were 7 of us and it was $50 pp in a private van. The ship will offer a bus to the airport and it was either $69 or $89 pp. I recall a lot of people got off the ship and had vans or cars waiting for them just by the parking area at the end of the pier so it should be an easy task. By the way, it was about a two hour drive to the Courtyard by Marriott next to the Marco Polo Airport Ciao, Mauibabes

Too many thousands on the line to worry and suffer anxiety attacks as the deadline for Oceania to have your Passport information. Have friends who applied in April and have not heard a word. You roll your dice 😇🤙🙏🤞🛳️ Mauibabes

Vineyard, You are on Oceania, not a ship full of kids and party animals. Whether by the Concierge Lounge or Executive Lounge on Riviera, Marina or Vista, I have not encountered lots of loud guests. Even rooms near the stairs and elevators are not normally noisy and we have been one or two rooms away from all those locations. We actually have friends who specifically book by the Lounge because they are early risers and he loves to get his 5:00 a.m. coffee and read each morning. One time we were assigned an PH about two rooms forward of the front stairwell and that has turned out to be a favorite location. No one walks past our room unless they are headed to their room, no bar traffic or restaurant traffic. Keep enjoying that cruise. Mauibabes

@stonepebble Glad to answer any questions anytime. If you need to ask Q’s off line, feel free to email me. We are glad to share what we have learned about O over the years with you. Enjoy, Mauibabes

@Norseh2o Ditto Pinot, EXPEDITER is the only way you will be sailing because the Passport offices are buried and there is NO chance even an expedited renewal will get through before a Fall cruise. HUSTLE, AAA takes Passport photos too. Mauibabes

Usually we see pretzel’s or potato chips, or mixed nuts brought to your table by the server when they are taking your drink order and they will refill if you have the munchies. If you are in a PH, your Butler will bring you a variety of appetizers and one of those options can be mixed nuts. Bring a few baggies with you on the trip and pour any remaining room snacks into a bag as that can help get you through a long shore excursion on a following day. If you are a cold water drinker and need ice water on tours, consider bringing your own insulated flask because the ship provided flasks are not well insulated and sweat a lot. Your Room Steward can be instructed to keep your ice bucket filled a couple times a day so you can fill your water bottle or make your own drinks. There are also water filling stations all over the ship and a waiter will refill it for you at a restaurant. Also, if you are a soda drinker, Coke products are under contract in the Staterooms but if a Pepsi drinker, advise your TA or Oceania Rep to have your soda of choice in your refrigerator in lieu of Coke. If specific mixes, Ginger Ale or other drinks are needed, let Oceania know in advance of your sailing. The Staff Store can procure any special items for a guests needs. Enjoy your cruise and welcome to the family. Mauibabes

Do not let the 2 for 1 Happy Hour reported requirements get to you, no big deal. Whenever we arrive, 5-5:30, DW orders her Villa Maria white wine, one arrives and she sips. About 6:00 the server comes bye and she takes delivery of her “second”. Sometimes that glass even makes its way to the restaurant of choice for the evening OR more sips and it is GONE. If she takes delivery of both at the same time, I can assist her in sipping 😇👍. If I opt for a Big O Martini or something else or just a glass of Sparkling Water, it is no big deal and the Server’s are very accommodating. After the first night if we particularly liked our “attentive” server, we will confirm their location the next evening and by day two, we have a new best friend with a bottle of wine caring for us and delivering the HH salty snacks or post 6:00 appetizers. Sometimes you even have to “taste” the wine to be sure it is of your liking before allowing them to fill the glass or maybe kill a bottle. For us, HH drinks for two is in the $25-28 range including the gratuity. We always have plenty of SBC to spend and what better way than to socialize and watch the world go bye. Some nice music and singer in Horizons and the always nice but definitely busier, Martini’s bar with the piano player. You can even catch the String Quartet playing a bit later in the evening outside the GDR. Lots of fun meeting new guests and making new friends. Just Enjoy, you are on vacation and if you are new to Oceania, welcome because you are now family. 🤪🙏🛳️ Mauibabes

If I may, IMHO I don’t think past experiences on any cruise line are valid unless they are Post Covid. For us all to maintain credibility as posters on this Board, please focus your perceptions and experiences on Post Covid sailings. Every line has taken a huge hit, whether it is staff, food, cuisine changes, cutbacks, price increases, and you can keep going. People need to re-establish their cruise line relationships and opinions and perceptions because everything has changed. New ships are coming on line for most all lines which will necessitate the need for 10’s of thousands of new, trained cruise ship staff, and the debt load the lines are carrying is staggering so the only thing we know for sure is, “Change is inevitable”. Staff have come and gone, training has come and gone and perhaps some of our memories of the past have come and gone as well. The beat goes on but most importantly, Yesterday’s Gone. Well, that’s my two cents and by the way, we have sailed about 100 days over 7 segments on Oceania Riviera, Marina and Vista Post Covid and we are still quite impressed with the Oceania product. Perfect, NO, but still an amazing cruise value as far as we are concerned. No comments about any other line because based on my criteria expressed above, my experiences and perceptions would not be relevant. Off the soap box 🤪🙏👍 Mauibabes

Bob, since I believe you are aboard Insignia now, I would never bet against your “Insider” info. As for not filling an R ship, I have heard about release day sell outs of ATW’s in the past but perhaps that was only for the Allocated ATW rooms for that year. We did a wonderful segment of the 2018 ATW, Beijing to Sydney, and I would definitely consider a 2026 segment on Vista. Remember, Allura will be joining the fleet in 2025 and she will assume some some of the many Oceania itineraries. Bob, thanks for providing the “stuff that dreams are made of”, oh yes, and maybe the numbers for a winning Lottery ticket 😇🙏💰🛳️🤞 Mauibabes

If I may, one of the many reasons to use a TA is as Mark says, they may have special arrangements with Oceania or travel consortiums that offer Free Gratuities with a booking on a specific cruise. A DIYer will not get this benefit. Also for the loyalists among us, once at the 10 cruise level will we automatically receive Free Gratuities as a part of Oceania’s Loyalty Club for all future cruises. Bottom line, Yes there can be some valuable benefits for cruising Oceania whether being a DIYer or TA user. Also, the Specialty dining allocations are still Free or should we make others happy by saying “Included” ? Actually some may even dine more frequently in the Specialty restaurants based on their Stateroom level but that is for another post. Have a wonderful 4th of July. Mauibabes

@shepherd really Thanks for the nice comment and I can agree with you, it would seem like a fixable situation for maintenance but undoubtedly the sliders will be an issue with Marina’s refurb. We have been on Marina a couple times since her return for 32 days + and we had no such issues with the closet doors but that was our rooms. Always better to stay positive when traveling. 👍😇 Mauibabes

@vlthom I guess my Rube Goldberg fixes for what ails you elicited a few comments. I thought Traveling with my favorite Bungy cord was a pretty good idea, you just never know when it will come in handy. Loved the “Jam the Slipper pak” idea, will add it to my list of fixes or maybe send it on to Heloise’s Hints next revision 🤪. I think I will suggest to O that they start selling Oceania Duct Tape for Big O Point redemption because we all have a little McGiver in us. What could be better advertising for O, the ultimate fix for that airline thrashed suitcase for your travel home 😇👍. Actually on those Transatlantic trips when guests are creating their sailing boats for the competition, that new O Duct Tape could be quite valuable. 🙏🤙🛳️ Enjoy your trip, in spite of the hiccups. Mauibabes

@vlthom The bathroom door could always be an issue so we always carried a Bungy cord with us and connect the bathroom door to the cabin door handle so it did not rattle and was alway open for those early a.m. trips. No Banging or door to slam in the rough seas. See if your steward or maintenance or perhaps another guest might have one to share. For the closet door, close it tightly and stuff a towel between the door and the wall. That has worked for us in the past. We had a damaged keypad on our safe and after a “Look See” by maintenance and no solution because they had no parts available, we ultimately had the Supervisor at our door and a maintenance man walking down the hall carrying a new safe. All good! 👍🙏 Good luck. Mauibabes

Polo Appetizers if I remember correctly. Just Enjoy, Mauibabes

Don’t throw in your towels yet folks, there remains a Cruise Only price, so the grapevine says. I am sure we will see the official information shortly since It Is July 1. Is the overall price going up, sure but the one thing I have learned from 15 years of sailing on Oceania, it is about the overall Value. Each of us will make our own determination of value so when we do our comparisons with other lines and cruises, we will make our best decisions. No one likes “Paying” More but just maybe Simply More will still give us the Value we desire. JMHO. Oh, and for what it’s worth, I am not a paid Influencer 🤪, We just happen to have found a wonderful home and family with Oceania. Since O was FDR’s “Baby”, only time will tell if his successors treat the baby right. While the jury is out, we will get back aboard Vista soon with friends and start planning our future bookings on Allura when O releases itineraries and opens for bookings in September I believe it will be. 🙏🤞. Mauibabes

Privee will be where the Wine Spectator and Dom dinners are served, for up to 10. The Semi-Private dining rooms in Polo, Toscana and maybe Red Ginger are bookable for Wine Pairing dinners I believe, 8-10 guests. We did dine in Privee as a guest when we were aboard and it was a GREAT Dinner AND BEAUTIFUL setting. I usually book thru my TA or contact Oceania directly to make a reservation. A great way to rid yourself of any excess SBC 🤪👍 Enjoy, Mauibabes

Pre AND Post Covid in my experiences, 7 segments/85 days and counting. Yes they do follow up but they can miss some sometimes. Enjoy your cruise, Mauibabes

If referring to my posts, no defense offered, just sharing MHO that Oceania needs to be told and if you want to start at the top of the food chain, the F and B Director is the place to go. The Mid Cruise survey is a hand written one that stays aboard the ship and is turned in to the Reception Desk Staff or adjacent box. The end of cruise survey goes directly to Miami and that is the ships “Report Card” so to speak and the GM and staff never see those comments. I think O has to do a lot of work when it comes to the End of Cruise Survey because it is definitely not an easy process to get thru in a very limited amount of time. On our recent Vista trip I did not get it done because we could not get on line. There should be a way to submit a survey post cruise for a period of days as opposed to people writing an email to Miami. JMHO, Mauibabes

Time to chat with the F and B Director 👍🤬 It will improve! Mauibabes

If you want a FABULOUS view of the Amalfi coast, you MUST take a tour up to Ravello. From the gardens and the amphitheater, the view is SPECTACULAR. out first time was with Atre Johnson (Laugh In fame). Anytime we can do a tour in Amalfi, we head up the hill, it never gets old. I only wish that during the Summer Music Festival season that we could overnight there and have a Tour that included a performance, or maybe even a private performance during the day. 🤪👍 That would be on my Bucket List but alas, we have never been able to work it into a trip but I keep saying, Next Time 🙏😇👍 Enjoy, Mauibabes

@grifdoglover Perhaps someone on board dropped the ball regarding the Mid Cruise follow up but I can say in the past 5 years and over a dozen cruise segments sailed, we have never not been followed up with due to a critical issue on board. In fact they have followed up multiple times by multiple staffers to the same issue, especially if it was under the purview of the F and B Director. I recall dropping by the Concierge desk in our Lounge and he was doing follow up by a list provided him by his boss AND CALLING EVERY GUEST. They do take things seriously so if any guest has a significant issue, it is in every guests best interest if they would make the issue known, be it in the Survey or to Reception or a Concierge. There is nothing worse than a disgruntled guest, IMHO. THEY WANT YOU RETURNING, believe me. As for uninvited guests at the O Club Ambassador’s Party, I must say I am guilty of extending personal invitations or just having new Oceania guest friends join us in line. I will often clear it with the Ambassador before the party and have always been told it was OK to bring them along. Our new friends have been amazed at the number of guests at our Party and the numbers of cruises guests have taken. Perhaps I get away with it because we are at the Platinum level but we did it long before we reached Platinum. Nothing to be concerned about and there is “No Secret Handshake” needed. Enjoy, Mauibabes

We have friends on Nautica now and they sent pictures and say they are LOVING HER. It is JMHO that you can not put the three lines in the same sentence or category. We have sailed Oceania over 25 times and on P and left them 15 years ago and it was on a downward trend then. Never sailed HAL but lots of friends have and never looked back after sailing on O with us. This Board is filled with guests who have fled P and HAL and X and only venture back because a cruise was Comped or other friends wanted/lobbied them to cruise with them and they could not get them to make a switch. X, now that is another issue because they are coming in droves. You can find hundreds of posters on the Board who have asked your same question and it is a very easy answer, try it, you’ll like it. Make your own decisions and do not let a comment here and there dissuade you from giving Oceania a try. There are O cruisers on this Board who have sailed over 40 times and we have sailed recently with a lady who had been on over 100 Oceania cruises. Book and Sail and Enjoy your cruise and then post your own opinion and don’t pay attention to a few negative comments. O is not perfect but it is a far cry better than the mass market lines on the huge ships. 640-1238 passenger ships are far more enjoyable and IMHO you will find your niche with Oceania. When you look at the total cruise experience, you will find Oceania to be the best value going for an Upper Premium cruise line. Again, Try it Mauibabes

Absolutely DITTO. Just go with the intent to have a wonderful time, Attitude is everything and only you are in control of your attitude. If you experience a Lemon, make Lemonade and enjoy your cruise. O wants you to have a wonderful time. Mauibabes

I believe you are right, the staff on Vista had done previous Oceania contracts and had experience so they knew the procedures but it is a new ship with so many new processes to learn. We met many who were only on their second contract so hardly made it to crème de la crème status. I also believe they did not strip the other ships clean of experienced staff, supervisors and managers. We sailed on Marina in January and we talked to MANY experienced staff members who were NOT going to Vista and had not applied either. In October, after the initial contract staff have rotated off, we will see what things are like while a new team gets up to speed. I don’t expect perfection but I do expect amazing efforts to dazzle the guests. Specialty dining reservations are definitely a game to be played, be it when initially released for reservations or when on board. From pictures I have seen of the R ships, it looks like there may be fewer 2 Tops so getting them will always be a challenge. 4 and 6 Tops are more readily available and we normally have no problem getting a reservation because we always travel with friends or encounter old friends from past cruises so sharing a table is easy. If you can be flexible with your dining desires, I am sure you can be accommodated. Here are a few thoughts to consider. #1, Never book a Specialty reservation the first night out, just go to Reservations when you Embark and offer to take any seating in any restaurant they have available, you will normally be successful. #2, Don’t limit yourself to Sea Days only, Availability is minimal as guests in PH and above book 75 days in advance and may take the vast majority of the reservations. #3, Be willing to Share a table, there really are a lot of wonderful people on board you might enjoy meeting, hold off on a 2 Top for the GDR or TC. #4, If you can eat a little later, say 7:30-8:00, stop by your restaurant of choice and ask the Maitre D if He/She might be able to fit you in. It definitely happens. #5, Since the Maitre D’s also work in the TC for Breakfast or Lunch, maybe a little chat time could benefit you in finding an available reservation. #6, If you happen to be in a PH, turn your Butler lose on the reservation task and they will deliver. #7, If you are on an O or A Class ship, you will have much more availability in the Specialties because there are 4 restaurants, be patient and ask, and ask, and ask. I know guests that eat in the Specialties 60-90% of the time on their cruises, they were not in PH’s either. Just be flexible and willing to share. Often times they were invited to share dinner reservations that others had made. Just Enjoy, Mauibabes