Vineyard View

Love your honesty. The same can be found here in Sonoma….over the top, and “open and dump”. Thankfully it’s mostly very good - to over the top. Now I know who to reach out to if we head your way. I would love to see ‘your country’. I’ve been Upstate, but not Fingers Lake.

Thank you for clarifying. I didn’t think that Oceania prepared requested meals. We are generally pretty adept at matching with most food options, but certainly not all. Sommeliers can be extremely helpful.

Absolutely I agree. As I mentioned, we always bring wine on board. We just really enjoyed the cruise line bringing on local wines for all to try….granted, not necessarily high end wines, but the experience and concept was really nice.

That a giant stretch. There are however some very experienced wine connoisseurs on this board who could provide more expertise than I. Hopefully they will chime in. As well as those who have tried the wines on this list. We just know what we like, and our collection is very heavy in reds. TBH the only wine from California I would drink would be the Raymond Chardonnay. The rest I would not, white or red. I would experiment with the international wines, which is very fun to do. Depending on the meal, maybe the Chianti, Malbec, Tempranillo to start - but there are international varietals on the list I am not familiar with. The whites, would try Sauvignon Blanc, probably the France and S, Africa offerings. It’s enjoyable to try new wines. We usually ask for a taste first, because we don’t want to send back a full glass if we do not like it. If we don’t care for what we taste, we try something else. Everyone has different preferences, so mine will likely be different from yours, or the next person on this thread. Just enjoy. And bring back up on board! Ha!

We are fairly fortunate where we live to easily explore a myriad of different wines, so we have a good idea of the attributes in a wine that work for us….more so from our area, but also from our travels. I can say after looking at this list that there are a couple that would be fine. There are more than that which would not work for us, and there are some we are not familiar with. I am always open to trying new wines! But we always bring wine on board as added insurance, as long as we are in a part of the world that is conducive to! I am not sure I would have counted on Asia but what a nice surprise! An area I haven’t explored wines much in is upper NY, but I have heard that there are some very good wines produced there. Not sure I would have planned

Thank you for this suggestion. We generally travel alone, but that is a great idea for groups! I was just thinking that it was nice to see local wines being loaded on the ship this year as a standard practice. I did not realize that the chefs on board will prepare meals for specific wine varietals, unless I am misunderstanding.

Would be really good to know. Hopefully someone has the insight

Thank you for clarifying. Disappointing, but good to know. Particularly since having local wines helps the wineries at ports visited, but also gives more layers to compliment the food.

Oceania is one of a number of lines who allow this. Some charge corkage fees as Oceania does, and some do not. We always bring some wine on board with us. We find a local wine store and ask the person working there, based on our tastes if they have recommendations. We also do a bit of research before we go to better understand what we may enjoy. Without exception, it has always been an enjoyable part of our day in the cities we visit. If you are staying there, many of those shops will also deliver the wine you purchase to your hotel. Have fun doing that in Athens!

Thank you for posting this. I have not seen this piece before. What would the Aquamar Kitchen replace on Marina?

My two cents. If you enjoy decent to very good wine, bring it on board. Pay the $25 corkage fee. Looking at the list, there are a couple of wines that are okay to have here and there……but on a longer cruise it would be nice to have some wines that you can really enjoy with the meals advertised as the finest at sea. Does Oceania ever bring wines on board from the ports they are visiting, so that there are local and different wines to enjoy? Reading this tells me that does not happen? When we were on SB they did just that, so that the included offerings varies throughout the cruise. Admittedly some were not very palatable, but others were quite lovely. It provided a varied selection on the trip.

Exactly why we were happy with V3. We spend time on our balcony and while I know the metal bottom is perfectly fine for many, we really want to enjoy without. When I stated that, I did not realize they were included in OB so thank you for clarifying. Good to know.

Makes sense and I think interesting. Thanks for sharing. I sure do not have any desire to experience a full capacity tender for the reasons you have explained!

I would be interested in knowing what more upscale cruise line you find that meets these expectations. I am not being sardonic at all in that statement. Personally, I do not know of any that are upscale and at the same time offer a complete menu of offerings starting from no extra amenities. We have yet to sail on Oceania. We read about missed ports and shortened port days. Yes. Those are absolutely concerning to keep hearing about. We will not sail on large ships. Those work for some with their separate classes. No judgement. But for smaller ships, most include much of what Simply More includes from what I have found.

I think I might accept that V1/V2 from a OB. The balcony alone would be worth is for us. I realize that is not a box that needs checked for all though. Dunnedg, I hope it all works out well medically.

If you are alternating between devices, such as iPad and phone, it is very helpful - unless you would opt to upgrade for additional devices. Standard, at least in verandah is two devices. So my husband used it to go between his, as I did mine.

I did not know this. I have been on some pretty crowded tenders, but that may be just my perspective vs an emergency real life capacity.

I know but it might be worth a try. I just think I would explore all options so that I know I did.

Have you called your insurance company since posting this to find out where you stand financially under a possible civil unrest clause?

I thought it read “attracting”. My miss.

Not true at all in our experience - only attracting younger folks. On our sailing there were 2-3 multigenerational families, with the ‘kids’ being maybe mid 20’s (totally chill not partying types) up to grandparents. The rest seemed to range mid-late 50’s, and a nice percentage 60’s-70’s++. It was actually refreshing. And we are in the 60-70’s group. Good group of people.

We received an offer a couple months prior via our TA. It was not attractive enough to take like this one was. Had it been we would have jumped on it.

It is a such a sad and horrifying situation right now. No words. While I have wanted to see that part of the world, I always knew that it could be dicey. We learned a hard lesson years ago on a sailing that included Cairo and Alexandrea, and decided to pull back from further exploration in a few ports on your itinerary. That said, I have ‘traveled’ vicariously through others, so I do understand the appeal. I completely agree that reaching out to your insurance company would be a wise step to take at this point. As in today. As basor said, civil unrest is often included so it would be worth pursuing. I am surprised that they keep Alexandria and also turned it into an overnight. Mostly, I really hope that the current war is short lived for all those who are living through this horrendous tragedy. I also hope that you can find a resolution that works for you.

I believe 330 days, but not positive. And I also concur with Crooser. Their flight program is much better than O or VO. And better pricing than paying market price. Makes up quite a bit for difference in price points, particularly VO (several cruises with), to the point of considerably less cost per day for a far better product in our one experience with SB

Or…..why would there be a deck coating that is slippery when wet on a ship in the first place? Maybe it’s no more slippery than other decks on ships when wet, but I sure haven’t read much about that, so I truly wonder. Plus, it’s sure not your first sailing……. I am really sorry that your trip ended this way. I hope you feel better and heal soon.