Vineyard View

It’s crazy pricing! We always fly business but looked at PE because of that for the first time…....even that was almost the same price as the cruise to fly an open jaw ticket. Round trip tickets are a bit more kind in pricing, but the itinerary doesn’t work for that this time. Not sure what we are going to do. I spent quite a chunk of time over the weekend on this, then asked TA if she could find something I was missing. Nope. That Avenue wasn’t really better

This was a particularly helpful review for me. Thank you for taking the time. Having sailed on Viking several times in PV, and in Neptune on the ‘old HAL’ smaller ships(all pre Covid) I could completely relate to and appreciate what you shared. Full promenade, always used it on sea days, but if the itinerary is packed that is a smaller miss. Viking showers are pretty hard to beat, as is the open to all spa area with therapy pool, ice room, etc. I was also glad to hear of your impression of the concierge amenities as I was wondering about that. We always enjoyed Viking specialty restaurants, and felt that with the upgraded beverage package we had a much wider selection of wines to choose from than I believe Oceania offers. I appreciated your restaurant comparisons so thank you. Sorry you missed Gdansk. We did a similar itinerary on Viking several years ago when life was different than now. I can only imagine the current status. Such a beautiful place in our world. That you booked a second cruise with O speaks volumes! Thanks again for sharing!

When you say you booked late, how far in advance did you look to book your air? I am looking at next May and prices are insane

Tipping ahead of service is bribery. And quite tacky imo. Tipping after service should reflect upon the level of service received.

Thank you. I think this seems to run pretty true with a lot of Oceania passengers….being from Celebrity in the past. We never sailed Celebrity so I cannot comment to that comparison. I think it is great that so many have found Oceania to be a better fit for them. My curiosity was having to do with how Oceania compares to Viking, Azamara, Seabourn…as the larger lines/ships are not on our radar.

Well, it would depend on where you are planning on buying it, what you like, white or red, how much you want to spend, what flavor profiles you like in wines you are familiar with, etc. Spain makes some very good wines but you are kind of growing a dart at the board here.

Seabourn is a really good option. Definitely a step up from Viking. Haven’t yet experienced Oceania but we are booked.

Thank you. We will almost always have a one stop coming from SFO across the pond. The one stops offered right now involve extremely long layovers and take longer than the two stops being offered. I have looked at a couple variable dates going in and pretty much the same. I did not know we could book OW so thanks for that piece as well. Miles just don’t go the distance post Covid for sure, so that provides another thought track to explore.

I will lyk Linda what I find out this week. I am curious from those who have used FlightEase quite a bit. What is showing as available have crazy itineraries with two stops each way, making for long travel days from SFO. Do flights continue to be added as time goes by that may be more attractive? Is it generally better to book sooner than later, and we have already missed those one stop flight connections? We have an April sail date RT Athens.

I think that I read someplace on here that Oceania Air is generally not attractive in pricing for Business class. Is that correct or am I making an incorrect statement?

Well, that is sure different than what we were informed. I will check with TA again this week. If that is the case, it’s pretty disappointing. Thanks for letting us know.

We also have a flight credit. I asked TA and she said pricing is before the credit. I have been watching the flights and they are not attractive…mostly from a connections standpoint. We usually only have one stop traveling from SFO to Europe, but all there are two stops and makes for long travel a day. I know from experience always using miles in the past, always flying in Business, that I need to get this nailed down for an April cruise before now, but not sure how that works with flight ease. My suspicion is that I should get it determined soon though.

I suppose you are correct mauibabes, but it is one more consideration when making decisions. I played that V game for several years, so Oceania is 1/2 way there now. Time will tell how the rest choose to respond, both from a customer and from a competitor standpoint.

Game changer. Not as bad as Viking, but there seems to be a trend in both directions going on…between the two…

Maybe both? I have enjoyed and learned from you and the comments on this thread, so thank you

Thank you all for your input. I might have to take a second look at them. Their connecting times look to be better than others with fewer stopovers.

Thank you alserrod. I appreciate all this detailed information very much. At this point it appears we will be sailing out of Barcelona.

Thanks! What is the best way to do this…..is there a link on Oceania O can engage, or is it via TA? I appreciate your suggestion!

When we first boarded end of May it was 30%. Ended a couple days later and no going back. I am actually glad to hear that they offered again so maybe we will get another chance!

I’ve wondered about those Great Lakes itineraries. It sounds like you very much enjoyed yours!

Correct. And on Viking non expedition cruises as 1985 is referring to, that’s a big deal. Particularly to those of us who don’t generally take excursions, and even more so to those of us who have that mindset and have sailed on Viking Oceans. If I have an excursion credit that I am paying for, let me choose that/those excursions to spend that money as it suites our travel preferences. VikingnOceans does not, so far, allow that.

I figured that was the case. No worries. If you had sailed Oceans you would have posted the difference.

We have only sailed on Oceans a few times. Expedition must be different. Since their launch in 2015, it’s always been one included excursion in each port, and as Bill said, it’s basically a scenic bus ride or walking tour. I read recently that there may be some changes to the one only coming up, but as far as I know it hasn’t been implemented as yet …..if it has it is recent and I missed that.

Good to know. Thanks for asking

Totally agree with this. I would add that Viking and Regent are a lot higher priced than Oceania if you are comparing like cabins. Viking only has balconies, so there is naturally a higher starting point, but side by side balconies Oceania has turned out to be less expensive per day than V post Covid