Vineyard View

Exactly why we ended up with SB and Oceania, looking for alternatives to the same itineraries. But Viking was certainly a good chapter…..

I will also chime in having taken several Viking cruises, and one Seabourn cruise this year that is more equal to the R class only in size. If I were to book R class on Oceania I would absolutely upgrade after Viking based on bathroom (mostly) and cabin size. (Same with Azamara). Can’t beat the showers on Viking. We booked Marina with knowledge she should be completely refurbished as Riviera was recently when we sail. Hesitation is the size of ship (larger than V) but itinerary driven mostly, and quite honestly, cost as well as prepayment policies vs V. R class vs Viking - I can only relate to our small ship experience with Seabourn this year. It was awesome being on the small ship. I would not hesitate to sail on another with SB or Oceania given the right itinerary, price point. With SB their standard verandah exceeds the PV on Viking. With Oceania I am certain we would want to upgrade.

This is exactly what worries me about the one we booked for 8 1/2 hours in Tunisia. I could not hang in that situation. Is there anyway one can find out transportation details in advance? I doubt it is available.

How large are the casinos on Marina and Riviera? No attraction for me, but DH may enjoy a little time at the tables.

No idea but current cruisers may be able to answer questions around this.

The most disappointing, to me, of these packages is that Oceania does not offer additional wines by the glass for the Prestige package as is done on other lines. Are those wines necessarily great wines that are added? No. But there is more to choose from and from various countries. To mostly have cheap US wines offered, and a very limited offering at that, without more by the glass offerings with Prestige is a big negative. We always bring some wine on board when we travel, but quantity will likely increase with these packages. We enjoy having a cocktail before dinner, and a cognac or port post. On sea days or short port days, a bloody or extra drink is common, so Prestige is probably our best bet with all the varying tax game played. Comparing packages to Viking (upgraded includes a good deal more wine offerings), and all inclusive with Seabourn, Oceania is not at the top of the offering list On these lines there is no corkage fee. And no taxes on the drinks. That said. Everyone has their different preferences around this subject, so it may be the opposite ranking for others who are perfectly happy with the O drinks programs.

O Plus is no longer available moving forward. Simply more is, and that is what I was referring to. It is truly a direct aim at Viking, and will be interesting to see how it plays with those who want more “included” in the price. So now there is more included with O, such as drinks, but with additionally a specified budget amount on excursions to use as you want to. Both still require nightly gratuities, and people will need to decide what works for them. In certain ports, I agree that taking independent tours is more challenging, and at at times unadvisable. In most it works better for us, so that carrot of all included is not attractive. For us. So for that reason, we chose Seabourn this year….. all inclusive except excursions. It worked extremely well for us. Next year the quandary is SB vs O, and the new pricing structure of Oceania vs Viking is interesting if you truly pencil out the per person per day costs. For those uncomfortable with trusting Independent operators, it is a different perspective than ours is. No right nor wrong. My point was Oceania has introduced a new model that to me, seems directly aimed at Viking….and it has caught a lot of attention (both positive and negative if you booked previously under O Life).

I would agree with this on any line. And I agree. It’s tacky.

What time of year is your trip? I read an article recently that Santorini in particular is pretty packed with cruise ships for a huge block of the year. Then when it truly slows down, the residents need a break so badly that a lot of shops close. It seems that these places are becoming an undesirable place to port and that is just such a shame.

This is a main reason we do not look at Regent or SS. We are almost always DIY travelers. So with all three of these lines, you are paying for the ‘free excursions’, because they are banked into the pricing. This is incredibly attractive to a whole lot of travelers.

I wonder how much this has to do with a response to Oceania’s “Simply More”. This new program includes wine/beer with lunch/dinner on all new bookings, and also includes an “excursion credit” based on length of voyage to use for any of their excursions, including small group tours. So you can spread it out longer if you book the types of tours included with Viking (historically predominantly bus rides and walking tours), or dump it into a couple of high end tours. Interesting approach because they attract non excursion travelers who are not interested in the tours offered by Viking, as well as those who are. For instance, you have a $1,000 credit to use as you like on a 14 day itinerary. That can be attractive to DIY people. The difference is you can book these excursions anytime after you book, regardless of cabin category. When I first read this new policy, my first thought was, they are targeting Viking in a big way. My second was, they are doing this at a lower price point. Albeit with either 1248 pax ships, or R class (650ish pax, which need an upgraded cabin to compete for sure). So it will be interesting to see how this plays out. It could certainly change up the traditional excursion formula with Viking.

I sincerely do not believe that this is only on Oceania….I think this is common on many lines, including some ‘luxury’ lines. JMO

You will be taken by bus to the old Marittima port. From there you can take a water taxi to your hotel….I know there are other options of getting to Venice proper using public transportation, but we used the water taxi so I can’t chime in on that.

Sounds like you were lucky with your time in Oia and Fira. I hope it was a really enjoyable time. That cable car sure sounds like the chink in the chain with so many ships. It’s sad. I have been reading that Mykonos is now a nightmare at times. We lucked out years ago during an October visit with no other ships there. It’s so small that I can’t imagine what that must have been like. ‘ Thank you for reporting back.

YVR is a beautiful and modern airport. It can be challenging in and out with customs. Just FYI. Lax Uber can also be challenging. It used to be that they could not pull into the terminal to meet you at individual airline curbside locations. This was pre Covid. So it required some time and some walking. You might want to check into that as I do not know if it is still the case. Have a fantastic journey! Looking forward to following along!

So they all have half glass/half metal on the balconies rather than full glass to the bottom, correct? I was confused with a previous post, but thought this was the case. Thank you.

I was told by Seabourn, at least for Quest, that all V1 had partial metal on the balcony - meaning half glass, half metal. Is this different on other ships? We love to sit on ours and it played into our decision. For others it wouldn’t be part of their equation.

First cruise post is 5/18, which we are scheduled on

Venice is a cluster. We experienced Fusina on Seabourn in May. It’s still confusing to a lot of people, on various cruise lines. To your point, likely better to over communicate than under, as many people still believe they will be sailing out of Marittima. Sounds like a great cruise though. Sad that many ports are allowing so many large ships in on any given day. It greatly impacts the experience.

Again, agree with you completely. Like you, we are independent travelers in port…or on land. I believe it brings a different perspective. We know others who prefer organized ship tours, or even organized land tours, which we avoid at all cost, but it works for them.

Could not agree more with you. We spent 4 nights pre cruise in Venice this May. Midday was a zoo. We had a room with balcony and found it relaxing. The early mornings and evenings were magical. We don’t cruise on mega ships for a number of reasons, but one is the impact they have on your experience while in port. We have a couple cruises we are looking at next Spring. One is a ‘larger’ ship of 1200 people, and it includes Santorini, where 10,000 pax will be there that day. We haven’t been there before but do not want that memory so we are looking at steering clear of the island and being on a boat for the day. Last time we were in Mykonos was in 2014. We were on a smaller ship in October and were the only ones in port that day. It was a wonderful memory. I believe that regardless of how one feels about the mega ships, they are seriously changing the travel experience in a negative way for port experiences. There are a lot of places discussing how to handle that impact in the future. Even if that affects where we travel due to reduced allowable ships in port, I am all for that.

This is what we did. It worked out great and honestly was very much worth it.

Sounds like a great couple of days to look forward to! Enjoy every moment!

Just heard from TA. If we want to pay $3,200 additional, we can bump up from an extended balcony B3 to a B1 with this sale. No thank you. I would not consider this a great sale at all. Our itinerary was one included. Really glad we booked when we did!

Thank you. I appreciate this link. I remember reading this and just reviewed it again. What is confusing to me is the comment about the extended balcony B3 staterooms not being upgraded in the bathrooms. This letter from O states all B3 were.