Vineyard View

Why wouldn’t Marina also be suggested? Same size as Riviera. Maybe I do not know something experienced O travelers do. My only thing if I were to book one of the smaller ships would be to bump up in category due to bathroom sizes. We loved the smaller ship experience on Seabourn so wouldn’t hesitate to sail small ships again, as long as the cabin was right.

Thank you for explaining that part. I am not surprised about the suites, but for the rest of us, Is that time generally the first hour, two hours, or can it be longer? I m wondering how it might impact DIY day plans.

We were in Venice on a public transportation strike in May pre cruise. It affected some of the water taxis that are public, but not the ACTV water taxis. So there was transport available, just a greatly reduced amount. So it was doable, but not necessarily convenient. Then once on the cruise, a public transportation holiday was in effect while in Crotone. The ship sponsored shuttle busses and excursion busses went as planned, so I think this probably points more to what you might expect with your question. The cruise lines passenger transportation ran as scheduled. I might call my cruise line, or better have my TA do that, and arrange cruise provided transportation in this situation, even if normally I would not, to be on the safe side.

Santorini sure seems out of control with tourists and ships. Our ship has a tour that includes Oia, but no tours that are strictly Oia, which is what I had hoped for. Then we could have had more flexibility with busses on return. The only one offered includes a winery and with the total time allotted, tells me there is very little Oia time. No thank you. I hope it works for you. Please do let us know.

We might just stay with the shore excursion of a private boat ( described as a yacht) for 4 1/2 hours and skip the whole land portion based on all this feedback. We’ve never been to Santorini, but after reading what this can be like, I think I would rather have a good memory that misses what I had hoped to see, rather than a miserable time fighting a 2+ hr cable car ride or donkey trail walk filled with those poor animals or their droppings. Santorini sounds like a fairly greedy port authority that allows the experience of a beautiful place to be completely ruined. That is sad. I still would like to explore Oia in the afternoon if the crowds are manageable by then, but these descriptions sound pretty miserable.

I agree with you. Do that. Ask those A & B questions. Then ask the one open question to be sure as a focus group that you truly are on point with what customers feel is important. If you miss that, then your feedback is diluted in value.

All true. But the suggested Zwiesel isn’t over the top expensive at all. It is a great everyday wine glass with a good selection for different varietals. A wine will truly open up better in a shape designed for that type of wine. Riedel may be asking too much from a cruise line, and I get that, but this in my opinion, isn’t asking too much.

I totally agree with you. I might add that they wanted to provide the message back to SB that they, hired marketing survey organization, were presenting to SB what was proven that it was what SB customers asked for. I also see another side of the coin, and maybe I am a cynic, but I was in sales and marketing nationally for my career. I hear in this stream from SLSD, that possibly this group has already determined their agenda on their presentation to SB as to what will improve the aspects that SB customers are looking for. I understand controlling the message to an extent that it does not go off the rails. But you have an audience of only six people. Why would you not want to understand and ask, just one thing, from those six people, what would be the most important future continuation, or change of behavior, or policy by SB? They only wanted answers to the the subject matters they determined were most important, rather than put on listening ears as to what you six might think. JMO

So far we only have 4-6 time slots. I really do hope they add midday on a sea day.

Absolutely ports are cancelled. It happens. What catches my attention are the many posts about cancelled ports for no apparent reason nor attempt to substitute. Also the number of last minute shortened port stays, and yes, I realize that this does happen from time to time. After reading these reports I looked around a little, not extensively, and noticed another post on another board referring to Oceania being known for doing this more than other lines. IDK.

Thank you. I know that some lines require you receive a boarding number ahead of time. I just wasn’t sure how Oceania operates. This is very helpful

We have two tender ports on our sailing next year. Santorini, which I have booked a yacht sailing, and Sorrento. We’ve been to the Amalfi Coast several times, but we would like to get off as early as possible to hope over to Capri or Positano most likely. What is the tender process with Oceania? our Seabourn trip this year had a lot of tender ports, but it was incredibly easy and frequent. Of course it was a smaller ship, but it has me thinking about how it works here. Guessing booked excursions go first? What would be a fair expectation on wait time to catch one in the morning? How often do they run in planning on our return? Thank you

Well, I honestly don’t either! I don’t have the background all of you have with Oceania so this is a new adventure for me. Hoping it’s not a one and done. If you, or anyone, comes up any recommendations or suggestions I am sure open to them.

I have zero idea. Happy for suggestions! Oy

As a non excursion passenger, except certain locations, we are in the above category described. We booked two shore ex apiece and used the $1k credit. That said, we would likely have looked to what was offered in Tunisia regardless of SM credit. I would also think that those who are used to doing shore excursions, would likely continue to follow their patterns and try to book as many as they could. Or not. Maybe they will gravitate to higher cost excursions considering this ‘the bonus round’.

This is absolutely a huge problem. It seems to be so across so many sectors of the service industry. in many countries a tour guide was formally trained and licensed. I was under the impression that it was a fairly good living. So I just have to wonder where they all went to. But regardless, you identify a widespread issue.

Thanks for your reasoning. As you said, time will tell and we are hoping for the best. I hope for you no hurricanes as well. We hit a subtropical on our way from NYC to the Caribbean just preC on Viking and it was not something I would want to repeat. Made the North Sea wild ride seem a bit calm in comparison. Enjoy your first postC cruise!

A little of both. Last year and early this when I was planning our Seabourn trip, there wasn’t much on the ports we were going to on CC. I used the forums section on TA as well as the main sections on TA. Granted, we went to some small off the beaten track ports, so that may have been part of it, but I am still not seeing specific tour companies listed like they were in the past because that info was scrubbed. That information is slowly building again. I found out that CC did some type of house cleaning that removed most pre-pandemic posts. Some of them are out there if you Google the questions for the ports, which is interesting. I discovered this when someone was trying to assist me with a port they had visited preC. It was no longer on CC. They went out of CC and googled, and actually found their CC post doing that.

Ports are skipped for legitimate reasons, and that just happens. What I am reading are very questionable skipped ports on the itinerary reviewed, along with a number of others that have chimed in. When I read that this is an Oceania pattern, that concerns me. So I guess the question is how legit is the concern? How prevalent is this vs similar lines, or luxury? Again, notwithstanding ports that are legit skips.

We also are DIY or private/small group travelers. I have mostly used TripAdvisor, and in the past (Pre -C) there was a lot of private tour recommendations in the CC Ports of Call section. That data seems to have been scrubbed along with most older posts. I am appreciating the information on this thread. We used our SM credits for a catamaran O trip in Santorini, and a small group full day in Tunisia. 16 is the max small group size, and that feels big for a ‘small’ group, but it’s not a large bus. We made that mistake on Seabourn in a less travelled area of Croatia this Spring, and it was a reminder of how much we hate wasting a day doing that. We will not repeat it again if possible to visit where we want. So we are hoping that these two O excursions are not too disappointing, but they will be the only ones that we take.

We are also scheduled on our first Oceania cruise next Spring. These posts make me wonder if I should second guess my decision. We chose the itinerary as the primary, backed by our TA highly encouraging the food aspect, plus the Marina renovation. If ports are skipped for no apparent reason, and port times are reduced once on board, it will be a one and done for us as well.

These are the dates confirmed to me on a call last weekend with Oceania customer service. It sounds like this is the time that was allotted for Riviera. We are the May 18th departure and I cannot worry about it or I will drive myself crazy!

Thank you. I need to get flights nailed down so I know what I am up af]giants but thanks OP for posting this. I think it’s been helpful for several of us!

I would agree with that. It worked much better than most of the included whites.

Thank you. I kind of thought that would be the case. Including being pricey