New To Oceania With Questions

[Flatbush Flyer]

52 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I was more looking to see if there was an advantage to using Oceania's excursions over using a less costly third party.

In the "new normal," you may not have a choice.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

I was more looking to see if there was an advantage to using Oceania's excursions over using a less costly third party.

We've been regular (meaning virtually annually...in fact sometimes more than once a year) visitors to Bermuda for more than 30 years, mostly by cruise ship. There's no reason for anyone to take a cruise ship excursion there because of the ready availability of public buses and ferries as well as private transportation such as taxis and shuttle vans. For that matter there's also little reason to take a private tour . Bermuda is very much a "do it yourself" location.

The one exception I might make is to suggest that first time visitors reserve a private tour with a "blue flag" taxi driver on the day you arrive or the next morning. They're certified tour guides with whom you can book a private tour for $50 per hour for 1-4 passengers or $70 per hour 5 to 7 passengers in the car. The rate is for the vehicle, not per person, and typically there's a 3 to 4 hour minimum. You can chose the itinerary yourself or ask the driver for recommendations. There's a long thread on the Bermuda Ports of Call board with driver recommendations as well as lots of good ideas about what to see and do in Bermuda.

 

As you might expect we were very disappointed by not being able to travel to Bermuda is 2020.

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

News Flash for DW: No cruise ship on the face of the earth can guarantee that it will "wait for you" whether it's their tour or a flight it arranged.

While I agree that there is no such written guarantee, I have never witness in person nor read about the ship not waiting for one of their late tours. 

Different story for late flights and late private tours.

JME.

[Flatbush Flyer]

5 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

While I agree that there is no such written guarantee, I have never witness in person nor read about the ship not waiting for one of their late tours. 

Different story for late flights and late private tours.

JME.

Tides are the biggest issue in certain ports as regards "gettin' out of Dodge" on time. It can and does happen.

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Tides are the biggest issue in certain ports as regards "gettin' out of Dodge" on time. It can and does happen.

I am sure that you are right - Hanoi, Shanghai and Marseilles come to mind.

It's just that I have never seen or heard of it - doesn't mean it never happened.

[LHT28]

4 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I was more looking to see if there was an advantage to using Oceania's excursions over using a less costly third party.

It depends on where  you are touring & your risk comfort level

Some advantage to the ships tour  is Panama canal tour  where  you would be on your own if the time slot for the tour you booked missed their spot or got delayed

Some will take the ship's tour  to Rome from the port

We rarely do ship's tours  & have not missed the ship ..yet  but we make sure the guide know we want to be back 1 + hr before sailing

YMMV

 

 

[Paulchili]

48 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

and Marseilles come to mind.

Sorry - I meant to say Bordeaux.

[Daniel A]

2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Tides are the biggest issue in certain ports as regards "gettin' out of Dodge" on time. It can and does happen.

I have read on the Princess threads on CC of situations where the ship left port and waited outside the port for a water taxi or a ship's tender to bring the guests out.  Besides if I ever told this to DW, I'd never get her off any ship ever again!😉

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I have read on the Princess threads on CC of situations where the ship left port and waited outside the port for a water taxi or a ship's tender to bring the guests out.  Besides if I ever told this to DW, I'd never get her off any ship ever again!😉

It's a good bet that, in the "new normal," there won't be many "private" tours for cruise passengers. 

[Daniel A]

16 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

News Flash for DW: No cruise ship on the face of the earth can guarantee that it will "wait for you" whether it's their tour or a flight it arranged.

 

FWIW, this is from the Princess website regarding excursions: 

Guaranteed
Return to Ship

Maximize your exploration time and minimize the hassle by booking your shore excursions through Princess Cruises. Guaranteed Return to Ship is our promise that the ship will wait if your tour runs late.

[Daniel A]

A friend who took the same cruise to Bermuda last year says she thinks the bars are closed when the ship is in port.  But she wasn't sure.  Anybody know if they close the bars when in port in Bermuda?  That would make a big difference whether or not we get the upgraded drink package as there is only 2 sea days with 5 days in port.

[LHT28]

27 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

A friend who took the same cruise to Bermuda last year says she thinks the bars are closed when the ship is in port.  But she wasn't sure.  Anybody know if they close the bars when in port in Bermuda?  That would make a big difference whether or not we get the upgraded drink package as there is only 2 sea days with 5 days in port.

you may want to check the dates in port 

 

They were open when we spent 3 days  in Bermuda

 

Here is a link to  the Preismans blog   the cruise was  a few years back but it will give you an idea  of what was available..not much changed

https://www.thepreismans.com/bermuda_regatta_dailies.htm#day4

 

Looks like the casino was closed  back then

[njhorseman]

23 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

A friend who took the same cruise to Bermuda last year says she thinks the bars are closed when the ship is in port.  But she wasn't sure.  Anybody know if they close the bars when in port in Bermuda?  That would make a big difference whether or not we get the upgraded drink package as there is only 2 sea days with 5 days in port.

The bars will be open.

[Flatbush Flyer]

48 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

FWIW, this is from the Princess website regarding excursions: 

Guaranteed
Return to Ship

Maximize your exploration time and minimize the hassle by booking your shore excursions through Princess Cruises. Guaranteed Return to Ship is our promise that the ship will wait if your tour runs late.

LOL.

And that "guarantee" is.....?

If circumstances dictate that waiting (at the dock, in the harbor, out at sea....) is out of the question (tides, weather, traffic, inflexible schedule, tug/pilot availability.....), what will they (or any cruise line [or reputable established private tour operator] do? They will cover the cost of your meeting the ship at the next port. The port agent will be waiting for the late comers and assist them in making the necessary arrangements to rejoin the ship.

 

Is the above rare? Perhaps but it's always a possibility and, thus, the bottom line is not whether there is a "guarantee" as much as it is "what" the guarantee entails.

[Flatbush Flyer]

32 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

The bars will be open.

Bermuda? "One and done."

Beside the fried fish sandwich, here's the most interesting thing we found there:

 

[Ladys Mom]

We have been on a number of ship's tours that ran late and the ship always waited for the passengers.  On the other hand, in Israel we were on a private tour and we got in a traffic jam on the way back to the ship.  We kept calling the ship so they knew what was happening.  However, one hand didn't know what the other hand was doing, so they kept calling our names over the loud speaker.  They held the ship for five minutes and we made it, but barely.  For the rest of the cruise, our fellow passengers kept asking us what happened, and we had to sheepishly explain.  Since then we take private tours, but only if the trip back to the ship is totally straightforward, and we give ourselves plenty of time.

Conversely, there have been times when the ship got into port late and we rushed through a private tour, because no-one told us the ship was going to stay in port later.  They did tell the ship's tours and they took "their sweet time" getting back.

[ORV]

So there was this one time in St Martin on a Celebrity ship's tour that took us to an All Inclusive for the afternoon that when it was time to meet our driver we found him at the outside bar basically falling off a bar stool. He recognized us and said very exuberantly, "hey, let's have another drink, we're in no rush". Actually we were, it was a small ships tour and we were on a small bus. Although he was plowed he did have the sense to have already called for a backup driver to take us back to the ship. Fortunately we were pretty close to the port from property. That was Leon The Lover, as he referred to himself. 

 

My point is that you never really know for sure what you're going to get into when booking through the ship either. 

[Daniel A]

3 hours ago, ORV said:

So there was this one time in St Martin on a Celebrity ship's tour that took us to an All Inclusive for the afternoon that when it was time to meet our driver we found him at the outside bar basically falling off a bar stool. He recognized us and said very exuberantly, "hey, let's have another drink, we're in no rush". Actually we were, it was a small ships tour and we were on a small bus. Although he was plowed he did have the sense to have already called for a backup driver to take us back to the ship. Fortunately we were pretty close to the port from property. That was Leon The Lover, as he referred to himself. 

 

My point is that you never really know for sure what you're going to get into when booking through the ship either. 

I hope you mentioned it to the excursion desk once back on the ship.  No sense having people off the next cruise have to deal with that.

[Issyalex]

On 8/27/2020 at 9:48 PM, Daniel A said:

DW & I are considering booking a cruise next summer R/T New York to Bermuda.  We are looking at the Vista Suites but have a few questions we couldn't find answers to on Oceania's web site.

 

The ship would be Insignia, and it appears that there are only 4 Vista Suites onboard.  They all appear to be on the bow with the balconies forward facing.  Does anybody know if those balconies are suitable while the ship is underway?

 

Does anybody know if the casino stays open while docked in Bermuda?  I have read elsewhere that Bermuda permits cruise ships to open their casinos at night.

 

With the OLIFE option can you opt out of the air for a reduced price?  (We live in NY so we wont need air travel.)

 

With OLIFE, can you upgrade the beverage package to the Prestige Select for a reduced amount?

 

Where would the cruise depart from in New York? (Manhattan, Brooklyn or Bayonne?)

 

Any other helpful ideas are welcome!

 

 

You can do a dummy booking on Oceania’s website and tick the button for no flights required and this will give you a good idea of the flight discount. We usually find I’d we don’t take the flights we can book our own flights and a 2-3 night pre cruise hotel for the same price. 
 

Our Insignia cruise left from the dock near Hells Kitchen area, sorry I don’t know the correct area but you will! 🙈😂
 

Their ‘free’ drinks package for wine and beer is for lunch and dinner only. 

 

Sorry cannot help with casino as we don’t use them and have never booked a vista suite, or any other suite for that matter. 😢

 

As you will have seen that all specially restaurants are free. You will be given a date from when you can pre book a few months prior to sailing. However if you find that you love any of them then you can ask at the buffet restaurant at lunchtime everyday if they have any tables available. 
 

Theres a 241 drinks hour twice a day.  
 

Their afternoon tea is a must visit at least once on your cruise. 

[Issyalex]

On 9/1/2020 at 10:29 PM, Paulchili said:

I believe that they will wait for late excursions but not late flights (even if bought through Oceania)

I could be wrong.

Our Glasgow to Athens flight was delayed by several hours and the ship waited. We should have been onboard at approx 4pm but didn’t arrive till about 8pm. We had the quickest muster drill ever! 

[Paulchili]

2 hours ago, Issyalex said:

Our Glasgow to Athens flight was delayed by several hours and the ship waited. We should have been onboard at approx 4pm but didn’t arrive till about 8pm. We had the quickest muster drill ever! 

I guess there are exceptions to every rule - people just shouldn't count on this happening regularly 😀

How many in your late group? Were your tickets through Oceania? What was the next port?

[Issyalex]

1 minute ago, Paulchili said:

I guess there are exceptions to every rule - people just shouldn't count on this happening regularly 😀

How many in your late group? Were your tickets through Oceania? What was the next port?

Yes these were Oceania flights. As cruiselines normally send us Scots via somewhere else before our final destination we flew Glasgow-Manchester-Athens. I think we were the only 2 of our Glasgow flight then joined another 10 or so guests in Manchester to Athens flight. Our next port was next day to Santorini. 

 

[Paulchili]

1 minute ago, Issyalex said:

Yes these were Oceania flights. As cruiselines normally send us Scots via somewhere else before our final destination we flew Glasgow-Manchester-Athens. I think we were the only 2 of our Glasgow flight then joined another 10 or so guests in Manchester to Athens flight. Our next port was next day to Santorini. 

 

Thank you.

Interesting as I am sure O had to pay fairly big bucks for the extra 4 hours of docking.

I guess the captain felt they could make it to Santorini on time with this delay.

You were very lucky IMO.

[Issyalex]

Just now, Paulchili said:

Thank you.

Interesting as I am sure O had to pay fairly big bucks for the extra 4 hours of docking.

I guess the captain felt they could make it to Santorini on time with this delay.

You were very lucky IMO.

IMO if I book inclusive flights with any cruiseline then they should wait on me. However if I book my own flights then it’s up to me to make sure I’m there in plenty of time. 

[Paulchili]

44 minutes ago, Issyalex said:

IMO if I book inclusive flights with any cruiseline then they should wait on me. However if I book my own flights then it’s up to me to make sure I’m there in plenty of time. 

You would think so but it isn't the case. It worked out for you this time but don't expect it to be the case every time.

The cruise line considers late arrivals airlines' problem. If you booked with Oceania there might be an agent there helping to get you to the next port but I believe at your expense. If you fly on your own you remain on your own.

That is my understanding of these rules. If I am incorrect, I am sure someone will correct me.

PS These things can vary. If it's a larger group and they are going to be just a little late, the ship will wait if they can (tides, schedules, etc). I've read about a large group arriving late to San Diego on a rt cruise to Hawaii. If they didn't wait for them, the next port would be Hawaii 5 days later.

Bottom line - just because you purchased your ticket through the cruise line, it is not a guarantee that they will wait for you if the flight is late.