OLife moves to "all in"

[Cruzin Terri]

What scares me about Azamara is Orlando Ashford.  I saw what he did to HAL and that sent me running.  He turned every space into a money maker and he is starting the same thing on AZ by turning the beautiful library into a bar.  

What will be next?

I am not happy with the way that Oceania is going with Simply More.  I will wait and see what the final product is.  Then we will have to decide where to go next.

Terri

[LHT28]

9 minutes ago, Cruzin Terri said:

What scares me about Azamara is Orlando Ashford.  I saw what he did to HAL and that sent me running.  He turned every space into a money maker and he is starting the same thing on AZ by turning the beautiful library into a bar.  

 

They had a bar  there  in the beginning

Michaels Club  

from 2007

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/558246-michaels-club/

 

[cruisemom42]

22 minutes ago, Cruzin Terri said:

What scares me about Azamara is Orlando Ashford.

 

Orlando has moved on; he is no longer on the Azamara BoD.

[Cruzin Terri]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Orlando has moved on; he is no longer on the Azamara BoD.

I was not aware of that.  However I am sure he has left his mark.

Terri

[jonthomas]

6 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

We find Azamara superior to O.  Their itineraries are much more interesting – and they actually call on the ports that were advertised!  The atmosphere onboard is livelier and friendlier.  IMO you do have to spring for a Club Continent suite to get a decent size cabin and bathroom, but then you get the specialty restaurants included as well as laundry, internet, the Thalassotherapy pool and spa deck – and a butler.

 

Food not nearly as good and that is most important to us.

[basenji56]

1 minute ago, jonthomas said:

Food not nearly as good and that is most important to us.

How are the cookies?

[jonthomas]

1 minute ago, basenji56 said:

How are the cookies?

Lol

[CurlerRob]

5 hours ago, cruiserchuck said:

How are the bathrooms on the R ships?  I read that they are small, but that they are better than they used to be.

 

Almost sailed on an R ship when it was new.  R filed for bankruptcy about a month before the cruise.  

The following is from a post I made after a November/22 trip on Insignia. There was lots to like about Insignia - the bathroom was not one of those things ... 🍺🥌

 

Cabin

 

• We chose a ‘Concierge’ cabin, with a balcony. It was advertised as 216 square feet, which was somewhat smaller than the ~270 square feet on our comparative lines.
   
• In general, we found the cabin itself quite adequate, with more than ample storage. An oddity was that our one large suitcase would not fit under the bed, as it usually does, but it did fit nicely into the closet.
   
• The bed was very comfortable. The pillows were feather, which is not our preference but we did not request a change. The toiletries provided were highly scented, but scent-free versions were available from the cabin steward.
   
• The balcony was quite standard in our experience – a sliding door opened to two chairs and a small table – worked fine for two people.
   
• The bathroom was VERY small - to the point that the commode lacked the necessary legroom. Worse was the shower - it’s tiny and a strange trapezoidal shape, with maximum dimensions of about 22” by 34”. It was extremely difficult to use and would be dangerous in a seaway as there is simply not enough room to brace oneself. It was pretty clear where the sacrifice was made regarding the lower square footage. There’s obviously nothing to be done about the configuration, but new pax should be aware.
   
• Our cabin rating would have been an A but the bathroom was so awkward to use that it dragged it down to a C.

[CurlerRob]

4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Pretty much every (local) hotel and apartment I've stayed at in Europe has a shower that is about the same size.

 

Quite so, but very few hotel showers pitch you around in a seaway. When that happens, the tight space becomes a much larger concern.

 

We adapted, but the shower size was the worst element of our cabin on Insignia. 🍺🥌

[ak1004]

39 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

The following is from a post I made after a November/22 trip on Insignia. There was lots to like about Insignia - the bathroom was not one of those things ... 🍺🥌

 

Cabin

 

• We chose a ‘Concierge’ cabin, with a balcony. It was advertised as 216 square feet, which was somewhat smaller than the ~270 square feet on our comparative lines.
   
• In general, we found the cabin itself quite adequate, with more than ample storage. An oddity was that our one large suitcase would not fit under the bed, as it usually does, but it did fit nicely into the closet.
   
• The bed was very comfortable. The pillows were feather, which is not our preference but we did not request a change. The toiletries provided were highly scented, but scent-free versions were available from the cabin steward.
   
• The balcony was quite standard in our experience – a sliding door opened to two chairs and a small table – worked fine for two people.
   
• The bathroom was VERY small - to the point that the commode lacked the necessary legroom. Worse was the shower - it’s tiny and a strange trapezoidal shape, with maximum dimensions of about 22” by 34”. It was extremely difficult to use and would be dangerous in a seaway as there is simply not enough room to brace oneself. It was pretty clear where the sacrifice was made regarding the lower square footage. There’s obviously nothing to be done about the configuration, but new pax should be aware.
   
• Our cabin rating would have been an A but the bathroom was so awkward to use that it dragged it down to a C.

 

100% agree. It's manageable, but all other factors equal, I would prefer the O class.

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

100% agree. It's manageable, but all other factors equal, I would prefer the O class.

I agree.  But itinerary is a factor that often wouldn't be equal – e.g. R-class ships can sail up the river and dock in downtown Seville, rather than busing the passengers up from Cadiz.

[ak1004]

8 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I agree.  But itinerary is a factor that often wouldn't be equal – e.g. R-class ships can sail up the river and dock in downtown Seville, rather than busing the passengers up from Cadiz.

 

I know.. itinerary trumps small bathrooms..

[Rainbow3fe]

On 6/6/2023 at 4:10 PM, GeezerCouple said:

 

And I also hope that those who prefer private excursions don't have pay for the group excursions not taken.

 

It's been so perfect for us with Oceania.

Aside from the lovely ship and wonderful service, we rarely drink cocktails other than an occasional sail-away celebration.  We prefer fine wine, and the wines that are included in any package... those aren't the wines we enjoy.  We prefer bringing wine on board and paying the corkage, so we can enjoy the wines that *we* enjoy.  The wine is much less expensive that way, but mostly, we have trouble finding much that we really enjoy on the various wine lists.

 

And as for airfare, we have always booked overseas J or F using awards, using airlines and routes that we prefer.  Plus we often go elsewhere before or after a cruise.

 

Hopefully, O won't really change away from what many of us have specifically enjoyed and appreciated!

 

(And hopefully they won't continue to do away with the classic Specialties that have been on the Riviera and Marina.  Those are by far our favorites, and we enjoy them several times during a cruise.  Yum!)

 

GC

I agree with you.  We also book our own flights, arrive or depart weeks before/after the cruise and bring wine onboard.  We sometimes use Oceania excursions and other times book private tours, It depends on the port. 

      We were told that new plan is definitely more expensive than what we have. I'm happy we have 4 Oceania cruises already booked thru April 2025. 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Rainbow3fe

[Rainbow3fe]

1 hour ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Quite so, but very few hotel showers pitch you around in a seaway. When that happens, the tight space becomes a much larger concern.

 

We adapted, but the shower size was the worst element of our cabin on Insignia. 🍺🥌

The showers in the spa are always available to all guests. I have used them extensively in the past. 

[Rainbow3fe]

1 hour ago, CurlerRob said:

The following is from a post I made after a November/22 trip on Insignia. There was lots to like about Insignia - the bathroom was not one of those things ... 🍺🥌

 

Cabin

 

• We chose a ‘Concierge’ cabin, with a balcony. It was advertised as 216 square feet, which was somewhat smaller than the ~270 square feet on our comparative lines.
   
• In general, we found the cabin itself quite adequate, with more than ample storage. An oddity was that our one large suitcase would not fit under the bed, as it usually does, but it did fit nicely into the closet.
   
• The bed was very comfortable. The pillows were feather, which is not our preference but we did not request a change. The toiletries provided were highly scented, but scent-free versions were available from the cabin steward.
   
• The balcony was quite standard in our experience – a sliding door opened to two chairs and a small table – worked fine for two people.
   
• The bathroom was VERY small - to the point that the commode lacked the necessary legroom. Worse was the shower - it’s tiny and a strange trapezoidal shape, with maximum dimensions of about 22” by 34”. It was extremely difficult to use and would be dangerous in a seaway as there is simply not enough room to brace oneself. It was pretty clear where the sacrifice was made regarding the lower square footage. There’s obviously nothing to be done about the configuration, but new pax should be aware.
   
• Our cabin rating would have been an A but the bathroom was so awkward to use that it dragged it down to a C.

You know a cabin attendant would have helped get you bag under the bed. It's sad you had to waste closet space. 

[Rainbow3fe]

11 hours ago, Woofa said:

Agreed. 

I do think this is not necessarily a bad thing for the average O customer.  However, for us, who stretched to go on O in the first place and don't really drink and for the moment are not planning excursions (or maybe one cheaper one) as we are doing 10 day Caribbean's roundtrip from Miami mainly to keep our airfare down and we have friends to stay with pre and post cruise for free, this may eliminate this small niche.   Won't blame them if they believe this helps their business but, it may mean we have to look at Celebrity or similar, which while we believe won't be as nice, will most likely cost less than our current cruise only fares and MAYBE quite a bit less than the new fares.

If it does we will probably need to at least explore other options in the future.  Who can say, they may increase the fares and add more sales?  We just don't have enough information at this time and since we are booked Marina in 2024 we have plenty of time to make decisions after that.

Had this happened a few years ago we may never have found O in the first place.  Unfortunately, it is my guess that now that we have cruised O, cheaper options will keep us comparing to the things we loved on O.  Extended B3's, awesome beds, great service, basically what we felt was luxury level cruising sans drinks and excursions.

Sad to tell you that Extended B3 isn't available on new Vista.  O got wise and made them all Concierge or PH.

[Rainbow3fe]

8 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Everyone has two weeks to sign up for any O cruise available under the current T&Cs for cruises until mid 2024. 
 

Why wait to sign up if you like the current deal? Worry about 2025 later!

There are 2025 Oceania cruises available for booking now. We booked our Tokyo-Tokyo 2025 months ago. 

Good luck everyone. 

[Rainbow3fe]

6 hours ago, Classiccruiser777 said:

 

The customer base will quickly inform them if this is a good strategy.

I was told prices will be much higher.

[Rainbow3fe]

15 hours ago, TonicTraveler said:

I was on the webinar.  What I heard was that "cruise only" was still going to be an option.  Did I mishear?  

Maybe people are guessing about not offering the "cruise only" option. Let's hope. 

[Rainbow3fe]

On 6/14/2023 at 7:19 PM, basor said:

OLife is the "what used to be" program....and Simply More is the new program rolling out 01JUL.  You can not book "cruise only", which in your case would be $400.00 pp less expensive. online - call your TA or Oceania and have them book it as cruise only.  If you wait until after 01JUL these options will no longer be avilable

Are you positive that "cruise only" will not be available?

 

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I agree.  But itinerary is a factor that often wouldn't be equal – e.g. R-class ships can sail up the river and dock in downtown Seville, rather than busing the passengers up from Cadiz.

 

Or dock at Saigon or Bangkok or Bordeaux...

 

[SellaVee]

On 6/6/2023 at 3:47 AM, WESTEAST said:

 “We’re taking that choice component out. We’re making it very easy because instead of making choices, you’re just gonna get it all,” Del Rio Jr said.

I went back and read this on the first post for this topic.  Let me paraphrase.

 

You will have no choice, you're just gonna pay for it all.

 

[ToxM]

I have a future cruise certificate that I got on our Christmas cruise … now thinking I may need to have a good look at what is available for ‘25. I was waiting until the new itins came out but now it looks like I some searching to do this weekend.  

[hamrag]

8 hours ago, jonthomas said:

Food not nearly as good and that is most important to us.

We agree entirely, but there are pluses and minuses for both although we would definitely choose Oceania if itinerary and pricing was like for like.

[Classiccruiser777]

2 hours ago, SellaVee said:

I went back and read this on the first post for this topic.  Let me paraphrase.

 

You will have no choice, you're just gonna pay for it all.

 

Oceania’s world, Oceania’s way…