lackcreativity Posted July 23 #26 Share Posted July 23 (edited) In many cases, the disappointments currently under observation are not the old style ones about what happened 20 years ago or more. Covid broke in 2020, and much of the present discontent follows directly from the financial impact of that world wide event. I understand the necessity to compensate for those months of shutdown and lost revenue. Nevertheless, I still find it hard not to compare what was five years ago with the present. Higher prices and lesser quality are legitimate, but still a bit disappointing. Edited July 23 by lackcreativity 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysteps Posted July 23 #27 Share Posted July 23 My Dad was a super chill positive person - but as a kid, if it snowed, he would be with his brother and cousin and Uncle going to school pretty much flat. But in a horse drawn sleigh that plowed the road! So many great stories. The one-room school house is long gone but there is a historical marker lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted July 24 #28 Share Posted July 24 3 hours ago, Thought2go said: Hey those drifts could certainly pile up!! Plus it was always a fun time to put pots on the roof and collect the snow to make snow cream-a southern version of icecream. Had that as a kid, throw in a little vanilla flavoring, heavy cream, stir it up and you're good to go. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no fuss travel Posted July 24 #29 Share Posted July 24 Have you notice that the majority of people who cruise do not write reviews. Therefore one may assume that they were happy with the product. It was interesting on the ATW to watch the differences between those who accepted the hiccups and those who did not. One needs to approach life with a glass half full attitude. The enjoyment of a cruise or a holiday depends on you. Enjoy life and the hiccups become fond memories. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shlomo Going Posted July 26 #30 Share Posted July 26 On 7/24/2024 at 4:00 PM, no fuss travel said: Have you notice that the majority of people who cruise do not write reviews. Therefore one may assume that they were happy with the product. I'm reminded of this syllogism (or silly-gism): Some dogs have long tails. My dog has a long tail. My dog is some dog! On 7/24/2024 at 4:00 PM, no fuss travel said: One needs to approach life with a glass half full attitude. The enjoyment of a cruise or a holiday depends on you. Enjoy life and the hiccups become fond memories. Good advice, and very true in my experience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffElizabeth Posted July 26 #31 Share Posted July 26 Great points. Cruising continues to break records so I think overall most people are coming back again and again. We have been Cruising since 1997 and notice a lot of the best perks and luxuries have been cut back, but we talked about and realized we don't really want or need them. Example, used to get a big bottle of champagne 🍾 upon leaving Port. Way too much for us so prefer a little mini bottle instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentwood Bay Posted July 27 #32 Share Posted July 27 We all have opinions developed from our experiences. With cruising we started with Princess in 1998, soon moving on to Holland America and finally fixing on Oceania (Platinum level). Our last Riviera cruises this Spring left us a bit disappointed with the food and ambience...a bit of the "same old same old". With a wish to explore we took a two week Iceland/Greenland/Halifax/NYC cruise on the Viking Mars last month. We really liked the ship, crew and ambience. The Spa is definitely the best we have experienced afloat (including a snow shower). The ship was modern, bright and uncrowded. The food was pretty good (not quite Oceania standard) but a nice change from the well known Specialties on Oceania. No Artist's Loft but 4 excellent lecturers. The Cruise Director Kate (from Edinburgh) was by far the finest we have ever encountered over our 20 previous cruises. Sometimes a change of scene is needed to review our opinions. Over all we both now prefer Viking to our previous favourite Oceania. We will be cruising for the first time on Seabourn in early 2025 on a very desirable itinerary. Based on that trip we may find an even better cruising option. The point is that we are not fixed on a single line and are keeping our minds open. We have not said goodbye to Oceania. With the right itinerary we may be back but we have now confirmed that interesting options are available for us. 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbow3fe Posted July 28 #33 Share Posted July 28 On 7/21/2024 at 11:57 PM, mauibabes said: Really that is my point, every line has changed, especially since Covid. “Stuff Happens” when it comes to travel, airlines, flights and cruising and opinions and tastes only apply to the beholder. We can all be critical and we all have opinions. We have taken a few 5 Star trips before and after Covid, land and river and Ocean and I can honestly say that in my opinion their wonderful French Chefs and amazing cuisine did not compare to Oceania’s. When asked to rate dining, I stretched to a C+ and explained I was comparing to Oceania and no other cruise lines. FDR Trademarked the Finest Cuisine at Sea and drove that home. Fact or Fiction, it is a great tag line and the cuisine is outstanding, IMHO. My 2 cents and that is all it’s worth, blow off someone else’s negativism, their opinions and look forward to “your” adventure and cruise and go with a positive attitude and have a fabulous trip and create your own opinions just for you. I will drop the mic, Mahalo, Mauibabes Hi, So glad you wrote this and happy that I even found it. I appreciate your comparisons of O and Viking. We love the food, ambience and service aboard Oceania. Booked our 12th. We are always looking for an interesting itinerary. For a " change of pace" or to "try something new" My DH wanted to look at a Viking cruise. I wasn't sure if it would be a good idea. We had already "experimented" with Princess and Celebrity. No need for me to go into details about some awful experiences on those cruises. I agree that whenever you leave home, "Stuff Happens". We've learned to roll with the punches and enjoy the adventures. Happy sailing.😎 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sd duderino Posted July 28 #34 Share Posted July 28 On 7/27/2024 at 9:59 AM, Brentwood Bay said: With a wish to explore we took a two week Iceland/Greenland/Halifax/NYC cruise on the Viking Mars last month. {...} The Cruise Director Kate (from Edinburgh) was by far the finest we have ever encountered over our 20 previous cruises. In March/April, we were on Viking Venus with a cruise director named Katy Syrett, from Edinburgh, and it as her first cruise on Venus. So if the same, she certainly is making the rounds on Viking - maybe trying to do the whole solar system in a year or something like that. ... I agree that she was terrific, although Viking Ocean, not as much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainbow3fe Posted July 28 #35 Share Posted July 28 1 hour ago, sd duderino said: In March/April, we were on Viking Venus with a cruise director named Katy Syrett, from Edinburgh, and it as her first cruise on Venus. So if the same, she certainly is making the rounds on Viking - maybe trying to do the whole solar system in a year or something like that. ... I agree that she was terrific, although Viking Ocean, not as much. I think having a fabulous CD on a not so great cruise wouldn't work for us. A good CD is a nice plus but it's not as important as the cruise itself. Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare molemaui Posted July 31 #36 Share Posted July 31 On 7/21/2024 at 4:43 PM, mauibabes said: Just chatting with DW and she was reading more blogs. She shared a few posts with me about posters having issues with some of O’s competitors. I guess every Line can have issues and might not be “Perfect”. Read these 🛳️🤪 I have recently been on both. We won’t return to Viking and have already booked another on Oceania. We found the food and layout of the ships much better on Oceania. And we were bored to tears on Viking. Activities, bars, casino, pool, restaurants etc were far superior on Oceania. The excursions on both were good. We have been on both and prefer Oceania over Viking. The free excursions on Viking were poor, and so was the food (and coffee). The ships on Viking are beautiful but that would not be enough to get us back on-board. Mauibabes I agree. Personally I think Viking Ocean has the nicest ships at sea. Service is excellent as well. That is where it ends in my opinion. Food was mediocre at best. Actually the pool grill was consistently food but that's about it. I would possibly sail Viking again on a transatlantic but not on a port intensive itinerary. Oceania has been excellent to outstanding every time I've sailed with them. (even with a slight post Covid decline in food quality-still much better than most) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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