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TFree

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  • Location
    Nipomo, CA
  • Interests
    Following the Green Bay Packers, travel
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Celebrity, Uniworld, Oceania
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Europe

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  1. The search function could be your friend here. This has been discussed in multiple threads. The quick summary: many people have been unhappy about the switch. Others (probably a minority) like Ember. Tom & Judy
  2. The window has always been 30 days. There was a report that it is being shortened to 14 days, but I have not seen proof of this. We booked a cruise onboard the Vista on November 17. I don't see anything on the invoice issued onboard that states what the deadline is. However, on November 26, we received an email confirming the payment of the deposit. The text of the email includes this wording: "Attached please find your deposit confirmation for the future sailing you have selected onboard. You have made this new booking direct with Oceania Cruises. Please note that you have 30 days from the end of this current cruise to assign your new reservation to your preferred travel agent or agency." We have already transferred our booking to a TA, so regardless whether the deadline has been shortened, we are covered. If somebody has seen written documentation that the transfer period has been shortened to 14 days, I think we would all benefit from seeing that. Tom & Judy
  3. When we were on board Vista two weeks ago, we booked a new cruise departing September 10, 2024. The final payment date shown on the invoice is April 13, 2024, which is 150 days before the departure of the cruise. Tom & Judy
  4. Correct in all respects. I inquired of an agent we had used last year (although we ultimately had to cancel that cruise). He came very highly recommended from a very frequent Celebrity cruiser. I am sure that this is not the kind of travel agent who will spend hours on the phone with you going over cruises and options. But if you come to him with an already booked cruise (as here) or when you are ready to book a cruise, he offers benefits that will be hard to beat. So I am almost positive we will go with him again, and thus render moot the 30 days vs. 14 days issue (we booked on November 17, so we are good either way. Tom & Judy
  5. @EJL2023: just to give more context, we booked not only for ourselves, but for two other couples who are friends of ours, all of us going on the cruise. While we had a TA on the cruise that ended last week, we left her off this reservation, and we are not likely to use her again, since her agency apparently will not, as a matter of policy, add any meaningful benefits for a booking. So we are exploring a couple of agents we know of, and the other couples are also exploring. We will share what we learn, and see what we all want to do. This is one of those situations where the prohibition on naming TAs on Cruise Critic is irritating, even if it is understandable. Tom & Judy
  6. @schmerl: I have. (1) we were told onboard when we booked that we have 30 days; and (2) I was told on the phone today that we have 30 days. It is just unsettling when I can't find a written answer to this pretty basic question is the booking invoice, in the passenger contract, in the Terms & Conditions, or anywhere else on the website, in a time of rapidly changing rules. Tom & Judy
  7. "Oceania" is not really helpful as a source of this information. Does that mean a phone conversation? If so, apply however many grains of salt you wish. Is it in some official announcement document we can verify? I booked a cruise onboard on November 17. So presumably we have 30 days to transfer to a TA. Unless Oceania really has changed the policy effective December 1, and it intends to apply this change retroactively. So, I would be interested in tracking down the actual source of this information. Tom & Judy
  8. We were told onboard Vista that they are combinable. Tom & Judy
  9. I looked at six or eight cruises yesterday online, and then I looked at the same cruises again today. I see either no difference or a negligible difference on those cruises. Most of them are on the sale. My only conclusion is that either they posted the sale prices yesterday without announcing them, or this sale is a big nothing burger. I am going to ask at the future cruise desk on Vista. Tom & Judy
  10. It does. Currently on Vista with the basic (non-upgraded) Star Link WiFi. We have also made WiFi voice calls on board (using WhatsApp or FaceTime voice calls for people who have those features, and at least one plain old WiFi call on a Samsung phone). And we tested a Zoom video call the other day. It worked pretty well, with just a little glitchiness at times. Tom & Judy
  11. I agree that you should price it out and decide. We had the same issue with our Panama Canal cruise leaving next week. Initially, it looked like about a wash to us. The up charge was $798, but we figured (A) we would get free wine and beer; & (B) we would get a second Wi-Fi login to use as part of simplyMORE. Then, when Oceania decided to start extending the second Wi-Fi login to all cabins, whether booked through OLife or through simplyMORE, the deal no longer looked attractive to us, so we stayed with all OLife. Tom & Judy
  12. Did you use a travel agent? I discovered a few years back that some travel agents do not participate in the move up program. I did not understand it at the time, and I don’t understand it now. But if you have a travel agent, you might check with them. Tom & Judy
  13. We tried an Oceania cruise (on Marina) in October, 2021 and liked it quite a bit (with a hiccup or two, this was early post-pandemic). We take our second Oceania cruise in a couple of weeks (on Vista, Panama Canal). We thought the specialty restaurants were outstanding (you get one "free" reservation in each included with the cruise). We were less impressed with the main dining room, but in fairness our recent Celebrity cruises were in the Retreat, so maybe comparing the main dining room to Luminae is not a fair comparison. A lot of Oceania cruisers are unhappy with the switch to SimplyMore (more inclusive with no cruise-only option). Tom & Judy
  14. Just as a point of information, we are on the following Panama Canal cruise (November 3-19). Seeing your post caused me to take a look at the booklet. Ours says (p. 19): ". . . suggested gratuity of $18.00 per guest, per day" will be added. There is a footnote, but it refers to NZ and AU bookings. So whatever is different for your Panama Canal cruise, it is for your cruise only. If you find the answer please report back. Tom & Judy
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