GeezerCouple

Wine that you carry on board and do not pay corkage... is for enjoyment in your cabin or suite only. The corkage fee is for wine that you drink elsewhere. Please don't abuse Oceania's liberal wine policy by sneaking a glass of your own wine into a public area. If that's done too much, they may change the policy, and that would be a real shame for many. Thank you. GC

That's a very good question. We have responded to many questions about travel insurance, but we have had quite a few policies and several claims (including a few large ones). So we can indeed speak to the process of selecting a policy (with the help of www.TripInsuranceStore.com) and of getting claims paid (from Travel Insured, the insurer that TIS helped us find). It is important to buy "the right policy", but that may not be known or appreciated until/unless one does file a claim. And one can't know if the policy someone helped you to purchase (or simply sold to you, perhaps only online) is indeed satisfactory for your needs unless....... I think the complaints about claims are also problemmatic. Many of those are because the policy never covered the reason for the claim in the first place. Yes, that's a serious problem, but many people seem happy with their online purchases, and so much of the critical "fine print" simply isn't included in the online policy summaries. TIS takes a lot of time to help someone find a policy that best fits *their* needs/interests, although they also have an online process that could bypass the interaction. And they will help with claims if requested. (We had them look over our first claim, which was a biggie, and that made us feel more comfortable when we submitted it, although I'm sure we'd have been fine anyway.) I wish we did not have all the experience with travel insurance claims, but we do. So we can indeed speak from experience, and with quite a few different types of claims. We "won't leave home without it" (or at least, not for foreign trips!). GC

Here is a link to the CC section on travel insurance. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/ You might want to browse through some of the existing threads in addition to asking your question there. GC

Good one! 🤣 GC

THIS! Exactly! Oh, how wonderful that big closet is, for a multitude of sins, er, uses! 😁 So nice to push <whatever> in there quickly, and... shut the door. And voila! It's gone....! And the suite looks just wonderful, all nice and neat. And yes, the luggage, too. So convenient. We will *really* miss that closet, in it's old configuration. GC

Does this mean they no longer offer a choice from either Polo or Toscana at no additional cost, other than the Privee room charge? GC

We definitely prefer the Jacques menu. Some real favorites there! 🙂 We happen to enjoy a nice leisurely dinner. As for the timing, is Ember a set seating time? If not, who is making you "linger" if you don't want to? The way it used to be (in Jacques, or the MDR, etc.), one could linger or not, as one pleased, and also depending upon how much one wanted to eat. GC

Here is how we think about connections, timing, etc.: We think about what happens 'downstream' from any snafu. So for an awards ticket from Australia to the USA... how easy would it be to get on another flight? This may depend upon your class of service. For example, with F (or even business), there may not be a lot of open seats on that next flight. There often aren't a lot of those premium seats to begin with, of course, never mind needing availability at the last moment. For economy, there may be more availability, but these days... is that still true with the apparent travel surge? So in a case like this (and we've been in this situation several times, with awards tickets) we spend the night at/near the connecting airport. That allows a lot of time for a delay on that first flight. Once thus far, we were able to stay at an air-side hotel, which made it a lot easier... no need for customs and immigrations and then security again. Nice! And we will *not* take a "late flight" to the connecting long-haul. We'll try to allow at least 2 additional flights in case of delay, and always at least one... unless there is no way at all to do that. And it depends upon whether it is one ticket, two, or perhaps a family traveling together, etc. Most of our decision making about this depends upon "how difficult it is likely to be to get the next flight" should things go south (heh, instead of north! 😉 ) at the connection. GC

That is a trip I would *NOT* want to take! 😱 GC

You might want to ask your hotel for recommendations, too. GC

There is a complete section of CC devoted to travel insurance: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/ You might start browsing there to get a sense of questions, answers, and types of policies, and also to ask questions. We get our travel insurance from www.TripInsuranceStore.com They are a broker (no extra charge to traveler) and have policies from several vetted travel insurers. And they can help with a claim if necessary. We get coverage through TIS from Travel Insured, and we've had several claims (including some large ones), and all were paid promptly. But *your* insurance needs could be quite different from ours. TIS can help you figure out the best policy for your situation. But CALL them. The online summaries simply can't get into all of the fine print or the details of what your particular insurance concerns/needs are. GC

Glad you liked the cruise so much! We fell in love with Oceania almost immediately on our first cruise on the Riviera. (We do still go on other lines, due to specific itineraries, but we feel "at home" on the Riviera. That particular ship has a lot that appeals to us!) For those smaller, independent tours, do make sure to sign up for the Roll Call for your specific cruise, here in CC. That's where we've organized a few private tours and asked if others wanted to join us. For example, we charted a big catamaran, and instead of having something like 20-24 (not sure what the max is for "public" tours), we had something like 10 or 12. We did that again another time, with about the same number. So you know, we just contacted one of the tour operators that "looked good", asked a bunch of questions, and then asked about chartering the entire afternoon (or full day). In one case it was with a tour operator we had used a few times before, after learning about them here on CC some years ago. Or you can just find your own "private" tour the same way, without including others. We've done that, too, and had excursions with just the two of us. That way, we can plan *our* itinerary, and also *our* speed (and occasional rests), and also spend more time at A and less time at B if we prefer that, etc. Just handle that in advance with the tour operator by email. GC

Sure, it is definitely *possible* that you chose the same 4 digit (was it 4 in your case?) code the previous occupant chose. But they are gone. What's the chance they told the steward what it was "just in case the next occupant happens to select the same 4 digit code"? Really? The point is that YOU selected that code. It doesn't matter if someone else used it 1 year ago, or on the previous cruise. YOU selected it; YOU changed the code for your current use. Full stop. GC

[emphasis added] Right! YOU selected the code. That is, YOU changed it from whatever it was before. GC

?? Well, how did you select a combination...? That's what we are all referring to... selecting a combination to use. What are you referring to? What did you do differently the last time, vs. all the previous times you used a hotel safe? How else could a hotel in-room safe be used? There obviously can't be a combination posted on the wall next to the safe... 😱 GC

If you did *not* set a combination, how did you know what it would be? GC

I forgot to mention above a big benefit of 3rd party travel insurance, *not* linked to any specific vendor or portion of the trip. A good travel insurance policy will cover you the moment you leave your house... until you return home. Get in an accident en route to the airport and miss that flight, and spend the day dealing with the accident? Have a problem from the airport to the cruise ship? And there's no issue of whether the cruise line "wants to accept liability" for an accident on board, or not, etc. No need for bickering about which coverage should handle it (or worse, none of them). Just make sure that you meet any conditions for the coverage and that any types of coverage you want are included in the policy you get. That's what a good travel insurance broker can help you with. GC

Usually there is a way to leave a message, and yes, they are very good about calling back, especially if you make it clear it's not one of those spammy calls! Send an email and request a call. They should be good about that, too - and have been in our experience. Not sure why there is no way to leave a message. GC

Right. I assume in any supplemental charge specialty, there'd likely be a charge, or at least for the mains. But for the "included meals", I've never encountered that, and... let's just say that when there is something I really enjoy eating... I'm not shy. But I haven't done that on HAL, so I didn't know if that would indeed incur a cost, which was why you were mentioning the small portions. I'd actually rather see small portions, and ask for more (or order double to start with), than to see the huge volumes of food that don't get eaten just removed from tables. GC

Contact www.TripInsuranceStore.com But CALL them; do not rely upon the short online summaries, as those simply can't explain all the details or try to match with what *your* issues are. The CFAR is a problem in some states, but they can help you with whatever is "next best" if that works. We've used TIS to purchase quite a few policies, and we've also had some claims - all of which were paid promptly. They are a broker (no extra cost to traveler) and work with several vetted travel insurers. GC

[emphasis added] It seems that you have answered your own question when you asked it. You've given 3 different cabin situations that you want to avoid. Chances are that others might want to avoid some of the same locations, meaning those are among the more likely to be available for the guarantees. It's obviously up to you, but it's not clear why you are asking. Only you know if NOT risking any of those three types of cabins (and maybe some others you haven't thought of just now?) is worth the money. You'll have those accommodations for the entire cruise. We tend to be fussy about locations and types of accommodations, so we try to book far in advance while there is a good choice. (OTOH, on my first two cruises in the 1970s, I had an inside, with metal bunk beds, and I fell in love with cruising instantly! 🙂 I was also younger then (!), and had much less money...) GC

What happens if one asks for "more of <whatever> please"? Or even a double-sized portion if you know (from before, or seeing other plates?) you'd be wanting more? GC

Thanks... I had no idea they were that long! Just before Covid, we took the then-longest flight, from Newark to Singapore, but at least we were eating and sleeping the entire way (thank you awards! 🙂 ). It was actually a wonderful flight; the food was incredible, with their "Book The Cook" choice. I cannot imagine doing that without a flatbed, even when we were younger. And certainly not these days, with our aging bodies! However, we have also wondered if the war has changed the flight path and thus the length of the flight. We enjoyed watching the flight path, noting as we went right near/over Moscow, and continued through Russia, and then we noticed Afghanistan a bit to the south of us, etc. There is another "NY area to Singapore" on Singapore Airlines, but that one, from JFK, stops in FRA, so any NY-Singapore flight time on that one would include a stop. I still find it a bit mind-boggling to think of these planes in the air that long, on the routes without stops. GC

I thought this was about 19+ hours, approximately or just slightly more than the Newark to Singapore flight. GC

It can be a bit tricky, depending upon the country. We always go to the country's OWN website, and don't rely upon, say, what a USA-based group says. I start by Googling something like, "medicine restricted in <country name> for tourists", and then go through the first few items that pop up. Make sure you don't stop on a section that is meant for importing/commercial purposes. Those rules can be completely different. And keep in mind, most "routine" meds don't need special permissions (or get banned), or not restricted in normal doses (Sudafed aside...). But there can be some where the total you bring in might be restricted. For Japan, I simply sent them our long list of what each of us takes or *might* take (meaning, we want to keep it with us), and in less than 24 hours, we had a reply indicating the maximum amount we could each bring. IF that's a problem, perhaps your physician could write one refill with a larger dosage each day (?). Then the labeling would match, but when you get back, you could skip the next refill, or such. We've never been fully inspected, but we want to be okay IF we are. It could be something random ("Congratulations, you are TODAY's inspection!" Heh.). Or someone could have had a bad breakfast... Also, we do have some meds that are or might be restricted, whereas many people don't. GC