Flatbush Flyer

Most importantly, congratulations on breaking out of your mold. The first big difference about cruises that are 3 weeks vs 1 week is that you’ll come to realize that those previous trips were just a “boat ride.” IMO, the next big difference is that, hopefully, your cruising expectations will become more fine tuned - especially when it comes to the quality of the shipboard experience - specifically the food, service and sleep experience. That said, the somewhat two edged sword of your new adventure is that A) you’ll probably come away wanting more (and more) exotic destinations with a better quality cruise experience and B) you may find that mass market lines no longer meet your needs. Yes, you may very well find that you’ll be seriously curious about doing what many Princess, HAL and Celebrity regulars eventually do: 1) Move from the mass market to the premium/luxury lines. 2) Trade in the Caribbean for the far more interesting/enjoyable Polynesia. 3) Start increasing your cruise lengths to a month or more. Don’t worry though. As Martha Stewart always says: “It’s a good thing.”😎

So…. How about being patient since the situation is still quite fluid. Yours is not the only cruise affected by current unrest and other issues. All you can do at this point is decide to bail out and face any $ penalty consequences OR trust that O will make the REASONABLY best decisions on everything from additional itinerary changes to some sort of compensation (despite their not having to do anything. And, if things don’t work out the way YOU want, your decision about whether to do a future O cruise will be further informed.

It certainly is a fact. While the included ports are important (perhaps the MOST important element of a cruise) for some folks, the reality remains that it also represents your daily room and board and the quality of that part of your purchase. That FACT is why there are multiple segments in the cruise industry with each one offering similar itineraries though at sometimes significantly different price points. If you are unaware or don’t care at all that O is a fine balance of often unusual itineraries AND a stellar offering of amenities, food and service, it probably isn’t a good cruiseline choice for you. As for not ever having had pre-cruise changed/cancelled ports, welcome to the contemporary world of cruising (regardless of which cruiseline you use).

If you read your Ticket Contract and the O T&Cs you’ll find that making your deposit accepted the agreement that O is only responsible for getting you from embarkation to disembarkation with allowance for any itinerary changes that keep you, the crew and the ship safe. I’m sure that you’ll agree that O has made itinerary changes necessary for your safety. And, even if you don’t agree, it really doesn’t matter in the bigger picture of the situation. O has done its best to substitute safe and reasonable ports and is not charging you anything extra for the added port expenses it will incur. Remember too that many of your fellow passengers have done all the original and substitute ports many times. Whether you like it or not, a cruise is more than just the ports. And, finally, you have no idea what Onis going to eventually do (if anything) in terms of compensation for your situation. We had three Covid era affected O cruises ranging from one with numerous port changes and a totally different final destination to another completely cancelled to one more with a negotiated replacement cruise. Bottom line is that O was more than generous in fare compensation, bonus SBC and other $ adjustments. Finally, like me, you should know that the “poop can hit the fan” anytime. That’s why any savvy traveler always prepares him/herself for the worst possible scenario.

Feta Cheese et al.: This multisegment “custom” cruise was a true test of knowing/understanding O’s policies/practices. As regards the ESS and our getting “some” extra SBC, the bottom line was that only one segment was in the sale and therefore, technically, our cruise didn’t qualify. Fortunately, we were using one of our favorite (and quite “O influential”) TAs and I asked her to press O for a break on the sale. As it turned out, the total price drop of our custom cruise was about $3k! But, all she could get O to do was to give it to me as non-refundable SBC useable only on that cruise). Though my first reaction was a bit disappointed, I did the “bottom line” math and decided it would actually work out okay. Why? Most importantly, this was a 3 week+ Alaska cruise with a ton of port stops. And we had already prepurchased a bunch of YWYW discounted tours beyond our O Life allotment. And THAT worked in our favor once onboard. With all that non-refundable SBC now in the onboard account, it would be used to retroactively “pay” for the YWYW tours while my original tour “cash in the game” would become refundable SBC. And, even after we figured in our bar bill, and the differential charges on the spa coupons, we walked off the ship with much of the O ESS accommodating non-refundable SBC as cash! 😎

Let me repeat myself. I was just on Regatta within the past month! Of course, I could be mistaken and the extra $250 SBC was a reward for my “rugged good looks.” But, here’s the original BoB O invoice, which represents my contract with O as completed by an O Club Ambassador and agreed to by me. That’s pretty straightforward.

Yes. Edgee is absolutely correct. Ensenada and Vancouver are “near” foreign ports which are OK on RT from a US port. But, OW cruises, e.g., SF to NYC (via Panama Canal), require a “distant” foreign port which is why Cartagena Columbia is so often used. Someone else posted that perhaps our multisegment was considered to be two separate cruises (SEA-YVR and YVR-LAX). If one looks at some of CBP’s interpretive comments on the PVSA, it can sound like CBP’s opinion is “No” (e.g., unless you disembark with all luggage and do not reboard for at least 24 hrs). In any case, PVSA adherence is O’s responsibility.

This multi-segment cruise was not to/from the same US port. In any case, a non-issue.

I had wondered about that possibility (as probably did several others who did those two segments together). However, anywhere we encountered US CBP personnel in Seattle, Vancouver and Astoria, OR, there was no questions, problems or anything other than a welcoming greeting. In any case, it appears that it is no longer an issue for passengers. Here is the relevant text from the 2019 update of the PVSA regulations: The Passenger Vessel Services Act September 2019 PENALTY FOR PVSA VIOLATIONS CBP issues monetary penalties to vessel owners and operators for each passenger transported in violation of the PVSA. Vessel owners and operators may submit a petition for relief from these penalties at the port where the penalty was issued. The port may cancel or mitigate the penalty. Penalty * $300 for each passenger transported and landed on or before November 2, 2015. * $798 for each passenger transported and landed after November 2, 2015. * Issued to the vessel operator or carrier not the passenger.

While Oceania (and Regent) belong to the same consortium as NCL, they are independent operations. Each “loyalty”’program operates without recognition of each other’s perks.

Though not an O tour, check out Maohi Nui tours with Patrick on Bora Bora (snorkel, lunch et al). Fills up quickly.

Just means we need to cruise even more! What’s your next? We’re doing Bangkok to Tokyo On Riviera in February 2024.

Looking at the bigger (future) picture, I’d call it common sense.

There used to be a TA locator tab on the O website. But that was years ago and it was more a geographic selection of TAs than a ranking of any sort. Even then, I was (and still am) a big fan of asking O regulars on your cruise(s) who they use and why. Ask enough and you’ll start hearing a lot of the same handful+\- of Agencies. They’ll all be worth an exploratory call to see if there’s a good “fit” for you and reasonable “deal(s)” Ask about their experience and O “status.” Seeing a logo like this on their materials/website is a good sign (at least in terms of their O sales/familiarity.

Actually, yours is the better title for the person I was describing as the “dedicated” type who works with “most TAs” (in whatever department name is official). Regardless of where their desk is, those dedicated reps/“business development managers” will still need to go to actual managers for approval of most things that may cost O $$$ to do. And I stand by my often made comment that (even if someone swears to you that their TA is the “best thing since sliced bread”) folks looking for a good TA to handle O bookings should identify someone who is, at least, a member of O’s Connoisseurs Club and preferably an Elite member who is an O Preferred Partner. Folks who are looking for a new O TA should look for Travel Agencies with, at least, this type of logo: Those agencies get O results. Even then, folks new to O should also look for specific knowledgeable reps at that TA who do a lot of O sales and have an interpersonal style that works well for the potential customer.

While you are correct that the first line of O contact for most TAs is a dedicated staffer in Miami, that person is usually still in the reservations area - but s/he is a more long serving/knowledgeable rep than you get at the general phone number. And the TA contact will still need to connect with a supervisor for certain requests related to differing opinions about policy inclusions/exclusions and, in particular, exemptions issued on a case-by-case basis. Alas, even the TA route can get conflicting info from Miami. IMO, the best course of action, is to use only TAs who are, at least, members of O’s Connoisseurs Club and/or, better still, an O Preferred Partner Travel Agency. NOTE: if your TA is in the top tier of membership, the O Connoisseurs Club logo on their web page will have “ELITE” added to that logo). These are the folks with the best chance of getting the decisions on policy exceptions you are seeking.

This past August/September (2023), I did a “custom” two-segment cruise (SEA-YVR & YVR-LAX) with a single booking number (not marketed as a single “extended voyage”). I received O Club gratuities for Segment 1 and OCAPP gratuities for Segment 2. Then, I also received $250/cabin O Club SBC “in lieu” of O Club gratuities for Segment 2. I didn’t dream this AND it was less than one month ago. I’ve got another multi-segment coming up starting February 2024. It too has the same mix of O Club and OCAPP gratuities coverages and the O invoice software glitch that I expect will have the same exact correction as described above. FWIW: I attribute many of the conflicting things we hear about O policies/practices to the “luck of the draw” as to who in Miami answers the phone when you or your TA call for clarification. And then there’s the issue of not all TAs having the same O knowledge and accepting what they’re told (if they even called O to discuss it 😳).

Agree. Definitely Oceania and possibly Azamara (due only to the fact that A was sold to Sycamore Partners during the Pandemic cruise hiatus and the “jury is still out” on the new owners.

Here’s the absolutely correct info on the current relationship of OCAPP to O Club gratuities coverage: MANY (did I say MANY?😎) years ago, if your TA’s OCAPP funds would pay for your gratuities (normally, that’s all that OCAPP funds are allowed to be used for), O Club would give you that same gratuities amount as SBC “in lieu” of the O Club paying them. However, that changed at least 5 years ago to O Club limiting the “in lieu” SBC to $250 per cabin if OCAPP was paying for the grats. And If you say “I don’t want the OCAPP gratuities coverage. Let O Club pay for them,” there’s no guarantee that a TA will give you extra SBC from their own resources (but it never hurts to ask). In the last year plus, I’ve run into a couple of OCAPP glitches on multi-segment cruises where the OCAPP is only available on one segment. That can create some slight accounting “trouble.” Theoretically, you should get O Club gratuities on the non-OCAPP segment plus $250 O Club “in lieu” SBC on the OCAPP “grats paid” segment. The good news is that, once you are onboard, your account should show this correctly. The bad news is that, once OCAPP ends up on your invoice for one segment, an O software glitch limits the other segment to that $250 “in lieu” SBC. it’s a known issue and it is supposed to get corrected when the accounting moved to the ship. But, just in case, I always ask for either a verifying notation on my account or a copy of an O email to my TA saying something to the effect “They’re Platinum and alway get all gratuities covered.” Of course, there’s always the possibility that someone not familiar with the policy (and/or the glitch) as regards multi-segment cruises might tell you “as long as the gratuities are all covered, you get no ‘in lieu’ SBC” (even though you have the O Club status for free gratuities). That is incorrect! (So you or your TA should make sure it’s in the deal). But, back to your original question (sort of): If OCAPP is in the mix, the best “in lieu” SBC you’ll get from O Club for the OCAPP segment is $250 for the cabin.

Your learned explanation of hearing aid specifics is appreciated. And, as your explanation implies, the inability to comprehend the spoken word on contemporary A/V equipment doesn’t just impact those with hearing issues. Beyond lousy sound quality, there’s the nature of many contemporary shows where FX and multiple microphones for the actors have made it necessary for many folks to automatically turn on Closed Captioning even when they’d hearing is excellent. Count us among them. That said, the fact remains that It only takes one button push (🔼) on the O TV remote to turn on the Closed Captions. That alone would often solve much of the “too loud TV” problem onboard.

Perhaps most importantly for you, I hope you chose the right travel insurance: one that covers trip interrupt/delay due to terrorism. As for communications from MSC (or any cruise line), recognize that when a cruise-heavy region becomes destabilized, the necessary logistical changes are extremely challenging and the last thing that is needed is for the cruise company to issue immediate itinerary changes that may need to be altered several times prior to your embarkation date. Be calm. Be smart. All will work out.

Use a travel insurance broker (no added cost to you).We use InsureMyTrip.com, which we find has a far better online search feature than any other broker along with licensed phone agents who will clarify all aspects of the policies and help you make a right decision. BTW: if you do multiple and/or longer premium/luxury cruises per year, be very careful about selecting any “annual” policy. Their claim limits are “aggregate” per year rather than per each individual cruise!

Absolutely. And, even when O is a tad more in price, the better quality/value is worth the added cost. If you do a search here on CC, you’ll find some comparisons done several years ago that found RCC and HAL with almost identical intercontinental itineraries/cabins (and optionally added O inclusions) to be priced similar to O cruises. One of the big equalizers was O’s inclusion of intercontinental air or air credit. O itself has also published price comparisons in the past to “higher end” mass market lines like Celebrity with the same results.

Nice that you tried to provide a framework for your post. And you made some good points. However, I disagree with several of your statements. One logistical error was the “one pre-cruise reservation per specialty restaurant.” Not only does it depend on your cabin level, it also depends on the cruise length. The other major disagreement I have regards your statement “it is all relative to what you have experienced in the past.” I originally chose O, in part because of professional reviews by industry experts in both the maritime and hospitality arenas. There are “reviewers” whose findings I trust enough to have them weigh somewhat on my own opinions. Thus, my decisions about a cruise meeting my expectations is often tempered by what knowledgeable experts have to say perhaps even more so than “Uncle Bob” or someone else here on CC. And, of course, my own past experience will inform my comments. So, where I differ from you appears to be a broadening of the criteria upon which I make decisions about any particular O experience. Am that doesn’t mean that your opinion is irrelevant. Rather it recognizes that you appear to have only a single criteria for comparison to past experience. That said, I sure hope your palate for sophisticated food an service is broad based and well informed.