Flatbush Flyer

So, you basically wasted the time of everyone who was nice enough to reply. In any case, even if the ship allows you to bring more than any baggage allowance they may have, you will still have to deal with Customs officials in Portugal. Just don’t lie to them too.

No one said it was/is unique. It’s just an example of how it might work for the person asking.

“Control” of a booking? LOL While cruise DIYers are on hold for a “luck of the draw” cruise line phone rep (some times for more than an hour), my TA has the O regional sales rep as a speed dial. Even more importantly, her Agency books $ million(s) with O every week while pretty much any DIY cruiser is no more than a rounding error in a cruise line’s daily bottom line. Whose phone call will get answered first and see a solution the fastest?

Actually, at the meeting of IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee in late 2012, the SOLAS related discussions regarding the value of Muster drills did include the results of research conducted at several IAMU colleges which demonstrated their value while also highlighting the data regarding the impact of poor muster practices (and other concerns) on the safety records of commercial ships (including cruise ships). Sadly, lobbying efforts by CLIA influenced the decision resulting in an allowance for “digital” alternatives. In a quick scan for current research, at least at IAMU institutions, you’ll find some interesting results that have supported the decision of an increasing number of cruise lines to return to “in person” drills. Clearly, that cruise lines are also concerned about passengers not watching the videos speaks to the industry wide agreement as to the importance of adequate muster drilling. If you really want/need to see an annotated bibliography or more specifics on the available research, I could certainly assist you. However, I doubt that you’d want to pay the consultation fee. Other than that, you can start with Google and get pointed in the right directions. BTW, discussions at IMO regarding Safety & Security can be very interesting. I know because I participated in post-911 MARSEC discussions that influenced the early development of more robust security training and exercise criteria for ship and port security officers.

Even with folks watching the video, the problem remains that not performing an actual drill leaves many folks still clueless about the process and challenges of doing it in an actual emergency situation.

Sure BUT… …. You need to do ALL the math for each overall itinerary you may be considering. Booking 2 consecutive 20 day cruises as a “custom cruise” (i.e., two segments with a single booking number that is not published as an “extended journey”) would not only get you an extra cruise credit. You’d also get double the O Club credit, double the spa credits and a 5% fare discount. However, if they’re published as an “extended journey,” you wouldn’t get double the O Club benefits but the fare discount may be considerably more than 5% (perhaps enough to be better than the “custom cruise” deal). Of course, there are cases where your total multi-segment cruise length makes separate booking numbers better for cruise credit accrual than does one booking number (e.g., two 10 day cruises). But, cruise credit is only one factor in your “deal.” It used to be that it was all a moot question. If your chose two (or more) segments published as an “extended journey,” you could not choose to book them separately. And if they were not published that way, you’d still have to book them as a “custom cruise.” It was “multi-segments could only be the appropriate one booking number version. BTW: Attempts to skirt that occasionally caused issues between O and TAs. However, it’s my understanding that you can now (since 2022) choose to book multi-segments as separate cruises (rather than as a single booking number “extended journey” or “custom cruise”) where, with 2 segments for example, you’d get no fare discount but would get double O Club SBC, double spa credit and double the DIY air credit. That can be quite a “chunk of change.” Bottom line is that, if (for example) you are a Platinum O Club member, doing an intercontinental itinerary w/DIY air (and four figure air credits), the cash in your pocket may be best by doing separate bookings - even if you lose the single booking number discount and a cruise credit. And your choice can sometimes come back to bite you when you’ve gotten a great multi-segment fare break with your single booking number deal and then O has a sale that gets a major fare break or addition of ultimate O Life on one (but not both) of the segments. In that case, you are SOL on getting partial refund or added perks. So, get out that calculator!

We’ve taken many O cooking classes on Marina and Riviera at their Culinary Center - even had an opportunity once to chat briefly with Pepin (see pic). But, the only “demonstration kitchen” on the existing O ships is the show lounge, which has a temporary setup for cooking demos (some of which do have limited/reserved seating).

Are many you’ve sure you signed up for a class taught by Jacques Pepin OR is it just a class on Jaques Pepin recipes?

This thread is the “poster child” for “Penny wise and Pound foolish.” If OP really wants to “help” someone, the easiest thing would be to write them a check.

O home page: click “legal” at bottom. Then click “promotions.”

Even more important is to know when taking a train in a particular location is asking for time trouble.

Muster drills are supposed to be on again at O. Thank God someone at O figured out that few folks watch the video.

While, when it comes to air travel, we always DIY, we do use a TA (always) for cruises. WHY? Here’s an example: Oceania often provides TAs and TA Consortia pass-through incentive funds to cover things like the cost of gratuities (for folks who don’t automatically get them based on their O Clib status). If you see covered gratuities on your Oceania invoice with a notation that says both your TA’s (and/or) TA’s Consortium’s name(s) plus the acronym “OCAPP,” it’s Oceania providing those dollars. Oceania also has rotating “quiet sales” that move amongst its Connoisseurs Club and Preferred Partner TA members (this is in addition to its own published sales). Also, Oceania pays TA commissions on a sliding scale. So, it’s important to work with TAs who provide great service, sell a lot of Oceania and are willing to share commissions with its customers. We have found that many of O’s top TAs will provide to their clients a cash rebate and/or refundable SBC ranging from 5-10% of the commissionable fare.

Fly back from Athens OR not fly intercontinental on Delta?

Odds and probability are not the same thing. When it comes to delay/cancellation for any one specific flight, the number of variable is so large that it is not unreasonable to say that the “odds of success” are always 50/50. Either there’s a problem or there isn’t. As for probability, if you want to somehow manage it, the key factor is “common sense.”

Yes.

FWIW: Oceania has also recently expanded its regular room service menu and added hot breakfast options to the lower cabin levels. Of course, no extra charges for in-cabin dining.

You’re a year out now. All excursions may not yet be secured.

Ships contract with Port Agents that act on their behalf and can handle luggage logistics that, hopefully, finally get the items to you before too much of the cruise has already happened..

🤔🤔🤔 AHA!!! 21 calendar days based on Eastern Time.

Looking at the TV acct has its limitations - particularly as regards tours. We check the account regularly. However, I get the updated “complete detail” printout which shows far more detail than the tv display. (Note that some Guest Services and/Destination Services staff don’t know how to print the full detail account-to-date. So, in that case, have a supervisor do it. That’s VERY important when it comes to problems with excursions that have been cancelled onboard by O and then affect which ones may become the replacement O Life designations. THAT is why it is so important (before embarkation) to get a copy of the “prepurchased shore excursions” PDF from O. It shows ALL the math and trumps everything if there’s disagreement about transactions. With that PDF and the complete detail onboard acct printout on hand, it is extremely easy to point out errors.

Because we would never use O Air, I have not had the opportunity to test that assertion. However, I do know that I have occasionally seen different air credit amounts for the same cruise depending on when one looks at a possible new booking several times over time (it can go up/down/remain the same). That said, I also know that, if you rebook a cruise (e.g., to get a fare sale price), the add-ons (O Life, air etc) may be refigure to the currently available deal. So, I suggest that you get any promises from O (or a TA) in writing.

Do you mean non-stop (rather than “direct”)? in either case, your only concern would be the checked bag not being loaded on the plane. Though rare, it can happen. FWIW, FF status and cabin class can make a difference: If the plane has weight concerns, bags with a “priority” sticker get that “priority.” We regularly check two large bags -almost always on United bizclass (with Star Alliance partner connections where needed). Using the United app we can see when the bags are scanned and, at least, know when and where the bags have been loaded and unloaded. But, even though we have the “priority” stickers, we still breath a sigh of relief when we first see the bags dumped ono the carousel at our destination airport.

Caribbean? Smooth as silk unless it’s not.

Learn something new each day.