Flatbush Flyer

A search here on CC will find a zillion threads asking/answering that very common question. And all but a very few will agree that O is a class far above Celebrity - particularly when it comes to food and service as well as items like space and crew ratios. Note too that most O itineraries have at least 70% repeat passengers, many of whom jumped ship from Celebrity and never looked back. As for the O passenger demographic: IMO, your fellow cruisers will be adults (many retired) who are generally well traveled, professionally accomplished and decorous folks who worked/work hard for their money and understand value. And, FWIW, where O shines best is on its longer/unusual itineraries.

While some folks like “extra space,” all it is really is “extra space.” And, IMO (which doesn’t work for everyone), booking a “B” cabin on O (particularly a B3 with extended balcony) comes at a price that always gets me significantly more cruise days annually than I would get with “extra space.” And, while I don’t contest your preference for a butler, it is a “bottom line” VERY expensive yet nonessential service that (like extra space) can be “thrown away” and not really impact your vacation in a major way. Remember, there no longer is cabin level check-in, R ships have no concierge lounge, O Club status may ease any challenge at extra food reservations, etc. And yet, on longer cruises, the $ difference from B to PH (or even just to A) is most often thousandS $$$ per person.

Reality check- a smile gets you checked in ASAP. Again, upper level perks are over priced “throwaways.”

Okay - but here’s the important thing: Others who may want to book them have to “work for it.” So, never share the cabin numbers😉

Apparently, you haven’t made it to a “locals” night at the Terrace Café when cooking crew from a particular country are given great latitude with the ethnic preps.

Look at the O deck plans on the O web and zero in on Marina or Riviera - Deck 7. There are four such cabins (two forward and two aft). Easy to spot!

The few extra perks for upper level cabins are mostly “throwaways.” The key factor is that there’s no dining venue exclusively for those cabins. I trust you’re aware that on the larger O ships, some B cabins have extended balconies not found in A or most PH cabins? IMO, that alone is reason enough to opt for the “lower” fare. In any case, history shows that O policies and practices work well enough that most of their cruises (in non-pandemic times) are full and the passenger load is 70%+ repeaters. Again: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

There’s no reason for O to change. After all, it’s one of the few cruise lines that do a comp cruise. And despite any perceived idiosyncrasies in its O club policies, the “regulars” keep coming back. As for extra points for more expensive cabins, remember that O prides itself on not having a class system of policies. Moreover, why ever would O want to create passenger ill will among those who would be negatively impacted by such a change. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

No algorithm that I know of. As I remember it, Book mostly B, you get a B. In any case, one way to do it is to book a Platinum cruise early enough to get a good cabin (at your usual cabin level) and pay the deposit. Then inform the O Club folks that you want it to be the Platinum one. As it gets close to “final pay,” reconnect with O Club and they issue a new invoice while also returning your deposit. You do get O Club $ perks but no O Life or air.

Whichever ship you pick, you’ll still be eating HAL food.

Separate cruises are separate cruises. For your bookings you’d get 1 cc on #1 and 5 on #2. Had you been able to combine them as a custom cruise (one booking number), you’d get 7 cc instead of 6 plus an approx 5% fare discount. However, that longer cruise must be an “extended journey” (and/or you’re in different cabins) and you cannot combine cruises that are already discounted as multi-segment offerings.

That’s unfortunate for anyone who does multisegment cruises. For future reference, if you decide you like cruises exceeding 7-10 days, you may find yourself moving up to premium lines -some of which have a special focus on longer cruises of 3-7+ weeks. FWIW: We do those longer cruises and pack for a basic 10 day laundry cycle and will do self-serve laundry on well positioned sea days.

Depending on your ship, there may be free self-serve laundry rooms available. Our preferred line has them and even provides the all-important ocean-safe detergent. Check with your cruise line regarding its recommendations/requirements.

We just contact O (preferably a particular phone rep whose extension/email we have) and request the most current version of your cruise’s “shore excursions” PDF be emailed to you. That said, recognize that the document changes with time. It can be just the boilerplate first page info when you are more than 6 months pre-cruise. But, then, tours will be altered, changed, even eliminated, as time goes by. Nonetheless, I agree that it is a far better way to examine the possibilities than is the day-by-day navigation on the O website. Also, as regards O tours, know that what is found via the O web, PDF, and a phone call to O doesn’t always “jive.” For example, the newest info may appear first in anyone of those three resources. But, I have found the most accurate info to be the trusted O rep who sees in front of him/her what the O booking system will allow (particularly if you want to do a daytime and evening tour anywhere on the same day (I.e. can’t be done on the web) and how best to “arrange” the booking to get the lowest out-of-pocket cost. Note as well that, if you wan to cancel prepaid O tours prior to embark, you need to call O to do it and your O phone contact can “bird dog” that refund process for you. Also, when you book tours direct with the O rep (you don’t need to go through your TA for tours), s/he can send you the “pre-purchased” shore excursions PDF that shows all the math that “bottom lines” your mix of O Life, YWYW, etc tours - a very important doc to have once aboard should you want to verify itinerary changes’ tour modifications done by Destination Services. Some folks here will suggest that you let your TA handle it. However, even the most “O savvy” TA doesn’t necessarily understand the idiosyncrasies of O’s tour policies and practices. And once you are on the ship (not unlike once you are in an airport) DIY spares the added work of trying to connect with a TA. So, want O ship tours? Get/use the latest shore excursions PDF directly from O. Discuss best pricing strategy with O rep. Purchase/modify/cancel O tours from that O rep Get a copy of the “Pre-purchased shore excursions” PDF from that rep. (Note: Before purchasing, confirm that PDF will be sent to you. If a new rep says “not possible,” that’s not true. So, ask/call back for a different rep. (FWIW, we choose the O Life tours option which has the capacity to double the perk value while also getting the YWYW discount on paid tours AND we mix them with private tours we relish for their uniqueness).

Of course, those are “cabin” prices. You’d have to add things to the HAL experience to equal what is included in the O fare: internet, beverages, specialty restaurants and, if that’s the “O Life w/air” fare on Oceania, you’d then need to figure into the HAL fare air tix and amenities like booze, tours or SBC. Hopefully, OP understands that.

At the opposite end of this “spicy food” item is one of my few criticisms of O food: a lack of appropriate condiments for ethnic foods traditionally prepared with significantly “hot spices.” Several years ago, we started packing some of our own “individual serving” packaged condiments -particularly for certain ethnic foods (e.g., Cholula for Mexican). And we’re always on the lookout for these packets whenever we visit any ethnic food store.

While I understand your point of “always more to do,” the flip side is that a lot of that Caribbean time could be spent in what you (or I) would find to be far more attractive and interesting places. But, of course, where you live can be a major factor in where you “set the bar” for your expectations. For us, most of the Caribbean will remain “one and done.”

Perhaps not exactly what you are looking for but, recognize that there are several cruiselines (e.g., Oceania) who arrange a significant part of their scheduling as “segments” (i.e., consecutive single cruises that are not round trips to/from the same location). Multiple segments are marketed as as extended journey or can be assembled as a custom cruise. In essence them, you can be on the same ship for anywhere from a week to a month to multiples of that as you traverse one or more regions/continents/etc

Actually not a fable (but also not to be confused with a totally booked ship situation). Often, when O is canceling a cruise (as happened numerous times during the “pandemic era”), the first step is to “waitlist” every category, which stops the selling of cabins. That’s followed by the email to booked passengers from Carlos Ortega (or froM someone else in Miami) with apologies for the inconvenience along with news of whatever “fare paid” compensation package has been assembled.

As for which line- there’s just no contest. O has many regulars who formerly cruises on Celebrity.

With a VERY few notable exceptions, most Caribbean islands are “one and done.”

Not all of them are totally waitlisted. For example: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/grand-voyage-cruises/barcelona-to-rome-MNA221018A/

I finished the last two segments of the ATW in July. Isolation and quarantine are different things - sometime resulting in different cabins being used.

Others have posted about option for isolation of cabin mates who test negative.

Not true