ORV

58 minutes ago, Cruisedreamer1 said:

Just off the Regatta and found plenty of wine to drink! Barista's has always closed for coffee drinks in the evening. We never had a problem asking for a cappuccino in the morning or lunch or dinner.

 

We were in an ocean view cabin so we felt service was the same for us. To our delight, some of the crew remembered us from the Insignia and previous Regatta cruises.

 

If Julia Diego and Abner Sanchez is still on board don't miss their performances. They are truly up and coming stars and hopefully Oceania will utilize them more on the stage.

 

Does anyone know how you can get the tote pictured in the photo above? It looks very practical.

 

I wonder if Oceania will ever schedule another west coast cruise to Mexico again? It was so nice to drive only 2 hours from home!

 

Disembarkation was a breeze. Once off the ship, go through the photo camera and collect your bags. Embarkation was easy but the gentleman calling out deck levels for check in was hard to hear. Perhaps because the ship was coming off a very long cruise prior, it seemed to take a long time to get into our cabins.

 

Try the cappuccino caramel ice cream . It's divine!

 

 

If you’re referring to the blue and white bag in the photo with the man with the big head it is for those that booked Concierge level and up. One of the few Oceania bags I don’t have. I’ve heard reports that it’s not as practical as the old ones as it doesn’t zip up. 

49 minutes ago, Cruisedreamer1 said:

Just buy it under your husband's name and give her your voucher. They don't check names when you go to the lounge to check in for an excursion. They take the voucher and give you a boarding coupon for the operator. If you go on the excursion with her, you check in.

 

By the way, we signed up for 3 excursions and found that we either buy another excursion or lose the $13 left on our $400 pp excursion credit.

This. No one is checking. Just hand the Destination Services the ticket, they give you a number. We’ve done it that way a couple of times. 

14 minutes ago, cluso said:

 No, this will be our first O cruise, so I booked directly with them by phone.     We have been on 4 "R" ships before.

The way it's written, it says "Upgrade Now".  To me that kind of means already booked can upgrade.  But, then the fine print.

You can always ask. The worst they can say is no. But I would think “new bookings only” would mean just that. 

27 minutes ago, cluso said:

I noticed today that O is having a 4 category upgrade sale on some of their cruises.  It says in small print "For new bookings only".  One of my booked cruises is in the sale--I booked directly with O.  I thought I have read on this feed some people were able to upgrade a current reservation.  Is that true? Just call O?

Did you book on board? Otherwise best price match probably won’t apply. 

One of the best things we’ve done for travel is to change to the T-Mobile Magenta max 55+  
 

Text and data in something like 215 countries, call if you need to make one at .25 a- minute, usually don’t need to, text is fine. Free internet on Delta & AA and I’m sure others. I get a bunch of other perks that’s not relevant to travel but nice to have. 

34 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

On my first cruise, I was disappointed that they no longer had skeet shooting from the stern.  It was replaced with an arcade video game of skeet.  

I remember seeing that on an episode of The Love Boat. 

3 hours ago, jondfk said:

So, a few cleanup thoughts as we approach San Pedro and a return to normal.

 

First, thanks ORV for starting this thread, it was a pleasure to meet you again at Terrace Cafe the other day.

 

Second, staff has been pretty close to excellent start to finish, I’ve never had to ask twice for anything.  Most requests are met within seconds.  When I think “who was the worst crew member” no image comes to mind.  When I think “who was the best” six or seven faces immediately appear.  Wow.

 

Third, let’s talk internet.  Stupendously unreliable.  The server seems to be rebooting many times each day.  When access is available it’s slooooow.  More infuriating though were the many hours each day when it simply wasn’t available at all.  All of this with us relatively near the equator, one wonders how much worse it will be when we sail next in Alaska.  One hopes the obvious rebooting problems might be solved by then.

 

We have a longish, 7 hour drive home after debarking and hope for a quick and easy process.  We have throughly enjoyed this mid length voyage and look forward to our next.

 

Nice meeting you also as well as some other folks that were on our 9/22 sailing previously. I agree with everything you said. We had great room stewards and pretty much all the staff did a great job. We also really enjoyed the food. 

3 hours ago, Redtravel said:

On my first cruise many years ago in 1988, you had an assigned teak deck chair.  Your name was on it.  You picked your chair location as you checked in.  Every afternoon, they served tea on the deck. We dressed up every night. In the dining room, we were assigned to a table. You could eat all 3 meals at your table. You could also come for the midnight buffet in the dining room.  Your waiter knew what drinks you liked and had them on the table when you arrived. It was very elegant. Those were the good old days. 

Thank goodness they’re gone. 

5 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

So……do we think then that the symbol designates separate tub and shower?  If so, since Marina verandah bathrooms will not be upgraded, is this layout the same size bathrooms as those with shower in the tub?  If so, does this make for a small shower? Thanks again 

Yes, but no where as small as the R ships shower. These rooms have a tub with a shower head AND a separate shower. 

12 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

I am now seeing it pop up with that version on some itineraries but not on others. So seems hit and miss which deck plan is coming up during the booking process. Another Oceania system glitch….seemed more prevalent on 2026 cruises but I did see it on a late 2025 cruise too. 

Probably because it was supposed to be updated by then. The Oceania website is not known for it’s accuracy. 

47 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

I was looking to see what cabins were available in a few different Verandah categories on an itinerary we are discussing. So I used the ‘booking as a guest’ feature. When I clicked on a category, the available staterooms populated. Under the category there is a link you can click onto to ‘view deck plans’.  Really helpful of you have a screenshot of cabin numbers available and simultaneously look at location. This is where I found this symbol that is not in the legend. 

Interesting, could you copy and paste the url for that page? 

2 hours ago, EJL2023 said:

That is interesting.  Not really sure though it would only show for those particular staterooms. I could see on Riveria as they updated all the veranda staterooms and left some with both tub and shower, but they are not retrofitting the veranda stateroom bathrooms on Marina so they would all still have the separate tub and shower I would think.  Unless I am totally missing something. 

 No, I don’t think you are missing anything. That’s exactly the case. I’d venture that it’s a deck plan from somewhere that was made before they decided not to update the verandas on Marina, I think those would be the B4s that were not going to originally be updated. As we know none of them are going to be now. 

47 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Well was my understanding that the update in the FAQ dated then was when the wording allowing non casual jeans in the evening was added. If been allowed for years then just amazing some seem  still hung up on it. I do know when we took our first Oceania cruise in 2017 it did not have the wording allowing for any type of jeans in the evening. 

Well I do know that we’ve been discussing this subject for many years. I guess 7 could be many. I do know it was discussed back when Jim & Stan were still with us, and that’s been a long time. 
 

I’ll do some searching. 

17 minutes ago, clo said:

It has to do with the fact that even though he worked in the biz he never did nor does consider them appropriate for a nice restaurant...or opera...or play....

Which once again has zero relevance to this topic. 

3 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Well the time could make a difference as they updated their dress code to allow non casual jeans in the evening in July, 2022. 

Not sure what you’re saying. It’s been that way for years. 
 

Bottom line is that I’m seeing no enforcement. 

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

As a side note, I believe all but the senior staff are actually employed by Apollo. The employment contract is actually with Apollo, not Oceania, and that contract spells out compensation and benefits. As with any and every employment Agency, what the Agency is paid may not mirror what the worker is paid. The Apollo Group supplies personnel to multiple cruise lines. Fwiw, the company has a majority share holder by the initials of FDR, unless he has sold out in the very recent past. 

Yes if we’re not mistaken Apollo Holdings used to control both Oceania and Regent before NCL took over. 

Sometimes if there are no slots available then nothing comes up. Have you tried all the days? 

23 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I don't doubt your theory at all.  Your post does bring up a side issue I've always wondered about.  How do you get the numbers you cited?  I've seen posts on many other threads where numbers and percentages are offered.  I've been curious as to where the numbers originate.  Are the numbers posted somewhere on the web?  Again, I'm not questioning your numbers, I'd be interested in seeing the numbers for future cruises I may take or decide to book.  Thank you.

19 minutes ago, TRLD said:

The numbers of new cruisers and number from each country announced on the cruise. His repeat cruiser numbers are similar to what we had on the cruise immediately before his. 

8 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

I don't know where @ORV get his numbers, but we found them shared by the Captain at repeater's receptions.

Yes, at the repeaters party. Also I would say the FP transoceanic had a lot more sea days than we do. Definitely a point about this cruise having a lot of Californians, as well as elderly folks. When you hear active people in their upper 70s mentioning “all those old people” then you know there’s quite a few of them.  

I still hold by the idea that it’s a practice that many cruisers bring with them. It’s also very common at resorts. 

Currently on the Regatta on a Mexican Riviera cruise with quite a few days that have been warm to hot. Have not noticed any chair hogging and any time I’ve walked outside on deck 9 there are plenty of loungers. 
 

I’ve got two intertwined theories. This cruise has 540 some Americans and I think 400 + previous Oceania guests. I think a lot of what we’re seeing when the hogging issue comes up is due to the migration from other lines and the practices brought with them. 
 

I am annoyed at the change in orange juice and how you must ask for fresh squeezed to get a decent oj. Orange juice is not brown, just saying. It’s a little thing that some might not notice, but it’s the little things that add up to the complete experience. 

As AMHuntferry asked, are you trying to book another couple with you?

I’ve never Googled it, and it might mean something else than what I meant. I was referring to a practice by a poster here named Mike. 
 

I feel whatever food issues there were on the cruise previously to this have been straightened out. 
 

Perhaps the biggest issue I see is new people in visible positions on board and lack of experience in the Oceania culture. 
 

This cruise has definitely got better as it’s progressed. 

19 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

If he’s the “socks” guy, I’ll pass. Zero personality.

He’s the shoe guy, hence Pinot referring to him as Peter the Shoe. 

30 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Yep, forget about Cleford that I haven’t met. I should have known since the Shoe only works Marina. 

14 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Trust me on this: Clelford is the absolutely worst CD ever employed by O. He was on some mass market line previously and the bottom-of-the-barrel mentality and attitude shoes through in all that he does.

and it wasn’t just one time. We’ve had him at least twice and the badness just blends together. 
I even went so far as to write management at O (and NCLH) and recommend that they require him and all newly hired CDs to intern for at least part of a contract with Ray Carr.

If you are unlucky enough to ever get stuck with Clelford, do be proactive and voice your legitimate concerns with O management (both on and off the ship). He is a monstrous zero and major O embarassment. 

Yes guys, but Clelford is John. The Peter that’s not Roberts is on Vista right now I think. 
 

I’ve also cruised with Clelford and commented on the Mid Cruise cards on his announcements being entirely too loud. Of course he called and left a message when he knew I was at dinner explaining how he’s right, I’m wrong. Perhaps these folks should listen to what the guests have to say instead of letting their arrogance rule their response. 
 

FWIW I like Peter Roberts, but he’s an acquired taste, and you have to get past the tone of his voice. 

1 hour ago, Aloha 1 said:

We have 10 O cruises under our belt and another 40 + on other lines, and Peter was the most annoying CD we've ever experienced.

I think you might be talking about a different Peter.