ORV

Maybe we should hold the assumptions until the details are released. 

5 hours ago, redshine said:

On Oceana‘s bus Transfers, do they limit how many suitcases you are allowed to take? I remember on a prior Oceana Cruz you could only take the bus if you had two suitcases,

we are going to be on the cruise for a long time and will be taking four suitcases and 2 carry ons

I have very little experience with Oceania transfers, but the couple I've been on had no such restrictions. 

We have 4 different Amex cards and I check the offers pretty much daily. They can come and go quickly. Truly within a day or two.  Like many things the key to who gets what is probably a top secret algorithm. What I do is when I see an offer that I think I might use I go ahead and put the offer on the card. Once it's on the card they won't go away until the offer period is expired. Historically a Delta card or Hilton card won't have other travel offers on it, but I've noticed that has gone out the window lately. 

Interestingly enough my wife is an authorized user on my Delta card and it comes up on her online account with another Amex she has. Frequently the offers on her card are different than mine. Of course there are many duplicates, but sometimes not. 

4 minutes ago, Tom and Ingrid said:

Neat. I checked my Delta AmEx and nothing 😞

That's interesting that you have a Delta offer. I just checked my Delta card and I don't have that one, I do have the other three that you're showing there. I also a Marriott offer and a Uniworld River Cruises on my Delta card. I have the Gold Delta, which one do you have? 

I know this is an old thread, but it's not as long as the other one.

For those that keep up with these things I got an offer today on my Amex Everyday card for Celebrity. Spend $500 or more and get $100 cash back. Those with platinum or other Amex cards might have a better offer. I don't know if I will use it as I haven't cruised Celebrity since May of 22, but it's good until 9/17/24. Put the offer on the card just in case something comes up. 

Looking forward to it. Concerning the younger ages, it's Summer in the Med. The few times I've been there in the summer months we've always seen a younger crowd. 

Enjoy your cruise. 

3 hours ago, tvlbum said:

Can some please recommend a hotel, airbnb or other accommodations in Vancover that won't break the bank?

Vancouver is not a cheap place to stay or live. Are you Marriott or Hilton member? I've stayed in 2 different Marriott properties there. One I would recommend, another I wouldn't. I would not stay at the Richmond Marriott Airport hotel again. Long after covid they use it as an excuse to not provide services that they should be and even a Fairfield or Springhill does. 

On the other hand I would recommend the Residence Inn on Hornby st. It's right next door to a very good Italian restaurant, a ten minute walk to the Canada Place terminal area and a relatively reasonable Uber ride from the airport. 

3 minutes ago, Yesimapirate said:

Honestly,  I don't think O is right for you.  You seem to be fighting pretty hard to show there isn't enough variety and what variety there is, isn't communicated well enough for your needs.  Since good is entirely subjective,  it sounds like you would be disappointed on the ship.  O and it's competitors charge far too much for you to spend your time disappointed and unhappy.   If variety is important to you and the menus at O don't meet your needs, look at a cruiseline that does.  You deserve to enjoy your vacation. 

Pretty much summed up what I was thinking. Good luck with finding what suits you. 

In addition to the other excellent suggestions I would also suggest talking to the Concierge. Between all of the above you can get something to happen. 

8 hours ago, daydreamer62 said:

So all in all my worries that had been prompted by some of the posts here on cruise critic were totally ungrounded.

Thank you for your positive review. I think your statement I quoted here sums it up. I wish more people would read the positives that people post instead of the negatives. 

As you said you didn't go looking for something to complain about and obviously went to enjoy your vacation time. Life is too short to always be looking for the negatives. 

3 hours ago, Stockjock said:

  It's actually a couple of weeks after, but that's how things worked out.
 

2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

If you do nothing and birthdates are correct on your cruise record, there’ll probably be a small individual baked good with candle if you’re dining at a specialty restaurant (or probably the GDR).

It would seem that he will need to instigate anything special as the birthday doesn't align with the actual cruise dates. 

2 minutes ago, golfguyhhi said:

Orv meant to say the GDR is closed for lunch on most (if not all) port days.

Oops, I fixed it now, thanks for catching that. 

Hi Dave, what you're seeing there is one day's menu. I think there is a 14 day rotation. Bear in mind on most port days the GDR will be closed for lunch, so if you're wanting to eat on board those days then your choice will be Waves Grill or Terrace Cafe. 

Can't believe I'm agreeing with Mikey. But for once he actually is making sense. 

I've taken multiple cruises in the Med in Oct & Nov on the front end of Transatlantics. They've run the gamut from perfect weather to freezing cold in France & Spain. I've also been in the Med in Aug. In the future I'd always choose late fall over the middle of summer. But then again I'm not one of those cruisers that always wants to know where the best beach is for every port. Actually, I don't really care where any of the best beaches are, I'd prefer to know where the most historical sites are in each port. 

1 hour ago, Tranquility Base said:

Air New Zealand.

Obviously one's FF balance is not in the 10s or 100s of thousands.

It takes a different  amount of spend required to gain a far smaller number of points.

Each single point has more purchasing power than your system, but they are harder to get.

 

Similar principle but amounts and numbers differ.

One big advantage.....if the seat is available to purchase for cash,  and you have the points, that seat is for sale using points.

It also allows part points part cash for the purchase if required.

Just curious, where are you from and how many dollars do you need to spend to earn one point for Air New Zealand?

58 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

One airline (non US),  maybe there are others, have a system where one of their FF points equals one dollar.

Therefore, if a flight is showing for sale for $1,500 cash it is also payable with 1,500 points.

 I like that system as it does not differentiate between when you can book a seat, only how you choose to pay. 

That'd be a heck of deal for US airlines. I'm on an  AA economy flight round trip to BOS that cost me around $560, closest I can come to the same itinerary would be 46,000 miles. Bit of a difference in the comparison there. 

31 minutes ago, VA2002 said:

No, is not connected to air dates.

 

 

Well, do you know what it means? If so please let the rest of us in on it. 

Thanks for your review. I'm also interested in your excursions, but would like to even more know what you consider to be the finest cuisine at sea. 

1 hour ago, TonicTraveler said:

It means the moment the cruises are released for sale.

Yes, that's what I said, I assume you were simply agreeing with me. 

56 minutes ago, sunlover12 said:

There is one port (Saguenay) on my Nautica cruise in September/October that does not have any excursions available.  Several excursions are listed but they all state "this excursion is closed". When I called Oceania about it, he told me that they are all sold out.  It is hard to believe that every excursion in that port is sold out while all the other ports on that cruise show lots of availability. I don't know what it means.  They either cannot find tour operators for this port or it's possible this port is going to be eliminated.  

Having been to Saguenay it's easily walkable. It's not a real big place. If I remember right there were some cancellations from various cruise lines due to the speed limit to protect right whales. It might be iffy. 

2 hours ago, Vallesan said:

So you can book a a flight when you book a cruise but you won’t know the price of said flight until the flights are released for sale, usually 11 months prior to the flight. 

See the line I bolded, I would interpret that as when the cruise is released, not the flight. 

The use of the term dynamic is where I have a problem. My experience with Dynamic pricing is like Uber, the price of the ride is determined by the supply of drivers and the demand load of passengers. This changes on a minute to minute basis. If Oceania will give a price for the flight when I book a cruise I don't really think dynamic pricing is the best term for them to use. But I can see how it will change from week to week or day to day. 

3 hours ago, TonicTraveler said:

"How far in advance is air available for bookings? Airfare can be added to any reservation at the time of booking and air pricing is available on all itineraries from the moment they are released for sale."

I would think the bottom line is that any change like this will be in the best interest of the company. 

5 minutes ago, Tr1v1alCru1ser said:

Found this online

 

https://www.oceaniacroisieres.com/html/scripts/ckeditor/kcfinder/upload/files/Aquamar Pre Book Services Pricing List.pdf

 

 

Those are the older prices, for example, the Ocean Wrap Muscle release on that list is 239, on the list I have its 299. 50-minute acupuncture, 179, my list is 199, 90 minute Swedish massage, 229, my list 100 minute Swedish massage 349, and on down the line everything is higher. It should be pointed out the list I have is at least a year or more old, it could be higher now. Massages, which are typically what many people get, tend to have the largest increases on them. 

I've seen emails from a couple of agencies with this offer for years. I've never used them as I have a TA I prefer, but I'm aware of it. Most of the time you have to pay attention to the details. Watch for words or phrases like "up to". Just like so many offers the amount is dependent on how much you're spending. 

You might have better luck finding the answer in the Ports Of Call board or the Norwegian board.