ORV

There are also "Oceania Insider Elites" which are usually subsets of the Oceania Connoisseurs Club. This denotes the Top 25 North American Agents for Oceania

49 minutes ago, Mrs f. said:

Just curious....what do these Oceania Connoisseur agents do that regular agents dont?

Just to put it shortly, they generally know what the h they're talking about. 

52 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Just off 5 weeks on the Vista, where we had an excellent Filipino band.

 

Hank

And just goes to show that what happens on one ship is not fleetwide. The band on Regatta we were on recently was definitely not Filipino, but not sure what nationality they were. 

On our most recent cruise that ended in LA we took an excursion that took us to all the tourist sites and ended up at the airport. Your flight had to be 3pm or later. They also offered the same tour to those staying onboard but their bus of course went back to the ship. 

20 minutes ago, clo said:

Totally no biggie. And page 18 is the GDR with Baristas on the facing page.

Obviously they changed the format of the books, so the page numbers are not going to be the same. I'm sorry if that confused you. 🙄 If you saw them side by side you might understand. 

18 hours ago, clo said:

Again, nope. And again, I'm guessing it's the suite that does it. I wonder, six weeks out, will I get anything else in print? Emails are fine too.

Nope, not the suite, I just checked my Jan/Feb book for Marina, 24 day. On page 4 it has personalized information about us, on page 18 it has our stateroom with our name, a picture of the room and a deck plan showing where the room is. 

Then for our most recent Regatta cruise that left on 4-20 for 11 days only had a generic book about Regatta and no personalized information. No suite for either cruise. 

So, it's one of a few things, they simply quit doing the personalized info sometime in March(my pick), they don't do them for the smaller ships, or it depends on cruise length. Or something else. .

1 hour ago, ronrick1943 said:

I thought Oceania didn't require a jacket to dine anyplace on the ship.  I understand no shorts, but if you're nicely dress--slacks and shirt I don't see a problem.  In fact some of those shirts can cost more than a jacket and look a lot better without a jacket.

Yes, your thinking is correct. I think he was saying that it's not a problem to pack one. I frequently take mine.

25 minutes ago, golfguyhhi said:

Is the BoB benefit still available when booking either 30 days before or after the BoB cruise?

I ask because the Ambassador has always been very busy on my last 3 or 4 cruises, and I'd just as soon book it thru my TA before actually boarding my upcoming cruise.

I believe it's 30 days before, but not after. 

1 hour ago, MEFIowa said:

And one suspects that the restaurant staff, esp. those in charge, know who is in the three (3) Oceania Suites and eight (8) Vista Suites on Riviera.

They know everything about everyone onboard. I think you don't eat in the GDR but they ask you your room number when you check in. I don't know what they're seeing when they enter it, but I'm pretty sure it determines where you wind up sitting. 

1 hour ago, caribdvr said:

Thank you. 
 

I believe you have answered the mystery for me. A1 is $8.3k, A1 $8.8, PH3 $9.5 but PH 2 is $11.7. I could not figure out why there was such a big jump. I guess the sale is doing that. All of the PH3 are “guaranteed” and perhaps that makes a difference.  

The question is were you going to book an A1? I personally would just get a regular balcony, or at the least a lower level A. That's a little over $1000 a day for that room. What is the itinerary? 

3 hours ago, ORV said:

You can also find out the required number of excursions needed by logging in to your cruise, click on book shore excursions and look for the little ? in a circle. Hover you pointer over it and it will tell you the amount needed. 

I double checked this and actually it shows the number without all that rigamarole. I guess people were having too much trouble with it. 

Interestingly enough I'm on a 20 day Combo cruise, 2 10 day segments, and there are two excursions offered on the turnaround day in my planner. One of them is for those with mobility equipment only and the other is for those with canes, walkers or other mobility issues. I don't think I'll book either one. 

There are none that are regular tours that day. But as stated I'm sure there will be one or more offered for that day during the first segment. 

2 minutes ago, basor said:

Also some of those perks are also given based upon loyalty level and not which cabin you reside...

Unless they forget ..........You would think if they list Dinner with an Officer as a perk then it should happen. 

On a recent cruise we were having dinner with the GM & OCA/FCC and the other couple were on their first Oceania cruise, in the Owner's Suite. 

FWIW, the food doesn't taste any better when eating with them but most times they order much better wine that what's on the by the glass menu. 

32 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Here are the T&Cs from a September FCC. I have not cancelled, but would do as ak100 did and not take the risk. This is the only downside I can see with an FCC.

Thanks for that, I couldn't find an old one. I stand corrected concerning how long you have to use it. 

Things upper suites won't get you on Oceania. I'm not including PH in this. 

Reserved Seating in theater

Special reserved area by the pool

Unlimited Beverage Package

A special bar just for elites (unless you use the one in your suite)

A special restaurant just for suite dwellers. 

As Ronrick alluded to there are things that are not listed as a perk that exist for those in the upper suites. One is special attention by the General Manager. Dining with an officer or Captain. Priority Tendering. 

There are quite a few things that are listed as a perk I won't list. 

But feel free to list any non mentioned perks. 

46 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

We have taken the tours offered on board by O as they offer a Miami tour with baggage stored and drop at an airport. Last time it was about $69 I think. Luggage is stored in a truck and you get it back before heading to the airport of choice. That tour is not on your Excursion offerings, done on board thru Destinations. 
I am sure you can arrange other private tours as well. 
Mauibabes

We've done this also, worked out well but our flight was around 3 or 4 in afternoon. 9pm is a long time to mess around. I'd consider either renting a car or a day room as Vallesan mentioned. 

You can also find out the required number of excursions needed by logging in to your cruise, click on book shore excursions and look for the little ? in a circle. Hover you pointer over it and it will tell you the amount needed. 

Someone mentioned and I don't know if it's fleet wide, but they reported the Filipino bands have been replaced by Eastern Europeans. 

1 hour ago, jondfk said:

I wonder if a change is coming for Regatta too.  As ORV stated, when we were on Regatta two weeks back Germain was the norm, HOWEVER, on two occasions I asked about champagne and was offered Monopole.  One hopes the stock of Germain runs down before we rejoin in August as it was not the worst I’ve ever had it was in no way special.

 

Interesting, I actually had it served on Day 1 in the Terrace but I specifically asked for it multiple times after that and was always told Germain was all they had. On a related subject when we were on Marina the wine list by the glass had Raymond Red Field Blend 39, but it wasn't available on Regatta. Oddly enough I did see it listed by the bottle for $50 on Regatta. I actually had a case shipped to us as it's not available in our area, but it was around 13 a bottle. I like it as well as the Conundrum red. 

2 hours ago, ncgolferette said:

Another swollen ankle cruiser here!  Princess, Celebrity, HAL and O - doesn’t matter.  Small or large ship - doesn’t matter either.  I cruise with one group of friends - we drink less and dine early in the evening.  Little to no swollen ankles.  The other group with whom I  cruise  - cocktails before dinner, wine with dinner and late dinning.  Swollen ankles.  I always bring lasix with me now. 

Do you run faster with the Lasix?

9 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Am I missing something here?  You mean if a cruiser does not act within an arbitrary time (1 year) they will lose the deposit?  With most if not all, other lines, any deposit is automatically returned (with no hassle) after a specific time.  

You can use it to book a cruise later, but if you want to cancel it you only have one year. I'll see if I can find the details.

On 1/4/2024 at 8:14 AM, pinotlover said:

We still had the Germain in June. If, and that seems to be an if, Oceania transitions over to a different label, it will be a slow process as they pour out supplies in all of their different distribution centers. Quite possible to be having one bubbly on the ship, from the Embarkment port, and then get resupplied with Germain at the next Center.

 

This is the reason some of the wines hang around for years. Oceania bought them by the container load, few like the wine, and it takes years to pour ( serve) out.

I think you pointed this out when I mentioned it was what was being served on Regatta as of 2 weeks ago. 

9 minutes ago, SSCAF001 said:

I will be onboard Marina next October. For those having sailed recently on this ship can you confirm that the champagne included in the simply more package is the Blue top Monopole. Thanks.

When we were on Marina in Jan/Feb it was for sure Monopole, but Regatta 2 weeks ago had the rotgut Germain, we had Prosecco instead, it was drinkable, don't remember the brand. 

40 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

And there aren't passenger uniforms with designated colors indicating cabin size.

Actually though, and you probably know this, the key cards will tell you what level of room a person is in if you know what you are looking for. 

40 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

(Someone had mentioned recently that when they were on one of the O ships, there was no functioning locking mechanism; I don't know it that was temporary or a longer-term change.).

This was actually on the Regatta, another poster mentioned it and I recently checked it out less than 2 weeks ago. Yes, there is no lock or any sign of any description saying restricted to Concierge and above. So, if you didn't know you weren't supposed to be there or just wanted to go out there it's completely available to everyone. I don't know about any of the other R ships. I'll check Nautica in August. Although truth be known I really don't care much about going out there even when I have access. Only time I took full advantage of it was in Venice on the Riviera during the sail out. My wife and I were the only ones out there. That was pretty cool. 

8 minutes ago, Kay S said:

I don't want to tell him Oceania is more class-based than any others

There is no need for that. There's always snobs, it's a big enough ship to avoid people you don't get on with. Most of the people that I've met over the years on Oceania have been nice folks, with a few exceptions. But I've seen no one bragging about which room they're in. It might come up in a conversation, but generally not in a boasting or "I'm better" kind of way. 

The worst you might run in to is to be at a sharing table in one of the Specialties that is just a bad fit. We've had a few of these over the years, especially those that can't leave their politics at home. 

24 minutes ago, daydreamer62 said:

My experience with my upcoming cruise (June 1 Vista) 

Our credit would have paid for the 1( expensive ) 'must book' excursion I wanted with a little extra. I booked that immediately to avoid missing out. Then I spent some time looking at others. I found 3 more I wanted to take. The cost was approx   $1200NZ each for those in excess of the credit. The minimum number of excursions to meet the 25% discount was 6.. but what I quickly realised with a bit of maths was that if I chose cheaper excursions for those extra 2 , all the excursions I had booked would be discounted including the very expensive ones so I booked the extra 2  and everything was discounted by 25% and ended up only paying $900 each on top of the credit.. in effect saving us money by doing more excursions .

This, a lot of people don't get this. You could book a cheap $49 HOHO bus tour or something similar, even if you don't take the tour, and still pay less for your excursions overall. Just did this in Jan & Feb on our 24 day South America cruise.