CarrieAP

On 7/15/2023 at 9:30 AM, Ljme57 said:

I am now more concerned than ever about getting on Marina next Saturday! (Copenhagen to Tromso)I’ve had the original 2 shots and 3 boosters. The last booster was this past Monday. It Covid really that prevalent? 

We’re on the same cruise! More common it seems on longer cruises and with more time spent inside but other times who knows. Took family cruise on a full NCL Escape returning 3 days before surgery. Admittedly nervous. Masks in crowded areas but we were mostly outside, spread around, with private excursions. But my daughter (another cabin) caught it. Mentioned 2 times she had a sore throat, gave her a test kit, she was positive. She hardly felt sick and wouldn’t have considered testing or stayed in cabin/ masked if I hadn’t prompted her. Luckily I did stay neg.
 

Husband got it last summer on day 13 of river cruise. He didn’t test pos when the whole family had it 2 months earlier.  Does feel random but we will probably still mask in crowds and excursion buses. It’s not going away. Think I’m a bit more worried about norovirus. Forgot to order more hospital grade hand spray in time though do have wipes. 

11 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Yes- get the right pdf, the one with the math, which is “prepurchased….” (Not the one that says “preselected….”

Double checked and yes that’s the one I have! We fly out tomorrow for boarding Sunday. Again, my thanks!!

I want to express my appreciation for the experienced cruisers who have helped us plan our upcoming Mariner trip to Norway. First time on Oceania. One area challenging for us was figuring out the shore excursions with OLife, your way discounts etc. To complicate this, there are unexpected medical issues impacting my mobility. Had surgery 8 weeks ago and considered cancelling but decided to go ahead with the cruise and adjust as needed. 
 

Best advice ever is to request pdf listing of booked excursions with prices paid. Perplexing this is not available on the website. The person covering for my TA had some difficulty obtaining this. Initially was sent a different summary lacking prices and designation of those using OLife credit. I knew to keep pushing the issue and finally received the pdf this evening. Will be so helpful to track changes as we make adjustments!   
 

Sometimes the repetitive questions may feel frustrating for the regular contributors to this board. I’m a lurker and spend a lot of time reading pasts posts. Your responses are so valuable and appreciated. So thank you to all who share their expertise and opinions!  All viewpoints included lol 
 

Carrie

On 7/1/2023 at 3:52 PM, the more ports the better said:

How far in advance did you book Overlord.  We plan to use them in June 24 on Marnia (first sailing after the refurb so hopefully completed on time). We have three sailings between now and then and some of the excursions we are looking at are already sold out.

Think there were some delays getting schedules finalized post Covid but once they had them set we booked. 

1 hour ago, willmschen said:

In 2019 we used Overlord Tours for the D-Day beaches.  They have a variety of options, and do a great tour. 

Another vote for Overlord. Did tour with them last spring, albeit on another cruise line. Outstanding experience. 

3 hours ago, pinotlover said:

This conjures up visions of horror! 😳

 

People bringing laptops and watching movies, with full sound, in the restaurants! 🤮

 

Are you a single or dislike normal dinner conversation with table mates?

Ouch. Hope this is sarcasm? For some of us the thought of dining alone is pretty intimidating. Did it last cruise when my husband was too tired and I prefer dining rooms to buffet. Took my kindle with me as support. Sometimes the delay between courses feels quite awkward. Can only people watch so long before it feels creepy. As does conversing with myself. And if I busy myself sipping from my wineglass to fill the void I'll need an escort back to my cabin lol. 

Consider risk of bad location if bidding. We’re on the Escape in spa balcony and purposefully chose cabin that was other cabins. Across the hall the cabins are under the gym. Happened to us once, heard the thud, thud of treadmill quite early. 

Leaving tomorrow for 1st family vacation in 6 years. This time with 24’s boyfriend and 27’s lifelong childhood friend. Schedules aligned which is so rare this age. Best Mother’s Day present ever to myself. Can’t wait to spend time together and to see the reactions of the newbies! 

I use a TA so hard to imagine not having her assistance. Follows up on all issues so I’m not tied up on phone. National firm, king of cruising in my book. Support staff are available instantly any time I’ve had an issue. Had some issues on another cruise line with our package and we messaged each other as she sorted it out. Our agent lives in Florida, heart of cruising (not their home office site), so is very familiar with a variety of cruise lines from personal experience. Also offers 8-10% refundable OBC. Sailing Sunday and just found out via our cruise docs that 2 of our cabins have pre-paid service charge. Unexpected bonus!!

On 5/9/2023 at 8:11 AM, KeithJenner said:

Regarding cruisenext, don’t get confused by the wording regarding on board credit. That OBC gets used against the cost of the voucher, so it is basically half price.

 

ie, buy two $250 vouchers and you will be charged $500 but then the discount gets applied to your account, meaning you only pay $250.

 

You don’t need to find things to spend the credit on.

Thank you! We sail Sunday. Plan on buying cruise next vouchers. My brain however couldn’t compute our final balance considering stockholder and travel agent agent OBC, trying to keep track of what each can be used for. Pleasant twist- e-docs indicate service charges have somehow been pre-paid! Must have been additional promotion from TA she forgot to mention. 

We booked concierge for our 1st Oceania cruise on Marina in July. These posts have been most helpful. Also confirms we made a good choice for this trip. 

Something learned on our last cruise. Had to visit ship’s medical for pneumonia. Have a Medicare advantage policy through Excellus. They declined all my medications, stating Medicare doesn’t cover meds purchased out of country. About $500 so could have been worse. Will make sure I carry supplemental plan that covers medical as primary from now on. Just easier. 

Fine print on ones I've received indicate 9/30/22 pay in full date for 2023 sailings. 

Norway has implemented environmental requirements that limit older ships access into the "deeper" fjiords such as Geiranger and Flam. Norway is on our bucket list for next year so our selection of cruise line is dependent upon this factor. We're hoping to take our 1st Oceania cruise soon, but that will probably wait until at least fall of next year. Holland America has some outstanding Norway itineraries so leaning in that direction for spring/early summer.

We too booked with flash sale after returning from a Celebrity cruise lol. We were on Apex TA to Amsterdam, returned last month. Have never been on a river cruise so will eagerly look forward to your posts. We did spend 5 nights in Amsterdam so not disappointed about arriving day of. Bit anxious but hoping to go with the flow and hope it all works out. Our cruise is 7/27 on the Embla, same direction Amsterdam to Budapest. 

TAs are overwhelmed dealing with FCCs, flight issues, Covid travelers stranded out of country, ridiculously long phone hold times etc etc. My agent said her company had to put a 3 hour limit on hold times bc their lines are all being tied up! 

Our relationship is still fairly new and I’d been wondering if this is the best fit because she’s not as quickly responsive as I would expect. Last week however when we did connect I gained a better appreciation for how much she’s juggling. Also learned the agency has terrific support staff when we had some onboard issues so am reassured we’re in good hands.  

Virgin hasn’t even been a distant thought. Your food pics however caught my attention. Mighty impressive!! That’s why I love reading blogs and reviews from a variety of lines. Thanks for taking the time to share!!

1 hour ago, TMLAalum said:

Following CDC guidelines for the land, if fully vaxxed and exposed to Covid, mask for 5 days then test and during that interval no need to quarantine. Test sooner if symptoms develop. If positive, quarantine for 5 days, then if symptom/fever free leave quarantine but mask for the next five days. CDC does not suggest staying home until a negative test.

 

Seems that Celebrity is making things very difficult for its guests who contract covid once aboard. With the most recent, mild variant, quarantining cruisers on Deck 3 so they can be close to medical seems pointless. Seriously ill folk would likely need to be even closer to medical!

 

I do get the logistical difficulty of providing room service meals all over the ship if folk were allowed to remain in their cabins. And if I were in an inside, and tested + for covid, moving to an OV would be my choice.  I don't see why Deck 6 forward couldn't be cordoned off for people with covid. At least they would have a veranda!

 

 

 

Sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong but that seems close to what Celebrity is doing? Per reports those exposed are allowed to move around the ship while wearing a mask. Meals/beverages are consumed in cabin bc requires mask to be removed.

A discrepancy is the timeline for a covid positive person to remain in isolation. Agree requiring a neg test differs. Compliance with CDC would allow to roam ship with mask after 5 days, as long as symptoms have resolved, returning to cabin for meals/beverages for the remaining 5 days. 

Far from ideal from a vacation perspective. We sail Sat on Apex TA so have skin in this game. Well aware of the risks but have decided to proceed, albeit hesitantly. An improvement over Greece cruise last year however. Then we risked 14 days confinement in a hotel selected by the government. 

5 hours ago, Lastdance said:

Shhhhh...it is awful, horrible, terrible, along with yucky cabin to book.  We all hate them because the walk is so long that you forget why you walked that far!  Shhhh...it is like being in a very long train tunnel.  Stop winking!

Now you warn us??? Too late. Condemned to spend 14 nights in a sunset starting Saturday. 1st aft cabin so we didn't know. Oh woe are we. 

Enjoying your review- look forward to the remainder. Thank you!

Interesting idea to consider. Wondering if we should book a back up flight using refundable points. Definitely anxious about making our TA to Amsterdam, even being scheduled to arrive day before.

(I did something similar when a snowstorm hit the northeast. Had a Southwest flight but booked a Delta (paid) because it connected to and from the Atlanta vs Baltimore. Cancelled my Southwest at the gate when the Delta plane arrived)

Stayed there pre and post cruise past Oct. Loved it! Very modern with nice finishings

and helpful staff. It’s in an upscale shopping/ restaurant type district. We walked everywhere. Gorgeous view of Acropolis from roof top restaurants and rooms that face it.
We used taxi from airport/ cruise terminal. They may drop off a block from hotel bc of one way road, but very easy walk. I recall some of the fares being pre-set. Check airport website. There was also sign at airport taxi stand with rates. 

We did back to back Greek Isle cruises in Oct on the Jade. Had previously been on the Epic, Breakaway and Getaway. The Jade seems a perfect ship for itinerary intense cruises. One thing we did like compared to the others was no crowded atrium for shows and events. The venues are much more relaxing and enjoyable. We too love Howl at the Moon and such but the entertainers were engaging and there was more room to enjoy our drinks and the music. One other improvement over the others is O'Sheehans. LOVE the set-up on the Jade, tons of booths lining the windows, much nicer atmosphere, with accurate and better prepared food choices. We stopped in many afternoons upon returning from our excursions. 

And lastly, there are many more indoor spaces to hang out when the weather is bad. Did a TA on the Breakaway with cold, windy weather so no access to the Waterfront. The lounges are tiny so ended up in our cabin during sea days due to lack of space to simply sit and read. The Spinaker is wonderful as others have said.

7 hours ago, lilalila said:

For those that have been able to take advantage of this promotion with a cruise already booked was it because you paid more at initial booking than what the same cabin type is pricing out now? 

 

My TA said that since I paid $2,999.44 with Always Included for my cabin and now the same category of room is currently pricing at $3,743.44, I could pay the difference ($744.00) and get the premium beverage package and $300 OBC (Elevate package).  Does this sound correct?  Obviously, I won’t because it’s more than if I purchased the premium beverage package and OBC separately.  

My cabin is the same price I paid, so able to add the Elevate package without paying more. I missed the last promotion but this one ended up saving me more overall so I think a lot depends on timing. 

Just off phone with my TA. Elevate package added to our Apex 14N transatlantic cruise! Now we don't have to upgrade our drink package and have $400 additional OBC to spend. Thank you for sharing!