Tsunami74

Yes. We usually book well out, but 2 times we were within one year. We did what papaflamingo advises. One time, most of the "must see" (to us) excursions were sold out. So we cancelled that booking within the 7 day hold. One time, almost all of the excursions we wanted were available, so we kept the booking and waitlisted for the other excursions. Relatively easy way to not be disappointed in choices available.

I agree with this - maybe the rest of the BA experience being poor not just lower end of average. Last minute cancellations with no provision for rebooking (my favorite one was "one of your legs is cancelled" - well we kind of need all legs or it's not a doable flight), miserable business class on some planes (I would have rather been in economy). Every flight through Heathrow has been a poor experience for us. We absolutely try to avoid it even though we can get direct flights home from there.

Thanks Good to know that there is at least one available on the decks that we usually are booked on.

Any recent Explorer cruisers: are there still lauderettes available? I just read a review from someone on a recent Explorer cruise that said that the lauderette on his deck was removed. (Did not indicate which deck) I prefer to do my own laundry.

Does anyone recommend a shore excursion in Casablanca or Canary Islands (any of the 3 ports)?

I agree. Generally we feel Oceania a better experience than Viking for similar cost. However, we disagree with ak1004 - there are some Viking itineraries that are unique to them. For example, we are booked on a Viking cruise which starts in Oslo, then train ride to Bergen. It hits many ports like Faroe, Shetland, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, then sails up the St Lawrence to Quebec City, disembarking in Montreal (there are other ports along the way) It is in the fall (autumn leaves in Canada?) I have never seen any cruise line do anything like this route.

We paid with e-check for a cruise in 2021 that was cancelled by Viking during covid. The money was promptly returned to our account.

In regard to emotional support dogs: Today in Pittsburgh a woman was turned away at airline ticketing because she did not have a proper carrier for her "emotional support" bulldog. She only had him in a child's stroller. So she abandoned him in another part of the airport and boarded the plane later. Obviously, she did not need him for support and was callous enough to abandon him. After the dog was found, luckily, the agent identified her. She is to be prosecuted for animal abandonment (which she will probably get out of ) but not for lying about his being needed for emotional support. (i.e. attempt to defraud the airline)

I agree a very good review. On all of the Oceania and Regent ships we have been on, one thing I really felt needed improvement was more shaded areas in pool area. Since passengers tend to be older side, many of us have already had sun damage if not skin cancer. Often we have observed many loungers in the sun open while all are taken in the shade. I had hoped that SOMEONE noticed that, and when ordering new ships would expand covered areas. Seems from review that this is not so on the new Vista! We are booked on Vista in a port intensive around Great Britain so will probably not use pool much, but it is disappointing that this problem was not improved. Why don't they survey us (fairly) frequent cruisers as to what we would want to see in a ship??

Thank you Harters. I found a similar cruise for this September, and all of the prices were there so I could check out most of the ports. Gives me a good idea how far our allowance will go (for about 1/2) Helpful to know for planning. Great suggestion.

Good idea, Harters. Never thought to check same ports on different cruise (knowing there may be some increase.

September 2024

I see you are from England. On my American site, it tells me this cruise has $800 credit, but when I go to view the excursions no price is listed.

Has anyone had experience booking shore excursions under the new system? Under O-Life I knew I could book a certain NUMBER of regular excursions. Now it is an allowance of $. Is it a good amount? Can anyone give example of how many excursions they were able to book with the allowance? I understand OE (Oceania Exclusive) and OS (Oceania Select) are included, but would choosing one of them take almost the whole allowance? Just trying to get an idea of how much extra we would have to kick in to get either a cruise or private excursion in each port.

We disembarked the Riviera in Trieste in April going to Venice airport. The transfer had no extra fee. However, our group (assembled by Oceania - we were only 2) had to stand on the cold windy pier for 50 minutes until "our" bus arrived even though many busses pulled up. Some just waiting. When we finally got on the bus, the man working there with his clipboard told the driver, "this one goes to the Venice airport" So there was no need to stand around for our special bus. It was freezing and some people had a very difficult time standing. One gentleman even fell.

Not all ships have a place for culinary classes. I think just the larger ones do. (Grandeur, Splendor and Explorer)

Kotor was one of the most beautiful ports ever. Be sure to be on deck sailing into it! You go between high mountains and past 2 picturesque islands. Six of us took a Tours by Locals which included a walking tour of old Kotor (beautiful) and partially around it's walls, then a speed boat to Our Lady of the Rocks (one of those small islands) and to Perest. Then a ride back with local music playing on board - really beautiful!! Cost was $137 per couple in March 2023. (I see that I used the word "beautiful" a few times - it's true)

I have to question why anyone would consider taking small children on a cruise line obviously geared toward ADULT luxury cruising when there are so many other cruise lines dedicated to FAMILY cruising????? (i.e. kids scheduled activities)

We were on Splendor in the Caribbean, and we, and several other people, used the infinity pool every day.

We had a trans Atlantic cruise on Oceania Riviera in March/April. One of the stops was Bermuda. They did not hold our passports. Just looked at them at embarkation and handed them back.

I thought the sticky buns were sticky enough but really needed some salt!!

If you do not have a beverage package and would like some wine at dinner, you can order a bottle (I believe they start in price at about $50). If you do not finish the bottle, they write your cabin number on it and store it for you. You can order it up at any restaurant at lunch or dinner (does not have to be the same restaurant).

Partly for an effort to avoid large groups, we try to only book cruises with 14 or more days. (Have to be careful because on a recent Oceania cruise, it was a combined cruise, and the second half was a 7 day segment. What a different vibe!) Anyhow, question is: has anyone experienced large groups/partial charters on cruises 14 days or longer? Seems mostly they are on the one week or less ones.

We (and several of our friends) request to never fly through Heathrow Airport even though we can get direct flights home through there. Even within the same terminal, it can be a long trip to the gate. We were once in a business lounge. There were signs that said depending on your gate, you may want to go to a different lounge. However, the gates were not announced until fairly close to the flight. When I asked the concierge how to get to our gate, I thought he was kidding. It involved multiple elevator, escalator and a train/shuttle rides. Not to mention lots of walking. (this was same terminal) Business class was well boarded before we got there, and we walk fairly fast. Also, those hand baggage checks can be very time consuming! On our way from US to Italy, almost everyone in our group had their carry on luggage practically emptied and pawed over. Again resulting on a rush to get to the gate. And if you have to change terminals - yuck!!! Involves trains, buses, sometimes more than one of each.

Is there an additional charge for this>