Heartfelttraveler

When did you get the list of port changes? Is your complaint that there are ZERO excursions in the new port days/times? If you just got the changes, it may take a few days for Oceania to offer excursions. They have to agree on contracts with the provider. See who else is in port when you are. Cruise Ports Schedules 2023-2024-2025 | CruiseMapper

Will you be on the January 3 cruise? If so, many hotels are booked because of New Years. Azamara is using The Commodore, The Westin Waterfront, and the AC Waterfront by Marriott. We booked the AC independently.

Checked the roll calls for my two Azamara cruises. Both are not listed anymore. I have no idea what they are correctly named.

If you have not considered Oceania since 2018, why are you even on this board five years later?

Today was like crossing the Drake Passage. Really rough waters. Passing out seasickness meds like Halloween candy.

Gale force winds. Huge waves. We could not even go out on deck. we each got a $100 credit for the O’Life excursion we missed. Lots of people getting seasickness meds. a nice surprise - The Barbie Movie in the theater.

I am currently on the Nautica right now. We were supposed to dock in Civitavecchia this morning after a turbulent roller coaster ride all night. I am happy to say we are not attempting to dock and I will not feel compelled to try and take our excursion in the gale force winds and rain. (The missed excursion is an O’Life choice and I will get nothing for it.) My real reason for this post is to let you know that the Cruise Director has been very busy working to book guest speakers and come up with lots of activities for the cruise through the Suez Canal. I guess it is time to bounce our way up to breakfast.

When they canceled your airfare, was there a refund to either your TA or yourselves?

Something to think about. the ship you are sailing on has one, two, or three ports that have to be eliminated and your cruise line is jockeying to dock in ports that have been booked for two years. The port authority shortens another ship’s port time to be able to slip your ship in for a few hours. The last few years have been very stressful for the cruise lines from managing illness, stocking, crew and passenger expectations. I used to think the only guarantee in cruising was your cabin. But then Royal Caribbean turned people away at the port because they double booked. Here in the USA when purchasing trip insurance there is a choice to include acts of war. I never checked it or added the cost. I may consider it for our Japan cruise. Insurance has become very expensive for us. We are oldish and have expensive trips. But, I think very worth it - as I sit with my husband in the medical facility - NOT COVID.

Travel insurance coverage?

We did the Athens round trip last November on NCL. They could not even let you book the Israel over night excursion on the ship. The Israel regulations required advance paperwork.

We get material from Celebrity, Regent, Viking, Princess, Atlas, etc. as well as Rocky Mountaineer, Linblad, and. Host of others. Something every day. We are new to Azamara and booked through an on-line agency with an agent. So far no problems with bookings or using Azamara OBC for excursions by calling by calling Azamara. For reference, our April cruise is about 95% booked (can look at on-line booking site for cabin availability). Our January cruise is about 60% booked. So far my pre cruise experience has been great. On par with Oceania.

If you take a 7-night cruise or a 20-night cruise - you get one credit. If your 7-night cruise cost $3,500 pp or your 20-night cruise cost $31,000 pp - you get one credit. What Oceania does not have is the ship-within-a-ship atmosphere - which does foster elitism. Everyone has the same run of the ship and pays the same up charge for extras. Again, I am not complaining.

I don't see your point. How would that be "Mass Market class division stuff?" Nobody knows how much you paid for your cabin, or how many cruises you have taken. I don't let the loyalty program stop me from booking Oceania, they are one of my favorite cruise lines. (Or any other cruise line for that matter.) I book cruises by 1. where i want to travel/itinerary, 2. What cabins are available, and 3. Price. I am not looking to argue with you. We all have our opinions of what and how we spend our disposable income.

They count the number of bookings. One booking is one point whether it is 7 nights or 15 nights.

Would love recommendation too. I am looking at taking the train. Maybe even two separate days. We would love two nights in the afive Lakes area, but it is so much easier to just use Tokyo as a base.

Same frustration because, same points awarded per cruise for an Ocean View cabin or the Owner’s Suite. I like Oceania, so I accept their terms.

We have booked a 12-night South Africa cruise with Azamara in December 2024. The Pursuit is a smaller ship with about 650 passengers. We have booked game drives for most of the port stops. We have also booked (on our own with another couple) post cruise three nights in Victoria Falls, one night Johannesburg, three nights in Kruger NP, and the last night in Johannesburg. Azamara has some fantastic pricing on their 2023/2024 South Africa season. We have chosen to stay in South Africa because we are all over 65 and do not want to get the Yellow Fever vaccination, which is not recommended for people over 65.

I applied for our renewal passports August 2. Our check cleared August 8. We received our passports August 21. I overnighted our application and paid the $19 to have our new passports overnighted back to us. I also paid the $60 expedited fee. When I applied, I thought it would tack 7-9 weeks. I was very relieved to get them so quickly. I agree with you, do NOT procrastinate. We were probably very fortunate.

Husband and I went to Costa Rica for two weeks June of 2022. We were in the rain every day for two weeks. We wore our mask religiously and sanitized every place we went. I came home with a cold - not sick. Husband had a medical procedure the week we got home so we both took covid tests. I was positive and he was negative. Stop reading here if you are easily offended.... We shared a bed, food, drinks and kissed a lot. He never got sick. I only had my cold/Covid symptoms for about 3 1/2 days. Tested negative after six days. We have been on several trips since then and managed to stay healthy. If we see people coughing and looking run down, we start wearing our masks. I don't know how well they actually work, but our philosophy is that it is better safe than sorry.

Not doubting you. But Oceania needs to change the graphics on their website for the culinary classes. They all show two guests at the cook stations. Either way, it was a very enjoyable class. Even my husband loved it.

We did the cooking class on our two previous Oceania cruises. We had two people at each station.

Just my two cents - We are somewhat foodies. We have put up with some pretty dismal ship food for the luxury of staying in a three bedroom/3 1/2 bathroom cabin. Even with that my husband said never again. We have taken two Oceania cruises, both on the larger O ships. The Chilean Seabass is the best I have had either on land or sea. We enjoyed all of our meals on the ship except for the night we requested to share a chicken dinner and we both got a full portion. We felt extremely guilty leaving so much food on our plates. We have finally talked our traveling companions into cruising on smaller (more expensive) cruise lines. Our next Oceania cruise is on one of the R ships with only two specialty restaurants. We are hoping that our praise of Oceania is still true.

check the country you are traveling to in August. Many countries require you passport to be valid for six months AFTER your travel date.

I am sailing in January 2024. Signed onto my Azamara account and then initiated a Reservation Request. I stated how much Azamara OBC I had and the excursions I wanted them to book. The next day I got an email and then a follow up call. They said it was done and to call my TA and have them make sure it was correct and they would send a confirmation to the TA. I did, and they did. TA emailed me the confirmation. Had to dance a few extra steps, but in the scheme of things, pretty easy. (With Oceania I have to call to book excursions to get the discounts.) So far, very happy with the itinerary, price, and service. I still have five months until sail date of our first Azamara cruise.