hawkesbaynz

Really enjoyed the cruise. Service could be a bit frenetic at times but we were very happy with the food and client centred staff. There are plenty of classes including yoga & spinning. I was in the gym most late PMs and there was often something on with 2-3 involved. Dominica & St Vincent were great ports but I would recommend a tour. Very poor islands and not much to walk to. We recommend Fraser Taxis Tours in St Vincent.

I probably tip the same. About $20 a tour for a couple. Euro has parity with the dollar at moment.. I ski a lot in France and we often get a guide for off-piste skiing. Usual guy is adamant that the French do not tip as their salary covers living costs etc unlike in USA. Thus no tips in mountain restaurants etc. Oddly we paid for his meals and tipped him at the end of the week. In the UK I only tip waitresses, hairdressers and taxi drivers. Never baristas, bar men etc. Noticed in Miami last week that service at 20% was included on all restaurant meals and then they asked for a tip on top….

I am fortunate that I can get get 10% off as either ex-military, current NHS. Every time we book a cruise I look at UK TAs and also US TAs and they can never beat the prices. I have booked direct with the Celebrity US site when I saw a fabulous deal, and ticked the ex-military box too. Hopefully someone is reading this that has not used this discount who will in the future. Met a nurse on a tour in Miami pre-cruise last week who was not aware. She was sailing NCL but will be sailing X next time now. I have used different TAs for Oceania cruises and had only a few percent off and no support or info. Do not reply to emails. Off hand when wanted to change a cruise which we knew was to be cancelled and charged an admin fee. Tried to use a TA for a Princess cruise next year. Discounts were minimal and I eventually booked direct via QUIDCO the cash back site. The cash back was the same but I am no longer using an unnecessary middle man. All my flights are booked using BA Avios. Fully refundable for a minimal cancellation fee. Hotels.com for refundable hotels and gain an extra night for ten booked. @the penguins is great advice too. If I had to pay cash for a flight I would do the BA + Hotel thing and there are often extra Avios deals too. I like to look at the packages that TAs sometimes do. However I spoke to a couple tonight oddly who booked an Orient express/La Como/Silversea cruise/flight home package which was cancelled by TA 3 weeks prior blaming Orient Express! Prefer to be master of my own destiny.

A dead budgie😮. I thought it was a Norwegian Blue😀. I fretted about Country Casual before current cruise. Bought some new Paul Smith polos and shirts. But anything seems to go for the men. Certainly below smart casual as average. Seen a few jeans, walking trousers and even tracksuit bottoms (but the poor wife probably had issues dressing the poor frail 20 stone guy). Ladies look smarter. We even had a drunk wearing shorts marched out of GDR.

We are on the cruise too. Food great as anticipated. Staff very good and eager to please. Officers keep a lower profile than other cruise lines we have been on. Pool deck excellent. Been to see the comedians but not really been to many social events/performances. Dottie the Cruise Director omnipresent. The Happy Hour about an hour too early for our usual cruise day (gym & showering then dinner 7.30-8). In a CV which is very well decorated. The shower is small but I can manage at 6’3” and just over 15 stone. However there are quite a lot of overweight and/or elderly frail looking folk on board so I hope they are in PHs. Is this normal for an Oceania cruise? I really felt sorry for the tender boat guys getting the elderly/frail folk onto the tender with a bit of swell. Fortunately not witnessed any bigots/racism. Couple of rude people perhaps. Looking forward to sailing the Marina next year in South America. Am told by many people it is a different experience. Would I book more Oceania cruises? Perhaps. We have cruised six cruise lines but there a several more to try first.

As a non-drinker I would be happy with cruise only rate. However DW enjoys the healthy smoothies at the Aqua Cafe for breakfast, a constant supply of sparkling water, a diet red bull a day, and enjoys a premium gin or two pre-dinner, wine at dinner and a nightcap. Fortunately not a coffee drinker. We eat late and are often in the gym 5-6. Perhaps I can get away with a water package, the bottles of wine to carryon, and the tail end of happy hour. Can buy some drinks too. The RCL scheme would probably be perfect but…

We were looking forward to enjoying the Beyond but then our travelling companions got Covid and we cancelled. Shame as we had a good price in SV. The prices have now sky rocketed. The Apex out of Southampton is sooo much more expensive that the Silhouette. I could not bear not having a balcony cabin. Currently sat on a balcony on an Oceania ship watching the twilight come in with the noises of Kingstown St Vincent in the background. O a great line and food amazing but will be returning when I hit 70. If X think IV verandahs are so special why do they not put their suite guests in them? We have usually booked Aqua but been in all classes. The X price for Aqua now ridiculous particularly for a non-drinker. The 4 dining room MDR option would be great, but the prices…

Oddly went on the balcony of the Doubletree by Hilton Grand Biscayne in Miami and our beloved Silhouette is in Miami Port. Sailed on her three times and seen many times when walking the dog on the beach in our village. I see that a P&O Iona balcony can be had for less than £1K to Norway. Will a IV on the Apex be twice as good at £2K? That’s a question I may try to answer.

We just flew to Miami on Business Class yesterday. We paid about a £1000 for the taxes and a hefty amount of BA Avios points with a Companion Voucher. This was for two. I think they were charging £4K for cash each! Our Spring Caribbean cruise and forthcoming South American, East Med & Far East cruises all flying Biz with BA Avios points. Wife refuses to fly cattle class now. We just put everything on BA Amex & Barclaycard Mastercard and play the system. It is a bit of a hobby tho. We do not have massive expenditures just holidays and socialising. We are both middle earner so not churning cash through businesses (although I do occasionally get a Amex Business card as a Ltd Co.). See headforpoints website for tips. We buy a future cruise certificate onboard then call UK call centre to book the cruise with my 10% NHS discount. I have booked online with the US website.

Both are great. Liverpool, Belfast and Edinburgh fantastic cities to visit as are Copenhagen and Stockholm. Not sure of the premium for overnights in Copenhagen as few seemed to stay off the boat when we did an overnight. Talinn is a fairy tail city. Almost like a theme park. We holiday near Portland a lot and I have done some fantastic wreck diving there. Great for walking but Portland and Weymouth I would never visit. Get a taxi to Dorchester for a lovely town. We avoid holidaying in August as all Europe on holiday.

Folk on the Oceania forum were rating the new NCL Prima. The reviews looked great and I noted it had many ex-Soton cruises. Modern ship with many free dining venues. All inclusive. The Caribbean prices were great but ex-UK prices very high too. Sterling’s plunge has not helped. Maybe last minute ex UK and meticulously researched distant cruises. This forum is great for spotting price drops too. Shame we have not been on an E-class. We cancelled a Beyond Barcelona cruise in September when our travel companions both contracted Covid 3 days prior to the cruise. Just got the FCC after a little fight which we will use for a Singapore Solstice cruise booked last year.

We had a Norway cruise on the Silhouette for approx £1500 in 2020! However I have seen them much less in 2022 with the AI (when I was looking last Autumn/Fall). The Apex 2024 comparable £2100. In 2020 I had a 10 night suite cruise ex- Southampton for £2100 but was cancelled with the Pandemic. Had a 8 night Sunset Suite for £2500 when things opened up in 2021 ex Southampton. Am off to Miami this week for a 10 night Oceania cruise in a Concierge balcony for £2500. Apparently a superior line but ask me in a fortnight……. Possibly Celebrity are charging too much. They do have a lot of debt to pay down. Will keep monitoring. I have two X Far East cruises in 23 & 24 with great pricing. I always compare prices when I book and sometimes book on the US site. Sterling’s dire state has not helped.

Apex schedule leaving Southampton on the site now for 2024. Several hundred pounds increase in prices over Silhouette. Maybe P&O for me for Southampton sailings.

I found that there was no option to book All Inclusive too on dummy bookings yesterday. The fact I could make a dummy booking is better than my usual experience when am unable to access the website or all cabins Sold Out. NZ travel agents maybe like UK TA. No great value! I always book via X as I get a good direct military discount that TAs cannot offer. Tried x2 TAs on Oceania cruises and they offered a couple of percent max. Tried TA for Princes but found booking direct through a Cashback website (Quidco) better. Yes I could use US TAs but with the state of our currency at the moment who knows what would be paid at Final. I have booked direct with X US website tho' as occasionally much cheaper.

Spring 2023 was cancelled. We were booked April 2023. You can currently holiday in Japan and I have friends skiing there this ski season. I have just booked my Business Class flights to Singapore next November using airpoints (cancel label for a £30 fee). Will look at hotels too but only refundable (which have a premium but can be reviewed). Amazed by some of the dark rumours on the board.

My November 2023 cruise Singapore to HK still available and lots of tours to choose. I am planning on booking the flights this week so better go ahead. If i leave it I will miss the airmiles seats. Interesting about the Millenium. We are on her to Japan 9th April 2024. A lot of the roll call were hoping to sail back to America after that cruise on a Pan Pacific. Crossing my fingers P.S the Japan prices have sky rocketed

We are on the early April 2024 cruise. Has been sold out for months. Most folk had originally been on the 2022 then 2023 itineraries thus filled up quickly. People are keen to hear about the Pan- pacific cruise after ours.

My father would have loved that music! He would be 93 if he was still alive! I thought that Glenn Miller music was a bit old for him as he was 14 when the poor chap died. Offerings from AC/DC… could do that. Saw the original line up in the 70s a couple of times before I got into New Wave and Punk like the majority of my age group. My wife (62) is concerned that she will be too young for O. She will be pretty miffed if the food is not what she anticipated. Fortunately she does not read social media and I am not telling her.

Agree with @cangelmd. I note the a poster & DH stated they took paxlovid and eventually stopped as felt so unwell. My understading is that it should be prescribedfor people who are very unwell with Covid or who are immunocompromised or have certain medical conditions. In the UK there is a pretty narrow category of people who are eligible. Fortunately the vast number of people who are contracting Covid-19 now, who are vaccinated, are having relatively mild diseases. Why take unnecessary drugs on top? Take analgesia, honey & lemon and fluids. Reach out for stronger drugs and medical attention if you deteriorate. We had a cruise on Beyond last month that we cancelled for FCC as out cruising companions both contracted Covid seven & five days prior to the cruise. They had relatively mild symptoms and would have still gone on the cruise if we had not stated that we would not travel with them. I had to argue for FCC but they got their refund with ease. We went to Porto a few days later (sans companions) and like the UK you would not have known that Covid existed. We were the only people on tour coaches and the airplane wearing a mask. I am triply booster, had covid March 2020 and am very healthy but...

Great review! We usually are Celebrity cruisers too in various cabins. Although we have a few Oceania, Princess, and Celebrity cruises in the diary the next cruise I plan to book is Cunard. My wife has been aboard Queen Victoria on business and was wowed by her. Definitely booking a cruise on her or a sister Autumn 2024.

We have only enjoyed a weekend cruise on P&O after a dozen years lay-off from cruising after an Airtours Caribbean cruise. Got us back into the habit. I like the drink prices and the ship had a good vibe. Prices are very decent and a 20 minute taxi ride is hard to beat. Will likely be fine for last minute trips but I like to plan my cruises far in advance and book interesting small group tours before they are all taken. Hopefully O will suit. A better mix of nationalities too. I would try an inside but DW would not.

We sail Celebrity but have cruised with Marella, RCI and even P&O Oceana. Really enjoy Celebrity and have three cruises booked with them coming up. Trying out Princess too on a cruise to Turkey as the price and itinerary were good squeezed in a busy 2023 diary. However we found Oceania because of the amazing itineraries. I love food too although been happy with Celebrity’s. Glad am not a foodie. Like the idea of the smaller ships although I would likely be happy on 5000 berther or a 20 person dive cruise. As long as I have personal space. I am happy to wear a tuxedo to dinner or shorts and T-shirt! I anticipate taking many more O cruises but will be enjoying other cruise lines, river cruises and land trips. May even try P&O again! Admit could not afford just Oceana with the the number of vacations we enjoy.

We cancelled 3 days before a Beyond cruise 2 weeks ago. Our companions had Covid and cancelled for a refund and us for FCC as DW upset to go alone. We had attractive Sunset Verandahs. I imagine someone got them on boarding by attending guest relations.

Enjoy your trip. My advice buy cherries and eat a lot. Great for jet lag. Full of melatonin.

I’d be more scared about the exchange rate. Best to blank it out and enjoy the holiday. Singapore Air is great. Too late to upload a meditation app to listen to on smart phone?