Kate-AHF

7 hours ago, MarkWiltonM said:

When we were on Sirena in November, we had shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, and bar soap. There was no liquid body soap. I'm not sure if there ever is, and I didn't care enough to remember to ask the room attendants. But it was a first for us for a cruise. We'll be on Riviera in March and see what they have then.

 

I would prefer that they put wall-mounted dispensers in the showers for shampoo, conditioner, and body wash to reduce the use of plastic bottles.  

Same here on Sirena in October.  But I asked for body wash, and they found me some, and kept us supplied.  This is the first time we've not had body wash already in the cabin.

16 hours ago, jonthomas said:

glad it will be refitted in time for our Oct 2024 cruise....

 

those of you whose cruises were cancelled, did O give you anything as a good will gesture so you can apply it to something else?

Yes.  We were offered (by O, as we did not use a TA for this trip) two different 10 day cruises (one on Riviera, one on Vista) for the same price as the 7.  We are not unhappy in the least.

3 hours ago, njhorseman said:

If this means that HoJo's fried clam strips  are going to be on the Vista's menu, I'm booking a couple of cruises ASAP.  😂

That and their chili-cheese dog.  I have whiplash from the 50 year trip backward in the wayback machine.  But it was good trip.  Thank you.

I have to say that I just don't understand the angst about Venice.  Like everyone on this board, I've been finding my own way to the dock from Nice to Monte Carlo, from Rome to Civitavecchia, from London to Southampton/Portsmouth for years.  Decades.  Not to  mention the routes on the US side to the best international airport.

It is what it is.  The cruise lines will find a way to get as close to Venice as they can, based on the size of the ship.  Sometimes that's Trieste, Sometimes it's Ravenna.  Sometimes it's closer, within the lagoon.  The local authorities decide what they want, and the cruise lines are beholden to it. And the Italian government being what it is, what they SAY will be possible (and when) and what is ultimately/actually possible can be two different things.

44 minutes ago, frickwg said:

Hmmm.  Why don’t they give the real name of the port?

 

Is “Western shore of the lagoon in Venice” like Oakland being the Eastern shore of San Francisco Bay?

 

Or is that Sacramento??  San Jose???

 

 The same way they state "Rome" when you dock at Civitavecchia which is 90 minutes from Rome, and they way they state "Florence" when you dock at Livorno, 90 minutes (or more) from Florence.

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

They would not put you in an inside if you booked  a PH

They will make move up or over offers to those in the cabin categories they need to clear the GTY bookings

Ya think?  I'm not as positive as you are.  I was on board and in touch with management every single day.  There were no cabins available, unless I was being lied to every single day.  I personally think they screwed up in a big way, and only avoided a major ruckus (on y part) by the grace of God.

On 11/13/2022 at 12:41 PM, Redtravel said:

Often booked gty cabins when there was significant savings.  No real difference between A1 and A2.  Book the cabin in your desired location.  However, if you want a shot at a suite, book the gty.  It could happen.

 Or, you could get royally screwed.  We decided  to add a final leg to our already booked B2B2B on Sirena this Oct/Nov.  All that was available (11 months out)  in PH was a PH3 gty so that was what we booked.  We didn't get a cabin until 2 days before that sailing, and only because someone cancelled.  If that person had not, the only space available on the entire ship was an inside twin.  So we are done with gty on small ships.

When we boarded Sirena on 9/17, we were given the usual plether card holders.  On the last leg we were on, pax got really ugly cheap clear blue plastic ones.  Supply issues they were told. 

You'll have a new exec chef by then, not sure what's going on now will be applicable.  Food in waves inedible for the most part, last Oct on marina the best, juiciest burger at sea. Best veal medallions ever in mdr. Roast pepin chicken that melted in the mouth with an incredible au jus.  Spinach cannelloni that last Oct. was great, this trip like a cement slab.  As usual the soups are outstanding, anything custard or mousse-based dessert worth the calories, but one cake was so bad I asked the restaurant manager if it was really supposed to taste like that. The exec chef said yes. Ribeye in Tuscan steak inedible, all grisle and fat, could not find the steak part. Really. Yet there was a shrimp dish we had last night there that was delightful. Red ginger still performing at a high level.

We've been on Sirena for three weeks and have found the food to be wildly uneven.

On 9/3/2022 at 5:50 PM, pinotlover said:

We have an early (16:00) sail away from Gijon on 10/20. Why don’t we plan to meet in Horizons for Happy Hour at 5:00.

 

We’ll probably be there a bit earlier , if that suits you, to catch the sail away, plus it will be getting dark early. 
 

What say Yee?

Oh, we have so much to discuss, PL.

14 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

No need for any of that stuff.  It’s travel.  Got a receipt and confirmation for air travel, hotel stays, and some cruises.  Some cruise lines have gone all electronic. No paperwork. Show up at the dock.  Your reservation should be in the system or on a list.  Agent checks credentials and puts luggage tags on bags. Off you go.  It works for planes.  It works for cruises. 

You do you.   I'll do me, thank you.  I prefer printed luggage tags instead of relying on an overworked shore agents illegible scrawl.

1 minute ago, pinotlover said:

Got another fancy and pretty package in the mail today. One for the 2025 ATW along with the 2025 Grand Voyages.

 

One of the most unusual GVs is a combo of doing the annual Circumnavigation of Australia on the Regatta, then putting one a plane to S.A. to join up with the Marina for one of its cruises there. 
 

Lots of pretty pictures with some aggressive pricing.

We are seriously interested in the SA/NZ/OZ with overland.  Have only seen the online promo, not the price.

11 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

For those of us who enjoy running spreadsheets, the Ultimate shorex package rarely pays for itself.

 

If I may offer another suggestion that I think is just as easy, look at the "Your World Collection" option for shorex (a.k.a YWC or YWYW). When you purchase a certain number of excursions (it varies, but for shorter cruises is often 1, maybe 2, more per person than the O-Life allotment) you receive a 25% discount off all shorex. This leaves you the flexibility to choose whichever shorex you like the best without having to check whether they qualify for O-Life.

 

Once you have chosen your preferred shorex, you have the option to see if using the O-Life benefit would save you more money (i.e., did you choose enough O-Life qualifying shorex averaging > $133 to make it worth the time and bother?). I do it, but I have strange ideas of fun 😉

 

While I value getting my money's worth, I also value flexibility and paying more to get something I really want; I am willing to comparison shop, but at some point saving a bit more money becomes not-fun. If you want simplicity and flexibility combined with comfort, book a penthouse or above, buy the Premium beverage package, and book enough shorex to get the YWC 25% discount. Easy peasy and you're ready to sail! You can always change tactics on your next O-cruise (not that you'll get hooked...nooooo).

This is such a great post.  Thank you.

A few other thoughts:

(the learning curve on O is steep, much steeper than on the all-inclusive lines.  As mentioned, the "options/flexibility of things included" allow the ships to cater to many different pax needs. Non-drinkers in particular are thrilled not to feel like they are subsidizing those who drink)

On Marina and Riviera, on some nights La Reserve will offer "wine and tapas".  Most, if not all the wines poured are included in the Premium Beverage Package.  The tapas is free.  We very much enjoyed these evenings, though they were sparsely attended.

Baristas on Oceania is trying to come off like Seabourn Square or the Arts Cafe on Silversea.  It's not. The coffee is good, but the food offerings morning, noon and night are most definitely not.  The early evening canapes offered in the butler suits can be quite good.

We are former Seabourn sailors ourselves.  We've been able to make Oceania work for us.  The itineraries are outstanding, and the ability to piece together extended voyages by adding on segments.  For the most part, Oceania does not just sail a never-ending roundrobin circuit, they move those ships around.

By sticking to a PH on all the O ships, we've been able to get cabins very similar(and in some cases better than) Silversea and Seabourn.

One more thought:  We've been surprised and pleased with the service received.  But if something out of the ordinary is requested, "Yes" is not necessarily the default answer. The facial recognition software O installed means they will know who you are by name as quickly as Seabourn used to. No, you are not going to get the anticipatory service, but we haven't had that since the triplets were sold anyway. 

Oceania does, for the most part, treat their guests like adults.  Which is nice. We keep trying to get back on Silversea (which we love) but O just trumps the itins offered every time, we can't seem to break away.  We were set to do Silversea or Explora Journeys in 2024, then O came out of a grand voyage (2 different ships + overland trip) that has us star-struck.

10 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

We have an early (16:00) sail away from Gijon on 10/20. Why don’t we plan to meet in Horizons for Happy Hour at 5:00.

 

We’ll probably be there a bit earlier , if that suits you, to catch the sail away, plus it will be getting dark early. 
 

What say Yee?

I think that sounds very good.  Let's say 4:30, that way we can have drinks in hand before the 5pm starting bell goes off. 😁

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Thank you. We’ll be aboard the Sirena from 10/18-11/4. If later than that, I suppose we miss the book aboard discounts. Always the FCC offering, but without the cruise discount.

 

 

I think I forgot we were going to be on Sirena at the same time.  Perhaps we will run into each other.

There is an USD ATM in the casino on Marina and Riviera.  Don't know about the small R ships.

2 hours ago, DENIE said:

Test our beverage package and make sure that it works! In June on the Riviera (Martinis), it worked great right from the get go! 🤣

When you went to Cust Serv and did your bev pkg upgrade, did they still have to re-issue your key cards?

I concur.  Truly excellent turkey both Thanksgivings we've been on board.

I think a little grace is called for here.  Even though I've migrated/journeyed from a dos prompt in the 70's to Win10, I do understand how upsetting and daunting constantly changing technology can be for folks. Particularly for those of up that are now retired and no longer required to constantly keep abreast of the changing tech.

I think there must be a solution, I just don't know what it would be.  I just did the required online check-in for our Sirena cruise in two weeks, and the security photo requirement and manipulation would have sent some folks over the edge, so this subject is not going to go away.

20 minutes ago, Acrusa said:

I know you didn't mean to be disrespectful and it does seem odd,but I have no balance for the last 30 years and having a small  shower helps to keep balanced against the walls while soaping up. When the ship hits rough seas every person walks like me LOL

I certainly meant no disrespect whatsoever.  I found it funny because I hate that in these torpedo tube showers if I drop the soap, I have to open the door and exit to pick it up, and having two bars of soap seems like the perfect solution.

My sincere apologies.

2 hours ago, Redtravel said:

... Overcame the drop soap problem by putting 2 bars of soap in the shower.  

😂 Okay, that really tickled me.  Thanks for a needed laugh.  

2 hours ago, firsttimers68 said:

...I won't mention the incredibly rude and negative passenger I encountered at breakfast!🤣

Why is there ALWAYS one of those on every cruise?  Just once, I'd like to get through the whole cruise without being subjected to that one toxic human.  Though I've become a master of running away very fast.

Just now, LHT28 said:

Do pax  have  access to those  things  provisioning  accounting etc??

Maybe O has them  for those operations  or do you have insider info that they do not?

You miss my point.  Apps like Medallion grow out of significant changes to software integration.  And software upgrades and integration is necessary to ANY business.  This is about more than just what the customer sees on their smart phone.  

Do I have insider information??? Of course not.  However, I am capable of extrapolating that a lack of an "app" means that the systems in place do not allow for it.  Was I not being clear?  Tell my how Lyn, I could have explained my position better.