Kate-AHF

This is not a simple question, and the answers are complex.  

I think O does need an "app".  Apps (the software that these apps are derived from) are MUCH more than just for customer convenience.  They inform and integrate ship's operations, provisioning, accounting and so much more.  These systems are not cheap, but are necessary to keep companies up with the times.

I've seen the affects  of ancient, dueling, legacy software systems attempting to function together and the cure is always so much more painful than if the disease had been prevented in the first place.

30 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Anyone who does a multi-segment (same cabin) “custom cruise” (not published as “extended journey”) gets a 5% discount (as compared to the total cost of the included segments).

Extended Journeys and the longer Grand Voyages have their own discounts built-in.

But, but, but.....  A "custom cruise" would have one booking number, not separate booking numbers like Orv and I have, wouldn't they?  So, in essence, they are still doing B2Bs in some cases.  I realize this may come down to semantics, but honestly... you are confusing people.  I feel the short answer is yes - they still do B2B cruises, if the circumstances are right.

2 hours ago, pinotlover said:

If we get cancelled, since we Embark in Istanbul, we may just do a Turkey land tour and see if we can just do round trip out of IST. That would make three cruises out of Istanbul for us cancelled by O. It would be time to blow them off for that part of the world.

 

I'm doing a lot of looking at Turkey cruises in 23/24 (we cancelled a Regent cruise that was perfect during covid restrictions).  Have you ever considered a Windstar cruise?  That's what is looking good to us at the moment(combined with a land segment).

On 8/23/2022 at 9:12 PM, pinotlover said:

While I certainly agree with Kate’s approach, perhaps she should likewise tell us at what capacity the ship was sailing. I’ve had groups of merely 10-12 on a full Marina and had to wait an hour + to be allowed on a tender. 
 

This can be an iffy situation. Your 8 hour shore tour might be cut by an hour because Oceania gives priority to its 3-5 hour tours.

 

 

900-1100 for the segments we did.  That's all I remember.

I know for the crossing it was close to full.

On Jan 9, 2021, I booked two cruises on Sirena for this fall, a 14 day and a 17 day.  We chose a cabin that was available for both segments.  The cruises have separate, but consecutive booking numbers, and we received a back-to-back discount on each cruise. So yes, it's possible.

Where it gets confusing is that Oceania will list a cruise (say, 7 days) as a stand alone, but also include that 7 days as part of a longer journey, which is priced lower than if you booked the segments separately.  If you try to combine that longer journey with a segment that follows it, that longer journey will not receive a B2B discount, as the longer journey is already discounted.

Sigh.  I clearly did not give enough detail, so here it is:  Departure is 6pm.  I have no  idea if we will ariive at 3pm or 4pm.  My inclination is to say 3pm, and no one is going to yell at us if we don't make it till 4pm. So that's what I'm going to do.  Should not have brought this up.  Bad Kate.

Question:  We are touring the day we embark.  When we do our online check-in on Aug 27, do you think O cares if we arrive at 3 pm or 4pm?  Because really I don't think they do, and I don't know exactly when we will reach the ship that afternoon. 

(and i'm pretty sure I'm overthinking this, which I tend to do when the cruise gets close and I'm trying to get everything done for shutting the farm down for 2 months.  The minutia seems like it's eating me alive.  And yeah, I know... poor me, 1st world problems)

On our last cruise (nov 2021), the day before the private tour tender, I waited until the shorex desk didn't have a line, and sweetly asked with a smile if any accommodation could be made the next morning for an early tender for a private tour starting early.  It was arranged in a moment. 

I've found that being super-nice to those poor shorex folks goes a long, long way.  They always seem surprised to be treated with respect.  Which is sad.

We've only sailed on Marina/Riviera with Oceania, and embark on Sirena for 5 weeks in 26 days.  Marina/Riviera did not collect passports.  Other cruiselines we have experience with (Silversea/Seabourn) did, so we are used to it.

The pre-cruise docs we received today state that Sirena will collect passports upon embarkation.  That's fine, and it may be because they are so much smaller than O class.  But does this actually happen on the R class ships?

32 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I guess  the same reason people need to tell others  they bring hooks & whiteboards  LOL

YMMV

That's not varying mileage.  That's poking people with sticks.

I think I found a substitute:

https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Whiteboard-Stainless-smudge-free-wet-erase/dp/B0875RP2ZP?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1

The wardrobe doors are shiny, so it should work!

Many thanks to @khuselid for the heads up on this!

46 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

We never take so much stuff that we need magnets! Taking our flippers and snorkels to FP was a stuffy as we ever get. Worst case, stuff can go in a suitcase under the bed.

I for one will really miss not being able to use my roll-up magnetic dry erase calendar.  One glance tells us where dinner is that day (if a specialty) and the time, what shore-x we have planned - and if plans change, one swipe of the finger fixes it.  Don thinks it's the most helpful thing in the cabin, and I agree with him.

I'm not sure why anyone would be dismissive of someone wanting to use magnets.  If it doesn't apply to you, then what does it matter?

12 hours ago, Cruise Critic Chris said:

The second part of the tour took us to Fotografiska, a photography museum that has branches in Stockholm and New York. There we visited some exhibitions - although cool, none of which had green themes - and had lunch at the restaurant; which focuses on sustainable cuisine. The selected meal - trout with zucchini and peas with an oil made from the pea pods -  was very good and fresh, a nice counter to some of the heavier food on the ship. 

Thank you for this!  We will be visiting the Fotografiska next month, and because the restaurant there had such high ratings we had planned to lunch there as well.  Your meal looks lovely.

I can't comment on Privee, as our hosts there have always quietly picked up the bill for alcohol.  La  Reserve is always a wine pairing dinner, so the pairings are included in the extra price.  When La Reserve has a "wine and tapas evening"(not one of the dinners), the wines they poured were always included in our package.

The ONLY thing I can think of is that sake in Red Ginger is not included in the Prem. drinks package, and you will be charged.

Other than that, no extra charges for Polo, Toscana, Red Ginger or Jacques within the limits of the package.  Those charges should have been questioned, and if the answer was not "Oops.", then it should be escalated.

4 hours ago, Cliff-FLL said:

...  Had we been on a land-based trip w/a few days at each location, it's conceivable that the following day might have had better conditions, or arranging a visit to a different site might have been feasible.

That's a great point. 

I can also attest that even those plans can go awry.  We did a 10 day driving tour in (mostly) Co. Donegal in 2018.  Three times we tried to see Slieve League, and three times we were fogged out.  But, that's Ireland for you.  Land trips are also great for being able to duck into a tearoom or pub and relax if it's coming down buckets.  That Neolithic monument will still be there when the rain stops.  Can't do that with a shorex.

We are doing a circumnavigation of the British Isles next year on Riviera, and I will be utterly amazed and thrilled if we get to all the ports and can get off (particularly Scotland).  Not counting on it.  But that's okay - we can go with the (ahem) flow.

We really (really!) love our land trip to cruise ship habit.  Best of everything as far as we are concerned.

8 hours ago, cruiservictor said:

Yes. At $800 for each of us. The other medical treatment (tests, phone calls, room visits) was complimentary. 

That is hugely reassuring to me.  Thank you.

4 hours ago, SombraDeLuna said:

We got off Sirena on 7/3.  Yes, the early riser coffee bar is available in Horizons.  Be aware that at times there were no To Go Cups available...but we soon found them in a cabinet under the machine.  Plastic lids are no longer available as part of the effort to reduce plastics on board.  

Thank you so much for the help!  Not worried about a lid, that cup won't have long to live.  I may start carrying around a clean ceramic cup in case they start locking up that cabinet.

I don't do room service because I don't want to wake my beloved spouse.  I don't want Baristas either, it opens too late for me.  I just want my first cup in the utter peace and quiet of Horizons and watch the sun rise.

Do they still have the coffee machine in Horizons for early riser coffee?

This discussion of Volunteer Point brings to mind another caveat:  There are no roads to VP with these private excursions.  You will be going overland, in 4x4's.  This is not insignificant.  If you have back issues, you will be rocked and rolled in that 4x4 in ways you can't imagine - so gauge your vertebra stability accordingly.  Is it worth it?  To us, yes.  The penguin colony at VP is outstanding, and you will get your penguin-seeking soul filled to the brim.

There are closer and less arduous colonies that Oceania will offer expeditions to.  But they will lack the "Oh my God, look at the penguins!" response.

13 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Check out your Roll Call. We are doing BA-Lima this coming year. Our private all day tours are rarely costing more $150/day/pp., most far less. I can list several examples for savings, like the Falklands where we’re paying $190 each and the ship is changing $365 each for the same tour. 
 

I’ll likewise share plenty of tour information with you.

Are you doing Volunteer Point in the Falklands with Estancia Excursions?

11 hours ago, Mareblu said:

Thanks, Basor.  I suspected yours was in fact a b2b, which explains the Arctic component.  Well, our TA has forwarded a reply from Oceania.  In effect, Oceania is determined to proceed with all listed Baltic sailings for this year (although I recall reading very recently the co. has cancelled all Baltic cruises for next year).  The reply stated the political situation would have to escalate dramatically for any change of itinerary.  Oceania also announced in the reply that many of the company's executive staff, including the CEO, will be on board the various 2022 Baltic cruises.  I guess that's one way to fill the ships😉.  Oceania stated further, that should they cancel our cruise, they would refund the deposit and transfer the FCCs they are holding on our behalf to any other cruise.  Our problem is that any such voyage must be taken by the end of 2022 for the FCCs to be honoured.  That would be almost impossible, because Oceania cruises to any other location are almost fully booked, if not completely booked.  We have decided to simply have faith that Whimsical Europe will sail as scheduled ✌️

Sigh.  Our problem as well.  The cruise you and I we are both on is nearly completely paid-for by FCC that is supposed to be expiring this year.  The following two cruises (this is a B2B2B for us) are paid for in cash.  If that cancel that first cruise (and, like I've said before, I don't think so because the ship has to be SOMEWHERE during that time) then they had damn well better let me apply it to next year's Riviera cruise.

I second the recommendation of getting a copy of the "Bin End" wine list as soon as you get onboard.  Then just hand it to your butler with your choices and he/she will "make it so".

2 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

That would be great, so generous of you to share.

 

In a PH suite can you order from the specialty restaurants for room service?

 

 

Drop a line to my throwaway email and I'll share the very good private  tours we took: ivegotanalter at yahoo dot com.  I'll respond from my "real" email addy.

I'm betting Hawaiidam has enough on his travel plate these days without adding public transport to get to port.  I would be hitting my roll call to see about sharing a driver/van with individual BCN hotel pick-up to Tarragonia.