LHT28

When is your cruise? I would wait to do anything until a few more sailings have started to see what prices pax are getting once onboard for the upgrade JMO

Well if you have the OlIfe bev package you can only UPGRADE it onboard the ship

unfortunately it has been the case for many years that some phone reps do not know what they are talking about That is why I never call Oceania I get my TA to find out the answers to any of my questions Figure out how much you drink outside of lunch/dinner wine/beer package then you can see if the $30 PP PD is worth it to you or just pay as you drink you do not need to upgrade as soon as you board you can take a few days to see how much you actually consume then decide JMO

the website has the PURCHASE price pre cruise & onboard but not the amount if you take O life & upgrade onboard See the letter Rob post in post #1 he is onboard the ship now

you cannot trust the phone reps 😉

Paul this is not looking good

if they make port visits too short they may not have a paying pax to worry about I know all lines are trying to recover from the pandemic era & it will take time but cutting the things that attract pax to Oceania is not going to help or maybe they will get new clients that do not care about the time spent in ports time will tell as they say 😉

port authority

I agree with some of the things O does to reduce waste but people do not book cruises on Oceania so they can spend less time in port 5-6 hr in port is not much time if you want to do tour some areas nearby that is quite a reduction in time ashore I guess time will tell if they made the right decision or not I will not be flying overseas for a port intensive cruise if only in port for 5 hrs with Oceania prices Maybe they will just do the caribbean & TA's at a slower pace JMO

At the bottom of the posted image it has the check box for those that want to pre pay gratuities I think some people are reading too much into the format 😉 JMO

How can one pre pay just the booze gratuity if you have no idea what you will be drinking ? Pax can pre pay their gratuity based on the daily rate for the number of days of the cruise

YES The daily gratuity only includes waitstaff in food venues & Housekeeping dept that is shared The Butlers have a different gratuity pool that is shared Spa has a different gratuity pool Bar staff different shared gratuity pool

disregarded by pax also it is always a mess We have found people blocking the elevator bank with their luggage while waiting for their colour to be called standing near the exit waiting we had one woman pushing through the line because her colour had been called 30 mins prior but she was busy chatting with people so now she felt she should be at the front of theline Sorry but some people just cannot follow instructions

Anyone go to the grocery store lately or to a restaurant? We cannot not be the only ones who have seen the groceries have shot up in price ??

we probably spend less than you & yes my TA will reprice our cruises if a better price happens do not play the "poor me" game when you are cruising several times a year BTW as you well know Cruise critic does not allow us to share the TA information here

it varies but if you want a specific cabin category or a unusual itinerary book early If the cruise goes on sale they will usually allow you to get the sale price IME

Can you do a test booking on their website ? If so just uncheck the boxes for O life & air if allowed You may have to call your TA or O to find out how it works there In North America we can remove air & O life perks

hopefully they can get supplies soon or you will be living on liquor 😉 Better pick up some stash at the next port LOL

I am sure it works the same here except with everyone using the tap N go for their payment many do not tip in cash anymore I try to have some cash but today I did not have small bills so my hairdresser got the tip added to my VISA whether her emplyer gives her the full amount or takes off the CC fee I do not know I am not going to ask either

there are options you can always lower the auto tip (unless you get it as a perk from O) You can always go back to the envelope method & tip who/what you want on the last day (crew still have to turn in envelopes) remove the gratuity altogether sail on lines where no gratuity is required JMO

go ask the Purser how it works

Maybe they share extra tips like in restaurants & bars on land or maybe his own personal box ??? IMO where the tips go when I pay then or they are from the O benefits is not my concern Do people actually ask servers that get tips if they get the whole amount or share ? I do not think I would be very pleasant if people asked me where my $$ come from would you?? I know some places if you put the tip on your CC the management will deduct their CC fee from the tip for the waitstaff I try to tip in cash when we eat out YMMV

Thanks I was not sure if they reverted back to paying for the classes now Yes the Artist loft has always been a problem unless you want to sit there at the crack of dawn to get a seat for the day

Are the Culinary class now free? I agree with the Artist Loft they should limit the number you can take similar to the Specialty dining or charge a fee for the classes JMO

I would have thought they would be out but then again things are behind for the Vista