ptiprof

1 hour ago, Paulchili said:

You seem to be quoting me.

Did I ever mention anything about jeans of any kind?

I was saying that I do not wish to see T shirts or baseball caps in any evening dining venue.

Apologies accepted 😉

You mentioned “slacks” and the topic of this thread is jeans...  I do apologize if you were not objecting to nice jeans. 

“How difficult is it for men to wear slacks andcollared shirts to dining venues in the evening? ”

It is not a question of difficulty. These comments and other similar remarks are simply asking why I won’t conform to your personal sense of appropriate dress. If I pack jeans instead of slacks, it’s because I choose to do so and because they are permitted by Oceania. I will not sail Cunard or Seabourn because of their evening dress standards. And personally, I think that capri pants and sandals are far more casual than dressy jeans, but all of these items are allowed. Once again, ideas about appropriate dress and “good manners” are not immutable; times have changed, and dress styles are regional, cultural, and generational. 

Please read the dress code. If Oceania wanted to ban jeans, they would have said so. If I choose to wear my dressy, dark-colored, nicely-cut jeans with a fashionable top and shoes, I will happily do so in full compliance. Comments that ask if it is too much trouble to pack some nice slacks are not helpful; within the posted guidelines, others do not get to dictate my wardrobe choices. Like others who have posted, I have eaten in some of the finest restaurants, and I have seen people in shorts, track suits, t-shirts, and ball caps sitting next to folks in elegant suits and cocktail dresses. And we all had a lovely dinner. Vive la difference!

If Oceania wanted to ban all jeans, it would have said so. Dress jeans, often part of a very fashionable ensemble, are allowed. I will follow the dress code, and if I choose to wear my dress jeans to dinner (with a dressy top and nice shoes), I will certinly do so. On our several Oceania Cruises, we have seen dress jeans in every dining venue. I wish people would not impose their own ideas of what constitutes appropriate dress onto others who are in compliance with the stated dress code. And in 2020, ideas of what is appropriate vary greatly; they are regional, cultural, and generational. 

On Oceania's website:

"We request that casual jeans, shorts, t-shirts, baseball caps, or tennis shoes not be worn in the restaurants after 6 PM. Baseball caps may be worn in the Terrace Café after 6 PM."  If all jeans were forbidden, they would simply have said, "jeans,"  and dressy jeans are often part of an elegant ensemble.  On our recent Oceania cruise,  jeans and shorts were common in the Terrace Cafe.  In the GDR, a young lady was wearing stylish, well-cut dark jeans with a fashion-forward silk blouse and heels.  In my opinion, she was far better dressed than those in cotton capris and sleeveless cotton tops. All of these choices are allowed under the dress code provisions.  I will dress according to the Oceania policy--not the personal sensibilities of others.

The dress code clearly differentiates between “casual jeans” which may not be worn and dress jeans which most certainly do exist. You will see them in the finest restaurants from San Diego to Seattle as well other cosmopolitan US cities. In European cities they are often worn with sport coats for dinner. Fashion is generational, regional, and cultural  We shouldn’t impose our  personal preferences on others by suggesting that their clothing needs to exceed the dress code standard. 

We just received our Vacation Guide today for our upcoming cruise in October. On page one (Before You Travel) , it states, “Shorts, CASUAL jeans, t-shirts, athletic foot ware, or sandals are not permitted in the Grand Dining Room, Polo Grill, and Toscana.”  This clearly distinguishes between dress jeans (dark colored, well-fitted, worn with a fashionable top and shoes) and what one would wear to do yard work. I can’t think of a fine dining restaurant from Seattle to San Diego where this would not be acceptable. In much of Europe and other cosmopolitan cities in the US, this would be common as well. Men look especially stylish in sports coats and jeans.

Dress codes are generational, regional, and cultural. Thank you, Oceania, for recognizing reality. I will take this page of the booklet with me to avoid any misunderstanding. 

If it weren’t for Cruise Critic we would not have known that the Prinsendam was sold nor that our cruise in October 2019 is now on the Rotterdam with different ports. No 2-night stops in Antwerp and Rouen and no guarantee that it will port in downtown Bordeaux instead of Le Verdon sur Mer—approx 2 hours away. Our travel agent has not been notified. We received an email that looked like the typical info/selling stuff email they send out. Had I not known of the situation, I would not have logged in and clicked through several levels to discover the changed itinerary. The ship change was NOT revealed anywhere I could see. I called and because I have a TA, they refused to provide information —despite their not having notified my TA. I feel that this was not handled in a transparent and professional manner; I cancelled. My TA has booked us on a Viking Oceans cruise for that month, and they have been lovely to work with.

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Thank you all for your replies. My TA has spent a great deal of time trying to work this out with Oceania. Bottom line—Oceania sold back to back cruises with one booking number, and made those cruises inaccessible online without warning. I will be inconvenienced and I will have to plead my case if I am unable to get the specialty restaurant times I want due to lack of access. Not the best introduction to a cruise line that is new to us, but I’m thinking positively about the voyage.

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We are booked on a 28 day Prinsendam cruise In October, 2019. I know about the Prinsendam sale through Cruise Critic (thank goodness for you folks!), but neither me nor my T.A. has heard a word. My booking is still on the website, although you can no longer book this cruise. Has anyone heard about the fate of their post-October Prinsendam cruise? If Holland is going to change to a larger ship (which would probably not be able to dock in downtown Bordeaux or Rouen, among others), and/or change the itinerary, I want to cancel.

My question concerns the $875 per person ($1750 for both!) that our contract stated is "forfeited" as a "cancellation fee." Can I assume that that in this circumstance, they won't asses this fee, and I will receive my entire deposit back? Does anyone have any experience with something like this and if so, do you know how long it takes for Holland to process a refund of the deposit? We want to book another cruise on another line. Many thanks for your collective experience and wisdom.

We are looking forward to our first Oceania cruise this October after many years of cruising on everything from mass market to luxury. Like others who posted on another thread, we have been unable to access our booking online at all despite clearing cookies/data and entering the data manually as a new booking. Our TA spent some time on the phone with Oceania, and received the disappointing reply that the website is being "updated," and because our cruise is a back to back, the website will not be available to us, perhaps for several months. Our only option is to call Oceania directly for anything we need.

Entering profile information has to be slowly and laboriously done by phone. I figured out that I can do a shore excursion search but only through a workaround, starting a pretend booking for each leg and then calling Oceania to book. The big issue is specialty restaurant reservations. I understand that many people go online to book the minute that reservations become available, and with a Concierge cabin, we would have some priority. Since I doubt that Oceania reps are available 24/7, we would have to wait and possibly lose the early hour dining time we like.

This is the problem; here is my question. If Oceania knew they were going to update the website in this way, why were those on affected back to back cruises not given any advance warning? We could have easily entered our profile info and had the option of making excursion decisions and spa reservations early. We could also have communicated our specialty restaurant wishes and ask that they be requested at our earliest possible window.

I am interested if anyone else received any information from Oceania that is different from what I was told. There is probably nothing I can do except deal with the inconvenience (there are worse things and we are cruising), and if I can't get my dining reservations, I can protest to the powers that be, but for a first Oceania experience, this leaves an unfortunate impression.

On our current cruise, the bar is often open during evening entertainment. If there is a particular brand you prefer, they will get it for you if possible (within reason).

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Many thanks to musicmom3, ORV, Charles4515, and riffatsea. As a first time Oceania cruiser, I was beginning to rethink our October cruise if the general attitude of other cruisers is reflected in the judgement, rudeness, and general lack of civility I encountered in response to my post. I clearly stated, "Of course we dress in line with the published dress standards of any cruise line we choose to sail; nevertheless I was excoriated for pointing out that people have different points of view.

I am astonished by the level of nastiness hurled at me and my family. The purpose of my post was simply to point out that concepts of "dressy" differ, and one should not impose one's own ideas on others. On the Cunard boards, there are discussions of suit vs. sports jacket and the definition of black tie. Of course we dress in line with the published dress standards of any cruise line we choose to sail; for this reason, we will not sail Cunard. However, within the written guidelines, there is room for a variety of dress styles, and the level of judgement, sarcasm, and just plain rudeness exhibited here saddens me. My mother had a lovely time at her party, by the way, as did we all.

On a Windstar Cruise we were supposed to dock in Seville but the tides caused an issue and we docked in Cadiz. The timing made our private Seville tour impossible. This excursion was part of a multi-port private excursion package, and it had been paid for in advance. The Captain sent a letter to all guests verifying the cancellation, and our Travelex policy reimbursed us. A similar situation occurred when a Crystal cruise was unable to tender in Fowey, Cornwall, UK. We had paid a deposit ( which we knew was non-refundable) and insurance paid. We are always careful to cover all non-refundable payments (required to maintain pre-existing condition waiver), and Travelex was very responsive.

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We are looking forward to our first Oceania Cruise this fall after many years of cruising from mass market to luxury (Regent/Crystal...). We have come to realize that attire is regional, cultural, and generational. Hawaiian shirts and cowboy boots with string ties are regionally appropriate in virtually any setting. We live on the California coast, and I truly can’t think of a restaurant including the most venerable/traditional/elegant where “dressy jeans” with lovely tops and shoes (ladies) or dress shirts (men) would be inappropriate. My mother was afraid that my 63 year old brother and my son would be “refused entrance” to the fine restaurant where we held her 90th birthday party. Neither of them owns a suit nor do they need one at work or at leisure. Once Mom saw the range from cocktail dresses and suits to ball caps and jeans, she understood that the norms of her East Coast childhood no longer applied in this time and our area. The CEO’s of the Millennial generation wear t-shirts to board meetings and a requirement to remove hats indoors is no more relevant to many than my mother’s dictum that one doesn’t wear white after Labor Day. Some areas of the country are far more traditional and formal—understood. Clean and neat—of course. However please don’t look at peoples’ clothing choices as a sign of disrespect or assume that one’s own region/culture/age groups choices are superior.

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DINING

 

 

 

The food was outstanding with the exception of a ribeye steak one evening which was a poor cut of meat.

 

 

 

Service in the dining room was excellent. The Hotel Director and Associate Hotel Director, along with some other managers, were visible in the dining room and helped the serving staff when needed. They assisted in pouring coffee and wine, delivering food to the tables and checking to ensure everyone was happy.

 

 

 

Next: Entertainment

 

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Thank you so much for posting this review. We will be doing the Revolutionary War itinerary (round trip Baltimore) next month—our first trip with American Cruise Lines. I had been concerned about the quality and availability of food onboard (I am a red-meat eater who doesn’t eat fish or shellfish). Your review sounds like the staff and management are responsive and helpful; they have already told me they can make something (more than a snack) available between meals since I have to eat frequently. We’re really excited about our trip!

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Thank you for the replies. This is a new or fairly new itinerary for American Cruise Lines, so your explanation of their not having some information ahead of time makes sense. I've just never run across this situation, and we have sailed on eleven different ocean cruise lines and two different river cruise lines. Luckily, the historical locations are close together as are the various towns so Uber should work well.

We are looking forward to our first American Cruise lines voyage in April—the Revolutionary War itinerary. We rarely take bus excursions when we travel, usually arranging private tours or using taxis etc. to get to where we want to go. This time, however, we are finding it impossible to find out our actual itinerary for the trip which makes it difficult to make any independent arrangements. The day to day itinerary on the website is different from what we received in our pre-cruise documents. Both my travel agent and I called their customer service department and both of us were told that we would find out our actual day to day locations and times AFTER we were onboard. Do most ACL cruisers tend to take the ship excursions? Can anyone tell us if this mystery itinerary situation is what you have experienced and if you found it possible to make arrangements ahead of time? Thank you for any information you can share.

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We are experienced cruisers looking forward to our first Windstar voyage (Spanish Serenade). I have found the website to be a bit ... challenging compared to other lines we have enjoyed. I had booked a shore excursion in Malaga that I am not going to be able to take, and I wanted to cancel it online. It is a capacity-controlled excursion, and I want to release my space to someone else who might want it. I can't find any way to accomplish this, nor can I find any explanation anywhere else online. Please advise :)

Thanks all. It seems that I can get a sandwich in the afternoon but not a meal except for room service.

We are frequent cruisers but new to Windstar, and we're looking forward to our Spanish Serenade this fall. It appears that breakfast and lunch hours on the Star Breeze are fairly limited, and I don't see anything but "light sandwiches and cookies" etc. available from around 2 pm until dinner at 7:00. Other than room service, is there nowhere to eat when we arrive back at the ship from a day ashore or during a lazy afternoon onboard? I have never been on any ship from Carnival to Regent, that didn't have some kind of deck grill, large or small buffet, etc., and I'm one of those folks who has to eat frequently. I know that Windstar ships are smaller, but Azamara had less than 700 passengers and there was always food available. Does anyone know where I can find the Star Breeze room service menu? Many thanks.

I understand their wanting the money upfront. My frustration was not being able to find the cancellation policy. Windstar seems to be less informative in general than some others

Thank you all for your help. Normally I wouldn't book an excursion this far in advance, but it's a horseback riding trip in Malaga, and having researched the facility (looks wonderful!), I am guessing that the excursion would be capacity controlled/small group. It's not that expensive, so I'll go ahead and book it. As long as I can cancel if my knee isn't up to the challenge, I'll pack my riding boots and go for it. :D

We are experienced cruisers--first time with Windstar. We are booked on the Spanish Serenade Barcelona-Lisbon next October/November. We rarely do cruise shore excursions, but there is one I would like to reserve. The website, however, is frustrating; it appears that we must pay when we reserve, and I can't find the cancellation policy anywhere. If you can't go/change your mind, etc. can you get your money refunded? If so, is the money refunded to your shipboard account or your credit card? And if so, how far before the excursion is the deadline?

We have also booked two Crystal cruises over the next 18 months (first time with them as well). No advance payment is required for shore excursions, and their website is easy, intuitive, and informative.

Many thanks