Hlitner

Just a few words about O pre-cruise (for those who may be O virgins..like us). A few weeks ago, O sent us an e-mail (through our cruise agent) with several attachments including a "final" itinerary (which has changed several times since we booked the cruise). One of those attachments was a PDF file of all the O excursions. Tonight, for fun, I decided to print-out that document. It is ONLY 139 pages :). Since I printed it two sided we now have a 70 page hard copy of all the excursions. That is for only a 35 day cruise so one can wonder what that document would be if one were to book the 180 day ATW cruise. O also sent us their normal pre-cruise packet. That included an attractive customized booklet, that would be helpful to folks who have little cruise experience. The packet also had customized luggage tags. O actually sent us two of these packets, each with its own mailing cost. Most other cruise lines (including some luxury lines) have long ago stopped mailing that kind of thing because it is very expensive. The norm is to just sent e-mail attachments including luggage tags (that folks can print out). This avoids the cost of putting together all those packets (for each cruiser) and paying the postage. Strange company, O, that they toss away all the money on mailings and do not spend money on designing an App. Hank

Agree :). Last Spring, we flew into Tokyo a couple of weeks before our HAL cruise (Tokyo to Seattle). We split our time between Tokyo and Kyoto (took the bullet train) with a pre-cruise night in Yokohama. We did this on our own in a country where the language barrier is not just with talking, but also with reading. DW and I had so much fun, she convinced me to book another Japan trip/cruise for next year. Much of the fun we had during those two pre cruise weeks in Japan was dealing with people. The Japanese are wonderful folks and can be very friendly. The interaction with locals was very good (not the kind of thing that happens on group tours) and one particular restaurant even took our pictures to post on their web site :). Dealing with the public transit system was somewhat of a challenge and an awful lot of fun. The food was amazing and ranged from Kyoto Beef (A5 Wagyu) made to order by a master hibachi chef to the best croissants I have ever eaten (which DW and I found while looking for a breakfast place in Kyoto). Those couple of weeks in Japan were followed by a 42 day cruise. However, nearly a year later what DW and remember most fondly are the time we had in Japan....not cruising around Japan. And this gets us back to original theme (posted in a prior post) that we think the ideal trip is a combination of cruising and some land time. Tis the best of both worlds (land and sea).

There is one situation where we actually tried to haggle This can happen on some lines (primarily luxury lines) if one is already on a cruise and wants to extend their time on the ship. But even this is not always successful. Back in the summer of 2021. when many were still afraid to travel, DW and I were on a Seabourn cruise where the ship was only about 1/2 of capacity, Towards the end of our 2-week voyage, we had a chat with the onboard future cruise guy (who we knew from prior cruises) and suggested that we could stay aboard for another 2 weeks if the company (Seabourn) would give us a decent price. The future cruise guy sent an e-mail (and also had a chat) with his home office folks who came up with an offer that actually cost more, per person/day then the cruise we were taking at the time. We all had a laugh and, of course, we rejected the offer. For whatever reason, Seabourn had decided they would prefer to sail a half empty ship rather than discount a price. By any measure it would have been a win-win, but the "suits" do not always think in those terms. However, we do know of some folks who have gotten some good deals (with Seabourn and Princess) by extending a voyage (during their cruise). I also recall one cruise (might have been on Seabourn) where an announcement was made that if anyone wanted to extend their voyage there were some good deals. Hank

Waltershipman (who was also on our EJ1 Voyage) recently did some comparisons of the Vista with EJ1. A comparison makes sense since both lines make claims of having unusually good cuisine. But we should also be clear that Explora Journeys is somewhat pricier than O and bills itself as a high-end luxury line. Since we are currently very familiar with EJ, Seabourn, HAL and Princess (been on those lines within the past year) we will certainly try and compare. Also consider that the EJ1 (and future EJ ships) are about the same tonnage as the Vista, but only have a capacity of about 900. Hank

Interesting issue. DW and I do not normally concern ourselves with ship motions (we actually like some motion). I can tell you that we have done dozens of crossings, on all size ships, and the motion has varied from none (glassy seas) to darn awful! Most of the time it is a mixed bag and not a big deal. But the worst happened on a spring crossing on a RCI ship (Brilliance of the Seas) when a strong storm came across the USA and went out to sea. Unfortunately, that storm stayed with us from just off the coast of Florida all the way to our first European port (Cobh). We still laugh and call it our "cruise from hell" as we had 5 straight days of 15+ foot seas. They had to drain the pools for the entire crossing, because we had huge waves in the pools :). No big storms on the horizon for next week, so hoping for smooth calm seas :). We hope for some warm days, since DW and I like to spend lots of time in deck loungers catching-up on our reading. Hank

We do understand. It is not a good option for us since we live some distance from the included gateway airports. We are also very comfortable making our own air, hotel and transfer arrangements. If SS did offer a great deal on Business Class it would certainly get our interest :). Hank

Might be fun to talk about loyalty benefits. DW and I could care less about things like pins, medallions, certificates, etc. It is just not our "thing." Since we have been on far more then 100 cruises with 16 lines (#17 next week) we have been given all kinds of pins and other junk. DW used to toss it all in a basement storage drawer (50 years of cruise junk) until she cleaned-house and tossed all that stuff in the trash. But, we have learned that some cruisers really find this stuff very important. HAL once tried to stop giving out "Medallions" which are large garish tin things that folks can wear around their necks. They are color coded for number of HAL cruise days and there are some folks who will actually wear them (onboard) when there are loyalty functions. When HAL said they would no longer give those out, there was an online mutiny and HAL relented. HAL used to also have a "rewards" ceremony where the Captain would give out newly earned medallions. Some folks actually went to those events (held before lunch on a sea day) to watch folks get those garish medallions. Unreal. Bottom line is that "loyalty recognition" does matter to some folks and certain cruise lines play to this group. One exception is the new Explora Journeys cruise line (a luxury line) who, at the moment, has not even organized any kind of loyalty club or benefits. And then we have MSC who has a pretty good program, but simply gives the benefits to nearly anyone who can show they are in another loyalty program with other cruise lines or even hotel chains. Hank

A few weeks ago I promised to try and post a live blog, from the Vista. We are starting a few days prior to embarkation to talk about pre-cruise prep. We are O virgins, as this will be our first time on any O ship. As to a background, suffice it to say we have only 50 years of extensive cruise experience with many different cruise lines (budget to luxury) and vessels. Whether we stick with this blog will depend on the onboard Internet connection and whether we get too lazy. We will post the facts, and our impressions, and welcome comments, criticism, etc. We made our O reservation with a trusted high volume cruise agency, who did "enhance" our booking with pre-paid gratuities and a generous On Board Credit (OBC). Learning about how to deal with the O process comes mostly from CC. Our suite is a low category B category verandah on deck 8. At the 45 day mark, we went online to O's web site and made our dining reservations. Since our cruise is 3 segments (35 days) we were allowed to book 3 reservations in each of Vistas four alternative restaurants. Half our reservations are 2-tops and other half are shared. At the time we booked, it was not possible to get all 2-tops at our desired times, and DW and I really enjoy sharing tables as a way to meet and socialize with others. When we booked the reservations (all done online) we immediately received an e-mail confirmation (for each reservations) from O (and they also show in later e-mailed documents from O). Because we have heard here on CC about some "issues" with dining reservations, we are taking printed copies of all the confirmations. We have had no problems with our reservations, never needed to call O, and as typical of our own procedures, most of the work is done online with a few clicks of the mouse. O has already made several changes in our itinerary (which includes 24 ports) the most unfortunate being the elimination of Turkey (substituting some Greek ports). We have been to nearly all the ports (many times for most ports). Our reservation is with the new Simply More program. This meant we needed to book at least enough excursions to use our SM shore excursion credit ($1200 per person). DW and I are generally independent travelers and seldom book cruise line excursions (we prefer doing our own thing). We booked enough O excursions (mostly done more than 9 months in advance) to use all of our SM credit. We do not come close to qualifying for the 25% discount and have no desire to add extra excursions to meet the required minimum. In fact, it will be interesting to see if we even go on all the excursions we have booked since we truly dislike the large group tours. Since our cruise is 35 days (with varying climate) and we plan on spending 11 more days on a driving trip in Europe (Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, and Italy) packing is tricky. DW and I have just started our normal pre-cruise procedure of "laying out" our clothes (and other stuff) in a separate area. This gives us a few days to appraise the pile of "stuff" and make adjustments. Because we are doing post cruise independent travel we will limit ourselves to two large suitcases (each will weigh close to 50 pounds) and 2 heavy carry-on backpacks. DW and I love using backpacks (as compared to typical carry-on bags) because we can wear them on our back..leaving both our hands free to handle the other bags. Luggage logistics is always an important part of our independent travel because we assume that nobody is going to help us with our luggage. We are looking forward to this trip, enjoying the "Finest Cuisine at Sea," meeting some of our fellow cruisers, and having lots of lazy sea days. Our segments have pretty active CC Roll Calls, but we have no plans to sign-up or attend any of the onboard CC Roll Call events. Those get togethers are just not our norm and we prefer meeting folks elsewhere on ship. Hank

Ahhh, so if we understand, folks who pay a much lower price (for their cruise) do not accrue any loyalty benefits other then to save money? I guess this means that the folks actually are paying for those loyalty benefits which means they are not really a benefit but rather something bought and paid for! This is not a criticism of Silversea but rather an eye opener for folks that get caught up in marketing hype such as "Sale of the Year" or "Loyalty benefits." There is really no free lunch. I find it amazing that folks, who will spend thousands or 10s of thousands with one particular cruise line, get excited about receiving a silly pin, a bag of free laundry (we like this benefit), etc. On HAL, folks spend a lot of money to accrue the 500+ days necessary to reach 5* status which gets them a few benefits (such as free laundry). But a first time cruiser can simply upgrade to "Club Orange" and get many of the same priorities that have been "earned" by those long time loyalists. When a crusie line starts selling priority benefits to anyone it simply waters down benefits "earned" by long time cruisers (many of whom covet their status). When everyone gets a "priority" benefit it means that nobody has priority. Hank

My goodness, so much of our independent land trips are in countries where we do not speak the native language. So what? Even when you don't speak a language, intelligent folks can manage to communicate. I cannot imagine dining out with a group tour in places like Paris (or just about anywhere in France), Rome, Japan, etc. Food can be its own language. When we rented an apartment in Paris (2 weeks) in St Germain des Pres, we would go out exploring various neighborhood restaurants. We stumbled on a tiny place where only the owner spoke a teeny bit of English. Our dinner was excellent, so we returned a few days later for another decent meal. When we returned a third time. the owner greeted us with hugs and the food was even better. When we rented an apartment in St Remy de Provence (2 weeks) I would walk a few blocks to the boulangerie to buy fresh croissants and some pastries. The lady owner would look at me with disdain, was not friendly, but her croissants were terrific. The first day of our 2nd week I walked in the shop and she greeted me with a big smile, and some nice words. I was shocked but also delighted. As I left the shop another local, who spoke English, and I shared some words. He then explained to me that "she ignored tourists for their first week." But if you stay longer, you are considered family. Go figure. These are the kind of adventures that are the reward for independent travel. When you dine on a cruise ship and order coq au vin you are ordering a French dish. You can go into a restaurant in France and order coq au vin, sole manière, bouillabaisse, soupe de Poisson, etc. In Italy, while you may not speak the language, pizza is pizza! Go to Rome and order cacio de pepe. A simple dish (which is on the menu at many Italian restaurants at home) which is amazing when prepared by a Roman chef. You do not need to speak Italian to order that kind of thing. Some friends have asked us how we deal with the "language barrier" and we usually smile and tell them the worst language barrier was in London (true). Folks that own/operate decent restaurants will often find joy in watching others enjoy their cuisine. A smile breaks down most barriers. About 2/3 of the world's countries do not have English as a major language. Hank

There is no mystery here. The itinerary has it "arriving" at 3am which is not all that crazy since it is finishing a canal transit. Because a ship docks early it does not mean disembarkation starts that early :). The ship does not embark (on its next cruise) until 11:59 pm. You can assume that your disembarkation will be at the usual more humane times :). Hank

Depending on the ship and tour, you may find that some tours are "meet ashore" which means you go ashore earlier and meet your tour at the shore meeting spot (usually not far from the tender pier. Keep in mind that Kotor can dock a cruise ship but tendering does happen when the pier is already taken by another vessel. Speaking of the tender hassle, the larger the ship the more the hassle. That is just one more advantage to smaller ship cruising. As to Kotor (a favorite place of ours) you want to be ondeck or at a good viewing place about 1 1/2 hours before docking. The views cruising in/out of the port are beautiful. Also consider that if you are simply going to stay in Kotor, walking around on one's own is quite easy and there are free port maps/books that show the various sites. No need to pay a tour to just walk around town, enjoy lunch, and walk the walls. Hank

The announcement caused me to look at a current booking (for next Dec). Not only did the essential fares NOT apply, but the cost of our booking, if booked today, would be about 50% more expensive than our price. Even in a time of inflation, a 50% price increase does seem a bit excessive. Hank

The history of cruising is very interesting, in terms of onboard cuisine and other unique amenities. Since we started cruising (in the mid 70s) and based on my parents own experience (they were cruising in the 50s and 60s) we have a pretty good idea of how the industry evolved into what we know today. For whatever reason, cuisine has always been a major part of the cruise industry, and even before that industry when one goes back to the days before modern cruising when folks mostly used ships to cross large oceans. Just look at some of the exhibits. for the Titanic, and you will see that cuisine was a very important part of the industry back in the early part of the 20th century. In the 70s we started to see a real "cruise industry" as lines like Carnival, NCL, Sitmar, etc. turned ships into something close to what we think of as modern cruise ships. In those days, the amount and waste of food was shocking. Lines would generally have huge midnight buffets, nearly every night, and they were often quite spectacular. 2nd sitting (or late dining) was the most popular, so many of us would finish dinner around 10pm and then line-up around 11:30 to eat again! It was obscene and lots of fun. I think NCL should get some credit for again changing the industry when it started its so-called "Free Style" marketing campaign. This spurred many alternative restaurants, and for the first time we saw a movement towards "maximizing onboard revenue" by encouraging folks to pay extra for better food. In those days there was little attention paid to special diets, things like "gluten free" and "vegan" hardly existed on ships. And the idea of "healthy cuisine" was not a thought for most cruisers who expected to gain about 1 pound a day! Now, the industry has again reinventd itself. Spectacular midnight buffets have all but disappeared (with a few exceptions), you can find healthy alternatives, gluten free, vegan, etc. The old reserved deck chairs (with service by your steward) are gone (except for some who want to pay extra) replaced by an era of "chair hogs." We do think there is a new move to really improve cuisine for those willing to pay the price. Many ships have high-end alternative restaurants (that can cost hundreds of dollars for a meal) and the new Explora Journeys cruise line (which will soon have six - 900 passenger ships) has made cuisine a major part of its being (this line does not even have a main dining room). For folks who are not "foodies" the question becomes whether it makes sense to book some of these lines that really emphasize cuisine (at a big price in terms of the cruise price). There are still lines like NCL and MSC where folks, who have little interest in cuisine, can book relatively low cost cabins and be content with the lowest denominator of food offerings. Hank

Keep in mind that even if the shuttle to Largo della Pace is still free, you would need to transfer to a paid bus (used to be 2 Euros) to get you to the station. If there is truly a 6 Euro shuttle from the port directly to the station, this is the best option for most folks (except those of us who like very long walks). We will again be at Civitavecchia in a few weeks and will admit to being curious as to the current situation. Being Italy, what existed today may well not exist tomorrow. Most long-time independent travelers have learned that in Italy, one needs to keep their sense of humor and flexibility. Hank

With mobility issues, and a scooter, I would agree with the suggestion to arrange a private transfer (Romeinlimo or Romecabs are both good options). While it will be somewhat expensive, a private transfer means you will have the space for luggage and scooter (make sure to message the transfer folks about those items). Either of those companies can alslo handle your transfers from Rome to your ship. The unfortunate thing is that none of this is cheap. Europe is somewhat more expensive than in the past, and this is reflected in higher fees for transfers. Hank

I think that some do not fully understand the airport situation. These days, it is wise to arrive about 2 hours pre flight for domestic flights and even longer for internaitonal. MIA is a large airport and it can be a very long walk from check-in to the gates (depending on your gate). It can take a good 30 minutes just to drive to the airport (from the port or downtown) and even worse when there are traffic problems. So even with a 3pm flight, one would need to be on their way to MIA around noon. If you can buy lounge access (or have an AMEX Platinum Card with Centurian Lounge access) that might make more sense. Most of the cruise line excursions (and later airport transfer) specify how the earliest flight and it is often later in the afternoon. Also keep in mind that a cruise line transfer may not drop you in the most convenient place for your particular airline. Hank

We do quite a lot of travel in the UK (and cruising) and get all of our cash via ATMs. They are easy to find and get you the best exchange rates. Just make sure to notify your issuing bank of your itinerary in order to avoid any security issues. Hank

She might appreciate the lido cuisine on Carnival and other lower priced lines. DW loves PB&J, but it is something she eats at home, not when paying money to be on a cruise. I happen to really like decent caviar and have sometimes mentioned that we probably eat $50-$100 a day of caviar when on Seabourn. That might sound like a lot of money, but consider that some mass market lines do charge around $100 for a single serving of those black/gray eggs. Hank

I think the OP has no clue how it works at cruise lines. "Ring up" the cruise line and you simply get a reservations clerk, in their little cubicle, that has zero power to do anything but follow the various scripts that are on their terminal. In Florida, it used to be possible to work deals through local TAs that had connections at the cruise line. These days I doubt if that is even possible. There are ways to get some pretty decent "last minute" special (unadvertised) deals. But this will usually happen through various high volume cruise agencies (that are part of very high volume consortiums) that are permitted (by the cruise line) to sell some special deals. These are usually limited to their customers (folks on their e-mail list) and have nothing to do with living near the port. The so-called "last minute" deals are generally available just inside the final payment period. Hank

Going to Rouen, Giverny or Paris can be done on the train (the station is about 1 1/2 miles from the port). While I agree with you about trying to do Paris during a port day (we love Paris) there are plenty of folks who will do the long trip to Paris (over 2 1/2 hours each way) since it may be their only change to see that city. We have spent weeks in Paris, and would still return for another few weeks :). Seeing Paris in 5 hours (which is about when you get on most one-day tours) is, IMHO, a bit sad. We have spent more than 5 hours in a single museum! We have long suggested that folks who have Le Havre as their last cruise stop (before ending in England) might want to consider an early debarkation and spending a few days in Paris. There is a good train connection between Le Havre and Paris. Hank

If you are coming back to the port from town, there are a couple of different bus stops depending on the specific bus route of your bus. Both stops are relatively close to Walmart/Sams. Keep in mind that you will need to cross the busy road (to get to the port) and you should do it at the traffic light and be very alert (we often say that the biggest danger in PV is being hit by a bus or car). Hank

We recently returned, from being out of the country, and found our O packet for the Vista cruise embarking next week. The luggage tags are convenient, but we were not overly impressed with the provided booklet. In the early pages are the 35 day itinerary for our cruise, but as one might expect it is wrong! Why? Because even O's own printers cannot keep up with the various itinerary changes. Sad. Since it is our first O cruise, we are hopeful that O will actually stick to their latest itinerary. Hank

Me too LOL. Not sure my waistline will be happy, but the fun of exploring O food is the main reason we booked the Vista. Guess we better bring along some Tums :): Hank

Tours are great for those who love tours. Of course there are differences between large group tour (such as what is sold by cruise lines) and small group tours booked privately. Our own preference, when it comes to the Golden Circle, has been to simply rent a car and drive it on our own. Why? It allows us to go where we want, stay as long or as short as we please, eat where want, etc. Since we also have driven to many of the same places flooded by large bus tours, we do often listen-in on the explanations rendered by the professional tour guides (who often have different things to say about the same sites). I will say that driving the Golden Circle is quite easy given the decent signage and use of GPS (on our phones). Like most DIY driving trips the biggest advantage is not having to wait on others to go to the rest facilities, finish their shopping, their meal, etc.