Hlitner

Over the years I have left DW at a couple of ports (primarily in Italy) while I went off to pick-up a rental car. And Lisbon is such a metropolitan kind of place (which we know well) that transportation has never been a problem. Trieste, on the other hand, became a bit more complicated when all the local rental car agencies decided to close on the holiday. It will take a lot of time to get to the airport and the idea of leaving DW (with luggage) for what could be at least 2 hours, is not an option that will make DW smile. But we view this as a minor problem that just goes with our love of independent travel. O could have done us all a favor by not scheduling a turn-around day on a major holiday, but such is life. Speaking of independent travel, we originally made a reservation to pick up a car at Avis, near the train station, As is too typical of rental car companies, that reservation is still valid and Avis has yet to send us any kind of notice that their office will be closed. On the other hand, 2 years ago we took a ferry over to the Greek Island of Naxos where we had reserved a rental car with Europcar. We huffed and puffed walking (and dragging luggage) through a 1/2 mile of streets to get from the ferry pier to that Europcar office only to discover that is was a motorcycle shop. Europcar had closed that office more than 6 months earlier and had not bothered to update their software and continued to ac accept reservations. Was a funny moment (I was furious). The owner of the shop was nice enough to drive us to another Europcar office (more then a mile distant) where the manager told us he had grown tired of telling the home office adjust their software. Although DW love independent travel (the thought of being stuck on a bus tour with 50 others would drive me to be an alcoholic) the challenge with independent travel has its moments. That being said, the rewards with not being stuck with large groups cannot be overstated. Hank Hank

Friends are always asking me for advice on side of the ship decisions (we have cruised just about everywhere except in Antarctica). I have simple answer to the question, which many would question. To us, it is simply a matter of the sun! But it varies depending on one's own habits. For example, I enjoy sitting on my balcony in late afternoon (when DW is getting ready for the evening) and if we are in an area where it will not be overly hot, might opt for the side of the ship that faces westerly so I can watch the sunset. On the other hand, there are some cruises when we might want to shady side in the morning so we can enjoy breakfast on the balcony without having a bright sun in our eyes. I do know that many want to know which side of the ship has the best views, and we figure that both sides generally feature the sea :). Cruise ships do not generally cruise close to shore where one gets views of the land. In really scenic places like Glacier Bay, moving in or out of Kotor, etc. we prefer to be on deck or somewhere where we have a view of both sides of the ship. Some prefer aft balconies for the view, but we have never enjoyed the vibration/movement/cavitation that often happens with aft cabins. But that aft wake view does have its benefits. Hank

Having been to Nice many times (we often stay in that city) our favorite local pastime is to simply enjoy the outdoor Flower Market. This is primarily a morning to early afternoon activity and the market is a real fun place to simply browse the various stalls/tables where you find lots of flowers/plants, food items, and various collectables. There are also plenty of cafes/restaurants in the area where one can stop to enjoy a morning cappuccino, bloody mary, etc Driving around Nice (whether it be in my own rental car or a tour vehicle) holds little interest. Even the famous Promanade d'Anglais (we usually stay in one of the hotels on this street) is made for walking. Knowing Nice as well as we do we still could not suggest a worthwhiole driving route within the city. One can certainly drive along the Promenade and say, "look at the sea" but not sure that is the best use of one's time :). As to the Negresco (we had one of our best dinners, ever, in its Chantecler dining room) one can certainly admire the facade but others would find it worthwhile to take a peak inside at the lobby. As to Eze Village, an hour to 1 1/2 hours is more than enough (for us) unless we decide to have lunch :). Personally, we prefer to visit St Paul de Vence (worthy of even more time) and the nearby Maeght Fondation art museum. Both of these popular tourist destinations have suffered from too many junk/tourist shops taking over for what used to be a lot of art and arty shops. The towns, themselves, are worthwhile but shopping less so. St Paul de Vence still does have some excellent art galleries, but over the years too many have been taken over by shops selling the typical tourist junk. I know that one person's junk is another's treasure, but refrigerator magnets made in china and mass produced poster does not hold our interest. Hank

I cannot resist telling my true "entitlement" story. Once upon a time we were on a HAL cruise (think...floating assisted living center) and I was waiting in a queue of about 10 folks to have eggs benedict made at the Lido. An elderly lady (everyone in the queue were seniors including moi) simply pushed in front of the line and turned to us and said, "its OK, I am old." I could not resist and said, "the line for the old folks is at the back!" A few others actually clapped and the red-faced lady did move to the rear of the line. Hank

A few things have changed in the past decade. The Medallion technology is now fully implemented and having a working Smart Phone to use the Princess App can be valuable. With the app you can make/change reservations, order food/drinks to be delivered to your location, etc. In fact, there are mornings when I get to the International Cafe only to see a long queue for coffee drinks. I will sometimes just find a seat (in the atrium area) and order my cappuccino on the app and just relax. In a few minutes a waiter will bring my coffee. I practice "queue avoidance" and this is one great example. As to the alternative restaurants, be aware that because of the packages there are now many folks who get those included meals. This can create a high demand for reservations. I cannot speak to the Island, but on our recent Sky Princess cruise (2 weeks in Dec) most of the alternative restaurants were fully booked before embarkation! We had to really scramble to get reservations for the wonderful seafood venue, and it meant taking 8:30 (or later) time slots (the only thing left). Fortunately, DW and I do prefer to dine late. For folks who want to dine at the prime times between 5:30-7:30...many were simply out of luck. In fact, there was one evening when we wanted to use one additional free meal in the Crown Grill and there were no open reservation slots for the remaining week of our cruise. We stopped at the restaurant and chatted with the manager who agreed to sqeeze us in if we would be around the entrance at 8:30. He finally sat us near 9pm (the venue was still packed) and we did not finish dinner until aroudn 10:30! This was OK for us (and many others who were still eating) but it just shows how reservations can be problamatic on some voyages. I should add that the 2nd week of our cruise had a large Porsche owners group aboard, and these folks like the finer things in life including the better alternative restaurants :). Truly an enjoyable group of folks (we made many new friends). Hank

The 3 MDRs are essentially the same and its luck of the draw as to which one has the best management/waiters. We prefer the two midship dining rooms because they are easier to access. The aft dining room means heading to the aft of the ship as its only accessible from that staircase or elevator bank. Our normal procedure is to pre-book one of the mid ship dining rooms for every night. We like dining at 8:00 since it avoids the earlier rush and works well if we decide to go to the earlier show (often scheduled at 7). Doing the shows before dinner means we avoid having any problem getting decent seats. Folks who dine early and try to make the early show are generally the last to arrive at the theater. The later shows also tend to be more crowded. Although we do make the reservations pre-cruise (just using the app) we will sometimes change our dining times depending on times in the port, the evening entertainment schedule, and whether we want to meet others for cocktails at a certain time. On most days I find myself at the International Cafe enjoying early cappuccino while DW continues to sleep. At that time I will look at the daily schedule and if I see a reason to change our dinner reservation it is usually a simple matter to do this on the app. Hank

There are always some folks who resist new technology for various reasons. At some point they find that resisting change creates lots of "issues" for themselves, but some do continue their crusade. We have one friend who loves horses and still rants about the evils of cars (she would prefer to ride everywhere). We used to know one frequent traveler (they no longer are able to travel) who refused to use credit cards. They would pay for airline tickets with cash, but that got them flagged for secondary inspection by TSA/security every time they flew and once caused them to miss a flight because of inspection delays. They also discovered that it is impossible to check-in to some hotels without a credit card and also impossible to rent a car from most agencies. So now we get to the Medallion issue. We do agree with some of the OP's comments, especially about the amount of time/money spent by Princess to implement this particular technology. But at the current time, cruising on a Princess ship without a Medallion (assuming they can still make you a card) will likely cause lots of inconvenience to the cruiser. It may well start at embarkation when they likely do not even have the ability to make a card at the embarkation counter. The OP will likely have a long wait until they find someplace they can still make a card (which may now be only at Guest Relations...onboard). Many of the functions/services onboard will not work with a card (such as the smart screens, daily prizes on the door panels (that got us a free high end wine tasting on our Sky Princess cruise). And then there will be the likely delays everytime the op wants to depart or board the ship (at ports) since the security folks rely on Medallion scanners. Without that technology they will generally pull folks aside while somebody has to manually enter information into a keyboard to pull up the passengers info. As bars it may or may not matter as we found on our recent Sky Princess cruise. At some bars, the staff preferred to simply ask folks their name and cabin numbers. But at other bars they were were using the Medallion. The OP better brace themself for the new facial recognition technology being implemented at most airports and the cruise ports. In fact, when we disembarked the Sky Princess at Port Everglades we were quickly through the CBP check without even stopping to show our Passports. Facial ID worked well, For folks where it did not work, and for one couple we witnessed refusing to be scanned by a camera (can you even do this?) they simply got shuttled aside into a long line (mostly for non-US folks not in the facial recognition system) where they had a long wait (I would estimate about 15 min) for their turn to speak to a live CBP agent. I actually think that Princess wasted a lot of money on the Medallions, which is already becoming obsolete technology. It will not be long until facial id replaces lots of things. On ships, there will be a time (probably not in the too distant feature) where facial ID will replace the medallions and be used for just about everything. I cannot believe how fast this facial id technology is being implemented in the travel world (especially at airports). Along with smartphone technology, this is taking over the world. My goodness, we now get a discount at many HIlton-brand hotels for simply using our smartphones as our room key! No need to even stop at the front desk. Just walk in a hotel, go to our room, and our phone opens the door! Still want a key? No problem. You wait in a queue at the front desk, finally get a clerk, get your old fashioned key card. and lose a discount! As frequent international travelers/cruisers we have learned to accept all the new technology. The cost for resisting is, at best, delays (sometimes long delays), and sometimes refusal. And my friend who prefers her horses can no longer ride on nearby roads because of minimum speed limites :). Those who want to use candles for light (because they reject light bulbs) are out of luck on cruise ships (no open flames allowed) or risk tripping smoke detectors! Times have indeed changed. I recently mentioned (in another post) about an upcoming trip where we will spend a few weeks doing driving in Europe. It was impossible to reserve a rental car without a credit card! I no longer need to carry my various European map books (which weigh many pounds) since all I need is our working Smart Phones which handle just about everything from tolls to GPS functions! In fact, with phones we are reaching a point where we no longer need to carry a wallet, credit cards, or cash. That darn phone works for just about everything (until the battery dies). Hank You might be causing yourself some real "issues." The Princess ships are designed to function with the use of the Medallions. If you want a "key card" at embarkation it is very likely that they cannot even produce such a card in the terminal. Assuming they would grant your request it could easily involve a long wait (for you) while somebody had to go to the Guest Relations office (onboard) where they may still be able to produce a card. There are also multiple onboard functions that only work with Medallions (such as the smart screens, some of the systems at the various bars, etc. Give it a try and please post how it goes :). Not sure why you want to make your cruise experience more difficult (for you) but in some ways what you are asking is like asking for candles instead of a light bulb. Also understand that just getting on and off the ship at ports can be more difficult with a card. The security staff have medallion readers at all the stations, but a card is different technology and would need to be scanned....somewhere! We remember being on a couple of Princess cruises as they were implementing the medallions, and the problems were sometimes comical. But times have changed, the technology is quite good, and the medallions do work. The good news, for you, is that the staff (especially at the bars) are still usually OK with just asking for your cabin number and name. But in other cases they expect the medallion.

Thanks for that info, we had expected to pay about 100 Euros for a taxi, but are wondering if getting a taxi, on that major holiday, will be somewhat difficult. The train would normally be a great option, but the logistics of doing that with luggage has become more difficult as we age :). Last year we had to drag luggage with us on some trains in Japan, and it was no fun. Hank

We have also been to most of the ports (many times) but we were looking for our normal spring transatlantic cruise and the Vista deal was good and gave us an opportunity to finally try O. Because we do know most of the ports, having a big shore excursion credit was a challenge. We chose mostly excursions that involved non-typical things, especially when it some kind of culinary or wine tasting as part of the tour. Like you, we always view ports as a potential adventure and like to have fun, whether on a rare tour (for us) or just doing our own thing. Our biggest challenge for the cruise will be trying to get from the port in Trieste to the Trieste Airport where we pick up our rental car (for a 11 days of our own driving adventure). Debarking on May 1 might create some difficulties. We had originally booked a car for pick-up near the train station, but it turns out that all the city rental car agencies are closed for the holiday (no surprise) forcing us to rent at the airport. Argh! But that is just one of those challenges that comes with independent travel, and it will all work out :). Hank

We had not signed up for any of the Roll Calls (we tend to keep a low profile on cruises) but who knows....everything about "O" will be a new experience for this ole guy. Looking forward to having lots of fun.

EJ hired staff from quite a few cruise lines including O and Azamara. They also reached out to many of the top resorts for staff (their head pastry chef comes from Ritz Carlton and many staff worked in high-end resorts). That being said, we think the line is very far from perfect and has many faults. Whether they can maintain the current high standard of cuisine is a question that will only be answered by time. But some of dishes we had on EJ1 were amazing (such as a basic dish of potatoes topped with caviar). One other dish that blew me away was a starter based on duck confit with watermelon, mint, and some other things (since forgotten). It was the kind of dish I would expect in Michelin 2-3* restaurant. But some other things were big misses such as their version of prime rib. One complaint we heard on EJ came from a key member of their culinary staff. He explained that the ship had many world-class chefs/cooks, but they were severely restricted by everything needed to be approved by the home office in Geneva. So, for example, if a pastry chef wanted to try something innovative, it would not be permitted. Since they did reach out to hire really talented folks, they will hopefully learn to relax their quality control and let these folks show-off their talent. The one exception is their only restaurant with an extra fee (a big extra fee) called Anthology! When we went to that venue (there were only 8 diners) our expensive meal was prepared by a well known Michelin 2* Chef (she works at a NYC restaurant that is always sold out) who actually was aboard and prepared our meal. Although it cost several hundred dollars (with wine pairing) that was significantly less expensive than dining in her NYC venue. Whether this venue will ultimately be successful is another of those "only time will tell." Hank

I kind of agree with you that HAL has morphed into a budget line with all kinds of add-ons (you would call it choice). It would not surprise me to see a future HAL that charges for tender use, elevator use, an extra glass of water in the MDR, etc. After all, why should folks that don't use those things pay. I wonder how big the attendance would be if HAL also charged for their BBC Documentary shows in the theater, and perhaps a fee to ask a question at the Guest Relations desk. At least one cruise line is already experimenting with a fee for certain shows. Can you imagine the high price to see the "History of HAL" slide show 🙂 Hank

Not "cruise lines" but simply SOME cruise lines. We cruise on many lines and quite a few include Internet (some unlimited) while others have it included in various packages at a reasonable cost. Consider that our last 3 cruises (in the past year) were on Princess, Explora Journeys, and HAL. Princess had it included in a package (along with drinks and other perks) and Explora Journeys has unlimited for free. Our next 3 cruises are on Oceania, Seabourn and Silversea and they include Internet as a free perk. Hank

We do understand your issue. I think we are trying to say that there is not likely anyone who can answer your question about the passport stamp. And even if you call O and do get an answer that answer is likely based on an educated guess. The reality is that you will need to deal with the moment and do what feels right at the time. If your Passport is not stamped, ask one of the Portuguese officials if anyone can stamp your Passport (assuming the cruise line even lets you have your Passport). You can also speak to the Guest Relations desk folks onboard the ship (who work with the Purser) who may have the correct answer. I think one advantage to having a lot of international travel experience is the knowledge that there are always some issues/problems that are best handled at the moment. Learn your options (which you are doing) and then be prepared to do what works best at the time. And just when you think you do have all the answers, there will be another issue :). Hank's Law! Hank

As folks who travel independently in most places, we can attest to the accuracy of your comments on the ridiculous price of Os cruise excursions. As we pointed out in an earlier post, this is typical of all cruise lines since they purchase their shore excursions from local tour companies (cruise lines tend to use the exact same tour operators). On recent cruises with Explora Journeys (a new very luxury line) and HAL, it was not uncommon to see simple 3-4 hour local walking tours (which often involved just walking from the ship) priced around $100 per person. And than most folks will tip their guide so they are generally paying over $100 for somebody to walk them around a small area and point out the jewelry stores (which give a kick-back to the tour company) a clothing boutique "this is a clothing boutique" etc. Those guides will also tell something of the local history (which one can Google and read on their phone for free). DW and I once went out to Ephesus (on our own) which is a place we know quite well. We tagged along on several tours (mostly cruise ship tours) to listen to the guides. Amazing how they would often tell completely different stories (none of them accurate) about the same parts of the ruins. It had us wondering about the accuracy of many large group guides. Cruise lines sell excursions to make money. The tour provider makes money, the third-party tour desk operator (used on many cruise lines makes money) and the cruise line makes money. Some will tell you the high price is justified by the insurance that is demanded by cruise lines, but they do not tell you that the insurance is generally to protect the cruise line...not the passenger! But the fact remains that many cruisers are reluctant to do anything on their own (even walking around the block) and simply feel more comfortable on a cruise line sponsored excursion. This is true on every cruise line from Carnival to O to Regent. The question here is whether O is up to the task of providing enough reliable excursions to satisfy the masses that they have been forced to pay for excursions (as part of the Simply More fare)? Only time will tell. I live in a cruise port (Puerto Vallarta) for 10 weeks a year. This is my winter home (for the past 18 years) and to say we know the town (and area) would be an understatement. We see cruise ships most days of the week, and watch many cruisers taking their walking tour (which goes by our balcony). The guides point out such highlights as McDonalds, Starbucks, the art work that is displayed around the town, etc. Cruisers pay $75 - $100 (and more) for these tours. The fact that these folks can get into town for about 60 cents (the cost of the local bus fare) and easily walk around these same streets does not deter cruisers from booking those excursions. Others pay far more than $140 for an excursion to a nearby beach. Those folks could simply come into town, plop down in a beach chair (often free if one buys drinks and lunch), but they prefer to pay the big bucks to go to a beach. It is even crazier in Europe and Asia where excursions are even more expensive. The very sad truth is that when local businesses see cruisers, they know it is often possible to charge higher prices (some here call it "gringo pricing:) because they know that many cruisers are naive about travel and the real cost of things. Local taxis will routinely charge cruisers double the normal charge and will even get tipped for their trouble :). There are many times when I must say to a taxi driver "we are not cruisers and live here" to get something close to the correct price. Cruisers can certainly save a lot of money by simply doing pre-trip homework and doing their own thing (and in some cases hiring a local guide). But many choose the simplicity of paying too much for what they perceive as the safety and expertise of excursions. That is their free choice and O (as well as the other cruise lines) are happy to oblige. My goodness, just consider that a taxi from the Port of Miami to MIA is around $30 (for the entire taxi) and that taxi will drop you at the proper terminal door for your flight. And yet cruisers will happily pay O (and other cruise lines) a lot more money for the joy of cooling their heels waiting for their bus to load (and be loaded) and not complain when they are dropped half a mile from their airline counter! Now, I assume that folks may be able to use part of their Simply More credit to pay for that transfer 🙂

When we travel from the USA to Europe, our Passports are normally stamped at our first port of entry. If that place is NOT a Schengen country, our Passports are normally stamped at our first "Schengen" port of entry be it on a ship or at an airport. That being said, 3 years ago we had problems because our Passports were never stamped (by anyone) despite having been in multiple European countries (including Spain and Monoco). For some weird reason, it was never done. We debarked our Seabourn cruise at Monte Carlo where there were no authorities and simply walked down the gangway onto the pier where we were met by our car/driver. We drove to Nice (so crossed the border into France) where we spend a few days. We than flew from Nice to Amsterdam where we changed to a flight which took us to Prague. Again, nobody stamped our passports. Very strange. Three weeks later we flew from Prague to Munich where we were to catch our flight back to Newark. Germany, unlike most Schengen countries, always has passport control (even on domestic flights such as our flight from Amsterdam). The German official was very "unhappy" to not find any Schengen entry stamp. It took about 15 minutes of explaining (and showing all kinds of supporting documents including cruise ship ticket, airline boarding passes, hotel receipts, etc. until the German official finally let us go (he did put a Schengen entry stamp into our Passport). What made the experience so much "fun" was that his partner (who shared the same counter) was laughing and kept rolling his eyes (out of sight of his partner) as he watched the situation unfold. Our experience with Europe is that both Germany and the UK will carefully follow their own procedures (which are strict) while most of the Schengen countries (other then Germany) are hit/miss on how they handle entrees. As to those who want Passport stamps (some travelers have this desire) it is also hit/miss if an official will do it when they do not deem it necessary. My advice to any traveler is always print-out hard copies of documents (i.e. cruise tickets, airline reservations/boarding passes, etc) and have them with you (in a pocket or carry-on) just in case! Border/immigration officials have respect for real documents, and much less respect for what comes out of one's mouth. Hank

You booked a ship that will have about 3000 souls aboard, so avoiding crowds will not be simple. Being in Europe during the tourist season will also mean crowds everywhere (we sometimes think the entire world has returned to traveling). Your tour sounds like a good move although one might wonder whether your boat tour will drop you at the pier below Fira (in which case you will need to use the cable car or donkeys) or take you back to Athinios and load you on a bus to drive you over to Fira. That still leaves the question of how you get back to the ship. If you are simply dropped in Fira (this is pretty normal for many excursions) than you will need to find your own way down to the tender pier via the cable car or walking the many (and oft slippery) steps. It is only in recent years that some cruise ship excursions will actually bus folks back to the ferry port of Athinios where they can walk from bus to tender. That would be the ideal solution to your situation. I will also shout out a warning, that going to Oia during the tourist season means very crowded streets and shops. There is no escaping the masses on Santorini as the island has plenty of visitors (many of whom stay on Santorini) in addition to the cruise ship day visitors. DW and I have been visiting Santorini for over 30 years and still find the island delightful, despite the overtourism problem. Just keep in mind that hundreds of thousands of cruisers visit Santorini every year, and most find it a place that they wish to return to on another cruise or trip. Hank

All dribble :). Once you get things down to cost per person/day (and adjust for amenities) you can compare any cruise or cruise line. For example. we recently booked a long Seabourn cruise (around Japan and over to Alaksa ending in Vancouver) for about $250 per person/day. While that might sound expensive, or inexpensive (depending on your point of view) with Seabourn we get a suite (all their cabins are suites) with huge bathroom (containing double sink, tub and shower), and the line is all-inclusive (there is no tipping, no add-ons, no charges for alternative restaurants, no drink charges, etc) and unlimited caviar (I love caviar). One can still find Luxury Lines for under $300 per person/day if one shops around, chooses the right cruise, etc. If we were to compare O to Seabourn we would need to add in O's upgraded beverage package and gratuities and consider the cost of suite. We have an upcoming Silversea cruise (14 days in the Caribbean) which cost us less than $300/day on an all-inclusive (including excursions) all suite line. Even with cruise pricing moving up through the roof, there are still bargains to be found. On the other hand, one could cruise on Celebrity in one of their "Retreat" suites and pay over $600 per person day for their ship within a ship experience. But then you could compare to MSC's Yacht Club (which we consider the best value in all of cruising) for under $400 per person day which gets you a suite, butlers, all drinks, dedicated restaurants, and over the top service which equals or exceeds what we have had on the best luxury lines. Once you factor the cruise cost to dollars per person/day you are able to compare across all cruise lines, itineraries, ships, etc. So, for example your $175 per person day for O is in a normal balcony cabin (not a suite), does not include tips, does not include drinks (except at lunch/dinner) and is on a ship with a space ratio far below what is provided on luxury lines. (space ratio is simply the total tons divided by total passengers). The term "Sale" is not worth more than the 4 letters, it is what you will ultimately pay person/per day. And one might also consider that if flying round trip to Europe or Asia for a cruise, the choice of cruise line might save you several thousand dollars on Business Class air (less on coach). Regarding O cancelling excursions (and folks losing money because they cannot find a way to use their Simply More Excursion Credit), this is likely to be a big future problem for O. We have already seen this with HAL, who has an option (called HIA or Have it All) that includes an excursion credit. When HAL cancels an excursion (especially if it happens late in a cruise) the cruiser may find themselves unable to possibly spend that credit (and there is no refund). On the other hand, there are cruise lines like Regent, Silversea, and Viking that include free excursions in their cruise fare! If the line cancels a port (which happens) the cruiser is not going to get anything back (other than basic port fees). Hank

There are no rental car agencies within walking distance of Red Hook. There is a downtown Brooklyn Enterprise location we have used, but this is not our preferred rental car agency. We have used (several times) Budget and dropped at their Marriott Brooklyn Bridge location (inside the hotel's parking garage) and there is also a Hertz location on Atlantic Ave. Our norm is to use Uber to get to or from the rental car. Hank

We will leave the devil of "Sales" to folks who even pay attention to such promotional dribble. When we book a cruise (which we do many times a year) we simply look at the offer that is before us (comparing 3 different favorite high volume excellent cruise agencies), make a decision, and book! We could care less if there is a Sale of the Century, Sale of the Day, etc. Since we cruise many different lines we look at pricing using the simple technique of cost per person/day adjusting for various amenities (such as drink packages). Since we cruise with so many different lines, we find the word "Sale" meaningless, We get tons of snail and e-mail with sale info and that all goes in the trash! When it came to dealing with "O" for this first booking, we took some queues from Flatbush Flyer (who has been around the O world for some time) in using the proper type of cruise agency and looking for a deal that included pre-paid gratuities. Just so you are satisfied we are talking about 35 days on the Vista at the end of March. We do not even try to compare our bookings to another person's as this would drive me nutz and be meaningless. What matters if what we are paying, do we consider it good value, and how does it compare to other cruise line options (that we might consider around the same time frame). I will also note that one of our big objections to O (which has kept us away from this cruise line) is not only the "R" ships (we first cruised them when they were owned by Renaissance) but O's horrendous deals for international business class air fares. Many other lines offer some amazing First/Biz class fares that can save thousands of dollars over booking air direct with airlines (we do not like dealing with so-called air consolidators). Since we now live in a world where a couple can easily spend over $10,000 on a couple of Business Class tickets, air always enters into our equation. Hank

LOL, Life is indeed good when you are looking at Silversea and Seabourn :).

You are completely wrong. We are O virgins (our first O cruise) and booked a basic low category balcony cabin (not even a concierge but simply a B2). When Simplymore was implemented, we were able to get $1300 per person ($2600 total) of shore excursion credits along with pre-paid grats and a nice OBC (the latter stuff comes from using a decent high volume cruise agency). Our cruise is a basic back to back to back (3 segment) which also gets us 12 dining reservations (3 in each of the 4 venues). As we reported in another post, we had no problem booking 12 dining reservations (45 days prior to embarkation). As to the pricing on Os excursions, having literally spent years on cruise ships (with 16 different lines) we have a pretty good idea of the cost/value of excursions. Yes, O's pricing is somewhat high, but in the ball park of other lines such as HAL and Seabourn. If given the option of not getting that shore excursion credit and having that same amount taken off the cruise price we would not want to shore excursion credit. But in our particular case, the shore excursion credit made a lot of sense. We will hold our noses, put up with the excursions, and likely have a lot of fun :). This simply goes along with our basic philosophy of making the best of the situation and rolling with the waves. If one wants to keep whining about O's Simply More program the answer is very simple, "book another cruise line!" One reason we currently consider Seabourn our favorite line is that they do not play any of these shore excursion games. Seabourn offers no shore excursion credit and generally no free excursions which is a policy we prefer. On the other hand, when we cruise on Silversea we do accept their "included" excursions although we would prefer lower prices without the excursions. But travel (whether it is on a cruise or land) involves compromises. That is simply life. Those who have read my posts, since the beginning of CC, might be aware that I am not reticent when it comes to tossing out complements or criticism on any cruise or cruise line! I tell it the way I see it and if folks are unhappy they are welcome to ignore my posts, or disagree/flame (but do not get personal). Folks are going to disagree on many things (such as we love Paris and enjoy the French) and that is just part of free choice and free thinking. Hank

We have run into something similar when cruising, recently, on HAL. That line has declined, in a big way, from what it used to be in past decades. Although we have over 550 days on HAL, our reaction has been to simply not book anymore future cruises with that line and simply move on to other options. But many of our HAL cruising friends are "loyal" (to use their words) to their favorite line and in some ways turn the other cheek and accept whatever the line does. They say things like "all cruise lines have declined or cut-back" but, of course, most of these folks have not even tried those other lines. DW and I have never quite understood this "loyalty" attitude towards cruise lines (and travel in general) and we simply accept that the world is always changing, and we are always willing to look at other options. I sometimes tease that DW and I are trying for the Guinness Book for the cruisers who have been on the most cruise lines (#17 and #18 coming up this year). I am serious when I say that our loyalty to cruise lines and cruise agencies is only as good as the last cruise or deal. We recently came off a ship that had the best food we have ever enjoyed on any cruise, and this happened on a brand new cruise line (Explora Journeys). Their goal was to completely rewrite the book on cruise line cuisine and, for the most part, they have succeeded. But I am sure there are many "O" fans that will insist that O has the best cuisine at sea...having not experienced what the competition offers in recent years. When our O friends would keep insisting that O is a "Premium Line" we would always answer with "there is nothing premium about the cabins/bathrooms on the old "R" ships. Even Carnival has nicer cabins on most of their ships. Perhaps that has changed with the newer O ships and we look forward to finding out on our upcoming Vista cruise. We do have concerns about O (and the Vista) but will soon find whether the concerns (based on what we have seen posted here and on Facebook) are justified. Last night we were finally able to access the dining reservation pages for our upcoming Vista cruise and we easily made our 12 allowable reservations. We have read about others having problems, but our own experience was quite good. About half our reservations were made at 2-tops (usually at 8pm) and where we could not get good times (or dates) we simply used the option to dine with others (we enjoy dining and meeting other folks) and immediately found lots of good options. Some tell us (here on CC) that their reservations are not always honored, so we will simply print-out hard copies of the reservations page and our confirmation e-mails from O. The whiners who complain that they cannot get their desired 2-top at their desired time/day fail to understand that this is an issue in any reservation required venue....even on the Luxury Lines. I should add that having spent over 1500 days on cruise ships, our most fun evenings have been at shared tables. Cruises used to be about socialization (we started cruising in the 70s when large shared tables were the norm) but something has changed about cruisers that so many prefer 2-tops and not taking advantage of the socialization that often results from shared tables. One theory is that so many folks only know how to socialize by texting on a phone and have lost the ability to enjoy interacting with strangers. Who knows. We recently noticed a post on HAL where one cruiser was asking how they could book a table for 1! Tis sad. Hank

Sounds a bit defensive. New Builds are huge capital expenditures and the ultimate decision rests with the CEO of Carnival Cruise Corp and their board of directors. Like most business-orented folks who have a "fiduciary" responsibility to stockholders, the board ulitmately puts their dollars and future investments where they expect to get the best return on investment. One can conclude, that at the current time, the board does not think that HAL can justify (financially) a new build. When we look at the overall cruise industry (we cruise on many different lines) it does seem that HAL has now been positioned as a budget mass market line with a primary appeal to a small segment of the cruising public (older folks looking for good value without much interest in entertainment, activities, or onboard "bells and whistles." Perhaps that will change in the future, but our recent cruise (Westerdam) showed us that HAL has little to offer (when compared to the other lines we cruise) other than decent itineraries and some decent pricing. In many cases we see other lines constantly adding things while HAL continues to take things away (i.e. cost cutting). There is a reason why we find many past HAL cruisers on lines like Oceania, Seabourn, etc. Many of us are simply looking for something closer to the quality and entertainment we USED to find on HAL. At one time we saw HAL as the "class act" and quality leader among all the mass market lines (Celebrity was close). These days we just see HAL as a tired old company with an emphasis on penny pinching. One has only to look at HAL's recently failed policy of charging extra money for folks who simply wanted to order soup and a salad in the PG! or having a basic drink package which had a $1.18 extra fee for folks ordering a basic Cosmopolitan. Small things, but symbolic of a penny pinching (nickel and dime) philosophy. Hank

We cruise many lines, and quite a few will duplicate many of their dinner items, served in the MDR, with similar items at their Lido. So what? They are simply giving passengers more options on where they choose to dine. Princess Cruises has a venue on their ship called the International Cafe which is essentially a 24/7 bakery, snack, coffee drink venue. At breakfast, a majority of what they have at the IC (i.e. donuts, pastries, etc) are also available in the ship's expansive Lido Buffet (and some items are also available at the MDR breakfast). I guess Princess could close their very popular IC (which is on all their ships) and simply say, "you can get most of the same in the LIdo." But the reality is that many folks (including moi) do not want to go to the buffet for breakfast and simply prefer the more laid back venue. Why should O be any different? Hank