Harters

And my reply to your post has also been deleted. Most odd.

Can it really be possible that discussing the drinks that go with food (or don't go) is somehow inappropriate on a "cruise foodies" forum. Most odd if so. 

5 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

I do think that many/most of the female passengers on board are mothers!

It may be different in the States but, in the UK, Mothers Day would usually be an occasion where the children do "something" for their mother. Not an occasion where Mum celebrates her day on her own (or just with partner). Hence my question about folk travelling with their parent. 

Back in the distant past when my parents were alive, Mothering Sunday was a religious event. In more recent times, it has morphed into the American Mothers Day. 

2 hours ago, Vallesan said:

So my guess, and it is only a guess, is probably not! 

Although with Americans being such a high percentage of the total, it's possible.  I doubt whether O is programmed to deal with other nationalities "important dates" and we'd just have to fend for ourselves. 

Bearing in mind the generally elderly make-up of O's guests, I wonder how many are travelling with their mothers. 

Leaving something on the chair and having a drink on the table is the way to go. We're a couple wanting to have the meal together - which means we'll stake our claim to the table that way, so we can both go and get food at the same time. 

It's not a guarantee of course. On our recent cruise, we came back to our table in the Terrace, to find it had been cleared and reset. And, on another occasion, the person on the adjacent table said they'd prevented the same happening to our table while we'd been away. Diligent staff, eh? Better that than the alternative. 

2 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

No rule bending

Needless to say, I entirely respect the forum's rules, however much I might disagree with them. Thankfully, CC's parent company (Tripadvisor) takes a different view with its own directly run forums. 

6 minutes ago, 4380 said:

Celebrity 

But it was a travel agent that caused the problem 

It's probably me being a bit thick but I'm confused. If you were dealing direct with Celebrity through their Chat, how does an agent come into it? Or was it an agent you were dealing with?

If the latter, then it's one of those occasions where it would be handy to name the agent so folk can be warned that they may be less than reputable (only refunding because they know you have a copy of the chat). I know we cannot usually name travel agents but perhaps this is an occasion where someone like Host Hattie may be able to let us bend the rules?

1 hour ago, Redtravel said:

Those were the good old days. 

Well, yes. And no.

Our first cruise was also 1988 (P & O's Canberra). We did a couple more with P & O but became disenchanted with the dress code formality. And the "sittings" for meals. The final straw was being allocated first sitting - to our mind that was still the afternoon, not dinner time. After that, we didnt cruise again for decades (apart from a not very successful week on the short-lived Island Escape) until we discovered O in 2017. 

7 hours ago, 2BACRUISER said:

think you've ben ripped

The OP hasnt mentioned if the contact is direct with a cruise line or a travel agent. If the former, then it's not going to be a scam. If the latter, then it may well be. 

Contacting the credit card company to reverse the payment is a good first step. If it's a scam then they should be able to sort it out. If it's not a scam, then it may well be much trickier - "caveat emptor" will apply - it is the responsibility of the buyer to understand what they are buying. And, in this, the OP has probably already entered into a contract - an offer has been made and that's been accepted by the payment of the deposit.  Might also be worth making contact with ABTA, assuming it is a travel agent and they are members. 

31 minutes ago, LSuzQ said:

how is it that you are seated in your preferred waiter’s section in the GDR?

Good question. During our several meals in the GDR (and previous cruises) we were seated all over the room - maybe the same section only twice. 

48 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

Surely at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter if a dish is ‘authentic’ as long as the ‘consumer’ enjoy it!

Absolutely, V. 

Unless of course if you're trying to pass off your version as "traditional". 

6 hours ago, Mareblu said:

Cream is rarely, if ever, used in genuine Italian cuisine

I play on a food forum. I'm sure there's been discussion there (and its now closed predecessor) that the addition of cream to carbonara (and Alfredo ?) sauce is an American twist on the Italian original. 

I hesitated to mention Alfredo, as it's not a sauce you really come across in Italian restaurants in the UK - so my only experience of it is at an Olive Garden in the States. I remember I quite liked it. 

12 hours ago, fdnycruiser said:

We got off in Rome,and it feels like a lifetime ago.

Doesn't it just.

14 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

What is the difference between American Fast Food and that of other countries .?

In  the UK, almost all "fast food" outlets would be American in origin or based on original American companies. It's a description that you really only here mentioned in connection with the likes of American burger chains. 

Even though our own fish & chips shops are selling fast food, they aren't usually described as "fast food". 

A licensed taxi is going to be very expensive. It's a journey of over 92 miles (148 km).

Assuming Anglesey's taxi fares are similar to those in my borough (£1.61 per km), you'd be looking at a fare of around £220 each way. 

9 minutes ago, Mareblu said:

one HS ice cream aboard named “Elvis the Fat Years”

I think that's peanut butter and jelly flavour. Certainly I remember seeing it and thinking "nah, I'll pass on that" (I'm not a fan of peanut butter, except in something savoury like a satay sauce).

31 minutes ago, Hambagahle said:

Is it really good?  Or just ice cream? 

Before Oceania, I'd not heard of it. But then there's probably any number of American ice creams I've not heard of. 

They have some weird flavours. Some of which I found to be OK (but no better than OK) and a couple just not very nice. They're not something I'd go out of my  way for. 

1 hour ago, Vallesan said:

it does beg  the question “Are the included tours really a ‘perk’ or just a hidden price increase?”

Arguably, they are both. On the one hand, it's a response to market demand for more inclusive offers (see also the newly  included gratuities for UK customers). On the other, Oceania isnt going to do anything that they don't think will improve profits. 

One thing's for sure - it is what it is. We either continue to buy the product as it stands or we go elsewhere for holidays. It's no biggie either way. 

On 4/28/2024 at 9:22 AM, Lee Jones Jnr said:

The current level of bloggers on ships has not reached the point where it has bothered me as I have never even seen one let alone the hoards that some on here seem to have been hounded by.

I agree. But then, I cruise with Oceania and I suspect that the generally elderly customer base doesnt attract vloggers. 

If a cruise line did decide to introduce a rule banning commercial filming, I envisage it would be all but impossible to enforce. Just look at the inability of lines to enforce a "no sunbed bagging"

1 hour ago, Hambagahle said:

the "Butlin's Holiday Camp" type jokes and stories AND the accent that goes along with them.

Me too. Although they would be very 1980s. I'm not sure what the accent might be.  Although British accents can be very regionalised. On trips to the States, I have been asked several times if I'm from New Zealand. And, no, my accent is local to Manchester (where I've lived all my life) and is nothing like a Kiwi's.  

To keep this firmly on an Oceania theme, I didnt realise until the other week why Humphry Slocombe ice cream is so called. According to the website, the owners loved British 1970s/80 sitcom "Are you being served" and took the names of two characters - Mr Humphries and Mrs Slocombe. Show was very much in the tradition of British theatrical farce and an earlier generation of music hall comedy - with catchphrases, parodies of the class system, innuendo, double entendre, etc. It was very popular in its day but would now seem very dated and inappropriate. 

I agree with ziggy - it's doable but tight. And made worse by the fact it's a Sunday when maintenance work on the tracks often takes place  and can slow things down. I'd also agree with ziggy's suggestion of Chester instead (or book an excursion taking in the North Wales scenery and its castles). 

10 hours ago, Mrs f. said:

I think there are 2 Peters. 

I think I mentioned much earlier on the thread that Vista's current CD is Peter Tredgett, a fellow Briton.

Worked hard, IMO. And quite funny - although I suspect the occasional joke flies over the heads of North American guests. 

19 hours ago, Techno123 said:

Dubrovnik is more lovely in the evening when all the cruise ship passengers have left

My partner would echo that. She had a long weekend there, with co-workers, some years ago. Loved the city generally. 

I am as sure as I can be that the name on O's reservation needs to match the passport name. I recall a lengthy discussion on a Tripadvisor forum relating to someone who had married fairly recently and had booked the holiday using their married surname but not updated their passport. 

I've visited the War Tunnels, albeit several years back, when we holidayed on the island for a week. The "occupation exhibits" are fascinating and I'd absolutely recommend a visit. 

I recall coastal bunkers but can't recall any details. 

I reckon one of the best ways of starting to get to know a country is through its food. So, if possible, we'll often try and eat in ports that are in areas new to us. Of course, research is essential to find the "right" place, serving the "right" food.

I'm looking forward to our Bay of Biscay cruise next year. We know France and Spain well but have never visited the western coast of the former or the northern coast of the latter. I'm hoping to find regional differences to what we know.