Jim_Iain

We each enjoy a cruise in a different way. I would take RS on Eclipse any day over a Sunset on Apex.

Look forward to hear your comparison.

I often use Tours-by-Locals, Expedia under "Things to do" and Viatour. Never had a problem getting back to the ship on time. The tours know their reputation and survival depend on never missing a ship. I also purposefully book tours with plenty of time to get back to the ship. Another good source is to join your Roll Call. Other guests setup private tours and seek others to fill the tour.

Agree with others. I had heard you couldn't but asked anyway a couple years ago and they confirmed that it could not be used for the deposit on a future cruise.

I had the same situation once traveling as a Zenith in Aqua. The agent first said you have to be in a Suite..... I pointed to the Big Sign that said Suites and Zenith... she looked embarrassed and apologized. Like @cruisestitch indicated many of the contractors aren't fully trained. One time I was returning to a cruise an a Port Guard asked me "What is a Zenith - I've never seen one of those cards before". I joked with him and said it means I'm an important person... LOL... and explained what Zenith was.

Today's event may have cruise lines taking a second look of sailing there in the near future.

I agree with you.... Since I'm not a drinker I enjoy being out an about in the evening and being sociable.

When I looked yesterday they have 3 ships (Yachts) that have between 64-100 Passengers, about the same size as Ponant fleet. They have destinations of Med&Adriatic Sea, Caribbean, Red Sea and Seychelles & Indian Ocean. I'm guess Red Sea has been pulled.

Got an E-Mail today from Celebrity for Exciting Deals. It has some really interesting last minute deals that could really be attractive. One thing I did note as oppose to past was now that Tips are no longer included with Suites ---or other all perks deal ---- Gratuities in a Suite for an 11 day cruise were approx $500 per room. If anyone is looking for a cruise might take a look at the Exciting deals

I guess we all have our preferences and ways of enjoying our cruise. Even though we get 6 bottles of Liquor or Beer in our Vista Suite, I'm sure my husband will still pay the extra for a premium drink package so he have a drink in the various lounges instead of running back to the room for a drink. Having not sailed Oceania before, I'm holding off buy in advance and see if we just decided to spend most of our time in our suite.

That is really good to hear, should be less of a problem. I can't drink for medical reasons and all lines I've sailed make exception for Medical or those in Recovery.

Officially they would have to charge the high VAT. In reality most cruise lines hold the charge until the ship is outside territorial waters to run the charge. The exception to this is if there are no NON-EC ports on the cruise then VAT is charged on all purchases. I've seen this happen on a non Oceania Cruise. We were on a B2B and even the crew were making sure to purchase things they needed including internet minutes before the one with no Non-EC ports.

I guess if OP is hungry and can't find what they want on the ship will have to make that determination. Maybe I'm a faster walker but I walk a 18 minute mile on my daily 10 mile walk every day. Usually complete it in in 3 1/2 hours including my 1/2 hour Starbucks stop. Iain doesn't walk with me but he wears me out and usually walk about a 15 minute mile.

I will have to take a look. To be honest I had never heard of them. Their ships remind me of Ponant. Will have to explore them more.

I'm not a big fan of Labade. The last couple times we had stops there we just decided to stay aboard. We aren't into laying on a beach, water parks and slides nor anything else they have ashore. Just my humble opinion.

Thanks---I have always appreciated your perspective. Not too worried about the forward facing cabins and the wind. We rarely go out on our deck while at sea ---- except to possibly take a quick sunset picture. I think I could find enough to do in the Owner's Suite to keep me happy. Now Iain with 8 Bottles of Liquor or Wine may not even be able to walk. I know many would not find this amenity of interest but Vista has an indoor smoking lounge which is walled off with a door from other area. I think that is how I sold the Vista to him. I won't be going in but he can smoke in peace out of the weather.

I truly don't know yet and as I say each of can find comparison even on the same cruise line between itineraries. An example would be that when I booked the 3rd leg of the world cruise Singapore to Sydney I paid $25,000+ for a CS. After final payment the dropped the price to about $17,000. I would have to say that left a sour spot with me. Luckily for me they also dropped the RS by about $10,000 and I was able to upgrade for $350 - Made me feel better but with the new 10% deposit for a suite and the elimination of refund of deposit on Future Booking Credits -- I have totally shifted booking cruises 2+ years in advance. Value is what each of us is different. Would be interesting o see what Oceania when you booked your Equinox cruise. Also the value of US$ 3,000 vs CD$4,000 would be different to me than to you. I truly don't believe Oceania strives to compete on the lowest level cabins but they also do offer great opportunities of these cabins for Singles not having to pay 2x-3x premium.

No Retreat Embarkation Lounge in either Amsterdam or Rotterdam or Southampton.

Which Ship --- and what time does the ship depart The OVC has dinner until 9:30 PM and then shifts to Snacks until 10:00. After that they shift to Late Night between 10-1AM. The snack area is limited and after 10:00 mostly Pizza and a couple other items. I would check out the selection at the late hours foods and if not acceptable Either grab dinner ashore before the ship departs at midnight (I believe that is when they depart Victoria on Edge). Or Order Room Service... Sometime the adage of "Beggar's cant be choosers" rings true.

Visa on arrival is designed for arrival by air. When we were on Edge out of Singapore it was required as part of boarding. Some were hung up for hours trying to do it in the terminal. What specifically are you trying to convert to JPEG? There are hundreds of free converts are the internet. Just google on convert whatever format you have to JPG Free and you will pop up a list. Most of the time all you have to do is select Save and from the pull down select JPG. I used one myself to resize my photo to meet the restriction https://imageresizer.com/ At the bottom you can select file format JPG.

Quick answer. You don't need to do it in advance and they will ask you the same questions during checkin even if you already did it online... In my opinion ... why bother. The only thing that will help you is to grab a checking time. Everything else can be completed at the actual checkin at the pier.

It is totally automatic. You create an account just like before using your portfolio number, User Name and Pin. Then on the Selection you will See you premium account and just click it. After that any time you logon you will be connected to the Premium. Technically it is all done behind the scene and those with Classic connect to the same routers but their accounts are throttled.

I know we all enjoy different things on a cruise but the thing you list are a plus to us. I can't remember a show we went to in the last 10 years. In the evening we are very late diners and usually after closing down Luminae we enjoy a nice quiet drink while listening to nice gentle music either String or Piano. Our days of staying up to disco the night away to mind numbing base have quietly slipped away. Ugh.... I don't feel as old as I'm painting myself.

That is the most common compliment I hear on the Oceania board. Those I have talked to seem to welcome us instantly and not he pretense I often read on Cunard and Silversea. I really hope it meets our expectations. Hopefully my next cruise on Celebrity Solstice in a month will make me more comfortable again with Celebrity.

I'm really interested on how many define Oceania - They do not consider themself a Luxury Line but in between Celebrity and a Premium Line. In the past the food has been a huge upside but recently like many of the forums I hear dissatisfaction from their long time cruisers on how cut backs and quality have deteriorated. Maybe when we began cruising on Celebrity we were enjoying the - second Golden Age of Cruising and may never see the return of previous standards. Happy that we got to experience it.