Yesimapirate

You're correct but there's also another level in that pecking order. Having spent quite a bit of time working at a place known for it's hospitality to the point some people try to take advantage, it's quite obvious. And honestly, it's pretty much common sense. People who work in the service industry amd hospitality generally want to please their guests. It's good for their income and their careers. And cynically, it's also human nature. They don't want people yelling at them or complaining to their boss. The real world results are the nicer you are and easier you make their job, the more they going out of their way and do things in the gray area for you. People who yell tend to get the minimum. Instead of "this meal is inedible" things like "I was so excited for this meal and I know how busy and hard the staff was working tonight but the meal was a little disappointing compared to your normal amazing service ". Additionally, you're on a hotel floating in the middle of the sea. On some level, it's a miracle they can even exist. Pick your battles and don't complain to the staff about every tiny thing. That's what cruise critic is for. 😁

I'm assuming (and I realize it's a big assumption not based in fact) that it will be the same outsourced company running the bidding that NCL uses and will work similarly. In my experience with NCL bidding, it was often cheaper to just booked the cabin you were bidding on outright than to bid for it. Not to mention if you win the bid, you have no control of the cabin location.

You found an itinerary on a ship you like at a price you were happy with when you booked. You signed a contract and agree to the terms and price. Now, because the cruise wasn't selling well and they lowered prices, you're never going to sail with them again? Do you stop going to a grocery store because the milk you bought yesterday went on sale today? Will you no longer fly an airline because someone may have paid less than you did for their seat? If you prepay a hotel room months in advance and the last minute rate drops do you never go to that brand again? If the price had gone up, would you volunteer to pay more? Of course we all want to pay as little as possible. And yes, I'd absolutely ask for the lower rate, onboard credit or some compensation. But I'd also understand that it's not required and is simply a nice gesture. How can you be so over the top upset when O is abiding by their contract? This constant over the top hyperbole that a cruiseline needs to break their contract to accommodate an individual guests AND a guest will go nuts if the cruiseline isn't entirely within their contract has got to stop. If you don't want to give a business money in the future for doing EXACTLY what they promised to do in writing, that's your choice. But you'll also quickly run out of options.

I actually disagree with your logic. But it's all semantics and just some time wasting 😁. I wonder how many people this would actually affect? I read it as SM is done for all cruises book on or after October 1st. The new program will be for cruises booked on or after Oct 1st AND taken after January 1st. The 2 conditions are for the prepaid gratuities, not for SM. Cruises booked after Oct 1st but taken in 2024 would get nothing but cruise fare and miss out on both SM and included gratuities. The great thing is we can all agree O needs to write better press releases. And I also apologize because this post wasn't worth the time you spent to read it 😜

Maybe you'll have better luck in December since it'll be local. 😆

Just for giggles I looked it up on Total Wines site. It's roughly a $45 retail bottle and gets a rating of 90 and 4.5 stars. Better than I expected to be honest.

It's pretty easy to tell the difference. It says so right on the label😁

"Fair" is a moving target that depends on your perception. Whether it's dining reservations, taxes, who gets the last slice of pizza or just about anything, those that benefit from the rules generally think it's fair. Those that don't often want it changed to something that benefits them more. Like most things, if there's a change then some people will be happy and some will vow to never sail O again. I think the best method is to learn the rules and options and put them to use for your personal situation. There's some great advice in this thread that can help.

Correct. Which is why I think they're silly. But again, others are welcome to disagree. My wife seems to like them.

I don't want to hijack this thread but I've never understood the idea of a charger. They wash the tablecloth daily anyway. Is it just a target so the waiter knows where to put the plate? Why have something there just to take it away basically unused. However, it appears that people like it so maybe I just have an odd perspective. Thank you guys for posts, information and especially the menus. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

Are you sure you aren't at McDonald's?😁 Hope they repair it soon so you don't miss out. There are no calories on vacation!

I realize my takes on posts like this aren't very popular but I think it's quite a stretch to say the ship is responsible for an illness. No one on the ship decide what and how much water/Gatorade/whatever electrolyte replacements the OP took on shore or how much and when they drank. No one made them stand in the sun. No one prevented taking a cooling towel/umbrella or anything else. No one said they can't get out of line and relax somewhere in the shade or air conditioning and get back in line later. No one prevented them from going to the tent and telling the crew they weren't feeling well and need to get out of line. I don't disagree that the service was poor and I'd probably be annoyed as well. Im certainly not a cheerleader or attacking the OPA. Poor service doesn't make them responsible for heat exhaustion. Like many complaint threads, I think there's often some expectations that are a little unrealistic and then leads to disappointment. The OP has one perspective. O staff have another. The reality probably lies somewhere in between. Without knowing the specific staffing, operational procedures, and the exact current circumstances, there is absolutely no way someone can just expect more tenders to suddenly appear. To the OP, I'm sorry you didn't feel well and truly wish you a speedy recovery. I'd also suggest tempering your expectations for immediate service recovery to avoid being so disappointed. I hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise.

If the milk is as old as this thread it's anything but fresh!

@ORV is currently on the ship and has reported less than spectacular speeds currently.

I think you could make a good argument that the new policy is O listening to the complaints they had for the last year while also addressing their corporate needs to increase revenue.

Just curious if people would be more or less upset if they kept SM but raised the prices by $100pp/day. At the end of the day, you can still have wine, excursions or anything else you'd like. And at the end of the day, costs have risen, be it from inflation, mismanagement, buying new ships before paying down the debt, higher interest rates or whatever. I don't personally know of any cruise line that has been dropping prices or keeping prices the same and adding additional perks. Is the anger because the "loyalty program" doesn't give you as much as it used to or because there will be a higher total cost? If you shop around and the other potential cruise lines are priced higher are you still going to book O? I'm certainly not defending O. Their press releases are pretty tone deaf and customer service doesn't seem to rise to the level of what they promise. But I also think some of the hyperbole is over the top. The fact is the average price for a cruise on ANY line is more than it was in 2019, 2022, etc. And it's not going to drop as long as the ships are full, especially when food and employment costs have sky rocketed. You aren't going to see lower prices or more perks until the economy worsens or available ship cabins outgrow the available cruise passengers. That hasn't changed for the 12 pages of this thread or the other 2 threads.

Grass is always greener. What happens when your next line raises prices or makes a change? Seeing as they ALL do it, you'll quickly run out of options. Book the line, ship, itinerary that fits your one particular trip. Seems silly to only book one line. It's ok if the line that's right for you changes for every vacation. It's also OK to actually see what the prices and true changes are before declaring you're done with O.

I believe @Orv is currently on the ship and posting. Also, apparently I don't know how to tag people in here 🙂

I sorta get a kick at how upset people were when they started SM. And now people are upset when it disappears. I guess the only constant is that no matter what you do, people will be unhappy. It should be pretty obvious, as long as O (or any travel related business) has high occupancy, prices will increase and benefits will decrease. When bookings drop, prices will level off and benefits with increase. There are multiple reports of "travel fatigue" in the financial news so maybe this is a way to lower to perceived cost without lowering revenue? It's a bit silly to be upset by speculation. Wait until there are details available and then make the choice as to whether it fits your style of vacation.

I believe the consensus is it only affects even and odd number cabins.😜

The original was was actually specific to the Vista. As this is a known construction issues, the answer is a completely different beast. It certainly doesn't make rhe neighbors "uncivilized" It appears the OP hasn't even started his sailing (I could be wrong) and he's worried about uncivilized neighbors and wants to blame other guests for an Oceania issue and ignore the advice on how to mitigate the issue. Maybe if the OP is so concerned the Vista is not the ship for them. Far too expensive of a trip to have to worry and be upset.

While everyone understands you're upset, there's no one who can answer your demand for more information and asking repeatedly does nothing to make your trip more enjoyable. For your own comfort and enjoyment, move on and enjoy what's remaining of what sounds like a fantastic trip. Conversely, drink some Speyside single malt until you forget it happened.

You bring ear plugs and enjoy your cruise. The issue is the ship, not your neighbors. You clearly knew this before booking.

Bit of a stretch to say a 737-Max is the same thing as an original 737. I guess the electric Ford Mustang of today is the same thing as the rag top version of the 60s. They have the same name after all 🙄

Must be cost cutting.