JeffElizabeth

On 6/29/2022 at 6:22 AM, Let Me Travel! said:

I’m sad because we will be in Edinburgh in August, during the Tattoo…leaving the port at 5:00PM…boohoo…would have loved to stay late in the evening for the Tattoo…has anyone ever been? I hear it is spectacular!

Horrible planning!

This will never happen, but we would love to sail on the Kiel Canal again. We did it years ago on the Prinsendam.  The German people had BBQ 's and waved as we passed by. 

Ironic that Norway is all concerned about fossil fuel pollution when they are one of the biggest oil and gas exporters in Europe.  

49 minutes ago, PACD_JG said:

That pretty much sums up the majority of long-time posters in this forum.  And to tie that into the subject of this thread...because they feel entitled to it.

We are willing to pay for the small ship experience so we are booking fewer cruises with Holland.  We still really miss the Prinsendam. We tried the big 2500 man ship to Hawaii last year and didn't enjoy it as much. 

Understand how Norway feels. We were at a small port on the Prinsendam, about 800 passengers and at noon, a MSC ship of 5,000 shows up. They engulfed the small community of 1,000 souls.  We do try to walk the small towns on our own and dine at their restaurants. Enjoy talking with the natives at the non-tourist restaurants.  

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

You are in error in your second statement.  There are lots of 4 & 5* Mariners who sail other cruise lines and no longer consider HAL as their primary line and others who have left altogether.  That’s a fact.  I know a number of them & of others.  Please don’t generalize and paint everyone with the same brush.

 

 

 

I am down on HAL right now after a bad cruise to Hawaii in October,  but since we are 4 ****,  my wife will continue to cruise with them. 

On 1/23/2023 at 9:48 AM, sofietucker said:

I came here to say just that. We choose our cruises based on itinerary, because we want to visit those places.

Exactly! I had four ports canceled by Oceania on our last 28 day cruise. Bermuda, Azores, Madiera, and Marseille. They blamed it on bad weather but I really wanted to see Marseille.  Seen the other ports plenty of times. Did add up to a very long time at sea in the Atlantic.  

23 hours ago, shepherd really said:

The boat was half full, so your experience is nothing like the current situation where ships are sailing at or near full capacity while corners are being cut by the debt laden cruise lines.

Funny thing, on Princess,  the boat was half empty, but they closed three restaurants for the entire two week cruise. And the food was cheap, lots of pasta choices.

On 1/8/2023 at 2:51 PM, LHT28 said:

Changes are happening  on Oceania  as well

What Oceania  will look like in a few months may be different that the O we all know & loved  in the past

 

I for one will not pay premium prices  for shorter port times , inferior food  etc

 

 

YMMV

We had a delightful cruise on Marina in March and April and it was awesome! Great food, boat was half full, long voyage from Miami to Trieste/Venice. Then we took a Princess cruise in September and a Holland cruise in October.  Night and day! Closed restaurants,  small portion sizes, boring food, and excursions were very limited. Hope Oceania doesn't go this way. 

Gala nights usually are scheduled on Sea Days so people don't have to rush home and change after excursions.  

We recently had cruises in both the British Isles and Hawaii with Princess and Holland America respectively and they were unable to add excursions because they couldn't find enough guides and drivers at ports. So this isn't only a Viking problem.  Book early. 

3 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

What I am about to say comes from my experience I just had.  I will make this comment but might suggest the moderator moves this stream to the NCL CruiseCritic blog.  

 

I was just on the NCL Breakaway last week.  It was completely full.  They needed more staff at ever bar and restaurant.  I personally do the Pre-Paid Gratuities on my cruises.  I did it on NCL and have done it on my reservation for Oceania.  Based on the service I receive, I tip more during and at the end of the week.  My money, my choice and my pleasure.  

 

What I notice from this last cruise was NCL really cutting back not only on staff; the quality of the food was off in certain places.  The inventory of spirits and wines seem to be lacking especially the better brands.  The cost from everything went up and I do mean everything.  

 

All that being said.  Every cruise brand lost lost of money during the pandemic.  At first, with the ships 50% or less filled was the best cruises of my life on every level.  When that was reported and more folks started to cruise again, slowly things started to take a slight decline.  This is not based on a factual article just my personal experience and time I have spent on four cruise in the last 14 months. I think the cruise brands are attempting to make up some of the losses and these are just some of the approaches they are using.

 

Again, I do not work for NCL or any other brand.  This is just my opinion best on my most recent experience.  You know what they say about opinions. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

We were quite disappointed by the food serving size and choices on both Princess in September and Holland in October.  We had great service and food on Oceania in March and April.  Hopefully they kept up their standards through next year. 

26 minutes ago, ToxM said:

 

We had the Sunday Brunch on our Sirena TA. 

 

Christmas Day this year is a Sunday and we have a sea day on Riviera, I hope there is the brunch. 

Wow! That sounds awesome! I hope we get it on our next Oceania cruise. 

On 12/6/2022 at 4:36 AM, janecambridge said:

We were told that $7 per person from the top suites gratuities goes to the butler.

Had 2 butlers on OceaniaPenthouse one was brilliant, OC not so much.Extra tips accordingly.

Never had gratuities paid for us.Pay it ourselves and although we Brits have reputation of not tipping (another members opinion), we actually do.Very happy with the service all over the ships.

Good for you! I was in London in September and everyone looked shocked at my tips. (Maybe because I dress like a slob?) Or had the exchange rate wrong? 

We loved our butler Francis. He was fun and always available.  

On 12/7/2022 at 6:40 AM, Benita said:

All the cabins with the deeper balcony are concierge on Vista and B3 on the Marina/ Riviera. That would make it worth it to me. 

We loved the extra room, but didn't really use the butler enough. Even the butler asked us to use his services more often.

We had a bow room on the Marina, one below owner's level and loved all the space. Didn't have issues with seasickness even in a very windy March that had us canceling port stops in the Atlantic.  What we did not like was we had to blackout at night on the deck so we didn't disturb the navigation deck above us, and it was too windy while underway. 

I don't think we would book that room again. 

Barcelona is one of our favorite cities. We added five days to the last Atlantic cruise we took that ended there.  Might be a great place to start an Atlantic cruise too! 

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

At the rate of  the stock decline & where we are headed into 2023 with a good  chance of recession   we can wait  for a  better price 😇

Really? Do we have to worry about delisting? Or bankruptcy? Then they could comeback with a new IPO,  or go private with new investors. Then no more OBC. 

I like buying a few hundred shares for the OBC but only use risk capital.  I think it is a good long term investment.  

I love the Hawaiian cruise, get to start with sea days to relax, port days in the middle to see the sights and then sea days to relax on the way back. The weather isn't as hot as the Caribbean or Canal cruises. Or as busy as the Alaskan cruises.  

17 hours ago, liketraveling said:

We just got off the Zuiderdam and they delivered the tiles to the our room.

 

We got our tiles delivered to our room aboard the Nieuw Statendam in October on the Hawaiian cruise.

On 11/30/2022 at 12:15 PM, LHT28 said:

I would  give them all a try  then decide  what works for you

Everyone has their favourite 😉

 

 

 

 

Exactly! Jacques is wasted on us. We prefer the others.  

Actually got the Wall Street Journal.  Worked until we got into the Mediterranean because of the time change. 

On 12/1/2022 at 8:08 AM, davencl said:

Generally I don't care but my comment applies to not only CD but bartender, butler, concierge etc.   You get that one special engaging person and it's a delight to be in their company.   

Before our last Oceania Cruise, I never cared about cruise directors,  but Peter was awesome on our trip from Miami to Trieste. Really made the cruise because high winds canceled more than a few planned port stops.