Sthrngary

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

Here is our itenerary!

@lisa6191 Let us approach this differently. You list your ports for me and if I have information about them, I will respond back. My approach was: 1) Ground Transportation from Airport to Hotel in Athens; 2) Hotel in Athens; 3) Each other port was time in and out, ground transportation from port to city central, Main Attractions and some food options. Again, give my your ports and I will give you what I have for those ports. My document is excess of 50 page which is to much to cut and past. On the video, it is private because I included reseration numbers and other personal information. Sorry. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@zipher36 Plus 1. I originally had my pre-cruise hotel with Oceania in Athens. I check out the hotel and its reviews. I realized they are on the Marriott Guest Point Program. I look at how much it would cost me $, it was about 1/2 and I had two rooms so my guest joining us benefit as well. I am Elite Status with Marriott, the rate had Nothing to do with my status. For that I get perks like upgrades, internet and breakfast. It is my personal opinions that cruise lines do cruises best. Airlines do air best. Hotels do hotels best. Deal directly with each of them (aside using a GREAT travel agent for the cruise.). Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@scottie920 Consider the Free at Sea PLUS program or the Premium PLUS Beverage Package. Read the fine print because it matters. Consider your options and your decision will be made for you. I always buy the PLUS beverage package. Just me, not everyone. I remember my family of four in the French Restaurant and we could have the Champagne by the glass on the program. I think my adult daughter and I finished a bottle and a half. After a while, the server simply brought the bottle over and put it in ice by our table. I think that is what happened, I can't remember much except the next morning. For another post. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@KBrote It was MY pleasure to provide even the smallest amount of joy and laughter to your visit with your spouse. For years, I thought I was the only one that felt the way I did when planning a detailed family vacation. I thought, I was the issue, problem and causing all the conflict in my family. Then I posted my real life experiences and BINGO, like with you and your spouse, I am NOT alone. It is nice not to be alone on the lonely Island of "Over Preparation" with only my laptop, excel spreadsheet and social media. Lets add some more crazy Preparation to our already long list. WHY, because it JUST HAPPENED. I upgraded my Stateroom with a "Guest Paid Upgrade". Long story what happened and not really the issue. The issue is, I had cruise travel insurance on the OLD amount. My travel agent was having a hard time updating the amount to be covered. So I said, "Never Mind". Just leave it. Last night, at 03:33 AM, I know this because for what every reason, I wake up at 03:33 AM every morning because I am OLD and YES have to use the rest room way to many times at night. People my age don't laugh at that, they live that. Young people laugh at that and I say, "Laugh now but you will be in my position soon enough". When I woke, all I could think about while taking care of "Business" was my Cruise Travel Insurance amount. I had to commit to myself I would fix it in the morning to "ALLOW" myself to go back to sleep. This morning I called the insurance company first thing and FIXED IT. After, a sense of calm and satisfaction came over my mind and body. My mind said, "Gary, you can let this go now. You have done your due diligence. HUMMMMMM, HUMMMMM (that was verbal meditation)." To be honest with everyone and myself. I am not sure if I like the actual cruise or the preparation for the cruise better. That is yet another discussion with my Phycologist (I know NO ONE is surprised "I" need help mentally). Yet another day in the life of a anal retentive cruise planner. What can I say. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Hlitner Very well written and thank you for taking the time. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

After years of learning as much about cruising as I can, I have come to a few conclusions. My opinion is going to seem cold and non-caring. It is not my intent. I feel for this family and the issues they had. No one wants these kinds of things to happen to them on a Dream Cruise. Yet, we as consumers must learn from this situation and understand we have to be our own advocate as well as take accountability for knowing all the rules/policies/procedures. Again, not trying to being cold here, just want all parties to take a level of accountability. Brand bashing is a thing now-a-days and Social Media seems to promote it. One last thing, I have NO skin in the game. No stock in any cruise brand. "Let the Buyer Beware": We ALL need to read the LONG and BORING cruise contract from "soups to nuts". I assure everyone, it protects the Cruise Line over the client. This is NOT an Oceania Cruises issue, it is EVERY SINGLE cruise brand I have traveled on. The cruise contract is scary. "Special Needs": We hire travel agents and think they can see ALL the potential issue that can happen on a cruise ship. Travel agents especially when they know a guest has a disability, should do their due diligence. Yet we as guest have a responsibility also. So does the cruise brand. All three parties are at fault here. "Porters Assistance": Hit or miss. Especially outside the United States. Should Oceania have had a porter available, YES. Is it their responsibility, debatable. Can't fix the past for these folks, but we can sure learn from the OP's experience in the future. "I Will Never Cruise This Brand Again": Fine, but we as guest have to take some level of accountability for situations like this. We knew our guest had mobility issues, we knew we would be in a place outside of our country. If we needed to have a wheel chair/scooter/walker, for short walks, we should have brought one. I see them all the time being checked by the airlines and provided when the guest gets off the flight. My mother used to do this on every flight with no issue. Should the cruise brand have allowed the use of one of theirs, maybe but I would put dollars to donuts it was a legal issue. Read the contract. Everything is a legal issue. "Social Media Complaints": My career before retirement was in teaching brands "Issue Resolution". How to handle when things happen that make our clients upset. What was missing was how to teach a client how to get their issue resolved. Complaining on Social Media scratches an itch but the issue is not addressed. Feels good to let out some steam and maybe get some sympathy. We all need to have folks support our positions, it is human nature. However, the issue can only be resolved by direct communication before, during and after the issue happened with the brand. Sympathy from social media does not fix the issue for others, nor does it resolve our less then satisfyingly experience. Again, I am NOT trying to be harsh here. I am only expressing the thought, lots of errors were made in this situation and all parties need to accept the blame so it can be fixed in the future. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@zipher36 I am no expert but is seems Oceania offers airfare as part of its fare. When you want to book your own air, their is an amount (In my case is was $1000) that your fare is reduced if you do your own airfare. In the past, before the "SimplyMore" program, you could do a Cruise ONLY, or not use their airfare. When not using their Airfare, for me I apply the money reduce my fare as the amount I had to make my own airfare. I hope I answered your question. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@victory2020 Your question was kind of simple, yet as you see from the response not always simple. First my humble opinion, as a new person to Oceania on my way to my first cruise. To go from an Inside Cabin to a Concierge Verandah is worth every single bit of the $300 per person. Book it immediately. Not to the real context of your question. The reality is once you leave your stateroom on Oceania, everyone is treated the same. There for the main advantage is a bigger stateroom and in this case a Verandah that for me and others makes the cruise. You have to judge if it is worth it to you. Now I am not sure when your cruise is going to happen, however if it is far enough out, you get a higher priority for booking your specialty restaurants. I consider that a true benefit on an Oceania Cruise. Here are some other things basest on some research I have done. I am also not sure which ship you are on. I like things other don't but here are my thoughts: You get Three Bags of Laundry (max 20 items each bag) with a 3-day turn-around time. You get Usually, four pressed items, if you send them out within three days of embarkment. You have a very nice concierge private lounge which is a quiet place, with coffee, drinks and snacks. It is usually fully staffed with a concierge. It also has a printer. You as other have said, have complementary access to the outside Spa. For me and others, just the Balcony is worth the upgrade. Now you do you but my heart says, "upgrade". Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

I don't know what an open jaw ticket unless it is booking the ticket with Multiple destinations. Here is my situation and is my only experience. I hope it is helpful to some. Oceania decreased their fare by $1,000.00 for my guests air ticket (total of $2,000) if I did my own airfare. I took that money and booked a Fully Refundable Delta Airline Ticket from Alabama to Athens, Greece. Returning from Barcelona, Spain to Alabama. The booking was done 330 days in advance because that was when Delta opened up the dates. I did this to get the best price. The ticket price was $1,150.00 per passenger round trip. We then purchased Cruise Trip Insurance which is important to know. I now did not need a Fully Refundable Fare so I rebooked it for $850.00 each. I used the savings to upgrade when it became available to First class on the domestic flights. I am NO EXPERT but If you book early enough, the price is VERY competitive, I choose my seats, and controlled my reservation throughout this process. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Cruzin Terri Absolutely. I used to plan every minute. Key word, "Used to". It never worked out. Now I plan what CAN be done, let the group choose what they want to do from the list. Leaves the day open and all I ask is give me a heads up so I can book our entry or train/bus online prior. The only items in my agenda that are in stone are: 1) The Airline flights; 2) the Pre/post Hotels; 3) the specialty restaurant reservations on Oceania; 4) the one cooking class on a sea day on Oceania; 5) The special restaurant in Athens the day before we embark; 6) The Best Steak Place in Florence, Italy with white beef for lunch. I know my list looks like I have every day, every moment booking. Quite the contrary. I just want choices, then let the group decide now or the day of. I don't want to say, "I regret I did not do that because I did not know about it." I would rather say, "I was to tired, so I passed. However it was my decision." Cruise well and enjoy every moment. PS: I am about to be in S.C. at the BMW plant for a "Driving School" on October 1, 2023. I love your state.

It seems I am being nominated of sorts, to be one of the "Enrichment Speakers" from CruiseCritic.com members on this topic stream. I am honored, really, honored but "NO" thank you. When I hold court, usually late night, in a bar (Always in a bar), after a few drinks, no one in my family will JOIN me. If seems, I have embarrassed them SO often, I am put into "time out" after a drink or two. Sometimes I feel like Lenny Bruce. Completely misunderstood and put in jail for speaking my mind. Lenny Bruce is a reference that Oceania guest will understand but my adult children roll their eyes at. Seriously, I hope everyone with a cruise scheduled for the future goes at it with a sense of humor. Look for the unexpected, unplanned, unique event and have a good laugh. I personally plan on waking up early, on a sea day, with a big black plastic bag I am bringing from home. I will go to the pool deck and put all the reserved lounge chair stuff where no one is sitting, in the bag and give it to a crew member for retrieval the guest. Then go to the illy barista coffee shop, get a cappuccino, get a chair above the pool and watch the show. I won't do that but it is fun to think about it. Anyway, engage with folks and let your inner self come out with amusing stories especially about travel. Except my wife who never remembers the "Punch Line". Opposites attract. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@YourWorldWithBill at dinner just now, that is exactly what my wife wanted to do. If there is a way to gain that email, without breaking CruiseCritic.com rules, please do share. Thank you, perfect suggestion. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@nparmelee I laughed as I read you first few sentences. YEP, YEP, YEP and did I say YEP. My wife just said, I want to go here, vs. here. My reactions with many weeks before our trip was, "Sounds GREAT to me!" All we want is feedback. Take one tenth the time I did to read what I found out and make a recommendation. When we get "nothing", or "it does not matter" it is upsetting and rude because it DOES INDEED MATTER. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Hlitner YOUR plan sounds PERFECT to me. The key is know your options and if you decide not to do them, it was your decision. PERFECT!!! Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@davencl "Take my wife, Please!" Not this cruise, I really need a vacation. However, if Oceania makes me an offer, I am IN!!! Now we all know that is not going to happen. HOWEVER, happy to hold COURT at Martini's, after I had two drinks. Timing is everything because after the third drink I slur my words. "One Martini, Two Martini, Three, Martini, FLOOR!" Cruise well and enjoy every moment. "My set is over, so make sure you tip your service, they need money also. See you at the midnight show!"

@ToxM Bingo. Opposites attract. My wife asked for her luggage from storage in the garage, yesterday. She does lots of lists. So for her clothes, she starts 6 weeks in advance. Yesterday she warned me she was going to get a whole new wardrobe. My response was, "I will believe it when I see it. I double dare you to buy all you want." She talks a good game. Opposites attract. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Vineyard View I was truly helped by you, and others here on the CruiseCritic.com Oceania Blog. Also, I was helped by Oceania. This was one of the only times I could take two promotions and use them together. The Four Category Upgrade was great. However when the ESE Sale saved both cabins $1800 each, it made everything even easier. I got lucky is the bottom line. Funny, my wife just said to me, "Honey, there is no way we can do everything we want to do in Athens. We will be jet lagged and tired. We need to hire a car to show us around Athens." I fully agree with her. I will hire the car, and tell my friends the cost when we get in the car. Worst case is I pay for it. I would have done it anyway. What will happen is my guest agree reluctantly. Just the way things work. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@shepherd really How NICE of you to say. I led a very stressful life and had to force myself not to lash out or be harsh to folks as part of my career. This led to the love of a way to simply decompress, chill out and lose myself in something other than work. Cruise were the ticket for me. I did enjoy my cruises better when there was "No Email", "Telephone Call" or way ANYONE could get to me. Those were the days. Now, I am retired and all I look forward to are emails, telephone calls or someone, anyone to visit. I get a extra beat in my heart when the UPS, USPS or Federal Express person walks by my window. Gee times do change. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@bbwex LOL, "Yes ma'am/sir, may I have another???" Anyone that goes on frequent cruise is some level of a masochist. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@Vineyard View No, this is the first time we have gone with this couple. They are our best friends but always do family things due to the size of their family. This was our friends wife 70th birthday wish so her husband did what he needed to do to make it happen. Specifically, he told me a budget that was to low, put the fear of god in me to make it as all inclusive as possible, said "NO" to every single time I made a recommendation then two months later wanted it. One was going in a day early and staying in a really nice hotel. I did it anyway, did not tell him, and still stayed within his budget. The whole process was fun for me and keep me working on something fun and production. Should be a nice trip. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

@bobnsandi LOL, that will do it. I would explain the SimplyMore program but that would not be humous or funny. I thought having three choices was confusing so I am not your expert on that little topic. I used to take my planning very seriously and personally. NO MORE. I am the topic for jokes by my friends and family all the time because of it. UNTIL, they realize, we are going on a cruise next week, "I wonder if my expired Passport Will work????" Cruise well and enjoy every moment of "Nothing Going Exactly As Planned".

@SATaxman LMAO, I can be bribed. I was a professional speaker before I had a stroke, "I think???". We actually go to the shows, sit in the last seat in the back of the theatre, closest to the exit. We watch 15 min, determine our enjoyment level and usually leave quietly. We then go to a bar and tell stories while have one to many night caps. Sorry, I might be old but learned how to drink on a cruise 40 years ago on Carnival. Thank you for getting my humor. Cruise well and enjoy every bit of the Entrainment on board.

Many folk say, just go with the flow, no real planning needed. Other do what I do, take the time since we have so much time before a cruise, and plan the things that we ALL have "Messed Up" in the past. For me, it is a informal religious experience because after many frustrations in the planning process. Why religious? I keep using god name in vain than ask for forgiveness. Not god's fault, god was kind enough to tell Noah to build an ark so their would be NO missing ports for Noah. I am NOT Noah, and I have educated my guest we will HAVE at least one or two missed ports. This is an Oceania Itinerary isn't it. Just managing expectations folks. Home Made Cruise Calendar: My Planning start like it always does, with a Homemade Excel Spreadsheet calendars. A work of true art. Works great for a Page-At-A-Glance for a 7 day Caribbean cruise but not so much for a 10-day Mediterranean cruise with a pre and post hotel stay. At 64, 66, 70, and 75 years old, no one in my party can read the calendar because the font is so small. Packing list Item #1: High Powered Reading Glasses. Print options is to break the calendar in to two pages and tape them together. At least I have a plan of sorts. Nothing perfect on any cruise. Importance of Advanced Reservation: Since we are wisely arriving one day early (should have done two) for safety and to visit Athens, Greece, I felt proud to find a unique dining experience on the highest mountain with the best view of Athens, Greece. The restaurant's name is, Orizontes Lycabettus. This can be a hard reservation to gain and I booked it months ago. My wife wanted to cancel it because there were to many steps and she has a hard time sometimes with steps. Then she FINALLY read about the view, food, service and it was a "once in a life time experience". Now she is getting cortisone shots in both knees and ordered a knee brace. All it took was a google search of the place and experience to make certain alterations in ones attitude. Homemade YouTube.com Video: I get so frustrated when I plan a vacation that not one person take one bit of interest until the week before we leave. That is when I get the stupid questions of when is the flight, what time does it leave and WHY is it so early. Depression and frustration kicks in. The other questions are even more frustrating like, "Why are we going to this specialty restaurant on this particular night?" Instructions are given to, change it to another night and time. Anyone who has EVER cruised Oceania knows, giving up a Specialty Restaurant reservation with the hope of another exact day and time is a huge RISK if not impossible. With all this in mind, I took my 50-page "Journey document", that showed every decision made and why. Realized it would not be read so I did a 47-minute YouTube.com video for my guest with the high-hard-ones. Problem number #1: We started drinking double vodka's an hour prior to the video presentation. Problem #2: No one was listening to the narrative of the video and all of a sudden, lots of questions starting happening causing every scene so the video had to be pause ever 30 seconds or so. Problem #3: We kept on drinking (heavily, since I was frustrated, I was part of that decision to drink). Result: Total and complete frustration for ME. We only got 15 min into the 47 min video and that took over an hour. PRIOR to beginning the cruise video, one of my guest wanted to put on a movie pre-video. Abbott and Costello Meet Dracula and Frankenstein (no clue where that choice came from). One hour later, not even 1/4 the way through the vacation video, my best friend was falling a sleep on the couch, and waking up every five minutes saying, "I want to watch Abbott and Costello". Journey Document: This is a very organized travel document to basically answer all my guest anticipated question. Not my first rodeo folks. Since none of them participated during the research except to say, "I am not paying for one of the ships Excursions, not one". I did all the months of work. How to get from the Port to City Central, arranging all transfers, booking all hotels, listing websites to gain online tickets for events and transportation, creating "My Google Maps", listing with explanations of famous attractions in each port, and the list goes on. After all the "PLANNING" my wife finally gets interested and Googles bad knees in (each Port) followed by the words to me, "I might not leave the ship at some ports", followed by "I need those shots in my knees!!!". My lovely bride has been working out every day, walking 3-4 miles a day, and three weeks ago, kicked the door by accident and has not walked since. This cruising planning is so accurate. You can't plan for the non-controllable so just have a double vodka and call it a day. Oceania Drink Programs: We booked our cruise prior to "Simply More" so we had a choice of one of three amenities. I choose the $600.00 On-Board-Credit for each cabin. Then I purchased the "Prestige Unlimited Drink Package" for three of the four guest with one guest that simply did not drink. This was NOT an easy decision because Oceania let's you bring wine and spirits onboard, I plan to buy my wife nice wine pre-cruise in Athens, we have a Vista Suite with six bottles of Wine or Spirits, Oceania has two "Happy Hours a night", during the Captain's meet and greet there is an open bar and the list goes on. So drink packages take LOTS of thought and my final decision was, buy the "Prestige Drink Package". The comments I got at 45 days out from the cruise from my wife was, "Why do we need a drink package, I am reading on the Facebook forum we don't need a drink package". Months of research, waffling back and forth with NO HELP or Feedback. NOW She has an opinion. 45 days out my wife becomes the expert!!!! I showed her!!! I said, "To late, my decision. If you don't like it call your congressmen!!!" A man has to stand up for his rights, you know. What to Order In the Restaurant Onboard: I love food, so much so what my wife and I have been on Keto for over 150 days, lost over 25 lbs each. All to enjoy the food on this Oceania Cruise. I read EVERY food related topic for Oceania on CruiseCritic.com. Nothing like "Food Porn". I take notes and put it in my "Journey Document". We all know food is relative to taste and everyone is different. I learned so much and appreciate all the educations and feed back. So as I have learned from the wisest of the wise; Cookies tasteless as well as bad but then again Cookies great, Steaks aways over cooked but then gain steaks cooked perfect, daily souffles tasteless but then again daily souffles outstanding, portions sized to small but then again the portion sizes are to large. Viking food is better but then again Oceania food is the best. All those comments were fine. I understood them as relative to taste. However now my new resident expert who has eats like a bird because of "lap band" surgery's is informing me on menu choices. I hope you enjoyed reading about my agony, frustration and lack of respect. The truth is, "I love it all." I just love that for the first time in 30 ++ cruises over 44 years of cruising, my lovely bride is intensely engages on the planning 45 days in advance. That so far is my favorite experience. Cruise well and enjoy every moment.