samiam0403

On 8/26/2024 at 10:15 AM, ORV said:

I’m currently on Nautica and the CD mentioned something I did not know on his morning TV talk. We’ve had US Coast Guard inspections and this was the reason we couldn’t embark a couple of days ago until 3pm. Being in Scotland this seems out of the ordinary and he said it was because Nautica has not  been to the US in 20 years or more. I don’t know if he is right or not but thought that was interesting.

 

We were on the Cape Town to Le Havre sailing in May/June, and the cruise director (Bryn) told us the same thing about Nautica not being in the US for decades. He said the renovations that started the day we disembarked, and the following dry dock, were to bring it up to US code/standards/whatever they're called. 

Hope you enjoyed Nautica as much as we did!

10 hours ago, WESTEAST said:

Thank you clarifying that if passengers went to cruise terminal they would have to leave/go to the hotel.  Never heard of such a mess and hope Port Authority improves process by the time we depart next year.  Thanks to these posts, we will make sure we check our email daily as we arrive in Lisbon a few days prior.

You might also want to look and see if any other ships are in port with you on embarkation day. That may give you a clue as to whether or not you'll be checking in elsewhere. It truly was a mess that day in Lisbon, and I'd never seen anything like it before.

13 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

Any advise on the logistics for joining in Cape Town ?

We are doing so later this year.

I hope you have as wonderful a time as we did in Cape Town! It was an incredibly fast and easy process embarking there! We checked in around 11:30 and essentially walked right on to the ship. Taxis and Ubers are plentiful, and inexpensive.

If you haven't made your hotel arrangements yet, I highly recommend Kensington Place for a few nights. We absolutely loved the hotel! 8 rooms, all with large balconies. Lovely quiet area, fabulous restaurant (and full breakfast included - either in the restaurant or delivered to your room), and absolutely lovely staff. Only caveat is there is no elevator - but staff will manage your luggage for you.

Other recommendations: dinner at TTK Fledglings is an absolute must! We also did a shark dive with African Shark Eco-Charters and had an amazing time. And lastly, if you're planning on adding on some extra time and doing a safari, I can not recommend Sanbona Wildlife Reserve highly enough. We did 5 days prior to our cruise, and it was easily the highlight of our entire trip!

If you have any specific questions, let me know! We fell in love with Cape Town and plan to return as 3 days in the city proper wasn't nearly enough time.

14 hours ago, Pearl64 said:

Mb777,

 

While we agree with you about most things this cruise had some missteps. Embarkation was an absolute nightmare. we were changed from checking in at the port to a hotel. Ok. We accepted that. We had an 11 am check in time. Arrived at the hotel around 10:30. Nothing happened until the iPads arrived after 11:30. Instead of using the boarding pass time they called cabin category starting with Owners suite. It took them quite a bit of time to work their way down. After concierge was called there was no further calling of cabins. It was very chaotic. There were no announcements from Oceania as to what was going on. Yes, I know communication is not Oceania's strong suit. We were in a B1 with no luck getting through. Oceania did provide a shuttle to the port (about 25 minutes away)which was nice but there was only one bus and one truck for luggage. Lines for the shuttle snaked around with a long line. We finally got to the ship shortly before 3 pm.  Luggage never arrived until after dinner. By that time we were exhausted. This was our 16th Oceania cruise. Never did we have so much trouble. We have another cruise booked to Japan. My husband wants to cancel but Japan is on my bucket list so I will need to sweet talk him.

 

One problem with this cruise was the number of large groups(100+) who focused on wine. That is fine but they interfered with other venues that were either rescheduled or cancelled to accommodate them. Food was ok except for one night in the MDR when our chicken came inedible. We could not cut it even when we asked for a steak knife. We could have asked for another meal but we let it pass.

 

We hope this was the exception to Oceania excellence. We took all private tours which were excellent. Thank heavens disembarkation was smooth. Staff was excellent and up to the standard we were used to.

Glad you enjoyed the cruise. We did after Day 1!
 

 

We were watching disembarkation and boarding from Horizons in Lisbon - it looked like a trainwreck! We were hanging out with one of the officers, and according to him it was the ports decision to close embarkation directly at the port for Nautica because Norwegian Viva was also docked there and the shore team at the port wouldn't allow both ships to check in there. (The line for taxis for passengers disembarking was insane - normally easy with an R class ship, but Viva had 3100 passengers also disembarking.) Apparently the decision was made that morning to have you all check in at the hotel - even he was surprised and exasperated with the process. We boarded an O ship in Lisbon last fall, and had a much easier time! But I'm glad your experience improved after that nonsense! 

Glad to see you thoroughly enjoyed your cruise! We were on the cruise with you (but boarded in Cape Town 24 days prior) and had an incredible time as well. The staff/crew/officers were the best we've encountered yet - on any cruise. Thanks for the great write-up - reminds me that I should probably do one too!

Just off of an Oceania cruise, and a senior member of the staff (who was previously with NCL for years) told us that they are doing away with the Broadway shows not because of lack of attendance or changing tastes, but because the companies that they have to pay to have the shows on board have raised the licensing costs to an exorbitant rate. He said the cost to keep the shows was way more than NCL wanted to pay, which is why they are developing their own shows in house for the future. 

26 minutes ago, ORV said:

I've never seen the smoking area on the Port side on any of the ships, although I've only been on Nautica once. 

Oh Lord. A thousand mea culpas. I blame...lack of coffee? Lack of booze?

Let's try this again, the correct way.

Outdoor smoking area - deck 9, forward, starboard.

Ping-pong table - deck 9, forward, port.

Indoor smoking area - deck 10, forward, port.

Outdoor seating area - deck 9, aft-ish, port.

Although I just had two espresso martinis at happy hour, so take this with a grain of salt. (But I did just confirm this with my completely sober husband.) Apologies again - let's see if I can delete my erroneous post!

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Interesting experience, just yesterday, with the ITA Matrix.  Those of us who do a lot of independent travel consider the ITA Matrix, one of the best (if not the best) ways to look at all the various airline options.  Yesterday we decided to look into booking a one-way fare to Tokyo (for a cruise).  When using the ITA Matrix we quickly realized that Turkish Air had an amazing Business Class deal.  We than thought, a few day stopover in Istanbul, might be fun so put in that option.  Turkish Air again came up with a terrific Business Class price of about $3400.  After deciding that we wanted to do this, I went to the Turkish Air site (it is often wise to book on an airline's own web site) only to discover that the same flights we had found on the ITA Matrix were over $500 cheaper on the Turkish Air site.  We quickly booked, but this was the first time we have ever seen an airline have a lower cost fare then what shows on the ITA Matrix.

 

By the way, for those who may not be aware, Turkish Air has some of the best Business Class in the world.

 

We just flew Turkish Airlines biz class for the first time from Paris to Cape Town earlier this week - absolutely incredible! And the price was the lowest of any airline at the time for biz class on that route. I only wish I had known about the free stay in Istanbul that's included when I booked the tickets eons ago. But yes, wholeheartedly recommend Turkish Air - best biz class we've traveled to date.

Correction: I am not getting almost $150 back. Just called O, and because we're on an extended cruise, we have to each book 12 excursions before the 25% goes into effect. And we have to have them all booked before we board. Ah well. Worth a shot.

Some days I really love CC. Thanks to this thread, I'm getting almost $150 back due to not getting the 25% off when booking online. Y'all are awesome.

Thanks all for the responses! We've really enjoyed the fairs on our 2 transatlantics and look forward to the one on our upcoming Nov transatlantic. Our Cape Town to Paris cruise has a bit with 3 consecutive sea days, so I guess we'll see! 

We've absolutely loved the Country Fairs O does on transatlantic crossings, so I'm curious as to whether or not they're only on transatlantics, or also on longer cruises. We're sailing on a Cape Town to Paris (Le Havre) 34-day cruise on Nautica later this month, and was wondering if anyone knows - will we have a Country Fair or no? 

17 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

Debating this sailing for 2026, Baltic on the Dawn as well, or the South America / Antartica sailing.  After the horror stories from the Star and its sailing, or lack of to Antartica this past season, I'm conflicted.  Hoping the Africa sailing offers some safari like excursions.  I like the idea of going back to the boat, but definitely want to experience that wildlife if its going to be my only visit to Africa.

Instead of hoping the Africa sailing has safari-like excursions, you could always fly in a few days early (or stay a few extra days depending on where Cape Town is in the order of ports) and do your own! We leave next week for our Cape Town sailing, and are booked for 5 days at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve a few hours north of Cape Town. They're also providing transportation so we don't have to rent a car. Like you, if this is my only trip to sub-Saharan Africa, I want to do ALL THE THINGS! (We're also going cage diving with sharks!)

On 4/23/2024 at 3:58 AM, CptBoatface said:

US MI were odd ducks when I was in charge of a company for a while 

As a retired MI individual, we prefer 'quirky.' 🤣

We just received ours today in France for our cruise next month! What a lovely surprise! The document holder is much better than the old paper version, and the luggage tags are a nice touch.

10 minutes ago, Rebels82 said:

 Do they apply it to new cruise bookings only or can you apply it to cruises you have already booked? Thanks.

They'll let you apply it to cruises you already have booked. That's how I usually do it!

On 1/30/2024 at 8:59 PM, Rebels82 said:

Have any of you received gifts, rewards, cruise discounts, etc. playing in Oceania casinos? Thanks.

Yes. My husband and I get a discount after every O cruise. They range from $1500 to $2000 (total) off of whatever booking we have them apply it to. 

On 2/16/2024 at 5:41 AM, OrcaGirl said:

...cute huge yachts... 
 

Schitt's Creek fan, I'm guessing? And if so, thanks for putting that song in my head! 🤣🤣🤣

And thanks for the trip report - glad to hear your mom's (mostly) ok!

I took my first O cruise in 2019 as a solo cruiser at 45. When I dropped off my luggage, the porter chuckled and said, "you're going to be the life of the party!" Apparently I was the youngest person he'd seen all day. I was a little apprehensive, but had a great time! Even went to a few solo cruiser meetups. But I'm a happy camper with good food, a comfy room with a balcony, a book, and a glass of wine. I met a lot of lovely people and promptly booked another O cruise. They're now my cruise line of choice.

The cruises you're looking at are pretty port intensive - I would imagine the party won't be going late on any of them. Lots of folks will be getting up early, going all day on shore, and going to bed early. (We did a Carnival sailing around Iceland last summer, and the ship was dead after 10:30 or 11:00!) O won't have huge production shows, late night parties, or a lot of younger folks - but it's relaxing. We quite enjoy the slower pace, smaller crowds, no photographers, and little to no wait to get on/off the ship. 

Long story short, I don't know that O has exactly what you're looking for - but I also think it might surprise you on a port heavy itinerary. Good luck with your choice, OP! I think you'll have a great time no matter what you choose.

On 1/28/2024 at 1:56 PM, Mrs f. said:

Oceania Riviera will be there in November 2024

And Oceania Nautica in June 2024! 

4 minutes ago, Bongomauka said:

Thank you for post samian0403. Looks like I missed your original posting until your second posting of it with the recent comment, sorry about that. No we did not receive a bill directly from the Portuguese Air Force but received a copy of it from Oceania/NCL Holdings. If we did, that would have simplified the whole process as we would have paid it and made a claim to our 3 insurance policies which would have covered some or all of it. It then would have been settled many less stressful months ago. BTW the bill for the Medivac was north of $100,000 so continue to be stunned as we are we even less experience in these matters as yourself.

I feel bad for not saying this earlier, but I'm glad the MEDEVAC had a good outcome - health-wise! I was on the Marina when it happened and definitely sent up some prayers for y'all!

I've been reading as much as I can to try to figure out the legality of them sending a bill - everything I'm seeing says that a signatory to the IMO Conventions (and Portugal is one) won't charge for a rescue. Sadly, since I'm no longer at the job, I don't have access to some of the UN documents that would spell that out. I've put in a request with some contacts at my old unit for the exact document and phrasing - will pass it along if/when I hear anything back. 

On 1/13/2024 at 11:21 PM, Hlitner said:

I am trying to get myself around the fact that the Portuguese Air Force billed for their services.  In 50 years of extensive cruising, we have never heard of any military body (be it the Coast Guard or other branches) bill for transportation from a cruise ship to land.  I wonder if this means the US Coast Guard should bill any rescue of Portuguese as a retaliatory measure.   Several years ago, while on the Grand Med cruise (Prinsendam) we changed course and went out of our way to come to the rescue of a sinking Portuguese fishing trawler (well off the Azores).  Our HAL ship (under Captain Halle Gundersen) took charge of the rescue (there were several other commercial ships in the area) and ultimately took all the stranded crew (they were in a large life raft) aboard.  Within a couple of hour a Portuguese Coast Guard helicopter flew out to our ship (from the Azores) and winched all of that crew off our deck.  You can be sure that HAL did not send a bill to Portugal.  

 

My question to the OP is "have you received an actual bill from NCL?"  If not, put them on notice (in writing) that need to produce a bill (along with proof they actually made a payment to Portugal) within X number of days.  Make it clear that if NCL does not produce such documentation you will consider the matter permanently closed.   In your situation I would get an attorney to write such a letter, but an alternative is to simply write such a letter yourself.

 

Hank

 

 

I'm still reading through this thread, and I too am SHOCKED that OP received a bill for a military MEDEVAC. Up until 2022, I spent 8 years, as active duty and then civilian, coordinating exactly this type of rescue (quite a few on cruise ships, fishing vessels, tankers etc), and the objectives are never billed for these rescues. I'm half tempted to start digging into the UN documentation that I've trained on, because I am stunned.

On 1/16/2024 at 10:07 PM, clo said:

Baby boomers?

Not all of us! I'm Gen X, and retired from the Air Force after 26 years. I go to the onboard veteran gatherings mainly to remind people that all vets on O (and everywhere else!) aren't all a) men, or b) over 70. 

On 12/29/2023 at 4:01 PM, weezal said:

is there a distance limit to the ground transportation? such as Houston to Galveston, or Orlando to Canaveral

I think anything reasonable from a major airport is fine. We took an Elite out of Southampton earlier this year, and they provided pickup from our hotel in London. It was an 80+ mile drive, and took almost 2 hours. 

On 12/5/2023 at 9:19 PM, malony33 said:

I've cruised 15 times, but this will be the 1st time on Oceania. I will be sailing in a veranda stateroom. 

 

For all you Oceania veterans: what do you feel is the average tip for a server who delivers room service?

FYI, on previous cruises, I tipped a higher amount for dinner in the cabin vs a pot of tea and cookies at night.

It seems to me carrying a heavier platter with more dishes and food (plus any preparation of the meal for

which the server was responsible) = a higher amount when giving the gratuity.

 

So, fellow cruisers, share the tipping experience, please, relative to "room service". Thanks for your thoughts

and assistance.

We're apparently in the minority - we tip anywhere from $5-$10 per delivery depending on what cash we have on hand. That's in a non-suite. When in a suite, we tip if someone other than our butler delivers, and obviously tip our butler extra at the end. Barring any bad service, of course (which has yet to happen on O).