samiam0403

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).

Just saw this on another site - people are making jokes about how it's no big deal since it's shallow warm water in the middle of the day, and ignoring the fact that a woman died. People are awful. 

Yes, those would be included. I drank A LOT of Woodford on the rocks on my cruise on Carnival Pride this summer. And wine on other days. Never had a problem with any of it being included.

12 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Yes, this is an option, but not ideal, since we would have to book 2 hotels etc.

 

But I'm wondering about cruisers from Europe - do they fly the day prior? Say someone from UK or Spain who has a cruise that starts in Greece or Italy. Those are 2-3 hour flights, not TA, how likely are they to be late?

Currently live in Paris - our last cruise that departed from Barcelona, we took a train the day before. 6 hour train ride. Thanks to our pre-scheduled taxi and then an Uber cancelling on us at the last minute, we missed our train by mere minutes. €400 and a 5+ hour wait later, we were on a new train that got us in to Barcelona after 9:00pm (as opposed to arriving at 3:30pm). We're sailing out of Lisbon in 2 weeks, and will be flying in the day prior. There are just too many things that can go wrong - even when you're only a few hours from port. Late/canceled taxis, strikes, weather etc. 

Just found this, and am following along! We're sailing on Pride in 2 weeks and can't wait - it'll be my first time on Pride. But it's my favorite class of Carnival ship, so looking forward to coming 'home.'

Nooooooo! The 50% off was the best deal on the ship! We sail in about 2 weeks, and I was really looking forward to some great wine the first night. 

On 7/7/2023 at 9:22 PM, UGACamper said:

Well, we spent too much in the casino and now have our first Elite offer! 

Congrats on the Elite offer! Remember to look at the fine print - you should be able to book 3 of them (although some folks on the site that shall not be mentioned say they are limited to 2 this go around). Booked my Turkey/Greece 2024 Elite yesterday. Can't wait!

5 hours ago, gkbiiii said:

What denom were you playing and what was your average bet?  How long, did you play for?

Anywhere from one cent to one dollar. Average bet was anywhere from $1.76 to $5.00 a spin - I change it up. And I played about as much as you can on a 3 day solo cruise, barring the casino being closed, ports, sleeping, meals etc. But I got 6 hand pays, so... Probably the most winning I've ever done on a cruise, but I won't do another 3 day. 

53 minutes ago, gkbiiii said:

I was told by a land host, that $2,500 was the max, you must be an outstanding player!

Good to know! I only got that offer after a 3 day cruise that earned me multiple hand pays. I think they were trying to lure me back to get their money back! 🤣