CruiseLibra

+ peanut brittle and bacon. it is amazing!

The numerous ice cream selections include a dairy-free option every day. They always offer a sorbet or a dary-free (vegan) as part of the rotating selections.

No

Different strokes for different folks! I order the always available salmon at least once during each cruise. I order it grilled, medium rare. It is always perfectly cooked to my liking, moist and dark pink in the center. I have never had a problem with this dish. You can also order the salmon poached. However, be prepared that the 3 Jacques always available dishes are not plated with any creativity. Unlike most of the MDR menu options which have a bit of upscale plating, they are presented very simply.

Yes, O is now serving Pierre Zero as a non-alcohol option by the glass. The sparkling white is very good. It is better than most non-alcohol sparkling wines.

For those who have been to Venice and don't have the desire to return, Treiste is lovely. Lake Bled and Ljubljana Slovika are close by and make a great day trip from Trieste. Also note that if your international flight from the US connects in Europe, connect to Trieste instead of Venice. The Trieste airport is 30 minutes outside the city and you can avoid the Venice transfer altogether.

Oceania is now pouring Pierre Zero non-alcoholic wines by the glass including a sparkling white. I'm sure that they would be available on the SM package. The sparkling white is quite dry and a very good substitute for Champagne.

We got this beach bag in our Concierge room on the Riveria in November. It is a great bag. IMHO, it's much better than the old blue bag.

In July 2022 the Norwegian Sun hit a growler while at Hubbard. The Sun returned to Seattle for repairs. The next cruise on the Sun was canceled because of the time needed to repair the damage.

All ride share and taxis at LAX have been moved offsite. Look for the curbside shuttles which will take you to the Uber/Lyft lot. The ride is only about 10 minutes.

On a recent Regent cruise, we were served an excellent non-alcoholic sparkling white wine, Pierre Zero. It was very dry and an excellent substitution for champagne. I wish it was carried more broadly.

We are new as well. We travel on Oceania and Regent. Is Atlantide the equivalent of a main dining room on other ships? If so, does the menu change daily? What about S.A.L.T? Does the menu change daily? The conversation regarding formal, informal, and casual is important as my husband gladly wears dress slacks, a dress shirt, and a tailored sports jacket. Sadly a suit and tie are out of the question. So, we will need to know the dates of the formal nights and confirm reservations elsewhere on those evenings, correct?

The final menu was just posted on another site. There is no Mexican food on the menu.

The Vista GDR menu appears to have incorporated selected Jacques options into their dinner menu. Time will tell if the selections will rotate daily. This is definitely an interesting option for those who love Jacques. https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2023-04/grand-dinning-dinner-sample.pdf

Meet with the dining desk by reception when you board. They will arrange to show you the menus in advance. If you want something besides what is offered on the set menus you can arrange to have special meals delivered to you anywhere you eat on board including the specialty restaurants. My husband is plant-based and he has always had great options to choose from and they never fail to get his meal delivered to the right venue.

This sounds like a great improvement. I hope that they use this model for the other ships as well. The entertainment staff on the ships are generally very talented. It is a shame that Oceania puts them onstage to perform dated content. Last year on the Regatta a few of the cast members were "ill" and couldn't perform. One evening they did a substitute show where each performer did 2-3 songs that were at the top of their repertoire. It was the best show we had ever seen on Oceania. One of the young ladies did a version of Proud Mary that would have knocked Tina Turner's socks off.

We also take advantage of the earlier pre-cruise specialty reservation booking and the earlier boarding time on embarkation day.

We regularly book a Concierge room so that we can use the lounge. We aren't big breakfast eaters so having the ability to pop into the Concierge Lounge on port days to grab a coffee and a light snack in the morning is a lifesaver for us.

I believe that the MDR will not be open for lunch on port days. Ember will be open on those days. Hopefully, they will serve the MDR lunch menu.

We have found the sushi on all the ships to be sub-par. Even in Red Ginger. We learned the hard way. But it is such a small part of the dining options that we don't mind skipping the sushi when we see it.

For those unaware, HS is one of perhaps a half dozen ice cream options presented each day along with 2-3 standard flavored ice cream selections, a sugar-free ice cream option, and a dairy-free or sorbet offering. Each of the selections changes regularly. So, if HS is too offbeat for you, there are many other options.

Yes, we will be at the Tokyo Hilton for the Regent pre-cruise tour.

I love their ice cream. The Vietnamese Coffee and Elvis the Fat Years are sublime. I must admit, I can't really say I have had lunch until I have my scoop of Humphry Slocombe. And, HS is only one of the many ice cream and sorbet options that are offered. So, if you find the flavors too odd-ball you have many other options.

We are on the April 25th Tokyo to Tokyo cruise with the pre-cruse tour of Tokyo. We will self-test before we leave the US. We will self-test again in Tokyo within the required timeframe. Or, we will visit a nearby Tokyo testing facility that the hotel recommended. We are comfortable with the risk that a negative test in Tokyo will impact the cruise. Additionally, we will be getting an additional booster 30 days before travel. This process is no more demanding than what we experienced on our 2022 spring cruise to Alaska or our 2021 November Med cruise. Both of those trips required extensive testing. Covid is everywhere these days. If you are really concerned, check your insurance or rebook if possible.

Here is a report: https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/local_news/fear-of-ecological-disaster-prompts-monterey-city-council-to-end-cruise-ship-services/article_24394f50-a802-11ed-88eb-974fee43acd3.html