AMHuntFerry

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Given O's IT reputation for being slow, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the website's Marina section has Aquamar listed. If you go there, they have sample menus (click on "Aquamar Kitchen to see the menus and photos): https://www.oceaniacruises.com/ships/marina/culinary-experiences

I dug up a reliable source (or as reliable as CC gets 🤪 😞 (we

There have been people able to book the onboard (no shorex) cooking class with their SM. I am not one of them though so hopefully they will see this and chime in. It gets argued every few weeks.

Good point. I assumed the "$" was USD since that is O's currency.

The accessible tours are new and have a little wheelchair icon. They are specifically for those with scooters and the like. They are more accessible than the ones that have existed in the past.

The accessible tours are very new (as in they just started being available on a limited number of 2024 cruises as far as I can tell), so I don't think there has been much experience with them yet. I am very happy they have been added since some people have had no viable shorex options in the past.

$1470 is an odd number for SM shorex credit. Is that a typo (I'm guessing it's $1400)? If you do DIY or hire driver/guides, look for the "Executive Car/Van" shorex (basically a vehicle with an English speaking guide). The price is for the entire car/van (not per person), and even though the cost is typically high, it's a good way to burn through the SM credit that would otherwise go unused. You'll need to book two of these...one purchased by each guest since the cost can't be split between guests. For example, Guest1 books a $600 car at one port and Guest2 books an $800 car at a different port. Guest1's SMshorex credit will cover the full cost (with $100 left over for an $89 cooking class if on a larger ship). Guest2 will owe $100 which can be paid with other pre-embarkation OBC or with a credit card.

Make sure you have an updated Guest Statement (and other docs) from your TA. It will show your OBC and how it's allocated (usually split evenly between guests). It's generally recommended that you have a (print and/or electronic) copy of all relevant docs (SBC, shorex rez, dining rez) in case there are any discrepancies during your cruise. Also, anything you paid out-of-pocket will show up as a refundable credit in your onboard account and is "used up" after all of your OBC has been used (or the OOP is refunded if not used up).

For those reading this thread gleaning info, please review O's FAQs. Some of the older FAQs (especially pre-pandemic) should be viewed with skepticism, but the dining rez FAQ is correct: https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005477653-How-many-dining-reservations-am-I-allowed-in-each-specialty-restaurant

Haha, I meant tomorrow or Monday. Usually Sunday is OK (until it isn't 😉 )

1. I play it safe and log on ahead or time, remind myself what buttons to push to get to the reservations, then log off. I prep by entering my name and PW and then wait until 12:01 ET to hit the button. 2. Going from memory...first you choose whether you want a private table, share with a friend (need their booking number), or share with others. Then you pick a restaurant and a calendar will show up with available dates; when you click on each date it will show the times that are available. If there is one you like, you click the time (and maybe some more clicks) to save that reservation. Then you go on to the next restaurant. You'll get an email with the rez and it will show in your account. If you want to check times later, you can change your rez in a similar manner.

Saturday is website maintenance day, so avoid it. Even if you can access your account, things may not work correctly. Don't worry, everything will be back to normal either tomorrow or Sunday. The weekend is a stupid day to do maintenance, but ???

Use one of the websites that Hlitner did not mention and you will be able to see cabin availability for entire decks as opposed to O's 5 or six random cabins at a time (and without giving identifying info other than state/country...just skip the email entry since it's not required on the sites I use). Some sites have the new upgrade that has little glowing dots over available cabins so I don't even need to make my own chart now...so easy!

I have had something similar happen when pricing Premium Economy and have not figured out if I have bad entries (I tried many permutations) or if it is something else. The price (especially on United) is often significantly less on the airline's website. I use ITAMatrix to see who has relevant flights, then check their websites directly for actual prices. There are many benefits to booking air directly with the airline. One of my favorites is to book a less-than-optimal arrival/departure time or duration due to significant price difference, then change to a better one (of my choice) at no cost when the airline changes/cancels the originally booked flight(s). No change fees and price guarantees (on the airlines I have used) has also been handy.

A year of so ago I was interested in the behind the scenes process and managed to find some interesting info about not only the Vero water but other processes. The 2019 O PR for the new Vero water: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/media/2019/OCEANIA+CRUISES+TO+ELIMINATE+PLASTIC+WATER+BOTTLES+IN+PIONEERING+GREEN+INITIATIVE+-+Partnership+With+Vero+Water+Will+Save+More+Than+Three+Million+Plastic+Bottles+Per+Year/ Edit: forgot the Vero Water link: verowater.com Go to the following page, then click on the link to open a pdf with environmental info. Water info is on p. 24-25 of the pdf. https://www.nclhltd.com/sustainability/environmental Without reading all of the details, I am not clear as to what the source of water for the Vero system is. I don't have a problem with treated water, but hey, I drank out of streams in the pre-giardia days. I like the sparkling Vero water and have never had it flat in the restaurants. If it sits in our room for a day it loses is sparkle though. The still water attempted refills are annoying, but typically (not always), the waiter or other water server learns quickly...I'll keep putting this issue on surveys in order to affect change.

It is difficult for me to take your comments as generally true since I am also familiar with how things are when traveling via ferry. Days when cruise ships are in are expensive even if you aren't on a cruise. Most (all?) tour operators who do business with the cruise lines will not do business with individual cruise passengers (whether O or Princess or anyone else). Also, the shorex prices I have compared in Alaska sans-cruise have actually been comparable or lower (when the 25% discount applies) than the O prices (again, when cruise ships are in port). If you want to save money, take the ferry.

Try putting quotes around "Connoisseurs Club" or use "Oceania Cruise Connoisseurs Club".

can I call Oceania myself and ask them to book the excursions, or must my travel agent do that? You can call directly (easier for everyome) If you don't want to use the refundable credit, do you then ask for a $$ credit or how does that work? I'll give an example that fits your question since it gets messy. Say you have $300 per person of SM shorex credit and you book three $110 shorex for a total of $330. $30 gets charged to your credit card (or other OBC). Case 1: One of the shorex is cancelled by O before embarkation; typically (as in last month) I've received a credit to my CC (for $30 in this case, $330-300) and I'd have $80 ($300-220) in SM shorex credit to use on something else. Case 2: One of the shorex is cancelled during the cruise; you should get $80 in non-refundable SM shorex credit to use on other shorex if possible; the $30 you paid with you CC shows up as a credit on your account (or at least it has in the past but maybe it's changed?) so that should be usable on anything or refundable.

Yet some people are chomping at the bit for an app 🥸

There are cruises (>=18days) where PH get more reservations than A-cat and below on the larger ships. On the smaller ships PH and A-cat get the same, but more than B-cat and below >=8 day cruises. It sounds like those don't describe the cruise you're interested in, but I just want to make it clear to other readers.

From September 2023:

We booked the O-Miami tour, but it was cancelled due to lack of interest, so have a back up plan.

I'm on Regatta in a few weeks. We're not really champagne drinkers, but I may have one at some point and will try to spy the label on any bottles in my vicinity to report status in June.

There is no discount on O for guaranteed vs. chosen cabin. "Worst" case is you get upgraded again 🙂 Book it! If you have buyer's remorse before the sale ends you can get the A1 (or 2 or 3 or B4, etc.)