AMHuntFerry

I have not noticed cabin-class-matching happening, but we aren't asked to share in the GDR too often...only if it is super busy which doesn't happen as much (at least for us) if the 6:30 rush is avoided. The subject of cabin-class rarely comes up in the conversation though so I'd have to see a room card (or recognize them from down the hall) to know.

You are not breaking a rule since the 6 bottle policy is not a hard and fast rule. As a chaotic-good player, I am versed at understanding what is an actual rule (OK, it's actually because I used to write instructional documents, and knowing the difference between a Work Instruction and Guideline, or "shall" vs. "should", was important). The word "may" shows up all over the place. For example: From FAQ (updated in 2022): https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360006547473-Can-I-purchase-bottles-of-wine-at-ports-of-call-and-bring-them-on-board- "Any additional purchases above and beyond the six bottles, made during the cruise at any of the ports may be held for you until the end of the cruise. " And from a September 2023 Ticket Contract: "Carrier reserves the right to prohibit and retain all liquor brought aboard the Ship. All liquor purchased ashore must remain in bond until disembarkation." "Reserves the right" does not mean they will confiscate booze, but that they can if they think it is a good idea (e.g., a group of partiers who are ruining the cruise for the other guests). The second sentence seems to imply that all booze will be placed in bond, but I think it is poor wording and should be interpreted as saying that IF O chooses to confiscate booze, then it will be placed in bond until disembarkation.

Well, I do wish I still had my '65 VW bug 🙂

The way this is worded sounds like you are paying a corkage fee for wine bought from O. The corkage fee is only for wine that you purchase elsewhere and brought onboard. Non-O wine bottles can be consumed in your room for no charge, or consumed in a dining room for a $25 corkage fee (paid once per bottle). Wine purchased from O is the price on the menu plus 20% gratuity. In general, if you are drinking inexpensive wine, the cost difference is small and the hassle of dragging around wine isn't worth it. If you are drinking expensive wine, bringing your own makes more sense fiscally.

Out of curiosity, I checked TA for Boise...#1 = The Melting Pot! 🤣 Now Boise isn't the gourmet mecca that some places are, but we do have some James Beard nominees (and a winner this year!), and some really good chef-run/owned and farm-to-table restaurants.

If you don't have shore excursion pdf, ask your TA to send it. It has the discount info and other important info (like cancellation policies).

I used one of those post-cruise $200 certificates in January 2022. The process when using a TA was (may be different if booked directly with O): First, you have to book the cruise within the (45-day, I think mine was shorter) timeframe on the certificate. After you have a booking with deposit (not a hold), you send in the completed certificate (hint: scan/copy the completed certificate in case it goes astray). After a while (can't remember), a line item called "Bonus Savings" showed up beneath the "Air Credit" on the revised invoice that my TA sent to me.

Check out the Vista offerings on the Preisman blog: https://www.thepreismans.com/vista23_menus.htm I don't know if the alcohol-free offerings have rolled out to all of the ships, but it appears that non-alcoholic sparkling wine is (or eventually will be) available. However, it is listed as part of a cocktail and not on the wines-by-the-glass list so I'd check before assuming it is included in the SM drink package.

@CruisingIGo Your info is perfect! There are a lot of photos and videos out there, but the visuals/info for accessible rooms are hard/impossible to find.

That definitely makes a difference if high shelves are out of reach! Remember that with concierge and above, you get 3 bags of laundry...20 items each (sock pair = 1) and up to 3 day turnaround. If you pack yourself ten day and ten night tops (so no repeats), but have bottoms (slacks/skirts/shorts) that go with everything, you can launder undergear and bottoms halfway (or 1/3 and 2/3) though the trip. It sounds like your husband will probably be fine with repeats (and laundry) saving more room. I've also seen people pack those "sweater/shoe/purse hangers" which are fold up shelves that hang from a garment bar. Those plus packing cubes would give you more drawer-like space in the closet.

Oops, didn't describe it well...a pillow top is not a pillow, it is the same size as the mattress (e.g. king size) and is a "pillowy" layer.

There are also a couple of shelves above the safe (door above the frig) and a partial shelf in the closet. I use nightstands for UW/socks/etc, desk for shorex, and other shelves for less used items. Shoes go on the closet floor and everything else is on hangers (yes, even t-shirts). If you have more, just keep it under the bed in a suitcase...one (or more) for dirty clothes, the other for clean clothes.

It's a removable layer of "squishy" (usually 1-4 inches thick) that attaches to the top of the mattress. Very nice unless you have back issues or like a firm mattress.

No need to contact Sirena's housekeeping directly; contact your TA (or O-rep) today and have them relay this info to O (just like for distilled water or other medical needs). The normal requirement for special services is 60 days before embarkation, so it's already late. That said, your accommodation should be easily met with onboard resources, so I would think O would have it ready the first day. When your cabin attendant/butler checks in, confirm it's been done (if not obvious already).

Larger ships and Insignia (but only during world-cruise I think).

Dining - Here is a link you might find helpful: https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/360001119853-Managing-Reservations Sometimes the older FAQs are outdated (e.g., internet info) but I checked these and they looked OK. Vallesian gave a good rundown of the online account access. There have been reports on CC that if unhappy with a specific reservation, keep checking availability on your account as sometimes something better pops up. Also check when onboard. Cooking - There are shorex reservations (including shopping/cooking combo) in one location on your account and stand-alone (no shorex) cooking class reservations in a different location; they will become available at unpredictable times so keep checking as popular cooking classes book quickly (your TA may also provide this service).

Revising @ak1004's SS description: O has 2 pricings: SM w/ air and SM w/o air. SM w/ air includes air and transfers, and $150 of the deposit is non refundable. SM w/o air does not include air, and $150 of the deposit is non refundable. In terms of inclusions: they market the line as Premium, not all inclusive, and ALL restaurants are included (even additional reservations if available). Excursions are NOT included, but there is a credit (varies with length of cruise) that can be used toward any shore excursion(s). Internet (2 devices) is included, but only a basic one (no streaming (e.g., Netflix) except for WhatsApp, etc.), you have to pay $9.99/day/device to upgrade to streaming. Laundry SERVICE is extra unless you are in one of the suites (3 bags free) or on a lengthy cruise (e.g., world cruise); laundromats are free. I agree that O makes you dig for the info (I'd love to get ahold of the website designer for a day), but once the rules are known, it's not that complicated.

I have only used the O-phone to book a few shorex, so my experience is limited, but the general theme on CC is that O-reps vary tremendously with respect to quality/knowledge. Your O-rep may have stated the price change info in good faith because they are inexperienced and don't know reality (or they know what's coming and in a departure from past trends, every fare is going to rise). Some people recommend calling repeatedly to find an O-rep they like. I prefer to utilize a full service TA (for cruises only) and sometimes get consortium perks.

O has the option every quarter to raise the base fare. Whether the price goes up or not depends on sales; some less popular cruises that I've tracked have never increased in price since the first day while others have had small increases during one or more of the quarters (say, $100 on a $2-3000 fare). In addition to the quarterly increase, sales often end at the same time. So, if you don't track the historical price, the change on January 1st may look like a huge increase when it's really just the end of a sale. Every catalog has something similar to the following (sorry so small, but it's called fine print for a reason 😉 ) : The more complete version is on O's website: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/legal/promotion-terms

If you browse the flight info in this forum you will see that most posters advise against booking directly with O. The exception may be when you need to fly one way to/from Europe from/to North America, or if airfares go up significantly between cruise booking and air booking. The main detractor for me is no control over routing, but there are other detractors that weigh in; I'm willing to pay for flexibility, comfort, lower stress, etc. though. You can go ahead and have O-provided air as part of your reservation, and if you decide to drop it before the deadline, your TA can remove it and you will get a credit for the air-portion (lowering your balance due at final payment).

Usually yes, but once it was missing. Just ask for one if it's missing.

@gr'aunt Regarding the R-ships, it seems to me that the complaints-to-praise ratio has been highest for Insignia and Nautica recently. I've been on Regatta three times from September 2022 to September 2023, and while no cruise is ever without fault, I would have to think hard and check with my spouse to come up with anything that had a negative effect on our memories of those cruises. At times I wondered if staffing was sufficient (e.g., too few staff or not enough training) but it wasn't really a problem for us. My point is that I don't think there is an O-wide problem, but that the post-pandemic staffing issues with respect to experienced workers/management is still in progress. Maybe I'm being a pollyanna and seeing unicorns...only time will tell if I'm right or wrong.

For future reference, you can find recent reviews of a ship by using the search function to search "Regatta" (be sure the pull down menu says that you are searching "This Forum" (meaning Oceania forum). When (too many) results return, click "More search options" and choose "Content Titles Only" and search again. You'll get some meh hits but it will be less of a slog. Here's a couple from this fall (including Feta's...I was on this cruise but I think I checked email once if any and never got on CC...was an excellent cruise!). Give the search since there may be other hits that you find interesting.

Clear communication, including your suggestions, would be a welcome change.

For those interested in wheelchair accessible shorex on O, there is a simple way to see where the ports are that offer accessible shorex, then you can pick a cruise that goes to at least some of these ports. Go to https://www.oceaniacruises.com/shore-excursions and click on the wheelchair icon.You will see the name of the tour, the port name, and descriptions. Over on the right upper corner, click on "Cruises Visiting (port name)" to see those cruises. You can also filter by Region, Country, and Port. If you already have a cruise planned you can look through the descriptions or shorex without the wheelchair icon to see if wheelchairs are not allowed or if there are other mobility restrictions listed (such as cobbled streets or stairs). Some are very specific while others are general. Here are a couple of examples (see the Please Note section at the bottom):