AMHuntFerry

It's happy hour so I'll answer 😉 ...early morning noise when tenders are used.

Israel has an emergency alert system that I would expect most residents (including tour operators) would use. For future trips to Israel, visitors can download the alert app too. https://il.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/emergency-preparedness/

Platinum and above "priority terminal check-in" which I assumed meant early boarding...bad assumption?:

In agreement with Mrs. f, from what I've seen 11 am is the default earliest boarding time no matter when the ship is scheduled to leave the port. There are, of course, exceptions. An example from O's website is shown below. The 1 pm embark time means 11 am is the earliest boarding time. Note that the 11 am and noon boarding times used to be reserved for passengers with O-Club status and suites. Since the pandemic that has been absent, but could return.

To be fair, this is a trans-Pacific repositioning cruise with Alaskan ports. I was talking about Alaska-specific itineraries (i.e., start and/or end in Seattle or Vancouver, although including the reposition to LA is reasonable). However, I'm one of those people who can't conceive of planning 2 years out; only recently have I started planning more than 3 months out and even then I sometimes shift plans. I should have qualified my earlier statement with "hasn't changed since final payment was due" since there were 2023 original itineraries that included a new port (Klawock); those were all cancelled and replaced with other Alaskan ports long before final payment.

Alaska itineraries haven't had the port cancellation issues. Last May Astoria was skipped but that was weather related (they don't call it "the graveyard of the Pacific" for nothing). Other ports will likely see time changes (not necessarily shorter). Keep checking the Alaska port schedules at https://claalaska.com/?page_id=1250 or the latest updates on when the ports are expecting the ship to be in port.

I think this question comes up at least once per cruise.

Treat O like you would a car dealership or cell phone store. Their recommendations do not prioritize your interests above theirs.

People like you and I will never understand those people, but people in marketing/sale are very happy they exist.

I don't find this any more predatory than airlines making customers check a "decline" button for trip insurance. Repeated emails from O may prevent the uninformed consumer from lacking a visa altogether which could be worse long-term than overpaying (although I too would find the emails annoying). Even so, I bet there will be people claiming they didn't know they needed a visa.

No cancelled ports for 20-days of Alaska itineraries in June and September this year.

There are combos of EU, US, and USB outlets (sorry, can't recall which ones are next to the bed). Wifi - don't depend on wifi being fast or even available (although sometimes it is both). My spouse needed to access work servers and found that 5 or 6 am had better access; 3 am was the best when he woke up one night and gave it a try. The TV has this info (no app though).

Slight correction - the water bottles are a combo of metals: stainless steel on the vertical portion and (probably) aluminum on the bottom.

There is no price limit. Everything in the regular bar menu (e.g., the one in Horizons) is definitely included in the Prestige package. I've always been a little iffy about whether the Martinis-specific menu is included, but when I've been in Martinis during happy hour I've gotten 2-for-1 from the Martinis menu as well.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/cruiserschoice_index.cfm?Category=Overall&sort=small I had trouble because I didn't notice the Large, Midsize, and Small buttons below the pull-down menu for different categories (food, service, etc.). Every time I chose a new category it reverted to the Large ships, so click on relevant Size-button every time you change category.

If I understand this, you booked the cruise directly with O (not via a TA), yes? It's absurd that they can't give you alternatives without cancelling your booking. I was annoyed when I had to call United instead of doing it myself online (I don't do well in person verbally so phone calls are risky); this situation puts me off considering Turkish Airlines in the future since (almost?) all of my recent booked-far-out flights have had large changes in schedule (some acceptable, some not). I suppose it's too late to get a refund and book elsewhere or you would have done so already. Maybe someone with great Turkish Airlines experience will chime in. I really hope it works out for you.

@SATaxman How frustrating! Just some ideas... Do you use a full-service TA for your cruise who can assist with seeing if other flights will work for you (mine helps me with flight searches and I book, even though they make no commission on air)? Have you tried managing your booking online? On their website (https://www.turkishairlines.com/it-int/any-questions/flight-irregularities/) it says, "Schedule change A schedule change is a change in the date, time or flight number of your flight due to operational reasons. In such cases: You can easily and quickly perform transactions in the “Manage Booking” section of the website and mobile app. You can approve the new proposed flight caused by a change in schedule. If the new flight date or route is not suitable for your plans, you can change to a different flight, free of charge, under certain rules. If necessary, you can cancel your ticket and obtain a refund. (For the cancellation of partially used international flight tickets, the refund amount is calculated under the international fare rules.) You can visit the Passenger Rights page for information on your rights in case of schedule change." I have not used Turkish Air, but I have had to change flights when a schedule change did not work for me with other airlines. Some are straightforward and easy to do online (Southwest, Alaska, Delta) and others are more of a pain (United required a phone call since the flights I wanted did not show up online but resulted in better flights and better fare code). The straightforward websites allow me to view alternative flights before committing to the change (i.e., my current itinerary remains intact while I shop alternatives). The flights I've changed allow me to move flights ±1 day even to flights with a higher cost for free (if the original flight changed more than (often) 30 minutes). I find it strange that the customer service rep can't tell you alternative flights without cancelling your existing flights...doesn't seem like they are competent.

Do not lose hope! I love sweets, but not in the morning so I have not tried O sticky buns. However, I heard many positive comments about them on Regatta in September and they seemed very popular, no negatives overheard (was I eavesdropping...maybe 🤫). I do like pastries in the morning (mostly croissants and danishes) and they were yummy, although there was a thick layer of sugar on top of the almond croissant and there was chocolate in a later almond croissant but both were easily removed.

In the past they (cabanas, villas, etc.) have been shorex. Here's a sample from Harvest Caye: and Great Stirrup Cay:

Did you call O? Sometimes the online cart is finicky (and not in a good way), so if you haven't called you may be able to get what you want. Since it's a new system and everyone is learning the ropes (i.e., you may get an answer from a rep that is incorrect), it may help to call again (and again) or ask for a supervisor. If you are working with a TA, have them go to bat for you.

I had to search (didn't see it in the cruise search) and found it in the special offers section on the US website. "up to 10%": https://www.oceaniacruises.com/special-offers/2025-voyage-collection Edit: Haha...I just noticed that while it says "View 129 cruises", none actually show up lower down (but do show up in cruise search). Looks like IT is playing catch up with marketing.

I would guess that an O VIP (CEO or other VIP) has it reserved.

From what I've experienced, upgrades (or other) offers are made to full-categories (e.g., inside cabins) that O wants for some reason, but the upgrade (usually) costs extra...sometimes a deal, other times not so much. For example, if jonthomas was the only inside guarantee booking and someone who already had an inside took an upgrade (e.g., to the D that jonthomas had), then that would have opened up an inside for jonthomas. Either O didn't offer and inside-to-D upgrade or an upgrade was offered but no one took it.

Got it...I thought you just didn't want to fly to Seattle. I've never liked big cities (even the "nice" ones) so avoiding them except when necessary is a habit.

Well, at least you got a discounted price to find out that you didn't like it (my Pollyanna is showing...watched it onboard). This is a good example that in addition to food tastes varying, so do cabin tastes. We adored the deck 3 cabins (quiet!! and never rolled out of bed in wavy-water). The only advantage (to us!) of higher cabins is if views (bigger window or balcony) from cabin are desirable or if there is an upgrade sale. For a TA I'd choose deck 3 every time.