AMHuntFerry

..adding to 1985rz1's post, the shore excursions pdf (from TA or O rep) when it is available will tell you how many excursions are needed to get the YWC 25% off. I actually like this option better than OLife sometimes even if it costs slightly more since it offers more flexibility (e.g., cancellation/refund policy, not limited to certain excursions). The only time the Unlimited package (UPC) has been competitive is when YWC is not offered (some shorter ~7 or 8 night cruises). UPC typically cost about $110 per port (excluding first/last day).

In the US typically not; only certain credit cards have varying levels of trip insurance...usually good for low-cost trips and no "extras" (like pre-existing conditions). I have a no annual fee card via my credit union with some decent but basic trip insurance, but would need to buy additional insurance for a spendy trip or one where I wanted more than the basics.

I found this CC forum full of info: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

I just booked one via my TA (not onboard) in April and the deposit was $500 pp ($1k total). This matches what's on O's site in the FAQ: https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005305934-What-is-your-deposit-and-payment-policy-

O changed the regular (not onboard) deposit to $500 pp some time in 2022; onboard is still $250.

I'm not sure which of LHT28's post you gleaned this from. The deadlines that apply to your booked cruise will be on your Guest Statement pdf. A final payment deadline will be listed, plus the cancellation penalties. Typically the final payment is due the day before the 25% penalty kicks in; the $250 or 10% penalty occurs before final payment.

On our cruise last week, only about one-sixth of the passengers were repeaters. There was also a college alumni group that was pretty sizable (probably at least as large as the number of repeaters). If your cruise has a significant number of people in groups, that could explain it.

Thanks for typing this all in...very informative. By contrast, O's deposits are a deal, at least for short cruises and <=PH; book on board only $250 pp, and $500 otherwise. I appreciate not having to fork over more until a few months before sailing.

Usually there is a little card by the cookies.

The shore excursions are never final until the cruise. On our recent cruise there was an addition included on a separate flyer in the shorex booklet in the cabin...it is the most current and complete list. On our next cruise there is one that was added a couple of months ago and it isn't on the website. Ask your TA (or O rep) for a current shorex pdf. Do this as often as you wish. Discounts are listed in the shorex pdf, although changes are happening July 1st and we don't have detais yet.

When comparing O to Seabourn, you may want to use O's Prestige Drink (all day) package pricing. Currently it is $70/day/person. After SimplyMore replaces OLife, it may be $30 to upgrade but we won't know until July 1st.

I haven't tried the sticky buns since I have this weird thing about not liking sweet things in the morning, but they looked gooey on Regatta last week and there was sugary overflow left in the pan.

Totally makes sense to me now. Wow! I've never seen all of the excursions sold out but I've only been cruising post-pandemic. I'm so sorry. Hopefully O at least refunds you the $200 for the two cancelled OLife excursions. If not, run the numbers to see if switching from OLife shorex to OBC is a good choice (or bev pkg if applicable to you). You can also ask O about waitlisting (both on the phone and when you board the ship). If you're up for a little DIY, it looks like there are taxis and public buses so you can take a "tour": https://www.whatsinport.com/Thorshavn.htm https://visitfaroeislands.com/en Oh, and check your roll call to see if anyone with private tours has space for two more.

The gratuity info is missing though. For @Vineyard View, here's the info I received onboard last week (sorry for the poor quality):

I think this is the last of what I have to post. Sorry these are so blurry...didn't notice...I'll stick to scanning in the future since my photography skills stink. Beverage package, happy hour, and other beverage events (bloody mary bar, wine tasting, cognac tasting, American whiskey tasting, bin end wine discount on this cruise):

Onboard booking flyer:

Front cover of shore excursion booklet (the rest of the booklet is very specific to each cruise):

Following up on the disembarkation form in post #2, here is what we received:

The GDR always has a cheese plate at the bottom of the dessert menu and it changes (daily I think). There is also cheese in Terrace at lunch; not sure it's every day, but I know my spouse had it often (and he likes stinky). The cheese at breakfast is fairly mild. Here is the selection from the GDR dessert menu posted on O's site:

I'm not quite following what was cancelled (I thought it was a single tour, but now it sounds like 3?). When on the call, find out if they refunded $100 for the cancelled OLife shorex or if you need to choose something else. If there are no other available OLife-qualifying tours that interest you, this may be a time to consider switching to the ($600?) OBC OLife choice and utilize the YWC 25% off (but you'd need to add some OE/OS/etc. to get back to the minimum if I'm understanding what you've written). Your deadline to do this switch is very soon (14 days before sailing according to my Pre-Purchased Shore Excursions pdf).

But dry rubs go on before cooking, right? I rarely eat steak and almost never in a restaurant, but when I do it is high quality (preferably SRF) and has its own flavor that I like to savor. Now if we're talking things like chuck, brisket, or tri-tip (even high quality) yes, I marinate or dry rub. I've hijacked this thread enough with another food-is-subjective path...sorry.

One other possibility is that the excursion has been cancelled. When I first checked excursions for a September cruise that I booked in April, one of the excursions was waitlisted for the morning and available for the afternoon. I found this interesting since I knew the trail that was being hiked was closed (and not expected to open this year). When I was looking again recently, both times were listed as "closed" (or something similar); I'm guessing DS found out about the closure when they tried to book the first group of the season (started last month). (And for FF...I was just looking at times and availability before calling...No buying online, got it!)

There used to be info on O's website with the package info, but it's not there anymore as far as I can tell. In the past, gratuities were part of the package (i.e., no additional money needed if you drank within the package's constraints), and I have no reason to believe this has changed. Drinks that are not part of the package will have 20% added.

So you wanted curry powder for your steak? JK 😉 Not sure what spice other than salt/pepper is put on steak outside of a marinade for tougher cuts; seriously, when I eat steak, I eat just steak (but the again we have SRF just down the road a bit).

I am confident that the O crew are better trained and more professional than all of the above (and have watched their frequent training sessions), but you never know until it happens.