AMHuntFerry

I just remembered...the OLife option is going to have a change in (I think) July-ish, but details have not been released to the public. The word on the street says that people already signed up for the OLife option will have the choice of keeping the existing plan or switching to the new plan (or of course dropping the OLife option). I would wait to see what the new plan contains if you are not sailing soon.

Typically it is location (P1 having the best locations). Vista may be different...someone who has looked more closely can chime in. Occasionally there is a A to P included in the upgrade sale. The more common upgrades are in the non-suite categories. The price you see online during the sale already has the upgrade price factored in (i.e., no additional discounts from what you see online).

No, it is not included.

Let's take a look at the different tastes in chocolate ship cookies as a single example (vote if it seems fun): - cakey, chewy, or crispy - chips or chunks - milk, dark, or white (or ruby...now that's just crazy 🙃 ) - nuts or dried fruit or oatmeal or other additions - brown sugar or white sugar - cookies or bars - anything else that might vary Fun vote, nothing serious!

One of the things that drew me to O is that while there are some luxuries reserved for the higher paying or loyal guests, they are not "in your face" or paraded. Having grown up in places where you couldn't pick out the wealthy or powerful people from their appearance and treatment of others, I like the ambience on O.

Luckily for us there are plenty of super yummy non-cookie ways to get a dessert fix on O 😉 Anything with fruit and lemon curd will be taste tested by me (where's the drooling emoji when you need it?!?)

As another poster said, it's not the sugar content (American cookies are too sugary for me). We have a James Beard nominated Israeli-trained baker within walking distance of our house; I like her cookies which are made with the best butter in the world. The butter is the problem; I don't think they use butter at all (maybe vegetable shortening?). The Barristas biscotti comes from a bag and is OK for a packaged cookie. The little rum(?) cakes are usually tasty. Every cookie I tried on Riviera and Regatta got thrown away after one bite.

That appears to be a pre-Covid menu. All cabins can order hot breakfast now. There is a photo of the room service breakfast ordering card in "steamboats" excellent review: https://www.cruisediary.de/vista-concierge-level-veranda-kabine-9040/ The review is for Vista, but the card is the same as on other ships.

We were on the second CA coastal in the second half of Sept 2022. There was one night (maybe heading north to SFO?) where the ship was moving noticeably (front and back up/down). I really enjoyed my post-dinner walk where I circled each inside deck at least once...kind of like being on a swing...whee! The Santa Barbara tendering was not memorable so I guess the water was calm. It was a sunny day. Regatta is shiny and sparkly 🙂 As others have mentioned, port is in San Pedro. Another option for airports is Long Beach (LGB). Southwest and Delta (and Hawaiian) fly out of it https://www.longbeach.gov/lgb/airlines-destinations/

Yes, read and understand all the rules; I know not everyone does.

Depending on the fare you buy, many airlines have no change fees now for (often) very little price difference (and sometimes no fare difference). It allows you to get on an earlier or later flight (if seats are available) just by getting online and switching (or doing it at the airport). So choose a "reasonable" time, then adjust if you want.

My pre-cruise offer says "All bookings are eligible for a one-time change of sailing date before final payment should your plans change". Nothing about moving cabins.

Glad to know it wasn't just me...something was "off" during our interaction with him, but we did our booking.

Re: internet. It is one free access per cabin. If both of you want internet at the same time, it can be purchased (I think some people have tethered successfully? but share a single access = slower?).

Just clarifying...you got the boarding pass pdfs immediately after doing online checkin (~21 day before embarkation), plus you got an email with docs such as the "Final Cruise Vacation Summary" and "Ticket Contract" (possibly the Guest Statement and Booked Shore Excursions too...can't recall off-hand), correct?

The only thing I see on the "Final Cruise Vacation Summary" pdf that is not on the Boarding Document are the after hours phone numbers.

The ones I've looked at are usually the same ones that get the cabin-upgrade or ultimate OLife sales (also overlap with "featured" cruises on the website...indicates not selling well?), and are less than the launch fare. Caveat: I do not compare every single one, so some may not fit my observation (e.g., may be more than launch fare).

It has nothing to do with the Miami Heat making the NBA finals...nooooo (wink wink). My Denver Nuggets loving spouse (die hard fan since 80s childhood) will be pleased. The NBA finals were not taken into consideration when cruise planning since they NEVER make it.

That would require good internet 😉

I found the best way to see the gym equipment on each ship is to watch a few ship tours on YouTube. You can usually see everything after a few videos. Save time and just skip ahead to the fitness area. The first video I looked at had at least two ellipticals, treadmills, bikes, rowing (for some reason this always cracks me up and I hum Volga boat men), free weights, and just the edge of a circuit system. From memory, there are also balance/yoga equipment...tons of stuff to do almost anything. Edit: 2nd video shows more ellipticals, etc (I thought two didn't sound right). I don't see the brand on the circuit eqt, but in the aerobic studio there are a few "Kinesis" things...don't know what they are.

Under "Other"...I contacted my TA about something non-urgent during the airline mess in Europe last year. I received a reply, something like, "I am trying to help two families who are stranded in Rome. Do you mind if I get back to you tomorrow?". Now, she calls me one of her more-independent-travelers, but I like to know someone knowledgeable will bend over backward if I need assistance (she has lightning fast replacement flight powers!). She will also find flight/hotel/transport options within my parameters, or find me any deals/perks on hotels I short-list (I just can't resist the hunt). It's not just about booking on O, but that's what I want in a TA - others have different priorities. I'm even letting her trainee get her feet wet helping me with a land trip in the fall...can't hurt and maybe we'll get some free breakfasts 😉

Well, I can't address the $20k cruise, but our next ~$2k per person cruise-only has $200 per person OBC via our TA. Some other similar cruises had ppg.

I'm missing the reasoning behind how an artist selling their work is a "silent auction". The boutiques sell products they didn't have anything to do with making and have sales; are they auctioning items and lowering the starting bid.? Just not following the OP's logic.

We like to be in the last group off the ship since mornings are not my forte and we're in no rush. As Flatbush Flyer said, you need to be off the ship by 9 am for many/most ports. Going with this default schedule, you must be out of your cabin by 8 am (and your cabin steward will really appreciate it if you are out earlier since they are indeed frantically working as soon as people leave their cabin). We carry our own luggage off, so we take everything when we leave our cabin and head to breakfast (Terrace/Waves/GDR). After breakfast we make one more stop at Baristas and hang out until it is time for our departure. It is a lovely, relaxing way to end the voyage (but still way too early for me!).

In an attempt to find the MSDS for the detergent I ran across the NCLH Sail and Sustain pdf. It's an interesting browse. On p. 26 they have the wastewater treatment graphic. As for fragrance free requirements, probably not...plant based essential oils (e.g., lavender or citrus) may be allowed. I'm just guessing though...not my area of expertise. sail-safe-esg-2021-v3-1.pdf