rbtan

10 hours ago, CO 2000 said:

I will indeed follow your advice. Thanks for the reply

You're welcome. Sorry I messed up saying "site" I meant to say suite.

We cancelled our Reserve Cabana mini for next Jan.We rebooked the Vista on Oceania this time doing a PH.We did book a reserve mini on the Majestic for 2026. It has one of the rather odd but larger balconies.Any comments on this type of cabin would be appreciated.

16 minutes ago, vlthom said:

I'm not a fan of the Bulgari products due to their strong scents.  My husband enjoys showering in the spa and loves that they have L'Occitane products there.  He usually brings some back to our cabin.  I suspect that if we requested them from our cabin attendant, they'd be provided.  But if not, they are available in the spa area.

Then make the request. Are you in a site? If not they may or may not provide them. As you said they are available in the spa area.We've been happy except I don't care for the shampoo. My spouse is fine with all of it. He especially likes the soap that is provided for the sink area. We both hate bath gels.

Well, you get a larger cabin. You have a Reserve class only rest. (at least on the new Sun)

7 hours ago, ORV said:

I've heard them, right out in front of the bar on one of the R ships. Fellow seemed to think everyone needed to hear his playlist. Unfortunately, most of it was rap & hip-hop. Obviously he really wasn't Oceania material on more than one front. 

 

No one said anything to him. 

My spouse certainly would have, if it was loud.

3 hours ago, PoppyVelvet said:

I was reading earlier in the thread about people playing their bluetooth speakers in public places.

 

I'm a little late to this party... but we've just booked our first cruise so I'm avidly reading all the boards here at CC...

 

I'm autistic and can't stand music in certain situations. My DH has been known to (very politely) ask people to turn off the sound or use headphones and they have always complied. I find it strange that no one would do this in these circumstances?

I have to say that we've not heard speakers being used on board.

3 hours ago, goletans said:

My spouse has tossed "clips" of some of these pax.

 

Is this like a carefully aimed rubberband at the concert-goer who blocks your view at a concert - especially aimed at that the person in the front row that stands for the whole show?? Haven't resorted to this yet, but do think about it.

 Not at the pax. Just tosses them in the trash. Though, Keith says he likes your thinking😆 For those who claim how rude to toss someone's belongings, we're talking about  less than 50 cents here.

 My spouse says he remembers this line from somewhere: The beatings will continue until the morale improves.

My spouse has tossed "clips" of some of these pax. If he sees them reserve them while he is on the deck & they are gone for an hour or more the clips get tossed & the belongings get dropped on top of the pool towel boxes. If we want a lounger, we'll not waste too much time.We'll usually have a few drinks a few dips in the pool & then vacate.

2 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

We also moved stuff used to save the chairs....

 

When the woman returned in the aft, after being gone all morning, she was livid that we had done that.  She proceeded to gather all kinds of people known to her and began shouting all kinds of insults at us. She did this the whole time we were there, about an hour and a half, till we finally left to do other things. We left by saying, it is all yours now.

For the rest of the cruise, on the Vista, she pointed us out to others, as the low class people that took her chairs.

Who needs this kind of behavior on a cruise.

Wish O could do something.

You could have stood up for yourselves & told them to !@# off.We had that happen once & my spouse told the party(perhaps same ones you encountered?) One more remark & we'll call security & have you  thrown off the ship. Shuts them up real quick. Never suffer a ..wipes. Throw the insults back.Start with I don't see your names stencilled on the loungers & you have NO RIGHT to reserve & hog chairs.If they continue kick it up a notch.Low class pax don't expect good come back insults.

On 4/5/2024 at 6:28 AM, Muffinz said:

We booked our cruise in February 2024 for December 2024, as part of their 'love boat sale' with $99 deposits

Now we've received an e-mail from Princess about a '7 day sale'... and you guessed it, our cruise is now cheaper than what we paid for it (we booked directly with Princess) - it's about $300 cheaper overall

 

When we first looked at the cruise it was quite cheap, but had gone up a little bit by the time we booked it.... the person on the phone at Princess said as the ship starts to fill up the price also goes up accordingly.... but now it's on 'sale'.

 

Is there anything we can do (contact Princess) to get the cruise at the cheaper price - or do we just have to suck it up?

 

Call Princess & ask for the lower price in OBC. They should grant it. Next time use a T/A & save the trouble.

7 hours ago, Womble99 said:

Wonder what they use on the popcorn?

Coconut/Palm oil with artificial butter flavor. I never buy popcorn with that garbage on it.

On 3/29/2024 at 8:57 AM, 20165 said:

Does anyone have recommendations or history tipping the concierge on a per request bases and how much per request?  We are sailing next month on Enchanted and will most likely use them quite a bit given we are having a hard time getting dinner reservation, the spa times we want,  and we are going to ask them if they can get us a cabana which i know is a tall order but if they are successful, how much would you tip for that kind of request?

I read online that the recommendation for a regular concierge at a hotel is $5-20 depending on complexity of the request so would that apply here?

And before we go down a rabbit hole, i know some people dont use or tip the concierge, we are going to and would like to try per request this time vs. the end of the cruise tip like we usually do.

thanks

 

We usually tip $25. Your choice however. We're in the hospitality field so we tip over and above the usual.

On 2/3/2024 at 8:46 AM, edgee said:

 

Perhaps legal advice to O was better to not touch stuff and just remind guests of policy not to hog loungers for long periods of unoccupied time. This is my 9th Oceania cruise and the first time I have heard a "no hogging chairs" message included in twice daily announcements by cruise director.

I know this is late. We heard announcements about chair hogging on our Vista Jan. trip.We've also seen signs absolving Oceania against lost/stolen items around the pool deck(cabin theft issues might constitute potential legal issues.)When we wanted a lounger look for the following "Warm" drink glasses/Towels dry etc, We move right in & take our seats. Stuff left there gets moved, period! Did NOT have a single issue. We did see this woman(one time) try to save all the loungers around us.(about 6)She then left for a while & my spouse took all the towels & such & removed them.This allowed other pax to sit there. She returned about 30 min. later with her entourage & was p/o'd that the seats were now taken except one. When she complained I said sorry, you can't save chairs.

On 5/25/2023 at 9:07 AM, shepherd really said:

Do they make a Ho Chi Mint?

EWWWWW!

On 3/14/2024 at 11:15 AM, WildWanderers said:

Hi All,

 

Upgrading, Downgrading and Bidding, o my!

 

We started cruising with Oceania in 2014, and in the following 4-5 years used to receive offers of upgrades and downgrades, for various costs and benefits, and sometimes several offers on a given cruise.  Since then, crickets.

 

We did ask our Oceania representative before an August 2023 cruise what the cost of an upgrade from a concierge level room to a penthouse would be.  The price he quoted was pretty much what was posted, but he suggested I contact him a week before sailing and he would check what kind of a deal he could get then.  We did and his offer was still beyond our comfort level.  

 

When we boarded and asked the executive concierge for an upgrade on the second of our then two back-to-backs, she said she would put us on the list, and warned me that if we got an offer, it was a fixed amount, non-negotiable.  The next day we got a letter from her on our door with an offer far too good to refuse.

 

As a result, for the second of the two cruises we had a shower in which we not only fit, but could turn around.

 

This Spring we are taking a transatlantic Oceania cruise, and eventually returning on the Queen Mary 2 - our first time trying this.  We noticed that the cost was the same to do this as two business class fares, so why not.  A couple of weeks ago we received an offer to bid on an upgrade.  I looked online to see if there was advice on how to play the game to get what you want, and found little.  

 

We bid on what is called a Princess suite (we would dine in a different dining room - with presumably a more special menu) and are currently in a Britannia suite that looks like an Oceania concierge level suite.  The bid was good for three days and at the end of the three days we heard nothing.  

 

I now know (had to contact Cunard on another matter) that they kept the bid alive and we may hear that we got the upgrade up to three days before sailing.  This will complicate the printing of their luggage tags for us, but this too is solvable.  

 

In case any of this helps,

 

Cheers from Greg of the WildWanderers

 

 

 

There is NO Britannia suite.It is a stateroom with considerably less room than any standard Oceania cabin(Exception the smaller O ships)Their Britannia club is simply a cabin located in a better part of the ship with upgraded food amenities. You need to be in Princess or Queens Grill suites to really get the better amenities.

13 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

That's good to hear because they didn't have the loungers in any extended Concierge balconies last May.  The extended ph balconies on Deck 7 have had 2 loungers from the start.

Yes. We chose the PH-2 directly below us for next Jan.

On 3/15/2024 at 12:09 AM, Sharkray said:

We are currently in a concierge balcony cabin #7007 on Vista and have the extended balcony with two loungers, two chairs and a table.  We love this cabin and have been using the loungers every day. Having the extra long balcony is awesome and we would definitely book this cabin again. 

We had the extended Concierge balcony, which certainly could hold loungers, but did not have them.We saw a couple loungers being carried down the hall from us. I think if you somehow can convince your attendant, I think you may be able to get them. If you do you had better tip them well for providing what is normally not available.

Basically, there is no bidding system.They may offer an upgrade. This is usually for those in lesser accommodations & they want to totally fill the ship.The upgrade will not be free, but will be a decent price. Another item is to immediately visit guest services upon boarding & let them know you're interested in any upgrades that might be available. If the ship is full you'll be staying where you booked.

4 hours ago, SandyKnits said:

We are booked on Vista for next February in PH2 #7114.  Glad to hear that loungers are on the extended balcony.  Any problems with noise from below, since we are over the dining room?  Thanks.

We didn't see any loungers on the extended balcony in the penthouses. The only penthouse suites that have the loungers are the 2 wrap around balcony Penthouses at the rear end of the ship. We booked an extended balcony PH directly below us for next Feb. but did not see any loungers on it. If all goes well(waiting for Kidney transplant)We'll ask to have 2 put on the balcony. if not there.We did see loungers carried by staff to one of the PH extended balconies near us, so I know it can be done.

On 2/21/2024 at 5:56 PM, rbtan said:

Not in Concierge class.We had one in Jan. Easily could have fit 2 longers, this causes issues when the wash the balconies, however. Next year we're in an extended balcony in Penthouse.I wanted one of the 2 wrap around balconies, but they were sold out. We should have loungers in the normal extended PH balconies.These balconies are considerably larger than other PH balconies. I will make a point of requesting them if they are not provided.

On 2/23/2024 at 8:05 AM, soccermom123 said:

I was on Vista in December 2023 in cabin 7123 with two loungers and two chairs and a small table on the extended balcony.

We were in 8162. No loungers there

On 2/14/2024 at 12:05 PM, harryw said:

A poster currently on Vista indicated table service only at Waves. Does anyone 

1. know if this is going to change permanently fleet wide  and the reasoning?

Yes. It is table service now. We were on the Vista for the 1q2 night Jan.19 cruise.One of the reasons is it removes a lot of the crowding in the area. You place your order & they bring it to your table. Another thing is it helps prevent pax from taking the food to the loungers by the pool, where some klutzes have made a mess on the loungers.

23 hours ago, Banti said:

Do the extended balcony staterooms on Vista come with lounge chairs (like they now have on Marina and Riviera)?

Not in Concierge class.We had one in Jan. Easily could have fit 2 longers, this causes issues when the wash the balconies, however. Next year we're in an extended balcony in Penthouse.I wanted one of the 2 wrap around balconies, but they were sold out. We should have loungers in the normal extended PH balconies.These balconies are considerably larger than other PH balconies. I will make a point of requesting them if they are not provided.

On 2/15/2024 at 2:45 PM, tampadee said:

Trying to decide which to book.  Since a suite restaurant is not included with the price of a full suite normally, is it worth paying so much since they both eat dinners in "reserve" area of dining room? 

I'll address this on the new Sun Princess. The Suites & Reserve class get their own "private" restaurants. Obviously, the food will be the best in the suite level.(pay more,get more) We cruise both Princess & Oceania. Being in the food industry, Oceania is among the best when it comes to food. Princess has been really criticized when it comes to food quality.Doing the "Ultimate Balcony Dinner" shows what Princess is capable of providing(especially in Reserve & suites)

  If you have preference to entertainment & shore excursions, Princess is better. We've booked a Cabana Reserve mini on the Sun next Feb. We also have a trip planned in Feb. on the Oceania vista as well(just did that ship less than a month ago) Food was outstanding, but really got annoyed when 2 ports got cancelled because weather was not just right. Late this summer will come our decision which one to take.A lot of Pax on Oceania as of late are Celebrity & Princess refugees. The Sun will not be able to get into a lot of the ports that Oceania can get into, due to the size. A tough decision awaits.

On 2/13/2024 at 10:32 AM, Acrusa said:

We still have our original teeth 

I thought that was an interesting necklace.