travelingJimmy

We have a rule to always transfer in the US if we can due to multiple issues we have had when transferring in Europe. First, strikes happen alot in Europe, not just the airlines but also with ATC. Alot of the strikes are "announced" but almost always happen after you have booked your flight. We have been stuck in Rome, Amsterdam and London. And honestly, for the most part, they will not help you. Second, to some of the other posts, we hate sitting in the airport after a long overnight flight going to Europe. Coming back is usually a day flight so not quite as bad. We have had great experiences making transfers in the US except at JFK which is usually a zoo. One last thing to consider is the time of year you are flying. Not sure i would do a transfer in the northern airports like MSP, DTW or ORD and especially JFK in the wintertime whether it is coming or going. You mention you are going in the "spring" remember spring is relative. In some of the northern airports in Europe and the US, winter can last through April.

i agree with that to a point. I have no problem with it happening periodically, but when it is happening on almost every port on almost every cruise, then there is an issue. It sounds like it has improved, but if you go back a year or so ago, we were seeing it, as were other people seeing it quite a bit, far more than a just a nuisance or a tide or storm or port authority.

good feedback. Thank you.

I know there has been alot of discussion around missed ports on Oceania, but I have a question around shortened port calls. The last 2 Oceania cruises we were on (Venice to Rome and Lisbon to Amsterdam) just about every port of call was shortened either shortly before departure or right after departure. It was very frustrating not being able to spend the time we wanted to in port and we were constantly having to update private tour operators as to port time changes. That to us is more frustrating than the missed ports. Anyone recently off Oceania that has any feedback? Has it improved? Are you seeing about the same? We are deciding between a Viking and Oceania cruise, both with similar itineraries. We love Oceania and they are normally our first choice but we would prefer to cruise another cruise lines while Oceania figures out their port issues. Thanks in advance.

Perfect! Thank you

I too just booked our first Viking cruise for November of this year. Any of tips, tricks, must do's or should avoid on the ship from the Viking loyalists would be greatly appreciated.

I'd be interested to hear anyone's experience with private tours and refunds on canceled ports. We book almost exclusively private tours. We were very worried about booking private tours and having port cancels. That said, in Europe on 2 different cruises when we have had last minute port cancels (France, Spain and Italy), the private tour companies have been extremely gracious about giving refunds. I think they must know that on social media people will talk and those that do give refunds, even last minute, will be rewarded with a positive comments online. Not to mention it would be pretty easy to verify that a ship has canceled a port verses someone changing their mind.

Here's a rather long winded string on the same subject from last year. Cancelled ports and shortened port stays were beginning to be a bit of an issue. Not sure if it has improved. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2967387-cancelled-ports/

Looking at the Oceania Shuttles list I only see Bordeaux and Le Verdon: Bordeaux (city) ............ Dock at town so no shuttle Bordeaux (Le Verdon) .... shore excursion required

Last year we docked in Le Verdon which is about an hour from Bordeaux. I hope your cruise docks in town center for you. Its a challenge getting to/from the Le Verdon. Some of it may depend on water levels....

I've been on 9 Oceania cruises and I think only one or two cruises have not had a port cancel. Usually tender ports which are really at the mercy of the weather and high waves. Sometimes, depending on the cruise, a day at sea can be welcome. The bigger issue (at least to me) in my cruise last May, isn't the port cancel ( we had one on that cruise), it's the port time changes. In all cases there was less time in port. Depending on the port, that can be a big deal especially if the port where you dock is away from the primary cities (think London or Bordeaux). Oceania appears to be doing alot of that in the name of "sustainability". IMHO its really about cost savings for Oceania. Go slower, save gas so less cost, less time in port, less cost. I really want Oceania to be financially strong, I believe that is in all of our best interests, BUT, that can't come at the expense of level of service or experience.

Exactly!!! We need the "Simply More Time in Port" program. Just off Marina and it is definitely an issue...

It will be interesting to get the T's and C's as the program rolls out. As a rule we don't use Oceania's shore excursions because a) they are simply too expensive and b) we would rather go in small groups where is can see more, and see more unique things that the larger excursions can't. It will be interesting to see if you can get credit if you don't want the excursions just like it has been if you don't want the airfare. One of the biggest complains I hear from others when we travel is the high cost of the excursions on O and this may be a way to bury those high costs in.

As someone who has done 3 Celebrity and 8 Oceania cruises I can give you our experiences on a few things and hopefully it will help you. These are our experience only. All 3 of my Celebrity cruises have been on Solstice class ships and on Oceania we have done 2 cruises on R class ships and 6 on O class (Marina and Riviera) : Ship size: Celebrity (at least the Celebrity ships we have been on) are quite a bit larger that O which and can be good or bad. Bigger ship, more options, but more people. Also, you can get into smaller ports of call with the smaller ships. I do like the covered pool on Celebrity but otherwise we way prefer the size of the O ships. Food: Food on O is much better than Celebrity especially in the main dining room. That said Luminae on Celebrity is awesome and every bit as good as O and the service is fantastic. Overall, Oceania wins hands down. The Buffett: All I can say is that the buffet on Celebrity is a zoo. Food, so-so. people everywhere and chaos. Oceania wins hands down. Shore excursions: I think both have essentially the same excursions since they are all sub'd out local. The biggest issue is cost. The same excursion is going to cost you more on O. We always book our own private tours when on O. Cheaper and we see more. From a cost standpoint, Celebrity wins hands down. Nickel and Dimeing: its one thing that drives me crazy on Celebrity is the big bill at the end. Oceania wins. Crew and staff: Both are awesome. Oceania ships are smaller so there is probably a bit better service cuz you do get to know the people better, but we have had a great experience on both. One thing and I don't know if it is a pro or con on either but I would say that the senior staff like captain etc on Celebrity are VERY visible and out front, way more than Oceania. I do like the ships tours on Celebrity. Always fun to see the bridge and the behind the scenes on Celebrity. Oceania does not offer that. Cooking classes: Those are awesome and I would recommend them on Oceania. Celebrity does not offer hands on. They have done cooking demonstrations on sea days which are fun, but the hands on classes in O wins the day. Hope that helps. Again, these are just our experiences and others may have had other experiences.

So for whatever it is worth, Marina is in OPorto today but we didn’t dock in Oporto. We are currently docked in Matosinhos about an hour away from Oporto. Usually they will call that out but they didn’t. Seems kinda odd. We didn’t have a private tour today but if we did that might have been problematic.

Just boarded Marina in Lisbon. This is our 8th Oceania cruise. Off to a rough start. First we had to stand in line with 3200 of our closest friends from the P&O Ventura. Both cruises were at the same dock and had to share the same line and checking counter. Longest check in we have ever had. Then all the stuff we did on the online checkin before we left, well forget about it. The pictures we took had to be redone since they were not valid apparently in Lisbon. Their scanners didn’t work so it was manual to put in our passport data. Once we FINALLY got checked in, trying to find the way to the ship was well, let’s say interesting. Signage was terrible but the good news is we got our steps in for the day and got a nice self guided tour of the docks and terminal. Ok. A nice glass of wine on the deck at the terrace cafe and I’ll be good as new. Dinner tonight at Jacques.

Completely agree about being flexible. 3 times on 3 different cruises we have been schedule to anchor in Amalfi and 3 times we had to either go to a different port (Naples) or cancel the stop.

We use them alot for breakfast in our suite in the morning. Always delivered hot and on time. I have also used them for additional dinner reservations. While they cant always get you a reservation, they have done it numerous times for us. Also, they have been FANTASTIC when we want to host some people in our suite for cocktails before heading off to dinner. They are wonderful about bring extra ice, canapes and finger food for us and our guests.

We are currently booked on Marina in May of 2023. I have been watching the cruise for the past couple of months and almost everyday the availability is different. Today, everything is waitlisted. Last week, it was about half of the cabin categories were waitlisted and the other half available. The day prior, most of the categories were "guaranteed". And it has been changing like that almost daily for the past couple of months. Its kinda like Christmas, i never know what I am going to get each day that I check.