MEFIowa

I think we're discussing selective opinions on what is and is not "bragging". How people can "brag" and about "what". So for me that started off of this, her ire, what "bothers" her so much (from above, earlier in the thread). A selective ire about money discussions in only one particular direction: "But the worst are those who go on and on about how little they spent for the cruise and all their expenses. To be honest we're going on a cruise next week and I couldn't tell you what we paid for it. I know I could look it up but it's paid for and frankly it's no one else's business, The amazing thing is those who may be staying in an upper-class suite never brag. We see little of the bragging about prices on O although it has occurred but when we were on Celebrity that was usually the first thing that was brought up. It may have changed." You buy that "amazing thing...in an upper-class suite never brag"

And this is what "Robjame" wrote on that same thread as you about 18minutes earlier than your comment: "I have seen the three drinks a day or the 2 drinks a day and even a 5 drinks a day justification for the Prestige Package. None of these are correct IMO. I was drinking Oban 14 scotch @ $18 a glass which includes the 20% gratuity $21.60 per. I would order a double as my pre dinner drink with this package totalling $43.20. Even 2 glasses of champagne will pierce the $30 a day upgrade."

THIS is what YOU wrote on Wednesday this week at 1:39 PM on a different thread: "I agree that you don't have to drink that much to get your money's worth from the Prestige Package. I like premium tequilas and rarely drink them at home. I'm not on a cruise to drink rock gut liquor. I want the good stuff. The Prestige Package is a good way to get it at what I consider a reasonable price." (emphasis added)

Then you're not reading various O threads here carefully that discuss what people are saying about how often or how much they can drink with the package OR what they are drinking with that package. How, for example, they'll get "better" vodka or scotch or whatever. And use this as their "selling point" to encourage others to get said package.

I've spent 40 nights on O ships since 12/2021. And heard all sorts of things from various passengers. Whether in G or D cabins or PH and above. You'd be surprised what people discuss when it comes to spending money on cruises. Including gambling. There are many ways one can "brag" and think "I'm not really bragging." Certainly when it comes to spending lots of money for additional expenses on board. My wife, a smoker, befriended someone on one cruise staying in an expensive suite (and they'd paid for other family member's, too). Seemed like every day he'd regale her about some expensive something he did the day before or was doing that day or the next day. Remember he waved to us from La Reserve one night as we walked by. I can only imagine how much additional $$$$ he'd spent. More than our A4 cabin. And I'm a bit tired of the "you should have the upgraded drinks package so you can drink all day long". When that happens, I'm like, "You spent $X for that drink package on this cruise. Our cabin was $Y. You spent ZZ% of our cabin cost on drinks."

Read so much about UK pricing and cruise issues, being different than what Americans and Canadians experience. I always go thru the same O rep. No TA. And if I see a sale I call her and say, "Hey looking at the sale and we'd like to go from our G to a B (or our F to an A)." Then I just rebook it. A worst case scenario, you could tell your TA or O you'll cancel the one booking and then have your spouse/significant other book under the sale?

Not if I want to keep the lounger I'm on by the pool, that I had to work so hard to get and keep. Since O reportedly won't enforce its own rules on "reserving" loungers. 😉

Though that would be $xxx.xx for the lunch. Additional money spent. Not sure if it isn't actually $xxx.xx times 2 for the couple. Obviously you interpret what people say differently when it comes to things like, "Oh you should've been at La Reserve last night with the X course [expensive] meal. Can't wait for the [expensive] wine and food pairing today. And the Founder's Bar tonight for the [expensive] cocktails. And...."

Though you might read the active thread about spending hundreds of dollars for a wine and food pairing on Vista at Ember? Or the endless discussions on why people should spend additional money for the upgraded drink package? See the cost-benefit analysis offered as to how much you need to drink daily to make it "worth it". Or those discussing spending hundreds for La Reserve or some other very expensive additional dining? Or expensive [insert type hard liquor or cocktail here]? Or those extolling how many times they got to eat in the specialty restaurants at primo times during their cruise? Methinks you're just being very selective in regard to what people "brag about" and how people in expensive cabins levels can "brag" about their cruise experience. So for me, the worst is probably...day drinkers at the pool bar, around the pool and in Waves. Bragging about how much they drink or what expensive drink they are drinking.

If you do, I'll put you to work. We changed cabins at the mid-point, our 20-night B2B. We doing it again in September in the Baltic on Sirena, in our 22-night B2B. Need help moving all the cans and bottles. Though I really had stocked up in Kotor, Montenegro at the local grocery store. Montenegrin beer and Serbian Vinjak. 😉

One starts by READING what O says about their own processes and procedures and whether they tell cruisers up front that some animals are more secretly equal than others. I have NO problem if O wants to state what it actually does. But I do have a problem when I'm LIED to and deliberately so, all to potentially benefit one class over another. BUT as we BOTH know, what O says and what O allows are often two different things. So... "No reserving loungers and like by the pool" means "Reserve away, including maybe tipping some crew member to help you reserve what you want." And I LAUGH in the terminal at embarkation as I lug my beer, hard liquor and wine on board. That "6 bottles of wine"! Too damn funny about that falsehood. And then stocking up on same throughout the cruise. My cabin looking like a beer/wine/liquor store at the mid-point.

YET, if this is strictly TRUE, then there should be NO reservations available morning of for 2 at the early times, yet I've seen those in high-level cabins claim such tables for 2 are made available for them. That's my biggest concern. Tables are kept empty for those high-level cabins.

We'll find out about what is available for us at midnight Sun-Mon in our F. Then 12 days later for the C1. Our 22-night B2B on Sirena. But we'll be trying tables for 2.

Yes. Though I suspect that someone who wanted could essentially "self-host" their own Yoga or Pilates classes and even get them publicized in the Currents and the PA system by working with the Cruise Director. (I did that to self-host Veterans gatherings near Martinis.)

Read your daily CURRENTS that comes out the night before, with all the activities on the ship for the next day. That has the what, where and when. BUT pulled out all 10 of my currents from Riviera (11/9-19/2023) and went thru each one. There were no formal scheduled yoga or Pilates classes. There is an exercise room with machines. With another room adjacent to it that had open space for exercise mats and such activities. And people walk the various decks for exercise.

We're on Sirena in the Baltic on a 22-night B2B starting Aug 28th, so I'll at least have some guestimate of the demographics on an O cruise in the Baltic in late-late summer, early fall. But, having sailed on Riviera (10 nights 12/2021, W Carib), Sirena (10 nights 11/2022, E Carib), and Riviera (20 nights 10-11/2023, Med), I've not encountered too many singles in the 40-60 demographic. Very, very few under 20. Smattering of 20 and 30 somethings. Met a nice paid of siblings (two daughters) in their early 30s on Sirena. They had a good time but there weren't many their age. I'm now 60 and was 58 on our 1st cruise. Felt young. Most of the passengers have been over 65, mainly over 70. Many of the solos we've met were widows, in their 70s.

We were on her in 11/2022. She seemed find to us. But then we were on Riviera 12/2021 and 10-11/2023, both pre-and post-refurbishment. In many ways we preferred the pre- to the post-. But then I'm not a fan of what I view as akin to "Scandinavian minimalism". Some of the changes seemed to have been done entirely for looks (e.g., chairs far too short for normal people in the common area near where the quartet played).

So, with that $12 billion debt NCL has, O is both cutting costs and raising prices. That debt requires profits to pay down, since the markets aren't inclined to let them roll the debt over or ad to it.

Though there are also many other types of cruisers, including those that focus on the ports and excursions. For us, the ship is a means of getting us to interesting places we want to see and experience. So, we're off the boat early at every port, trying to see and do things. I'm often one of the very last to return to the ship each day. Saving money on the ship means spending money off the ship. And that means spending days prior to and after the cruise seeing some interesting city in depth. We did 3 nights in Venice before our recent B2B on Riviera and 3 nights in Barcelona after the cruise. The ESS helped us do this (including in fantastic B3 & A3 cabins), as did not splurging spending on the ship. We're spending 3 nights in London before our upcoming B2B on Sirena and 3 nights in Copenhagen after the cruise. Though here we've got to go down to F and C1 cabins to keep it affordable. That is a beauty of cruising, that you can choose how you make the most of where you are going. Both before and after the cruise, as well as during it.

Remember that feeling after booking our very first cruise in Jan 2021 (for Riviera 12/2021 in the W. Caribbean). Then booked on board her for an 11/2022 cruise on Sirena in the E. Caribbean. Then booked B2B on Riviera (10-11/2023 in the Med). And now have 2 upcoming cruises on Sirena, another B2B, (8-9/2024) in the Baltic. Learn all about your ship(s) and the itineraries.

Have sailed on Sirena, her sister ship (in 6012). 7100 is away from elevators, stairs and laundry room. But the laundry room is on the 7th deck, so nice if you're going to do some laundry. https://www.oceaniacruises.com/ships/insignia/deck-plans-details?deck=07

Though I chuckle that Fincantieri also built the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour and the new Italian helicopter ship Trieste. We parallel parked between the Cavour and a mega-cruise ship at Citivecchia in Nov '23. Woke up and looked out the veranda to see us slowly approaching the Cavour. The Trieste was performing maneuvers and working up off La Spezia the next day. Could clearly see her unique shape in the not-too-far off.

They provide the detergent. Whether you like it or not, that's another issue. I found it fine on Riviera (our 20-night B2B in Oct-Nov 2023). Think we did laundry 4 times on this cruise. (We spent 3 nights in Venice first and ended with 3 nights in Barcelona).

Would be fascinating to see what change, if any, they make to dining times and entertainment on the Swinger cruises. As for "geriatrics", that "happy hour" might be mainly non-alcoholic, due to medication interactions? I've met very few people age 75 and older who can still drink much alcohol due to their prescriptions. Oddly, I wonder if the swingers get active around 9-10 pm. The "geriatric time" might work for the swingers? I'd suspect, but not know for sure, that one probably doesn't want to swing on a full stomach? So, an after-dinner rest pre-swing might be best?

So... when, what ship and what cabin level was your last most recent experience? We did A3 and B3 on Riviera (20-night B2B) in Oct-Nov 2023. There were almost NO "late eaters". There was NO serious cohort of diners coming in at 8 or 8:30. And they were forcing 9 pm reservations back to 8:30. So there was NO actual 9 pm reservation time. It was kind of sad in Red Ginger the one night I tracked who showed up from 8:20 PM on (the time we arrived for our 8:30 reservation, the first couple for that time to wait). Just us and 2 other couples! So that is grand total of 6 people who walked in for an 8:30 reservation time. And the place was all but empty by 9:30. I suspect many G-B passengers either didn't accept late specialty times to begin with or cancelled.