cardygans

As for the "HUMP" cabins on deck 7: yes they have a much larger unprotected balcony, but they are classified as "basic" staterooms (there are a few none balcony on this deck too) and on Riviera be AWARE they've changed the decor, but didn't touch the bathrooms. So you still have the odd bathtub and the Coffin Shower - not the full upgrade like the rest of the ship.

They are very successful with this program on Regent and some of the higher end lines are doing this now. The program started with Viking and i've a feeling it's here to stay.

The cruise prior to us on Riviera - got caught in a fog bank on one of the tiny Ireland stops. The morning was fine and they tendered everyone on shore, by about noonish the fog bank rolled in and the tendering back to the ship was suspended because the fog had rolled in so thick you couldn't see the ship. They had over 500 passengers and 100 crew trapped ashore until about 9pm in a tiny village with no amenities (imagine the possible lawsuits...). Our captain was cautious after that regarding weather conditions - we did miss a few stops related to weather and wind. Iceland, Greenland, the Northern Atlantic Islands are notorious for unexpected weather - many of the ports aren't in protected harbours and Fjord weather can be unpredictable. Our stop in Kirkwall was successful, but there were 60pmh gusts the day before and Vista couldn't dock. Global warming is a real thing - not just NCL trying to save a buck or two.

Our "insider" has hinted that they will be moving Regatta to ATW and moving Riviera to Alaska in season then Asia in the winter - they sellout Regatta every Alaska cruise with big waiting list. Who knows.... The new Itineraries are supposed to be out early to mid-october.

We just did 45 days on Riviera and we got the scoop from the hotel manager... Bulgari is being phased out on all ships, once the supply is gone it will be all Acqua di Parma. I understand there were some supply issues with Bulgari. While the Bulgari is nice (i will admit to a little stockpile of it....) I have to admit Acqua di Parma is a lovely, luxurious product.

Who needs an app on an Oceania cruise? You've already booked all your specialty restaurants and get a card on the door the day before. Trivia is at 10:30, 4:30 and 8:30. Needlepoint is at 9:30 on sea days. Dine when you want and see a show when you want. The CD announces the schedule twice a day. Just read the daily newsletter. An APP for what? Our other V cruise sucked because we had to book everything from dinner to shows to lunch and it never worked properly the entire trip and I hated having to carry my phone everyplace. We never got what we wanted and ate a hell of a lot of Pizza the whole trip because we couldn't get into restaurants I'm on freaking vacation, why should I have to work so hard?

We love Oceania. This past fall we did 45 days Barcelona to Miami, last year around Xmas we were on Regent for 30days. 1) We are not really drinkers - so if we have an occasional glass of wine it's on us. 2) We rarely do organized group tours - hate 'em! so we book our own way around 3) Oceania passengers seem to be more relaxed and less entitled (I knows that going to get me in trouble) but I find Oceania passengers less demanding and enjoying themselves 4) We always travel penthouse or above on Oceania and have never been dismissed by staff if there is an issue of any kind. 5) I found the selection and quality of food better than Regents. We were on O for 45days and the menu always rotated and always seemed new. 30days on Regent and the choices felt monotonous. So, for us we love the casual feel of Oceania, the quality, and especially the price as we don't need to drink ourselves into oblivion, can walk on our own, and always book our own airfare. We also have a killer TA that gets us everything we want. !5 cruises on Oceania, 9 Regent, 3 Viking. 3 more 45+ days already booked with O, Riviera and Vista.

Maybe you could wear a T-shirt that says “don’t talk to me” because otherwise how do we know? I’m worried about accidentally saying hello to you. 😂 How about a seasonal "recovering tax preparer - I bite!" t-shirt...otherwise I'm pretty friendly and might hit on you after drink or two...😉

We are always friendly and will say "howdy", but depending on the time of year you won't be hanging out with us. We both are in the Tax prep business and if we're onboard in May - we've just finished Tax season and we don't wanna talk to ANYONE straight, gay or otherwise. We rarely see many unfriendly gays on Oceania, it's Carnival booze cruise (LA to Ensenada) that seems to bring out the most uppity gays, c'mon guys you're only paying $300 for a 3-4 day cruise and you're gonna throw attitude?