nuevowavo
-
Posts
41 -
Joined
Content Type
Forums
Store
Blogs
Downloads
Events
Gallery
Posts posted by nuevowavo
-
-
23 hours ago, njhorseman said:
NCLH is Oceania's parent. NCL is one of Oceania's two corporate sibling cruise lines, the second being Regent Seven Seas.
NCLH's first quarter earnings call for Wall St. was nearly three weeks ago on May 1. Yesterday was a slick dog and pony show presentation called "Investor Day" that's a lead-in to the upcoming annual stockholder's meeting.
You're right. That quote was actually from the NCL (ticker symbol NCLH) earnings call, May 1.
-
Interestingly, NCL (Oceania's parent) had its earnings call with Wall St. analysts yesterday. In response to a question about cost cutting, the CFO said,
"But apart from that, yes, it's across marketing, it's across the things on the vessel that the customers really don't value. But more importantly, we're not just cutting to cut, we're really looking at what is -- what do customers care about, let's improve on those experiences, while reducing items that the customer really doesn't care about. So, there's no silver bullets here. It's just a lot of little things across the board."
So perhaps there'll be a little less advertising overkill in the future.
-
Re: lobster
I've been reading for some time about he disappointment of some with the lobster preparation. Granted, the lobsters are frozen, and while they'll never be as sweet as a live new-shell lobster at a Maine lobster pound, the quality is pretty good.
It's all about the preparation. My wife ordered the surf and turf, and another night the steamed lobster, both at Polo, and I twice had grilled lobster tail at the Terrace. On all occasions we asked "please don't overcook the lobster", and they always came out perfectly, even the Florida lobster tails, which are notoriously easy to overcook.
-
2
-
1
-
-
Hyatt Regency last December, about $275 for a king including taxes. Nice hotel, decent little bar and restaurant, Miami Metromover right there, 5 minutes from port.
-
On 4/2/2024 at 7:36 PM, CptBoatface said:
But they are a standard out here in the PNW!
Well, if you can't afford Birkenstocks...😁
-
4
-
-
Aren't Keens like Tevas? Water shoes?
-
1
-
-
We got the streaming package on Insignia.
It worked fine for YoutubeTV on our tablet (watching NFL games) but we had to use a VPN to get around the geographical restrictions.
-
1
-
-
Having our butler bring us breakfast in the PH - we hate getting dressed to go out to breakfast.
And of course, pre-dinner martinis at Martinis!
And we love going out to local restaurants at ports where the ship doesn't depart until late.-
4
-
-
On 2/18/2024 at 4:18 PM, swimmom106 said:
The Vista had big beautiful bathrooms with no tub and a large shower. What are the bathrooms like Penthouse level on Insignia?
No bathtub, but a nice-sized shower.
-
50 minutes ago, WildWanderers said:
Hi All,
There is a difference between "online check-in" (title of this thread) and boarding at the port (most of the discussion in this thread). And it can be an important distinction.
I raise this only because of an incident in Miami when folk were boarding for Gems of the Leewards on the Insignia on December 17, 2023. People did not get to board until late afternoon even if they had been waiting since early morning due to a major storm and the Insignia losing its place in the queue for docking.
When we left the ship (as required as we were continuing on a back-to-back), and then went to re-board, we passed through the people waiting to embark. Many of them were angry that they could not just get onto the ship because weeks ago they had done the online check-in, and they thought that should be enough, that they should be able to "bypass all of these other people", who in fact, unbeknownst to them, had also done the online check-in.
It is true that there was not very good communication that day, but the misunderstanding that online check-in meant that no boarding procedures were required was not something I would have foreseen as requiring communication. What I found unfortunate was that the Insignia never let these boarding people know that the Insignia was not allowed (via local? regulation) to provide food and water to the folk waiting to board, before they boarded, that it was the responsibility of the port authority to care for the boarding folk. Unfortunate because many of the folk who boarded that day blamed Insignia, and never got over it.
The value of communicating, clearly.
Cheers from Greg of the WildWanderers.
We were on that cruise, PH1, with an assigned boarding time of 11:30 am. Received an email from Oceania that morning that asked everyone to wait until 2 pm to arrive at Terminal J, so we took our time, had some lunch, and showed up right at 2. As we walked into the completely full waiting area we were handed a card that put us in "Group 11". I believe it was around 3 that they announced that boarding would begin, with suite passengers to board first, so we got ready to go. But after a bit when they began boarding, they asked "Group 1" to get in line. Never mentioned cabin class again. We finally boarded around 5 pm.
I don't think there was any way to get food and water for all those people, especially since the delay was a last minute thing. There was a vending machine with drinks in the waiting area.
This was our first Oceania cruise, and beyond the minor inconvenience of having to wait to board (and we didn't have a seat) we enjoyed every other aspect of it thoroughly. Should we have been upset that they changed the procedure of suite passengers boarding first to first come, first served? Why let that spoil an otherwise excellent vacation?
-
5
-
-
That is most likely a blue. The NOAA page is referring to the Western Pacific stock.
In Mexico you cannot fish for them commercially within 50 miles from shore.
Costa Rica has banned removing them from the water, catch and release only, because of declining populations.
As I said, it's not illegal for Oceania to serve them, but there are certainly better choices, in keeping with the spirit of U.S. law. And tuna tastes a whole lot better.
-
1
-
-
I wasn't on this cruise. Picked up the story on FB. I certainly would have brought it up to the chef if I was there. He was terrific on the previous cruise, where I met him.
-
On a recent cruise, Chef Farid on Insignia picked up some fresh marlin in Ensenada to serve at the Terrace. We were on the ship over Christmas in the Caribbean, where he did the same with yellowfin tuna. It was excellent and very popular. So why choose marlin when tuna is easily available in Mexico? Marlin populations are declining worldwide due to overfishing by non-U.S. commercial fleets, and the sale of marlin and all other billfish (other than swordfish) has been illegal in the U.S. since 2012 (except in Hawaii, which is exempt for historic cultural reasons).
I understand that Oceania ships are not U.S. flagged, and this took place in Mexican waters, but shouldn't Oceania recognize that they shouldn't be promoting the consumption of endangered species?
And for those who might be inclined to use the term "treehugger", I have fished recreationally for billfish for over 40 years, and have released every one I have every caught, with the exception of one striped marlin that came up dead.
-
1
-
-
21 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:
They would wheel one into the theater before shore excursions. I remember one on the pool deck somewhere. I think there may have been one near the pool grill, either inside or out.
Like you, I had no interest in using it, as it was single-wall aluminum. No insulating factor, would generate a ton of condensation if you put in ice and cold water, and was virtue signaling of the first order.
Not trying to get into an argument about the environmental impact (what I think you meant by "virtue signaling"), but the alternative is plastic water bottles. How many do you think Oceania would have to supply and then dispose of for 700-1000 passengers on a 7 to 28 day or longer cruise?
But I agree that the aluminum bottles supplied are useless. We brought our own.
BTW, there's a filling station in the gym, as well.
-
1
-
-
Felicia, it was great to meet you and Glen. We enjoyed our first cruise tremendously, and hope you put those couple of extra Big O points to good use!
I'll be posting our impressions of Insignia shortly. Happy New Year!
- Renee and David
-
2
-
-
14 minutes ago, Harters said:
If you had booked a cruise and subsequently Oceania increased its prices on that cruise, should they also charge you more?
Or, if I'd bought a sofa a few weeks before the sofa company had a sale, would I expect them to refund me the difference in price. Maybe they would where you are in world. But where I am, the sofa company would tell me that's just business and tough luck. Of course, they wouldnt be able to tell me that for a while, until they stopped laughing.
If the sofa had been paid for but not yet delivered, absolutely. Just did that with a piece of furniture. The company canceled my purchase, refunded my money, and resold me the piece at the sale price. Some companies will just refund the difference.
-
2
-
-
The heck with an app. How about a functional corporate website? Baby steps...
-
5
-
2
-
-
You can check out the reviews for any 5 star resort or restaurant in the world, and you will find many more negative reviews than you could imagine, especially if you thought the venue deserved the excellent rating.
For example, I recently stayed at a well-know hotel in Vegas for the first time. If you read the reviews on the "advisor" website, many complained about ridiculously long waits to check in or out. I was there when the place was fully booked and it took less than 10 minutes from the time I got to reception until I had my room key.
That being said, I've has a few bad experiences at supposedly excellent hotels and restaurants, which I chalk up as one-off events. It's gonna happen occasionally, even at the finest places.
I'm taking my first cruise on Insignia this December, and I've read the same reviews here that you have. But I can't wait to board - seems to me the if Oceania uses this ship for its Round the World cruise, it must be pretty good.
-
3
-
-
4 hours ago, Woodrowst said:
After this gets settled could someone tell me how Caribbean is pronounced in Royal Carribean? 😉
For some strange reason I pronounce both ways, depending on usage.
As a geographical location, "Car i-BEE-an", as in "We're going to the Car -i-BEE-an".
As an adjective, "CarI-bee-an", as in "We're taking a Car-I-bee-an cruise".
So I suppose it's "Royal Car-I bee-an" for me.
And I never thought about this until I read this thread, so maybe I actually did learn something on this board, other than how many bottles of booze I can bring to my stateroom, which varies from zero to 6 to unlimited, depending on who you ask.
-
1
-
-
Right downtown, near Bayfront and Miami Beach. No free Port shuttle, but a $10-15 taxi or Uber ride:
https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/florida/hyatt-regency-miami/miarm
-
...and that's why the Good Lord created the martini.
-
1
-
3
-
-
Just now, nuevowavo said:3 hours ago, Ocean Mouse said:
How do I get from FLL to the Fort Lauderdale Brightline station?
Either Uber or https://www.gobrightline.com/offers/fixed-route-shuttles
I've Been Considering Oceania, but Their Aggressive Sales Tactics Turn Me Off
in Oceania Cruises
Posted