Snaefell3

At 6 weeks, exactly, from when DoS received the application, my DW's renewal ticked over to "APPROVED" at https://passportstatus.state.gov/, and https://www.usps.com/manage/informed-delivery.htm now shows "USPS awaiting item from PASSPORT SERVICES/DOS TUCSON, AZ". We signed up for "Email Updates" at the status site, but no email (yet). PS: We paid for neither "Expedited Service" nor an Expediter. PPS: My renewal is still reporting "IN PROGRESS" 😞

I suspect that once upon a time, they did ...until someone plugged a 110v-only device into a 240v outlet with an adapter bought onboard and loudly blamed the ship for letting the "magic smoke" out of their device.

A thought for you: Plug-into-the-wall adapters can have problems with tight spaces around the wall plug, but @FlyerTalker's option leaves you with a "tail" to get snagged, dumping everything on the floor (Ask me how I know 🙄). Plug-into-the-wall types can even come with different pop-out pins for USA, EU, AUS, and UK walls: https://www.amazon.com/EPICKA-Universal-Travel-Adapter-Power/dp/B078S3M2NX

Thank you. Learned something. Seems mine is at the "National" center in NH. Kinda hard to drop by from CA if things go awry. At 5 weeks, yesterday, will update.

Got taught "Proper Preparation Prevents P[athetically] Poor Performance" long ago. My final payment ain't due until December. ::knocks on wood:: 😉

Rats! You both had me hoping. Mine had to go to Irving 😞

Did you mail to Irving, TX or Philadelphia, PA?

Non-trivial distinction: "Expedited" = Cut processing time at Dept of State by about a month. "Expeditor" = Pay a contractor to get you a renewed passport in hand in as little as 1 week. Were it me, I'd go with @pinotlover's advice, and pay an expeditor. (Find a good one, though, and plan to *spend* -- but if you're on O that often, it's likely pocket change 😉 )

Exactly my point: They collect passports for reasons other than needing to stamp them.

Data point for you: On Regatta's Mar '23 (LA/Ensenada/SF...) our US passports were collected upon embarkation and returned to us as we entered the Regatta's Lounge to clear customs on Day 4 of 7. No stamping involved, just O making sure our passports made it to the CBP inspection. (Of course, Mr Murphy brought his Law to the festivities: They'd labeled our passports with the wrong cabin number when they collected them, so there was minor hilarity whilst CBP glared and the Purser's folks scrambled to find them.)

Spoilsport! I was having too much fun visualizing some poor butler sticking a fishing pole over the fantail. 😉

The elephant in the ...cabin is the fact that satellite uplink costs vary widely by ship's latitude and satellite provider. When your ship has low-cost uplinks, you should have plenty of bandwidth for most any voice method; if not, buy postcards. When I have enough bandwidth for two-way audio, I find it easiest to just shift my cellphone to "Wi-Fi calling": • https://support.google.com/phoneapp/answer/2811843?hl=en • https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203032

Didn't have my coffee this morning before reading the thread title... " 'Still Onboard Marina'? Why would they need a still?!?"

That's why we get included internet. I'd starve on Oceania otherwise.

There's "sliders" and then there's the trio from PG: ground Kobe beef, lobster, and crab cake. And --ahem-- the fries are "Allumettes", not just "shoestring" 😉

If you're retired, there is a brute-force solution to jet lag: For 'x' days before your trip, change your personal time-zone by one hour per day until you are on UK time. As for Stonehenge, you're outside a rope-line about 40 feet from the stones except for (A) 26 "Special Access" dawn or sunset passes per day, or (B) as a "Druid" on a Solstice or Equinox.

I'm not sure Oceania can even spell "shoestring". ::runs and hides::

Also, save room for afternoon tea (4pm-5) in Horizons, and maybe a steak from Room Service to get you from 5 to 6:30. 🙂

Yup. And Oceania has that horrid rep for having a super-rigid policy against getting diners off-menu items, right? 😉

To clarify... Oceania *will* special order your favourite if it's not normally stocked aboard your ship. If the shoreside supplier for your voyage doesn't have it in stock, well... 😞 And, yes, do give them time to mangle the paperwork.

Tea and coffee (iced, regular, and espresso) and soft drinks are complimentary to all passengers, Moreover if something they don't normally stock is your thing, let Special Services@OceaniaCruises.com (through your TA if you have one) know and they'll keep a stash of it in your cabin fridge -- refilled daily.

Last March on Regatta, the port talks on the TV was simply a recording of the live port talks given earlier in the Lounge. As for the CD on the 1MC? SOLAS requires sounding the alarm. Common sense requires a "don't sweat it *this* time" announcement in all spaces.

Object lesson from Miami yesterday [Sun, 25 Jun '23]... Investigation of a fatal pleasure boat/ferry collision at 4am closed ship channels and delayed cruise ship dockings until 3pm. Probably 10,000+ debarking folks missed their flights. Planning on super quick connections is just asking for Mr Murphy to show up with his Law. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy's_law)

Methinks it was likely a matter of grabbing the wrong mic. THAT one you don't want to be able to squelch.

If you're talking about the lines outside 10002, 10010, and across the front of 10000 and 10001, that seems to imply the balconies are wooden-planked.