Bob from Florida

An additional consideration. O offers small culinary classes for a reasonable price where some of the dishes offered in the specialty restaurants (i.e. Ginger and Toscana) are demonstrated and recipes are provided. You will have the opportunity to recreate the offerings during the class. For a non-cook, I was personally interested in creating a dish that I would (the next day) compare at the actual restaurant. I came somewhat close.

We just returned from a Marina B2B Atlantic crossing continuing on to Trieste from BCN. The PH suites were excellent, the butler was exceptional, each restaurant (both specialties and GDR/Terrace) were great experiences and we enjoyed having the GDR opened just for us moving onto the second leg while the new cruisers were coming on board in BCN. I was very successful in bringing on board the wine allocation (double the allowable limit actually). Just put it into padded wine six-pack boxes and curb check it when getting on board for the first time. It will be delivered to your room. The hiccups were interesting. Oceania seems to have developed and implemented a new accounting system in conjunction with the Simply More program and many in reception could not explain how it worked and, in many cases, lied. It took a backroom officer to explain it; however, even he admitted he was having trouble with it and had to rebuild my invoice on a spreadsheet so that I understood (and I do have an MBA). The more interesting problem was Destination Services who did not have my pre-paid Oceania transportation in their system for Trieste to VCE and had to communicate with Miami for a solid week to resolve it (luckily I had the receipt showing the prepayment). But the weirdest one was Destination putting me on the wrong bus/excursion. I had purchased a 4.5 hour trip to see some Roman ruins but went on a nine-hour visit to a couple of nunneries. There is a difference between the two and when I asked about it upon my return (and almost missed the ship) I discussed the issue with Destination Services who quickly admitted the error and refunded the excursion fee. The visit to the nunnery was not very interesting and was very crowded. "Get thee to a nunnery" took on new meaning for me that day. Bottom line, the trip was great, weather wonderful, a couple of nights of bumpy seas, and just relaxing. Just watch your account invoice to insure all the credits due to you were there (they were not in my case). AND MAKE SURE YOU ARE GETTING ON THE RIGHT BUS. READ THE SIGN ON THE BUS BEFORE GETTING ON OR YOU WILL HAVE A FEW SUPRISES. Bob

I think I'm seeing a solution here, if not otherwise carried on the cabin TV. Get the app and upgrade the wifi for the tablet at $10.00 per day. I assume that if one signs up for the wifi upgrade, she/he can select the number of days that it is needed and not be locked in for the entire cruise. Any experience here? Go Iowa.

Well, the women's march to the final 4 and finals happen while we're enroute from MIA to Trieste. The final 4 is on ESPN and the finals on CBS. Obviously this year is really, really good. Anyone had experience on whether or not major sports events are carried on the O television system knowing that we probably cannot stream them on the wifi? I will be upset if they carry the men's final and not the distaff version.

So, update from above postings. I contacted the recommended service providers and all said that however one arrives to VCE is of no concern to them. If by car, simply say that in the on-line registration and approximate time to complete the transaction. One of them said that clearly the hotel did not know what they were talking about and didn't know how to complete the reservation process without a flight involved. Based upon the price the hotel was quoting (190 euros) vs direct booking (150 euros) I took out the middleman by booking direct with someone who knew what they were doing.

Thanks for the responses and the contact info is very helpful. I'm not sure what the problem is at the hotel and it is not a language issue. The response was in a well written email and very specific about the "rules". I'm now checking with the above recommended service providers to see what they say. But ORV is correct. This sounds like bad info from the hotel (which is very well known in Venice).

So, our Marina cruise docks in Trieste for Venice and we have scheduled private transportation Trieste to VCE with a goal of taking a private water taxi to the Venice hotel (we have a whole lot of bags). I am now being told by the hotel that private water taxi service originating from VCE is only for those arriving via plane and the only option for us is to take a land taxicab or bus to Piazzale Roma and track down an available (non private) water taxi to get to the hotel. Has anyone had this problem (only arriving plane passengers can have this direct service) or is the hotel being difficult?

My experiences with the Executive Lounge (Marina, deck 11) have been exceptional. Examples: 1. Easy access for that morning cuppa before breakfast arrives. SO, not being ready for folks delivering breakfast, appreciates the coffee while still in her bathrobe. 2. On our last excursion, Air France decided that we didn't need our checked bags, and left them at CDG while we moved on to Copenhagen for a three night pre-cruise. All our communication with AF was met with a verbal shrug and indifference. The gentlemen in the Executive Lounge took over the conversation with AF and our luggage arrived at our second port of call. They had the phone number to call people at AF. SO's attitude significantly improved with the arrival of the missing bags. 3. The Executive Lounge was never crowded. No more that a couple of folks grabbing coffee/etc or reading a newspaper.

Thanks all for the great input and recommendations. I agree Barcelona is a wonderful city with an overload to your senses. I might get off to reload the wine supply.

We're on a B2B with a cabin switch in BCN. While we understand the process and our butler is our best friend to accomplish this, what we're wondering is if we really have to get off the ship, do a u-turn, and get right back on. We'd rather hide out on board (and find a bar) than get back in line to reboard. Any advice?

My recent experience with a Guaranteed suite worked out very well on O. Booked a PH2 guaranteed and waitlisted a PH1. The PH2 assignment came in today on deck 11 in a very nice location. The PH1 remains waitlisted with two in front of me. The best part is that we're on a B2B trip with the first leg in a PH1. The PH2 for leg two is literally 2 doors away. An easy move.

Today, the specialty restaurant reservations for our MIA-BCN trip opened up for us and we were able to get the desired times/dates. However, La Reserve does not have that on-line capability. Called O and the agent said that O took down that capability and the only way to book a reservation was to wait until on board and speak to the reservation desk. Just what I want to do, stand in another line. Anyone find a work around?

Thank you all for the advice. The goal, therefore, is to make holes in the wine carrier for purchases made ashore and brought back to the US. Cheers.

We will soon depart on a B2B (back to back) cruises on the same ship but change rooms between legs. Both are PH1's. I understand I can bring up to 6 bottles of wine for personal use; however, as there are two bookings (one for each leg) I am trying to determine if I can bring on the second group of 6 for use on the 2nd leg. I am ok if Oceania wants to store the 2nd half case until then; however, in talking to Oceania's folks, they said it was not possible as their system is not that flexible. Their suggestion was to either ship the "extra" wine to the mid-point (and pay for the custom duties and delivery fees) or just purchase wine on shore during the 2nd leg. Has anyone run into this scenario and found a work around?