PhD-iva

13 hours ago, DeepFreeze63 said:

Go Navy; BEAT Army.

This.

5 hours ago, osandomir said:

How was the quartet? Did you like it?

Have recently been on Sirena, and they were quite good!

Someone has suggested that the waitlist processes overnight, and presumably emails/notifications would subsequently be sent out.

IF this is the case (and I don’t know if it is), I would add it to the list of many examples of underinvestment in IT systems.

17 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

There’s no upcharge if you have a beverage package. The pairing menu suggests a wine to complement each course. 

Jim_Iain, ORV isn’t sure my information is correct.

Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept, is to investigate if “ALL” the paired wines are available by the glass. 
I wouldn’t want to lead anyone astray, so thx in advance!

15 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

I won't tell your husband.  It a little secret just between us and the other folks on the O board ☺️

😃😃!!

31 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Robin

I think the upgraded package unblocks the streaming, but does not provide increased bandwidth or speed.

I’ve read the opposite here on CC boards, but I’m happy to be wrong. Don’t tell my husband - I will deny, deny, deny (bc I’m never wrong!!).

8 minutes ago, ORV said:

I don't pay a lot of attention to the left side of the menu with the Wine Pairing, but isn't there some wines that are not on the By the Glass menu? 

Thx for following up on this. Let’s hope some current cruisers will look into this and report back .

On 9/16/2024 at 3:12 PM, DJP31 said:

I was on Regatta on an Alaskan cruise last week - arrived home today. Apart from the slight faff of having to sign in and out (only one device connected at a time) I found the signal to be fine for general email and internet browsing. No streaming but if that's important to you you can buy an upgraded package.

 

I also bought an esim which was really cheap and so much better than a roaming package from my regular cell phone airtime provider.

Upgraded package doesn’t provide access to streaming. Those websites are blocked, e.g., Netflix, Prime….

5 hours ago, durberville said:

How do the “food and wine pairings” on the menu work? I’ve never read anything about them. I assume they have an up charge? 

There’s no upcharge if you have a beverage package. The pairing menu suggests a wine to complement each course. 

On 9/15/2024 at 1:53 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Iain use to work for Janet Yellen when she was president of the SF Federal Reserve. 

Since we’re dropping names here, and it’s OK to go off topic, I’ll just chime in that Janet Yellen was my intro to macro economics professor at Cal. My undergraduate education at Cal was so good, that I hardly learned anything new in my graduate studies at NYU. 

I’m on the next itinerary, hoping to help Jan to celebrate her big day. My cabin mate and I are looking forward to heading over to East Bay to visit our Alma Mater.

Enjoy your cruise and come back here to post your general questions.

23 minutes ago, Alimars said:

Our cruise Nov 2024 was canceled middle eastern mosaic

we rebooked onto grandeur of the ancient Nov 2025-dec 2025

Istanbul to Dubai 

 

did u just cancel that one 

I’m wondering what will happen since our one time transfer had been already used on there cancellation 

we have 3 other cruises booked not including middle east 

 

i dont want to cancel this and loose all our early booking credits

 

wondering what Oceania is going to do about this cruise?

have u heard anything?

 

 

Alimar, if you’d like my real opinion, pls email me. See my signature, thx!

I’m enough of a cynic to assume if moving dinner hours to an earlier start would increase revenue/attract new cruisers, that Corporate wouldn’t care about a shorter break for staff.

If you’re more generous than I am, you could assume they’ll increase staffing to compensate/accommodate breaks for staff.

5 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

What was the original itinerary which you changed from ?

Three days before the Hamas attack, I used a future cruise credit to book a Nov 2025 Istanbul to Dubai itinerary. Due to the seriousness of the issues in the Middle East, I wasn’t going to mention the itinerary.
But since you asked…….

Deadline to book under SM is 30 September. Today I made my 1 (free) transfer of a book-on-board reservation to a different itinerary that doesn’t travel through the Suez Canal/Red Sea. 
Next O cruise is coming up soon, later this month. Gettin’ ‘cited! 😃

30 minutes ago, kibutzer said:

Staff needs some kind of break between lunch and dinner 

Are you saying they don’t get a break now? Perhaps other CC members are also aware of this issue? 

12 hours ago, tropicalkerry2002 said:

I have never paid for a virgin frozen Pina Colada on Oceania. Been having them for many years, and just got off Insignia one week ago....had at least 6 on that one week cruise.

Thank you so much for this correction. It’s important information. I was probably thinking of the new specialty mocktails that they are offering. I believe those have a charge unless you’re on a certain beverage package. I’m just not familiar with those details.
 

But thank you again for this information, and my sister-in-law will be very happy to hear this!

1 hour ago, deck chair said:

I have  been on three Oceania cruises to date for a total of 67 days and have a 77 day cruise booked for January.  Miami to Singapore on Insignia.  I prefer to eat after 8 which is probably too late for most of the O passengers I see. I think it would be helpful if they opened up the dining venues earlier which would allow more slots.    

I find it useful to check with the reservations desk whenever I walk by because people do cancel.  For example, I cancelled my reservation for Toscana because I find the overly bright lights in that venue in very unappealing. In addition, I have stopped in at a restaurant before going to the GDR and chat with the MD and find there is an opening because people didn't show up.  If I don't get a table I think the MD anyway and just go to the GDR.  Hardly the end of the world.  

As far as tipping is concerned, I always tip the waiters and the MD on my way out  because I appreciate what they have done for me and it builds the relationship especially on long cruises. I don't tip beforehand because its bad form.  On the other hand, I don't go on vacation to snitch on the MDs who APPEAR to be taking a tip for a table. If you do, good for you and I hope that improves your cruise experience.                    

People on CC have expressed an opinion, that the reason why the restaurants do not open earlier is because many guests would be more likely to retire to their cabins even earlier than they already do. In order to attract new cruisers to Oceania (who are probably younger), O needs there to be a little bit more nightlife, not less nightlife.
This is the explanation that I have heard, just passing along the message 

For penthouse categories and below, the deposit is $500, IIRC. Others will jump in if incorrect.

Not sure about your second question since it’s never happened to me.

1 hour ago, EJL2023 said:

Would be nice if she at least advised the right person to call to find the answer. 

How would anyone know who the OP booked with? Did I miss something?

1 hour ago, ronrick1943 said:

Something that I would have when to the Hotel manager and had a discussion of what happened and ask them why.

I’m not sure I understand why the hotel manager would have any authority over running the tenders or transporting excursions. I would’ve thought this was the domain of destination services, and we know that sometimes it is run like a bunch of clowns in a clown car. Not always, thankfully.

17 hours ago, Thought2go said:

This is disappointing as Oceania now states with the “Your World…”their staff only work for Smiles not Tips. Guess I will still need those Jacksons…..

No No No.

WAIT! Does this make me one of the NoNoers???

I am very sorry this happened to you. The ship should have done more for their passengers. I believe that they outsource this function to the destination services desk, and sometimes it’s a real failure.

You have a valid point that when a failure like this happens, Oceania should follow up with some kind of apology or credit to try to make it right. Doing it right in the first place would’ve been best, however something to make it better is second best and better than nothing.

I was waitlisted for a penthouse on Riviera’s transitAtlantic in 2021. I think it was only the second itinerary after they reopened after Covid.
One day I was just playing around on the website, and I noticed that penthouses were available, so I had my TA grab one for me.

1 hour ago, JCMass. said:

We are on the Nautica in a concierge veranda.  I thought we bought Simply More, but we booked this over a year ago and the words OLife ring a bell.  It just looked like anything we would be most interested in is included so we were not too concerned about exactly what.  

There is a place on your invoice (page 3?) that will identify which OL benefit you selected when you purchase the cruise. I’m not home right now, but in an hour or two I’ll try to post more info