CruisinShips

I'm sure you're very nice, and I don't mean to be rude, but I think we should should probably meet before we do that. Hope that helps.

I happen to have 7 night cruises booked with Celebrity for October (in the Retreat, Celebrity suite, in an older ship, the Eclipse), and Oceania (PH2 on the Vista) for February. Almost identically priced, except Celebrity has everything included and a whopping $925 total in OBCs. Just sharing info...not any opinions!

No offense to the OP, but the idea of coming on CC to post a picture of a burger I got from a buffet on a cruise ship is simply not a thing I could imagine occurring to me to do. Maybe it's partly that I don't expect high quality ANYTHING at a cruise ship buffet, and partly that it's such a minor thing to focus on when on a week+ long cruise vacation. I suppose we all have things that seem important to us...and I don't begrudge others from expressing what's important to them...that's just not something I can relate to!

Is that better or worse than me bobbing for cole slaw?

Can you just show up at any time without reservations? 😉

Worth it, or does it make more sense to wander around on our own at this stop? Thanks

Other than that people don't know an attempt at humor when they see one? 😉

In fairness to Virgin, the food was very good, the crew was great, and the suite perks (called Mega Rockstars) were excellent. We only had to fight off all of the swingers who had a tough time taking no for an answer. That part was tiring. 😉

I agree this is a nice thread, and it matches my observation of this forum as compared to others I've participated in on CC. We too will be going on our first O cruise, on the Vista as well, but not until 2/24. We have a Celebrity cruise scheduled for the fall, and most recently tried Virgin for something new and different. I suspect the contrast between Virgin and O will be striking to put it mildly, as V is definitely geared towards a 20-40 something crowd and has a somewhat "racier" vibe to it. I am assuming O doesn't have an ice cream parlor onboard with the name "Lick me till Ice Cream" like Virgin does ;). As a couple in our early 60s, we are probably in that tweener age group...but good people are good people regardless of age, and if this group is any indication, we will love Oceania.

I have heard the brown water is the result of the sink in each cabin being connected to the toilet in the adjacent cabin. When that person flushes their toilet, the neighbor gets brown water for a little while. (Sorry...it's Friday and this thread got a little contentious and I thought I'd post something stupid to lighten it up).

They do have adults only resorts FYI. Some people take vacations to have a break from their kids, and they prefer not to share pools and restaurants with other peoples kids for a while. I'm not sure that's a negative thing or anything to be criticized for.

I was just messing with you. I will be sure to behave when I am in your general vicinity though! 😉

Who will you talk to?

Good point and well stated.

Interesting comments, mauibabes, thank you. We have done two land tours with them and thoroughly enjoyed both. The first was their American Canyonlands tour. While the accommodations at the parks were below normal standards, the ability to actually stay in the parks was an amazing experience. There is no other way to wake up at sunrise and step out of your room and walk about 50 years to the southern rim of the Grand Canyon. The second was their Canada's Capital Cities and Niagara Falls tour last October, and that too was excellent with a small group of 22 people and we enjoyed them thoroughly. For those who don't know, you travel between stops in a bus, and when you arrive at each hotel, they hand you a room key and your luggage is delivered to (and picked up from) your room. It's a good blend of scheduled and free time in each stop. The negative for some is the time on a bus. It does in some ways rival a cruise with the transportation aspect being handled by other for you. The hotels are typically among the best in an area, and most meals at local restaurants are included.

Having recently cruised Virgin, I am guessing that is likely the only similarity!

Sure. I find myself still trying to process my opinion on the Virgin cruise, lol. It's just a very interestingly re-invented version of what were used to. No main dining room, but five upscale restaurants (no upcharge) that are, in my opinion as good as specialty restaurants on other mid-range cruise lines. No buffet, but instead a "food hall" setup with various restaurants from which you order from your table (not self serve). The food was all pretty darned good. The entertainment was pretty good. Pop-up entertainment s around the ship at little venues and some very entertaining main shows. The ship was very modern, albeit a little less "intuitive" when it comes to getting around than some of the newer mega ships. It did not feel crowded. Hammocks on every cabin's balcony. The dinner and show reservation process was app based, and was stressful for many who had trouble getting what they wanted in advance. Not the case with "Mega Rockstar" suite category guests. Our Rockstar Agent (butler) was always around and handled all of our arrangements. Fully stocked and restocked bar in our suite. No photographers, very few announcements, no cruise director. No gold by the inch sales and no pushing of sale items. There is an actual tattoo parlor onboard, and I heard it sold out with appointments by the first day. The ages of the passengers is across the board...as a couple in our early 60s we felt like we were above the target age for sure, but we were by no means the oldest on the ship. The no kids thing was a plus for us. We love kids, but it was nice to have an adults only vibe that's hard to explain. All of that was amazing...the crew was the happiest and most upbeat group I have ever seen on a ship. I will say if you're homophobic or otherwise uncomfortable with crew members sporting facial hair and/or tattoos, then this may not be the cruise for you. We saw it as people thriving in a work environment that let them be themselves. It was just a very diverse crowd with an energetic and 20-30 something vibe (in spite of the fact that, as I said, there were many people way older than that) and I still don't know if I liked it although we had a great trip! I know that makes little sense! It was only a 5 night Caribbean cruise, and it was our first post covid cruise...we had a great time and can't wait for our next cruise...we are doing the Pacific Coastal on the Eclipse in October. Hope that helps.

We just tried Virgin a few weeks ago. Very interesting, very different vibe. I can explain more if anyone is interested.

Has anyone here tried Tauck for a land tour or a river cruise? We have been on two of their land tours...pretty first class and a decent alternative to a cruise when seeing sites more inland.

This really has been a great thread. When I posted it I feared it wouldn't be well received, but I am appreciative of everyone who chimed in and shared their own cruising evolutions and insights. I've enjoyed reading your comments and hope there will be more to come!

Can you transfer a cruise booked onboard to a TA?

This is just a wild guess, but I am thinking your chances of being hired as a spokesperson for Carnival or RCL are pretty much out the window!

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for that explanation.

I'm curious why you emphasized that as if you either find it personally offensive, or you work for Oceania? I am not meaning to be snarky at all, just curious why you seemed so emphatic.