halfapair

What say you, Oceania Experts?  We are going to Toscana on the first night of our cruise, that's why December 31st choices are down to GDR or Polo.

If we were on the Marina or Riviera I would choose Jacques, but alas, that is not a choice on Insignia.

What a great itinerary you had! I would be super bummed, too, and probably cancel. The other itinerary pales in comparison.

Probably “Anisette,” a sweet, anis flavored liquor from the Mediterranean.

On 10/8/2022 at 7:18 PM, Micro986 said:

I think removing the plastic bottles is a great move. I was shocked when we took ATVs around Aruba,  there were small beaches  covered in plastic. It was shocking to see. 

Countries responsible for the most ocean trash:

India: 126.5 million kg

China: 70.7 million kg

Indonesia: 56.3 million kg

Brazil: 38 million kg

When we were on the Marina we loved Jacques, so every day we stopped at the reservation desk to see if there was an opening for dinner. We ended up eating there at least 3 times on our 12-day cruise.

I have also used the Binax Now tests to return to the USA from Spain. Make sure you get the type that is proctored by a live person. Binax has a couple of different types. The proctored ones cost a bit more.

We used our cell phones to do the tests. Just scan the QR code, and it links you up with a person. They check your ID (we used our drivers licenses), and watch you open the test and take it. Then they put you on a timer, and check back with you in 10-15 minutes to view your results.

Very easy & quick.

We stayed at the Skt. Petri https://www.sktpetri.com/

It's an excellent hotel, great location, very comfortable rooms (black out curtains if you're getting over jet lag and need a nap), and a fantastic breakfast.

We were able to walk or take transit everywhere we needed to go.

This site does list the Insignia being at Grand Cayman on December 30, 2022:

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/grand-cayman-island-port-25?tab=schedule&month=2022-12#schedule
 

I did read on the Port board for Cayman Islands that some places like The White House are permanently closed. Oceania is still offering The White House as a shore excursion on their generic S/E page. So maybe the operators they have worked with in the past (pre pandemic) are no longer in business.🤷🏼‍♀️

They are listed generally, but if you have a booking, and you want to book a shore excursion for your cruise, you cannot. When you go into the booking tool, the day is grayed out like a sea day. The first available port to book a shore excursion is Cartagena, Columbia.

We are booked on the December 28th sailing on Insignia from Miami to San Francisco, via the Panama Canal. Our first stop was supposed to be on December 30th at Grand Cayman. It has been grayed out in the Shore Excursion area, so no bookings are possible. I called Oceania and the rep confirmed that it's not available for bookings, which means that stop is most likely cancelled.

Has anyone been on a cruise lately that was supposed to stop at Grand Cayman, but got cancelled? Do they typically substitute another port? Or do we just float around for 4 days in the Caribbean waiting for Cartagena?

We are scheduled to fly to Miami on December 24th for our December 28th cruise. If our flight is cancelled, I have reserve a rental car and we will drive from Seattle to Miami to get on our cruise. I am hoping that 4 days of cushion allows us to fly to Miami.

I really don't want to drive that distance in 4 days during the winter. We could do it, but I don't want to.

Pack a couple of changes of clothing in your carry-ons. And for goodness sake, pack all prescription meds in your carry-ons!!

We stayed at the Downtown Camper hotel by Scandia prior to a Baltic Cruise. It was close to everything, easy walking distance to all the sights in Stockholm. Breakfast was amazing, definitely get down early if you don’t want to wait in line.

https://www.scandichotels.com/downtowncamper

We are booked on a cruise in December 2022 and will be stopping in George Town, Grand Cayman. I would like to spend the day at the beach. Are there lounge chairs available to rent at SMB? Are there places to buy drinks? 
 

If chairs and refreshments aren’t available at SMB, are there other beaches that do offer these services?

It is really unbelievable to me that a mid-level, unelected bureaucrat can seemingly shut down an entire industry.

Get out there and live, people! If you can catch a cruise in another country, do it. If you've always wanted to go to Paris, now's the time.

Don't let the CDC tell you to stop your life. We've traveled during Covid - flew from Seattle to Boston last September and spent 3 weeks looking at pretty leaves. We ate out EVERY DAY, sometimes in crowded places indoors.

We didn't get so much as a sniffle.

Live your life now. Assess the risk, take precautions, but live.

Hello, it’s been a while since we’ve been on Royal Caribbean cruise, so the Unlimited Dining Plan is a new concept for us. We prefer the specialty restaurants, so there is no doubt it would be a good deal for us. I do have a couple of questions:

1. Can I use the plan at Cafe Latte-tudes for coffee, etc?

2. At Chops, some items have an additional surcharge, such as the seafood tower ($39), would I still need to pay the surcharge for that?

Thank you,

Susan

We are thinking of taking a 16 day Panama Canal cruise in December 2021. It will have 7 sea days, one is daytime transit of the Canal. I know Oceania isn’t known for their onboard entertainment (we did a 12 day Baltic cruise on the Marina, but nearly every day was a port day). 
 

What types of activities, entertainment, etc. can we expect on the Panama Canal cruise during the day?

3 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

The spa terrace on the R ships is very small compared to Marina  but it does have a small shaded area

it is  a personal choice

One lounger in the sun, and one in the shade is how we roll. Everyone is happy.

1 hour ago, Roccaforte said:

We sailed on Insignia just before the shutdown in a PH.  We really enjoyed the quiet and privacy of the Spa Terrace although we did miss having a concierge lounge.   We were on a warm weather cruise to the Caribbean and the lounge chairs at the main pool were frequently filled, so having the option was good.  I think you can also get a hot breakfast in a concierge cabin.  I’m sure you’ll enjoy Insignia whatever you decide.  The ship looked beautiful - the service was excellent and the food was great.

Yes, I am thinking the Spa Terrace would be a good place to have access to since the cruise has 7 sea days, and I love sitting in the warm sun. The hot breakfast option is great, especially when you have an early excursion to get to.

We are considering a Panama Canal cruise on Insignia in December 2021. We previously cruise with Oceania on the Marina, and had a concierge level stateroom which we enjoyed. The Insignia does not have a concierge lounge, but if we chose a concierge stateroom we would get unlimited access to the Spa Terrace.

Given that this would be a “warm weather” cruise with quite a few sea days, would it be worth it to have access to the Spa Terrace. I like to lounge in the sun, my husband prefers shade.

On a Princess cruise we enjoyed time in the Sanctuary on sea days (even shade-loving husband enjoyed it).

I look forward to hearing your opinions.

I live about 30 miles SE of Seattle. The Seattle area has had quite an outbreak and unfortunately it has hit senior care centers particularly hard. My husband is retired and I am able to work from home, so we are doing OK.

We only go out to go to the grocery store or take a drive.

We miss the grandkids. We have a 2 year old granddaughter and a 4 month old grandson. If the weather were better we could spend time in the backyard with them, but since it's cold & rainy we can't really visit.

Husband & I have sailed with several cruise lines: Princess, Norwegiian, RCL, and Oceania. We LOVED Oceania - did a 12 day Baltic Cruise with them in 2017 on the Marina. Now we are spoiled. The food & service were excellent. We had a Concierge stateroom and really enjoyed the Concierge lounge with coffee & snacks all day long. It was a nice place to read newspapers, watch the news and generally hang out.

We also liked the fact that it was Club Casual for dinner. We never had to dress up.

We do wish the entertainment was better, but it was not that big a deal. Our itinerary was very port-intensive with only one sea day. And we really needed that day to rest and do laundry, etc.

We would love to cruise with them again - sooner rather than later.

We were on the Crown for a 10-Day Caribbean cruise from Dec 27-Jan 6th, and we missed a port (Grenada) due to the generator problem. It was very disappointing because we were really looking forward to that port.

Interesting that they have not been able to fix the generator problem on the Crown.

Yes, we travel light. We each have 1 piece of wheeled luggage, and one backpack/carry on.

Thank you. We will take your advice and ask early in the cruise if we can disembark in the first group.

We will be on the December 27th sailing of the Crown, a 10-Day Caribbean itinerary. We get back into port on Monday, January 6th at 7:00am, and we have an 11:00 am flight out of Fort Lauderdale Airport.

Will we be able to self disembark and carry our own luggage off the ship?  We did that a few years ago on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Does Princess allow that?