redraider1966

There were a number of loungers on the port and starboard lifeboat areas (Deck 5) on Insignia during our just-completed MIA-SFO cruise.

If you were on these cruises, your Oceania Club account has a record of every Oceania cruise you've taken, including dates, ship, and stateroom no.

As NCLH shareholders, having bought 100 shares in March 2020 to take advantage of the OBC benefit at 10.50/share, we're still ahead as of today's closing price. With three more cruises on the books, we'll have paid ourselves back . . . .

FWIW. During our 12/28/2022-1/15/2023 cruise on Insignia, we booked two cruises (one in 2024 and one in 2025), and purchased a Future Cruise Certificate. For both the 2024 cruise and the FCC, we received the $300 OBC per the promotion that expired on January 8, 2023/January 8, 2023, as the O Club Ambassador stressed to us and during her future cruise presentation on a sea day, along with being flagged in flyers distributed on board. For the 2025 cruise, comprised of two segments, we received $500 OBC, again per the promotion that expired on 1/8/2023 -- the day we booked it. The paperwork we received on all three transactions reflects the foregoing.

Pre-pandemic (January 2019), we did an Antarctic "drive-by" on Azamara's Pursuit (RT from Buenos Aires). While the itinerary was fantastic and the Captain, officers, and crew generally first-rate, our experience was not the most pleasant, owing to a serious outbreak of G-I maladies affecting a significant number of pax (including my spouse) over several days. We were forced to conclude that the most likely explanation was Azamara's ill-conceived practice of allowing pax to serve themselves at their equivalent of the Terrace Cafe and infecting every/every serving utensil in sight. This is based on having seen even the ship's entertainment troupe being "drafted" to assist in serving along the buffer line and observing other measures taken to minimize opportunities for pax to handle any serving utensils. If Azamara's practice of allowing pax to serve themselves is still in place, this remains a deal breaker for us. With 16 O cruises on all 6 ships under our belt, we have never had any quarrel with O's servers in the Terrace serving the pax and believe it is the preferable way to control the spread of G-I infections. We recognize O's way does not eliminate the possibility of contracting something, but we are convinced it significantly lessens the risk.

Ray Carr is indeed on Insignia as we speak and will be on board for most, if not all, of the world cruise (we're only on for the first segment (MIA-SFO)). He is great and runs a mean Team Trivia. I believe at least part of his perceived "absence" was the result of having to spend 9 months in Bali when the pandemic hit and Oceania shut down operations worldwide.

Wrong Rock; wrong strait; wrong part of the Med . . . .

FWIW. We received our "blue books" today (12/6/2022) for a December 28 cruise on Insignia directly from the printers in New Jersey.

For a cruise departing on December 28, 2022, our Shareholder Benefit of $250 appeared in our account less than a week after we emailed the required paperwork in early October.

Rather late in the game, we recently booked a segment cruise (MIA-SFO) on Insignia's ATW, which departs on 12/28/22, with Oceania's Air. At the 75 day mark, O did provide us with the "assigned" air itinerary and "record locator numbers." However, that data does not allow us to change the included arbitary seat assignments, unless and until the tickets are paid for and we have confirmation numbers in hand. We have pressed for tickets to be issued on the strength of our already-made final cruise payment, only now to be told O is not authorizing air ticket issuance until the 45-day mark, claiming the frequent schedule changes the airlines are engaged in. Our chief concern is not ending up with middle seats on flights during the holiday period, especially since both our outbound and return flights are domestic.

+1. Are you getting the popcorn ready??

+1. And more recently, the overwhelmingly gracious hospitality shown to thousands of Americans and others, whose airliners were diverted to Newfoundland owing to the closing of U.S. airspace in the immediate wake of 9/11.

A big Plus 1 for Michele and Island Wings. My son and I flew with her some years ago on a picture perfect day.