Jayne E

18 hours ago, Croooser said:

Extended balcony. Not connecting.

Sorry about noise issue. Quick off topic question. Did you have 2 loungers on your extended balcony?

Thanks!

24 minutes ago, RetiredLifer said:

The aircraft carrier and the two smaller ships were repositioning.  They just happened to be in the queue with the QE2 to go through the Suez Canal.  Aircraft carriers don’t do escort duties. 

This is how alarming rumors begin.  We had similar rumors in Egypt some years ago and only 6 of us left the ship in Alexandria and returned next day to Port Said. Wonderful 2 days and felt safe everywhere. We didn’t have armed guards escort the van either as rumors insisted wete needed. 

1 hour ago, Beagle5 said:

Just curious- do you book through a Travel Agent? This  happened on our two previous O cruises (big drops 2 weeks after final payment). In each case our Melbourne TA was able to get O to offer us a choice of either cabin upgrade, OBC, and in one case a FCC. 
still annoying, but it kept us loyal (for now).

We had a cruise reduced $1,000 after Final Payment. TA got us $1,000 SBC. We were satisfied as we were entitled to nothing. I’ve purchased clothing, furniture, etc. that eventually went on sale for less and no refund or credit. That’s business. We’ve met people who only book cruises after Final Payment and reduced prices. All good if you’re willing to take any cabin and book very late.

Are all cabins getting 2 individual internet connections?

55 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

I think if you are so offended you can utilize the Ignore User feature??? 

The word “offended” was never used by me.  In no way are the posts referred to offending. 
All posts are welcome. All opinions of them are also welcome.
Accusing me of being “so offended” untrue. No need at all for the Ignore User feature.

Wishing all to cruise well and enjoy every moment.

12 minutes ago, Cruzin Terri said:

There comes a point where one just stops reading.

 

Like post 1 hour ago! A personal extremely detailed blog of the upcoming 10 day cruise.

Missing clothing packed details 😊

10 hours ago, Cruzin Terri said:

Thank you.  Get to the point in a concise way instead of a lot of words.

Terri

And I thought it was just me

Always wondered why extended balcony cabins had remained as B3 for so many years.  However, the present 5 category move to A2 on Riviera and Marina is excessive. Cabins on Deck 7 with Concierge Lounge on Deck 9. Not very convenient. 

4 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

She may enjoy O   if she goes with an open mind

See you onboard

As the post states “we made a terrible mistake “, it appears they have already made up their minds.  Quite unfortunate.

4 minutes ago, ORV said:

Here's an idea for you, go and make your own decisions, and don't just see the negative posts. There have been many people go and love it. Until you've experienced it for yourself don't prejudge. Just my .02

Couldn’t agree more!  The main criticisms on this thread is from a couple who disliked almost everything from the moment they saw the cabin and attempted to place their luggage under the bed and the complaints and photos kept coming.  Again, we did the same cruise as them on 9/6 and it was wonderful….our 21st with O. 

3 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Back to X I assume? Not sure why you would book another O cruise based upon your dissatisfaction. 

We did this cruise on 9/6. Our 21st O cruise. Dined in Polo and Toscana 3x each and 1x in GDR. Reading the posts from Calicakes, feels we were on a different cruise. Everything was very good to excellent. For 21 meals, one item had to be returned to be made more well done….of course O made entire item over.  If I dined 21x in a Michelin restaurant I’m sure “something “ would be off. 

We did this cruise on Marina February 2020.

Iguazu Falls not to be missed. Booked flights, Gran Melia Hotel and a guide on our own. Several thousand dollars less than O package. Visited Brazil side day we arrived and Argentina day two. Do the boat ride under the falls on Brazil side….what a great experience!

3 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Your best chance to get first shot at a popular cabin is to be onboard an Oceania ship when new bookings open. The O Club Ambassador can have all your info and deposit in place plus have your preferred cabin ready to grab the moment bookings open on her direct connection to the O servers in Miami. You can then transfer it to your TA of choice within 30 days. There’s also the bonus of a BoB in that you get a BoB discount, extra SBC and a “price drop match” guarantee.

Plus deposit reduced 50% and waiver of $150 pp deposit penalty if you cancel up to 180 days prior to cruise. A nice extra when booking 2 years in advance. 

Weather at ship pool fine. However at the beach, no umbrellas due to wind, strong undercurrent and waves. Eventually everyone was prohibited from entering the water.   We found shade for our loungers and stayed a few hours….still a great day.
St. Catherine Beach yesterday was absolutely wonderful.

Considering we knew how weather can be in September for this itinerary, this cruise has been a winner. 

5 hours ago, maxamize said:

So because Jacques Pépin has reached a certain age you can’t name a restaurant after him that the other ships already have? 

Or a French restaurant with a different name if Mr. Pépin no longer wanted his named restaurant on a new ship?  For us what stood out about O was the 4 very distinct specialty offerings. We’ll be on Vista in November but the majority of Ember reviews are underwhelming. Agree with a previous post that there were enough casual dining venues on Vista without Ember. 

4 missed ports on Riviera last May on 21 day cruise. 
2 due to weather and 2 due to “possible” dock worker strike that didn’t occur.
Replaced with 2 sea days, an additional day in present port and Salerno. 
No additional activities, movies, open bar, pool deck entertainment, etc. 

Caribbean cruise in December missed Puerta Plata….low water level…replaced with sea day. It was the 3rd time in a row port was missed for same reason….time to eliminate this port? 

Our first 18 O cruises, averaging 15 days each, we missed 2 ports.

We've only sailed O since 2007 and for the most part are very happy with our cruises, except for quite a few cancelled ports post Covid and shortened port times.  When O was bought by Norwegian several years ago, we expected there'd be cut backs and there have been. Not enough to change lines but obvious to long time O cruisers.

Food/service in specialty restaurants very good.  MDR choices greatly reduced and often repeated.....but a good meal can still be had.  MDR used to be open for lunch on port days....no longer.  Lunch menu in MDR when open is a repeat of Terrace Cafe items, just plated. 

Cruise lines were shut down for almost 2 years.  Changes to be expected in order to "stay afloat".

5 hours ago, Rumpledbumskin said:

Too early to say I think. After all, the experiment is only a few months old.

 

Jim

True, but haven’t seen one post stating they can’t wait to return to Ember. 

31 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Excellent review.

 

I pose a question for you. Do you possibly think the reason for Ember being “ not very busy” was because others had already voted with their feet?

There have been several posts stating cancellations for their 2nd Ember reservation. 
Glad to know about 1 hr dinner experience. Will def let server know beforehand to “slow it down.”

9 hours ago, seascot said:

We were in 8121 which is a concierge with extended balcony.  Still no loungers on the balcony.  If you want a quiet cabin, do NOT book this cabin as it is opposite the crew pantry which is in constant use as we sadly found out on our recent cruise.

I was told that O’s policy is no loungers on extended Concierge verandahs. 
Our May 2025 12 day Vista cruise in A2 is $1,100 more than B3. We booked A2 but if still no loungers next year, we will return to B3 as no interest in Concierge other than loungers on verandah. 
I understand moving extended balcony cabins to Concierge for more revenue but why remove the most important amenity? Makes no sense. 

4 hours ago, TakingFlight said:

Thank you! I’ve been biting my tongue every time I see the plural versions. 

So now you’re not biting your tongue!
Bite your tongue again when you dine on the underwhelming food and chat with your companion who can’t hear you due to noise at EMBER.  Hope I got it right!!👍

5 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

NIT PICK

 It is EMBER

THE TERRACE

 no "S"  on either

That is "Nit Pick" for sure!! Won't change the menu or noise level 🙂 

Reviews of Embers are mainly the same.....average menu and food, noisy and a step down from Jacques.  Booking Riviera/Marina whenever possible, however for Caribbean where we're at port in under an hour, only option now is Vista. 

9 hours ago, china addict said:

The food in Red Ginger is prepared to appeal to a wide swath of diners, many of whom prefer their food bland.  After a few initial disappointments we have learned to specify that we are not afraid of spicy.  I actually believe that when the chefs are advised upfront, they enjoy making their dishes as  authentic as possible.  Don't leave it to chance, specify your heat preference when ordering. 

Perfectly stated! We found that when ordering, waitstaff would warn us that dish was spicy. We think they see an older couple and assume we like bland food.  We specify spicy and have always enjoyed some very good spicy dishes.

46 minutes ago, anamari said:I was super excited to see the remodeled Riviera and was soo looking forward to the new walk in shower but lo' and behold we ended up with a tub in our bathroom. I called the Front Desk to discuss this as we were never told and they gave me a song and dance (the same man I mention above) said he would refer it to the GM to call me and never heard a word from them.

I believe that all A4 Riviera cabins have a tub. Our friends insisted on an A4 for cruise next week and insisted that their TA knows “everything “. We backed off and didn’t tell them that not only did they have a tub and small shower, but they missed the Extraordinary Savings sale.  They insisted that if I deed there was a sale, their extraordinary TA would let the know. $5,600 mistake.