Jayne E

Search older Oceania CC boards. A few months ago another party had multiple posts regarding having made final payment and wanting to cancel due to DO NOT TRAVEL advisory for Myanmar. Initially not allowed but he was persistent...don't remember how it was resolved.

Yes, if we had gone to Naples, would have been able to go back to Ravello again. A favorite place!. Breathtaking views. Unfortunately we went to Salerno. Guess we’ve been fortunate not to have missed Amalfi in the past.

Told due to sea conditions.

Strange that Marina was able to embark in Lisbon 2 days prior to our cancelled ports. Oceania knew they had to get those passengers on board….no cancellation there! Wasn’t a strike possibly imminent that day also? I believe from posts that Vista stops in Portugal we’re also cancelled. Other than Portugal ports, this was a fairly lackluster itinerary. Overnight in Cadiz underwhelming and 2 additional boring sea days. We were also on the previous cruise and missed Amalfi which was replaced with Salerno….nothing much to see there at all, but at least Oceania attempted to avoid another sea day. On the positive side, food and service was excellent and fortunately we’ve been to Lisbon and Porto on prior cruise. Majority of passengers very disappointed.

So what was the purpose of moving all extended verandah cabins from B3 to A3-2-1 if no loungers other than price increase & concierge? Will contact our TA but doesn’t look good. Hopefully they’ll order more loungers or will go back to a B cabin. Also, do A4 cabins on Vista all have bathtubs as on Riviera?

Any idea if refusal of loungers on extended balcony cabins is temporary or permanent? We have 2 Vista cruises booked and moved from B3 to A2 for extended verandah. Additional cost $1,300 and $700. If no loungers, wondering if it’s worth booking A2. We have no interest in Concierge amenities. Upgraded to A2 strictly for loungers. Welcome all opinions! Thanks!

We are on Riviera and Lisbon & Porto ports both cancelled for 5/25 & 5/26 due to “impending port worker strikes”. We were notified of this on 5/23. Appears you boarded 5/23. Were there strikes going on?

On Riviera. Received flyer for this sale. None have an A1 to PH3 upgrade available as in the past. 😢

On Riviera now. There have been many reduced “specials” offered for massage treatments. Appears that price increase to $240 incl. grats for 50 min massage has resulted in much less bookings. HOWEVER, if you are Oceania Gold and above, you cannot use your $150 spa amenity towards payment of any “special”. This is the 1st time I’ve been told that the spa credit is not combinable with a special. It was always treated as cash and reduced your service cost $150. Manager told me that other managers may operate the spa differently. Shipboard credits can be used towards reduced spa specials.

Has anyone heard Oceania’s radio advertisement? Is anyone at all somewhat concerned about this sale? Thousands of dollars less. Upgrades and FCC to those beyond Final Payment. Makes me think back to Renaissance Cruise Line when prices were being reduced every few weeks and every time you called you received a refund check.

Future cruise credit can be used on next booking. Great that O was very generous considering that “technically “ they could have given nothing.

Today a neighbor tells me they are on their 1st O cruise this August. They have no idea about sale. Say their TA would have let them know if there was one. Sure enough, I look and their cruise is included in Ultimate Sale. They say the cruise is almost $15k for A4 10 days on Riviera with Air and all 3 amenities OIife. I have them call their TA and she initially tells them their cruise is NOT included in sale. My phone is open to their cruise and tell her it is. She then says A4 and up is Waitlisted. I suggest they have her price a B1 or B2 with Ultimate Sale as cabins are available. They ask TA to do this and she tells them it’s only a $300 difference. They accept this answer. Time for me to desist. Their travel agent is dishonest or incompetent. A4 is on Guarantee and would be $7,958 plus PE air upgrade. Even worse they have a tub/shower cabin and they think they have the new large shower cabin. I now appreciate my TA even more than ever. She will give me a detailed breakdown of my options when rebooking due to a promotion and let me decide. If anyone in doubt on TA price, call O or a different TA. Nothing more I can do for my neighbor. They believe their TA.

Might want to price the nightly rate at the hotel offered on Pre/Post cruise. On Tokyo cruise the Hilton is about $500 nightly. Two 1/2 day tours included, breakfast and transfers. O sells this as $1,700-$1,800 pp which is quite high, but to be expected as O needs to be compensated. For those who are not giving up prior discounts, it’s free and a good promotion. We had to forego $1,750 past cruiser discountm so we deck8ned and chose our hotel and location.

You can run the numbers yourself as 2 cruises. Then remove your B2B discount. Also remove any On Board Booking discount. If it’s still worthwhile, call your TA and insist to be rebooked.

Has anyone been receiving emails from O when these various Sales go into effect? I haven’t. I did receive a brochure in the mail yesterday with all the cruises offering free Land Tours. The pre cruise Land Tour for Tokyo-Tokyo has been sold out for several days, so brochure is late in arriving. I didn’t want it as I’d have to give up the $1,750 past cruiser discount I received, however it is a good deal for someone booking now. Have to check O website regularly now….

Here's another "bait & switch" from O. Looking at NY-NY to Bermuda for a quick easy cruise and visit to family in NY. At first glance it appears to be 2 sea days and 4 days in Bermuda. All good. Looking closer, one day you arrive at 2 PM. Not good. Another day says "Bermuda" and looking closer ship departs at 7:00 AM!!! Yes....A.M. THAT IS A SEA DAY AND SHOULD BE LISTED AS SUCH. So from 4 days in Bermuda, it's actually 2-1/2 and 3 sea days. Another ploy to add to the shortened port times and cancelled ports. What's next?

When I said “more formal atmosphere” it was in comparison to what many wear for dinner in Terrace Cafe. No collar T shirts, shorts, sneakers, rubber sole sandals…..and so they should as that venue is meant to be very casual. I’ll take back “formal” as you misinterpreted me or you were attempting to be humorous or just contrary. Let’s say Country Club Casual. A dress, dressy blouse/sweater and slacks for women and slacks and dress shirts for men, no sneakers and flip-flops. Regarding Ember, a description from Oceania months ago, said you could stop to dine upon return from touring . I would think there’s no dress code if what we wear touring is ok for early dinner. UNLESS, they meant early tours and it’s lunch? I interpreted it as returning from full day tour.

We have avoided Vista and try to book Riviera. Ship has been beautifully redone and still has Jacques, a beautiful room and food to match. Embers on Vista appears to be a casual dining experience with no dress code and a nothing special menu. Those who enjoy dining casual will probably welcome this restaurant and those who prefer a more formal atmosphere will not. Our 20th O cruise is next month and we have never had dinner in Terrace Cafe.

Here’s a sample menu from Embers: If Jacque was a favorite, you might be disappointed. Some will like the change. https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2023-04/aquamar-ember-dinner-sample.pdf

Wow, a lesson in correcting “Alaska Air” to Airlines and Japan Air to Air Lines. How have I survived travel all these years without typing the full name? However, you obviously knew what airlines I meant, despite shortening Airline to Air. There are some spelling mistakes in prior posts…maybe you can correct them also. 🤐 Thank you LHT28 and MEFlowa for your responses. Very appreciated!

Question: If flying Alaska Air to Toronto and on to Tokyo with Japan Air, (same ticket) do we have to retrieve luggage and go through immigration in Toronto? I saw a previous post saying not necessary but that person was flying AC on both flights….DC-Toronto-Tokyo Thanks!

Oceania does offer compensation. We had an entire cruise cancelled and another cruise eliminated 4 Croatia and Venice ports and replaced with Turkey. Each time O offered $250 SBC for the “inconvenience”. We cancelled both!

You are so on point!! We usually catch last 15 minutes of show. Seem to get there in time for Singing in the Rain, Les Miz and Phantom....performed every cruise. Many of the older cruisers that do attend were sleeping. I guess that's why some have posted they would like the shows held around 5:30 PM before dinner. The 50's are over....CCR and the Eagles would be great, as would tribute shows of stars of 70's and 80's.

Not all rap and hip hop is "hard core", which you're probably thinking of. Some songs are lively and have no offensive language. Need to keep an open mind. We did leave the room during the Peggy Lee show.