Go-Bucks!

5 hours ago, Cathygh said:

There is slight chance you can see the Northern Lights from the Orkneys in September.

I was in Iceland for 4 days in September and never saw the Northern Lights...😥

4 hours ago, Senior Citizen said:

How was that porthole cabin on deck 3?  Could you hear more operational noises or was it just like being in C2 except for the size of the window?

Well....yes, they're both identical except the type of window. I preferred the larger window in the C2, but not enough to pay much more for it. The deck 4 location is pretty convenient but those halls are pretty busy and noisy. But I had a HORRIBLE  location in the C2...was cabin 4021, right by the forward elevator, had the gangway door right under it and it had a connecting door to the next room...I could hear everything the next door people said (and they weren't talking loudly) and their TV!!  Worst room ever!

Deck 3 is VERY quiet! But on embarkation morning there was alot of noise while they started unloading luggage and loading other stuff. I would book this cabin category again in a heartbeat. Only drawback is that it's tricky to get to some places because there is no access to the front stairs/elevators. But I caught on quickly.

7 hours ago, clairol said:

has anyone who has been on board recently know who gets what?

When I was in a Penthouse suite, I got to choose blue or green...and could switch anytime. 

In an oceanview cabin, I got only the white/clear...no choice given.

On 9/16/2019 at 6:05 PM, sunshineocean13 said:

Has anyone had experience using one of the over the door shoe holders on a cruise? I'm concerned they will damage the closet door and/or not let the door close completely. When I look at reviews on Amazon, many people love them (in their own home), while others show pictures of damage or state the door doesn't close with it on. I'd love to try one, but with packing space so precious, I hate to bring something unless I'm quite sure it will work. Thoughts?

I just discussed this in the post before yours.

My over-the-door-shoe-holder has 26 compartments where I kept my shoes. It was wonderful! It freed up space on the closet floor where I kept my laundry bag. I hooked it on the inside of the closet door so it couldn't be seen. I brought it home since I plan to take it on my next cruise. 

14 hours ago, eurodl said:

 

We probably could but thought May or September would be less busy.

I went in late July/early August and did the Edinburgh Tattoo...was FANTASTIC!  That BI cruise is one of my all-time favorites! No more crowded than other times.

3 hours ago, pablo222 said:

 

Several current Samsung phones can share their wifi connection.

 

Seems rather useless, except in cases like this.

 

 

That's what I have...a Samsung phone. I was able to share wifi.

Back in April, 2019, when I booked my next cruise, Ezair was having a sale. I got r/t airfare on Delta from Ohio to FLL for $69!!! Sweet!

5 hours ago, pisamoorings said:

Yes, lucky us. Not something we will forget in a hurry

That is pretty awful. 🙁

4 hours ago, Darspurs said:

But at the port in St Lucia how will they know if anyone on the ship has been in a country where yellow fever is endemic? Any passenger could for example be from Brazil or been in Brazil prior to boarding the cruise? We are due to be in St Lucia on 4th November. I am from the UK and will only be flying to Miami prior to our cruise. I really don't want to have to have a yellow fever shot.

Ship's manifest?

12 hours ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

Somebody sent a link that makes it pretty clear unless you are coming from a few select countries you don't need it.  

I remember reading about this on a previous ATW thread (not sure which year, 2016, 2017 or 2018) where they discussed certain countries that would require the YF vaccine ONLY if you'd been to a country where YF was common, such as Brazil. 

I'm going on a South American cruise in 4 months that includes Brazil (and other countries after that), but the cruiseline hasn't said anything about needing the vaccine. 

13 hours ago, Mura said:

However, I'm surprised that Go-Bucks had the separate shampoo/conditioners on Insignia when we were on "O" ships that did NOT before their cruise.  And we were in top suites.  (I'm not saying that top suites should have better choices than others!)

 

 

When I went on a Cuba cruise in December, 2017 on Insignia, I also had separate shampoos and conditioners. Was in a veranda cabin. 

On the ATW cruise (January, 2019), in a Penthouse suite, I had the same.

On my 3 post-ATW extention cruises (July & August,  2019), I was in a C2 oceanview cabin and a D porthole cabin and got the separate ones again.

The only difference was that in the suite we could choose from the blue or green ones, but in the other cabin categories I got the clear ones. 

On 9/15/2019 at 11:55 PM, kruisey said:

How neat.Did you a have photo of you taken.?

 

Yes, plus I took pics and videos while I was 10 ft up there and driving Miss Zee Zee the camel!!

2 minutes ago, RJB said:

Yup, and they will give you as much as you want. Just have to ask. Very good about that.  Still have a few from last cruise. 

Me too! My sweet asst steward gave me a HUGE bag full of the blue (my favorite) shampoo, conditioner and white soaps to take home! I sure do miss that wonderful crew and how they pampered me!🥰

1 minute ago, Mura said:

We're with you!  We also don't like the combo of shampoo and conditioner.

 

On our last but one cruise on Marina (Nov '17 I think) we got our cabin attendant to bring us all the "pure" shampoo bottles she had.  I think there were all of four.  We may have gotten one or two more on Riviera in May 2018.

 

We also would never use body wash for shampoo or vice versa.

 

We have liked the products that use, but NOT the combo-products.  Wish they would go back to the real products they used to provide.

 

Mura

 

 

There were no combo products on Insignia...just the separate shampoos and conditioners.

6 minutes ago, RJB said:

They also give you soap to wash your body so you do not have to use the shampoo.   Pretty good soap.   

Yes, that is true.  They give that nice white soap and the smaller green one...I forgot about them. 

12 minutes ago, floridatravelersforlife said:

Our TA forwarded an Advisory for St Lucia that they may require a YF vaccine proof to enter. Any one have any first hand experience about what is really going on?  

I was in St. Lucia on July 23 & August 4 while on Insignia...nothing mentioned onboard about this at all. 

On 9/16/2019 at 8:45 AM, Jay23 said:

Body wash is provided by Oceania.  J

Actually, it's not...they provide shampoo, conditioner and lotion. They tell you to use the shampoo as body wash! I refuse to do that...just as I don't use body wash to shampoo my hair with. So I brought my own body wash with me, then used their shampoo and conditioner for their true purposes. To each his own. 

On 9/15/2019 at 8:21 PM, carlsbadguy said:

Does anyone know what the cancellation policy for tours is once onboard?

48 hrs

On 9/12/2019 at 1:17 PM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Wow, this is for a world cruise, right?  I can't get my head around that, but I haven't done it yet, so we'll see.  I know I'm going to have to buy a new suitcase or two, for sure!

Oceania shipped 2 large suitcases, I took 2 large suitcases (they flew us first class), 1 22" carryon and a personal sized carryon.

Because I bought clothes, shoes and souvenirs along the way, I did need to buy another large suitcase to go home. About half of the world cruisers also had to get another one. But I don't regret any of my purchases...this world cruise was a financial "one-and-done" so I wasn't going to pass up getting things that would help me remember my adventure. 

8 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

I'm doubtful magnets will work on our ship.  I've been told that the wallpaper is now too thick.  Still I'll probably take a couple for the doors.  But can't count on being able to up family pictures.  Guess I'll just use my laptop for that. And social media.

 

I have a shoe tree that hangs in my closet (cloth, collapsible).  It's only 6" wide, 3" velcro strap around the closet bar.  I'm thinking I'll just bring it with me!

 

And yes, a couple of plastic hangers is a good idea, since I tend to rinse things out myself that I do not want dried in a dryer.

I took strong magnet hooks (from Amazon) that did stick to some areas and the ceilings, but after Oceania's remodeling the walls are no longer magnetic. I would stick a hook on the ceiling (near the wall) and hang up wet clothes to dry.

I had a hooks-over-the-door shoe rack that I kept on the inside of the closet door...it was a lifesaver. Left room on the closet floor for my laundry bag.

To store purses, tote bag and knitting paraphernalia, I went to Walmart at my first port and bought a large storage cube that doubled as a footstool on the balcony. It was too heavy to lug home so I told my cabin stewardess that I was leaving it and she asked if she could have it...of course I gave it to her...she was so excited!

9 hours ago, steelers36 said:

We have same ports in 2020.  Plus, we are looking at continuing overland from Petra by private car to Amman and then flying ahead to Dubai, skipping six sea days to have more time in Dubai.

Petra was amazing! I got to "drive" a camel for 1 hour! The guide walked behind me while I had the reins!! Loved it.🐪🐫

9 hours ago, kruisey said:

I have heard Dubai is a fun place we are also stopping there.

VERY fun...wish I'd had a week there.

20 hours ago, alcpa1 said:

I'm rather height challenged....is there a stool so that I can get my things out of the dryers?

Insignia had a stool...without it I could never have taken things out of the dryer. 

On 9/6/2019 at 9:45 AM, tvlbum said:

 

Just following up for your home prep list for those of us that our newbies.  Now that we have two world cruises booked.  We booked 2021 on our cruise to Bermuda on the Insignia.  Any help will be appreciated.  What to pack and what NOT to pack.  Got an e-mail yesterday that was scary said only 140+ days to you big cruise..  Thanks.

Here's some things I learned...

1) I wore most of the clothes I took but bought a whole lot more! I love the styles that I found around the world...so classy and beautiful. American fashion is so casual and verging on sloppy. But I only bought things that I would realistically wear at home. I  brought quite a few shoes but ended up wearing flip flops almost everyday. 

2) I took too many "what-if" items...first aide things, OTC meds, etc. 

3) One good thing was that I took 2 suitcases that I packed just half full each. After using up toiletries and other things, I had nearly one empty suitcase. But...I bought so many clothes, shoes and souvenirs that I still had to buy another suitcase...oh well.

4) Before the cruise, I kept track (for 2 months) of how much toothpaste, hairspray, body wash, etc. that I used then bought them when they went on sale. I accurately estimated toothpaste and some other things but needed to buy extra body wash and hairspray along the way.

5) I also tried to buy souvenirs that are useable or I can display. One thing I'm happy I got is yarn (I knit) from France, England, Ireland  and Canada. They're gorgeous and unusual. I also bought Nativity scenes from many countries, each have characters that look like the local people! I also got Christmas tree ornaments and picked up a small rock from nearly every port...I keep them in a pretty bowl.

Hope that helps. 😊

4 hours ago, tvlbum said:

Did your cruise go to Dubai?

If so can you tell me the best time to get tickets and the best type of tickets to buy for Dubai Burj Khalifa tickets.

I bought the ticket on the Burj Kalifa website. To get there, go to the Dubai Mall and follow the signs. It's wonderful! My ticket also included the Aquarium which is in the lower level of the mall...totally worth going!!

I also bought a ticket to the Afternoon Tea at the Burj Al Arab hotel...an AMAZING (but expensive) experience!! I had a window seat and 2 waiters just for me!👸