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It will be so much fun to watch the shift in whining.......we have our popcorn ready !

For starters, you will be sailing with a lot less fellow passengers which makes for no lines, etc. There are very few, if any, children onboard. There are no photographers, art auctions, pool side activities, self serve buffets, no charge for any non-alcoholic drinks (including coffee/espresso), no charge for specialty restaurants, grilled to order steak, lobster, shrimp, lamb chops daily, free WIFI, etc. But it only matters if these have any value to you...

Thanks for the tip -

I know they have several different types of pillows available but have never checked as the provided pillows work for us.....agree that contacting special services would be the best answer...

The ringing of hands and "I will never sail O again" because they will " fill in the blank" speculation will in a few hours change - we prefer to wait and see the specifics and then make a personal decision if the higher ups at O are changing O to a product that no longer works for us. A lot of wasted angst over the unknown. We have made note of the pricing for several cruises we are booked on and looking at for the next several years and can then know if the prices have raised "thousands" so we can enjoy a glass of ....

We also enjoy going to the MDR for our soufflé after dinner elsewhere

Interesting, perhaps this is something new, as we have embarked in Miami several times and not had an issue, We have called Total Wines, given them our order and they have had it boxed up and sealed when we arrived. We take a taxi from hotel to Total Wines to pier the morning of embarkation. Thanks for the update. We will be embarking this Fall in Montreal and will see what happens at the pier and will report.

You can bring onboard as much wine, beer, liquor, etc. for consumption in your cabin....your room steward/butler will be happy to provide you with the appropriate glasses, mixers and condiments for your favorite drink. We will pick up a case of wine, liquor, etc. at a local Total Wine (or similar) , slap our premade label on it (name, cabin #, reservation number and contact information) and hand it to the porters with our luggage. It usually is the first item delivered to our cabin. Also, the box fits under the bed on it's side for storage. Enjoy sailing on O...

I read it as 2 different situations and OP wondering if there is a policy that offers the 2 different issues as part of the policy or available to purchase as a rider. I believe most of the replies have only addressed the medical part of the question. Thanks for pointing out that out.

If you are driving to the port than you can put your wine, liquor, etc. in a wine divided box, slap a label on it and give to the porters with your luggage....it will be delivered to your room. For the cost of 1 bottle of liquor oboard, you can bring several! O really does make it easy to bring any type of alcohol onboard for consumption in your cabin.

Yes - https://www.oceaniacruises.com/documents/bonvoyagegifts/26643/Bon-Voyage-Gifts.pdf

Thank you for the link - it is a bit ambiguous so I will call and try to get more clarity. At first reading, it appears to be more of a co-ordination service as they clearly state that card members will be responsible for third party assistance. We use TravelGuard where it specifically states medical evacuation to hospital of choice and is primary coverage. Thanks again for taking the time to provide the link.

Could you please post the link for this benefit - did a quick check and did not find this benefit. TIA

When it was mentioned that O is no longer mailing "Blue Books" to passengers living outside the US, someone posted a great PDF for making your own luggage tags. We have plastic luggage tag holders that hold our pre-printed tags and strap to our luggage. I just print off a luggage tag or use the one provided by the cruise line/tour company and insert in the plastic ones and ready to go....

The only time you do not have the option of choosing your specific cabin is if that category is getting very close to being sold out so only offer a guarantee. Did you try choosing a different category where you can choose your specific cabin?

Absolutely agree - the shore excursion OLife option is the best "bang for the buck" , second is the drink package, if you enjoy wine or beer with your meals. As you indicated, many of the O shore excursions are well run and enjoyable. Everyone's cruising style is different and so it is nice to have options to tailor the cruise to your style...

Ours have always arrived so never been an issue for us - just trying to offer ideas since it is an issue for you....sorry

If you are going to DIY the shore excursions and do not drink or sparingly then your best option is to do cruise only......the cost of O Life versus cruise only is exactly the amount of OBC. So you are just pre-prepaying to have the OBC and if you purchase via OLife it is non-refundable (use it or lose it). If you would like to have some OBC already on your account, the best option is to purchase OBC as a gift to yourself and then, if you don't use it, it is refundable. When we began cruising with O and did not have pre-paid gratuities and little OBC, we would figure out what our onboard spending would look like and then monthly purchase some OBC so when we boarded our cost were already covered.

I think your crystal ball is pretty clear....I would go with that idea. I have printed off the pricing for several cruises we are looking at so we can compare pre and post pricing to see if, as others are so sure will happen, that they significantly increase the cost and this is just a ploy to charge more ...

The TA can also have the cruise line send directly to the passenger.....

When and where did the tracking number say it was delivered?

Perhaps your TA can get a tracking number and address mailed to like bankijeer and see if and when it was mailed.....maybe not O's fault but US Post office...

There is a "sticky" at the top of this O page that has a list of shuttles available in the different ports....

Enjoying reading all of the assumptions - like so many other announcements, the pre-announcement quarterbacking and ringing of hands is interesting. As is so often the outcome, once the new program is unveiled, I believe we will find that they have not gone to an all inclusive or nothing option. The details will be leaked out next week when the program is presented to a select group of TA's so the speculation will be over soon.

No you were correct - they left some bathtubs in Penthouses and verandas: Penthouse Suites and Staterooms with the bathtub and shower: PH3: 9138, 9145, 10002, 10003, 10004, 10005, 10008, 10009, 10010, 10011 A4: 9002, 9003, 9004, 9005, 9006, 9007, 9008, 9009, 9010, 9011, 9012, 9019, 9126, 9128, 9130, 9132, 9133, 9134, 9135, 9136, 9137, 9139, 9141, 9143 B4: 7010, 7011, 7012, 7014, 7015, 7016, 7017, 7018, 7019, 7020, 7021, 7022, 7023, 7024, 7025, 7026, 7027, 7028, 7029, 7031, 7102, 7104, 7105, 7106, 7107, 7109