basor

I believe Australian cruises also include gratuities like the UK....the US prices do not include gratuities..

You can go to Waves and order a pizza and take back to your room...you could also order a glass of wine per person to take back to your room with the pizza

Since we usually have bottles of wine in our room to enjoy out on the balcony, we usually just drink our own...

yes - if you order room service during dining hours than you can order wine/beer with your meal - the same as if you were sitting at a restaurant

Yes - during meal hours with your food. Also, you will have a 6 bottle (of your choosing) bar setup in your suite. Actually, all cabins can order wine with their room service food during dining hours.

Those are included for free.....there are some non-alcoholic wines and beers that are not included for free

Horizons is not a restaurant but the lounge. They have various activities during the day - needlepoint, afternoon tea , various evening activities with a live band/dj for dancing, etc.

When on Vista, we had items delivered from Aquamar to Terrace, etc. - same as Waves, give you a number. Aquamar is table service with a menu and waiter....

Certainly a possibility but could be a charter too....

We did not have any noise issues on our 30 plus days aboard in same cabin with different neighbors but know others that had noise issues in different cabins and others that had no noise issues in same cabin on different sailing...so it appears to be a combination of your neighbors and insulation issues on some cabins, They will need to take Vista in to dry dock to tear out walls and increase insulation.,.,not something that can be done onboard or while in port for a day. They did say they were looking to address the issue on Allure which was still in construction.

You can order at both Aquamar or Waves and they will give you a number to place at your table/lounger, etc and the servers will bring the food to you. (just tell them where you will be)...or you can wait and take the food with you to wherever you want. (Most countries do not allow you to take food off the ship). We often would get something from Aquamar and eat on the back deck of Terrace.

We sailed on Vista last Winter for 30 days and loved it......lots of things to do around the ship. In the evenings there are several places to enjoy a cocktail and music (Martinis with a piano, Horizons with a live band and the Grand Foyer with a string quartet). Not all playing at the same time. The newer ships have a much different atmosphere than the older R ships so that can make a difference in the comments, Also, remember, that the percentage of people that post on here is just a very small portion of the actual people sailing and those that are dissatisfied with O are the most vocal. As with any product and social media, the satisfied customer hardly ever post while the dissatisfied post often and loudly...go with an open mind and plan on having a great time and you will! That is the only way you will know if O is a good fit for you...

Also, just because someone uses a walker or scooter does not mean they are "old and feeble"..... we are in our upper 70's and I had to use a walker last time because I just had hip replacement surgery and was not soo steady on my feet. We were still off the ship and out and about the towns exploring but just a bit slower than usual...some of the most wonderful people we have met onboard were "older" and had the best stories to tell!!

In the future, know that the servers in TC are more than willing to accompany you and carry your plate, etc. They even are happy to go and grab something from the stations and bring to you.

I think with the success of Aquamar and the evening pizza in Waves on Visa, they decided to redo those public areas instead of the extensive refurbish of the other cabins...,choice of where to spend time and $$$$...those refurbishments were not part of the original plan. Riviera does not have those.....

Are you doing a B2B - 2 cruises with different booking numbers? We receive a separate packet for each booking number when doing a B2B.....just a thought

here is a you tube of Aquamar -

Here is a link to an article with more pictures, etc. - https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Healthful-breakfast-lunch-options-at-Oceania-Vista-Aquamar-Kitchen and a you tube -

This is just the kitchen bar seating area, there are also tables inside and in the outer area by the windows.....menu order with servers

This is just the kitchen bar sitting area...there are tables outside by the windows. You are seated, given a menu and order taken by server. Food is then brought to your table. You can mix, match, add, subtract, combine any of the offerings, We really enjoyed it on Vista and look forward to it being added to other ships

A quick run up a level or two to Barristas will provide you with a made to order espresso (or any kind of coffee drink) that is outstanding.....also, if you are in a PH or above, your butler is happy to deliver your morning (or any time of the day) favorite drink from Barristas...

There is a banner across the top of the O website that states the website will be down for maintenance every weekend and their website will be unavailable,

I think the champagne issue is they using up an old supply and changing to new. With SM, they will be using a lot more champagne than in the past,.the wine list has been the same on Vista, Marina and Regatta when we sailed in the last year...I don't think you will see any difference

O did lose those that booked Cruise Only but, unfortunately, there are few other options in cruising that do not include most or all (except Windstar). Your solution is to book land tours which works for you but not everyone wants/can book those. We find a combination of land and cruises (mostly on O) work for us. My TA, who also books a lot of O, has said the exact opposite that O bookings have increased with the SM and the number of cruises with high waitlist seem to bear that out, It is great that we all have choices and they do not need/have to be the same.

I can only comment on Alaska excursions where I can compare directly the cost of excursions on O and Princess - sailed both within a 1 year period and the cost of the same excursions on both cruise lines were exactly the sane, Also, as others have stated, excursion companies in Alaska have NCC so if you are arriving via cruise ship, they will not book with you direct,. You may be able to find a company that does not do business with the various cruise lines that will book direct but they are few and far between. In Skagway, the cost of the White Horse train trip was exactly the same on their website or booking with O or Princess..,.