sunlover12

On 1/17/2024 at 11:22 AM, Psoque said:

I was just browsing a few online travel agency websites and noted that I see at least two companies are (appearing to be) selling Oceania cruises without Simply More.  Is this something that is easy for a travel agent to negotiate?  Or is this limited to group bookings?

To reiterate what's already been said, I'd be very leery of any travel agency who is saying they are selling Oceania Cruises without Simply More.  Simply More is here to stay for the near-term anyway. Perhaps Oceania will go back to Cruise Only at some point, but IMO, it's not going to happen anytime soon.  

The mega cruise ships are still selling cruise only if anyone is interested in those. 

Next week I'll be on my first cruise at Diamond level. How do the drink vouchers work?  Are they paper vouchers or electronically on the key card?

Thanks.

2 hours ago, Snaefell3 said:

My 2¢:

Libraries, ashore and afloat, are getting a lot less vital because of internet, browsers, and ebooks, so IMNSHO can go the way of buggy whips, encyclopedias, and landlines.

I disagree.  My community just opened a beautiful new public library last week that is twice the size of the old library.  Libraries are equipped with so much more than books nowadays. They will always be needed and welcomed. 

In my opinion, yes, specialty dining is worth the extra $.  Better food, service, and atmosphere.

On our upcoming cruise on Harmony in 2 weeks we have reservations for 2 specialties. We have not had a bad meal yet in any of the specialties. We'll eat in the MDR one night to see how it goes and the other nights we'll be in CK.

The food in MDR just is not good. Cold spaghetti and dry, tasteless cake is what comes to mind from my last cruise.

19 hours ago, Psoque said:

 

3.  The age range and “able-bodied-ness” of the crowd was profoundly “advanced” than in our previous port-intensive Mediterranean cruises around Thanksgiving on Crystal and all other lines we have tried.  Believe us…we have done quite a few port-intensive Mediterranean cruises during Thanksgiving.  Is this typical for Oceania?  We don’t know and only Oceania has the actual data.  We have no idea if this is more of a norm these days on all cruises itineraries like this.  We don’t know.

 

I was on a port-intensive, 7day Mediterranean cruise on Nautica last August. It was a younger crowd with many in their 40’s and early 50’s who were in the prime of their careers. I am in my late 60’s, retired, and usually feel in the median age range but on this particular cruise I was definitely one of the older ones.  The 7 day itinerary had a lot to do with the demographics. 
 

As you said, only Oceania has the actual data but I do feel like they are marketing more to younger age groups, as they should. 

I don't know if I should be envious or what but I've never received one of those. 

I wonder what the criteria is or are they just randomly selected. 

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

That's great! Somehow the cruises we book never go on sale.. 😞

Same here. 

My booked cruise for later this year on Nautica has never been included in any of the sales. There are many cruises that aren’t included in the sales. 

42 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I do not believe  it is from  lost onboard  spending

 Many pax  do not  spend anything onboard

 

If you do not drink alcohol  or book ships shore excursions  or go to the spa  & get PPG   

Do you get   charged extra??

JMO

It’s the legitimate potential that revenue will be lost from that passenger not onboard. Even if they don’t spend much on drinks or whatever, there is still the daily gratuity fee per person. 
I do believe that MOST passengers will spend $ onboard the ship. 
Just My Opinion. 

22 hours ago, bradpole said:

I don't doubt Oceania makes money from onboard spend, but it has to be a much smaller percentage compared to the mainstream lines.  Sometimes there just isn't anything to spend your money on once onboard an Oceania ship compared to Carnival, Royal, Princess, etc...  

 

Specialty dining, coffee, soda, better quality pastries, ice cream, photos, more and larger gift shops, $10 watches, inch of gold, art auctions, etc...  Thinking back to my last RCL cruise there are countless tables setup on boarding day to get you spend, not to mention a table setup here and there during the cruise for impulse purchases.  

I am not an extravagant spender at all but I have no problem spending money on Oceania.  Drinks and an occasional visit to the spa. I have cruised on Royal and other than specialty dining I don’t spend more there than I do on Oceania. 
 

I do understand from a business standpoint why Oceania charges a single supplement, as they should. It’s because of lost revenue from onboard spending. 

Did you mention to the dining room manager in Toscana that your wife had a health condition that required the orthotic shoes?  I wouldn’t have relied solely on comments on CC as this is something that really depends on the staff onboard. 
 

The construction wouldn’t have been tolerable to me either. Sorry that you and the other passengers had to endure that. 

I haven't seen reviews of shore excursions anywhere.

At the risk of sounding like a cheerleader, which I am not, my experience has been generally good with the couple of dozen Oceania excursions I have been on. My excursions have followed the descriptions and haven't wavered from it. There is one exception that I can think of and it was because of weather. It was in Madeira in 2022. The tour operator suggested that we not go to the top of the mountain as planned because of fog and we wouldn't be able to see anything. She suggested another view point but before we did that, she polled the group and we all agreed. She was very aware of what the tour description said and was hesitant in wavering from it. 

My most recent O cruise was in the Mediterranean in August of this year. The Oceania excursions that I was on followed the description exactly on each one. 

16 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

 

The wine glasses in the stateroom are diffrrent from the wine glaases in the dining venue, but knowing whether it's O wine or your stash, would be difficult, if challenged. 

Maybe. I once placed them side by side and could not tell the difference. They were the same. I suppose it depends on the cruise and the ship.

Regardless of the glass, it's definitely prohibited to take personal alcohol out of the stateroom and one may be challenged on it as you said.  

To clarify a couple of comments here about the size of the PH, it varies depending on the ship.  On the smaller O ships (R class), the size of the PH is 322 sq ft.  Only on O's larger ships are they 440 sq ft.   PH on the smaller ships is still very comfortable even though they are not quite as big.  Also, R Ship's upper suites are only Owner's and Vista Suites (no Oceania Suite).

@bobmacliberty  Welcome to Oceania. You do not have to be concerned about them confiscating alcohol bought in port like they do on Royal.  We've been on Royal and we've had it taken from us when we return from port and then returned the night before disembarkation.  It's annoying but it was something we only wanted to bring home with us. 

14 hours ago, ORV said:

Ok, hard to tell exactly what some people are referring to. Truly though, I can’t tell the difference between one pair of pants or another. 

Chino pants. They're made for men and women. They are lighter weight and more comfortable. This is what I wear on warm/hot weather cruises. 

I find them more comfortable than jeans but I realize it's a personal decision.

YMMV

I am not aware of an increase.  Oceania's website shows $18/$23.  

Here is the link from their website:

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005307374-How-much-are-Gratuities-and-can-they-be-prepaid-

17 hours ago, Woofa said:

From your description it sounds like you live in a very casual area.  From years of reading posts here and our ten days on Riviera earlier in the year I would say that while Oceania is not dressy, it is also for the most part not that casual either.  As stated above Terrace Grille and waves pizzeria are casual even at night and jeans or shorts are ok.  The GDR and specialties are not that casual.  You can read dozens of posts where jeans were ok, not okay, you name it. The only conclusions I have come to are that dressier jeans may well be okay while sloppy jeans might have them ask you to change.  for what its worth I probably saw more sport coats than jeans although both were in the minority on our cruise.  The night I wore a tie to Jacques certainly had me amongst the most formally dressed on the ship.  I would not hesitate to pack jeans but I would also make sure to take the next level up if you planned to eat in the venues listed. On the plus side, for men at least, khakis take up less room and are lighter than jeans.  Have a great cruise whatever you choose.

This is a great summary. 
Dressy jeans in the GDR are fine but a few people will push the envelope. I’ve seen some people wear jeans that would be more appropriate for yard work, not dinner. I haven’t seen a lot of people wearing jeans of any sort in the GDR. 
 

I agree that jeans in the hot summer are uncomfortable and they are heavy to pack. I only wear them on the plane. Lighter weight pants are better for various reasons. 
Just my opinion. 
 

@Psoque Laundry service is one area that has improved recently, IME.  On my last 2 O cruises (Aug. 2023 and Oct. 2022), we got our laundry back in 2 days, maybe even a little less than 48 hours.  Before that, it was 3 full days and not an hour sooner.  I don't use the self-serve laundry anymore because I don't want to spend vacation time in a crowded laundry room especially on R ships where it's dreadful. 

Service in the GDR can be all over the place.  Sometimes bad, sometimes excellent.  We've had both. I think it really depends on how well the staff has been trained and how new they are to Oceania. 

Thank you for the review. 

5 minutes ago, ORV said:

Not in every case, it's determined by how high the category is and the length of the cruise, also O ships vs R ships. 

 

FYI, there are always built in opening for numerous reasons, I do know that VIP's can pretty much get any restaurant at any time. Not that I'm a VIP, but I have cruised with 1 or 2. 

I'll clarify my comment and say that in my experience only, my PH booking has gotten the exact same number of reservations as lower level every time. I've been on O and R ships. I haven't been on a cruise longer than 16 days. I don't know what extended length cruisers get.

I'm definitely not a VIP. I have no idea what they get. 

@PelicanLvr You're much more likely to get your preferred time if you request a shared table. Asking for a table for 2 on a sea day reduces your chances greatly.

@MEFIowa Higher level cabins get the same number of reservations as lower level. No more, no less. Their only advantage is that they can book them sooner. Also, not all higher level cabins will even request additional reservations. We always book PH and have never requested more specialty dining reservations.

As @ORV pointed out, it's all about shared tables or not.  +1

3 hours ago, john1970 said:

I just got off of Marina. I saw the survey details but could not be bothered to log in and create a password and then try and do it online using a specific browser. I would have thought they would have just emailed it out. I would imagine they get a tiny response. 

No password needed.  Log in with your Oceania Club member number which is found on your stateroom card and then enter your birthdate. I've completed the survey with my iPhone in less than 15 minutes. It was easy.  I agree that it should be made available after disembarkation but I think too many people give up on it without trying.  

JMO

13 minutes ago, edgee said:

We also just got off of Vista (on Nov. 19). Zero mention of post cruise survey. We called reception desk on the afternoon before disembarking and they told us to go to oceaniacruisereview.com and survey had to be completed not later than morning of disembarkation. In order to complete it, we each had to dig out invoice to enter our O club member number and then sign into O website. We each completed our survey on our phones at dinner last evening. They certainly do not make it easy and thus leave impression that they do not give a flying (blank) about what guests think.

That makes me wonder if they are no longer offering OBC for those who complete the survey. On my last couple of cruises, there were several announcements made by the CD that you will be entered into the drawing for a chance to win $100 OBC if you complete the survey. It was also announced in Currents. With the cost-cutting that O seems to be doing it wouldn't surprise me if that was eliminated.

Regarding your O club member number, it should be on your stateroom card.  Easier than looking for it on your invoice. 

I fly to Florida so here is my take on it - Port Everglades is much easier to get to and navigate around in than Port Canaveral.
 

PE is a short ride from the airport while PC is not. The traffic flow at PC is terrible and if you’re on a shuttle bus it will take a very long time to get to the ship. 
 

Given the choice, I would fly to FLL and take a cruise out of Port Everglades. 

7 hours ago, mybagsarepacked said:

Actually, we were booked on a Celebrity Cruise and they had to change the embarkation port at the last minute. It threw a lot of people for a loop because they did it three days before our departure and we were originally scheduled to leave from Sydney. Like many people we had planned to go in early and Celebrity gave people the option of cancelling outright for a full refund including airfare and early hotels, they also gave an additional cruise credit on top of the one we cancelled.  They were amazing to all of us. They did not have to do anything and they bent over backwards to ensure we were all happy. We rebooked two cruises with them and had a fabulous time. 

 

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 is Customer Service at its finest.

 

 

I get your frustration and disappointment with Oceania but the cold truth is that Celebrity is owned by RCL and they have a profit.  Oceania on the other hand is owned by NCLH and they are losing money.  NCLH just last week slashed their full-year outlook. 

IMO it's less about customer service and more about cash on hand to offer refunds. 

I have been on a Panama Canal cruise and didn't get any vaccinations for it but it really does depend on where you will be. I'd check with a medical clinic with knowledge about international travel. 

I've lived in West Africa where malaria is very prevalent. If malaria is prevalent in the countries you will be in (and it may not be), my best advice is to use strong insect repellent such as Deet and wear long sleeves and pants, especially if you are out at night. That's probably a better precaution than an anti-malaria pill.  Speaking from experience.....

I have never seen them reduce the price on the cruises that I've been on.