sunlover12

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

1 hour ago, Redtravel said:

 We will be on Vista in January 2024.  Looking ahead for possible  winter 2025, I don’t see any Caribbean only sailings on Marina, Riviera, or Vista.  

Vista will be sailing in the Caribbean winter 2025. There are numerous Miami-Miami cruises available.

On 10/26/2023 at 9:31 PM, Charlene Jones said:

Sounds like Celebrity understands the lifetime value of its customers. Oceania seems to want to learn that lesson the hard way.  

The realtime difference between Celebrity and Oceania is profit. Celebrity, which is owned by RCI  is profitable. Oceania, which is owned by NCLH is losing money.  Looks like Celebrity has the cash to refund customers for changed itineraries and Oceania does not.  I'm not making excuses for anyone but I don't think this has to do with understanding the lifetime value of customers.  

Maybe this is a lesson for us to check the financial statements of the cruise lines before we book. 

For us, it's itinerary first and ship second. Next up for where we want to cruise is Canada/New England. Vista just sailed there but we couldn't go this year so we're going next fall instead. Only Nautica and Insignia will be sailing there in 2024 and that's fine.

We've been on Nautica, Sirena and Regatta and loved them all.  The only thing I would suggest is to book a PH on an R ship if you can because of the bathroom size. 

1 hour ago, Prosecco220 said:

 

You probably know that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, owner of Oceania, is listed on the NY Stock Exchange and is in excellent financial shape. And yes, this war will cost them money, as it has thousands of other businesses. Given the lofty image they convey, it seems quite stupid and short sighted to try to screw 1200 people out of $10 grand each plus another $4 grand in airfare. 
 

Finally, shareholders and customers should watch the decisions new CEO Harry Sommers is making as the company is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in 2 new ships for 2026 an 2027. Sacrificing today’s good will for future profits? How many of us will trust them in the future?

Huh? A glance at the financials of NCLH will show you that is not true. They're not in excellent financial shape.  The numbers show a negative EPS and negative net profit margin. 

I suspect some of the decisions they are making are because of the poor financial shape they are in. I agree that promising FCC one day and then taking it away the next is poor customer relations but I understand why they can't offer it.  You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip. 

On 10/24/2023 at 6:02 AM, Furball83 said:

That’s pretty bad! You would THINK Destination Services would have known by then you were skipping the port! And yes, Peter the shoe is terrible! I hope he’s not CD on my cruise on the Nautica in three days. Had him on a TA on the Marina in April, and he really got on my nerves.🙄

I was on Nautica at the end of August,  The CD was Leslie Jon.  He is fantastic. He's a natural at the job. Just the right amount of talking. I've been on 7 Oceania cruises, all with different CDs.  Leslie Jon was the best.  I don't know if he is still on Nautica.

Enjoy the cruise. 

10 hours ago, basor said:

Thanks for the info - so all but Viking offer a program to upgrade to a package that offered more than one device but none of them included it with their basic WIFI...so an add on that will pay for before cruising with an upgrade bundle or pay on board with the upgrade.

The OP also mentioned Royal.  They offer complimentary WiFi for suite guests. No restrictions on number of devices. 

@DrKoob Thanks for your review. I haven't been on Vista but I hope to someday. Just to clarify a couple of things.  You mentioned Viking doesn't do an upsell in the spa.  Oceania doesn't either.  They don't try to sell me anything after the service. No ship photographers on Oceania either.

12 hours ago, Cruisemonty said:

We sailed on Riviera in the Mediterranean in 2017, hoping to step up to a premium line from Celebrity, but we were disappointed. The drink pours were very skimpy (and we barely drink); the specialty restaurants were fine but did not live up to the hype of the best cuisine at sea; the food in the main dining room was boring and bland; elevator music played everywhere, and entertainment was non-existent. In 2019, we sailed on Crystal Serenity in the Adriatic and it was a very significant step up. It was much more lively than Oceania and the food, including cuisine by Nobu, was much better. We've booked a cruise on new Crystal this spring.

Your 2017 cruise isn’t recent but I am curious about what you said about entertainment being non-existent. There is a show in the lounge every night, among other venues as well.   Regarding elevator music being played everywhere….I wouldn’t classify Eagles and Led Zepplin as “elevator music”.  
 

I'll chime in.  I understand the disappointment and frustration of the OP however as many have already pointed out, the cruise line can legally change the itinerary. What is happening in that region is a tragic situation and major changes must be made to the itineraries involved, through no fault of Oceania and other cruise lines.

As cruisers, we are aware that ports and itineraries can change with little notice. I accept that. If there are certain places that a person has their heart set on visiting, consider booking a land tour. 

Regarding Oceania issuing FCCs, I understand why they are reluctant to do so.  If there are too many passengers on that cruise who don't like the new itinerary for whatever reason, where does that leave Oceania? What was once a possibly fully booked cruise may then be half booked 3 weeks before the cruise is set to embark.  I do not think an FCC is justified. 

36 minutes ago, PinonNoir said:

Breakfast today in Terrace Cafe.  Kinda blah.  The Eggs Benedict was pretty bad.  Eggs were cooked to order and done correctly, but the Hollandaise sauce was thin and tasteless.  I may try it once more to see if it improves.  I love Eggs Benedict when done correctly.  My wife got a boiled egg and it was WAY overcooked.  She also got some raspberries and found one with mold on it.  The coffee machine is making crappy Cappuccino...not enough milk and the coffee beans seem sub-standard.  I ended up going down to Barristas to get my second cup of coffee.  I've gotta say the coffee from Baristas, while better than the machines in Terrace Cafe, is nowhere near as good as it was from Baristas on Riviera.

 

I agree with you about the eggs benedict. I've tried it a few times in Terrace Cafe and wasn't impressed so now I just get a croissant and fruit.  The croissants are very good. They don't do scrambled eggs well either. The berries can be hit or miss. Seems to depend on how close to the end of the cruise you are. 

I'll drink one cup of coffee a day so on my next cruise I will make it a point to go to Baristas rather than getting the mediocre coffee in Terrace. I didn't go there at all on my last cruise. 

Thanks.

We have found the Oceania brand to be a good fit.  We like the semi-inclusive format.  I know there are some amenities that I'm not going to get my money's worth on and that's okay.  We don't drink the sodas in the refrigerator. The only thing in the cabin that we'll drink is the Vero water and the bottle of wine that's included with Oceania Club. I've been on 7 Oceania cruises and I could count on one hand the number of times I've been to afternoon tea. I'll go to Baristas once in awhile, certainly not every day. We go to many of the nightly shows but not all. All of the above are included in the fare but I know I'm not taking advantage of it all.  It's okay.

 I understand that some people don't like Simply More pricing including beer and wine with meals and a credit for excursions. It appears to be becoming more common and it could be harder and harder to find a smaller, upscale cruise line that doesn't include these things now. I think Oceania's pricing is fair and the product is good.

YMMV

@roberts2005 Sorry you had to go through all that.  It sounds like more of an issue with the connectivity on the ship rather than the device you were using. I've done the survey on my iPhone on Nautica (last month) and on Sirena (2022) without a problem.  

For the concierge or whoever told you that you can't log in using Apple products is just wrong.

1 hour ago, roberts2005 said:

Was told that apple products couldn’t log in to do survey. Had to borrow a laptop from concierge .  Not sure many would do that

It is unfortunate that you were given wrong information. I completed the survey on my iPhone and didn’t have any trouble with it. 

I can also say that I've never been on a ship excursion with 40 people on the bus.   Most of them have been in the 25-30 range. 

It depends on the location too.   On a South Pacific cruise you won't be in a large bus because they don't have them.  You'll be in a van, pick-up truck or boat.  Europe and other locations are different but still....it's not going to be 40 people. Not in my experience anyway. 

@techteach  Sorry to hear this.  Regarding Waves Grill, there is much more on the menu than hot dogs and hamburgers.  There is surf (lobster) and turf (steak), panini sandwiches, salads, ice cream, shakes, among other selections.  When you are eating at Waves Grill, order your drinks from the server and then you won't have to stand in a line.

Room service is available 24 hours.

I agree service in the GDR is unpredictable.  Sometimes good, sometimes not.

Talk to the GM onboard if things don't improve. 

2 hours ago, KBrote said:

How did you find out this info? What type of lounge is on deck 5? I may want to have the get together there so people don't have to leave the area. But maybe Horizons is better anyway...We have not been on the ship so I don't know which would be better. 

On the R class ships, the Captain's Party is in the lounge. It's only on the larger ships where it's in Horizons.  It wouldn't be feasible to have your group in the lounge because the bar won't be open. It will close after the Captain's party and won't reopen until the 9:30 show.  

2 hours ago, KBrote said:

I am thinking of having our meet & mingle on the second night, the night of the Captain's Party, at 6:00pm, when the party is winding down. I figure most will be there anyway and can just find us at the spot we designate for our meeting without having to schedule a different night. Is the Captain's Party in Horizons? Where would be a good place to tell people to meet? Mid lounge, starboard side? Mid Lounge, port side? Any other suggestions are appreciated.

The Captain's Party on Sirena will be in the lounge on Deck 5. 

Horizons is a good place to meet. People would just have to move up a few decks if they want to attend both. 

5 hours ago, seachelt said:

Today is day 7 and I haven’t seen any comment cards. I’ll go to guest services and ask for one. 

 

On a 7-day cruise you will not get a mid-cruise comment card. Look for instructions in Currents on how to access the online end-of-cruise survey. 

13 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

 

I'm sure I won't be awake to do this.  

 

We are PH1, what are our chances of getting a table for 2 if we wait till 5-6AM ish? 

Being in a PH, you won't have trouble getting a table for 2 on any night you choose.  You don't even need to do this at 5 or 6 in the morning.   Get a good night's sleep. 

We book PH and there have always been many choices of times and dates, non-sharing and sharing. Whatever we want. We book it within 48 hours of when it opens up.  This has been our experience on all of our Oceania cruises.

11 minutes ago, ORV said:

Lyn, it's been my experience lately that if you're below Platinum they will not do a Pin Presentation at the party. Only a mention of how many turned such and such and that the pins should have been in the room for them. It didn't use to be that way, but more and more people are hitting the levels so it was taking up too much time at the party. They do still mention the top 2 or 3 cruisers. 

That's been my experience as well.  They'll mention the top 2 or 3 by name and only mention the number of cruisers reaching each level.  All pins will be in the cabins. 

I haven't seen anyone wearing baseball caps in the restaurants on any of my cruises but if I did, I would probably cringe. (with the exception of the need for it following chemo treatment).  Oceania's dress code is country club casual.  It is well-documented that Arnold Palmer had a policy on the wearing of caps indoors in his clubs and restaurants. It is strictly prohibited. I was recently in the pro shop of a golf club where a gentleman wearing a cap walked in and was immediately requested to remove it.  

Now if only Oceania would enforce the no casual jeans rule.  I've seen it too many times unfortunately.

I recommend Terrace Cafe for dinner especially after a day in port. It's more casual.  There is the grill with made to order steaks and seafood. I especially recommend it for the Chef's Market Grill where they prepare dishes from the region where you are sailing.  On my last couple of cruises I had Spanish Paella and Tuscan Fish Stew as an example of that.  They will usually do that for 2 consecutive nights so make sure you set aside a night for that. 

The service has been good in my experience. As long as the wine or spirit is available at the Terrace bar you won't have to wait long. On rare occasion it's not, the waiter may have to go to another bar to get it.  We've eaten at Terrace for dinner on numerous occasions and never had trouble getting a table even with arriving after 6:30. The most crowded time at Terrace is breakfast.

Interesting comments about the beef.   I don't eat a lot of red meat and I rarely buy it at home. When I'm on a cruise, I splurge at one dinner and order a steak. On my most recent cruise I ordered a 7 oz filet mignon at Polo Grill and thought it was very good. It was tender and flavorful. 4 out of 5 at our table ordered it and we all liked it. Polo Grill has been my least favorite specialty restaurant in the past but on this cruise, I thought they really stepped it up.  We did however notice that their 7 layer Belgian Chocolate Cake was only 5 layers. Still good though.  My husband ordered the beef bourguignon one night at dinner in the GDR and liked it. 

I'm not a cheerleader. I just call it like I see it. I agree with LHT28 when she says that negative comments are also "influencers". 

1 hour ago, paulfoel said:

Nice ship.... Food was great. Really just don't get the idea of paying a lot of $s extra to use the premium restaurants though.....

 

It's a personal choice.  For me, the specialty restaurants are worth the extra money.  The food and service are so much better. I was on Wonder for the first time earlier this year and was very displeased with the main dining room. 

Thanks for your review.