ak1004

I don't think it's a matter of loving Oceania, but you have to agree that "missed 4 ports on the 9 cruises" is really not enough information. Were 9 cruises 10 night each? 20 nights? 30 nights? I'm sure you would agree that it makes a big difference in terms of percentage of missed ports. As a side note, missed ports is a big concern to us, but I would still prefer to miss ports on O than sail Celebrity or Princess and not miss a single port. A different galaxy.

Yes, this is what we are doing. Getting a refund of the deposit less SBC. Thank you for your help.

Book by Sep.10 2023. It expires on Sep.10. We don't have anything to book from what's available, and we don't want to book something knowing that we will need to change it anyway. If they refuse to extend it, so be it.

Okay, this is different from our case. We booked last September and had to use it till Sep.10 2023. I still have a hard time understanding why they wouldn't extend it, but I guess it is what it is. No matter what we say, O (and any cruise line) will do what they consider the best for them. Same with the new pricing, new cancellation policy etc. And the customers will do what they consider the best for them.

Well, if we had a specific cruise in mind, we would book it and wouldn't need an extension. We were waiting for 2025 itineraries since we are fully booked till end of 2024. But they are out somewhere in September and our certificate is valid till September 10, and we are travelling first half of September. Unless I misunderstood what you were saying.

Looks like Crystal has similar issues - Port changes without notice.

We still like the O product very much, but as someone mentioned, O constantly finds new ways to lose customers. The new pricing model forces us to pay for something that we don't use. The new cancellation policy really makes it hard to book in advance. We cruise to see the world, have no interest to spend time on the ship, so the cancelled ports and shortened port stays are a big concern. Now they refused to extend our future cruise certificate, basically giving up a guaranteed booking. With the pricing now pretty close to SB and SS, there is a good chance that this booking will go to another line. Still case by case basis, no loyalty to any line, but it's likely that going forward, less of our business will go to O. Yes, I know, we are just a rounding error, but if there are thousands of rounding errors, maybe it will have some impact.

Well, tomorrow is now.. so far no Allura itineraries.

Maybe. This was an example of O cruise that we booked and replaced with SS cruise, mostly because of longer port stays and better itinerary. But I compared a few more. On every single one I compared, SS had longer port stays. Might be anecdotal comparison, but the fact remains. You can rarely find any 10-12 days O itinerary with more than 1-2 port stays after 7pm. SS? Almost every sailing has 3-4 ports with stays till 10-11pm.

I provided one example of SS vs O. There are a lot more. And those are the original hours from May 2022 booking of May 2024 sailing, I'm sure those hours will be shortened based on what we see on other O sailings.

We did 4 O cruises. Food is as good as ever. Service as good as ever. Excursions not so good on our last sailing. Cancelled ports and shortened times in ports are a big concern to us. Overall, still excellent experience and excellent value for money, even considering we don't drink. BUT - they are not the only game in town. If SS or SB offers a better itinerary at comparable or slightly higher price, we always would consider it. Not loyal to any line. They all have to compete for my business. And yes, the showers on R ships are tiny. and PH is way too expensive. This is why we prefer the O class. Larger cabins, more dining options, more spacious ships.

If people believe that O cancels ports on purpose, then my question is: what is the benefit for them to do it? They lose tens of thousands in revenues of canceled excursions, not to mention hundreds of angry guests. What do they benefit? Now, shortened times in ports is a different issue. Here they have clear savings. If the carbon footprint is the real reason, then why it's only O? Is O the only one caring for the environment? We compared two similar itinerates, one SS and one O, both 10 nights. Dubrovnik: SS 9-22 (13 hours) O 7-17 (10 hours). Corfu SS 9-23 (14 hours) O 8-19 (11 hours) On this specific itinerary, O was till 9pm only in one port, the rest 6-7pm. SS - four ports after 10pm. To me, this is huge, and it's pretty typical. At this point, "more time in ports" is just a slogan. We don't pay thousands of dollars to stay on the ship and to have more sea day. No line is perfect. We love O, but ports hours becoming a real issue.

An update: My TA contacted O and they won't extend it. Getting a refund. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding some of those decisions. They are basically giving up a guaranteed future booking, and now I might book with another cruise line instead of O.

I have never seen bathing suit and flip flops on SS on dinners. On Oceania and Azamara either. Not sure why people keep mentioning those ridiculous scenarios.

Not a good analogy at all. If someone talks loud, you have no choice but to hear him. If someone doesn't wear a jacket, you have a choice not to look at him. And the dinner still tastes the same. What a complete waste of time and energy.. Do people really have that much spare time to discuss if others are wearing a jacket or not?

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the reviews. Some of them are just ridiculous. Just book whatever itinerary works the best for you. They are both wonderful cruise lines. Celebrity is in a different galaxy.

You mentioned more passengers, so my comment was that you probably won't even feel it. No more no less. To some people the ship is the destination, so to them the Nova is a game changer. This was also mentioned by some professional experts. But obviously if someone didn't like SS before, the new ship is not going to change it.

It's 120 more passengers, I doubt anyone will even notice. Also remember that the ship is 35% larger, so much better space to passenger ratio (the highest of all ships except Crystal Serenity).

Spot on.

We feel exactly the same way. They are definitely not our servants. We always enjoy talking to them and learning about their lives, and we appreciate all the hard work they do very much. Yes, it's nice to see familiar faces, but being recognized and called by name was never of any importance to us. Maybe some people need it to boast their ego and self importance, but there are much more important things for us when we select a cruise line. Everyone is different and we should respect other people's choices and not judge them.

Unlike some others, I have no obsessions with any cruise line. Oceania, Silversea, Crystal, Azamara.. loved them all. Itinerary and price are the key for us.

Exactly! To some people, if you have to use your card during the cruise, then it's not luxury. They like to pay up front and not to have any further expenses. But no line is really all inclusive. SS has 2 dining venues that are extra. Other lines have other things that they charge for, even if they market themselves as all inclusive. Even lines that include excursions (like SS) have some "premium" excursions that are extra. To me, most lines that have small ships are way above the big ships, and I don't really care how they call them. I would gladly sail on any small ship, depending on itinerary and price. Personally I believe that Oceania newer ships provide the best value for money.

I could never understand the obsession with recognizing crew and they recognizing me.. they are not supposed to be my friends.

You are correct. On our cruise last year Dubai and Oman did not require a visa, cruise ship or not.

Yes, you made it very clear that you don't care for SS. Many SS fans don't care for Crystal. And many travelers would gladly sail on both as long as the itinerary and the price are right. My point was that even if the line includes excursions, sometimes the price is less than lines that don't, so even if you don't like ship excursions, you can take private tours. Regarding Muscat, you are much braver than me. I know the Middle East way too well, I would never take a private tour in those ports that I mentioned. Sometimes you have no choice but to take the ship excursion.