ak1004

4 hours ago, Emdee said:

Have you been on the new Crystal? I tried all of the competition in the last few years but Crystal is way better than the rest. The only one that comes close is Regent which I continue to sail on due to itineraries. 
 

 

We were on the old Crystal. From what I read, the new Crystal is similar. We enjoyed the OC very much, but I find the current pricing of the NC not competitive at all. The ships are still over 25 years old, and the cabins are still small. Not a big factor for us if the price was competitive, but paying 20-25% more for a 210 sqft cabin on a 25 years old ship is just not my definition of value.

57 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

This is so confusing.  My husband and I each received an email from SS with links to Blacklane.   Do we each need to book a transfer as there is no way to add passengers on their site other than to select the vehicle size.  I have booked through the portal sent by SS just for myself but does DH need to do the same?

You don't need to ass passengers. In fact, you can even invite friends to ride with you (in theory) as long as the total number does not exceed the specified capacity.

13 minutes ago, sea bright said:

We are in the US and have always booked just a single vehicle, using 1 Blacklane link, to travel from our home address to the airport and a second link for the reverse trip. The pricing varied by type of vehicle and number of miles, not passenger. However, we have always received a single email (it comes to me, but not my husband).

We got one link to because I specified the same email for me and my wife. But it has 2 rides per direction, so we used the second ride to book airport-port (and wise versa).

44 minutes ago, DoulaAnn said:

Seems to me that there is a difference in bathroom new buildout and cosmetic refurbishment. My perception of what it says is that the footprint of the bathroom won't be changed (tubs were eliminated in a lot of cabins on Riviera and turned into showers -- which are amazing-- and the small shower eliminated to add storage. 

 

We'll see what it looks like when it is finished. Hopefully people will post photos of what changed (will take a few people to show the different levels of cabins).

While the new showers on Riviera are really nice, the old ones were perfectly fine too (which I cannot say about R ships). And some people actually like tubs. So personally I don't see this as an issue at all.

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

“Years ago” there were many cities we enjoyed (even in the USA) which have changed in a very bad way.

 

We can agree ti disagree about Marseille.  But when it comes to “O” we are mostly in your court.  😉

I completely agree about Marseille. Doesn't feel like France anymore..

We were able to book Airport- ship and ship- airport with Blacklane. 

7 hours ago, thebsinmiss said:

Several years ago we did a silver seas cruise shortly after a cruise on the Marina.  Our personal observations were

- ship.  Preferred Oceania as it was slightly larger but felt less crowded even though the passenger count was higher on O

- staff  Call it a wash. One thing we found is the butler service on SS was of little value to us and we rarely saw them/used them. Saw her on embarkation day and then the night before getting off. 

- food  - definite win for O.  More options and food seemed fresher for some reason

- Entertainment - neither offered mega ship level entertainment (not expected to) but there seemed to be a bit more on O

- Ports - seemed way easier/faster to get on/off SS vs O (driven by passenger numbers ?)

 

If ports are basically the same and costs are similar I would pick Oceania

 

 

1 hour ago, thebsinmiss said:

Perhaps someone else can comment with current experience on the specific ships as I can't do that. 

 

Both SS and O deliver very good/excellent products and services. We are looking forward to our June cruise on Riviera and I am going to try and avoid "looking" for how things may or may not have changed. Each trip is unique and thats the way we want it.

I would sign on every word that you said. This was exactly our conclusion. The problem is that for 2025, SS priced itself out of the market. In 2023/2024 you could find a fair amount of SS sailings with prices comparable or only slightly higher than O, but this is not the case anymore. 

43 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

And Viking releases their cruises three years in advance. They are truly after the early birds. Spin the bottle, take your chances. I was fairly amazed at the number of passengers on my just completed cruise that had booked the cruise within the previous 3-4 months! Some had caught some interesting, and perhaps unpublished, sales by doing so. Of course, most of them then complained that all of the ship and private tours were mostly booked full! 😂 

 

Well, for those of us who live in North America and book cruises to Europe/Asia, flights will definitely be more expensive if booked 3-4 months in advance, especially for business class. And if you book with points (like we do), then the best deals are when the flights are just released (usually a year in advance). So 3-4 months won't work for us, and if they caught better deals on the cruise, most likely this was offset by air prices (unless you don't have to fly too far).

43 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

 

As a general policy , except for the ATW Oceania doesn’t release cruises more than two years in advance . As stated in post #35, Oceania didn’t want to divide up a new season of cruises thus stopping when they did.

Makes sense, and this is why they published till June 2026. But I hope they don't wait till September to release rest of the first half of 2026.

28 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

+1. This is April 2024. With all the current world events I doubt Oceania is willing to commit to much of a schedule in over 2 years from now. Additionally, as a marketing decision, why would they tell you now a certain cruise is going in September 2026 when they want you to book it for 9/25?

I understand why they would not release September 2026 now, but why not full schedule for the first half of 2026?
 

We usually book 2 years in advance. We are currently looking at May-June 2026. If they don’t release them till September-October, and other lines like Seabourn, Windstar, Explora etc release a good itinerary at reasonable price in the next 2-3 months, we will book them instead of O.

I posted a comparison a while ago:

If PH price is similar, I would go with O. You get more perks, larger cabin, better food, comparable service. Especially considering you don't drink much, so included alcohol on SS is not a factor.  

22 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

 

The numbers may not lie but quoted in a vacuum they don't necessarily present a meaningful picture. GT is a measure of total enclosed volume, and the word total is important because it includes a lot of space not utilized by passengers...engine rooms, galleys, crew quarters, store rooms. etc.

For example I recall when Marina and Riviera were being built the ships' architect commented that the size of the galleys were exceptionally large for ships carrying 1,250 passengers. Those exceptionally large galleys take away from the space available for passenger use.

 

The size of staterooms affects the size of public spaces and public spaces are where passengers notice whether a ship feels crowded. In two ships of equal GT carrying an equal number of passengers smaller staterooms can translate to larger public spaces, larger staterooms to smaller public spaces. Then, how the public spaces are divided substantially affects the perception of spaciousness. For example, a smaller main show room leaves more room for other venues.

 

For those reasons while the space to passenger ratio has some value the numbers aren't a mathematically meaning measure. A ship with a ratio of 60 may not have 20% more public passenger space per passenger than a ship with a ratio of 50.

All valid points. I don't disagree.

The ratio is far from perfect, but I think it is still a pretty good estimate. As an example, QM2 has a ratio of 55, and indeed it felt the least crowded of all mass market ships. 

The difference between 44 and 52 is pretty significant to be ignored even considering all other factors you mentioned, and to me, Regatta did feel slightly more crowded than Riviera.

And if you compare Regatta with 30,000 ton and 700 guests to ships like Silver Dawn or Silver Spirit that have 40,000 ton and 600 guests, the difference is very significant, despite SS cabins being almost double in size.

Money aside, on R ships, we would go to PH (regular cabins are just a bit smaller than our comfort level). On O ships (and Vista), regular cabins are very nice size, no need for PH only to get more space (at least for us), but other perks are nice if you use them.

Always better to be young, handsome, rich and healthy than old, ugly, poor and sick, so if you can afford PH, why not?

I just checked price of June 2026 cruise on Vista similar to cruise we are booked for June 2025.

12 nights from London to London in June 2025 starts at $6,699 CAD. Similar cruise in June 2026 (Barcelona to London) starts at $6,949, 3.7% increase. I believe the increase is higher at most other lines.

5 hours ago, pinotlover said:

That question was asked to the FCS ( Past OCA) on Riviera. She responded that July 26 onwards cruises would be released in September or October.

Good to know.

But even first half seems not complete. For example, Marina sailings show till Apr.28 only. Allura till May 7. 

42 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

 

A word about my food comments.  This is our first O cruise, so we cannot compare to the pre-Covid O.  Others tell us that O cuisine has gone downhill in the past few years, which does make us wonder what we missed!  What we are experiencing here on the Vista is probably the 2nd best overall cuisine we have had on 18 cruise lines.  #1 still goes to the new Explora Journeys, Explora Journey 1.  Seabourn trails O because O offers more variety (at least on the Vista).  

 

One mild complaint (about O) continues to be the early nights.  Entertainment (in Horizons) generally ends at 11:15 and than the ship dies!  There have actually been some decent crowds in Horizons (quite a few dancers) but once the music stops, most are quickly off to bed.  One more dance/music set would be appreciated by us night owls.  

 

Hank

 

Hank, thank you again for your reports, highly appreciated!

Our first O cruise was in 2018, and then 3 more post Covid. Personally, I didn't notice any difference in food quality, but obviously this is a small sample. We haven't been on EJ yet, but I consider O food better than SS, Azamara and Old Crystal (and I don't even mention mass market lines non suite dining venues).

As for entertainment - this is really typical for O, and to be honest, for port intensive itineraries, we don't really care, we are too tired and go to bed after the shows anyway. How is it on Seabourn?

12 hours ago, the more ports the better said:

For me, R ships seem much more crowded than O ships.  Have not been on vista so I can’t comment there.  I am all for more space per person but agree with everyone here, there needs to be an additional restaurant, Jacques gets my vote!!!

This was our impression too. O class has space to passenger ratio of 52, O class 44. Numbers don't lie. And the new ships will have ratio of 61, the highest in its class and almost as high as most luxury ships. In terms of number of passengers, I doubt anyone will even notice the difference between 1,250 and 1,400, but I'm sure it will feel more spacious.

50 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

A people have been worried that any relaxing of the dress code would erode the luxury experience.  Lately, many posts would indicate that SS is doing a good job of eroding the experience in so many other ways.  Really disappointing.

I could never understand how dress code is related to luxury experience.

According to this statement, Cunard is much more luxury than Regent or Seabourn..

6 hours ago, commodoredave said:

I miss my toast in the morning on the Muse. On just about every cruise ship we’ve ever been on, we’ve been able to choose a slice of bread from the buffet and have it toasted in less than a minute right in front of us by the buffet waiter. And take it back to our table for buttering while still hot. Yum!

But on the Muse, toast can only be ordered from a table waiter, which means a significant wait for it to arrive, lukewarm and if I wait for it after getting my breakfast it too is then cold. 

But after several days of frustration, I am now ordering my toast before going to the buffet, waiting for it to arrive, and then getting my breakfast. The toast is still cold, but not my breakfast.

It’s just great when a cruise ship takes something that has worked well for decades, changes it for the worse, and can’t deliver on the new process. Let’s hope this change doesn’t spread to other SS ships.

We found the service at breakfast in La Terrazza very inconsistent. It was consistently inconsistent on both our SS cruises, the Dawn and the Spirit. The idea of ordering some items like omelet from a waiter instead of standing in line is good, but the implementation is terrible. Sometimes we waited 15-20 minutes for some of those items. Also many times I had to wait a long time for Perrier (it was almost like they have to bring it from another ship), so at some point I gave up and just settled for their "in house" soda, which is pretty bad compared to Perrier. Around mid cruise they ran out of Perrier and Pellegrino anyway.. 

I was very surprised to experience such basic service issues on an ultra luxury line.

39 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Is that per night?

No 3 nights.

43 minutes ago, QuestionEverything said:

They can charge what they want.

Hotels, restaurants, airlines.

It is up to the consumer, each of us, to decide if we wish to purchase their product offering at said price today.

I am not an "obedient consumer" and I have 0 cruises booked at this time.

On cruising, the price and offering and consistency of the product is not there for me.

Expanding my travel offerings; vehicle trips, land trips.

It is up to you.

It is obvious the cruise lines think that there are many existing "obedient consumers" and "new cruisers" who will fill all their new builds. 

When a company takes you for granted, it will not end well for the consumer.

Time will tell.

 

 

We booked a hotel in Barcelona for May 2020 at $1,210 CAD. Today the same hotel for the same period is $1,950. That's a 60% increase.

Business class flight with Air Canada to Europe was around $3,500 CAD before Covid. Today you will be lucky to find a light to any European destination for less than $5,500-6,000.

Do they take their customers for granted?

This is just the new reality. When you compare cruise prices with comparable land tours, cruises still win, big time, if you compare apples to apples. So price wise, I don't think there is a better value than a cruise. 

I suspect we will see similar increases on all lines not just O. Check out current Celebrity prices on the new ships. 

45 minutes ago, QuestionEverything said:

We and numerous friends who are travelers like us have eliminated cruising from our 5 year travel planning. No one has a cruise booked. In the event, there is something new destination wise, we all check CC, hence why I am posting on this thread.

Been there and done that and cruising is superficial at best. Same old and repeat and repeat.

But we are all now deep diving into land tours - Trafalgar, Globus and Viatour. Also supplement using private guides and vehicles depending upon the location. The driver is to see the detail, be challenged in each location, eat local foods.

Oceania lost all of us due to their forced Simply M decision.

Please do check out land travel as well as driving trips!

Safe travels.

 

We did 2 land tours with Gate1. While it does have its advantages, but packing/unpacking every 2-3 days plus spending 3-5 hours driving every other day more or less is just not our cup of tea. There are always cruises with extended stays, overnights etc. that allow you to deep diving. And if we really like a place - we just come back and see it from a different angle.

While we don't drink and prefer private tours, SM doesn't really change the big picture for us. We still like O, but we also try other lines. We also check river cruises.

The itineraries are out, looks like a very partial release. Only up to June 2026, and very few itineraries in Europe.

22 minutes ago, judi666 said:

Webster’s definition of edible: food that is suitable and safe.  That was my use of the word.  I never said inedible. 
Day 12: Most of the meals are good, just not anything over the top. Certainly better than the mainstream giant lines.  

I understand what edible is. To me, most meals on O are between very good and excellent, with some rare exceptions. Definitely much better than just "edible". Edible to me is Mcdonald's or fast food in a mall. 

22 minutes ago, RetiredOnVacation said:

 

Interesting findings from you both, thanks for sharing. Maybe a one-person blacklane limo can be upgraded to a multi-person van for no extra charge? After all cruising tends to involve more baggage! 

In our case, each one of the 4 rides could be booked with business car (3 people, 3 suitcases) or business van (5 people, 5 suitcases) at no extra cost.

1 hour ago, RetiredOnVacation said:

Bit puzzled with your question and the answers that have come afterwards - I thought the Blacklane  transfer elements relate from/to home-home airport, not emabarkation/disembarkation port-foreign local airport? This latter would be provided by a local coach supplier for all D2D transfer/air inclusive passengers and not by Blacklane?!

 

But it seems that your question is conflating the two journeys? 

 

Iirc you can book/pay port to airport transfer on the SS coach if it's not inclusive for you, using the disembarkating form they leave in your suite towards the end of cruise. 

Sometimes, if your flight is a lot later, there's a port-airport excursion you can book through mysilversea in advance that uses up the spare time. 

Actually what we found out is kind of interesting.

When I created a Blacklane account, I found 4 (four) transfers. I contacted Blacklane and they explained that each guest is eligible to their own transfer, so the transfer are not per cabin but per guest. So we have 2 pre cruise transfers and 2 post cruise transfers, and they can be use for any ride that is less than 80 km (50 miles), not limited to home to home airport. So even after we took air credit and not using SS flights, we can still use one of the transfers for port to airport ride.

In fact, we can use those transfers to any ride (up to 80km) up to 30 days pre cruise and 30 days post cruise, even if the ride is completely unrelated to the cruise..