ak1004

True. My issue is not with a pair of trousers and collared shirt for dinner. I think it is very reasonable. What is not reasonable is to ask men to put a jacket most of the nights. This has been removed, and it's a positive development. Too bad that at the same time they priced themselves out of the market.

Thank you. I actually got a reply directly from Blacklane? "Yes, they can book the business van and you can join them, Just keep in mind that the business van allows a maximum of 5 persons and maximum of 5 luggage." I'm curious about the credit. We actually have 4 rides available for home-airport transfers (one per guest per direction). Does it mean that if we use only 2 of them (which I assume most people do since most people live in the same address), I can get a credit for the rest of 2?

I'm sorry if this was covered elsewhere, but this is the first time we are doing D2D and are eligible to Blacklane transfer. Can we use port to airport transfer together with our friends? They are eligible to the transfer, but we are not since we took air credit. Can we join them in their transfer? Or is it possible that they book 2 transfers (they are eligible each per guest I believe?) and we take the second one?

This is really good to hear. Just FYI, Skylink by itself does not guarantee good speeds. We had Skylink on our last cruise on SS, but they limited the speeds artificially to around 1.5mb. If you wanted higher speeds, you had to upgrade to "premium" internet at $30/day. So much for all inclusive line. I'm glad that O finally woke up and realized that to attract new generation of travelers, good internet is really important.

It's your truth. Others truth might be very different. We started travelling light, never looked back. No risk of lost luggage, no overpacking of things half of them we never use. No waiting for luggage.

We travelled on Air Canada, Swiss, TAP and couple more European airlines. If you travel in business, they don't even check (unless the size exceeds by a lot). In economy, sometimes they tell you to put it in a sizer, so yes, size should usually not exceed 55x40x23 cm (with AC, and something similar with others). But weight - I have never seen them enforcing it, and not all airlines even have weight limit. For example AC mentions "Although no weight limit applies to carry-on baggage, your bag must be light enough that you can store it in the overhead bin unassisted."

Thank you Hank for your continuous reports! We always loved the bread on O! Do they still have surf and turf in Waves? Also, did you try the afternoon tea?

We are travelling to Europe all the time with one carry on and one personal item. Something like this (we have the next model, but same idea). No issues at all.

Our Samsonite carry on from 2018 still looks like new. We travel 3-4 times a year. It was around 150 euro then, probably around 200-250 euro now. I never buy the cheapest product, but also not the most expensive. Mid range usually provides good value for money.

Yes!! We started travelling like this last year. Each of us one carry-on and one personal item. No more overpacking of clothes (half of them were staying in the suitcase anyway). We managed to travel like this even on SS with their archaic 3 level dress code.

We never spent less than 60-70 minutes in any specialty restaurant on O. And if they brought me the main dish right after the appetizer, I would definitely not send it back just because it arrived too fast. And honestly, if I was the chef of this restaurant, I would delay the next dish by an hour to give a customer "a fine dinning experience", then let it sit for another 10 minutes so it gets cold and then send it to the table. But you are right, Too each his own.

Maybe it's a matter of perspective and attitude? We didn't experience anything like this on any of our O sailings (Riviera and Regatta), and the new ships usually get the best staff available. or maybe we did and just didn't pay much attention? If you are looking for faults hard enough, you will always find something..

So where is the issue? Would you prefer that they wait in the kitchen to give you a pause? I guess you would complain then that they arrived cold?

Agree 100%. But some people are never happy. Too slow? Not good, it came cold Too fast, hot and fresh? Send it back and bring me another one. Unreal.

This is completely understandable and acceptable - in fact, it's very generous of them to apply it to the cost of the trip.

Have you sailed on SS? After 2 cruises on SS, I didn't see much difference in service compared to O. Overall I found both between very good and excellent, but we experienced some of the issues mentioned by @WNcruiser on SS as well.

Do you mind sharing the service issues you had?

This is part of doing business. Isn't it the same with realtors and many other professions?

I would never pay any fee for any service provided by a TA. In fact, I would run away. They get their commissions from the cruise line and/or the airline. There are many TAs in Ontario who provide perks, but it is less common in Canada. We switched to US based TA who provides us 10-12% rebate on every single cruise. They can book in USD or CAD, based on your preference.

Yes, and too many sea days for us. Having 2-3 sea days on 10-11 nights sailing is way too many. We don't cruise to spend time on the ship. You are right, I was looking at 2025. But this is also for November, and November is typically significantly cheaper for Europe sailings.

Those prices don’t exist anymore. At least not for Europe. But yes, anything under $450-500 on Explora I would book.

It probably depends on category. We booked 2 cruises on Vista for 2025 in FV for less than $400/night. Explora is around $550-600 on average, with some exceptions. So 30-40% more expensive. Of course if you book standard veranda on O, the gap is smaller. Drinks package on O is offset by excursions credit, so the only difference is gratuities (and $20/day is not really material when you pay $400-500 per day).

Well, this is exactly my point. If most of the things are comparable, why to pay 30-50% more for a "luxury" line? For people who drink and require larger cabins, it might be justified. Otherwise? I'm not sure. We still need to try SB (will be doing it in September) to see if their overall experience is significantly better than SS. If it's not, we will probably stick with O.

But if you don't drink, then it doesn't really matter. After 4 O cruises and 2 SS cruises, I'm still not very clear about the difference between "Premium Line" and a "Luxury Line." The only thing that was significantly better on SS was the cabins. The 305 sqft cabin with walk-in closet, curtain between the bed and the sitting area etc was a real treat. But we are perfectly happy with O class cabins, and Vista cabins are similar. All the rest? Food is better on O, rest of the things comparable.

I believe @FlyerTalker is correct. There are no guarantees that the ship will wait, regardless of ship tour or private tour. How likely it is to wait is a different matter. You are probably correct that they will consider all the expenses they will occur by leaving behind guests of a ship tour, and are more likely to wait for a ship tour than private tour. But more likely does not equal guaranteed as they want you to believe. I believe that even a very unlikely event of being left behind is worth the risk, compared to how much you are overpaying on ship tours. It's matter of personal preferences, but it's important to know all the facts. Booking a ship tour does NOT guarantee that the ships will wait in a unlikely even of delay.