1985rz1

I agree. Better advance notification than on-ship disappointment.

If the SimplyMore's included drinks with lunch and dinner is the same as the OLife House Select, as has been posted by several Travel Agencies only wine, beer and champagne are free; alcoholic drinks are not free but are available as selections. Of course these are reports from several different travel agencies that attended the webinar, not an official O announcement. We should have confirmation from O on July 1 As for taking any drink that is limited to lunch and dinner to another non-restaurant menu...well, if ordered with you meal one one thing; ordering the drink as a stand alone is another...

I have the same information from 3 different agents from 3 different travel agencies who attended the webinar. But, yes, it's not the official statement.

Yes. Just like the OLife House Select Package.

I just wish folks would take a deep breath and minimize their angst until the program is implemented and all the facts are known. It would also be nice if folks would try to refrain from posting misinformation and/or wild speculations which only worsen the angst. Remember Chicken Little.

Actually, they are usually listed in the bar hours on the last page of Currents, just not in the daily schedule.

How long is dependent on specific ports and condition of the seas. If the seas are too bad, the port is skipped.

I'm not sure what O package you are referring to, but the House Select (wine and beer with lunch and dinner) is $40 pp per day. The Prestige Select which include spirits and all day long is $70 pp per day.

No, only beer, wine, and champagne with lunch and dinner is included in Simply More. You need to read further into the announcement. Here's an excerpt from the posting on a TA site: On July 1, 2023, a new program begins, and an old friend is retired. Olife is being replaced by a program called simplyMORE. Beginning July 1, 2023, all bookings made sailing after Oct 1, 2023, will include simplyMORE. The program is designed to be more inclusive and much simpler to understand. Some of the highlights are noted below. All bookings include FREE champagne, wine, and more with over 30 alcoholic and non-alcoholic choices for lunch and dinner. Comparable to what you think of now as House Select Beverage Package. You will be able to upgrade the simplyMORE drink package for $30 per person per day and you will be able to upgrade prior to embarkation.

Maybe the policy has changed, but we recently booked 2 Viking cruises in early and mid 2025, and payment schedule for one is 1 year before sailing; the second is 6 months before sailing (reduced because of the 1st).

Especially true with many of the recent refugees from other lines who wonder why O doesn’t provide the same inclusiveness that has in the suites of their previous lines, and are confused by the complexity of the booking options. O is imply responding to what it sees as a shift in the market, whether we like it or not. As a company it needs to move with the market, if they want to stay in business. And as often said, those of us on cruise critic are a miniscule percentage of those who sail O.

yes

Just set your watch to a different time zone (there are some half hour ones), and you'll be fine 🍸🍷🍺

We have a cruise on AZ this coming January and the pricing was good when we booked many moons ago, but since it is sold out, we can't compare current pricing. We did like AZ when we cruised with them in 2009 and we expect to enjoy this one, but we like the food and restaurants better on O (personal choice). The main drawback for us (other than its current IT disaster which is still not solved...but it will be) is the limited number of itineraries which cover where we ant to go. That why we are trying Viking, but are lowering our cruise experience expectations, especially in the food department. But we are itinerary driven, and after that comparison of pricing and inclusions.

Lyn. I agree that the proof is in the value pudding. Once we see how much this change influences pricing...that is the old "cruise only" vs the new "cruise only," we'll be able to make a serious analysis. I wouldn't mind a modest increase, especially since the new model includes a second WiFi account to the stateroom, and wine and beer with lunch and dinner is fine with me, if it doesn't mean a $30 pp pd increase. Our first cruises were with Regent, before it became all inclusive, and we fled when it made that change. So the pricing is a key...but then what will be our other cruise lines with small ships options? The general competition includes what O is going to in its pricing, so we're going to pay in any case. Then it comes down to itinerary and pricing.

On shorter cruises we each have 1 x 24" suitcase and 1 carry on. On longer ones, 1 x 26" suitcase and 1 carry on each.

I assume you're saying that you will take a bottle to the various venues and pay the corkage fee and are sticking to your cabin for the by-the-glass drinks.

5 to 6 pm.

iPhone. What is that? 🤔 I just looked at my Android phone and it's the same. Thanks for the hint. My Android tablet is different. The second page of symbols has the £.

I've seen it as "pounds sterling."

You are correct (as usual 😉). ArriveCan is more than Covid era. It does prepare the docs for customs and immigration, but it's like having your docs (or is that ducks?) all in a row for arrival.

ArriveCan was required last summer for all entries to Canada when we did our St Lawrence Seaway cruise. It's not the same as an ETA, which is not required for US citizens. Our US Passports served as identification. ArriveCan was a COVID-era document that is no longer required.

@ORV Was the lasagna app Android or Apple? ☺️☺️😂. Looking forward to your posts.

Consider it confirmed. You will see some men who like to "dress up" with sports coats in some of the specialties, but there is no requirement or need. You won't feel out of place either way, with or without.

It's a matter of personal preference. We liked Vancouver on our Alaska trips and prefer it over Seattle. To us, Juneau is OK, but the smaller ports of Wrangle and Haines are more interesting. Nothing wrong with Seattle (we do like visiting it) or Juneau (but nothing special). If we were taking this cruise, we'd be happy with the changes. But YMMV.