PaulMCO

Thought we beat that one---

The answer is maybe. On Splendor the internet representative was nice enough to give us 4 devices for the one account.at no charge. Cannot hurt to be nice and ask.. Also in an F1 (Superior).

Sorry -- it is rather easy just did same to check to see if my price went down.... Find your cruise -- look at the suites and then click on Plan Your Cruise for the on cabin -- make sure it says available below it..

Q1 -- What is the issue with biofouling. Why were both Oceania and RSSC ships forced to clean their hulls. The regulations have been on the books since 2018 in New Zealand and more recently special enforcement notices were published in mid 2022 for Australia. Why did these disruptions occur?? What is NCL doing to prevent future occurrences Q2 -- We know because of COVID that many people in the travel industry left because of shutdowns. Most particularly recent shore excursions on both Regent and sister line Oceania have been atrociously poor. We had two 20+ cruises in Nov - Jan 23 one on Regent and one on Oceania where only a few of these excursions were satisfactory. What is NCL doing to improve the experience??

The TV is "smart", but Oceania dumbs it down with its own operating application, so you cannot use it for anything other than what the ship intends it for.

Also ex- Crystal. Concur 100% with your review. We did Splendor in November/Dec. There excursion group is just about the worst in the industry. It mirrors Oceania who we have a similar reaction and recent experience. Oceania you pay for in advance so you have a recourse (like disputing the charges) when they skip half of what they promise. Regent built into the fare. Then again private tours are so much better as you can customize them. As fare as service -- Regent is a culture of yes - very similar to that of Crystal. As far as air -- Regent has been using a lot if Emirates and Qatar lately. Certainly better than you would have had if they put you on United. We were impressed enough to book two more on our last cruise.

It's not the air departments fault on any of these cruise lines. Unfortunately it is the airlines. They keep changing schedules. My MCO to IST on LH (via FRA) has changed three times in the last 6 months. The air departments are having a hard time. So much so that Regent has changed the deviation program to 210 days (versus 270 days) prior to departure because of all these changes. The scheduling issues can be attributed to many things including capacity issues, lack of planes, the Ukraine war etc.. Then when you have Terminal Fires at JFK, ground handling strikes in Germany, contractors cutting fiber lines in Frankfurt, outdated IT infrastructure at all US carriers, idiots at the FAA loading incorrect data into a NOTAM system and earthquakes -- what do you expect peace and calm??

Can't everybody accept that they do not know how many crew they will BE ABLE to hire. By saying nearly 1:1 it really means anything lower than 1.49999999999 to 1. They are just 6 months into a startup process. They have not even completed upgrading a ship. If you think that is a bump, wait to they start up operations.

That is totally FALSE.... Many 3rd party services have license that allow them to had carry a passport application to the visa processing center for 5 day to 24 hour service depending on the urgency,

Why did the bio fouling issue occur on both Oceania and Regent voyages. The regulation has been on the books since 2018 in New Zealand and a special notice was issued by the Australian's stating they would be enforcing these new procedures beginning in mid 2022. Has Oceania and Regent updated their plans and procedures to be in compliance on future cruises to this region??

Started my flying in the 70's using Pan Am on the JFK to Frankfurt to Berlin routes landing at Templehof and later at Tegel. Worked at Templehof for three years. Flying was fun then. Now not so much (even with the lifetime special perks)...

They are doing a lot more sneaky things than just the Champagne. Just switch my MCO to FRA flight to Eurowings Discover and made it a code share and the plane from a 747 to an A340 is now an A330...

We actually preferred the SH. If I remember on our last two cruises booked the difference was in order of 7 to 10%

And yes the cabin staff does change the time when the ship changes time. Then it does not glow enough -- so I grab my iphone and turn on the flashlight so I can see the clock 🙂

great place to visit... Very safe - no issues Dubai and Abu Dhabi -- safe many expats (in fact expats our number local citizens) Oman is a lovely country - people are very friendly Dubai - Shopping at various malls from Emirates Mall (where you can ski) to the Burj Khalifa (take the elevator to the 124th floor) and the Dubai Mail Dancing Fountains by the Dubai Mail Spice Souk/market Gold market Dhow ride along the Dubai waterfront (dinner included) Old Dubai - Dubai Museum and Heritage village Great Beaches and yes of course you can do a Desert Safari Abu Dhabi -- Yes the Grand Mosque is a must see You cab check Trip advisor for various tour companies. Where else is it going to?? Muscat and Salalah are great stops Fujairah -- great snorkeling Doha is OK -- just something different as far as concrete modern cities are concerned. Bahrain -- never found much to do when I am on business.

They technically changed it as of the 1st sailings after the New Year. It was publicized on the ship. Obviously their slow to move internet department could not keep up.

Then again you can look at the negative reviews on the recent Marina sailings too. Not all positive. Not a cheerleader. 14 O cruises - last one was the freebee. On a positive note -- Nautica is the finest and best run ship in their fleet.

SS is superior to that on Oceania. Food is subjective. Very disappointed in Oceania on our last Marina cruise. We love Jacques on Oceania. But it is only available on 2 of its ships. We like Toscana -- but SS Italian. Thought the food on Seabourn (last cruise in July) was inferior to Oceania. See below Regent is also a possibility. Food on Regent (since the demise of Crystal) is really the best at sea. Agree. This is our new favorite line, but it is $$$. They do offer specials in synch with Oceania (like 2 cabin upgrades). And the prices do come down without the Biz Air and any included special "free" pre and post cruise land programs.

Since it is more inclusive SS does provide more (drinks, excursions, gratuities and butlers). Really depends on the ship. Bigger ships have more venues, but the size of the ships varies from 450 to 700 persons. SS is more formal... Rather complex -- 3 separate nights Then there are the exceptions --- Hot rocks and pool area bar is always casual. Certain restaurants you can go to in informal dress during formal nights -- La Terreza, Indochine, Silver Note, Kaiseki, and Seishin.. During informal nights you can go to these in casual wear.

You could try -- but doubt it as they capacity control these "sales" and likely there could be only one cabin offered in a veranda category.

Lynn -- get well give my regards to the OM... I have it now too, just back from a Euro biz trip...

You might check Regent -- they were advertising some solo specials with 0% upcharges.

About an hour. Can be less if no crowds at the port. We have 4 ships in port for an upcoming Seabourn cruise so I expect it to be a zoo.

They typically will start at 11:00 with OS,VS and OC suites. These suites are ready at 11:00 generally. Then Platinum and PH at 11:15. It really depends on how organized the front desk is and how many people are check in in passengers. By noon all lines are open. Rooms are not ready until 1PM for PH and then Concierge and regular cabins at 3pm. They usually close the fire doors to prevent guest from dropping luggage off. In December, there were too many people ready to board by 11am. Terminal J is rather small.

As you say it is all about choice. At that time many would "kill" to go to the Kingdom (Saudi) as a tourist -- because it was almost impossible to do so. Even today would be interesting.