leaveitallbehind

I think they do. It apparently is just their option to avoid the credit card transaction fees. But it still relies on a third party involvement (ACH) who must have some skin in the game as well. I, as you, prefer not to have my accounts accessed directly by a third party - even when secure - and would still opt for the credit card payment method.

Well that at least clarifies how the cash payment would be made and it is, at least in this instance, unique to Viking, as I am not familiar with that type of payment being an option with any of the mass market cruise lines. ACH is typically a safe method of a cash transaction, if you are OK with having your account accessed directly. I would check for more clarification with the TA you used for the booking to see if it is a good option for you. Personal preference, I guess.

Am I missing something? I am not familiar, at least with the mass market cruise lines, with a "cash with discount" option. All payments are via a credit card, and with no payment option discount. Where would you go, and with whom, would you make a cash payment? How did you make your deposit payment? Are you referring to a big box TA? If so, any payment option discount would be through them and not the cruise line. As to credit card benefits, as @crystalspin mentioned, different cards offer different membership benefits, but third party insurance is always a good idea to investigate.

If you are not happy with this, contact whomever you made the reservations through (TA or the cruise line) and ask to see if there are other locations within that category available that may be a more desirable choice. Most cruise lines will allow you to make that switch without an issue. If they cannot do it it may be because of when you made the booking and low remaining available stateroom inventory.

In our experience we have had the assignment as far in advance as 45 days prior to sailing and as close to sailing as 5 days prior. We also have been able to move to a different location as available within the assigned category on several occasions if the assigned location was not preferred. Perhaps we have just been fortunate. The primary value of a GTY booking is with the fare. We only do it when the difference is attractive, but have never had any issues when we have. On more than one occasion we have been assigned a higher category stateroom. And we are ones who definitely care where we sleep!

And to add one more thing. GTY stateroom offers are typically across all stateroom categories - from insides to suites - not just the lowest category listed by the ship. And they do not always only assign the worst locations within that category. We have been fortunate in the past to book a Junior Suite GTY category on RCCL, for example, and had a Grand Suite issued as the actual stateroom. At the very least you are assured the base level of the GTY category you book.

Short and simple - a guarantee stateroom booking only means the cruise line will select your location for your selected category v you choosing it, and this is usually at a lower price. (They may also issue a higher category stateroom if available). It is your stateroom and not one shared with anyone else - but I assume you meant that tongue in cheek. Also, with most cruise lines, once it is assigned, you can request a change to a different location if available within the same category if the assigned location is not your preferred choice. If the price is attractive enough we book GTY's frequently and with no issues.

Oh, so you mean the now promised refunds aren't in the mail??? 😧

There is at least this one ship - The World - which according to their website currently is in operation. https://aboardtheworld.com/ But I agree that anything speculative for sometime in the future is not a venture I wish to invest in.

.....and a rather bad one at that!

Unless I am missing something in the article, something else doesn't make sense. They notified the passengers "a little before November 1" of the departure delay and then ultimately, "two weeks before the rescheduled departure date" they were notified of the cancellation. They lost the bid on the ship in September with other options falling out shortly after. First, why would they wait until just before the original departure date of November 1 to advise them of a delay? They had no ship, so they had no ship to delay. So why wait until two weeks before the departure to finally announce the cancelation? It would seem to me they knew they had no option to sail shortly after they lost the bid on the ship in September! Second, with a two week notice prior to sailing of the cancelation, why would anyone be in Istanbul (or anywhere else) waiting for a ship that was already canceled? I realize many passengers sold everything in anticipation of this cruise and maybe had nowhere else to be, but why would anyone go to a port to wait for a ship that they knew two weeks earlier did not exist - and wasn't scheduled for that port even if it did exist? Sorry, this all just doesn't make sense and I just don't get it!

Not taking shots at those who made the decision - and I feel bad for those who did - but why would you place any money on a plan as speculative as this where the entire program is contingent upon buying a ship requiring further renovations by a certain date just to be able to fulfil the plan in the first place? Especially when the price was prohibitive to begin with and requiring the defined "small company" to depend on non-committed outside investors to accomplish this? Sorry but that is far too much risk and speculation for me to part with my hard earned money.

That's great news. Typically the additional perks you identify would transfer to the new booking. What may change is any OBC that was associated with the original booking fare. But very glad this all worked out for you! Enjoy your cruise.

I think that is the key. I have not heard of any full ship booking or charter that was singles only in its make up. But, as you indicate, there are singles groups that are booked into general bookings on ships that would be oriented towards their own meet and mingles, on board functions at various venues, port of call activities, etc. And different cruise lines would be better choices for this than others, such as Carnival v HAL, RCCL v Celebrity, Virgin v Disney, etc. A TA who offers singles groups would be the best route to pursue IMO.

On the RCCL and Celebrity ships mentioned the only larger showers will be in the Junior Suite and higher standard Suite categories where it will either be part of a bathtub or separate larger shower. Otherwise, all standard staterooms have the same size shower. The shape may differ between RCCL and Celebrity but the typical compact size will remain the same. So unfortunately you will likely have to break the bank as you indicate to some extent.

Mostly with groups - not sure about full ships.

Since the ship was never delivered as promised, I wish them luck with the refunds as promised - especially since one of the reasons provided for the lack of ship was the company couldn't afford to buy it in the first place and their promised investors withdrew. Sounds like a lot of broken promises....

You will probably get better responses on the Oceana board here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/29-oceania-cruises/ You may also want to check the Roll Call for your cruise to discuss with others there. Here is the link to that board to search for your ship and sailing date if you are not already on your Roll Call: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/321-oceania-roll-calls/

As I mentioned in my original response, and to further add to the comments by @zgscl, the refundable deposit fare will allow changes without penalty prior to final payment. But even with a non-refundable deposit fare you should still be able to make the change. However there likely will be a penalty involving the deposit amount that will come into play. But if the difference between the fares as you indicate is substantial enough, the net fare change would still probably be worth the penalty involved.

One potential issue with a singles only cruise is that stateroom fares are based on double occupancy, so unless every single travels with another single friend, the fares may be prohibitive for single occupancy staterooms. Each solo passenger would typically pay the full (or close to) double rate minus one set of taxes and port fees. Booking an entire ship in that manner to allow just singles only may not be feasible.

They will be your best bet for getting things done the way you would like and will also know if there are any restrictions in doing so. Hope it all works out for you.

Typically as long as you are prior to final payment and did not originally select a non-refundable deposit fare, you should be able to make booking changes without penalty. But I would check directly with the cruise line or your travel agent (if you used one) to confirm your options.

I understood that. Again, I think that would vary by cruise line. The one time we cruised over Thanksgiving on RCCL I believe there was a vegetarian option for Thanksgiving, as they typically had vegetarian options every day on the standard menu. The Thanksgiving menu only added a turkey dinner as one of the primary main course options to the standard menu.

I am sure that will vary by cruise line. But with most if you advise them of any dietary requirements or preferences in advance they will try to accommodate you accordingly. And many offer vegetarian alternatives with their daily menus.

Cruising is also something we have enjoyed both as a family with kids, with grandkids, and now primarily as a couple over the past 31 years. And now we have several friends who we met cruising that we continue to cruise with regularly. In the early years work and disposable income limited our cruising to once a year - sometimes longer. In recent years and in retirement that frequency has increased significantly.