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Redtravel

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Everything posted by Redtravel

  1. Sadly when cruises change itineraries or cancel a port call, you have no recourse. I have cruised many times. Often there are changes. Some are for safety. Nobody wants to visit a war zone. Some are weather related. Got stuck in Oporto for 3 days waiting out a bomb cyclone. Some just happen without any explanation. Stuck at sea in March 2020 when ports turned ships away was crazy. We didn’t get any info from cruise line about lockdowns. It can be very annoying. When you book a cruise, you should make the cruise your prime destination. Ports should be secondary. Usually, ships try do the advertised itinerary. They want to keep guests happy.
  2. You can’t worry about things that you have no say. It is what it is. Expiring loyalty points can go 2 ways. It might encourage booking. It can also push people away. The people who develop loyalty programs don’t often see how changes will affect people.
  3. I love WS laundry. I always send clothes to the laundry. However, I am careful not to send very delicate items. Now I also don’t send out clothing that I would miss if it were damaged. On my last WS cruise on the Breeze, a shirt was missing. We were visited by the laundry person who showed us that they had sliced the shirt. They took responsibility and gave us $60. That didn’t cover the cost of replacing the shirt. Their formula is 10 times their price to launder the item. Keep that in mind.
  4. Sorry that you are in this situation. Hope that you get relief soon. I am surprised that the ship doc has no pain meds.
  5. I got more enthusiastic when we were given flight info and were ticketed. We got great flights with reserved seats together. Now we hope that Marina sails ontime. see you onboard.
  6. There are many places to get dinner. GDR is often crowded on the first few nights. After that, people want to try other venues. They are all good. On my most recent 10 night cruise on Vista, we ate in GDR 4 times. Food and service were good. Ate in specialty restaurants 5 nights. Ate in the buffet one night. On longer cruises, we eat at the buffet more. Buffet is a great place for dinner. It has all the choices on the GDR menu plus freshly grilled items, sushi, etc. On Vista, we ordered pizza from Waves at night. It is very good.
  7. I like counting nights, not cruises. I have taken b2b cruises which were sold as Grand Cruises. Got one point for 2 cruises. It didn’t seem right. I am elite plus on Celebrity. I joined Celebrity Captains club many years ago when you paid $25 to join. The benefits were worth it. Later they counted cruises. You needed 10 cruises to reach the top level, elite. People who were close to 10, took a 3 day cruise to get to elite. When they converted to counting nights, those very short cruises seemed to be less popular. All loyalty programs have good and bad features. Basically it’s a gift. Anything is welcome. I prefer plans that include OBC, discounts on cruise fares, gratuities, and free laundry.
  8. Everyone gets Simply More….drinks at meals, unlimited WiFi , and shore excursion credit. If you choose with air, you get cost of plane tickets included. That also includes transfers if you arrive on the day of embarkation or depart on day of disembarkation. Since ships may be far from airports, this could be a welcome feature. Also, if you book Oceania air, you can arrive or depart up to 3 days before or after your cruise without paying the extra deviation fee. If you do it, you must arrange your own transfers. I usually book my own air unless there is a good reason not to. Last June, we booked very late. We chose Oceania air because we couldn’t find a decently priced airfare. The arrangement got us to the cruise using a ridiculous routing. Going home was crazy. We also booked air for our next cruise in May. It’s the first cruise on Marina after being in dry dock. If the ship is delayed, I will be disappointed. However, Oceania will refund the cruise and air. This time we got very good air flights.
  9. Yes. I loved Vista. I also like Marina and Riviera. The smaller ships are a nice size. However, the cabins are very small. On R ships, we book suites. On Vista, Marina, and Rivieta, a standard veranda is good. I also like the variety of dining venues.
  10. What I prefer may not be your choice. Having been on R ships(Oceania and Azamara), I like the larger O ships more than R ships. I did enjoy cruises on R ships. Marina, Riviera, and Vista have bigger cabins, beautiful bathrooms with space, and more dining venues. I like small ship for some itineraries. Windstar is my choice overall.
  11. Get the laundry package. Often you get same day service. The best part is you can send out laundry every day. On the last day, I pack clean clothes. Once home, the only laundry to be done ate the clothes we wore flying home.
  12. Forward cabins are very quiet and don’t feel much vibration. Not much foot traffic in the hallway. You will have a longer walk to the GDR, Terrace Buffet, Waves, Library, or Baristas. You will be closer to the theater lounge. I have had cabins in many locations on a variety of ships. There are some cabin locations that I avoid: stern cabins have vibration, cabins above or below bars, casinos, pools, or restaurants, bow cabins may get noisy if they drop anchor, and some connecting cabins.
  13. I always knew that I wasn’t “average.” Don’t assume that what you like is what everyone likes. I am not interested in alcoholic drinks. I may or may not select excursions. In new ports, I always often excursions . In Caribbean, I just relax. Some ports, I may go shopping. Some, I may not get off the ship. Find a local cafe and enjoy tasting the local cuisine. Group excursions aren’t my thing. I am not happy playing follow the leader. They seldom go at my pace.
  14. Allowing guests to arrive early or depart later alleviates crowding. Last June we used O air. We didn’t realize that we could fly in early. We flew in the day of the cruise. With the crazy flights and long bus transfer, we arrived at the port 2 hours before the ship sailed. Never want to experience that again.
  15. You sound like me. We liked Ember. We weren’t thrilled with Aquamar Kitchen. We were on Vista in January. We are on Marina in May. Looking forward to Jacques.
  16. Essential cruising would be the answer to my winter Caribbean cruising. While I enjoy shore excursions in many ports, I prefer not to take them in the Caribbean. After many years of doing excursions on Caribbean cruises, I have done the ones that are of interest to me. Now, I prefer just relaxing. I also don’t care about alcoholic drinks at meals. Give me a glass of water or Coke Zero. It would be very attractive if Oceania followed Silverseas by offering a cruise only option. Usually we rebook a Caribbean cruise onboard from one year to the next. This year, we did not book. We are exploring lots of good options on land and sea for winter 2025. I will give Silverseas a look.
  17. Jacques Pépin was the original reason that we booked on Oceania. It did not disappoint. The sole in Jacques was the best thing that I have ever tasted on any ship. We had watched his cooking shows on PBS. His food looked beautiful. Jacques still remains my favorite cruise ship dining venue. I hope that Jacques remains the same on Marina and Riviera. We were on Vista in January. Ship is beautiful. Ember was nice. We enjoyed our 2 dining experiences at Ember. However, I missed Jacques. Next cruise is on Marina.
  18. Our first O cruise was around the British Isles. It was fabulous. Got to see many interesting ports. It was a good way to experience the variety of ports. We have also stayed in some of the big cities before and after. They are all interesting. A land tour may also be a good way to get to many places. I used to do land tours. However, I prefer picking my hotels, restaurants and venues. Land tours have a set itinerary which may not fit you. On a cruise, you can select excursions from a variety of interests. Cruise made me realize that there were places in the UK that are more interesting than I had previously thought. Liverpool was amazing. Need to go back there. Cruise can be an interesting way to go. You may also choose to stay a few days before or after the cruise. Oceania is marvelous if you book air. No deviation fee to arrive up to 3 days early or stay after up to 3 days. Whichever you choose, have a great time.
  19. With more new ships being built for Oceania, there are more choices. Riviera, Marina, and Vista are preferred.
  20. Since the pandemic, we haven’t received the blue book. Not a big deal. Two out of our 3 post pandemic cruises, we didn’t get luggage tags. At the ship, we got tags. Again, not a big deal. Blue books were classy, but not essential.
  21. As soon as I got the air flights, I told my TA to have O ticket the flights. According to my TA, they requested ticketing.
  22. Got air flights. Acceptable arrangement . got seats on return flight. cannot get seats on departure flights. I was told that Oceania hasn't paid for the tickets. Last week, Oceania said that they would ticket today. Now Oceania says ticketing is next week. The agents keep telling me different info.
  23. Oceania long delay returning complimentary laundry is ridiculous. 3 days is bad. 5 days is awful. Makes using the service too risky. Could run out of clean clothes before you get laundry returned. On other cruise lines that offer free laundry, the turn around time is next day or better. Windstar usually returns same day, ironed on hangers. Viking suites get free laundry next day. When you know this, you can pack less clothing. On Oceania, it might be wise to use the onboard laundry facilities.
  24. Relax. Once onboard, you can see the dining concierge. There are reservation slots that are not open to online booking.
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