Redtravel

Some California wines and a few mixed drinks. No beer. It was even more restricted than Simply More meal drinks.

Best to take a ship tour. We did. Traffic is outrageous. Be careful crossing streets. Motor scooters are everywhere. Had a fabulous time in HCMC.

Been there. Cute town with lots of wine shops and boutiques. If you have only one day in Bordeaux, stay in Bordeaux. Bordeaux has lots of interesting venues.

Ate at Ember last night. It was excellent. Loved the decor, food, and prompt service. We had lobster roll, potato soup, ribeye steak, and key lime cheesecake. Everything was delicious. Steak was prepared perfectly. It was outstanding.

Most comments are from cruises before 2024. In past, we just ordered anything and got it. There was no event special menu. Things change. Now they take away the usual bar menu and put an event menu on each table. Accept the change. Changes are happening. The cruise is still very good. We are enjoying being on Vista.

I didn’t take a photo. In retrospect I should’ve. There were some cold pickups. There was wine and about 5 mixed drinks. The list was very short. My spouse commented that Celebrity Captains Club pre dinner nightly cocktails included way more than Oceania.

Up until now, we always were able to order anything during the Captains welcome party. Not sure when it changed. Obviously it has changed and not for the good. Simply More is becoming Sadly Less. Cruise is still very nice. Changes happen. Accept and go on. I am curious to see if the same thing happens at the repeaters reception.

Are you n a ship now.

We thought that we had resolved the dining reservation problem. Nope. Tonight we appeared at Embers at the time written on my reservation card. The maitr’d could not find our reservation. He told us that we were reserved in Polo tonight, not Embers. I showed him the ship reservation ticket. He said that the concierge had made a mistake. We were seated and had a nice meal.

You are making assumptions that the server was misinformed or lazy. That wasn’t the case. I was not misinformed. This is new to me. The server was very polite. He explained the menu concept. He wasn’t misinformed. He was just doing his job. I did not order a specialty drink. On your next Oceania cruise, you’ll likely encounter the same thing. It’s what it is.

Yes, things have changed on Oceania. We sail on Oceania often. Up until now, our experiences were amazing. During the Captains welcome party, you could order anything complimentary. Imagine my surprise when I watched the servers remove the usual bar menus. Shortly after an event menu was placed on each table in the bar area. It is very limited. I don’t know when this change started. Last year we sailed on Marina twice. Most recent cruise was June 2023. There were no limits on that sailing. Nothing stays the same.

On Vista now. Men in collared shirts with trousers is the norm. Many wear knits. Some wear jeans. Few wear ties or jackets. Women are mostly in pants and nice tops. Some women wear dresses. I did see a stunning couple last night. She wore a sequin gown. He wore a suit with a tie. If dressy is your thing, do it. However, don’t be surprised if people look at you.

Not seeing the list, I asked for a martini. Server said it’s not on the list. He said that I couldn’t get it. What? Just bring it. I will pay for it. That was the welcome party!

I was comparing 2 O cruises out of Miami. I prefer sticking to a specific checkin time. It was one of the good things that was started because of the pandemic. It spaced out people. Now, it’s get in line. We arrived @1. Line was long.

Last year, if you showed up before your assigned boarding time, you were shown to a waiting area. As traffic slowed, you were allowed to check in. Things are now unrestricted. As you enter, you are directed to a line.

The Captains welcome party had a restricted menu. We were told that we could only get what was on the list.

I go on vacation to relax and enjoy the comforts of the ship. Hope that things go as expected. That doesn’t always happen. How problems are addressed is important. Problem of the missing reservation was resolved.

You’re right. Actually the dining reservations are posted 3 ways….snail mail cruise summary booklet, email confirmations, and Oceania website under My reservations. I showed them the page from Oceania website.

It has been resolved. I was lucky that I had taken a screenshot of the dining reservations.

Got in a long line to talk to dining reservation concierge. She said that we only had 3 reservations, not 4. Also, I was told that nothing was available for my listed date. However, when I showed her copy of Oceania online confirmation for the 4 restaurants, she changed her tune. She apologized and found us a reservation. She also took a photo of my confirmation. I always take screenshots of any reservations connected to my cruise booking. Usually things go as planned. It’s when things go astray, a screenshot helps.

. You are going to pay tips one way or the other. It’s automatic. Including tips in fare is ok. For those loyalty levels that include tips, offer equivalent discount or OBC.

I may make a visit. Yesterday lines of people with key cards that didn’t work. Mine failed twice before I got to my cabin. I am very careful not to put it near any device. Got card at checkin, walked onto ship, card not working, went reception, checked in at muster station, card not working, etc. frustrating!

embarkation day had enough problems including dining reservations with no rep

Yes. I am on Vista now. Captains cocktail party is tonight. I was on Marina twice after pandemic. Both had the party.

Flatbush Flyer: I intend to show up at my reservation time. If anyone challenges me, I will show them reservation as shown online. I did make some phone calls yesterday to a variety of offices. Some didn’t answer and got no return calls. Reception did answer and transferred me to a busy phone line. Called reception again. This time I spoke to a different rep who said that I had to appear in person at an appointed time. Not happening. Hopefully it is just a glitch in the printed reservation card that we got at checkin.