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When we have done multiple segments, I made reservations for the first segment. I was annoyed that I couldn’t make reservations for future segments. I spoke to the concierge. Concierge has a block of reservations that can only be booked on the ship. At the embarkation of each segment, I was able to reserve for the following segment. This worked better than booking before you embark. You can make dinner reservations before you embark for each segment. You have to log in on the date that reservations open for your cruise and cabin designation. On longer segments, it is easy to get additional reservations. Depending upon your preferences, you may or may not want to eat in specialty restaurants multiple times. On some cruises, we gave up reservations. Prefer the Terrace grill. Buffet has everything from the GDR plus sushi and freshly prepared grilled items. Regardless of where you dine, the food is very good.

Thanks. The tote isn’t the issue. When you advertise that you get something, do it. On our last Oceania cruise, we went to a higher loyalty level. One day during the cruise, we got a letter congratulating us. In the letter, it said that we would get some gifts. One of the gifts listed , a cap, wasn’t there. We went to see the loyalty rep. She gave us another letter that said something about supply issues. Asked if we would get it latter in the trip. Her answer was no. Our response was, “what?” She said that there were no caps.

Sounds like Viking is competing with Oceania. Oceania simply more gives you a dollar amount to be used to book excursions. There are many choices. I just did this for an upcoming trip. On Viking, the included excursion is usually ok for a person with no previous experience in a port. For that reason, I only book Viking to see new places. Now that Viking is including choices, I may reconsider Viking on some routes.

If cruise lines were smart, they would give every passenger a nice tote bag with the cruise line name on it. It’s a great advertisement. Many years ago, I went on Holland America once. Got a nice canvas tote. That tote was carried by me around the world. When it wore out, I carried another cruise’s tote. Recently, no totes were supposedly due to supply problems. It may be true. It may also be a way to save money. Don’t expect the tote. Bring your own tote. I prefer bringing a tote from another cruise line. If everyone did it, those guys who didn’t give you the tote might get the message. If you see me with a Windstar tote, you’ll get the message. By the way, I have sailed on Windstar 11 times. Got a new tote on every cruise.

I had same concerns on my most recent Marina cruise in 2023. Got nothing in the mail. No personalized brochure, no luggage tags, etc. When I questioned it, I was told that Oceania stopped sending them. I got an email that said we had done the online checkin. When we got on the O transfer bus, there were people with O luggage tags. When we arrived at the pier, we had to identify our luggage. Tags were attached. Bags arrived in our cabin before we got there. Some people who had preprinted tags did not wait to identify their luggage. Some of those bags never were unloaded from the bus. If you take a transfer, make sure your luggage is taken off the bus.

Regatta and all R ships have small cabins. A suite is about 50% larger. Suite bathroom is ok. The veranda cabin bathrooms give new meaning to compact.

May to October is dry and sunny. Not much variation in temperatures. It’s perfect. Avoid November to April. Those months get more rain.

I played my usual mahjong online using RealMahjong. Ship was at sea in the Baltic. The other 3 players were in Arizona, California, and Massachusetts. Worked perfectly. We could play and chat. Game started at 1 pm Pacific time. For me it was 9 pm.

Is Waves included in SM beverages?

We have sailed on O ships and R ships. I like both. I prefer Marina and Riviera. My spouse refuses to go on R ships. The cabins, even suites, are small. Bathrooms rooms are tiny. The shower is a joke.

We had the same thing happen. We booked a 2 week Med cruise. We were unaware that it was a b2b. It was designated as a grand cruise. We had to pay double deposits. We were told that longer cruises had bigger deposits. It wasn’t until I tried to get restaurant reservations that I realized something was strange. I could only get dinner reservations for the first week. When we were onboard, I asked for dinner reservations during the second week. We were told that we had to wait until the first week cruise was done. On the change over day, the concierge got us 4 more dinner reservations. We only got one cruise credit. I would prefer a loyalty program that counted nights, not the number of cruises.

Checkin times are a joke. Go anytime. I prefer going late. After 3 pm, there are no lines.

News today said that Celebrity will sell VIP passes that include priority embarkation, reserved seating in the show lounge, priority tenders, no room service fees, and faster WiFi. Cost is outrageously high. Over $30 pp per day. Just another way to make money. What’s next?

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Got itinerary change this week. Stop in Turkey was changed. Since we had booked a shore excursion in Turkey which was canceled, we dropped below the minimum required tours for the 25% discount. Online, we couldn’t add another tour and keep the discount. Called Oceania. Rep helped us book a replacement excursion. New total cost was less than previous total. We were issued a credit for the difference.

We like to sail in January. Vista is not doing Caribbean in January. The Vista late Feb into March is a good itinerary. It’s not the best dates for us. We will likely find a different vacation.

We usually take a winter Caribbean cruise. Since we have visited most of the islands, we don’t care which islands are on the itinerary. Some days, we stay on the ship and just relax. We prefer Marina or Riviera. We choose not to sail on the R ships. We will be on Vista in January 2024. Looking ahead for possible winter 2025, I don’t see any Caribbean only sailings on Marina, Riviera, or Vista. I am not interested in Central or South America. Once through the Panama Canal was enough. In addition, I noticed cruise fares are much higher to pay for the mandatory beverages and excursions. I expect price increases due to the economy. However, the Vista cruise that we booked before SM is almost double with SM. I am hoping that Oceania will reinstate a cruise only fare. If not, we will be rethinking our 2025 vacation.

Be patient. We have upgraded on the ship. Ask. If the ship isn’t full, you may be pleasantly surprised. We paid for the upgrade using OBC. Cost was very reasonable. If the ship is full, be happy in your booked cabin. Often people cancel at the last moment. We were all packed in July, ready to fly the next day, and had to cancel due to a medical emergency . Instead of cruising, spent time in the hospital. Our cabin was empty. Perhaps somebody got our cabin.

My spouse uses a rollator. Drive makes a sturdy model that can fold from side to side. That makes going through narrow places easy.

Concierge cabins are the same size as standard verandas. Look at the difference in cost. Decide if it’s worth it. The concierge lounge isn’t a big deal. I call room service and get whatever I want. The included 3 bags of laundry is nice. However, laundry comes back 2-3 days later. Use the laundry rooms. Free and you get clean clothes quickly. You get earlier dinner reservations in concierge. In standard, I have always been flexible. Met some nice people sharing a table. We often travel with friends that we made by sharing a table in 2013. I only book concierge cabins if standard verandas aren’t available. I prefer aft or forward deck 7 with extended verandas. Those B3 cabins are my choice. I prefer aft cabins. Most of your dining choices are aft.

Yes. Just ask. Also will provide electrical extension cord if needed.

We love the Star ships. Our concern is capacity. We sailed several times before the pandemic. With capacity of 212, it was good. We sailed on Breeze Sept. 2022. It was after the stretch. Ship was empty. 135 passengers. We never felt crowded. It was nice. After stretch, some of our favorite spaces were not renovated. Yacht club, Lounge and Compass Rose did not change much. The casino was eliminated. That added a few more seats. Adding 100 more guests has us concerned. Are Star ships crowded? If you have sailed on Star ships with full capacity 312, was it crowded?

We are elite +. Our first cruise after covid lockdown was in June 2022 on Summit. When we booked about 3 weeks before the cruise, we were told that the ship had limited capacity because of covid safety. We made to think that there would be reduced capacity. Ship was packed. While there were signs everywhere telling people to distance, very few people did. The worst was the packing in elevators. There were times when I got off an elevator when people were too close. Dining room was crowded. Table for 2 was a few inches away from the next table. It was too close for comfort in any situation. We wore masks. We were in the minority. I was very uncomfortable. Spouse got covid. That was 2022. If you sail now, don't count on reduced capacity. If a ship is not full, enjoy.

All are good. White is my favorite. My spouse likes blue. On our most recent Marina cruise in June, we were in concierge class. On past cruises in concierge, we got a menu of available scents. We usually asked for blue. However, we found a mixed bag of green and white. Some bottles had a green top, but the scent was definitely white. It was strange. Asked for blue. We never got it. Wondering what we will get on our next cruise on Vista. Bvlgari products work well. Would hate to see them replaced.

Given the variations in the cabin layouts, guests have a choice. That should keep everyone happy.