Redtravel

We were on Summit last spring with stop in Charleston. Ship docked very close to the market place. Local free tourist bus stops near the ship. It has a few routes making getting around easy. Contact Charleston visitor center and order free info. Enjoy!

On Marina now. Nice, but not as good in grand dining room as I remembered. Also, if you want to eat early..6:30, there is a long line. On 2nd night, we didn’t want to wait in line, we went at 7:30. No line, but had to wait half hour for a table. Service is ok, but it used to be better. Specialty dining rooms are very good.

On Marina now. Grand dining room menu repeats many items. There are a few new items each night. We ate in main dining room 4 nights in a row. We grew rather tired of it. We also were amazed at the size of portions. Some were huge. Some were tiny. Got as a main course shrimp with pasta. There were 3 shrimp and a very small amount of pasta..maybe 2 bites. The Jacques pepin chicken was huge. Order several courses or you may be hungry. The specialty restaurants are very good. Terrace buffet at night is also good.

Viking is the biggest cruise company. I get lots of emails with links to vote. More people to vote. Ignore those cruise polls. They are just hype. Viking is a good solid company that does a good cruise. Not fancy. It’s good for people who are visiting a place for the first time. With the recent incident with the windows breaking from a rogue wave, there may be some people who choose another way to vacation.

Embarked Sunday at terminal J. Uber driver was using his gps and got confused. Drivers are not used to going to J. It’s on the right side as you enter the port. Same thing happened to us in 2020.

On cruise now. As expected, many people have become very casual. There are very few sports jackets. There are lots of men wearing Hawaiian shirts. Some are nice. Women wear everything. Lots of flip flops at dinner. Sadly, Oceania guests are dressing down.

I love San Juan. It’s great to start a cruise in San Juan where you always have warm weather. Just got into Miami to board a cruise. Nice weather, but cool. However, plane fares to San Juan are much more expensive than planes to Miami. It is easier to get to mainland USA ports. Many people during pandemic are more comfortable not flying. Our first post pandemic cruise was from Bayonne, a quick drive from my home in NJ. It took us a long time to fly again. After my flight today on a sold out plane, driving is a good option.

While we have sailed many times on R ships ( on Azamara and Oceania), we prefer O ships. The only thing better on R ships is the location of baristas. Love the deck 5 location. Love being able to get a coffee quickly after embarking at ports. After our last cruise on Sirena, my spouse decided not to book on R ships again. We don’t even look at R ship cruises.

Just got email from O listing the different activities and what to pack. Men…a sports jacket? Women…cocktail dress? Not packing either. On past O cruises, there wasn’t much really dressy clothing. Since the world has become more casual, I expect it will be reflected onboard.

Tuscan Grill and Toscana are not my favorite restaurants. Love Polo, Jacques, and Red Ginger. On Marina or Riviera, they share kitchen for Polo and Toscana. When we can’t get a reservation in Polo, we eat in Toscana and order off Polo menu.

Not a problem. Our TA informs the cruise line. Distilled water, electrical extension cord, etc. is provided if needed. We traveled often before pandemic. My spouse bought a travel cpap unit…resumed mini. It is much lighter, quieter, and doesn’t use distilled water.

You can bring it. however, you may find doorways narrow. Driver makes a rollator that can adjust to narrow doorways.

Most men don’t wear sports jackets. If you like wearing one, do it. I have seen a vast array of types of dress on recent cruises. Some people do dress up. Most are more casual than before the pandemic. On Summit, lots of people wore shorts in the MDR at dinner. Wear whatever you want. You may be surprised at what people wear to dinner. Few people dress up for chic nights. The world is casual.

no. That was for both of us for the entire 10 nights. It was a promo ALL IN. Sounded great. However, in reality the included wifi seldom worked and the beverages were often out of stock. Strangely enough when the unlimited wifi wasn't working, I got on easily using my elite plus wifi time.

I understand your situation. It’s happening on all cruise lines. They are cutting costs by closing venues or restricting offerings. We were on a Windstar cruise that advertised new specialty restaurants. Each menu was directed by a well known chef. We were eager to new menus that we saw on the web. On the ship, with a reduced capacity, some dining venues were closed. The one that we really wanted to try was closed every night. Disappointed. While we ate well, we felt cheated.

Call customer service. Usually when I cruise with family or friends, we request a set time for a table that we can share.

Cruise only if it makes sense. On my most recent X cruise, we were told that difference between cruise only and all in was about $80 on a 10 night cruise. For such a small difference, we opted for All in. We hardly drink. We figured the tips alone was worth the $80. However, if the difference were substantial, I would book cruise only.

Nice to see that people still have a sense of humor. Sadly, the people who dress slovenly probably never read the cruise info or anything on cruisecritic. They really don’t care what you think about what they wear. They’re going to wear whatever they want. If Oceania ignores its own dress code, just accept it.

I am watching a cruise. It just appeared today on 7 for 7. Excited until I saw the price. The price yesterday was much lower than today. Isn’t 7 for 7 supposed to be deal? This wild changes in pricing makes no sense. Before pandemic, 7 for 7 was a deal. I booked some. Also, before pandemic, I knew that if a cruise fare dropped that I could request a refund or other compensation. Now I am wonder what’s happening.

We used Guided Tours Israel for our group of 8. Guide and driver were excellent. We had all been to Israel previously. We told guide what places we wanted to visit. She put together a tour that was amazing.

I need one point to get to the next loyalty level. Is there any way to get it besides booking another cruise? Some cruise lines comp a move up. Some cruise lines offer points for certain activities.

On the ship, each cabin gets a cloth bag tote bag, a small zip case with luggage tags. Nice, but would’ve been more useful before the cruise. I have a collection of Windstar tote bags. Never got the same bag twice.

St. Martin is small. We like staying on French side. Our favorite is hotel la plantation. Stayed there 17 times. It’s charming.

Sailed recently. Got nothing before the cruise. Just go. At pier, you will asked your name and cabin. If it is on the list, they will attach luggage tags. Checkin is on the ship. No precruise checkin. Also, no precruise dining reservations. After your checkin, you can make reservations for specialty dining. It’s very relaxed and very different from other cruise lines.

Been on deck 8. Not a problem. It is quiet. Oceania doesn’t have late night deck parties like mass market ships.