Redtravel

I was pleasantly surprised at moving up when you start the qualifying cruise. Just another nice thing that makes Oceania cruises great.

Perhaps the intro of the loyalty program has caused problems. I loved WS before the loyalty program. Thought that it was very nice that WS was rewarding loyal guests. I don’t think that WS intended to annoy guests. Now I have doubts.

Oceania does a nice cruise. If problems arise, they try to help fix the issues. I have taken 3 O cruises since the pandemic. We didn’t get Covid on any of them.

That doesn’t work. They are adamant about withholding loyalty benefits. New WS president has changed WS. No fun for loyalists.

I know how you feel. Happened to us. We have taken 10 WS cruises and have 89 points. We took WS cruises before the new loyalty program. We were delighted when WS announced the loyalty program. Got a email with promo for a cruise that had changed itinerary. Price was attractive. Still being cautious about Covid, we hesitantly booked cruise for Sept 2022. Once onboard, we noticed that OBC from loyalty program wasn’t posted on our account. Questioned it. Figured it was an error. We were told that we could only get the discount in the store and 10% off the laundry. We were on a 10 night cruise. The explanation was discounted rates aren’t eligible for OBC. It was annoying. I am in other cruise lines loyalty program. Regardless of price, I get all listed benefits for my loyalty level. Since that cruise, I have sailed 4 times, not WS. I have 2 future bookings, not on WS. Will we book a WS cruise again? Perhaps, if the price is right and the itinerary works for us. If we do, I will be shocked if we get anything from the loyalty program.

Chair hogging was rampant on Vista 1/9/24 cruise. Went to reception and asked about it. They said that you cannot touch another person’s property. You can only touch ship property like library books. You can move ship books. Good luck.

If your suite includes complimentary laundry, what is the turn around time? Can you get same day free?

We were told terminal J. However, the morning of the cruise, we got an email with a change to terminal B. The email said that there were high winds. We disembarked at terminal J. There was a free shuttle bus taking guests from J to B.

It happened to us. We ate at Ember early in the cruise. We loved it. We talked to the maitr’d after our meal. We often chatted with him at breakfast in the Terrace Buffet. Toward the end of the cruise, we asked if we could get a table at Ember. We wanted to try other offerings. We again enjoyed our meal. The only thing that we ate both times was the potato soup. It is excellent.

If you would like to dine at a specialty restaurant on the 1st night, talk to dining reservation maitr’d at lunch. Likely that you can do it. Since we really like the menu in GDR on 1st night, we don’t do specialty that night.

Once you book and pay for a cruise, the Viking website doesn’t let you book another cruise. Booked and paid in full for a cruise in April. Now I am looking for a cruise for winter 2025. I can see cruises on Viking website. However, if I try to book online, I get a page of junk. It’s crazy. I often have multiple cruise bookings. Pre Pandemic we usually took 4 cruises per year. We have taken 6 cruises since we resumed traveling. We have 2 future cruises booked in 2024 and would like to book 2025.

We used code RM24 on Heart of the Delta cruise tour. Worked better than JM24

Oceania skips ports and often has short visits in ports. Not sure the explanation is legit. Once there was a replacement port. Usually a skipped port becomes a sea day. I have been to St. Barts on several cruises. However, never got there on Oceania. On Sirena in March 2020, St. Barts was supposed to be our first stop. We were told that the seas were too rough for tenders. Looked outside and saw flat water. On that cruise we skipped most ports because the ports closed. . We sailed in circles. Never on that cruise did any crew member mention Covid. Fast forward to January 2024, on Vista. St. Barts was skipped again. We were told it was rough seas due to wind. Seas looked calm. That port day was replaced by a sea day. Oceania never apologized. From past experiences, they never refund port charges. Port charges aren’t much for each guest. On other lines when we skipped ports, we were refunded port charges. It usually is about $15. On Windstar, when we skipped ports, we were given a nice amount of OBC and FCC.

Once you are onboard, you may be able to switch times or dates. When you book a B ,C, or lower cabin, you may not find any tables for 2 when you reserve online. That’s ok if you like sharing a table. If you don’t like sharing, book a higher level cabin. Be flexible. If we find that the on,y option is a later time, we take it. On those days, we get something to eat in late afternoon. Go to Tea, visit Baristas and the Bakery, or order room service. Room service cheese plate is very nice.

I don’t think so. My TA has always been excellent in making arrangements. Oceania insists that we booked onboard. While we sometimes do book onboard, we didn’t that time. In June, there was a hint ,but not much info about Simply More. On the June cruise, we did inquire about it. Future cruise person said that they didn’t or wouldn’t give us info about Simply More. She only said that it would be better. That’s why we didn’t make a future booking on the ship. Once we got home, we got all the details about Simply More. We got the welcome home offer. For us, Simply More was good for the cruise that we wanted to book. It was a Med cruise with ports that had interesting excursions. We booked.

We took a cruise in June. We didn’t book any future cruises on that cruise. Shortly after returning home( July 1, 2023)we got a nice welcome home letter that had an offer of $200 off any booking made within 45 days of returning home. Nice gesture. We looked at future cruises, called our TA, booked a cruise, and told her about the $200 coupon. That was July 2023. She said that she would send us an updated invoice as soon as Oceania applied the $200. Hasn’t happened. We are almost at final payment. Spoke to TA. She said that Oceania thinks we booked onboard and will not honor the $200 coupon. TA knows that this isn’t true. Has anyone else had any problem with the welcome home voucher? My TA increased OBC to cover the $200.

Oceania should include tips in the basic fare. You are going to pay them. Other cruise lines include them. Perhaps Oceania is including tips in some markets to see if bookings change. Simply More has changed the way I book. I only consider Oceania on itineraries that have excursions that interest me. Cruising business has become very competitive. Keeping tip out of the fare shows a reduced fare. It may attract some people.

On Vista earlier this month, the Captains Welcome party had a very limited drink menu. It was absurd. The repeaters party had open bar with anything you asked for. We cruise on Oceania often. We did notice some small changes compared to Previous cruises. No clock, no sewing kit, and no clear soap, in cabins. Not a big deal. I asked for sewing kit and got one. Also, no glass of bubbly as you embark. I am elite plus on Celebrity. The nightly reception has a limited drink menu. It includes more than Oceania welcome menu. However, since I seldom drink, it isn’t a big deal. The cutbacks on Celebrity were enough to drive me away. Oceania is much better than Celebrity.

Thanks to whoever posted the code for Mississippi River cruises. RS24 saved us $ We are booked.

On riverboats, there is usually a gentle walker version. We always take it. If they don’t offer it, the regular tour is often not very strenuous. We never take any difficulty strenuous tours. It doesn’t work for us. We don’t want to hamper the pace of the tour. Opt out if the tour is too demanding. We were on Grand European riverboat cruise, Marksburg Castle was the only included tour for Koblenz. Level was demanding. Read online how demanding it was to walk up the uneven roads to the castle. There was no other included option. We chose to skip that tour, and just walked around the old town. Sometimes people take included tours that aren’t suitable for them. They go on a tour because they paid for it. One gentleman took the Marksburg tour and had a heart attack . He died. It would be nice if there were options to suit a variety of mobility challenges.

Nothing is perfect.How problems are resolved matters. On Vista 1/9 cruise. We hit some problems. They were handled well. We had a good time.

Love the croissants. Had one every morning. Breakfast pastry is good. Desserts aren’t my thing. I love cookies. Oceania needs better recipes for cookies. My favorite cookies are Girl Scout thin mints.

Vietnamese coffee was my Slocombe favorite. Some flavors are good. Some are strange. Vanilla is always available. Yummy! Ice cream on Oceania is good. Other Desserts ? Cakes tarts, and cookies on Oceania aren’t my thing. There was an apple tart one night at dinner in GDR that was outstanding. Best pastry is in the Bakery. Eclair is amazing.

As cruise progressed the offer $250 dropped to $100 OBC. We didn’t book. We have a spring cruise booked. It will be using Simply More. While we have used the credit for excursions, we seldom drink. We wonder what will be the vibe if most people have included drinks. On Vista last week, there were people who drank too much. It wasn’t pretty. There were some very loud obnoxious people onboard.

Sometimes there is a bag special. Just off Vista 10 day cruise. There was no bag special. I used the onboard laundry machines. It was convenient,easy, and quick. The concierge free laundry has restrictions that can be a problem. Bag limit is 20 items, turn around is 3 days, some days are excluded, and everything is folded.