Waswo

Thank you!   I appreciate the response. 

Thank you so much, LHT28.  You've answered my question!  I am so glad.  I am sure that I can make it work.  Just because I've never needed a special service in the past, I was not aware that it can be done.   

Thank you for your response!  Off to book a cruise!

I have tried to research this without success.   I wonder if anyone has tried to ask for low-sodium dishes on any of the Oceania's ships?    We love the line and the experience it offers.   Since our last cruise we have been advised to try to have a seriously low sodium diet (because of heart failure and hypertension).   Does anyone recall if low-salt foods are on offer?  Or can one ask for a dish that is low-salt?  I know that the dishes are hardly custom-made but I wonder if one can find dietary assistance. 

Thank you.

Thank you all for your help. My TA of a long time retired a couple of years ago so now I am working with a brand new one.

I think that with all the great information you have provided I will be able to get ourselves on board. I do have our cabin # and will forge fearlessly forward without the "blue book".

Thank you all so much.

I apologize for my ignorance. My TA retired and she always sent us or arranged for everything to happen. I was accustomed to having statements from her about OBC, etc. Also all the cruise statements, the printed material, luggage tags. She knew everything; she did everything. So I assumed that everything was routine.

We sail on the Insignia on 23rd Sept and leave home in 7 days and a few hours. My last communication from my TA was August 1. I know I should not have waited so long to inquire.

What should I do? Nobody answers phones on the weekend. We have, of course, paid in full.

I am 8 days before sailing and have yet to receive my book and tags. I have written to my TA and wonder if anyone has any ideas about how to facilitate this?

Thank you.

Thank you for the review, Verokaren. It's exciting to read because I'll be on the Insignia in just 4 weeks.

Thank you for the great post, st5310! I really enjoyed it and it helped me feel the excitement of our cruise next month on the Insignia.

We will be staying one night in Montreal before a cruise next month. I wonder how much Canadian currency we will need? If we put most things on credit cards, I can only think that we might need Canadian money to tip a taxi driver. I would appreciate hearing anyone's experience.

Thank you.

Thank you for all of the responses. They help, of course, but they also make me want to try everything, I am glad to learn about Regent air.

Thank you, everyone. I need to find a new TA. Our previous one, who guided us towards Oceania (which made us so much happier than Celebrity) has retired and furthermore her group, an excellent one, was sold out to a corporation who only does "business travel" for large groups. So we are feeling a bit lost about the plethora of choices. I know that you cannot make a specific recommendation, here.

I really appreciate the input and am moving Crystal and Viking up on the list of contenders. I always loved the sound of "Symphony" for a ship.

The fact is, that we have always been happy on our cruises and have no complaints. It's just that as we've made our way to the mid-size ships, we have felt happier.

I won't start a new topic, but I will ask for the same advice:

My husband and I are only adequately dressed: we spend little on clothing. I don't wear much make-up, although I will occasionally touch my lips with make-up. We are both retired university professors and both politically liberal, although we keep our politics out of cruising. We have not cruised for 4 years because we have spent about 6 weeks each year staying in large European cities.

Now we want to cruise, although we don't want to spend more than about 21 or 25 days on a cruise.

We like Oceania and would stick with it but wonder if another line might be worth a try.

We like:

fairly quiet atmospheres

trivia competitions

afternoon tea with English scones

classical music (and a bit of Broadway and the Great American Songbook)

a decent wine list

a spot or two of bridge

access to the Internet (if only briefly)

good coffee/tea

We do not need a casino. We do not want a butler. We are more likely to plan our own excursions than to use ship ones. We are unlikely to use a spa or a pool.

We would like to try at least two of the following lines in the next year: can anyone play matchmaker?

In no order, the candidates are:

Seabourn

Viking

Crystal

Azamara

Regent

Oceania, again

Windstar

Any others we should be considering? We are adequately dressed but are likely to avoid formal dress.

Thank you very much!

Thank you for writing your descriptive reports. I really appreciate them.

Thank you, everyone! I am so relieved to learn that trivia still exists everywhere. My husband and I were listing what we love best about cruises and our list is a "trivial" one but yet most essential to our pleasures.

Thank you for the information. I apologize for the misspelling, Seabourn. I have fun and I take trivia seriously. It’s essential to take fun seriously!

Anyone know about Windstar? Or the others?

Thank you,

I know I know I know that this will astonish you, but one of the things I love best about cruising is the trivia games. I've enjoyed those of Oceania, Celebrity, Cunard. I enjoy winning the prizes. I enjoy losing. About 14 years ago on HAL we were the only people to show up for trivia (and this on a sea-day). I liked the fact that the Oceania trivia is not prepared by 18 year olds. Can anyone tell me if the following lines offer trivia:

Windstar

Azamara

Crystal

Regent

Seabourne

Any lines that you think had particularly good trivia that did not cite Taylor Swift as a cultural icon? And yes, I consider the destinations and the dining, but Trivia is at the very inmost heart of my experience. :o:mad::o:o

Hello! I have not been on a cruise in 4 years and we are ready to book again. I have had the best experiences on Oceania in terms of enjoying the food, the rather quiet atmosphere, and the peacefulness.

So I am here to inquire if there’s anything that has improved or depreciated about other lines that you can speak to me about? The food is a huge thing because it’s so great to be away from the daily chore of shopping, cooking, cleaning. Is Oceania still the best in its category? Is Celebrity about the same? How about HAL?

Without being indelicate, I guess I want to know which lines have improved, which have declined, and which have stayed the course? We do not have the funds to consider anything more costly than Oceania.

Thank you!

Thank you for the responses and I will keep them in mind. My "tunics" are really what people might call short dresses--they reach almost to the knee. In the winter here at home I wear them with leggings and in the summer with light light weight tights. As I was perusing the weather I was wondering if I could get away with the leggings.

Under a long tunic the regular dress pants get bunchy.

But I can always probably wear the leggings all day long and switch to a skirt or a long dress or formal trousers for dinner.

My policy is NOBODY sees my waist and NOBODY sees my knees and even a glimpse of ankle would be hard to come by! And most certainly--nobody sees my upper arms. You can see my elbows only at the gym....

Thank you all for your responses and the variety of opinion.

Leggings? Are they possible? I have some very nice long tunics that I would normally wear with dress pants or a long skirt. But considering that the weather might be cold, do you think leggings with a dressy tunic are possible in the GDR?

I ask because they are very easy to pack and are warmer than my dressy pants. I will abide by the court of public opinion!

Should we tip in the premium restaurants? We have not done so in the past (we try to lock up our wallets and leave them so do not carry money about), but now I wonder if the staff there has a way of procuring tips?

Thank you so much for the fantastic range of great pictures!

As the OP, I just wanted to return and say that I have not ruled Azamara out for the future---I am happy with my new choice and I would consider Azamara now that I am better informed about it and know what to expect. I have enjoyed every cruise I have been on and I am sure that Azamara would be no exception. I will keep reading reviews and reading the boards. If I had known about some of the obstacles in advance, I would have been able to make an educated choice about what I can tolerate.

Thank you to everyone for your responses and feedback.

Thank you for your responses---I might give Azamara a try in the future. I have been on a few cruises and each and every one of them have delighted me---even my first experience on Costa! I have loved every moment of every cruise. And we have moved up the "chain" a bit of what we are willing to pay. I like Celebrity Blu, for example, and were I to return to Celebrity, would insist on Blu.

I never had any doubt that I would love Azamara had I stuck with it. But I like the excitement of vicariously getting pleasure from the emails and the brochures and the sense of inclusion.

Call me superficial.

I may well try Azamara in the future and we are also considering other luxury lines---we have discovered that we are willing to pay more--

I would never have posted in any event but I think that Azamara needs to know that there are types of customers who want to feel cared about and included and sought after.

My TA? He told me that he did not get any notice of the excursion sale. Maybe he did and overlooked it. And I did notice someone mentioning it on here and then I called Azamara instantly--I was too late. But I had Christmas holidays and was away from the computer. We were in Italy for a couple of weeks. Should I have to rely on Cruise Critic for notice of special sales? Much as I love CC, they should not have to do the work for the cruise line.

Azamara is the only cruise line that has made me feel dubious about the product. I do think it's a communications problem and that they should know that I am not the only potential customer who wants to feel the passion...from both sides!

Oceania and Azamara have got a similar price point and they will perhaps compete for the same customer base. There are types of customers like me--willing to try new ships, new lines--but I need to feel courted.

So sue me! It may be my loss, but I really have crystallized what I like in the pre-cruise experience.

I really liked the MDR on the Marina and would be perfectly happy with eating all meals there. Of course we will eat at the specialty restaurants, but the MDR is excellent. I am not a foodie, however.

Question for the OP...have you ever sailed Azamara? Just thinking, I know this was unfortunate but I do hope one day you will give them a chance.

I priced Oceania and I haven't found good pricing. They are gorgeous ships though. I think Azamara has better itineraries, from what I've seen.

I'm the OP. No, I have never sailed Azamara. I was planning to sail Azamara for over 4 months and learned that part of the cruise experience for me is the excitement of anticipation. Azamara did nothing to make me feel excited. And I really feel like a jerk saying this---But I thought since Azamara did not request any feedback from me (they have never been in touch with me) I would put out there that IF they had sent me an email saying "Ooohh la la...we are THRILLED to have you" and if they had told me about their excursion sale--then the things like paying for carbonated water or the special pay-for-dining might not have bothered me whatsoever.

A cruise is a big investment for some people. You might pay about 15-20 thousand dollars for an annual 2 or 3 weeks vacation. (Counting air, etc.) People here say that Azamara is friendlier than Oceania---(not that I am a big schmoozer) but I'd rather have good pre-cruise customer service than none.

I am not looking for anyone to feel sorry for me---I am not looking to lodge a complaint---but I am trying to say what others have also said--the lack of email; the malfunctioning website--it can make a customer feel unnoticed. I originally preferred the Azamara itinerary and thought that the Oceania cruise was too expensive. Then I priced it as a per diem and Oceania won---slightly, but still it won. And that $5.00 per day I would have paid for my bottled water put Oceania over the edge.

My message is that sometimes it's the little things and even if the end price is the same or even if Oceania costs slightly more, Azamara gave me the sense that they were nickel and diming me.