Woodrowst

9 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

The money you save by booking yourself will cover any change fees you might occasionally have many times.

Different situations can have different outcomes.  I do not doubt your experience with pricing.  But in our case,  the business class airfare obtained through Oceania was less than anything we could find ourself.  

11 hours ago, ak1004 said:

Never book air with any cruise line. NEVER. 

Absolute qualifiers such as “never” (whether in caps or not) are typically not helpful because they do not allow any flexibility.  In the current environment of cruises changing embarkation/debarkation ports close to the sailing date it can be an advantage to book through a cruise line.  The line will adjust the flight schedule to the new location and you don’t have to go through the angst and change fees.  We had this happen to us and were so very glad we booked our air through Oceania.

On 4/23/2024 at 1:36 PM, Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin said:

I agree with your assessment that there is a difference between premium and luxury lines.  We sailed Regent and had a wonderful experience; but, we also had a wonderful experience on O.  It really depends on what you are wanting from a particular cruise.  Does included business class air matter to you?  What about drinks and entertainment?  They vary depending upon the type of line (as does the price point!)  Everyone has to make that judgement for their own preferences. (And I now have future cruises on both Regent's and O.)

But, it is helpful to hear from someone who has experienced both to provide some insight!  So, thank you @Woodrowst.

After being flattered I have to fully agree with H…. ( the long title must be derived from Welsh).  The difference from premium to luxury is a matter of degrees.  Which means  you can certainly have a wonderful time on a premium line.  If that were not true I would not have signed on for five Oceania cruises to date.

On 9/17/2024 at 6:56 AM, Fletcher said:

It does sometimes mean that, say, the first group get ashore, commune with the penguins, get covered in poo, return to the ship, the wind suddenly rips up, and no one else gets off.  Tough titty for groups two and three.  This didn't bother me because I prefer ogling the landscape with a hot chocolate in my hand but some people were a little vexed.   

Our experience in Antarctica was that the penguins ignored the strange two legged creatures gawking at them.  There were just as many penguins working the penguin highways and nesting within a yard or so of the people path when we were on the late groups.  And we did not have a single day where the weather kept late groups from following early groups.  

On 9/18/2024 at 12:22 AM, lincslady said:

One gets the impression that Seabourn have gone into expedition cruising in too much of a hurry to get it right.  

Responding to this broad general statement:  I was on a Seabourn Venture expedition cruise to Antarctica and it was wonderful.  They got it right.

15 hours ago, bandp407 said:

Hello Fellow Cruisers, 

 

My husband & I (81 & 71) are seasoned cruisers. We have sailed primarily with Celebrity, but also with HAL, RCCL & Princess. We are considering Oceania, namely the Allura in the Caribbean for either November 2025 or early 2026. One of our biggest questions-will we have an opportunity for good music and some dancing after dinner and perhaps in the lounge pre dinner or show? We don’t expect they will have a club going till the wee small hours , but we don’t want to finish dinner and that’s it! Also, is it worth upgrading from a B2 or B3 to an A2 or A3? 
 

Would appreciate your feedback. Thank you in advance. 

I do not know what type of dancing you are looking for.  If ballroom-style:  our Oceania cruises have been primarily on the smaller R ships and there has been precious little if any ballroom dancing.  Crystal does a much better job and they even have dance hosts for single ladies or ladies whose partners are not into dancing.

20 hours ago, cdfev said:

I care not when you received your notification of port change as it was many months after Oceania had marketed Leith as the port for Sirena for more than one year. What changed in 2024 that made the port change necessary is what I want to know? Glad that you all were notified in 2024 and had no issue with it as I did.

I am getting the feeling that you are not a go with the flow and adapt kind of person…..

7 hours ago, cdfev said:

LOL. I am not a rookie traveler and have been to more than 70 countries and taken more than20 cruises. Usually, I travel independently and not with a tour or cruise. I am well aware that the cruise line is able to change plans at the last minute. My beef with Oceania is that they marketed for more than one year that two ships would berth into Leith. What changed in 2024? Seems like a classic bait and switch to me. I made plans and changed them. I did not like it. I enjoyed the Tattoo and Edinburgh. For those of you who are congratulating yourselves on your adaptability, good on you. I don't want or feel that I need compensation. In my opinion, this is not how you win repeat customers.

You are assuming that the change was under Oceania’s control.  It may well have been the decision of the harbourmaster and Oceania had no say in the matter.

It seems to me that the issue is not so much the change from Leith to Rosyth (it only adds 15 minutes or so to the drive) but that Oceania is not providing direct transportation into Edinburgh.  If the cruise is during one of the festivals you mentioned perhaps it is because the heavy traffic prevents that from happening.  We were in Edinburgh during the Military Tatoo and it was wall to wall people.  Perhaps providing you a shuttle to Drumferline is the best they can do.  I certainly understand your frustration - so near and yet so far from one of the iconic cities of the world.

I was on the Silver Endeavour four months ago and remember seeing bottles of high end water (I think it was Pellegrino) sitting in the buffet area of the Grill for lunch.  So I assume it would also be available for dinner in the various venues.

20 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Some but not all.  This is where a chat with Steve of the Insurance Store is worthwhile.  There are many subtle variations among policies (even from the same company) and he can find a policy that is best suited to the needs of your particular trip.

I have used the website InsureMyTrip (www.insuremytrip.com) for decades and have been very pleased with the range of options that come up.  I have found that virtually every policy I have purchased that waved pre-existing conditions required purchase within 14 days of making the deposit with the cruise line.  

5 hours ago, grandma*knows*best said:

You should bring one nicer outfit, as we had special dinners (we did the Antarctica cruise last February) and most people dressed up.  

I am a bit confused.  I was on an Antarctica cruise on the Venture in January and do not remember any special dinners.  Actually they were all special, but none were labeled as such and had most people dressing up.  What type of special dinners are you referring to?

8 hours ago, dalliowner said:

Was there complementary WIFI on the expedition ships as there is on other ships

Yes.  

5 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

Looked over their web site. Company dates to the early 2000s. Of course, they make lots of marketing claims. I do find their tag line a bit humorous:

 

"If 3/4 of your drink is the mixer, mix with the best".

 

But what if you don't mix? And I suspect their tonic water, for example, is hard to tell from others. But that's just me. I find most mix just covers up what I want, the actual hard liquor and its taste. And a rum and Coke is what it is, regardless as to whether Fever Tree thinks their "cola" is better.

 

Our Approach (fever-tree.com)

Fever Tree has types of tonic, as well as other mixers such as ginger beer, that you cannot find in mainstream brands.  An example is their Elderflower tonic.  It is delicious by itself as well as making a unique gin and tonic.

7 hours ago, basor said:

If there is a certain non-alcoholic drink that is important to my cruse enjoyment, I simply let my TA know and she notifies O and it has always been waiting for me ....if you ever sail O again, just let them know you want Fever Tree for your mixer ahead of sailing.  I understand that, for you, they should just have this mixer in all bars...

On a luxury line you do not have to go to that bother.

9 hours ago, janieb1962 said:

do wish they would up their game on mixers…Canada Dry tonic is not great, Schweppes a bit better but disappointed there was no Fever tree …

 

For those who ask for examples of the difference between premium lines (e.g. Oceania) and luxury lines (e.g. Crystal, Seabourn) this is one.  Luxury lines have Fever Tree.  Many might say that this is a small upgrade.  But it is the (many) small upgrades that differentiate luxury from premium lines.

It is important to have layers due to variable temperatures within the ship.  I take a couple of sweaters instead of a sports coat to save packing space.

1 hour ago, travelfreelasvegas said:

Can someone recommend what to wear while on Amazon River Excursions.  Going in January 2025.

I brought lightweight performance fabrics made for hot weather and was glad I did.  You will sweat a lot as the Amazon has high heat and humidity no matter what month or time of day or night.   The performance fabrics are made to keep you as cool as possible and to wick sweat away from your body.   They also dry fast - if you wash them in the evening in the sink and hang them they are dry the next morning.  This is importantly as you only get one use before washing due to the sweat.  It sounds counterintuitive, but bring long sleeved shirts and long pants.  You don’t want the sun shining directly on your arms or legs - it makes them even hotter and you then have to go through a ton of sunscreen.

My hot weather performance shirts are the Silver Ridge Lite by Columbia.  My hot weather performance pants are the Stretch Zion Pants by PrAna.

If you want natural fabric you can bring linen.  But it doesn’t dry as fast.  And whatever you do, do not wear cotton (including jeans).  Cotton fabric hold moisture and you will soon feel that you are drowning in sweat. 

3 minutes ago, Woodrowst said:

PS:  If you are physically able, I heartily endorse taking a kayak excursion.  Being on the water level in Antarctica is an amazing experience.  Plus, it gives you bragging rights to be able to say you have been kayaking in Antarctica☺️

4 hours ago, Kiwi Afloat said:

Just order the size you would normally wear. If it isn’t quite right every sailing will have a session where you can exchange sizes. I swapped my women’s for a men’s as they are longer and covered my bottom on the zodiac. You’ll love it!

We had the exact same experience as Kiwi Afloat when we took the Venture to Antarctica this past January.  There was a session where you could exchange the parka you pre-ordered and there were tons of extra parkas in all sizes.  All of the guides were there to give you individual attention and help get you a perfect fit.  They will also make sure the boots you pre-ordered fit well.  My wife has extra wide calves and could not get into any of the boots.  They made this a priority and ended up splitting a gap in the top of a pair (which meant they had to throw the boots away after we were finished with them).  The cut they made did the trick and we were very happy.

We loved this cruise.  You are in for a spectacular experiences.

23 hours ago, twobys said:

We will be on this cruise Portsmouth to Edinburgh. In the process of looking at post cruise hotels in Edinburgh. 

We just stayed pre-cruise in Edinburgh in two hotels and I can highly recommend both.  They are both within easy walking distance of the castle.

* The Eden Locke is on the New Town (north) side of the castle.  It is a boutique hotel with wonderful service - they made us complementary coffee drinks (I had a cappuccino) when we arrived from our international flight.  There are a ton of great restaurants and shops nearby (the famous Rose street is one block away).

*The Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa is a great choice if you want a large Americanized hotel.  It is on the university (south) side of the castle.  There are fewer restaurants and shops in the immediate blocks but the castle and the start of the Royal mile are only a 10 minute walk.  It is a quieter location than staying in the city center.  There is a really interesting open air farmers market across the street from the Sheraton on Saturdays.  

15 minutes ago, Medium Kahuna said:

 

It matters.

 

That's just my 2 percents.

Why?  If you can afford $10,000 for a cruise how will it affect your lifestyle or overall financial situation if instead you spend $10,200?  My thought is not to sweat the small stuff.

On 8/1/2024 at 10:22 AM, bdnuggin said:

So a few months ago booked two rooms -- same cruise, same room type, same floor, etc -- for an upcoming cruise.  Guests in one of the rooms sailed with Crystal before, the others had not.   Received a 3% Crystal Society discount on the one cruise fare, but the new cruisers were given a $250 credit per person per stateroom. 

So to make math easy if the cruise fare was $10,000 per room, the return guests would receive a $300 discount and the new guests received $500.  The 3% only applied to the fare, whereas the other to excursions or other costs. 

 Does this seem accurate?  Is this typical, or a sales 'trick'?   (perhaps I should say strategy).

On a $10,000 cruise do you really want to sweat over $200?  Does it really matter?

On 8/4/2024 at 5:12 AM, BRWolf said:

The Insignia will be the smallest cruise ship we've ever been on. It is 593.7 ft long compared to the Veendam's  719 feet.  Tonnage is 30,277 compared to the Veendam's 57,092.  We worry a bit about possible rough seas.  The Veendam went through some on our voyage to Bermuda and it was an experience.  On a smaller,  lighter ship?  We shall see.

 

 

In terms of stability, the depth of the ship below the surface (draught) is much more important than the height above the waterline.  All modern ships have very shallow droughts regardless of how tall and wide they are - much shallower than the historic ocean liners.  Modern ships rely on computerized stabilizers to make up for a shallow draught.  So the size of a modern cruise ship does not make much of a difference in rough seas since they all have a shallow draught.  In fact, the mega ships can be more prone to bobbing and weaving in large waves - kind of like a taller cork sitting in a sloshing bathtub.

19 hours ago, edgee said:

Why pay for lunch off the ship when you have already paid for it on the ship?  

Because it allows you to have the pleasure on embarkation day of an authentic local or regional meal that cannot be duplicated at home in a relaxed atmosphere.  That is much better than trying to find a table when everyone else who has just boarded is doing the same while you figure out what to do with your carry-on luggage while tripping over all the other carry-on luggage and having a tasty but generic lunch.  When you have paid many, many thousands of dollars does it really matter that you have spent another $50 to have the privilege of a quiet, relaxed and authentic meal?