DENIE

On a Celebrity cruise in 2019 we did a Venice to Rome cruise in November.  Had good weather for first couple days, however 3 days later we had an awful day in Dubrovnik (driving 40 mph wind and torrential downpour), then lost Kotor, Montenegro due to "Adriatic Sea Conditions" (did port in Corfu, Greece, though).  We later found this was the storm that swamped Venice for several days.  Great days in Malta and then Sicily, then almost missed Naples due to high seas and storms. We docked more than 2 hours late, and our shore excursion was cut short.  Was that normal? Not sure, but that was our experience.

We were on Vista #7107 (PH) in January in the Caribbean. We didn't notice much movement.

After 2 Oceania cruises (including the new Vista), with 2 more in the works, we decided we may try Windstar, on one of the sailing ships, on a Italy/Croatia cruise pushing out to 2026 or so.  We had friends who just did a Greece/Turkey cruise on Windstar and couldn't say enough good about it.  Looking forward to trying this experience, and the food.  Our food experience on Oceania was terrific (only a couple "misses"), but know food is so subjective.

31 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

If your going to cruise again and on the ship, why not---any discount is better than done-so why not book it if that is what you want.

Yup! 🙂  Better than full price.

On 5/23/2024 at 7:20 AM, Jim_Iain said:

 

What benefits do you get for booking on board or purchasing a certificate to book  once home.

Pretty much what Harters said.  It was enough for us, and they already had our TA in the system so she new about it as soon as we booked it.  OCC was decent enough as well.

We had just 3 prior cruises on Celebrity, then jumped post-Covid to Oceania.  One cruise on the Riviera (amazing!) and then this past January on Vista.  We LOVED the Vista!!  This style suits us better - small, more intimate ship, specialty restaurants included, etc.  Never found either ship to be over-crowded, even when getting off for excursions.  We have one more booked on Vista, and also a future cruise credit on a yet to be booked cruise.  Give it a try!

Gary, always love your writing style and your comments!  

Gary, we used your Butler Letter suggestion from one of your original posts, and it was awesome.  I don't think our butler had seen one of them before, and sounded like he was afraid of what we were going to ask.  But upon meeting him and giving it to him, he nodded and said, yes, he could do all those things (and did!).  In fact, a couple times during the cruise he found us because he had a question...he pulled our letter from his inside pocket!  Great experience for us!

We may have had 1 or 2 random calls when we first signed up to receive mailings and emails.  However since we use a TA, I don't recall that they have called us.

Thank you for a wonderful review!  We really enjoyed Vista in January (out of Miami) and have a November 2025 transatlantic (Barcelona to Miami) booked on her.  Looking forward to the sea days!

3 hours ago, DoulaAnn said:

What did he do in terms of unpacking? I feel a need to know where my things are in drawers and not everyone organizes that like I do. If he just hangs things that need hanging and puts shoes in the closet and bathroom items in the bathroom, I might take advantage of that (never have before and we've done PH a lot).

DoulaAnn - we had an added "challenge" that my sister-in-law was traveling with us as well.  I had a chance to go to the room and happened to meet him in the hall.  I told him which suitcases were ours, and which suitcases were my SIL's.  He had a very logical, organized manner in which he unpacked, and I think we only moved a couple things.  One side of the closet was for my wife and I, and the other side was SIL's.  Shoes were divided evenly as well.  T-shirts, daily wear, undergarments, etc were also divided between the available drawers, with nothing mixed together.  He did a great job.  We ended up packing ourselves before disembarking since we already had to pack our evening bag. We will have them unpack on our next cruise too, I think! 🙂

We did Concierge on Riviera in June 2022 (Mediterranean), and PH on Vista in January 2024 (Caribbean).  We loved having the butler, but perhaps didn't make full use of their services.  We had him unpack for us (very nice!).  We also had him bring fresh coffee each morning to our room at a designated time (15 minute or so window), and probably had about 4 breakfasts brough to us.  This was much better than standard room service, in that he set our table, and our breakfasts were in individual plates and not just thrown together).  One night we did specialty dining after a long, exhausting shore excursion.  It was amazing.  He also served us our sparkling from embarkation day, which we had been saving.  A great experience overall! 🙂

We usually book specialties for 6:30, when they open, and tend to be at the check-in stand about 5 minutes before, even if the door isn't open yet  Never later than that.  Even if our reservation is a bit later, we usually check in around 5 minutes prior.  More times than not, we are taken right to our seats.  We do not believe in waiting 10-15 minutes past our designated time.

It's interesting that on Vista in January, we secured an embarkation day "extra" reservation for 6:30 at Red Ginger.  The reservation desk reminded us 3 times to not be late.  Wonder if that has been a problem in the past.  They did not have to worry about us being late. 🙂
 

Our TA found "The Cadillac" (Marriott Collection, kind of boutique) in Miami Beach.  It was wonderful, and not as pricey as some other places we checked out.  Our Bonvoy got us an upgrade to Ocean Front, from an Ocean View.  I don't recall the Uber ride to the port being too pricey, and the driver got us there in maybe 20 minutes.

On 3/15/2024 at 7:46 PM, Waltershipman said:

The strings are lovely and most enjoyable 

Always love the strings and try to catch a few of their sets in the Grand Lounge as well.

We were in 7017 (Penthouse) aft in January 2024.  We didn't hear any one next to us or any televisions.  

Love your posts, Gary!  Also wanted to let you know that I borrowed your butler letter idea on our January 2024 Vista cruise, and our butler really liked it.  In fact, a couple times when we ran into him in the hall, he pulled it out of his coat pocket to get clarification. 🙂

We too booked a 11/2025 cruise and a FCC for what we hope will be a 2026 itinerary that hasn't been released yet.  It is too far away, so we also dream.

As for our dream: the 2025 cruise is the transatlantic on Vista from Barcelona to Miami.  We loved the PH so much that we booked one that has the wide balcony (deck 7, rear).  With 14 days and lots of sea days, we "dream" of staying "in" at least a couple days, enjoy the veranda, and having specialty dining brought to us by the butler.  🙂

On Vista in January.  It's correct that you can't use magnets on the walls where the bed is.  We did find the door and the exterior of the bathroom walls were metal, so that is where we posted our schedules, etc.

23 minutes ago, no fuss travel said:

We were on HAL for a New Years cruise.  Oceania's food beat them hands down.  The only decent dinners were on the Gala nights on HAL.  I think if you look at most cruise lines now you will find that their standards have slipped since Pre Covid.   They cannot get enough experienced staff, there has been problems getting supplies, the wars, the weather all contribute to the complaints.  It will take a while for all the cruise lines to reach preCovid standards.  We will just need to be patient.

 

If you also take into account, Cruise Critic seems to be getting poor reviews, but the ships are sailing at capacity or almost capacity and the complaints are not that numerous.  That means there are more satisfied passengers, than dissatisfied.  Take the complaints with a grain of salt.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and the only opinion that counts is your own to you.  What one person does not like, you may love.  Just go on your cruise and enjoy.  It is nice to be able to cruise again.

Agree! Nothing is perfect. But I always say a day aboard a cruise ship is better than just about anything else. 🙂

On both of our Oceania cruises, we got an extra reservation in Red Ginger on embarkation day at our preferred time of 6:30 p.m. (right at opening). This was for a table of 3 (me, my wife, and her sister). On the Riviera cruise in June 2022, we were in a concierge room, and on the Riviera cruise in January 2024 we were in a PH suite.  Not sure if either of those had any effect on the availability. 

We were just on Vista in January 2024. Was everything perfect? No. There were a couple meals that weren't as good as we thought they could be. But we didn't feel the need to complain to the maitre' de. Most everything in every venue was excellent. We had been on a larger mass-market line (friends chose that cruise) a year before and the food was not nearly as good.  Just our experience....no more, no less.

We were on a January sailing in that unusual PH3 on Deck 7 (#7107).  We did pay attention to what was below us (the entry to the Grand Dining Room) and of course above us were just more staterooms. I have to say we were not bothered by any noise on either side of us, or out in the hallway.  My SIL (our 3rd passenger) had a white noise app playing crickets at night, but if there were TV noise I doubt that would have stopped it.  Maybe we were lucky?

We stayed in 7107 (next door, with the short balcony).  Yes, I understand that it does get a bit more breeze because it sticks out.  I can tell when we were on our 7107 balcony, you would have a fantastic view looking forward. 

11 hours ago, SandyKnits said:

We are booked on Vista for next February in PH2 #7114.  Glad to hear that loungers are on the extended balcony.  Any problems with noise from below, since we are over the dining room?  Thanks.

We booked this room for the 2025 Vista transatlantic in November.  

In January we were on Vista in #7107, which is the narrow balcony next to the #7109, which definitely had loungers.

We were in PH 7107 (narrow deck) on Vista in January.  We did not hear anyone in the adjoining rooms, nor did we really hear anyone at night in the hallways.  My sister-in-law had a  white-noise app on her cell phone that she turned on at night, but if were were loud conversations next door I doubt it would cover it up.