terrydtx

Our Koningsdam cruise last November was 100% sold out, it was a California coastal cruise and that itinerary is only done a couple of times a year, making it very popular. Our August Volendam Canada/NE cruise is now sold out and doesn't even show up when looking for cruises on the HAL website. Neither one of these cruises were in times the kids are out of school.

Maybe at Golden Coral, but not what I would expect for fine dining on any Oceania ship.

I love both and as I said hard to find good ones outside of Calif, New Mexico and Texas. Like finding good Cajun/Creole Food outside of Louisianna is just as difficult.

The only one we are visiting on the Marina. Here is what is noted in the Oceania website:

No, not Oceania, on Celebrity. But it happens to any cruise line where people ignore warnings about tour's accessibilities. I have been on shore excursions that warn about strenuous walking required and when ignored people end up sitting in the bus or sitting on a bench waiting for the tour to return because they can't do the walking.

We had a similar thing happen on our Marina cruise next March. One stop in Laguna San Rafael, Chile. The Chilean government only allows passengers booked on an Oceania cruise to get off the ship. There was only one excursion offered by O at 8:00am and it sold out quickly. Then a second one opened up 4 hours later and it sold out, now a 3rd one opened up at 3:30pm and we are booked on it. Maybe as you get closer more in Saguenay will open up. We stop there in August on our Holland cruise, and we booked one with them to use an excursion credit we have. There should be some private tours there.

I saw this happen on our Australian Cruise in January. We had a snorkel tour of the Great Barrier reef that required getting off and on a transfer boat at the ship, that clearly said no scooters or walkers allowed before booking. One passenger showed up on what she called a "portable" electric scooter and demanded they allow her and the scooter on the trip. She pitched a huge fit when she was told she couldn't take the tour, it became a very ugly site and situation for the crew members to handle.

We ran into the same thing in Australia and New Zealand in January on the Celebrity Edge. The drink pricing onboard had to include taxes and gratuities to comply with local laws. This raised drink prices by a few dollars a drink on the ship. The cruise fares quoted for Aussies booking, had to also include all taxes and gratuities in the fare. It was nice on land too as the price you saw in stores and restaurant menus was the price paid when you checked out.

We live in San Antonio Texas, home of Texmex food, and I never had any Mexican food on any cruise ship worth bragging about. Outside of Texas, New Mexico and even California, good Mexican food is hard to find in the US.

Many ports in the EU do the same, like in Spain.

Pay a little more and upgrade to a Vista Suite with your own private balcony. Thats what we are doing for our August Volendam cruise.

One and done with Princess in 2019, was worse cruise since one on Carnival 20 years ago.

Surely the new menus will roll out by the time of our next cruise in March on the Marina.

Sad to hear the embarkation MDR lunch is no longer being done, it was available on our Koningsdam cruise last November. I hate being herded like cattle in the Lido for lunch with hundreds of fellow passengers monopolizing every table and chair.

Hey Jim, Celebrity has forced us to look elsewhere, our first O cruise is on the Marina next March in South America, can't wait to sample a cruise that is really "premium"

When we booked our Marina cruise for next March, O wanted $5500pp air add on for BC on top of the $1700 charged for the coach air included in SM. That would have made our BC flights next March cost $7200pp more than the no air added pricing of SM. We booked our own BC air on American in early May direct with AA at $3889pp almost 50% of what O wanted. Plus we have 100% control of the flights, connections, seats and any changes. Now 6 weeks later the same flights are now over $5500 in cost. This is why we never book air with O, they are ok with SM coach, but we only fly internationally in BC.

Last year we returned from Europe through Atlanta and with Global Entry we got through customs in less than 10 minutes. The longest wait then was for our luggage after Global Entry to clear and recheck to home. We made a 1.5 hour connection time with no problem.

Chances are that your flights and times will change between now and then. Our flights to Boston and back from Quebec City Canada in August for our Volendam cruise have changed at least 4 times since we booked in April. The last change a week ago gave us only an hour connection in Philly to go through customs and change terminals, which is not possible. We got that flight changed so we now have 3 hours in Philly.

I believe you are correct the any time dinning reservations have to be made onboard. That is why we always add Club Orange as we get priority seating in the MDR for ATD.

We are 3 Star and with a SS and CO we get so much more without paying the price of a Neptune.

Check to see if your cruise has a Roll Call started, that is another good place to find tour recommendations. We are on the August 20th Volendam cruise from Boston. Here is a link from a live thread from a CC member who just got off the 7 day Volendam cruise.

We will be on the Volendam in August for 11 days in Canada and NE from Boston. The Volendam has no SS but we are in a Vista Suite which has a balcony. Only Vista and Neptune suites on the Volendam have balconies. We do not have a pool but very good AC, we are cruising to Canada in August to get out of the heat for 3 weeks. Last summer we had 78 days over 100 here in San Antonio which set an all time record. In 2022 we had 58 days over 100.

I thought you did, my post earlier was to point out SS are not a suite just a larger cabin that costs more than a verandah. It would be nice if they did had more amenities but larger is nice. CO has allowed us to book SS and get more amenities for a little bit more cost.

We also love the size of the signature suite and larger balcony. They are almost 100 sq ft larger than the verandah cabins. We booked one on the Oosterdam, twice, and the Noordam, and on a longer cruise the huge bathroom with double sinks was a nice added feature. If we can't book a Neptune suite our next choice is a Signature Suite. The extra cost is worth the extra room. We book cruises for itinerary, loyalty to a cruise line doesn't matter much for us, we have elevated status with both HAL and Celebrity.

Yes the tides have a lot to do with departures times in Montreal. I know on our itinerary for arriving in Montreal in August says, "Debark Ship Montreal, Quebec, Canada Times Subject To Tidal Conditions"