Fam_Cruise

The Riviera won't be whipping around the Ocean like the SS United States did. [/font][/size]

http://www.marinelink.com/images/maritime/ssus_01WEB-23693.jpg

That brought back fond memories of 1966 and 1969, 10 and 13 years old at the time. Had to dress for dinner every night in the 1st class dining room. I didn't like that then as a tween, and don't like it now as an adult, hence the reason I love O. ;)

A number of reasons:

Caribbean; think Diamonds International, straw markets, and Señor Frog's in different settings

10 night vs 7 night weekend to weekend cruise

Different clientele; Families/kids, working folks, vs. retirees

Just getting away for warm weather on one's week vacation

Price

Air inclusive prices on O

 

Caribbean cruise clientele is much different than the clientele of other cruise destinations IMO. When I imagine a cruise on O, an image of the Caribbean definitely does not come to mind. However, when I think of Carnival and RCCL it does; and not that good of an image IMPO.

 

Many folks love the Caribbean cruise, and more power to them. As a diver I love the Caribbean and other tropical locales, but if I go there it will not be on a cruise; I'll book a resort in Grand Cayman, Curaçao, etc.

 

Now don't get me wrong, Caribbean cruises have their purpose in my world. For a family reunion or similar special event, I'd go on one in a minute. But it would be for the event and family/friends, not the ports as they're all relatively the same IMO.

Are you arguing with yourself

Yes, it's the best way to have an argument because you always win. Or lose, depending on whether you're a half empty or half full kind kind of person. ;)

OK, rewind. There is a thalassotherapy pool on Riviera and Marine. I did a search a week ago and came up with a link to an erroneous article that said they did not have one, and with the new thread that just came up this morning I went and looked again, this time on Oceania's web site. So my first recollection was correct, and don't believe everything you read on the internet.

Spa Terrace with Thelasotherapy pool

My bad. There is no Thelasotherapy pool. Concierge cabins and above have access to Spa Terrace.

I did an in-depth comparison based on my opinion of cost/value on Celebrity, Azamara and O. I did not include some of the things that are important to you (as they weren't that important to me) but it is a discussion of our experiences on three lines.

While it was a good objective cost analysis, it did not take into account many things like formal nights, ambiance, photographers, announcements, fit and finish, beds, butler service, in suite course by course dining, etc., not to mention other subjective aspects. Also you included factors in your cost comparison that are important to you (but weren't that important to me), the main one being alcohol costs. I have cruised on Celebrity in a Celebrity Suite and it was OK. Nothing compelling that made me want to return to Celebrity. Olympus specialty restaurant was OK. I have not cruised on Azamara.

 

The reason we are trying Celebrity Solstice this Oct 2015 is because of timing (I cannot travel during Winter ski season because DH loves to ski everyday that ends in a "Y).

Your husband sounds like my brother. He and his wife live in SC, but they spend almost all winter in CO skiing.

Sounds like some smart folks. I'm in Vail from the end of December until the first weekend in April. Definitely not the time for a cruise. ;)

I have been on all the middle class boats with Royal and I have always found a chair , just like Oceania we found a chair , the food was just as equal on both companies also.

RCI and O... I did a cruise this past June on RCI specifically because it was half the price of O. I got what I paid for.

 

I would totally disagree with Mercer's assessment of food as RCI food was totally mediocre at best. Many items were unacceptable and were left uneaten on my plate. The only excellent breakfast option was the suite breakfast in Chops Grille. The steaks in Chops were mediocre except the dry aged for an extra up charge in addition to the specialty restaurant charge, which means your steak dinner ends up costing $50-60. I've had better steaks for less on land. Izumi was OK with a healthy ala carte charge, but paled in comparison to Red Ginger. Giovanni's Table was just OK. Reflections MDR food was poor to OK, but service was sparse. Bread came by once, and wait staff seemed disoriented. The wait for a table was a pain, and three times they seated us right next to the front door and a service area; the second and third time we insisted on a different table. I could always find something acceptable at the buffet, but most of the food was rubbish.

 

OK enough about food...

 

On RCI photographers at every turn. Formal nights, need I say more; and even more photographers.

 

On RCI I have always stayed in Owners Suites, but this past cruise I did a Grand Suite. Concierge lounge is used more on RCI because of the free alcohol at happy hour (Pavlov's dogs) than O and there is definitely a pecking order which I don't see on O; probably because lounges are for suite guests on O and for both suite guests and elite chasers on RCI.

 

Beds, furnishings, and toiletries are much nicer on O. I brought my own Bvlgari soap and shampoo on my RCI cruise in June as a result.

 

The one thing that was really great about the RCI cruise was that it reinforced my love of O. I'm back on Marina this November and next.

 

Yes, O is more expensive but worth every penny.

 

No formal nights

No photographers

Butler with

• standing breakfast order
  
• afternoon appetizers
  
• in suite specialty restaurant course by course dining
  

Spa Terrace with Thelasotherapy pool

No additional charge for four excellent specialty restaurants

San Pellegrino and Perrier are included free of charge (my preferred beverages)

Beautiful furnishings in suite and throughout ship

Bvlgari toiletries

Better and more comfortable beds

Much better food and service

 

Now, one does have to pay more for all of the above. Having cruised on both RCI and O a few times, and after the most recent RCI cruise (my first back on RCI since migrating to O) the differences are fresh in my mind and so was the 50% discount compared to O's prices. Actually the discount is a bit less as O usually includes gratuities, and always includes specialty restaurants, my preferred beverages, butler service with breakfast, appetizers, and in suite specialty restaurant course by course dining, and numerous other aforementioned benefits.

 

So if you don't care about many of those the things mentioned above that I personally love about O, then by all means save money and go with RCI. Or for that matter go with Carnival as there is less difference between RCI and Carnival than there is between O and RCI.

 

If you want a better cruise, service, and food, included better specialty restaurants, butler with associated in suite dining, nicer furnishings and accouterments, less annoying features (formal nights, photographers, unnecessary announcements, etc.), and less nickel and diming then pay more and choose O. I'll see you on board.

 

O has wonderful self service laundry facilities on every deck.

it is what works best for us

I'm glad to see we agree. I'm sure others will choose what is best for their unique needs, too.

You're really over-complicating this.

Not really, as Travel Guard is less expensive for the benefits I require which includes primary payer; $680 vs $771. Those prices are for policies with similar coverage. Price is a compelling factor.

 

Now many here may not need, or want, cancel for business reasons, but I do. The flip side of that is I don't need death in family coverage since I have none, but unfortunately for me that is not optional. Wish it was as my premium would undoubtedly be less.

 

Travel insurance is not a one size fits all situation, and insurance rates vary wildly based on numerous factors. For each trip I plan, I check multiple sources and IME Travel Guard has routinely come out the best for me. Just SOP for planning travel. BTW, you don't need to call anybody as you can find out prices online. You can also email/call your TA and have them provide you the info.

 

As far as Description of Coverage, Travel Guard, Travelex, Travel Insured, etc. all provide links during the booking process so you can view the nitty gritty details of their coverage.

 

I personalty would recommend everyone do their own due diligence to find the product that works best for their situation base don their age, health, trip duration, amount of coverage, optional coverage, etc.

Fam_Cruise - I looked at this policy, but it only seems to include $25,000 medical. And while Primary, the Med Vac is Secondary.:rolleyes:

 

:confused: I don't see anywhere where it includes the additional that you speak of here.

 

• $250 additional Missed Connection

• $50,000 Flight Guard® (What is this?)

 

Also, just so you know, the Med Vac upgrade is up to $11 (Still a deal!)

Straight from the Description of Coverage (aka Insurance Policy). In that document there is no mention of Med Evac being primary or secondary. Yes, medical coverage is $25,000 which is more than enough considering medical costs in rest of the world (outside the US) ranges from free to affordable.

 

Med Evac upgrade varies by price of insurance and number of travelers. Since I travel solo it wouldn't surprise me that the upgrade for me would be less than for you if either the amount you quoted was for two people or your insurance was higher because 1) you're older or 2) the amount you're covering is higher due to longer cruise, higher cabin category, etc.

 

Flight Guard is ADD coverage for losses incurred while traveling on passenger aircraft.

Been looking over plans tonight. Are there any that are NOT secondary policies? I could have sworn that CSA was one, but now their policies are showing secondary for some items. :(

I always purchase a Travel Guard Gold policy within 15 days after making my initial deposit mainly for the two benefits bolded below. When the policy is purchased within 15 days of making one's initial deposit the following additional coverage are included:

 

• Pre-Existing Medical Condition Exclusion Waiver

• Trip Cancellation/Interruption due to Financial Default

• $250 additional Missed Connection

• $50,000 Flight Guard®

• Accident Sickness Medical Expense (Primary)

 

Also Gold policy includes $500,000 MedEvac coverage with an option of upgrading to $1,000,000 with evacuation to a hospital of your choice for an additional $5-8. When my trips include traveling to remote areas, I also go with this $5-8 additional option.

 

For those who have annual policies, purchasing this would be overkill IMO.

Fewer, smaller ships and less passengers, many of whom are repeat O cruisers. Also, for example, hard to write about the "rock climbing wall" or "ice show" on O ships OR debate the merits of walkie talkies, rum runners or lanyards and crocs.

You forgot to mention that its difficult to write about formal attire, which accounts for at least 5000 threads in each of the other cruise line forums.

 

That's actually how I originally discovered Oceania. I was on a HAL cruise back in 2010 and priro to the cruise I was reading their virulent threads on formal attire and decided to check out some of the other CC cruise line forums to see if things were as bad on the other cruise lines. I went to numerous forums, searched for "formal" and up would come 500 results (the max). I finally stumbled onto the Oceania forum and when I did the search up came 6 results which immediately raised my eye brows, all of which summed it up with "No formal attire". I was sold.

 

FWIW, I rarely read reviews and rely on searching the forum for answers. Now I must admit, as a result of this thread, I did go read some of the reviews. Quite interesting, especially the one-hit-wonders from a disgruntled cruiser.Seems like there must have been something else going on there. JMHO

I could understand this move if something drastic had happened in Egypt in the past week or two but the situation has remained status quo for some time and is likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future. Therefore taking the passengers safety into concern is not a suitable excuse at this point imo.

How about now? Suicide bombers target Egypt’s famed temple site at Luxor

 

Sorry, just couldn't resist getting out my big spoon to stir the pot.

I generally avoid elevators on ships as I have to burn extra calories for all the great food I'm eating. On the rare occasions I do ride elevators, on cruises or otherwise, I use my knuckles to press the buttons.

The Land Rovers did go off road at that time. We stayed at Ulasaba Lodge and it was fabulous.

There is Kruger National Park and greater Kruger National Park which includes both Kruger National Park and numerous surrounding private game reserves. Ulusaba Safari Lodge

is in Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve which is part of Greater Kruger National Park, hence the reason you went off road.

And I am SO GLAD that they don't resort to those soap dispensers that some hotels are using ...

Stay in better hotels. ;)

 

It's quite nice that O uses the same toiletries as I do at home. That way I don't have to bring my own as I'm doing with my upcoming RCI cruise. I only use their shampoo and bar soap at home, no need for conditioner or shower gel. I do prefer their Green Tea products over the White Tea ones.

It is SSOOO reassuring to know that "Dress Code Threads" (with their associated entertainment and enjoyment) are not unique to just the Celebrity boards. ;) :D :rolleyes:

They have absolutely no redeeming entertainment value at all over on the Oceania forum. They all just say "No formal nights...".

Oceania is very good about adjusting the furniture in their Suite accommodations, even if the Passengers' request falls outside of what they consider to be standard equipment.

 

Whenever we sail in a Penthouse, for example, our first request is usually that the coffee table be removed and replaced with a regulation height dining table.

Thanks for this helpful advice. It would have come in real handy on my past cruise when I was in a PH and had friends over for dinner. We all were huddled around the coffee table, which was a pain.

 

I'll know better for my next cruise, and will definitely request the same. Thanks again.

I'm under $500/day on Crystal and curious how O rates.

$474 for a PH1 w/o airfare. If you add in the free 3-night pre-cruise Safari, then it comes down to $391/day.

 

What kind of stateroom/suite accommodations for your solo Crystal price? Also what kind of amenities comes with the Crystal price? It looks like they include gratuities, and I'm guessing they have formal nights (please confirm). How about unlimited Internet, OBC, butler, and is per diem with or without airfare? I don't drink alcohol so the free alcohol is lost on me. It looks like their Penthouse staterooms are almost as big as Oceania's PH.

 

I know Silversea is quite attractive from a solo cruiser standpoint, so am truly interested in more info on Crystal since I know little about them. Every time I have priced it out in the distant past, it has been way higher than Oceania for comparable accommodations. Perhaps something has changed.

Actually the same thing happened back in 2011. A Med cruise on Marina when the introduced lower single supplements I went from an A4 to PH3. Not quite the same as A3 to PH1, but in the case of this cruise I didn't have any choice as PH2 and PH3 were sold out. A PH2 did come open the next day, but bad location IMO. Would prefer a PH on deck 10, but alas none available.

 

And yes, the butler is very nice. I left my friends down on deck 9 in their A3 though. :eek:

 

Oh, and mine is a 14 day trip CPT to RIO. CPT to EZE is 24 days. I'll be on my way to Vail at the end of December.

OK, I'm just the opposite of most folks and please keep the flames to a minimum.

 

I use it for work (if necessary), but all but the most critical work can be accomplished on my iPhone these days. I work for a small software company, telecommute full time, and both the iPhone and Internet allow me to work from wherever I am. I have been doing this for over 17 years. It took some getting used, and it took a few years for me to realize I can work from anywhere.

 

So now I take anywhere from 3-4 months of vacation plus skiing 3+ months in Vail, but work a bit while on vacation and in Vail. This year, in addition to skiing 60 days in Vail, 4 weeks in Europe including a 11 day Baltic cruise, 1 month out to Vail to get away from DC August heat and humidity, 3 weeks in China in September, 1 week in Hawaii in October, and Nov-Dec 3 weeks in South Africa, TATL cruise (free unlimited Internet!), and Brazil.

 

If I unplugged when on vacation, I could only take 3 weeks of vacation a year. As I said, it takes some getting used to, but the freedom telecommuting provides is awesome.

 

As far as cruises are concerned. For my upcoming Baltic cruise on SOS I will not get an Internet package, as I'll only purchase Internet if I actually need to get online. For Europe, the iPhone AT&T Global Passport 800 MB plan will hopefully be more than sufficient for my telecommuting needs. For my Nov/Dec TATL cruise (Oceania) the free unlimited Internet will be my main connection, as Namibia and the Atlantic Ocean aren't included in AT&T's Global Passport plans.

Also 11/28/15 CPT to RIO Cat A and PH. I just went from an A3 to a PH1 with a price reduction of $150!

Heart disease is the number one killer in the US, but I doubt you'll see cruise ship menus going the healthy route or many cruisers picking the healthy options. About 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that’s 1 in every 4 deaths. So next time you're on a cruise look around and with probably over 25% of the folks you see (it is a cruise after all) dying of heart disease ask yourself, how many of these people will die from Ebola? Kind of puts things into perspective. Just sayin.

Not snobbery, but the statement of being bottom of the barrel is closer to the truth than many may think. Even with the club benefits, many old style cruisers are leaving the RCL brand, hence why RCL is seeking a new (younger) demographic with reduced prices and dumbing down of dress codes to attract this new clientele. They must fill the ships.

Glad they're dumbing down the dress code as that is what has brought me back. After a couple cruises on Oceania I'm coming back to RCI as Oceania's prices have really gone up. Pretty much same 11-day Baltic cruise, $14K (used to be around $10-11K) for 2 without air in a standard cabin (they're real nice), or grand suite on RCI for $8K for 2. With the extra money they can nickle and dime me all they want. I'll just ignore the photographers and announcements, and settle for average fare when it comes to food, maybe eat in the specialty restaurants a good bit if they're that much better. Maybe do Noma for dinner the few days we're in Copenhagen prior to the cruise.

 

So what lines are the middle/top of the barrel? I know there are luxury lines but the prices are so much higher it's really not even a fair comparison. What lines are these old school cruisers moving to? Or are they leaving cruising altogether?

Depends on what they're looking for. I left RCI for Oceania because I wanted a nicer experience, no formal nights, awesome food, no photographers, no bingo, only necessary announcements (e.g. we've been cleared by customs, go ashore at your leisure), etc.

Another data point...

 

I just had my TA get us a $200 OBC for this cruise. We paid our deposit on Friday; however, previous bookings are eligible for this WOW OBC promo. One word of caution, if you want this promo you should be aware that for it to be applied to previous bookings, the booking will be repriced per the T&C of this offer.

 

Fortunately with the BOGOHO 50% promo being extended until July 15 our prices didn't change between Friday and today.

 

Act quickly as the WOW OBC promo is only available June 1-4. Good luck!