cruisingxpert

16 hours ago, HilsTas said:

 

We had two different cabins on the Vista for our recent cruise/s.  The first cabin - the mattress was very soft and there was no side support in it so that if you sat on the edge you could easily just slide off.  Or worse - roll out whilst asleep!  The mattress featured in our cruise comments because of this!

 

Second cabin - the same old blissful Oceania mattress that we have previously had on all our cruises.  A great relief.

 

Maybe they are trialling mattresses - hard and soft vs the old O mattresses??

That's interesting.  We were in the same type cabin on the other side and found the mattresses firm and didn't  feel any gel top.  Felt totally different from all my previous cruises on Oceania.  At first I thought the mattresses hadn't been broken in but I don't think that is the reason.

Germain was the only choice on Vista May 20th cruise- Monopole is the bottle you get in the cabin for Concierge and PH.

I have been harping on this ever since I saw the posters on Regent that managed to get  rid of Germain and probably got sent to O. I believe Hambagahle was posting on that thread. We used to have Montaudon which is okay and Perrier Jouet which I quite liked.  

Germain is so awful that even Total Wine won't stock it.

@Clutj  I will sign any petition you start 

6 hours ago, kjbacon said:

Odyssey menu from Riviera last year and a couple pictures of the dishes. It might not be exact but it will certainly give you a good idea of what to expect. We found both wine pairing dinners to be outstanding on riviera.

It was exactly the same menu on our May 20 Vista cruise.  The amuse bouche was served in the library before going into Privee.  The only thing missing was that wonderful Echire butter but they did have the 4 salts with spoons that that were too big.

The chairs were uncomfortable and we were told new ones have been ordered.  Besides being uncomfortable they will tip over if you lean back too much.  Apparently someone did fall over at a previous dinner 

1 hour ago, dock said:

Would anyone have copies of these dinners?

 

Thank You. 

The wine pairing  dinners for the private dining areas in Polo and Toscana are posted in my review of private dining.  Link is in Post#3

Take a look at my post about private dining rooms

Specialty Dining reservations on 5 was doing the La Reserve in Privee bookings but they weren't advertising it anywhere.

2 minutes ago, HilsTas said:

hi Catherine! - last day today 🥲)

Hope you had a great time.  Safe travels home.😁

17 minutes ago, Jayne E said:

Any idea if refusal of loungers on extended balcony cabins is temporary or permanent?  We have 2 Vista cruises booked and moved from B3 to A2 for extended verandah. Additional cost $1,300 and $700.  If no loungers, wondering if it’s worth booking A2. We have no interest in Concierge amenities. Upgraded to A2 strictly for loungers. 
Welcome all opinions!  Thanks!

I asked someone who is on Vista right now.  She said the Head Housekeeper told her they didn't have any extra loungers.  I would contact your ta to get a confirmation that you will be able to get a lounger on your balcony.

1 hour ago, Acrusa said:

Was it warm enough to layout at the pool?

It was warm enough on most days.

On 6/6/2023 at 12:01 PM, johnwelch62 said:

The three tasting plates were a ceviche (I'll have to ask my wife what the seafood was), a fois gras with lime jelly, and a carpacio. If I recall correctly, the ceviche was paired with the 2013 Grand Vintage, the fois gras was paired with the Nectar Imperial Demi Sec, and the carpacio was paired with the Rose Imperial.

Thank you for posting this.  I didn't notice this when I was on the ship.  Think it must have been something like what they do with wine tasting events but more luxurious.  I would have gone to that if I had noticed it.

10 hours ago, forshping said:

Regarding Veranda stateroom walls on Vista---were you able to use magnetic hooks on the walls? We usually bring a few with us when on Marina or Riviera so that we can hang up items that won't fit in the closet (i.e. backpacks, tote bags, jackets). Thanks.

Afraid I don't have an answer to that.  If you are in a penthouse, 3 of the closets have hanging racks on the inside of closet door.

3 hours ago, Croooser said:

Did your 7124/7127 have 2 lounge chairs on the veranda similar to the arrangement on Riviera?

Yes.  All penthouse and above had loungers.

32 minutes ago, johnwelch62 said:

 

My wife only heard about the champagne pairing during the wine lunch, which we only discovered because we stopped at the table outside Terrace on embarkation day.

 

In the early champagne pairing my wife and I were the only two attendees. 😮 I'm generally not a Moet fan, but the pairing was very good, IMO.

I'm surprised they allowed the dinner to go ahead with only 2 people.  We were told anything less than 8 for Odyssey would be cancelled.  I did the Champagne pairing in the past and loved the Moet Rose but wasn't crazy about the other 2.  I wouldn't do it again at the current price.

I love Champagne but I really hope that O will ditch the Germain like Regent did.  We used to have Montaudon and Perrier Jouet.  Even the Monopole they put in your cabin is better than the Germain at $18 a glass

7 hours ago, Happycruisers2Go said:

Hello Catherine,

I am interested to know how you organized the Odyssey dinner? Who should I contact if I want to put a group together and where did you see the menu? Did they also offer the champagne dinner with wine pairing?

Maybe things will change but there was no advertisement on board for the Odyssey or Champagne wine pairing meals.  We were the only dinner that happened because I found 8 people to agree to go. However 10 seats were set up when we arrived.  Only reason I knew it existed was from reading about what they planned for Privee before the cruise.

The person working the desk for extra specialties is the one who books the La Reserve.

  When you board, outside Terrace, where they are selling wine packages, they had someone asking if you wanted to go to the food and wine pairing lunch.  By the time they advertised that lunch in currents it was sold out.

11 hours ago, kptbylorraine said:

We were on the inaugural cruise. We had one complaint. The stools at the pool bar were almost impossible to reach. I had to push myself up by putting my feet on the stool next to mine. I am 5’4” so my height wasn’t the issue.
I was told there were lots of comments and they’re being replaced. 

I'm tall but had problems as well.  They are uncomfortable and push you forward.  Also, what brilliant mind thought green velour material would be a good choice for a pool bar

The chairs in Privee are being replaced as well because you tip them over if you lean back- they are also an uncomfortable chair.  

13 hours ago, cruisecrazy2023 said:

Thank you for your post - We were on the May 13 cruise and stayed closer to the Aft. Frank Del Rio was on our cruise and gave an informative talk to the Cruise Critic folks - and he said that at the aft they installed some mechanical equipment that would meet some energy saving requirements, and this caused a bit of a redesign of that part of the ship. It likely pushed the kitchen galley spaces and restaurants more forward and could have caused the elevator change. 

Something about that explanation doesn't add up for me  If the redesign pushed the galley and kitchen forward, why is Ember quite a bit larger than Jacques was and extends back to where the hallway ended by the back elevator.

1 hour ago, PirateShark said:

Those look scrumptious.  Thanks for posting.

If those Grilled giant prawns are the same as one of our tablemates ordered in Polo, your jaw will drop when you see them🤣

The Menus

Polo And Toscana Private Dining Menus.pdf

39 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Do they   have a window ?

On the deck plan it looks like they are at the front of the room  so if they enclosed the space  it maybe  gloomy??

Yes, they have a window.

27 minutes ago, jackdeb said:

Are the dining areas for Toscana and Polo separate rooms or a back corner of the main room? Is there dedicated serving staff for your table ?

Thanks for any and all the info on the new ship.

They are separate rooms but unlike Privee, which just has a hidden doorway on either side, the openings for these rooms are fairly wide and someone walking by by could see into the room.

6 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

So  basically the  2 new spaces  are like Privee on the  O class ships   (not  as fancy) ?

 

Except  for the wine paring dinners in Toscana  where you pay  to have the wines paired to your regular menu items   is that correct??

The wine pairing in Toscana and Polo have a bit different menu than the regular menu except for dessert

Oceania Vista has 2 new Private dining rooms for 8 people.  Who knows what changes they will make in the future but this is their plan for now.

Rent either room for $300 and the menu is the regular Specialty Restaurant Menu and no wine pairings  OR 

Book Toscana with special menu and wine pairings  $70 pp plus 20%  or $155pp plus 20%  Menus remains the same but wine pairings are different

Book Polo with special menu and wine pairings   $95 pp plus 20% or $140 pp plus 20%    Menus the same but wine pairings are different.

When I can scan the menu and wine pairings I will attach later. 

No idea whether the 20% discount will apply for people who have the Prestige Drink Package.  We did the Odyssey in Privee and didn't get the discount.

Also in Privee, we had the 4 salts but that wonderful Echire butter was missing

38 minutes ago, Mrs f. said:

We're on that cruise also. Haven't seen any photos of gym

Gym looks like most that I have seen.  If you google Oceania Vista reviews youtube, there are several good full walkthroughs that show the gym area as well.

7 hours ago, WESTEAST said:

Thank you for the informative post.  Did you find that you were rushed at Ember e.g., could you enjoy a glass of wine before dinner without staff by your table asking for dinner choices? What menu item did you enjoy the most?  

We didn't feel rushed into making any choices before we were ready.  I think the main difference was the appetizer came within minutes of ordering and the salad course followed as soon as appetizer was consumed.  There was a reasonable wait before the main was served.  If you had asked them to move a little slower, I'm sure they would have accommodated you.  The manager, Loys, was very pleasant.

Ember was the only specialty that a few wines by the glass that were not in any any other restaurant.

I ordered the lobster roll and the burrata cheese app- lobster roll was decent with the proper top cut lobster roll bun.  It was a petite size.  The burrata cheese app was very good.  I did order that steak with the bone in.  It was flavorful but a bit too chewy for me.  

I would definitely eat there again.

20 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Thanks for the warning – I had been thinking those four aft cabins would be great locations because of the extra-large verandas.

I'm happy if you don't choose those back 4 penthouses because I get a better chance of grabbing one😁

1 hour ago, steamboats said:

They still need to communicate that Ember is ment as a "fast dining" option.

 

Interesting comment.  Every staff member I talked to mentioned that Ember was geared to Americans who like to eat fast.  I told them that they might want to explain it differently.  I mentioned it to some American passengers and they were offended -that they were being told that they didn't appreciate fine dining and long dinners