MarkWiltonM

How does priority boarding work? We booked less than 3 weeks before our upcoming cruise on Scarlet Lady and have a 3:45 arrival time, but I recently submitted evidence of our Elite status on Celebrity so if/when that is approved we should have "priority boarding," whatever that means. It would be nice to get on the ship as early as possible because we also were not able to get any pre-cruise dinner reservations and I'll be desperate to sort that out when we board. (I've heard everything from "don't worry you'll be fine" to "we could not get any reservations after boarding except a couple at 9:30 pm which is too late).

When we were on a cruise in 2022 (I think it was HAL), there was a sign in the bathroom asking us if we wanted to opt in to once-a-day cleaning, limited bed-linen changing, and reusing towels as much as possible for "environmental reasons." Of course, it saves the cruise line money as well but we were all for it. We did sometimes need some extra towels or fresh washcloths but that just took a call to our cabin attendants. It is nice to have the bed straightened up and turned down in the evening (while we're at dinner). I can't remember if they still did this or not.

Based on this thread we booked a 5-night cruise on Scarlet Lady (Oct. 8-13). Excited to try the food, but because we booked so close to sailing we're going to have to keep our fingers crossed that we can get reservations in some of the restaurants. They are all totally booked on the app as of now but they apparently hold 35% of them back until the day of boarding.

Do you need reservations for these for breakfast/brunch?

What time does The Galley open for breakfast, and what other options are there for breakfast?

Follow-up question: Follow-up question: Sounds like you have to be completely checked-in and on board to reserve dining on embarkation day, correct? In other words, when I get to the terminal and am waiting to be allowed to check in and board, I will not be able to book dining then?

We got a $300 "Bar Tab" bonus with our cruise. We don't drink alcohol. Can this be used for espresso drinks and/or bottled water?

I booked a last-minute cruise (leaving in a couple of weeks) on Scarlet Lady and using the app there are no reservations available at any of the reservations-required restaurants, except for a lunch I was able to book at Razzle Dazzle. Does that mean that we will not be able to eat at any of the restaurants that require reservations?

Martinique has a beautiful botanic garden in the rainforest called Jardin de Balata. https://www.jardindebalata.fr/welcome. It's a bit of a trip to get there; we did an excursion there by bus that included a couple of other stops. We enjoy walking around Gustavia in St. Barts and we always have a nice lunch somewhere. This year we're going to have lunch at Eden Rock hotel (not in Gustavia so we'll have to take a taxi). Last year we had lunch at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, which has the advantage of being a very short walk from where Oceania's tenders disembark in Gustavia. They have an open-air second-floor dining room with a nice view of the harbor across the street. Le Select, very close to the tenders, is an extremely busy and popular spot for burgers. One of the least-expensive restaurants in Gustavia as well. We don't care much for Grenada or St. Vincent so we use those ports of call as "sea days." Haven't been to Guadeloupe (we will be there in 2024 on Marina is all goes as planned). I hear it's similar to Martinique.

People on the Celebrity board are complaining loudly and bitterly about the decline in quality of food in the main dining room, in particular. Most reports are that the food on the newer Edge-class ships, where they have four smaller main dining rooms, is somewhat better than the food on the older Solstice and Millennium class ships, which have a single main dining room. It's probably more about newer ships getting better staff/management/resources than the number of dining rooms, but who knows. I also have noticed a decline in the quality of food and service in land-based restaurants. Very few of the restaurants we visit regularly have maintained the level they were at before Covid. And they have all increased their prices, of course, but that's inflation for you.

It's interesting. They lowered the deposit for shorter cruises from $750 pp to $500 pp at the same time that they made the final payment due 60 days earlier than before. So a little less money up front and then the large payment is due earlier. No biggie. I also know under the new terms/conditions that if I decide not to go on this cruise anytime after booking until 181 days before the cruise I'll lose $150 pp of the deposit. I'm not sure if that $150 pp fee would also apply if I change the reservation; for example, if I want to choose another stateroom in the same category or upgrade or downgrade to another category. Does anyone know about changes like this?

I booked a 12-night 2025 cruise on Allura departing 11/16/2025. Oceania's website says my final payment is due 06/19/2025. That's 150 days before the cruise. Elsewhere on the website, it says final payment is 90 days before the cruise, which is how it has always been. Is this just a mistake, or did something change?

I like eating lunch in the Grand Dining Room but I've never seen it open on port days. Regrettably.

They weren't the exact same ports. The 2024 Vista cruise is strictly eastern Caribbean. The 2025 Allura sailing is to the ABC islands (our favorites) and also to St. Barts (another favorite), St. Lucia (nice), Tortola (never been), and Grenada (won't get off the ship). For us, the less expensive Allura cruise, which goes to our favorite ports, was a no-brainer, but we are also on a December 2023 cruise on Vista, booked pre-Simply More, that was quite reasonable.

We were on Riviera in March and enjoyed the ship. The food was pretty good for the most part, and we're very critical when it comes to food. The service in the dining room was excellent (but we've noticed that some servers and sections of the dining room always have better service than others; if you're getting poor service in one section or from one service team repeatedly, don't let them seat you there again). The redesigned bathrooms in the veranda staterooms were fantastic--very roomy. This was a cruise to Bermuda and we never got to Bermuda (weather, apparently, but other cruise lines went there without issue), but we enjoyed ourselves nevertheless.

We booked yesterday through our TA. He confirmed the stateroom number and other particulars but said it would take a day for his agency to get the itineraries entered into their system since it's a new ship. He promised the official confirmation within a day. We had also asked about a current promotion for past guests providing a 10 percent discount, but Oceania told him that they weren't offering that on Allura sailings. Nevertheless, we were surprised that the fare for a 2025 Caribbean cruise in a B3 veranda on Allura was less per day than was being charged for similar 2024 Vista bookings before Simply More. For example, we had priced a B3 on Vista for 2024 at $715 per night for two prior to Simply More (not sure what the current rates are), and we got a B3 on Allura for 2025 at $675 per night for two including the $800 shore excursion credit and alcohol (which we don't drink). We were actually planning on waiting to see Crystal's 2025 itineraries which are due out this week or next, but this was a good deal and we got the exact stateroom we wanted so we went for it. Oceania won our business primarily because they got their 2025 itineraries out before Crystal. (Based on Crystal's 2024 fares, I expect a veranda on Crystal in 2025 in the Caribbean to be at least $890 per night for two.)

We prefer Riviera over Sirena. Mostly because of the huge bathroom on Riviera vs the miniscule bathroom and itty-bitty shower on Sirena (if you're in a veranda stateroom). The buffet and selection on Riviera is also larger than on Sirena. We also found the Grand Dining Room food a bit better in terms of consistency on Riviera than on Sirena.

Tried to log into Crystal but it didn't recognize my old log-in. Created a new account but I don't see any way to input or access my Crystal Society membership. Do I need to call them? Will they have my old number and record of sailings? I want to be able to view the 2025 itineraries when they are available to members.

I have only sailed Oceania post-Covid, but I am not overly impressed with the food. It is a bit better and more consistent than we've had on HAL and Celebrity, but not nearly as good as the old Crystal. We had a terrible dinner at Toscana on our first Oceania cruise (bad food and even worse service) and have never been back. We don't have the patience to wait through the olive-oil-selection silliness they do with the bread, and the pastas and pasta sauces are just not very good. We had good food in Red Ginger on one ship and not-so-good on another ship. Had one great dish in Jacques but the rest of the food was sub-par (and the decor was tired/dated). Have never been to Polo Grill; steakhouses are no longer our thing. We stick to the Grand Dining Room and Terrace Café for the most part and always find decent food to eat, even if we have to occasionally send something back. We also like the pizza they serve in the evening at Waves Grill. Looking forward to trying Ember on Vista in December; I understand some people love it and some hate it.

I looked at Oceania's live "Terms and Conditions" on the website and don't see the reference to the new refund (no refund) policy that is supposed to be in effect as of September 1. Is it there?

Can I order an appetizer or entrée from any of the four main dining rooms, or only from the menu in the dining room where I'm seated?

I agree with the OP. The "guarantee" is meaningless if it doesn't apply to all advertised bookings as described, unless they give you the caveats and exceptions up front.

It's kind of "here we go again" for us. We switched to Oceania from other cruise lines because they had "cruise-only" fares without alcohol, etc. Now we are switching again. We have cruises on Vista and Marina under the old fare regime that we will keep and then it's back to Crystal, Celebrity, and perhaps other cruise lines (Windstar, Silversea, Viking...) we haven't tried. If I have to book a luxury cruise line that includes alcohol, Oceania is not even remotely my first choice. And as it stands with Simply More, Oceania's fares are approaching the luxury lines but I don't believe the overall quality is on par with luxury lines. I just priced a B3 Caribbean cruise on Vista for 2025 and it was $408 per person per night, with alcohol we won't drink and a shore excursion credit we wouldn't use. We are in B3 on Vista this coming December for $285 pppn (cruise only but grats and insurance are included as TA perks). We are on Marina in 2024 for $220 pppn (B3) with grats and insurance included.

Sorry, I saw my question had been answered above.

You have to specifically ask for half & half (or cream). Otherwise, it's milk. We drink a lot of coffee with half & half and I find this one of the (albeit minor) annoying things about Oceania that never happens to us on other cruise lines.