MarkWiltonM

We think Oceania has better food than HAL (and Celebrity) overall, but we love the buffets on HAL's Pinnacle-class ships. And the burgers on HAL are good and the fries are way better than Oceania's. Unfortunately, there's not much else we care for on HAL other than the buffet (and the Crow's Nest, I guess) so we don't cruise that line often.

The cookies seem to be low in sugar and butter. They are not chewy. I do not like very sweet desserts. I do like butter. In general, Oceania's desserts seem to me to have less sugar than found in most bakeries and restaurants whether on land or sea. I like that, personally, but I know people who like very sweet desserts.

Sorry you had such bad food. We had decent food recently on Sirena but poor service in the MDR. And we had okay but mostly humdrum food in Riviera even more recently but with good service. None of the food on either ship was outstanding, but it was more consistently okay than other cruise lines we've been on (mostly Celebrity and HAL). However, we order room service frequently for lunch and it was quite good on both ships. Food cooked properly and even warm when it arrived. Specialty restaurants were not worth bothering with--none of them. But, overall, you just never know about the food from cruise to cruise and it comes down to the ship's chef at the time and, I suppose, many other variables. All that said, we have three more cruises booked on Oceania because we like the line overall. I do think Oceania's marketing of "the finest cuisine at sea" is a classic case of "overpromise and underdeliver."

Wow, I love the Ember menu. It's way more edited and concise than Jacques but there are many more things that appeal to me. IMO, Jacques' menu is quite dated and too much of the food is rather heavy. I also applaud the idea of turning the tables over faster. We love to eat but we don't linger.

I have always booked nonrefundable fares on Celebrity. This is especially important to me on Edge-class ships because we like Sunset verandas (which is to say we don't like "infinite veranda" staterooms) and I have to book the SVs as close as possible to the release of the cruises before they sell out. For example, I booked an April 2025 cruise on Beyond back in December 2022. That's too far out for me to commit 100 percent to the cruise. I buy travel insurance when I book (actually, my TA provides it upon booking), but it doesn't cover "cancel for any reason" so I would be out the nonrefundable deposit if I canceled for a reason not covered by insurance. I have noticed Celebrity is increasing the amount you have to pay for refundable deposits, and it's something I'll have to factor into my future bookings. We also cruise on Oceania a lot, and sometimes HAL. Those don't have tiers of fares based on refundable/nonrefundable deposits.

It does cover preexisting conditions, and our TA makes a point of highlighting that on our invoice. The policy also explains the details. You may be able to upgrade the medical and evacuation but I'm not sure (if it's done through the TA). When I bought this particular policy myself, it was the most affordable plan that covered my primary needs (trip cancellation, preexisting conditions, medical/evacuation). I have priced TravelGuard in the past and it was considerably more expensive so I've never purchased it. Just by looking at Insuremytrip.com you can see that prices for insurance range from affordable to quite expensive (double, triple, quadruple the least expensive plans). Unless I wanted "cancel for any reason" for a particular trip, I always spend as little as possible on insurance. Fortunately, I've never had to file a claim in 15 years of cruising.

I'm pretty sure they no longer give you a credit for the $250 administrative fee. See this link: https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005306234-What-is-your-cancellation-and-refund-policy-

This just isn't true for Equinox. Not sure where that information came from. It may have been originally scheduled to be refurbed in 2019, but it didn't happen. We were on the ship in 2021 in a veranda that had a new curtain by the sliders and new carpet but the furnishings and built-ins weren't touched. By contrast, the same veranda staterooms in Silhouette were fully overhauled.

Sorry this happened to you. The cruise lines don't appear to do much vetting of the operators they do business with. I've been on too many excursions in the Caribbean where equipment was poorly maintained and even dangerous. For example, it's so rare for a bus or minibus to have functioning seat belts in the Caribbean that I'm surprised when I see them. Often, you can see that the vehicles were equipped with them but they have been rendered inoperable or removed. I was in a small excursion van in Dominica where the seat belts had all been literally cut off, for some reason. The tour guide told me that the roads are so narrow and curvy and the cliffs so steep that seat belts wouldn't do us a bit of good. Of course that's a worst-case scenario. There are a lot of possible accidents that could happen in a tour bus/van in which passengers would benefit from seat belts.

The insurance policy my TA provides is one that I often purchased through insuremytrip.com myself. It's called Travel Insured International through C&F. The underwriter is United States Fire Insurance. It's fairly basic but covers my needs. Benefits are below. It does cover cancellation and trip interruption coverage if a Family Member or business partner dies, has sickness or injury requiring medical treatment, and prevents my participation in the trip. "Family Member" is defined as: "Your or Your Traveling Companion’s legal spouse (or common-law spouse where legal), legal guardian or ward, son or daughter (adopted, foster, step or in-law), brother or sister (includes step or in-law), parent (includes step or in-law), grandparent (includes in-law), grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew or Domestic Partner."

We were on both ships recently. Silhouette's refurb was completed and veranda staterooms (at least; maybe all staterooms) were updated. On Equinox, they began replacing carpet on the lower floors in the public areas and then just stopped so you can literally see where they dropped everything because the different design aesthetics of old and new. And they did not update the dated veranda staterooms. Otherwise, very little difference. Some people love Lawn Club Grill. We had an awful dinner there and will never go back. MDR and buffet are virtually identical on both ships.

I used to use insuremytrip.com but my TA now provides travel insurance on all my cruises.

How does this work? Do you need WiFi for the Amazon Fire stick? How would you log the stick into the ship's WiFi?

I have a cruise-only fare on Beyond and I'm looking at purchasing basic WiFi for myself and my partner. The webpage says it's $16.99 per guest per day for 1 device (as of today). That's $33.98 per day total for us to each have our own account and for each to use 1 device. Another option is for me to purchase WiFi for one guest but for 2 devices. That is less expensive at $24.99 per day. My question is if I purchase the WiFi for myself for 2 devices and the 2 devices are my phone and my partner's phone, will this work? I am actually the owner of the wireless plan and the two phones, one of which my partner uses, so technically and legally they are both mine. I assume I'd be able to operate both devices at the same time, because it's when you purchase the plan for 1 device that you can only have one device connected at a time (or so it has been in the past on every cruise line I've been on, including Celebrity). It's a bit confusing that 2 devices for one guest would be less expensive than one device each for two guests (still 2 devices total), because it appears to me that the result would be the same. Am I missing something?

We were just on Riviera and for those who don't need or want a bathtub, the new bathrooms without the tub are fantastic. Tons of space and storage.

We don't generally go to the theater on cruise ships, but what annoys me is that there is possibly not a single quite place on most cruise ships--indoors or outdoors--apart from our cabin. There is piped music everywhere and it appears to be 24 hours a day. I am usually up and about by 5 am and I long to find a place on the ship outdoors where I can sit and quietly enjoy the water. It seems people are so addicted to noise they cannot stand silence.

We were on Deck 8 in a B2 veranda. The updated stateroom was very nice, especially the large bathroom with tons of storage.

We were on the cruise as well and if the food had been better we might not have minded--quite as much--a 10-day cruise to Charleston, the only interesting city (in our view) on the itinerary that actually happened. This was our second Oceania cruise and we find the food to be quite overrated. It's a half-step up from Celebrity and HAL but too many things are not good. We had a disappointing meal in Jacques, a disappointing meal in Red Ginger (some of the apps were okay), and we canceled our Polo Grill and Toscana reservations because we didn't trust the "specialness" of the specialties at that point. (Had a horrible meal at Tuscan Grill on Sirena). I will say the coffee and croissants are good. We did find some good food in Terrace Cafe but it was hit or miss. There was one lunch where fresh fettucine was being made at the grill station by a chef and cooked to order. I didn't try it but it was a nice touch. The pizza was good in Waves at dinner, and I liked the sandwiches at Waves. Smoothies were a treat in the morning. The Grand Dining Room service was good but the food was mostly average; I don't recall a single excellent dish except a savory tomato tart appetizer that had an excellent pastry crust (it was basically a quiche, and delicious). The only really good consistent food we've ever had on a cruise ship was the old Crystal. Of course, that's a higher price point. It wasn't just us re: the food. A number of people, first-timers and repeat guests, told us they expected better. When we got home I called to cancel an upcoming Oceania cruise (we still have two scheduled) and was immediately hit with that tagline "the finest cuisine at sea." According to whom exactly? It's the old "overpromise, underdeliver." I would still pay a little more for the food at Oceania compared to HAL/Celebrity, but not very much. I also agree that Oceania should not have scheduled a trip to Bermuda in March. We figured they know what they're doing, but they DIDN'T know what they are doing. The trip, let's not forget, was titled "Pink Sand Soiree." So Bermuda was the entire point for most of the guests. They have a similar itinerary scheduled on Vista in 2025 (maybe 2024 as well; not sure) that is April 19-May 1. That is much more likely to actually make it to Bermuda, where the season begins April 1. It didn't help that it was unseasonably cold in Jacksonville and Charleston. Nassau is a heinous port, IMO. People reported that they like the museum in Port Canaveral. Our room attendants were excellent, and the staff/service in general was very good.

We think the buffets on HAL's Pinnacle-class ships (Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, and Rotterdam) are significantly better than Celebrity's and almost worth going on those ships just for that. Main dining rooms are about the same with a very slight edge to Celebrity. The Crow's Nest on HAL is very nice and very popular. The sushi bar in Tamarind on HAL is good (you can book the sushi bar separately from Tamarind). We don't like any of the other specialty dining venues on either ship. Too much money for "meh" food. We don't care much for production shows or other entertainment on cruise ships but HAL has more music; Celebrity is said to have better shows. The HAL ships are a little bit more cramped-feeling in the pool and some other public areas. But, overall, the lines are comparable so you may want to base your decision on price and itinerary.

We were on Sirena recently and when we called to remove the trays they were very prompt. Less than 5 minutes.

I'm just getting to Elite status this month and find this interesting. I know some people may love it, but it doesn't seem to me to be a great "perk" to be offered a special place to have a limited breakfast of only cold items when those who are not Elite can have many more things, hot and cold, in the OVC or main dining room. The smoothies are appealing, but I think I can get those in Eden or Spa Cafe (?) with my premium non-alcoholic beverage package. It reminds me of one cruise line I go on that offers guests who are in a certain cabin class an exclusive "lounge" that is a small windowless room with a few chairs, a sofa, and a desk and the same coffee, beverages, and a few pastries that are available to all guests in more spacious and attractive venues. Hardly anyone ever goes there and when I do see someone in there I always wonder what they're getting out of it.

If you want to go to St. Barths, you'll need a smaller ship and it will tender. Oceania is the only non-luxury line I know that goes there regularly. Oceania also tries to fit in some other infrequently visited islands, such as Guadeloupe. If I'm not mistaken, Oceania is the only cruise line that sails to Bermuda from Miami (the majority of Bermuda sailings are from the New York area). We have been to St. Vincent and Grenada on Celebrity. Didn't care much for those islands except for the botanical garden in Grenada (St. Vincent also has a very old but smaller botanical garden near the town center). Martinique also has an incredible botanical garden (Jardin de Balata) in the rainforest. Can you tell we're into gardens? We try to get to the ABC islands and Cartagena, Colombia, as often as we can. Love those semi-arid Dutch islands, especially Bonaire. Great contrast to the volcanic islands that make up most of the Caribbean. I have not seen any cruises to Tobago out of Port Everglades or Miami but would like to go.

Kudos to you for notifying your state's insurance department.

Yes, and they will also give you Chateaubriand for one if the other person doesn't want it.

To be fair, she didn't say the food was good. "Culinary" literally means "of or relating to the kitchen or cookery." (Merriam-Webster). "Culinary brand" could mean a burgeoning reputation for declining food standards.