sofietucker

We bought a bottle in La Reserve and then they kept it for us--in, they said, their own cooler. Next night in MDR, they tried to serve us someone else's "room wine" (the gratis bottles they give out). I stopped them before they poured. Someone's handwritten 4 and 9 looked similar. Then they couldn't find our own LR bottle until towards the end of the meal. And apparently LR doesn't HAVE a separate cooler for storing guests' wine...it all goes into a big locker. A good argument for simply schlepping it back and forth ourselves (though to be honest we don't usually have much leftover wine). Now, wine glasses? On Celebrity, if we leave Lumiere with wine in our glass, they will hasten to switch out the wine from Riedel to what we call a go-cup--not the usual red plastic solo cup!--a cheaper stemmed glass. Suite's bar glassware is not fancy either. Hadn't paid attention to that on O, but will see what's what in 3 weeks...

That helps clarify; thanks.

My TA says that AAA locally only covers Allianz per trip. I rhino its probably cheaper for us to stick with per-trip insurance. Great info though!

LOL! Actually. 1. several of these trips were land-only (unaffiliated with tour companies 2. We've traveled on land overseas and locally since the 1970s as adults 3. considering that we've been on 35+ cruises 4. I've fallen or tripped from time to time requiring only icing, no insurance filed We're doing pretty well. Knock on wood! Though there was the time he sliced his hand open cutting a lime in AZ (a G&T requrement), no insurance filed--we were immortal then Also the river cruise in Belgium where he bonked his head and bled copiously--the EMTs had a magic powder to stop the bleeding. When I went to the desk to get a copy of the medical report to file, they looked at me funny: NO medical bills in that country. But to your second question: we didn't even know there's an annual policy!! I blame my wonderful travel agent--pre-pandemic, we cruised 4x a year plus land trips. (She's already gotten a call from me!) So once again, I owe you folks on CC for excellent information!

Myanmar this is my final post on the topic, but given that this is current, maybe there will be a port change: Myanmar military junta airstrike kills 100 people Myanmar's military bombed a town in the country's Sagaing region on Tuesday, killing about 100 people, according to the shadow government of the ousted administration. The attack killed "scores" of civilians, "injuring many more, including children and pregnant women," the National Unity Government Ministry of Labor said, calling the bombing a "heinous act" constituting a "war crime." The Irrawaddy and other local news outlets said the warplane dropped two bombs and fired on a crowd gathered for the opening of a local government office. The military junta did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN. The junta seized power in a coup against the democratically elected government in February 2021. [CNN]

We don't get Allianz for the missed ports fees--we've only lately realized that we can even claim that. But they have covered us for many thousands on medical bills: ~double pneumonia in the Med; ~days and overnights in sick bay on board; ~foot injury on board, xrays, and subsequent minor surgery and attendant care (had to dig out broken glass after stepping on it by pool). They only pick up what our regular insurance doesn't cover. Plus travel: ~Snowed in to ATL for 3 days (that first "snowmaggeddon" that paralyzed the country). They covered all hotel costs, meals (glad they had a restaurant as there was no leaving the hotel), airport transport, etc. They would have covered rental car, bus or train if any were to be had. ~We were once given incorrect train instructions for the previous year's schedule by a travel agency in Germany; they covered the cost of the new (faster!) train and taxis. ~Finally and most recently, flights when my mother's injury forced changes in remote Spain: for her to fly home early (plus all ground transport)and for us all ground transport, hotels, meals and added flights in country plus revised flights home. You never know what will happen.

Allianz Global insurance also reimburses for missed ports, $100pp per port. I don't believe stateroom category is a factor.

Yes, folks are discussing that here, as part of the thread's main topic of Oceania's recent pattern of reducing port times and its counterpart, cancelled ports. (My TA's phone is blowing up with her Oceania clients right now...) While I don't have a dog in this fight, I've been following it with interest as we are starting to plan some world cruises. Here's something current that I just found, from one of the main river-cruise companies, Pandaw 27, that goes from Thailand throughout Myanmar/Burma (which is okay to still call it, yay!): BURMA TRAVEL UPDATE Due to the ongoing situation in Burma, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all scheduled Burma departures until further notice. It is with great sadness that we must announce that we are cancelling all future cruises in Myanmar (Burma). We believe the current deplorable situation will only deteriorate further and it may be some time before any kind of normality returns and it is safe to travel. We feel that it is unfair to have to keep rebooking passengers over and over and it would be better to cancel now, offer alternatives or refunds, and then relaunch Myanmar when advisories against travel are lifted. In the meantime, we will be focussing our efforts in Burma on our Pandaw Clinics appeal which is providing medical assistance to those injured in the violence. More details about our humanitarian work and our appeal can be found at pandawclinics.com. You can still register your interest for our expeditions below and we will contact you to discuss your arrangement once travel to Burma returns.

More ports: have you checked out conversation in your roll call? Oddly, in all of the Asia--that is, about 1/5 of the world, lol--ports of call board, there is exactly one mention of Myanmar, and it's about an Oceania cruise in 2024. The title is "Distance between Yangon..." They are speculating that the port will be cancelled due to unrest (state dept do not travel, etc.) and you'll have 8 sea days instead. The crazy thing is O's plan to dock in this consistently volatile country--which was having ongoing coups at least back into the 80s--compared to every single cruise line choosing to cease travel, to both "safe" Russian ports such as St Petersburg and pretty much all of Eastern Europe, at the start of the Ukraine invasion. Seems like all the rest of the world cruise itineraries have a way to cross from India to SE Asia without having to stop there... HAL and Celebrity go from Phuket or Singapore straight across to Sri Lanka (bypassing the chance of encountering fierce Andaman pirates too, lol).

Spain Day Tours: We've used them 5-6 times across Spain and Portugal and always found them excellent. Small groups, fluent in English, very knowledgeable AND enthusiastic. Their sister/parent company, Day Tours, did a very nice job in Monaco and Nice. 8 of us in a van. Ditto in Italy, to Siena and San Gmigniano (sp?). That being said, we tried to hire them for a day in A Coruna next month (Campostela) and everyone on our roll call had trouble getting in touch with them. Maybe due to the pandemic and staffing? I think it was weeks later--even a month--before we heard from them. Chose to cancel. YMMV, of course.

In the signature: Nautica, Mediterranean, 2023. On the bright side, unlike Riviera and Marina, the itineraries for the smaller ships seem to have retained the Adriatic ports and Venice (so far!).

Yes. We got the time extended. I thought they did that across the board.

For me, I would expect that the itinerary (bait) of a cruise I booked would remain the same until I board. If at that part a port or two must be changed, or shortened, well one assumes there are (valid, sudden) operational reasons. But if a number of ports--that is, the product I have arranged to buy--begin to be changed out, then to my mind that is a switch, after I had taken the bait of a particular itinerary. Frankly there have been some alarming experiences described on these pages of port changes and shortened times--some announced beforehand, some additional changes on those same cruises "published" ahead (on the itinerary page online) but not directly communicated to the passengers, and others only after boarding--that are disturbing. I feel I need to daily keep an eye on our listed port times to see if there will be additional changes.

Of course. But my point being that it's a bait and switch. In my case, we wouldn't be able to cancel--even 7 months out--as one upcoming cruise is a replacement for a fully paid one they cancelled during covid. TA said once it's locked in, that's it... However, I do think there would still be grounds to cancel if they make major advance changes in the itinerary. It's literally false advertising of a different product.

I was all ready to offer this excuse about Gdansk to Ronne: the huge Gdynia shipyard might be rolling out a ship or bringing one in (Gdynia also being the cruise port). Or too many ships in port. But cutting Stockholm twice??? Huh. That city deserves an overnight. And Ronne to Warnemunde (the Berlin jump off)? Nein! (Though Rostock is a sweet little local town to visit, instead of that long train ride.) What you're starting to get here is the same Baltic itinerary of all the other cruise lines. If your insurance allows it, maybe switch to another ship with the original itinerary? It's one thing to have to change the itinerary last minute, but 7 months in advance is NOT offering the same product that was promised.

Well said, Woofa. Chocolate or vanilla? Or strawberry?? Many repeat cruisers prefer to revisit ports, given a choice. I personally go with Mae West: "Choosing between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before." Wait...

Yeah no. The Carnival folks would be so uncomfortable and lost here... I'm taking classy cool and modern, like where we've stayed all through northern Europe: clever, thoughtful contemporary room design, comprehensive (and non-American: cold cuts??) breakfast choices, luxurious amenities and common spaces. Le Labo bath stuff--ladies will understand: what the Fairmont has! Across the street from the fancy "green" Publix (not like the regular one).

Try the boutique hotels... Google "Boutique hotels South Beach" on booking.com and you'll find a bunch under $200, all highly rated.

Take a look at the places the young stay: Roost in Tampa, veryvery cool, everything you need, Eurostyle, grindable coffee beans (and a luxurious pool!), walkable to everything on the waterfront. Two hundred and fifty-four dollars. And WAY better in every way than the Marriotts, etc.

Ooh, lucky you!! Having been to both places, this would be our choice! We actually were supposed to be on your cruise, but had to switch to May. Ronne is wonderful! A small island that belonged to Sweden, then Denmark, then Sweden, then Denmark,,, There are small round churches built by knights Templar with the original frescoes still there. The town of Svaneke has a great microbrewery where we drank beer. They also have all kinds of excellent smoked fish (that you can take with you or have shipped) and a licorice-making operation You know how you can watch fudge being made by hand? Like that, only licorice is THE beloved candy of Scandinavia. Those pretty trees with the pleated leaves by the pier are hazelnuts, btw...

In summer 2020, our port (biggest int'l terminals on east coast) hosted 3 NCL ships for a few months, to the tune of a million a month for each ship. Or $35K per day. While that was in the US--and by now, practically "olden days,"--I wonder if said great ports charge the equivalent of 2 days for each overnight. I've not been impressed in general with overnights when we cruise; seems we usually get in too late and leave too early to really immerse ourselves in those stops. Arriving at 3pm and leaving at 10am in Mykonos limits options (too short a time to visit Delos either day, for instance). But those times would suit the late-night party crowd (aka not us) for which that island is known... On our next cruise to Greece, we overnight there again--get in at 8pm and leave at 6pm. So a party night and beach day? Must be cheaper than circling in the water overnight... I suppose we're all familiar with the experience of "cruising" between islands where we're virtually stopped in the water overnight, waiting until we can dock in the morning--between San Juan and St Thomas or Tortola, for instance, or in the ABCs. Because cheaper than paying the docking fee? Some of these ports, we've noticed from time to time, don't have another ship in port, so it can't simply be a parking space issue. Again, a matter of knowing your customer.

Thank you. I especially liked this one: https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/environmental-health/net-zero-dominates-del-rio-wants-more-focus-cruisings-purpose Didn't know Del Rio is retiring in June! Wonder if he'll take along his art from the ships... But this, re: sustainability: 'I think everybody cares about it to some degree. Will they pay for it?' Del Rio said. One of cruising's challenges is that pricing, compared to land vacations, is too low, and the gap is widening. ''Maybe we haven't focused enough on what product we're delivering. People will pay for whatever it is that is valuable to them. And it seems that the cruise industry has not kept up in terms of pricing. We have to do better there.' Auugghhh!

We still prefer private tours, but once made it to the ship by a hair when the van broke down in the jungle (thankfully they could pop the clutch). Has made us plan for earlier return times... I cynically wonder if part of the reason for these reduced port stays is to force booking O shorex: if arrival/departure is a moving target, as it now appears, that's the better bet. After every cruise, HAL anxiously asked us if we took private tours. "But why???" they ask. Smaller groups, cheaper and more in depth. Now we see that HAL (in spite of other failings) is offering small-group, more in depth tours... Not cheaper, tho, lol. (Not going back in any case.)

Just so.

We have also found it easier--and quicker--than having our butler bring it, to just run down to a bar for a boat drink, lol. And DH always gets fancy morning coffees for us (yes, he's a prince). At the beginning of each cruise, the butler will encounter him in the hall with dismay! He'd have to explain that it's his little wake-up ritual. But we are perfectly content to have the butler serve us wonderful meals and pour our wine then...