oskidunker

33 minutes ago, twochromic said:

I no longer fill in any so-called "satisfaction surveys", be they for cruises, car service, hotels, or whatever.

I don't think the business uses the reviews to improve their services, but rather to discipline or punish staff.

You make a good point. 

They probably feel you are less likely to respond negatively if you are still on the ship. 

2 hours ago, DrKoob said:

I hate to say this but the easiest thing to do is lie. Just call as your father. They will talk to you. How do they know as long as you know his details (which you do). Otherwise they have no clue who you or your parents are on the phone. 

Have social security number and dob handy just in case. 

2 hours ago, Redtravel said:

If you don’t want to pay in full for a Viking cruise, wait to book.  You won’t have as good a selection of cabins.  The cruise may sell out. If the cruise is selling well, prices may rise.  If the cruise isn’t selling well, you may get a lower price. It’s a gamble. 
Other cruise lines are more flexible with final payments and price adjustments. As long as Viking fills their ships, they will continue with full payments on demand. Once you book and pay, cruise price is fixed.  It’s like buying airline tickets.

There is high demand for small ship sailing. As the traditional lines continue to build huge ships,the supply and demand will have more impact on Viking, Oceania etc. 

I wish I could fit in my Dress Blues. 34 inch waist then. 38 now. Could not get the Jacket on. I suppose I could try to get it altered 

3 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

I would rather be seated next to a quiet table of diners in ripped jeans, baseball caps and muscle shirts than next to a table of exceptionally well-dressed loud talkers or people having full volume FaceTime calls at the table.  If we are focusing on the "dress code as common courtesy" angle, can we loosen up the dress code and tighten up the behaviour code?

Agree

I have never seen the allure of jeans. I wear them to mow my lawn only. Much prefer comfortable chinos.

No matter what I do, I get the cruise critic main screen, not the individual cruiseline forum.  I used to have no problem doing this . Has something changed?  Luckily Viking was saved months ago. 

4 hours ago, sfpd3000 said:

Three more passengers just got off.

When you say, “Got-off” , do you mean they decided to not take the cruise? I doubt they are issuing refunds.  The water is rough between SF and Alaska. Not worth it for 2 ports. Princess cruises are not port intensive anymore to start with. They could have arranged stop in Astoria, Oregon, if it was available  and they were willing to take a mega ship.. They are already denied Victoria because their ships are too big. I stopped sailing Princess-after 23 cruises due to these things. 

St Lucia is 7am to 4 pm.Has this always been the case?

They are now the same price as Viking.

I will never cruise again over holidays after my Thanksgiving cruise on Princess last year. But Thanks.

1 hour ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Hoo boy, I'm a wreck today when it comes to accuracy. I was looking at Jan 9th.

The Jan. 31st 11 day cruise is $4349 on my TAs site, so still no sale.

Am considering Feb 28th 10 day. Misses Martinique but travel agent can get me free gratuities on this cruise. Also flying back on a Saturday will be cheaper. Any thoughts on this?

56 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Balcony for $3599 but don't know what category...usually the lowest non-waitlisted category. The prices appear to be on Cruise Critic's search if you want to watch there.

Just checked O...has same price so not on sale.

Lowest balcony on the O site is $4349

I am tracking a Vista cruise from miami to miami  aroundJan 29. 11 day Caribbean. Would want a  Veranda but price is bit too much

1 hour ago, AMHuntFerry said:

I just checked my TAs website and found one cruise that may be included in a current silent sale (i.e., not on O's website). It is the Sirena TA in Nov. 2023. Lowest price on O site is $3099, on my TA's site is $1699. I have no info about the limitations associated with the sale fare; I'd need to get that from my TA and I don't want to waste her time. So, if you have a TA and want to find out about the sale, you may have to contact them to find out (and they may not have access to the sale). That said, there is mail coming from O today regarding "special OClub" something or other, so maybe that will have sale info.

Is that an inside cabin for $1699.00?

10 hours ago, Cliff-FLL said:

I agree.  Worst coffee on the seas. 🤮

True

No way would I go back to Princess. 

?

6:30

22 cruises on Princess no comparison. Oceania is like Princess used to be when they bought Sitmar. We wont cruise Princess mega ships. 

The wine steward. She was great. Made some very good recommendations. On Sirena 

5 hours ago, Lastdance said:

Ship/restaurants and details please; we have yet to take our first O cruise, but we also booked it because it is a TA that ends in Lisbon on Vista, but not until 2025.  it seems like so many cruise lines are cutting costs and raising prices...

Basically you get what you pay for. We either cruiseOceania or Viking but not happy with the prices so have held off booking for next year. Was considering Cunard as we like to dress up but the cruise we looked at suddenly went up about 50%. Problem with Cunard is not pirt intensive. 

On 6/25/2023 at 1:18 PM, pinotlover said:

How about this as a possible compromise. All those ordering the steaks can have options. One can order plain and bland as an option, and as your option along with levels of doneness. Or, one could order with a set selection of

dry rubs. Should be a win win. 

 

Just my opinion, but we all should not be stuck at the lcd of bland.

 

Funny story from dinner on our last night aboard. One of the passengers ordered a Margherita pizza from Waves. What came out was a cheese pizza. The passenger argued with the waitress about where was the tomato and the basil! He was told this was the Oceania Margherita pizza.

 

We all chimed in then:

 

it’s really a pepperoni pizza! 
Can’t be that, no pepperoni!

 

It’s a caviar pizza!

No caviar to be found!

 

It’s a meat lovers pizza!

Not a piece of meat there on.

 

It’s a Margherita Pizza!!!

Nope, not even a dried leaf of ground basil, no less fresh basil, or a slice of tomato. Was it even real mozzarella? 🥹

 

It’s the Best Cuisine at Sea???

Wide applause and laughter! 

To end the sailing in both the Buffet and GDR, was the infamous veal piccata Marsala! 😂😂 Just like an old time Perry Como recording for the good times ! 🍷

That. Veal was  awful and we told them. What idiots. 

No more Rack of Lamb? It was really goid. Wife will be disappointed. Maybe they  bring it back back for Australia orNew Zealand  cruises .

oceania has it and it is good there also.