oskidunker

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.

Rack of Lamb replaced with Leg of Lamb. 

Seaborn is getting terrible reviews. You shouldfread them

33 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

We have sailed Viking several times. We very much enjoyed the experience, the ship design,  and the crew. We started looking elsewhere because their Mediterranean itineraries are the basically the same they have been for many years and we cannot find one the provides us with more than one or two new places to visit. I do not like their full payment in advance requirement. Usually 12-18 months unless you have another cruise booked with them, and then you can ask for 6 months. They have a loyal following as do most lines. 
We just sailed Seabourn for the first time and really enjoyed our journey with them. 
We are looking at an itinerary with Seabourn or Oceania next year. We have yet to sail Oceania. 
would we sail Viking again, yes if the right itinerary and if we decide to pay a premium price 12-18 months in advance. 

If you book Viking while on the ship, they will usually waive payment in full until 6 months before the cruise.

Lot of crime in Jamaica but not sure Cozumel is any better

For recent cruisers this year. I see a lot of a availability  after final payments. 

1 hour ago, friendswithdave said:

 I did my best to include apples to apples. I added port taxes to the HAL fare but not the O fare. No O life, O fares, or O anything (at least I think.) Assumed cheapest balcony on O, best balcony on HAL using a Club Orange upgrade and including that in the price. Newest ship on both lines.

 

I should add I am assuming a lower rate than is currently available on HAL because we have booked the same week and the same itinerary every year for quite a few years. I know from experience the HAL fare will drop significantly between now and then. If the O fare drops similarly, then it may be more of a fair fare comparison. I will keep watch to be sure. I tend to book ~3 months out when fares tend to drop to their lowest point on cruises in low demand. Therefore my booking time is Sept for the Dec cruises I am watching.

 

When I do reach out to my travel agent I will probably ask for a quote on both. That will be a true apples to apples comparison. We can then make the final decision and book.

I have not seen Oceania rates drop close to sailings. Has anyone else? I liked the one cruiseI took  but price is high. Looking at a Feb 4  12 day cruise to Caribbean . Need price lower to book tbat. Is there a chance it could drop? Seems lime a better chance in Caribbean, no?

2 hours ago, NE John said:

It’s a big leap to say that adding roast chicken and getting a smaller lobster portion in the Grills leads to Cunard turning into a millennial yoga and booze cruise. 

I was mainly referring to Princess and other main stream lines. I don't see Cunard there yet.  

1 hour ago, NE John said:

I just saw on YouTube where a vlogger on a very recent TA showed a PG alc menu and Roast Chicken has been added. Duck, beef Chateaubriand, and Dorsey Lamb chops still offered to be carved at table side. Turbot still on alc. Cheese Trolley also on menu. Not sure about cheese selections. 
All looks good to me but the vlogger said they ended up with two ounces of lobster meat from the daily special of lobster. She said the meal was great but the amount of lobster lame. 
Looks like roast chicken on PG alc menu is a new addition, not sure. 

They will give you as little as they can get away with hoping you will continue to pay the ransom to book the grills even though they are giving you less for your money. Only when people refuse will they consider changes for the positive.  At this point I would not book a grill.people are only loyal to cruise lines up to a certain point many have left the mass market lines because of cut backs and an overall degraded experience. They dont care .they want younger people who wont care and just want to get drunk and do yoga 

Princess is bad  I would rather be at home. 

Was 6:30 on Venus in March

Vling lady was wonderful on the Venus in March. Booked Australia-and New Zealand 2025. Transferred to Pam Alexander our travel agent. No problems .

Since there is  only three ports on this 16 day trip I find the fares a little high.  Asked my travel agent how full the ship was as I am considering waiting until after the final pay is due in hopes it might go down. Ii have never been on a Cunard cruise but anxious to try for the dress up experience. Have recently been on Oceania and Viking. Both were great

Here is what travel agent told me. Any guesses as to what they are doing?

Any changes are problematic. The waiter may noy have understood you. 

If you have two cruises in a row on the same ship, ie NewZealand then  Australia on the Venus in Jan 2025.p, will you have access to excursions for both cruises on the same date?

The steak was good on my Northern lights cruise in March. Not real thick but cooked medium rare. The rack of Lamb was also very good.first time Viking cruiser so I had nothing to compare it with except Princess.

the appetizer of deli meats and cheese was not very good. But I live in San Francisco and have access to really good stuff here.

Should have said “Refund” There is no goodwill involved.  Period.

You will pay the price listed at the time you clear the wait list

Outdated computer system. 

22 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

FYI I previously posted the link in this post

 

Looks like-a great trip. My wife wants to see Greenland. Other cruises end or start in Iceland which we do not want to see again.