basenji56

49 minutes ago, Harters said:

 

 

Bearing in mind the generally elderly make-up of O's guests, I wonder how many are travelling with their mothers. 

I wouldn't think many---but I do think that many/most of the female passengers on board are mothers!  Or Grandmothers/Great-Grandmothers!

14 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

doesnt mean anything to those of us that do not consume alcoholic beverages.

True.  As a non-drinker, I can't really find any reasons to sail on a Luxury line.

1 hour ago, garyjnowak said:

We are on the May 18-June 1 sailing, Barcelona - Rome. We currently have T-Mobile Essentials. Imagine we will make some local and will be receiving and making calls from/ to the US. I see where T-Mobile has an international add on pass for $50 for 15mb. Do we really need to add this on for very limited calls and texts? Are there other advantages we may not be factoring in? TIA

Not if you have very limited texts and downloads.  But if you want to make calls, should sign up for one of the data plans since they include calls. I always buy the data plan because I upload a lot of photos and the basic T-Mobile Wi-Fi in Europe is pretty slow.

" When you put a wet bar of soap on smooth glass, it will stick.  In fact, it can be a challenge to pull the bar off that glass.  After a few days our steward put a folded face cloth on one shelf in order to avoid the problem.  Great idea!"

I had the same problem.  Ended up pushing the soap to the back of the back of the tray so that I could push it up from below when it got stuck.

4 hours ago, Snaefell3 said:

O is usually accommodating except when pesky cabotage laws (like the US's PVSA -- often mistakenly cited as the Jones Act) get in the way.

 

Best to ask O directly (and if you can figure out how, Italy).  We here on CC aren't maritime attorneys -- at least not yours. 😉 

Yes, I will ask. Not expecting legal advice. Just post-Covid past experience. 

I am looking at booking an Allura Transatlantic in 2026 that ends in Rome. However, the port right before Rome is Naples.

Do you know if Oceania would allow me to get off the ship in Naples?

I try to get a hotel on the beach in Miami Beach. Not cheap but worth it. Uber to port is around $25.00.

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Good day folks,

This morning, several hundred late sleeping folks (we have lost an hours sleep for the past 3 nights) were cheerfully awakened by those nasty bells and the soothing voice of Peter (our CD) with his important 9:30 am (8:30 for many body clocks) announcement that breakfast was being served until 10!  He then went on with his other important items which was to read the schedule found in Currents!  If these annoying announcements are O company policy then they should have a PA system in their home office and be disturbed several times a day by such important announcements.

 

We continue moving eastward (at about 18 knots) towards Madeira.  It has turned into a gorgeous warm day and quite a few fellow passengers have been spending some time in the sun (including yours truly).

 

Today I will talk about a popular O topic which is the cuisine.  Last night, DW and I enjoyed dinner in the GDR and my meal was truly enjoyable.  In fact, my starter was a true star and something we hope DW can duplicate at home.  It was on the menu as "Crispy Scallops parrillas."  It was a dish suitable for the cover of Bon Appetit!  Small scallops (not sure if they were bay scallops or cut-up sea scallops) were wrapped in crispy phyllo dough and surrounded by a colorful garnish.  For me, it was the most interesting dish (so far) we have had on the Vista.  Yesterday I mentioned that "grilled prime rib" was on the menu and I decided to give it a try.  Our waiter warned me that it was not normal "prime rib" but simply slices.  The plate had 3 slices (similar to the size and shape of London Broil slices) with a brown gravy.  The slices of beef were over 1/4 inch thick and were truly prime rib presented in a different way.  The taste was good (just like eating a big slab of prime rib) and the gravy tasted like an au jus reduction.  It was easy to see the economic benefit of serving prime rib in this manner, but the taste and texture were spot on.  The Vista has an excellent pastry chef because we have found almost all the breads to be excellent.  That being said, I am still looking for my first New York quality bagel on a ship.  The bagels here are quite good, but they do not have that proper chewy texture one finds in the bagels of New York or Montreal.

 

For lunch we returned to our favorite lunch venue which is Waves.  I had the Philly Cheesesteak, which is my favorite sandwich in Waves.  I do think we could crown Waves as having the "best sandwiches" at sea.  Many folks are fond of Aquamar, but this ole guy is not looking for "healthy cuisine" on this cruise  🙂  Speaking of Waves, DW has enjoyed several of the decent malted milk shakes.  Today we were also able to get our requested Perrier.  Yesterday there was none on the ship, so it must have magically been smuggled aboard via pirate ship (in the middle of the night).  

 

We are finally on Madeira time and today's schedule is back to normal with a single 9:30 show.  After more than a week of relaxing sea days we now must try to find the energy to handle many upcoming ports

 

Hank

Interesting how tastes are different. I liked the scallops but the portion was much too small for all of the crust. I didn’t like the prime rib at all. Minor quibbles though. 

3 hours ago, mattR said:

Looking at a TA cruise in January. 

I would expect that crossing would be cold and windy. But maybe not. How far south is the crossing?

There was nothing wrong with OLife. You could use the OBC for excursions and other things. 

11 minutes ago, lj77346 said:

Currently on the Vista and I agree with the OP that something needs to be done with the shore excursion portion of Simply More. On this cruise (3/16-3/27), we missed the first day in Bermuda and the day in Norfolk and I was also on the previous cruise (3/9-3/16) and we missed Costa Maya which was the last port of the cruise. At Costa Maya I had a $349 excursion booked which would have used my $300 Simply More excursion credit plus some of my regular onboard credit. The regular onboard credit went back to my onboard account, but the Simply More excursion credit became Simply Nothing for me. The same is happening on the current cruise as missed shore excursions in Bermuda and Norfolk result in Simply More shore excursion credits that are Simply Worthless. I feel that Oceania needs a plan B so that there would be some value (at least some onboard credit) to passengers for Simply More shore excursions cancelled because of missed ports.

 

Prior to Simply More I had 25 Oceania cruises under OLife and missed shore excursions always resulted in an onboard credit for the value of the missed excursions.  The port cancellations on my current Vista cruises were clearly good decisions because of weather conditions, but in any case value to me was lost because the Simply More shore excursion credits became worthless as they could be used for nothing else,

Have you heard of anyone complaining up the chain about this Simply Worthless credit (that you paid for when you booked the cruise).

Regarding the canceled excursions, it is criminal that you just lose that money.  Has anyone tried going up the chain of command to get the Simply More changed to usable onboard credit?

49 minutes ago, Giraffes said:

Um, NO KIDS!!

Except those over 18!  I would prefer a 25 year age limit. LOL.

VV app is absolutely essential. Pizza is great. Ice cream is decent.  Some of the specialty restaurants are "different".  Bathrooms in regular sea terrace rooms are very small.

55 minutes ago, Gretchendz said:

Not trying to defend it, but most people find it does work better once on board. 

I agree. 

Can't you use the iPad in the room rather than the app?

They also have kombucha if that is your thing. I drank a few of those a day.  But came nowhere near making a dent in my bar tab.

1 hour ago, rock detective said:

 

I do recall reading multiple interpretations of the significance and meaning of the term "waitlist." Paraphrasing Vizzini from The Princess Bride, I don't think it means what we think it means.

 

Inconceivable!

What does it mean???

19 minutes ago, clo said:

I think you're right but, boy, would I stand up for some. How about you, @Kay S?

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/dining/modern-mexican-food-steps-into-the-spotlight.html

 

And if the Adria brothers have gotten into it, I've never needed a reason to head back to Barcelona 🙂

I love all types of Mexican--including Modern Mexican.  The food in that article looks amazing. 

I think it is a generational thing. When I grew up in New Jersey in the 70s, Mexican food was not available. Italian food was king (and still is).

Mexican food is so ubiquitous these days that that is probably the favorite of the younger generation (The kids I know in Tennessee would get Mexican every night). But O does not cater to the younger generation and it's not the favorite of the older generation that O does cater to.

Virgin Voyages caters to the younger generation.

So, I've changed my mind and I think a Modern Mexican specialty restaurant is not a good match for O.

7 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

To each his own.  Virgin Voyages has a pretty good Modern Mexican restaurant. 

 

Mexican is the second most popular Ethnic food in the USA.

 

Top 10 Most Popular Ethnic Cuisines in US – All About America (voanews.com)

And if you have ever eaten in Frontera Grill in Chicago (Rick Bayless), you would know that being near the Mexican border is not a disqualification for great Mexican cuisine.

FGMENU_DINNER-3.13.24.pdf (rickbayless.com)

43 minutes ago, Kay S said:

One thing I never do is eat at a Mexican restaurant outside a border state.  Definitely not on a cruise ship.

To each his own.  Virgin Voyages has a pretty good Modern Mexican restaurant. 

Mexican is the second most popular Ethnic food in the USA.

Top 10 Most Popular Ethnic Cuisines in US – All About America (voanews.com)

9 minutes ago, ORV said:

It's always been a 3 out of the 4 for us, but I do enjoy a lot of the dishes there. 

I wish there was a replacement for Ember--maybe something like a high end Modern Mexican restaurant.

2 hours ago, iowananny said:

I'm glad we're not the only people who feel this way.  Jacques is not that good.  It's old school French food from the 70s.  If you like it that's fine and please enjoy.  We had a few dishes that we enjoyed but not enough to make it a "let's get up at midnight and make sure we have a reservation for Jacques ".  The last couple of cruises we never went to Jacques so those who do enjoy it could have our reservations.  We liked Ember a lot.  Would I want to eat there every night?  No.  But it was a nice difference from some of the fancier foods we'd been eating.  I don't know if you could compare it to Applebee's because it's been years since I've been there but somehow I don't think so..

I have never been a big fan of Jacques either. And the last time I ate there, it was almost as noisy as Ember. 

"If you're so upset about the tablecloths you should be just as upset that all the people in their ads are handsome and beautiful.  I've taken quite a few O cruises and I've got news for you, they are not your typical O customers.?

Thank you for giving me a chuckle in the morning.  So true.  Not one walker is seen in the ads.