babysteps

We were in a regular Veranda cabin and did this in 2019 in NYC where we had an overnight. Worked with I think it's called "special services" at O. The process took a bit and was done well ahead of sailing (a couple of months?) . For a fee we were able to host our guest at dinner.

@TRLDif you could expand a bit on how O is not a good fit for you, I think that could help other folks considering the line for the first time. Thanks for taking the time to share your viewpoint!

There are lectures on every O cruise. Most are quite good but some not so much. Little ships (R class) generally 1 lecturer per cruise with an almost-daily presentation. Larger ships usually have 2 lecturers but still typically 1 lecture per day except sea days. One reviewer called dismissed them as too "academic' but I would describe as well-documented entertainment. Once in a while you get someone who knows their stuff but isn't such a great presenter. Yes they usually have destination-focused topics. Everyone feel free to correct me, it was 4 cruises ago since we were on a 'big' ship - looking forward to trying Vista this year

From the printed brochure, following cruises offer the "free" (read, no additional cost) 1 night pre-cruise hotel stay. There may be more, this is just what was in this particular brochure - the direct mail code was c4 03/21/24 2025 01 12 Riviera 15 days Singappore to Hong Kong 2025 01 27 Riviera 18 days Hong Kong to Tokyo 2025 02 14 Riviera 24 day sTokyo to Singapore 2025 03 10 Riviera 11 days Singapore to Hong Kong 2025 03 21 Riviera 11 days Hong Kong to Tokyo 2023 03 23 Insignia 22 days Singapore to Taipei 2025 04 09 Regatta 15 days Singapore to Tapei 2025 04 13 Riviera 12 days Tokyo to Tokyo 2024 11 14 Regatta Singapore to Aukland 2024 12 08 Regatta 14 days Aukland to Sydney 2025 01 25 Regatta 16 days Sydney to Sydney 2025 02 10 Regatta 14 days Sydney to Aukland 2025 02 24 Rregatta 14 days Aukland to Sydney 2025 03 10 Regatta 20 days Sydney to Singapore 2025 03 26 Nautica 22 days Aukland to Singapore 2025 05 04 Insignia 24 days Perth to Aukland 2025 01 14 Marina 12 days Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro 2025 01 26 Marian 21 days Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires 2025 02 16 Marina 18 days Buenos Aires to Santiago de Chile 2025 03 06 Marina 18 days Santiago de Chile to Buenos Aires 2025 03 24 Marina 12 days Buienos Aires to Rio de Janeiro there were also 7 itineraries without the free one-night hotel offer

Not sure any of us have clarified yet - Yes you can book excursions with a no-cabin-yet-assigned guarantee booking on O

Got the O brochure touting free pre-cruise hotel in yesterday's mail - but it does not have prices. Of course Regent brochures also don't have prices these days... I guess this could mean that O has decided that little/no change in price combined with a hotel room and one extra shuttle is better for profit margins and/or branding than reducing prices would be?

Red seems to be the "up to 40% off" price. For cruises where lower categories are not in red, I assume the lower categories are sold out or wait listed. There are some interesting juxtapositions. Our latest such brochure had 4 cruises with red (sale) prices out of was it 13 total? Many different combinations of which categories were or were not on sale. Have fun shopping and Comp sent everyone!

Hope everyone recovers quickly! Left that out of my list. I don't eat lettuce (unless it is cooked). My spouse says I need a t-shirt that says "lettuce can kill you"

Not foolproof but our protocol has worked so far: +Prophylactic pepto bismal in high risk areas ( Peru for example) +Hydrogen peroxide wipes (are somewhat effective against virus) - wipe hands every time entering cabin +Do not touch your face. Wash and sanitize wipe hands before any toothcare. +Do not touch your food. Silverware or napkin for everything. +do not drink tapwater onboard or in many overseas countries (often overkill but you never know) 2018 Lima to NYC cruise had a long period of GI related sanitary procedures. Whether by luck or above approach our guts were fine. Stay safe all!

Good point. Do I remember there is enough room in the connector to use the luggage carts just not on the moving walkway part?

As of fall 2021 there are moving walkways between the airport and the dock. The connector is covered and is a level or 2 above the sidewalk. There were also luggage carts available. Elevator available at each end.

Will be interested in what your TA reports! There are at least 2 factors that might calm your fears in the meantime: 1- Online just now the 12-day Miami-Lisbon segment has some categories showing "avalable" or "guarantee" although most categories are wait listed. 2-This 12-day segment has been one of the lower-priced pp pd itineraries on Vista so that could help drive early bookings compared to some other itineraries.

@stevesol6718 you and/your TA have likely already thought of this. In case not, you could consider asking for a specific discount or onboard credit amount to apply to one or more of your already-booked future cruises. It's true that O could still decline to answer or say "no". Even so many companies are much free-er with future discounts than with cash-back on past problems. Could you share if you are satisfied with your TA's handling of the situation? I'm disappointed to hear that O hasn't responded to either of you, even if to say 'we're not going to respond'. Or has your TA has been able to talk with people at O but nothing has been put in writing and/or resolved? That is still not great, but might be just a little less frustrating than radio silence...

TLDR "yes and" I was once on a kitchen tour (many years ago made friends with the guest chef instructor). As I recall (hm-recall?) the entrance to the GDR-kitchen escalator is midships so not all the way as "front end" as yo can get. On Marina and Riviera the GDR is somewhat U-shaped...although the escalator entrance is as far forward as you can get at midships. I need a whiteboard to explain better!

If you would, which lines are you travelling on now? Appreciate your perspective!

Added detail in this quote of my old post to clarify old O-Life beverage package and add the bottle-follows-you detail.

@clo responded so quickly she didn't see my edit that included your post @cruisemom42 - so that one's on me lol!

Basic SM has to be with a meal, so yes you are correct no SM basic by-the-glass is included bars. If you upgrade then this restriction doesn't apply. See comment by @cruisemom42, if you order a meal from room service you can get an included glass with it, as long as a bar is open (so not at 3am)

Dress Code Seems to come up over and over again lol Related, Laundry prices and included laundry concierge and up Dress basics: casual but not sloppy is the overall vibe. Smart casual (aka country club casual) for the specialties or GDR. If you want to be dressier, go for it but you may not have a lot of company. Laundry basics: free laundry machines for all guests on all ships (but much more limited on R class), detergent is provided free. Paid or included laundry service also available. +no shorts for specialties, GDR or Captain's party - at least not in the venue where the captain is +"no sandals" for GDR/specialties means no grungy flip-flops or teva's. Dressy sandals are fine for ladies +jackets and ties are never required for men, you will see a fair number of jackets in specialties but also lots of golf-shirts-and-chinos +Many folks say "think Chicos" for ladies. I think this makes sense, but neither me nor my spouse has yet set foot in Chicos... My opinion: many many people have strong views on what 'appropriate' dress is for a given venue. Often these views have little to do with the stated requirements. I love you all and will decline to participate in most of the spirited discussion! Also however much you over- or under-pack is fine by me, as long as I am not required to follow your exact rules or carry your luggage.

Excursions the best practice Basics: all newly sold fares are on "Simply More" aka SM basis, meaning you get use-it-or-lose-it credit to use for O excursions only. +Excursions are usually loaded 365 days prior to the cruise. You can look up ports on the O website to see descriptions (even if your cruise's excursions aren't yet loaded). Your TA will send you a pdf of excursions when available, either one year out or when you make your deposit +OS = Oceania Select - in theory a more 'special' tour typically including cultural connections that are more interesting; usually a smaller group say 15-25 but might still be on a big bus (with plenty of empty seats) +OE = Oceania Exclusive - same description as a "regular" tour but a smaller group, 10 - 16 people +many ports also offer a "private car" option, spendier than DIY but if you need to use up some SM credits might be helpful +SM credits are per person and cannot be pooled. Don't say I told you, but they rarely check names on the excursion tickets so if Mr. Babysteps' credits pay for an excursion and Mrs. Babysteps shows up with the ticket I'm not sure anything terrible would happen. I've never actually done this though... +if an excursion bought with SM credits is cancelled, you can only use the refunded credits on another excursion that same cruise. SM is relatively new so we're all learning - best advice is to frontload the SM-paid excursion so if there are any glitches you have as many days as possible to not 'lose' the credits.

Onboard booking and pre-trip / welcome home vouchers Booking direct vs using a TA Sales Basics: there is a discount to booking onboard, and deposit amounts are typically lower +at the moment, you may get a "30 day prior same as onboard" booking letter, and usually if you do not book onboard you will get a "welcome home" voucher letter for same as onboard +Unless you ask, your new booking gets assigned to the TA of your in-progress cruise. You can assign the new booking to a different TA, or leave it "open" (you have 14 days after disembarking to assign it to a TA) +you don't have to use any TA, in which case O is your TA ("direct") +opinions vary if TA or direct is better, TA proponents like the personal service and/or discounts/rebates, "direct" like control and no one stuck in the middle +sales may or may not stack with onboard savings, your TA or the Oceania Onboard Ambassador (is that OA or OOA lol) should be able to tell you +don't wait until the last full day of the cruise to book, or if you do expect a long line if you have any questions My opinion: if you're going to cruise O again, booking onboard makes sense

Standard Gratuities Gratuities practice - room service Basics: gratuities are not included in your fare and are automatically added to your account. Higher pp/pd for PH and above Practice/opinion varies widely as to whether tips in addition to standard gratuities are expected...

O does website maintenance on weekends - don't panic if x or y is missing or you can't log in O wifi not yet all Starlink O does *not* have an app (yet? ever?) Basics: O is steam-age for much IT +Your double occupancy fare comes with free 2 logins, one device live at a time per login, multiple devices can register +'Streaming' upcharge ($10 per login per day) does not get you more bandwidth, just unlocks streaming content +Early am or while everyone is ashore are your best wifi performance windows

Alcohol policy thread 2023/2024 including good stuff from @Flatbush Flyer and others Included Drinks thread 2024 (a related topic) Basics: O is passenger and drinker friendly. +Fares include wine-by-the-glass and beer-by-the-glass with meals (including room service) when bars are open. Includes sparkling-by-the-glass, often a port-by-the-glass, and non-alcoholic-wine/beer-by-the-glass - well, definitely the beer, not sure if 0%wine is always available? +You can pay $30pp pd more to include anytime by-the-glass and anytime spirits and cocktails (no change to level of included wines/beers). Some highest-end spirits and single-venue choices (for example, sake in Red Ginger) are excluded, there is no $-based rule (sake may be less expensive than some included spirits for example) +You can bring on alcohol (wine, beer, spirits) for your own consumption, no effective limit. Paying a corkage fee for a bottle of wine in a restaurant is the ONLY allowable way to drink your own alcohol outside your cabin. You can order empty glasses from/with room service! +Paid beverage packages get you discount on by-the-bottle purchases and some wine events My opinion/experience-wine geeks love O but also bring some of their own wine. FYI it's not a party-hardy environment

Oceania Air policies and best practice booking O Air after final payment Basics: O fares are available in the US with air or without ("cruise only" but this still includes the Simply More excursion credits). +You can choose no air, air just to embarkation, air just from disembarkation, or air on both ends Air (on embarkation or disembarkation day) now includes bus transfers from the airport to the ship or vice versa +Arriving early or staying later up to 3 days is now allowed without extra deviation fee (but will not include transfers) +If you want a specific routing or carrier, or an earlier/later arrival than included, or business class you will be paying a deviation fee - per person, per cruise start/end point. Deviations your TA will get options (you can request specific) and pricing BEFORE the fee is due. Fare charges if any are in addition to the deviation fee My opinion/experience: O doesn't really *want* to book your air but sometimes it can make sense. Always do the math even for economy, and business class is rarely a deal. One-way TATL or TPAC may be the exception if you are happy in coach or if the PE upcharge is a deal (only upgrades your seat on the long over-water segment). Don't blame me if you fly in day-of-embarcation and there's a hassle or disaster Believe what @FlyerTalker says