Misssmb

2 hours ago, machotspur said:

We are shortly to be cruising with Oceania – our first for many years – having sailed extensively with the likes of Silversea, Seabourn etc. We do of course need to learn how things work onboard an Oceania ship.

One notable issue is the drinks packages. I have of course read many of the 100’s of posts on this very subject – which has been useful thank you – but there is one aspect I haven’t been able to find .

 

How does the transaction take place when ordering drinks in bars & restaurants, when one has signed up for the Prestige Select+ package ?

In particular how does it work when having a meal. Does one have to order and transact every time one wishes for a wine top up ? Or does the server 'register' that you have a package at the time of the first drink and thereafter pours wine without further interaction ? 

And are the transactions through the guest holding a card that is swiped/touched in by the server/bar ? And is it paper less ? 

 

I know this may come across as a bit of minutae but a key reason for us choosing the package is for convenience, so this whole transaction thing is quite important for us.

 

My thanks in advance for anyone who can put me straight on this !   

  

I have been on three cruises with Oceania and always get the prestige package. I just got off the insignia yesterday and all you have to do is give your room card. There is no paper transaction. They just take it to the bar and swipe it or if you were at the end of a meal, they take it then. Sometimes depending on the waiter you needed to give both cards if there are two of you or sometimes just one. It is a very easy process because you are carrying that with you all the time anyway. They do not take it for each time you get another drink or another glass of wine. It is only one time! Supposedly tips are included with the prestige package, but I honestly took a bunch of small money and tipped them from time to time! They work very long hard hours and we felt good doing that! Also, if you had the package that is included and you want to upgrade, you do that when you first get on board and then you have to go to reception and get a new room card. 

I think once you have one, you never want to go back! There is nothing like him setting up breakfast for you every day or showing up at 4 PM or whatever time you wish with champagne or your drink of choice, snacks, etc. 

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

you get  a Butler & his services

They  will serve you meals in your suite  bring afternoon canapes make extra specialty reservations if requested   even draw you a bath if they are asked 

😄

Our last butler was so wonderful, that every day at 4 o’clock he brought us two glasses of champagne, afternoon canapés and chocolate covered strawberries! One day after touring all day we were sitting in our robes on the balcony and snoozing a little bit and I woke up and there he was standing with the champagne! Now that is service!

4 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

Assuming you mean you are sailing on Insignia docking at St Georges as well as Hamilton. If not let me know. 

 

They do offer a catamaran excursion from St Georges that is a sunset trip. Frankly there are more independent options for daytime sailing excursions once the ship moves over to Hamilton so you might want to look into that. Typically we use the St Georges time as a beach day and to run around that side of the island a little which is quieter. Well worth a visit to the Swizzle Inn and this would be the time to do the caves if thats of interest to you. 

 

Once you move over to Hamilton you are closer to the Dockyard (although still a bit of a distance)-- I wouldn't feel the need to go over to the Dockyard unless the museum really interests you as its mainly a tourist area geared towards the larger cruise ships that have to dock there. There isn't anything at the Dockyard you can't access in Hamilton aside from the museum or dolphin encounter. 

 

Also in Hamilton you are much closer to Horseshoe Bay beach which is the most popular one for those visiting. 

Yes we are on the Insignia. I will look at boat cruises in Hamilton. Thank you!

31 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Ana Luna does cats on the east end. They operate out of Grotto Bay which is about 15 minutes from St. George’s by bus or taxi. 
 

https://analunaadventures.com

 

From St. George’s besides the town I go to the beach. Tobacco Bay or Clearwater Beach/Coopers Reserve,  Fort St. Catherine. Swizzle Inn. Some go to the Crystal Caves. All DIY. 

Do you walk to all these places? 

We are coming on a small ship so we get the dock right at St. George. I see most of the excursions leave from the shipyard. I have never been to Bermuda before so I would love suggestions on what to do. If anyone knows a good catamaran tour that leaves from that area, I would appreciate it. Any other suggestions are also welcome! Thanks in advance!

On 12/2/2019 at 10:26 PM, LHT28 said:

 

They do get time off  during their contracts 😉

He told us they can work no more than 11 hours a day. They work 6 months straight with no days off. They get a few hours off in the afternoon depending on the ports and if they have safety drills, etc. scheduled. He also said someone fills in from 10pm to 8am but they must also start at 6am to make sure all the breakfast orders are being prepared. I think he was telling the truth, but then again the no room service on the last day wasn’t true! 🤷‍♀️

2 hours ago, clo said:

But why? Rewarding bad behavior is rarely a good thing.

I guess because he was great the rest of the cruise and my sensitive heart thinks of people who have less than I do. I think working 11 hour days without a day off in 6 months has to be tough. It’s my nature and I can’t help it. I agree it wasn’t a smart thing to do, but my hubby handed it to him when I was still in the bed since he came early! Ugh 

We just got off of the Riviera last week. Our butler for the most part was wonderful until the last night when he told us we couldn’t get room service the last morning only coffee or tea. So we asked him to bring us tea at 7am since we had to be out of our room by 8am. He knew from every other day that we always got 4 cups of tea (2 pots) and on the last day he showed up at 6:30, with only one pot. I also read in currents that room service was available for breakfast. I think he purposely took out the breakfast cards out of the rooms, so he didn’t have to serve anybody breakfast. I understand that they have a lot to do before the next guests get on, but that was wrong. We still gave him an extra tip but I was very annoyed! 

22 hours ago, Clutj said:

Anyone know if Montaudon is still the by the glass champagne listed currently?  (Nov 2019)

A passenger that just boarded the Riviera in Montreal sent me a picture of the bottle and it is the Germain. 

This was for the prestige package and yes in the Reserve. We did it last year on the marina. I think there were only a few select wines that were not included. I tried to figure out what days it might be again, because the tapas were so good, we didn’t want to go to dinner afterwards!

6 hours ago, sailco said:

Thanks for that. Sounds ideal for us. We frequently opt for a simple room service burger and fries when we're tired. Not trying to stretch it out, but can we ask room service to deliver two drinks each? 

We have had two glasses each of champagne brought to us in our cabin. It would be so much easier if they brought you the bottle, but they won’t. One extra thing you also get with the package is the nice wines at the wine tasting. They have it usually a couple of nights on the Marina and Riviera. 

5 minutes ago, Kate-AHF said:

Oh - wanted to add - we did not find everything closed in St. Tropez, perhaps we got off later?  We had a walking tour of the town, and lunch, and then went on to visit Gassin and Grimauld.  Fantastic day.

OK I guess I exaggerated by saying everything. LOL I just meant so many of the stores were completely emptied out. There were so many streets that we walked down that didn’t have anything open. We did get off early though. A few places were open in that center park and we did get dessert at a bakery. I just think it would’ve been nice to have been there when it was more lively since I always wanted to go there. It was still beautiful!

21 minutes ago, Mura said:

On our May 2018 cruise we visited St. Tropez ... when it WAS in season.  Our luck!  We even had a parade of fancy very expensive automobiles through town ... But we weren't there on our November 2017 cruise ... I guess we should be glad of that!

 

 

Lucky you! Yes, the town was like a ghost town! Such a shame! 

As as for my post above, I can’t figure out how to edit it,  but it is supposed to say my husband wore a collared shirt not colored! LOL 

We went on the Marina last November from Civitavecchia to Monte Carlo. The weather was mostly 60s I would say. There were a few warmer days also and few rainy days. Two of our ports got changed, but we ended up going to two other lovely ports. The only negative I can say is we went to St. Tropez and it was almost all shut down. Most of the stores and restaurants were completely emptied out for the winter. We toured the Citadel and then ended up back on the ship for lunch because there truly wasn’t anything else to do. The rest of the ports were fine and we just loved walking around on our own exploring.

We would go to the pool area after touring and have some cocktails in the hot tubs. It was usually empty by the pool so we had our pick of chairs. 

As far as dress, my husband wore khaki type slacks with a colored shirt in the evenings. I pretty much wore long sleeve, wrinkle free dresses and packed leggings and dress booties to wear with them on cooler evenings. You will see a little of everything as far as dress. 

We never encountered rough weather. Marina is such a lovely ship and it was top notch. It was our first cruise on Oceania and we loved it so much that we booked Riviera this November in the Caribbean. Have a lovely time! Feel free to ask more questions! 

Last November we went on the Marina from Rome to Monte Carlo. Before the day of our cruise our first port of Portofino was changed due to horrible weather with mudslides. Our travel agent got the news and messaged me since we were already in a Rome. They took us to Livorno instead which ended being a lovely day for us. We also had Bandol changed to Ajaccio, Corsica which we loved and had the best day. One of our stops was San Tropez and quite honestly, it was pretty much a waste of a day because it was November and absolutely NOTHING was open! All the stores and restaurants were closed up for the winter. We ended up going back to the ship for lunch because honestly we could not find a place. That was so disappointing, because we look so forward to going to the place that we always heard about. Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is, even with empty ports and changed itineraries, we still had a lovely trip! It’s what you make of it I guess. 

Transfers are free if you use Oceania’s hotels. We actually did the opposite with Rome first last year. The hotel was top-notch and breakfast was included every day. I’m sorry I cannot help you on the timeline.

Oh my! I was so close staying at the Meadowlands for the Giant’s game and would have loved to see it since we cruise on her in November! Thanks for the pictures!!

1 hour ago, Nymich said:

Thank You as well.  This can be a tough crowd.  Maybe they should just skip reading the things they think are stupid or foolish.

Many of us are new to O and will have LOTS of questions which is the purpose of CC.  Perhaps the few that have all the answers and think we are stupid to be asking questions can create their own board and talk amongst themselves?  

 

To anyone who does see this post ask any questions you want to and when someone tries to tear your head off put them on ignore.   Thank You RJB for being the voice of reason.

Thank you so much! 

38 minutes ago, RJB said:

I don't think that people have to be so nit picky. The purpose of these boards is to ask questions.  Some of us already know the answers but those that are new to these boards may not.  WE should be here to help and not get snarky.   Kindness does matter.  Lets all have a great trip.

Thank you! I appreciate that! ❤️

4 hours ago, ORV said:

This pretty much sums it up. By the time you deplane, get luggage, get a cab or Uber, drive to the port you’re there right around 11

That’s actually right across the street. That is where Uber and Lyft pickup and drop off. 

Thank you kindly for your answer! I have never cruised out of there before and it’s been years since I have flown into Miami.

8 hours ago, clo said:

For months now, for a cruise in December, I've had my embarkation time in my booking info.  In addition it's available to the public.  So you don't have that?

"Priority Noon ship embarkation"

Yes! I know that! I guess I should have reworded my post to say guests with past experience boarding in Miami, do you think I will be able to board early if I get there early?! I certainly don’t believe I deserve to be attacked for asking a question!!!  If you are sick of people writing the same thing, why do you even bother to scroll the boards?! It’s ok to be excited and ask stupid questions. Kindness matters! 

19 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Call me dense, but I truly don’t understand why the boarding time given each passenger, in their blue book, is so difficult to comprehend. ???

 

Boarding time 11:00.

Boarding time 13:00.

 

What part of that is beyond the intellectual grasp of an Oceania cruiser? Obviously many, because the question is constantly asked. 

 

I often read these goofy posts about how Oceania cruisers are more sophisticated than mass market cruisers, then we get posts that say “ My documents say I’m to board at 13:00 but can I really board at 9:30? Really scares me about the sophistication of mass market cruisers if O cruisers can’t read simple boarding instructions!

Wow! I don’t think you have any right to be so rude! I didn’t receive my Blue book before I wrote my post and I have never cruised out of Miami before, so forgive me for annoying you with my question! I thought maybe another fellow Oceania cruiser who has sailed out of there could give me some insite on what to expect upon arrival. I tend to ask questions out of excitement of my upcoming trip, but if my fellow passengers are like you, I would rather stay home!!!

 I just received my blue book for my November cruise. It doesn’t mention in there that I chose the beverage package. I don’t remember from last year‘s cruise. Is that normal? 

9 minutes ago, Roccaforte said:

Your blue book and final cruise summary should have the boarding time listed.  Our blue book just arrived and our boarding time is 11:00 AM for our PH cabin.  Although you might have a bit of a wait, there isn’t really enough time to do any serious sightseeing in Miami.  If you plan to explore before sailing be sure to check your sail away time.  I’ve noticed that ours is one hour earlier than we’ve had before and I believe you are expected to be on board at least an hour before that.  We like to board as early as possible.  It’s a vacation day😄

Thank you! Been to Miami several times so no need to explore! We will grab our bags and head over! Is it November yet?!