pinotlover

15 minutes ago, Harters said:

Britons are Europeans.😀

😂 meant to say “Southern “ Europeans! 🥹
 

You did bail from the EU!!🤔

The higher the percentage of Brits and European, the more late diners. The higher percentage American cruises the fewer. Lots of geriatrics, mostly early diners and room service. 
 

Typically there are still plenty of people in the Specialties at 8:00. The buffet line is a different story. 

57 minutes ago, mozfoz said:

Maybe get back to the original post and give  reservation comments/advice/suggestions. Start another topic regarding tipping and ethnics.

I have no idea what the imaginary word “ fair” is supposed to mean or intended to be defined by the OP. Defining fair is far more subjective than any discussion on food. It was easy to thread drift.

14 minutes ago, chloemonkey said:

This leads me to wonder if all of those bartenders that people tip on the "first" day as they are certain that it enables them to obtain better service....or the cabin personnel/Butlers who accept tips as they are offered...are also in jeopardy of immediate termination?  

 

Tipping has been around since forever....and I doubt very seriously that this practice is treated as severely as you claim.....could be wrong?  And we have seen it done......also DONE it ourselves!  and never noticed any repercussions......just our experience I guess?

Doing it quietly and discreetly may be one thing, while coming on CC and bragging about doing it may produce different outcomes.

One of the tips a very highly respected and renowned butler gave us a few hints in helping the staff. 

1. When they come to clean your cabin , leave. If you can’t leave just then then tell the attendant to return in X minutes and be gone.

2.  The attendants enjoy quick brief conversations, maybe 30-45 seconds . After that leave them to their work.

I would say that if people are getting the “ song and dance “ experienced above ( and some definitely do); they are spending way beyond the time with staff recommended by that butler. 
 

One of his comments was about the “ lonely hearts club “ passengers that liked to corner the staff and talked incessantly. Abiding by #1 &2 above pretty well avoids the sob stories.

I clearly remember the day when passengers were bragging about tipping Maitre De for tables. Staff fired, and the restaurant personnel wouldn’t talk to any walk ups. Everything went through the Reservation Desk. Perhaps that was a better system. People need to be careful what they write here.

On another note, we leave for Tuscany tomorrow. It’s a seven (7) hour time difference. My body will have a zero idea of what time it is for several days after arriving. In going to Japan in April, it was fourteen)14) hours difference. The body will do as I then train it to do. Restaurants don’t open up there until 7-8:00 pm. I’ll train my body to eat then. Maybe a little late afternoon nappypoh to help. I won’t claim I can’t eat that late!  People have  habits. Some habits are good, some bad, and some neither, just habits. The secret to a good life is to never become enslaved by your your habits.

I heard it will only be a partial release: Europe and N. America only. Won’t yet include the rest of the fleet. 
 

Will have to wait and see! 🤔

I would have my TA ask Oceania.

Oceania takes no responsibility in any outside vendors “ leaving on time”.

Go to Blacklane’s website, you’ll be forced to put in important details omitted here, and see what their bid is. You can count on Oceania’s number being 2X that. A reasonable start to your question.

I read your post differently that Mauibabes since the question was imprecise. I usually use a 30 minute differential from docking time to private tour pickup time by our guide. The other half of the question.

4 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

General Question on the 30 day prior offers….we have an upcoming cruise towards end of October so we are potentially looking at utilizing the 30 day prior to an existing booking since we actually like the SM…we have a tight 4 day window where the 30 days should kick in prior to SM going away on 10/1.  Are you allowed to book more than one cruise and get the onboard booking benefits? Thanks. 

Yes! O will let you book all you want! 

36 minutes ago, Benita said:

What is lost is the SM benefits, for which we paid extra and will continue to pay for if  we book after October 1. According to Jancruz, the new prices  will not be reduced, so the Silver members will get $250 and lose, depending on cruise length thousands. I do love Oceana, but this was a lipstick on a pig change. 

While I believe prices for cruises on the new release will increase, I highly doubt that Jancruz has seen a single itinerary and accompanying prices for that release. 
 

I am completely booked through early 2026 on Oceania and others, so this change will have no immediate impact on me. It will be interesting to see price structures , on current releases, post 10/1.

Even though we’re long past paying the gratuities, I’m happy that program is gone. Too many continual questions on who got them, how they were distributed, etc. The $18/day +$5/ day( butler ) was a made up number as is the $250 per cabin. Glad that program is gone.

Silvers had PPG before, they have it now. What was lost? In fact, we might have a gain. Now, under SL, we get the extra $250 on every cruise. Before it was only on those diminishing number of cruises our TA had OCCAP perks from Oceania.
 

I think some here would cry if O changed the free cruise perk to 15 cruises instead of 20. Cty that it devalues their Platinum status. 🙄

I’ll repeat. Many posters here believe the OCCAPP is dead. My TA says it is not. It will now be something other than PPG.

Currently, not all cruises today have those perks because they are typically fast moving. Also not all Consortiums receive all of them all the time. Harder to sell cruises will continue to have promotions that may be other than pricing reductions. People need to wait until October to see what’s actually offered via their TA . Drink packages and tour credits may continue in the mix. 
 

A lot of people are hearing dogs barking and claiming to be bit. I think we need for those dogs to get here first and see their teeth.

I’d have to find the names, but several companies run bus tours up the canyon to the top of the mountains. Fabulous views and interesting scenery and history all the way up the mountain. At the top is a Lodge to get out and wander around which is above tree line in the tundra.

Fwiw, Oceania runs that bus tour for 3-4X the private option. Some prefer O pricing. Google is your friend.

I believe ORV nailed the issue at hand very early on. He’s currently on the Nautica and commented on how the bars were dead, even during Happy Hour. We encountered the same on our April Riveria cruise. For many a port visit consists of leaving the ship around 10:30; taking a shuttle to town; walking around a bit; take the shuttle back to the ship for a 12:15 lunch aboard. Here’s a fact: If one isn’t going to buy drinks, not take ship excursions; not worry about the photographers; not use O Air; etc, and only pay Ala carte; then that upfront number has to be big enough to cover everything.

For those of us that do drink alcohol; occasionally or primarily do take O shorex; etc, that may make O’s total pricing non competitive. You pay a lot less for an auto, than for all its parts. In sincerity, looking at who SL will attract, that may in itself scare people away. Can the bars become deader than they already are? Will even more shorexs be cancelled due to lack of participation?

Leaving a week from today taking a group of eight (8) to Tuscany for two weeks with a four day side trip to Bologna. There will be zero Mericanized food and a delightful absence of NoNo foods, along with world class wine at every stop. Those that claim to like food, this is the kind of trip they’d be on. The absolute “finest food “ without the at sea disclaimer.

More scheduled day trips to come. There will be zero concerns about missing ports or shorten port time.

21 hours ago, jonthomas said:

we never book a cruise unless it is under 300 a day and that is before the TAs rebate and that is for a balcony....

A good under $300/day cruise is like finding a good under $30 Burgundy. Those days are mostly long gone . You’re more likely to find people living in the past wearing leisure suits.

It’s all still tbd, but my TA reports, via her O rep, that the OCCAP program may not be dead. The new O to Consortium to Travel Agency to Clients  perks might still exist. Just wouldn’t be PPG. Might be a basic drinks package, might be tour credits. It ain’t over until the Fat Lady sings, and it appears she hasn’t even started to warm up yet. 
 

I think everyone will still need to be talking to their TA come October and that new cruise release. DIYers will never know.

2 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

Those changes (whatever they are) are exactly the reason why I pay zero attention to loyalty programs. I mean, people make an effort to get to silver, are so excited to get PPG and $250 OBC.. oops, now everyone gets it. 

 

Loyalty means nothing to us. We sail based on itinerary, price and the overall experience. I could never understand the attractiveness of loyalty programs. You pay $500+/day for a cruise and you care about $18/day gratuities? 

I knew when O floated that Survey several months ago with questions on the Loyalty program change was coming. It will be interesting to see the new loyalty perks for cruises booked after 10/1. I’ll wait for the actual details.

I believe we will have to wait until the new Release to have a clue on pricing, and even then it will be opaque. Oceania will be throwing out the old price list and converting to a new Ala carte menu. You want air, this is how much it’ll cost. Want a drink package, here’s what you’ll pay. Here is the price of tours. Take’em or leave them . 
 

It’s like going into a restaurant. Before, you ordered the steak dinner and got salad, bread, steak, potatoes, and a vegetable. Now you order , or not, each item separately and pay accordingly. We won’t see the price list until at least 10/1 to know how the deal works.

I have no clue yet, but highly probable that the non drinker; cruise for the ship; little or no excursion passengers might come out ahead; while we on the other side pay more.

1 minute ago, Vertygo said:

Yes, unless your TA has offered them or your status is high enough for them to be included.

Not correct. If you’re an American they are still billed to your account. However, you will have offsetting OBC applied to your account. Grats are nonetheless billed.

Now depends upon your country of origin. Details matter! Are you a Merican?

Waiting until tomorrow and seeing the actual program is the best bet. 

There is a bit of dark humor in all of this. For those with a bit of history on this Board, back in the ole OLife days people were often chided for taking the OBC option under OLife! Paying money upfront for non refundable OBC was often ridiculed. Why not just wait and pay for what you buy? Why pay upfront?

I’ll patiently wait until tomorrow to get the actual details, but as presented by Jancruz it appears Oceania wants you to pay 150 days in advance for non refundable OBC under the Simply Less scheme ! Here’s how the joke is on the cruiser. If you cancel the cruise late, Oceania gets to keep the OBC you paid for , as part of the cruise price, and advanced to them! Humor for the day! 🙄

This will be fun for the staff. On upcoming cruises you may find OLifers, SMers, and SLers all together! 😂