pinotlover

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! 😂

Your TA will get you the best answer.

You’re booked as a B3 and will pay accordingly. Not sure you’ll be able to book Specialties as an A2, or get Lounge access. Let your TA work it out.

I’m doubtful this affects already booked cruises under SM. There is a thing called a contract. Guessing it will apply to new bookings.

I’ll wait for the details.

12 minutes ago, Woofa said:

Thanks Jan, interested to see the entire details when they come out 

Yes, the devil is always in the details.

Just assuming this means for any new cruises sold after 10/1. On a different thread, There is a rumored new cruise Release for late 2026 cruises coming out later this month. 😂. Highly illogical to sell SM cruises now, to then change the program 10/1! Anyone want to place bets on a late September release happening? 🙄

2 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

Question, so if you go through immigration at your first Japan port, do you have to do anything before getting off the ship in Tokyo when you arrive?

We did not. In Tokyo ( Yokohama), we just walked off the ship. We had already cleared Japanese Immigration previously as described above.

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

@pinotlover I fully understand your position on this.  For me, when I am on a cruise, my focus is completely different then if I go to a local restaurant.  On a cruise, I am in no rush for anything.  It is the only time I can allow myself simply to chill out and relax. If the server in a local restaurant did not immediately ask my party what drinks the wanted, I would be disappointed. On a cruise, I give more time for service.

 

That said, part of my job on a cruise vacation is to be a travel agent of sorts for my wife and guests.  I am NOT a travel agent, I just want everyone in my party to have the time of their lives.  My wife wants wine, right away.  Our best friends wife wants a vodka, cranberry, and soda right away.  So, I make sure I make our needs know without taking staff away from other guests.  My needs should never effect other guests needs so I attempt always to be sensitive to that.  

 

Cruising is doing it your way and this is not an OLD McDonalds commercial.  How a guest approaches any aspect of a cruise is up to them.  Just have a plan, work your plan and enjoy this very rare time we all have to be treated like Rock Stars for 7-10 days a year.  Rare in deed. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Gary;

I understand totally. For me, it’s like rating wines. I evaluate what’s actually in the glass, not what I hope or expect to be in the glass. If I have to get up and go get a wine steward to place an order, don’t expect an outstanding rating for service from me.

I do try to be fair and comprehensive. With wine, I may say that the wine had very pretty aromas with nice fruitiness of cherries and strawberries on the fore palate, but a very weak disappearing finish. For those mostly enjoying upfront fruit, that’s fine. While I may compliment the wait staff, I might say wine service was horrible. Those never drinking alcohol would be totally unaffected and be happy to hear about the remaining wait staff. Details matter.

3 minutes ago, Harters said:

That seems to me to be inflicting punishment on yourself. I simply would not sit there for 30 minutes, waiting to order a drink, without doing something to hurry it up. 

I understand your position. I just prefer to allow the standard of service play itself out and be self demonstrating.

Sometimes Sales are very regional specific as they attempt to draw in new cruisers from around the world. I’ve seen very nice sales in German publications directed to German, Austrian, and the Swiss. Same goes for the Aussies and Chinese. Oceania will run very attractive sales in those regions that aren’t available in the U.S.  Sometimes, it’s just the opposite, and we get the offers. 

15 hours ago, pilgrimage said:

.  I have had to chase down a sommelier on occasion, I just tell them what I want, point out the table and carry on to the buffet.  No problems, then they usually come back to offer refills after that.

 

 

I never chase down a wine steward. If I was so compelled to do so I would rate it as exceedingly bad/poor service. I check out the menu, decide what I want to eat, and which wine I want with it. I then sit and wait for the wine steward to make their rounds. The overall level of service reported is directly related to the amount of time I have to wait. 1-5 minutes = very good; 10-15 minutes = mediocre to poor; 20 minutes or longer = horrible. This sometimes upsets the regular waitstaff in the Terrace, watching me sit there and not getting food, however I’m never hungry while aboard, and choose to allow the issue play out on its own merits. There has been times, in the Terrace that’s been 1-2 minutes; and times exceeding 30. I wait. Sometimes a manager may even appear.

For us, they didn’t board the ship. Everyone had to leave the ship and go through the terminal and immigration.

This nearly caused mayhem. We were scheduled to depart port at 5:00 and at 4:30 ( all aboard time) several still hadn’t left the ship and gone through immigration. This after postings in Currents and all day CD announcements instructing people to do so. Finally, the Captain came on the PA system and ordered the Misfits, by name, to report to Deck 5. They were escorted by ship Security to Immigration. Butler told us later that Japanese immigration had told the Captain they were closing at 17:00. If everyone hadn’t cleared,the ship would remain at dock until the next day and they cleared when immigration reopened. Our Butler said had we spent the night, all those Misfts would be left on the dock the next morning, kicked off the ship. This was almost surreal. The Ship’s Captain came on the system, read out all the names for everyone to hear, and ordered ( not requested) them to proceed to Deck 5 and the gang plank!
 

Hopefully all goes well with your stops there. Some are merely arrogant and don’t believe the rules apply to them.

To address a couple points.

1. Everyone during the course of the day, must exit the ship and go through immigration even if they have no tour set up.

2. Everyone will be fingerprinted digitally and have passports checked and cleared. This process can take awhile, so if planning on an early tour, exit the ship early and get in line.

The amount of time required depends upon when and how you hit the process.

30 minutes ago, ORV said:

The official line from the CEO is that there are no plans to phase out the R ships. Anything else you read here or elsewhere is idle speculation.
 

Of course things could change. 

What FDR did say is : There will be no more major upgrades or refurbishments done to the R ships.

How long each of the ships can individually sail without one is yet to be determined. So indeed no current plan may exist.

Of course things could change.

2 hours ago, mlmdaisy said:

It could take an hour with traffic, maybe more.   

In that the vast majority of we seasoned cruisers fly in at least a day, or more, pre cruise, whether 30 minutes or an hour isn’t a big deal. I can get really inexpensive nonstop flights , from my home airport , directly into Orlando. Easy to burn a day or two there or in Tampa on either/both ends of a cruise. 

10 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

People will be flying in, after all how many times would you want to sail that area living in Florida.

Don’t forget that small 😂 airport nearby in a town called Orlando!! How many flights/day does Air Canada make there? Cruisers already fly into there by the drives for cruises out of Cape Canaveral .

2 hours ago, jonthomas said:

Good for those on Florida's west coast.

 

No interest in it for us.

Consider all we O passengers that live North of Florida and South of the Mason Dixie Line. Going out of Tampa changes the economics of flying to Miami, takes multiple hours out of the driving and traffic issues, and opens up multiple lower costs hotels for pre cruise overnights.

My brother worked at NASA and retired there in Titusville. Have you for even an instance considered how convenient, for all those Orlando, Titusville, and even N. Florida retirees, Tampa is? That doesn’t include those of us living farther north. His area is full of Canadian Snowbirds. Tampa is sweetness compared to going to Miami and back!

This provides another perfect example on why a cruise line shouldn’t publish and set its schedule to far out in advance. All those with posted cruises through 26&27 will now miss out on these new possibilities . Probably already too late for Oceania to adjust for 2026, but 2027 may bring different adventures.

8 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

I find this statement both inaccurate and truly puzzling.

 

 

In our experiences - a relaxing day or two at sea to reach the island. A very scenic approach to either / both Hamilton and St. George's. Docked at either location puts the island at your fingertips by public transit, ferry or taxi. A relaxing sail back or away to the next port.

 

And yes, we have visited multiple times by both air and sea. Either way is delightful. 🍺🥌

To put it in perspective, you need to read many of the posts saying their cruise(s) didn’t make Bermuda for a variety of reasons. I would likewise recommend to anyone that truly wanted to visit the Falklands to do so by air. While some, possibly such as yourself, may talk about the delightful relaxing cruise out to the Falklands, most don’t make it.

Some places and/or islands are more practically visited by cruise ship. Bermuda can be easily reached by air . They have great resorts and wonderful restaurants ashore. Ship accommodations aren’t required. Therefore, I still believe that if visiting Bermuda is a goal, doing so by air is the best choice. If you’re mostly after the cruise, then take your chances on getting there.

Bermuda is such a delightful place to visit. Easy to fly into from the Ststes without the vulgarities of any cruise line. The only reason to take a ( maybe) cruise there is because you really just want to sit on a ship, and Bermuda really doesn’t interest you.

36 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

Who or what are NoNos? I get that it's derogatory but what does it mean? 

Nothing derogatory at all. Purely a matter of taste and preferences. A significant portion of Oceania’s customers want their dishes with No onions, no garlic, no basil, no thyme, no oregano, no paprika, no curries, no peppers, and no rubs on their meats. No, No, No, No-Nos. They prefer their foods what many of the rest of us consider bland and mostly tasteless. So the challenge for the kitchen is how do they satisfy both groups with the same dish? A Margherita pizza, for example, comes naturally with fresh basil , and one has an expectation that is does. Should you be served one with out, because the NoNos prefers it that way, or should they have to pick them out? A dilemma.

These two new “A” ships different from earlier O ships in one important category. As opposed to being “stick “ built aboard, all the cabins are prebuilt modules which are lifted aboard, slid into place, and then utilities are connected up. Adding insulation to those not yet installed modules shouldn’t be a problem, only costs. If any of those cabins are already installed, then that’s a different issue.

In that production delays are common, much like the Vista, we chose not to book a cruise aboard the Allura until 3 months after its original scheduled launch.

I had earlier ( during the Pandemic) heard a report that the Nautica hadn’t been in U.S. waters for years. Interesting that the US Coast Guard would have jurisdiction as it isn’t a U.S. flagged vessel. Perhaps since it’s a U.S. flagged territory??

Authentic foods, from regions of origin, with fresh ingredients including appropriate herbs and spices, is extremely difficult for ship food to surpass. 
 

When preparing food for the masses ( including the NoNos) aboard ship has to compete against those only concerned with excellence, the judged winner ( except by those NoNos) is easily predicted.