pinotlover
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Any advanage to booking a future cruise while on board?
pinotlover replied to Cruisedreamer1's topic in Oceania Cruises
1. Depending upon the length of your cruise, an additional price discount; 2. Additional OBC added to your current cruise; 3. Low price quarantee on the purchased cruise; 4. A reduced cruise deposit. A Future Cruise Credit is a good investment. You get all the benefits of actually booking a cruise now, and can use it on a future cruise release. This is particularly the case with the new cruise cancellation penalty. -
Not a new thing at all. Over the years, Oceania has used several approaches to this. At one time, PreCovid, everyone would make their requests, but final notification wasnāt given until after 2:00. This way people werenāt lining up at 7:00 expecting first come first. They took everyoneās request and acted accordingly. Likewise, there was a time when the Specialties would allow no walk ups. They all had a wait list, from the Reservation Desk, from which they worked. Point being, through the years, the ships have employed multiple different procedures that change regularly. What happens on one ship may be different on another. The only thing consistent is that Dining Reservation Desk is on every ship. People looking for ā one size fits allā procedures are on the wrong line.
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Will it hit the dock with a clearly visible label/tag with both your name and cabin number on it? Is there paperwork required showing your actual receipt of goods?
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Having everyone, or nearly everyone, set their controls at the lowest temperature actually makes the matters worse. Iām surprised the staff wasnāt directed to turn the settings back up to give the system a chance to catch up. In most situations the senior staff would have been making announcements to such. On Oceania, most all announcements are ignored so I guess they didnāt bother.
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Absolutely Yes! When it is open for dining and while you are eating within the area.
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Itinerary always wins.
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Under the basic plan, included drinks are only served in the dining venues. If one wants drinks outside those venues, they must upgrade to the premium package or pay for the drinks individually. Fwiw, on the Vista now, there is a partition that officially separates Waves from the pool area. When we were on the Vista, you had to sit inside the partition area to get the included drinks.
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I have no wise way of saying it. I have meet delightful fellow cruisers that never ( or rarely) get off the ship on extended cruises. They are there for the ship and the experiences aboard. Period. Stop. Fine. Doesnāt mean I dislike or disrespect them. Their money, their cruise. Just saying we donāt cruise for that reason. Not nearly as enamored with the food as some. Just saying we can choose Oceania for our purposes while they choose Oceania for theirs. I would never suggest that the Cruisers choose other lines, why should they tell we travelers that?
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FDR, Senior, made it quite clear to new passengers on the Vista that the R ships are on the way out. Vista will do the ATW 26 cruise, not the Insignia. Come back in 5 years and there will be 3 A Class ships and two O Class ships. Lovers of the R Class, love them while they last. The clock is ticking. But hey, one can do a lot of R Class cruises in 5 years.
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What a short sighted view! Grasp this, if possible. We are travelers, cruising for the ports. Itās the itinerary that is important to us. Period. Stop. We have had excellent meals on Oceania, mediocre meals, and only very occasionally poor meals. We donāt buy into the marketing hype of ā best cuisine at seaā, however the food is generally quite good. We find our greatest delights as being wonderful lunches, or occasional dinners on overnights, ashore. Weāre long past cruising for marketing hype. To suggest we cruise elsewhere because we value itinerary over marketing hype is ludicrous. When the itineraries start to falter, we might take your suggestion. Until then, enjoy your cruise and weāll enjoy ours.
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I know people that refuse to use CC. They want to listen to their tv show, not read it. Some are just extremely rude and you have to deal with it. We once had an adjoining cabin where the people were up every morning 3:30-4:00 with the tv blaring. It took someone from guests services 30 minutes or so to come down, pound on the door, waking others up, to get them to turn it down. By then, youāre awake and probably not going back to sleep. Every morning! These people are just like those that canāt walk 50 yards, but sign up for ship tours far beyond their capabilities. Just rude. A question. When you see people hauling sound systems and speakers into their cabins to hook to the tv, what are your expectations as to whatās going to happen?
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Typically, the procedure is about inventory control and monitoring sales. All wines are ordered by Miami. They know how wines are selling based upon whatās ran through the register. Hard to imagine the accounting gods will be happy if a ship register shows sales of 120 bottles while the ship mās inventory shows 180 bottles gone. There will soon be a meeting between the rubber and the road.
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Pizza is a funny thing. I love pizza. We were given a supposed margarita pizza on Vista. No tomatoes, no heaps of mozzarella cheese, and zero fresh basil leaves. Ours had some cheap indescribable cheese ( if it was actually cheese) and no herbs, no less fresh basil. Was told it was Oceaniaās expression of margarita pizza! š Perhaps we have a difference in opinion of definition. I can love great lobster, while passing on overcooked rubbery lobster. Same with bizzare definitions of people. If they wanted to call it their cheese pizza, well OK. Margarita pizza, not a chance. Ike calling hamburger fillet mignon.
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Room service from specialty restaurants with your butler?
pinotlover replied to Clutj's topic in Oceania Cruises
Talk to your Butler. He is the best to consult with for your specific cruise. Youāll find them informative, entertaining, and resourceful. They are best prepared to address your specific questions. š„ -
Your presumption is correct. Even gave the ship our hotel and guide information. Dubrovnik at night is enchanting.
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We took a different option. We traveled inland from Split and saw some fabulous countryside, then ventured on to Dubrovnik and overnighted there. The cruise ships, and their crowds, had cleared out. We had an absolutely wonderful dinner in town, then strolling the streets, with the locals. After a great day of sightseeing in the area, we returned to the ship in time for sail away. Experiencing the town after the departure of the cruise ships was well worth the costs of a hotel room! šš·
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Simply More Pricing for Shore Excursions
pinotlover replied to snorkelphile's topic in Oceania Cruises
SM is a price hike. Youāre wanting to sweat the minutia. Itās the new cost of cruising Oceania. Take it or leave it. I typically eat ashore in every port. We like to enjoy the local fresh cuisine of the countries we visit, not everyoneās bag. We never got OBC, or other credit, for all those unconsumed shipās meals, nor for all the wine we didnāt drink while on a drinks package. We still had to pay $25 corkage to not drink their wine on a premium package! Notwithstanding any of that, we still ate where, and drank as we please. Same goes for shore excursions. Weāre not traveling half way around to world to feel obligated to take an Oceania shore excursion which we often donāt enjoy. Weāll look at all our alternatives and choose the tours that best satisfy our wants and desires at each port. If shore excursions credit is left on the table, then it becomes just like that ship lunch I choose not to eat because I found far better elsewhere. SM is just a fare increase. In 2025, when we have our first SM cruise ( all our 24 cruises are OLife) we can decide 1st hand if SM is worth the price hike for us. Maybe, maybe not. -
Tipping beyond daily and drink gratuities.
pinotlover replied to Marlo1958's topic in Oceania Cruises
Why do you believe good wages arenāt already built into the fare? Do you know what their wages are? All the workers are paid by their rank. If Oās wages werenāt competitive, they wouldnāt attract workers. Only a few of the senior staff are actually Oceania employees. Most all others are on contract through often a maze of employment headshops that take a tithing out of that pay. Oceania isnāt a party to those arrangements anymore than I am to what our landscaping company pays its employees. Even if Oceania increased rank compensation levels, there is absolutely no guarantee that would flow down the maze to the actual workers. Much like the wine industry in the States. What you pay for that glass/bottle of wine in a retail store or restaurant has little to do with what the vineyard workers make. -
Perhaps confusing, but donāt confuse cruise credits with cruises. One may receive multiple cruise credits on a single cruise based on length of cruise. Or one may only receive one credit for a b2b ( extended voyage) again depending upon length of cruise. We recently did a b2b that was 17 days= 1 cruise credit. Have done a single 24 day cruise = 2 credits. There is a chart for this.
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Simply More Pricing for Shore Excursions
pinotlover replied to snorkelphile's topic in Oceania Cruises
While some do receive compensation from the cruise lines including Oceania. On a cruise, pre Covid, had a gentleman laying out the benefits they received from his wifeās diligent on line CC efforts and blogs. Mixed bag. After awhile one will get strong indications. They come and go. Not a job they can do for too long without arousing suspicion. -
Tipping beyond daily and drink gratuities.
pinotlover replied to Marlo1958's topic in Oceania Cruises
Why does this matter to anyone? I mean really, why does it matter? We always have PPG , by status, Some we tip extra, some we donāt . Iām satisfied with what we do. I never worry about what others are doing or have done. Hereās the most important part: Iāve never felt, on Oceania, that the excellent service we receive was based on our level of tipping. Donāt Worry, Be Happy! -
Room service from specialty restaurants with your butler?
pinotlover replied to Clutj's topic in Oceania Cruises
Just to reiterate a few of the rules: 1. It is only available when the Specialty restaurants are open. Thatās typically 6:30, so donāt expect service ( food delivery) until at least 6:45. 2. All requests must come from the same kitchen. PG and Toscana share a kitchen so both menus are available. You canāt do one PG and one RG order however, as an example. 3. Best to check with your butler as early as possible. You donāt want to be his 12 th couple wanting to dine en-suite on any given night. -
Oceania Club Milestone Cruise Benefit Question
pinotlover replied to bob brown's topic in Oceania Cruises
I posted over a month ago that changes were coming to the program. We donāt know when or what yet. Only thing I was told was 1. Youāll have to cruise to maintain status 2. All Double dipping, like with PPG /OCCAP OBC allowance will disappear, etc. The changes will be out, and in effect for, the new ATW release, and subsequent cruise releases. Shouldnāt affect already booked cruises, except perhaps the double dipping of perks. Time will tell on all others. As to Bobās comment above about days versus cruises. Oceania has a partial system like that now. The biggest issue for Oceania is they have a lot of seven (7) cruises, against a host of competitors, in the Carribe every winter. Lots of partially filled ships ply those waters and Oceania is an expensive alternative. Taking away cruise credits for those cruises, could make the price delta look even larger. Time will tell. -
I could write pages on why we dodge Oceania shorex even though certain threaders here push them adamantly. To address comments above. We have had tour buses park directly in front of bathrooms and had fellow passengers get lost on a bathroom break. Weāve had tour guides say repeatedly ā weāre going left hereā while the oblivious ( or cognitive diminished) go off to the right. Thereās a reason why the groups are herded like children , it matches some of their capabilities. On our last Vista cruise, with 13 port days, we took zero O shorexs. Two of our private tours had Oceania OE passengers along with us. Twelve of us paying $85 each for the private tour, and four (4) each paying $365 each to Oceania to ride along for the OE tour . š. Happens regularly. Hey! We only had 16! š