pinotlover

From what I’ve been told from various cruise lines different ports work under different scenarios. In Europe, and other ports, most commonly it’s a seniority system. Priority is given on a seniority basis on how long the line has been docking at that port. They have up to a certain date to request docking and then it’s first come first. Some of the smaller ports are strictly first come first. There is no “ we’ll kick you out at 11:00 to get another ship in. The line makes their request and they reserve and pay for the request. If requests are made and altered, those are done 18-24 months prior unless emergencies happen.

We overall enjoy the food in Oceania, but it’s the itinerary that drives us. We had an overnight on Nautica in Iceland. A group of us did a great private land tour and we over night ashore. We had really great food and an enjoyable time. We’ve done the same on other cruises. Some people come back to the ship most every day to eat lunch aboard. That’s great. We didn’t travel to Turkey, Cypress, Santorini, Italy, etc to eat ship food or drink ship wine. Nor did we travel to South America this past Spring to eat ship’s food. Often times we are still so full from great local fresh cuisine from lunch, dinner is relatively minimal. The food on Az was fine, what we ate of it. Not superb , but we were mostly eating ashore , so neither O nor A compared to what we were having. Our problem with Az is I don’t think we’ll ever do an R ship again regardless of the name on the stack.

Cruisers vs Travelers Oceania is jockeying for the former. You’re their target clientele.

We boarded Vista and were informed of three shortened ports, some 10 days out. Our Captain’s Crystal Ball was really poor in that we had great weather the entire cruise. Obviously something other than weather going on.

In this particular case, shouldn’t the word marketers above be replaced by the words “cruise line “ or Oceania? For those of us still trying to figure out a picatta Marsala dish means, ( it’s neither) exaggeration and miss representation of terms is nothing new.

We were on a B2B last Fall. Julie was CD on the first segment and Dottie on the second. What a stark difference hitting you immediately! 😳 Let’s just say that Dottie seems to relish in the term “ burning up the airwaves “! 🤮🥹

Your tour is in November which equals short days. Doing both this time of year could mean you arrive Wadi Run after dark and just drive around in the dark. Check sunset and your specific tour schedule.

Actually there are some very lovely wineries in the area, producing a host of good quality wines. Several of those wineries have delightful restaurants with great views over the Greek countryside. Lots of things to do at that port stop.

Far too much waste. If they left a bottle on your table and it wasn’t finished, they wouldn’t be able to move it around to another table. Now the wine stewards can pour them dry!

Very good to know. Thank you FF. I never purchased enough O shorex to come close to the YWYW discount. Won’t cruise under SM until late 25 at the earliest. Guess the new guidance will be : choose wisely.

Just remember that housekeeping will unplug everything if/when you have left your cabin.

Typically shore excursions can be cancelled up to 24 hours pre tour. Be cognizant of how any cancellation can affect future tour discounts.

Leslie does a great job as CD. If I could only have him or Carr on all my cruises I’d be a happy puppy! 👌 If I never had Peter the Shoe again I’d feel blessed. Could just about him deters me from booking Marina thinking the Shoe could/would be CD. Well, booking through Fall of 2025 and no Marina. Hopefully that means no Peter the Shoe.

Conspiracy Theory. Riveria is being held in reserve until they are closer to launch and have a firm delivery date for the Allura. Just because they took deposits on Allura doesn’t mean the ship will actually be cruising. A lot can/will happen in eighteen months.

1. Marina is going through dry dock and updating next May. No such change has been announced. 2. Riveria has had a recent major update, therefore another one shouldn’t be expected for 4-5 years. No crystal ball for that far in advance.

I’ve only encountered Peter the Shoe on Marina in the past 5 or so years.

Though a fixable item, I hope those automatic doors on Vista work better now than in June. Oceania had removed the door handles for entrance into the bathrooms and was using the motion detectors. Some didn’t work well, or at all. A host of Jedi warriors waving their hands trying to get the bathroom door open varied between humorous and tragic. Oceania should have kept the handles!

So, perhaps “ one size doesn’t fit all”. Even during Happy Hours with the Premium Drinks Package, I always ask before I order. Rather simply actually.

I find some of the Oceania by the glass offerings very acceptable. I wrote a post highlighting some of the better ones, imo, from our June Vista cruise in early July. Some were very nice indeed. Some were Plonk. I attempt to be even handed here. Some report that every meal is exceptional ( even Michelin Class) and every wine tasty. My experience is some meals are excellent, some mediocre, and a few poor. I likewise find some wines “ by the glass “ to be good and others a far lesser quality. You have your opinion, I have mine! 🥂

Sounds more like Viking or AMA. Uniworld typically provides a very nice selection of differing local wines to accompany meals. Unlike the other two ( Viking and AMA) ghastly offerings, on Uniworld we had delightful Romanian wines in Romania, followed by great Bulgarian wines while in Bulgaria, etc . The same can be said if on Rhone or Bordeaux cruises on Uniworld. Think of the delight of having delectable oysters on the half shelf and a beautiful Bdx Blanc sailing upon the Gironde on a beautiful evening. Totally out of the wheelhouse of the guys sitting in Miami. I doubt if Miami buyers even realize the incredible pairing. Besides, the F&B Mgr can’t buy fresh oysters and the on board wine stewards can’t buy local wines. That’s why we escape the ship and have delicious lunches or dinner ashore.

Does Oceania’s motto actually breed mayhem? Your World Your Way. What does that suggest? Pre Covid boarding times were assigned by cabin class. Cruisers ignored them and Boardamania sometimes occurred at heavy turnover ports. The culprits were facilitated regardless of assigned times. YWYW. All ship tours have emblems posted indicating levels of difficulty. Some even say “ no wheelchairs”. I’ve seen passengers show up with wheelchairs and walkers and be allowed on the bus. Oceania is the only line I’ve sailed that allows this, particularly repeatedly. Shorexs get trashed for all others. YWYW. So what should be expected at disembarkation? Do you believe all those instructions will mean anything to passengers? Remember the motto YWYW.

Julia; While I wholeheartedly agree with your suggestion, I’m sure Oceania would remind you of the multitude of passengers with significant short term memory loss. That, of course, is a different discussion.

😂. Check the spelling! I believe he is Pinion as in Opinion! 🥂 The Dark Opinion! 🍷

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I would have gladly voted for Ray Carr, my otherwise favorite CD, to cease the announcements. Let them learn the hard way. FWIW, as I remember, the moron paid a significant fine, spent the night in Jail, had to pay to get to our next port ( Napier I believe) to recatch the ship. Plus rumor was he was banned from re entering NZ again after the cruise. Oblivious or total disregard of the law had a price.