pinotlover

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! 🍷

👍

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.

So isn’t that the question? Should Oceania just print the NZ policy in Currents ( many passengers never or rarely read Currents), make one announcement every day, or the constant reminders? Do constant reminders/announcements affect behavior of the Oblivious? Or, why waste your time on them?

Some CDs are more yaky than others. Do the announcements work? Having a large percentage of passengers ignore all announcements doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t helpful. A simple example. Standing in line to deboard for a tour or catch a tender. How many times should the staff have to announce: “ Please have your room key out, in your hand, to expedite de boarding.” They can say it every thirty seconds and someone will still wait until they get to the stand and start digging in their purse, or start walking against the line because they just discovered at the stand they left it in their cabin. So should the announcement be made once, ten times hoping people will pay attention, or fewer? How many times should a CD have to announce daily in New Zealand not to take any fruits or food items ashore. The Oceania passengers that ignore all announcements will do as they please, the rest of use heard it on Day 1 and understood. Should the CD make that announcement 5 times every day? We had a fellow passenger arrested at the port in Wellington. The dogs were on him immediately. He was carrying fruit ashore! Those continuing announcements went ignored as so many do. I don’t know the answer. I just go with the flow.

Absolutely no “ one size fits all” answer. Some days it’s comfortable in a short sleeve shirt, other days I’m extremely happy that I brought my sports jacket. I always wear my sports jacket to dinner. It’s easy to slip off if the venue is comfortable or warm . My DW always carries a sweater. It’s truly a Forest Gump box of chocolates thing. You’ll never know until you get there. Conditions last night have no bearing on tonight.

We were in Lisbon, on the Sirena, last October starting the second leg of a B2B. A zero count was not required. Some passengers remained on the ship. Oceania ran shore tours. The port ran regular shuttle buses from the ship to downtown for we DIYers. For those that stayed on the ship for the “ special “ lunch in the GDR, it was reported that the menu was identical to the evening menu the night before. So one got an evening meal served at lunch. Some questioned whether it wasn’t just the excess prepared food re warmed. We had a lovely lunch ashore. I believe one had to RSVP for the lunch , on the forms sent around, so they would have a headcount for that special lunch.

1. The issue on the ship is the sole result of rude passengers that ignore their assigned color code for disembarking. Ignore most all instructions given to them by staff and ship officers, and ignore most all logical safety precautions. This starts before they get on the ship, and doesn’t end until they are gone. Any steps Oceania attempted to take would be ignored by the majority of its passengers. As far as the Lounge goes, would you want to be in the center of a row, with all your luggage, with most of the seats taken around you and the pathway jammed with luggage? That would be humorous! FCO is a nightmare. It can be very frustrating even when one arrives by taxi. The drop off and pick up areas are far too small for the amount of traffic. The drop off area may not be near one’s check in counter. Hopefully you get dropped off at the correct terminal! If you read this Forum regularly, you’ll hear a continuous theme. DO NOT schedule that outbound flight until after 12:00. Give yourself plenty of time. Be able to take a deep breath and go with the flow. As in paragraph 1 above, the ignore button by Oceania passengers is huge. Can I make my 10:00 flight, how about a 9:30? 🙄. IMO, if you book one of those flights, you deserve what ever stress comes with it.

😂. I wish people would make up their minds. We have one thread going where people are complaining about NOT wanting to pay for extras. Only pay for what you want! They don’t want all inclusive. Here we have people complaining about things that aren’t included! 🙄 😂

Since the OP has: 1. Disappeared; 2. Started a thread with NO facts; 3. None of us have any clue as to what’s happening! Time to yawn and move on. I personally feel embarrassed that I responded to someone that offered zero information about what actually transpired. 😔