pinotlover

Dec 2021. Ancient History. Not what was offered in March 2023.

For those with the right TA, combined with the flexibility to cruise with 15-45 days notice, the prices can be jaw dropping. 🥂

Comments from staff, going to the Vista, were the plan is to flip tables in Embers hourly, not 1.5 hours. We’ll soon know. 🥂

In March, one of the optional menus was one of the La Reserve meals. This had an add on cost. The other option was a set fare meal which may change . For either of those two selections, everyone in the Group had to take the option, and the chef had to be notified of that selection 48 hours in advance. We opted for the PG/Toscana combo option. There were wine recommendations with the second option menu, none of which were on the “ wine by the glass “ menu. We have always brought our own wine and paid corkage, as has everyone else in our group. I haven’t a clue as to whether either Drinks Package applies in Privee.

My TA is over there now. Confused as to whether she is already aboard, or waiting to board. It will be interesting to see what the early reviews are of the new venues like Embers. Wait and See.

Cruise lines started to believe in their own cool aid, that cruise sales would come roaring back. Didn’t happen. Number of situations to verify this. Here’s the marketing dilemma. If Oceania gets caught in a loop where everyone starts expecting more and more sales and discounts after cruise release, people set and wait for the next sale. Some here are already doing this. That’s why I believe O will quit the sales on the short and intermediate term cruises. Silent sales bring in near the money with out the public sale “ mania”. I effectively used a silent sale to fill the Marina on our recent cruise. Going forward with the new Fall release is an open bag. We’ll see how they price them, with added benefits, to get them to move early. NCLH lost $0.30/share last quarter which isn’t sustainable. They can’t sustain a formula where cruisers grow to expect a 70% ( or even 40%) off Christmas , or whatever, sale.

Really don’t see much happening until September with the next batch of cruise releases. They’ve had so many sales on short to intermediate term cruises already it’ll start affecting expectations. Just guessing they’ll shut the ESS sales down shortly and go to silent sales to finish filling the ships on those cruises. Then, with the new releases, a new deal.

Or that people make the reservation deposit/payment without first reading the invoice ! Or don’t listen to CD announcements, Destination Services announcements, or ever read the Currents while onboard. Little indeed should surprise people anymore. I’m happy this worked out well for you. You should have little problem finding a cabin that opens up.

Is the outdoor portion of the Terrace now completely covered?

That is what we likewise received on Marina in March.

The Champagne selection changes over time. In the past 7 years it has been a Brut, so not sweet at all. Before that there was a Brut Rose, so more juicy but still dry.

Most generally, the answer is NO. When we want fresh local foods, we eat ashore. A rare exception occasionally happens in the Terrace, but one rarely knows when and it can’t be pre planned. We canceled a PG reservation one night , while in the FP, to eat a FP buffet in the Terrace. We could eat Merican food anytime on Oceania, but that one night was the only dinner offering Polynesian local fare while in the FP.

The British system is obviously different from what we do in the USA. Here, we individually us a Travel Agent. The TA ( or O rep if used) makes an initial cabin booking. The passengers are then sent an invoice/ contract spelling out the cabin number, any applicable PPG, OBC, and other perks for the contract. Also a very long list of T&Cs are included. One has seven (7) days to accept said booking and pay the appropriate deposit confirming said contract, or rejecting it and not making deposit. No one is placed or forced into any cabin Or contract. Deposit is never made ( on our part) until we have seen and clarified any issues with the contract. It will be interesting to learn how the procedure differs for you Brits.

Totally confused. We have never been put in a cabin we didn’t want. I’m willing to bet the O rep placed you into the cabin with a 7 day hold. During that seven day period you had the opportunity to decide if you would accept the cabin, and contract, by making down payment for such. You could have rejected the contract, waited, and possibly later either rebook as a waitlist, or when/if a different cabin became available. Why are you blaming the O rep for your exercise of Free Will?

We have no Oceania shore tours booked on our upcoming Vista cruise. All private tours . Our private tours from the Marina, in March, were both far superior in content and saved us hundreds of dollars compared to O tours. We primarily use O tours when other options don’t exist. Use your Roll Call, you’ll be richly rewarded.

We got our Turkish Visa already via the Internet. Simple procedure. This thread reminds me of flying into Cairo several years ago for a Nile River cruise. Uniworld begged we passengers repeatedly to apply and get our Egyptian visas before we departed. Meanwhile, brilliant travelers kept telling people here on CC “ Nah, that’s not needed, you can just get it at the airport when you arrive.” Several of us arrived together on an Egyptian Air flight and, with or visas in hand, sped right through immigrations to meet our Uniworld host. One couple of t followed the CC recommendations, not Uniworld’s. Their reward was about a three (3) hour line waiting with a hosts of hundreds that took the same option. To add insult to injury, those working the visa desk were government workers and they shut everything down for an hour at lunch time, while all those in line, including our fellow passengers, waited so not to lose their place in line. We all went to the hotel, checked in, spruced up, had lunch, and did some planning. Our hosts were able to pick the brilliant ones up after about a five hour wait at the airport. Getting the visa before departure isn’t a big deal. Or as Clint Eastwood would say” Do You Feel Lucky?” 😂

To start, for the current era: very few cruisers actually do b2b cruises any more. Today most all cruises become “ Extended Voyages “. Which are cruises within themselves. So, there are no longer card key changes, transit keys, etc as mentioned above. Past history. It is true that in the US and a few other countries, everyone must exit the ship, and often go through security or immigration again. In most countries this is not the case. The new Embarkment Day for arrivals is just another port day for most ongoing guests. There may be other requirements on the new segment, however those seem to vary and are outside your question.

Comparing to the above posts, we don’t see life as “ either/or” as some obviously do. We sometimes enjoy going to big wine festivals with lots of diverse wineries, large festive crowds, and lots of varied entertainment. Sometimes we enjoy the small exclusive tastings of fewer wines and fewer people. Cruise ships can be the same. Some can easily become bored of the sleepy ships with almost no energy and the same limited restaurants. Sometimes a much more vibrant atmosphere and selection are craved. We don’t always do anything. That includes cruising on the same ships or cruise lines.

Page all the way back to Time stamp April 24th. ( About three pages) You will find a thread with nearly the exact same title. Ten helpful replies in that thread. Enjoy.

Some people just wake up every day looking to be offended! What about Wagner Group veterans. They served their country!🙄 Guess they should be offended also!

Easily obtained on line for our upcoming June cruise Embarking there. Easily done.

US Army. Airborne Ranger. Still secret stuff. Nope! No OBC based on service. We veterans make up a decreasingly small portion of the population. Proud of my service, but expect little in recognition when we veterans are such a tiny slice of the population. Life goes on! In the coming years, we Vietnam vets will be as past history as Buddy Holly! Who! 🍷

To be exact: there is a bit over 25 ounces in a 750 ml bottle. In restaurants, most wine pours are either 4 or 5 Oz pours. So I challenge your math as to 4 pours. We do however, on a delightful cruise, have little problem finishing off a bottle at dinner. 😇. Rarely do we need to store a bottle! 🥂

Mura; Since the Privee episode, for which this thread was started, my DW and myself have opted for a new approach for our upcoming June cruise on Vista. Having cruised twice with Oceania since restart , we have noticed quite a few changes and inconsistencies from the prior product. With this in mind, we are purging any and all expectations of food quality, service quality, senior staff communications, and operational functions. We are going to embark as if we’ve never been on the cruise line or ship in the past. No expectations, just wait and see what unfolds before us. Zero comparisons to “ other “ lines. It’ll be like a blind tasting in a wine line up. Show me what you have now. No other vintage or wines matter. To aid in this adventure, we are taking no ship shore tours, all private ones. Not having to deal with Destination Services will be a bonus for all parties! One feature, that should aid the Vista, is that they have cherry picked the staff. The best waiters, both bar and restaurant, we encountered all had contracts on the Vista. Same with room attendants. After such cherry picking, glad we’re not on other O cruises for the short haul! 😳😂. They are staffed with those not selected for the Vista’s debut.

For bookings on opening day, I give my TA a list of cabins I’ll accept. When she does the pre booking with her O rep all that information goes in. The algorithms then take over. It’s what pre booking is all about. If one needs, or requires, a HC cabin then their TA can feed that information in during pre booking likewise. I’ll bet they’ll normally get that HC cabin. For those adamant about DIY, and refuse to use a professional TA, then they’re playing against a stacked deck. That’s a cost associated with DIY. FWIW, the number of cruises selling out upon opening has been slim of late. That’s why Oceania has resorted to a number of special sales to book cabins and reduce inventory. If one truly has special needs and requires that HC cabin, then I believe they should book it early ( upon opening). I don’t believe Oceania should just keep cabin availability open for certain classes of people just in case they might want to book it 18 months from now.