pinotlover

Our current Mods refuse to do stickies. This is a perfect example of a topic that should be.

To many variables here. Most of us don’t live in SF or NYC and pay $1+million for an efficiency apartment. 🙄. So comparing what drinks costs there versus elsewhere doesn’t really matter. At question here is the cost of ship well drinks and call drinks ( significant difference in price) versus upper class bars in most major cities ( not SF, Chicago, or NYC). Many establishments have (1) $7.50 glasses of wine and (2) $15-$20 glasses of wine. Difference in wine quality. Trying to sell 1 at 2 prices draws scorn.

The seagulls keep wiping out ports! 😢 Happening on River cruises also. The seagulls have worn out their welcome. 🥺

I can speak to wine. Some of O’s by the glass selections are not horribly priced. However, some of them quality wise don’t rise to the level of plonk and O still charges aggressive prices. My customers don’t typically bring in as low of quality of wine as Oceania does , but when they do the wines are priced at $6-$8/ glass to appeal to the price sensitive buyer. Significant percentage jump between $8 and $12, especially with an additional 20% added on.

The issue is that airlines typically set their final flight schedules 60-75 days out. That’s when all kinds of crazy things will/can happen to that great itinerary one put together. That’s the time period one needs to check the flight status almost daily. The airline will completely alter the flights and may not actively tell you about it for a week or so.

They have never guaranteed that. December can mean blizzards, ice, and air traffic snarls. Oceania cannot control either the weather or the airline’s response. They don’t hold the ship to wait on you.

We enjoy going to Horizons for Happy Hour, and especially when sail away is during daylight hours. Enjoyed multiple sail aways from that venue. I’ve never understood the band abruptly quitting at 6:00 and walking out. Just playing to 7:00 would be a huge improvement, imo.

What does the hallway have to do with Martinis or Horizons, of which I limited my comment? The quartet is great, but it’s not bar music.

When PCH was acquired by NCL one of the first combination of services was the air department.

Typically, in Martinis, during the questioned time, the CD ( or ass’t CD) takes over and does an evening trivia game. This is popular with some and an abuse of the bar area by others. Either way, you’re not getting music during that time frame in the bar. I find it unfortunate that if one chooses to dine 7:00 and later, Oceania effectively shuts down entertainment in both Martinis and Horizons.

Trying to get one’s butler to get an extra reservation for 8 in a Specialty, with six of those not being in suites, is a push. Maybe at 9:00 pm! Of course, details from the OP, are slim. Probabilities of such on a 15+ day cruise is significantly higher than on a 7-14 day cruise.

A bit of both. According to the head wine steward on a recent cruise. All wines, beers, and liquor are bought out of the Miami office. It is literally unheard of for a ship to do any local procurement. The beverages are then shipped to Oceania/NCL’s major distribution hubs ( such as Miami, Lisbon, etc) where the ships routinely pass through and inventory replenished. If a ship runs out of a particular wine, it remains out until it gets back to one of those hubs. With this system most of the offerings are the same fleet wide. However, On the second part, sometimes Miami does make huge regional purchases when opportunities exist. An example of this was that the Nautica was in South Africa one winter, corporate got a huge deal on a variety of those wines, and the ship took on a huge cache! The other ships didn’t have those wines and Nautica passengers were left drinking them for months. Some were just plain bad and the burden wasn’t shared across the fleet.

Works only if you mostly enjoy drinking alone with your SO in the solitude of your cabin. We, OTH, enjoy meeting fellow cruisers and sharing experiences along with adult beverages. Almost never had a $0.00 bill. Even with a package I typically end up with corkage fees.

Best to split up. Unless yelling one could never hear the conversation from across the table. Even the few eight tops are bad about this. Do a group of 6 & 4, and just rotate around in the evenings.

Same thing happened to us in Sydney. Last time we ever tried to check in early and drop the bags!

ICT Lineman; Looks like we’ll be onboard together in BA next Monday. Don’t understand your comment about difficulty in bringing wine abroad on that cruise, especially the first 1/2. We are doing winery visits on day 2&3. Then again in the Casablanca Valley from San Antonio. Also Ushuaia produces cool weather wines such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Then don’t forget the pisco!!! After leaving Lima, I agree, a wine desert! However, that 18 day leg is a new segment.

Actually, this is just the same issue discussed before told from a different angle. Our group of ten went to the Club last week for a four course Valentines Day dinner. We ate, drank, talked, and laughed for over 2.5 hours while being served the courses. Time flew bye. Do you realize the number of cruisers on Oceania that would find that a dreadful evening? We sat and had dinner over 2.5 hours!!! 😱😱!! Why do people have to talk during a meal?? Couldn’t they just eat and leave within 45 minutes?? We’ve watched people on two tops rarely, if ever, mutter a word during an entire meal. The issue here, for some, isn’t the number of courses, it’s all about the time spent during a meal.

Debt payments are mandatory. Escargot purchases aren’t.

Must be missing something. Cruisers constantly book grossly overpriced Oceania shore tours for the convenience. They don’t have to think much, but they still have to sign the ticket!! We were on a shorex that had both private and O people on the same tour. Only difference was a separate vehicle delivered us to the tour operator. Our costs - $150 ea. , O costs $350 each. We paid on the day of the tour, O shorex’s paid when booked. Our Upcoming Falkland’s tour is with the same operator doing the same tour as those booking it with O. Our costs $190 ea.- O price $365 each. Same deal, we pay on tour day, O bills when booked. For the convenience of booking with O and never reading a Roll Call, please calculate how many days of Prestige upgrade could be paid for in one day.

Some people’s primary purpose of cruising is eating. We do it for the ports, they do it to eat. Doesn’t bother me except when some are really wasteful. Order 4-5 courses and take a couple bites out of each course with the rest going to the garbage. Especially those ordering the giant steaks and always only taking a few bites.

If you can bring on booze at port stops, I’m sure you can bring aboard jams, jelly, etc. Might even be able to sample some local varieties instead of the mass production ship offerings. Eat local, what a concept!!

Marriott has options at Doral Country Club. Easy access from the airport. Lots of dining options. Great property to just stretch your legs and walk around or take a swim. They’ll give you a late check out option so one can enjoy the morning, miss Boardamania, schedule a van for the entire group for an under 30 minute arrival at the ship. We used them a couple years back before a departing on a dive trip. Everyone was very satisfied as arrivals from around the country came in on multiple schedules.

If the Marina ran out of Chilean sea bass, as previously reported, one of its most popular dishes, then it’s altogether reasonable that a particular ship might run out of cigarettes to sell. Absolutely nothing to do with policy. Just luck of the draw or poor planning.

I have often been glad to have the sports coat on/along. If I don’t need it, simply slip it off. However, there have been times I felt we were eating in the walk-in where they hang meat. My jacket and my DW’s sweater we carried in were a blessing.

We booked a class for our June cruise. Had to have our TA do it. The website was acting up and wouldn’t put the class in our cart. I’d website has been hugely problematic of late. Just logging in is sometimes difficult.