pinotlover

Thank you All. With completely full ships coming, it’s interesting that Oceania has opted to not give its upper cabins first choice on boarding times. That is after all what every sales catalog they send out lists as a benefit of paying for higher cabin classes. If one was in a Vista suite, and other wise en disposed, and couldn’t check in immediately, even those with inside cabins would have first choice ahead of you. Hmmm?

This question is for those that are just now doing their pre board check in documents. What happened months ago doesn’t matter. Is Oceania still utilizing a first come first reservations system for obtaining Embarkment times; or are Embarkment times once again set by cabin class?

Your cruise is 10 months away. Oceania will figure it out well before sailing.

We never stay aboard ship in ports of call. However, for those that do, I remember the laughter and delight being expressed by some about an obstacle putt putt course the entertainment crew set up in Horizons. People putting under, around, and through a varied assortment of obstructions for O points. It did sound like a blast. I think a few enjoyed watching more than participating!! 😂 I believe a lot of activities, besides darn and gossip, occur that many aren’t aware of. By general observation, I doubt more than 50% , if that, even read the daily Currents to know what’s going on.

I’m surprised the site algorithms allow the exact same title heading to be used over and over. It would be interesting to see how many threads are titled identical to this one on the Oceania forum. 😂

Most all of the 5 cruises we’re booked on in the next 19 months are either fully waitlisted or have a couple lower cabin categories open. An available upgrade would be a C3 to a C1. I’ll have to peruse the sales list to find where the deals are.

Yep, on the Nautica for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Perhaps the deal was the cruise was Hong Kong - Bangkok and the Olympics were held in S.Korea. We were getting the games live.

Oceania did an excellent job carrying the Winter Olympics a few years back. That’s only once every four years though.

I’ve found that allowing someone with even “ MCI” to free wander the ship is often a poor decision. Love ones with them daily are often in denial of how far that “ mild” has progressed. IMO, if one chooses to bring such a companion aboard ship, they should be prepared to stay with them when they leave their cabin.

Mura; I believe you are misreading the statement. I believe it says there will be no La Reserve on the new ships. For those booking Privee ( currently at $300) the La Reserve menus , including Dom Perignon, will be available in addition to the regular PG/Toscana menus. What is implicit in this that those La Reserve menus will come with an additional fee. Therefore, if you have a party of ten, the cost of the LaReserve meal just increased by $30. For a $100 menu, that’s a 30% price hike. For the $300+ Dom Perignon dinner, it’s a 10% hike. Likewise guessing that everyone in the Party would probably have to do the LR dinner.

We never take so much stuff that we need magnets! Taking our flippers and snorkels to FP was a stuffy as we ever get. Worst case, stuff can go in a suitcase under the bed.

Different countries, different rules.

Far too many variables in all the episodes. 1. seven(7) day cruises are problematic on full ships. Every one is guaranteed at least one reservation in each of the Specialties. Even 10 dayers are nowhere near as bad as 7 day cruises in this regard. 2. on the short seven day cruises, one hasn’t a clue as to the number of reservations already made from b2b ers starting on earlier cruises. 3. Extra reservations are never guaranteed on any cruise, even with a butler. This is especially the case if the party is larger than two and unwilling to share. 4. the top suites pay a top price. If they want a Specialty every night they get. They outrank PHers. We were on a cruise pre Covid where our butler couldn’t get us an extra night in Jacques. He told us that some of the top suites were eating there every single night! 5. There are only a limited number of two tops. They go quickly because many people don’t seem to like company at dinner. Those willing to share can often find available tables at the earlier hours.

Boarding with you! 🥂 Payment in Full date was in May and our cruise has been fully waitlisted for a year. In these times it will be interesting to learn if fully waitlisted still means the ship will be full.

I have my TA do it for me. Can’t be done online.

Do not try to log in early and wait. You must log in after 12:00 Eastern Time. I’ve found waiting until 12:01 as working better actually. The midnight surge is sometimes too much for their system.

Sad news indeed!

Big loss indeed. Thanks for the information! 🙏

I wish I had a tape recorder! On one of our longer cruises Captain Max did his usual very lengthy noon announcements. One was exceptional. He talked about the differential costs in port fees in multiple different ports. Differential in fuel consumption at full sail versus maintaining power supply at port and a host of cruise costs. I often wish he had done that lunchtime, over the intercom, lecture as a presentation as an enrichment talk instead of how it was delivered.

Some posters here are interested in GMs, Exc Concierge, and Chef. I’m much lower key. Where’s our butlers? Is Churchill still on O ships? How about Manny?

True. There are also some lines that offer more late departures and overnights at the same ports visited than others do.

1. First of all, let’s get past the “ unlimited “ claim. If one is in any restaurant and the wine steward only makes it to your table 2-3 times during the meal, you only get that many drinks.Therefore, claims of unlimited are laughable. On full capacity ships the Terrace is for Teatotallers. One might only see a wine steward once during their meal. How unlimited does one (1) sound? 2. Once aboard, you will find a bar menu in each of the bars and restaurants. A. The wines “ By the Glass” are exactly the same in all venues. Those wines are included in both packages. B. The liquor drinks on the menus may vary by venue. For example, in Martinis the bar menu typically features a host of martinis!! These are included in the premium package. All drinks may not be available in all the bars. C. The Specialties often have drinks and wine listed on the DINNER menu ( not the bar menu) that are not included in the Packages . ASK before ordering. D. Waves Bar and the Terrace Cafe are infamous in having daily special beers, wines, and fufu drinks that are not in the bar menu and are not included in the packages. Be aware of what you order. 3. the Wines by the glass rarely if ever change during a cruise. They might run out of a wine and replace it with another, or they may just be out of that wine for the remainder of the cruise. My tip is once you get the bar menu, and the list of wines therein, study it a bit because that’s what you’ll have for the cruise unless you buy other wines. 4. Even though certain mixed drinks may be included in the package, all such drinks are not available in all venues. One might not be able to get that martini they liked in Martinis in Horizons or Toscana.

Is this policy still enforce? Will it be so after 9/1? The first come first serve system this established was highly controversial because it supplanted the written Oceania policy of boarding by room category.

A question. I know the bigwigs are aboard which may affect things, but are they enforcing the dress codes in the GDR and Specialties, or is it still hit or miss?

You might ask this question to your TA, no one here can say for sure. Otherwise, you will get your blue book that will have all your boarding details closer to your sailing. It does sound as if the ship might be arriving a bit later back to port for Disembarkment and boarding is pushed out a couple of hours. Best bet is to ask your TA .