pinotlover

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 .

absolutely. Maybe, maybe not sometimes yes if on the bar menu

Fwiw, our cruise Embarkment is in Bilboa. I believe most everyone is being routed through/to Madrid . You don’t want to go direct from Bilboa, because that would mean transfers from Chatwick. Or you could go BIL-MAD-LHR-LAX. We choose to go in 3 days early and do a private tour of Burgos and the Rioja wine region. We’ll sightsee Bilboa and the Guggenheim on Embarkment Day. The day prior is a Monday and everything is closed. Long story short, you should expect a short flight to Madrid and then connecting from there as necessary.

Let Destination Services or someone know and get their approval. We did a delightful private tour well out into the Croatian country side seeing from beautiful unique sites. No way was getting back to the ship for, imo, a stupidly early 5:00 departure from Split feasible. We ended out tour in the next port which was Dubrovnik. What an absolutely lovely town. We had a wonderful dinner and then strolled the enchanting streets without all the cruising crowds. Next morning out on our private tour of the city, with a stop by our hotel to pickup our bags, prior to reboarding the ship by the designated time. We’re travelers, for us a night in Dubrovnik far outdoes a night aboard. Others have their own opinions on the issue. Truth be told had Oceania done a late departure from Split or particularly Dubrovnik we wouldn’t have spent the night. Guess getting out to sea early and the casino and shops open was more important .

Mauibabes’s recommended is fine if you schedule that reservation for 7:30-8:00. We normally do the GDR for the first evening. Typically we don’t rush aboard and have the early buffet lunch, but have a nice leisurely lunch ashore and wait for mayhem to calm before boarding. Therefore, we may not be particularly hungry that first night. Also, there are the exhausted ones from just flying in and you see literally falling over in the plates trying to stay awake past the first course. More importantly, if one’s Day 2 is a port day, and we’re doing typical private shore tours, then the tour leaders are typically doing meet and greets on Embarkment eve. These are not the giant RC M&Gs, but smaller ones for all the guests participating in the shore excursions. It’s a chance to clarify and coordinate tour details, plus meet your fellow tour members. Alcohol is typically involved. Historically, these were done after the safety drills. Since the formal safety drill appears to no longer be held, I guess start times for those functions are now more flexible. Still, locking one self into a set dinner time on Embarkment night is not practical. Do you realize how many incredible sail aways there often are on Embarkment Day??? Plenty of time to eat in the Specialties. Be careful loading down your schedule on Embarkment Eve. There’s a reason that 6:30 reservation may well be available. I prefer flexibility that first evening.

Hank; While I tend to agree with you, I’m just explaining the way it is. Oceania ships have a set bar menu for that ship/sailing that includes certain wines by the glass, specific beers, and liquors. Anything not listed on that ship wide menu is extra. The answer to your larger question is revenue. A perfect example is in the Terrace ( Buffet). Nearly daily, Oceania displays and is promoting beers and wines to accompany one’s meal. Those items are rarely significantly of better quality or higher in cost than the entrees on the bar menu included in the packages. They do come with an additional cost to the cruiser. Ask before you order.

1. There is no set menu for Embarkment Day in the GDR. The menu typically rolls on about a 14 day schedule, while cruise lengths may be 7,10,12,14, etc. One never knows where they are on the food rotation on Embarkment Day. 2. Their recommendations for food pairings listed on the nightly menus are hit and miss. They are definitely not professionally done.

Wine by the bottle is not included in any package. The Specialties often have dedicated beverages that are not included. Examples are Japanese beer and sake in Red Ginger. Likewise, in Toscana they frequently offer a limoncello that isn’t included on any package. Even in the Terrace they often feature daily special beers or wine that aren’t on any package. They typically never inform you that it’s not included until they bring you the bill. The ONLY wine, beer, or spirits included in the Premium Package are those listed on the drinks menu as “ by the glass “. Everything else, you pay. If you don’t see it listed on the drinks menu( not the food menu) always ask. Chances are you’re paying otherwise.

My current personal view is, I’m just waiting until October when we’re allowed to sail again. At this point, I don’t believe what they DID pre Covid matters much anymore. I likewise don’t believe what they did ( and are doing) on low capacity sailings matters one iota as to future full capacity sailings. Our October Sirena is completely full and still waitlisted. The ship will have been sailing six months by then. Plenty of time to get any kinks worked out. With a completely full ship and crew, We expect to see the new Oceania product, whatever that may be.