JPR

Best on Regent is Woodford Reserve Bourbon…

45 minutes ago, Gpilon said:

Agree also. Have one at home that I "blast" but the one on Splendor just is not very good.

 

Me too!

The only downside is the sauna. It’s infrared and not nearly hot enough for sauna aficionados.

On 11/19/2023 at 4:23 PM, rloke said:

We are in an F category room.

 

F Superior is our “suite spot” too on Explorer and her sisters…

Always mix Americans and Brits and if possible Canadians. Another European is a good idea too…

Just as an aside, my wife and I prefer a bathtub and shower, which is why on Explorer and Splendour we would choose any of these categories over a Penthouse Suite, which oddly only has a shower. (The only Regent Penthouse Suite that makes sense to us in on Mariner.)

6 hours ago, flossie009 said:

.

 

Just get a Superior Suite, F1 or 2. Same as Concierge except for amenities that in our view aren’t worth the price difference.

We went from Tokyo to Kyoto and it was great. For a very reasonable price they will ship your suitcases from one hotel to the other, which is a must if you’re on a long trip with luggage.

Perhaps due to extraordinary cancellations because Venice has banned all their ships and others over a certain size? Just received a brochure replacing Venice with Trieste or Rome. Kotor replaced with Catania due to restrictions for similar environmental reasons.

On 4/1/2023 at 3:58 PM, Furball83 said:

Sorry to head about Peter—I know there are people who like him. Figured the entertainment was still “old.” Machu Picchu was probably canceled due to civil unrest. Not long ago the railroad closed and tourists were stuck walking mikes along the tracks. Also sorry to hear about the AC and cold food. Will see for myself when I board Thursday and go TA Miami to Rome…

The civil unrest was long over by the time we got to Peru. We went to Lima for the day and then straight to Cusco and Machu Picchu, and had a fantastic time. No problems whatsoever. Oceania way overreacted and those who booked through them (and didn’t rebook privately) lost out big time…

Don’t think much of the Chilean cab and merlot by the glass. For us, the Deakin Shiraz is the only decent red by the glass. If they have Wente Cab by the glass, that is a winner too.

2 minutes ago, Harters said:

What might be really interesting is if O did an "American Night". I wonder what would be included. And would I recognise it as being American and would it appeal. Perhaps more to the point, would Americans recognise it as being American. 😀

Well, there could be examples of California Cuisine” popularized by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse (e.g., farmers market items like arugula and other bitter greens with baked goat cheese), various styles of American barbecue and “soul food” as well as New Orleans specialities like gumbo, shrimp etoufffe, blackened redfish, creole dishes, muffelata sandwiches, chili con carne, Nashville hot chicken, Thanksgiving Turkey meals, Maine Lobster, Dungeness Crab, California sand dabs, Grand Central Station Clam Pan Roast, Florida grouper,  etc.

The new restaurant on Oceania Vista looks like it may take a bit of this approach.

British Night on the cruise is just as appealing as that menu!  
 

Not…

I totally agree. Modern British cuisine can be excellent (though other than sweetbreads I am not a big fan of offal cuisine, as made famous by St. John restaurant in London…).

Re the disappointing cruise itself, here are my comments (by the way, Pinotlover organized great private wine tours!):

We loved our Vista Suite (we splurged for our 40th Anniversary). My wife loved the Artists Loft program. And our butler was excellent.

The poorly communicated cancellation of the Pisco stop (an overreaction to cancel and also to cancel all Lima ship’s excursions) and the Laguna San Rafael stop with its only three 100-150 person glacier excursions (leaving over 2/3rds of the passengers high and dry!) were highly controversial, to say the least. We could have used an overnight and extra day in San Antonio/Valparaiso instead.

CD Peter Roberts has a somewhat annoying nasal voice (some passengers absolutely despised him) but did do a good job with daily trivia, which is about the only time I paid much attention to him other than his occasional announced daily schedule changes.
 

But there has indeed been a significant decline in Oceania’s once excellent cuisine, though at least we avoided the painfully slow and mediocre Grand Dining Room at dinner, and Toscana improved. Chez Jacques and Polo were good too, though the latter for the Colorado lamb and the lobster not for the tasteless steaks (didn’t experience the cold there but in the GDR at breakfast). The Jacques crab salad is gone and replaced with a bad fish salad, but both foie gras appetizers, onion soup, escargots, Roquefort salad, cheese soufflé, tournedos Rossini, veal, and filet of sole were excellent. Loved the off menu Crepes Suzette. (All a matter of timing, since Pinotlover got them on off nights, it appears.) Kippers, Eggs Benedict, and pancakes were fine at breakfast in the GDR. Omelets were good in the Terrace but the pancakes were not, and (unlike the bacon) the waffles were not as crisp as they should be. Pool Bar hot food was fine too, though took forever and sometimes they lost the order altogether.
 

Red Ginger was inconsistent; a 40+ Expedia Wine Group monopolized the top chef for several special wine pairing dinners. So the duck salad was bad the first time but excellent the next two times. Miso sea bass always delicious. Lobster appetizer wasn’t good but the sushi platter was fine. But no asparagus that the menu says comes with several dishes. Broccoli or no vegetable!

They ran out of blueberries and strawberries well before the end of the cruise and refuses to restock in port; Miami or bust!

and no caviar at all onboard, even for sale! That should be a revenue item for Oceania, at a minimum.
 

No unsweetened plain yogurt available after the first two days, though they bought us some onshore. Some doofus bought tons of plain yogurt with artificial sweetener, misreading it as being unsweetened.
 

Honey for tea in the GDR took nearly half an hour to arrive; no small jars. Poor quality green beans, which were a past favorite of ours. And poorly trained staff, with lots of avoidable mistakes (e.g., many lost or mixed up orders, problems with language/communications), informing me there was no cream of wheat onboard as they served oatmeal to my wife, 20 minutes after I had ordered), culminating in our being awakened at 10 pm one night when Reception somehow confused my name with Cruise Director Peter Roberts’s (who would never be staying in a Vista Suite!) and transferred the priest onboard to our room to inquire about having a mass the next day!

On 3/23/2023 at 5:37 AM, MEFIowa said:

Anyone who has legitimate objective complaints should care less about "cheerleaders". Facts speak for themselves. Just curious, how did the captain handle the boos? Did he respond with any attempt at a reasoned factual discussion?

 

And while my focus in S. America is Paraguay, the recent weather & natural disaster news out of Peru has been horrible. As has the political instability, rioting, demonstrations, etc. over an ousted President and a resurgent Congress. Can't say I know much about what is going on in Chile. Weatherwise or politically.

 

Cyclone in Peru causes major flooding, at least six dead (yahoo.com)

 

How Peru’s Crisis Could Send Shockwaves Through the Region | Council on Foreign Relations (cfr.org)

Way exaggerated now; it’s all calmed down. We went post-cruise to Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu and there were no issues whatsoever. We did see lots of national police in Lima and some in Cusco too, which was comforting.

The passengers who cancelled their post-cruise excursions to Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu really lost out…

We were on Marina very recently and the British passengers were not complimentary regarding what they deemed the poor attempts at fish & chips, mushy peas, shepherd’s pie, etc. Roast beef was fine with ok Yorkshire Pudding.

Jacques has lighter items on its menu. I would never miss a night there!

18 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

See my post in the other thread. Studies underway are very concerning regarding long term effect of Covid (regardless of how mild the symptoms may be).

Not understanding your point or the other hysteria resulting from Oceania’s quite reasonable decision.

Covid can be contracted from vaccinated or unvaccinated people. Vaccination is prudent because it makes Covid milder and saves lives, but we now know it does not reduce the risk of getting or transmitting Covid.
 

Therefore, for those who are concerned about eliminating or significantly reducing the risk of getting Covid, even a fully vaccinated ship won’t protect you. The thousands of stories of fully vaccinated people who have contracted Covid as disclosed by mandatory testing (almost always mild and often asymptomatic) on fully vaccinated cruise ships this summer (read about Viking alone!) prove that fact. Best to just stay at home or outdoors if the risk is unacceptable to you.

8 hours ago, ToxM said:

Those shots may be the difference between ending up in hospital or not. Transmission is no longer the issue - severity is the issue. Vaccination and boosters considerably lessen the chance of a serious outcome. 

But that’s the risk to the unvaccinated, not to the vaccinated. Shouldn’t they be able to decide to take that risk?

5 hours ago, smj said:

This is very disappointing. I love Oceania but for now we will probably be going on Azamara.  I do worry about other passengers. Most are older and so vulnerable.

They were already getting sick from vaccinated people on cruises! It’s their decision to take the risk or not. 

On 8/8/2022 at 8:30 AM, Flatbush Flyer said:

At least for O and Regent, this is a MAJOR mistake - particularly the “no vaccine” requirement! 
In any case, the sure-to-increase onboard Covid numbers will eventually reverse that decision. 

I respectfully disagree. The vaccines do not prevent infection, though they are highly advisable to reduce the risk of serious complications Including death. But the current strains are relatively mild and people were constantly getting sick and being quarantined on cruises when everyone was vaccinated.

The real risk is to the unvaccinated passengers themselves. Shouldn’t they be able to make that decision?. 

On 8/9/2022 at 8:44 AM, Flatbush Flyer said:

Are you as displeased as I am with NCLH’s recent decision to allow unvaccinated passengers onboard Oceania ships?  From the recent posts here, it looks like a good prediction of a significant number of unhappy O regulars. 

Well, there is something you can do about it right now, today. Let the new O CEO know if your upset. If, like me, you recently received the official announcement about this vastly premature decision (NO - Covid is not yet an endemic nor is it as harmless as so many ill-informed folks believe) from O, let the new CEO Howard Sherman know about it.

 

You can write a letter to Howard Sherman at O’s corporate headquarters:

 

Howard Sherman, President & CEO

Oceania Cruises

7665 Corporate Center Drive

Miami, FL 33126 USA

 

I don’t have his direct email address yet (though, if it follows the norm at O, it would be HSHERMAN@OCEANIACRUISES.COM).

 

Calling will probably get you the run-around. But, if you’re willing to do a bit of research, you can probably get fairly close to his direct office line (or, at least, his admin. asst.) by contacting Chris Elliott, the syndicated travel writer and ombudsman. His crew at non-profit Elliott Advocacy (elliott.org) are amazing when you need to get to someone who can actually do something. (No cost for this service AND it works).

 

I could provide a stock letter but I’m not a big fan of that tactic since his admin. assistant would probably stop reading after the first repetitive handful. So, I suggest you first state your past positive experience with O, along with your O Club status and what future O plans you have/had - that is, until this misguided decision to allow unvaxed passengers onboard. BTW, if you happen to be a medical or other health professional, identify yourself and consider adding a citation or two (no more) to justify your upset.

 

NOTE: This exact strategy worked several years ago when O announced that vaping would be allowed with less restrictions. The outpouring of unhappy customers got that decision reversed in less than a week. 
 

While I expect that the certain jump in onboard Covid cases in the very near future will see the decision reversed by early 2024 and then flip flopped with every major spike and bad press, this is no time to just sit by. 
 

It would also help tremendously to impress upon your TAs to do the same thing - particularly if they are among O’s “preferred partners.” We, as passengers, may be mere rounding errors in O’s daily bottom line. But, they represent millions in revenue.

 

Best of luck with whatever you do to stop this lunacy.

I do not agree. Please think logically. Since vaccinated people are getting Covid too (the advantage is that it tends to be milder) and since the current strains generally aren’t lethal, doesn’t this decision pose a real risk only to the unvaccinated passengers? Shouldn’t they be able to decide for themselves?

We had a nice downpour today at Vienna.