Vineyard View

8 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

We sail based on itinerary and pricing. This is a great itinerary at unbelievable price (around $400 USD per night). We enjoyed cruising on SS very much (except for the crazy dress code which is now more relaxed), I just didn't feel that they are in a different league compared to O (the whole luxury vs. premium discussion). But at that price plus fantastic itinerary, with one overnight and 4 late stays, it was a no brainer.

Sounds like an incredible price….and if itinerary match, bonus round! Hoping you have a great voyage!

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

We will be boarding SS on Monday, our third SS cruise and probably will be our last. Their current prices are almost double compared to O, just cannot justify it.

I am surprised you are sailing on SS again. I was under the impression from your posts that you don’t feel very enamored with them in the first two. I hope you have a great trip. 

I believe HAL and Princess are the two tops for Alaska….so if you want into places  (ie: Glacier Bay) that many others cannot enter, then these two reign due to their longevity in the market. 
It I were thinking about that age range, and a good percentage were younger, I believe Princess may be a better fit…,Anne more activities and wider demographic range.  But wow…..45 people!  
That said….good for you putting this together in honor of your father!  What a beautiful way to honor him. One of my parents most treasured sailing locals was Alaska. For you gather so many people, and reach out for input….class act!
I hope that what  you decide is absolutely as perfect as it can be. 

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

That HAL cruise was a 42 day Westerdam voyage around Japan, over to Alaska, and ended in Seattle.   While we enjoyed that cruise (like all of our cruises) there was a lot wrong about HAL.  As 5* Mariners with over 550 days on HAL, many would say we are loyal HAL cruises.  But by the end of that Westy cruise, DW said to me, "do not book anymore HAL cruises!  We were tired of the understaffing, logistic issues, poor or no entertainment, constant onboard accounting issues (we were overcharged 11 times during a single cruise), etc.   We have no problem on larger ships (although we do prefer the smaller luxury vessels) but we have lots of problems with HAL.  That being said, we would quickly book HAL if we had reason to believe that they were correcting some of our issues.  Most recently, it has been posted that HAL is gradually bringing back Production Shows and that is a start.  Interesting that there are no new builds on the agenda for HAL.  

 

By the way, we did enjoy the Japan/AK cruise so much that we booked something similar for 2025.  But this time it will be on Seabourn :).

 

Hank

Thank you for this feedback. Too bad, because they used to be a decent line to sail on. Sounds like they have a lot to fix. While production shows aren’t a draw for us, understaffing, accounting issues, and logistics issues can sure put a damper on a vacation. Enjoy your land vacation. Sounds lovely. 

Right there with you re excursions and independent travel. Have a fantastic trip.

Did you also live blog when you recently sailed HAL?  We haven’t sailed on them for years since they got rid of their small ships. 

19 minutes ago, ORV said:

Yes, but no where as small as the R ships shower. These rooms have a tub with a shower head AND a separate shower. 

Thank you. That is what I was concerned with….having an R ship shower size. I would think that they have to be taking the space from someplace to have both though. We would be happy with shower only, so I don’t think it would matter either way for us, but it is good to know. 

Okay. I was not aware that there was a charge for waters. Maybe I need to look into the retreat cabana for a day!  I drink a lot of water! Ha!  Thank you 

8 minutes ago, POA1 said:

 

Thank you for verifying that.  I thought I remembered seeing people getting Perrier last month on the Rotterdam.  We got some of the 12 ounce cans from various bars and the Retreat Cabanas had the 16 oz "super special" resealable cans.  They also had 1 L glass bottles of Acqua Panna (still) and 1 L bottles of San Pellegrino (sparkling) water.

 

We took the 12 ounce cans on excursions with us.  We'd split them.

Were all of these waters included in the elite drink package? 

So……do we think then that the symbol designates separate tub and shower?  If so, since Marina verandah bathrooms will not be upgraded, is this layout the same size bathrooms as those with shower in the tub?  If so, does this make for a small shower? Thanks again 

This is a Spring 2025 sailing. I was just curious what the symbol meant! 

I was looking to see what cabins were available in a few different Verandah categories on an itinerary we are discussing. So I used the ‘booking as a guest’ feature. When I clicked on a category, the available staterooms populated. Under the category there is a link you can click onto to ‘view deck plans’.  Really helpful of you have a screenshot of cabin numbers available and simultaneously look at location. This is where I found this symbol that is not in the legend. 

It is directly from the booking website. I cannot get the file to download, so I took another full screen this time. 

Thanks again Cherie. This is actually a much larger ship than we have sailed for a long time. The itinerary is really grabbing us. 

It is post #4 with picture. This is for Marina, which will not be getting bathroom remodels below PH, which this cabin is below. 

2 hours ago, cccole said:

Oh, sorry.  Yes it would make a difference to me that it is not an aft cabin and I would consider it.  But I will say that we loved Deck 8.  Great views from our balcony, it's an easy walk up to the Lido to grab a quick bite to eat or bring back to the cabin, and also the aft pool bar was wonderful.  On your Med cruise you might be enjoying the pool which we did not use but I loved the location.  Cherie  

Thank you very much Cherie!  I sincerely appreciate this! 

36 minutes ago, cccole said:

We were in an 8th deck aft wrap on the Oosterdam and I was worried about noise from the pool area but the only thing we heard occasionally was chairs.  Noise from other passengers is the same as cabin neighbors.   Friends of ours had one of the other deck 8 afts and chose the cruise because of it.  They had previously been on the Oosterdam and he had gone down to the same aft on deck 4 and asked the occupants if they liked it.  They said "never again" and showed him the view of the window washing machines that were always there.  I think I recently saw an aft photo of the Oosterdam on Jeff Farschman's blog and the window washing machines are there. 

 

I would not choose deck 4 and we have another deck 8 aft wrap booked for 2026.  I will however keep my eye open for a deck 6 or 7 if one becomes available.   Hope this helps, Cherie  

Helps a lot!  Thank you. 
 

The cabin on deck 4 is not aft that I was referring to. It is an extended (depth and width) balcony verandah. Not sure if that makes a difference in your deck 4 opinion?  We’ve never been on Oosterdam. 

This is what I am seeing. Full bath and separate shower makes sense. If so, would that make the shower small?

Quick question please. I am looking at an itinerary on Marina. Cabins starting aft at 9133 and 9126 respectively have symbols that I cannot locate on the legend. I do not see them on any other decks. They almost look like two waves…..not the same as the connecting cabin legend shows as an equal sign. 
Would someone please let me know what this designates?  Thank you

I am back again with yet another similar question to my topic. On this second itinerary that caught my eye, Oosterdam, deck 8, verandah can in 8145 - it’s under the pool area. That seems maybe a bit dicey from a sound standpoint?  The extended balcony in 4166 is also available on this sailing. Western Mediterranean. Thank you once again for input. I appreciate it 

I hope that is the case for you! Let us know what you might find out Mary_

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

Afternoon readers,

We are in our last port (before debarkation) on this 35 day adventure.  From my perspective, O saved the best for last :).  Today we are tendering in the Rovinj, Croatia and both DW and I are absolutely blown away by this charming place.  It is like the hidden gem of Croatia, as it has not yet been discovered by the masses, although we suspect that within a few short years it will be a packed place just like Santorini, Dubrovnik, etc.  

 

We have been in many ports on this voyage, with only two (Chania and Rovinj) we have visited for the first time.  Rovinj has a really nice old town area, and nearly any view could grace the cover of a guidebook.  Plenty of cafes, restaurants, art galleries, the usual church, streets paved with stone (which can be slippery).  This is not a port for folks with mobility issues, although they could enjoy part of the town along the various harbors (there is more than one).  I suspect it is not a popular cruise port because there is no pier adequate for cruise ships, and its proximity to other popular ports (i.e. Dubrovnik, Split, Kotor, etc) keeps it off of most itineraries.  What a shame.  DW and I will plan to revisit this town when we are on one of our driving trips.

 

Not much more to add to this live blog.  DW and I had a good feeling as soon as we boarded the Vista, and nothing in the last month has taken the glow off our first O voyage.  Some readers might be aware I am a student of the cruise/travel industry and always have an interest in some of the inside info.  Many may not be aware that a majority of the crew on Oceania, do not work directly for O,  This company is a major user of the Apollo Group, who has been involved with the cruise industry for eons.  Much of the crew that interacts with passengers, are actually employed by Apollo as are the regular entertainers (singers/dancers).  That is not a negative thing, but simply a fact.  These days, a cruise line can contract with third party companies for just about anything and O obviously prefers to use contractors rather than deal with the complications of taking most jobs in-house.  

 

This will likely be our last "live from the Vista" post as we disembark in about 18 hours.  DW and I are staying in Europe for 12 days, and if all goes well will pick-up a rental car and be on our way to parts of Slovenia, Austria and Italy.  We have long suggested, here on CC, that we find the ideal trip to be a combination of cruising and independent land travel.  But we are not looking forward to having to "forage" for our own food/drink :).  

 

Hank

We took a side trip last year to Rovinj off our SB cruise. Our biggest mistake - it was one of two excursions we booked because of distance. We would have loved to spend a full day….or more, in that beautiful spot!  It was storybook for sure. Great way to end your trip on Vista!  
Thank  you again for all the time you took posting your journey for all of us! 

2 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

We are very much HAL rookies with one 11 day cruise with them. We enjoyed our PG (included with HIA fare) dinner. It was embarkation day which by coincidence was my birthday. The food was nicely prepared and the service attentive. We just didn't think it was $100.00+ better than the MDR. I think lunch is a better value and it is worth the extra (to us) above the included in our fare lunch in the MDR. I think one of the advantages of being relatively new to HAL is that I don't lament what "used to be" or how things have "gone down hill". We ask "did it meet our expectations?" As an "Included in our fare" special dinner Pinnacle met our expectations. As an extra charge of about $100.00 destination dinner, perhaps not.

thank your for clarifying. I appreciate this. We haven’t been on HAL for years, and it seems to me that PG lunch was only open on sea days?  I may have that wrong. Regardless, most every port day we DIY, eat in port, and don’t worry about lunch on ship. I really do appreciate your perspective! 

We were in Venice last May 4 nights  prior to a cruise. It was lovely mornings and after 4 - evenings were magical. Late morning to 4 - time to wander away from central Venice. Even then you could find back streets in the shade, or a shop/restaurant/gelato bar to enjoy time.  We went back into the city on our last day (was a RT itinerary) and it was crazy busy. We chose a restaurant on the canal, and spent several hours there. It was quite perfect. 
We were to go to Santorini next month on O before medical required canceling. I had booked a ‘private yacht’ via excursions using SM.  It sounds similar to JL87. Was a 1/2 day, and we  figured we would play by ear going back via cable later in the day if we chose to…..because of the number of ships in port that day. 
For me that is a different scenario from Venice…..only one option to get out off Santorini and the long line in the heat. 

13 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think that for those including us who opt for the HIA fare one Pinnacle grill dinner is included, so it isn't "extra cost". We enjoy that dinner on that basis. The pinnacle lunch is a cut above the regular MDR lunch and well worth the reasonable upcharge. We have a 6 week voyage coming next year and I suspect we will enjoy lunch in Pinnacle several times over that time. I'm not sure we would go for dinner there more than those times included in our HIA fare. I do hope we will have an opportunity to enjoy a Tamarind pop up (Westerdam doesn't have Tamarind) on that cruise.

Have you noticed that having one included in the HIA fare is making it difficult to make additional reservations if you wanted to?  
When  you say that you wouldn’t go more than included, is that because of food/dining experiences you have had there in the past?

Happy to hear Hank that you are enjoying your first Oceania cruise. I continue to appreciate the good and not so good being shared. It truly helps with expectations for someone considering their first voyage….and I imagine it likely is for those who know Oceania well. 
Like you, we are DIY travelers. Your Santorini excursion was exactly why we are!  Reading that your Dubrovnik experience was good, and likely due to size of the group, also reaffirms our thinking. Was this one of the higher end excursions with limited numbers (can’t remember what those are called), or just luck of the draw?