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This is us! Totally agree with everything you are saying Hank. We have always been DIY and Independent. This is why the extra costs on Viking, and I guess now Oceania, and other lines, for included tours is not click bait for us. This past Spring we decided to try two excursions to places fairly distant from port. It reminded us of why we don’t like them. I would only add that on Trip Advisor there is a section in all geographic locations called Forums. You can click on that for a specific area you are visiting and ask questions - including private tours and transportation. Pick any city, and instead of hotels or restaurants, there is this category as well. I have found it useful in addition to CC. I also add my thanks to you Hank. You have always been really helpful

Love this! If the price was right I wouldn’t turn it down, for sure!

It is fascinating our differences in preferences. We also travel for the ports and DIY in each of them. We enjoy being out all day, mostly not returning until close to sail time. Where we differ is that we enjoy a leisurely dinner. That is not to say that eating under the stars doesn’t sound attractive and wouldn’t catch our attention from time to time now that you mention it! But we enjoy MDR and specialty restaurants at a slow pace…..still allowing for decent bedtimes and early off the ship. I guess it all works out the way it’s supposed to, because if everyone just wanted to dine in one place, that could create quite a cluster!

We sailed Quest this Spring for the first time. Really enjoyed our cabin layout, food, service, etc. We would sail them again with the right itinerary/price point in a heartbeat. We also do not do ship excursions. We sailed Viking several times as our comparison, and if their one free bus ride or walking excursion is important, then that is an edge, along with the full walking promenade. Overall, SB was definitely a step up in many other ways to us. Viking’s current pricing is now higher than SB and we enjoyed the overall SB product more. Moving forward SB and Oceania will likely be our most looked at. Maybe SS, but we don’t need excursions or butlers…..we do need a balcony. R ship bathrooms/cabins won’t work for us, and to bump up, the price point is not attractive with either O or Azamara. I really appreciated your comparison here. It’s helpful to someone, like us, who has not sailed on them. We are not attracted to buffet dinners, so moot point for us, but it sounds like the cabins are similar in class to SB. Thanks again for posting!

Don’t know if it is possible, but years back we took an extended land trip through NZ. It was incredible. The winery that we absolutely loved was WooingTree on South Island. Their Pinot’s were off the hook ( I know, NZ is known for Sauvignon Blanc). We brought a couple bottles home, and chanced laying one down for 10 years….still crazy good….which for some of our CA Pinot’s is quite impressive. Maybe an independent tour could incorporate them for anyone interested. I have no idea how far from port they are since we were not on a cruise, but if so, will be well worth checking into. We hope to return to NZ someday. What beautiful country, people, experiences.

We were booked for our first cruise on 5/18/24. Unfortunately medical circumstances have interrupted travel plans this Spring. Hopefully that sets it straight Are we still looking at Oceania for the future…..I think I answered that in the post you questioned me on. Possibly for a very good itinerary at the right time of year when we can travel. Will I keep watching the boards I am interested in, yes. I think they provide the positive and the not so positive. No line is all positive. Oceania has had a lot of not so positive right now. I hope that settles out, as it was highly recommended before all the things many of you who are experienced are discussing.

Totally on the same page in your thinking Pinotlover. We travel the same. We also never took Vikings excursions unless it was a means of transportation to and from, meeting back at the appropriate time. We had no issue providing a tip to the tour person - just because we didn’t want to go with the group shouldn’t impact their way of living when another guest who followed along would tip. All of this is, as you say, a price increase. No added value whatsoever. It’s pretty crappy the way it’s being spun out IMO. It’s been interesting to watch the maneuvering of Oceania’s marketing department recently, that is for sure. And in the end, it could cost them. Time will tell on that. Am I sold on Oceania, and how they have been handling various situations in the past six months? No - I am not. Am I still sold on Viking as I used to be - no I am not. Have I completely ruled out sailing…..it would have to be a really superior itinerary for us at the right price point, and then maybe. But you put it into perspective quite nicely on the ways we travel, and I agree with your analysis.

Game changer from the first SM excursion credits responses from Oceania which was that the credit can be used exclusively for excursions. So now, maybe culinary classes? Maybe daily gratuities? The locked in SM of excursions only is a fairly big, legitimate issue of contention for many. I hope that Oceania opens up the SM to include those monies for other applications. That said, lowering the just introduced SM excursion benefits does appear to be an increase in total cost to the consumer, and cost cutting to Oceania. Pretty quick change with such a major revamp on pricing policy.

Thank you. Is there not an area in the MDR set aside for CO on the older ships? I thought I read that as a benefit. Maybe I am wrong.

It sounds like the Pinnacle class ships are where Club Orange shines….both in dining and Signature suites? It also looks like maybe the Signature suites shine more on Pinnacle class? That combination, if true, possibly changes the value statement for CO within ship categories, such as Niew Amsterdam?

We’ve sailed and traveled enough to have experienced ship happens a number of times. Being surrounded by people with guns in Cairo has not left my memory, that is for sure…..but a lot of bumps and detours along the way will always happen, and have happened - by sea and by land. For some, ship excursions are less stressful. For others, just the opposite. We simply do not enjoy them for a number of reasons. We’ve done them multiple times in various locations, and there are commonalities on most we prefer not to do. That’s us. So that leads me back to my reason for starting this thread. Tendered ports can greatly influence your time available in any given port. Size of ship greatly impacts tender experience. Where a ship is positioned for certain ports is a big influence. I realize that no matter how much one plans, things don’t always go that way, but I like to try my best to have a reasonable expectation going in. I’ve learned a lot from this thread, and I sincerely appreciate all the experienced input

Thank you all. I own the thread drift! It just morphed when I saw the two same two itineraries one day apart from different ports. So the tendering issues on this itinerary may be worth Club Orange….. Appears there are 2 ports with less than ideal tendering locations, and one port with less than ideal docking location. That is all really good information.

Interesting concepton the May 3, May 4 options. I wonder how that will affect the itinerary with one day apart boarding. Not sure how I feel about that but I suppose these trials will tell the story. I briefly looked at flights from SFO to RTM. It wasn’t pretty. Seemed like going into Brussels early for a couple nights then taking the train might be a good plan. Dover, not much easier and either LHR or Gatwixk, with LHR having many more options. ‘those with experience, what are your recommendations please?

That is what I thought. Thank you. iDK, but it sounds like a decent upgrade.

I am a little confused. It shows May 3, same itinerary, same ship out of Dover….and May 4, same itinerary, same ship, out of Rotterdam. I’ve not seen this before. Is this something HAL does?

We sailed in a Neptune and really enjoyed it, but we are not looking to do that. So signature suites are larger though, as well as balcony, correct? Bathroom?

So no benefit to Signature suites, much like no value to spa verandas?

VMax1700 and fruitmachine- you both are so incredibly helpful. Thank you very much. I welcome any and all thoughts. DH threw out a land trip, and I think that would be amazing and the best way to experience your beautiful areas, but it would limit us to one country…..so research will continue. That’s part of the fun!

I’ve looked at Regent and SS. Their itineraries and ships look pretty enticing for sure. My issue is that we are DIY and private excursions people rather than ship excursions. Lines that include this in their pricing, and for those who enjoy ship excursions, it is a great alternative. For those who don’t explore that way, there may be a premium that doesn’t pencil out. For some, that makes no difference, and how awesome is that. Same thing with the Retreat. For some it might make more sense than paying for an excursion in every port more than an excursion. IDK, but it seems like there are a lot of positive with these three lines that get talked about - depending on your individual priorities as to which is a better fit.

Thank you for the feedback cruisemom42. I originally looked at weather and it showed that April/May can be preferred shoulder months, but there are locals on this thread who could better address that. We have friends who just returned from a land trip in Scotland in September and it was apparently colder than average. Trying to find that sweet spot when schools are still active and weather cooperates. I am trying to tie this with a special anniversary in May ‘25, but for the right itinerary/line/price can be flexible.

Thank you 0106! I appreciate this info!

What about lower suite categories. Would that make sense financially?

This is great information. Yes that is the sailing. Interesting it is also showing the same sailing, same ship on 5/3 with different cabin availability. So I didn’t mention that and I should have stated that up front. A bit confusing. We have been contemplating and wanting to visit the BI for several years. Newhaven; Lerwick; Douglas, IOM; Dun Laoghaire are all tenders. Sounds like all four are not ideal to tender from? Add in Ringaskiddy, and maybe this is enough to give me pause. Then again, maybe this is typical of BI cruises. I am just starting the research for BI. My first pass was the overview itinerary, but with tenders it prompted me to start this thread. VMax1700, thanks for the link. I will take a look through that. You all have a lot of experience here in this region. Would this itinerary grab you enough to book it for the first (who knows, maybe only) BI cruise? thanks so much again.

Good to know. Was wondering the same thing. Thanks for posting gfkcruiser! Also considering - tendering priority is attractive.

Maybe consider SB as well. We’ve sailed both and SB is a great value and product… against the current V pricing it may surprise you. Some shared that they enjoyed the cruise…..good that some were able to. I sure do understand your position and know it would have been difficult for us as well. So glad you made it safely.