Vineyard View

I would not say there are a lot of activities, but while we are active, we generally don’t look for that. Remember, they are smaller ships. I can only compare to VO, but we commented on the fact that on our sailing there was a good range of ages - much more widespread than we found on VO which tended to skew older. I cannot comment on whether that is common. Maybe ask on SB boards? Again, I believe that both lines have great options depending on what one is looking for…..but no line is perfect in every way.

We did not experience that on SB. Majority of ports were tender in May. No tickets, no having to be there early. And we generally do not book ship excursions. Likely because the ship is a max 458 pax.

We have not sailed on Oceania yet, but we did sail SB this year. Our yardstick was Viking I would say that while there were areas that we felt VO was a step ahead, in a vast majority of percentages of comparison SB excelled -including cuisine and particularly cabins. . So I would say that itinerary is a big piece of what you are looking at with the unfortunate changes. We travelled to a lot of smaller ports with SB and we were concerned with the large number of tender ports. They have that down to a science. That said, having a balcony is really important to us, so we would not be willing to give that up. I think you will likely enjoy either line very much.

Concerning if you are not booked in one of these categories. But I do understand what your are saying about pre-planning. That may make a difference regardless of cabin category?

I have read this on multiple O threads. I’ve read it on larger ships as well. It is concerning. Yes, smaller ships but it sure can impact your port day if it does not run efficiently. Not everyone wants to book a cruise line excursion.

I think that the point in the post from LHT28 is that there are included ‘extras’ in the price that anyone pays. It varies by person how worthwhile that extra is. There are a lot of comments about having to pay in the base fare for those extras and the value/rip off to them. Some will view those included extras as valuable - ie: sodas in the room. The value is different for individuals. So wine is good for some, soft drinks for others, etc.. and totally without value to others….which some feel is a ‘rip off’. But trust me, what ever those included extras are……you are absolutely paying for them in your base fare.

It’s pretty darned awesome that they are doing this in my opinion. Seeing the aftermath of not doing so is Incredibly sad. What might make sense is for lines to post that during migration seasons that may be impacted for that reason. I honestly think that might have a positive reaction among customers, and at the same time alleviate the frustration of not knowing why.

Same on our Seabourn cruise. The ‘formal’ night had a wide variety of attire. DH brought a jacket, many didn’t. He wore slacks and collared shirt every evening in MDR. I was overly worried about dress beforehand, but decided that it was pretty similar to Viking. The two exceptions on 11 nights was one formal and one captains dinner where there was everything from country club casual to very dressy. It was fun. We will pack similar clothing for Oceania as we did for SB and Viking. DH didn’t take a jacket on V, but he was chilly some evenings, so he appreciated having a sports coat this time.

I checked with our TA as well. She confirmed with O that it is Barcelona. I am hoping that remains correct, but I also wonder how fluid this situation is going to be with these major changes. The port area being shut down is the one that catered to the smaller ships. People were caught off guard last year when Viking docked in Tarragona. I do no know the details around that, but I do remember that it was unexpected to them. It certainly could have been lack of communication from VO.

Good to know Hank. They are in my sites as well, but their sailing dates don’t fit with ours. When they launch additional ships that could change!

I think this gets back to what is important to various travelers. We managed to snag a sale on O, then SM came along which provided (again for us) additional savings on top of the summer sale. Each line has ‘perks’, some of which are important to many, and not to many others. With all the changes, these perks will attract and repel, but if one wants to sail on upscale lines, then a lot of the SM perks may be difficult to avoid moving forward. For instance, we don’t care about the ‘perk’ of included excursions. That narrows down where we look. Others find that attractive. We paid for that perk in the past because we liked the product. I hope you can find a line that works for you moving forward.

Our itinerary only had one sea day. We made our own on a second day. We never looked to see what activities they offered, as that is not a nugget for us in our traveling. I respect that it is important to people, but it is never on our radar. Thank you for the feedback for those who do enjoy activities.

We started years ago with main stream lines. ‘Large’ ships then weren’t large in today’s standards, but the food, the service, the experience caused us to move on. We liked HAL when they had truly small ships. We then moved to Viking. First Rivers, then Oceans. We haven’t moved away because we didn’t enjoy our time on board. We enjoyed our sailings with them. I started looking because we were tired of paying so far in advance (yes, I know you can get 6 months out if you have one booked), but also because the regions we have been interested in are basically the same itineraries they have offered for several years. Combine that with huge price increases on a per person per day to the point of luxury cruises, and what is important to us, it does not pencil out. So we didn’t stray because we did not enjoy the onboard experience. Our Seabourn trip this year, all costs included, penciled out to less per day than VO (for what is important to us) and was a considerably higher level of on board experience than VO. On multiple levels. With respect to Oceania, the itinerary attracted us, as well as total cost per day. Again, for what is important to us. Also, the reputation and our TA, who knows us well, suggesting we would like. I am not sure if we will be one line cheerleaders of any brand yet, but that truly is not my goal now days. If we can find 2-3 brands we truly enjoy that meet a total cost per day range, with the right itinerary, along with our boxes needing to be checked, then we are open to trying a few. Long story short, this is how we ended up booking Oceania and we hope to add it to that 2-3 brand option moving forward.

With your dates you are probably in a better position to dock in Barcelona proper, than next Spring/Summer might present. IDK. I sure hope it works that way for you.

Please keep us posted on any updates. For those wanting to spend time in Barcelona it’s a trek to Tarragona. It’s possible to take trains, but it’s not a straight shot by any means. We have been to Barcelona several times, so we would likely just book a place in Tarragona for 1-2 nights. From the airport there are no direct trains either, so private car looks to be the best bet. Neither option is very convenient, but we have no control over how this rolls

I believe that there will likely always be outbreaks of viruses. It just seems to be a good way to minimize spreading of germs. I don’t believe that it is intentional at all by those in buffets, but the fewer hands on an item the less chance. Those tongs, spoons, etc get a lot of handling by a lot of different people during a given meal.

Yes, table service at night. I was thinking it would be nice if the buffet was served by crew members rather than all the hands touching the same serving utensils over and over….If that works for buffet fans, great. I wasn’t suggesting that buffet be discontinued. I apologize if that was misinterpreted.

I do wish that Colonnade was not self serve during the day, or at anytime. It we pretty surprising to me that it was.

DH wears his as well. But the tv is still louder than I wish it were. He loves sports turned up! And movies. That said, tv is never on when we travel. I enjoy that quiet change. Maybe Oceania could highlight in TV instructions that there is cc available.

I’ve been reading about this as we are scheduled to sail from Barcelona in May. In a recent article, it stated that the docks being closed were the once’s used by the smaller cruise lines and were those within walking distance to town center. Those remaining open will require a shuttle, or ships will sail from Tarragona (approximately 1 hour from BCN). I asked our TA to confirm a couple months back what the plans were for Oceania, and she was given information that we would be sailing from BCN, not Tarragona. Do I believe this? I honestly do not know. That said, I would very much like to know the answer.

THE Main reason we started looking elsewhere. Their new pricing. We enjoyed sailing on them for several years, but post Covid prices are through the roof, whereas prior they were much more competitive with Azamara and Oceania. Their prices are that with SB for sure. Haven’t really looked at SS, but when we sailed SB we were glad that we did. We don’t believe the product justifies the price after SB. Looking forward to experiencing Oceania.

Why would they not open those windows rather than cover them in black drapes? I get that may be a more ‘elegant’ vibe for some, but viewing the ocean while on ship is a bonus for many while dining and sailing.

Labates629, thank you for the pictures. Looks pretty amazing to me. I would totally love that balcony! The only thing that made me think ‘that was a miss’, (and could have been totally different in person, was that brown couch! Would that have impacted me in a negative way, nope. I would have enjoyed that stateroom a lot. Have a blast floridaphilly!

I’ve been trying for a couple months to book our reservations on 4/18/24 sailing. Never are they available…. Sounds like it’s not just us, but it’s still frustrating

Check out Ravello online. It sits above the town of Amalfi. Both are worth considering. We took a local bus from Amalfi up to Ravello. It was quite beautiful. Just a thought Sorrento is a different vibe. Both are pretty wonderful but we felt that Amalfi/Ravello were less commercial.