Riviera cruise from Rome to Barcelona

If I understand your question, you are asking what kind of activities do they have when there are lots of sea days. They would usually have bridge instructors with lessons in the morning and bridge play in the afternoon. They would have two lecturers vs one. They would have culinary demonstrations. They’d have their country fair. Needlepoint.

 

On a port intensive itinerary, they would have all the activities (golf putting, Baggo, shuffleboard, etc.) listed earlier in this thread. And, they would usually run specials in the spa.

 

I’m glad to hear that you aren’t dealing with rain.

Well, the reason I'm asking is that we are booked for next December on Riviera cruise to Caribbean. All our previous cruises to Caribbean were on Celebrity, RCI or Holland, and they usually had activities in the spa, on the pool, guest lectures etc. This cruise doesn't have any of this (obviously because there are no sea days), but we would like to see at least some of those activities on Caribbean cruise. I don't care much, but my wife has some concerns, and I need to reassure her..

Well, the reason I'm asking is that we are booked for next December on Riviera cruise to Caribbean. All our previous cruises to Caribbean were on Celebrity, RCI or Holland, and they usually had activities in the spa, on the pool, guest lectures etc. This cruise doesn't have any of this (obviously because there are no sea days), but we would like to see at least some of those activities on Caribbean cruise. I don't care much, but my wife has some concerns, and I need to reassure her..

Our dec cruise they had lecturers, Bridge, bingo, trivia mini putt, ping pong, I think dance lessons will check the Currents for other activities

I am not bothered as I like to read & relax

chat with other shipmates

Curious what spa activities do they have never seen that on Oceania ?

They do have spa specials for the treatments

Oceania has spa “lectures.” How to have and maintain healthy hair. How to deal with various body aches. Not exactly those topics but you get the idea.

We are just back from a short city break in Palma de Mallorca, it’s a lovely city, lots of interesting shops, Passeig Del Born is the main avenue, there’s a great tapas bar Ombu on it, or go to the Sky Bar/Restaurant in the Hotel Almudaina for fabulous views over the city and port. The cathedral and the Almudaina palace are worth a visit and the covered market Mercat de l’Olivar is fantastic with numerous tapas bars in amongst the market stalls, really great food at low prices. Palma is just a lovely city centre to walk round and it is relatively flat.

Did you walk into town and to the market? We arrive at 7 am but I have used one of my free excursions there, “Palma, Tapas and Flamenco Show.” It’s from 9:15 to 1:45. We didn’t go to the market on our other calls in Palma but it looks wonderful and, time permitting, maybe we can go visit it before our morning tour or after. But, if memory serves me right, the walk is 20-30 minutes?

Well, the reason I'm asking is that we are booked for next December on Riviera cruise to Caribbean. All our previous cruises to Caribbean were on Celebrity, RCI or Holland, and they usually had activities in the spa, on the pool, guest lectures etc. This cruise doesn't have any of this (obviously because there are no sea days), but we would like to see at least some of those activities on Caribbean cruise. I don't care much, but my wife has some concerns, and I need to reassure her..

For port days there was from 9:30 -530 pm day 1

croquet play, shuffleboard, indoor golf putting, social bridge,golf putting, table tennis, lecture, trivia, afternoon tea, several spa seminars

other days they added

afternoon popcorn/movie,

sea day

many of the above plus art class, zumba class, needlepoint coffee/chat, bingo, cooking demo with the chefs, gaming lessons, slot tournament, black jack tournament, baggo bean, texas hold'em, martini tasting, learn to line dance, afternoon tea

other sea days they added scavenger hunt, afternoon popcorn/movie, mahjong players meet non hosted, margarita tasting

Plus the fitness classes daily

gives you an idea

Hello and thank you for this thread! Can you tell me what time the shows are each evening? How difficult is it to change dinner reservations? We booked late and only 9pm was available for each of the restaurants. That will be so late. What did you see on your tour in Marseilles?

Hello and thank you for this thread! Can you tell me what time the shows are each evening? How difficult is it to change dinner reservations? We booked late and only 9pm was available for each of the restaurants. That will be so late. What did you see on your tour in Marseilles?

There is one show every day at 9:30pm. We were in the same situation, booked all restaurants for 9pm. But they changed it for us on board to 7:30 and 6:30. But try to do it early, otherwise they might not have available tables. Two of our reservations are table sharing.

We did the first one, Polo Grill yesterday. It was very good, but not necessarily better than the Grand Dining Room. Which is not a bad thing - the GDR set the bar so high that it's hard to beat. Shared the table with four very nice people and had a great time.

We took Highlights of Marseille tour. You can see the description online. Gives you a good taste of the place.

The shows are getting very good. The in house production cast is not as good as we used to on other ships, but guest performaers are excellent. Had a musician, a comedian and a singer so far. All of them excellent.

Was just told by customer service that if onboard credit not fully used, the unused portion will be refunded. Not sure if this is true as customer service already provided inaccurate information at least once (regarding spa services being taxed while in fact only products are taxed, not services).

Was just told by customer service that if onboard credit not fully used, the unused portion will be refunded. Not sure if this is true as customer service already provided inaccurate information at least once (regarding spa services being taxed while in fact only products are taxed, not services).

Only refundable obc. They should be able to tell what you have. Or if you tell us where it came we would probably know.

Only refundable obc. They should be able to tell what you have. Or if you tell us where it came we would probably know.

Exactly.

There are two kinds of OBC - refundable and non-refundable. The former can be refunded if not fully spent; the latter must be spent or it will be forfeited.

So it's supposed to be better on Caribbean cruises?

 

 

 

So you are saying the tax is specific to this region and is applied on other cruise lines now as well? We did Baltic cruise this June and there was no tax.

If you do not leave European waters the tax is collected on all cruise lines. It became more common when the lines cut Turkish ports.

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Was just told by customer service that if onboard credit not fully used, the unused portion will be refunded. Not sure if this is true as customer service already provided inaccurate information at least once (regarding spa services being taxed while in fact only products are taxed, not services).

Only dollars you actually paid with a credit card and/or "refundable" OBC provided by your TA (e.g., commission sharing) are refundable. O Life amenities, O Club Loyalty OBC, TA promotional OBC (provided as a "pass through" from Oceania to the TA's customer) are all non-refundable.

So, if you pre-purchased tours with a credit card, you will get that amount refunded if the ship cancels a tour. It will be posted as refundable OBC.

If the tour was one of the O Life selections (had you chosen that amenity), you will be credited $100 per tour (regardless of the "retail" value). But, that will be non-refundable OBC. So, use it to rebook another tour or buy some booze or whatever.

Note that, if you have a mix of refundable and non-refundable OBC, the ship will always take from the non-refundable bank first. You then can opt for a cash payout or credit on your CC just prior to disembarkation. We generally take the cash since the credit card account will take some time to adjust and you'll lose some FF points related to the original purchase.

Thus, one strategy some of us use is to pre-buy tours with credit card (to secure a tour spot), then switch them to non-refundable OBC once onboard (if the tour still has space). If you pre-bought enough tours to get the 25% YourWorld discount, you'll still get that price break when you switch (or add tours).

Sounds complicated but it's really not.

It was "OLIFE CHOICE $300 SHIPBOARD CREDIT PER PERSON". The customer service lady actually looked at our account and said it is refundable if we don't fully use it. But we also get some refunds from cancelled tours, so those are probably refundable.

It was "OLIFE CHOICE $300 SHIPBOARD CREDIT PER PERSON". The customer service lady actually looked at our account and said it is refundable if we don't fully use it. But we also get some refunds from cancelled tours, so those are probably refundable.

HMMM

I would ask someone else

Usually if it is from The cruise line EG: O Life it is not refundable

It was "OLIFE CHOICE $300 SHIPBOARD CREDIT PER PERSON". The customer service lady actually looked at our account and said it is refundable if we don't fully use it. But we also get some refunds from cancelled tours, so those are probably refundable.

She's wrong about the O Life SBC, it's not refundable unless someone in Destination Services did what I mentioned- moved you credit card purchased tours to SBC thus crediting your credit card expenditure as refundable OBC.

I'd talk with someone else.

She's wrong about the O Life SBC, it's not refundable unless someone in Destination Services did what I mentioned- moved you credit card purchased tours to SBC thus crediting your credit card expenditure as refundable OBC.

I'd talk with someone else.

I think this is exactly what happened. The $300 per person is non refundable, but once we got the credit from the cancelled excursions, it was posted on our statement, and the expenses are taken from the $600 non refundable credit first, and once the expenses exceed that amount, rest of the credit becomes refundable.

I think this is exactly what happened. The $300 per person is non refundable, but once we got the credit from the cancelled excursions, it was posted on our statement, and the expenses are taken from the $600 non refundable credit first, and once the expenses exceed that amount, rest of the credit becomes refundable.

Though I should probably reread the "tongue tier" you just wrote[emoji102], what you are reporting now jives with my experience.

There is one show every day at 9:30pm. We were in the same situation, booked all restaurants for 9pm. But they changed it for us on board to 7:30 and 6:30. But try to do it early, otherwise they might not have available tables. Two of our reservations are table sharing.

 

We did the first one, Polo Grill yesterday. It was very good, but not necessarily better than the Grand Dining Room. Which is not a bad thing - the GDR set the bar so high that it's hard to beat. Shared the table with four very nice people and had a great time.

 

We took Highlights of Marseille tour. You can see the description online. Gives you a good taste of the place.

 

The shows are getting very good. The in house production cast is not as good as we used to on other ships, but guest performaers are excellent. Had a musician, a comedian and a singer so far. All of them excellent.

Thank you! Where do you port next?

Thank you! Where do you port next?

Right now Palma de Mallorca overnight. Tomorrow Valencia and then debarkasion in Barcelona.

A question regarding tax return.

When you go to customs to stamp your tax return form do they actually ask to see the purchase? Or the form is enough? We bought a chess set which is fairly heavy and i would prefer not to take it on carry on.

When you go to customs to stamp your tax return form do they actually ask to see the purchase?

We have never before been asked to show the items we purchased.

I believe the paperwork says to have the item with you. Whether it's enforced or not is another story.

Apparantly in Amsterdam they do enforce it.

Well, count yourself lucky that your cabin gets cleaned so early! I got the impression when we were on Riviera in August for 18 days, that the cabin stewardess had far too many cabins to clean. We left the cabin early every day and most days came back on board about 12.30-1 for lunch, to find her still servicing our cabin, which was obviously a bit of a nuisance. The same thing in the evening. When we came back between dinner and the show, there she was again! Not a problem we have encountered on the mainstream lines, so can only assume Oceania gives their crew more cabins to deal with. And we always left the card out to show we were gone. Didn’t like to complain in case we got her in trouble and she was a lovely lady.

 

 

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On our last TA on Marina, our cabin was cleaned almost as soon as we left for breakfast and then again when we left for dinner. I don’t know if the room stewardess was watching us leave or if just worked out that way, but she was very efficient. I don’t remember her ever being in the room when we returned.

James

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