Help convince this cruiser that O is the way to go!

[ToxM]

1 hour ago, ChadnKate said:

TOXM: We see from your posting that you are on the Sirena. We will be doing it May 6. We are very happy to know that Dottie is the Cruise Director. Could you tell us who the Ambassador is? Thank you. Hope you're getting lots of Red Ginger and Tuscan Steak happy meals!

 

Iwona Goodman is the cruise ambassador and she is very busy!

 

We are honestly having an amazing time. Tuscan tonight … second one 🙂

 

Been a perfect cruise 🙂

[Hawaiidan]

4 hours ago, schelercamus said:

Will a December TA be cold and windy? We usually get a balcony because we love the warmth and ocean right outside our door.

 Sailing from Europe to the US?         In December   they will be a southern route south of the Azores.   Your first 5 to 6 days will be following the current with a following sea which will rolly Till you get away from the influence of the euro and Afro continent

There will be rain squalls  and winds.  25-40 mph,Wind will be from the NE    So for a more wind sheltered cabin get  port side. 

The region off Central to northern Africa is a region of unsettled weather much akin to our gulf of alaska. 

 However Dec is the end of  hurricane threat !!!  This is why the ship crosses late Nov  to Dec.

The clouds and rain will reduce every day and temp will increase 1.5-2 degrees per day  expect low 50's on departure. 

   As you near the carribe  the warmer weather will bring daily rain squalls   Ttill 2 days out crossing the Atlantic gulf stream current once again mild roll. 

 Mid So atlantic will be mild in terms of sea state.    It is crossing the continental currents where stuff happens ( both sea and storm)

      These conditions are historical and derived from pilot charts and mariners/ navigators publications.  which I have used over the years .Sailing  routes of the world is a good book to read   NOAA has some good pubs too.    Knowlwdge is power, as is knowing where to get it.

Yes the weather can change, there can be freak storms.  But statically   you can pretty much rely on this . 

Enjoy life....God dosen't give transfers        

Edited April 9, 2022 by Hawaiidan

[schelercamus]

7 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

 Sailing from Europe to the US?         In December   they will be a southern route south of the Azores.   Your first 5 to 6 days will be following the current with a following sea which will rolly Till you get away from the influence of the euro and Afro continent

There will be rain squalls  and winds.  25-40 mph,Wind will be from the NE    So for a more wind sheltered cabin get  port side. 

The region off Central to northern Africa is a region of unsettled weather much akin to our gulf of alaska. 

 However Dec is the end of  hurricane threat !!!  This is why the ship crosses late Nov  to Dec.

The clouds and rain will reduce every day and temp will increase 1.5-2 degrees per day  expect low 50's on departure. 

   As you near the carribe  the warmer weather will bring daily rain squalls   Ttill 2 days out crossing the Atlantic gulf stream current once again mild roll. 

 Mid So atlantic will be mild in terms of sea state.    It is crossing the continental currents where stuff happens ( both sea and storm)

      These conditions are historical and derived from pilot charts and mariners/ navigators publications.  which I have used over the years .Sailing  routes of the world is a good book to read   NOAA has some good pubs too.    Knowlwdge is power, as is knowing where to get it.

Yes the weather can change, there can be freak storms.  But statically   you can pretty much rely on this . 

Enjoy life....God dosen't give transfers        

Thank you!

[schelercamus]

It seems to me that an A4, with O Life ultimate, and multi city airfare included for $4,799 pp isn't bad. Or a B4 for $4,500 pp is good too. 16 nights.

 

[Kate-AHF]

9 hours ago, ToxM said:

 

Iwona Goodman is the cruise ambassador and she is very busy!

 

We are honestly having an amazing time. Tuscan tonight … second one 🙂

 

Been a perfect cruise 🙂

 We LOVE Iwona!!!

[Flatbush Flyer]

53 minutes ago, Kate-AHF said:

 We LOVE Iwona!!!

Yes, Iwona is one of our favorites. 

But there’s nothing like the dynamic duo of Ray Carr as CD and Jennifer Faust as the O Club Ambassador. From the morning TV show to their great friendship off the ship, they perfectly compliment each other and the passengers benefit greatly from that.

[PhD-iva]

14 hours ago, basenji56 said:

A December TA might be pushing it.  I just got off a late March TA on Riviera.  Able to use the balcony for the first week.  A bit too chilly to use it much of the day for the second half of the cruise.  Your mileage may vary with the weather.

Basenji56, I think the difference is that your March TA was headed from a southern (Caribbean?) departure to a more Northerly EU destination. March is still cold in the Med. In December the ship will be heading in a southerly direction and the temps will get warmer as you approach the warmer waters. So, I think weather will/might improve as the cruise progresses. My best guess….

[jondfk]

On 4/8/2022 at 11:25 AM, schelercamus said:

….

We're intrigued by O, but this would be more than we've paid a cruise in our lives! We're aid workers, so this would be a stretch for us. I'd love to hear some real world folks talk about their O exp., and what makes it different than NCL. We're chill, cool folks in our early 40s.

 

 

I’ll offer an opinion, on morning #5 of our first O cruise.  We’ve sailed NCL twice and Princess about 20 times.

 

What’s different and better on O.  Yes, the food, pretty much every bite in every venue is fantastic.  DW despises buffets but has agreed that on Regatta the food here is top notch, it can be crowded when doors first open, 30 minutes later, much calmer.  I often tell non cruising friends the food on Princess isn’t the best I’ve ever had, but probably is the best 7, 10 or 15 consecutive meals I’ve ever had, no such qualifier on O, food is broadly as good or better than restaurants we frequent at home.  Service in the GDR has likewise been outstanding.

 

Service more generally is good, but variable, luck of the draw here, we’ve had cabin stewards as good on Princess, I’m not terribly impressed with the cabin team on Regatta, again there is a bit of luck in this.  Bar service likewise has been a bit hit or miss, in general I have the impression O are a server short in many areas, an example, in Horizons, the second largest lounge on board, we attempted a pre dinner cocktail but gave up after 25 minutes when the single server working couldn’t manage to deliver two simple drinks, a very large room with one server and bartender simply can’t deliver great service.  Other venues seem better staffed.

 

the ship itself is truly lovely, and lines are short compared to what you may know of NCL, but they do exist, tendering is a universal pain.

 

As for the value proposition, that has to be a personal choice.  You’ll rest well, be fed well and have a great time on NCL.  Every one of those things improves noticeably on O, whether the upgrade is a good value you’ll have to judge for yourselves, we compared notes last evening and concluded we will shift more business to O though I doubt we will completely leave Princess given their strong year round west coast presence.

 

hope this helps somewhat.

[Hawaiidan]

15 hours ago, schelercamus said:

It seems to me that an A4, with O Life ultimate, and multi city airfare included for $4,799 pp isn't bad. Or a B4 for $4,500 pp is good too. 16 nights.

 

I would go  for the B4.....   my rational is that on a cruise with many sea days your going to want to be out of the cabin. and to have social interactions. Cabin fever may come into play as well as wwather

  The A cabins are no larger and taking a meal in them is like a Marx Brothers movie.    The implied advantage of getting extra reservations is, on a trans atlantic pretty meaningless as once on board  opportunity will abound...every day     ( remember that on line reservations  are only for a % of the available tables and there remain a large number  you can reserve on board) 

 

Finaly, My opinion of butlers value is, for my lifestyle  on no value. It seems like a feudal hold over of servants and serfs.     But that's me being uncomfortable with the concept.    You have to decide.

 

  So....for $600 more what are you really getting that you could not get yourself ?      

[Host Jazzbeau]

9 hours ago, jondfk said:

Service more generally is good, but variable, luck of the draw here, we’ve had cabin stewards as good on Princess, I’m not terribly impressed with the cabin team on Regatta, again there is a bit of luck in this.

This is probably a Covid start-up issue.  Two anecdotes [and, scientifically, two anecdotes = data!]:  (1) on our Riviera 14-night cruise in January, we had a great cabin team the first week, then the assistant changed to what was obviously a trainee and the service level went way down; (2) I recently read that P&O is cancelled cruises, not because of soft bookings but because they can't staff the ships.  I expect that Oceania will solve these problems quickly, because they are one of the more desirable cruise lines to work on.

[bbtondo]

8 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

This is probably a Covid start-up issue.  Two anecdotes [and, scientifically, two anecdotes = data!]:  (1) on our Riviera 14-night cruise in January, we had a great cabin team the first week, then the assistant changed to what was obviously a trainee and the service level went way down; (2) I recently read that P&O is cancelled cruises, not because of soft bookings but because they can't staff the ships.  I expect that Oceania will solve these problems quickly, because they are one of the more desirable cruise lines to work on.

I was on my first Viking Ocean cruise this past November in the Med.  It was obvious that there were many trainees. Hey, everyone was new at a job at least once.   I was pretty underwhelmed with the service and food on Viking and I really don't expect much. I've been on Carnival, Princess, Royal Carib and Celebrity.   

 

Hoping on my first O cruise this August it will be different. Sure looking forward to the wonderful food I keep hearing about!

 

 

[Mareblu]

13 hours ago, bbtondo said:

I was on my first Viking Ocean cruise this past November in the Med.  It was obvious that there were many trainees. Hey, everyone was new at a job at least once.   I was pretty underwhelmed with the service and food on Viking and I really don't expect much. I've been on Carnival, Princess, Royal Carib and Celebrity.   

 

Hoping on my first O cruise this August it will be different. Sure looking forward to the wonderful food I keep hearing about!

 

 

We have only cruised once with Viking, but it was a long b2b (5 weeks in total).  We simply loved the decor:  elegant simplicity and functional spaces.  Entertainment was just right for us, and we particularly loved the lectures.  However, the food was way below par:  tasteless and overcooked, with the exception of the steak in the MDR, but there are only so many times per week you can order and enjoy steak.  Many passengers we engaged with had swollen feet from the excessive saltiness.  Not the healthy choice of cuisine one would expect of Scandinavian offerings.  The food in the Italian restaurant was really good though.  We are embarking our sixth Oceania cruise in September, and we know what to expect:  exquisite cuisine and wonderful service.  I think of Oceania ships as floating country clubs:  comfortable, understated, with as much fun and engagement as you wish to partake in each day.  The bars are intimate and relaxing, too.  You will love your Oceania experience, I'm sure.  Happy, happy sailing in August.

Linda

[ORV]

In all my cruises I've never discussed swollen feet with anyone, and never had it myself, swollen waistline maybe, but not feet. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I had no complaints about the food on Viking, but there are two reasons I probably won't cruise with them again:  (1) [permanent] requirement to pay in full so far in advance (which also triggers early payment of the big insurance premium); (2) [hopefully temporary] the daily zero-dark-thirty Covid spit test before you can begin your day [or in my case, go back to bed for your beauty sleep...]

[Mareblu]

2 hours ago, ORV said:

In all my cruises I've never discussed swollen feet with anyone, and never had it myself, swollen waistline maybe, but not feet. 

It was a tad difficult to ignore with everyone around us discussing it.  Yes, I'm always more concerned about the swollen waistline.