New to the Oceania - looking for info/advice

[gdlamberth]

Getting off the corkage fee issue for a moment:

 

Since you're on a port intensive itinerary, you probably won't be having much time for lunch on board; but, if you can I'd highly recommend trying The Waves Grill.  Specifically,

• Surf 'N' Turf (my take on this is to order two hold the turf and hold the bun🙄); and
• The Maguro (grilled Tuna)

You can check out their whole menu at:

Waves-Menu.pdf (oceaniacruises.com)

 

Greg

[DCGuy64]

Did a search for this and came up empty, but: how does Oceania seat people at tables when you have a reservation? Let me clarify: we booked two dinners onboard and when doing so, I chose the option of a larger table (it was last week but I believe I selected a 6-top). We love meeting new people and some of our best memories from cruising are conversations we've had with fellow dinner guests. We are traveling as a couple, so if I ask for a reservation at a 6-top, does Oceania randomly put people with us? 

[shepherd really]

6 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Did a search for this and came up empty, but: how does Oceania seat people at tables when you have a reservation? Let me clarify: we booked two dinners onboard and when doing so, I chose the option of a larger table (it was last week but I believe I selected a 6-top). We love meeting new people and some of our best memories from cruising are conversations we've had with fellow dinner guests. We are traveling as a couple, so if I ask for a reservation at a 6-top, does Oceania randomly put people with us? 

yes

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, shepherd really said:

yes

Thanks!

[DCGuy64]

Another question I just thought of, and apologies for not including it in my earlier post: will the outside pool be open during our trip? We're sailing on the Nautica around Japan April 12-22 and it's not exactly balmy there in the spring. Just wondering whether to bring our bathing suits (I guess we will anyway, since there's a spa onboard, but would love to know if the outside pool is likely to be open or not).

[LHT28]

11 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Another question I just thought of, and apologies for not including it in my earlier post: will the outside pool be open during our trip? We're sailing on the Nautica around Japan April 12-22 and it's not exactly balmy there in the spring. Just wondering whether to bring our bathing suits (I guess we will anyway, since there's a spa onboard, but would love to know if the outside pool is likely to be open or not).

it was open on our Arctic  sailing   they will cover or drain in really rough weather  but other than that the pools have been open IME

 

[shepherd really]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

Another question I just thought of, and apologies for not including it in my earlier post: will the outside pool be open during our trip? We're sailing on the Nautica around Japan April 12-22 and it's not exactly balmy there in the spring. Just wondering whether to bring our bathing suits (I guess we will anyway, since there's a spa onboard, but would love to know if the outside pool is likely to be open or not).

My pre-covid transatlantic in April '19 weather was from chilly to brrrrrrr.  The pool was not open for the 15 day duration of the cruise.  

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, shepherd really said:

My pre-covid transatlantic in April '19 weather was from chilly to brrrrrrr.  The pool was not open for the 15 day duration of the cruise.  

Same situation on our December 2022 transatlantic on the NCL Epic. WAY too windy-ironically, being December it wasn't actually as cold as I imagined.

[shepherd really]

Just now, DCGuy64 said:

Same situation on our December 2022 transatlantic on the NCL Epic. WAY too windy-ironically, being December it wasn't actually as cold as I imagined.

A South Atlantic TA in the winter can be downright balmy, North Atlantic, not so much.

[LHT28]

5 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Same situation on our December 2022 transatlantic on the NCL Epic. WAY too windy-ironically, being December it wasn't actually as cold as I imagined.

on the 2019 TA  the outside decks were closed  as they had a foot or more on snow on the deck  then we hit storms mid atlantic  & rain until we hit  SW  UK & France  were fine

 

Our Norway & Arctic circle cruise was  fine   a friend went swimming  after we crossed the Arctic circle   a bit chilly getting out  though 😉

 

 

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, shepherd really said:

A South Atlantic TA in the winter can be downright balmy, North Atlantic, not so much.

Exactly. (Although we had sunny days in the north Atlantic where it felt like it was in the 60s. Not balmy, but not iceberg weather, if you pardon the reference.)

[Stem to Stern]

On 3/8/2023 at 3:33 PM, MEFIowa said:

Inside F.

I am curious about the inside staterooms on Riviera.  Have you every sailed in this category?  I have only ever been in an inside stateroom once, but I am willing to give it a try to keep the journey budget within reason.  The trouble will be convincing my other half that he doesn't need a balcony on a port intensive cruise.

[MEFIowa]

4 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

I am curious about the inside staterooms on Riviera.  Have you every sailed in this category?  I have only ever been in an inside stateroom once, but I am willing to give it a try to keep the journey budget within reason.  The trouble will be convincing my other half that he doesn't need a balcony on a port intensive cruise.

We're in the same boat. Literally.

 

No, never have. Wife is nervous. I'm not. I got her to try it because we're on a B2B and this is the 1st half and we were able to use a cabin-upgrade sale on the 2nd half to get a B4 Veranda. So she knows she'll be on a veranda eventually. I'm still monitoring every potential future sale (esp. any cabin-upgrade sale!) to see if I can upgrade up from this F. I did such a G to C1 Deluxe cabin-upgrade on Sirena for our 9/2024 Baltic cruise. We book all these originally in early 2022 and watched the cabin-upgrade sales in 2022.

[Stem to Stern]

23 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

I'm still monitoring every potential future sale (esp. any cabin-upgrade sale!) to see if I can upgrade up from this F.

Thank you for your reply.  It seems like Marina and Riviera have more than enough indoor and outdoor public spaces to negate any perceived deficiencies of an inside stateroom.  We were on our first R-class ship (Azamara) and I found the ship as a whole a bit too cozy at times.  There were four sea days.  Our balcony went unused for the most part.  We like to mingle with others.  The cabin size was not an issue for either of us.  How frequently do the cabin-upgrade sales come up?

[MEFIowa]

45 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

...We were on our first R-class ship (Azamara) and I found the ship as a whole a bit too cozy at times. ... The cabin size was not an issue for either of us.  How frequently do the cabin-upgrade sales come up?

We did a B2 on Sirena 11/2022. No problems with the room. Though after doing Riviera 12/2021, I prefer the larger O-class ships.

 

The Presidents' Day sale, usually cabin-upgrade, was scrubbed this year, replaced by a mediocre "20th Anniversary Sale" that morphed afterward in a mediocre "Ultimate Sale". The cabin-upgrade sale actually saves you real $ as opposed to cents on the dollar for their overpriced excursions, drinks, etc. I'm watching and hoping for a Memorial Day cabin-upgrade sale. And Labor Day. That's what was there in 2021 and 2022.

[halfapair]

On 3/8/2023 at 8:42 AM, iaae22 said:

Hello! Oceania newbie here! We just booked our first Oceania (this will be our first luxury cruise). We have cruised before with Royal, Celebrity and Princess but I think we outgrow them. Looking for any recommendations you are willing to provide for us. We’ll be on Rivera for 10 night from Venice to Athens in the fall of 2023 in balcony cabin (B2). Thanks! Irina

Someone in another thread said to not book specialty restaurants for the first couple of nights, because everyone wants to go to the Main Dining Room at first. This way you can stop at the reservations desk and ask if there are any open tables, and maybe you can score an extra dinner or two in the specialty restaurants. I have not tried this, but might try it on an upcoming cruise.

 

We loved Jacques, and were able to get extra seatings on our Baltic cruise a few years ago.

 

in Toscana you can request the pastas as side dishes. Yum! That way you can try more of them. If they have the zabaglione with peaches it is sooooo, soooo good! OMG. SO GOOD!

[Heartfelttraveler]

On 3/8/2023 at 9:36 PM, ORV said:

If you really think the corkage fee is for opening the bottle it's easy to understand why you think it's high. Not picking on you, but it's not about opening the bottle. 

You also have to include stemware, washing stemware, and disposal of the bottle when empty.

[Heartfelttraveler]

We have done two Oceania cruises (so far) on the larger ships (Marina and Riviera) and loved both.  I wanted to do the cooking class, but my husband was reluctant.  I informed him that he "did" want to do it and booked it.  He LOVED it.  I would highly recommend it.   

[ORV]

7 minutes ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

You also have to include stemware, washing stemware, and disposal of the bottle when empty.

While this is something that is involved it's not the reason for the corkage fee. Basically when I bring my own bottle and have wine with dinner they are not selling me a bottle with a 2 to 4 times markup or more over their cost. The corkage fee is to make up for that. Really nothing to do with labor opening the bottle or washing the glasses. 

[AlexCherie]

We've only just taken our maiden voyage on O, and there's a bunch of good advise from other posters.

Some of my thoughts ...

* Avoid dining in the specialty dining rooms on consecutive nights. Don't get me wrong - the food is wonderful. You might find your system overwhelmed, is all.
* Spend some quality time in the library.
* Exhale (a lot!0, and don't feel the need to hurry. Fewer guests really is a decompression you might not fully understand if you've done lots of mass affluent ships in the 3500 passenger class.

But most of all ...

The people are just phenomenal. It was one of the best parts of our trip, just chilling with other guests. We found a lot of joy in those conversations - I think you'll see a high level of O loyalty aboard.  

I found everything else I'd endured at sea to be a false economy. Enjoy!

[iaae22]

Hello - is there a way to know ahead of time what menu will be in the MDR each night? Does MDR has a menu rotation? This will help us decide when we would like to eat in the MDR vs specialty dining vs Terrace. Does specialty dining menus the same every night or they also have some kind of rotation?

[schmerl]

The MDR changes each day. You can see the menu on the TV in your cabin. 

Specialty restaurants stay the same. You can also see them on your TV

[mauibabes]

The Specialties are set menu’s every night but you might see a “Special” each evening in one or more of them. Book your Specialty reservations in advance when they become available to you, and then use the GDR or Terrace Cafe or other venues as your normal evening dining option. If out on a long day tour, maybe an evening on the Terrace works out best.  The GDR rotating menu’s are often served in the TC, which is a faster dining option.  The menus are available on your Stateroom TV as well but I do not know of any place where you can see an entire cruises daily menu’s in advance. 
You can’t eat everything that is on the Specialty menu’s anyway, unless you want to explode, so you can always create your own tasting menu’s for your dining table.  It is pretty much whatever strikes your fancy as the food is outstanding but I am afraid it is possible to have an “Off” night in any restaurant. If you are willing to “Share” tables, your options for additional Specialty reservations open up immensely, or if you are in a PH or Suite. Room Service is available and depending on your Stateroom level, dinner menu's can be from the GDR or Specialty restaurants. 
Just go and ENJOY,

Mauibabes

[SonuvaBeach]

We just booked our first  cruises on Oceania...Bermuda with the Insignia for August/September, and Greece, Croatia, Italy on the Marina for October. My one question ( for now) is: How difficult is it to get a table for TWO in the GDR and Specialties? We usually have dinner at 8PM. Thank you in advance!

 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, SonuvaBeach said:

We just booked our first  cruises on Oceania...Bermuda with the Insignia for August/September, and Greece, Croatia, Italy on the Marina for October. My one question ( for now) is: How difficult is it to get a table for TWO in the GDR and Specialties? We usually have dinner at 8PM. Thank you in advance!

 

it  depends  on how many others want a 2 top  at that time

 

I would say  in the Specialties  that is prime time  so maybe  an issue

Dinners seem to take 1.5 to 2 hrs  average so the turnover is not as fast  then

We have had 6:30 res & are still there at 8pm

 

GDR  should not be  a problem they have lots of 2 tops

JMO