Jim_Iain - Live from Oceania Regatta - September 14 Vancouver to Los Angeles

[mhdesno2]

Jim, this is off subject and I know you would figure it out but when you get on the ship and you initially log in the Oceania wifi, if you use a VPN, you need to turn it off. You can turn it back on once you're logged in. I've only done 2 Oceania cruises so far, both with Starlink on board, but turning back on the VPN seems to enable streaming. I'm really not sure why.

[Jancruz]

1 hour ago, Cruising Maryland said:

The 9/26 cruise on Regatta is LA to LA, it does go down to Ensenada, but also up to SF

I know I will be on it..it is a coastal with a stop in Ensenada due to the Jones Act

Jancruz1

[jonthomas]

last year when we did alaska we included the LA to LA portion...

 

San Francisco was not the city we remembered just a few years ago....yes there were some problem areas as with all large cities but not like now...

 

would not get off the ship there again...

 

so glad we had seen much of it on our previous stops...

 

Astoria was another big disappointment...we had been there 5 years ago...beautiful..walked for miles along the Columbia river, walked in town...

 

last year, we were shocked at the change...

 

will not get off the ship this time..

 

very sad....

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Jancruz said:

I know I will be on it..it is a coastal with a stop in Ensenada due to the Jones Act

Jancruz1

FYI, the Jones Act governs the transportation of cargo. The law that governs the transportation of passengers is the Passenger Vessel Services Act.

I don't care if everyone at Oceania corporate headquarters calls it the Jones Act, because they're wrong if they do.

[Jancruz]

13 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

FYI, the Jones Act governs the transportation of cargo. The law that governs the transportation of passengers is the Passenger Vessel Services Act.

I don't care if everyone at Oceania corporate headquarters calls it the Jones Act, because they're wrong if they do.

Thank you for the info..much appreciated

Jancruz1

[LuAnn]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Will check it out.    We booked one of our "Free" Oceania for a bear tour.   Off my head I can't remember which port.

 

We currently don't have anything planned for Prince Rupert so may add on another.

Jim..I was in Prince Rupert on a 101 foot converted sub chaser in 1964 as a kid. The sidewalks were all wooden and we watched a movie on the side of the post office..outside. Will be anxious to hear how it's changed!!! 😉 

[Redking]

Following along. Happy sailing!

[lj77346]

6 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

6 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

LOL--- I guess you are correct.   I understand that the demographics tend to be on the older side.   My only problem is that even though I'm in this demographics I still fell like I'm 35.    We should be easy to find as our photo icon is current.    Also we will be the newbes wandering around in total awe and confusion. 

 

Really looking forward to meeting you.   You definitely will be a wealth of knowledge.

We arrived in Vancouver around 1 p.m. and shortly after getting to our hotel, the rain started.  Tomorrow’s forecast is for showers as well with temperatures in the upper 50’s.  Sure beats the months of temperatures around 100 in Houston.

 

[Eloise4Ever]

Really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Oceania, Jim. I've enjoyed your Celebrity reviews over the years. We mostly cruised on Celebrity but have done a few cruises with O since 2022 and found a lot to like. I feel the whole ship is like the Celebrity Retreat experience so will be very interested in your opinion. Have a wonderful cruise!

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, Jancruz said:

I think you are confused the  9/26 trip is the California Coast up to SFO and back to San Pedro..we like to do that trip because our grandchildren are in SFO..

Jancruz1

 

Ahh... you obviously correct.   Bad on me... I was just assuming it was a Mexican Cruise. 

 

We did a B2B to SFO with an overnight right after Covid.    On the fist cruise it was colder than we had planned so we took the train home and changed out our wardrobe.

 

It was really fun because we met friend for dinner that we hadn't seen during Covid. 

 

Thanks for the correction.

 

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, Cruising Maryland said:

The 9/26 cruise on Regatta is LA to LA, it does go down to Ensenada, but also up to SF

 

Ahh... so I'm partially correct.   That sounds like a great cruise.   I guess the Ensenada port is required to make it legal.

[Jim_Iain]

6 hours ago, mhdesno2 said:

Jim, this is off subject and I know you would figure it out but when you get on the ship and you initially log in the Oceania wifi, if you use a VPN, you need to turn it off. You can turn it back on once you're logged in. I've only done 2 Oceania cruises so far, both with Starlink on board, but turning back on the VPN seems to enable streaming. I'm really not sure why.

 

Thanks... that's true of all cruise lines.   If you have VPN turned on you can't reach the ships captive logon screen.    I've gotten caught by that a couple times before I remembered I had to turn off the VPN.

 

I'm a terrible at hacker and really interested to see if I can figure out how to change ports on their TV's.     I understand they have the ports locked. 

 

Ponant was the same and I got around it by plugging my device into the same HDMI port that the ship used for their channel.    I've not yet seen a picture of the Samsung TV's that Oceania uses.

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, jonthomas said:

last year when we did alaska we included the LA to LA portion...

 

San Francisco was not the city we remembered just a few years ago....yes there were some problem areas as with all large cities but not like now...

 

would not get off the ship there again...

 

so glad we had seen much of it on our previous stops...

 

Astoria was another big disappointment...we had been there 5 years ago...beautiful..walked for miles along the Columbia river, walked in town...

 

last year, we were shocked at the change...

 

will not get off the ship this time..

 

very sad....

Surprised to hear that.    I suspect that you disembarked at one of the old wooden piers.

 

They have a new James R Herman Cruise Terminal that is very modern and up to date with both Embarkation and Disembarkation facilities.

 

Yikes... I've never been to Astoria so I have no idea what to expect.  

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, LuAnn said:

Jim..I was in Prince Rupert on a 101 foot converted sub chaser in 1964 as a kid. The sidewalks were all wooden and we watched a movie on the side of the post office..outside. Will be anxious to hear how it's changed!!! 😉 

 

I've been there a couple times but not in about 8 years.    When we were there it was much as you described.   I think there were more Bald Eagles than people but was a nice walk from the ship into town.

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Redking said:

Following along. Happy sailing!

 

Glad you have joined in.   No live post would complete without your. 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, lj77346 said:

We arrived in Vancouver around 1 p.m. and shortly after getting to our hotel, the rain started.  Tomorrow’s forecast is for showers as well with temperatures in the upper 50’s.  Sure beats the months of temperatures around 100 in Houston.

 

Thanks - we are prepared for the cooler weather.   We very rarely get hot temperatures where we live.   Sunnyvale is adjacent San Francisco Bay and we usually get nice breezes off the bay.   Luckily we only had to use our Air Conditioner 2 days. 

 

Today has been a wonderful day in Sunnyvale, we hit a high of 77F.    We have our Puffers out as well as an umbrella just in case.   

[Jim_Iain]

56 minutes ago, Eloise4Ever said:

Really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Oceania, Jim. I've enjoyed your Celebrity reviews over the years. We mostly cruised on Celebrity but have done a few cruises with O since 2022 and found a lot to like. I feel the whole ship is like the Celebrity Retreat experience so will be very interested in your opinion. Have a wonderful cruise!

 

Thanks much for following....   I can't believe by this time we will be getting close to departure.   It still hasn't fully sunk in. 

 

My turn to cook dinner tonight - we alternate nights.    I've recently found a group on FB that people post Mom's Favorite Recipes.     I saw this one this morning and couldn't resist

 

Smothered Chicken with Creamed Spinach Bacon And Mushrooms

 

[Jim_Iain]

Iain just asked ---- What time do we need to leave.... hmm...

 

I usually check the flights for a week before just to see how on-time they are.

 

This mornings flight left early but arrived a little late. 

 

 

Since it is only about 30 minutes to the airport and a Saturday I figure we should leave at 7:00 AM.    Luckily we are flying First Class and have Pre so should have no back ups at the airport.

 

I also check out FlightAware for the past weeks performance.   Looking Solid.

 

Pretty straight shot and you can see the rain coming in.

 

[calicakes]

You are brave, flying in the day of the cruise.  

[Jim_Iain]

I like WeatherUnderground.com for checking weather....    I sifted to hourly forecast for tomorrow and looks it might be agreeable for our arrival around 11:00 AM

 

[Jim_Iain]

6 minutes ago, calicakes said:

You are brave, flying in the day of the cruise.  

I know but .... with just a 2 hour flight thought we would take the risk. 

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Ahh... so I'm partially correct.   That sounds like a great cruise.   I guess the Ensenada port is required to make it legal.

Correct. A call at any foreign port is required for any closed loop cruise such as this LA to LA itinerary to satisfy the PVSA requirements .

[CTCruiser76]

Happy cruising!!!

 

We are doing the same as you, albeit we are not zenith but rather just Diamond/Elite by only sailing Royal/Celebrity.

 

Our first Oceania cruise will be next July to Bermuda on the Insignia.

 

Looking forward to your comparison review!!! 

[Jazzbo]

12 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks... that's true of all cruise lines.   If you have VPN turned on you can't reach the ships captive logon screen.    I've gotten caught by that a couple times before I remembered I had to turn off the VPN.

 

I'm a terrible at hacker and really interested to see if I can figure out how to change ports on their TV's.     I understand they have the ports locked. 

 

Ponant was the same and I got around it by plugging my device into the same HDMI port that the ship used for their channel.    I've not yet seen a picture of the Samsung TV's that Oceania uses.

Jim — sorry to go off-topic, but would you mind posting a link to the thread where you and another CC member (maybe more than one) discussed VPNs? I tried using the VPN that comes with my McAfee in the DR recently, but it doesn’t give me specific locations in the U.S., only “U.S.” as a choice.

On topic — really looking forward to another Jim_Iain Live and to the comparison with Celebrity. Bon voyage!

[mhdesno2]

57 minutes ago, Jazzbo said:

Jim — sorry to go off-topic, but would you mind posting a link to the thread where you and another CC member (maybe more than one) discussed VPNs? I tried using the VPN that comes with my McAfee in the DR recently, but it doesn’t give me specific locations in the U.S., only “U.S.” as a choice.

On topic — really looking forward to another Jim_Iain Live and to the comparison with Celebrity. Bon voyage!

I use NordVPN. It's a paid service and costs about $85 for 2 years. With it, you can connect 10 devices. It's always on our phones. It's especially important when we use public wifis. I also use it in hotels/cruise ships for my laptop for safety. For the US, it has 16 cities you can choose from and for Canada, it has 3 cities if you want to trick your device into thinking it's back home.