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Redtravel

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  1. Sadly when cruises change itineraries or cancel a port call, you have no recourse. I have cruised many times. Often there are changes. Some are for safety. Nobody wants to visit a war zone. Some are weather related. Got stuck in Oporto for 3 days waiting out a bomb cyclone. Some just happen without any explanation. Stuck at sea in March 2020 when ports turned ships away was crazy. We didn’t get any info from cruise line about lockdowns. It can be very annoying. When you book a cruise, you should make the cruise your prime destination. Ports should be secondary. Usually, ships try do the advertised itinerary. They want to keep guests happy.
  2. You can’t worry about things that you have no say. It is what it is. Expiring loyalty points can go 2 ways. It might encourage booking. It can also push people away. The people who develop loyalty programs don’t often see how changes will affect people.
  3. I love WS laundry. I always send clothes to the laundry. However, I am careful not to send very delicate items. Now I also don’t send out clothing that I would miss if it were damaged. On my last WS cruise on the Breeze, a shirt was missing. We were visited by the laundry person who showed us that they had sliced the shirt. They took responsibility and gave us $60. That didn’t cover the cost of replacing the shirt. Their formula is 10 times their price to launder the item. Keep that in mind.
  4. Sorry that you are in this situation. Hope that you get relief soon. I am surprised that the ship doc has no pain meds.
  5. I got more enthusiastic when we were given flight info and were ticketed. We got great flights with reserved seats together. Now we hope that Marina sails ontime. see you onboard.
  6. There are many places to get dinner. GDR is often crowded on the first few nights. After that, people want to try other venues. They are all good. On my most recent 10 night cruise on Vista, we ate in GDR 4 times. Food and service were good. Ate in specialty restaurants 5 nights. Ate in the buffet one night. On longer cruises, we eat at the buffet more. Buffet is a great place for dinner. It has all the choices on the GDR menu plus freshly grilled items, sushi, etc. On Vista, we ordered pizza from Waves at night. It is very good.
  7. I like counting nights, not cruises. I have taken b2b cruises which were sold as Grand Cruises. Got one point for 2 cruises. It didn’t seem right. I am elite plus on Celebrity. I joined Celebrity Captains club many years ago when you paid $25 to join. The benefits were worth it. Later they counted cruises. You needed 10 cruises to reach the top level, elite. People who were close to 10, took a 3 day cruise to get to elite. When they converted to counting nights, those very short cruises seemed to be less popular. All loyalty programs have good and bad features. Basically it’s a gift. Anything is welcome. I prefer plans that include OBC, discounts on cruise fares, gratuities, and free laundry.
  8. Everyone gets Simply More….drinks at meals, unlimited WiFi , and shore excursion credit. If you choose with air, you get cost of plane tickets included. That also includes transfers if you arrive on the day of embarkation or depart on day of disembarkation. Since ships may be far from airports, this could be a welcome feature. Also, if you book Oceania air, you can arrive or depart up to 3 days before or after your cruise without paying the extra deviation fee. If you do it, you must arrange your own transfers. I usually book my own air unless there is a good reason not to. Last June, we booked very late. We chose Oceania air because we couldn’t find a decently priced airfare. The arrangement got us to the cruise using a ridiculous routing. Going home was crazy. We also booked air for our next cruise in May. It’s the first cruise on Marina after being in dry dock. If the ship is delayed, I will be disappointed. However, Oceania will refund the cruise and air. This time we got very good air flights.
  9. Yes. I loved Vista. I also like Marina and Riviera. The smaller ships are a nice size. However, the cabins are very small. On R ships, we book suites. On Vista, Marina, and Rivieta, a standard veranda is good. I also like the variety of dining venues.
  10. What I prefer may not be your choice. Having been on R ships(Oceania and Azamara), I like the larger O ships more than R ships. I did enjoy cruises on R ships. Marina, Riviera, and Vista have bigger cabins, beautiful bathrooms with space, and more dining venues. I like small ship for some itineraries. Windstar is my choice overall.
  11. Get the laundry package. Often you get same day service. The best part is you can send out laundry every day. On the last day, I pack clean clothes. Once home, the only laundry to be done ate the clothes we wore flying home.
  12. Forward cabins are very quiet and don’t feel much vibration. Not much foot traffic in the hallway. You will have a longer walk to the GDR, Terrace Buffet, Waves, Library, or Baristas. You will be closer to the theater lounge. I have had cabins in many locations on a variety of ships. There are some cabin locations that I avoid: stern cabins have vibration, cabins above or below bars, casinos, pools, or restaurants, bow cabins may get noisy if they drop anchor, and some connecting cabins.
  13. I always knew that I wasn’t “average.” Don’t assume that what you like is what everyone likes. I am not interested in alcoholic drinks. I may or may not select excursions. In new ports, I always often excursions . In Caribbean, I just relax. Some ports, I may go shopping. Some, I may not get off the ship. Find a local cafe and enjoy tasting the local cuisine. Group excursions aren’t my thing. I am not happy playing follow the leader. They seldom go at my pace.
  14. Allowing guests to arrive early or depart later alleviates crowding. Last June we used O air. We didn’t realize that we could fly in early. We flew in the day of the cruise. With the crazy flights and long bus transfer, we arrived at the port 2 hours before the ship sailed. Never want to experience that again.
  15. You sound like me. We liked Ember. We weren’t thrilled with Aquamar Kitchen. We were on Vista in January. We are on Marina in May. Looking forward to Jacques.
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