Too Late to Book?

Hi! My MIL is gifting us with an Oceania cruise for our 25th anniversary (she has taken several herself). This would be our first ever cruise.

We still have kids in school (no, they aren't coming!) so are limiting our dates to late Jun/July/early August 2018. Our preferred area is the Med, and we have a budget for what she is offering us.

After much research and reading, we'd decided on the Mediterranean Flair trip (which would be amazing if this was our only cruise ever - gotta get the kids through college)... but the Deluxe Ocean View Staterooms are all gone - it's Wait List now. I couldn't believe we were already too late to book the more affordable room with a view and more room in the room!

So my first question, which was hard to search on: Should we book an Inside Stateroom and hope the Wait List clears and we get the room we'd like? Or should we just take the smaller Inside Stateroom and give up on cruising views from the room because it's port-intensive and we'll just be going in somewhere every day? And use the savings to pay for other costs? Or should we really not give up on a view and go with a different trip?

I have looked at other choices like Dazzling Europe (but I was so hoping for that ending in Venice - a sentimental choice due to the movie A Little Romance). Or maybe Portraits of Europe (which would help save money towards transfers which I learned today are not included - I need to figure out the TRUE cost beyond the OLife fare!).

Do I need to talk with my MIL and work to book ASAP because it's getting to be too late to book for Summer 2018?

I appreciate any thoughts - I've been researching and doing a lot of reading here, but I thought those with more experience might have some good advice. (P.S. - My MIL is awesome, and I know ANY trip will be amazing - I'm feeling overwhelmed by it all, and perhaps overexcited at the opportunities offered by the various Oceania cruises!)

What a wonderful MIL!! I can't answer your questions about wait lists and bookings, as we are relatively new to O and don't live in the US either.

But cruising in or out of Venice is one of THE best things you can do, it gives you a view you can get no other way, and if the Italians ever get their act together they are intent on banning cruise ships from sailing in past St Marks, so try and do that if you can.

As to the window, we ,like lots of cruisers, started out in an inside cabin and loved it, couldn't see the point of a balcony, you get the views from the deck so why pay extra.

On a port intensive cruise you will not miss much as I guess you will want to be on tour every day to get the most from your great gift. So maybe use the money for seeing the ports instead? And making the most of the ship when you are onboard too!!

Once you are out of bed and washed and dressed all the facilities on the ship are the same for everyone, so whatever you decide, go and have a super time.

Just to start off the lower Cat sell out fast as do the top suites

2018 is a long way off & people do cancel so you can deposit for the C on the waitlist cabin & see how it goes

Or try another itinerary that has a C cabin available but that is me ..not a fan of insides

July & Aug in the Med is HOT & crowded

I would do June if you can

Check airfare to do it yourself compared with doing a deviation ($175 pp) with Oceania's included air

you can always take the air credit & diy but do fly in a day or more early

Do not take O transfers a taxi or private car will be a lot cheaper

I am sure other will offer their opinions

Happy 25th Anniversary

I have no idea what a MIL( a miitary association? ) Any way on a port intensive in the med where your off the ship all day and sail at night far off the coast with nothing to see...maybe stars, what's the point in paying for a cabin with a view when there is none?... its just for sleeping /showering / storage Beyond that you can go to the Horizons or deck 5 and have all the view that there is

If your going to pay for a view make sure there is going to be one.... on transatlantics and med places I book an inside, the Fijords Tahiti, and Baltic and Alaska are places to spring for the View... Use your money for experiences not a silly cabin when its not going to be any better, the insides are basicaly the veranda cabins without a veranda... the ocean view are smaller than the insides... need a view...turn on the TV best view on the ship.... Let your practical side pick the cabin, not your ego:rolleyes:

MIL = Mother In Law

Hi! My MIL is gifting us with an Oceania cruise for our 25th anniversary (she has taken several herself). This would be our first ever cruise.

 

We still have kids in school (no, they aren't coming!) so are limiting our dates to late Jun/July/early August 2018. Our preferred area is the Med, and we have a budget for what she is offering us.

 

After much research and reading, we'd decided on the Mediterranean Flair trip (which would be amazing if this was our only cruise ever - gotta get the kids through college)... but the Deluxe Ocean View Staterooms are all gone - it's Wait List now. I couldn't believe we were already too late to book the more affordable room with a view and more room in the room!

 

So my first question, which was hard to search on: Should we book an Inside Stateroom and hope the Wait List clears and we get the room we'd like? Or should we just take the smaller Inside Stateroom and give up on cruising views from the room because it's port-intensive and we'll just be going in somewhere every day? And use the savings to pay for other costs? Or should we really not give up on a view and go with a different trip?

 

I have looked at other choices like Dazzling Europe (but I was so hoping for that ending in Venice - a sentimental choice due to the movie A Little Romance). Or maybe Portraits of Europe (which would help save money towards transfers which I learned today are not included - I need to figure out the TRUE cost beyond the OLife fare!).

 

Do I need to talk with my MIL and work to book ASAP because it's getting to be too late to book for Summer 2018?

 

I appreciate any thoughts - I've been researching and doing a lot of reading here, but I thought those with more experience might have some good advice. (P.S. - My MIL is awesome, and I know ANY trip will be amazing - I'm feeling overwhelmed by it all, and perhaps overexcited at the opportunities offered by the various Oceania cruises!)

As well as a wonderful Mother in Law, I would like to praise this Post. :D

Concise, informative, well thought out, and above all inquisitive in a really positive manner!

KaimanaSailor, you sound like a delightful person!

Thank you all so much for your input - I'm taking notes and appreciate the thinking that went into each response. I recognize a couple of your names from having read other posts and possibly even reviews. I'm very glad I found this site - what an invaluable resource!

Jim & Stan - You made me smile - thank you for that comment! It takes effort and time for people to reply to questions, so I did my best to post well.

Another point of view. . . . .

I have been on a few cruises and have spent some gorgeous evenings on our balcony watching the seabirds glowing in the ships light, diving and gliding so close I could touch them. Sipping a glass of wine while watching the ships wake in the moonlight, waking up early to admire the fjord (Kotor), seeing a minky whale breach just beyond my balcony, then dive and swim right beneath me has been amazing.

Sailing into Venice, Dubrovnik, Monte Carlo, and many of the Italian Riviera ports is gorgeous. Watching the scenery with a chocolate croissant , a cup of coffee and still in your bathrobe is my idea of heaven.

Good luck with your travels. Any cruise on Oceania will be a pleasure.

Another point of view. . . . .

I have been on a few cruises and have spent some gorgeous evenings on our balcony watching the seabirds glowing in the ships light, diving and gliding so close I could touch them. Sipping a glass of wine while watching the ships wake in the moonlight, waking up early to admire the fjord (Kotor), seeing a minky whale breach just beyond my balcony, then dive and swim right beneath me has been amazing.

 

Sailing into Venice, Dubrovnik, Monte Carlo, and many of the Italian Riviera ports is gorgeous. Watching the scenery with a chocolate croissant , a cup of coffee and still in your bathrobe is my idea of heaven.

Good luck with your travels. Any cruise on Oceania will be a pleasure.

Except for the bathrobe, you can do all this on deck and be sure you will be able to view the "best" side. We love the inside cabins, very quiet and you sleep really well with no light, especially on far north cruises.

Except for the bathrobe, you can do all this on deck and be sure you will be able to view the "best" side. We love the inside cabins, very quiet and you sleep really well with no light, especially on far north cruises.

+1 in fact in Alaska and Norway, it is a far far better view , on deck out of the cabin to be able to appreciate the big picture as could never be appreciated in a balcony or view. And in Alaska and Norway in summer the sun goes down around 11:45 and rises around 3:40..... that can really screw with you biological clock...:loudcry: Insides dont have than problem One big problem with verandas is that in warm climes, like the med, is from the" fresh air lovers" who like to sleep with the door open. :mad:

The ventilation for cabins is done with positive pressure and about 6 cabins in each pressure zone as a group. When one has a door open ALL that air/ac goes out that cabins door... and your have 5 cabins without any air. except exhaust fans....pretty nasty :mad: They caution against doing so...but some free souls continue to do their own thing :confused:

Thats why in many hotels and offices the windows are not operable.......

Food for thought.....

Thanks again to everyone! With your input, I've opened up our options, and perhaps am making some better choices (which I sent to my MIL who will work on this through her TA). Including adding a couple of fall cruises to the mix (Pathways of the Peninsula and Cathedrals & Countrysides - my kids should manage fine with their grandmother to help if we are gone during the school year).

I'm reading other threads too - I don't have anything to contribute but do appreciate those who post. Hopefully we'll be more than ready when we get our chance to cruise!

Personally, if that is the cruise you like, you should book it and take anything that opens up. My travel agent told me once that they turn over reservations about five times. This is way out and undoubtedly you will get something more than an inside cabin.

The Med is great. You should go where your heart tells you.

I am going to side with LHT28 and recommend you don't do the Med in July or August. Our first cruise in the Med was in late June/July and it was incredibly hot. Too hot. Holy places require arms and legs to be covered (Vatican) and they aren't air conditioned. Our second trip was Venice to Athens in May, and it was wonderful. We are leaving next week with Oceania (our first time) Athens to Barcelona and chose this cruise specifically for the destination and time of year.

With that said - we have never booked a trip over a year in advance, and have never had any problems with cabin selection. In fact our Venice/Athens trip last year was booked solid and our TA kept checking for a cancellation and we slipped in 3 weeks prior to sailing.

Lastly - definitely get an outside cabin or a veranda. No matter how port intensive, you will be in your cabin and it is wonderful to see or sit outside. This is your 25th - and sounds like a once in a lifetime adventure. No offense to other travelers, IMO the inside cabins are a bit depressing.

KaimanaSailor, you sound like a delightful person!

I'll vouch for KaimanaSailor's delightfulness. :)

After all the great advice it looks like we'll be doing a Barcelona to Venice in October, with an available room with a view for less money and more comfortable weather. We'll go early so we can spend some time in Barcelona, and I get my wish to spend time in Venice with my amazing husband (who just joined and posted as johnny_buddha). I'm a lucky woman.

After all the great advice it looks like we'll be doing a Barcelona to Venice in October, with an available room with a view for less money and more comfortable weather. We'll go early so we can spend some time in Barcelona, and I get my wish to spend time in Venice with my amazing husband (who just joined and posted as johnny_buddha). I'm a lucky woman.

Great choice! You married into a wonderful family and I'm sure you are just as nice.

We did your exact trip a few years ago, October was perfect for weather and crowds. Be sure to join your roll call to get ideas on things to do. Fellow cruisers will organize private tours which are a great value and lots of fun.

IMO Great time of the year for your cruise. We have done the same on the reverse in Oct.. Venice is a lovely port. Enjoy