Psoque

I would like to know what is so bad about doing this? Is there a distinct disadvantage in doing this?

I’m sorry I made you overreact.

You can have all the faith in whatever you want to have faith in, but it is common knowledge that all sectors of the economy are having trouble acquiring anything, including such items as windows, doors, sinks, plumbing, shower heads, especially in large quantities. It is possible that Oceania is still trying to secure all of the supplies to make the whole refurbishment (not just the bathroom) occur on time. That's the point of my posting.

I have this funny feeling that even Oceania is not exactly sure how the refit should look like at the end.

My problem is not with the ala carte pricing. My problem is offering thing ala carte while saying something is "free." That's just lying.

I don’t think that’s really it. And even if that’s somehow the reason, this business practice is neither helpful or ethical. Obviously nobody has bothered to formally complain, but, even in the US, business have been asked to drop advertising tactics like this when the item offered “for free” turns out to be not free. I have no idea why Oceania thinks this business practice is good for them long-term.

I really think Oceania should change how they tout their OLife Choice package on their website and in their brochures. There’s nothing they are offering. All of it gives some sort of value (some good value, some BAD value) to the customers. But just saying “FREE AIRFARE!!” is certainly unhelpful and is blatantly false advertizing in my opinion.

I'm just sending an e-mail to NCLH shareholder benefits people and asking the question directly. Should have thought of it sooner.

Which part of this is from the website and which part of it is your writing??

Are you purchasing a pre-cruise hotel package from the cruise line because you want the cruise line to handle your transfers? I guess it depends on where you will be and what you and your travel companions are comfortable with, but some of us see no real benefit in booking a pre-cruise hotel through the cruse line (and paying a lot more than you should). In many cases, it is perfectly possible to book a pre-cruise on your own (even at the same hotel the cruise line is using), pay for your own private transfer (instead of chartered busses), and come ahead in terms of the cost. Of course there might be a very good reason you are still going to go with the pre-cruise hotel package from the cruise line.

Could you tell me where you found this? Also, what do you mean by SBC? One memo from Norwegian (found in a third-party website, not Oceania or Norwegian website) says shareholder OBC is “not combinable with other offers.” I am not sure how the term “other offerers” are defined. It would be really stupid of Oceania if they consider OLife Choice as one of the “other offers” since that would effectively make shareholder benefit virtually useless.

Related question: Is the shareholder OBC stackable with AMEX Cruise Privileges OBC?

This also could be just the issue of cost??

My understanding is that avoiding (or minimizing) connections and insisting on non-stop flights is a very effective strategy to minimize the possibly flight disruptions.

I was just surprised by what you said, since there are flights from Madison to Lisbon and back from Barcelona with just one connection, on United. Maybe not the dates you want. I’m not sure you are gaining much by driving to O’Hare, unless, say, the prices are lower out of O’Hare. But that’s not what you said. And TAP Portugal flight nonstop from O’Hare to Lisbon. American flies nonstop from Barcelona to O’Hare. I know this because I looked at flights of this sort recently. We live near Indianapolis and we only drive to O’Hare for flights if the price is right or it makes less (or no) connections.

I’m surprised that you are still flying on a connecting itinerary to Lisbon from Chicago O’Hare (stop in Zurich, I assume) when you are actually making an effort of driving to O’Hare.

“You are ALWAYS guaranteed a ticket in the splash zone!” ”Standing Room Only!”

It is clear that the Explora people are giving us the impression that their product will be competing with the other cruise lines in the "luxury" cruise segment. However, until we see exactly how they are going to execute their business, we have NO IDEA what this would look like. I think it is somewhat impossible to really evaluate the "reasonableness" of the cruise fare on a brand new cruise line, until we can actually see what is going to be offered for the pricing. That's one of the reasons we haven't seriously considered Explora for now. Same with the new reincarnation of Crystal, which is reportedly attempting to re-start in the Summer of 2023. We are "playing it safe" and booked a mid-range cruise for 2023.

Never question those who truly believes one or both of the following: -You get "free airfare" from Oceania. -OLife OBC is a great deal. 😀

Thanks.

I would like to know what an "oversized walk-in show" is. Here are my guesses: 1. There will be an oversized (meaning very high production) show that features someone "walking in" to your shower on que. Sounds possibly exciting...or frightening. 2. Someone oversized will be "walking in." 3. Someone will be walking with an oversized walk (big steps). I have no idea but the mystery and suspense is really killing me.

How is a ship "Americanized?" I'm really curious to know what a Canadian considers "Americanized."

I have met interesting people on every one of the cruises we have taken, so unless I have really low standards, there are "interesting people" everywhere, even on non-Oceania ships.

It’s really amusingly weird and disturbing that too many people on here (entire Cruise Critic spectrum) like to define themselves by the cruise lines they patronize and vice versa. Life is not that simple or predictable.

We are currently booked to be on the Riviera for Thanksgiving next year. Is it the case that even the specialty restaurants will be featuring the traditional Thanksgiving fare on that day? Or would they have their own twists on Thanksgiving dinner? For Christmas, would the Italian venue offer the Feast of Seven Fishes? Or am I just dreaming?