dock

Being as this is your second O cruise, I assume you enjoyed the first one enough to book a second. This cruise though does not seem to be that exciting or am I over analyzing your posts? Food seems ok but not finest at sea! Im curious as we’re usually on X .We have our first O cruise next year and I’m looking at Iceland for next fall so I’m trying to decide if O would be a good fit. We enjoy good food. Don’t go to the Broadway type shows but do enjoy good music in the different venues on X. We are energetic 60 year olds ( well still 59) who still think we’re 40 lol! I realise we could have very different wants and expectations ,but just curious if you’d book O again. Thank you.

Sorry this happened to them. I’m sure it’s very stressful. Did I miss which hotel this was at?

@calicakes, appreciate your review. As a Celebrity refugee myself, I’m interested in what new O cruisers opinions are ,so thank you for taking the time from your vacay to post.

Agree with Hyatt Centric Las Olas. Great location.

Welcome to Toronto. Hope you have a wonderful time. Looking forward to seeing the city through your eyes. If you’re in the Distillery District and enjoy Mexican Food , El Catrin - casual but good food. Bloor St : Amal- great Lebanese , nice vibe. Eataly - some nice venues as well. Hazelton Hotel - lovely outdoor dining . Good food and great people watching. Sassafraz - food ok imo, but also great for people watching. We have numerous great restaurants but these are just a few in the tourist areas.

Lovely pics. Niagara is always breathtaking.

@hcatyouve convinced me to look at that itinerary. Sounds magical. Do you recall if it was after Cdn TG, ie about Mid October? View from my backyard last TG.

Enjoy. Looking forward to your posts.

Enjoying your pics. Those prices for transfers and the tour are just outrageous. Please book your own or use Uber for transfers.

Definitely Aruba for at least one of your beach days imo. Enjoy.

Sounds like a fun cruise. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Was anyone in an Aqua Suite recently? Im curious if the two bottles of daily water was name brand or the canned stuff. Thank you.

Pls report back, as that’s an excellent rate for Midtown and the place looks fabulous. Safe travels.

I’m hoping that it will get a little quieter once some of the ships leave as we have an 11pm departure.

You booked in March ‘23 for a July’23 cruise so you’re not going to pay the same price as those who booked earlier than you, unless there was some sale. You were given a substantial OBC as well amd you travelled in high season on an Edge class. All these things have to be factored in. Hopefully you’ve had a great cruise, don’t overanalyze now. You’re in the ballpark that many are paying for a SS so your price sounds about right.

@Jim_Iainif you prefer to stay downtown T. then try the Omni King Edward. Great location, walkable to many sites and generally much better rates than the Royal York ,Ritz or Shangri La. St Regis - great location also better rates than some of the others. Im not sure when you plan on being in T. but TIFF is 7-17th September so rates all over the city will be at a premium.

Ascent in Feb’24, becos of a NRD and then Oceania. I’m not brand loyal anymore.

Have been on Carnival 3 times way back in the day, usually when doing Family Reunions and have went with an open mind and all 3 cruises were great fun , wonderful entertainment and great food , with well dressed passengers on formal nights etc. Our best ever cruise was the Carnival Liberty Inaugral Med Cruise way back. The only time that a cruise we were on ,docked in the Grand Canal in Venice ( a few meters from the Doges Palace as the Captain was a home town boy and was granted special permission) . John Heald was the CD. Our best CD to date on any ship. We all still have fond memories of him. A fantastic personality , warm , engaging and soo humorous. Granted all Carnivals top management were on board so that may have accounted for stellar service and food but if you have kids I’d have no qualms trying them. Go with an open mind. Never participated in belly flop or beer drinking but have no issues with it. It’s your vacay , do what you want. With all cruise lines cutting back ,to us there’s no down side to now relook at all the various lines we’ve tried in the past.

The short answer would be : No don’t cancel. X is still a great cruise line. Temper your expectations and you will probably be pleasantly surprised. The food imo is not as great as before but there’s always something for everyone and despite the negative comments about OVC , we found it really good with plenty of options at all meals. The Italian and Indian food being really tasty. It’s definitely not the X of old with extravagant midnight buffets ( wasteful but something to behold) and excellent tableside service and divine cuts of steak( you now have to pay) , but we’ve all adjusted over the years so go and enjoy yourself and decide for yourself. Book a Couple of Specialties if you can and those will provide the service and calibre of food from the past. We had a good cruise on Equinox, you’re on holiday so go with the flow. We are also booked on other cruise lines next year but will give X one more chance with Ascent and then make a final decision. Have fun. Don’t cancel.

Thanks for the balanced review. Appreciated the pros and cons.

When you book it will add on the tips before check out.

Thank you. I did notice the Boat day with a stop at a beach and then return to the tender port. I can’t imagine this many people on the island so we’ve decided to book this tour of the caldera and then spend the rest of the day onboard.

@the more ports the better, the Santorini Private Boat tour , did y’all stop at Nea Kameni for beach time or a hike. It’s listed on our cruise excursion. Thank you.

Hi all, on our day in Santorini there will 7 ships, totaling over 11000 passengers. We’ve been twice before on a cruise and once as a land trip. We had planned to go to do a beach day but with 7 ships I’m a bit concerned about line ups to get back on board. Is it best to consider this a Sea Day and just stay onboard? Has anyone been to Santorini when it’s this busy? Thank you.

Will be following along and looking forward to reading about your observations as we are looking at other lines. We have a cruise on Ascent (Retreat) booked in Feb’24 and then Oceania Vista in July’24. O cruise for 10 days with equivalent type of stateroom etc worked out cheaper than 7 days on Ascent. We have never done Edge class or Retreat so are looking forward to the cruise but for us it’s time to start looking at other options. Thank you for taking the time to post.