Hambagahle

I think the current $30 pp per day is for wine and beer at lunch only. for the full package it is $69 pp/day.

We prefer to not worry about costs. Don't want to be sitting down for lunch, ordering bloody marys and then wonder how much we will pay... To us it is worthwhile getting it all included. And these days with the USD where it is, we get a 10% discount anyway. More sometimes...

No one knows for sure yet precisely what the new "Simply MORE" programme will include. Supposedly all will be revealed on 1 July. But if things are as expected then if you have the Simply MORE programme wines at meals will be included and you can upgrade to the full programme for $30.

Probably what we can a "vin mousseux" - only because of the AOC for Champagne. Like a California "champagne" which they shouldn't be calling that either... Prosecco is also a vin mousseux.

We have done multiple TAs in both directions. The change of time has never been an issue. However since we live in Switzerland it is very nice to arrive home without jetlag - so I suppose if you are an American the other way is better. The only "stuffy" one I have done was on Cunard. That was OTT stuffy!! Regent and Oceania both use a southerly route which we much prefer over the north Atlantic one. Nicer, warmer weather and fewer storms as a rule. Aside from that - Regent has better lectures etc than Oceania and neither is large nor stuffy. Take a highlighter with you so you don't miss interesting things.

One thing I think is a given - Oceania is not going to loose money on any new programme that is introduced. Current bookings - for those who wish to switch them to the new programme - will be repriced. Upwards. at the end of the day I think it will be "swings and roundabouts" but it will make Oceania sound better !!

We have only ever sailed on Riviera. And found it suited us well. We also take "high end" suites - the "smallest" we have had is the Oceania Suite. We are booked on Vista for a 10 day Med. cruise next spring. That is about as much cruising at one time as we want to do AND since we live in Europe we can go home by train. (Would like to go both ways by train but there are no trains to Malta!!). Everyone has different reasons for cruising and different preferences though. It is so important to find the cruise line and the ship that suits you.

We do like to have a Margarita or Bloody Mary with our lunch...so we'll see what is on offer. We already have a lot of bottles of alcohol in the suite (6...) July 1 is not far away! And my TA will tell me what my options are.

We were there on a Regent cruise maybe 10 years ago. We took one look at the buildings and went back to the ship but one hardy member of our group wandered around some more. His comment on his return - if you think it looks worse than it is ...it IS. he said he had never felt so unsafe in many years. Lots of shady characters lurking around. From the ship we saw a lot of what looked like feral dogs. Glad we stayed put on the ship.

I have been to Ephesus once - a very long time ago. (40 years or more ago). It is amazing. Since I was there they have added a museum which I am keen to see. I don't mind a quick walk through of the main sites and the terrace houses are off limits to me anyway now (mobility). We signed up for a tour of Ephesus with minimal walking AND a short museum tour. Sounds ideal and is listed on Oceania to last 2 1/2 hours which would be well within the time stated as available. I think it takes under 30mns to drive there from the port.

As time goes on things change. Hopefully in an effort to be better. What is usually a good deal for a customer might not be a good deal for the ship and vv. We will wait and see what precisely is offered to us. We sail On Vista on 21 April and have already booked our 6 excursions on the OLife package. We were planning to add to that the full beverage package at $69 pp per day. SO we'll see what is offered and then decide what works best for us. Happily we are in the "transition" group and have this flexibility. People signing up later won't be. It could be good (it sounds good) but is it? time will tell.

We haven't been on Regent since 2014 when we first cruised on Oceania. We loved Regent but Oceania - and especially the format that you add on things you want, like wine, spirits and excursions rather than having them all included - suits us better. We loved Riviera and we are really excited about being on Vista !!

We have done maybe four TAs on Regent and one on Oceania. We were very disappointed in the lack of on board lecturers on Oceania compared to what we had experienced on Regent. Yes, there are still lectures. But not as good/as often on Oceania. On the plus side - we far prefer the food on Oceania to that on Regent (though I hear Regent has improved since O. bought it.). And we loved our two meals at la Reserve... really special!

We have cruised on Riviera (and are now booked on Vista). First cruise was in an Oceania Suite which we liked a lot. Second - Trans Atlantic - we were in an Owners Suite which of course is a lot larger. We liked that a lot but found the balcony to be very narrow and too full of large teak furniture to really move about much. Then our last O cruise we had a Vista Suite which we absolutely loved. It is bigger than the Oceania Suite and the balcony was quite a lot bigger. We are now booked in a Vista Suite on Vista for an April 24 Mediterranean cruise. A comment though - I would not book the Owners Suite on a port-intensive cruise because the noise from the stern thrusters and the vibration would wake me up too early every day (!) and I would not book the Vista Suite unless it were a port-intensive cruise because you cannot use the balcony at night (the Bridge is disturbed by lights) and if underway in the day time there is too much wind as a rule. I DO like the fact that there are two full bathrooms. That helps in the mornings especially!! (I am not sure the one on Riviera had two full baths...did have a "powder room").

Thank you for this interesting and comprehensive review. We are booked on Vista for April 2024 and after reading what you have to say we are even more excited about it!!

Thanks Sheila - all well. No cruising for a long time. Now we are booked on Oceania's Vista for a Mediterranean cruise next year. Hope you and your family are well too.

Having really enjoyed two lovely dinners in la Reserve on Riviera I might think about signing up for one in Privée. Steamboats - do you know when the programme for these dinners is available ? My cruise is 21 April on Vista from Malta to Trieste.

I love tea - Earl Grey daily at tea time. (Get that in Horizons!). And I have an electric kettle - and did when I lived in New York as well. Never had any problem with it boiling. But even though I was born in the UK though didn't live there very long I don't understand how anyone can drink tea in the morning. Double espresso (and preferably Nespresso) for me! Everyone has her own preferences...

About what I thought. costs as much as a Swiss taxi now.

Air included is of zero interest to us. We are swiss and cruise only in Europe these days. We want to take a train to wherever we are sailing from and to - insofar as we can. Next cruise is Malta-Trieste. We will train to Zürich, fly to Malta, then train Trieste/Venice/Milano/home.

We have relatives in NYC - Manhattan. Whenever arriving at JFK or LGA we take a taxi into town. Taxis from JFK have a flat fare and all you pay is that fare, the tolls and the tip. There are taxi dispatchers all over the airport. Just get in a taxi and the dispatcher hands you a note - printed - informing you of the fare and what you pay in addition to it. When we lived in NYC we paid $35 each way plus tolls and tip. Cost was around $50. That was a long time ago but the system still works. I would expect to pay $75 or more for the taxi. If you want specifics I can ask a relative in NY how much they pay.

That is a laugh. If you want water to boil at a lower temperature you have to be around 2000m. We see that in the Alps. Eggs take longer to cook at 1500m than they do at 300m. Cakes don't rise as well or as fast the higher up you go but we are talking thousands of meters here...not one floor down.

This is Funny !! I was born British but am not British anymore. (Am now Swiss). So a coffee drinker. My yorkshire grandmama always heated the tea pot. My parents never did, calling it a waste of hot water. Anyway now I understand why you want a kettle. What I suggest you do is to tell your TA to write to Oceania and say you need something in your cabin so you can heat water. Say why? I suppose you are probably one of those who won't get out of bed before they drink tea - "bed tea" and Indian bearer once said to me ! At the end of the day decide what is important to you. A lovely cruise with excellent food on a new ship or the tea. Whichever wins I hope you will be happy. Sometimes carrying our national customs around with us - a bit like turtles ! - hinders us from seeing other things which though not necessarily better are just different ways of doing things. I wish you luck!

I can't imagine why one would need a kettle ? If you don't have a Butler, Room Service will deliver coffee etc (plus kettles don't make coffee). They might also be able to deliver hot water. We are in a Vista Suite on Vista for our next cruise on Oceania (which will be our fourth). I checked what is provided in the suite - no coffee machine. If that suite doesn't have one then for sure a veranda suite won't either. On Regent suites above (I think) Penthouse all have Illy machines. I read the excerpt of the regs above - what I take it to say is that any "machine" with a heating element that the ship already has on board is OK but you cannot bring one on yourself.

From what I have seen the cruises fill up... I am not sure about the Caribbean but I know the room categories we would consider on any Oceania ship fill quickly. We are perhaps a bit too choosy.