Flatbush Flyer

34 minutes ago, osandomir said:

If you book a minimum of 5 excursions as listed for your cruise you are eligible for the 25% discount no matter whether you have or don’t have Simply More. Sometimes the discount won’t be applied when you book your excursions online. In this case you’d need to call Oceania and they will apply the discount for you. And you don’t need to have a TA to do that.

Yes- the “new” SM 25% deal is the “old” YWYW 25% deal.

2 hours ago, growlers said:

I am booked on the 27 day Barcelona - Cape Town under Simply More with a $600 pp excursion credit sailing on November 14, 2024..   I booked 7 excursions, all at the same time in the same "cart".  It seems to have charged me full price for all of them despite the excursion booking section offering a 25% discount on 5 or more.  They are all real excursions, not transfers or anything.  

On the confirmation, It shows the 25% off discount price for the first 3 in the "savings" column. The other 4 it shows "0" under the column "savings".   Ultimately though, the total price I paid was the non-discounted price for all 7.  It added up the full price on all 7, took off $600 for the credit pp, and then charged me the rest of the full price balance to my credit card.  

Is this a known website glitch?   I suppose I need to call Oceania to get a refund, but is there some weird rule where you have to buy 5 or more AFTER the Simply More credit is used......?    Was I supposed to click / do something else to get the discount when booking these?

Also, what happens if you book exactly 5 for the discount and then Oceania has to cancel one of the ports after sailing?  Do they take away the 25% discount? My point being, they could take away the 25% discount on all 5 and then effectively not refund you for their cancelled excursion (assuming they all were similar base prices).  TIA

 

I wish folks would use the search feature here on CC. There have been many many threads (quite a few involving my detailed responses) that highly recommend NEVER using the O web cart (originally for O Life and now, seemingly, it’s necessary for SM as well.

As for your SM package discount (formerly called Your World Your Way, different itineraries require different minimum number of purchased tours to get the 25% off.

If you qualify and the Cart’s bottom line didn’t jive with your own “correct” math, call O and the phone rep will straighten it out. And make sure that you get a copy of the “prepurchased shore excursions PDF with all the math shown for your purchase. This doc is essential to make a point with Destination Services onboard if there’s any disagreement about what is owed you if O cancels your tour(s).

You can also have your TA do this all. But, know that many (if not most) TAs are clueless about the idiosyncrasies of O’s excursion policies and practices. And when the “poop hits the fan” regarding your ship’s excursions while you’re onboard, your best resource/advocate is YOU.

BTW: Once onboard, if your total tours booked falls below your minimum for the 25% discount due to an O cancelation, you do not lose the discount on the remaining tours. However, the refunded SM tour SBC cannot be used for anything other than replacement tours.

36 minutes ago, Techno123 said:

The problem is it's only Oceania in name, same as Regent is only Regent in name the people pulling the strings and dictating what happens onboard are the bean counters at NCLH 😢 - the same for SS and SB - the parent companies dictate the offerings and they have A LOT of money to make back.

At least (until the recent FDR Sr retirement), the bulk of NCLH’s executives were previously Oceania execs (from FDR to. Bob Binder and on down the line). With FDR senior at the NCLH helm, there was little worry that “his baby” (O)  would ever get the short end of the stick. 
But, that was then and this is now. Moreover, FDR Jr (now heading up O) remains an uncertain as regards his familial devotion to the brand.

It’s not just cruise lines. Try airlines and hotels- lots of glitches.

That said, however, the one travel website (and it’s accompanying app) that I have found to be the least problematic and best maintained/updated is United Airlines. Add to that the fact that they actually answer their phones!

Just booked a multi-segment SYD-Bali-SYD (35 days on Riviera) in the newly available 2026 itineraries. 
It was supposed to be two ATW segments on Vista (based on pre-roll out segment intel). But a now-confirmed disembark in Dubai instead of Mumbai (for a cruise starting in Sydney) put an end to that plan. 
 

FWIW, not only do we like the SYD-Bali-SYD itinerary, the fare ((for pretty much the same cruise duration) on Riviera is significantly less. But, the real killer was a bizclass airfare price check (this year’s) of RT SFO-SYD vs the multi-city SFO-SYD/DXB-SFO. That multi-city for a variety of different dates and airlines was as much as twice the SYD-SYD RT.

Final decision was easy!

These fold out 3D globes come in varying sizes. Bought ours in a eclectic shop in Miami.

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Today we are docked in Valencia under blue skies.  The weather on this entire segment has been terrific and we are keeping our fingers crossed for more of the same.  DW and I took a 5 hour ship excursion to Bacairent, which is a very old quaint mountain village.  Having previously been to Valencia (where there is an excellent market) we thought this was a good place to use some of our "Simply More" shore excursion credit.  Our guide was excellent, and we enjoyed visiting the small village.  There was a substantial amount of walking, and this tour was not for anyone with a mobility problem.  

 

Since the Port of Valencia (which can handle 4 cruise ships) is a few miles from the city center, O did provide free shuttle bus service to the center.  

 

Yesterday, we were docked in Barcelona (Moll Adosset Terminal B), which is the main cruise dock in that city.  Since the weather was very comfortable, DW and I did not use the free shuttle bus service, but rather walked into town (about 2 miles to the Ramblas) and later reversed the process.  We simply spent a few hours in the Ramblas/Gothic Quarter area before walking back to the ship for a late lunch.  Barcelona is a terrific port with much to see and do, but to say that we have seen that/done that would be an understatement.  Even though it is still early in the season, and we were the only cruise ship within site, the Ramblas was a busy place.  The Boqueria Market (right off the Ramblas) remains a "do not miss" place and the decent Iberian Hams are now ONLY about $250 Euros per Kg.  

 

Nothing new to add to our previous comments re the Vista.  Had dinner in Toscana, last night, and everything was great.  I do like that it is possible to order a small portion of any of the extensive pastas, which makes it a good starter or supplement to other starters.  The usual tableside oil/balsamic service is always lots of fun.

 

Somebody asked (might have been Flatbush Flyer) about the current CD and GM.  The CD is Peter (I have no clue to his last name) and the GM is Damien Lacroix.  Since DW and I have not bothered to go to any of the private parties, we have had no interaction with the GM other than to bid him a "Good Morning" when we cross paths in Barristas.  Since everything, onboard, is better than good, we have no reason to seek out the GM.  As to Peter, since we are now in the midst of our 10 straight port days, we are being rewarded by not needing to listen to as many of his announcements.  

 

Hank

Should you eventually decide to return often to Oceania, the value of certain of the GMs knowing you will become apparent in quite tangible ways.

CDs are, perhaps, less influential but knowing who will be onboard can prepare you for their style, which can vary significantly from uniquely entertaining to a bothersome PITA.

3 hours ago, CQG67 said:

Who do you use besides Uber or cab and how pricey are these services?

ExecuCar

9 minutes ago, DoulaAnn said:

Booking a big balcony usually means booking the minute the cruise opens for reservations. We've gotten them before doing that. What I don't recommend (at least in our experience) is taking one with the wrap-around balcony. It makes for a smaller room and a smaller closet (and the big closet is one of the perks I REALLY like about a PH).

The four “inside corners” extended balconies on Marina and Riviera (e.g., 7108) interior cabin size is exactly the same as the regular B cabins (recently changed to Concierge) next to them.

42 minutes ago, ORV said:

Exactly, I ran in to this situation on my most recently booked cruise. The two segments were already on sale, but the combined one wasn't. I wanted to get two credits out of it anyway, so it worked for me. I have one booking number, 2 Cruise ID numbers. I have double Oceania Club credits, $500 each segment as well as $250 SBC per segment for booking onboard. 

 

The real bonus though is that I get TWO bottles of that delicious Oceania Club wine, one for each segment. 

It’s called a “custom” cruise and, though the fare base discount of an “extended journey” (published multi-segment) will often be better than a “custom” cruise’s approx. 5% discount, the extra O Club perks may make it the better deal.

58 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

What if the individual cruises are on sale but the Grand Voyage cruise is not ?

A common occurrence!
With the understanding that O’s mantra is “no double dipping,” the technically correct answer is that your multisegment fare cannot be disaggregated for the purpose of a sale on one segment. It’s one of the perceived downsides of booking a published multi-segment cruise.

Of course, you could rebook under the right circumstances. But, that would be at the current prices and perks (as well as loss of the base discount you had on the multi-segment cruise you had originally booked). But, that’s seldom a better deal than the cost of an original booking done 1 year +\- prior.

All that said, there are other options worth pursuing. One that has worked for me on occasion (depending in part on your TA’s “O connectivity” (e.g., O elite level of the connoisseurs club)) is to ask for all/part of the sale savings as non-refundable SBC (so that no cash changes hands).

2 hours ago, BarbaraM said:

FF, I understand what you are saying, but I have never had to use your language when booking multiple cruises onboard. We rarely take just one cruise, typically 3 consecutive.  In either case, why we do it this way is personal.  Regarding nonrefundable OBC, it is always rolled over until the end of our last "segment" "cruise" --  we don't have to try , it is automatic.  

 

Re: booking SM excursions -- we are able to do this each "segment" whenever the date opens for booking (365 days before each cruise) , just as we do with specialty restaurant reservations.   We are restricted to those opening dates, while if we booking as one cruise -- we could do it all at once.  We don't mind the restrictions of having to do this 3 times. 

 

 

Depending on your O Club level (particularly if you’re Platinum or above), how you book those multi-segments (even when booked onboard), affects their discount amount and the O Club perks as well as cruise credits. (And it can affect Roll Over in certain cases). That said the math has to be done by the OCA or by you to figure out which of the available ways is most efficacious. Hopefully you’re considering that in your choices.

FWIW, we pretty much only do multi-segment cruises (soon will pass the 500 nights on O mark).

18 minutes ago, gailellen12 said:

Does this mean you cannot book excursions for your second cruise of the back to back a year ahead as you are doing with the first?  Since it is a separate booking number and considered an entity unto itself this doesn’t seem to make sense if I am understanding this correctly 

Again, there is no “back to back” phrase in O bookings. They’re either individual segments or multi-segments and the devil is in the detail of what you get (or not) depending on how you book the adjacent segments. 
Thus, if you have booked separate published adjacent cruises - each with it’s own booking number, your perks/reservations/etc are per segment. Once onboard, you could certainly try to have Roll Over of unrestricted SBC. But, there’s no guarantee until you see it in print. 

1 hour ago, BarbaraM said:

We take back to back cruises all of the time-- When we booked our last cruises in January, I asked the same question to the "future cruise consultant" and the destinations desk.  The woman at the desk went back to the head of destinations with no answer.  It was so new at the time that they had not encountered that question yet.  

 

 -- we currently have a bookings for this fall  that are 3 consecutive ("back to back") cruises, each with their own booking number and deposits.  These were also available as a a single cruise in different combinations of the three.  My invoice states back to back savings applied -- Perhaps the OP has the same experience of back to back cruises --  I also have the same question.  With all the reports of canceled port stops and shore excursions canceled -- would love to hear from an actual report than speculation.   It is possible to prebook excursions a year out -- but once on board they typically do not let anyone book for the next cruise until the current cruise is over. 

The more important question is why did you book them separately (even with a multiple segment discount - usually about 5%). If they were advertised as an “extended journey,” the fare discount would be significantly more. The only $ benefit to individual adjacent bookings is multiples of  O Club perks (which usually requires that you are at least platinum to see substantial extra SBC).

1 hour ago, gailellen12 said:

If doing back to back cruises and you do not use up all your available sm

 excursion dollars on the first cruise Can you transfer them to the next one? I am guessing probably not.  

There really is no such thing as a “back-to-back” cruise in Oceania’s booking language (which does all its bookings by “segment(s).” There are individual cruises (each with it’s own booking number) that may be adjacent to another segment OR their may be multi-segment cruises of different types (with the distinctions being VERY important- particularly when it comes to Oceania supplied perks.

Though Simply More may ultimately play out differently than O Life when it comes to carry-over SBC (of whatever type), you will probably want to get your best fare price(s) when initially booking adjacent segments. And, in almost all cases, that means booking them as an “extended or grand journey” (multiple segments marketed as a single cruise with a single booking number) or as a “custom cruise” where you join two segments - still with an individual booking number. Note however, that the O perks with each of these options can vary significantly from the size of the fare discount to what you get from the O Club.

All that said, whether allotted O Life tours (or SM tour SBC) or even initial specialty restaurant reservations, they’re all doled out per segment.
 

Now, if this was O Life and you had a single booking number multisegment cruise, regular SBC would carry over to the next segment. But SM tour SBC may be an unknown (though someone here may be able to report a recent experience). What is a good bet, however, is that separate individual booking numbers will be treated as totally separate entities. But, for me, it’s still just a bet.

53 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Today we are docked in Marseille.  I have a strong dislike of Marseille (my least favorite place in France) but love the port as a gateway into Provence.  A large majority of passengers went off on excursions to places like Aix en Provence, Avignon, St Remy, etc.  DW and I left the ship around 9am with a DIY plan of going to Cassis for lunch.  Although we have spent a lot of time in the south of France (including having rented apartments in both Avignon and St Remy) we had never visited Cassis.

 

Upon walking off the ship we boarded the free port shuttle bus that would take us into town (a few blocks from the old port).  We also noted that one tour group also used the free shuttle bus (along with their guide) which is not impressive when one considers those folks paid about $150 pp for their tour.  The docking area used for most cruise ships (Terminal A and Terminal B) are too far from Marseille for walking.  DIY folks need to either use the shuttle bus or hire a taxi willing to do the short haul into town (which I assume will cost about 25 Euros).

 

Once in Marseille, DW and I walked the 1/2 mile to the St Charles train station where we bought round trip tickets for Cassis (about 12.50 Euros pp).  We arrived in Cassis (a 25 min train ride) around 11am, only to find no taxis at the station, very infrequent buses to town, etc.  So we decided to make the 2-mile trek into Central Cassis.  Much of the walk is downhill, so the walk is not difficult for folks used to long walks.  In Cassis we walked around the picturesque and somewhat charming marina area before settling on a local outdoor restaurant that specialized in mussels.  We got the best table, had a wonderful view, and enjoyed our Moules et Frites and Vino Blanc.  After spending some time walking around town we used our phone to summon an Uber to get us back to the station.  That cost about 14 Euros, which was a good investment as we were not looking forward to the trek (with many uphill slopes) back to the station.  Back in Marseille it was an easy half mile to the shuttle bus stop and back to the ship.  Another decent DIY Day.

 

Dinner, last night, was in the GDR with our favorite waiter.  DW and I both enjoyed a shrimp main which was served in a light/tasty sauce.  The evening show was a decent singer from Holland, who turned out to be a competent Opera Soprano.  While she did quite a few popular songs, it was her few opera arias that really shined.  Our Guest entertainers on the Vista continue to be very good and comparable (or better) then we have experienced on other cruise lines. The late show in Horizons was Karaoke and I had a good time chatting with my new-found Aussie friends and our Assistant Cruise Director (Paul) who ran the karaoke show.  There was a good size crowd (over 50) in Horizons until the end of karaoke ended around 11:30.  

 

A little tidbit about our cabin bathroom.  The shower is quite large (close to 4' square) and has two glass shelves for items like soap. shampoo, etc.  O provides excellent Bvlgari soap, and it is in bar form.  When you put a wet bar of soap on smooth glass, it will stick.  In fact, it can be a challenge to pull the bar off that glass.  After a few days our steward put a folded face cloth on one shelf in order to avoid the problem.  Great idea! DW and I both appreciate that O does provide decent bar soap.  Much of the competition has moved to liquid soap dispensers, which we have never liked.  We finally did hear our neighbor's TV (during our pre-dinner shower time).  Not a problem, at that hour, but it was the first time we did notice the oft reported issue.  I suspect that, in most cases, getting a quiet cabin on the Vista is simply "luck of the draw" in terms of having quiet or noisy neighbors.  

 

Hank

Interesting that you don’t care for Marseilles.

Years ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time there at the École Nationale Supérieure Maritime. There’s much culture, history, art (about two dozen museums) (and, of course, bouillabaisse) to be enjoyed in one of France’s most visited cities.

But, like so many cruise ports, it may take longer than a half or full day every few years to have that experience “special” to you.

3 hours ago, pinotlover said:

So according to certain posters here: when the Marina is on her last seasonal run around South America and you and your room attendant are both getting off in Lima , and she’s going home to the Philippines, giving her the last scraps of your Argentinean pesos and Chilean money ( maybe $30) is a good plan? I’d vote it’s not, but rumored to happen regularly. 

With the understanding that the USD, of course, remains the “coin of the realm” on Oceania ships (including for added gratuities), there certainly are occasions when augmenting $$$ with appropriate local currency makes sense for all concerned.
 

This is especially true for crew mid-contract on a series of reverse segments where they’ll often do internal money exchanges that save them the time and expense of finding exchange outlets in port and paying some exorbitant fee.   
 

Savvy cruisers chat with service crew they encounter on a daily basis and can quickly determine when a mix of currencies might be useful/welcomed.

6 hours ago, tine-tine said:

Maybe one of our American cousins can help me with my musings when I eat in a US restaurant (not high end), I look at the number of diners, the rotation of tables and the number of tables a waiter/busboy is servicing, the average cost of say a one or two course meal then add the 20% tip on top and it is becomes obvious there are lucrative earnings on top of their wage, possibly not so much for a quiet restaurant but then there probably is a reason no-one is dining!

In a premiere American food city like San Francisco, being a waiter/waitress in a restaurant that is popular with both locals and tourists alike (e.g., Scoma’s, The Slanted Door, Perbacco…) and is always packed with patrons makes for a very good living!

On 4/11/2024 at 4:29 PM, shepherd really said:

49 cruises listed on the R ships, 51 on the O and A ships, so far for January-June '26.  All four R's have cruises listed, but Nautica has only 4.

Nautica does tend to do sonewhat “longer” cruises Two of those four are 25 days each. What I find interesting is that she disembarks in Mauritius.

Just now, daydreamer62 said:

You clearly want the last word so you can have it. I know exactly what the reaction to your actions would be but you clearly know better so was I said you do you. 

Actually, it appears that YOU wanted the last word.😉

3 minutes ago, daydreamer62 said:

20% would be ridiculous and pretty much unheard of in NZ where a the minimum wage is $23.15 per hour even for wait staff.  But hey if you want to pay that then you do you . Regardless of the amount it would be far better received in $NZ no matter what the amount .You clearly think your time is more valuable than the staff serving you. You could have spent 2 minutes at an ATM getting NZD or pay by CC as most of us do. 

ROTFL. 

What happened to “cultural sensitivity” being a two way street?

Twenty percent is not “ridiculous” to most cosmopolitan city residents in the US. And we’ll pay it to foreign wait staff if that’s what we want to do.

BTW, our minimum wage in California for even just a fast food worker is 

$20 USD/hour (about $35 NZD). And regular restaurant workers get at least $16 USD/hour (about $27 NZD) plus any locally mandated health et al. benefits coverage. 

And, finally, if anything is “ridiculous,” it’s the suggestion that a savvy NZ waiter would have ANY sort of “issue” with an apparently “generous” 17.5%+ tip. 

32 minutes ago, clo said:

I don't see a reply down thread. Too bad.

😳

2 hours ago, daydreamer62 said:

A small amount of foreign currency though would have the same value as no tip at all!  

So, a fairly US standard 20% tip on a single $400 NZD meal (>$200 USD for that meal alone) would be $80 NZD, which at a local exchange bureau might conservatively translate to at least $40 USD. I’m pretty sure most wait staff (worldwide - not just NZ) with a bunch of those US $20 bills in hand would find the time and energy to go to the exchange bureau every once in awhile.

$$$ 😎

Just checked Travelex. Those two $20 USD bills would net someone “only” $70 NZD (17.5% tip on that $400 NZD tab). 
 

Case closed!

42 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

I was just relating ‘my experience’.

 

I don’t judge the entire country by my trip to Miami, which actually I didn’t  ’pick’, rather it was ‘picked’ for me, as that’s where the cruise was departing from!

 

We actually had an amazing time in Sarasota several years ago but that was a place we did ‘pick’!

You may want to reread your post: “Anyway, the whole experience left us less than happy to return to the US. Not sure we would ever get used to the rudeness in general and the ‘tipping’ culture in particular.”

9 hours ago, coolbluegreenseas said:

I appreciate the responses! As far as budget goes, I can make either work. What I hate to do is purchase a service and never really use it. Still, the larger cabin and bathroom just might be worth it. I have time to think this over.

 

Thank you so far!

If you ever decide to do one of Oceania’s “R” ships, where some “larger” folks find many of the cabin showers to be “too small,” here’s a proven strategy for enjoying the shower:

1. Only shower when the ship is underway in rough sea conditions.

2. Get wet and lather up completely with soap.

3. Under running overhead shower, spin around against the shower walls allowing ship motion to agitate you (just like a washing machine).

4. Rinse off thoroughly.

5. Towel dry.

BTW: if the seas are extremely rough, you won’t even need to go to the spa for that massage!