Flatbush Flyer

Three cruises?🤔

But O is only a Premium line (or as some of their old advertising said, ultra-premium). Glad you’re enjoying the cruise. A suggestion: Do find the time to submit your mid-cruise comment cards. BTW: who is your General Manager and Cruise Director?

As I have often posted over the years: At least a month (preferably two) prior to embarkation, you or your TA can make special F&B requests which O will do its best to accommodate. We have two standard requests. We ask for our cabin fridge to be kept stocked with small bottles of Pellegrino and cans of Coke Zero.(both regular and caffeine-free). The former is usually no problem. The latter (caffeine-free Coke Zero- NOT Coke Lite) sometimes gets lost in translation from one world region to another. As for food (beyond dietary restrictions), a great example of O’s accommodation can be found on Sirena where the merger of Polo and Toscana as Tuscan Steak resulted in limiting the traditional list of available items from each of the partner venues. One casualty was the Aragosta Fra Diavola. However, a request to the Exec Chef early in the cruise will be honored if at all possible. We’ve even had bartenders (mostly among the original “Bali Boys”), who are aware that we’ll be coming onboard and often have real lemon juice set aside for our Side Cars. (Fortunately, now that O has upped its cocktail game, fresh juices as ingredients are more readily available).

Lido Deck? That would be on the Love Boat.

Not always.

Since many cruise-lines do similar worldwide itineraries, you may want to modify your question along the lines of “once you have certain ports in mind (particularly start and end since you may want to add land stays too), what factors determine your choice of ship?” For example: Lots of cruise-lines do the Med and start/stop at Civitavecchia (Rome) and/or Piraeus (Athens). But, antiquities remain the same regardless of who gets you there. IMO, Once you have what you want to see in focus, your attention should immediately turn to your “home away from home” (particularly if you’re looking at a longer cruise of at least two weeks or more). The ship itself and its quality/value quotient then becomes the most important consideration. Note that I’m not talking about cheapest cabin price (that’s not the sole determinant of value). Rather I am talking about “bang for your buck” since one cruise line that is all or mostly inclusive can be a better value (quality/price) than another cruise line that nickel-dimes you for every little thing (and then serves you mediocre food too). With all that in mind, we’ve found a preferred cruise-line with which we begin our search for a future cruise. So, in one sense, you could say that the ship is the most important consideration for us (that is, as long as that cruise-line goes where we want to be).

FetaCheese: did you email me this morning?

When I posted my original Cheesesteak comment, I was referring to Waves on Riviera. My discussions with the GM (himself a former O F&B manager), who agreed with my offered correction, resulted in the necessary fix. Perhaps, on Vista, you were an eventual benefactor of that discussion?

Whatever you do, make sure you’re booking a flight on one of the classic Dehavilland Beavers (while they’re still around).

Given my original post about the “non-Philly CheeseSteak” and my refusing it, how could it be confusing?

The benefits are the same as regards BoB discount, price drop match, low deposit, etc. the only difference is more SBC for picking an actual cruise as opposed to the FCDC.

Yes - recently $250 SBC for book onboard or $100 SBC FOR FCDC.

FWIW: The term FCC, which was a bit confusing during the height of the Covid era (because it could mean either/both Future Cruise Certificate and Future Cruise Credit is now differentiated by the term FCDC (future cruise deposit certificate) being applied to the onboard purchase item. When you actually get the emailed FCDC certificate, you’ll see the new title at the top of the page.

The only Cabin overhead PA announcements are supposed to be for critical announcements and emergencies. I was talking about the regular announcements in the public spaces which, by the time you turn on the TV and go to Channel 25 (Bridge Cam) to hear them are almost done.

Oceania has not used the term OBC (OnBoardCredit) for its own non-refundable SBC (i.e., ShipBoardCredit) since starting to allow those $ to be used for tours et al. purchases prior to boarding. Now OBC is best limited to citing refundable $ from your TA purchased as a gift.

Yes - a small but telling change - basically going from service to sales. I don’t like it.

Glad you like it (as do I). One thing though: Moonstruck’s “neighborhood” is not Flatbush (home of numerous other Brooklyn based movies). The Moonstruck neighborhood is now considered part of what has become the “oh-so-swank” Carroll Gardens (though it will always be the edge of Red Hook to me). Most importantly, however, don’t confuse Brooklyn with New York (many old time locals’ other name for the island of Manhattan). A long time ago Brooklyn (which eventually became Kings County of New York State and one of the five “boroughs” of New York City) was itself the fourth largest city in the United States. We even had our own baseball team - “dem bums” - the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers.

One of my pet peeves is that, when a public space PA announcement is made (e.g., Captain at noon), there is no delay between the PA signal and the talking. If you’re in you’re cabin and you want to listen, you have to open the door or turn the tv on to channel 25. By the time you do either, you’ve missed a bunch of the announcement’s beginning. There really needs to be at least a 5 second delay.

Because I ordered a Philly CheeseSteak which was, in no possible way (nor interpretation) what was served to me. Ever had a Philly CheeseSteak? If so, you’d have returned it too.

If you’re talking about now, you’re correct: we live on the North Shore of San Francisco Bay! When I was growing up/living in Brooklyn from the late ‘40s until mid ‘60s, Red Hook unofficially encompassed a larger area than now. I’m guessing that Grandma’s place at Henry & Sackett is now considered part of Carroll Gardens(?) while Columbia Street either side of Union St. (where my dad had two movie theaters (several block apart)) may now be on the outer perimeter of Red Hook. In any case, Brooklyn then and Brooklyn now are not quite the same. and it’s all due to the “trolley dodgers” moving to L.A.!

All depends on which CD you’ve got. As aforementioned, Ray Carr is the “gold standard” for O. A morning show that’s so funny, people tune in just to see what the latest antics are. Minimal announcements as well.

Brooklyn Boy here too. Beyond Brooklyn, the only other great bagels are Montreal.

Certain CD announcements including port arrival info, midday (after the Captain’s report) and pre-dinner (evening activities) are the normal sequence of PA announcements. Some CDs add to that (which I agree is usually unnecessary). IMO: every new CD on O should be required to shadow Ray Carr for at least a week or two as part of their orientation.

FWIW: Philly Cheese Steak is a relatively new item that was only an experiment on O not too long ago. I had one of the first ones made on Riviera and after returning it for something else, had a chat with both the Exec Chef and the GM about what exactly is a Philly Cheese Steak. I’ve had similar conversations across multiple O ships about certain other newly introduced “regional” American dishes including Lobster Rolls and Reuben Sandwiches. Suffice to say that it takes awhile (and enough passenger comments) but, O eventually gets most of it right. BTW: That earliest version of a Philly Cheesesteak was a small filet with melted cheese on top 😳.

Most importantly, thanks to Hank for the “live from…” reporting on Vista. It’s the only O ship afloat that we haven’t been on. But, we’ll experience her on some ATW segments in 2026 (and actually will cruise on Allura first in autumn 2025). Somehow I missed the CC notification that Hank had begun his Vista review. So, I only just now read through the threads (carefully focused solely on his commentary and skipping those replies that basically amounted to whining about “issues” that are easily corrected by speaking with the crew member involved or, if necessary, a supervisor. FWIW, the cruise industry suffered an upheaval and, along with the influx of many new ships and cruise lines, one resulting issue has been a tremendous shortage of seasoned hotel staff which has, in turn created a wide spectrum of experienced service. It has particularly hit O hard where you may now find first time wait staff along side O’s traditional 5 to 10 year veterans. Interestingly, post-Covid stoppage, some O old timers (including several chefs and bartenders I know) “jumped ship” for a try at a competitor or new line. According to my sources, for most of them it was a “one and done” contract and they’ve returned to O (which treats its loyal crew very well). Have I noticed a post-Covid inconsistency in some service arenas onboard? Absolutely, but I have already witnessed improvement, particularly as first time staff return for a second contract (as most do). Time will tell. Back to Hank’s review. I debated about going through and responding to selected posts. But I decided, instead, to lump here my comments so far. Toscana! I am a first generation Sicilian-American who spent much of his childhood in the Red Hook/Carroll Gardens section of Brooklyn - the Sicilian stronghold so accurately portrayed in the Nicholas Cage/Cher movie Moonstruck with its Cammareri Bros. bakery just a few doors down from my grandmother’s “walk up.” I know Sicilian food (whether native or descendant). I mention this because, if Hank’s lobster main was Toscana’s Aragosta Fra Diavola (“lobster, brother of the devil” [or “from the devil”]), what was placed before him (yes, red sauce!) was quite accurate and, if I had to fault anything with the dozens of times I’ve eaten it, it would be that it was not always as spicy as I prefer. From a different post, I noticed the comment about the Terrace orange juice, the solution to which has been “just ask for it.” Likewise, if you want an omelet made with fresh eggs (rather than the already prepped eggs), “just ask for it.” Same goes for cocktails: Want a true “Side Car?” Specify Hennessy VSOP, Cointreau and fresh squeezed lemon juice in a 2:1:1 ratio. It costs no more than a well swill drink with citrus mixer (and most O bartenders will remember your preference the next time you order it). Another item in the “live from …” review that caught my eye was Country Fair. That’s a long standing tradition on O ships during multiple sea days (as is the hilarious boat building competition and the quite challenging Art Scavenger Hunt which Hank may not yet have experienced). We enjoy all three activities (though it was sad to see the elimination of “wack a waiter” from the Country Fair lineup - the waiters too were sad to see it go). And then, there are the line-crossing (equator, IDL) ceremonies and some other itinerary dependent fun (and often educational) pastimes - each with some semblance of an experience aimed at creating a camaraderie among what often becomes an expanded group of O regulars. Thus, I hope we’ll hear more from Hank about his onboard engagement experiences. That said, I’ll limit my comments about O entertainment: If you want a Broadway show, go to Broadway! (Our 2025 Allura cruise is NYC-NYC and we’ll do a Broadway binge land stay as well.). And remember that the size of O ships imposes physical limitations on the nature of the entertainment provided. As for the late night ghost town perception, the O ships have far less passengers than most mass market ones and, on longer cruises, the demographic skews to 60 to 70+\- who generally are not there for the entertainment. (The lectures and cooking demos or classes, however, are a different story.) A final thought- am I an Oceania fan? Not really. What “loyalties” I have are only to people. What I am a fan of is a favorable Value to Quality quotient. And when I compare cruise industry segments (including bottom line costs and experiences), O, because of its excellence “here” and despite its shortcomings “there,” meets my needs for a good fit. And, I’m not alone in that determination. Apologies for the long post (but, it’s probably much better than a bunch of smaller - though not much shorter 😉 - ones). I hope that Hank will continue to enjoy the ship and the food and that he will take my advice to heart: If there’s anything that’s a reasonable concern onboard, say something. You may be surprised at how quickly it gets fixed.