daydreamer62

37 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

Another issue can be that the photo is too large, both in terms of dimensions and/or file size.  If you have a 12mp camera, you are generating an image that is 4000 by 3000 pixels in size.  Huge.  But if you are just looking at it on your phone, it doesn't seem that.  When you download to your computer, you'll see the true size of the photo.

 

In my experience, I download photos to my computer, then use an image editor to resize the photo to a much more manageable size.  And then have few problems uploading to other sites, including e-visa applications.

 

YMMV.

 

 

Thanks. I'm a graphic designer,(well was until a few years ago) so totally understand all aspects of this. It appeared to be an issue with chrome/android today.. iPhone worked perfectly. Others having issues might want to try that

9 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

Skip that stage if you wish.

Last time I did online check in it did not require it to complete the process.

A photo was taken at actual check in / boarding.

Yes I tried that and it still wouldnt progress ( wouldnt let me go to the boarding pass option) on my laptop or Samsung phone but luckily it all worked on my husbands iphone so we are all set now- thanks 

Actually the trick was to use an Iphone - it wouldnt work with my Samsung, nor with an uploaded photo on my laptop but it did work using my husbands iphone - go figure!!

ahh- well i might try again tomorrow then - thanks - oh i guess thats the US weekend so Ill wait till tuesday my time 

Im trying to complete the online check in and get to the photo upload and no matter what photo I upload it never gets past "in progress" for this section - meaning I cant get to the print boarding pass - Ive even tried skip photo and take at terminal but it still wont progress to the boarding pass. What is the secret to completing this  ??

My experience with my upcoming cruise (June 1 Vista) 

Our credit would have paid for the 1( expensive ) 'must book' excursion I wanted with a little extra. I booked that immediately to avoid missing out. Then I spent some time looking at others. I found 3 more I wanted to take. The cost was approx   $1200NZ each for those in excess of the credit. The minimum number of excursions to meet the 25% discount was 6.. but what I quickly realised with a bit of maths was that if I chose cheaper excursions for those extra 2 , all the excursions I had booked would be discounted including the very expensive ones so I booked the extra 2  and everything was discounted by 25% and ended up only paying $900 each on top of the credit.. in effect saving us money by doing more excursions .

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

We booked a standard fare before Simply More began & when searching for excursions it shows there’s a “Simply More Shore Excursion Package” with a 25% discount when purchasing a minimum of 5 excursions. When checking excursions it shows the full price & also the SMSEP discounted price. We have a combined $800 of SBC that can be used for any type of payments but don’t know if we are eligible for the 25% discount because it’s called Simply More.

 

This is only our 2nd O cruise & on our CA Coastal first cruise we didn’t book any excursions so this is a new experience for us. If anyone has any insights to share would greatly appreciate any of them. 🙂

 

Yes you are entitled to the 25% discount as well as the credit and it can make a big difference. . For my cruise the minimum was 6 to get the discount and it was cheaper to book 6 than to book the 4 I originally wanted to do. (I chose less expensive ones for the extra 2). the credit comes off the total after the 25% is applied 

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

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. 

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. 

3 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

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.

$$$ 😎

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. 

We also love the area and last year were there for a week and walked from Beaulieu Sur Mer to Villa Ephruzzi. Had a great morning tea in the cafe there too after taking the audio guided tour and learning the life of Beatrice. We loved Villefranche Sur Mer so much we are returning for a week at the conclusion of our Vista cruise in June after securing a waterfront apartment. 

14 minutes ago, osandomir said:

If I remember correctly tips were neither required nor suggested when we visited New Zealand years ago.

They generally aren't and the only place I have tipped in my life(at home)  is for exceptional service in a higher end restaurant, but it does seem to have become more prevalent in restaurants over the last few years to the point that some of the new electronic payment systems have an opt out button for tipping, kind of insinuating it's more normal than it actually is. This has caused some discussion and hasn't been well received by many. 

NZ has a fairly decent minimum wage that must be paid to all employees except to youth who can be on a special youth wage. However I'm sure nobody would be offended to receive extra, despite it being not required. A small amount of foreign currency though would have the same value as no tip at all! 

I don't understand the whole concept personally.. of expected tips or built in service charges.. if your business is a service industry then that should be taken into account in the costs and included in the food(or other) charges and then the employer should pay their staff well for good work and I  that's pretty much what it used to be like here but with globalisation there is always change good and bad . 

5 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Response #23.

Did you even read my reply? When was your last experience tipping in USD in New Zealand???????. Banks in New Zealand do NOT handle foreign exchange ( since at least 2019). A few dollars in foreign currency isn't worth anything. Nothing at all because the fees to exchange are higher than the value of the money.  If you truly value good service perhaps some respect for the person you are supposedly tipping might be more appreciated than your money in foreign currency . 

5 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

 

See response #23. All over the world, service personnel (particularly on cruise ships) gratefully accept all sorts of money and exchange it amongst themselves or at banks/exchange bureaus.

 

As for me: As a young man, I worked in the ski industry and I can tell you that I always preferred even foreign currency to yet another knitted cap. 😎

I would kindly suggest if you ever come to New Zealand that you don't tip in US dollars. Banks here do not convert foreign currency at all. You need to take it to a currency conversion shop which give appalling rates and often have minimum amounts and maximum fees to convert. A few US dollars would be almost useless unless the recipient was planning to leave the country . It would be far more appreciated if you had converted your money to local currency or used an ATM to get cash  and paid those fees yourself if you really appreciated the service you had received 

56 minutes ago, Kay S said:

My yardstick for "inedible" is my late aunt's jicama-beansprout-avocado gelatin mold.  Or beets.  I can't stand beets.  Cruise ship food can be delicious or tasteless, over salted or not warm enough, but I think most people can find at least something they could eat.  What's the old saying?  Nobody ever starved on a cruise?

Some (many) food trends definitely need to stay in the past. The 'everything in Aspic' is one of those. Nothing tastes better encased in jelly!! I do like beetroot though but it's definitely not better in gelatine!! 

Once again I just would never judge a restaurant based on their use of tablecloths. There are 3 Michelin star restaurants that don't have tablecloths.. I've also never eaten at Jacques so I can't judge which I would prefer but I tend not to prefer the old style french heavy on the sauces type of cuisine so I may not have preferred it anyway based on the menus I've seen ... but I'm not one to judge anything that I haven't experienced myself... 

It seems to me you have a preference for a style of restaurant that perhaps others might feel is démodé but that's fine too. It's your preference.. It may not be (and clearly isn't) the opinion of others. 

Oh and I'm not a Vista cheerleader.. I've never been on it.. I don't judge something before I've experienced it..as I said. 

1 hour ago, MEFIowa said:

 O describes Ember as a sophisticated setting for classic American cuisine, with tablecloths in their photographs. I don't want to pay $350-500 per couple per day to eat that kind of food in that kind of setting. 

I've not eaten in Ember either (though im booked in on June 2 so I'll let you know).... However I can't understand your obsession with tablecloths as a judgement of quality. I've eaten at amazing restaurants where we've paid over $300 per couple for one meal (let alone board and lodging) that ..horrors .. don't have tablecloths.. A tablecloth doesn't ensure quality . 

51 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

 

and you may have seen it said that way by me when describing why we no longer sail with Celebrity....for us the food in a regular balcony was no longer edible in the main dining room and often in the buffet as well...hence inedible...now we have done our 10th on O....and are mostly satisfied....

Never sailed Celebrity but I've never had a meal in any establishment or any house or anywhere at all  that was inedible.(Unable to be eaten) I've certainly had some that I didn't want to eat but that didn't make them inedible. 

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

There are many things you can say about O. Some wonderful, some good, some just ok. But when I read someone describes food as "edible", to me the whole review loses its credibility.

And likewise when I read a review ( about any restaurant not just Oceanias) that states the food was 'inedible' I mentally roll my eyes and pay little attention to any further complaints . I've seen the inedible' descriptor quite often on CC posts ...

In my opinion the quality of an excursion is greatly dependant on the tour guide, not the number of participants. I've had exceptional guides with larger group ship tours and I've had not particularly engaging guides on small independent group tours.  The secondary consideration is the other participants in the tour and whether they can listen and follow instructions. In the case of the larger tours the chances you will run across those who seem unable to do this is greater because of the greater numbers involved but it can still happen in a smaller tour ( and certainly I've experienced this too!! ) 

30 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

Looking at it from Oceania’s point of view maybe they just didn’t realise what a mess this new  system would turn out to be. They must have shed loads of people booked with SimplyMore so they could just be trying to work out the best way forward?

Change doesn’t happen overnight!

And they may have gained as many as they shed.... Change is the thing that some will never like.. if you think of the many who were contemplating Viking who decided their prices are just too high but they liked their semi inclusive options there then Oceanias change may have drawn them in . (I'm one of them so I figure there are more ) But you are right some policy changes do result in unintended consequences 

2 hours ago, durberville said:

Geeez Celebrity even greets you with sparkling wine. It’s a nice touch. 

On Oceania with Simply More you could have multiple glasses of champagne with your lunch if you choose. Nicer to be seated to drink it than wandering juggling a glass with hand luggage

53 minutes ago, durberville said:

Agree with booking excursions as early as possible, but could someone clarify the refund situation?

I’m reading NO refunds for missed or ship cancelled Simply More excursions, so expecting a refund and the ability to use it for another booking doesn’t seem to apply….interested because we’ve used our Simply More Shorex credit and have paid for the remaining balance on our CC. To muddy the waters - I would expect to have our CC refunded for any cancelled tour but I what if we hadn’t paid extra? No refund at all?  (I find this issue really confusing 😵‍💫)

My understanding is if you have both credit paid for excursions and personally paid for excursions, the credit portion is used first. So if your SM  credit  paid for 3 excursions and your purchased excursions paid for 3 then if number 3 is cancelled then the SM credit is moved to number 4 and at The end of the voyage your refund would be in $$ refundable because you had personally paid for more excursions than you took. If you only booked 3 all paid by credit then if one was cancelled and you didn't book anything else then you would not receive that refund in $$ as it was originally paid for by the non refundable credit. I might be wrong but this is what I was told 

20 minutes ago, clojacks said:

You’re correct, to a point. You need a messaging app, like What’s App. Using an Androids native texting icon does not allow you to text between android and iPhone if on wifi only.

Of course which is why I mentioned Facebook messenger or any of the many many other apps that can be used via wifi . You definitely don't need a ship provided app for this purpose. Therec are so many other and probably better options for communication.(Outside of wifi availability they can also be used with mobile data)Many millions of people have been using these to communicate on land and sea, both locally and internationally  via wifi for years. 

1 hour ago, ICT lineman said:

For the crew there is a small ( 6 inch x 4 inch ) 4 page version of Currents.

 

It has front page, second page of excursion times, third page of activities for the day and back page of restaurant and bar hours. 

 

Very easy carry for pocket or purse.

 

Just ask Cabin attendant for 2 small ones to be delivered at evening turndown when they bring the larger version of Currents and chocolates.

 

Have done this on numerous cruises without any problem.

Or just take a photo of it on your phone.

57 minutes ago, clojacks said:

You can each “regular messaging” if you both have an iPhone, but if not, you can’t. However my Android communicates with Apple if the ship has a hat feature on their app…

You can use any messenging app between android and iPhone if both are on wifi. Whether it's Facebook Messenger, what's app or any other of the multitude of apps for that purpose on land also work at sea on wifi