LWFM

I never got an email from Oceania or my TA. I called the TA and the next day I received the email. We can't travel in August and September so we planed to rebook on the Vista October 3, 2025. Although we were advised we would keep all of our benefits and get an extra $250.00 credit from OceaniaI have now been told by the TA our $800 Shore excursion credit is no longer available and the offer is $600.00. Essentially, Oceania is giving us $50.00. I hope that this is a mistake.

It is a good thing I looked at this post. Thank you for reposting. I have not received any notice of the cancelation of the June 25, 2025 sailing. We selected the cruise because it included Egypt and Israel. We were originally booked on the Riviera 9/24/24 and when the itinerary changed we booked the Allura. What concerns me is that I do not have any emails fromTA or Oceania notifying us of the change!😡 Quite frankly posting on a social media website is not an acceptable form of communication from a " luxury" cruise line.

I am not sure why there have been so many posts about this. Celebrity has a conduct page. it is clear: Guest Health, Safety, and Conduct Policy Celebrity Cruises (Last Updated: January, 2021) DURING SECURITY SCREENINGS WE MAY INSPECT ANY GUEST BELONGINGS AND MAY REMOVE PROHIBITED ITEMS OUTSIDE OF THE GUEST’S PRESENCE. CONFISCATED ITEMS NOT CLAIMED BY GUESTS WITHIN 15 CALENDAR DAYS OF CONFISCATION SHALL BE DEEMED FORFEITED AND MAY BE DISPOSED OF BY ROYAL CARIBBEAN GROUP. "Marijuana Prohibited Marijuana, even in its medicinal form or for medicinal purposes, is prohibited." What is not clear is if they will report a person with Medicinal Marijuana to the Authorities; Drugs or Other Illegal Substances Prohibited "Illegal drugs and other illegal substances are neither allowed onboard nor permitted to be used during a Celebrity Cruises vacation, including during transfers to and from ships, inside terminals, while onboard, at ports of call, during shore excursions, and at our private destinations. Illegal drugs and substances will be confiscated, and Celebrity Cruises reserves the right to, at its discretion, report violations of this nature to the appropriate authorities. Jurisdictions traveled through during the voyage may have strict laws that address and severely punish drug possession. Guests found in violation of such laws are subject to arrest and prosecution in the relevant jurisdiction, including United States or other relevant authorities, and may be prevented from boarding or re-boarding the ship." I sympathize with OP and her sister but they are the only ones who can make the determination if they want to take the risk of bringing the medicine on Board. We can only hope that if it is discovered, under the circumstances Celebrity will not report the violation but presumably they will confiscate the prescription. An article in the Miami Herald on November 16,2023 my be of interest: "▪ Royal Caribbean Group: “Marijuana, even in its medicinal form or for medicinal purposes, is prohibited on our ships, as well as CBD oil and products.” ▪ Norwegian: Its policy states that all illegal narcotics and drugs, including recreational and medical marijuana, as well as all products “containing CBD, oils, candies, and gummies or any product containing THC,” is prohibited and will be confiscated. Carnival: Any illegal narcotics “including synthetic, designer drugs, Cannabidiol (CBD) and medical marijuana” are prohibited, according to the cruise line’s policy. “While certain CBD products used for medicinal purposes may be legal in the US, they are not legal in all the ports we visit and therefore are also considered prohibited items. “ ▪ Virgin: Illegal drugs, non-prescribed controlled substances, medically prescribed marijuana or synthetic marijuana and CBD products are prohibited ▪ Disney Cruise lines (now home-ported in Fort Lauderdale): The policy states that “illegal narcotics — including synthetic designer drugs — and marijuana (even if legal where you reside or medically prescribed) — are prohibited on board the ships and on Disney Castaway Cay.” Medical marijuana, as well as CBD-infused products are prohibited. You might be denied boarding if you’re found to have it, and you could also be “subject to severe legal penalties.”" Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/living/travel/article281889213.html#storylink=cpy

Although we have not received formal notice our September 2024 Cruise Athens to Istanbul on the Riviera has also been modified to include Kotor, Dubrovnik Corfu and Mykonos. All ports we have been to and loved but are not interested going back to at this time. We choose O for the itinerary, specifically so we could visit Egypt and Israel and at the time the price. We have traveled on Azamara several times but we got a better price from O and have always wanted to try it. If you have not been to Kotor, Dubrovnik and Valetta I suggest you visit. We love all of those ports and have enjoyed our visits. The sail into Kotor is spectacular and there is a store in town that sells local crafts. The Christmas ornaments ( among other items) are gorgeous. We are never at a loss for things to do in Dubrovnik definitely stop for lunch. If you are a desert lover try the apple strudel or gelato or both. Valetta has Knights Templar and WW II history to explore. Also another place to stop for fabulous food. Before you cancel check out similar cruises on other lines such as Celebrity, Azamara, Viking. I do trial bookings. I am finding out that prices are high everywhere. At this point we are canceling but may rebook for 2025 or pick another 2024 cruise with Ports we want to visit.

We travel for the itinerary and the experience. I do not believe they are mutually exclusive. When you travel on a regular basis and have diverse interests, where the ship sails is a key consideration when choosing a cruise. I just looked at the itinerary for our September 28, 2024 Cruise on the Riviera from Athens to Istanbul which included stops in Israel and Eygpt. The itinerary has changed dramatically. Ideal and Egypt have been replaced with Kotor, Dubrovnik, Corfu and Mykonos. All places we have been several times and love. We will rebook. We want to experience new places. We selected this cruise specifically because the itinerary included Israel and Egypt and the Riviera is a beautiful ship. We are experienced Cruisers and itineraries can and often do change. This trip was a compromise. I desperately wanted wanted to see the Pyramids and Jerusalem, my husband did not but he was looking forward to returning to Istanbul. I am very disappointed with the change. I understand that Oceania had no choice. Oceania has been put in an untenable situation. Passengers can not be dropped off in the middle of a war zone. We are fortunate, we will not lose much if we rebook. I do think that before an itinerary change is posted on line Oceania and/or our TA should have reached out before it was posted on line. Calling my TA now...

Hello DRKofSA, We are also sailing on the Riviera September 28, 2024 Athens to Istanbul. Just in case you are not aware Rosh Hashanah is October 2, to October 4 2024. Due to the Holiday we booked the the OS Day in Jerusalem from Haifa on October 1 and OS Acre on October 2. The private tour price point was high for Jerusalem. We also had concerns about traveling for 12 hours in a mini bus. We decided to go with 4 ship excursions, all OS, Santorini, Israel (2) and Ephesus. After the Simply more 25% discount we only went over the Shore Excursion credit about $47.00 pp.. We are in the process of researching private tours in Port Said, Alexandria and Istanbul. I asked O about a private overnight tour Port Said to Cairo to Alexandria. They said we had to ask permission. Our TA can help us with arrangements but we are still on the fence re an overnight. The shore excursions opened up yesterday and O is not offering any overnights on our Cruise ( that might change). Recommendations regarding licensed guides in Egypt seem to focus on 3 or 4 Companies. Not sure I like any of them so if you ( or anyone else) has a recommendation please post. If this is your first time in Istanbul definitely hire a private guide. We love Istanbul. PS. We are from the Orlando area.

We have flown in and out of Amsterdam several times. Last summer we were on AMA and debarked in Amsterdam. We had the Cruise Line arrange transportation to the airport for an early flight to the US. Keep in mind many checkin desks in the terminal do not open early so long lines form before 7am for those waiting to check in for early flights. If you are checking luggage and do not have status with the Airline you could wait over an hour to check your bags. Last summer lines were horrendous. I believe things have improved but it took us almost 2 hours to get to the gate.( Then the fun really began 3 delayed and finally canceled flights, 4 gate changes, 3 times retrieving checked bags and returning to the check in desk and 6 times through customs. When our 3rd flight canceled, we stayed for another night and at 6:30am the next day lines were forming) If you can pack in a carry on and mange your luggage I suggest you do that. We learned a big lesson on that trip. 😨🤯😩🥱

Thanks for the review. While we all have different things that are important to us we got your point, customer service is what makes or breaks a good cruise. A lot can be overlooked when you feel welcomed and that your concerns matter. We are taking our first Oceania cruise on the Riviera in 2024. While the food, service and cabin is important to us my main concern is the possibility of missed ports. We chose the itinerary specifically for the ports and I will be very unhappy if any are canceled. To me glasses do matter, even when it comes to cocktails, and I find it odd that Oceania had that issue. While it may seem petty to some, we hope it is not a sign of things to come. We are really looking forward to our cruise and appreciate the reviews. We have learned that Post Pandemic cruises are different and we have adapted. 🤞Fingers double crossed Oceania gets its act together.... Also, as to the lobster. Those of us who grew up in New England know, never ever ever order "Maine" "New England" lobster on a cruise ship. Unless you are sailing along the coast of New England and you see the live lobsters being brought on the ship the lobster you are eating most likely comes from a fish processing plant. Think about it unless they have a live lobster tank on the ship by the time that lobster tail gets to your plate, it has probably been frozen for at least a week or more. 😳

As Carlmm states, we were treated better than inter European Flights. Those lines were brutal, elderly, families with children and handicapped waiting in line for hours outside of the building. Everyone we spoke to said this is the new normal. Ashland, I wish you luck. I am not sure what we could have done. We left 2 days in advance of the cruise, before we left, we downloaded the Airline App, we made sure there were lots of connecting flights to Basel after ours that were available and asked at the desk when I checked in if the flight was on time. We had SMALL carryons with our meds and a change of clothes and had the emergency contact numbers for the Cruise line Air department and our Trip insurance. We flew over on United Codeshare partner Lufthansa and Back on United. Things we should have done: 1. PACK LIGHT I never expected to have to transfer our own bags so many times. we were exhausted. (our bags weighed less than 20 lbs ea. but it was still difficult) 2. Add the airlines number to your contacts 3. Prior to calling the Airline to rebook or waiting for the Airline to assign a flight check on line to see what flights are available including on other carriers so you can request those flights. Many times were told there were no seats and others were put on the flight because they did their research. 4. Ask what the role of the Concierge is and if you used a Travel agent or Cruiseline to book the flight what will they do for you if this happens. I never expected to be told NOTHING. 5. Eat when you can and always have water with you. 5. Be prepared to wait in line ( thank goodness we have comfortable shoes)

My Husband and I spent 2 days trying to get back to the states from Amsterdam after our cruise.We are experience travelers but what we went though was crazy. I am sure many of you have seen the news reports and photos of the congestion at Schiphol. It is worse than depicted. I am opening this topic because we learned a lot during our two day Flight-mare.This post is not about getting compensation or what the Airline should or shouldn't have done or what we should have done, it is a heads up about the process. At Schiphol it takes at least 1/12 to 2 hours to check your bags prior to going through security. Security can take anywhere from 1/2 hour to 5 hours depending on when you arrive at the airport. After security you go to passport control, 5 mins to 45 mins. Gates are far apart and may take time to get to. Although there is a recommendation to get to the Airport 3 hours before your flight if you do that there is a good chance you will miss your plane. Our Flight-mare began with a text. At 4:00 am we got notice that our original flight was delayed and we were re routed, we would not get home at 6:30pm on June 20 as planned.We were now going to Orlando via Newark and Denver...😳. According to the Airline there was NO other option but at least we would be home by 7:30am on the 21st. We arrived at 5:30am and did not get to the gate until after 9:30am. As we approached the gate ready to use our 18 EURO Delay voucher for Breakfast we got another text that our Flight was canceled but no worry we were assigned another flight Amsterdam to San Francisco to Orlando. That is when the Flight-mare turned into an episode of the twilight zone. When the flight was canceled we had to walk to another part of the terminal to an information booth. We waited about 2 hours in line for info on the new flight (at the same time we were on the phone with the Airline). Once we met with the agent we were told our bags would NOT be transferred to the new flight. We had to leave the gate, go through passport control to baggage claim to retrieve our bags and get back in line at bag drop to get the new boarding passes and check our luggage. Another trip through security ( because we had proof we had already been through once, we were only in line about two hours, we were later told that the line in the afternoon was about 5 hours) and Passport control got us to the gate about 1 hour before boarding. Unfortunately that flight was canceled. We had to go back though passport control, wait for our bags, wait for vouchers for a hotel and food and finally we left the airport about 9:00 only to be back the next day at 5am to start the process again. Anyone traveling through Schiphol needs to be prepared for a flight delays cancelations and chaos. Pack light and don't assume the Airline will transfer your bags. (As an FYI when we arrived in Frankfurt for the start of our cruise and missed a connection due to a flight delay we were also advised to get our bags and transfer them ourselves they could not guarantee they would catch up to us.)

We received an AMA river cruise as a gift for our 40th Anniversary. Leaving June 13,2022 out of Basel. $2000 of the gift was designated for air. I was stunned when the cost was @$1400 per person for economy. We felt so bad we just paid the difference but the flights are not great even with the assistance of AMA and we have no idea where we are sitting because it is a code share.

Thank you so much. We are on the AMAMoro although we have cruised the Seine this is our first Rhine River cruise and first time on AMA. Based on the weather forecast we plan on bringing our rain gear with our fingers crossed for some sunshine along the way. So glad to get back to Europe.

Thank you for taking the time to keep us updated regarding water levels and informed about interesting things to see and do in the Rhine Valley. We are leaving from Basel on 6/13 traveling to Amsterdam on AMAMora. Could you provide some insight regarding water levels for our trip? Hoping we will be able to sail all the way...