Cruise-y

I am currently on Insignia in Spain and am having an O Life Headache. Can anyone else out there tell me if they have had the problem I am describing below or know of someone who had the same problem and if so what they did and how do I resolve this situation?

 

I booked my cruise on July 25th 15 days before the August 9th sailing of Insignia. At that time I was offered the O Life Choice promotion which is either $1000 credit or 10 free shore excursions – 5 for me and 5 for my husband or a drink package. I took the 10 free shore excursions. I have the contract and the final billing paperwork. Now that I am on board and have booked all of my shore excursions and taken some of them Oceania is not honoring the 10 free shore excursions. I was told I did not book them all within 14 days of sailing. Mind you I bought the cruise 15 days before sailing and no one informed me I had less than 24 hours to book all of my shore excursions. So now guest services is charging me full cost for the 10 shore excursions and not honoring the 10 free ones I was supposed to have with the O Life Choice Program.

 

The way I found out I was being billed was I asked for my billing statement just to check it as I always do when I am at sea. I noticed I am owing far more money than I thought I should be so I went to the guest service desk. I was told that the sales receipt contract (in the fine print) says that the O Life Choice options must be selected within 14 days. I was not aware that was a condition for the O Life Choice promotion until today. Oceania is willing to give me an $800 credit but I feel cheated because tomorrow I am supposed to go on an excursion I would not have bought had I known I was going to be charged full price. Also the Choice promotion was for either $1000 credit or for 10 free shore excursions not for an $800 credit. Please let me know if you or anyone else you know has had that problem and what if anything can be done to fix the problem. The guest service desk is not willing to help me. Also has anyone taken an Oceania cruise with this promotion. If so did you TA tell you that you had to choose your shore excursions within 14 days of sailing? Mine didn't. Thanks.

I know it's frustrating because you booked excursions you might not have taken. Plus, by definition, they weren't even premium excursions. I'd be mad too. However, Oceania did give you $800 shipboard credit in return. That will cover your daily automatic gratuity requirements (plus any extras you want to add) and will probably cover all your alcoholic drinks as well. Have champagne in the lounges and good wine with dinner! Live it up! You don't have to buy t-shirts with it. It's not all bad (hopefully).

Mercy. I'm a grandma and children don't bother me. They are just children having fun. Come splash on me, it's ok.

I know everyone likes to make fun of Royal Caribbean here - but they do have a very nice, calm, shaded, upscale adults-only pool so you can avoid kids if you want to. It's the area where we usually hang out, with windows open to the sea - so lovely. And truly, no kids.

And I don't understand the chair hogger problem. In reality, there should be enough chairs available that this is not an issue. If there aren't enough chairs for your pleasure, then you are on the wrong ship. IMO

This is off subject to Oceania, but a million years ago when I used to sail Barefoot Cruise's Windjammer, an islander would row up to the ship with a boat full of redfish or snapper or such. All the fresh catch would just be displayed there on top of seaweed, in the bottom of the rowboat. The captain would look it over, buy whatever and we (25 or so passengers) would then have it for dinner. Served buffet-style on deck. Honestly, so freaking fresh, it was as good as anything I've ever had on a luxury ship.

May I suggest the rack of lamb?

Superb

It definitely does look delicious!

May I be a contrarian and say that we rarely use all the reservations we are entitled to? We just aren't than enthralled with all of the specialty restaurants. (If on an "O" ship at least there are more choices.)

 

So you may find as well that you are happy with other options once you are on board.

 

There are people who avoid the Grand Dining Room, but we aren't among them. We like the variety of menus offered. The specialty restaurants have set menus, and if you are on a month-long cruise you might well decide that you prefer the GDR or Terrace as well.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Mura

I love Mura's post because I agree. We enjoy the daily variety and creativity in the GD. And anyway, there are usually several dishes from the specialty restaurants on the GD menu. If you live in a major U.S. city, you have access to a zillion steak houses of the same ilk as Polo Grill. And we don't eat steak that much, so it's just not a big deal to us. (If you live in a smaller town, however, I can totally understand the appeal.)

TALL guy here throwing in an opinion regarding space versus function in the Marina/Riviera PH suites. (No need to read further if you're under six feet.)

 

Yes, the PH suite has more living space than a veranda cabin, but it's more cluttered. The end result is that, to this former PH occupant, it doesn't feel that much roomier.

 

In particular, the chairs and table at the foot of the bed are a royal pain. When one's feet hang over the end of the mattress (as mine do), there's no hanging room unless the furniture is moved away from the bed. But by doing so, it becomes even more of an obstruction when groping through a darkened cabin to, say, visit the loo in the middle of the night.

 

Also, as an aside, the two chairs facing the sofa -- or one chair in the case of our Riviera trans-Atlantic in a PH -- are hard and uncomfortable. Definitely not a reading or lounging chair. Just more clutter unless you're an entertainer and need additional seating.

 

Yes, the closet space is definitely bigger and more useful in the O-class PH. Other than that…..meh.

 

On the other hand, PH suites on the R-class ships feel roomy, less cluttered and more comfortable in my subjective opinion…and the OP did specify "subjective." Diff'rent strokes…..

Thank you Dr. H. This is exactly the subjective opinion I was seeking. From the photos, it does appear to me that there is a lot of extraneous, trip-over furniture in a PH. Extra closet space is nice, because the clutter can all be confined there. But the chairs don't look inviting and I (personal opinion) really don't want to eat at the foot of my bed. There would be ketchup on the linens for sure.

When Marina and Riviera were first introduced we went through agonies with tape measures and slide rules before deciding that, for want of a better way to put it, their Penthouses are the size of two standard cabins joined together, with the square footage of the wall which would normally divide the two cabins excised.

With the exception of those cabins, or Penthouse Suites, which are described as having "extended verandas", mostly located on Deck 7, all cabin verandas share a common width (by which I mean the distance from the outside cabin door to the veranda railing). The length of each veranda is equal to the forward to aft measurement of its' adjoining cabin.

Thanks to all above who have responded. This has been most helpful.

Personally, I hate it when a cruise line includes air. It's never nice. It's usually 6 am, coach, multiple transfers, and arriving on the same day as the cruise so it's stressful if there are any delays. There's a reason why it's cheap (see the sentence ahead of this one). IMO it's a detriment when I'm choosing a cruise line.

Could somebody give me a subjective breakdown of the space comparisons between a PH and a veranda suite? I think the posted differences are like 420 to 280 sq ft. That seems like a lot, but I know a PH has a much larger walk-in closet and a bigger bathroom, which may take up a lot of that. I'm wondering about actual living room space, because both have a "suite" area with a table and sofa. The PH veranda is longer but not necessarily wider? Thanks

I think Mediterranean cruises will be deeply discounted. The terror threat is real.

I live in Dallas. We had the first Ebola breakout in the U.S. last year and a massive, horrific killing 2 weeks ago. Why would I stay away from Europe? I'll probably be safer there. The terror threat is everywhere, friends. (Send those Med discounts my way).

Butler service is an amenity for gracious living, No one need rack their brain for things for them to do; let that happen organically. Just be aware that they are available to you and they are willing and able to do whatever is needed to make your cruise better, even if, or especially if, that thing is unique to you.

Excellent point

Hey I love Miami a ton - everything about it - and I don't want to be a party poop about the airport. But while we're on the subject, I do want to say the only time I've ever had anything stolen from my checked luggage has been in Miami (twice). And that's after years of flying all over the world, literally. We were always in a hurry in the Miami airport, so I don't know if that is a factor or not. Just sayin'.....

This has been an interesting and witty and fun thread and I thank everyone for their smart replies. I can see why some people love the butler system, for sure.

Personally, I sure don't want anyone to pack for me because I have too many embarrassing things to pack. I want to know RIGHT where that book is when I have to fish it out at the airport before the suitcase disappears. Like HawaiiDan, I can't get my head around the feudal thing and I don't like people bugging me for trivialities I can do myself. But that's just me. I get up when I want to and I walk down the hall to the concierge lounge for my coffee when I feel like it. On the way, maybe I step out on a deck and look at the sea or maybe I take a couple jogs around the track for some exercise. Maybe I walk the loop to see the 360 degree entrance to the port. Maybe I get a pastry and maybe not; I'll decide when I get there and look at them. I don't need anyone to deliver lukewarm coffee to my room while I sit and wait.

To each his own. Totally. Which is why I probably won't be doing a PH on O.

OK, I know this is a subject that has been discussed heavily in the past and many of you have been on this forum for a long time and have strong opinions. But the latest discussion I could find was over a year old and I'd like a fresh perspective.

Everyone's wants are totally different and I understand that. My reasons for wanting a PH are 1000% for the extra room and larger balcony. We live in a huge metropolitan area and have ready access to steak houses and French restaurants so honestly don't crave the ship's specialty dining. At any rate, I can make my own reservations as fast as I can ask somebody else to do it for me. After 30 years of grueling solo business travel, I have no burning desire to eat in my room. We are very ad hoc and happily adhere to no schedule (unless going on excursions of course). So, I definitely don't want to plan ahead of time when I'm going to have my coffee or breakfast the next day, or when I want my canapés and drinks delivered or even when I'm going to get up. We are very DIY, don't feel comfortable with somebody waiting on us and frankly aren't always dressed decently in our room. (Again, I totally realize this is a personal choice.) However, in short, I don't want or need a butler, but would like to have the extra space of a PH. I don't want to insult these highly-trained, wonderful individuals by ignoring them and I don't know if I'm paying a lot extra for something I'm really not using.

I know the responses are going to be "if you don't want him don't use him" but it's a bit like paying for air travel or an all-inclusive drink package that you don't use. It seems like such a waste. I'd rather have a cheaper "no butler" option. Does anyone agree with this or am I the only rogue here?

Thanks for these comments. We will be in Kotor on a Sunday. Will the shops and restaurants be closed? Would appreciate any insight. Thank you.

After two cruises with O we are very happy with the on board product. I am less than happy with the way they handle the air arrangements, however. So much so that it's putting me off O for future cruises. So I thought I would ask what others think to see if it's just me, or are others ticked off?

 

Without getting into the gory details of individual experiences...

 

1. If you have used O's included air, are you happy with the routing, flights, schedules, and seating?

 

2. If you've used O's air and paid for a deviation are you happy with the result? I'm specifically asking whether you ended up getting reasonable flights, routing, seating, and are you satisfied with any up charge that was applied? Do you feel that the $175 pp fee was reasonable for the service you received?

 

3. If you took the credit and made your own air arrangements, are you satisfied with the amount of the credit offered?

Sopwith -

IMO, the difference is International vs Domestic. I always want to fly business class internationally (because of the longer/usually overnight flight) and I always want to fly in a few days ahead to enjoy the city. I also want to make my own arrangements so I can leave and arrive at my discretion. (I'm not a fan of 6 am flights). I use FF miles, so the credit is what it is and I just take it. I don't worry about it. I realize not everyone has FF miles to use, but it really comes down to what price you put on comfort and convenience.

For a shorter domestic flight, I might be more inclined to put up with the hassle of having a flight dictated to me. You probably can't buy a coach seat for the credit they give.

Many, many years ago I took a cruise with air included (different cruise line) and we were not given seat assignments - but I was assured it was no big deal. The cruises get discounted group fares so you are at the bottom of the pecking order. The flight was overbooked and we would not have been able to board except that the airline kept announcing requests for people to give up their seats (for more and more incentives as time went on) and finally a couple took pity on us. Otherwise, we would have missed our cruise. We had taken a week off of work (which at that time was precious) and had a young child who would have been crushed. I'll never forget how panicked we were.

I swore I'd never book a flight on the same day as a cruise again. In fact, I usually avoid cruise lines that include air for that reason.

I'm going to weigh in for those who may be stressing about not getting an extended balcony. It is deeper (not wider) than a regular balcony. That means you DO have more balcony floor space (with room for a chaise), but it is either darkened by the floor above (so you are in a tunnel) or is open (with less privacy) so that the people in the balconies above can look down on you. These rooms are also located at the front and the back of the ships, so may affect people who are prone to seasickness.

I'm not saying these things are bad, I'm just saying that the extended balcony that everyone covets may not be the greatest thing for some people.

On Royal Caribbean, the Junior Suites have WIDER balcony space than the regular staterooms, so that you have room for a private chaise right up by the ocean. Their Junior Suite balconies are larger than Oceania's Terrace balconies for a similar price.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

 

 

 

Once again: Yes. Yes. Yes.

 

You may get push-back if you ask to speak to a supervisor. The agent will try to intimidate you by saying there will be a wait for a supervisor. Your immediate answer should be "no problem!" It will be much easier to be on hold for a bit rather than miss your trans-Atlantic flight.

 

If you have any kind of physical limitation, this is the time to mention it. As in, "Sorry, but if I have to walk from gate to gate under stress and at top speed because of my tight connection, I'm going to have an asthma attack."

 

If you want to try the technical approach, look up the on-time departure percentages for your flight into Chicago. If the percentage is low, mention that as a reason for wanting to build more time into your layover between flights.

 

Make the phone call prepared to counter any resistance you get from the agent.

Thanks to everyone above for all their help and advice. I appreciate it very much!!

Since everyone is so helpful here about a number of topics, I'm going to post this to get some advice. I know this isn't a "cruise" topic, per se, but all of you fly to get to your cruise destinations so I hope you can advise.

I'm flying to Rome in August (to take an Oceania cruise, but with 2 days in Rome first) and have a connecting flight in Chicago. I've paid for, earned (through copious travel over many years) and saved enough frequent flyer points to fly first class. I booked my flights 8 months in advance, including a a 7 hour layover in Chicago, because I wanted to make sure there were no delay issues. I figured I could sit in the Admiral's club and relax and read for the duration. I'm on vacation, after all.

After a few months, American automatically canceled/changed/whatever my connecting flight to Chicago and automatically re-routed me with only a 55 minute layover in Chicago. I called to try to change back to a different flight with a longer layover, and I got a ton of grief. They told me they couldn't change without canceling the entire trip which would throw me out of first class to Rome, and that every time a flight adjusted itself by a few minutes I would be re-routed to the "best" connection all over again, because that is how their system works. Apparently, the "best" connection is a 55 minute layover.

So my question is two-fold. One, do I have any recourse with American? I sent a complaint to customer service and just got a form letter reply that if I didn't like the flights they'd refund my frequent flyer miles. Yuck - thanks for all the support to your frequent customers. My second question is this.... do you think 55 minutes in Chicago is enough? I know I'm being totally anal but I've spent MANY nights on a cot in the Chicago airport over the course of my business career and all of those experiences sucked.

Thanks for your help and advice.

We are taking an Oceania Riviera cruise in August in the Mediterranean. One of the excursions we have booked is the KRKA National Park and Cruise (docking in Zadar, Croatia). We love the outdoors and always book lots of hiking and swimming excursions wherever we go. However, I can't tell from this excursion's description whether or not we should bring our water socks and swimming suits. It looks beautiful and I hope we can swim and walk in the water, but the description doesn't say that. Has anyone taken this excursion and can you expound a bit here for me? Thank you very much!

Hello. Can you tell me if you are allowed to walk in the water? I was wondering if I should bring water socks. Thank you

I think in some ways this is kinda moot. I never wear jeans in the Caribbean or the Med because they are too hot. I like to cruise to warm climates in warm months and do lots of pool time on sea days. To me, that's the whole point of being on the ocean. Plus, jeans take up too much suitcase room. But I know some people like to cruise to Alaska, the Norwegian fjords, etc. I don't know how I'd do nice-but-casual on those cruises.

This topic has been over-discussed already, but it is just too fascinating to not reply.

I live in Dallas, an area with great upscale dining venues, and fashion jeans are always welcome in the 4 and 5 star restaurants. That means dark skinny jeans with a luxury silk blouse or, for men, pressed/creased jeans with a sport coat. There are a few of the older, stodgier places that won't accept, but they are the rare exceptions.

I chose Oceania over Crystal solely because my husband and I don't want to dress up for dinner. That doesn't mean we don't want to look nice and groomed and well-presented, that just means we don't want to wear ties and nylons and chiffon in the warm climes of the Caribbean or the Med.

Since we seem to have (sort of) segued into comparing Crystal and Oceania, I'll throw in my 2 cents. In planning an autumn Med cruise, I looked at both lines very seriously. In the end, I chose Oceania. Partly because the itinerary matched what we wanted, but also because Crystal has 2 formal nights. This particular European trip of ours is 2 months in length, with train travel in Italy, a Paris apartment and the 8-day cruise in the middle of it all. We didn't want to pack suits, shined shoes and other formal attire since we need to travel light. And, I guess we're just slobs at heart and feel more comfortable in business casual, nice sundresses and sandals. We live in a big city and can dress up to eat any time we want, so that formality just isn't an appeal on vacation.

Also, personally, I'd rather use my online credit to choose the wines I want with dinner. It might be nice to have wine included in the price (Crystal), but my experience is that the free stuff is always something I don't particularly like. I don't want to be stuck with a cloying Chardonnay if I don't want it.

We are in our 60's but our cruise selections over the past 30 years have always been totally itinerary, food and cabin based. Even in our 30's, we didn't care about discos, casinos, nightclubs, shows, or any of that stuff. Frankly, I've never seen a cruise show that was all that good anyway, and that includes many with celebrity (albeit B celebrity) entertainers. On sea days, my favorite pastime is a high-class pool, a good view of the passing ocean, a gourmet buffet lunch and a good book or NY Times Sunday Crossword. So, to each his own; I don't think it is age based. JMO