Robjame

Has anyone else noticed this?. I have already asked out TA to go back to them once before, and still no 2nd cruise showing.:confused:

Not quite the same as our experience.

However we booked the first cruise and did our negotiations through our TA BEFORE we paid downpayment for our second. We did show interest on the Oceania site but waited until Oceania wanted us to pony-up.

Our conditions before we booked the second cruise (b2b):

- same cabin even though it did not show as available

- discount equal to total discount for the two booked together

- credit for 2 cruises, not one (in other words kept as 2 separate cruises with dining etc. for each and Credit for Oceania Tier level)

- additional OBC as first cruise included prepaid gratuities (asked for prepaid gratuities but settled on additional $400 credit for this 10 day cruise).

I find the brown gravy's and sauces tend to have the most salt added. I too am careful about what I eat. ;)

Thank you to the original poster for taking the time to write these superb reflections and opinions, along with sharing the appropriate pictures.

Our first cruises on Oceania are coming up so this thread is very exciting.

Can you ask for sauce or dressings on the side or are items prepared without the opportunity to change?

There are no children's facilities on O ships

 

i recall recently the tale of the small child running around Jacques & crawling under the tables etc...

just multiply that by a dozen of little ones

Maybe they have a quota that is allowed per the cabin accommodations not all cabins will be suitable for 3 or 4 pax

Can hot dogs and peanut butter sandwiches in Jacques be far behind? Kiddie cocktails in Horizons? Booster chairs available for afternoon tea? Babysitting services in Canyon Creek? Culinary centre turned into an arcade?

Wonder if Oceania will tell us the quota (number) of children for a particular cruise before we book?

I emailed Oceania to comment on this change of policy but have not yet received a reply.

"Provid[ing] a great shady spot while still enjoying the fresh air and the view" is precisely right.

 

We'll definitely try to choose that section again.

Not just relieved but now looking forward to that location on Deck 11. Thank you!

:)

Robjame, we had the exact location cabin as yours on a September 2014 cruise on Marina. I was also concerned about the pool being "on my head" but it was never a problem. As far as the overhang, we liked it. Provided a great shady spot while still enjoying the fresh air and the view.

 

Happy sailing!

Thank you very much for your response! Nice to know your actual experience with the same location. It relieves my concern.

Thank you Pete and Jim & Stan for your replies.

"...if it will annoy you that the staff "freshens the pool area" every morning-

Or, if the overhang of Deck 12 will be a concern while using your Deck 11 Veranda."

After 24 days we will have formed our own opinions! :) I am a really early riser so hopefully the morning issues will be unimportant.

Does the overhang mean there is more of a roof over this area? If that means less direct sun that may not be all bad.

Thanks again!

We chose a cabin (11042) on deck 11, in the centre of the ship (bow to stern). Since then we have read reports about not choosing a cabin under the pool area.

Have you had experience with rooms in this area?

I am not sure why Oceania would put PH suites on this deck if it is noisy.

Do you choose deck levels, location on decks or other factors when choosing a cabin?

Kids sail free promo :eek:

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/special-offers/family-offer/

We are booked on our first two Oceania cruises. If this policy of "kids sail free" takes off, we will look at other options for our next endeavour. I have emailed Oceania and told them this.

We follow the same policy with restaurants and hotels. If kids eat or stay free we avoid them. Why? ...because someone has to subsidize this and (1) it should not subsidized by someone who does not ever plan to take advantage of this (2) I don't want to be subjected to other people's children on a vacation. We have passed that part in our life.

Now if Oceania were to add a policy that seniors pay less.....

IMO Oceania has missed the mark on what their targeted demographic should be.

Or maybe cancelled?

I asked the Oceania that very question and she said it was still on. We sure hope it is on because it is the one tour that really caught our interest.

It could be filled as suggested.

When you booked the excursions & classes did you not receive an email confirmation?

I usually keep those emails on my netbook which I take with me

 

Enjoy the cruise

Lyn, the confusion was that this particular booked excursion, "CHEF MARKET TOUR, LUNCH & COOKING DEMO" in Tangier disappeared from our booking online. As well, that particular excursion is no longer described in the possible excursions to book (at least on our personal Oceania site) for Tangier.

OP: if you've got some small roll-aboard bags that you will not be giving to porters, get two 6 pack handled cardboard wine carriers from Total Wine and tie/lash one to each Rollie. That'll take care of a caseload with little trouble. Otherwise, see if Total Wine has styrofoam wine shipping boxes and have the store box your choices and deliver to hotel where you can jury rig handles and add cabin info for drop off with porters.

 

As others have said, check you online "manage my booking" for details of all purchases. When you get to your cabin, you'll find cards/tix for all excursions, classes, etc you've purchased (or gotten with O Life) as well as cards indicating all OBC and whether it comes from O or TA. If anything is missing, call your TA immediately.

 

 

Thank you everyone for the information and tips. These will make our preparations so much simpler. Nice to know there is a way to verify booked items and inclusions waiting in your cabin.

 

It sounds like we better have some extra cash available if we are going to visit the casino on board - will only need enough for the first bet as after that I will be playing with the house's money. ...

 

Think I have a process in mind for getting that wine from Total Wine to our cabin.

 

I phoned Oceania about the omission of the shore excursion on our package for the second leg and they immediately emailed a confirmation letter to cover that. It was all a bit strange as the package of one leg was sent to our TA while the other was sent to our home.

Our cruise package included details on excursions but not culinary classes. Check your online account under manage my cruise and you should fine all the detail you are looking for. Also, your final invoice will include details on credits.

Thank you. The package for one leg did contain the shore excursion but the other package for the second leg did not so I will phone Oceania and get that straightened out.

"We pack the wine in shipping boxes and shipped to hotel..."

Thank you. Our plan is to visit Total Wines in Miami to purchase the wine the day before the cruises so I am hoping they will have shipping boxes (which I am guessing are slightly more robust than cardboard boxes)?

We appreciate all the help we have received from the knowledgeable Oceania posters. We still have a couple of questions:

1. We are planning to bring 8-12 bottles of wine on board for our b2b cruises. We don't want to buy a special "suitcase" so how should we best do this? A cardboard case with checked luggage (will this be OK?)? A couple of wine bags as "carry on" (the prospect of lugging these around until our stateroom is available is not appealing)?

2. We plan to visit the onboard casino. How does we purchase our chips? Cash only? OBC? Directly goes to Credit Card?

3. Our cruise packages arrived but none of the excursions, none of our La Reserve bookings, none of our culinary experiences that we have purchased were listed. Nowhere did it list our OBC or prepaid gratuity. Should they have been? Kind of thought these packages would be more personal detail and less generic.

4. On b2b with same stateroom will we be re-carded or will OBC carry over? Stay on ship or expected to disembark? New room key?

Thanks. I will be better able to relax when I have all the processes in hand.

Multiple total wine locations in both Orlando and Miami

 

wine selection at Total Wine makes Costco look like a 7-11 and their prices are great

 

My local TW has over 7500 wines, and 2500 beers on the shelf this week .... the inventory is updated regularly (for each store .... system wide #'s are larger yet)

 

first time I went in a TW I was just browsing for 90 minutes .....

Sounds like I would be wasting my time at Costco and should search for a TW instead.

Are any of the Total Wines better (more selection) in Orlando or Miami?

We are staying in Orlando before driving to Miami for our cruise. The Costco in Tampa sells wine and liquor but does the Costco in Orlando? Miami?

I have a vague recollection that Costco Orlando is dry.

What is the best (Best supply and cheapest) place to buy wine in Orlando or Miami?

Have your TA make the request ahead of time ..less work for the room steward if they have instructions on your requests ahead of time

 

JMO

Thank you for that tip. We did that and TA was quite happy to oblige. This makes things simple!

In post above yours someone states they have brewers that use coffee packs kind of like teabags. I have seen them in grocery store but can remember what they are called. Also I guess the rule is no electronics are allowed to be brought on board because of fire risk which is totally understandable.

Google Aero Press - IMO makes better coffee than electronic coffee makers. No electricity required, just hot water. Like a French Press but neater, easier, cleaner and superior coffee. This will work if you are satisfied with the temperature of the hot water from the tap... or order a pot of boiling water.

These are meant for travelling.

Take a look at this (on first page of Oceania forum):

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2433825

And this (also 1st page):

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2431567

Thanks all for sharing your habits and Paul for the links.

If I might be so bold as to ask for clarification on another matter. I had planned to make requests of the stewards after we boarded, but I saw a post re. Pepsi on Oceania and the implication was one should notify your TA so things are done when you arrive. For us it would be distilled water for CPAP machine, bed made up as 1 bed rather than 2 singles, no sugar drinks in fridge.

Would you ask for these things before hand through your TA or would you wait until you are on board.

Thanks for your helpfulness.

Since the experienced Oceania cruisers seem to be following this thread, may I ask a tipping question? I don't find a definitive answer:

When you have room service do YOU tip at that time and how much? I guess this would require having a supply of small bills or do you add it to your bill (is there a chit?).

Is there anything that YOU tip immediately for?

Do YOU add more than the auto 18% at bar, drink service at meals, with beverage packages?

Do you pre-tip room stewards?

I am trying to get all this straight and I follow and respect the posters who have responded to this thread.

 

The secret on O is not to rush...take things as the come and savor being onboard.....happy New year and have a great cruise to whereever

 

 

 

Your very correct O is not like NCL RCCL Carnival etc with droves of waiters selling drinks in souvenir glasses and blaring bands... People are rather subdued and not a big party crowd.. no galas, no deck parties or games...its different but a difference most enjoy...low key and low volume

Thanks so much for all the hints and tips. Not only is this our first cruise on Oceania; it is our first cruise .... so we want things to be as perfect as possible. We would hate to miss anything because we just didn't know.

So any suggestions or ideas are greatly appreciated. We are booked on a 10 day Caribbean b2b with a transatlantic to Barcelona.

Most sailings cast off around 5-6 In winter in N america thats after sunset. Nothing beats being on deck or in Horizons

If Oceania says 6 pm, are they usually on time for leaving?

So leaving Miami at 6pm (sunset 7:30, March 16), Horizons is the place of choice? I gather sail away parties are not a big thing on Oceania.

If specialty dining is not usually filled on the first day, we should be able to request once on board, a time at Toscana or Polo for a little later?

Are you in sight of shore for any length of time after leaving Miami?

Toscana and Polo seem to have window seating on Deck 12. Are they good choices for a sail away dinner?

Can you request window seating when reserving online or is that done on board and with whom?

Would the 6:30 seating offer the best chance?

Is Terrace alfresco dining a sought after location on sail away?

Ditto-ing Jan: We're just off Insignia yesterday where we, too, had steak tartare as an appetizer in the GDR one night. That makes at least two O ships currently unafraid to offer it.

 

Was it as good as at Bofinger in Paris? Mais non! Not prepared table-side and no visible raw egg on top, though there may have been some raw egg in the mixture which would be AOK with me. Was it infinitely better than no tartare at all? Mais oui!

 

A repeat portion ended up being my dessert course. Yum! Better than chocolate soufflé.....

Interesting post - now you have me hoping that it is served on our March cruises on Riviera!

My standard is also Bofinger (Petit Bofinger actually). It was indeed memorable "avec frites".

Everyone must decide what they choose to believe regarding food safety.

My beliefs:

Many of the ways we treat food in North America are recovery techniques because we wish to mass produce huge quantities of food, cheaply.

- Eggs produced by free range hens or labelled as organic have very little chance of harbouring salmonella. Eggs are not even refrigerated in many parts of Europe.

- Steak tartare prepared in the accepted, safe way immediately before serving is eaten in many countries and in many restaurants in the US.

The sentence about consuming raw fish, eggs, etc. on menus is our way of putting the (legal) responsibility on the consumer rather than the producer.

Do you eat: raw oysters, unpasteurized cheese, eggs sunny side up, sushi, rare steaks, steak tartare. I do. But I put more attention on the food source and preparer.

Regarding food handling - I don't eat at fast food outlets or eat these things at dodgy restaurants nor do I rinse chicken.

.....why not just lick the handrails on the gangplank?

 

 

... only if they add capers and Worcestershire sauce...