LuAnn

I've stayed many times at the Hotel 1898 and just went to book for next April and the rates are 2X more than prior to the pandemic. This will be my first time back to Europe post Covid...is this the norm now?

I've read that many of you like and have booked the H10 Metropolitan. There is also an H10 in the Gothic Quarter..I'm just wondering why you chose the Metropolitan one...central location or ? Thanks for any help...I'm in a bit of shock right now at the prices!!! 🙂

17 hours ago, Rainbow3fe said:

Are you positive that "cruise only" will not be available?

 

I was on the phone with my TA yesterday who is one of O's top producers. She also said there would be no cruise only.  She had been involved in some sort of presentation by O. And she said that the subject of how much of a price hike would be involved was really not answered.

20 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Heh, I am a gringa. Miguel's near Old Town (there are other locales) is very nice, great Cadillac margaritas, and HAD PARKING when we needed it & nowhere else did.

There is a new Miguel's that is right at the port now. 

20 hours ago, tropicalkerry2002 said:

Can't believe this thread has hit over 100 comments...but I do know that I NEVER walk past a chocolate chip cookie, except on an OCEANIA ship!

 

Lots of comments but take a look at how many "views" there are!!! 🙂

It seems like 10:30 may be the new favored time for Trivia...that's we had on a cruise several weeks ago on Regatta. It did seem like an odd time compared to in the past..which always seemed to start at 3:30 or so. I know I had to leave and rush to tea!!! 🙂 🙂

I was just on Regatta from San Pedro to Vancouver and nothing re Covid was required. 

We've done a # of T/As on O and have always enjoyed the enrichment speakers. If you play Trivia there's a Trivia on each sea day that can be lots of fun.

9 hours ago, bob brown said:

Just had some more for dessert, and they were as good as yesterday’s.  So good, I even asked for a couple more to take “home” to my cabin.🙂

Maye the chef has read this "thread"!!! 🙂

22 hours ago, Dr H said:

SO sorry to hear about Kenneth officially. I had heard rumors from the crew members that he had gotten worse, we suspected he had passed away. All I can say is that I'm very grateful that I was there when you needed me and was able to help (and insured he got the tests he needed.)  No plans for 2024 yet, but let me run this past the Boss. As I said, wonderful hearing from you! David

Thank you David. As it turns out his final cruise was on AZ over the holidays in '19. And he loved being on board for that time frame so it was really the best final cruise with all the helpful staff on board. Would be great to catch up for T Day!!! 🙂

On 6/5/2023 at 1:36 PM, Rally said:

“

>Is that very far from LAX ?

That distance is best measured in traffic, not miles.  Figure 30-45 minutes, "plus or minus a day or two".    🙄”

Spoken like a native😂. We have boarded and disembarked ships of Crystal (Symphony, ) Silversea (Silver Shadow,) and Regent (Voyager) in San Pedro. It was always amusing to see our small ship tucked away amidst the Carnival behemoths 😉

Funny you should say that...I read once where we in So Cal always talk about time not distance when talking about getting from point A to point B. I had never really thought about it before then..but it sure is true for me and my friends here in SD!! 🙂 

22 hours ago, Dr H said:

Nice hearing from you again LuAnn, it's been a while. As for the T/A, hard to say... I will say you were supposed to have been on one of our recent (ie, within the past 5-9 years) cruises, but we never saw you. You put up a posting here on CC, but as I said, never saw you. Anyway, we are B2B Rome to Ft Lauderdale leaving Rome Nov 7. If you're free, let us know, it would be lovely seeing you again. David

That was the T/A when Kenneth fell and you helped us out so much!! I'm not sure you knew but Kenneth developed Dementia and Parkinson Disease so I had to cancel some cruises..that was probably one of them. He passed away in March of last year.

It would be great to see you too!! I'm booked on Oceania for October this year but I have T Day booked on Onward for '24 to the Carib. Want to come on that one? 

5 hours ago, Dr H said:

We've done at least 6 transatlantics, spring and fall, to and from Florida. No one can predict the weather, not even the climate change experts, but that said, we've never had any significant problems. On two trips out of Florida in the Spring, things did get a bit funky on the first full cruise day going into the Gulf Stream. A lot of queasy passengers, my wife included, and I have to admit, I've felt better. We went outside, flopped ourselves onto a lounger at the pool, covered up and went to sleep. End of problem. Nothing was returned to King Neptune. The only real issue we've had has been what to pack. Dead of winter on all of our trips, the weather was great, it was warm, pools were used, and what the general public doesn't know about the spa deck is fine with me. I use it all the time. Rain is a much bigger issue up there than wind, no matter the season. The weather starts to cool off when you start heading north toward the Azores and then on to Portugal, usually the last 2 days or so of the Atlantic transit. The captains know where the bad weather is going to be, and they do all they can to avoid it. Our biggest surprise about a Transatlantic was how consistently great the weather has been, regardless of season. Second biggest (maybe the biggest, actually) is how much more comfortable the WESTERN journey is out of Lisbon to Florida rather than going east. You finally are given back all those time zone hours that were stolen from your lives, and almost every day. It's almost like free cruising. Have a great trip. We are booked Lisbon to Miami this November, and counting the days.

I think that Florida T/A in the spring with the rough seas might have been the one we were on with you? 

5 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

We had a string quartet on Mariner last year too.

 

 

As this Sunday brunch was really extraordinary we did ask and were told it´s only on 14 nights or longer cruises and only on Sundays which are sea days.

 

BTW, the "electronic thermometer" mentioned is the air condition and no thermometer (we had issues as it first didn´t work, then it worked full power, then it didn´t work... and finally they got it repaired).

 

steamboats

Thanks for that info!! We will "qualify" then on one of the Sundays!! Looks like it will be fabulous!! 

Funny you should bring this up!! I had a chocolate chip cookie at tea in Horizons just about 1 week ago and I really didn't think it tasted like anything!! ?? Guess I'm not the only one.

15 hours ago, LHT28 said:

We had  no problem  booking with him

 

Glad to hear that...both Deb and I had very different experiences. He never got back to either one of us re the booking info/quote we requested. He was very condescending and argumentative throughout my entire conversation with him. He had very disparaging remarks about Cruise Critic members and mentioned his 25 years of experience with cruising at least 3 times. The internet was very "spotty" in the Alaskan waters so I had decided just to stop by his desk and ask a simple question regarding the Upgrade Sale that only required a yes or no answer. It went down hill very rapidly from there. He made it very obvious that he had no interest in answering the question. I did include my concerns/interaction with him in my survey prior to leaving the ship.  

10 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

No walk-in closet in Veranda cabins. The PH has "sort of a" walk-in closet. It´s not a separate room with a door but a nice you can walk in and have a closet with doors on both sides. Photos can be seen here. And a Concierge Level Veranda with lots of details here.

 

steamboats

steamboats...How are you? I haven't "run across you" on CC in a long time!! Great to "see you"!!! 🙂

friendswithdave...I think you will find O very different from HAL in SO many ways. Living in San Diego I've been on HAL quite often as they sail out of SD to Mexico and Hawaii. I was last on board this past Xmas and was very disappointed in the food..and the charging in the MDR for certain dishes. While we enjoyed some of the venues within the "Music Walk" the entertainment just seemed so "one note" ..all music and really nothing else. And of course the size of the ships with O are much smaller than with HAL if that is a consideration. I think you'll enjoy O if you give it a try and may not go back to HAL!!! 🙂

23 hours ago, ORV said:

Who was the Oceania Club Ambassador? 

Not sure of his last name but his first is Michael. 

On 5/23/2023 at 8:30 AM, jonthomas said:

Excellent to hear. Enjoy all of it.  We are booked on all other O ships. Regatta 27 days coming up in Sept,  sadly the reviews are poor but hope by then, the staff are more experienced and the food improves.

I'm just off Regatta yesterday and my 2 friends and I enjoyed the food in all venues except Tuscan Grill. Every staff person we personally interacted with were well trained, welcoming and helpful. Except the Oceania Club Ambassador. But that's a completely different story!! 😞 Go and enjoy!! 

I'm just off the Regatta yesterday and was on the cruise with Deb. I didn't order room service but enjoyed the meals we had in the MDR, Terrace and Polo. TBH I didn't think Tuscan Grill was very good at all..in fact we cancelled our next reservation. But we all enjoyed everything else. 

This was my first cruise back with O since the restart. For me I enjoyed the cruise just as much as all the others in the past. Looking forward to Vista in October through the Panama Canal. 

14 hours ago, mauibabes said:

VISTA, OMG,OMG,OMG😇🛳️

We boarded Saturday and had our CC Meet and Greet with about 100 in attendance. Thanks to HiFi43, Mr. And Mrs Cool Chile. FDR was great in his Q and A and took on all questions. This ship is absolutely AWESOME. She is like an O Class ship that has gone through a contemporary beautification project, without budgetary restrictions. For those of you coming soon, there are lots of pictures out there so not going to add more yet. Everyone must have the opportunity to let their jaw drop 👍.

OK, two more OMG, OMG’s and I’ll “Drop the Mic”. 
Mauibabes

Thanks!! So excited to be on board with you in October. The pics I've seen so far are OMG for sure!!! 🙂

We had Allianz coverage when my DH had a mini stroke and had to cancel about 3 weeks out from a cruise. My T/A and Allianz made everything very easy. Kenneth was 85 and had several pre-existing conditions. The coverage was fairly expensive but I was glad we had it. 

On 5/6/2023 at 12:40 PM, susiesan said:

All of the annual policies I compared had lower medical limits for people over 70. Having limited medical coverage is better than nothing. Besides, both of our medicare advantage plans cover us when traveling out of the country.I made sure of that before I chose the plans we have. One is UHC and one is BCBS. We would have the same coverage and copays for emergency treatment than we have if we were in the US.

Which advantage plan do you have? I had SCAN at one time and there was full coverage..switched to Alignment and only $25,000 is covered out of the US. SCAN changed to that level as well. 

On 5/13/2023 at 2:40 PM, DOJO466 said:

I use my OBC to purchase Clarins face products for myself (does not seem to work very well), sunglasses and cosmetics/perfumes/for friends as Christmas gifts. No way would I spend that kind of real money at home.

I'm with you Deb!! On my last several cruises I've bought really nice handbags...again would not spend that amount of $$ at home!!! 🙂

13 hours ago, slw207693 said:

Pool deck from Deck 14.  Not a lot of loungers under shade - only one row, but lots of nook areas with round loungers.   Weather cool outside Sorrento today

 

not sure what I did to get words beside the pictures as I typed all the words then said add pictures and this is how it turned out 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

I bet those shade areas will be at a premium on our Panama Canal cruise!!