Jim_Iain

Thanks... I love artwork. I especially get inspiration from other's photography. Really helps with ideas on composition and lighting.

Be careful. We initially booked our first cruise on Vista in 2025 and just couldn't wait so I searched to find a close by cruise so we could try out the product. It always amazes me how quickly time flies and you get closer to cruise date.

Thanks.... I agree it is beautifully plated. I definitely think I would order it. Plating definitely have a positive impact on my enjoyment of a meal. While taste is important, food that is plated and presented well is more attractive to customers and can set the tone for the entire restaurant.

Will definitely take a look. I had a feeling the pictures may have been the incredible work of Food Stylists.

I've been searching around for some good 'ol Oceania Food Porn. Really haven't found many Live Posts with food pictures.. The pictures I did find on the internet better than what I would expect. So a question from some of the seasoned Oceania Cruisers... Are these pictures representative of some of the dishes on board or is it all Oceania Food Staging for advertisements?

You are right... of course .... I don't was thinking Patricia and somehow Pam came out.

We did New England on Summit as a 3rd segment on a B2B to Greenland/Iceland. It was one of our favorites. Absolutely loved the New England coast as Montreal. I grew up in the area and hadn't been back to Montreal since I was about 12 years old. As a child my father took us to Le Chateau Frontenac for dinner. Was disappointed that we couldn't get a reservation for dinner. We had an overnight in Montreal... what a wonderful city.

Pam and Karen, Looks like a beautiful suite. I'm sure you will enjoy it. I've just not be able to get Iain to even consider a Holland America Cruise. He has watched many videos on their ships and still has a rather negative image of them. Sometimes perception isn't based on reality... still working on trying them out. I think the biggest negative is the size of their new ships. Just by our booking pattern I have a feeling we will be shifting more to Oceania / SilverSea / Regent size ships. Who knows we may hate them but I don't think so.

Heater, Yea, unfortunately we will miss. I've been checking out Explora Journey. They definitely have beautiful ships. Weren't you boarding Explora when we were in Honolulu? We booked a Regent SeveSeas in May of 2026. The selection was totally based on itinerary - I have always wanted to do a South Africa Safari followed with a cruise. I finally found a cruise that begins with a West Africa Cruise and then combines with TransAtlantic from Lisbon to Miami. It is 36 days but will be adding on a Pr-Cruise to Victoria Falls and a Safari. This one really has me excited but it seems so far away.

I'm pretty good at finding a good route and try to work around the housecleaning staff. It usually take me about 3 hours to do my walk. I already have my iPhone loaded with about 50 books. I've really become addicted to audio books.

Like minds think alike. I usually start with the track and if it goods too cold, windy or rainy I take to the hallways. I've not heard much about the art but will definitely enjoy. Celebrity has great artwork and even have a paid tour of all the artwork. Often they have a different theme on each floor.

You are correct on the Okra and Beets... that's why John was suggesting his famous Gumbo... he just loves seeing me give that ewwwww face. Last crop of Tomatoes I grew kept disappearing just as they got to full ripeness. I couldn't figure it out until I saw a squirrel on the fence with my last tomato between his hands. I never knew Squirrel ate tomatoes but I guess they are just a rat with a fluffy tail.

Spa Cafe is a great spot for lunch. They have small plates on a cold table and also have a daily sandwich which you order at the counter and they deliver to you.

Even if you fill it in advance they still read the same questionnaire to you when you check-in. On our recent cruise it has changed to one big question contains all the items in the old checkbox questionnaire.

I've done numerous B2B's both before and after a re-positing cruise. I have never experienced any change in service. The one thing I have noticed is that on some of the cruises they have many staff (especially those living close to the seasonal position) end their contract just before the re-positioning. This usually is more noticeable on the re-positing cruise - due to training of new staff.

Well I'm all cooked out. I'm the President of our 250 Unit HOA and today was our annual Pool Party and BBQ. For the past 25 years I've always been on the grills so I can meet and thank or homeowners. Fantastic turn our and we even invited the fire department at the end of the street who bring out the trucks for the enjoyment of kids both young and old. This year even the Mayor and City Councilman accepted our invitation and was really fun. No beets showed up.... But lots of Hamburgers, VegiBurers, Hot Dogs and Polish Sausages. It's Iain's night to cook so I told him to make a slimmed down dinner.

You can have my portion. I'll take the Lettuce, watercress, chopped walnuts with Vinaigrette Dressing. A little blue cheese instead of beets would be wonderful.

I haven't seen anything about the Cooking or Art Classes I would probably enjoy the cooking class more than the art classes.

Thanks will check out Currents for sure. It appears that our first cruise will be quite port intensive so will definitely burn a lot of time. One thing I do daily is walk 10 miles a day. I find I can do that easy on Celebrity but may be a bit challenging on Regatta. It usually takes me about 3 - 3 1/2 hours and I listen to Audio Books while walking.

All you have to worry about is being back 1 1/2 hour prior to departure on the second day. Unless thee are port restrictions the gangway is open all nigh long.

Internet - Celebrity - Celebrity has rolled out Starlink across the fleet in 2022 and have solid connections. They have however throttled the speed down to 5 MPS download and 2.5 upload. While it sounds slow, I have no trouble streaming YouTubeTV, Netflix etc. Oceania - Oceania has begun updating all of their ships to Starlink. They anticipate to have the full fleet updated by the end of 2024. As I understand it, Regatta still have the original satellite based internet. Cost --- All suites on Celebrity receive Free Premium Internet. Upper Suites (RS & Above) receive 4 accounts. Oceania - One free basic internet per guest. Premium upgrade that permits streaming is available as and upgrade. The price when I Google is 34.98 per day for the upgrade to streaming.

How about Entertainment - Of course I will have to rely upon posting I've read about Oceania. Oceania - From the schedules I've seen, Oceania has one nightly show at 9:00 PM. It appears that there are numerous music sets around the ship in the evening hours. Celebrity - Celebrity has a Large two tier theater and have two shows nightly 7PM and 9PM They usually have at least 2-3 bands playing sets at different venues all evening. Of course Celebrity with a much larger ship has many more activities plan. For us it really doesn't matter. We have not been to a show in 8+ years. They have been pretty much run the same shows over and over again. We also are not big on Ship's activities like Bingo, Trivia etc. We enjoy doing our own thing and never get bored with life at sea.

@Oceangoer2 had a good suggestion. If there are additional cabins available in the same category and sub-category you can ask for a different room in the same cagegory... e.g. SS2 but couldn't switch to a SS1

I don't recall seeing a special entrance for Retreat Passengers. It is a really large terminal and I did notice they had a separate CheckIn area. When we were there a couple months ago there on a B2B there was and overnight on both the first and second cruise so definitely wasn't busy.

If your bid is received you will find your new room in cruise planner. After your bid is accepted YOU CAN NOT REFUSE per their rules. I always recommend assume you will get the worst cabin in the class and be happy if you get a better one than expected.