shank63

We have sailed on both O and R ships with Oceania, as well as Celebrity and HAL in the past. Riviera and Marina are now the largest ships that we would consider. That leaves us with Viking, Azarama plus the more costly luxury ships to consider. We are booked an Azamara later this year for an itinerary not available on O, so we hope the experience will provide an acceptable alternative to Oceania. We had booked Viking before but it was a covid cancellation and we have not seen an itinerary and pricing since then that attracts us. So our alternatives to Oceania are limited unless we decide to step up in fares.

My mistake, it actually is $350 for a couple or $175 for a single traveler.

We have used Oceania air with mixed results. Given the fact that flying into the port on the same day of embarking not thinkable, the nonrefundable deviation fee of $375 is required and payable when the flights are selected. So airlines can and often change schedules, sometimes resulting in tight connections. That $375 deviation fee is lost if you need to make any change to the original flight plan. In addition, if a connection is missed for any reason, Oceania air will do little or nothing to reschedule your flight. EZair is much easier and infinitely more flexible booking than Oceania air. Otherwise, if all goes well Oceania air can be a great value for economy class seats.

We enjoy breakfast in the MDR when we are not pressed for time to join an excursion. We have been disappointed only once when we ordered the express breakfast, which was fine except for the scrambled eggs. Otherwise, much more relaxing and satisfying than the Terrace, JMO.

Cold food is not something a first time Azamara cruiser wants to hear. With final payment due in February, I need to make a decision.

We have been on Riviera and Marina, and most recently on Sirena. The 4 specialty restaurants on the O ships and larger showers in A and B staterooms is the advantage of the larger ships. The R ships have 2 specialty restaurants, so there are fewer dining venues, but the smaller R ships are able to access more destinations without tenders. The differences between the O and R ships are not deal breakers for us, maybe could be described as trade offs. We select the cruise primarily on the Oceania itinerary.

We will be on Riviera arriving in Bordeaux on 10/01/23. Is there a way to confirm that we dock in Bordeaux rather than out at Le Verdon?

We did cancel a cruise earlier this year at the last minute due to a death in the family. Pre Covid I never bought travel insurance, but I looked for an affordable way to cover multiple trips per year. I found a Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card with travel coverage up to $10k per claim and multiple trips/year. No medical, but GeoBlue is an additional annual medical coverage plan. The Chase card has an annual fee of $95, which is a great deal if they continue it. My claim was just short of $10,000 for the cruise and my airfare was on FF miles. Virtually all my out of pocket costs were reimbursed. Filing the claim was tedious and frustrating but it did pay, hopefully it will be the only time we have such an experience.

We completed a mid cruise survey earlier this year, noting satisfaction and disappointments. We were pleasantly surprised and impressed when we were approached at breakfast by one of the senior staff to thank us for the feedback and assurance that our disappointments would be addressed. Kudos to the Sirena staff for caring.

Our experience in flying AC through YYZ was not good, polity said. We flew thRough YYZ connecting to EDI, both incoming and connecting flights were AC. QThe first flight was 4 hours late resulting in missing the flight to EDI. The customer service of AC was frustrating, they could not even book another flight to get us to EDI. We were told that they would not call AC reservations because it was a 2 hour wait to get through to an agent. They did give us a hotel voucher, etc. We were able to get through to AC reservations very early the next morning and were rerouted through Frankfort. These flights were booked through O with deviation fees, but we found O to be useless in rebooking our flights, in fact that would only suggest alternatives, they refused to rebook it for us. We learned from this trip to limit checked luggage and carryon as much as possible, always arrive 2 days minimum before boarding, and at all costs avoid AC and YYZ.

We have cruised on Riviera, Marina and Sirena and generally agree with MEFlowa’s comments. Veranda size on the O ships is a slight advantage, especially in the bathroom, but adequately comfortable on Sirena for us. The major advantage on the O ships is the additional specialty restaurants. However, the size, layout and overall feel of Sirena is an intangible that we find pleasing enough to return for a future cruise. As both the O and R ships have good points, our first priority is the itinerary, the ship is secondary as long as it is Oceania.

We have a cruise booked on the Azamara Pursuit in 2023 based on an itinerary. We have sailed on the O ships as well as Serena and hope Pursuit will be decent.

Our claim has been settled within 60 days of filing, so we are satisfied and will continue to use the Chase Sapphire insurance. Hopefully there will be no claims to file.in our future travels.

To me the dress code is simple and straightforward. Country Club Casual. Although we are no longer members of a country club but occasionally attend as guests, the standards are uniformly respected by members and guests, i.e., no headwear, jeans, non collard shirts, etc allowed in the clubhouse. Dining room dress standards are generally more strict (jackets for men) and respected as well. The reality is that attitudes have changed and for some, rules and laws are optional and traditions are not respected. I intend to follow the club casual dress code and encourage other traditionalists to follow suit.

We are first timers with Azarama, but we have enjoyed meet & greet events on other cruise lines. All were informal and organized on CC Roll Call for the particular cruise. The only thing requested of the ship was a meeting space and some finger food. The M&Gs were best where the space was somewhat private as opposed to a side a large venue such as the living room. We actually facilitated one M&G and supplied name tags with screen names as well as first names. Of course, the level of participation on a particular cruise roll call is the critical factor in this type of informal M&G.

My experience with the Chase Sapphire insurance is the same. Our cruise was cancelled due to a family death. All requested documents have been submitted several times and the only response from Card Benefit Services is a request for the same documents. Our only other travel insurance claim was with Allianz and was no problem whatsoever.

The fee by BA to pick seats is also Non Refundable, except for their cancellations.

We have the same experience on other lines, but O has the no refund or compensation policy.

We have used O’s air service, but only with custom air paying the deviation fee. Our latest trip was to Europe and we booked to arrive 2 days prior to embarking, which was fortunate because one connection was missed and we arrived 1 day before embarking. We will never book flights to arrive on embarkation day, too many things can go haywire especially with airlines today. The other reasons to deviate and pay the fee is for seat selection, control of flight selections, and time to relax and enjoy the port city before embarking. We usually cannot beat O’s price for economy or premium economy seats, however when we have the required air miles accumulated we DIY. Remember, the deviation fee is non refundable and custom air flights cannot be changed (except by the airlines).

We were in a similar situation on Sirena on a longer cruise with 2 allowed reservations in each specialty. We did the first Red Ginger with little satisfaction to our palates, so we requested the concierge to change the second Red Ginger to Tuscan Steak. No problem at all. Enjoy Sirena, we loved the ship!

Maybe if people show up with tote bags from competing cruise lines, the supply chain issue will be corrected.

The unpleasant fact of the matter is “when the poop hits the fan” it makes little difference that O is your travel agent. When flights are cancelled and rebooking is necessary, O is only a sideline cheerleader and is quick to advise that the passenger is the one to make the rearrangements. Trust me, on our last cruise using O air, we hade cancellations both going and returning and O was supportive but of little use is solving the rescheduling issue. I only use O air when I am unable to book DIY with air miles or I can get a better cash price.

I have no need for an app. The TV in each stateroom provides ample information such as menus, daily activities, weather, account activity and reservations. All pre boarding reservations for tours, dining, and others are made on the website. That’s just me.

I received a $100 credit on my booking after my TA made an inquiry. However, since it was not identified as a shareholder benefit, I resubmitted the request for the third time. I immediately received a reply from Oceania (the only reply) advising me that the credit had been issued and that my TA was notified.

We were on Sirena in an A3 stateroom last month. We did not receive a tote bag and when we questioned our room steward, we were told that due to supply line problems we would not get one. We are disappointed with Oceania management that 1) we did not receive the package that we paid for 2) we had to ask the room steward for an explanation 3) Oceania management has not considered that we, the customer, are not worthy of an explanation or any attempt to make some other accommodation. To me the tote bag is no big deal, but I don’t expect to be short changed by anyone.