MEFIowa

As we learned on our recent 20-night B2B on Riviera (10-11/2023) switching midway from an A3 to a B3 cabin, we could NOT get decent reservation times as a table for 2 even booking the specialty restaurants at midnight the opening hour! We could for the A3 concierge cabin, but not the B3. They even moved us up from the 9 pm one night to 8:30, as it didn't appear there is an actual 9 pm "time". The place is emptying out then. We saw very few arrive at 8:30 on the nights we had to. It seems highly possible that O gets the G-B cabin passengers to self-select away from later reservations. They may just not accept the times and go to GDR or TC or try a table for 4. But that's speculation based on our personal experience from this cruise.

Just keep in mind that for dinner you have: 1. GDR (no reservation) 2. TC (no reservation) 3. Polo Grill (reservation required) 4. Toscana (reservation required) You will get at least 2 specialty reservations (one each) in advance. The earlier you make it in advance of the cruise the better. So make them on the first minute of the first hour of the first day you can. IF you are in a G-B cabin, which get the last round to start making reservations, be prepared for 8:30 PM reservations.

After 4 very successful O cruises (40 nights total) starting with Riviera in 12/2021 and ending with Riviera 11/2023, the OP reminds me that...keeping what you do with the cruise line simple pays off. But that was us doing cruise only and bringing our own alcohol on board. No problems with our airfare (we made it ourselves). No problems with our excursions (we did them ourselves). Worry about their alcohol plans? Nope. Brought my own beer, hard liquor and wine on board. Save a fortune drinking it on my veranda. Worry about overpriced spa or other on-board extras? Nope. Can do that at home before the cruise or after, if we even ever wanted to. We've been blessed to deal with the same O rep. I got her ext. number the moment I realized she seemed to know her stuff. And we've been smart to look at EVERY sale that comes along to see if it impacts the cruise we're on. I don't rely on getting special treatment from the cruise line because we've shelled out a fortune with them in the past or project to on a particular future cruise. So while YOU paid $475 PP PD for your 10 nights you KNOW we paid $190 PP PD for our 10 nights on the same cruise and ship in our A3 Concierge Veranda. Because we met at the pool bar and I even got to see your room. We both booked thru that amazing Extraordinary Savings Sale in early 2023.

Did you purchase travel insurance shortly after booking the cruise? If you did, check its terms and conditions. (But I'd also go with the credit card dispute.)

We have recent experience with both B and A cabins. We just finished a 20-night B2B on Riviera. First 10 nights in an A3 and the 2nd 10 nights in a B3. We'd spent 10 nights on Riviera in an A4 back in 12/2021 and 10 nights on Sirena in 11/2022 in a B2. IF you enjoy reading newspapers, as I do, the Concierge Lounge has a selection of American, British and Canadian newspapers. There is also coffee and snacks. We DID use and enjoy the therapy spa pool, but Riviera has the BIGGER pool. I don't know if Vista does. We'd jump into it after excursions but before dinner. And sometimes even after dinner. It DOES make a difference for dinner for "dinner for 2" dining in the specialty restaurants. We were able to reserve the earlier times we want (e.g., 6:30 PM) in our A3, but could NOT in our B3. With the B3 we could only get 8:30 or 9 pm reservations and the one 9 pm they changed to 8:30 (because there wasn't anyone coming in at that time and the restaurant is emptying out). The OLD tote bag is far more useable than the NEW one. I use the OLD one for all of our excursions, as it is strong and has a zipper with lots of pockets. The NEW bag is really only good for putting your dirty clothes in it and carrying back clean folded clothes. We did OUR OWN LAUNDRY on both segments. We spent 3 nights in Venice before and 3 nights in Barcelona after so we did laundry on day 1 and day 19. And I think we did a load or two of laundry on 3 other days. First thing worked wonders. It is pretty convenient to do your own, esp. on a sea day. Wife and I worked as a team. Sometimes I'd wait 15 or so minutes for a washing machine to come available and then time the drying. Both washers and dryers have timers counting down. The bottle of champagne is just that, one bottle. We didn't drink it for days, because we bring our own alcohol on board (beer, hard liquor and wine that we drink in our cabin) and we enjoy the Captain's Party and the Repeater Party (so free drinks for us for 4 nights out of the 20).

Just make sure to ask your TA if they'll redo your booking if there is a huge sale! Your TA cannot make the price up. O sets the sales. Some commentators have mentioned that their TA either wouldn't do this or chaffed badly at doing it when a big O sale seriously reduced prices. I think back to the ESS of early 2023, when our 10-nights on Riviera were RE-booked thru our usual O sales rep at $1749 PP/PD B3 cabin and $1899 PP/PD A3 cabin. This really was close to that claimed "2 for 1 cruising". If you aren't using O sales to move to better cabins at cheaper prices.... Sometimes I've done that 3 times for just one cruise.

And yet even the last of us Baby Boomers aren't that old. I was born in 1963, near the very end, and served active duty from 1989-1994, Captain/USAF. Now my son, who just turned 33, is an MA1(PO1)/E6 in the USN. Been in since he turned 18. I turned 60 last year and we did our very first cruise ever on Riviera 12/2021.

I had all 20 on the door the last night on Riviera. I order/arrange them nicely, so they look very presentable. And there were lots of doors with things on them. I studied that as I went one deck a day looking for my missing magnet.

Though just one small thing... Someone took my Ephesus door magnet. I even put up a little sign on the door asking for it back and literally walked ever cabin door during the cruise to see if the person put it on their door. Never found it. Went forlornly to the L&F daily to see if anyone turned it in. No one did. BUT thankfully all the others made it back safely. (I think I had about 20 in toto on the final evening, since this was a port-intensive B2B.)

Did your cruise have a specific Veterans get together? I hosted the two we had on Riviera on our B2B Oct-Nov 2023. Sadly, we had few attend either one, about 6 each time. So didn't seem like we had a lot of ex-military, whether retirees or not. We had 35 on Riviera 12/2021 and 25 on Sirena 11/2022.

We flew into Marco Polo Intl. and spent Oct 27-28-29, 2023 in Venice for our Triest to Athens cruise on Riviera. We bought a 3-day Venice Pass for the Vaporetto (Water Bus) and our BnB was right off the Riva di Biasio station/stop. The Pass also got us entrance into some museums. We paid an add on to it for some public toilets (e.g., we used the one by the Illy Coffee Shop over by St. Mark's Square/Cathedral). We took the Vaporetto everywhere! The train station was just the next stop west of ours, so we just hopped on the water bus, took it to the train station, and then boarded our train from Venice to Trieste. We took a cab at the Trieste train station to the embarkation.

On both Riviera (12/2021 & 10-11/2023) and Sirena (11/2022), my wife, who is a smoker, smoked both in the lounge by Horizons and on the pool deck. The signage was clear for both of these ships: NO cigar or pipe smoking in the lounge; only allowed in the pool deck outside area. I never saw anyone try to smoke a cigar in the lounge area.

See all the discussion about Drinks Packages and how expensive they are. I bring my own beer, hard liquor and wine on board (to drink in my cabin). BUT you'll see me ordering double Bailey's from the bar during the Captain's Party and the Repeater Party. See how much O wants to charge you daily to drink outside of lunch and dinner in a restaurant. Used to be about $70 PP/PD before SM. Haven't paid much attention to it since. And we were on Riviera 10/30-11/19/2023 on a B2B recently. That mean 4 nights of free Baileys!

Though one would give more WEIGHT to the weather data from the most recent couple of years, say 2022 & 2023 rather than say from 1982 & 1983. I always encourage people to look at sunrise and sunset times for any cruise. To see how much daylight you'll have. I moved a planned trip to Paraguay up from late May to mid-April in 2022 to gain more daylight. We knew we needed to get off Riviera as soon as we could in the Med in 11/2023 to maximize daylight.

We did 2 10 nights B2B on Riviera in Oct-Nov 2023. So there were 2 Captain's Parties. One for each cruise. If your 16 nights is considered 1 cruise, you'll have 1 Captain's Party. But if it was really 2 cruises--say 7 and 9 days each--you'd have 2 parties.

We were in Kotor off of Riviera in early Nov 2023. The biggest decision is WHAT do you want to see. For us, we wanted to climb the "mountain" and all of its thousands of small steps to get to the top of the St. John's Fortress for the magnificent views. BUT this is quite a physically demanding effort. And if you do it, get to the entrance early, at 8 or 9 am. Beat the crowds. They'll be coming up when you're coming down. The historic walled part of the city is very compact and very walkable, with no cars. Lots of cats. There is plenty of detailed tourist information at the booth by the main gate, as well as online and in books. Doubt there's really a need to pay anybody to take you on a tour there. Seems like all the buildings are either churches or buildings with shops on the ground floor. Shops, shops, shops. Like in Taormina. Or Kavala. Or Split. There is a nice Idea grocery store not too far from the walls. Bought inexpensive Montenegrin beer (E 0.69 per 500 ml can) and decent Serbian brandy (E 10.50), plus some wine.

We just did a 20-night B2B on Riviera Trieste to Athens (10/30-11/9) and Athens to Barcelona (11/9-19). The weather was magnificent for us. Minimal rain issues. Never too hot, not too cold. We did miss Livorno due to weather/seas, but they didn't impact us on the ship. We went to La Spezia, just up the coast. The crowds are way down and it is so much easier to see and do things. BUT for some places, like the Acropolis, getting there at say 9 am even off season means you won't be standing in a huge line if you arrive at say 11 am. We did 3 nights before in Venice and 3 nights after in Barcelona. The weather in Barcelona 11/19-21 was magnificent. The people in Barcelona gave me the oddest looks as I walked around town in shorts, t-shirt and baseball cap when the temperature was 65 deg. F and they were wearing winter clothes, including down jackets, gloves, and hats. (I'm from Iowa)

Yes, cruise for ports, destinations and excursions first and foremost. We just did a 20-night B2B on Riviera Trieste to Athens (10/30-11/9) and Athens to Barcelona (11/9-19). The weather was magnificent for us. Minimal rain issues. Never too hot, not too cold. The people in Barcelona gave me the oddest looks as I walked around town in shorts, t-shirt and baseball cap when the temperature was 65 deg. F and they were wearing winter clothes, including down jackets, gloves, and hats.

Good to know, as I thought, Polo Grill (Deck 14) and Polo Grill 2 (aka Embers, Deck 6). Too bad they won't let you dress like TC. That would be nice.

Though what is the DRESS CODE in Embers? I love the truly casual dining in the TC. Shorts, t-shirt, baseball cap.

Yes, though after my recent 20-night B2B on Riviera, I can only imagine. The passengers stumbling, some crawling, many delirious and distraught, going around saying, "Where is Jacques? I can't find it. It has to be here. Tell me it is still here. Somewhere. That I'm just not finding it." 😉

We cruised on Riviera 12/13-13/2021 and 10/30-11/19/2023. Before and after the update. We preferred the prior look before to the "Scandinavian minimalist" look after. For us, dark cherry woods, for example, say "luxury" to us in ways that white and light colors don't. But that is us. And my wife prefers a bathtub. Our recent A3/B3 B2B didn't include a bathtub, so she learned to enjoy the big walk-in shower. I'll gladly allow others to pay the huge premiums to be the first on Vista and then Allure. We cruise for ports and destinations, not new ships. And while many complain about the smaller R-class ships, our B2 cabin on Sirena was fine. Even at 6'2" I learned to "use" the small shower (by opening the doors at the right times and angles).

Do the dining math. On Vista they REMOVED Jacques and replaced it with Embers. Net of 0 (1-1=0). As for the pizza, they also served it daily in the TC for lunch. So not really a net new addition. I've cruised on Riviera (30 nights) and Sirena (10 nights). So, I vote with my pocketbook. No Embers for me on Vista. And on Riviera, I spoke with the Pizza guy in Waves. As I'd walk thru and see the empty table and he was standing around doing nothing. I'd often say, "Another slow night?" Or "Hope you get some customers soon." Plus, the location forced the smoothie/ice cream guy out and into the inclement weather. He was forced to bundle up in the AM many mornings. And suffered during the rain. Felt sorry for him as we'd talk in the AMs. He knew my order when he'd see me walk up (Sun Salutation smoothie and the particular vanilla/almond yogurt he'd make for me).

Though that sounds like something from Polo Grill. O can try to put lipstick on a porcine, but it remains as a lower tier effort when compared to Jacques. AND the pizza station at Waves seemed pretty empty most evenings on Riviera on our recent 20-night B2B (10/30-11/19). Another misfire. Who wants to eat such ordinary food on a cruise you're paying a small fortune to be on?

You're deliberately confusing many things, including what is the issue and how one responds to it. Of course, you then seem to exonerate O for creating the problem in the first place. But the issue properly framed is: "Why is O deleting specialty reservations for passengers on a B2B when they change cabins?" The fascinating, when they change cabins. Is it deliberate in some way? And the IRONY is that you demand "bring documentation" when O is DELETING their own data!