Aruba

We had a reservation on this cruise also.  Key word: "had".  We cancelled it yesterday.  The original itinerary was outstanding but the replacement itinerary does not interest us.   

i think ti very fair they made it such a small increase. Crews deserve at least that and more. IMO

Amen.

I don't think so. I have no memory of seeing them and I was in the gym most days.

... What's worse is the up-sell on products after every spa appointment.

Yes, sometimes the hard-sell for spa products can be very hard indeed.

Thanks for the review and the photos.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the O-ships (Riviera and Marina) have both steam rooms and saunas while the R-ships only have steam rooms.

Shorter cruises will usually attract a greater number of new or at least new-er passengers who have less time to experience all that the Ship has to offer.

The competition for reservations is stiffer on those.

You're right. We did a 10-night cruise this summer on Insignia, our shortest O sailing to-date. On the day that reservations opened up on-line for non-Concierge-or-above passengers (i.e. us), there were no 2-tops available to book for any date at any time. During the cruise itself , we did nab a table for 2 at Polo as a walk-in at 9pm but no such luck at Toscana. The shorter the cruise, the harder it is to make a reservation for the time and/or table size desired.

When you go to customs to stamp your tax return form do they actually ask to see the purchase?

We have never before been asked to show the items we purchased.

Actually, "bunkers" are any ship's fuel, whether residual fuel (what you noted), marine diesel fuel, or LNG. The term refers back to the days of coal.

I've heard PA announcements advising people to be extra careful NOT to smoke while the ship "is bunkering"...and until now never understood what that meant.

Thank you.

Christmas is coming... I know what is on my list.

We enjoyed the Pasta class

we were served some Chianti with the food we made

That sounds tasty Lyn. :) We did 2 cooking classes on a Greek cruise, one in Corfu and another in Crete. Both focused on healthy Mediterranean cuisine. I can't remember what the class names were but, in our experience at least, you can't go wrong no matter which class you choose.

...Add Trivia, art and photo classes, "Stitch & Bitch"...

I hever heard it referred to as that before. That's really funny -- I'm chuckling while having my morning coffee. ;)

Can someone explain what a "bunker contract" is?

I'm a 4-star Mariner. The loyalty benefits I appreciate most are:

Free laundry,

50% discount at specialty restaurants,

50% discount on wine packages.

If you are sailing on Nov 1st, the Blue Book should arrive any day now.

I'm concluding then that when the happy day arrives for us to plan our 20th cruise, we should do it as a stand-alone sailing and not part of a back-to-back. Is that right?

Come to think of it, I believe Crystal (Symphony?) also spends a day in Glacier Bay.

Is it Glacier Bay that only Princess & HAL have access to?

I believe that Norwegian also goes to Glacier Bay.

We did VOV on Maasdam and experienced the same initial price shock. That being said, it was one of our favorite itineraries ever...despite it raining 23 days in a row out of the 35!

We're Oceania fans, but for Greek intensive itineraries, I'd send you to Windstar.

https://www.windstarcruises.com/

What has your experience been on pricing comparisons between Windstar and O -- price per day, in your experience, to put them on an apples-to-apples basis? Any comments you have on that subject would be appreciated.

I bought it, just for the shareholder benefits, at $21 a share several years ago. Since then it has more than paid for itself from on-board credits and is now worth three times what I paid for it. Wish I had bought even more!

Message to HAL: Never, ever, ever, ever mike a violin.

Preach!!

I agree completely.

I am coming to this thread late, not having noticed it when it originally started in July.

I have had the same experience on multiple cruises as the original poster. Now I no longer pre-pay for specialty restaurants but instead make reservations once on-board. It was becoming too much of a hassle otherwise.

...we did book another cruise while on board. We were able to totally relax and disengage, which was amazing.

Another Oceania convert. :cool: Glad you enjoyed it as much as we do.

Lighten up Francis. :rolleyes:

Is that from the movie "Stripes"? Who says it...Sergeant Hulka?

We were on the cruise immediately before your's. The ship's staff purchased 1,000 pounds of lobsters while we were in Bar Harbor. That evening every restaurant on-board offered a different lobster preparation. In the GDR it was "lobster a la parisienne" which was very much like lobster thermidor. So delicious -- we each had 2. :D