Jayne E

Weather at ship pool fine. However at the beach, no umbrellas due to wind, strong undercurrent and waves. Eventually everyone was prohibited from entering the water. We found shade for our loungers and stayed a few hours….still a great day. St. Catherine Beach yesterday was absolutely wonderful. Considering we knew how weather can be in September for this itinerary, this cruise has been a winner.

Or a French restaurant with a different name if Mr. Pépin no longer wanted his named restaurant on a new ship? For us what stood out about O was the 4 very distinct specialty offerings. We’ll be on Vista in November but the majority of Ember reviews are underwhelming. Agree with a previous post that there were enough casual dining venues on Vista without Ember.

4 missed ports on Riviera last May on 21 day cruise. 2 due to weather and 2 due to “possible” dock worker strike that didn’t occur. Replaced with 2 sea days, an additional day in present port and Salerno. No additional activities, movies, open bar, pool deck entertainment, etc. Caribbean cruise in December missed Puerta Plata….low water level…replaced with sea day. It was the 3rd time in a row port was missed for same reason….time to eliminate this port? Our first 18 O cruises, averaging 15 days each, we missed 2 ports.

We've only sailed O since 2007 and for the most part are very happy with our cruises, except for quite a few cancelled ports post Covid and shortened port times. When O was bought by Norwegian several years ago, we expected there'd be cut backs and there have been. Not enough to change lines but obvious to long time O cruisers. Food/service in specialty restaurants very good. MDR choices greatly reduced and often repeated.....but a good meal can still be had. MDR used to be open for lunch on port days....no longer. Lunch menu in MDR when open is a repeat of Terrace Cafe items, just plated. Cruise lines were shut down for almost 2 years. Changes to be expected in order to "stay afloat".

True, but haven’t seen one post stating they can’t wait to return to Ember.

There have been several posts stating cancellations for their 2nd Ember reservation. Glad to know about 1 hr dinner experience. Will def let server know beforehand to “slow it down.”

I was told that O’s policy is no loungers on extended Concierge verandahs. Our May 2025 12 day Vista cruise in A2 is $1,100 more than B3. We booked A2 but if still no loungers next year, we will return to B3 as no interest in Concierge other than loungers on verandah. I understand moving extended balcony cabins to Concierge for more revenue but why remove the most important amenity? Makes no sense.

So now you’re not biting your tongue! Bite your tongue again when you dine on the underwhelming food and chat with your companion who can’t hear you due to noise at EMBER. Hope I got it right!!👍

That is "Nit Pick" for sure!! Won't change the menu or noise level 🙂

Reviews of Embers are mainly the same.....average menu and food, noisy and a step down from Jacques. Booking Riviera/Marina whenever possible, however for Caribbean where we're at port in under an hour, only option now is Vista.

Perfectly stated! We found that when ordering, waitstaff would warn us that dish was spicy. We think they see an older couple and assume we like bland food. We specify spicy and have always enjoyed some very good spicy dishes.

We were on same cruise and no reason whatsoever to miss those two ports. Furthermore, the remaining ports were underwhelming….one was a total dump! We were preparing to walk off ship when we encountered numerous people returning and saying a long walk over uneven ground to trinket shops. No shuttle or cabs at port. We took their advice and stayed on board.

We had a similar situation and asked operator to add a cancellation clause or we wouldn't book. They did. Worth a try. On another note, it will be interesting to see how O handles a cancelled port with SM cruisers. If near end of cruise, should be some compensation...prob no $$ refund, but at least SBC or FCC.

Oceania cancelled 3 ports last May. Both private excursion operators issued immediate refunds. Need to book with operators where contract state a refund if ship does not dock for any reason.

Definitely need new agent! My agent has had the Summer Sale price on her website for 3 weeks.

It was in May before final payment. He insisted his TA had to be right and my mistake. Of course I backed off.

My TA is also the same member. These other TA’s probably don’t book a lot of O cruises. They’re quoting what they see on line. Our neighbor is paying approx $5,600 more for August ‘23 Riviera A4. I told him it was on Extraordinary Sale. His TA said I was mistaken and cruise was $200 pp more than when he booked. He insisted he has the “best” TA and she would know if there was a sale. We here on CC know better!

It’s a shame that some TA’s are giving clients misinformation. They’re looking at O’s online price and telling them they have no savings. I told three couples we are doing tours with to call for the Summer Sale price. So far all 3 initially received wrong info and one has finally gotten TA to get sale price. Said they’re saving $2,500. The other two are getting no call back from TA. SHAME!! What’s the purpose in O not letting the sale price be transparent for all?

Done today! Able to keep same cabin for both segments. A lot of time spent by TA, who now has a lower commission due to our saving $$.

Our 31 day GV repriced to 15 & 16 day B2B. We lose the $800 on board booking discount but will still save $1,880 and we get SM included. We also lose our $250 shareholder shipboard credit but gain double spa certificates and $500 platinum SBC for each cruise.

No….Told O working on it and TA will get back to me.

Spoke with my TA yesterday. Her last week has been swamped with calls/emails regarding explanation of SM and now Summer Sale on top. I feel bad every time I’ve recently had her reprice another O sale cruise. Maybe O should have a dedicated line to assist previously booked passengers needing to reprice due to an O sale whether booked with O or TA and to field questions regarding SM. JMO

Both segments are under the Summer Sale. The 31 day cruise is not.

TA is correct. I have to cancel a 31 day cruise and rebook a 15 and 16 B2B. Our situation is not repricing but rebooking.