susiesan

BTW, Alicante was not a tender port, we were to dock. 

Today, Monday, we just now docked in Motril so we can go to Granada to visit the Alhambra. Doing my happy dance.

Just because your weather report shows rain at 9:00am doesn't mean it was raining. It was not. 

Our next stop is Motril/Granada tomorrow.  As Oceania had already taken an hour away from that port it would have been nice to have it added back since we have plenty of time now to get there. They did not replace the missing hour. At the moment we are sitting off the coast of Spain hardly moving at all. 

Boarded Sirena in Barcelona yesterday, Sept. 2, sailed at 6:00pm for a 10 day cruise to the Canary Islands. Our first port call was Alicante at 10:00 today Sept. 3. At 8:00 the captain announced we wouldn't be stopping due to winds and rough seas. I saw the pilot boat along side and it didn't look that rough to me. We were supposed to dock not tender in. Now today is a sea day with very little to do except eat and drink.

It wouldn't be an Oceania cruise without at least one cancelled port😉😎

On 8/22/2023 at 12:44 PM, donaldsc said:

For a unique cruising experience try Star Clippers - https://www.starclippers.com/us-dom/.  They are true sailboats not like Windstar which are nowhere close to being a true sailboat.  A Star Clipper cruise is a unique great experience.

 

DON

If you are not a smoker you will not enjoy Star Clipper cruises. They cater to mostly European passengers and allow smoking everywhere on the outside decks. You can't get away from it. I've cruised with them once and will not again due to their smoking policy.

1 hour ago, Elbig said:

I am confused. Do you often book with the expectation that you might or will likely cancel? What are the reasons you cancel? Doesn’t insurance cover most likely reasons to cancel?

This is how I book O cruises in Europe: I find a cruise I'm interested in that sails a year or more in the future. I have my TA get me a price and if it's good I reserve it and put down the deposit. I only fly TATL to these cruises with award tickets in business class, and those seats are not available until a minimum of 11 months before. I can't deal with coach on a long flight and I won't pay for business class. Once I'm able to make air arrangements I go for the scarce J award seats. If I can't get them then I will cancel the cruise within the no penalty or admin fee phase.

I have been lucky so far with Europe cruises that I have been able to J award tickets but its getting very very difficult to find them at a reasonable rate these days, especially with UA where I have most of my miles.  I did have  to cancel an O cruise for business reasons in 2022. I cancelled 4 months before the cruise and got all of my money back and there was no admin fee deducted. 

Celebrity lets you choose between a refundable and non refundable deposit price. The TA I sometimes use waives the non refundable charge and books only refundable deposits.

3 hours ago, osandomir said:

And you’re still here 😁?

I have not embarked on what may be my last O cruise for a while yet. It's coming up in a week, Sept. 2 Sirena from Barcelona.  I splurged and treated myself to a veranda as a retirement gift to myself.

44 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

Is this the tenth time you have claimed "this will be our last O cruise"? I may have missed a couple of them.

It may be the 11th time. You missed a few of my posts. 

33 minutes ago, basor said:

Several other cruise lines do the same....check out Viking

I have no plans to ever cruise on Viking Ocean, too pricey for me. I have taken 3 Viking river cruises in the past and might consider another one of those.

5 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

If you won't book future O cruises because of its beverage/excursion policy, what lines that avoid inclusions would you book?  

Windstar.

Princess, Celebrity, NCL as the price of the inclusions is minimal.

I have an Azamara cruise booked for next year, the beverage package includes cocktails not limited to only with meals and the shore ex credit is minimal, only $300 or $150 pp. All of the shore ex credits on O with SM are at least $800, $400 per person. Also, Azamara's deposit policy is far more lenient than the new policy coming to Oceania Sept. 1. Only $75 pp is non refundable but it can be transferred to another AZ booking. O's new deposit policy will have you lose $150 a person if you cancel the cruise and it can't be transferred to another O cruise.

As of September 1

Once you put a deposit down $150 per person penalty..no credit no refund you lose this money

180 Days $500 a person no credit no refund you lose this money

You cannot move it to another cruise

If you have noticed, none of the cruises in the catalogs/brochures sent in the mail have times in port listed at all for any ports. This will make it easier for O to change times since no one knows what they are. I use these catalogs to evaluate potential cruises. I compare time in port between cruise lines doing similar itineraries and go for the one with the most time in port which is important to me. O does show the times online but I'm not always online looking at their web site when evaluating cruises.

Since SM doesn't work for me as I only book cruise only with no excursions or beverage package, my Sirena cruise on Sept. 2 will likely be my last on Oceania unless there is a spectacular deal in the future.

I only book outsides and occasionally a veranda.

Is it worth my time while on Sirena to speak with the onboard booking office to let them know my opinion of SM/ does Oceania want feedback or care what their customers preferences are? Would someone pass this info on to Miami?

On 8/19/2023 at 9:51 PM, AMHuntFerry said:

I think most "avid O lovers" purchase onboard and get a price guarantee so upgrades. sales, and the like are a given (mostly). I will keep my on whether this policy continues.

You would be wrong. I am an avid Oceania lover, about to embark on my 6th O cruise on Sept. 2. I have never booked onboard. 

I've sailed on R ships 8 times, 3 with Rennaissance, 2 with Azamara, and 3 with O. My 4th Oceania R ship cruise is in 2 weeks, Sept. 2 Sirena from Barcelona. I have another R ship cruise with Azamara booked for Sept. 2024. I seek out cruises on these ships, they are my favorites. I've only sailed in an outside or veranda on them, plenty of storage. The cabins are just as comfortable as on the larger O ships. The small bathrooms are fine since I am a small person. 

Looking forward to another good meal from Red Ginger in a few weeks.

2 hours ago, omahabob said:

Do you think any cruisers haven't heard about it yet?

Absolutely there are pax on the next few cruises who are oblivious to current events. These are the clueless cruisers who will raise hell at reception when they find out their cruise won't be stopping at Maui. 

Not a single note or update regarding POA Hawaii cruises on the NCL website. The least they could do is put up a banner newsflash about Maui before final changes/details about itineraries on future cruises are worked out.

59 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Why ? The ship is wait listed  so  they make offers  so they can clear the lists

We do not know how many GTY cabins  they have on the books

 

I'm surprised because when I have read about others getting these offers to switch they were usually involving the suites and higher priced cabins. I'm in a veranda booked a year ago. maybe because I paid a very low cost compared to the current rate they can resell my cabin for twice as much as I paid. 

I am not taking the offer as I have my own air and hotels arranged. I could never get the same business award seats to/from Europe on such short notice. And I am definitely not interested in the Caribbean cruise having just been on one on Marina last December.

I have never been to the Canary Islands and wouldn't switch no matter how good the offer. This will be my 6th Oceania cruise and I was surprised that I got one of these offers.

For the first time ever I received an offer to switch to a different cruise as mine must be overbooked. it's Sirena Sept. 2 10 night Canary Island Explorer. I'm surprised at this since the Canary island itineraries aren't that popular. I won't be taking the offer. I'm in a B 1 veranda cabin. Why would anyone just cancel and get a refund at this point, the cruise is a month away?

		RECEIVE FOUR EXTRA DAYS AND $1,160.00 PER STATEROOM CASH BACK ALLURE OF FRANCE & IBERIA   September 26, 2023 | 14-Days | Riviera  VIEW ITINERARY

	RECEIVE TWO EXTRA DAYS, AN UPGRADE TO  CONCIERGE, AND $1,160.00 PER STATEROOM CASH BACK CARIBBEAN WANDERLUST   November 19th, 2023 | 12-Days | Vista VIEW ITINERARY

In Grenada, take a tour to the underwater sculpture park for snorkeling. 

https://www.caribbeanandco.com/grenada-underwater-sculpture-park-a-modern-wonder/

For future cruises stopping in or embarking and disembarking in Amsterdam, the ships will have to find a new place to dock. They are being banned from sailing into Amsterdam and docking at the cruise terminal there. This policy will likely not go into effect until 2024.

https://www.cruisehive.com/amsterdam-makes-huge-move-and-bans-cruise-ships/107115

2 hours ago, ORV said:

Did you take the pictures yourself or have them made somewhere?

No, they were taken at a FedEx store by the "experts" as the prepaid envelope to overnight to the expediter was a Fed Ex shipment. There has to be a contrast with the white background and the outline of the head. Because I have long hair framing my white skin face, mine was fine. My husbands white skin and the white background blended too much for the US passport computers to recognize the outline of his head. I wouldn't risk taking my own pictures.

When we went back to the same FedEx store to retake the pictures we were not charged of the second batch, of course, as FedEx crewed up.

3 hours ago, the more ports the better said:

Susie, you received your passport in about a week, is that correct?

 

I will return to the US Aug 4 after a Nautica sailing.  I leave for a sailing on Riveria on Oct 6.  My passport expires Feb 4th so I have to renew between the two sailings.  Friends recently cancelled a trip as they didn’t receive their expedited passport in time, they had 12 weeks.

 

I figure I will just pay the $800 and use the FedEx/RushMyPassport service and not risk it as I only have 8 weeks between trips.

 

Were you happy with the service?  
 

Anyone else have experience with an expediter?  I haven’t used one for awhile.

Yes, one came back in a week, the other took 2 weeks because we had to retake and send my husband's phot. The US State Dept. didn't like his first picture so the computer kicked his application out.

I was very happy with that company. it helps to use an expediter located in the city where the passports are printed. The one I used is in Philadelphia.

Remember this saga?  A very costly lesson for me.

4 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Until all the pre booked cruises with O life  perk  are done or they make everyone switch to SM  they will be asking  for your room card

I don't get the big deal about showing your card to pay for an alcoholic drink with a meal.

If you want to have a glass of wine with your meal but don't want to show your card for some reason, get your glass of wine in a bar on the way to dinner and carry it in to the dining room.