ak1004

They have lunch included on Oceania but we usually spend most of the day in the port and eat lunch outside. What a rip off. They have lobster and crab legs included every day at dinner but my wife doesn’t eat seafood. What a rip off. They have daily trivia included but we don’t do trivia. What a rip off. they have room service free of charge but we never use it. What a rip off.

Yes I know they are under the window. Same as OV on the Riviera and Marina. But what’s the issue?

Thanks for sharing. sorry I didn’t catch what was the issue with the lifeboats. The French balcony is the same size as other OV or veranda on Marina and Riviera, are they different layout? Not sure why they feel smaller.

I'm not a paid ambassador either, but I can fully support every word of what @mauibabes wrote. We sailed 4 times with Celebrity and twice with Cunard, there is no comparison. O is in a different league (unless you are in a suite in Celebrity or Cunard, but then the cost might be actually higher than O veranda). We sailed in 12 different lines, and would still sail on most small ships (including SS, SB etc) but in terms of value for money, O is still our favorite line.

O doesn't release itineraries any earlier than other lines. In fact, most lines already had the 2025 itineraries at least 2-3 months before O. And other lines have changes too.

I perfectly understand, for a big group that needs to communicate it could be a pain. Hopefully it will be better on the next one now when they allow 2 devices. I can feel you about bumping into that bed as we both get up few times every night too. Never had any issues, but then again, everyone is different. If you need it you need it. As we like to have more options, I will be definitely interested in your calculations. Meanwhile, enjoy your vacation. Booking another cruise speaks louder than any words. We tried SS and enjoyed it very much. It's 600 guests on the newer ships, but still has a lot of choices (like 8 dining options). Prices are almost the same as V and entry level cabins are 300+ sqft. Very spacious.

Well, if this is the way some people feel, they probably shouldn't book Oceania. There are always choices. I'm sure some people will now blame O for cancelled ports in Israel..

We feel exactly the same way. The loyalty perks are nice, but not material in our decisions. Our bookings are based on itinerary and pricing. Yes, we are "bare-bones" cruisers. We always book the lowest category which is at least 200-220 sqft on any ship because we spend very little time in the cabin. We also don't drink so don't need the drinks package. All lines have pros and cons. Comparisons are always good to help to reach an educated decision, but comparisons have to be apples to apples, and not comparing basic veranda on O to a suite on V. We sailed on 12 lines so far and enjoyed most of them. I would gladly sail on any small ship given the right itinerary and price. I never expect a ship to be "home away from home" - to me it's just a floating hotel. No loyalty.

Yes, agree, we all have different priorities and preferences. Personally I never had any issues with one device for the internet - it takes exactly 10 seconds to switch. But they now include 2 devices which should be more than sufficient. I don't know what people do in their cabins that they need more than 240 sqft, but we don't come to a cruise to spend time in our cabins. For us, it's more than sufficient, the bathrooms and the showers on the newer O ships are very spacious and there is plenty of storage. We just booked FV on 2 cruises on Vista for 2025 at $320-350 USD per night. This is before any perks and rebates. If you drink, it will be $40 to upgrade to the drink package. The cheapest I have seen on Viking is $500-550. And O prices now include drinks at meals (same as V) and shore credit. Honestly, if I wanted to spend $500-550, I would book SB or SS, not V. But as many say, to each their own. Thank you again for your reports, highly appreciated.

How exactly they are saving fuel by canceling ports?? Are you saying that ships consume more fuel when docked in a port?

I agree with you 100%. But the question is: is the only the reputation, or statistics do support it? I don't have the answer. But I don't believe that any line, including Oceania, would miss a port, unless they consider it absolutely necessary. Maybe many O guests feel obligated to share their missed ports to support the "reputation", I have no idea.

I really have no idea. And don’t get me wrong, cancelled ports is the biggest concern to me. I don’t sail for sea days. I sail to see the world. that said, I have no evidence that O does it more than other lines. And I still didn’t get an answer what is their interest of doing it. They have a lot to lose and nothing to gain.

I’m pretty sure that their revenue from excursions is few times larger than the port fees. Also I don’t know how port fees work, but it’s possible that they are not refundable if the port is cancelled on a short notice. So it’s entirely possible that in some cases the cruise line loses the revenues from excursions and also the port fees. Not to mention tons of angry customers who always know better than the captain if it’s safe or not to dock or tender.

How cancelling ports is increasing their profits? It’s exactly the opposite.

Bathrooms and showers on all R ships are small. VERY small. We sailed once on inside cabin on the Riviera which has the same bathrooms and once on Azamara. We managed, but it was slightly below our comfort level, so we prefer the newer O ships, and unless some very unique itinerary, we won't sail on R ships. If this is an issue, book PH or sail on the newer ships. Personally I consider PH on the R ships a very poor value, I can book an entry level cabin on SB or SS for less and have a 300+ sqft cabin and a luxury product.

@DrKoob thank you for a very interesting topic! You keep comparing O to Viking, but isn't Viking much more expensive? I just checked a typical European sailing of 10-12 nights - Viking prices start around $550-600 USD per night. Oceania is around $450 for the entry level balcony, and even cheaper if you don't need the balcony. For Viking prices I can book SB or SS (in fact many SB sailings are under $500).

The real question to me is not what kind of excuse they are using to justify it. The real question is how the reduced times compare to other lines. From what I can see, SS typically has much longer port stays. SB - not sure, but I think shorter. Azamara probably longer, but this was always the case.

Interesting read, thanks for sharing. Valuations vary because there are so many factors involved (fare type, season etc). Redeeming to business class will almost always yield higher value than economy. As a Canadian who is focused on Aeroplan, I actually agree with the 2 cents CAD valuation that most experts mention. I have enough points and don't need to buy them, but unlike what he mentions in the article "I’d never buy those points at 2 cents apiece", I'd actually would for business class tickets. If I pay 3,000 for 150,000 points and buy a business class ticket to Europe that sells at $5,000, I would consider it a pretty good deal. Another point he doesn't mention is that buying flights with points has more flexible change and cancellation terms. So while there are some good points in those articles, there are also some that I would strongly disagree.

Yes, but this was about reduced port times, not cancelled ports. And the question still remains - why?

Cancelled ports and reduced port times and big concern to us. But I'm trying to understand if O does it more than other lines. I'm also trying to understand why would they do it (some people claim that they do it to save money, but I don't see how this is true and what they gain by doing it). This does not benefit anyone. They lose tons of revenues from port excursions and gain tons of angry customers, so the question is why?

Silversea tried to charge us almost $1,000 USD extra per person for changing our flights and fly 2 days earlier (something Oceania would do for free). I politely said "thank you, but no thank you" and took an air credit. My philosophy in life is that not everyone is trying to screw me. Businesses exist to make money. It's our job as smart consumers to evaluate their offers and accept or decline. No need to be over dramatic.

I just did the math again, and I must admit that you are right. $100 USD spent give Americans 100 MR and Canadians 137 MR. But I'm still curious why the article that I linked claims that Aeroplan points are worth 2.1 cent CAD but 1.6 USD.

Take a look: https://princeoftravel.com/guides/quarterly-valuation-updates/ Those points are worth less in USD than in CAD (for example, Aeroplan points are worth 2.1 cent CAD but 1.6 USD). So they really worth the same. Yes, you get 137 MR points for spending 100 USD, but those 100 USD are worth 137 CAD.

No because we spend in CAD too. So every 100 MR are worth $1 if spent in Amex, but it's $100 USD in the US but $100 CAD in Canada. We also spend those points in Canada, and prices in CAD are not the same as in USD. And if you transfer them to British Airways or KLM, you need same number of points to book the flight, but in Canada you get 25% less points.

Amex US cardholders get better deals and perks than Canadian Amex cardholders. It's a well known fact. As an example, Amex US can transfer MR points to KLM, British Airways and Delta at 1:1 ratio, while Canadians get only 0.75 points for each MR from those partners. Also no cruise perks for Canadians. Doesn't mean that Amex is a bad deal (we have 7 Amex cards in our family), but it's a much better deal for the Americans.