no fuss travel

WE disembarked at 3 am as we were heading to the International airport and it was a long ride there.  If you are at the closer airport, it will not be as long as a trip.

Istanbul only. The traffic is horrible and the taxis do have a problem of getting to the terminal. It just may be that the demand will be greater than the availability. We found the private limo to be more reasonable 

Do a private pickup so you know that you are being picked up.  Taxis can be hit or miss even though with the new terminal it is much better than the old.  Why don't you ask your guide that you have booked to arrange for your pickup, then that way you are guaranteed on being there on time.

Just remember with the free cruise you do not receive OLife Benefits, transfers between airport and ship and transfers from ship to airport, or can use Oceania's airfare. You will receive Platinum benefits though.  You cannot ask for the cruise booked to be your free cruise until 6 months before embarkation.  If you are on board the Oceania Ambassador or whatever they are called now can do the asking for you and you will get an answer much faster than using your TA.  You cannot use an ATW as part of your free cruise.

We hung magnets on the wall where the TV was on the Insignia..  We hung coats there and did not find them in the way.  We also left a suitcase under the bed that we used as extra storage space.  It worked for leaving the hot weather clothes in while we were in cold climates, and leaving the cold weather clothes in when we were in hot climates.  We used packing cubes in the drawers so that nothing went over the back end of the drawer and it kept things neater for us.

10 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

I have to be honest.  While we love good food and good service, you guys are scaring the heck out of me with comments about hanging out in the library or hunkering down with a Kindle.  Some of the "activities" mentioned sound tremendously boring to me.

Will still probably do this, but the GF has been concerned that she'd be bored, and I hate to drop a chunk of cash on a milestone birthday cruise for her, and then have to listen to complaints during and afterwards.

To be honest, I was bored on Holland America on our cruise.  Different tastes for different folks.  The people you meet on Oceania are well traveled and interesting to talk to.  The entertainment on both lines is comparable, but I actually found Oceania's to be better with the onboard entertainers.  The dance group they had on Holland America was not enjoyable, as the flashing lights and music were awful IMHO.

We were at the one much further out of town.  The Japanese did not plan for the number of passengers that wanted to use the buses to get to town.  They had a set timetable and would not budge an inch to ease the wait time for the bus. 
We ate lunch in town and then headed back for the bus to get back to make sure that we got back to the ship on time.  This was the only port with poor shuttle service.

21 hours ago, Kay S said:

I don't  see restrooms for Horizons on the Nautica deck plans.  The last R class ship I was on had restrooms just inside the entrances on both sides.  What is the story?

If I remember correctly, when they put in the smoking rooms, the washrooms in Horizons were eliminated on the the Regatta, Insignia and Nautica.  It is a nuisance.

Buy your own ticket at the Robben Island ferry.  There are plenty of openings right at the pier and the tour on the island is done by ex inmates.  Well worth doing.  If the water is rough, there will be no tours, or if the water gets rough listen to their announcements as they will get you back.  The only problem is that a fair amount of people will get sea sick on that crossing.  To us the crossing was like a bad crossing on BC Ferries, so it did not bother us.

We were off at 3am to catch our flight. No problems at all

45 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

I asked this question 3 years ago and never got an answer to the question. The thread quickly got sidetracked to a discussion about the value of having a TA.

Are "Elite Vacation Consultants" permanently assigned? I still don't like my Consultant and now when I call the cruise line about anything (including booking excursions) they transfer me to the consultant. I have 2 Oceania cruises  booked and I'm sure it's too late to transfer them to a TA, assuming I could find one. 

You have 30 days I believe from the time you book them to transfer to your TA

Oceania's is way superior to HAL, Royal Caribbean, but they use days of cruising rather than Oceania's method.  The one item I could do without is the spa credit.  I usually don't use it as you still end up paying a hefty sum. Several of the other lines have stopped issuing pins, which appears to annoy their members.  Yes, I agree they will be doing some type of reduction.  We will have to wait and see.  I think they now have so many President Club level members that they may be making a difference there.

They automatically sent it

There is a roll call but it is not very active.  We will see you onboard.

We got ours about three weeks after the cruise ended.  They mailed a cheque to us.  If it is a large amount, head office usually refunds it as the ship usually does not have enough cash on hand to pay it out.

The whales around Victoria are usually more plentiful than earlier months.  They seem to be arriving back to the area later and later each year.  Also the waters are more protected so you have less chance of having a rough ride.  We watch the whales go by from our front yard and see lots of whale watching boats go by.  You can see Minke, Orcas (actually dolphins) or humpback.  With the humpback if the whale watchers are annoying them, they will take a deep dive and usually do not come up for a long time after well away from the whale watchers.  If the Orcas are flapping their tails, they will then take a long dive to get away from being hassled.  They do not stay as long under the water as humpbacks.

We were on HAL for a New Years cruise.  Oceania's food beat them hands down.  The only decent dinners were on the Gala nights on HAL.  I think if you look at most cruise lines now you will find that their standards have slipped since Pre Covid.   They cannot get enough experienced staff, there has been problems getting supplies, the wars, the weather all contribute to the complaints.  It will take a while for all the cruise lines to reach preCovid standards.  We will just need to be patient.

If you also take into account, Cruise Critic seems to be getting poor reviews, but the ships are sailing at capacity or almost capacity and the complaints are not that numerous.  That means there are more satisfied passengers, than dissatisfied.  Take the complaints with a grain of salt.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and the only opinion that counts is your own to you.  What one person does not like, you may love.  Just go on your cruise and enjoy.  It is nice to be able to cruise again.

The wall around the bathroom held magnets as well as the wall the television was on.  Use the stronger magnets that will take the weight.  We tested the walls when we were on the Vista as we were thinking about doing the ATW 2026 but will stay with the 2025 as it covers several areas that are on our wish list.

Remember that many countries are land locked therefore not accessible to a cruise ship.

We have had a decorated cabin for our birthdays, a cake each time as well.  There was one. blip which was funny as a previous TA had given Oceania the wrong date for our wedding anniversary and Oceania celebrated it one month before the actual date, upon finding it was the wrong date, we received another cake on our actual anniversary.  The cakes are delicious and if we are not sharing a table, we ask the staff to share the cake later.

It's not only Oceania that has problems fixing things.  We were on HAL, and they could not stop the leak that kept the carpet sopping wet the entire cruise.  They told each day it was fixed but when my husband got up in the morning, wet feet again.  All cruise lines are having problems and unfortunately  if we want to travel we have to accept the bumps and roll with them.  We still laugh about the wet carpet and as the ship was almost full, they were willing to give us an inside cabin instead of the suite that we had paid for.  We put up with the wet carpet.

15 minutes ago, oceanpark said:

I am also considering Japan with Oceania in 2025, so am very interested in any responses as I am not sure if a cruise is the best way to see it.  I have compared the ports with Azamara and like the Oceania itinerary slightly better, but would be very upset if they changed the ports after final payment.  We loved our first Azamara cruise last year and have never sailed with Oceania.  Price and itinerary will be the deciding factor.

We did an Oceania cruise, to Japan which included several ports and then got off and did a land tour of Japan.  It was a great way to see more of Japan and yet still have the pleasure of sailing into many Japanese ports.

They do carry your credits forward, but you may have problems with the nonrefundable ones.  No they won't let you book ahead until the time they normally open for booking.  It is quite irritating at times

Destinations staff do not work for Oceania.  Oceania contracts the people that work there.  Destinations has been caught many times with incorrect information that has been sent by the individual port services.  Yes, it is frustrating but that is just one of the many bumps you may encounter while traveling with any cruise line or tour company.  The CD is given no information from Destinations, so they really can't answer your destination questions. 

Hal is super efficient at embarkation and debarkation at Fort Lauderdale.  Our experience for the New Year Cruise was great for this part of the cruise.