no fuss travel

What I liked is that you could get a light lunch without having to stand in a line. Enjoyed the baked goods which were available at times when Terrance was closed. It was air conditioned which was much appreciated when going through the Panama Canal, you could duck in, get a sweet, get cooled off and then head out on deck again to enjoy the view.

The biggest bulk of the passengers are American. After that the lineup changes according to where you are travelling. Usually the top 5 nationalities will be Australia, Canada, Britain, and another European country. Last year on the Nautica, there was more Dutch, Germans and another country than Canadians. The Mediterranean cruises tend to have more representation from Europe. Hope that helps.

We had port times shortened on HAL when we were doing a cruise for New Years. Previous cruises on other lines we have had port times changed. You just have to go with the flow. Enjoy your cruise and forget about the little blips.

According to information I received today, itinerary and details will be released March 13 on the Vista

2026 is definitely on the Vista. Ray Carr, the Cruise Director confirmed while we were aboard Vista. Itinerary is not coming out until February 2024

When on the ATW we had excellent service from the. laundry room. It was suggested to us that we bought treats for those who work in the laundry room as a special thank you. We asked crew members what treats would be appreciated and at a port went to a grocery store and bought. I know that the staff received the goodies because the housekeeping manager brought them up to reception so that I could give them the gift. Any cash tips we gave to other staff which we saw on a regular basis was kept by them as gratuities for the whole crew were paid into the pot. Quite often if you have unrefundable cash in your shipboard account, you can ask that it be given to the benevolent fund where it will benefit any crew member in need.

There was no mention of the end of cruise evaluations in Daily Currents or by the CD on the Vista before we finished our cruise on Vista November 19

Thank you. We are onboard the ship

Right before the trip

Yes I found a refund when I checked my credit card but no explanation. I didn’t look until yesterday when I found out the flights were canceled. fortunately we are at the airport n I now with a flight that our agent got us on. We got the last 2 seats

No we would not have discovered it

Their response was “not allowed “ with no other explanation

Long story. We were to fly down to LA tomorrow to take our free cruise on the Vista through the Panama Canal Our TA booked the airfare through Oceania with Oceania knowing that this was our free cruise in August. Oceania agreed and sent the invoice for airfare and transfers which we paid in /August. Now later when someone is reviewing the files at Oceania, it turns out you can't use their air or transfers. Oceania cancels the airfare without notifying our TA or us. Our TA found out by accident today when she tried to book a wheelchair as I unfortunately had a bad fall and not quite as mobile as usual , the day before we were to fly. She is now scrambling to try to get us down to LA and home from Miami. Oceania head office attitude is tough luck, you shouldn't have booked it with us and you were not allowed too. Okay I can accept it is against policy, but cancelling and not informing the TA or us is unacceptable. If this is the way they treat Platinum and above passengers, it sets a bad precedent. Poor and rude customer service. Definitely a black mark for Oceania.

When covid arrived the travel agency laid off my incredible TA. They left me with one who did not answer phone calls promptly or never, did not follow up with instructions, and messed up a rather multiple tours/cruises trip. I did all the work and am now back with my incredible TA who is working for another agency. Unfortunately I could not leave the one who gave me bad service as the trips were over the 30 day change period. Fortunately for me, I got excellent response from Oceania, and the other tour companies who fixed up her mistakes. Live and learn as they all say.

The one thing that no-one has commented on is the closets. This ship has the best closets I have had on a ship. They had two shoe racks, ample drawers, lots of space and the hanging cupboards. The owner was onboard with our cruise from Dubrovnik to Venice and he told us that his wife designed the closets. All other cruise lines could take a lesson from his wife. Food was fantastic. You could get an omelette made to order at breakfast. First time on a ship that I can say the scrambled eggs were delicious. Crew was very friendly and helpful. The ports were great and the included tours excellent. There was a tour group on our sailing which at times was annoying as the TA that brought them was overbearing at times and seemed to treat other passengers as second class. She also broke the rules at Trivia, which irked a few passengers. The cruise director was a character and fun to listen to. The captain was English and had salad with P&O Holland America and Princess ships. He said he preferred the smaller ship and was a bit of a character. He even sang at Karaoke. They are building more ships and putting a fair number of them in Asia. It will be interesting to see what they offer in the future. Would I recommend them. YES. Do not expect top entertainment. The ship is too small, but expect friendly crew and excellent food.

We tip extra for good service. We keep our cabin clean and put things away. There has been a couple of times where we left a messy cabin as our tour was super late getting back to the ship and we had a reservation for dinner that we would barely make, and no I had not made an early reservation, and our room stewards actually came into our room again and cleaned it as they had already done the nightly chocolates and turn down. We were surprised and embarrassed but appreciated the extra effort the cabin crew made and tipped extra. to each their own.

We avoid Toronto at all costs. Every time they try to rout us thru Toronto, our TA goes to bat and gets us a better flight. I missed a flight at Toronto that was a domestic and that finished me on ever flying into Toronto again I just don't like it.

No passengers have boarded the ship yet and will not until later next year so you will not be able to get an answer at this moment

Yes as long as the ship has cleared immigration

We wandered around on our own. In Tokyo you will find most of the locals quite helpful and there are excellent maps to follow. We stayed in a hotel near the Imperial Palace and there was a tremendous amount of blossoms in that area. I have found the guru walking tours to be excellent. I have used them in many cities and have enjoyed them all. You tip at the end what you think the tour was worth to you. Each guide has to pay $10 USD/couple to the booking agent and the remainder of your tip stays with them.

Get a private transfer. There are several companies listed or were listed on Trip Advisor which we used previously in Istanbul and found them to be reliable. Also when we were to go to the ship, we had reception book a car for us and had a set price. Worked well. The new port as several have mentioned, you walk and walk. On the way to the ship you have to walk through the duty free store. Prices are higher than in town. If you are wearing a Fitbit, you will get your steps in just walking in the port building.

If you are in Tokyo late March, early April the blossoms are beautiful. They light them up at night. Watch where the locals go to eat. More reasonable than the hotels. the ramen is delicious. The 100 Yen store is worth a visit. Like our dollar stores but better. Buy a pass for the subway Easy way to get around. Lots of fascinating sites. The Imperial Palace is worth a visit

Bagan is worth taking the time to get too. Wandering around the city on your own is easy and it is quite fascinating. Watch out for the young monks, they are not really monks but fake pickpockets. The market is worth going to.

If you have been on a safari, do neither. You will be disappointed . The Singapore zoo is better than the Night Zoo IMO

There has been many strikes at various airports in Europe this year. We got caught trying to fly from Marseille to Paris when the air traffic. controllers walked out. Use Oceania air and they sort out the problems.