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We usually do our own air. However, sometimes there may be good reason to book Oceania air. Yes, we got seats together on all the planes. Last year, we booked late. We couldn’t find any air at an acceptable price. We chose O air. We flew from Philadelphia to London to catch a cruise out of Southampton. There are several non stops daily. We couldn’t get on them. O flew us from Phl to Fra on Eurowings discovery. Seats weren’t assigned until online checkin. We got seats across the aisle from each other. However when we got to the airport, our seats had changed to next to each other in the middle of group of 4. From Fra, we flew to LGW and took bus to Southampton. We arrived at 3 pm. Ship sailed at 5 pm. We made it. Never would fly in that close to sailing. Going home, we flew from Oslo to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Minneapolis, and Minneapolis to Philadelphia. It was crazy. We got home. if you don’t mind living on the edge, O air can be exciting.

We got a brochure from Seabourn that sparked our interest. Wondering if Seabourn is for us. We are in our 70s. We have traveled extensively for many years. Our travels have been both on land and sea. We have taken many land tours and ship excursions. Now that we are retired, we have slowed down. We still enjoy traveling, but not taking group tours. Sometimes we prefer private tours tuned to our pace and interests. Sometimes just cruising is enough. Taking a winter Caribbean cruise has become our time to relax and enjoy warm weather. We love meeting interesting people, dining in a variety of restaurants, and are happiest relaxing in style. We are looking for a cruise that fits our style: less than 1500 guests, excellent food with a variety of dining venues, spacious cabins, good service, some entertainment, offers tours without including them in the fare, and doesn’t have formal nights. Years ago we used to enjoy dressing up. Now, we would rather do club casual. Do you think Seabourn is a fit for us.

I was recently on Vista. Pool is deep. I am 5’3”. I couldn’t touch the bottom. I would prefer a shallower pool that I can walk in. There is a set of stairs to enter the pool. Shorter people seemed to stay by those steps.

We were confused before the trip. We don’t live near anyplace that we could get the visa easily. We opted to buy the visa on the ship using OBC. It wasn’t expensive, less than $10. Vietnam is beautiful. Be sure to bring American dollars. We had Dong. However, everyone asked for US dollars. Shopping is great. Wish that I bought more.

If you get to ship and don’t like your cabin, ask for a change. We have done it. Upgrade at a small cost compared to booking upgrade before sailing.

We hired a taxi at the port. Took us around the island including Baths. Went at our own pace. Cost was less than the ship excursion.

I cruise often on Oceania and other cruise lines. Last year I took 3 O cruises. On the first cruise, I booked a future cruise. On the 2nd cruise, I didn’t book a future cruise. That cruise was in June 2023. Got home and shortly after got a very nice Welcome Home letter with an offer of $200 off if we booked a future cruise within 45 days of disembarking. Booked in July 2023 for a May 2024 cruise. She took all the info about the coupon and sent it to Oceania. She said as soon as the $200 discount was applied, she would send us an updated invoice. A few months later, I asked about the discount. She contacted Oceania and was told that it didn’t apply since I booked that cruise onboard. I didn’t book anything on that June cruise. Sent the actual coupon to the Miami address on the coupon. Still nothing. Final payment for the May 2024 cruise is due this week. In the scheme of things $200 isn’t much compared to the total cost of a cruise. Just rather annoyed. Did a cruise January 2024. Also didn’t book a future cruise onboard. We didn’t get a welcome home letter. If a company makes an offer, it should honor that offer. Disappointed in O Dania.

Just the beef. While I like eating beef, I actually prefer fish. In Europe, we had amazing fish. In the Caribbean, the fish was ok, but not as good. It may be a difference of suppliers. The food on Oceania is very good. Looking forward to my next O cruise.

Vista was great. We loved it. Hope that Marina is as good. Marina is our favorite ship. On Marina on previous cruises in Europe, the food was good except in Polo. Meat was tough. Polo on Vista was better. We sailed out of Miami. Meat was very good. Wondering if the problem is the provision location. Enjoy Vista.

Your comments are disturbing. I have sailed on Marina many times. Most recent Marina cruise was June 2023. My next O cruise is Marina. Just off Vista 2 weeks ago. Food was good. Many items were excellent . There were a few dishes that could’ve been hotter. Portions were ok. I don’t expect perfection. I eat breakfast in Terrace Grill. It’s quicker than the GDR. If I get something that isn’t to my taste, there are many good options. Baristas and the Bakery are also a good breakfast venue.

Prices were much higher after pandemic. We had booked Into the Midnight Sun for summer 2020. When the cruise got canceled, we took the refund instead of the 125%voucher. When we went to rebook the same cruise for 2023, the prices were extremely high. We waited until there was a promo. The promo price was similar to the 2020 cruise. After canceling cruises and offering vouchers, there were lots of people trying to cash in the vouchers within a limited time period. With a use it or lose it , those vouchers found guests booking again. Using vouchers time has passed. Now most people booking don’t have fcc or vouchers. Cruise fares will remain high if bookings are up. If bookings are slow, prices will drop. It’s just basic economics.

Viking often has promos that include free air. Just booked a cruise that included free air. Got code from Viking cruisecritic board. It saved us $.

I was pleasantly surprised at moving up when you start the qualifying cruise. Just another nice thing that makes Oceania cruises great.

Perhaps the intro of the loyalty program has caused problems. I loved WS before the loyalty program. Thought that it was very nice that WS was rewarding loyal guests. I don’t think that WS intended to annoy guests. Now I have doubts.

Oceania does a nice cruise. If problems arise, they try to help fix the issues. I have taken 3 O cruises since the pandemic. We didn’t get Covid on any of them.

That doesn’t work. They are adamant about withholding loyalty benefits. New WS president has changed WS. No fun for loyalists.

I know how you feel. Happened to us. We have taken 10 WS cruises and have 89 points. We took WS cruises before the new loyalty program. We were delighted when WS announced the loyalty program. Got a email with promo for a cruise that had changed itinerary. Price was attractive. Still being cautious about Covid, we hesitantly booked cruise for Sept 2022. Once onboard, we noticed that OBC from loyalty program wasn’t posted on our account. Questioned it. Figured it was an error. We were told that we could only get the discount in the store and 10% off the laundry. We were on a 10 night cruise. The explanation was discounted rates aren’t eligible for OBC. It was annoying. I am in other cruise lines loyalty program. Regardless of price, I get all listed benefits for my loyalty level. Since that cruise, I have sailed 4 times, not WS. I have 2 future bookings, not on WS. Will we book a WS cruise again? Perhaps, if the price is right and the itinerary works for us. If we do, I will be shocked if we get anything from the loyalty program.

Chair hogging was rampant on Vista 1/9/24 cruise. Went to reception and asked about it. They said that you cannot touch another person’s property. You can only touch ship property like library books. You can move ship books. Good luck.

If your suite includes complimentary laundry, what is the turn around time? Can you get same day free?

We were told terminal J. However, the morning of the cruise, we got an email with a change to terminal B. The email said that there were high winds. We disembarked at terminal J. There was a free shuttle bus taking guests from J to B.

It happened to us. We ate at Ember early in the cruise. We loved it. We talked to the maitr’d after our meal. We often chatted with him at breakfast in the Terrace Buffet. Toward the end of the cruise, we asked if we could get a table at Ember. We wanted to try other offerings. We again enjoyed our meal. The only thing that we ate both times was the potato soup. It is excellent.

If you would like to dine at a specialty restaurant on the 1st night, talk to dining reservation maitr’d at lunch. Likely that you can do it. Since we really like the menu in GDR on 1st night, we don’t do specialty that night.

Once you book and pay for a cruise, the Viking website doesn’t let you book another cruise. Booked and paid in full for a cruise in April. Now I am looking for a cruise for winter 2025. I can see cruises on Viking website. However, if I try to book online, I get a page of junk. It’s crazy. I often have multiple cruise bookings. Pre Pandemic we usually took 4 cruises per year. We have taken 6 cruises since we resumed traveling. We have 2 future cruises booked in 2024 and would like to book 2025.

We used code RM24 on Heart of the Delta cruise tour. Worked better than JM24

Oceania skips ports and often has short visits in ports. Not sure the explanation is legit. Once there was a replacement port. Usually a skipped port becomes a sea day. I have been to St. Barts on several cruises. However, never got there on Oceania. On Sirena in March 2020, St. Barts was supposed to be our first stop. We were told that the seas were too rough for tenders. Looked outside and saw flat water. On that cruise we skipped most ports because the ports closed. . We sailed in circles. Never on that cruise did any crew member mention Covid. Fast forward to January 2024, on Vista. St. Barts was skipped again. We were told it was rough seas due to wind. Seas looked calm. That port day was replaced by a sea day. Oceania never apologized. From past experiences, they never refund port charges. Port charges aren’t much for each guest. On other lines when we skipped ports, we were refunded port charges. It usually is about $15. On Windstar, when we skipped ports, we were given a nice amount of OBC and FCC.