mountain grandma

Hi Bonnie and Gerry, We are enjoying Vista very much but unfortunately, Gorika is not the Restaurant Manager on board. We have sailed with her before and we also think she is wonderful. She will go far with Oceania and we are sure she will move up to F and B Director as soon as there is an opening. Don’t know which ship she is on right now but I will see if I can find out. Hope we sail together again soon too! Billie and Ted

Vlthom—DH and I are also on Vista having boarded in Athens and continuing to Barcelona with exactly the same feelings about the ship, crew, passengers, and Ember as you have expressed! Vlthom and babysteps —Tonight is the Captain’s Welcome Aboard Party—would love to meet up after the program is finished. We can only stay a short time since we have dinner plans at 6:30 but it would be great to meet you both. Billie and Ted

I strongly agree with Pinot lover on his comment regarding the agency vs the agent. We’ve been sailing with Oceania since 2007 and we had a wonderful agent for 13 years until she retired. She was part of an OCC agency and when she left, she referred us to another agent at her same agency. We were in contact with her but very quickly we realized that we knew more of the ins and outs of booking with O than she did. We found another OCC agency and looked on their website to find an agent who specialized in Oceania. We have been using her ever since and have been very pleased with her and the agency. So my point is that you have to go one step further when looking—not just to the agency but also the agent’s qualifications/experience. Good luck in your search and enjoy Oceania when you sail. Billie

Rest easy as Oceania takes very good care of you. You need to inform their Special Services department via phone prior to your cruise, then when you board, the Restaurant Manager will meet with you. At that time, you can set up with him your request for mid-meal confections (I’m a big chocolate chip cookie person) and he/she will also explain how you will receive a copy of the menu for the next night in your cabin every night. They know where you will be dining and will send the appropriate menu for that night. You can circle what you would like and they will make it gf for you. The only place this is not done is if you will be dining in the Terrace Cafe. I just ask to speak to the Chef for that venue and he comes out and will go along the buffet line and let me know what is gf that I can eat. Be sure to tell them you are Celiac not just gluten intolerant because that, of course is more serious! Enjoy your cruise, Billie

Who is the General Manager on board? We were on Insignia last August and will be on her again this fall. Curious if the GM is the same. Thanks, Billie

Any ship that has Jacques restaurant will continue to appeal to us! Very disappointed that Vista and Allura do not include our favorite dining venue but itinerary still holds precedence for us.

Ok thanks for the info. Billie

We’ve been told by one of the Restaurant Managers and also one of the Food and Beverage Director that they ask for your cabin/suite number as a way of knowing where everyone is dining and also to better serve those with special dietary needs. It has nothing to do with your deck number or status with Oceania. We ask for sharing tables a lot and it is always filled as people come into the dining venue. Happy New Year everyone, Billie

We are still booked on cruises with OLife and are curious if they still have the 7-bottle wine package. Anyone know? Thanks in advance, Billie

@mauibabes Hi Gerry, Forgive my intrusion on this thread but I need to ask you a question and the CC message ability isn’t working. Would you please email me at bhar62164 at gmail dot com? Thanks, Billie

Did they add any other itineraries to what was there before?

Thanks basor. I know about the best price guarantee but wasn’t sure this would be included in that guarantee or would it be treated like one of the other promotions that you mentioned. Billie

Would someone who is on the ship now please try to get an answer to a question I have regarding the new simply MORE pricing system. I have been unsuccessful so far here at home and I thought maybe an Oceania Club Ambassador could help. We have cruises that we booked several months ago while on board and, of course, received the discount for doing so plus OBC that we could use on that cruise or the newly booked cruise. If we change to the simply MORE program, can we also transfer the on board discount and OBC to the new price of the new program or do we lose them? Thanks in advance for finding out the answer for me. Billie

:((. Hopefully our paths will cross at one time or another. Enjoy your upcoming cruises and (if it applies) Happy Fathers Day. Billie

Don’t forget Chef’s Demonstrations and Liars’ Club!

Gerry—Are you still on the Riviera cruise this November/December? I saw that you are sailing on the Vista in October/November so just wondering. Billie

We always stay in a PH and use the 3 included bags of laundry per segment for DH’s clothes but I have medical issues that require me to use scent-free and chemical-free detergent. Since I have asked several times on the different ships if they use detergent without scents/chemicals with no definite answer, I have to bring my own. It may not be the most ocean-safe way but if I want to sail on longer itineraries, I have no choice. Billie

Have a great cruise—we’re also sailing soon and are waiting for our docs. See you next November on board Riviera! Billie

We are also on the Bangkok to Tokyo Nautica cruise and what no one has explained in this thread is the fact that China will not give out any visas right now due to very high Covid numbers so North Americans cannot go to China! Oceania cancelled the Chinese port stops for that reason so blame China not Oceania! Personally, we didn’t care since we had been there several times before but I understand that it is disappointing for some. Billie

I am also gluten-free (tho not celiac) and have been very impressed with how Oceania handles it. Every night when I go to my cabin, I get a copy of the menu for the next day. If I have reservations in one of the Specialty Restaurants, I receive the menu for that venue. If no restaurant res, then I receive the menu for the Grand Dining Room. I circle the items I want, then they prepare it gluten-free. The only place I have a problem is in the Terrace Cafe at lunch or dinner. They don’t mark the items on the buffet as GF even though I have requested this many times. I have to ask the servers to go and ask the chef if a particular dish is gluten-free. They are always happy to accommodate me but the whole process takes longer. Oh well. Even at tea, they have gluten-free scones and cookies—just ask one of the servers and they will be happy to go to the main galley and bring you some. Be sure to call Oceania and put that information into your profile a few weeks in advance of your cruise. Bon Voyage, Billie

We had the sea day Sunday Brunch on the Riviera last October/November and on the Sirena’s eastbound TA last spring but not on the Sirena’s TA this November going westbound. We did have a WONDERFUL special chocolate-lovers’ tea on this last cruise, however. All were great! Billie

We got ours yesterday also and it is quite beautiful. We are also Platinum so that probably is the requirement. Happy Holidays, Everyone! Billie

We never book a flight before noon on disembarkation day just to be on the safe side. Customs/Immigration in Miami can be iffy at best! Enjoy your cruise.

We are doing a b2b starting in London on October 1 and then continuing again from London on October 11. The 2nd segment makes a call in Bermuda 35 days after embarkation but I’m not sure if we are considered embarking on October 1 or 11. When we called O to ask, the phone rep said they might do it on-board but we all know how reliable their information is! If it is October 11, will there be a test given at the pier or somewhere else close by? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Billie

We had to stay overnight at the Hilton Rome Airport hotel last November after disembarking from the Riviera. We had a very early flight the next morning. The hotel was great and the room was clean and a nice size. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant and it was good also. The staff was very accommodating as we had to check-in for our flight by 5am and even though it was not scheduled that early, they had the shuttle take us to the terminal so that we didn’t have to call a taxi or walk with our cruise luggage. We would definitely stay there again if our cruise ended in Rome. Hope this helps and enjoy your cruise. Billie