chrisbu315

I have bought CCL twice (2020 and 2022) as a trade and not an investment.  I consider the OBC as risk mitigation.  So far, so good.

Sailed on Azamara Journey and Oceania Riviera back-to-back in June/July 2023.  My wife and I are both more interested in ports than ships so the opinions below will be influenced accordingly.

• Oceania cabins and ship are nicer.  I don't care much about this as long as the bed is comfortable and the Internet works.  Journey showers are very small.
• Oceania specialty restaurants are slightly better but overrated.  Journey MDR was far better than Riviera MDR.  Buffets and pool side food about equal.
• Port experience far better on Journey.  Longer times in port and far fewer tenders.  Hassle free getting on and off ship.  On Riviera process was more like a mainstream cruise line.
• White Party and sea day brunch on Journey were wonderful.  Nothing like these on Riviera.
• Riviera has casino, Journey does not.  I like a casino when the itinerary has a lot of sea days.
• Entertainment about equal - not nearly the variety or quality found on a mainstram cruise line.

If the intineraries and price are nearly are equal, I would choose Azamara.

On 6/1/2023 at 12:47 PM, friendswithdave said:

Considering an O cruise for the first time in December and had a few questions. We've been on 6-8 HAL cruises plus a few others so we are most familiar with HAL. Value is important to us so we work hard to cruise when we can get great value. We upgraded to a suite on our most recent cruise and it will be hard to go back. That said, I could see us going to a verandah on O if the quality and value are both worthwhile. 

 

I looked on the O website to try to find answer, but few were there. Considering the new Vista if that makes a difference for answers. We drink little and don't do ship excursions. We tend to book the lowest rates and purchase stuff a la carte.

 

- It appears specialty restaurants are included. Does this mean all? Unlimited? That doesn't seem to make sense. How does this work if not?

- Wife enjoys specialty coffees. Are these included as well?

- Did I see the spa areas are also included, like sauna, stone loungers and therapy pool / hot tub? If so, how do these areas keep from being overcrowded?

- Are there areas of the ship reserved for suite guests? 

- Entertainment has been disappointing on HAL, but we love the BB King band. How is the entertainment and live music on O?

- Did I see free internet is included?

- How are the cooking classes? Wife loves to cook and bake and would love those if the quality is there.

I'm also a HAL person who just tried Oceania (Riviera) in July.  

• Specialty restaurants are included but must make reservations.  Sometimes difficult to get a table for 2 at a reasonable time.  In my opinion, The O specialty restaurants are no better than HALs inspite of O's cuisine claims.  Also, the MDR is mediocre at best.  The buffet on O is better than HAL, especially for breakfast.
• My wife is also a bit of a coffee snob and did not think O's specialty coffees were any better than HAL.
• Entertainment on O is okay but not better than HAL.
• A very basic Internet is included but you may need to upgrade if you need to do anything beyond basic email, surfing, etc.
• The ship and the cabins are beautiful.  Far nicer than HAL.
• Cooking classes fill up quickly.  Book as early as possible.
• Not sure about your SPA and suite questions.

For me, the bottom line is itinerary.  I would book either line if the itinerary is interesting.  If both offer similar itineraries, I would probably book HAL because the price will likely be far lower.  If the ship is your priority, than Oceania should be your choice, but in my opinion, not because of the food.

Recently did Azamara and Oceania back-to-back.  In spite of website issues, much preferred Azamara and booked again while on-board. 

• Cabin better on Oceania 
• Food about equal
• No lines for anything on Azamara - dining, buffet, embarking, disembarking, service desk, etc.
• Too many time wasting tender ports on Oceania
• Shore excursion selection much better on Azamara
• White Party and sea day brunch were fantastic on Azamara

Like you, I have given this a lot of thought lately and came to a counter-intuitive conclusion.  I cruise to see new destinations. I like sea days but I don't consider them nearly as valuable as a day in port or scenic cruising.  Consequently, if I can see what I want in 7 days instead of 14 days, I will pay more per day.

This is why I am embarking on my first Azamara cruise on June 17.  It is a 12 day cruise with no sea days.  I am willing to pay a lot more for this.

On 5/5/2023 at 4:15 AM, SeaLegs23 said:

My new husband and I are heading to Norway from Southampton on the QM2 for our honeymoon, and we’d love any tips you have for first timers who’ve never done this before! 
 

My immediate question is about cash - do I need to take some USD with us for tips for things like room service, or is this included in the auto-tipping system I’ve read about…?

 

Aside from that, though, I really don’t know what I don’t know, so anything you think would be useful for newbies to Cunard to know, or specific recommendations for the QM2 would be super welcome! 😊

My wife and I were reluctant to sail on Cunard but gave a try to an east to west crossing on the QM2 last December.  We loved it.  A few tips below:

• The formal dress requirements are only on gala nights and can be avoided by spending time in venues were there are no formal dress requirements.
• Definitely go to tea in the Queen's Room several times.  It is a great spectacle usually with entertainment.
• There is a small, hidden, open kitchen Italian restaurant in the King's Court.  It has table service and a limited menu of a Caesar salad, pasta, and pizzas.  I tried it on one of the gala nights because my wife was sick and I did not want to get dressed up.  It was very good.
• In the Queen's Room in the mornings there are a series of mild exercise and line dancing classes.  They are fun and a great way to work off calories.  Feel free to wear gym clothes.  We were on the crossing where the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was performed.  One morning two of the cast members led a Bollywood dancing class.  It was delightful and could only happen on the QM2.
• The internet is dodgy but works in your room if you pry your cabin door open with a towel (this was a Guest Services recommendation).  Also, the internet works reasonably well in the Corinthia Lounge - a large delightful venue with plenty of seating space plus entertainment in the evening.
• The casino is a great place to play Black Jack.  In December, it was paying 3 to 2 on Black Jacks.  Most other cruise line casinos pay 6 to 5.

8 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Could those overcharges be part of the corporate strategy to whittle down the massive debt that Carnival Corporation is saddled with? Not everyone is going to be as diligent as you in finding them and then taking the time to have them corrected. Since it would be silly to assume this is only happening to you, are there massive lines of passengers demanding that overcharges be taken off their accounts?

Yes, but how many people are going to recognize and complain about undercharges?  I think it stands to reason we will hear a lot more about overcharges.

For those interested, there is a Roll Call underway for the Pole-to-Pole cruise.

There are likely fingerprints all over this knife, but there is no excuse.  This transition was poorly executed.  There should always be contingency plans.

If I were Oceania or Viking Ocean, I would come up with a clever advertising campaign to lure over the Azamara faithful.

I was becoming concerned because I finally was able to access my upcoming cruise on-line but it said I owed $2,400.  I knew I was paid in full and was concerned about cancellations.  I called Azamara early in the morning, around 8:00 am PDT, and stayed on hold for 15 minutes.  Finally I gave up and opted for the call back when it was my turn.  At 3:00 pm I got my call and the service representative was very pleasant and put my mind at ease.  She said all my payments were in their old system but had not yet been transferred.  I was assured my balance was zero and nothing would be cancelled.  She said the payments will catch up with the charges on the new website shortly.  

4 appetizers:

The Lobster Salad at the old Le Cirque pop up

Escargot in the MDR

Foie Gras at Rudis

Clotheline Bacon at Pinnacle

2 mains:

Beef Wellington in the Westerdam MDR (I only had it once and it was great...haven't had it recently)

Chicken Tikka Marsala in the Konnigsdam buffet

1 dessert:

Banana Crisp with scoop of vanilla ice cream

2 minutes ago, ORV said:

So I'm assuming the $200 wasn't on the table unless you took the Olife? 

I didn't try for that so I am not sure, but I think it is highly likely I could have gotten it from my TA anyway.

2 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

or you could have taken NO O LIFE  & just paid the $600  if you used it all at the end of the cruise

The OBC perk is NON REFUNDABLE

Enjoy the cruise

You are undoubtedly correct assuming my travel agent would have given me the extra $200 regardless.  I think I could have swung that deal, but I have no doubt we will use the $800 OBC.  

Just went through this exercise yesterday.  I wanted the O-Life perks without air.  The upcharge was $300 per person to the Cruise Only fare.  This did me no good because the perk I wanted was $600 OBC so there was no benefit.  I called my travel agent and got an additional $200 OBC for the same fare + upcharge.  Net result... I paid an additional $600 in upcharges for $800 in OBC that I will definitely use.  I had to prod my travel agent to get the extra $200.  I tried for more but to no avail.  Hopefully you can do better with your travel agent.

On 3/31/2022 at 10:05 PM, OlsSalt said:

Hanger Bacon in the Pinnacle - appetizer.

Could not agree more.  Best thing I ever ate on any HAL ship.

I am currently on the Kdam and asked the Casino Manager about this last night.  He said they are in the Ocean Bar only for the slots tournament on next week's cruise and will be removed immediately thereafter.  We'll see.

Right now the Ocean Bar has been taken over by slot machines.  It looks like a second casino!

Get friendly with the casino manager.  

9 hours ago, Dothan1952 said:

But if they end up with another Diamond Princess fiasco it will be the cruise line that will take the financial hit, not the non vaccinated passenger that caused it, its all about trying not to go bankrupt 

You are right, but cruise lines can decide not to do business in Florida.  I think this will all get worked out in the end.

At this point we should all understand the risks and make a personal decision.  The government nor the cruise lines are forcing you on-board.

I chose the option to pre-pay $750 and get $250 OBC.  I was tempted to prepay everything for the 10% dsicount and the $250 OBC but did not want to take the risk.  Also, the price is likely to go down anyway by more than 10% and I will likely rebook depending on what perqs I can keep.

If doing a 7 day round trip, Vancouver is best.  Inside passage, more time in Alaskan ports, and no time wasted in Canadian port to satisfy US maritime law.

5.  The spa treatments and thermal suite are fantastic.  I had four treatments on my last cruise and all were excellent.  No time wasted trying to sell me products and check-in was four questions answered on a tablet.  You only did this for your first treatment - not repeated for future treatments.  The thermal suite had a great variety of pools, showers, hot and cold rooms.  There was no charge and it was uncrowded.

If you are a seafood lover, the buffet had king crab legs, shrimp, and sushi everyday.  Many passengers would start their dinner with a seafood course in the buffet before going to dinner in one of the formal restaurants.

I’ve taken 3 Golden Circle tours.  Two of them included stops at the Kerid Crater.

I suffered the same frustration with the menus so I left the Viking site and simply entered "Viking Ocean Xiang menu" into Google.   There were several links returned.  Here is one from Cruise Critic with photos https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2679768-chefs-table-menus-la-route-des-indes-and-xiang/

On 10/23/2019 at 4:08 PM, Jack E Dawson said:

We flew Norwegian Airlines, round trip to London LGW, twice last year in their premium cabin, which I guess is their equivalent to Business Class lite. Very impressed, excellent service. They fly the 787 Dreamliner (not to be confused with the grounded 737 Max) over the ocean. This carbon-fiber plane is pressurized to a lower altitude so there is less stress on your body. The seats and leg-room were very good but they did not lay completely flat. The food is also very good but oddly, comes in a cleverly designed box. The TV screen serves as an interactive screen for ordering drinks and food which comes very quickly. In London, Norwegian Airlines has a lounge service for Premium passengers, that includes a full meal service, a nice touch. Considering that the pricing for the premium cabin is 50-60% below other major airlines, we plan to keep flying Norwegian, however, we ALWAYS purchase travel insurance for our cruises.

 

Jack

+1 on this post plus by creating an account on the Norweigan Air site I received a large credit for a future flight.  I used the credit for my flight from Bergen to London after my cruise on January 22.  The price for two tickets was $25 including baggage fees.  It's  no wonder they may be going bankrupt.  I hope they operate for a few more weeks.