cruiseaholic78

One thing to consider is that this is the school holidays so Schiphol will probably be a bit of a madhouse! Great itinerary by the way however while you are in Amsterdam why not take the advice of others above and stay (at least) one night. No worries if you will be in time and such a relaxing end to a cruise. Here is some more info about the port. https://www.whatsinport.com/Amsterdam.htm Happy planning. Rosalyn

Here is some useful general information, if you are looking for something different regarding pre cruise hotel you could look at the old SS Rotterdam. https://www.whatsinport.com/Rotterdam.htm https://ssrotterdam.nl/ happy planning Rosalyn

We were also on this cruise and are still waiting for any reaction from Oceania except confirmation of receipt of our mail. I have now contacted our TA about this so we will see if we get any further. Apart from total loss of power for about four hours one evening the lost ports and shortening one port visit it was an amazing cruise. We have spoken to many first time Oceania cruisers who were adamant that this was their last with them. So many new customers lost due to a total lack of consideration but as I mentioned before as long as there are wait lists for their cruises they really don’t seem to care.

If you booked them onboard don’t US conditions apply? Or did you transfer to a local UK based T.A.?

We were also on that cruise and sent our complaints on 27th January, until now we have only had a confirmation from Oceania saying they have received our mail. Based on the above I think its time to contact our T.A. and see if they can do anything for us. We are based in The Netherlands.

We have had a few receptions there, eaten in the restaurant and DH has stayed overnight (it was a business do). I can’t imagine any better place to start a cruise holiday. Try using a water taxi its great fun and they can drop you off at your SS hotel. https://rotterdamnetherlands.com/water-taxi-rotterdam/ Happy planning Rosalyn

I understand your frustration about the other details but I have now read this a few times and keep seeing new itinerary has Amsterdam instead of IJmuiden which I thought is what you wanted.

We met up with some friends and gave it away, they loved the idea. Similarly I always used to keep the bed chocolates and take them into work, now I am retired and there were rather a lot on our 35 days cruise I took them ashore with me. I asked the customs lady if she liked chocolate, she did but as government official was not allowed to accept anything! DH claims I tried to bribe an official. So I took them into town on the shuttle and gave them to the volunteers there. Rosalyn

Here another advocate of sea-bands, after an extremely bumpy ride on an excursion at the end of the day and being hungry I departed the coach (and then a tender) a weird shade of green. Talked to friends on the ship about this dreading a long excursion to Borabodur the next day when she suggested using seabands I said I didn’t believe in them but she said try them anyway and they really do work. Our coach plus police escort went from one side of the road to the other no chance of focusing on the horizon! DH kept asking me are you ok ? and I was. Rosalyn

On our Regatta circumnavigation in December why did people need a proper internet service? To try to find excursions when Oceania suddenly cancelled them! To tell their Operators on private tours when Oceania cancelled our port day or changed the times in port! Rosalyn

We did the same spent ages going back and forth trying to do this, gave up in the end. When on the ship we recvd a link for an online form we had to fill in which generated a Q code which we then had on our phones and we were also given a paper form to fill in. So armed with Q code copy of passport (always have one with you, also useful to get senior deductions for museums etc) yellow book we went through to leave the ship for a wander. They only looked at the Q code and and we were good to go, not sure what happened with the form though. That said we do have the Yellow book showing all our vaccinations. Many on our roll call said they had also tried and given up! Happy planning Rosalyn

AIDA has a special deck FKK which allows for nudity, anywhere/everywhere else is clothing compulsory. Rosalyn

The aft cabins on deck four have larger verandas, 4152 and 4154 are the best but quickly sold out. This is a useful website to check cabin/veranda reviews. Happy planning Rosalyn https://halfacts.com/

We always mention how much help CC can be for other cruisers, I always say that it is definitely not criticism (well ok sometimes) and everyone always tries to help. Rosalyn

No, its more important to check what is above you than below, as said above we think the VB cabins deck four near the aft are the best. Rosalyn

Actually I understand that has only recently been stopped on HAL( not for 1st class passengers though) he was called the Yum yum man and our group started cheering him on. This was quickly taken up by everyone in the bar! I think he enjoyed all the attention. Rosalyn

Now I understand, seriously I never saw these ones when we were in Japan, even my brother has a toilet with shower function and music. I’m not sure where but I really saw this sign somewhere on my travels I think it was Kuranda Australia.

Sorry but I have to ask, we have been to Tokyo twice and leaving to return next week, but what did you find challenging? I have found them to be the cleanest we have ever encountered anywhere even in public parks supplies of ample wc paper. Rosalyn

Maybe this could help. https://ca.dayuse.com/s/canada/british-columbia/greater-vancouver Happy planning Rosalyn

When looking at R class Oceania cabins you can always pop over to the Azamara site as most of the cabins are identical. Always check the deck plans to see if this is applicable for the ones you might/want. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=445677 Happy planning Rosalyn

I always used to use and look at booking sites for pre cruise hotels but soon found that (especially in Asia) booking direct is often much better. There will of course be no language problem, just always book with the option to cancel and payment on arrival which is understandably a little more expensive. You can then always check if the rate has gone down and rebook, we booked pre cruise for Tokyo last February for this month, now rates are more than double. We are flying to Tokyo pre cruise (Australia) to visit family this month after more than 5 cancellations. So excited. Happy planning Rosalyn

I know it was your last update but I would like to add Oceania Regatta to the list as we will be boarding her on 12th December. So looking forward to visiting Sydney/Australia again, 35 days circumnavigation! Rosalyn

I would suggest the Limousine bus, they are available both from Haneda and Narita, it is a luxury bus with plenty of room for luggage and they stop at most of the Tokyo hotels including the Hilton (Shinjuku one, great, we are there in December again). This will definitely save you some cruise $'s especially if you book your own hotel. If you can choose Haneda is a lot nearer than Narita. We found the underground quite friendly to use to plan our trips just get a good map and people are always friendly and willing to help. Happy planning Rosalyn

Many cruise companies provide a shuttle service to the town centre, maybe you can check this pre cruise.. We have done this and walked back (its quite a tipple though) Happy planning Rosalyn

Slightly off topic. Reading this as an overseas senior visitor I have a question, we are (finally) coming to Australia and will be spending a week pre cruise in Sydney before commencing our circumnavigation of Australia. We originally planned on getting Opal cards at the airport but after reading info decided to go the easier CC route. So if I am reading this correctly we need different CC accounts which we have but we are used to always having a senior reduction on public transport. Is this still possible with a) using CC or b) with an Opal card or is this only available to citizens with a special senior card? Rosalyn