SellaVee

This is in the By the a Glass menu. Our private shore excursion today was held up by a medical emergency and we returned to the ship a few minutes after 4. We'd had a very early breakfast and a mid morning snack ashore. This plus a late dinner reservation meant I ordered room service lunch. I was told that if I wanted a glass of wine with it, it would be chargeable as we're on the House Select package. This reinforces the wine with meals only during restaurant hours.

The current offering on Marina is Heidsieck Monopole Champagne. There is also a Prosecco and another sparkling wine, the name of which I can’t remember.

We're on Marina now. We changed from SBC to the House select package of wine and beer with meals after I worked out that we only needed to have fewer than 2 drinks a day to come out ahead. I've been very impressed with the service from the sommeliers on board. Our glasses are kept topped up and always with a smile. I ordered a glass of Pinot Blanc which had just been restocked and wasn’t chilled. The sommelier said she could chill it for me in 20 minutes and would I like a glass of something else in the meantime. Today I went to an enrichment lecture that ran on, and we were too late for lunch at the buffet. We were able to order from Waves grill and eat indoors. The wine service was closing so the sommelier suggested we had two drinks, which, for me, meant a large glass of wine. That was thoughtful. The problem with the Happy Hour is the 2 drinks have to be the same, and I doubt I could manage 2 cocktails before dinner.

@pinotlover It was in the Grand Dining Room, and has happened on more than one Oceania ship. You make an interesting point about conditioning to eat quickly. We've been to places in the UK where we've been told that we have to be finished by a certain time because the table is already booked and if we only plan to have one course we don’t mind. We never have just one course on a cruise, as each meal is "an event". @HartersWe, too, always choose a table for two unless we're invited to dine with an officer. So it's not as if there are a lot of plates to clear, and I think that's what makes it seem particularly rude to me. If we were both finished I’d be happy for them to be removed swiftly. @LHT28 In the UK there's an etiquette around dining that says if the knife and fork are place together in the 6 o'clock position, the diner is finished. If the knife and fork are apart, the diner is still eating, so don’t remove that plate. @Clutj I think you are right. It's a cultural thing, and we have to adapt.

We've sailed on Regatta, Insignia and Nautica, as well as Riviera, and the size of the bathrooms hasn't bothered me. I think it's because we've sailed both sailing yachts and a sports cruiser. When you're used to those bathrooms, or heads as they're called, anything the R ships have to offer is a delight. I've been in a hotel room in London where I did have to leave the door open to use the loo, and I'm not tall. @Harters I agree with you about training. It seems to leave no room for thinking. One thing I found odd was my husband's plate being cleared away while I was still eating. When I mentioned it in passing to a friendly maitre d' I was told that that was what they were trained to do. I thought it was a bit rude that we were interrupted during most of our main courses while someone removed a dinner plate. On more than one cruise I've seen managers criticise a staff member in full view of passengers. Once it was a staff member who had gone to get me something that had run out. That doesn't encourage initiative. We're about to go on our first cruise post pandemic. I'll be interested to see how we get on.

Humble apologies, I did mean Windstar and Oceania as you correctly thought. We did a longer itinerary, so I didn't compare prices with Windstar (or O). Value for money, and itineraries are the things I look at most. One of the things I like about O is that I can choose the itinerary, then pick a stateroom to fit my budget.

You know the bit where I wrote "I will say that I found the passengers on board a good bit louder and more exuberant than on either WS or PG. This is not meant as a criticism."?

Good luck with that. I’ve seen cruise passengers that don’t even know how to turn taps off, and lots of people don’t bother to wash their hands.

We love the Windstar sailing ships, and will soon take our 5th Oceania cruise, but for FP we chose Paul Gauguin, and absolutely loved it. It was great spending time with the Gauguines, and we loved everything about it. I will say that I found the passengers on board a good bit louder and more exuberant than on either WS or PG. This is not meant as a criticism. It was strange at first because both the other lines can bye very quiet. There was a French group on board who were great fun at the karaoke. It was a very jolly experience. We're from the UK, so FP is a big commitment of both time and money. We spent some time in Santa Monica, them more time in Moorea, so that we were completely over the jet lag by the time we boarded. If I was to do it again I'd go back on the PG.

@vlthom and @Woofa, it was because Marina hasn’t been refurbished that I thought to ask about USB ports. We were in Sicily last month and took and adapter and my 3 pin plug with us as we were staying in some very old hotels. I found it a bit clunky so I've ordered a plug with both European and UK fittings so that I can use it both at home and on holiday, and it has 4 ports. I’m sure we have a US adapter somewhere. I'm pleased we'll have so many European sockets even though we'll probably use just one. I am surprised that Oceania doesn’t have enough plug adapters on sale because I really thought we would have ports in the room and it was only the discussion of the delay to Marina's refurb that made me thing maybe not. I wonder how many people get caught out.

Thanks @Snaefell3. I've gone for an Anker plug in type that has both European and UK options. I agree that it's tidier in use. I needed a new European style fitting in any case. I'm just glad I thought about it before I got onboard.

Thank you @FlyerTalker. I already have an Anker powerbank for charging my phone "on the go" , so I know the brand. I have a fairly solid 3 pin plug with 3 ports that charges my devices pretty well, but it's a bit clunky to attach it to a plug adapter. I think I'll look for one with a European plug, as I’m more likely to use it again than a US plug, and there might be a voltage problem. If I buy a UK one I'll still have the plug problem.

I'm struggling to find up to date information on whether Marina has USB ports in the cabins. If not, what is the best option? I have a standard UK plug that has 3 USB ports built in, but this would need an adaptor. For UK devices should I just get a European version of a plug with multiple ports?

So does that mean you've no plans to cruise on any of Oceania's ships?

Neither did I. I thought it was funny, and was going to ask if I could come to the party!

This couple weren't on Oceania, and had never cruised before, so not very cruise savvy. I've gotten used to paying gratuities and it saves running around with envelopes at the end. I have never been offered free gratuities by a travel agent, though I did once get them as a perk from Oceania. Nor have I ever been offered a rebate, but I do shop around and try to get a discount. I like to get more than one quote, from both online and high street. I don't think there are many high selling Oceania agents in the UK, compared to the US simply because the market is so much smaller. Agents get more commission back from O depending on how much they sell.

Is soap powder or liquid supplied, or dispensed by a coin op machine. I remember there being a very small charge back in the day.

We've mainly cruised with Windstar and Oceania, so I've been used to paying gratuities, but friends of ours on their first cruise got a real shock when they found they had to pay them.

Two weeks from today we'll be on board Marina, and all I have received so far from Oceania is an online check in instruction, plus a few brochures regarding sales etc, and a letter suggesting we might like to book another cruise.

Thanks, @basor, that's very useful to know. The metal water bottles are a new thing since we last cruised with O.

Are water bottles being provided, and are there binoculars in the stateroom?

Is it really any of your business? Maybe keep in mind what is your business, and what isn't. Just a suggestion.

I saw a programme once about a town that had fairly recently become a cruise port. The staff in the charity shops (thrift stores?) were interviewed and they said ships' crew would come in and buy quite a lot. Duvet covers were popular apparently. Imagine they bring food aboard for variety.

Having you considered looking on the website for the new fare? You can no longer get the O Life promo fares, if that's what you mean, but if that's what you’ve already booked you can, I believe, keep it, or you can choose to move to Simply More and pay any supplement that's required. The (new) Simply More fare always comes with excursion credit and the basic drinks package. I learned all this by reading the very many previous posts on this subject. I might find it annoying that we have to pay for amenities we don’t want, but I don’t see that it's confusing. It's been explained on her countless times!

I expect it will be the same as it always has been with some people on a plan, some bringing their own wine on board, some buying wine by the glass or bottle, and some not drinking alcohol at all. They've been coping for decades, what makes you think there will suddenly be a problem?