jakes47

.... may I add - when making your own tag try to add the cabin category colour. It makes it easier for the baggage handlers. eg: I think is something like this but you may need confirm first - White- B to G cabins. Silver - A. Gold - PH. Black/Gold -suites

We cruised in August and only received e-docs which was ok by us - however we had been warned about the luggage tags and were informed that we would have to do them on arrival dock side. Some one here suggested to make our own so I ordered something like this.... https://www.amazon.com.au/Luggage-Reuseable-Baggage-Suitcase-Identify/dp/B0C5MBNRS7/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=3T4FQNJEV3OK3&keywords=cruise%2Bluggage%2Btags&qid=1699218443&sprefix=cruise%2Bluggage%2Btags%2Caps%2C313&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1 ...then made my own tag to fit. We were so glad we did as many were queuing at the dock to fill out their tags and we just headed straight past.

Yes - we booked through a TA cruise specialist and there was nothing they could do due to the timing we were lock into. The cruise was reduced $4000 AUD each. On other cruises the reductions were picked up well in advance and TA was able to get the cheaper deal. This reduction was done well after we had made the final payment and only for one leg of our B2B cruise.

Our recent Oceania cruise experience has forced us to become Oceania refugees - but I do pop in here from time to time out of habit 😉. IMHO Oceania is cost cutting and has no Good Will policy - it is all about what they can get out of us for as little cost to them and they are not discreet about doing this. Our last cruise price was reduce dramatically after our final payment date and there was nothing we could do about it - nor did we receive any compensation. Not a nice way to start our cruise vacation. This whole situation is no surprise to me and only confirms we have made the right decision to use another cruise line.

I was drinking Virgin Mojitos on the Riviera in August - no charge. I did try to order from the Mocktail menu several times and they said they were unavailable. The Virgin Mojito was not on the list but it was very nice with lots of mint.

LOL - My Bad! But ... I didn't say "only" attract..... On our last Riveria Cruise, at 67 we felt like we were the younger ones and the activities ranged from needle point to trivia.

We had a very poor experience on our August cruise on Riviera - so much so we cancelled our 32 day, 2025 cruise and have booked with Seabourn. We like the V suites on SB, more so than the PH on the Riviera. We have never found O cuisine that special and Seabourn, from memory, was a bit more consistent. We loved the attention to the small things on SB - like staff remembering your name and drinks preference etc. We loved the marina days, beach parties, caviar and other special events on SB. SB seems to attack slightly younger passengers and I love not having to produce my card to buy a drink.

Yes - I have to agree. The baskets and bread station in the terrace were amazing - we loved the Baguettes. 👍

No - Once the final payment is made, it is in stone. To do this after all the final payments came in was so obvious and an insult. In the past we would catch a reduction before the final payment and were able enjoyed the benefit. I really hope that our experience is not the same for others. I hope we were just unlucky. Oceania had such a great product.

We were on the Riviera for 28 days until the 2nd of September. Our previous Cruise with Oceania was in 2018. This was an eventful cruise but will put that aside when I tell you that this cruise indicated that Oceania has changed significantly in so many little ways that all added up to cost cutting. Previously we gave Oceania's food 4 stars. This cruise 2 stars and if we had been served some of the food we experienced at a restaurant at home, we would never eat there again. It was so inconsistent we would actually feel a tad anxious before entering a dinning venue. We enjoyed beautiful slice of Beef wellington in the terrace one night then the next night the steak from the grill was so tuff it was inedible. The only time we found consistency was at the breakfast buffet. The inconsistency was was more that just food - it was in all areas. May be we were unlucky but ours were B2B cruises and it was the same on both. The warning sign was there for us when after our final payment was made they significantly reduce the fare on the first cruise and there was nothing we could do about it. They just don't seem to care any more. Sad!

Steven Campbell.

I will assume you were not on this cruise. Nothing was said about nice people not needing assistance - not sure where you got that from. Let we tell you more about us and let you imagine what we experienced. We are not spring chickens. However we are able to get to our muster station. We would be able to get into a life boat if needed. We are able to find our cabin. We are able to feed ourselves. We are both fully continent. We do not have dementia. We are steady on our feet to be able to get on and off the ship. (I know that many requested assistance prior to the cruise, but many more did not which did cause problems). When the day comes that this changes - we will not be cruising - for the comfort and safety of all on board.

I couldn’t agree more - The Cruise Director and his his off sider were the worst we have sailed with and my husband and I also joke about feeling like we were in a nursing home. That may sound disrespectful but we witnessed 5 serious falls in the first 2 days. When we would hear “Code Mike” we would say - “oh dear - another one down”. I believe O was reading here as on the last couple of days there was an announcement and a note in the Currents regarding hygiene and sanitising. So glad to be off the ship and now enjoying London. We have canceled our 2025 Oceania cruise.

I haven’t gone through all the posts but couldn’t agree more. They cant have an app until they do something about the wifi. We were on the Riviera for 28 days unit the 2nd September. The ship is in a time warp when it comes to IT. Their TV is so outdated and even their account system is unnecessarily complicated. It would frustrate me to just to send an email. Send to one person and it might leave the outbox within an hour but if you cc to others it was much longer. I had one that kept returning my outbox for 2 days. Until they get the ship WIFI sorted I don’t see an app for the older ships in the near future.

Agree - but i think Oceania failed in there duty of care.

I would like to share my covid experience on our current B2B Cruises. We are doing B2B cruises on the Rivera. We left Oslo on the 5th August for the first leg - then on the Wednesday 23rd departing Portsmouth for the second cruise. The first was most enjoyable and went with out a hitch but when the new passengers boarded in Portsmouth it was a different story. The ship was full and it was obvious to my husband and I that many boarded with sniffles and coughs. We would move seats to avoid them and joked about it being “Covid Central”. The main problem was no one seem to cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing We witnessed on several occasions people blowing their noses on the cloth serviettes in the Terrace Cafe. It would seem that all the lessons we were taught during covid have gone out the window. The day before and after embarkation were sea days and the second cruise day was at the port of Newcastle. I awoke on the third day (Saturday) feeling unwell and doing the right thing decided to do one of the Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) we had bought from home. It was positive. My husband and I went on the Oceania site and Googled in search of up to date Covid protocol on board and found nothing. I decided I needed to report this as there are a lot of elderly passengers on board and we should do the right thing. We had an appointment with the medical teem that confirmed I was positive but my husband was negative and we were told we had to isolate until the 1st September - the day before we disembarked. I asked how many others had reported in and they said none. We believe there are people with symptoms among the passengers on this ship that have continued to go out and about and that time will tell a different story. My husband and I are not terribly social especially since Covid . We dine at a table for 2. We might chat to the couple at the next table but pretty much keep to our selves. The only time we mixed with others was the night we left Portsmouth when we went to the Riviera lounge for the show. We move seats twice to get away from the coughing. And the following night at the Captains cocktails in Horizons where we joked about Covid Central and left after 1 drink. As I write this I feel back to normal but we still have 3 more days of isolation only to come out in time to pack our bags and leave the ship. My husband is still negative but he has missed the cruise but for 1 port also. I can’t confirm where I got this from - only have strong suspicions. Yes -we do sanitise and wash our hands at every opportunity. No - we did not wear masks but would avoid crowded situations. Yes - we are 5x vaccinated What would we do next time : Wear a mask in crowded venues. Always carry RATs with us and test if symptoms appear. If positive stay in our cabin until symptom free - then wear a mask when out of our room. To our fellow passenger and future passengers - Please, Please, Please -cover you mouths when coughing and sneezing. Wash your hands. Use the sanitising stations. Wear a mask if you have suspicious symptoms then test yourself and take appropriate precautions to not spread this to others. Nobody wants to miss a cruise due to illness but it is so incredibly selfish to ignore your symptoms and infect others. Serviettes are not for blowing your nose. The advantages of reporting the positive covid test are - all our O tours were refunded and documents are supplied to claim on insurance. I was prescribed antiviral and antibiotic meds. The medical team are great and check in daily. Could Oceania do anything differently? I think they could be proactively offering masks again and check on people who are showing symptoms. I would like to hear daily announcements on the importance of hygiene with specific instruction on health care and recommended procedures for those feeling unwell. Covid is still out there so please take precautions and be mindful of others.

We are on board the Riviera now. We have booked an extended cruise in 25- cabin 10035 - right opposite the lift. I have been anxious about this so took the opportunity to consult the current occupants as they emerged from their suite the other night. They said they don’t hear anything from the lifts and it is always their position of choice. Hope this helps.

2 months ago we saw a $3500AUD pp reduction in our 32 day 2025 cruise. Our TA was able to change to the cheaper fare. Now Simply More has come out and it feels like we have had another win as we usually do a mixture of O and private tours and pay for the basic beverage package so for the extra $1000 pp cost of SM we are ahead again and very grateful. I noticed on the Ausie O web site it says SM includes Specialty Dinning - which seems a little odd as Specialty Dining has always been included , so has Gratuities for Australians. I am wondering if down the track, those that opt out of SM will have to pay for Specialty Dinning?

Oceania's web site is always hit and miss which IMO is unacceptable in 2023. Last week I logged in to book another shore excursion for our August 5th cruise, - it told me I had no booked cruises. In a panic I contacted my TA and she contacted O. Later that day it was back up and running. I believe they need to address the situation as it does not in-still confidence in the brand when their first point of contact is a faulty website. eg: I had a situation when ordering an airport transfer with a company recommended to me. Their website was so full of glitches that I dismissed them went with another recommened company who had a more streamlined system.

Our cruise line experience is limited but I watch for itineraries of SB and O's large ships. I tend to look towards O when open ocean is involved and SB for calmer seas just because of the size of the ships. SB is the first site I go to when looking for a cruise but we have booked more cruises with O. With O we book PH but with SB we book verandah suite and were surprise how well the verandah suite works for us and actually like it better than the Ph on O because of the curtains that separated the bed and sitting area. I am an early to bed person compared to my husband who like to sit up and watch a bit of TV. We loved the fact we never had to produce our cards for drinks. Our very first cruise was on NCL and even though it was a great introduction to cruising I could go back to the larger ships with constant noise, general standard of behaviour, queues, the nickel and dimming etc. If we were cruising 2+ time a year I suppose I would be looking out for greener pastures just for a change but for now we are sticking with what we know and are comfortable with.

Ours definitely states gratuities included in our fare and we have never had it placed on our onboard account. I think it must be different rules for other countries. Just noted that the OP is from US so my comment is completely irrelevant - Sorry 🤐

In Australia - our Gratuities are included in our fare. I suspect other countries also include this. I am surprised if you are saying the US doesn't.

I could not agree more about the flavourless cookies - I tried them once and never again which is probably a good thing. I also found the Madeleines equally flavourless - also a good thing or I would munching on them all day. So - I am happy for then to stay as they are or I'll be carrying even more excess baggage at the end of our next cruise.😁

Wow - that PH carpet really rules the room. The one in B3 is nice and seems to blend in more IMO. Looking forward to seeing it in person on our August cruise.

We like to stick to the rules and hope that O enforces those rules - However I certainly wont be waisting my valuable cruise time looking down my nose and judging others as you never know the circumstances. Maybe her luggage went missing. I don't think she deserves to be photographed and placed on social media like this - I find this equally distasteful.