Momnipotent

I'm surprised the all aboard time is only 30 minutes before departure time. On Oceania it's always 1 hr. We usually take private tours but in third world ports like that it's not worth the risk. All the news articles are lacking information about the timing of the various events that happened, I'd like to know more. Story of a stop in Mombasa, Kenya in 2015. We did a private tour, no problem. The ship had a tour to Nairobi, this was right when the Pope was visiting Nairobi. The road for the return bus trip to the port was a nightmare traffic jam that lasted 3 days. The bus was full of elderly travelers, couldn't get off the bus because of security concerns, no toilets, armed guards. Departure time was supposed to be 6pm I think. The bus finally reached the ship around midnight and we departed. What a nightmare for them.

It was very cold outside, otherwise I would have loved to use our balcony. Exactly, selfish people. They don't know how to cover a cough, or choose not to be treated when they feel ill. So many coughing into their hands, then touching handrails, elevator buttons, etc. I think pre-board testing would be great, but realize that will never happen. So glad to hear you'll be masking, I wish healthy cruising for everyone.

I am curious to hear how other cruise lines treat their guests who test positive onboard during a cruise. We recently were on Oceania, and we both tested positive about 3 weeks into our cruise. The Medical Center was efficient but outrageously expensive. We had a $5K+ bill for testing, some IV, two Paxlovid and Z-packs. We were escorted to our cabin and threatened to be disembarked if we broke our 5-day quarantine. We are lucky that our butler fulfilled a few requests, answered questions, and brought our meals. I was shocked that there was no written info provided for us to know how things would be handled. We had to figure it all out. Our housekeepers were replaced by two men in hazmat suits, changing our sheets while we cowered in the corner. I asked for a free 2nd wifi account (I had already paid for a 2nd account) but all they did was "upgrade" us to the premium account, which had no discernible difference from the regular. Then suddenly on the 5th day we were free to leave our cabin to go to the Medical Center to be released from quarantine. The first 12 day leg of our cruise was FULL of people coughing. We mostly stayed to ourselves, but it's difficult on elevators, tenders, dining rooms. We were fully vaxxed and had avoided covid until now. I feel that the exorbitant rates in the Medical Center discourage sick people from seeking treatment. I feel that placing hand sanitizing stations and a few signs around the ship is not sufficient to keep guests healthy. They frequently say they're keeping us "safe" by skipping ports, but what about keeping us healthy? Oceania is good about not letting guests serve themselves at the buffet; and a few days there was plastic wrap across the buffet openings. This Penthouse cruise cost us over $1300/day, I'm waiting to see if my travel insurance will reimburse us for those 5 days and medical expenses. Let me know your experience.

Lerwick, Shetland Islands was one, I forget which the other was. They also shortened our times in many of the ports due to their "Sail and Sustain" environmental program. Over our two legs, our time in ports was shortened by 13.5 hours. Just sounds like cost cutting to me.

We're on the Riviera, it was our favorite ship. Regarding the food: there have been 4 "Scandinavian" nights and 4 "British Isles" nights. Repetitious and bad. Food prep is uneven, overcooked mostly. I'd love some simple vegetables, but all the ones I tried were cooked to mush. There's only one really good salad in all of the specialty restaurants, the rest are just weird. There are 3 breakfast items that we like, but they are frequently out of them. All of the servers and crew are still terrific. The refurbished Penthouse cabins are great, especially the bathrooms. Also, after boarding they announced that there were several more tender ports than originally stated. Shouldn't they know that ahead of time? Two of the four missed ports were repeat stops from the first leg of our cruise, so we weren't as bothered by some of the other guests. We were sad to miss cruising through Prince Christian Sound.

It's most likely to "happen" when infected people are coughing in elevators, buses, dining rooms and don't bother to cover, then touch railings, doorknobs, etc. We all know how it's spread. I fantasize about one cruise line declaring you must be tested before boarding (I realize this won't happen). I hope your upcoming cruises are great, and all passengers remain healthy. Now I'll go pay our $5k Medical Center bill.

I'd be curious to hear your assessment of O after your next cruise. We are currently on our first cruise back since 2019. Our 15th O cruise. I used to sing their praises as best bang for your buck. I loved the food, the artist Loft, the Culinary Center, alcohol not included, no art auctions or photographer, no formal nights or specific meal times, etc. This time, we see a big change in the food. Not much change in the menus, lots of repetition and running out of things we like. The worst is all the coughing passengers, elevators and tenders are covid filled. We ended up sick after about two weeks and the Medical Center fees are exorbitant. No wonder the sick people don't go to the Medical Center, it's SO expensive. We've missed several ports to keep us "safe" but what about keeping us"healthy "? I would say that the crew is still generally terrific. The Simply More program holds no benefit for us. We've decided to cancel a 2024 cruise we had booked. Just not interested anymore. It's a shame.

I would like to see the cruise line require a negative test before boarding, but I realize that won't happen. We never shared tables or went to the shows. You will always have to ride elevators, shuttles and tenders with others. I'm truly at a loss as to how to avoid it because I feel like we were quite careful.

Yes, quietly placed all around the ship. We ran into several that were empty. There are some notices, and I do commend them for not letting guests serve themselves at the buffet. But more should be done. It's our first cruise since 2019. Our 15th with Oceania. We have one more in November and I think that'll be it for us. It's too bad.

Exam, blood work, IV antiviral and antibiotic, meds.

Ugh, we were on that leg and stayed on for the next leg. We are currently quarantined in our cabin because now we have covid. Fully vaxxed and avoided covid until now. That first leg we couldn't believe how much coughing, rudeness and poorly dressed passengers there were. We kept referring to it as the Wild West. Very upset that O isn't doing more to keep passengers healthy. Spent $50k on this cruise and now stuck in our cabin for 5 days. At least the Medical Center squeezed $5k out of us.

Riding the Sandworm now. Bought the Grenen bus ticket for 5USD or 5€ cash right off the ship. Then when you arrive there are credit card machines for the Sandworm ticket. 35DKK. Very hot on the bus and the Sandworm. Lots of people coughing. Still worth seeing.

We will have lots of luggage, so are choosing a private transfer to Heathrow from Portsmouth. I found a company that has been great to deal with so far. Get a quote from Gunwharf Executive Travel.