babysteps

We were on Nautica this spring (2023) and yes we docked close in at both Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City - no hours-long transfers required. HCM the O provided shuttle was frequent (ish) and short, or you could simply walk out. Tip: to get the HoHo bus, the shuttle is easier especially for day 1 than the nearby-tiny-paved-median-island stop. Bangkok the R ship port is close in but not really walkable, the shuttle is longish and doesn't quite get all the way to River Phraya center of city. Still waaay closer than big-ship saltwater dock!

Did I miss it, or has no one mentioned reminders? It's part of the charm of sea days that I completely miss things I wanted to go to because I got involved in something else that was absorbing...

We've just shipped luggage once. We were boarding in Trieste for 21 days but staying in Venice before for 3 days. Didn't want to pack super light (under-pack?) nor did we want to lug fully packed 21 days of luggage through Venezia. So we shipped one large checked bag and took personal-item sized carry ons (well, 2 each not 1 each - but still, very manageable).

The library has a wide if sometimes random range of books. Yes there are travel guides, but assume the ones for the region you are visiting will be borrowed by the first few folks onboard. Useful for studying your future cruise choices is how I think of it.

I have sensitive hearing and we have noticed this on at least 1 Insignia and 1 Nautica trip. But not on our other trips so ymmv. For us this was not loud enough overall to be annoying and didn't happen at all during our personal 'quiet hours' so wasn't an issue for us.

Oh I know that O does not confiscate booze, we regularly bring on an entire case of wine to begin and random spirits as we go along. I was just trying to see if there was an actual exception to what we all know is standard practice, or if this was a mis-remembering from a different cruise line. Apparently Cozumel is the culprit lol - I can attest that we brought back a few bottles of tequila and perhaps one other kind of spirit at Cozumel on two separate O cruises with no "collection" issues.

Hey @Pandazoo could you share which ship and port O collected your alcohol to hold? We're headed back to the Carribean on O in December and would love your insight! On our 4 Carribean heavy O cruises so far we've purchased alcohol on each one with nothing collected. 3 of 4 post-covid O segments we have brought spirits and wine onboard with nothing collected but none of that has been in the Carribean...

Does Dublin use port staff or use O folks for the checkin? Port staff check ins may close well before an hour prior to a later/evening sail away. That was our experience in Barcelona. We were fine but the concierge desk was busy trying to contact not-yet-checked-in people.

Last year (August 2022) we took a ferry on our own from Sorrento to Capri and back. Checking in for our return, our ferry was cancelled! Instead they directed us to a different company's slower ferry. If we hadn't been early checking in we would have been on a later ferry and missed all aboard time! Definitely enjoyed our day - just advise building a little extra 'what if' time into planning when using ferries independently from Sorrento⛴️

Cocktail dress will be fine. Some days that is what I wear, other days a top and slacks or skirt. Depending on itinerary, you may be slightly dressier than average but still well within the norm.

Yes dessert wines are sweet, some sweeter than others. Many are also lower in alcohol since the fermentation is stopped before all the sugar is converted to alcohol.

I think two things may both be true at once - #1 contractually the cruise company takes on no liability for third party arrangements, either air or excursions. #2 In practice, ships work much harder to (or perhaps have more control in situations where they need to) collect ships' excursion passengers than they do to embark delayed air passengers.

This is true! The Nautica cabin ceilings are magnetic. Endimium magnets with hooks work well

We have had an extended balcony 3 or 4 times iirc on O class. Once we requested loungers after boarding (and received them), the other times loungers were already there. Possibly this is a new permanent policy for A class. Also possible is they don't yet have a full stock of loungers on board Vista. Time will tell!

You can arrange to drop off your bottle ahead of time - they can even open and decant at a given time if you wish. Also if you know you will drink certain bottles in the restaurants, your can hand over the bottles ahead of time (And corkage may be charged them iirc). Then you can summon the bottle by your cabin number. We decided it was easier for all to simply carry the bottle from our cabin.

We aren't on Vista until 2025. If the pacing is unchanged, I anticipate ordering just appetizers and then at some delay selecting mains... And I might bring my earplugs!

I have snatched success from the jaws of defeat by asking for chili paste ( including my ice cream lol). But seriously, a bit of over-explaining while ordering often-not-always helps. Had to chuckle about your gristle comment. Gristle should not be there, and yet I rather enjoy it and recall Athenaeus's advice that it is rude to rejoice in gristle... I concede that my tolerance for gristle is.... 'unusual'

If you are using a TA they likely have a form letter from O for your cruise detailing all visa requirements. That was our experience for Feb 2023 Nautica cruise as US based passengers. I think our TA checked with us at least 3 times to make sure all was in order

Agree staying by airport makes the most sense. Depending on your preferences and timing you could do Alilaguna one way and bus the other. Bus is faster but not a boat and while in Venice...

I thumbtype slow lol - what @LHT28 said I don't know about vegetarian. I can confirm that they can (with notice) accomodate gluten free. In my experience the trickiest spot to get food restrictions is at wine or spirits tasting events. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's a scramble, sometimes it just doesn't happen. Restricted diet protocols do seem more reliable post-Covid restart.

We have galaxy phones but use Tile and not the Samsung version. More phones connected seemed like a good idea. Just replaced the batteries for the first time after almost a year. I keep one on the pouch my wallet is in.

Yes good point. Our next flights are actually domestic so no Premium Economy but we are in seats with more legroom vs 'standard' economy. We did do PE 3 cruises ago for the overnight-to-Europe segment and it is a nice option imo when priced a bit above economy, not so compelling when priced a bit less than business. Every.single.flight can have different pricing, ita matrix is my friend!

The business class air issue, is this a fair summary? All please chime in if this isn't quite right- DIY biz class can be spendy biz class through O typically costs more than DIY on select other cruise lines, biz class can be (significantly) less than DIY We hadn't flown business class in decades but 5 of our last 6 segments have been international biz class. All on miles so DIY, but out next 2 flights are economy so...our travel plans can vary widely for each trip lol

Hm - I think there are two different 'how complicated' paths and I know I'm confusing and blending them! Path 1, a new booking - here Simply More does seem simpler than old O-Life. Old version 4 choices of fare basis and for 2 of those, another choice of 3 amenities, and also some air choices. Choice one, fare basis, cruise only, or air only, or O-Life only, or O-Life + air. Choice two, if selecting O-Life, which of the 3 amenities - set number of excursions, OBC to use on anything onboard, or house beverage package. Air one way or both, any deviations etc New version 2 choices of fare basis and also some air choices. Fare basis either SimplyMore with air or Simply more without air. No change for air (one way or both, any deviations etc) Path 2, an existing booking. Figuring out whether to switch into Simply More is Simply-a-lot-of-Details! What your in-force fare is, and what OBC or amenities that came with, vs. new SM fair and its amenities - there are a lot of moving parts and depending on your habits and goals the same math may lead to different folks making different choices. Example: if you don't now have the drinks package, and the change to SM would cost less than adding the drinks package - if you are a drinker, you may not change because it's no deal for you. If you are a drinker you may happily change. If you are a drinker but you don't like O tours, you might not change because you want to keep (lower) OBC you could use on bottles of wine, etc and not take on new (higher) SM $ that can be used only for excursions I think Simply More is less complicated than O-Life, and also less flexible. For us it's a forced price increase vs old cruise-only. Even after the price increase O pricing is attractive enough to not drop O, but it does mean there are fewer compelling (that is cheap) voyages.

I started a booking just to see - those check marks are grayed out, you cannot change them (at least not at this time). Another data point, 12 day Insignia Dec 5 2023 Bridgetown to Miami, Deluxe Ocean View O-Life no air booked ESS $2749 this past week, now Simply More without air $2749 so no difference. But our category is now waitlisted so this may not matter to others! We'll stick with old O-Life since $600 to use anyplace onboard is worth more to us than $800 to use on excursions (only). An October 11 Trieste to Rome that waitlisted before we booked ESS is now showing much higher than ESS and is still waitlisted - we were waiting to see the Simply More pricing before making a deposit. With the higher pricing, we won't be signing up for that one!