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A couple of our grandsons have allergies - one celiac, another milk and oat, another annato (the gold color) in Mac and cheese, many of the yellow cheeses, it’s even used in baked goods to get that golden brown color. Anyway, we took them on Regatta last July and daughters met with Food and Beverage director, Restaurant Manager and Executive Chef on embarkation day. They worked out the details, and did mostly well. we ordered a gluten free margarita pizza one night and unfortunately in the translation, they brought 3 extra large pizza’s for a 7 year old! They made sure at tea time that the grandsons had their own little sandwiches, scones and pastries. We are taking them all on Riviera this July and daughters said they will bring some US snacks, a bottle of gluten free soy sauce (they loved the sushi) a jar of peanut butter and gluten free crackers as the day before menu item doesn’t always work when they are hungry now and room service doesn’t have the ability to whip up something quick. Terrace cafe was the hardest to navigate as a chef has to be asked to come point out what you can eat. We have suggested that perhaps they could put GF or other allergy restrictions on the food labels they put out by the food, but Miami hasn’t listened yet.

My first personal thank you note goes to the ships Laundry Master and team. On the small ships there are 7-8 crew and on the larger ships, !5-17. These workers do all the bedding (which is changed at least every 3 days), towels, pool towels, pool lounge covers, everything in the spa, medical center, all the tablecloths, napkins, crew uniforms and 3 bags full for Concierge! It’s a 24 hour operation and when I ask them to hang my jeans to dry and not in the dryer, they respectfully do so. I have brought clothing specifically onboard for them to dry clean when my dry cleaner was unable to get whatever spot out. They get my silks as well as my sequins and out of 60 cruises, only once did my pj top come back (souvenir tshirt) come back faded with an apology and offer of replacement or shipboard credit. they make the ship look pristine and are the unseen hero’s onboard. I highlight them as employees of the week mid cruise and on the end of cruise always name the team as employees of the month. they are the most consistent best thing about Oceania!

Cruisedreamer! - yes that is an email I use and since businesses think it’s fake, very little junk gets sent to it! Please email me your details and I will follow up with your request.

Orv ~ those bags are much better than the old blue nylon ones. While it doesn’t have zipper, it does have snap. I use it for groceries, beach tote, laundry bag when traveling, bringing multiple bottles of wines to events, they are very tough and hold quite a bit. If you would like one or two, email me at junkandspam.delete@Gmail.com We were on Regatta last July to Alaska with our family of 9 and had a fantastic time, so much so we are taking them all on Riviera this July from Athens to Barcelona. We were again on Regatta in Jan/Feb 2024 from Bali to Sydney and then Sydey to Sydney via New Zealand our 60th and 61st with O) and we rated our cruise poor. We were stunned by the difference. We loved the ports, the Captain was terrific but the senior staff and food were mediocre. It was different staff from the July trip ~ felt like a completely different cruise line. I’ve enjoyed your musings.

1. Since Covid, Oceania has collected and kept the gratuities that are added to you bill. They have guaranteed a higher salary for the employees. You can give cash or gifts to your individual cabin stewards, restaurant servers, bar staff, etc who you feel had provided you good service is theirs to keep. They are not required to report it unless it’s an outrageous amount. They are allowed to have 1 bottle of wine or 4-6 beers in their cabins. No spirts allowed and if given any, they must turn it in to security. 2. Yes, lovely fluffy navy blue throws are kept onboard. You can ask pool attendants, your cabin steward or butler and they will make sure you get one. You can put them with the used towels when you are finished with them.

We have done both A level (9th floor port side by front staircase) and PH2 10th floor starboard) on Vista and only heard neighbors TV, cell calls, disagreements in the A level room on 9. The PH rooms are wider so the TV is further away from couch and bed area.

LOTS AND LOTS OF MISINFORMATION on this thread. I just got off Marina yesterday, spent a month on Vista in September. I met with the Chief Purser on Marina, Ronan, who is responsible for all on board accounts to understand how the cash flows work. 1. Since Covid, Oceania has been paying the tips for restaurant and housekeeping staff so they earn a base salary. This helps when the ships aren’t full. The gratuities that are put on your account, regardless of who gives it or where they come from are kept by Oceania to pay for those base salaries. 2. Any cash tips you give a crew member are theirs to keep and they do not need to report it unless it is excessive (think thousnds). They are also allowed to keep any snacks (chips, chocolates, cookies, etc) you give them and are thrilled by the gesture. 3. Any NON refundable credit you have, no matter how small does NOT go to crew wellness, any tip fund nor is split among the crew. It goes to Oceania. The Purser’s office sends a letter a couple days before the end of the cruise to let you know you need to use it or lose it. They encourage you to purchase items in the boutique, which you can THEN donate to crew wellness for their monthly raffles or bingo parties as prizes. Or buy them snacks. 4. I had wanted to make a donation to the crew wellness, so I went to the front desk and told them how much. This generated a cash advance (the 5% charge was waived), I was handed the cash, the HR manager came and I handed it directly to him. On the Oceania statement at the end of the cruise, I had a Balance Due (the amount I donated) and a very small *Non refundable Balance that I went and bought snacks in the boutique to zero out. The Balance Due went on the credit card. If I had REFUNDABLE credit, I could have donated that OR taken it as cash no earlier than 2 days before the cruise ends. 5. Simply More excursion money can ONLY be spent on excursions. The culinary school or Culinary led tours are NOT a covered excursion option (The Culinary school is a concession like the Spa and Boutiques). This caught some guests by surprise when they bought things in the boutiques trying to use up what they perceived as a credit balance on their accounts but the “credit” was associated with the excursions and didn’t reduce the balance. 6. Spa voucher credits based on your loyalty level come from Oceania, not the Spa. Oceania dictates that you can have 2 treatments, BUT the automatically generated gratuity can NOT be paid with the voucher. You can also NOT use the credit voucher for any spa “specials” being advertised. The Spa Manager offered a 75 minute full body massage for $199 plus tip (normally $249 plus tip) and our $200 voucher could not be used. You can NOT buy products if you have any money leftover from a treatment using the voucher. We are Presidents level and it has taken many cruises and lots of question asking to final feel like we understand how the debit and credits works. Hope this clarifies a lot of the misinformation. The crew work very hard on your behalf and are grateful for all the kind gestures, whether expressed in words or by snacks or monetary contributions. Get to know them.

DrKoob - The Chef in Toscana is the Fabulous Andrea, who is Italian. If you want another reservation in Toscana for your party of 7, go to the reservation desk or speak to the Restaurant Manager, Ms. Gorica (the Maitre’ds have to check with her first before granting special requests) and tell them you’d like to book the Toscana Chamber, the semi private room that hold 8. It will cost $300, but divide that by 7 and it’s $42.86 per person. It’s quieter, and a very beautiful setting. Your party will then be able to order anything off the Toscana menu. If you chat with Chef Andrea, you might even be able to request what the special pasta dish of the night be. We left Vista in Montreal and the last night onboard he made Casio e Pepe for us. Enjoying your reviews.

Currently on Vista and tried a peanut butter cookie this morning. Vista heard the Cruise Critic community loud and clear and a couple days ago the recipe was changed. Oh my stars, they are Fabulous! They are chewy on the outside but soft in the middle. Today they have peanut butter, chocolate chip, a chocolate coconut, oatmeal raisin and a white chocolate. Coffee dunkers will rejoice. I would suggest getting one at Terrace, putting a scoop of favorite ice cream on top, add another cookie and find a deck chair and you will be headed towards paradise. Thank you Pastry Team and Exec Chef Frederic for the willingness to try something new. 💝

Paul was announcing that you have to go to lounge and get tender tickets for tours and disembarking and not just making way down to gangplank. Vista definitely has thin walls. Paul and Leia, Assistant Cruise Director are disembarking on 29th in Montreal. New Cruise Director will be Ray Carr, with Assistant Cruise Director who is Australian.

Currently on Vista and understand that all coffee is currently Lavazza not Illy fleet wide. (they sill have Illy in decaf at Baristas). The rumor is that Oceania may create their own blend. There is no coffee station on Vista in Horizons. Choices to get a coffee are via Butler or room service, Concierge or Executive Lounge depending on your cabin class, Grand Dining room when open, Baristas or Terrace cafe.

Current General Manager, Damien Lacroix, will depart ship on Sept. 18th and Dominique Nicolle, who brought Vista out in May replaces him.

The later times for this cruise may also be due to crew having to do 2 turn around days in a row. London to NY cruise ends on Sept. 17, then travel agents and others get to come onboard overnight as Vista makes her US debut and then on Sept. 18, passengers get back on for the NY to Montreal leg. It’s a lot for the crew, bless their hard working hearts.

We are currently on Vista on deck 9 near forward stairs. I am shocked at how many different levels of noise we hear - the Cruise Director announcements can be heard loudly and clearly with door closed, people having extended conversations outside elevators, neighbors coughing, clearing throats, full telephone conversations with family and trying to get new baby to talk to them, toilets flushing in night, tv’s, phones ringing, even the piercing squeaking of one of the elevators! I too don’t remember this on any of the other ships we’ve sailed with Oceania. We were on first Vista voyage in May in a PH and don’t remember any noise issues. We will move to PH on next leg (NY to Montreal) so will let you know.

Jjwoben1: The cost of three blow outs went up to $189 plus 20%gratuity last November. In the past you could use the entire credit to cover treatment and gratuities, now they separate them out. One of my pet peeves is the manicure/pedicure (the exotic one, not fire and ice) lists at $139, but when you use the credit, they make it $149 🤷‍♀️. I’ve asked but never get a satisfactory answer. As they are a third party concession, I am sure they want to be reimbursed the maximum amount they can. We were on Regatta in July and they didn’t have the “items necessary for the exotic” but did for the pricier fire and ice. It was either that or just a polish change. Headed back to Vista on August 30 and hopefully the vile, snarky manicurist that was on the Vista Founders cruise has gone home.