Mura

It's several years since we transferred from Southampton to London (never to Heathrow as far as I remember) but there are a number of services I have used in the past. Since we haven't traveled since before Covid I don't want to make any recommendations here but if you want to email me (see my addy below) I will be happy to tell you which services we have used in the past.

Hopefully they are still in business!

We haven't had problems getting a specialty reservation on the day we board.  In fact, sometimes it has been much easier.

A number of years ago we showed up at the GDR with six people and were asked if we would like eat in Jacques. (This was on an early Marina cruise.)

YES!

It's a while now since we have sailed but generally when we show up to the GDR we ask to share. The fact that they have our room number probably is only to show that we have already arrived. We are usually paired with other couples (or singles) who arrive around the same time. (We usually arrive for dinner around 8pm.)

Clearly no decision to put people together by deck ... considering that each deck has different levels of cabins, that wouldn't seem to make any sense at all.

Mura

5 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Sodas  only

We've had some beer in the mini fridge in the past (we haven't sailed for the past few years which may affect my answer) but most likely we were in an OS or VS. Probably not a PH. No hard liquor bottles that I recall.

It's a few years since we cruised but it seems to me (in my ever failing memory) that when we gave cash tips to the crew they were able to keep them ... but then, we didn't ask! Usually we have tips included in our fare and so any extras that we gave we assumed went directly to the crew member ... usually a cabin attendant, butler or server.

Mura

Hey guys, even with only one sea day and 10 or more port days, there's no rule that you always have to go on shore! I admit that when we've been to a particular port a number of times, and time is limited on shore, we've been known to stay on board for the day. Not often, but it has happened. If it's a port we really want to see, we'll usually try to find a private tour on our own.

(Not literally.  I usually try to find fellow shipmates at the Roll Call for people who would want to join us.)

Mura

On 11/8/2023 at 10:21 PM, janelledocb said:

Thanks everyone.  The Riviera specifically has 12 port days in a row.  Vista has one sea day of 12.  We like Riviera's itinerary better though.  Now that I am typing this, I imagine we might be so exhausted half way through that we might just sleep in late and enjoy a lot of room service for a day 😄
Hmmm, that's a great point about Bridge, I might do some online lessons prior to the trip to learn ahead of time!

When I was in high school my best friend had two maiden aunts who were expert bridge players and they gave us lessons.  I can't say I ever got any good (!) but I did enjoy playing.  At the time I had good friends from school who had regular bridge parties and I was invited to some of them.  They were kind enough to let me win the contract and have my partner play it out.  I usually came out pretty high in the score card with such shenanigans. 

Then when I moved to NYC about 10 years later I was on a bus&truck choral tour and there were avid bridge players among the company.  One day I was dragooned into playing out a no-trump contract and I actually won!  On my own this time. (But that wouldn't happen again these days!!)

Good luck with bridge lessons ... it's a great game.  It helps to have a brain ... keeping track of all the cards that have been played isn't all that easy ...

Mura

33 minutes ago, Snaefell3 said:

@PhD-iva pretty much covered it.  I'll only add that butlers, if you have one, can serve meals from a single specialty kitchen (Red Ginger/Jacques, Polo/Toscana on Marina), course-by-course, in your cabin during dinner hours.  Not sure how far you can push it towards "all nights"  🙄

Not that we've tried to push the in-dining option in a suite, but I don't think it would be a problem.  The butler might object! But we gave been on cruises where we used that option several times and never had a problem with being accommodated.

Then again, unless we are talking about honeymooners, probably most passengers wouldn't want in-suite dining every night!

Mura

They would be crazy to assume that no one will be on board on port days.  It is true that when we were in Haifa a few years ago, the concierge informed us that the ship was virtually empty.  Most passengers had opted for tours to Jerusalem (this was a overnight port stop) 

We stayed on board because a few years earlier we had toured Israel with a cousin who was an licensed tour guide for two weeks. For this stop we stayed on board so that we could visit with her again.

It's your vacation ... spend the time how you want to!

Mura

I have been very late checking in here, mostly because we aren't planning on traveling soon. BUT for the record, we prefer PH to regular veranda.  We like the extra room.  When the budget allows we will upgrade to an Oceania Suite (not available on the "R" ships).

We like the extra room and the extra perks, but that doesn't mean you can't have a lovely cruise at a lower level.  A few years ago we accepted a "downsell" from our booked PH to a B1 cabin.This was on an "R" ship. I had bad memories from the bathroom (and especially the shower) from early days on Renaissance and then Oceania, but wasn't bothered at all on this cruise,  I did miss the full breakfast brought to the room in the morning but didn't fuss about having to go to Terrace for a real breakfast! Taking the downsell on this cruise meant that the refund we received paid for a cruise a couple of months later in a VS, also on an "R" ship ... so it was worth it.

Specialty dining every night? Highly unlikely but it can depend on how many passengers are on board.  Higher cabins get more priority but that doesn't mean someone in a lower live cannot get a reservation.  You can check with the concierge daily to see if there are extra reservations available.

An advantage to being in a PH or above is that you can order dinner in your cabin, served by your butler ... Is that reason to book a higher cabin?  I wouldn't say so BUT ... it's a calculation for your budget,

Mura

We haven't boarded all that often in NYC but didn't had a problem with boarding times.  Then again, we are usually in a suite (and we live here) so perhaps our experience is irrelevant to most passengers

A number of years ago we were boarding in Barcelona and we encountered a couple we'd met online. They were told to wait to board, they were in a lower level cabin -- I think we were in a PH. So not being very bright I just told them to join us going up and so they did ... It worked out fine.  We had a nice lunch together in Terrace.

But I shouldn't suggest that others do what I did in my ignorance ... It may well have been that there weren't crowds trying to board at that time. It's very possible that this was regarding the "non-Libya" cruise back in November 2005 when there were many complications ...

Mura

On 8/25/2023 at 3:34 AM, Hambagahle said:

You probably should have...at least made a comment on leaving to the Maître d'Hôtel.

Yes, we probably should have!  But we did not,

Just now, osandomir said:

I’d say that dollars are not excepted in Europe nowadays anymore. They take credit cards almost for everything and ATMs are still exist just in case. That being said, I always keep some euros to take with me on the trip to Europe for small things. It’s just for convenience so we don’t need to run for the ATM if we need them.

Good to know that dollars are no longer welcome.  We haven't traveled since Covid raised it's head so I don't doubt that things have changed.  But we have never insisted that people take dollars rather than their own currency, so this won't be a problem for us in the future! We still have some euros on hand for our last trip ... Even some Turkish lira which I doubt we will ever use!

On 8/23/2023 at 3:31 PM, Hambagahle said:

You can wear whatever you like for dinner...  no one will pay any attention.  Most people dress "nicely" though I would imagine this is not "cocktail dress".  But you wear what you like...

 

For the drinks packages - my husband and I like to have a Bloody Mary or Margarita at lunch on occasion.  We drink wine too.  We will be in a suite for our cruise with 6 bottles of "liquor" of our choice in the suite courtesy of Oceania.   Nonetheless we are going to upgrade our "drinks package" to the full one at $30 pp per day.   I just do not like to be "nickled and dimed" (as you Americans say I think?) and prefer to pay whatever so I can drink whatever whenever I wish.

I am going back in memory MANY YEARS to an early cruise -- I think it was on Renaissance, but it could have been a very early Oceania cruise.  We saw a group of two or three couples, all dressed to the nines.  They were having a great time and we enjoyed watching them.  You shouldn't worry about feeling "overdressed" whatever you wear.  There's more of a problem when people are UNDER-dressed! 

A few years ago we were in a specialty restaurant where another foursome were wearing torn jeans with holes in them ... they weren't thrown out but if I had been the Maitre D', they would have been!  Of course, once they were seated you didn't see the condition of their clothing ... we happened to be at a nearby table so we did.

Not that we complained to anybody!

Back in Renaissance days, things were more flexible.  There were various currencies on board.  But I think that disappeared even before Renaissance did. With O it's pretty much been dollars (I think).

ATMs are helpful here. Our private guides generally were very happy with U.S. dollars, maybe even more so than with their local currency -- but it does depend on the country and the currency, There are indeed countries where dollars are more valued than their own currency.  (Bear in mind we haven't been traveling since pre-Covid, so things may well have changed.)

We generally bring a good amount of U.S. dollars with us for tips, and go to ATMs for currency as needed. Indeed, it can very much depend on where you are traveling.  If you are in Europe, dollars and euros seem to be welcome.  But in other countries (third world?) it can be more difficult.

49 minutes ago, GICNJC said:

On one Oceania cruise I had brought 2 bottles of well aged Canadian Ice Wine.  Shares it with our table mates and the sommelier as the way she was looking at the wine as she pour it.  I just knew she would love to taste it.  Providing that tasting sample to her, we never were charged the corkage fee.

Not the first time I've heard such a story!  It always helps to give the sommelier a taste or your special bottle.

On 8/8/2023 at 8:54 PM, babysteps said:

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 have always preferred just to take it ourselves, but if we are in a suite the butler has never let us do so ....

And you aren't limited to only one bottle ... You didn't specify the amount in your question, so just thought I'd throw that in with my answer!  It really doesn't matter if it's duty free or not, however.

On 5/28/2023 at 11:37 AM, Woofa said:

So sorry to hear this and I apologize to have to ask but are you sure they were O employees?  Reason I ask I of course it does not sound like O to allow this but more importantly, we often saw O employees throughout the venues (it was clear they were much younger and we even recognized some,) and they did not wear name tags as they were obviously off duty.  Could this have been a group which met on board and just had name tags to let them know

Wore name tags to let them know each other?

Either way letting management know is a great idea.

Good point about name tags not necessarily indicate crew members (or entertainment staff, which I count as crew). When we did the Black Sea cruise in 2012 on Regatta we were a group of 16 who took most independent tours together.  I had made up name tags for all of us.  I was surprised (and gratified) to see that everyone decided to wear them all the time...

Mura

During the day you could encounter rehearsals from the theater as well ... I've read complaints about that in the past. Of course, if you are out and about all day that wouldn't matter ...

On 7/30/2023 at 10:35 PM, LHT28 said:

We took a taxi  with some pax from the ship into Bruges & the driver picked us up at a specific time for the return to the ship

Le Havre there was shuttle into town & we wandered around had lunch

they have some shops   & the war Memorial as well as  some other things if you are interested 

 

St Malo  you can walk to the walled city from the tender port drop off area

We had arranged a trip to MSM  & Dinan   it was  a great trip  again with a group from the ship

we had 2 vans  of 8 each

When we were in Le Havre in O's early days we took the opportunity to spend the day in Honfleur. We had personal reasons for wanting to be there (!) but it was a special day.  We took a cab there which wasn't cheap even then, but took the local bus back.  That entailed a bit of a walk back to the port (15 minutes?) which could be a problem for someone with mobility problems, of course. We've always wanted to spend time in Le Havre itself but whenever we've been there we've always been heading out of town!  But Honfleur is well worth a visit ...

Mura

It's quite a while ago -- Marina was new -- and it's the only time we ever received such an offer, but we jumped at it. We gave up an Alaska cruise for a Med cruise on the new ship (which I was dying to try anyway), got a ton of on board credit -- and we already had quite a bit -- AND an upgrade from a PH to an OS.

It always depends on what you want to do, of course.  In our case it was an easy choice.  But if the choice were something else, we might well have said, "no thanks".

On 6/25/2023 at 5:58 PM, marikay1961 said:

Thank you all for the response!  its our fourth Oceania Cruise but our first in the Oceania Suite!  It looks amazing and I hope it lives up to the expectations.....

I am sure that you will love the suite as much as we do!  We especially like the two Deck 11 aft rooms.  Have never been in an OS on Deck 12 since we like Deck 11 so much.

We always found a list when we arrived that let us choose what we wanted.  As someone else said, we usually take 1, maybe 2 Vodkas and the rest is wine for dinners.  If no one has yet said, you can take the wine to dinner without having to pay the corkage fee. But the hard stuff needs to be consumed in the room.

Have a wonderful cruise!

I always recommend against visiting a destination that is a long trip from the port -- so that means trying to visit Berlin from Poland.  Or Paris from Le Havre. You get the idea.

I don't have your itinerary so I can't make more specific suggestions.

NOW, if you think you are dying to see Paris or Prague (or someother possible destination on a tour) and you don't think you'll ever have the opportunity to visit ... then yes, do so.  Even 2 hours in the city is better than none!

Back in 2002 I consulted with a Bayeux Tourist Bureau about the advisability of a day tour from Le Havre and was strongly advised NOT to do so.  I do think that the roads were worse then, but even so it would have been a long trip.  So we skipped the possibility of a tour to the Beaches at that time.  A few months later we did a trip on our own from Paris up to Rouen (3 days there), then on to the Beaches (another 3 days) and so on.  We spent about two weeks ... it was one of our best trips ever.

But driving through Paris to get out of town wasn't so much fun!

In 2012 we did a Viking river boat trip which offered two tours from Rouen to the Beaches.  We opted for the "Canadian" tour because we want to return to the Bayeux Tapestry.  The benefit was that we also saw the Canadian sites that we had NOT seen on our previous trip.  And we were only 5 people since everyone else on the riverboat opted for the U.S. tour ...

Mura

Mura

On 10/6/2020 at 4:18 AM, Glenndale said:

On Marina and Riviera we like to book the extended balcony cabins which are B grade.

If there are no extended balconies left to book I like a cabin close to the concierge lounge for an early morning coffee.

On the R class ships we enjoy the aft facing cabins which are A grade.

As to getting 2 tops in the specialities, who knows what the future holds with regards to seating arrangements in the restaurants?

WHY do people sleep in the library?

 

That's an excellent question as to why do people take naps in the library!  I don't normally fall asleep while reading a book ... and if it made me sleepy, I'd probably pick another one.

Oh well ...

I will be a negative comment here.  Back in the spring of 2002 we were on a cruise where we could have taken a day trip to the Normandy area. When I contacted the tourist bureau in Bayeux I was strongly discouraged from doing so, just because driving time was so long over bad roads.  Yes,this was 2002.

But as a result, we scheduled a trip that fall.  We rented a car in Paris and spent about 2 weeks going through Normandy and etc.  Three days in Rouen, three days by the Beaches and so on,  It was a great trip.

We know that not everyone has the time to do what we did but I do recommend NOT trying to see the Beaches in one day.  We did have a Viking river boat trip in 2012 which took us to Normandy beaches (like the Canadian) which we hadn't visited before, and that was a one day bus trip.  Since most U.S. passengers took the standard tour we were only 5-6 people on our bus because it was geared to non-U.S. passengers -- but we wanted to return to the Bayeux Tapestry which was not visited by the U.S, passenger tour and we were very happy to see the Canadian sites that we had not seen 10 years earlier.

I still think it is better to plan a trip to the Beaches that gives you several days there ... but you all will decide if you want to try to do this in one day!  No one will be wrong.

If you think you cannot come back later for a longer visit -- which is always what I say to people who want to do Paris or Berlin (or other) from a long distance port in one day -- you need to decide what is worth it to you.  But we were happy to have decided on a private road trip from Paris up to Normandy and back around to Paris which took us about 2 weeks.

Mura