pinotlover

For the first time, I am likewise having trouble filling shore tours. One of my larger question surrounds just how many are going to actually be on the ship. I have Oceania cruises booked over the next year that have gone from fully waitlisted, to availability in most all categories, then back to partially waitlist, then fuller availability again! Availability for our October cruise is opening up and we’re well past final payment! People seem to be booking and cancelling with abandonment. My theory on the OP is that many aren’t willing to fully commit to any thing, and booking and cancelling Oceania tours are easiest for them.

Perhaps you should explain this. If you book a seventeen (17) day cruise from X to Y, that actually consist of a seven (7) day cruise and a ten (10) day cruise, are all those remaining aboard at Day 7 tested. It’s only one cruise credit!

Roll Calls provide the opportunity for serious Travelers to experience tours at far lower costs than offered by the ships. Oceania preys on those that choose to use Mother Oceania for everything. A perfect example is when our Roll Call group, that paid $150 each for an all day tour, was joined on our tour with four fellow passengers that paid $350 each to Oceania for the tour. Those four, after lots of jokes and ridicule, did learn about CC and its Roll Calls that day! 😂 If course, there are those that claim never to pay retail and believe $350 -25%. Is less that $150! Oceania math! 🥴

Asian rack of lamb! 😂😂 Part of that Americanization thing. Except for a cold weather thing, in a small part of China, lamb and Asian don’t go together. Even then it’s served as a stew or stir fry! Doesn’t mean it’s not tasty, just that it’s an American Fusion dish, nothing Asian about it at all.

It’s primarily a Cruiser vs Traveler decision. Here’s the scenario for our next O cruise. We board on a Tuesday in Bilboa, Spain. As is typical in Spain ( and Portugal) most everything is shutdown on Mondays, including the famous Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa. The ship doesn’t depart until 10:00 p.m.The port is about a 30 minute cab ride from downtown. Probable scenario: Cruisers will skip the Guggenheim to board early; while Travelers will visit the Guggenheim, and the other attractions closed on Mondays, and board later in the afternoon. The Cs and the Ts will be easily distinguishable, with each having a different game plan. Each to their own.

I have never seen them listed on any of the ships. Availability of any specific name brands has been sporadic of late. Even the retail stores are having difficulties keeping any specific name brand on the shelves. Good Luck.

Regarding the Feb 19 Marina charter, most everyone knew months in advance who the charter was for. The TA, bloggers, and Influencers were gloating about their upcoming cruise and spilled the beans. I wonder if our Influencer here got an invite for this cruise or the early pre cruises or Inauguration cruise?

I still ask: Who chartered the ship?

Perhaps it shouldn’t matter, BUT?? It would be interesting to know who chartered the entire ship. That’s a bunch of ,000s. The last one I personally remember was in Feb 19, on the Marina cruise directly after ours in the FP. Similar cancellation and charter. Passengers turned out be to all Travel Agents and Industry reps, writers, bloggers, Oceania Influencers, etc. Purpose was pure marketing. Wine, Dine, and serve then have them go home to push the Product. A lot of availability on many of those now released 2024 cruises. Give a bit another year for Covid to pass, and stories of Covid Jail, and a huge marketing event, on the new ship, may be in order. That’s a lot of $,000,000!

My primary request is that Oceania make a mostly unambiguous dress code and then ENFORCE it. Should not be too much to ask. If shorts aren’t allowed in the Specialties, then turn everyone away at the door wearing them. Fairly simple to me, but they don’t. Yoga pants and a T-shirt is not country club casual anymore than my sweatpants and a T-shirt. Gentleman remove their hats indoors. You might be from Midland, TX, but you’re not sailing in Midland, TX! Whatever happened to “ When in Rome…,.,,”? People get goofy with YWYW . Your way may be to dress slobbishly with a cap on backwards. It’s not always YW, grow up Boomer, it’s not the 60s anymore.

Ah! You’re talking about the great ship lineup, where people start getting in line before 7:00 for an 8:00 disembarkment. Suitcases, bags, carry ons blocking the aisles. People ignoring their assigned times, much like their boarding time. Probably worst experience than boarding early. All that to maybe catch an early flight? Maybe or maybe not catch it! We hide from the race race to both board and disembark. Walk off graciously and catch an afternoon flight, or one early the next day.

Lyn; The outside deck, from which the name “ Terrace “ was derived, was continually closed. The inside seating for the buffet went as normal. Normal, that is, except eliminating all the outside capacity just made the inside more crowded. The GDR was always a welcomed refuge when open.

😂 Easier to just call it the Buffet. I’ve been on 20+ day cruises where the actual Terrace was closed due to seas and weather, but the buffet line went everyday. Effectively no “ terrace” at all, just a buffet dining venue indoors.

That’s what the Roll Calls facilitate. Too many of them seem to be very inactive.

Someone must be paying a huge premium to get Oceania to cancel all those reservations for a charter! 😳😳 When you need money, money matters the most.

Important part of this is “ down into the cliff side town”. It means they must walk back up that cliff! Many of Oceania’s shorex are drive byes for those that can’t walk any distance. Proper interpretation of the buzzwords, as you graciously noted, is important in selecting one’s proper tour. Positano is a lovely town indeed.

My sister lives in Hawaii on Oahu, and has for 30+ years.She started out supporting your cause until business after business went under and people lost their livelihoods. Too many of those people were her friends . “ Let them eat cake!” Didn’t turn out well for the last person that declared it openly.

Atmosphere is often partially derived from the dress of the patrons. I know of local dives and greasy spoons with incredible highly rated food. I’ve never seen a wedding’s dress rehearsal dinner at any of them! 😂😂 As I pointed out above from the industry rags, venues re-implementing and enforcing dress codes are seeing an increase in both bookings and revenue. When patrons are dressed like they are at Applebee’s, patrons spend as if they are at Applebees. How many expensive bottles of wine do you think Applebee’s sells? Much like those refusing to be vaccinated. The world is becoming a smaller place for those insisting upon dressing below required norms.

On our last early morning flight out of SEA, we took the train/subway out to the airport and then spent the night in the Marriott that delivered us to the airport early the next morning. We then took the system back in and spent the day in town. Waits for taxis and private cars ( uber) were 3-4 hours at the docks. Even those with pre arranged trips were having difficulty. In Seattle one must always realize that a 5-6000 passenger behemoth might also be off loading along side you. Oceania isn’t the only game in town. Planning anytime before noon is foolish.

We recently had an Oceania shore tour cancelled on our October cruise. We primarily do private tours, and don’t pay Oceania’s exorbitant prices. The Roll Call is an excellent place to look for tours that might interest you. I often “ captain “ such tours and try to enlist fellow passengers. That said, I can tell you the world has changed since 3/20! Fairly significantly sized operators are now out of business. Websites are now defunct, and no inquiries are returned. Emails go unanswered. I’ve found this true in both Europe and S. America. I’ve seen major wineries go under due to a host of issues including just not being able to get their products to market. Two years after this virus was released upon us, I still have acquaintances that won’t attend any functions, nor allow people into their homes. They have become reclusive hermits. One tour operator told me he had guides that had quit because they wouldn’t interact with even small groups that may be infected. So long story short, I’m sure Oceania is facing multiple difficulties trying to put together tours, especially for larger groups. Cruisers are now the tail of this dog. They are the ones being waged, where in the past it might have been vise versus.

I have a question for those recent cruisers. If one is in a PH or above, and; If one tests positive for Covid, and thus quarantined, then: Do they lose or maintain their privileges of en-suite dining from the Specialties at dinner? Seems to me their butler could deliver the food to their door regardless.

Oceania established the dress codes. No one here did that. Those standards aren’t even very stringent. Why do some believe they should be exempt from them? I believe most here do believe that if you don’t want to adhere to Oceania’s dress codes, you should find another cruise line whose codes suit you. Those constantly trying to subvert the codes are the self indulgent.

Better yet, don’t open Pandora’s Box. Your Travel Agent can provide you with all the cruise information, on any itinerary, you might like. They can discretely provide that without awakening the beast. In the South there’s a saying about “ let sleeping dogs lie “. If you make the decision to awaken them, don’t complain about the outcome. If you call Oceania direct, then you woke the beast. Simple concept. I call my TA for information.

I suggest the OP Google the NCL docks at Ward Cove. Seems to be a fairly amazing new project that is yet to reach its final stages. For future cruises, a lot seems to be planned for that facility. FWIW, it seems the residents of Ketchikan were pushing to get the large cruise ships out of the main port downtown. Tge definition of a “ long” walk is highly subjective.

I’m at a loss. Was the original question whether children , to a certain age, are excused from meeting Oceania dress codes? We already have multiple passengers that believe their senior status excuses them. We shouldn’t be carving out exceptions for children, imo. We should be enforcing the codes on those hoping to subvert those existing codes. Really great article last week in one of the industry rags on slobs and slobisms . Per the article, many of the upscale establishments are now going back to dress codes and enforcing them. Seems those with codes are seeing increases in reservations and revenue. Seems a lot of people weren’t interested in spending $200-$250 per couple at a venue where the couple next to them are dressed in sweatpants and a Tshirt. Throw in a baseball hat and you had a slob environment. Total Revenue and Slobism seems to be inversely proportional. The clock is swinging back. Guess you have to be old to understand a pendulum! 😂