mauibabes

Deck 10 is predominantly Penthouses so nothing wrong with deck 10. Do not know what the dotted lines mean because there should be no restrictions. Check the Deck Plan legend for 10 and see if it relates to a French Balcony room or Solo room. I will look too. You will LOVE Vista, get a good TA familiar with Oceania. While you may book under the current O-Life program, come next week you might want to analyze the benefits of the More program and run some numbers to find the best option for you. Enjoy your cruise, Vista is Spectacular Mauibabes

You are reading far too much into my post. I’m NOT intending to denigrate groups of guests from Alumni Associations nor any other group of guests. My point was IF someone says they would NEVER cruise on Oceania again due to what they reportedly experienced, then that is their choice. I always prefer to sail with people who are enjoying themselves rather than someone who is miserable and not enjoying their cruise. They WIN by not sailing on O and we WIN by not having to listen to their negative commentary. Actually O can also WIN by hearing their concerns and working to ensure they do not happen to other guests in the future. Call it a W,W,W. No cruise line sets out to alienate their guests so if that is what happened to this guest, then IMHO no amount of mea culpa’s will satisfy them so it is time for them to move on to a line that can possibly satisfy them. At least in our house, Happy Wife, Happy Life 😇🙏 so if I have offended the Poster, I do apologize. Enjoy your cruise, Mauibabes

@redraider1966 👍👍👍 and I am sure Plus 1000 is in order and DITTOS to the max. Dropping the mic 😇🙏 Mauibabes

@ORV Sounds like a Win/ Win to me. The Alumni Clubber who will not cruise O again and our cruise without them on board. Some will never be happy or have unrealistic expectations of Perfection. Anyone who cruises knows, STUFF HAPPENS so we all benefit if we can be flexible and go with the flow. We all have non perfection stories or failures to tell but I prefer to judge a cruise in its totality, not a single incident or even a few. We have had some less than desireable experiences but NEVER a BAD cruise on Oceania. JMHO I prefer to Enjoy 🤪🙏👍🛳️🍹❤️ Mauibabes

Dittos for LHT28, absolutely correct, TOOOOO many to remember. But overall it is about traveling with friends and making new friends. The Staff who quickly become friends, Staff you may not have seen for 5 or more years who immediately recognize you. We had a Asst Room Steward who was from St. Petersburg on a Baltic trip in 2010. In 2013 we were sailing on a Marina Inaugural cruise from San Francisco. This same young lady was on Marina, her name was also Marina, on her honeymoon and had married an Italian Chef. Anyway, she walked right up to us and introduced herself and immediately we were reunited with our O family. 16 years ago we had an Asst. Waiter in Polo who was a delightful young man, then a waiter, then selected to be a Butler on Marina and we have continued to run into him on various cruises over the years. He is Ishmael so if you are ever fortunate enough to have him as your Butler, he knows my DW as the lady with the spikey hair, say hello. Like an OLD cop show in the 60’s, The Naked City opened with a line,”There are 8 million stories in the Naked City and this is one”. Anyway, I am sure the loyal Oceania cruisers could regale you with 8 million stories about Oceania, it is a very special cruise line so, JUST ENJOY! Mauibabes

A Guarantee is a Guarantee for O in my experience. That is when at the last minute people at the effected Stateroom Level can receive offers with cash or credit involved to step back from their booked rooms so that Guaranteed guest can be accommodated. I mentioned before, We moved from a A-2 to a B-2 and received a $2500+ check so they bend over backwards to make everyone happy in these situations. We have even given up our sailing and pushed off the replacement offer to the following year. This can happen with all the Alumni Clubs and agencies involved. Just be ready to accept or reject offers because everyone has a price they will make changes for, or maybe not. Ciao, Mauibabes

Before all the knickers get in a twist, perhaps anyone who is concerned and possibly impacted needs to ask the question of their TA or Oceania. The way it is spelled out, it looks like a $250 Administrative Fee - 10% of the Booking Value. The way an O person explained it to me, there is a non refundable $250 Admin fee and if the Booking value is above $25k, it increases to 10%. What did change is that penalty window widening to 180 days from 120 and that Fee used to be available to be credited back onto a future booking by the OP. JMHO but I could have been given incorrect information. I personally have not cancelled any bookings within this 180 day window so it has not impacted me. Mauibabes

We have been on Vista in a PH and the bed was new and wonderful, just like the one I bought for my Birthday last summer. JMHO, Mauibabes

Spend more than 29 hours on O and you will find the Butlers to be GREAT. We have never had the same Butler twice in our 16 years of sailing on O and found only one dud. We greet them with a smile and do our best to befriend them and welcome them to our Oceania family and we are treated like their family as well. We even traded wedding planning stories of his upcoming marriage in India comparing it to our grandson’s wedding the following month. Absolutely the most wonderful guys. Just Enjoy, Mauibabes

Just pay attention to the offers or Availability because they can be DEFINITELY WORTHWHILE. We have upgraded from Concierge Verands to PH to Owners Suite, PH to Oceania Suite and even accepted a downgrade from Concierge A Veranda to a B Veranda and received over $2500 refund for the cruise. Oh yes, accepted an offer to extend to a B2B with 10 additional days in the Med for that same $2500+ refund. We turned a 14 day Med cruise in a A-2 into a 24 day Med cruise in a B-1. Definitely not a tough decision and maintained all Concierge amenities. Bottom line, take advantage of the Oceania Oversold or Undersold offers when their $ number matches yours, we all have a price. 😇👍 Mauibabes

Ditto ORV. It is our GO TO seasoning, especially for any beef or my favorite, a double thick Porterhouse, Pork Loin Chop. Yes we use others but Montreal is #1. Mauibabes

@Sujormik, If I may offer a suggestion. It is time for you to ask to speak to the Food and Beverage Director since He/She owns all the people with whom you are having issues. We have had some pleasant conversations with the F&B in the past and I assure you, they will receive and respond to your message. This will beat the Mid Cruise survey for immediate action. After you have spoken to F&B, we are interested in hearing from you about your ensuing experiences. Mauibabes

OK, we are over a month into Vista sailings and almost miraculously, the complaints about the WiFi have gone to silence. We were on the Founder’s Cruise and found the Starlink service to be quite good, in fact many times better than the existing level of service. What do people think who have sailed Vista? We have not heard about roll out dates for the rest of the Oceania ships but if it is as good as we experienced on Vista, this is a MAJOR Win for everyone sailing on Oceania. Here’s hoping it is completed before the end of 2023. Anyone know about a Roll Out schedule? Enjoy it Vista cruisers. Mauibabes

But we still had to watch the Muster Video on our room TV when we boarded as that gave us access to our account info and other stuff. We turned on the Muster Drill Video and went about our business unloading our suitcases. Maybe this will continue in this fashion until the Regulators decide it is no longer acceptable in these Post Covid times. Mauibabes

@MizLizzie I am guessing you are on Marina, Riviera or Vista because they can no longer dock in Venice. I understand Sirena is docking at a port adjacent to Venice. We were just on Vista and yes there was a Post cruise Hotel option, Yes there was a shuttle bus from Trieste to Marco Polo,$69 or $89 pp. Many people had booked private transfers as well. We joined some other guests, 7 of us in a big van and baggage. and we paid 50Euros pp which included tip. You can also line up a tour that could get you into Venice. We booked the Marriott Courtyard which is 5 minutes from the MP terminal, cost us 5 Euros to go to the terminal in the a.m. to get our flight. Flights are often delayed, and since we flew through Heathrow,it was delayed as well back to the West Coast. Used Bonvoy credits for the room, the place was full and not cheap but Convenient. Hotel loyalty points come in handy in Venice. A day or two or more would be great for a first timer as there is lots to see so don’t cut your visit unnecessarily short unless you have to. There are many tours and companies available, be it walking or by boat or just the local boat/bus services, 2 hours as I recall to travel around the city by boat. You can get a Vaparetto from the MP airport terminal to take you to hotels in Venice. Go have fun. Mauibabes

@tropicalkerry2002 Yes, there is something to be said for finding your niche and being comfortable in your own skin, so to speak. Major Ditto to all you shared. We drug all our Princess friends over to O and occasionally they will go test the waters elsewhere and then come running back. We truly enjoy all that goes into being with our O family. Mauibabes

Possible but not likely. I see price increases implemented by every line, they have to survive and their debt load is significant. IMHO, you won’t see major price increases nor gut wrenching cut backs. You will see increases but you will also see More and then everyone can evaluate the changes and make their own decisions. Oceania is not going to regain profitability by driving their loyal cruisers away, much less alienate potential new cruisers. They learn from one another’s mistakes and based on my 7 cruises sailed since the Covid crisis, we were inundated with 40-50% new to Oceania guests and they were from HAL, Princess, Celebrity and even Viking. Come the July implementation of the changes, and the upcoming releases of new itineraries for Allura and 2025/6 in the Fall, we will see the effects of these new programs. JMHO, no crystal ball here, just my WAG. Enjoy and X cruisers, take the plunge and decide for yourselves. Mauibabes

Hey, wait folks. I never said it was not good food, it was good. IMHO it is not an Oceania Specialty restaurant befitting the need for a Reservation. Guests we ate with liked their meals and the different menu items. You can not eat 2-3 “RICH” meals everyday, so why not enjoy a good meal, just not a great meal like those offered in the other Specialty restaurants. There are a number of very good menu items and believe me, no one stopped eating the triple chocolate desert that arrived at our table. Like I said before, it would be a great 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 walk in full service restaurant that would also be a popular lunch spot, especially after 2:00 p.m. when the TC closes. I know, Waves is open but why not Ember? Staffing could be an issue however 🤞 I am sure, lots more comments to come as Vista gets more sailings under her belt and the Culinary Director’s have a chance to analyze the the surveys. Just Enjoy it all, Mauibabes

Mary Lou, You have opened the flood gates 🤪👍. This board is full of celebrity escapees, from 50 X cruises on down and they are fleeing in droves. We moved on after just one Aqua Class cruise when it was first introduced. After we had sailed on Oceania 16 years ago, we could not be tempted to go back to X. We better fit the Oceania demographic and I could NEVER, yes Never get my DW on a ship larger than an O Class or Allura Class ship, 1200 MAX. Since my experience is far too long ago to be relevant to Post Covid today, you will hear more current experiences and opinions real soon. Find an itinerary on one of the Oceania Special sales currently offered thru 6/30, especially on Vista or Riviera or Marina, Book it and sail and JUST 😊 ENJOY. Mauibabes

They were and were served in Prive. There were wine pairing dinners offered in Polo and Toscana in a semi private room with a table for 8-10 or so. I was not able to count the chairs when we saw Frank Del Rio and his guests in the room in Toscana. He did have 14 at his table in Prive. I would guess there will continue to be efforts made by O to offer “Fine” dining options in their restaurants so always ask. Mauibabes

I do not like the shorter stays in the ports that O is doing in the name of Saving the Planet, carbon footprint, etc, what does the extra time in ports do for you? I am not paying O or SB or SS prices and then eat one or two meals in the ports. Not everyone can or will do 12+ hour days in ports touring, shopping or dining. I would think there is a more reasonable balance for port time to be had and these extended port times are just making a marketing pitch sound wonderful when few travelers actually take advantage of them. JMHO. One 4-8 hour excursion in a day and the rest of the port time is wasted on me and I am not blowing off my O dining rooms. Since we have not done one of these type cruises, I need enlightenment so seriously want to understand the benefits. Mauibabes

Since we have never dined in Des Moines, we will have to equate Ember to a Cheesecake Factory for an upscale Bistro type dining. Definitely a different vibe and a noisier venue. We found it good, but certainly not an Oceania Specialty restaurant. Ember should become a walk in lunch and dinner restaurant, forget the reservations, just come and go as you will from perhaps 11 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. It will be interesting to see how it evolves by October when we are back aboard Vista and Oceania has had some time to evaluate its acceptance with the thousands of critiques. Food was OK, maybe a B to B- IMHO. We have not seen much written about the Aquamar Kitchen. Again, IMHO, the jury should still be out on it being a hit or miss. An OK place to stop for a healthier, lite bite without venturing into the Terrace Cafe and the Oceania version of a crowd. It will be interesting to see who it appeals to. We ate there once mid morning after a time change /alarm faux paux. We were on a 7 Day cruise and wanted to try every restaurant once to get a feeling for Vista and her changes. I would probably go with a B- as well, JMHO. As I misdirect this topic again, We really loved the casual atmosphere and quick coffee and pastry fare of Barista’s. DEFINITELY an A. The Bakery is great and offers a classy little Starbucks type eatery with far better quality of everything. Gosh, maybe even some great taste in those infamous “tasteless” Oceania cookies 🤪🤙😇, JMHO again. Have a great Father’s Day all and Enjoy Mauibabes

We had to opt out. Nautica in May 2024 from Capetown to Paris. Looking forward to seeing you again so stay in touch Billie. Ciao, Mauibabes

@rizello Perhaps Simply More will be helpful to you. When it is rolled out, and I would expect it to hit the CC airwaves soon, you will be able to make your informed decisions. Everyone of us with Oceania Bookings in play will be checking current prices vs the Simply More pricing. The one thing you need to understand about Oceania, their cruise package, however it is presented, is all about Value. One thing you do need however is a good TA that knows Oceania, ideally an Oceania Connoisseur Club Member agency so they can educate you as well about O. If you follow this CC site, there are MANY who will help educate you. There are lots of main stream cruise line cruisers posting here and you will find a LOT who are refugees leaving big/mega ship lines and turning to Oceania to get a quality product at a price that is consistent with the Value you are receiving. Try it, you just might like it. Mauibabes

I will go a step farther. We were on Riviera in 11065 and it was AWFUL due to its location under the pathway from the TC galley and entry to the Waves galley due to the carts moving at night. Also automatic doors opening and closing a lot. The area in the TC that is above 11073 should be only tables on carpet so we will keep on 🙏🙏🙏 all is quiet. just enjoy your cruises, Mauibabes