Izzy'sMoms

9 minutes ago, clo said:

Could you give us some background on previous cruises? And how successful were you in avoiding noise, like when docking as ORV mentioned. Thanks.

5 previous Oceania cruises in Penthouse and Oceania Suites - no noise problems at any time. Oceania Suites were deck 12 forward, PH forward to mid ship.

6 minutes ago, ORV said:

There are certain things that are part of cruising, noise and vibration while docking are part of it. Not sure how you would get around it if you want to be on a ship. 

By researching and carefully choosing your suite location.

We were mistaken, bow thrusters are at the front of the ship. Our concern is vibration and engine noise. The suite is on deck 8.

We are considering booking an Owner’s Suite on Riviera and have concerns about bow thruster noise. Can anyone who has sailed in this suite please speak to the noise level. Did you enjoy the suite and location?

2 hours ago, West Windsor girl said:

Great cruise on Sirena. Haven’t been on Oceanea since before Covid.  Nice to see they are better than ever. The crew was terrific and the food was outstanding. We were recently on a Silversea. Cruise and were very disappointed. Oceanes Wins hands down.

Thank you for your review. We have only sailed Oceania and have always loved every cruise . We booked our first Silversea cruise for next year based on itinerary. I know that this is an Oceania board, but could you please share the reasons that you were disappointed with Silversea.

We booked this cruise a year and a half ago as a 65th birthday cruise. It was such a nice itinerary with both Corsica and Sardinia. Very, very disappointed!

Thank you for your detailed “ new eyes” review of Oceania. I thoroughly enjoyed your perspective and humor ! Oceania is the only line that I have have cruised on (5 cruises) and my Med Cruise was by far the favorite. I am curious to know why you rated your butler 9 instead of 10, if you don’t mind sharing.

You need to post dates and the ports that you are visiting to get help here 😊

During a cruise earlier this month on Sirena the destination services representative put us on a “paid” waitlist to upgrade from a PH to an OS on our June 24 cruise. I looked at the cruise last week and saw that 2 OS suites were open. Oceania did not contact us. I called our TA and had her grab one for us. Lesson learned!

Thank you golf guy. I really appreciate the helpful tips & info!

We will be disembarking at the Miami cruise port in February. Delta moved our 1PM flight to noon 😣 What is the average time for getting off the ship and then getting through customs? From what I have read on this board disembarking can be a very slow, unorganized mess. Does Customs allow Global Entry or use facial recognition technology?

23 hours ago, Izzy'sMoms said:

We stayed here a couple of years ago the night before our departure.  We bumped up to a suite and were very pleased, overall.  Clean and quiet, restaurant onsite (it was okay, but the blood orange screwdriver was A-MAY-ZING).  

https://www.hotelvilladellepalme.it

Not a lot in the small town (walkable from hotel, restaurants & shops & gelato….close enough to a small grocery if you wanted to pick up wine to take onboard).  The hotel also arranged transportation pick up from the airport and then to the port the next morning.  There were six ships departing the day we left, so transportation was a bit delayed with all the taxis very busy (know who is in port when you leave - very busy port, for sure).

We would stay there again as we’ve been to Rome a few times and would rather have an ocean view and convenience over sightseeing.

Also found this blog from a former (current?) on board entertainer, with a lot of great port visit tips. This one from Civitavecchia:

https://alexgettinglost.com/2019/08/12/the-port-city-of-civitavecchia-italy/

We stayed here a couple of years ago the night before our departure.  We bumped up to a suite and were very pleased, overall.  Clean and quiet, restaurant onsite (it was okay, but the blood orange screwdriver was A-MAY-ZING).  

https://www.hotelvilladellepalme.it

Not a lot in the small town (walkable from hotel, restaurants & shops & gelato….close enough to a small grocery if you wanted to pick up wine to take onboard).  The hotel also arranged transportation pick up from the airport and then to the port the next morning.  There were six ships departing the day we left, so transportation was a bit delayed with all the taxis very busy (know who is in port when you leave - very busy port, for sure).

We would stay there again as we’ve been to Rome a few times and would rather have an ocean view and convenience over sightseeing.

I understand the that the travel industry has suffered tremendously over the last 18 months. I did ask my TA about the reduced offering and received no explanation. I am not asking for speculation from  this board - I only asked others to share their experiences with SBC offerings on recently booked cruises. 

Flatbush Flyer, thank you for your very informative and helpful explanation. Yes, this is a TA that I have used exclusively and for multiple cruises, so unhappy with the offering and lack of explanation.

TA added SBC, <2.5% of fare. Not sure how much commissionable fare is. Much lower than previous cruises at same and lower fares. I understand that all in travel industry are struggling. Just trying to see if this is the norm now.

To those of you have have recently booked a cruise with a travel agent, was your OBC offering lower? I just booked an Oceania Suite with my travel agent and I was shocked at how low the OBC was 😕?

Thanks to all who posted! Most helpful.

We are looking at a cruise of Greek islands the last week of April. The cooler temperatures, fewer tourists and shoulder season prices are a plus. Our only concern is the possibility of rough seas. Can anyone who has cruised this area in late April advise or provide insight to cruising this time of year?

  Very helpful article. Thank you Petoonya.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Our Med cruise ends in Venice. Are there sufficient taxis/ shuttles available on the day of disembarkation, or is it best to book transportation in advance? Our flight is at noon.

S&J, any refresh other than Owner’s Suites? This will be our first sailing on Riviera and we are hoping that she will live up to our previous Marina Oceania Suite experience. 

Hummm, reading through older threads it looks like the refreshing may only apply to Oceania Suites.