Summer 2013 bookings open

[dorisis]

i recieved my 2013 Summer Collectio brochure 3 days ago and since my TA is on the west coast with a time difference, i called him immediately and let him know what I wanted. if I had waited until the 7th, the category I wantedwould have been gone. I have learned to call as soon as the brochure arrives with Oceania. The lowest and highest price categories are scarce and sell out fast.

 

 

My brochure envelope showed my TA's name and 3 on it.

 

~Doris~

 

.

[DOJO466]

i recieved my 2013 Summer Collectio brochure 3 days ago and since my TA is on the west coast with a time difference, i called him immediately and let him know what I wanted. if I had waited until the 7th, the category I wantedwould have been gone. I have learned to call as soon as the brochure arrives with Oceania. The lowest and highest price categories are scarce and sell out fast.

 

 

My brochure envelope showed my TA's name and 3 on it.

 

~Doris~

 

.

My wonderful TA just booked the exact aft cabin I wanted to Alaska..and yet another reason to go thru a good TA. I am a very happy camper:D

[CateW]

I was on the phone right at 8:30 and got the cabin that we wanted for the 8/22 sailing SF to NYC, the aft balcony 6090. We're thrilled!

[Baby Hughy]

Ditto also got the cabin I requested for Alaska in aug 22 .6054

[boerneDQ]

We got the cabin we wanted on the 7/25/2013 Black Sea cruise! Now to start planning!

[rubysue]

I want to know what happened to Iceland in Summer of 2013. We couldn't do it this year so we were looking forward to next year. It is supposed to be so beautiful there and it was definitely on my bucket list. I wonder if, like Alaska, it will skip a year and then come back in 2014?

 

Does anybody have any "inside" information about what happened to Iceland?

 

Thanks in advance,

Billie

 

Interesting comment. We would also like to go to Iceland someday, but our bucket list cruise is definitely the Midnight Sun voyage, which includes Svalbard (Spitzbergen) and the North Cape. OCL brought that one back next year on Nautica, which has thrown our travel planning into a tizzy. With the 2 for 1 deposit, I said "what the heck" and will try to lock it down because they may not do that one again for a couple of years. We were actually thinking about a round the horn cruise at the end of 2013, but we could do that later. I know it's strange, but I get a thrill out of knowing that I may be on a cruise that ventures as far north as 80 degrees latitude.

[LHT28]

You are all making me so jealous

I have nothing booked for 2013 :(

 

Hope everyone has a great cruise to where ever

 

Maybe after I get through this summer there will be space left on a cruise in 2013 ;)

Lyn

[spindrift]

Rubysue, We did the North Cape/Spitzbergen trip this year and had a fabulous time. That is a wonderful trip.

 

We're booked for the Bangkok to Dubai for 2013, but I see other trips I would prefer right now. Oh my, what a dilema, is right. :o

[shedevil]

We wanted to do Alaska in 2012 but O did not schedule any. I was thrilled to see the Summer 2013 brochure. Our TA was given our request and we are happily booked for the May 2013 Majesty of Alaska in our cabin of choice - 7116. We usually book Penthouse Suites but figured the back of the ship is the place to be to get maximum value out of the balcony.....and the Owner's Suite was not in the budget this month. ;-)

 

And the prices seemed very reasonable for most of the 2013 Summer cruises, especially some of the longer ones like the 19 and 21 day cruises that include the Panama Canal. Wish we could go on more than one next year.

 

Sharon

 

 

 

i recieved my 2013 Summer Collectio brochure 3 days ago and since my TA is on the west coast with a time difference, i called him immediately and let him know what I wanted. if I had waited until the 7th, the category I wantedwould have been gone. I have learned to call as soon as the brochure arrives with Oceania. The lowest and highest price categories are scarce and sell out fast.

 

 

My brochure envelope showed my TA's name and 3 on it.

 

~Doris~

 

.

[Mura]

As to Iceland and Spitzbergen ... both are wonderful! Too bad you can't do them on the same cruise! (We did Iceland in June 2006 and the Midnight Sun cruise in July-Aug 2010.)

 

I just signed us up for the Barcelona-Rio TA in November 2013 -- this appears to be the last cruise shown in the Summer 2013 booklet. While I would never get my hubby to do a B2B when the first leg is 18 days (!), I'd still like to know which way the ship will be headed!

 

We were lucky to get one of the aft OCs on this cruise, which I think has Jim&Stan's approval, although I haven't checked! But on a TA I would prefer to be aft and not forward. Ideally I'd be midships except with the Marina configuration, that's not possible in an OC.

 

For anyone going to Brazil, I'll add that O charges $329pp for the visas. But if you can go to the consulate yourself, it costs $120pp. If you need to use a visa service it costs $140 + a service charge. That's where the variation comes in. The first service I found had a service charge of $49, but later ones were more expensive. I did NOT do an extensive search because living in NYC means I can go do the consulate with our passports very easily.

 

Looking forward to our transatlantic and trying to figure out when I tell DH that this has been booked ...

 

Mura

[spindrift]

Mura, we did that trip to Rio, and it was very nice. We did stay on to Buenos Aires. We had done from Buenos Aires around to Valparaiso when they first did that, so we were trying to connect the dots.

 

After the Barcelona to Rio, it is only another 12 day trip on down to Buenos Aires. He would love it. :p

[Mura]

Spindrift, I guess you've just answered the question I was asking DH ... do we make it a B2B? If the ship is heading southward, then no, we won't! It's hard enough to get him on board for 18 days!

 

We did love the BA-Valpo cruise that we did back in January 2002 but I've heard negatives about the Rio-BA cruise. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

 

I suppose we'll stay in Rio for another few days (we haven't been there since March 1974 and I suspect it has changed since then:D) and then fly home. If the ship were heading NORTH, we might have considered staying on board!

 

But this will be a tricky open jaw -- NYC to Barcelona, Rio to NYC. Oceania's charge for biz class on the air is another $5K ... I dearly hope I can do better than that!

 

Mura

[PaulMCO]

We just booked a MED cruise on Riviera. Looking forward to it but too long a wait. Had to have at least one Oceania countdown clock for my CC signature. :D

[goodie2shoes]

We wanted to do Alaska in 2012 but O did not schedule any. I was thrilled to see the Summer 2013 brochure. Our TA was given our request and we are happily booked for the May 2013 Majesty of Alaska in our cabin of choice - 7116. We usually book Penthouse Suites but figured the back of the ship is the place to be to get maximum value out of the balcony.....and the Owner's Suite was not in the budget this month. ;-)

 

And the prices seemed very reasonable for most of the 2013 Summer cruises, especially some of the longer ones like the 19 and 21 day cruises that include the Panama Canal. Wish we could go on more than one next year.

 

Sharon

 

This is intriguing to me, Shedevil. We are also booked on that cruise, and are in 7119. We live just above the Mojave Desert, in Tehachapi. Sounds like we are going to be neighbors on the ship (well you are port and we are starboard - but we're both aft on the same deck) and we might be neighbors when at home as well.

 

This could turn out to be even more fun than we had thought - and we expect it to be a wonderful cruise.

 

Nancy

[traveler916]

 

For anyone going to Brazil, I'll add that O charges $329pp for the visas. But if you can go to the consulate yourself, it costs $120pp. If you need to use a visa service it costs $140 + a service charge. That's where the variation comes in. The first service I found had a service charge of $49, but later ones were more expensive. I did NOT do an extensive search because living in NYC means I can go do the consulate with our passports very easily.

 

Mura

 

Mura - Can you please elaborate on the Visa services - publicly to via email to me?

 

We will need them for this November.

 

I decided to take advantage of the US Global Entry expedited re-entry program...had to drive from Sacramento to San Francisco, answer a few questions, have a picture taken, then electronic fingerprints...came home and got an email from them saying the fingerprint scans didn't work and that I needed to return to the San Francisco airport to have my fingerprints re-done...made the trip back, had them do a new scan....then they told me that my fingerprints didn't scan, probably because I am "too old"...so I won't get expedited screening after all.

 

So the idea of making 2 trips from Sacramento to the Brazilian consulate doesn't really appeal to me, if you know what I mean...."been there, done that, didn't get the passport" :)

 

Thanks

 

Gary

[sitraveler]

Brazilian visa requirements vary by your location.

 

The local Brazilian consul controls their issuance. The cost is about $140 when handled by the individual. It is valid for 10 years.

 

Do a goggle search for California.

[Mura]

Gary,

 

I simply did a google search ("Visas to Brazil") which came with a number of visa providers who do the leg work for you. The cheapest one I saw was Visaexpress.net (http://www.visaexpress.net/brazil/braziltouristvisa.htm) which had a service charge of $49 on top of the $140 the Consulate charges if you use a service for your visa. You should get your visa no more than 90 days before you will be going to Brazil, and it is good for 5 years. That link I included is to Visaexpress's instruction page on what you need to send them.

 

I have NOT used them myself so I'm not making a recommendation! But we have used a visa service once or twice, and recently my husband used a similar service to renew his passport on an expedited basis.

 

Someone wrote to me a day or two ago to say that they went to Brazil in 2003 and at that time they were able to mail in everything themselves to the Consulate. When I was doing my cursory search I wasn't looking to see if you can do it this way as opposed to using a service. So just keep that in mind when choosing which agency you use.

 

Go to http://www.brazil-help.com/brazil-emb-consul.htm if you want to see just where the consulates are here (this page also lists consulates in other countries if any non-U.S. citizens are reading this). You could always contact the nearest one to you to find out what their specific procedures are.

 

Also bear in mind that you'll have another cost in mailing in your documents whether you ship it to the consulate or an agency, and I assume you would want to use FedEx or the like.

 

We haven't been to Brazil since 1974 when we didn't need one so my information is NOT from personal experience! We did use Zierer when we needed Russian visas in May 2001 (and I was able to hand carry the material to their office so we saved on mailing fees back and forth) and they did an excellent job. OTOH, someone on the Oceania yahoo board said a while back (5 years ago?) that Zierer had LOST their passports! Fortunately they were found in time. That's always a concern when you are using a middleman.

 

Has this answered your questions?

 

Mura

[winegirl]

Spouse just travelled to Brazil for business and used a visa service, don't know which. His visa allowed him to stay a very limited period of time. After that, he'd need another visa.

 

However, someone mentioned the visa being good for 5 years. It is not. From the website of the government of Brazil: http://www.brazilsf.org/visa_tourist_eng.htm

 

"Brazilian tourist visas are valid for multiple entries within the period of time shown on the visa stamp. Unless specified otherwise, Brazilian tourist visas allow for stays (one or multiple) in Brazil for a combined total of 90 days during the one-year period following the date of the first entry. A one-time extension of up to 90 days may be granted in Brazil by the Brazilian Federal Police Department (Delegacia de Estrangeiros)."

I mention this to point out that if you plan travel through Brazil for multiple trips that extend beyond 90 days, you will need to get another visa. They make it hard for US citizens, in part because the US charged their citizens similar fees to travel here. It's a tit for tat. Citizens of many other countries do not need visas.

[winegirl]

http://www.brazilsf.org/visa_faq_eng.htm

[traveler916]

Gary,

 

I simply did a google search ("Visas to Brazil") which came with a number of visa providers who do the leg work for you. The cheapest one I saw was Visaexpress.net (http://www.visaexpress.net/brazil/braziltouristvisa.htm) which had a service charge of $49 on top of the $140 the Consulate charges if you use a service for your visa. You should get your visa no more than 90 days before you will be going to Brazil, and it is good for 5 years. That link I included is to Visaexpress's instruction page on what you need to send them.

 

I have NOT used them myself so I'm not making a recommendation! But we have used a visa service once or twice, and recently my husband used a similar service to renew his passport on an expedited basis.

 

Someone wrote to me a day or two ago to say that they went to Brazil in 2003 and at that time they were able to mail in everything themselves to the Consulate. When I was doing my cursory search I wasn't looking to see if you can do it this way as opposed to using a service. So just keep that in mind when choosing which agency you use.

 

Go to http://www.brazil-help.com/brazil-emb-consul.htm if you want to see just where the consulates are here (this page also lists consulates in other countries if any non-U.S. citizens are reading this). You could always contact the nearest one to you to find out what their specific procedures are.

 

Also bear in mind that you'll have another cost in mailing in your documents whether you ship it to the consulate or an agency, and I assume you would want to use FedEx or the like.

 

We haven't been to Brazil since 1974 when we didn't need one so my information is NOT from personal experience! We did use Zierer when we needed Russian visas in May 2001 (and I was able to hand carry the material to their office so we saved on mailing fees back and forth) and they did an excellent job. OTOH, someone on the Oceania yahoo board said a while back (5 years ago?) that Zierer had LOST their passports! Fortunately they were found in time. That's always a concern when you are using a middleman.

 

Has this answered your questions?

 

Mura

 

Yes, it does.

 

As to how things worked "in the old days" - I believe when the US CBP started requiring foreigners wanting to come to the US to get a visa in advance and having to visit the US Consulate in person, Brazil imposed those same requirements on US citizens wishing to go to Brazil. Not positive...but pretty sure about that.

 

I agree there is a potential loss of the passport...but it won't go far :)

 

Thasnks for the input!!

[sitraveler]

Do NOT GET INFORMATION OFF AN UNMONITORED WEBSITE>

 

A tourist visa is not a work visa.

 

I will not participate here.

[Mura]

Yes, it does.

 

As to how things worked "in the old days" - I believe when the US CBP started requiring foreigners wanting to come to the US to get a visa in advance and having to visit the US Consulate in person, Brazil imposed those same requirements on US citizens wishing to go to Brazil. Not positive...but pretty sure about that.

 

I agree there is a potential loss of the passport...but it won't go far :)

 

Thasnks for the input!!

 

That's the way I recall it too: we started it, Brazil (and Turkey) just retaliated in kind (although Turkey has since backed off on the more onerous provisions).