Oceania NEXT

[LHT28]

55 minutes ago, edgee said:

Allowing use of nonrefundable cruise credit to tip employees is a caring gesture on the part of the cruise line toward its employees.

I  agree it would  be  a nice gesture

but when the OBC comes from the cruiselines pockets  it is up to them where the unused nonrefundable credit  goes

Their $  their rules

JMO

 

[RJB]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I  agree it would  be  a nice gesture

but when the OBC comes from the cruiselines pockets  it is up to them where the unused nonrefundable credit  goes

Their $  their rules

JMO

 

Just have to make sure you spend it all.   I can always find something to buy in the shops even if I do not need it  No money left behind, ever.    

[Wol]

All I can say to the above is that we have on at least half a dozen occasions made over to crew gratuities unused OBCs, on several ships. It is designated as "Gratuities" on the final statements.

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, Wol said:

All I can say to the above is that we have on at least half a dozen occasions made over to crew gratuities unused OBCs, on several ships. It is designated as "Gratuities" on the final statements.

were your gratuities prepaid  & this OBC was in addition to them

What Oceania ship allowed this ?

 

[ebslcc]

On 12/10/2018 at 1:08 AM, bob brown said:

Thanks Laurence so much, for the photo's and answering questions...any chance to get a look at cabin 4028?   Or another accessible one....?

It will be my 'home' for six months,  and I was curious to see especially the way the furniture and bathroom is arranged.   I realize it's usually impossible until the occupants disembark, but if you do get the chance, it would be appreciated...

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

 

No promises but I will do what I can to get more photos of penthouse(gobucks requested) 4028 and other rooms on disembarkation.

 

i took some photos of the library.  I don’t remember how it looked before.  There may be a few pieces of chairs changed and the carpet changed.  I will post them soon.  

 

If I missed some of your request or some photos I have not covered yet please let me know. 

 

We just finished 2 great days in Santiago de Cuba.  I will post info in the Cuba board when I have idle time or after our cruise. IMHO there is a lot of missed information from Oceania that is unfair to passengers and the spirit of supporting  the Cuban people.  

 

Photo and video shoots for Oceania brochures and may be on board videos and YouTube segments continued today.  The film crew including 2 models is here for our entire 10 days cruise.  One passenger commented that peony 99% of the passengers don’t look like them 😄!!!

 

 

[Classiccruiser777]

2 minutes ago, ebslcc said:

 

No promises but I will do what I can to get more photos of penthouse(gobucks requested) 4028 and other rooms on disembarkation.

 

i took some photos of the library.  I don’t remember how it looked before.  There may be a few pieces of chairs changed and the carpet changed.  I will post them soon.  

 

If I missed some of your request or some photos I have not covered yet please let me know. 

 

We just finished 2 great days in Santiago de Cuba.  I will post info in the Cuba board when I have idle time or after our cruise. IMHO there is a lot of missed information from Oceania that is unfair to passengers and the spirit of supporting  the Cuban people.  

 

Photo and video shoots for Oceania brochures and may be on board videos and YouTube segments continued today.  The film crew including 2 models is here for our entire 10 days cruise.  One passenger commented that peony 99% of the passengers don’t look like them 😄!!!

 

 

 

Specialty restaurants, GDR, library and Terrace Cafe, please.

[LHT28]

Thanks  for taking time from your vacation to post photos

[Mura]

19 minutes ago, Wol said:

All I can say to the above is that we have on at least half a dozen occasions made over to crew gratuities unused OBCs, on several ships. It is designated as "Gratuities" on the final statements.

We have found that some people manning the desk are more aware than others.  One can say one thing and another may say something else.  On our recent Riviera cruise we recognized a gentleman from past cruises going back about 10 years (and this was our first time on Riviera) and he was the one that gave us the best information every time.

 

Also remember (this has probably been said before but dinner is burning so I'm not taking the time to go back to prior posts) that there is a difference between refundable and non-refundable OBC.

 

On leaving Riviera in May there was a glitch with our refundable OBC.  DH had notified the desk several times that we wanted a cash refund (or refund to our credit card, we didn't care) of our refundable OBC.   We had a lot due to us so we took some in cash which was dispensed as tips and the balance was to come back to us.  As we were leaving the ship they called us back to say that we had refundable OBC.  The check arrived soon (or the credit card refund) so we didn't worry ... but they had been notified more than once.

 

In the end, no problem!  We aren't complaining because of the glitch ... we appreciated the extra notices.  Better too many than too few!

 

Mura

[Wol]

39 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

were your gratuities prepaid  & this OBC was in addition to them

What Oceania ship allowed this ?

Yes, gratuities included. Regatta, Sirena, Insignia and Nautica. We stopped going on the big ships some years ago.

39 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

 

 

[Wol]

BTW could posters refrain from including the photos that were originally posted when they reply? They all have to be downloaded each and every time !

[ebslcc]

4 hours ago, Classiccruiser777 said:

Specialty restaurants, GDR, library and Terrace Cafe, please.

 

We were in Polo tonight.  Per our server the only things changed in Polo were the carpets and the  artwork. He said that Toscana was totally redone.  He he also said that he and others stayed on board  during the refurbishment helping to move furniture. 

 

Below are are photos from Polo. I will post photos from Toscana later.  

 

Laurence 

 

 

 

 

[ORV]

Man, I wish they had gotten new chairs. I always slide out of those. 

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

Man, I wish they had gotten new chairs. I always slide out of those. 

Not to mention the problem of pulling them closer to the table after being seated.

[Rob the Cruiser]

17 hours ago, Wol said:

All I can say to the above is that we have on at least half a dozen occasions made over to crew gratuities unused OBCs, on several ships. It is designated as "Gratuities" on the final statements.

 

Maybe I missed it but if you designate OBC to gratuities can it go to a particular person or is it put in a fund to be divided by all the crew?

 

I hand out cash to those I believe had gone beyond expectations in service. It's usually to the cabin attendants.

 

[Go-Bucks!]

14 hours ago, ebslcc said:

Below are are photos from Polo. I will post photos from Toscana later.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glad to see they left some of the wood paneling in the ship.

 

I hope they left the library as it was.

[Charles4515]

24 minutes ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

Glad to see they left some of the wood paneling in the ship.

 

I hope they left the library as it was.

 

I hope they are maintaining the book collection. The last few cruises I have been on, on mainstream cruise lines the book collection was depleted.  They had nothing published in the last few years. 

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, Rob the Cruiser said:

 

Maybe I missed it but if you designate OBC to gratuities can it go to a particular person or is it put in a fund to be divided by all the crew?

 

I hand out cash to those I believe had gone beyond expectations in service. It's usually to the cabin attendants.

 

I  have only had one occasion to have OBC left over  & was  told no  when asked to give it to the crew

 

I usually put any extra tip in an envelope  with a note thanking the staff  member  & put our name & room number on the note  so  if/when they have to hand it in  the purser will know  it was given as an extra cash tip

YMMV

 

[StanandJim]

16 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

 

 

16 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I  have only had one occasion to have OBC left over  & was  told no  when asked to give it to the crew

 

I usually put any extra tip in an envelope  with a note thanking the staff  member  & put our name & room number on the note  so  if/when they have to hand it in  the purser will know  it was given as an extra cash tip

YMMV

 

+1

only refundable obc may be gifted to staff.

Non refundable is their play money and is strictly use it or lose it 

[ORV]

Has Wol ever said he was doing this with Non refundable OBC?

[seasoned]

Thank you, StanandJim. I'm with you.

 

The most appreciated gifts are cash gratuities paid directly to the recipient, with a nice note, if possible, and definitely a mention in the comments during or after the cruise.

 

I hope you will consider not only your stateroom or suite attendants, but your favorite waitstaff, bartenders, the barista, and even the cleaners you see so often silently polishing the brass and dusting the woodwork. I always try to give something to the fellow up in Horizons in the early morning who tends the coffee area; the machine seems to need nearly constant attention, and some guests are so impatient. Kindness matters.

 

-Sukey-

 

[LHT28]

25 minutes ago, ORV said:

Has Wol ever said he was doing this with Non refundable OBC?

maybe he does not know

that is  what I was trying to find out   from his post #378  😉

 

I think there was  a thread on this last year  but some say yes it can be done & others say no

[Wol]

3 hours ago, LHT28 said:

maybe he does not know

that is  what I was trying to find out   from his post #378  😉

 

I think there was  a thread on this last year  but some say yes it can be done & others say no

We never get any non-refundable OBC. In the US the travel agents often let you have a proportion of their commission - in Australia it's unheard of. In fact we have been charged $55 each just to walk into a travel agency whether or not we buy anything!

[StanandJim]

2 hours ago, Wol said:

We never get any non-refundable OBC. In the US the travel agents often let you have a proportion of their commission - in Australia it's unheard of. In fact we have been charged $55 each just to walk into a travel agency whether or not we buy anything!

Rebates on a Commission would result in refundable OBC as the source of the funds would be external of Oceania.  

 

Non Refundable OBC comes about when the Cruise Line puts a promotion in place to stimulate sales.

 

The interest in your earlier statement about designating unused OBC to go staff would chiefly be from recipients of large amounts of non-refundable credit, who would prefer to pass it on to staff as opposed to using it during their time onboard.   

Now that it has been determined that it was REFUNDABLE OBC which you were passing on to staff, the process will seem much less attractive.  

 

 

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, Wol said:

We never get any non-refundable OBC.

So your OBC is refundable ?

In that case  then you can allocate  any unused  OBC to the crew 

[ebslcc]

Re: bathroom. I like the new shower doors. They flip inwards. 

 

Below are are more bathroom photos:

flip open shower doors, new shower head and towel rack.