Marina South America - Penthouse questions

[RetiredandTravel]

Is the initial deposit really only $750 ?  Final payment with 90  days to go.  Is the $750 or a portion refundable, wording is a little vague.

 

https://oceania.cruiselines.com/cruise_info/payments_and_refunds.cfm

 

 

[LHT28]

best to read the T & C on Oceania site

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/legal/terms-conditions/

 

Deposit is refundable up to 121 days  on 14 or less cruises

181 days on 15 day plus cruises

 

There is  an Admin fee  which can be applied to future bookings if cruise  is cancelled 120-90 days  on 14 day or shorter cruise

150- 180 on 15 + day cruises

Read the fine print

[1985rz1]

55 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Is the initial deposit really only $750 ?  Final payment with 90  days to go.  Is the $750 or a portion refundable, wording is a little vague.

 

https://oceania.cruiselines.com/cruise_info/payments_and_refunds.cfm

 

 

I agree with Lynn.  It's not as simple as the web site you quote.  Deposit amount is based on cruise length as is the due date of the final payment, and there is an adminstrative penalty that take effect 30 days before the final payment date. 

 

Deposit for 15 or more days is $1500 pp.  Cancellation penalties set in at 180 days.

[RetiredandTravel]

Yeah I went thru the terms for 15+ day cruises..  Looks like you lose $250 each after 180 days prior and full payment 150 days prior.  I still see a deposit of $750 pp unless its a Grand Voyage, is that wrong.  I think the Grand Voyage is Miami to BA.

 

"The per person, per cruise deposit required to secure your reservation is 20% of the applicable cruise fare for Owner's, Vista and Oceania Suites and $750 for all other suite/stateroom categories; for Grand Voyages the per person deposit is $1,500. "

[1985rz1]

16 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Yeah I went thru the terms for 15+ day cruises..  Looks like you lose $250 each after 180 days prior and full payment 150 days prior.  I still see a deposit of $750 pp unless its a Grand Voyage, is that wrong.  I think the Grand Voyage is Miami to BA.

 

"The per person, per cruise deposit required to secure your reservation is 20% of the applicable cruise fare for Owner's, Vista and Oceania Suites and $750 for all other suite/stateroom categories; for Grand Voyages the per person deposit is $1,500. "

The $1500 deposit policy applies to Extended Voyages (any combo of b2bs that is not long enough to classify as a Grand Voyage (O has really confused these terms) as well as Grand Voyages. I just paid one.  If your SA cruise does not consist of two or more segments, it might be only $750 pp, but I wouldn't rely on a travel site for an up-to-date answer.  I would ask the TA who would be doing the booking. (I don't like surprises 🙈)

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by 1985rz1

[GeezerCouple]

4 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

ty..never had a butler

 

To be clear on a 24 day cruise in a PH suite I will get 8 specialty resos up front, can probably get more once on board and I get additional specialty meals anytime  in the room with the butler?

 

The Specialty restaurants "reservations" are to eat IN those restaurants.

 

One wonderful thing about having a Butler is that if one wants to eat more meals from Specialties, and there just isn't availability for extra meals IN the Specialty restaurant, then... It's "Butler Time"!  This is a huge perk for us!  We LOVE some of the meals in the specialties, and sometimes we can get an extra "in restaurant" reservation, and sometimes not.

 

However, it's also a real treat to have those special meals served in our suite if we are tired (or, um, just lazy? 😉 ).

 

We also enjoy a nice (and hearty) breakfast when we wake up on many mornings.

We tell the Butler that any "privacy" notice is NOT for them, but for the steward or anyone else (??).  IF we want privacy "from the Butler", we'll bolt the door.

We ask them to knock/ring, wait a moment, and if no answer, just come in.

So in the mornings, they can just bring in breakfast when we ordered it.  If we are awake, great!  If we are still (partly) asleep, we'll wake up to the smell of bacon and the aroma of coffee, and perhaps a gentle clink of a plate or two.  They can be very quiet indeed.  And if we say "good morning", *then* they'll greet us in kind; otherwise, they'll just vanish and the food will be waiting.  We haven't ever slept through it completely, as we are usually partly awake by then even if we are still in bed.

 

They are very professional, and there's never been any awkwardness.

 

Ah... we cannot wait... to be back on Oceania, and for so many reasons!

 

GC

[mauibabes]

Just an FYI as it relates to Deposits, specifically the discussion about $750 or 1500 is accurate but that is why you always make an On Board Booking or two or … whenever you are sailing.  The $250 O. Board deposit is a great benefit. Also, if you are penalized for the $250 Administrative Fee, it  ends up noted in your account and can be applied to another cruise as a credit.  Just ask for it to be done through your TA or Oceania Specialist. It is NOT lost. 
 

Ciao, Mauibabes 

[mauibabes]

Our post Covid cruises, 5 segments so far in PH’s, with virtually every sailing being 30-50% capacity, with only the Transatlantic being over 1000 guests, it was no problem getting additional reservations in a Specialty restaurant. In fact if I recall correctly, we either asked our Butler or the Maitre d and we got a reservations anytime we wanted one so we spent at least 75% of the nights in Riviera and Marina’s Specialties with 6-8 friends. 
When you are booking on line 75 days in advance, you will most likely only be able to book one time in each restaurant and then book additional nights once you are on board. They do that to spread the Specialties around more but it is not really an issue that will impact you in a PH. Everyone on board is eligible for Specialty Dining reservations. 
 

When capacities return to normal, it will be more challenging but still bookable in PH’s and above. 
good luck and keep sailing, see anyone on Marina in January in Buenos Aires.🤞🙏👍🍹🥂🍷

 

Mauibabes

[RetiredandTravel]

I have some more homework to do but with reading all the enthusiasm we a close to booking the SA cruise.

 

Questions:

 

1) How much additional do you tip the butler?

 

2) Looks like you book excursions 240 days in advance.  The consensus seems to take the excursion credit.    When do you pay for the balance of excursions?

 

3) Does it matter which side of the ship you are on for Lima=> Buenos Aires including Antarctica?

 

4)  We would go with the Premium Drink Package ($120/day) looks like its about breakeven with dinner wines.  When we go on vacation we like to whoop it up a little, the senior version anyway 🤠.  I went thru the recent wine list thread with preismans Oceania pricing (thx LHT) it looks like they have a great wine list but on the steep side.  Someone mentioned bringing your own wine on board which we would try to to. 

 

Two Questions:

 

a) Does Oceania have any  packages were you can buy like 6 wines and they are discounted?

 

b)  If you have the Premium Drink Package will be butler bring a full bottle from the list to your room?

 

you guys are great ty

 

 

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

a) Does Oceania have any  packages were you can buy like 6 wines and they are discounted?

They do have the 7 bottle package  & the wine choice will vary by cruise

Depends on how picky you are  😉

Scroll down to "wine by the bottle"

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/value

 

[pinotlover]

2 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

I have some more homework to do but with reading all the enthusiasm we a close to booking the SA cruise.

 

Questions:

 

1) How much additional do you tip the butler?

 

2) Looks like you book excursions 240 days in advance.  The consensus seems to take the excursion credit.    When do you pay for the balance of excursions?

 

3) Does it matter which side of the ship you are on for Lima=> Buenos Aires including Antarctica?

 

4)  We would go with the Premium Drink Package ($120/day) looks like its about breakeven with dinner wines.  When we go on vacation we like to whoop it up a little, the senior version anyway 🤠.  I went thru the recent wine list thread with preismans Oceania pricing (thx LHT) it looks like they have a great wine list but on the steep side.  Someone mentioned bringing your own wine on board which we would try to to. 

 

Two Questions:

 

a) Does Oceania have any  packages were you can buy like 6 wines and they are discounted?

 

b)  If you have the Premium Drink Package will be butler bring a full bottle from the list to your room?

 

you guys are great ty

 

 

1. Depends upon the services rendered by the particular Butler. Varies.

 

2. I would first fully participate in your Roll Call where you’ll often find better, and less expensive, shore tours than those offered by O. You should go ahead and book the catamaran to the glacier early if it suits you. It’s your only way off the ship for the day and the tour is capacity limited. Ship Excursions are fully paid for when booked.

 

3. The ships sails far from land, so side of ship rarely matters. In the fjords, the sail in and back out, so both sides get the same view.

 

a. 7 bottle package of every changing wines.

 

b. Wines “ by the glass “ are delivered by the glass. Even with the Premium package those wines are delivered one at a time.

[RetiredandTravel]

The premium package wines are every bit as good as Regent & SS included wines.  We only drink red at dinner so the premium whites will work great for lunch & cocktails.   Wish the Champagne was a little better.    Will probably go with the 7 bottle package, some wines brought on and the AMEX OBC for a couple nicer wines to supplement the premium package for dinner reds.

 

Sure tips vary was just talking about a tip for good standard service.

 

Thought maybe the butler would just bring a bottle when dining in the room.  Glasses are fine, really more work for him (her).

 

Thanks on the roll call info.  Looks like I need to look into which credit best fits us a little more.

 

Thanks again all.

[pinotlover]

Retiredandtravel;

 

Likewise remember you’ll be sailing from Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. All produce some excellent wines, both white and reds, to pick up on your port calls. I personally wouldn’t consider any of the Package Wines or even a bin end on your cruise unless it’s truly an exceptional deal.

 

Try out those local wines! Do winery tours. Bring what you find you like back to the ship to enjoy with your meals or at leisure in your cabin. It’s the purpose of travel! We don’t go to South America to explore and drink wines from OZ or the US, or vise versus.

[ORV]

58 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

The premium package wines are every bit as good as Regent & SS included wines.  We only drink red at dinner so the premium whites will work great for lunch & cocktails.   Wish the Champagne was a little better.    Will probably go with the 7 bottle package, some wines brought on and the AMEX OBC for a couple nicer wines to supplement the premium package for dinner reds.

 

Sure tips vary was just talking about a tip for good standard service.

 

Thought maybe the butler would just bring a bottle when dining in the room.  Glasses are fine, really more work for him (her).

 

Thanks on the roll call info.  Looks like I need to look into which credit best fits us a little more.

 

Thanks again all.

One point that needs clarification. The wines by the glass are exactly the same on the basic package as the premium. The benefit to getting the Premium is you can get them at anytime, not just during lunch and dinner. Of course you also get any drink that’s on a bar menu. 

[1985rz1]

1 hour ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

Sure tips vary was just talking about a tip for good standard service.

 

 

There are substantial differences on the issues of when and how much to tip over and above the gratuities that O automatically applies to your shipboard account.  O's automatic gratuity for a suite with a butler is $23 per person per day, about $8 pp pd more than staterooms without butlers.

[RetiredandTravel]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

One point that needs clarification. The wines by the glass are exactly the same on the basic package as the premium. The benefit to getting the Premium is you can get them at anytime, not just during lunch and dinner. Of course you also get any drink that’s on a bar menu. 

 

Yes, for us the premium probably makes more sense.   We don't drink like we are in college but with a pre & post dinner drink you're ahead in the game.  The premium seems close to paying by the drink but its less hassle.  I like champagne on vacation (& on new years at home) which ups the ante.

 

1 hour ago, 1985rz1 said:

There are substantial differences on the issues of when and how much to tip over and above the gratuities that O automatically applies to your shipboard account.  O's automatic gratuity for a suite with a butler is $23 per person per day, about $8 pp pd more than staterooms without butlers.

 

 

So the the butler gets $16 a day for PH & up.  Seems a little light if we're ordering breakfast in every day and having a few dinners in addition to other things.

[pinotlover]

4 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

Yes, for us the premium probably makes more sense.   We don't drink like we are in college but with a pre & post dinner drink you're ahead in the game.  The premium seems close to paying by the drink but its less hassle.  I like champagne on vacation (& on new years at home) which ups the ante.

 

 

 

So the the butler gets $16 a day for PH & up.  Seems a little light if we're ordering breakfast in every day and having a few dinners in addition to other things.

The butler gets $8/day extra in tips.

[RetiredandTravel]

2 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Retiredandtravel;

 

Likewise remember you’ll be sailing from Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. All produce some excellent wines, both white and reds, to pick up on your port calls. I personally wouldn’t consider any of the Package Wines or even a bin end on your cruise unless it’s truly an exceptional deal.

 

Try out those local wines! Do winery tours. Bring what you find you like back to the ship to enjoy with your meals or at leisure in your cabin. It’s the purpose of travel! We don’t go to South America to explore and drink wines from OZ or the US, or vise versus.

 

 

Couldn't agree more.

 

 We've visited (land based) Spain a couple times in the last 10 years and it really turned us on to the Spanish wines.   We drink them all the time now, actually Costco has many great Spanish wines in the $8-25 range.

 

 Immersion is something that is lacking on a cruise, we've taken many land based vacations to Europe and a big part of the fun is having lunch, dinner and drinking local wines etc.   Silversea has introduced the SALT concept which I think is a great idea.  The SALT restaurant serves the food of the region you are visiting and the SALT bar local drinks (not sure on the wines).  Silversea has also gotten away from the large MDR with several small/mid size restaurants which IMO is also a good idea.   There is no hierarchy of reservations depending on room.  SS has a cruise that compares to this Oceania cruise from Lima => Buenos Aires.  The basic SS Veranda Room ( ~360 sq ft with butler ) on the brand new Nova costs about the same (maybe 1-2k higher) as the Oceania PH (420 sq ft w/butler room).   Oceania wins hands down because its 24 days going to Antarctica while SS is 20 days  w/o Antarctica and really only 8 ports (gets into two ports very late).   Our primary interest is in the excursions.

 

So back to your original post I think discovering and drinking the local wines is something we'll have to make sure we do.   Thinking Lima might be a good place to start before the trip.

 

 

 

Cheers.

 

 

Edited May 18, 2022 by RetiredandTravel

[LHT28]

38 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

So the the butler gets $16 a day for PH & up.  Seems a little light if we're ordering breakfast in every day and having a few dinners in addition to other things.

You can always add more   depends on how much you use the butler services

[pinotlover]

1 hour ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

Couldn't agree more.

 

 We've visited (land based) Spain a couple times in the last 10 years and it really turned us on to the Spanish wines.   We drink them all the time now, actually Costco has many great Spanish wines in the $8-25 range.

 

 Immersion is something that is lacking on a cruise, we've taken many land based vacations to Europe and a big part of the fun is having lunch, dinner and drinking local wines etc.   Silversea has introduced the SALT concept which I think is a great idea.  The SALT restaurant serves the food of the region you are visiting and the SALT bar local drinks (not sure on the wines).  Silversea has also gotten away from the large MDR with several small/mid size restaurants which IMO is also a good idea.   There is no hierarchy of reservations depending on room.  SS has a cruise that compares to this Oceania cruise from Lima => Buenos Aires.  The basic SS Veranda Room ( ~360 sq ft with butler ) on the brand new Nova costs about the same (maybe 1-2k higher) as the Oceania PH (420 sq ft w/butler room).   Oceania wins hands down because its 24 days going to Antarctica while SS is 20 days  w/o Antarctica and really only 8 ports (gets into two ports very late).   Our primary interest is in the excursions.

 

So back to your original post I think discovering and drinking the local wines is something we'll have to make sure we do.   Thinking Lima might be a good place to start before the trip.

 

 

 

Cheers.

 

 

You really need to get out your globe. Maritime laws have changed recently and none of Oceania’s ships are allowed into Antarctica. In fact they are not allowed below 60 degrees South. To go further South requires specialty exploration ships meeting hull and other construction requirements none of the O ships have. Viking has a new ship now especially built for that itinerary, as do some of the other lines. At 60 degrees South, you can’t even do the South Orkneys. With Oceania, you basically get additional sea days where land may not even be sighted, no less touched, in an area of the ocean fabled for violent seas. 
 

With the newish restrictions, I believe Oceania needs to be totally transparent as to what the expected route is in that area.

[RetiredandTravel]

On 5/16/2022 at 4:37 AM, PaulMCO said:

Most of the questions were answered. 

Antarctica drive by.  You will see some stunning scenery.  The smell of 100,000's of penguins.  Maybe some whales.  Nice but not the real thing and it will wet your appetite for an expedition cruise where you can land.  It did for us.  We did this on Insignia.

 

The Drake can be rough, but it was not for us.  It was much rough going from the Fjords through the Magellan straight.  There we had a good rockin and rollin. 

 

17 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

You really need to get out your globe. Maritime laws have changed recently and none of Oceania’s ships are allowed into Antarctica. In fact they are not allowed below 60 degrees South. To go further South requires specialty exploration ships meeting hull and other construction requirements none of the O ships have. Viking has a new ship now especially built for that itinerary, as do some of the other lines. At 60 degrees South, you can’t even do the South Orkneys. With Oceania, you basically get additional sea days where land may not even be sighted, no less touched, in an area of the ocean fabled for violent seas. 
 

With the newish restrictions, I believe Oceania needs to be totally transparent as to what the expected route is in that area.

 

I don't see how the first sentence is necessary, very rude actually.   So this post is incorrect. 

[edgee]

38 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

You really need to get out your globe. Maritime laws have changed recently and none of Oceania’s ships are allowed into Antarctica. In fact they are not allowed below 60 degrees South. To go further South requires specialty exploration ships meeting hull and other construction requirements none of the O ships have. Viking has a new ship now especially built for that itinerary, as do some of the other lines. At 60 degrees South, you can’t even do the South Orkneys. With Oceania, you basically get additional sea days where land may not even be sighted, no less touched, in an area of the ocean fabled for violent seas. 
 

With the newish restrictions, I believe Oceania needs to be totally transparent as to what the expected route is in that area.

You are correct that Antarctica "drive byes" are not what they used to be in terms of how much of Antarctica can be viewed. However small portions of Antarctica are still available for viewing from the larger ships. To say that "land may or may not be sighted" has always been true due to weather risk, but aside from that, the ability to see at least some of Antarctica has not changed.

Edited May 18, 2022 by edgee

[RetiredandTravel]

5 minutes ago, edgee said:

You are correct that Antarctica "drive byes" are not what they used to be in terms of how much of Antarctica can be viewed. However small portions of Antarctica are still available for viewing from the larger ships. To say that "land may or may not be sighted" has always been true due to weather risk, but aside from that, the ability to see at least some of Antarctica has not changed.

 

 

We've researched the expedition vs Ocean cruises and decided to go with the Ocean cruise for this one.   I  attached an expedition youtube at the start of the thread.   Seabourn has a ship that has done both in the past but they haven't scheduled any going forward at this point.   They are also rolling out two new awesome looking  expedition ships.  If the Antarctica portion is really this marginal we'll just go with Regent or SS w/o Antarctica.   I just read some of the threads and it appears Antarctica on this cruise is a pass.   Wish someone had said that yesterday when I initially asked the question, I would have figured it out before booking anyway.

[pinotlover]

41 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

I don't see how the first sentence is necessary, very rude actually.   So this post is incorrect. 

It wasn’t my intention to be rude. The new rules went into effect 1 Jan 22. What occurred before then doesn’t matter. Oceania ships can’t cross the 60 degree South latitude. Just suggesting one look at their globe to understand what that means in Antarctica. The rules are also in effect for 60 degrees north. This puts Greenland and far north Alaska off limits likewise.

 

I don’t believe any of Regent’s ship can now go there.

Edited May 18, 2022 by pinotlover

[RetiredandTravel]

6 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

It wasn’t my intention to be rude. The new rules went into effect 1 Jan 22. What occurred before then doesn’t matter. Oceania ships can’t cross the 60 degree South latitude. Just suggesting one look at their globe to understand what that means in Antarctica. The rules are also in effect for 60 degrees north. This puts Greenland and far north Alaska off limits likewise.

 

I don’t believe any of Regent’s ship can now go there.

 

 

Thank you for that information you saved me from a major disappointment.  Much appreciated.  Well the Voyager has a cruise that says its going to Antarctica.  I was looking at the Splendor which is straight Lima > Buenos Aires.  The big problem is they stop in Santiago on Christmas Day , seems like a big miss.  Oceania does seem to have some of the best itineraries and we'll use them in the future.

 

Voyager

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/VOY230129/summary?source=top results

 

 

Splendor

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/SPL231220/summary?source=top results