Oceania Cruises Makes Pre-Cruise Excursion Guide Digital-Only

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Oceania Cruises, the upscale boutique line operated by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, is making changes to its Cruise Vacation Guide, an information packet containing pre-cruise documents that is sent to all guests prior to embarkation day. 

Most notably, the guide no longer contains a printed shore excursion booklet, requiring cruisers to use the digital version of the lineโ€™s excursion โ€œoverview bookletโ€ available on the Oceania Cruisesโ€™ website. Guests also can access a digital PDF showing the shore tours offered on their specific voyage.

The new โ€œWelcome Aboardโ€ guide will continue to provide other important pre-cruise documents, such as general cruise and ship information and four color-coordinated luggage tags showing the guestsโ€™ names, ship and departure date, and cabin number. The relaunched guide also features a welcome letter from Oceania Cruisesโ€™ president.

Oceania Cruises Cruise Vacation Guide
Oceania Cruises Cruise Vacation Guide

It’s important to us that travelers sailing with Oceania Cruises enjoy a personalized and seamless experience from the time they book their voyage until their return home,said Frank A. Del Rio, president of Oceania Cruises.ย 

While most other lines are making the shift to a fully digital experience, we are responding to our guests’ preference for physical, in-hand documents, showing our dedication to meet the needs of our guests while also providing digital versions,โ€ added Del Rio.

Oceania Cruises, which operates eight vessels, will ship the guide to booked guests about two months before departure day.

The cruise line is known as a haven for foodies, and sails global itineraries that offer destination immersion experiences. Its ships are small by industry standards, accommodating a maximum of 1,250 guests in double occupancy.

The cruise line has two French Master Chefs on staff โ€” Chef Alexis Quaretti, the lineโ€™s senior culinary director, and Eric Barale, vice president of culinary. They are both members of the elite Maรฎtres Cuisiniers de France, a Paris-based group that promotes professional culinary excellence.

New-Build Allura Set for Debut in July 2025

Oceania Cruisesโ€™ ninth ship, Allura, is under construction at a Fincantieri shipyard in Italy and due to launch in 2025. Due to building delays, its first six scheduled cruises were recently cancelled and the launch date was postponed.

The cancelled sailings were to depart on June 8, 15, and 25; and on July 7, 17, and 29, 2025. A new maiden sailing is now slated to depart on July 24, 2025, and is scheduled as a 12-day voyage departing from Athens. The final itinerary has not yet been announced.

The cruise line was in the news in late May 2024 when it revealed that Marina, an Oceania-class ship that entered service in 2010, had emerged from a major dry dock refit that added three dining venues.

Oceania Marina Cruise Ship
Oceania Marina Cruise Ship (Photo Credit: Ceri Breeze / Shutterstock)

The cruise line announced the renovation in November 2023, calling it anโ€œall-encompassingโ€ refit that would include the new eateries plus a refresh of the lineโ€™s signature Polo Grill steakhouse and style upgrades to the shipโ€™s Penthouse Suites.

Read Also: Oceania Cruises Unveils More Than 100 Itineraries for 2025

During her refit,ย Marinaโ€™sย 124 Penthouse Suitesย received new custom-made furniture, closets, carpets, and upholstery, as well as upgraded lighting and technology, including more USB ports. Penthouse Suite bathrooms were restyled, and now feature Italian marble, oversized showers, and more storage spaces.

Marina is currently sailing a 12-day Rome to Lisbon cruise that departed June 1, 2024 and is calling at Saint-Tropez, France; Barcelona and Cadiz, Spain; Casablanca and Agadir, Morocco; Canary Islands; and Funchal, Portugal.

Upcoming sailings include an 11-day Lisbon to Amsterdam cruise departing June 13, 2024, and a 22-day Amsterdam to Southampton voyage that departs June 24, 2024, and features several Norwegian fjord destinations plus port calls in Scotland, Ireland, and the Channel Islands.

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Donna Tunney
Donna Tunney
Donna Tunney is a travel news/feature writer and editor with 20-plus years covering cruise news, luxury travel, and Europe and UK destinations. A former staffer at Travel Weekly and at the USAToday Network, she also was a luxury travel columnist at Travel Market Report, and a cruise columnist at Sherman's Travel.

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