Oceania Marina South Pacific cruise questions

I might be taking a 17 day cruise in the South Pacific ending in Tahiti on the Marina. I have never been on Oceania and have a few questions vs other larger mass market cruise lines that I have been on - Celebrity and Princess.

On sea days are there plenty of activities to do - others have lots.

Is the gym large or small? The others are larger with lots of machines.

How are the shows at night? Are they simple and local or are they production shows.

How rough are the seas when travelling for several days in the South Pacific. Larger ships would be more stable.

I would assume the fellow passengers might be older than the others and probably similar to Holland America. I heard on other posts that the passengers are young at heart.

Thanks, Rick

I might be taking a 17 day cruise in the South Pacific ending in Tahiti on the Marina. I have never been on Oceania and have a few questions vs other larger mass market cruise lines that I have been on - Celebrity and Princess.

On sea days are there plenty of activities to do - others have lots.

Is the gym large or small? The others are larger with lots of machines.

How are the shows at night? Are they simple and local or are they production shows.

How rough are the seas when travelling for several days in the South Pacific. Larger ships would be more stable.

I would assume the fellow passengers might be older than the others and probably similar to Holland America. I heard on other posts that the passengers are young at heart.

Thanks, Rick

Just by your assumptions I would say Oceania is not for you.

Everything will be smaller than you are used to but the food will probably be better and the fellow passengers will probably be more well traveled.

The seas in the Pacific are known to be rough but your experience may vary.

You don't say what time of year you'll be sailing but will assume it's between Dec and April. That's cyclone season and traditionally the wet season. The SoPac can be rough at times.. We're hoping for calm seas and blue skies but know that storms can stall and cause many successive grey, wet, rough days.

If you like production shows, you'll be disappointed on Marina. The gym seems adequate but we don't require much either. Perhaps the larger mass market ships would suit you better for a wider range of activities on sea days.

We were on Marina in FP end of march-april 2014.

O seemed to cater to alumni groups for this particular itinerary, therefore the ship was lively and had a younger demographic. The ships facilities easily accommodate its lower passenger rate. I never saw more than a few people in the gym. Days are spent out on excursion, it's all about the 'water activities' in FP. The ship has less passengers so it never feels overcrowded. There are many sitting areas inside and out and plenty to do on sea days but you cannot compare the O experience to the mass market experience. The shows are nice, modest productions and O had a Polynesian Dance troop board for a theme-night outdoor show (excellent). The seas depend on the weather - can't do much about it but the later the cruise dates the better chance of good weather.

I might be taking a 17 day cruise in the South Pacific ending in Tahiti on the Marina. I have never been on Oceania and have a few questions vs other larger mass market cruise lines that I have been on - Celebrity and Princess.

On sea days are there plenty of activities to do - others have lots.

Is the gym large or small? The others are larger with lots of machines.

How are the shows at night? Are they simple and local or are they production shows.

How rough are the seas when travelling for several days in the South Pacific. Larger ships would be more stable.

I would assume the fellow passengers might be older than the others and probably similar to Holland America. I heard on other posts that the passengers are young at heart.

Thanks, Rick

We noticed that you were also inquiring about pricing on the Paul Gauguin message board. Do note that if you are already skeptical about a ship the size of the Marina (carrying 1,250 passengers), you almost certainly would not care to sail on the 332 passenger PG.

We haven't done this itinerary (we came close a couple of years ago but backed out) but in terms of the gym size ... as people who have traveled almost exclusively on Oceania since it started up, the gym on the two newer ships (Marina and Riviera) looks plenty large to me. But if you are used to much larger ships they could well seem small to you.

They definitely would be smaller on the "R" ships.

One argument that I don't think has been stated that the smaller ships can get closer in to the South Sea ports. Even Marina/Riviera have to tender; I'm not sure about the "R" ships. That might be something for you to consider when thinking about what size ship you want to sail on.

From what I have read here and there, Paul Gaughin can dock. Then again, if seas are rough ... you'll really feel it on a ship that size!

Mura

I am E-Plus on Celebrity, so i know the X product well. I did the 17 Tahiti to Lima O Marina cruise two years ago. I found the ages on O no older than X - mostly relatively young active retirees. O is always casual, but a well dressed casual. I have not sailed HAL, but found O much younger than what I have heard about HAL. Food and service (and prices) were definitely a step above X. On board entertainers, but not big production shows. We found more than enough to keep us as busy as we wished on O. I think you would like it.

Thom

We were on Marina in April 2015, Papeete to Lima, and had mostly lovely, calm sea days but a few windy, rainy days as well. There were plenty of things for us to do on sea days but evenings are quiet after dinner. Shows are not their forte, check out other threads on this matter but changes may be in the works.

While we do like HAL, IMHO we have found nothing better than Oceania at this price point given the level of quality of product.

Stromer, we did this cruise 2 years ago, and had an absolute wonderful time, it really is about the locations and you can't beat FP for snorkelling and swimming. We found the guests on this cruise younger or those who were a wee bit older very active indeed, as this cruise is about adventure so I,think appeals to a younger demographic. The gym is as big as you need it, my husband was impressed with the variety and the weights. It really is an active cruise. We were lucky with the weather and had lovely 26 each day. We are Australian and so spend loads of time at the beach and snorkelling and loved this itinerary will probably do,it again. We have cruised on Celebrity and think Oceanias food a step above, shows not as grand, but more than adequate, in fact quite good.

The demographics much younger than HAL. But really,the choice is yours, whatever you decide it is a beautiful part of the world.:)

We haven't done this itinerary (we came close a couple of years ago but backed out) but in terms of the gym size ... as people who have traveled almost exclusively on Oceania since it started up, the gym on the two newer ships (Marina and Riviera) looks plenty large to me. But if you are used to much larger ships they could well seem small to you.

 

They definitely would be smaller on the "R" ships.

 

One argument that I don't think has been stated that the smaller ships can get closer in to the South Sea ports. Even Marina/Riviera have to tender; I'm not sure about the "R" ships. That might be something for you to consider when thinking about what size ship you want to sail on.

 

From what I have read here and there, Paul Gaughin can dock. Then again, if seas are rough ... you'll really feel it on a ship that size!

 

Mura

Mura, the Gauguin doesn't dock at the smaller islands, but because it's a shallow-draft ship it can moor within the lagoons making for a very short tender ride. That said, the shallow draft can make for a bumpy ride, especially when the Paul Gauguin leaves the relative shelter of the Society Islands and ventures to, say, the Tuamotus or the Cook Islands.

Thanks for the docking info about the PG. We nearly did this itinerary on the PG a couple of years ago but decided not to do the cruise. If we were to do the South Seas I think it would be on the PG despite -- or perhaps because of -- its small size. Certainly people who have done the cruise seem to love it, and many of them advocate against a ship the size of Marina or Riviera.

Then again, my tummy can be tender in rough seas ...

Mura

I have been on the Riviera, sister ship to Marina, and think it is a lovely size, still a bit on the large side for many of the islands. I don't know how they cope with the really large mainstream ships. Their excursions must be fully booked when a ship arrives with the same number of passengers as the entire population of an island.

We went on a 12 (!) passenger catamaran around the Society Islands and on the Aranui 2 and 3 (60 - 150 passengers) to the Tuamotos and the Marquesas.

As for food, in comparison to HAL and Princess, Oceania's is much more varied and of better quality. We often ate at Riviera's buffet which is light years above the Princess and HAL buffets, both in quality, variety and service.

Passenger age: On our longer cruises, all three had about the same average.

Entertainment: HAL's shows were boring. Princess and Oceania's were fine. Princess had one big, very good production show (Beatles' era) of which we saw the first performance in the Caribbean and a new and improved version of the same show a few years later in Australia.

We are nearly elite on celebrity and have generally cruised mainstream cruise lines. We did Oceania marina Auckland to Papeete in February/March this year. We were very lucky with the weather we were three days ahead of cyclone Pam (you have to take into account that time of year is cyclone season).

Food was slightly better than celebrity and the atmosphere a lot more understated. Evening entertainment pretty quiet, one show all over by 10. We made our own entertainment and were quite often the only people on the dance floor.

Trivia in the martini bar at 8.30 pm which ruined the ambience for us but obviously good if that is your thing.

Nice fellow passengers, well travelled, well to do, nice atmosphere on board.

South Pacific is amazing. Flight from Papeete leaves a lot to be desired. Open air airport. Definitely worth getting a pass for the business class lounge. Recommend booking a day room in Papeete for day of return flight. Oceania do their best considering the limited facilites but not ideal.

In reading your questions it tell me what you seek is the entertainment and activity's of Holland and Celebrity but in more up scale ambiance.

That dear sir is just NOT POSSIBLE on Oceania , and it is by design of the ship and the fellow passnegers. People sail Oceania to get away from ships that have all those entertainment things. Long slow dinners and conversation with fellow well traveled mannered adults with the finest cuisine afloat IS the entertainment.

Most Popular after dinner is retire to your superior cabin and enjoy just being there.

What you want will not ever be found Oceania and never will. You cant and wont find anything Celeb or Holland on your cruise...

.All of Oceania's ships will be a huge and frustrating disappointment to your personal ideal of enjoyment.

By the way the Pacific means calm....and it is the calmest in the world way more than Atlantic and med I have sailed this region for 30 years on many lines from O and Regent to Royal Viking...

This is a region where todays big ships are not an advantage in any respect as they overwhelm the small regions and islands they visit. If crossing the entire Pacific go with a ship not over 2000. If visiting places line Tahiti and similar go with a ship of over than1200,

I might be taking a 17 day cruise in the South Pacific ending in Tahiti on the Marina. I have never been on Oceania and have a few questions vs other larger mass market cruise lines that I have been on - Celebrity and Princess.

On sea days are there plenty of activities to do - others have lots.

Is the gym large or small? The others are larger with lots of machines.

How are the shows at night? Are they simple and local or are they production shows.

How rough are the seas when travelling for several days in the South Pacific. Larger ships would be more stable.

I would assume the fellow passengers might be older than the others and probably similar to Holland America. I heard on other posts that the passengers are young at heart.

Thanks, Rick

We were on the Marina in January for the Papeete/Papeete cruise. It was an Alumni cruise so youngest passengers were around 50s-60s in age. I did not notice rough seas but it rained pretty much every day, alas. As for activities, there are a some (lectures, various alcohol tastings, cooking classes, trivia, daily tea) but not a lot. Went to one show which was OK. Others in our group attended some other shows and said they were better but none were great.

I know I am going against the flow, but we found the production shows very good. Costumes, dancing, singing and lighting were quite as good as the main steam cruise productions we had experienced. The difference is that on O the show is much smaller! and there is only one show in an evening and it begins at 9.45pm. However it would be wrong to suggest that there is as much entertainment, all day long, as on main stream cruise ships. It may well not suit the OP.

The Gym seems very big,with more than enough equipment for energetic guests, on Riviera a week ago!

I know I am going against the flow, but we found the production shows very good. Costumes, dancing, singing and lighting were quite as good as the main steam cruise productions we had experienced. The difference is that on O the show is much smaller! and there is only one show in an evening and it begins at 9.45pm.

+1

It's quality that counts, not quantity.

We were on the 32 Grand Voyage that started in Sydney and ended in Papeete in Feb/Mar 2016. We were also on the 10 day French Polynesia cruise in 2014 in April that cruised in only FP.

The Auckland to Papeete leg of the Grand Voyage had lots of sea days. Normally I am not a fan of sea days but in this case they were welcomed after having a very active first 16 day leg of the voyage. We had private tours for the port days so we were never on board the ship. I was glad we were on the larger Marina for this voyage. The open seas can get choppy given the weather at this time of year. We had great weather (some intermittent rain) but dodged the bullet ahead of a cyclone.

If I were to return strictly to French Polynesia then I would go would a smaller ship. All the French Polynesia ports save Tahiti anchor and you need to tender. I think ships like the PG are better suited for this neck of the woods but I believe they only cruise in this area.

We have never been on Celebrity, HAL or Princess so can't compare. Entertainment is not the strong suit for Oceania but it is not bad either. The entertainment is comprised of small production shows, comedians, magicians, etc. Like others have said this is a very active itinerary. By the time you get back on the ship after a day of sightseeing, hiking, snorkeling, etc. you are beat. We never even saw the inside of the gym and this was our 8th O cruise. There is a casino but never been there either.

I would never want to be on a ship bigger than Marina for cruises with a high percentage of anchor versus dock ports. You will be spending all your time waiting to get off the ship. Also, these islands really do not have the infrastructure to support large ships with private tours etc.

French Polynesia is lovely. I would go back again in a heartbeat. The other ports we stopped at in Samoa, Noumea and Fiji I would pass. These islands are for snorkeling and diving and you never get out to the smaller islands that are so beautiful but that is my opinion since we like the water. We did not have the Isle of Pines on our itinerary. New Zealand is beautiful and that is another place that I would return even given the long plane ride in economy.

Enjoy no matter who you chose.

Thank you for your review of this cruise!

We found tendering on the Marina a laborious task, at least on our B2B Valpo-PPT-PPT almost 2 years ago. On the PPT-PPT leg, there were large alumni groups wanting off/on together at the same time which was awkward (for lack of another word). We stopped at lovely Raiatea where we docked, and of course we were docked in PPT. We were fortunate to have good weather and mostly calm seas on that voyage.

Thanks for the heads-up regarding your experience in Noumea, the Samoas, and Fiji. We've been to Fiji several times over the years but have never spent much time on Viti Levu so a spin through the markets and maybe a curry will do for us. Because we've never been to NC or the Samoas, walks through the main towns will suffice for now.

Agree re outer islands with their amazing beaches and snorkeling are the main draw for the SoPac....plus the kind people and their cultures.

To really "do" the islands, book a smaller ship. The Blue Lagoon Cruises in Fiji and the Paul Gauguin and Aranui 5 cruises in FP would be terrific. Not much in the line of entertainment on them either but there are things to do on the few days at sea. Since there is open sea on the PG and A5 cruises, you will experience more motion of the ocean.

NZ is fantastic and whatever cruise line you choose, be sure to give yourself some extra time to explore. You've traveled so far to get there.