New To Oceania, Marina Review

Myself and a group of 3 friends decided last year to try Oceania. We enjoy cruising and the dates and Itinerary of the Marina's September 24-October 4th cruise worked very well for us all. We had three cabins all the same.

In Hindsight, this itinerary was not a good one for us as we are experienced cruisers and enjoy sea days. This itinerary had None...stops every day. By the end of our cruise we were making our own sea days just to catch a break. Too much in too short of a time, we would have much rather the cruise had been 14 days and had 4 sea days. This said, Oceania seems to Not have many sea days in their itinerary's and certain people must love this I am sure. Not us.

Boarding was easy and our cabin, a PH on deck 10 (Didn't want the upstairs pool noise that suites on 11 complain about). Our cabin was beautiful, walk in closet and the Bathroom reminded us of the one on Silver Whisper on Silversea, same grey marble and set up etc. Balcony was set up with comfy chairs and the little living room was nice but received little use from us except the desk to use the internet. Cabin set up and service was excellent. Really a beautiful product. That said, there were strange smells, like toilet smells, in several parts of the ship and our toilet wouldn't flush 4 mornings and two evenings of the cruise....Don't know what that was about but they finally fixed it all towards the end.

They offered us upgrades to Oceania suites about 5 weeks before sailing for $1000 per person however released them at 2PM USA time which effectively meant that Americans had the opportunity to upgrade first and then Europe and then Asia....I found this Wrong and think they should alot "X" amount of upgrade-able cabins for each "zone" to ensure nobody gets left out. We were indeed left out and all upgrades were full by the time we even received the email. Oceania claimed this was not their fault. I beg to differ and think that if they are moving into European and Asian markets they need to be on the ball about this and not shut anyone out. First come first served is great...but if you are not a psychic to know these opportunities are out there, I don't know how you can participate in first come first serve? Embarrassing for a global company.

The public lounges and bars were ok but we did not overall like the decor of the ship, a little like Las Vegas gone wrong. Our sailing crowd, fellow passengers was far more "Elegant Library" than Las Vegas and we all felt the colors were off in several areas. We LOVED the main dining room and the double high ceilings, what a beautiful room. Yet we Strongly disliked the buffet with the low ceiling and crowded chairs and loudness when busy. We have lined up 2-3 people deep for food on Silversea and Seabourn however this is the only luxury cruiseline where there were 10+ people waiting on the inside grill line by the buffet. We also didn't like the overall set up. They should have more separate stations and more space overall. This was quit cramped.

Food on board was some of the best we have had at sea. We ate in specialty restaurants 7 of our 10 nights on board and we found the Maitre D' of all the specialty restaurants to be really accommodating and genuinely helpful. That said, the dining concept of 5 restaurant possibilities meant that we "missed out" on the elegant service of the smaller cruiselines. Nobody knew we wanted lemon with our bottled water and Person X wanted her soup boiling hot and person Y like it luke warm. While service was still overall good, we missed the personalization we have received by eating at only 1 or two restaurants where they really get to know you and your preferences. Main dining room food we felt was as good as the specialties and we enjoyed that they added local flavours depending on where we are docking.

We were all on the drink package and I must say, giving your card for every drink is a pain. Why they cannot just charge all the drinks and just note the package at the end and remove them would be far more easier for everyone. The only time the bar was busy was when they had free drinks for the captains party. That said something. Otherwise, the bars were mostly empty, this was not a drinking crowd. We did not see great benefit in having their drink package and would not purchase again.

Entertainment was poor. Singers off key, Dancers not in sync, blah. But we didn't come for this so this was not a real issue for us. The Quartet played every evening outside the dining room and only had 6-10 passengers there at any given time, they were also OK, but not great. Activity staff seemed friendly however we were busy busy busy and rarely had time for activities onboard.

One BIG complaint we had was that we would go to dinner on European time which is normally around 7:30-8PM and would go to the bar for drinks prior to dinner. At 8:30PM, come rain or come shine they raised the lighting in the main bar and had evening trivia. This made us either stop drinking and go eat OR move to the only other bar all the way upstairs. From a revenue standpoint, this is not good as everyone drinking leaves and most of the Trivia players are NOT ordering drinks. From our standpoint as we had paid $3000 total for our beverage packages we found it ridiculous that they would effectively close (They are calling out questions over and over again on the loudspeakers) 1 of the 2 bars onboard for trivia? Why not do it in the Theater or the grand foyer, There were many options and we were incredulous that this happened. Also, the restaurants closed early around 9PM and we thought the times should have been at least 9:30PM.

We had little experience with the Shore excursions though most people we met seemed OK with them. They seemed Very overpriced for what they were providing compared with many other cruises we have been on in the same region. We were able to do private cars, guides and drivers throughout and managed to save over 60% on what it would have cost us booking through Oceania. I would suggest people do their advance research.

Overall we found Oceania a Very good product. Most definitely a click or two ahead of Celebrity and Princess. Also, food wise, a click ahead of Silversea and Seabourn. Service wise we much enjoyed more the smaller ships and the personal services they provide. Itinerary wise, we would only sail a cruise with some sea days, no more 10 days 10 ports. We would definitely consider Oceania for a transatlantic. Overall we felt we would give this cruise a 7.5 out of 10. It was a very good cruise but for various reasons missed the Excellent mark for us.

Wishing everyone most happy sails! Cheers! ERF

What a great review! Thank you so much.

Thank you for the review.

Thank you for sharing, eerf.

Ira

We were also on this cruise-our second on O and the Marina. We chose it for the port intensive itinerary-to each his own. We had been to a number of the ports on land based trips so for many, we just did our own thing and enjoyed the ship's amenties.

I agree completely with the OP's assessment of loud trivia games being highly disruptive in the lounge. There should be another location for this activity. There is nothing worse than trying to have a quiet glass of wine then being jolted by the extremely loud PA system announcing trivia. We felt compelled to leave the lounge and go elsewhere. This happened throughout the cruise.

I also agree that there has to be another way to address the beverage package. Having to produce one's O card each time a drink is orderedis not efficient. My spouse and I both had the package. If I was not physically present with my card, they would not give hime a second drink to bring to me in the stateroom (or wherever else I happened to be). This happened most often in the bar by the pool and we were told it was "policy". We expressed our displeasure and raised it as a concern in our cruise comments. I do not understand why the server cannot simply get a signature and a room number!

It was a very pleasant cruise but we noticed that the demographic was much older than our 2012 Baltic cruise. We felt positively young and we are in our 50's!

they would not give hime a second drink to bring to me in the stateroom (or wherever else I happened to be). This happened most often in the bar by the pool and we were told it was "policy". We expressed our displeasure and raised it as a concern in our cruise comments. I do not understand why the server cannot simply get a signature and a room number!

Why would your husband want to take the second drink to you if the staff would deliver it to your door willingly? :confused:

FYI The bar staff does not make drinks for absent spouses because, unique in the industry, Oceania will sell the Beverage Package to one member of a couple, and they want to keep the temptation of sharing to a minimum. ;)

Maybe they need wrist bands( like AI resorts) to identify those with beverage packages

Oh but you would need to be present to get your drink

They could add some bling for the ladies ;)

Sometimes DH likes to surprise me with a glass of champagne. If I am lolling about the stateroom, I do not necessarily want an interruption from crew delievering anything to my door ;)

Maybe they need wrist bands( like AI resorts) to identify those with beverage packages

Oh but you would need to be present to get your drink

 

They could add some bling for the ladies ;)

Oh please not the dreaded wristbands...

Jancruz1

oh please not the dreaded wristbands...

Jancruz1

lol

Guess people will just have to show their card then OMG

The OP is correct, Trivia drives many out of that lounge/bar, which means one finds another place to roost. That location may not have servers coming by. I always had to walk up to the bar with both my wife and my card when re-ordering drinks (we typically buy the premium drink package). The bar tenders get to know us and know what we liked, however, every time I still had to present both cards. Several times I offered to give the waiter our beverage cards, and have him bring me the final tab to settle up and the end. They never wanted to do this.

Great review by the OP, and I think mostly accurate, but, of course, opininated. I do happen to enjoy all 4 of the specialities. Decor, along with the number of port visits/sea days is all personal perference and will vary alot.From reading his comments, my first thought was he may be far happier on a R ship than the Marina.

Trivia! We rarely play because so many take it so seriously. I've heard numerous passengers admit the best part of the cruise to them is Trivia. CDs are often rated, and seem to keep or lose their jobs, on how they perform during Trivia. For me, it's a place, and a discussion, to steer clear of.

Trivia in the evening could get on ones nerves when trying to relax! We dined at 8:30 most nights, so the games were over by the time we got to Martinis. In fact the bar was empty most evenings - guess everyone got their O Points and went to bed! I did find leaving my drink card out on the table at dinner or in the bar was the easiest way to not be bothered when one should present the card. It also made it easy when we ordered something that wasn't included in the drink package (like sake at Red Ginger). Thanks for your review

I hate to admit it, but trivia was one our favorite afternoon events! After sightseeing all day we would grab a Martini, relax and play. Never serious- in fact I think we were in last place for every game. It was also a chance to meet fellow passengers before dinner. Trivia is a good ice breaker.

Thanks for taking the time to post this nicely-detailed review. Glad you enjoyed Oceania.

I admit that I now feel a bit of guilt over playing evening trivia, one of my favorite after-dinner activities, in the lounge. :)

I'll admit the evening trivia is much more active and noisy than the afternoon session. But its still a lot more fun, afternoon is a blood sport.

Although the CD never came up with "what film ends "it was beauty that killed the beast" The answer that night was "Laurence of Arabia"

NB: Congratulations to all on not answering THAT question.

As long as we seem to be going down the trivia path.....or should that be a trivial path?

I thought that I'd trot out this perennial favorite, last answered when the Marina was brand spanking new:

What is the "Oceania connection" of this photograph?

Have at it :D

Is it a young Mary Hart?

It is not Mary Hart. In fact, our subject is 16 years older than Ms. Hart, who was born in 1950.

This made the girl in the photograph, and this is significant, thirty years of age in 1964.

I know its Tina Louise aka "Ginger" from Gilligans Island. Does Oceania have the Island as a port of call?

I know its Tina Louise aka "Ginger" from Gilligans Island. Does Oceania have the Island as a port of call?

You're more than halfway there.......look at the photo specifically, and tell me about the Oceania connection........:p

The O's in her hair and earrings??? Don't think I will be very good at Trivia when I book by first cruise in 2016

One last clue......."you might say that this whole riddle is a Deck 5 kind of a thing...."

Tina has beautiful RED GINGER hair!!!!!

Once again Georgia beats Tennessee

Tina has beautiful RED GINGER hair!!!!!

Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner

....Ms. Louise also portrayed the movie star "Ginger Grant" on Gilligans Island from 1964-1967, so the red tinted photograph....well, you get the idea!