jamesnmphs

I can’t imagine a smart person using a hot tub on a cruise ship under the best of conditions, much less under these.

 

 

 

Hope I didn’t offend anyone, I just call it the way I see it. :confused:

I agree with you.

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Greetings from South Beach, Everyone, where I may remain as far as Oceania is concerned. I have been seriously considering returning to O's Riviera because the ship is beautiful and will have been renovated when we wanted to sail on her. We particularly enjoyed TA's on Riviera. The idea of roaches walking through pasta on any O ship is unacceptable to me. If that is what comes out to the Terrace, what else is going on in the kitchen? That image will be impossible to forget.

Mary

Mary,

I was on Riviera last November/December for a Transatlantic Crossing and I never saw any bugs of any type. As far as I could tell, the ship was spotless and I looked carefully. I saw countless crew members wiping down handrails, walls and everything else in both public and non-public areas. You may ask, how did I see in non-public areas?, well, I simply opened the doors that I saw crew going through and I opened them and took a look around. I went down a few decks using the crew stairs. Everything looked very clean to me. I am not discounting the passenger who said they saw a roach walking across a large bowl of pasta, but I am sawing this is not a normal occurrence. I found everything's no on ship to be top notch.

You must make your own decision as to sail on Riviera or not. I can not believe that any other ship carrying twice as many passengers could be any cleaner or sanitized.

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That's absolutely terrible. I hope there are no roaches anywhere I can see them on the Riviera, especially in my food :o

I was on Riviera last November/December and I NEVER saw any bugs of any type.

James

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I was in Riviera last November and I saw people using the hand sanitizer when exiting the ship and again when they got to the bottom of the steps. A bit of over kill if you ask me. If you are that worried about germs, there are other issues at hand.

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When people are talking about the crime and dangers in the South American cities, a lot of it is depends on how we as tourists behave. We had several days pre -cruise in Rio, and we explored Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Santos, Ushuaia and Puerto Montt all without ships excursions. We dressed down, wore no jewellery, in Rio we didn't even carry cameras. I brushed up on my Spanish before we went (I can't speak any Portugese unfortunately), did a lot of research, and had an amazing time.

Pre- cruise in Rio we went to the dress rehearsal of the Carnival, and the locals were so lovely to us. I don't actually think we were at any more risk then when we go to London or New York. You have to be alert everywhere.

I could not agree with you more. As Americans, we tend to compare everything to the U.S., and forget that EVERY large metropolitan area, U.S. cities included, can be dangerous. When I did a Transatlantic cruise a few years ago landing in Manhattan, several of the crew came up to me asking questions about safety. I told them as long as they don't do anything stupid, they would be ok.

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Yeah, it doesn't bolster their credibility.

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:loudcry::loudcry: I am posting this in hopes of dissuading those contemplating an Oceania Sirena Cruise.

 

 

 

Currently on the 35 day Oceania Sirena San Diego to Rio..sounds great, doesn't it??? Cruising the Amazon..great, huh???

 

 

 

Not so fast, dear readers....never again..

 

 

 

the most boring, worst entertainment..if any..

 

food above average, staff incredible and wonderful..

 

 

 

We are in a PH1...most expensive penthouse suite..have met with general manager..4x..i have profuse notes about the myriad of disappointments..if you are seeking anything close to the deceptive brochures, you may be in for a shock..more coming on this board when I can finally depart in Rio...dumped us in ghetto ports and more..so sorry I ever booked Oceania..they are riding on a reputation no longer deserved..5 star..in their dreams.:loudcry::loudcry: we booked back to back and jumping ship..cannot bear 21 more daysfrom Rio to Miami..flying home.

 

Let's see how 5 star Oceania handles my concerns when I call them next week. Many unhappy passengers here who will never return...:eek:will keep you posted with the details...

I have read, re-read this posting and all the responses, all I can do is wonder why the OP didn't do any research or ask questions prior to booking this long of a cruise. Did "Drhugs" not go on the Oceania website and look at the pictures? Oceania is not a booze cruise line for 20 somethings looking for an at sea hookup. "Drhugs" don't blame Oceania for your failures. I don't understand what you were expecting. Country Club Casual should have told you that this was not a spandex and tube top cruise.

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Our recent cruise on Riviera we found the lunch menu very different from past cruises

one page with a section of Bistro dishes & a few of the regular dishes

we went one day & DH was going to order a burger but none on the new menu

Not sure if they are trying something new or we just hit a day when the menu was special ???

JME

On our Transatlantic Crossing last November, we were told the lunch menu in the MDR is new. The left side is the bistro side which remains the same. The right side changes daily and then there is the tasting menu at the bottom of the right side. The tasting menu changes daily and recognizes the food of a different country each day. I really enjoyed the variety of the lunch menu, especially since we had 8 days total at sea.

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Juan Carlos is the best.... He took are of us many times in the dining room

 

 

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Juan Carlos is great. Our favorite waiter was Khanchi (Marvelous) from Bangkok. And manager Dario from Croatia. The dining room staff from top to bottom were all so accommodating and accomplished.

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Brian,

So glad you enjoyed Oceania and the Riviera. It is refreshing to hear positive comments. Lately, it seems that all people want to do is complain about the most mundane things.

We were on her for a Transatlantic Crossing mid-November to early December 2017. I love the new lunch menu in the main dinning room. One day I saw an item on the tasting menu I wanted as my main course, so I asked our waiter, Juan Carlos, if I could have just that one item and not the entire tasting. He was reluctant and unsure, but 5 minutes later, the one item I wanted was sitting on a plate in front of me.

I agree with you that the ship was keep immaculate. There was always someone cleaning in a very non-intrusive way. Our room stewardess was the best. She made up our room 3 times a day, swapping out towels, making the bed, emptying the trash, turning down the bed, whatever needed to be done, and never disturbed us.

James and David

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As I read the various CC boards, there are lots of concerns

About the coffee being cold, the soup not hot enough,

the steaks over cooked.

Well the other night there was an medical emergency and the ship had to make non schedule stop to get one of the passengers to

a hospital. Apparently it was life threatening.

You will not probably see it posted on CC.

But if you were that person and/or family, I'm sure you will say

Oceania is the best and who cares if the coffee was served cold or

the eggs were overlooked. http://mm

 

 

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I was on a Transatlantic Crossing in November 2017, leaving Malaga Spain for the Canary Islands and the captain made an announcement that as we pasted Gibraltar at 9:00pm a passenger would be taken off the ship. Sure enough, as we passed Gibraltar, a helicopter airlifted a passenger who had broken their hip from the ship. I think Oceania did a great job of informing passengers of the situation, removing the passenger and continuing on with the cruise.

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Even after all the years of living abroad and traveling, I’m still amazed at the number of American tourists that head to Mc D, Burger King, or Subway in foreign ports and bypass all the wonderful local fresh cuisine. Next is the large group that nearly never eats off ship, but returns to the boat/ ship for every meal!

 

 

 

Panda Express is not authentic Chinese food, but try telling that to all the tourists that insist upon only eating aboard or at Americanized fast food joints! They believe Taco Bell is real Mexican !

That is exactly what I was trying to illustrate in my previous post.

James

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Greetings

 

 

 

We will be sailing on Riviera in just a few weeks and was wondering if anyone has upgraded the bev package ahead of the cruise. I know it's a simple process on board, but you still have to get new key cards made after you complete the upgrade paperwork. Would like to have everything done beforehand if possible.

 

 

 

Good Sailing

 

Tom

You can only upgrade the beverage age package onboard. This past November 2017, I upgraded our packages as soon as I boarded the ship, it took less than 10 minutes.

James

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Hello! We have organized a road trip up the coast of Italy and now we are in need of your experiences/suggestions/recommendations for our group of 6. We are travelling with friends, luggage and a mobility scooter post-cruise arriving in Civitavecchia on a Sunday in May. The rental car companies at the port are closed on Sundays so we have booked a rental from the FCO location. I was wondering what would be the best way for us (or maybe just one of us) to get to the airport to pick up the rental vehicle. Is it best for all of us to get a transfer to the airport or should one person go and come back to pick us up? Of course, then there's the issue of what we would do in the meantime with all our luggage. Any companies that are reputable?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Melanie

Contact Stefano's RomeCabs. RomeCabs.com. You can see several videos on YouTube. They are great, inexpensive and friendly. You reserve a car and driver online and pay in cash when you arrive at your destination. I used them in November 2017 for transport from FCO to Civitavecchia. Our plane was an hour late and then it took another 30 minutes to get our luggage but the driver was still waiting for us.

James

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(Highlighting mine)

 

This may have been true in the past; today I would like to think that many would be more accurate than most?

 

Maybe not.

Maybe!!! Just my observation.

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Tiniest off topic, but reading a resturant review by a passenger eating out in Italy who complained that non of the waiters spoke English and there no Americans eating there, only locals. He hated it.

I could not get there fast enough.

Well put Nina. It seems to me that most Americans when traveling to Europe or other destinations, expect everything to be just like home.

James

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This is our first med cruise is april too early there seems to be a lot of availability on the riviera for this cruise

I did Rome to Venice in April (Easter in Rome) and the weather was perfect. We spent 3 days in Rome before the cruise and it was sunny and warm. We had only had one day of rain on a 12 day cruise. April is not to early.

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James, I think you are missing the gist of the whole thread. You are correct that one person complained that their favorite wine was not available. However, that is not what most of the thread is describing. There appears to be a frequent problem of running out of multiple wines on the wine by the glass list.

 

 

 

The wine by the glass selections are always somewhat limited in almost any restaurant - perhaps 8-10 reds, 8-10 whites, a rose or two and a couple of sparklers. Oceania is no different. A person who prefers Merlot will likely have one or two choices. Cabernets, Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays, Rieslings are similarly limited. There is something for everyone, but not really a huge choice but, if everything is available, one can find something on the list that appeals to their tastes. Actually I find them pretty well balanced with reasonable options for the vast majority of wine drinkers. That is, if they are all available.

 

 

 

When one buys a "Package" for an entire cruise I think it is reasonable to expect that one would have these choices for the duration of the cruise. According to a number of reports that is not always the case. I suppose this does not matter to some drinkers but in my experience a Chardonnay drinker is not too likely to care much for a Riesling. When (if) they run out of both Chardonnays (or cabs or whatever) some people are going to be unhappy especially if they have paid in advance with the expectation that the selection on the published wine list would be available.

 

 

 

Now your local restaurant might run out of one wine on their by the glass list for a day or two but will be able to get a restock or a good substitute from their wholesaler usually the next day. Oceania does not have this luxury. They have to plan well ahead. They certainly have the corporate resources to do this but do not seem to be doing a stellar job based on the number of comments on this thread.

 

 

 

At least that's the way I see it.

I don't think I missed the gist at all. I was on the 18 day Transatlantic crossing and bought the premium beverage package and as far as I know, the ship never ran out of any of the "by the glass" wines. I drank the same rose, Chardonnay, merlot and Cabernet throughout the entire cruise. So, I don't understand how Oceania is slipping. Maybe I am just to big of a cheerleader fir Oceania. I will admit, I have limited cruising experience. I have only taken two previous crushes before I discovered Oceania and I have only sailed with Oceania 4 times, I belief Oceania is far and above all the other lines on which I have sailed.

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It wasn't so much the choices as the fact that I was looking forward to drinking wines I had on previous cruises and except for Montaudon, all my favorites were gone. I went through all the reds on the list before I found St Jean Cabernet Sauvignon which I did enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

Still a great cruise and amazing weather. I hear the weather has turned nasty for the Dec 2nd cruise.

So far what I am taking away from this thread is that the original poster did not receive her favorite wines. How can Oceania be faulted for not having one persons favorite wines when there were 1200 passengers onboard? I purchased the premium beverage package and not once was I told that no wine was available. I prefer to drink different wines both at home and when I travel, so that I don't develop a "house palate" and expand my tastes in wines.

I really thought this site was to exchange information and make connections, not to nit pick at every little thing that is perceived as "not to my standard".

I may have to rethink the usefulness of this site.

JMO

James

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I am the guy who had his left knee replaced and got a staph infection. Was on a pic line for 2.5 months and after 3 more surgery's I can bend my knee about 65 degrees. My advice is not only look into the surgeon, but also look into the history of the hospital. I didn't and it had a history of staph and it changed my life. I was never in a hospital till I was 57 and have had only one day in the last 10 years without pain.

 

 

 

Get more than one opinion also.

Man, I am so sorry for your results. I guess that I just got lucky with my two knee replacement surgeries, actually, my surgeon said I was the exception to the rule. I have never had any issue with either of my knees since my replacements.

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I believe that it was a case of the supply of the more popular wines being exhausted, rather than the ship running out of wine entirely, but I am with you when you say that even THAT is unacceptable.

 

 

 

I'm told by people who should be in the know that the short supply was partly a result of their trying to gauge typical consumption against their all inclusive ships.

 

 

 

Apparently people who buy into a package rather than have it included in their fare drink more.....a lot more.

I read that the cruise ship industry buys more wine from producers and any other single entity. Costco is second.

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It wasn't so much the choices as the fact that I was looking forward to drinking wines I had on previous cruises and except for Montaudon, all my favorites were gone. I went through all the reds on the list before I found St Jean Cabernet Sauvignon which I did enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

Still a great cruise and amazing weather. I hear the weather has turned nasty for the Dec 2nd cruise.

Sorry for misunderstanding the tone of your first post. I am rather disappointed in most posters just being so negative about everything.

I think this site is great for getting to know people who are going to be on a cruise and to exchange information, either private tours or sharing transportation.

CC is a great way to share information, which is a good thing.

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Let me start by saying I think this was my best cruise ever on Oceania. 18 days from Rome to Miami with almost perfect weather and great people. We had 120 people show up for the Meet and Greet in Horizons on Nov 14th. First time I saw so many staff show up for a Meet and Greet.

 

 

 

It was also the first time I took the Prestige package and that's where I was a bit disappointed. For anyone who has favorite wines by the glass from past cruises, Frescobaldi Chianti Castiglioni, Macon Chaintre Chardonnay, Hoffman Chardonnay and Spellbound Merlot are no longer on the menu. The replacement Chianti was not one that I liked . The replacement chardonnay was Pouilly Fuisse which was fine except that it was almost gone after the first week and all gone a week before the end of the cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catherine,

I am not disagreeing with, everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I found the wines by the glass to be very acceptable. We also had the premium beverage package and enjoyed all the wines we drank. We are not wine connoisseurs by any stretch of the imagination, however, we do belong to about 10 wine clubs in Napa Valley/Sonoma County, so we are used to drinking some very good whites and reds. In addition, we belong to a wine club in Oregon which is as you may know is Pinot Noir Country.

For lunch I drank the French Rose, which was a dry wine, don't recall the name and the Ryder Chardonnay. In the evenings I drank the Pinot, Merlot or Cabernet. All very respectable tasting wines.

I also drank both the Prosecco and the Champagne, both had good bubbles and great taste.

I guess everyone's palate is just a little different.

James

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RomeCabs is the best!!!! On November 14, 2017, we had a reservation for transportation from Rome to Civitavecchia to catch a cruise ship. We were supposed to arrive Rome at 12:20pm and the ship did not sail until 5:00pm. Plenty of time. Well, our plane was late arriving in Rome by about an hour. Then it took forever for the luggage to arrive, 30 minutes or so. I thought for sure our RomeCabs driver would be gone. However, we went to the meeting place and there he was, right in front with a sign with my name. I was very relieved. He takes us to the car, a 7 passenger Mercedes-Benz van (even though the reservation was for 2 people) and we started for the port. About 15 minutes on the highway to the port, there was an accident. The highway was closed in both directions and there were no exits. We were stuck! Our driver remained calm and reassured us that he would get us to the ship on time. He said if we were not moving at a time that guaranteed our arrival, he would call his boss and they would call the ship. We started moving at about 3:45pm. The driver flew to Civitavecchia. We were doing 145km all the way. We arrived at 4:30pm. He took us right to the ship, I mean, right to the ship. We dropped off our luggage and walked 10 yards to complete registration. That is service!!!!! If you ever need transportation in Italy, consult RomeCabs. You can't go wrong.

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I just returned from the Oceania Marina and posted the following review under "Reviews". I'm also placing here for those who are interested:

 

 

 

I write this from the perspective of a cruiser who has sailed with Oceania 7 times and been on almost 90 cruises. My cabin experience has always been a PH2 or PH3 on deck 10 or 11 on Riviera/Marina and deck 8 on the R Class ships. For reference and point of view purposes I have sailed on most major mass market lines. In recent years my taste has changed and strongly desire smaller ships with less passengers and a more inclusive experience where you are not nickel and dimed. Therefore, lines such as Oceania, Crystal, Seabourn, Azamara, Regent and Silversea have been strongly preferenced.

 

 

 

The condition of the Marina is tip top shape - especially for a ship built in 2011. Food remains outstanding. Cruising on Oceania is more akin to staying in a really nice floating hotel as opposed to a true cruising experience. Highlights not only include the dining room and specialty restaurants, but also tea time and the strings. I also believe Oceania and Regent have the best pool areas at sea.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, I feel strongly that Oceania has lost ground compared to the competition - so much so that we just booked our first Viking Ocean cruise as reviews seem to compare the two lines as apples to apples with Viking Ocean being the better apple. Unfortunately, Oceania's apple has become a bit rotten. Here's why:

 

 

 

Despite a beautiful ship and producing excellent food something is missing on Oceania and has been progressively more noticeable. That "something" is service and absolute lack of personalization. I've noticed on my last few Oceania cruises that the crew does not engage with the passengers and it is clear they are there to do their job and that's it. There is frequent talk in front of guests about "when my contract is up". No similes, no being addressed by name, no remembering preferences. In fact, for the most part no warmth. For example, my wife and I kept bumping into a social hostess we met at a captain's function the second day of the cruise and we would always say hello and try to engage. She would not give us the time of day. A social hostess! Another example -

 

this one from the top - the captain's cabin was just in front of ours and I would frequently see him in the corridor. It was painful for him to return a simple hello. Staff were regimented and inflexible. All decisions - no matter how minor - had to come from the top. There was no willingness or ability to even make small decisions to cater to guests on their own. For example, at the juice bar I asked for bananas, oranges and ice. The employee said he was only allowed to make what was on the preset menu despite all the ingredients and a blender sitting right in front of him. Sounds picky? Not really when every aspect of any small request is treated this way. The overall lack of flexibility and unfriendliness of the staff is unfortunate. Part of what makes cruising enjoyable is the staff. When the staff is miserable and stupidly rigid it impacts the overall experience. In summary - regarding the staff - they walked around like creatures from the Walking Dead and did not seem happy.

 

 

 

Unless you bought a drink package getting an honest drink is impossible on Oceania. All drinks are measured pours and quite stingy. Even the "doubles" are weak. A double top shelf (i.e. Kettle One or Grey Goose) martini costs north of $22 before tip is included. Bartenders have zero flexibility to think on their own and actually some are worried about their pours because they are "scrutinized" according to one. Remarkably, Celebrity - a mass market line - makes much more honest and better drinks without the measured pour.

 

 

 

Oceania shore excursions are consistently awful. I would not waste your money and instead visit sites such as tours by locals or Viator to arrange your own tours. Not only will you have a more customized experienced and skip out on painful bus journeys, but you will save a ton of money.

 

 

 

As an aside, I think Oceania would benefit from increasing their prices slightly and making drinks all-inclusive. They should get rid of O Life promotions and just make every sailing with included WiFi, beverages, gratuities and lastly not insult guests by requiring tokens for the laundry. Those inclusions coupled with some serious Ritz Carlton style customer service training would potentially put Oceania back in the running.

 

 

 

On all my previous Oceania cruises I booked future cruises. Not on this one. I am done with Oceania for the foreseeable future as I've tried other options and liked them better; hence the danger of trying other things as you might just like them better and change your spending habits. Sorry Oceania - what was once a fabulous product is just fair now when compared to the competition in the market.

I just got off Riviera this morning. While I agree about the drinks, that is why I buy the premium beverage package. My drinks were not overly strong, but they were strong enough. Plus, I do drink wine with dinner. There is no way to water that down.

As for the service, I whole-heartedly disagree. The staff always smiled and said "Good Morning Sir", or "Good Morning Mr. James ". The Maitre D' knew not only my name but my suite number and the table and waiter I preferred, after only 3 days on the ship.

My only real issue is with the "Concierge" in the Concierge Lounge. This person was sitting at a desk with a computer. I came into the lounge and went to a computer. He yelled that the computer I had selected, did not print. So I went to his desk and politely asked if he could print my boarding passes for my flight the next morning. He stated that he was not allowed. That there had been too many complaints. How can you complain if someone is printing your boarding passes?

You might be correct about the excursions, I have never booked an excursion through Oceania. I have only booked or joined small private excursions.

The cruise itself, could not have been better.

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