Redtravel

We were on the last cruise. We moved up a level. Got the letter stating that we would receive the pin, bag, and cap. Cap wasn’t there. We asked the Ambassador Natalya for it. Her response was that we got a letter instead of the caps. She seemed to think that a letter is an adequate substitute for the cap. She was extremely rude. Also, this was the 3rd time in a concierge cabin and no tote bag. Asked about that. Response was supply issues. Strangely I met people on the ship who said that they found the bag in their cabin. Natalya seemed put out that I had talked to other guests. Items like caps or totes that have the O name on it is good publicity. Not a big deal? My response was stop promising items that you don’t want to deliver.

Booked a Vista cruise 6 months ago cruise only. got $400 obc When I looked at Simply more, the price was $750pp more than when I booked. That was the no air option. We don't drink or seldom take ship excursions. Oceania ship excursions are often not good. I am guessing that our Vista cruise will be our last O cruise. Prices are too high. If people resist the new higher prices, you may see lower prices return. It's supply and demand.

It was excellent. Some of the flavors on this cruise are different than what we had in December. If the HS flavor has leftovers, it shows up at Waves Grill the next day.

If they really cared, they would let you do the survey after the cruise. I like to take time to reflect on my experience before writing a review. The instructions how to do the online survey was in Currents early in the cruise. With only 2 days left in the cruise, Currents had a reminder to complete the survey. No instructions. Instead, it said that somebody would be in the reception area at a named time. nobody was there. Asked guest relations for the instructions. Go to Oceaniacruisereview.com , enter your guest #, password, and birthday. Then the survey will appear. Since my spouse completed the survey before me, I couldn’t do the survey. After all that junk, do you really think that the survey matters?

Trying to do the onboard online survey. My spouse completed it. I cannot get in. Is it one survey pp or per cabin? Called reception. They are clueless.

Talking during a presentation is rude. Yes, I have heard it all before. As a repeat guest, I appreciate the reception. It just seemed rather crowded. There are some people who crash. There was a posting that guest was upset that Horizons was closed for 3 private events. If you are in the habit of going to Horizons nightly before dinner, you could wander in and get served. It’s not right. However, it could happen.

Comments about Marina are right. We are on Marina now. This is our 4th time on Marina. Our previous Marina cruises were excellent. In December 2022, we had a great time. While onboard, we booked a Vista cruise for 2024. Sadly, this time is very different. Most apparent is the dining staff. Service is slow in the GDR. In the buffet, they grab your plates too soon. I have had dishes taken before I finished eating. The food quality is hit or miss. The best food at sea? Not anymore! Often when you ask for something, you don’t get it. Many workers in buffet don’t understand English. It’s a challenge getting what you want. Too often, the response is that they have supply issues. Reading this thread, I the shortcomings on Marina make sense. Crew on Marina is mostly new. While they are polite and try to please, they lack experience. Often crew tells us that they are new and are learning. This morning, we went to GDR for breakfast. It was mostly empty. The service was extremely slow. When we got our food, it was cold.

We were also in Horizons for the repeaters party. It was crowded. It was hard to find a seat. When we sat down, we started talking to the couple near us. Strangely enough, neither one could remember which ship or when they had sailed on Oceania. One said that they sailed in the Med. The other one said nothing. Then they left.

Used Olife air. We got to the ship 2 hours before it sailed. That’s cutting it too close.

On Marina now. Using laundry service provided in concierge class. Wash is good. It comes back in 2 days, nicely folded. Please not cannot send out laundry last 4 days, even though info said last 3 days. Can still do my own wash. You can pack light. Also, note people are dressing casual day and night. I am not wearing fancy clothing.

We were in 428. No smell

Nonstop flights…you got lucky. My Viking air in August has one stop in each direction. It also has crazy times like leaving Bergen our first flight is 6:15. Also flying on Eurowings Discovery. It’s owned by Lufthansa. It is a cheap airline. We just flew on Eurowings last week to take a cruise on another line. The seats were narrow and had very little legroom. Think sardine can.

Please teach your crew English. The buffet crew smiles nicely, but many don’t understand what you want. There have been too many times that I asked for something and was handed something else.

Coffee at baristas is good. Forget coffee elsewhere.

On Marina now. They have local currency. However, it’s expensive. Their conversion rate is inflated plus the charge extra 5% service fee. It can only be charged to your onboard account. The real question is why do you need it? Use your credit card. I have foreign money from previous trips. Haven’t used it. Plastic is accepted everywhere.

Haven’t seen it. Had Vietnamese coffee in Terrace today.

Nobody has any info! There was an announcement that there would be a rep from Kiel in the lobby until 1 pm if you wanted maps or info. He was there. No maps. He said that he ran out and we should go to guest services to get a map. Lady at gs said we should go to the Kiel rep. Then she said they couldn’t copy a map because of copyright laws. Yesterday I got a copy of map of Skagen at gs. Then she reluctantly found a map online and copied it. Poor quality and completely useless. I went online and found a street map. on my last cruise on Marina in Dec. 2022, the concierge would provide us with maps and info if we asked for it. Concierge on this sailing said to go to gs. It’s a 3 ring circus and everyone is clueless. Before you leave home, print maps or put them on a device. Don’t rely on getting any info on the ship. The rest of the cruise is very nice.

On past cruises, we only got a letter saying we were on that cruise. At pier, after we were checked off a list, they attached cabin tags, and let us on the ship. On the ship, we checked in and got our cabin key, etc. it’s low key and seems to work. Other cruise lines send out luggage tags and fancy booklets with cruise info . That info can be found on the web. Never needed luggage tags. Arrive at pier and then attach tags works.

On Marina now. No mention of any changes. Perhaps the crew doesn’t know about it. probably, your best place to get info will be your TA. Promo if booking onboard doesn’t include any reduced fares. When we booked onboard in 2022, we got reduced fares, OBC, and reduced deposits. It was a good deal. Now booking onboard includes reduced deposits and OBC varying with length of cruise.

I have done both train rides. They are both excellent, but different. Flam train is amazing. You can buy a ticket and take the ride without buying a ship excursion. We did. Got off ship early, walked up to the train ticket booth, and took the early train. Cost us much less than if we had bought the trip from the cruise line. Being early, the train wasn’t crowded.

If I had booked early, I probably would’ve booked my own air. However, booking late has its good and bad points. Booking late got us a good discount, but getting air was a problem. The flights that I like were mostly booked or the price for air was outrageous. That left us with option of not going or booking with O air. It’s the first time using O air. Even though our air arrangements were crazy, we did get to the ship. Traveling is an adventure.

We got a good deal on the cruise fare and the air. Oceania’s air price was much better than anything that I could book. While it wouldn’t be my choice of air, it did get us to the cruise.

We booked late. When I looked at air, most flights that I would’ve liked were full or very expensive. Took O air. From PHL to FRA Eurowings discovery is a bargain line, a subsidiary of Lufthansa. oceania paid for luggage, but not seat assignments. We were assigned seats at the airport. seats were very narrow with very little legroom. They had old entertainment systems. Sold earphones. Food was ok. Happy that I brought food and water. We were ontime. We changed planes in FRA to Lufthansa and flew to Gatwick. Oceania transfer took us by bus to Southampton. we usually fly in at least a day before a cruise. However, due to some constraints we chose to fly in the day of the cruise. We were a bit stressed out, but happy that it worked out. We got to the ship at 2:30, got our luggage delivered quickly, and sailed at 5 pm.

Buffet should post names of items and list ingredients. Many people have allergies or just don’t like items. I hate nuts and bananas. I keep asking the servers at the buffet if items have nuts. Today at lunch, I asked the server what kind of cookies were being served. She responded, “Peanut butter, pecan something, and don’t know.” Took don’t know. It had nuts! Also she told me that tart had no nuts, only raisins and apples. Took it. No raisins and nuts again!

On Marina now. In December, we thought that the cookies were bad. Now they are even worse. One bite and done. They aren’t tasteless. They taste BAD. Baristas has nice sweets and excellent coffee.