ToxM

23 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

Really, I know people take some—but if you use it—are you saying they don’t replace an empty bottle?

It used to be that you got a new one every day, then you had to get half way down and a new one appeared, now it seems like you need to have run out and ask for one. 

3 hours ago, janecambridge said:

Not quite soap dish, but allowance of  one shampoo each a week in concierge on Christmas sail. ! 

Yes I noticed they had tightened up on handing those over 😞

11 hours ago, Jayne E said:

 

A small number of cabins on Riviera still have a bathtub, for those who prefer one.

I just spent 2 weeks on Marina and we did have a wonderful cruise.  The furniture has more than luggage scuff marks. Drapes, bedskirt, headboard and sofa fabric worn. Lights not working, robe hook broken off, cabin door didn't completely close.  This wasn't specific to my cabin.  All the necessary repairs were made promptly. Service and food excellent. Public areas in better condition than cabins.  On Riviera this February and May and looking forward to the new cabin.

BTW, you no longer get a vanity mirror unless it's Concierge and above. When I called to say my mirror was missing, that's what reception said.  I thought she was kidding.  She wasn't!  A $10 mirror is now an amenity for Concierge and above.  What's next? The soap dish??

We had a vanity mirror stored below the sink on Riviera for Christmas. We didn’t have a clock, which I thought was odd. 

The reinspiration of the cabins is a work of genius. They feel so much more airy. the bathroom is the work of a magician! So much storage. 

The rest of the ship…. Minor changes. The ice cream and smoothie bar next to the pool is a great move, but the tiles next to it were a really bad idea, I burnt my feet on them, and a couple of days later a mat appeared on them. 

The mew pizza offering is a great idea and the pizza are really good. This was way overdue as the waves space in the evening was so wasted. 

Now we just need Toscana revamped to something less …. Dated, and it will be wonderful!

If you have not cruised on a refitted O ship then Marina is still fine - well above most cruise ship standards. If you have cruised on a refitted O ship then you will notice that she needs to be updated to the level and standard of her sisters. 

I seem to remember during the future cruise presentation (half asleep only there to see if I could win the OBC) that Marina is not getting a refit til 2024. She will definitely need it at that point. 

Marina was my first love on O, if I am honest, I am worried for her future. 

You can’t smoke cigars in the indoor smoking area on O, you will need to use the smoking area on the pool deck. 

4 minutes ago, Zukini said:

We're considering a first-time Oceania cruise on the Riviera and looking at the Oceanview staterooms, midship on Deck 7.  I see from the deck plans that these cabins are directly above the casino.  Is anyone aware of issues with noise or smoke infiltration? I would hope that you can't hear the ding-ding-ding of all those big cash payouts in the wee hours, but it's worth checking before I commit.

 

It's a cool-weather cruise, so I don't feel like a Veranda is justified. Tried to search the forum before asking, but couldn't find anything relevant.  Thanks in advance!

Ocean views are great … my one caveat would be to be careful you do not get one with a connecting door. 

1 hour ago, BigCheese1 said:

Thanks ToxM for the heads up.

I guess they/try ‘A1 steak sauce’ thinking it’ll do as HP?

 

Good to have the tip about the clotted cream rather than any pale (probably literally) substitute. Didn’t really expect proper mushy peas, mind!

looking forward to our March 23 Lima to Miami on Marina.

You will have a great time! 

I preordered Root Beer for my cabin fridge and that was delivered no problem. I allow myself regular coke on holiday and had no issue getting it. 

I heard of issues getting chopped mushrooms for omelettes but pretty much everything else was ok as far as I could tell. 

I think they are making do with what they can get. I am not overtly fussy and was happy to be on a cruise. 

My one sadness is that the hot buns just don’t seem the same and that goes for my cruise on Sirena in March and the two since. I don’t know what has changed, but they just don’t give the same endorphin rush they used to. 

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

We have seen the real HP   but I think it depends on where they can source their  supplies from 

We have also seen Marmite   not something we would eat   or Vegimite  for that matter

both are an acquired taste  😉

 

Same as the Cuban rum  it is the American version

we can get the real stuff here in Canada 

 

 

Yeah I was surprised to see the imposter HP as we definitely had the real deal in March. Marmite I have never actively looked for as we take our own stash, and as you say it is an acquired taste 😉

If we are going to macro level, for all the Brits about to travel on O I can sadly report that the HP sauce presented at breakfast (well done for trying O) is a US version relabelled as steak sauce - it’s not and tastes different to the manna from heaven that is our own HP sauce. I don’t remember the HP sauce being an imposter before - even in March on Sirena. 

I have never seen Marmite available on O - we take single servings for emergency use. 

For tea drinkers - the tea is Twinings (I don’t drink tea at all apart from on cruises so it matters not to me) but if you are particular, you may want to bring some Yorkshire tea or whatever you need in order to function properly - remember to ask for fresh hot water at Afternoon Tea or else you may devolve into a murderous rage. 

Scones are available - they keep them in a warmer, ask for them! Clotted cream is available but you have to ask, or else you will get the wrong stuff. 

Don’t even ask about the mushy peas that go with the fish and chips in The Terrace - my northerner Marital Unit wept at the state of it. he joked that the pea vichyssoise in Jacques was closer than the offering in The Terrace. 

They do however have malt vinegar for the chips.  

Staff training and food seem to be the bugbear of O’s offering at the moment. Whilst not trying to defend what has obviously been a disappointing cruise for you, I do think there are ongoing issues for all cruise lines which include loss of long serving staff, training new intakes and procurement issues for food. This doesn’t excuse poor food entirely, but I think all of the above are still ongoing for the industry as a whole. 

The above doesn’t help you of course and I am sorry you didn’t have the optimum very good experience that O usually offer. I do think these issues are industry wide at the moment. 

R ships have small cabins and bathrooms until you get to penthouse level. I am under no illusion that my view of R class ships being my favourite would be very different if my experience of them had been in a grade lower than a penthouse. I am addicted to researching so knew that anything below a penthouse would not be any use to me (due to my size). This is not to say that you made a mistake by not researching or assuming - purely my own experience.

I am sorry your cruise wasn’t as good as it should have been. I am not sure any cruiseline is offering it’s normal level at the moment - despite what they advertise. 

We didn’t actually make it to the GDR for dinner at all during thr Christmas cruise, we enjoyed breakfast there a good few times, I also recommend baristas for breakfast if you need some calm. 

I’m not usually in my cabin at 5, either in Horizons for tea or by the pool. Maybe I should retreat there at 4:55 to save myself the onslaught. 

11 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

I'm pointing out HOW she actually used the PA system.

 

I'm not sure what the actual complaint is here about Dottie and the PA system or "nickel and diming". I didn't hear it or have any issues with her PA announcements on Sirena 11/22. I'm filing those complaints under, "You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but...."

File them where you want, I still found her to be really rather annoying - I am glad she was able to help you get an event together, however.

11 hours ago, flyers said:

I omitted to discuss how we felt that the CD was trying to 'nickel and dime` the passengers. Many times during the day Dottie would come on the Loudspeaker and discuss everything from Spa Treatments to Wine tasting,Cocktail tasting in the various bars,Excursions in various ports.All very in-noxious until you realized that there was a cost to everything for example there were... wine tastings from various regions nearly every day at $95.00 per person. We later found out from one of the Sommeliers that very few persons had purchased the O drink packages...Martinis was always empty  and they were trying to encourage more buying of drinks on board! also few people were using the Spa and apparently she was trying to drum up support for that as well. We used the gym almost everyday and even that area was always empty...

I hope that answers the question as to why we felt a possible pocket intrusion every day!!

Dottie seems to be incapable of doing much apart from reading all the contents of Currents twice a day. The only thing she veered off piste about was Trivia because she ran that. 

I have to say that annoying as it is reading about things that cost money isn’t really nickel and diming, O offer very few extra charge activities compared to mainstream lines. I find the act of reading by rote the activities much more egregious. 

Welcome to your cruising addiction! I see you have gone straight to the Class A section 😉

19 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Maybe  they tried to get them to play bingo  where you have to pay for the cards ???🤔

 

The spa  will try to upsell you  but a  simple "no thank you" has worked for me

 

the second post was such a change in tone it was like it was written by a different person almost. 

CBP on our disembarkation consisted of an officer asking if w had an ESTA after glancing at our US passports, was a very casual affair. 

Interesting to see your reply, thank you. I am still interested in how the CD tried to nickel and dime you. 

No crowds or lines

14 minutes ago, Charleyben said:

On the flip side.  How long will they allow you to stay on board if you have a later flight?

Disembarkation information indicated that US Customs required that the ship to have  everyone off by 9am. 

1 minute ago, tgg said:

 

The OP stated they were in an OS on deck 6, which are aft.  These suites have had vibration issues since the R ships were built.  We've sailed in 6088. We remember.

Which is probably why the suite was available - due diligence and all that. If I am right at the front or right at the back I research so I know what the potential issues are - especially if I were shelling out the amount of change that an OS would require. 

20 minutes ago, Jim and Monika said:

On Riviera now, love Oceania, and also wish there were more food options later. But we accept and adjust to make it work.

Had Pizza last night from waves and it was pretty good. The hours were 6:30 to 9:00 pm which made it a dinner choice, would rather it was open earlier or later to have before or after dinner.

I enjoyed using it as a main course and getting starter or dessert from Terrace, I also saw people using the main terrace seating with a number stand so they could get their pizza delivered to their table. 

17 minutes ago, dock said:

Thank you for taking the time. 
Can you elaborate on why you felt nickel and dimed. 

Awaiting our first cruise and this is not what I was expecting. 

I don’t think this is a realistic overview of an O cruise, and it certainly wasn’t my experience on O over Christmas.