Marina Float-out Pix

[Paulchili]

 

The section of Deck 8 where the B1 and B2 veranda staterooms will be installed. This is the Starboard side, so if you are booked into one of the odd numbered staterooms on Deck 8 aft of the center of the ship, this may be where your cabin will be located.

 

 

 

I am surprised to see so much water on the "floor" at this point. Is it coming from the sides or the top?

What is the floor surface - metal or wood? One would hope it is not causing any damage.:eek:

Thanks.

[hondorner]

I am surprised to see so much water on the "floor" at this point. Is it coming from the sides or the top?

What is the floor surface - metal or wood? One would hope it is not causing any damage.:eek:

Thanks.

I think that's an optical illusion from the reflection through the sliding doors, unseen by the human eye but somehow fooling the camera. The ship is now "dried in" for the most part -- that specific area has all the slidng doors at least temporarily installed. There are some open areas and open windows, but for the most part, they are under some form of shelter. Large numbers of openings are covered with plastic.

 

The floor surface at the moment is welded steel, which appears to be coated with some sort of rust protection -- there is no surface rust, anywhere. The overall effect is one of cleanliness -- the ship is spotless, even in the areas where we were not touring. This offered a lot of reassurance about the capabilities of the shipyard.

 

{EDIT} upon close examination of the photo, I can see swirls of water in the reflection. It has been raining almost constantly in Genoa, and some water was on the floor. I reiterate, however, that there is no surface damage.

[Paulchili]

{EDIT} upon close examination of the photo, I can see swirls of water in the reflection. It has been raining almost constantly in Genoa, and some water was on the floor. I reiterate, however, that there is no surface damage.

 

Thanks.

There is definitely water on the floor, but it's good to hear that it is of no significance. I am still wondering how it got there? It shouldn't be from above:confused:.

[hondorner]

Probably from around the sliding doors; I don't believe it was wet towards the interior of the ship. I don't know when the doors were installed, or how watertight they are at this point. I believe they have to come back out in order to plug in the pre-manufactured cabins, which I think are installed from the outside.

 

The place was so clean, it's possible they pressure washed, or even steam cleaned.

 

We watched the weather for a couple of weeks before arriving, and it rained almost every day -- until the day of the ceremony -- and even then, the streets were wet in the morning. The day itself, however, turned out to be (relatively) warm and sunny.

 

Jim was prepared to wear thermal underwear, but Stan predicted temps in the 50's and sunny; it turned out he was wrong by underestimating -- temps were probably in the 60's.

[MightyQuinn]

Hondorner, thanks for this little peek inside Marina. It has certainly increased my excitement about sailing aboard this dazzling new ship. I can only imagine how thrilling it must have been to be in Genoa for the float-out.

 

I really enjoyed your photo-tour & YouTube videos. It’s obvious to me that already there is immense pride in this ship. The Oceania execs & others who conducted the tours seemed so pleased to describe the many new customer-focused features. Somebody’s paying attention to the details - whether it’s deeper drawers, extra closet hooks, better lighting, residential appointments or gel-based memory foam beds. It’s clear that Marina is being built to exacting standards where only the very best will do. And that commitment came alive thru your pics & videos.

 

All of this got me thinking that it would be great if Oceania started a Marina blog to detail the building of the ship. HAL is doing that now with their current new-build & it’s generating a lot of buzz about the ship. Maybe Oceania could do something similar.

[lord of the seas]

Many thanks Don for taking the time.

a concern for me is the positioning of the toilet in the bathroom.Did anyone notice how near to the shower and toilet roll holder it was,and at a tight angle because of the wall that it is fixed to.

[hondorner]

Many thanks Don for taking the time.

a concern for me is the positioning of the toilet in the bathroom.Did anyone notice how near to the shower and toilet roll holder it was,and at a tight angle because of the wall that it is fixed to.

I didn't examine that closely because of the number of people in the group and the press of time, but my impression is that there will be no problem. First of all, the bathroom is quite large. Second, because the toilet is at a 45 degree angle, it angles away from the snik and counter, with plenty of space between. Third, the shower is at the complementary 45 degree angle, and the door of the shower is well beyond the footprint of the toilet.

[lord of the seas]

Thanks Don,

it looks a little tight for the right knee,in the video.

[Druke I]

Odd, I thought the toilet looked a "little tight" also, but thought it might just be the angle of the camera.

 

The bathroom certainly appears much larger than those on the Renaissance class ships.

[yorkiemomjn]

Don,

I know my husband & I are just newbies to Oceania, but I wanted to thank you for all your great information, pictures and videos. I have really enjoying reading your posts ever since last Sept. when I started spending so much time on CC planning for our first Oceania cruise. Hopefully, we will be taking many more O cruises, since John will be retiring this year! :)

 

We are really looking forwarding to meeting you & Bestsy in person on the April 4th sailing from Barcelona!

 

What an honor to get a personal tour of the Marina!

 

Thanks again!

Judy

[hondorner]

For some reason, my uploads to YouTube have been taking much longer. I'm working on a work-around. In the meantime, here are 5 more.

 

The first is the Grand dining Room area:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still to come: the culinary center, the location of an Oceania suite and a Vista suite, the Baristas area, the jogging deck above the pool, Jacques restaurant, and a host of videos of the actual christening ceremony and the steel cutting ceremony for Riviera. It may take me days before it's done, because I also have to get my IRS taxes done before we sail on 3/21...:(

[lyndenfa]

I just discovered the full screen mode on your videos, so now i am watching them all over. Everyone else probably know this, but just incase there is another like me, just click on the bottom right icon and va-voom.

 

All this time I have viewed you-tube and didn't know!!

[hondorner]

Just uploaded another batch of videos.

 

The first one is about the pool deck. Before it begins, I have to explain that there were a few comments before the video started. Upon seeing the pool sitting on the deck, yet uninstalled, someone commented about the fact that it was sitting "uphill" (you'l see what they meant as soon as you see the video). Tim Rubacky, with his irrepressible sense of humor, quipped that they had perfected a method for the water to run uphill. When I started the camera, he made a remark that would be incomprehensible without that fore knowledge, and a few seconds later, told some latecomers that they were preparing a surprise for the pool. It was all a joke...

 

 

 

On to the rest of the videos,

 

 

 

[hondorner]

Just a few more to finish the hard hat tour...

 

 

I posted this quickie (only 17 seconds) to show how wide the jogging deck is. That has a dual benefit -- more shaded area on the pool deck (room for a double row of tables), and room for both sun loungers and joggers on the upper deck.

 

 

 

Finally, the tour ended up back down on Deck 5 in the new Jacques restaurant. All of the tour groups (there were 4 groups) ended up there, and refreshments were served -- thus, we all shared the honor of having the first "meal" served in Jacques!

 

[nyfeds]

A very big THANK YOU to you, Don. Great photos and videos. Having never cruised on Oceania (but now planning to do so), you've given us a wonderful sneak peek of Marina! Oceania's new ship looks to be a fantastic one!

 

What a marvelous opportunity to be invited to the hard hat tour.

[minz56]

Absolutely brilliant! Thank you so much Don.

 

I think that Marina is going to break the mould - a mid size ship that offers a modern luxe feel with great dining. I think there will be people queuing up to go on her, and I will be one of them! Unfortunately that probably won't be till 2012 but I am eagerlyawaiting the summer 2011 itineraries which should be out this month.

[esther e]

Don, I just came over here now and am very impressed that you were in Genoa! Great photos and videos. You done good.;)

[hondorner]

Don, I just came over here now and am very impressed that you were in Genoa! Great photos and videos. You done good.;)

Hi, Esther, we actually learned about our invitation from General Manager Franck Galzy while we were on board the Regent Navigator with you. Do you remember the evening in Stars Lounge when you came by as we were talking to him? Did you notice the stunned look on our faces?

 

We were asked to keep mum about it until the event, so we had a hard time not telling you about it while we were cruising together.

[hondorner]

I have a few more videos uploaded. These will start the series covering the actual ceremonies. If you are easily bored with speeches and such, you can safely skip them. But, I wanted to share the experience with all my CruiseCritic friends.

 

of Enrico Buschi, Director of Operations of Fincantieri Sestri Ponente

 

by Frank Del Rio

 

 

They played the National Anthems of Italy and the USA at this point. I recorded them, but am sparing you the experience of recorded anthems with no interesting visuals.

 

Christening of the ship by the madrina. I have not seen her name in print, but it sounds like Cecelia Ferrando. I heard a report that she is the wife of the shipyard manager, Mauro Leboffe. A separate note about this video -- unfortunately, I did not know where the bottle of Prosecco was located, so I missed the actual smashing of the bottle. I saw it out of the corner of my eye but it was over before I could swing the camera -- and they were not allowing any do-overs. :o If you listen carefully, you can hear it break -- it was just above the top right corner of the video.

 

[hondorner]

After the Christening, Bob Binder, President of Oceania, made a surprise announcement. Of course, by this time, most of you know what it was -- but I hope this will give you a flavor of how exciting it was at the time!

 

 

At this point, we were asked to board the buses that were used to get us to the shipyard for the short trip to another section of the shipyard for the steel cutting ceremony. Apparently, during this interval, the valves were opened to start filling the dry dock, but we didn't see it. That's sort of an anticlimax, anyway, because it takes more than 2 days to fill the drydock, and the valves would be opened and shut several times while buoyancy tests are made. In other words, at the "float-out", we never actually saw it float out.

 

At the steel cutting area, a large section of steel had been installed in a cutting bed. When we arrived, the steel was dry and exposed. It was announced that some guests would be asked to sign the steel and thus become stakeholders in the new ship. To our surprise, Stan and Jim, and Betsy and I, were asked to be the first to sign. I had some video of Stan and Jim, but there was some crowding, and the pictures were at a somewhat embarrassing angle, plus they really didn't turn out well. Therefore, with apologies to Jim and Stan (I guarantee they will be grateful), I edited that video to show only my better half, Betsy, as she signed the steel. Of course, I couldn't very well film myself, and I never got close enough to get the executives who followed us. I'm told others have some photos of the actual signatures.

 

This is only 22 seconds long...

 

 

Finally, my last video is also one of the longest, at almost 6 minutes. It shows the speeches of Mauro LeBoffe and Frank Del Rio, then the actual button pushing to start the cutting.

 

At this point, the cutting bed is being rapidly flooded with a few inches of water so the cutting head is actually underwater. You might want to turn your sound down a bit after the speeches because the flooding is loud. Also, what appears to be a delay is because the actual cutting cannot take place until the flooding is completed.

 

[hondorner]

That's all the videos and photos from me; I know that Jim and Stan have many, and I can't wait to see it from their perspective. Thanks for all the kind words from my friends here on CruiseCritic.

 

I'd just like to add that Betsy and I are not anything special -- we are typical Oceania cruisers, have never booked a suite, have just three cruises totaling 57 nights under our belts (although we are booked for four more), and have not spent scads of money on board. We think that it was our very "typicalness", if I can coin a word, that led Oceania to choose us to represent all of you. We felt an obligation to represent you, and it is that obligation that led me to this reporting. We only hope that we have represented you well.

 

Stan and Jim are a hoot and we were thrilled to spend a few days with them. All of the industry folks treated us well, and all are genuinely nice people. But, I have a special place in my heart for the Oceania representatives who organized and led this event.Tim Rubacky, James Rodriguez, Jim Libon (who is responsible for the gorgeous brochures), Franco Semerano, Robin Lindsay, Bob Binder, and, of course, Frank Del Rio, are all special people whose personalities are very evident in the things we love about Oceania. I'm privileged to have spent some time with them.

 

A special thank you to Mike Hicks and Gary Gerbino of Lou Hammond Associates, who handled the nuts and bolts of the the travel arrangements and event planning; you did a fantastic job.

 

I can't imagine anything topping this event...

[skigrams]

Don and Betsy: You were great ambassadors for the rest of us that are eagerly awaiting the Marina. Thanks so much for all the videos and photos and all the commentary and posts that have given us all such a good idea of what is happening. She looks like she will well deserve the Oceania name - they always do everything in such a first-class manner.

 

Can't wait to see the Marina and do looking forward to maybe someday meeting the two of you.

 

Thanks again for your great work. Bobi

[spindrift]

Thank you ever so much for the fabulous pictures, speeches, videos. We felt as tho we were right there. Thank you for thinking of us and sharing. Can't wait to board her.

[joan24]

Don,

Another thank you for the wonderful videos and pictures. We can always count on you to provide information and insight into so many things. Hope to meet you and Betsy on a future cruise.

Joan

[fastrack0]

Wow, great stuff !!!