Why Doesn't Ocenaia Include Gratuity

[Leonid]

We have both Crystal and Oceania cruises booked (new to Oceania). Aside from the country club casual, unassigned seating and more restrictive smoking policies, all of which are a big draw for us toward Oceania, could you tell me honestly if you find the Oceania food as good as Crystal and whether you ever miss the Crystal crew or the design of the Crystal ships?

 

1. IMNSHO I believe that the food on O is as good as Crystal. And there are more dining venues on O. The specialty restaurants on O are not extra and no additional tipping is required.

 

2. From what I remember, the Crystal crew was good, but not any better than on O. Remember, with assigned seating, we usually got the same waiters and asst. waiters.

 

3. Only was on the Harmony & the Symphony, the latter before the major refurb. Can't say that I miss the design of the Crystal ships. The one thing that appealed to me was being able to walk the ship on the Promenade deck. With O it's one deck up from the pool deck and in the elements.

Really, two different ships...it's really hard to compare the designs.

[wripro]

If you go on Oceania hoping it will duplicate the Crystal experience you are setting yourself up for disappointment, especially if you begin comparing each and every aspect of the cruise. Oceania has its own plusses and minuses as do all cruise lines and it's a great cruise line, Try to appreciate it for what it is instead of how it compares to Crystal.

[quivet c]

It sounds like most of you do not have a problem with the gratuities not being included I would rather have them included in my fare and pay for them upfront. When I sailed on Celebrity we did this and I preferred it. We also almost always tip our favorite employees and the stateroom steward extra.

 

Regarding specialty restaurants personally I would rather pay $5 or $15 extra to eat in them on a cruise because on Oceania it is very tought to get into the speciality restauants because they are free. On other cruise lines that charge it is much easier to get into them almost any night you want.

[LHT28]

It sounds like most of you do not have a problem with the gratuities not being included I would rather have them included in my fare and pay for them upfront.

You can always pay for them upfront in the way of a shipboard credit if you prefer that method.

It is a pay me now or pay me later kind of deal ;)

 

As already stated some get the gratuities included from TA's

 

we have not had any problem getting our specialty dining quota or extra seatings

[gillianrose]

I would like the prepaid gratuities included by Oceania instead of the travel agencies. I have not seen service suffer on any line with prepaid gratuities.

 

From travel agencies I want OBC that can be used for any purpose I choose, including additional gratuities, cash, casino, excursions, no restrictions.

[LHT28]

I would like the prepaid gratuities included by Oceania instead of the travel agencies. I have not seen service suffer on any line with prepaid gratuities.

 

From travel agencies I want OBC that can be used for any purpose I choose, including additional gratuities, cash, casino, excursions, no restrictions.

 

Basically you get the amount equal to the Gratuities as a OBC

[threeedogmedia]

Regarding getting in to the specialty restaurants - we've never had a problem going up to the podium and asking if there is an opening that evening - or asking our butler to do the same at some point earlier in the week or even that day...... We've only had a couple of occasions where there was no room. I don't ever want to see Oceania charge for their alternative restaurants. It would totally ruin the experience for us. I've seen this on the mass market ships and frankly never found one up to the quality that we wanted.

 

I respect your opinion but respectfully disagree.

Karen

[hondorner]

Regarding specialty restaurants personally I would rather pay $5 or $15 extra to eat in them on a cruise because on Oceania it is very tought to get into the speciality restauants because they are free. On other cruise lines that charge it is much easier to get into them almost any night you want.

No, the reason why reservations are required for specialty restaurants on Oceania is because (1) they are so good everyone wants to go all the time; and (2) they are too small for that to happen.

 

Paying $5 to $15 would not change that, except perhaps that fewer people might want to go when they cost money. Even then, because they are so good, reservations might still be necessary. The reservation system works fine, and if they have room, you can get as many extra reservations as you want, as long as you are flexible.

 

I'd rather make a reservation and dine free than pay additional money over what I've already paid for meals. Requiring more money insinuates that the cruise line doesn't think much of their basic food.

[quivet c]

I have no problem making reservations for dinner at the specialty restaurants on Oceania or any cruiseline and I believe they are totally necessary for specialty restaurants. That said you are right if they charged a cover less people would go and it does not make the basic food look bad to me as long as the specialty restaurant serves more upscale items/deserts. We were on Azamara Quest in September and their specialty Steakhouse Prime C was much better than the Polo Grill on Oceania (FYI Toscana was much better than Aqualina) but because they charged a cover of $15pp (of which some should go to the servers) for non-suite guests the specialty restaurants reservations were much easier to come by (note the specialty restaurants were still 95% full).

[hondorner]

The $15 doesn't sound like much, then you multiply by two people, and dinner in the specialty is now $30. The second night (which is free and guaranteed on Oceania for category A and above} brings it up to $60. We've averaged 3 nights in each alternative on Oceania, which would cost us $180. We wouldn't do that. No wonder they are easy to get. They're really hard to get if you are thrifty, like us.

[pratzert]

We just returned from a 14 day on the Insignia.

 

Although many of the times were already taken when I was allowed to make our Specialty dining reservations based on our category, I was able to find times accepatble to us.

 

Getting in for an additional evening WAS difficult. I did manage to get one additional night at the Polo and shared our table with an very nice couple from down under.

 

I tried all the "tricks".... checking in the morning.... chacking in the afternoon and even checked a couple of evenings right before we went into the Grand Dining Room. We always said we were willing to share. But they were always booked up other than the one night.

 

BUT.... we were not disappointed because the food in the GDR was FABULOUS ! Maybe they didn't have a 24oz Porterhouse, but if you wanted a steak, every night in the GDR, they offered a steak that was extremely good. So we never felt we were missing anything.

 

So don't strain your brain over getting into the Specialty venues for extra nights, if you can, great, but if not you will still have a wonderful meal anywhere onboard.

[tanny18]

If you want an "extra night" in one of the speciality restaurants, try the first night on board. Most guests don't book that night because they think they may be too tired. Try there first, and if full, there always the GDR -- We sailed on the Azamara Quest in December 2008 Holiday cruise. Hopefully, the food has gotten better in their GDR, because when we sailed, the food was really not good and we had to spend a good deal of time in the specialty restaurants (which were very good) for $30 a night which added up to a tidy sum. O tried that once for about a day and when nobody ate in Polo or Toscana, they changed the policy. I'm a firm believer that if we pay for our cruise with meals, we should be served in whatever restaurant is on the ship without any further charge. Arlene;)

[wripro]

I am curious to see how the reservations availability will work out on the Marina since there are double the passengers with only two more restaurants providing about 120 extra seats.

[KIWP]

Just booked our 31st Oceania cruise and will keep going and will NEVER go back to Crystal. Along with other negative aspects, the worst is the clientelle on Crystal. Poorly traveled and "nouveau riche" attitudes.

[JBVols]

We were just on the the Azamara and there is no way Prime C is as good as the Polo Grill. Not only was the food superior on O but the decor in Prime C was worn and tired which was true of the entire ship.

[Leonid]

Just booked our 31st Oceania cruise and will keep going and will NEVER go back to Crystal. Along with other negative aspects, the worst is the clientelle on Crystal. Poorly traveled and "nouveau riche" attitudes.

 

Here! here!

[Leonid]

I am curious to see how the reservations availability will work out on the Marina since there are double the passengers with only two more restaurants providing about 120 extra seats.

 

Book one of the top three suites and I doubt that you would ever have a problem. One doesn't pay that kind of money for nothing!

[hondorner]

I am curious to see how the reservations availability will work out on the Marina since there are double the passengers with only two more restaurants providing about 120 extra seats.

There's another way to look at it -- the Grand dining room is bigger (and has a higher ceiling -- great look), the Terrace restaurant is bigger and with more efficient use of space and better flow through stations.

 

And, while the passenger capacity is up by a bit less than 84%, the specialty restaurants have doubled (from 2 to 4).

 

Still, I agree that it will be interesting to see how the reservation system will work -- how many will each guest be guaranteed? I don't see how everyone will be guaranteed to try all 4 restaurants on one cruise, but I'm sure they have figured something out.

[pier]

We were on the Azamara Quest in June. The level of service was terrific, but the food in the main dining room was so disappointing that we ended up eating one of the specialty restaurants, Prime C (the other specialty restaurant, Aqualina, was disappointing also). At $30 a night, this added considerably to the cost of the trip. Azamara's food doesn't come close to Oceania's. They have a long way to go to be considered real competition.

[orchestrapal]

Book one of the top three suites and I doubt that you would ever have a problem. One doesn't pay that kind of money for nothing!

 

Right as usual. We were asked every day if we wanted to go to either Polo or Tuscana. I guess to some this is a big perk!:)

[wripro]

Other than a snide reply to my query I am still curious as to how they will handle this on Marina. With the maiden voyage now three months away why hasn't there been some announcement regarding the policy? I'm sure they have already decided on it.

[RickeyCruz5]

Other than a snide reply to my query I am still curious as to how they will handle this on Marina. With the maiden voyage now three months away why hasn't there been some announcement regarding the policy? I'm sure they have already decided on it.

 

For Marina, specialty restaurant reservations may be made anytime regardless of category booked provided the booking is paid in full.

 

The top 3 categories (OS, VS and OC) are allowed 2 seatings in each of the specialty restaurants (Polo, Toscana, Jacques and Red Ginger). All other categories (PH1 through G) are allowed 1 seating in each of these specialty restaurants.

 

RickeyCruz5

[Paulchili]

Thanks for that posting Rickey.

I guess I am a little surprised that PH is not included in the suites category.

None of us will go hungry, I am sure of that :D

[Leonid]

Other than a snide reply to my query I am still curious as to how they will handle this on Marina. With the maiden voyage now three months away why hasn't there been some announcement regarding the policy? I'm sure they have already decided on it.

 

Nothing snide about my comment. Truth is, you get for what you pay. When DW & I are on the Marina for the SF to MIA run, we'll probably dine in about half the time. Orchestrapal has set the standard for in suite dining.

Life is good!!!

[quivet c]

We were just on the the Azamara and there is no way Prime C is as good as the Polo Grill. Not only was the food superior on O but the decor in Prime C was worn and tired which was true of the entire ship.

 

What Azamara ship were you on? The Quest was fine not worn or tired and the service was great the MDR food was good but I agree not as good as Oceania. Prime C on the other hand both my wife and I agreed that steaks, deserts, sides were better than at Polo Grill on Oceania. The two cruises I have been with Oceania and multiple experiences in Polo have been good not great and I prefer Prime C (personal taste). When sailing with Oceania Toscana is our favorite specialty restaurant. We will let you know if our opinion changes when we sail with Oceania in late December and if the Polo Grill has gotten any better.