Worst cruise on a beautiful ship!

[qldtraveller]

Hi

Firstly we have sailed Regent, Oceania, Princess, HAL and Paul Gaugin so I am speaking from experiencing small and large vessels.

I have read the criticism a number of times and normally would not respond. However, there are some issues with a one sided bias.

I find it so fortunate that you are able to sail the better cruise lines and afford a penthouse and all that it offers. We only just have a balcony cabin.

Maybe the butler(why do you need one) & front office staff saw your attitude in your face and they were surly. Have never had any major issues.

I generally refused the MDR as they were to fast and menu was lacking. Gratefully, cruise lines are looking slowing the service from the American rush hour so everyone from the rest of the world as well as many Americans can enjoy their food and wine.

Noticed no comments on the Terrace or Waves Baristas or Speciality restaurants. Somewhat strange.

The weather was bad and some ports were missed. Guess the power of Nature and the sea just is not fair and safety of the passengers is non event. This is an issue and risk we take when cruising with any cruise line anywhere in the world.

In regards to the medical issue if you are a doctor in medicine I am surprised you did not self diagnose earlier as you indicate you had the medicines with you. Instead you took up the time of the doctor and the opportunity for a patient to get in earlier.

Also we had a serious issue on our last cruise with me and all the tests(blood and everything was done on board Nautica this time) and no charge. Even on RSSC where my lady had treatment every day for 14 days with breathing issues before we went ashore. The total bill was $USD800. Regarding staff the ship is not a hospital and on most cruises there are 2 people to receive you. Remember you are one of 1200 passengers plus the crew who also visit the doctor.

Re : the spa no comment as we do not use it.

The captain's daily report at noon was not clear. Well, never seems to have been a problem generally whether the Captain is Greek, Italian, Norwegian or Croatian etc.

Most crew coming to the end of their contracts tend to make sure they do not upset anyone as they have 2 months off and hope to have their contract renewed again with the same cruise company. So again I guess you just seemed to manage to attract the wrong crew and since there are a large number of crew to have everyone happy and smiling every day is not easy. Suspect you found it hard sometimes to be happy and easy going every day.

 

Regarding special food requests my lady is Vegan and Oceania, Regent, Paul Gauguin all meet the meal requirements everyday. We get a menu or menus delivered for the next day and she chooses what she would like prepared and guess what the meals are made for her. Not sure why you failed to get the message across.

 

Yes, we have had issues on Oceania(6 cruises) and Regent(5 cruises) and definitely Princess and Hal but we take it up that day or the next and it is resolved or dealt with in a professional manner.

 

We also make it point to know crew members and it is amazing how much effort they make to look after you.

 

Cruising is a long distance trip and there will always be issues with it due to nature, ports, crew, boat itself etc. but that is part and parcel of it and one just gets over the disappointment and continues with the flow.

 

It is no different than getting on a plane for a long haul flight, plane goes back to terminal, crew cannot fly as it will exceed its legal time for flying so o/nite in a hotel etc. Now suspect that you travel first class so ask the economy and/or business class travellers how this is when delays like this occur.

 

I hope that some day you might see the positives in things but I suspect that unless everything is laid out and you have to do nothing you will not be happy.

 

Whoever, you choose next to cruise with I hope they do not have bad weather, missing ports, unqualified doctors, meals that take 2 - 2 1/2 hours to serve and the crew are always at you beck and call and smiling. Good luck and I look forward to your next positive report.

 

We made our choices for cruising and it does not include Seabourne, HAL or Princess but would use RSSC if the tours were not included as we are independent tours people.

[Caroldoll]

There would always be "something" with this gentleman. Traveling is not easy and if we don't anticipate some discomforts, then we are indeed living in Wonderland.

 

I am not an O "Cheerleader" as I have traveled on all of them, except HAL. Each cruise line has their strengths and their weaknesses.

 

I also agree with Travelcat..if you have a problem, deal with it head on at the time so as to avoid bad feelings. Dealing with these problems "in a nice way" always works better than being up-tight.

 

I don't think any experienced cruiser who is reading this board with give much thought to the validity of these complaints.

 

I feel sorry for this unhappy man. He must always be unhappy.

[Toranut97]

There would always be "something" with this gentleman. Traveling is not easy and if we don't anticipate some discomforts, then we are indeed living in Wonderland.

 

I am not an O "Cheerleader" as I have traveled on all of them, except HAL. Each cruise line has their strengths and their weaknesses.

 

I also agree with Travelcat..if you have a problem, deal with it head on at the time so as to avoid bad feelings. Dealing with these problems "in a nice way" always works better than being up-tight.

 

I don't think any experienced cruiser who is reading this board with give much thought to the validity of these complaints.

 

I feel sorry for this unhappy man. He must always be unhappy.

 

I am sure we all seem like "cheerleaders" if we contradict this fellow at all. Most of us could have told him after the second or third nitpicky thread he started (pre-cruise) that he was simply not going to be happy on O.

 

I cannot see his review, thankfully, because I placed him on "ignore this user" status some time ago.

 

I am glad some folks have expressed sympathy to him, but even happier that others have called him out for some of his unfounded critiques.

 

Enough said.

[orchestrapal]

There would always be "something" with this gentleman. Traveling is not easy and if we don't anticipate some discomforts, then we are indeed living in Wonderland.

 

 

I feel sorry for this unhappy man. He must always be unhappy.

 

For sure he must have a very unhappy life if such trivial matters become the important things.

[Hambagahle]

I agree. A very unhappy fellow - on land or at sea! Unhappy before he cruised. Unhappy on the cruise and unhappy now.

 

Some people are like that. I prefer not to meet them!!

[azevedan]

So, to sum up:

If someone posts a short negative comment, s/he is dismissed for not providing details.

If someone posts a detailed negative review, s/he is dismissed as being impossible to please and, worse yet, chronically unhappy. :rolleyes:

 

Maybe try this in reply:

"Sorry to hear it didn't go as you wished. Personally:

- we had a great time

- these are the things we liked

- we've always had great experiences

- that doesn't bother us, but I understand that it did you."

 

It's all about the delivery. :)

[Mura]

What has often been said before ... you can make lemonade out of lemons, or lemons out of lemonade.

 

Mura

[Travelcat2]

So, to sum up:

If someone posts a short negative comment, s/he is dismissed for not providing details.

If someone posts a detailed negative review, s/he is dismissed as being impossible to please and, worse yet, chronically unhappy. :rolleyes:

 

Maybe try this in reply:

"Sorry to hear it didn't go as you wished. Personally:

- we had a great time

- these are the things we liked

- we've always had great experiences

- that doesn't bother us, but I understand that it did you."

 

It's all about the delivery. :)

 

Agree with you and I tried to be kind in my comments as I know what it feels like to be bashed for having a less than positive opinion. In this case, the OP was extremely negative about the upcoming cruise and apparently did not read up about what to expect when sailing on Oceania (based on some of his "review" comments). There are some posters -- not a lot -- when you can tell in a advance that they will not enjoy the cruise. This is one of those cases.

[Solar Yellow]

So, to sum up:

If someone posts a short negative comment, s/he is dismissed for not providing details.

If someone posts a detailed negative review, s/he is dismissed as being impossible to please and, worse yet, chronically unhappy. :rolleyes:

 

Maybe try this in reply:

"Sorry to hear it didn't go as you wished. Personally:

- we had a great time

- these are the things we liked

- we've always had great experiences

- that doesn't bother us, but I understand that it did you."

 

It's all about the delivery. :)

 

Yes, it IS all about the delivery. And that is exactly the point I was trying to make regarding the OP! He focused on the negative and worded it in such a way as to dissuade people from sailing with Oceania. I, for one, and I suspect most others would not avoid Oceania based on what made his cruise "the worst." It's clear to me, the OP went in with a bad attitude. Oceania never stood a chance with this guy. I doubt most things stand a chance with him.

 

Let me reiterate, it isn't necessarily the negative comments people make that set off the people on these boards, it's the approach they take with their comments, their perceived overreaction to issues, and their insistence that the rest of us are idiots to continue to cruise with Oceania.

[ORV]

Hi

 

Noticed no comments on the Terrace or Waves Baristas or Speciality restaurants. Somewhat strange.

 

Actually in all fairness he did comment on the Specialties

 

"We enjoyed each and everyone of the four specialty restaurants ..... The cuisine as well as the charming attentive service was delightful"

 

One issue he had that I dismiss as not valid is being upset because he could not get a menu item from one of the Specialties in the MDR. DUH! Yes they pretty much don't offer this, otherwise what would be the point of the specialties.

 

I feel everyone is entitled to their opinion and experiences. It's up to me to filter it through their past posts and interactions here.

[LHT28]

“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.

[warburg]

After reading earlier posts of DrJW, It is no surprise that the bulk of his review is negative. It will certainly be in his best interest to chose another line for future cruises. Since laundry cost is a major concern for DrJW, Cunard is an excellent choice as washers/dryers are free. Since we enjoy cruising so much, I hope this poster find the right vessel.

Mary

[Bowie MeMe]

Great comments by the OP. Sorry it went so poorly for you. I agree that it was good you made the comments to the head butler and got the situation corrected.

 

I will comment, in hopefully a neutral fashion, on one issue, Dining times/lengths. For many fellow Americans, this often becomes an issue. Many Americans become conditioned by the "Flip that Table" attitude displayed in many restaurants around the country, and expect three course meals to be served in 35-50 minutes and out the door. On most river cruises, this becomes a big issue for many Americans when the evening meal is paced to take 2+ hours. Some Americans are climbing the wall, while others, like myself, enjoy the slow paced European style and the opportunity to enjoy the company of those sharing the table with us. There seems to be little compromise between the groups, it is what it is. I believe the OP is correct from my observations, that the MDR meals are more intentionally based on the European methodology. However, that does not excuse the food from not being the proper temperature.

 

My recommendation in this area is one of three: (1st) tell the wait person, when you sit down, that you are having X courses and want to be out by Y o'clock; or (2) since I've never suffered from lack of food on an O cruise, simply skip dessert, or the less desired course, to shorten your time at the table; (3) the food at the Terrace is always good and you can shove it down as fast as you want.

 

I think that this is the answer to the question of "why does it take so long?"

Americans are known to eat in a hurry and I am one of the faster American eaters. Our dinners at home (plated in kitchen for portion control) take probably less than 15 mins. We get used to that pace. I love sharing dinner with hubby of 46 years but don't need lots of conversation time!:D 24/7 now that retired I can yack at him. It always takes me a few days on a cruise to get the hang of slowing down (and not devouring the bread basket as that adds too many calories etc) and learning to eat, converse, listen and repeat.

Poor service? -- maybe but maybe you just need to slow down and dine!!! I know this is hard for me but it is one of the things so delightful about cruising. Get stuck with bores -- do your speed eating and out!!!

[Paulchili]

. Since laundry cost is a major concern for DrJW, Cunard is an excellent choice as washers/dryers are free.

 

Or Swan Hellenic, where self laundry is also free. Although I doubt very much he would like anything else on that cruise line as it is as different from Silversea as one can get :D

Edited December 19, 2014 by Paulchili

[RJB]

I am sure we all seem like "cheerleaders" if we contradict this fellow at all. Most of us could have told him after the second or third nitpicky thread he started (pre-cruise) that he was simply not going to be happy on O.

 

I cannot see his review, thankfully, because I placed him on "ignore this user" status some time ago.

 

I am glad some folks have expressed sympathy to him, but even happier that others have called him out for some of his unfounded critiques.

 

Enough said.

Yes, there are quite a few "cheerleaders" on this board and that is because most of us have been on multiple O cruises. 8 for us. Why would we be traveling with O so often if we did not love cruising on their ships.

[Hambagahle]

Or Swan Hellenic, where self laundry is also free. Although I doubt very much he would like anything else on that cruise line as it is as different from Silversea as one can get :D

 

I seriously doubt he would enjoy the lecturers OR the fellow passengers on Swan Hellenic. And most likely not the food either... You can't spend all your time in the laundry!

[Diver2014]

...so what's his beef? :D

Edited December 19, 2014 by Diver2014

[hondorner]

Call me a cheerleader (or not, I don't care), but like many of the previous replies I knew this guy would not like the cruise before he ever set foot on it. He spent the previous year searching for things he wouldn't like; it was inevitable he would find (or exaggerate) such.

 

With luck, he'll keep his promise to never sail Oceania again...

[DOJO466]

Call me a cheerleader (or not, I don't care), but like many of the previous replies I knew this guy would not like the cruise before he ever set foot on it. He spent the previous year searching for things he wouldn't like; it was inevitable he would find (or exaggerate) such.

 

With luck, he'll keep his promise to never sail Oceania again...

 

Oh shoot, and I thought we would all have dinner in Privee:D

[StanandJim]

Oh shoot, and I thought we would all have dinner in Privee:D

 

Sorry Deb, the social calendar is full-

Private Party at the indoor pool :p

 

Mary Hart and Cat Cora are having a race to see who will christen Sirena.

[Pam]

I have never been on an O ship; probably won't be because cruising time won't be in my future very much. BUT… I have had experience with a young Turkish lady doctor. Mark (my dh) had neuropathy (no feeling in his feed (there is a term for that, and I just lost the word). We had been wandering around (and around) on St. Thomas, in and out of shops, like I love to do there. We were changing for dinner, and I happened to look at his foot when he took his sock off to change; I was horrified. It really looked bad. We went to the medical facility, and this young woman just had a fit! She swept things around, created a sterile surgical field, and she operated on Mark's toe. He had to go back to see her twice a day for the next two or three days we were on the ship, and she examined the place carefully. Her bill was very, very reasonable, but she was definitely knowledgeable and she cared for her patient. He came home with instructions to take care of it and see his doctor if anything looked iffy. We were on Regent Navigator.

[Wol]

DrJW:

 

I will cut straight to the chase: I can see from your post that English is not your first language, so it is quite possible that some of your comments are capable of being misconstrued.

 

However, your criticism of the cruise director borders on the farcical. You might as well say the captain was useless because all he did was go on the P A and tell everyone where they were at noon. (Forget that he holds ultimate responsibility for hundreds of millions of dollars, 2000-odd lives, etc etc.)

 

FWIW the reason we chose to go on the same cruise as you was because we had enjoyed a cruise earkier this year with the cruise director, Ray Carr, so much we booked to be on the same ship as he all the way from Buenos Aires to Tahiti. In our books he edges out Dottie by a short head as the best CD out there: in fact I saw on several occasions something I'd never seen before - passengers telling Ray just that. Having watched him in his almost non-stop duties from around 5am to after midnight every day (the schedule of all CDs) all I can say politely is that you are, in the opinion of everyone I have talked to, on your own with that one.

 

As to the rest of your post, you do perhaps have some valid points, although with other posters referencing your comments in previous threads (which I will read later) I suspect that your attitude towards the staff may be at the root of your evident displeasure. No cruise ship is ever going to be perfect, but after multiple voyages on the likes of Silversea and Cunard we find the Oceania staff overall the most attentive, happy and professional, with barely a few, individual, exceptions. The ship maintenance is better, the food as good as, or better, and the facilities no different.

 

The "smart casual" ambiance is more to our liking than the formal codes you may prefer, although it is true that some passengers have problems with the first part of the phrase.

 

Posters have addressed your other points and I won't bore readers further, apart from saying that yes, you did have issues but so does everyone - on every cruise - but the way in which you describe them rather destroys the case you feel that you have.

 

As you say, never again on Oceania: I wish you all the best on whichever line you choose in future.

[ORV]

“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.

 

Another famous quote;

 

"What we've got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach."

[palermo22]

I would like to put some perspective to this post since we just returned from the same cruise. My responses are in capital letters

 

 

 

THE WORST CRUISE

 

 

We had a penthouse suite which was lovely . Kept up very well by housekeeping . We enjoyed Julia so much that we gave her additional gratuity, in addition to the all incl pre paid gratuitous that was incl in our fare.

 

We enjoyed each and everyone of the four specialty restaurants ..... The cuisine as well as the charming attentive service was delightful. TOTALLY AGREE!

 

The Sanctuary, outside , was wonderful and most relaxing. TRUE!

 

What made this trip poor for us , other then the several days of rough seas and generally poor weather with missed ports and late or early departures due to three ER airlifts .... All of course which could not be avoided on any cruise line ..... Was as follows: THIS IS TRUE BUT AS HE STATES THIS COULD NOT BE BLAMED ON OCEANIA!

 

Poor, was the terribly chronic slow and poor service in the MDR : no matter if the room was full of totally empty, each dinner took about 2 1/2 hours.... Long elapsed time between the courses and apparently overwhelmed wait staff . The food in MDR was at best, mediocre . Many other similar complaints overheard with repeated apologies from the maitre d .. But no changes effected! Even though we always arrived at 7:00... We never made it on time for the. 9:30 show! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE. WHEN WE USED THE MDR WE WENT AT 7:30 PM AND WAS OUT BY 9:15 - DIDN'T MISS ONE SHOW (ALTHOUGH I WISHED WE HAD MISSED THE PRODUCTION SHOWS).

 

Food being as fair as it was , on three occasions , I put in an order the day before for a special entree request they was a served in other specialty restaurants and also offered to room service. IT WAS DENIED!

So henceforth we had dinners in our suite several times allowing us to order what we wanted from where we wanted ! The down side was they most food deliveries , even breakfasts , delivered to suite was tepid in temperature ....even coffee ! While staff in MDR always asked upon guests departures , how things were. They were told... But changes were never apparently made. PROBABLY MORE TRUE THAN FALSE. OUR BREAKFASTS WERE DELIVERED MOSTLY EITHER COLD OR JUST BARELY WARM. WE MET A COUPLE WHO WAS ON A SPECIAL DIET AND MORE TIMES THAN NOT HER REQUESTS WERE NOT FULFILLED.

If only the wait staff were as present and as attentive as the Sommeliers were.. My God... They were there instantaneously, the moment one sat down ( great source of additional revenue for O!) NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE WAIT STAFF. ONE SERVER WAS A LITTLE SURLY WHEN A PERSON AT OUR TABLE WAS DELIVERED THE WRONG MEAL.

Poor meals and service in MDR. Many passengers are at Terrace just to avoid the long wait. Long time ait to get in MDR, long wait to place orders and long wait to get services. NEVER HAD TO WAIT MORE THAN 10 MINUTES TO GET INTO THE MDR.

 

Entertainment on board was better then expected .. Varied and quite enjoyable ,

The CD, Ray.. A joke.. Basically just an announcer of the days events and repeating the captains noon announcements which were mumbled and not well articulated . I thought that CD s are meant to be entertaining... He is not at all ... He makes PA ANNOUNCEMENTS .. That's it..RAY IS A GOOD GUY AND WE HAD A LOT OF FUN WITH HIM DURING TEAM TRIVIA - OTHER THAN THAT I ONLY SAW HIM AFTER THE SHOWS TELLING EVERYONE WHAT WAS ON THE AGENDA FOR LATER IN THE EVENING AND THE NEXT DAY. MY ONLY COMPLAINT WITH RAY IS NOT HAVING MORE INSIDE ACTIVITIES DURING THE DAY.

The front desk reception staff highly uninformative and not knowledgeable to simple queries . I needed to go to deck 11 and address any questions to our exec lounge concierge ,Damiano, to get answers . Front desk staff abrupt she often rude. NEVER EXPERIENCED THAT.

 

Overall the crew on deck, Waves, boutiques , inattentive , unfriendly , possibly at the end of their contracts and burnt out and or worried about their fate with NCL buying O!!

There were of course some delightful attentive crew..... But far too

few to be found ! Very little if any deck service ... Bars of course were always fully stocked and staffed with friendly bartenders ! BOUTIQUE STAFF WAS UNFRIENDLY - THAT PART IS TRUE.

 

Our last experience on Crystal and Silversea, where we hope to return , has a 100% more attentive and friendlier crew... Smiling, chatting with guests, even often remembering names..... Not at all on this sailing.. They were there to do their assignment ... Often appeared

reluctant to the even do so !

Not a great ambience ! STAFF (FOR US) WAS GREAT AND WONDERFUL.

 

Our butler was terrible: Rude.surly when we first met him... Only

asking why we were on board early! We got on board and went to our penthouse when instructed to! Did not even help us put

Luggage on bed or explain butler services!

It got so bad that we needed to ask for another butler. This only after 3 days of having to endure s very angry man with major attitude !

We met with the head butler; clearly he knew what we were attempting to communicate with him... Our butler was changed immediately ! Replacement was great and was what was to be expected from the onstart! Later found out that our original butler was also ending his contract with this sailing... Still no excuse for his lack of care ! OUR BUTLER WAS WONDERFUL.

 

Worse were the services provided by the ships physician. Granted it was rough sailing, with many ill crew and passengers. Coughing was rampant throughout the ship. Nevertheless, I have in all my years working in the medical field EVER met such a rude, arrogant physician . His exam at best lasted 3-5 minutes. He barely listened to chest. Never checked ENT.. Unless I asked! He has his basic protocol/

Nose and throat swabs testing for 'influenza '.... CBC Panel and then a shot of cortisone .. For this you are billed $550.00 then he gives you a bunch of OTC MEDS such as Tyndall, losenges ., etc, EVERYONE whom we spoke to on board shared that they received the same " care"... In and out in 5 mins. Bottom line. After spending close to $2,000.00 for both of us ..no relief whatsoever! I told him that I was wheezing at night and could not sleep.. No response. Finally i diagnosed myself as having an URI and took the meds that I took a long! NA

 

Granted, ship docs are typically not known for their astute skills or personalities.. But this one from Turkey was most unknowledgeable... Didn't know basic drugs ....I would not refer a sick cat to him! Another interesting point when both my wife and I took our temps before we went to medical center, we were afebrile each time but when the nurses took our temps each time we both were told we had fevers of 101! Both thermometers in room showed 97.5 or 98.1 ! I hate to think that they have " rigged " their equipment.. But what would justify the often 3.0 variance?? NA

 

Additionally, they need a clerk or receptionist in the medical center. Both nurses were totally overwhelmed with paper work with explaining to each coming passenger the fee schedule rather than having that tend to to the needs of bedridden ill patients who were calling out for assistance . The doc stayed in his office just shouting out: "NEXT"!

Trust me, it was bad.

 

That's it, even if would not have gotten ill.. I would have rated this cruise a 4... Having been ill with all that other issues.. I rate it: "horrible!"

even in our earlier sailimgs on rccl or Princess, we were received more warmly!

We look forward to returning to Crystal... We don't need a penthouse or a butler we just need a pleasant responsive crew!

 

I CAN SEE WHERE HE IS COMING FROM AND WHILE THERE IS SOME EXAGERATION - HE IS CORRECT IN MANY OF THE THINGS SAID. I CAN SEE WHERE A CRUISE LIKE THIS WOULD UPSET MANY PEOPLE: MISSED PORTS BECAUSE OF WEATHER - PORT VISITS CUT SHORT BECAUSE OF MEDICAL EMERGENCY - BUT AS I SAID IN MY OTHER THREAD - OUT OF 5 I WOULD GIVE THIS CRUISE AN OVERALL MARK OF 4.3.

[no fuss travel]

When we sailed this itinerary, we lucked out on the weather most of the time, but HAL, Princess and several other cruise lines could not go to the Falklands or Ushuaia and yet on the days we were in port we were okay. It is the luck of the draw with the weather and not the fault of the cruise line. We hit our rough weather coming down the coast of Chile, and yes several people were sea sick, but that is not the fault of the cruise line. I am a good sailor and loved being out on the decks watching the waves crash against other ships and ours. It was beautiful for me. As far as inside activities, we had them on rainy days, but that depends again on the individual CD. Ours switched from outdoor activities and turned them into indoor activities. And again not all activities appeal to everyone. The world would be a boring place if we were all the same:D