Land & Sea - LIVE from Spain as we sail & compare HAL to Oceania

[hypercafe]

Thanks for your posts, I always find it fun to read someones impression of a line, helps me to see if I am really nuts. I have experienced some of the same things you did. I think there is so many restaurants open for dinner, six, that the crew is spread to thin to spend much time with each table, On my trips the majority of restaurant servers were from Northern Europe, very different personality from Asian people. Just too much hype about food, best food at sea ect ect. sets expectations too high. We spent time on Oceania and a few luxury lines and decided we would rather be on a mid sized mass market ship, just so much more to do and see. Hope the dogs are OK. After a few visits we recommended they close the Italian Restaurant, guess they didn't take my advice!!!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

I nearly forgot to mention...

 

here is one thing that O does really well. They have a Captain's Reception in Horizons where the officers are introduced. Similar to what HAL used to do. ( I say used to as it seems it is being cut out from reading some posts?)

 

Here's the big difference. No glass of sparkling wine. Instead, The bars are open on the ship for a few hours because of the reception. You don't have to be in Horizons and the drinks are free. You can have champagne if you want or just about anything else. There are some restrictions but it is nothing unreasonable.

 

It's a very nice affair and very well done. O really shines at this.

 

They also do a VERY nice reception for their returning cruiseres. There were three parties on this cruise. Once again the bars are open and there are some very nice munchies served from what I was told.

 

 

Now that I like.

HAL's Mariner brunch/lunch has gone downhill. JMO

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you Jacqui for giving us how both Jose and you felt about the ship, crew, food, etc.

I appreciate honest reviews/reports.

[kazu]

Thank you Jacqui for giving us how both Jose and you felt about the ship, crew, food, etc.

I appreciate honest reviews/reports.

 

O has a lot of nice ideas and nice presentations - it's the follow through and the consistency that we found missing along with the attitude of a number of the crew.

[kazu]

DH and I are still travelling. Our puddle hopper couldn't land so we spent nearly 7 hours in the puddle hopper and ended up back in Toronto.

 

Now, we are getting ready to leave and hopefully, land this time.

 

I will post on the value later.

 

It's been a very long night.

[qsuzi]

We are not ready to try another cruise line but would not let one review/experience of a new cruise line stop us from trying that cruise line. Our friend won't try HAL because of his TA's experience on HAL. Our first experience on an RCI ship was not good but we tried them again and it became my DH's favorite cruise line. He /I are presently booking HAL instead of RCI.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I appreciate your careful analysis and honest reports. I admire your patience since we would never had sat for 45 minutes waiting for a plate to be removed or to be asked if everything is to your satisfaction ( all good servers do return within minutes to ask). After 15 minutes we would have flagged down someone or if that not possible would have just left.

[nordski]

Thanks very much to both kazu and RuthC for their impressions.

 

Experiences may vary, but a friend essentially had many of the same comments.

 

Having cruised on HAL, Celebrity and Azamara (presently our preference), we had looked at Oceania and your comments have helped us decide.

[1of4]

DH and I are still travelling. Our puddle hopper couldn't land so we spent nearly 7 hours in the puddle hopper and ended up back in Toronto.

 

Now, we are getting ready to leave and hopefully, land this time.

 

I will post on the value later.

 

It's been a very long night.

 

:eek::eek: :mad: :eek:

 

So sorry to read this update! Hope you get home safely today. UGH.

 

You know I thought of you two last night and wondered why I didn't say "you can always stay here. Hold on...we are on our way".

[sppunk]

Thanks for your posts, I always find it fun to read someones impression of a line, helps me to see if I am really nuts. I have experienced some of the same things you did. I think there is so many restaurants open for dinner, six, that the crew is spread to thin to spend much time with each table, On my trips the majority of restaurant servers were from Northern Europe, very different personality from Asian people. Just too much hype about food, best food at sea ect ect. sets expectations too high. We spent time on Oceania and a few luxury lines and decided we would rather be on a mid sized mass market ship, just so much more to do and see. Hope the dogs are OK. After a few visits we recommended they close the Italian Restaurant, guess they didn't take my advice!!!!

 

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought you had settled on Crystal?

[LHT28]

The pictures looked beautiful but snooty staff is a deal breaker for me.

 

Marcia

WOW

I guess KAZU must have had a whole different crew than what I have experienced on 10 Oceania cruises

 

There are a few staff that are European & they are not warm & fuzzy by nature ...snooty ???

[hypercafe]

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought you had settled on Crystal?

 

On no, took one on Crystal. Their dinner arrangements were not for us. I can live with fixed dinning first sitting however there is no option. If you miss it its room service or nothing. I like the rest of there product , waiting to see what the new ship is about.

[RuthC]

Welcome back to real life, Jacqui. Hope you make it home on this flight, and all goes smoothly settling back in.

 

I'm sorry this cruise wasn't all you had hoped it would be, and appreciate your efforts in letting us know all about it. I know you were fair in your evaluation, posting about both the good and the bad. Sadly, your experience was not unique on Oceania.

 

I would hope that Oceania management will take the weaknesses you elaborated to heart in an attempt to improve the product. Blindness to areas for improvement is not a good business model.

 

Thanks again for taking us along.

[WeLoveCruising]

I really appreciate your opinion and the thought you put into letting us know about your cruise.

 

You confirmed for me that if I sailed another line I might miss certain things about HAL...mostly the intangible things, but the things that make it feel like home to me. I've long looked at Oceania, and if the pricing were similar I'd be more apt to give it a try, but it's hard to justify the uptick. We are still working and have limited vacation time, so tend to carefully consider our vacation choices because we only get 1-2 a year.

 

It sounds like you made the most of the things you liked, and I really value your opinion on the other stuff.

[cat shepard]

Jacqui

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I do have a follow-up question re: the O crew's attitude. I don't need a crew that is bubbly & friendly; reserved and subtle is great. But if the attitude you mention in your post equates to them not caring about their customers needs, then I would like you to confirm this. I don't expect perfection, but I would expect them to care about fixing a problem, or meeting a reasonable request. That is one aspect of cruising I look forward to experiencing.

 

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts.

 

Ann

Edited December 4, 2015 by cat shepard

[Lizzie68]

DH and I are still travelling. Our puddle hopper couldn't land so we spent nearly 7 hours in the puddle hopper and ended up back in Toronto.

 

Now, we are getting ready to leave and hopefully, land this time.

 

I will post on the value later.

 

It's been a very long night.

 

Oh no! Hope you made it back home by now. Thanks again for all your reports.

[RuthC]

But if the attitude you mention in your post equates to them not caring about their customers needs, then I would like you to confirm this. I don't expect perfection, but I would expect them to care about fixing a problem, or meeting a reasonable request.

Let me give an example of what I consider an Oceania failure in this regard.

 

I returned to the ship with some significant bleeding on the back of my hand. I did have a tissue, but wanted to bandage it ASAP.

The gangway was just a few feet away from the Front Desk, so I went there for the bandage; they gave me a hard time about it. First they wanted to send me to the Infirmary to get it (walking is very difficult for me). Then they made me wait until someone was free to go behind the counter and give me the bandage.

There was plenty of attitude to go around, and none of it was the helpful kind.

 

When a similar thing happens on HAL, they not only jump to get me a bandage, but they make sure I have extra.

[qsuzi]

Let me give an example of what I consider an Oceania failure in this regard.

 

I returned to the ship with some significant bleeding on the back of my hand. I did have a tissue, but wanted to bandage it ASAP.

The gangway was just a few feet away from the Front Desk, so I went there for the bandage; they gave me a hard time about it. First they wanted to send me to the Infirmary to get it (walking is very difficult for me). Then they made me wait until someone was free to go behind the counter and give me the bandage.

There was plenty of attitude to go around, and none of it was the helpful kind.

 

When a similar thing happens on HAL, they not only jump to get me a bandage, but they make sure I have extra.

Not good customer service at all. :(

[WeLoveCruising]

Let me give an example of what I consider an Oceania failure in this regard.

 

I returned to the ship with some significant bleeding on the back of my hand. I did have a tissue, but wanted to bandage it ASAP.

The gangway was just a few feet away from the Front Desk, so I went there for the bandage; they gave me a hard time about it. First they wanted to send me to the Infirmary to get it (walking is very difficult for me). Then they made me wait until someone was free to go behind the counter and give me the bandage.

There was plenty of attitude to go around, and none of it was the helpful kind.

 

When a similar thing happens on HAL, they not only jump to get me a bandage, but they make sure I have extra.

 

I'm sorry that happened to you, Ruth. I am reminded of a cruise I did on Windstar (back when they were under the HAL umbrella). I was wearing open toed sandals and cut my foot in the restroom at dinner (tripping on a threshold). I didn't notice my foot was bleeding, but the waiter did and ran to get me a bandage. They also sent a wheelchair to bring me to the infimrary - totally unnecessary, I was just a klutz. Some of it may have been they were concerned about liability because the threshold was a large piece of metal under the restroom door, but it was a completely different experience than what you are describing.

[G&G]

WOW

I guess KAZU must have had a whole different crew than what I have experienced on 10 Oceania cruises

 

There are a few staff that are European & they are not warm & fuzzy by nature ...snooty ???

 

Always had great staff on our prior six Oceania cruises.

 

But we sail on the Riviera in 8 days :eek:

 

Kazu, thanks for your review. Though we have had great experiences on Oceania and travel more with Oceania than HAL, I agree that the shore excursions are very pricey, MDR service can be slow (but we usually dine at the Terrace Cafe) and the entertainment in the showroom is nothing special. But HAL's entertainment is nothing special. We just finished a 13 day cruise on the Celebrity Eclipse, there were 8 different entertainers in the showroom and 7 of them received standing ovations at the end of their performances.

[rafinmd]

On no, took one on Crystal. Their dinner arrangements were not for us. I can live with fixed dinning first sitting however there is no option. If you miss it its room service or nothing. I like the rest of there product , waiting to see what the new ship is about.

 

When was your Crystal cruise. About 2-3 years ago they introduced "open dining by reservation" a modified version of flexible dining. Still not true open dining, but I'm quite sure if you missed your time the staff would fit you in. It might or might not make a difference for you but I thought you should be aware of it.

 

Roy

[kazu]

I appreciate your careful analysis and honest reports. I admire your patience since we would never had sat for 45 minutes waiting for a plate to be removed or to be asked if everything is to your satisfaction ( all good servers do return within minutes to ask). After 15 minutes we would have flagged down someone or if that not possible would have just left.

 

We did try to flag someone down. Several times. Absolute lost cause.

 

I guess we are too "nice" and should have left sooner.

 

They sure run to you when you get up to leave though. A little too late for us.

[sppunk]

On no, took one on Crystal. Their dinner arrangements were not for us. I can live with fixed dinning first sitting however there is no option. If you miss it its room service or nothing. I like the rest of there product , waiting to see what the new ship is about.

 

Ah, that's why we too haven't booked them (though that river cruise product might have our name on it with all the overnights).

[kazu]

Always had great staff on our prior six Oceania cruises.

 

But we sail on the Riviera in 8 days :eek:

 

Kazu, thanks for your review. Though we have had great experiences on Oceania and travel more with Oceania than HAL, I agree that the shore excursions are very pricey, MDR service can be slow (but we usually dine at the Terrace Cafe) and the entertainment in the showroom is nothing special. But HAL's entertainment is nothing special. We just finished a 13 day cruise on the Celebrity Eclipse, there were 8 different entertainers in the showroom and 7 of them received standing ovations at the end of their performances.

 

Actually some of the shows weren't bad at all.

 

We missed Sonya unfortunately. She had performed on the Prinsendam and we really enjoyed her. We saw her in the Terrace Grill. She was to have boarded in Bermuda and perform. Sadly, now, her first performance is after we get off. The O cruisers staying on are in for a treat IMO. She is quite good.

[kazu]

Thanks for your posts, I always find it fun to read someones impression of a line, helps me to see if I am really nuts. I have experienced some of the same things you did. I think there is so many restaurants open for dinner, six, that the crew is spread to thin to spend much time with each table, On my trips the majority of restaurant servers were from Northern Europe, very different personality from Asian people. Just too much hype about food, best food at sea ect ect. sets expectations too high. We spent time on Oceania and a few luxury lines and decided we would rather be on a mid sized mass market ship, just so much more to do and see. Hope the dogs are OK. After a few visits we recommended they close the Italian Restaurant, guess they didn't take my advice!!!!

 

they didn't take your advice sadly. I am not a pasta fan (although I can cook it very well) but DH is. He said the pasta in the Terrace Grill was far better than Toscana. In fact, he thought the pasta he had tasted like it was frozen and microwaved there. Just his opinion of course and just his experience.

 

I think you have a good point on the restaurants. Perhaps they are offering too many options and not their "specialties"? that was another thought we had.

 

There is no right answer here - but the presentation is beautiful for sure. It just doesn't always follow through in taste.

 

I don't claim to be a foodie but I can cook quite well and I know when something is overly salted and reeks of it and is inedible, when something is too tough or has sat out too long under the heat lamps (again down to the servers).

 

The whole thing depends upon the waiter you have. A good one and you it seems you have good food. a Bad one and you don't.

 

those are just our observations. It's the inconsistency that is troublesome.