Oceania Losing Ground - Just Back From Marina

[UAL_FlyGal]

Oh, and by the way, why is there such focus on the fact that the bartenders actually measure the ingredients when they make cocktails? When I drink a cocktail, I want it to taste good, not be overpowered by the taste of booze.

 

Are people complaining about the strength of their drinks because they only want to get drunk? If so, skip the mixer and just order double shots, and maybe start with a beer or 2 from your mini-fridge before you leave your stateroom, just to get the buzz started.

 

Just sayin'.

How RUDE!!

 

Just sayin'.

[bitob]

Obviously the op is unhappy with oceania but not the rest of us. One review will never convince me to sail or not to sail on any ship

 

We have had nothing but fabulous interaction with crew on all our oceania sailings

 

 

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[palamoh]

Believe Service is the same as Food, it is subjective, sometimes you get the service based on what you put into it, I have found on Oceania, that if you treat the Staff with courtesy and kindness, they will treat you the same, I believe they remember the names of passengers who have treated them with genuine appreciation for their service, We travel the O ships exclusively, I have NEVER had any member of the staff be rude with us. One must remember that these folks are very busy with their jobs and it might seem like they are ignoring you, but just a pleasant smile and a brief thank you for their service will go a long way to making them appreciate you as passenger

[Travelcat2]

I just returned from the Oceania Marina and posted the following review under "Reviews". I'm also placing here for those who are interested:

 

I write this from the perspective of a cruiser who has sailed with Oceania 7 times and been on almost 90 cruises. My cabin experience has always been a PH2 or PH3 on deck 10 or 11 on Riviera/Marina and deck 8 on the R Class ships. For reference and point of view purposes I have sailed on most major mass market lines. In recent years my taste has changed and strongly desire smaller ships with less passengers and a more inclusive experience where you are not nickel and dimed. Therefore, lines such as Oceania, Crystal, Seabourn, Azamara, Regent and Silversea have been strongly preferenced.

 

The condition of the Marina is tip top shape - especially for a ship built in 2011. Food remains outstanding. Cruising on Oceania is more akin to staying in a really nice floating hotel as opposed to a true cruising experience. Highlights not only include the dining room and specialty restaurants, but also tea time and the strings. I also believe Oceania and Regent have the best pool areas at sea.

 

Unfortunately, I feel strongly that Oceania has lost ground compared to the competition - so much so that we just booked our first Viking Ocean cruise as reviews seem to compare the two lines as apples to apples with Viking Ocean being the better apple. Unfortunately, Oceania's apple has become a bit rotten. Here's why:

 

Despite a beautiful ship and producing excellent food something is missing on Oceania and has been progressively more noticeable. That "something" is service and absolute lack of personalization. I've noticed on my last few Oceania cruises that the crew does not engage with the passengers and it is clear they are there to do their job and that's it. There is frequent talk in front of guests about "when my contract is up". No similes, no being addressed by name, no remembering preferences. In fact, for the most part no warmth. For example, my wife and I kept bumping into a social hostess we met at a captain's function the second day of the cruise and we would always say hello and try to engage. She would not give us the time of day. A social hostess! Another example -

this one from the top - the captain's cabin was just in front of ours and I would frequently see him in the corridor. It was painful for him to return a simple hello. Staff were regimented and inflexible. All decisions - no matter how minor - had to come from the top. There was no willingness or ability to even make small decisions to cater to guests on their own. For example, at the juice bar I asked for bananas, oranges and ice. The employee said he was only allowed to make what was on the preset menu despite all the ingredients and a blender sitting right in front of him. Sounds picky? Not really when every aspect of any small request is treated this way. The overall lack of flexibility and unfriendliness of the staff is unfortunate. Part of what makes cruising enjoyable is the staff. When the staff is miserable and stupidly rigid it impacts the overall experience. In summary - regarding the staff - they walked around like creatures from the Walking Dead and did not seem happy.

 

Unless you bought a drink package getting an honest drink is impossible on Oceania. All drinks are measured pours and quite stingy. Even the "doubles" are weak. A double top shelf (i.e. Kettle One or Grey Goose) martini costs north of $22 before tip is included. Bartenders have zero flexibility to think on their own and actually some are worried about their pours because they are "scrutinized" according to one. Remarkably, Celebrity - a mass market line - makes much more honest and better drinks without the measured pour.

 

Oceania shore excursions are consistently awful. I would not waste your money and instead visit sites such as tours by locals or Viator to arrange your own tours. Not only will you have a more customized experienced and skip out on painful bus journeys, but you will save a ton of money.

 

As an aside, I think Oceania would benefit from increasing their prices slightly and making drinks all-inclusive. They should get rid of O Life promotions and just make every sailing with included WiFi, beverages, gratuities and lastly not insult guests by requiring tokens for the laundry. Those inclusions coupled with some serious Ritz Carlton style customer service training would potentially put Oceania back in the running.

 

On all my previous Oceania cruises I booked future cruises. Not on this one. I am done with Oceania for the foreseeable future as I've tried other options and liked them better; hence the danger of trying other things as you might just like them better and change your spending habits. Sorry Oceania - what was once a fabulous product is just fair now when compared to the competition in the market.

 

I really appreciate that you took the time to post your review and I agree with many of your points. As mostly Regent cruisers, we expected the same crew/guest interaction as we experience on Regent but it is simply not there.

 

The alcoholic drinks on Oceania are a joke (and no - I'm not trying to get drunk). If I order a Grey Goose martini, I expect a double pour in a decent size glass (not a small pour in a thimble size glass). Although we had the Prestige Alcohol Package both times that we cruised Oceania, I know that I would not pay "north of $22" for a "call" drink (plus 18% tip). This is one area where the competition is slaughtering Oceania (especially Viking Ocean which someone on the Regent board is comparing with Regent).

 

I'm not certain but think that Oceania is the only luxury-lite/premium plus cruise line that does not include wine with meals (pretty sure that Azamara does and Viking Ocean does). It really doesn't matter if you drink or not...... it is about making money and keeping up with the competition. Crystal was the last luxury cruise line to go all-inclusive. By the time they did, reports from passengers indicated that many sailings were half-full (or half-empty depending upon how you view it). I would hate to see Oceania lose passengers simply because their competition is offering more for the money.

 

IMO, Viking Ocean is the biggest competitor since they have new ships. I took a few minutes to read their reviews on CC and was surprised at how highly their passengers rate them.

 

I'm not posting to bash Oceania -- I would love to see them do better and gain back (or keep) the market share that they worked so hard to earn.

[pinotlover]

Food and service is highly subjective. My wife and I are foodies, therefore all my comments on the subject come that perspective.

 

We will be back on the Marina the end of October for a ten (10) day cruise. We are currently scheduled for two (2) La Reserve dinners, one Privee evening, four (4) Specialties restaurants evenings, leaving probably 2 MDR, and 1 Terrace Dinner.

 

In February, we have a fifteen (15) day cruise on the Nautica.

 

I will hold my future food comments until I have completed both of those cruises. I will only say that food quality on our June Nautica cruise was far behind that of previous cruises. While they still had exceptional entrees like the prime rib in Polo Grill, many of their overall offerings were bland due to a corporate decision to tone down recipes. I will say that a reasonable size Group of cruisers cheered bland because they don't want anything "spicy". As I said above, it's subjective. However, imo, O's decision to replace gravies and sauces with runny tasteless apple sauce to accompany roast pork is a glaring example of their questionable moves. Gazpacho, stripped of all chilis and left to taste like unseasoned tomato soup is another example. In late February, I'll be prepared to give a new larger overview.

 

As far as shore tours, I've made my feelings quite known. IMO, and imo only, if Oceania's tour guide plainly says" this tour is not appropriate for wheelchairs or walkers", then Oceania should not allow those using such on the tour. I know others strongly disagree with me on this issue likewise.

 

We'll see where we are in late February.

[I_r_a]

Hi Warburg,

 

>in 2015 we sailed Insignia across the Panama Canal and didn't like the ship too much.

 

The problem there is that you should have sailed through the canal, not across it. That's how we did it, and had a very nice time.

 

Ira

[St Paul Girl]

Food and service is highly subjective. My wife and I are foodies, therefore all my comments on the subject come that perspective.

 

We will be back on the Marina the end of October for a ten (10) day cruise. We are currently scheduled for two (2) La Reserve dinners, one Privee evening, four (4) Specialties restaurants evenings, leaving probably 2 MDR, and 1 Terrace Dinner.

 

In February, we have a fifteen (15) day cruise on the Nautica.

 

I will hold my future food comments until I have completed both of those cruises. I will only say that food quality on our June Nautica cruise was far behind that of previous cruises. While they still had exceptional entrees like the prime rib in Polo Grill, many of their overall offerings were bland due to a corporate decision to tone down recipes. I will say that a reasonable size Group of cruisers cheered bland because they don't want anything "spicy". As I said above, it's subjective. However, imo, O's decision to replace gravies and sauces with runny tasteless apple sauce to accompany roast pork is a glaring example of their questionable moves. Gazpacho, stripped of all chilis and left to taste like unseasoned tomato soup is another example. In late February, I'll be prepared to give a new larger overview.

 

As far as shore tours, I've made my feelings quite known. IMO, and imo only, if Oceania's tour guide plainly says" this tour is not appropriate for wheelchairs or walkers", then Oceania should not allow those using such on the tour. I know others strongly disagree with me on this issue likewise.

 

We'll see where we are in late February.

 

Wow, we are going on our first Oceania cruise this coming November, and if this statement is any where near being the case, this could be a culinary disaster for us.

We had a similar case when on a tour of Italy, most of the clientele were "mature" citizens and from what we learned is that any included meals would be toned down so as NOT to offend these persons, ie NO Garlic, or any spices!

We are are in our early 60s and are "foodies"! We have been told by all of you folks how great the food is one Oceania. I hope that "you all" have not been pulling our legs about the food.

Anyway, I hope that this "toning down" is only a myth.

[pinotlover]

St Paul Girl;

 

Sorry to say many of your fellow cruisers will probably be past "mature" and on to geriatric. It truly shapes a lot of what now occurs on O cruises. I worry that sector is now the targeted O clientele.

 

I wish you the best of sailings on Oceania and look forward to your reviews after your cruise, you will find plenty to like and a lot to discuss.

[LAexNY]

Hi to LAexNY! We met you on Nautica between Singapore and HK and I remember it fondly.

I'm happy to see most replies seem to disagree with the OP.

The Captain on marina was previously on Nautica. I appreciate his professional competence and that oh his crew.

 

Hi Doug. Yes, that was a great cruise. Hope all is well. Maybe we'll sail again some day.

[cruisun]

I completely agree with the review and opinion of the OP. On our most recent sailing on Riviera we too felt a complete disconnect with staff and found it wasn't a "happy" ship. Also worst drinks ever, not only because they were weak and overpriced but not made well or presented nicely. Bartenders seemed to be micromanaged and unhappy.

 

Thanks OP for not being afraid to express your honest opinion, I'm sorry for some of the rude responses you received.

 

Of course everyone has a different experience, even on the same sailing.

[Mura]

Just one minor appoint about friendliness of the staff. We've always been pleased with our staff encounters and don't really care about encounters with the senior staff. We care more about the people actually taking care of us although of course it's nice to interact with everyone!

 

A couple of years ago we were on I don't remember which ship and were walking down to the gangway on Deck 4. We ran into a stewardess who'd taken care of us on Deck 8 several years before. She immediately recognized us and said an effusive hello.

 

That's enough for us!

 

Mura

[YoHoHo]

I completely agree with the review and opinion of the OP. On our most recent sailing on Riviera we too felt a complete disconnect with staff and found it wasn't a "happy" ship. Also worst drinks ever, not only because they were weak and overpriced but not made well or presented nicely. Bartenders seemed to be micromanaged and unhappy.

 

Thanks OP for not being afraid to express your honest opinion, I'm sorry for some of the rude responses you received.

Good. I'm glad to see another comment regarding the same unhappy ship. Well, as one who likes Oceania a great deal, I am obviously not happy to read of these problems but I am happy to have them coming from more than one source.

 

There was a number of things I was going to comment on in the OP's review but I didn't post it because I was getting carried away and too much fine tuning. And really the only new item of real concern to me was the one of staff attitude and unhappiness.

 

From the OP's post:

"There was no willingness or ability to even make small decisions to cater to guests on their own. For example, at the juice bar I asked for bananas, oranges and ice. The employee said he was only allowed to make what was on the preset menu despite all the ingredients and a blender sitting right in front of him. "

 

Sounds like a management not a staff issue. If the Hotel Manager (the OP references the captain a couple of times but the captain does not get involved with hotel services) is causing this attitude problem then there is indeed an issue that needs to be dealt with. Perhaps they are trying to enforce a directive from Miami and are going overboard (no pun intended). If this is causing the micromanagement described in cruisun's post then O needs to recognize the effect of their programs and revamp.

 

Of course everyone has a different experience, even on the same sailing.

That is so true. I've read posts and reviews from different pax on the very same cruise that have been night and day different.And I know that atmosphere and on-board experience is also modified by the pax on that particular sailing. In my naïvety I did not realize there could be such a huge difference and thought it would be more alike.

 

As a generalization I thought that in general the passenger mix from one sailing to another would be much more similar but I now know that I would be generally wrong.

[bitob]

Reviews are always all over the place on every sailing. Just look at member reviews for identical sailings. We don't pay much attention to other people's opinions. Our experience will be unique to us

 

 

 

 

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[su-arizona]

The diversity of views in this thread just proves that "Opinions are like noses. Everyone has one"

 

And people, even those working on a cruise line, are very different. Some are nice and friendly, others not so much. On our last [sirena] cruise, though, we did notice that there were many crew members, particularly in the Terrace Cafe, who had very limited English. This makes excellent service difficult.

 

Most of our cruises have been limited to Oceania and WindStar, so I don't have a lot of different experience. But we do enjoy the interaction with senior crew members on WindStar, as well as the open bridge policy. While the Sirena captain was more available and personable than some on previous O cruises, I think guest interaction emanates from the top down, and Oceania could encourage this (without interfering with the primary duties of course!)

[gbits]

The diversity of views in this thread just proves that "Opinions are like noses. Everyone has one"

 

 

I was going to say the same thing but reference something on the other end of the body ;p

[Jay23]

Believe Service is the same as Food, it is subjective, sometimes you get the service based on what you put into it, I have found on Oceania, that if you treat the Staff with courtesy and kindness, they will treat you the same, I believe they remember the names of passengers who have treated them with genuine appreciation for their service, We travel the O ships exclusively, I have NEVER had any member of the staff be rude with us. One must remember that these folks are very busy with their jobs and it might seem like they are ignoring you, but just a pleasant smile and a brief thank you for their service will go a long way to making them appreciate you as passenger

 

 

Absolutely. :)

[ORV]

I completely agree with the review and opinion of the OP. On our most recent sailing on Riviera we too felt a complete disconnect with staff and found it wasn't a "happy" ship. Also worst drinks ever, not only because they were weak and overpriced but not made well or presented nicely. Bartenders seemed to be micromanaged and unhappy.

 

Thanks OP for not being afraid to express your honest opinion, I'm sorry for some of the rude responses you received.

 

Of course everyone has a different experience, even on the same sailing.

 

 

I've missed the rude responses. Could you point them out for me.

[RJB]

Just one minor appoint about friendliness of the staff. We've always been pleased with our staff encounters and don't really care about encounters with the senior staff. We care more about the people actually taking care of us although of course it's nice to interact with everyone!

 

A couple of years ago we were on I don't remember which ship and were walking down to the gangway on Deck 4. We ran into a stewardess who'd taken care of us on Deck 8 several years before. She immediately recognized us and said an effusive hello.

 

That's enough for us!

 

Mura

This seems to be the general rule whenever we are on any Oceania ship. Staff from previous cruises come up to say hi, and even talk a little. Mostly very friendly. :):):)

[cbb]

Perhaps the OP caught the crew at the end of their contract. I know when we were last on board the crew was busy getting ready to go home, excited about seeing family (and in a couple of cases, a brand new baby) and where their next contract had them posted.

 

Some of them had had their current contract extended by several weeks and they were truly exhausted.

 

I don't think most passengers realize the hours staff and crew put in. On one cool overland excursion most of the passengers spent the night in the hotel and upon our return we found out that the crew spent the entire night --starting with Horizons and ending with their own quarters--doing the deep Noro clean.

 

Upon our return they were back at their stations. I know some of the Terrace staff had less than 3 hrs sleep...i thanked as many of them as I could find.

 

Often we passengers are absolutely clueless at what staff & crew does for us and many of them are never seen by us.

[LHT28]

Cynthia you are so right

Passengers do not know how hard the crew work behind the scenes as well as when they see them

Many times the staff behind the counters are up late at night cleaning the serving areas & kitchens ...every nook & cranny where food can get ...someone has to clean the grills etc...

I have seen the same guys from Waves in there late at night cleaning & the storeroom behind Waves

Not just when NORO is present

[Mura]

I always remain amazed at the hours the crew puts in. For those visible to us, I presume that the wait staff have the hardest hours. You can see person in Terrace early in the morning and then that's your waiter in a specialty at night.

[pinotlover]

On Oceania, I have always found the staff to be very friendly and outgoing. Service has always been on a high level. When service hasn't been great, it always seems to be a institutional issue and not one of lack of trying by the staff.

[harpy3]

St Paul Girl;

 

Sorry to say many of your fellow cruisers will probably be past "mature" and on to geriatric. It truly shapes a lot of what now occurs on O cruises. I worry that sector is now the targeted O clientele.

 

I wish you the best of sailings on Oceania and look forward to your reviews after your cruise, you will find plenty to like and a lot to discuss.

 

 

I find that comment offensive and ageist. O doesn't target families with young children, but the cruise we were just on had a wide variety of ages--including families. I didn't see a plethora of walkers or wheelchairs either.

[LAexNY]

I find that comment offensive and ageist. O doesn't target families with young children, but the cruise we were just on had a wide variety of ages--including families. I didn't see a plethora of walkers or wheelchairs either.

 

+1. Totally agree.

[pinotlover]

I'm sorry your offended. Being confined to a wheelchair or walker is not a limitating factor in the definition of the term that so offends you.

 

I feel entirely comfortable allowing St. Paul Girl to make her own observations and draw her own opinions, on the multiple issues, based upon her upcoming O cruise. She'll be able to do so with out the biased opinions of people on either side.