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Tried Oceania Marina . . . and was disappointed.


jawlaw
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34 minutes ago, jawlaw said:

 

Serious question to someone who cruised for seven months from a jealous admirer:  will Amazon deliver to the ship? 

 

Obviously I didn't order stuff to be delivered to the ship!

 

I ordered gifts for birthdays and other events for my family or things for me that were delivered to my daughters home and I got them after returning home a few weeks ago.

 

Those who don't think internet service onboard is important probably haven't sailed on a very long cruise.

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I think both of what you're(Zalusky & Ken) saying is spot on and I have no argument with it. BUT, if given a choice between improved internet, more wine servers, better entertainment or continued and even more improved food I think most Oceania's customers wouldn't put the internet at the top of the list. 

 

Like you I have copies of everything but I tend to think of it more as having paper copies of my digital documents. When the system is down those paper copies are pretty valuable. 

 

Believe it or not we do have the latest phones, buy online, use Uber, do boarding passes on the phone, use Global entry etc. 

 

I'm just not sure it's a priority for Oceania. 

Edited by ORV
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15 minutes ago, Go-Bucks! said:

Those who don't think internet service onboard is important probably haven't sailed on a very long cruise.

I agree with that sentiment to a degree.

We are often away from home for extended periods of time, although never for 6 months. Because of that I too have to make occasional "arrangements" online while away - renew medications so they will be there when I get home, pay bills, book award flights when they first open, check emails to make sure nothing "catastrophic" is going on at home or with bank accounts/credit cards, make urgent phone calls using wifi, etc, etc.

That said, the internet on Oceania has always been adequate for these functions. I can see where it would not be sufficient for Facebook or face time or downloading 50 pictures but we never use it for those purposes so it works fine for us.

We have experienced better internet on some other lines (Crystal & Viking Ocean, for example) but what O has, suffices for us.

As always, YMMV

Edited by Paulchili
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I'm with Paul (which isn't unusual).  I bring my laptop with me so that I can upload photos and maybe do a little editing while on board.  I keep track of my email but suspend my message boards while we are away.  On occasion it's been important for our Coop to reach me while I'm away (since I was an officer) but usually it was sufficient for me to email back and say "I'll be home next week".  Obviously we haven't taken really long cruises although we have taken some lengthy trips (just not long cruises).

 

I would NEVER upload photos from the ship. Or try to watch videos. If I want to do that, I wait until I get home.  So while I'd never allege that the internet service is perfect on the ships, it hasn't bothered us.  When we were on an NCL ship in 2010 we did find the internet superior to Oceania's ... but not massively so.

 

Speaking of videos, during the Viking ocean crisis in Norway a few months ago I found a notice about a young boy who added hundreds of dollars to his parents' shipboard account by watching videos all day ... I believe that the ship waived some of those charges!  That may teach you to bring along a young person who is bored to tears on the cruise ...

 

Mura

 

 

 

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"amazon will deliver and you can send/receive fed ex while on the cruise.  i have done both.  arrange it with reception. "

 

to most international ports?  Cape Town perhaps; Walvis Bay maybe not! 

 

Good to know.  Thanks

Edited by cbb
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Sorry you were disappointed. I would agree the food quality has declined, which is a mistake at management level, but I’ve enjoyed Oceania and I think that even when the ships are refurbished there’s a “taste” issue in choices of decor and especially artwork that is not great. Neon pink bars and bright orange curtains blocking the views in the Terrace cafe feel dated back to the sixties. But overall I like the laid back ambiance , the destinations, ease of travel.  I find the staff, with occasional exceptions to be excellent. The evening entertainment, yes, is awful but I generally skip it in favor of a good book, rising early for the next adventure.  

I hope you find what you’re looking for in vacation travel

Edited by Damicom
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1 hour ago, Damicom said:

The evening entertainment, yes, is awful

I think that this characterization is unnecessarily harsh and I don't believe that this is true.

The performers are not West End or Broadway quality - if they were we would see them on those stages - but that does not automatically imply that they are awful. We have seen a number of very good performances. Some are better than others but none were awful IMO.

As always, YMMV.

Edited by Paulchili
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5 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

I think that this characterization is unnecessarily harsh and I don't believe that this is true.

The performers are not West End or Broadway quality - if they were we would see them on those stages - but that does not automatically imply that they are awful. We have seen a number of very good performances. Some are better than others but none were awful IMO.

As always, YMMV.

 

There was one 😁

   Rory & his wonder dog Murphy   or something like that

Yes I agree 

Most of the time the  theatre is standing room only  so cannot be all bad 😉

JMO

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The entertainment on our last Regent cruise was not all that great, but it was well attended. What was the alternative rather than sitting in a bar looking at the water, which is fine, don't get me wrong!

  We attended a few, but other than Lovena Fox and a performance by one of the bar's jazz pianist playing classical music, we were not mesmerized! I don't think our low expectations of cruise entertainment have been exceeded all that often, but that is not the reason we cruise. If we leave a performance raving about a performance, it is a bonus.

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On 8/31/2019 at 10:16 PM, Beagle5 said:

We did a 12 day baltic cruise on the Marina in July. It was our second cruise on the Marina (the first was over 2 years ago).

The cruise met our expectations. Our expectations were that it should be a better, more inclusive experience than the mass market lines we have enjoyed in the past (Cunard, RCCL, and Princess). It is certainly more elegant than RCCL and Princess, but also less formal than Cunard. But we weren't expecting a 'luxury' experience as promoted by Silversea, Regent etc.

 

I do not think the Marina is in bad need of refurbishment, although I did comment at the time that the dark cabinetry in the cabins is starting to look a little dated. From what I could see the public areas were immaculate.

 

I used the fitness center daily. I think there was one machine that was out of order at one point.  The fitness center did become crowded at times, particularly on the two sea days we had.

 

Food was very good (relative to mass market lines which was our measuring stick), although we noted the reduced choice of menu items in the GDR. The meals we had there though were very enjoyable. We also enjoyed the company of the people we met.

 

I agree that the entertainment is rubbish, but it doesn't worry me - its not why I go to sea.

 

We booked on board again for next year. Its not perfect, but it meets our expectations.

 

 

I don't know about a lot of the other posts, but we are/were regulars on Oceania when we had our 12 year Butler who has since retired.  We can not tolerate food in the MDR and only ate there once with one of the officers who we care for a lot, Dominique.  The Marina did from time to time over all the years need some repairs.  It seemed that they were slower in coming.  Our very very proficient butler Pritam who is no longer working as a butler was the draw.  We never ate in the MDR one time.  We loved it that we could disembark any time as we were in the owners suite.  Sadly, I do not think we will ever do Oceania again on Marina or Riviera unless we are on a "warm" cruise and can make good use of the Owners Suite Balcony.  We definitely will miss Pritam and this is the main reason we will no longer cruise Oceania.

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Great and civil thread.  We are trying other lines after reaching Elite in Princess, our go-to line after 18 cruises on Carnival (single mom for several years!). 

 

MSC’s Yacht Club (with a butler) on Meraviglia blew us away and the food and service were top-notch. We are doing a Med cruise repeat in Oct in Bellissima.  Also enjoyed Cunard’s Queen Victoria though I found the food good but a tad bland. Gorgeous ship. Their enrichment programs and lectures were phenomenal.  

 

We are trying Oceania next (Regatta from Papeete to SF).  And, I will admit, I was thinking along the luxury line experience myself based on those expensive brochures and luxury-laden text and photos. Been on 40 cruises and don’t think I have ever had a an overwhelmingly bad experience. Tend to take things as they come. And HEY, I am not working and on a cruise!  

 

Looking forward to an Oceania experience. Thanks for all the comments and opinions!  

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7 hours ago, muggo11 said:

Great and civil thread.  We are trying other lines after reaching Elite in Princess, our go-to line after 18 cruises on Carnival (single mom for several years!). 

 

MSC’s Yacht Club (with a butler) on Meraviglia blew us away and the food and service were top-notch. We are doing a Med cruise repeat in Oct in Bellissima.  Also enjoyed Cunard’s Queen Victoria though I found the food good but a tad bland. Gorgeous ship. Their enrichment programs and lectures were phenomenal.  

 

We are trying Oceania next (Regatta from Papeete to SF).  And, I will admit, I was thinking along the luxury line experience myself based on those expensive brochures and luxury-laden text and photos. Been on 40 cruises and don’t think I have ever had a an overwhelmingly bad experience. Tend to take things as they come. And HEY, I am not working and on a cruise!  

 

Looking forward to an Oceania experience. Thanks for all the comments and opinions!  

I don't know which room you are using on Regatta but if it's anything less than a PH be prepared for a smaller room than most mass market verandas and a very small bath room. I've been on them many times and know what to expect, but many people coming from other lines are turned off by the size of the lower cabins. 

 

I think the biggest problem when people don't like Oceania, when they've never been on it before, is unrealistic expectations. O's marketing and some posters overly embellished reports create a lot of that. 

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6 hours ago, ORV said:

I don't know which room you are using on Regatta but if it's anything less than a PH be prepared for a smaller room than most mass market verandas and a very small bath room. I've been on them many times and know what to expect, but many people coming from other lines are turned off by the size of the lower cabins. 

 

I think the biggest problem when people don't like Oceania, when they've never been on it before, is unrealistic expectations. O's marketing and some posters overly embellished reports create a lot of that. 

I feel most pax should opt for the larger ships. We found the Riviera to offer more amenities than their smaller ships.

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19 hours ago, Caroldoll said:

I don't know about a lot of the other posts, but we are/were regulars on Oceania when we had our 12 year Butler who has since retired.  We can not tolerate food in the MDR and only ate there once with one of the officers who we care for a lot, Dominique.  The Marina did from time to time over all the years need some repairs.  It seemed that they were slower in coming.  Our very very proficient butler Pritam who is no longer working as a butler was the draw.  We never ate in the MDR one time.  We loved it that we could disembark any time as we were in the owners suite.  Sadly, I do not think we will ever do Oceania again on Marina or Riviera unless we are on a "warm" cruise and can make good use of the Owners Suite Balcony.  We definitely will miss Pritam and this is the main reason we will no longer cruise Oceania.

So what did you not like about the GD? Not true gourmet, but the food was fine in nearly everyone else's opinion. You seem to be bragging a bit about your self importance about being in the in the owner's suite. The rest of us are not too impressed.

Edited by keithm
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14 minutes ago, keithm said:

I feel most pax should opt for the larger ships. We found the Riviera to offer more amenities than their smaller ships.

We like both size of ships

We do not have an issue with the small showers  but others  do

I kind of like the smaller ships as you see people more often than the  larger ships than can be quite  barren of people  at night

If you are coming from a main stream line  people are shocked at the size of the cabins/W/C  as ORV   noted above

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14 hours ago, Paulchili said:

You are obviously relatively new to the Oceania forum 😀

I was going to make a comment but then noticed the post mentioning this being civil. I’ll just say some posters sure seem to be stuck on a theme. 

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On 9/7/2019 at 8:04 PM, Caroldoll said:

I don't know about a lot of the other posts, but we are/were regulars on Oceania when we had our 12 year Butler who has since retired.  We can not tolerate food in the MDR and only ate there once with one of the officers who we care for a lot, Dominique.  The Marina did from time to time over all the years need some repairs.  It seemed that they were slower in coming.  Our very very proficient butler Pritam who is no longer working as a butler was the draw.  We never ate in the MDR one time.  We loved it that we could disembark any time as we were in the owners suite.  Sadly, I do not think we will ever do Oceania again on Marina or Riviera unless we are on a "warm" cruise and can make good use of the Owners Suite Balcony.  We definitely will miss Pritam and this is the main reason we will no longer cruise Oceania.

I am sorry Carol..but that is a very strange reason to give up a cruise line..

Jancruz1

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