"O" Fans Please do your thing and comment!

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Snaefell3 said:

We ended up on the cruise we wanted but in a P1 instead of our desired P2 or P3 without a real confidence all the P2s and P3s that might have suited us just fine were actually already booked, and a feeling that we had been upsold.

 

You can always  waitlist  for the lower  PH category

Or just keep watching for  ones available  in the PH2 or 3  then call & get moved

[Snaefell3]

1 hour ago, basor said:

A quick way to check if your "feeling" is correct is to go the O website and make a mock booking for your specific cruise and see what PH's are available.   If you find that there is a PH 2 or PH3 available that does suit your needs, it is an easy process to get your booking changed to that cabin.

Yep.  "Mock booking".   'cept shipboard internet on that cruise was ...poor.

 

 

[Snaefell3]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

You can always  waitlist  for the lower  PH category

Or just keep watching for  ones available  in the PH2 or 3  then call & get moved

Would that burn my "1 no-charge re-book" on my booking at sea?

[basor]

2 minutes ago, Snaefell3 said:

Yep.  "Mock booking".   'cept shipboard internet on that cruise was ...poor.

 

 

I was thinking to do it now.....

[basor]

2 minutes ago, basor said:

I was thinking to do it now.....

👍

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, Snaefell3 said:

Would that burn my "1 no-charge re-book" on my booking at sea?

I do not know  if  a category change  is the same thing

Might be worth calling your TA or O to clarify

 When is your cruise?

[AMHuntFerry]

3 minutes ago, Snaefell3 said:

Would that burn my "1 no-charge re-book" on my booking at sea?

My pre-cruise offer says "All bookings are eligible for a one-time change of sailing date before final payment should your plans change". Nothing about moving cabins.

[LuAnn]

15 hours ago, LHT28 said:

We had  no problem  booking with him

 

Glad to hear that...both Deb and I had very different experiences. He never got back to either one of us re the booking info/quote we requested. He was very condescending and argumentative throughout my entire conversation with him. He had very disparaging remarks about Cruise Critic members and mentioned his 25 years of experience with cruising at least 3 times. The internet was very "spotty" in the Alaskan waters so I had decided just to stop by his desk and ask a simple question regarding the Upgrade Sale that only required a yes or no answer. It went down hill very rapidly from there. He made it very obvious that he had no interest in answering the question. I did include my concerns/interaction with him in my survey prior to leaving the ship.  

[redraider1966]

16 hours ago, LHT28 said:

We had  no problem  booking with him

 

We too had no problem booking with him some years ago.  I particularly enjoyed some back and forth on our respective favorite NHL teams (his is Toronto and mine is the Caps).  Found him to be very businesslike as well.

[shepherd really]

I bought a Future Cruise Certificate from him in January.  He was personable.  The little old lady that came over fuming with steam coming from her ears because she said she was waiting ahead of me (I waited until his desk was empty and walked over, he offered me a seat) was a whole different matter.  Truly a nasty piece of work.  

[basor]

2 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

I bought a Future Cruise Certificate from him in January.  He was personable.  The little old lady that came over fuming with steam coming from her ears because she said she was waiting ahead of me (I waited until his desk was empty and walked over, he offered me a seat) was a whole different matter.  Truly a nasty piece of work.  

Almost as bad as in the laundry room sometimes - don't mess with my spot in line (you should have known I was in line while I was sitting in a chair over by the shops). 

[BWV]

On 5/23/2023 at 11:56 AM, BWV said:

While we are not as experienced in cruise travel as some  people here, we have done 6-7 cruises on HAL which we certainly enjoyed (preCOVID). We decided to try Oceania last May for a retirement congratulations cruise (Marina -Rome-London), and we fell in love with Oceania - to us, no comparison with HAL in food. Yes, there have been a few items that might have been better, but overall the quality is excellent in our estimation.

The size of the ship also (granted, a partially-full 1200 vs. over 2000) was good also.

My sons upgraded us to a penthouse, so perhaps our first experience was a bit different, but the food and ambiance didn't change when we did our second on Riviera in March in a Concierge Veranda (yes, we were on the cruise that didn't stop in Bermuda). We were disappointed, but we felt that it was not their fault. After a nicely-worded note to Oceania stating our concern, we were offered some credit toward a future cruise.

We had already booked a Baltic cruise on Marina for this July with our daughter and granddaughter, so we happily applied the credit to this. On board booking and the Memorial Day sale allowed us to book a penthouse for us and veranda for them.

We are older and enjoy being on the ship, relaxing, reading, meeting other people. Earlier, we both explored ashore, but now I explore occasionally as my husband has mobility challenges. 

We have a QM2 crossing booked for next May which we'll enjoy, but I know we'll miss the Oceania food and ambiance. 

Others have had different experiences, but ours have been wonderful.

And now we've booked a Vista Caribbean cruise in January and, because of a special sale with our TA, a 'bucket list' cruise to Egypt and the Holy Land  in September of 2024! We're keeping our fingers crossed for good health, as our cruising days are surely winding down....

 

[HollieR14]

@LuAnn we had almost the exact same experience- it was just a question - he was super defensive and quite short. If we did not have FCC we would not have rebooked on Oceania.

Edited June 5, 2023 by HollieR14

[HollieR14]

On 6/2/2023 at 1:44 PM, LuAnn said:

Glad to hear that...both Deb and I had very different experiences. He never got back to either one of us re the booking info/quote we requested. He was very condescending and argumentative throughout my entire conversation with him. He had very disparaging remarks about Cruise Critic members and mentioned his 25 years of experience with cruising at least 3 times. The internet was very "spotty" in the Alaskan waters so I had decided just to stop by his desk and ask a simple question regarding the Upgrade Sale that only required a yes or no answer. It went down hill very rapidly from there. He made it very obvious that he had no interest in answering the question. I did include my concerns/interaction with him in my survey prior to leaving the ship.  

same....

 

[YoPhilly]

We were on Marina for two weeks this past December and had no complaints at all. After reading many comments about the air conditioning, I did recall that our cabin was very cold. However, it would never occur to me to complain about it. I simply adjusted the thermostat. We found plenty of delicious food options in every dining venue and were rarely disappointed. I asked our cabin steward for a lounge chair on our small veranda, and he appeared with one within the hour. As far as I’m concerned, that’s excellent service.  Maybe we are simply easy to please…. Definitely not high maintenance passengers!  That was our third O cruise, and we are looking forward to 30 days on Insignia in January.  What’s important to me is the small ship experience. Personally, I can’t see how anyone can accurately compare the O experience with an elite cabin on a mega-ship.  Apples and oranges.  We all have our own priorities.

[ak1004]

22 minutes ago, YoPhilly said:

We were on Marina for two weeks this past December and had no complaints at all. After reading many comments about the air conditioning, I did recall that our cabin was very cold. However, it would never occur to me to complain about it. I simply adjusted the thermostat. We found plenty of delicious food options in every dining venue and were rarely disappointed. I asked our cabin steward for a lounge chair on our small veranda, and he appeared with one within the hour. As far as I’m concerned, that’s excellent service.  Maybe we are simply easy to please…. Definitely not high maintenance passengers!  That was our third O cruise, and we are looking forward to 30 days on Insignia in January.  What’s important to me is the small ship experience. Personally, I can’t see how anyone can accurately compare the O experience with an elite cabin on a mega-ship.  Apples and oranges.  We all have our own priorities.

 

Couldn't agree more.. I would book the smallest cabin on O over the largest suite on a mega ship.. but you cannot please everyone, some people just like to complaint about everything. 

[PaulMCO]

Yeah -- to Hank @Hlitner good decision to do a VISTA cruise.  We are likely booking one also.

 

Of course many of the responses saying "great food" were from other Oceania ships.  Same with condition -- all of the other ships have been renovated.  But when you have cabinets that do not close, doors that would not open or lock, a spa on your deck that likely has not worked post COVID -- well??

 

One of my reviews is one of those "bad" ones and we thought the food was sub par.   Thought it was management's fault as Top Managers were totally invisible.  Hopefully their contracts have run out.  I think also food levels are down throughout the industry as our recent Seabourn cruise had similar issues with supply chain - especially fresh fruit and even Sake for the Sushi restaurant.

 

But Oceania's intentional delay in refurbishing Marina until 2024 would certainly play into any desire to sail her again.

Edited June 5, 2023 by PaulMCO

[Snaefell3]

2 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

⋮

But Oceania's intentional delay in refurbishing Marina until 2024 would certainly play into any desire to sail her again.

Since it's cheaper to refurbish a ship in COVID-layup than in revenue service, I misdoubt the "intentional".  Everybody was pushing for yard time.

[PaulMCO]

1 hour ago, Snaefell3 said:

Since it's cheaper to refurbish a ship in COVID-layup than in revenue service, I misdoubt the "intentional".  Everybody was pushing for yard time.

Consider the fact that she was to be refurbished in 2023 and then cancelled until 2024 is definitely intentional. 

[Snaefell3]

2 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

Consider the fact that she was to be refurbished in 2023 and then cancelled until 2024 is definitely intentional. 

Good point.  I was thinking '22 when ships were still getting bumped.

[babydrum]

On 5/25/2023 at 5:00 PM, pinotlover said:

Is this where a certain Cheerleader tells me the T&Cs clearly state they can sit us in a hotel and take us nowhere if they please.

This had me dying laughing.  There are several and it is so irritating.  At some point it becomes a bait and switch and the T&Cs will not provide cover but O is careful not to cross the line.

[DOJO466]

On 6/1/2023 at 10:43 PM, LHT28 said:

We had  no problem  booking with him

 

On Regatta (with Luann), I too had a not so good experience with him. So, I just kept bugging him so much that we became "buddies". He loves the "I have been doing this for 25 years", so he was right no matter what. He never did process my request with corporate and fought me on everything. 

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, DOJO466 said:

On Regatta (with Luann), I too had a not so good experience with him. So, I just kept bugging him so much that we became "buddies". He loves the "I have been doing this for 25 years", so he was right no matter what. He never did process my request with corporate and fought me on everything. 

 

With all the games Oceania  plays lately who can keep up 😲

 

Maybe  he needs to retire LOL

[Wynterwynd]

Just off our first ‘O’ ship cruise (Marina, Norwegian Fjords) after previously on each of the ‘R’ ships.  Very pleased with cabin size.  No notice of anything being shabby or not working correctly.  Only argument regarding cabin temperature was with my spouse.  

We were in a PH cabin and our butler, Titus, was the best we’ve ever had—scoring us 3 additional specialty restaurant reservations and getting us into one of the wine pairing dinners (fabulous).

 

Two ports had to be cancelled due to wind/waves, but one substitute was found and we enjoyed an extra sea day.  Not a problem.

 

Food choices plentiful and well-prepared and presented.  Waves Grill still has my favorite Surf & Turf (hold the bun).  It’s still a struggle to order a drink (other than wine from the pushy sommeliers) unless you are in a cocktail venue.

Yes, there are more passengers, but also more space.  Would definitely choose an “O” ship again.  We’re on Nautica next, in January.  Looking forward to it!

[ak1004]

4 minutes ago, Wynterwynd said:

Just off our first ‘O’ ship cruise (Marina, Norwegian Fjords) after previously on each of the ‘R’ ships.  Very pleased with cabin size.  No notice of anything being shabby or not working correctly.  Only argument regarding cabin temperature was with my spouse.  

We were in a PH cabin and our butler, Titus, was the best we’ve ever had—scoring us 3 additional specialty restaurant reservations and getting us into one of the wine pairing dinners (fabulous).

 

Two ports had to be cancelled due to wind/waves, but one substitute was found and we enjoyed an extra sea day.  Not a problem.

 

Food choices plentiful and well-prepared and presented.  Waves Grill still has my favorite Surf & Turf (hold the bun).  It’s still a struggle to order a drink (other than wine from the pushy sommeliers) unless you are in a cocktail venue.

Yes, there are more passengers, but also more space.  Would definitely choose an “O” ship again.  We’re on Nautica next, in January.  Looking forward to it!

 

Thanks for the review.

 

We also prefer the O ships. More dining choices and much better cabins. Yes, more guests, but the ships are more than double larger, so space/passenger ratio is actually better on the O ships.