Marina Refurbishment

[LHT28]

Just now, YoHoHo said:

Including that outdoor space certainly adds to the seating. I imagine it will be a popular place for a lunch.

very  busy place for  Breakfast & Lunch

Mike Preisman has some photos

https://www.thepreismans.com/vista23_2.htm

[edgee]

13 minutes ago, YoHoHo said:

Sorry, seems my speculation of where Aqaumar venue will go I started this rumour

 

I did not realize Aqaumar would have such a small capacity (as would it into the La Reserve space vs Jacques). I had assumed (oops) it was a full size dining area like the specialties.

 

And the idea that Jacques was on the way out came from reading previous threads on CC when Vista was revealed. There were posts that Jacques as a dining room (vs items featured on the GDR menu) was on its way out. I am hopeful it will survive.

Well, the "replacement" for Jacque on Vista, known as Ember, is pretty much a disaster not so much as that is a bad place to dine, but as a sought after specialty restaurant it is not. Folks who compare it to a slightly upscale Appleby's are not too far off IMHO. We found that when we called the reservation line looking for extra specialty dining slots, Ember was always offered with great flexibility.. So, if they are to do away with Jacque they need to come up with an alternative that is a helluva lot nicer than Ember.

[edgee]

1 hour ago, YoHoHo said:

The article is from a PR piece. Those usually mention positive additions not things being removed.

Jacques is not on Vista which has the new dining areas such as the Aquamar venue. I wonder where they are Fitting in the new dining area in this renovation?

Aquamar is NOT a specialty dining venue. On Vista and soon to be on Marina it will be a mostly open window outdoor dining venue along the lines of Waves on opposite side of ship from Waves. One side on Vista is completely open to the pool deck, not sure it will be same on Marina. They do offer an inside long hi top table area which is glassed in and air conditioned on Vista.

[tigerfan75]

3 minutes ago, edgee said:

Well, the "replacement" for Jacque on Vista, known as Ember, is pretty much a disaster not so much as that is a bad place to dine, but as a sought after specialty restaurant it is not. Folks who compare it to a slightly upscale Appleby's are not too far off IMHO. We found that when we called the reservation line looking for extra specialty dining slots, Ember was always offered with great flexibility.. So, if they are to do away with Jacque they need to come up with an alternative that is a helluva lot nicer than Ember.

I appreciated that others apparently somehow found Ember lacking.  Several I spoke with had heard the characterization of "Applebys, and did not even try it.  I enjoyed it very much, and took advantage of dining there as much as possible.  Obviously, an example of YMMV....

[basor]

25 minutes ago, tigerfan75 said:

I appreciated that others apparently somehow found Ember lacking.  Several I spoke with had heard the characterization of "Applebys, and did not even try it.  I enjoyed it very much, and took advantage of dining there as much as possible.  Obviously, an example of YMMV....

We also enjoyed Embers on our recent 32 days onboard - we tried several times to get an extra reservation while onboard and never was available

[EJL2023]

1 hour ago, tigerfan75 said:

I appreciated that others apparently somehow found Ember lacking.  Several I spoke with had heard the characterization of "Applebys, and did not even try it.  I enjoyed it very much, and took advantage of dining there as much as possible.  Obviously, an example of YMMV....

All three of us enjoyed our meal, and we’re not even fans of “ Applebys”.  Now we did find the noise level a bit much but that seems like something that can be addressed.  

[mauibabes]

I agree it is noisy but people we have dined  with on two Vista cruises really liked their meals.  In fact one lady said her Ember Filet Mignon was the best she had over her 16 day cruise and she ate filets in several restaurants and all were very good. We all enjoy what we enjoy. 👍😇🙏

Enjoy,

Mauibabes

[Vallesan]

Can I ask a question about the staterooms please?

According to the article the penthouses are being refurbished but it doesn’t mention the lower cabins. I had assumed the whole ship was being refurbished.

Does anybody know for sure?

[EJL2023]

8 hours ago, Vallesan said:

Can I ask a question about the staterooms please?

According to the article the penthouses are being refurbished but it doesn’t mention the lower cabins. I had assumed the whole ship was being refurbished.

Does anybody know for sure?

I noticed that also……was not the best written article needless to say. But to your question also very interested as have a cruise on Marina for latter part of 2024.  

[MarkWiltonM]

Apologies if this was already posted. Details and confirmation of Marina's refit next spring. 

 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/11/oceania-marina-to-undergo-big-refurbishment-in-may-2024/

[Vallesan]

Rang my TA to see if all the cabins are to be  refurbished. Expecting an answer tomorrow. Will post when I hear.

[Vallesan]

This is Oceania’s reply to my TA…..
 

Our second O-class vessel, Marina, will undergo a full and extensive refurbishment in May 2024. 
 

• Marina will be the final ship within Oceania Cruises’ award-winning fleet to be refurbished     While it will be extensive and all encompassing, it will not be to the same level of her sister ship, Riviera:
• All of the upper suites will receive a full cosmetic refresh, the same as Riviera. 
• All of the penthouse suites will be completely redecorated
• All of the staterooms will have a fabric and upholstery refresh.
• We will not be building out entirely new bathrooms as it unfortunately cannot be accomplished within the timeframe required. 
• All public areas will be refreshed to be in-line with Riviera.

Hope this clears up the questions.

 

[shepherd really]

31 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

This is Oceania’s reply to my TA…..
 

Our second O-class vessel, Marina, will undergo a full and extensive refurbishment in May 2024. 

• We will not be building out entirely new bathrooms as it unfortunately cannot be accomplished within the timeframe required. 

 

 

Funny how they were able to refresh and rebuild the Riviera in that exact same timeframe.

 

Color me skeptical. 

 

Time will tell, I'll reserve my handwringing until this is an established fact.

[Cape Hernlopen]

We were on Marina in Feb 2020 just before Covid struck and were pleased with the cruise and the ship.  Our only complaint related to the bathroom design and layout (Veranda level).  Based on our previous experience and the temptation of the proposed refit similar to Riveria we booked two cruises on Marina.  The current reporting on "no change to the bathrooms" on veranda level leaves us feeling somewhat misled and taken advantage of!  Let's hope that the reporting proves to be incorrect, however, hope is not a strategy!

Joel Barry

[Vallesan]

35 minutes ago, Cape Hernlopen said:

 

Cape Hernlopen….. 

Why would this email be incorrect when it’s come directly from Oceania?

 

I think it’s highly unlikely that the bathrooms will be redesigned.

 

The email from Oceania says clearly that the bathrooms won’t be redesigned. They may not do something’s they have promise, but they are not likely to add things they have said WON’T be done!

Edited November 24, 2023 by Vallesan

[MarkWiltonM]

It's very disappointing they won't be refitting the bathrooms, and I am surprised they are comfortable with Marina being a second-class vessel to its sister ship, Riviera, for what will probably amount to years. We are scheduled to be on Marina in November 2024 but we booked an alternative cruise on another line just in case Marina wasn't going to be refurbished (at all). We will have to decide what we want to do. The only thing in favor of Marina at the moment is that our itinerary is taking us to Guadeloupe, one of the few islands we haven't visited in the Caribbean. But we've been to Martinique and I hear they are similar. Anyone care to weigh in on Guadeloupe?

[m1k2s3]

7 hours ago, Vallesan said:

This is Oceania’s reply to my TA…..
 

Our second O-class vessel, Marina, will undergo a full and extensive refurbishment in May 2024. 
 

• Marina will be the final ship within Oceania Cruises’ award-winning fleet to be refurbished     While it will be extensive and all encompassing, it will not be to the same level of her sister ship, Riviera:
• All of the upper suites will receive a full cosmetic refresh, the same as Riviera. 
• All of the penthouse suites will be completely redecorated
• All of the staterooms will have a fabric and upholstery refresh.
• We will not be building out entirely new bathrooms as it unfortunately cannot be accomplished within the timeframe required. 
• All public areas will be refreshed to be in-line with Riviera.

 

This is very disappointing that the bathrooms won’t be done. It’s the one thing I disliked the most about the concierge level cabins. Redecorating is nice but it sure would be nice to have a more functional bathroom too. It’s also puzzling why they managed to  schedule refurbishment of all their other ships ( including the bathrooms) and now, on the last and final one, there’s no time to do the bathrooms.

To me, this sounds more like they’re simply redecorating the ship - again, very disappointing.

[Vineyard View]

I agree with you m1k2s3. We feel the same. From a design standpoint, the bathrooms were our biggest concern. The date of this article is November 21st. I wonder when Oceania actually released this update publicly. 

[Cape Hernlopen]

Dear U.K.V.:

I wasn't questioning the veracity of your report but rather the inconsistent and sometimes contradictory statements from official Oceania sources.  As the old rock and roll trope states: "believe nothing of what you hear and only half of what you see".

Joel Barry

[clarku]

We had booked an A3 Concierge on a July ‘24 Marina sailing specifically because this category was getting the larger walk in shower.  Feeling a bit cheated.

[pinotlover]

1 hour ago, clarku said:

We had booked an A3 Concierge on a July ‘24 Marina sailing specifically because this category was getting the larger walk in shower.  Feeling a bit cheated.

My personal guess is that:

 

If, Oceania could fill its ships without all the never ending sales;

 

Then, it would have happily paid to redo all the bathrooms on the Marina refit.

 

However, they fail to do the first and that mountain of debt accumulated during Covid and building two new A ships has consequences. One should never forget that mountain of debt when considering any action NCLH/Oceania makes.

[LHT28]

5 hours ago, clarku said:

We had booked an A3 Concierge on a July ‘24 Marina sailing specifically because this category was getting the larger walk in shower.  Feeling a bit cheated.

You have time to cancel  if not happy

JMO

[LHT28]

since they are  reinventing  La Reserve to Aquamar Kitchen  & adding the Pizzaria that  may be taking time away from other  renos on the ship

 Unfortunately  things happen

They  are scheduled a certain time frame in the shipyards with many other lines also scheduled  for  repair/refurbishments etc

I see no mention of them removing Jacques  from Marina ... rumours/speculation

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/media/2023/Oceania+Cruises’+Marina+to+Undergo+Extensive+Refurbishment+in+May+2024/

[Vallesan]

5 hours ago, clarku said:

We had booked an A3 Concierge on a July ‘24 Marina sailing specifically because this category was getting the larger walk in shower.  Feeling a bit cheated.

Surely a ‘cruise’ is far more than ‘the size of a shower’?
 

[clarku]

Of course it won’t ruin our cruise, but we went up a category because we were told that would be the minimum cabin with the new walk in shower layout. I think we’re justified in being disappointed, and no, it’s not anything to cancel our cruise over.