Reviews of Sirena on Cruise Critic are Concerning

[katiebeth]

Greetings,

 

We are booked on the May 3rd sailing on Sirena London to Barcelona.

 

We are frequent cruisers but I have not been on these boards recently.    We have sailed on Oceania twice in the past, one European sailing and one Caribbean.   (Pre-Covid).     My husband and I very much enjoyed Oceania and especially the food.

 

However, I have recently read several reviews posted on Cruise Critic over the past year and the reviews are consistently bad.    Many have indicated that the overall product is in decline; food, excursions, customer service, and the list goes on …

 

My husband and I are really looking forward to this cruise, but I must say the recent reviews have me concerned as they are overwhelmingly negative.

 

Do others who have cruised recently on Sirena seen an overall decline post covid?     We have booked several excursions thru Oceania and am now having second thoughts.

 

Any input/feedback would be greatly appreciated.      Thank you very much,   Nancy

[FeliciaLee]

It's a great ship and you will have a fabulous time. Red Ginger is awesome.

[MEFIowa]

We were on Sirena 11/19-29/2022 for 10 nights in the E. Caribbean. Loved her and our smallish B2 cabin. So much so, that we're back on Sirena 8/28-9/19/2024 on a B2B in the Baltic. This time in an F and one of the upper deck big C1s.

 

Just have reasonable expectations and be prepared to be happy. (We just did a magnificent 20-night B2B on Riviera in the Med in Oct-Nov 2023.)

[rebeccac]

We were on the Sirena over the holidays and really enjoyed it.  Most of the food was quite good (there are always going to be some things that don't appeal to some individuals, myself included).  We didn't have any particular problems, but the service in general felt very good to us.  The excursions were admittedly a mixed bag, but we also booked fairly late, so there may have been some good ones that were no longer available.  We were in an Oceanview cabin, so the storage was fairly limited.  We even had to lift the bed up a bit to be able to slide our full sized luggage underneath due to the lip on the bottom of the bedframe.  The bathroom was very small, but certainly workable.  

 

Personally, I would have no problems going back on the Sirena.  

[mauibabes]

@katiebeth

Blow off the negative and go with a positive attitude and you will have a fabulous time. As was said, a visit to Red Ginger will “make your day” unless of course you do not like Asian Fusion dining.  Must try the Watermelon and Duck Salad, the Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass or their Rack of Lamb or the Teriyaki Beef (Filet Mignon) and so much more to choose from. 
The staff is wonderful and they really do want you to have an awesome experience. 
ENJOY!

Mauibabes

[katiebeth]

Thank you all very much for taking the time to respond.    I appreciate it so much.

 

I was having a difficult time imagining that Oceania had declined so much since our last sailing in June of 2017.    Again, we had a wonderful time on both of our Oceania cruises and are looking forward to returning in May.

 

I understand the excursions can be a mixed bag, but we wanted to use our shore excursion credits and we go with a positive attitude and expect to have a lot of fun. 🤩 

 

The itinerary looks great and we will be visiting many places we have not been to before ….so that is exciting.

 

Again, thank you for your responses.

[ak1004]

I think it's all about expectations.

 

Someone who complains about small cabins and bathrooms clearly did not do their homework. If cabin size is important to you, book PH or book another ship.

 

Someone who expects the entertainment on O to be on par with the big ships clearly lives in a fantasy world. This will never happen.

 

However, we did not notice any decline compared to pre Covid when it comes to service and food. Still among the best, in par with SS in our opinion (and much cheaper). So I would really take the reviews with grain of salt.

[clo]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

Someone who complains about small cabins and bathrooms clearly did not do their homework

I've been waiting for the right time to share this photo. It was on our Hurtigruten Norwegian coastal cruise. The oldest ship in their fleet. A real pothole. No curb between the shower and the (small) rest of the bathroom. We couldn't both stand on the floor at the same time. Ship did have stabilizers and one rough night we would slide from the top of the bunk to the bottom - laughing every time. HAD A FANTASTIC time and had another one booked before covid raised its ugly head.

[clo]

8 minutes ago, clo said:

I've been waiting for the right time to share this photo. It was on our Hurtigruten Norwegian coastal cruise. The oldest ship in their fleet. A real pothole. No curb between the shower and the (small) rest of the bathroom. We couldn't both stand on the floor at the same time. Ship did have stabilizers and one rough night we would slide from the top of the bunk to the bottom - laughing every time. HAD A FANTASTIC time and had another one booked before covid raised its ugly head.

Oops, here's the photo
 

[cayman09]

We're currently on Sirena, left Miami yesterday. The ship is in fine shape. We're in a PH cabin that looks pristine. We dined in the Tuscan Grill last evening and dinner was just as good as our prior cruise last year on Regatta. We walked up to the restaurant after boarding and were able to get this extra reservation for 7:00 PM. Spent day one at the pool and there virtually no chair hogs - plenty of choice loungers at 9:30 AM and its a sold out 10 day Caribbean cruise. Heading to Red Ginger tonight.

[katiebeth]

Cayman09.    Thank you for taking the time to respond.    I really appreciate it.

 

Wishing you a wonderful time on your cruise.    Enjoy!   

[PhD-iva]

Was on Sirena in a PH last March on the TA to Lisbon. HAD A FABULOUS TIME. All good! Perfect?, no. Fabulous, yes! 
I generally write up a travel diary but this was a TA, so lots of sea days. I’m booked in August on Sirena again, so clearly no issues!

 

 

I found the entertainment staff to be so sweet, so cute, so talented! There was a Country Fair one day. Everyone had fun. Here are the so cute dancers!

[MikeyD30]

We are currently on Sirena and have no complaints. We left Miami on Friday and ate in Red Ginger yesterday. The duck salad and miso glazed sea bass were just as good as in the past. The staff have been wonderful and we’re looking forward to the rest of the cruise. Don’t worry about going on Sirena, you’ll have a wonderful time.

[trickylibrarian]

Just got off her yesterday.  Our second O cruise since November when we were on the Nautica.

I cannot compare the service in the past but we thought the service was excellent.  If you are larger

folks the bathroom might be a challenge.  

[EJL2023]

Also just off yesterday. Our first time on one of the smaller ships. Fortunately we had a PH suite so did not have the issue with the smaller showers. I will admit I prefer the larger ships but that is just more a preference thing. The ship was in excellent condition and looked beautiful. Food and service also was excellent with a couple of hiccups but nothing worth complaining about. Just another exceptional Oceania experience.  

[cayman09]

Also just off Sirena yesterday and it couldn't have been better. Food and service were terrific. We were two couples and between the four of us there was only one meal that was slightly sub par. The dining room was timely for our expectations, a bit under 90 minutes each time. The specialties were outstanding, especially Red Ginger. 

[oskidunker]

Reading the reviews of the Vista, I wish I was back on the Sierena.

[EJL2023]

1 minute ago, oskidunker said:

Reading the reviews of the Vista, I wish I was back on the Sierena.

Well I’d be wary of reviews. I’ve been on Vista and loved it.  In fact, just booked another cruise on it while onboard Sirena on Saturday. 

[knitter]

Said a comedian on an Azamara cruise: the shower on this ship is so small you just have to soap the walls and turn around to get washed! But the cruise was fantastic in every way!

[dmcamp]

Hello Katiebeth, we are also booked on this cruise!  We are looking forward to it and hoping we will not be disappointed with our first Oceania cruise. I hear such wonderful things usually. Did you find any other forums worth reading about this trip?

 

Diane 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

It's now been 9 or 10 months since I sailed on Sirena.  But I found her to be wonderful, and almost the same as I found her a year before that. I think some people expect perfection on a beer budget and are disappointed.  

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

I believe more people take the time to write a negative review than a positive one regardless of cruise line. When people complain about small cabins and lack of entertainment they obviously didn’t do their homework and picked the wrong ship/cruise line. It’s like choosing RCCL and complaining there are too many kids on board. 
 

We booked our first Oceania cruise for next year on the Vista and are going in with a positive attitude. We already know what to expect from a smaller ship as we did a Viking Ocean cruise last year. It would be difficult to go back to a mega ship after that. 

[rodan]

6 hours ago, Poulsbo Cruisers said:

I believe more people take the time to write a negative review than a positive one regardless of cruise line. When people complain about small cabins and lack of entertainment they obviously didn’t do their homework and picked the wrong ship/cruise line. It’s like choosing RCCL and complaining there are too many kids on board. 
 

We booked our first Oceania cruise for next year on the Vista and are going in with a positive attitude. We already know what to expect from a smaller ship as we did a Viking Ocean cruise last year. It would be difficult to go back to a mega ship after that. 

We sailed on the Vista for 16 days in Nov of 2023. Loved the ship and everything about it. You will have a fantastic time!