wombatjoey

Thank you so much...those negatives dont bother me at all....

the positives are the ones I wanted to hear...

We have booked an Alaska/Denali experience for August of this year.

I have read several unfavorable items about recent experiences on Regatta, such as age of ship, food, etc. Food is really important to us. We have done mostly Celeb , 40 plus cruises and one O on the Marina.

Any comments pos or neg would be appreciated. There are several cruiselines that do a great job in Alaska, we do not have to chose Oceania.

Just booked an 11 day South America/ Carib....

Would appreciate any and all reviews of sailings with this line.

We cancelled the new Celeb Edge and booked this one. The Edge is to be the most innovative of ships.

Hope to have made a good decision.

Yes, several were Ocean crossings. And point well made to start a new topic if I wanted more info.

We are considering our first Viking Ocean. It will be a transatlantic. We have done 40 with Celeb one Oceania and are looking for something new. We found Oceania a little too quiet. Thank you for all the info here.

If anyone has recently returned from a Viking Ocean cruise, could you please add here your experiences.

Having said all that, I dont know what dining is like for Suites or Aqua. If it is much better, that only reinforces the elitism that exists on Celeb.

ate in mdr 3 nights....same menus for the last 10 years, except quality has changed...all smothered with gravy...very salty....on our 3rd night , the turkey was processed...smothered with gravy...that was the last straw...onion soup NOT edible....we have done 40 cruises with Celeb...so obviously we have some experience...

others we met stayed in dining room, they felt badly for their waiter.....but many joined us in the buffet all saying the same thing...yes spoke to maitre d.....listens but ultimately decisions are made at head office....

the buffet was packed...two nights in a row they had to call down to dining room to get reinforcements to help them....

this was our 6th time on Eclipse, same time of year....

Our last 3 cruises on Celeb have not met our expectations. Especially the last one on the Eclipse. Perhaps suites and aqua are faring better. Celeb has become very class distinctive. In a regular balcony, dining room was terrible. Ate in the buffet most nights. It was good. Entertainment has been the worst ever. Nickle and diming everywhere. Etc. If anyone wants specifics just ask. We have filled in all the questionnaires, no one seems to be reading them or this board.

We are off to Oceania and Viking Ocean. Our loyalty of elite plus is no longer valued. Besides the other lines are including what our loyalty status offers us with Celeb and the prices are are very similar. Celeb has greatly increased their prices across the board and cut everywhere they could.

Wow, sounds like a very trying time for all. Has O offered any consolation?

Seems like many with kids want to be on ships with less kids.

The answer as to why is obvious.

Those of us who will not bring kids on cruises but reserve that as an adult activity, also want kid free ships.

The answer is also obvious.

Celeb ships are very diff from Royal carib ships. There is nothing for kids to do. So, fewer kids on all Celeb ships than Royal. That is why we dont do Royal and sail Celeb.

Thank you for taking the time to make the comments. I hope they listen and improvement is implemented.

Hasnt happened yet to us, but nothing surprises me about Celebrity anymore.

I will counter this. The recipes are the same. The quality of the Food Department, Chef, Sous Chef and cooks vary.

 

 

FOOD IS SUBJECTIVE -- So....

 

 

So just off the Regatta. IMO (some agreed with me and some did not based on conversation with friends and others on board) - I thought the food was very inconsistent. Some days good and some bad. Issue is definitely Quality Assurance -- absolutely no reason to have warm or cold soup -- in excusable in the Terrace (where service delay plays no part).

 

 

I love the O croissants and the baguettes. Both of these were not the same every day. Some days buttery and some days not. Banquettes same inconstancy with the crust. Almost like it was a teaching cruise,

 

 

1) Toscana -- was most consistent -- excellent chef and kitchen. All meals were good.

2) Pollo -- horrible. Bad 3 of 3. Cooks do not know MR from Medium. Quality of meat for me was dry with little taste -- they asked you what type of sauce you want -- you will definitely need it.

3) GDR at times excellent and at times poor. Again inconsistent. Biggest issue was food temperature.

4) Terrace -- mirrored the GDR. Best were the theme nights (Aussie, Greek, Asia, Indian). Sometimes Food was very bland (like the Indian Vindaloo).

 

 

Also you will not find Jacques or Red Ginger on Regatta -- although they one item from their GDR menu daily.

No Red Ginger...well that is a big minus in my opinion....

inconsistency....not good....

hope you made comments...so maybe improvement would be on the way....

Thank you. Good to know that the food is primarily the same fleet wide.

On other lines, Celeb for example, there is a very obvious difference in the food quality and availability from ship to ship. There is a topic on CC right now that has pictures of all the different buffet specialties that are available on the Eclipse that are nowhere to be seen on their other ships.

We are considering doing a Regatta cruise, but having read the comments about food, makes me think again. I need reassurance that the wonderful food on O is fleet wide, not just on Marina and Riviera.

Can anyone that has been on both Regatta and Marina comment on that?

Shareholders credit is very arbitrary as all else is with Celeb lately. All their rules and regulations are created to make it as difficult as possible for you to apply anything. Yes luck is the only explanation if anything is ever applied at all.

I am looking forward to getting a needlepoint kit. We will be on the Marina in November to the Canaries.

Yes I remember Rosie doing the stitchery as well. NOTHING nursing home about it.

Our cruise is very port intensive. I will be glad to be on a "quieter" ship upon return.

Does O still do needlepoint as a daily activity? Regardless of age or gender, it is a really good thing to do. Have seen star athletes do knitting, needlepoint etc...really a good stress reliever.

Wow, thanks for the lovely pictures. Is this the fancy buffet they offer near the end of the cruise? I hope it's fleetwide.

Definitely NOT fleet wide...

Yup, will be enjoying pie day soon!!!

and how would I know that?

Besides, we are on the Eclipse every year and the food has always been good. Pie Day is just one example. But Pie day is definitely not on all the celeb ships.

Have not forgotten pie day on the Eclipse. Amazing. Have been on the Infinity the last two times. They have never heard of pie day nor anything else that resembles as variety in good food. The worst food we have had. Will never sail Infinity no matter what the itinerary is. Too bad food is so different from ship to ship. You can also not count on anything staying the same. If the chef is changed or other staff, there goes pie day and anything else you may have enjoyed.

So enjoy it while you can.

So I guess 6 months out is too soon.

Yes but in all of this, did you as a couple have a good time? did you have a holiday?