cephelapodia

Deck 6 owners suite on Regatta Vancouver to San Francisco last year.

Noise and vibration one day (of ten), but it was the long sea day heading back south and did get tedious.

No sign of soot ever and the deck furniture was clean. I’d go out on the deck in socks and they were fine. The view was spectacular. Much better than a side view.

Also keep an eye on Currents for extras. On my last cruise (Marina), they did a sea day presentation with two of the chefs down in the lounge. No extra cost, plenty of space and really good: informative and funny. They were a great double act. I enjoyed it very much.

I tip extra to my butler and cabin attendants. (US dollars in a handwritten thank-you note, delivered in person on the last evening.) They are the number one determiner for how my trip goes/went.

Assume on any customer service surveys (not just O) that there are really only two answers no matter what the scale says: perfection and failure. Anything less than perfect isn’t a percentage of good but rather an indicator of bad. This is increasingly the interpretation in assessments.

Be kind where you can be and give the staff top marks on any numeric scale, especially if the question is about someone specifically assigned to you. You can elaborate in the comments (ex: Overall, the Polo staff were wonderful, though I could wish that they didn’t wear fragrance.)

Mention staff members who were particularly helpful by name if possible (the name tags are really hard to read) or at least by functional area.

Thanks for the info.

 

I have one question regarding the sofa bed mattress. Was the mattress from the other OS sofa bed better or did they put it on top of your sofa bed mattress, in essence doubling the thickness? Thanks again - Bob

Second mattress on top of original.

The sofas in the Owner’s Suite on most R class ships (don’t know about Sirena, which seems to have different furnishings) convert to an uncomfortable sofa bed. Our cabin stewardess brought in the mattress from the OS sofa next door (her suggestion), which made it much more comfortable. She was going to remove it and make up the sofa every day, but we had her just leave it open as a bed instead. The sofa was less than comfortable in its sofa form anyway, and this allowed for napping. She just made it up nicely as a bed.

We were in a deck 6 OS on Regatta and the only noise was one sea day when the engines were - obviously - going all day. After a while the drone got to me. The rest of the time, no noise.

Lyn,

What time does the cruise sail?

IMO, there are so many daily flights on multiple airlines between YYZ and NYC that if one flight has a problem (equipment, etc) there are many other options if you start early and the ship sails at 6 PM (or later). Also, this is a direct flight not involving plane changes - further minimizing delays, missed connections, etc.

I think I would be comfortable taking an early AM flight in late April.

That said, if you are averse to risk and a “worry wart”, flying in a day early would be safer.

Really unexpected things can happen. I was booked on a Seattle to San Francisco flight the day that the Asiana flight crashed at SFO.

Virgin America had only two flights affected: the northbound flight that couldn’t take off in the immediate aftermath of the crash and the southbound flight later in the day that used the same airplane - my flight.

VA was scrambling trying to rebook passengers. I was able to buy a first-class ticket on Alaska into San Jose and get home at about the same time. To get home that day, I had to front the new ticket purchase and had no cheaper option. VA later refunded my ticket with them in full.

I got like the second or third-last ticket period. If I had waited much longer, it would have been Oakland or the next day. There was a family I met in the gate area who now needed to get from SJC to SFO for a connecting flight and the Seattle gate staff couldn’t tell them. (Answer: a very expensive taxi ride.)

If I were to book same-day, I’d make sure that I booked the very first flight of the day and I would be ready to adapt no matter the price.

I have NEVER gotten my own survey and so I don't see this as a planted review. My husband does none of the planning or interface for the cruise, but yet he gets all the communications from SB when they do have my email address as well. Perhaps they think its a generational thing?

I’ve been on two Oceania cruises and the moment we board, I become an appendage to my male traveling companion.

In everything from corporate, I am passenger 1 in their database, because I booked both cruises. (This is how it is actually labeled in their online booking system.)

Prior to the cruise, my name is first in any joint communication. Emails and calls come to me.

Onboard, I am always listed after my male suitemate, if I exist at all. (Some things come addressed solely to the man.) Offboard, if there is any follow-up, I’m back to being an equal.

What gets me about this is that they clearly didn’t just import the data to the onboard system. Somebody went to the trouble of either manually moving the female name after the male, or set up the system to do so. Would they swap names around if it were MF, MM, or FF? I doubt it...

I was not impressed.

Side question: Do they still ask that everywhere?

I always check my bags and I haven’t been asked that question (any variant on were they out of your possession) for several years.

I wonder why the case was left at Los Angeles airport though? I suppose that was when she realised she had the wrong case. But surely she should have taken it home and then contacted Oceania about it? Then they could have arranged to get it sent to you. Just abandoning it at the airport wasn’t very sensible!

It's possible that she reported the problem when she discovered it (after passport control but before customs) and was told that it would be returned under the mis-routed baggage rules. (If the airline mis-routed your bag but always had possession of it, they'll send it along unaccompanied, but only under those circumstances.)

It seems strange that she'd go to the effort of contacting the owner if she didn't believe that the bag would be returned.

As to taking it home to return it personally, that would require clearing the bag through customs. I'd be willing to go a long way to make this sort of thing right, but not that.

Bobtails,

I had a similar experience with a long delay (but eventual definitive answer) on an email question. So, you may or may not get an answer.

There are many things that Oceania does very, very well. Process communication is not, in my opinion, one of them. This will continue on board. And it sounds like it is going to drive you bonkers.

They are very good at operating ships and running restaurants and providing excellent service on the hotel side of things. They are not very good at explaining some things.

For example, I was on the recent super-rainy French Polynesia cruise, and slightly more than half of my shore excursions ended up cancelled.

If I ran things, then inside the envelope of tour tickets waiting for passengers at embarkation, there would be an insert titled What to do if you have a cancelled excursion. That's not a thing that they do.

They can get you there and then ashore and to the tour operator and back and all that quite well, and even manage the communication about cancellations reasonably well. But from there, not so much.

Trying to get an explanation for how the refunds for the cancelled tours would work - which is actually quite simple - took checking with four people at two different desks.

The answer is that if a tour is cancelled and you don't book a replacement, credits go onto your shipboard account based on how the tour was paid for. O-Life package tours credit back as non-refundable credit at a fixed rate ($90, I think). Tours you paid for credit back as a refundable credit for the amount you paid. When they close out your account at the end of the cruise, they use up the non-refundable credit first, then the refundable. If there is any leftover non-refundable credit, it's gone. If there is any leftover refundable credit, it is paid back to you automatically. If there is a balance due, it bills to the credit card you provided at embarkation unless you cash out by the deadline on disembarkation day.

Simple and logical, right? Four people, two desks, and 45 minutes to get that explanation. And the Destination Services Desk had to mark everything in the system on the last day, so there wasn't an accurate statement. (That might be because of the large number of cancelled tours that trip, including all of the tours on the last day.) I just kept all the paperwork and decided to deal with it from home. I got a check for the expected amount 2-3 weeks later, before I even bothered to call them.

They seemingly would rather have the same conversation individually with every affected passenger than provide the information clearly and in advance. I don't get it. It makes no sense to me, but for whatever reason it's what they do. And we are unlikely to be able to change that.

So, if the situation with the email is bugging you, which I totally get, you are probably going to be frustrated by some of the process gaps and inefficiencies from now until the end.

On the other hand, if you can let that go - accept their shortcomings in exchange for the many things that they do so very well? If you can do that, I think you will have a wonderful trip. And if you can't, well, better to know now than later.

Not trying to get this thread off course, but:

 

For the person who did the Alaska cruise, I was curious if you went to Icy Strait and Prince Rupert, and if so, what did you do? I'm kind of struggling to figure out what to do there.

Sorry, no. I only went ashore twice, and then just for a couple of hours. For me the cruise itself was the draw.

I gave up trying to decide and wore ankle boots. :)

Wading in...

It sounds like there are three basic concerns:

• Decor
  
• Condition of Regatta at the moment
  
• Illness on the previous leg and the impact from it
  

Decor: Insignia has the same decor as Regatta. 'Nuff said.

Condition: I was on Regatta last fall and everything seemed well cared for. However, starting at the Australian circumnavigation (IIRC), there were multiple complaints about the condition of the ship. It sounds like the decline was sudden and significant, and that attention is definitely needed.

Some repairs might not be possible during voyages. For example, you mentioned missing tiles in the swimming pool. They probably can't do anything to fix that - assuming they even have the materials - without impacting the availability of the pool for multiple days. I didn't see it so I don't know how bad the missing tiles were, but was the result bad enough to merit closing the pool for repairs during the trip?

Restrictions based on illness aboard: I think that the crew do what they can with what they have. Janecambridge's reports from her January Marina trip - the one immediately before mine - sounded dire indeed. When I boarded, it was clear that the crew - including a lot of new/replacement folks flown in to PPT to join the ship - were doing everything they could to get things back up to standards.

They are trying to stamp it out as quickly as possible. And like someone else said upthread, it really is the passengers. The number of women who would go directly from the stall to the door, not even using one of the tissues to open it, was appalling. And this was on a cruise where we had all been notified ahead of time of illness on the preceding leg, with delayed boarding and special cleaning! But still, horrible lack of basic hygienic practices. (Shudder.)

You and Janecamridge both pointed out that the Casino and Spa, which are revenue centers, seem to somehow be exempt from the health-based closures and restrictions. This, in my opinion, sends a bad message. I don't know why they are kept open when other things like the library aren't, but I think that most of us assume that it's revenue. Oceania needs greater transparency around this. It's not like we aren't talking about it anyway.

So for your 2019 Insignia trip:

• The decor will be more or less the same.
  
• Hopefully Insignia won't suffer the decline that Regatta did. (And they'll get Regatta fixed up ASAP.)
  
• If there is illness on the preceding leg, they are probably going to do what they did this time around, and it's going to suck for a few days but then hopefully be back to normal.
  

I hope that it all turns out beautifully for you.

Like another poster said above, I try to not take pictures of other people, so I can't help out.

From other threads, I have the impression that some itineraries are more relaxed than others. For Alaska and French Polynesia, the restaurant attire (including specialties) was not heavily on the dressy side. There were some men in jackets and some women in sparkly tops or cocktail dresses, but business casual or ordinary church attire were certainly common. For me, back before my first cruise, the problem was that I have no idea what you would wear to a country club in the first place, so "country club casual" meant nothing.

For Alaska, I wore dress slacks with a nice sweater and closed leather shoes. For Tahiti I went with ankle-length simple knit skirts and plain knit tops, over ankle boots. (I didn't want to try to decide if my sandals were okay or not.) No problem at any of the restaurants.

Male traveling companions: For Alaska, khakis and long-sleeved button-down shirts, both pressed. For Tahiti, pressed khakis and polo with sport coat over top.

One other thought - I prefer to eat early and always take the 6:30 tables. Has anyone noticed a difference in dressiness as the evening progresses?

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. Apologies for not answering earlier, but I've been swamped at work.

I ultimately decided against the cruise I was looking at - 18 day Panama Canal - because I just couldn't be away from work for three consecutive weeks. (It's a theme.)

I ended up booking a shorter New England cruise with a friend, so it's a deck 12 Vista on Riviera. (My friend snores, so it has to be two rooms separated by a door.)

I appreciate all of the information that everyone shares here. It's helped me tremendously in the year or so that I've been following the forum. I think I've seen every picture of the O-class Vistas and rear-facing Oceania suites, largely courtesy of Jim and Stan :), and pored over every word on the subject. If the media room on the deck 11 Oceania had been as large as the one on the deck 12, I'd have taken it. But it will be nice to see the front view at least once.

RE light switches - sorry, off-topic here - but there were like 20 different banks of light switches in the Marina Oceania suite. (Not 20 switches, 20 sets of switches.) And you couldn't tell what each one was for. One bank had seven switches in it, some of which were duplicated in another bank. It was a scavenger hunt every evening to turn them all off in the living area.

Back on topic...

The earlier comment about the Riviera having an all-off switch makes me wonder if they fixed a few small things on Riviera. For example, the cabinet with the fridge in our Oceania suite on Marina isn't vented and overheats. We'd leave the door ajar most of the time. Our butler said that on Riviera the fridges are at the open end of the bar (rather than the side against the wall) and that they don't overheat. So maybe little fit-and-finish improvements on Riviera?

The built in drying lines only work in tubs which sit between two walls. In the OVO Suites, where the tubs are freestanding, the Butler brings in a drying rack. ;)

I never thought to ask. The new laundry amenity was fantastic, and for small things I just draped them on the edge of the tub.

Well, at least the next person will know!

I was in a deck 12 Oceania Suite on the sister ship Marina last month, and there was no drying line in either bathroom.

I am quickly developing a cruise addiction. I've been on two cruises now, both on Oceania, and find that the line suits me well.

My first cruise was an Owner's Suite (OS) on Regatta and the second was an Oceania Suite (OC) on Marina. The OS was (obviously) aft. The OC was one of the deck 12 suites, port-side. Don't get me wrong, it was a very nice suite. But I have decided that I strongly prefer aft or possibly forward for the view. (I haven't tried a Vista yet, but am willing to.) I just don't like being on the side of the ship, view-wise. So that means (on the R ships at least) OS, VS, or a handful of Concierge Verandas (CV).

For an upcoming cruise on Regatta, I'm considering one of the aft-facing CVs. I'll be going alone this time and the single supplement for the OS or VS is just brutal. Some of the recent amenity boosts for the CVs make them a viable option - a few specific rooms in the right location, at least. I know that there are perks and amenities I'll lose out on compared to the suites, not to mention space, but am willing to give it a try. If there were aft- or forward-facing PH suites, I'd book one of them in a heartbeat, but there aren't.

So, for folks who've gone back and forth, a few questions, if I may?

I've seen contentious threads about these topics and don't want to open a new can of worms, so I'll try to keep it very narrowly scoped.

The dreaded room service breakfast question

I like tea and toast in the room at 6:30 AM. I believe that is still available for everyone - it's only the hot breakfast that is restricted? And is it a card that you put out the night before, or do you have to call for it in the morning?

The controversial butler debate

I love having a butler. I suffer from near-crippling social anxiety, and find having a butler something of a relief. There's one person for me to get used to, and everything goes through him (so far always a him).

If you like having a butler, how much do you mind not having one?

My butler knows that I want lots and lots of ice and what to keep stocked in the fridge. How do you manage this without one? (I sound helpless, I know, but I have no other experience here.)

I prefer room service for dinner, but not course by course, and don't much care for the specialty restaurants. With the improved CV amenities, I can get GDR room service for dinner if I want to stay in. (Do you tip room service directly at the time of delivery? In the OS and OC, even regular room service always came through one of the butlers.)

The nuclear classism/snobbery issue

I've found the staff on both Regatta and Marina to be wonderful, but the cynical part of me wonders how much of that is due to the suite I booked. On Marina, I had both breakfast and lunch in the GDR almost every day, and the maitre d' was absolutely wonderful. On the other hand, on Regatta, I felt stalked every time I went into the restaurants, particularly Terrace.

If you've travelled in both suites and non-suites, leaving aside the specific defined perks, do you find that you are treated differently based on accommodation?

Anything else?

Is there anything that you wish you'd known before "downgrading"?

Thanks!

I was on the final Alaska cruise for 2017 (Vancouver to San Francisco) on Regatta and loved it. I'm just off one of the Tahiti cruises on Marina and have to say that I prefer Regatta over Marina. Both crews were fantastic but I preferred the smaller ship in virtually every respect.

The public area art on Marina wins over Regatta, but Regatta has some beautiful stuff, too.

Food-wise, loved Polo Grill on both ships. Don't care for Toscana on either ship, but it was slightly better on Marina. Preferred Terrace Cafe on Regatta to the one on Marina, and also the afternoon tea and room service. Grand Dining Room food-wise good on both, but space-wise preferred Marina. Yes, the menus are the same, but the execution was usually slightly better last year on Regatta. Of course, this is all very subjective and could also change due to crew rotations.

I, too, read the recent reports about Regatta and was dismayed. I don't disbelieve the reports, but it's hard to imagine how quickly conditions could change. (Then again, not my area of expertise.)

My favorite part of my Regatta cruise was the absolute silence and stillness at Hubbard Glacier.

Finally received notification from Oceania. Anyone on the 3 feb cruise will have seen this, but FYI for others who might be interested.

Embarkation will be delayed - the note indicates named suites boarding at 1PM rather than 11AM. (My note doesn't indicate the other times, but I'm in an OC suite, and the notes might be customized?)

Passengers with Oceania travel (flights, transfers, pre-cruise) will be directed to the Marina Lounge for checkin at their actual arrival time, where they must wait until the cleaning is completed. (Refreshments provided.)

For other passengers, O suggests dropping luggage and exploring Papeete until boarding time.

I was on Regatta about six weeks ago. The internet was generally good for casual use, but not something I would count on for work. In my opinion, you can't rely on it to be working at a precise time or for a specific duration or with enough capacity for transferring large files. If I needed to be able to monitor my work email and reply within 24 hours, yeah. But not anything more.

Not sure if location makes a difference - maybe someone else knows. I was on an Alaska route.

I was just on the phone with Oceania US anyway, so I asked. The rep assumed that it was concierge and above, saying that these things are normally "x" and above. He went and asked and returned, somewhat surprised, with the answer that the laundry perk is Concierge only.

Paulchili

Oh, don't get me wrong. I think all the espresso machines should be maintained properly. And based on the pictures, maybe it's still there? I suppose it would be gauche to ask when I'm onboard.

ChucktownSteve

RE OMG, you check the CDC for sanitation ratings regularly????

Well, I only started when I booked a cruise, but yep. I also found all the listings for Alaska ports for all cruises that are scheduled for this year and cross-referenced them against town maps for each port on my cruise, so that I could see where exactly we are supposed to dock in each place. I haven't yet dug up the last five years' worth of weather for coastal Alaska in September, but there's a long weekend coming up.

I do a lot of analytic work in my job, and it's hard to leave those tendencies at the office door. I started doing cost per square foot analysis on stateroom pricing for another thread but realized that I lacked too much data to do it effectively and then lost interest.

(Also haven't figured out the quoting feature, so apologies for the low-tech workaround.)

The inspection in question is from early April. This is hardly news to anyone who is motivated to monitor such things. I read the report last month, along with the follow-up that goes through their corrective actions - in some cases with photos showing the correction. There were six separate corrective actions for the espresso machine, which is now quite shiny and clean.

I agree about lying being a bad idea always, but I have a theory about the espresso machine.

What if there was an old espresso machine that was going to be discarded? And maybe someone from the crew put it in an old spare parts cabinet for crew (or partial crew) use? Why waste a perfectly good espresso machine?

It's an odd location - "outside engine control room" seems like a strange place for an espresso machine. I'm not sure if the espresso machine was located "outside the (engine control room)" or "in the (outside engine control room)" but either way it doesn't seem like you'd have a barista or room service staff hanging out there.

Say that such a thing happens. An espresso machine is repurposed rather than discarded. But since it isn't officially there, it isn't maintained like it should be, and then the inspector notices it, and voila! The super-secret espresso machine becomes a line item on the spreadsheet of shame.

The person who was speaking to the inspector - in my hypothetical scenario - might honestly not have known about the super-secret espresso machine and truly thought that it was being used for spare parts. Since it was apparently in a cabinet labelled "spare parts" and all.

Anyway, just theorizing.

Back to the the things we know - based on the reports posted by the CDC - this is the lowest score Regatta has ever had, and the first under 90 since 2013. I'm betting that heads rolled over this, regardless of the history of the espresso machine. (Okay, that last bit was theory again, not fact.)

When you look at the reports across Oceania's fleet, as LHT28 said, the scores are usually quite high. The average of the 48 inspections that are reported when you do a cruise line search for Oceania is 93.5, with only the one failing score. Including that score, there are only four under 90 and there are 9 perfect 100 scores (six of them being older Regatta inspections).

Signed,

Sailing on Regatta in September and not in the least concerned.