keithm
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Posts posted by keithm
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On 8/5/2019 at 12:58 PM, POF1234 said:
hi everyone,
Food is subjective, but I am surprised about some of the reviews where people bash the food on Princess. I'm not expecting find dining by any means (it is mass produced), but edible and tasty see like a good expectation. How did you find the food ?
As they say food is subjective. We're both in the food industry & my husband's a chef, so we're pretty gourmet when it comes to dining. That certainly does NOT mean we don't do casual dining, either. We've done 2 trips on Oceania the past 2 years & the food is FAR above what one gets on a mass line, but then again the cost of admission is much higher, too.
I will have to say that the Regal, 3 years ago had by far the most varied buffet selection we've ever seen on a ship. Now on the Riviera, one can have Dover Sole or cold water Lobster almost any night in the Terrace Grill(their buffet)but for selection which was very good, Royal class ships(at least in 2016)had outstanding selection and good food. The MDR (set dining)also was very good. Celebrity Eclipse was excellent in 2014-2015, but in 2017 quality was much less than expected. Not garbage by any means, but certainly not the quality one expects from a cruise line that calls itself "premium". That was the reason we switched to Oceania. Now my husband wants to try the Star Princess next Jan. to Hawaii. I've told him if we cancel next year's Oceania cruise for the Star Princess & he dislikes the food, that he can yell at the mirror all he wants! One thing I did love about Princess, was the Sanctuary, which is where I'll spend most sea days, should we choose the Star Princess trip.Better than losing my shirt in the Casino!
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We've done 2 trips the last 2 years on the Oceania Riviera. Both trips I/we loved. I have one booked for Feb 2020, but now my "PIA" husband suddenly said he wants to do a 15 day trip on the Star Princess to Hawaii & back. I told him the food will be nowhere near as good, but he seems ok with that. This is surprising, as he's a chef & we're both in the food industry!
He's grown tired of the Caribbean.(though, I have not) Perhaps having him shovel the 2ft + snow we usually have while we're cruising will change his mind, but I doubt it. In any case we're probably looking at a mini suite at about $2700 PP or the "Club Class" which has a better food option as you're in a "special" area of the dining room(though not sure of the prices)If anyone has done this trip in these accommodations, your opinion would appreciated. We did one Trip on the Regal in 2016 which was kind of crappy the first week, but really nice the second week. The food was really very nice. NOT on the level of the Riviera, but quite good for a mass market ship. The buffet had the best selection we'd seen on a cruise ship.
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On 8/9/2019 at 3:32 AM, casofilia said:
Phew! Glad to see that the normal Afternoon Tea will still be there.
We did the deluxe on the Regal in 2016. It was over $20, but we thought it was worth it....until our last 2 trips on Oceania. For those who love their Tea service, try it on the Riviera or the Marina. Far out weighed anything on Princess, also blew anything Cunard offered right out of the water, including tea in the Queens Grill.
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9 hours ago, SRF said:
I was thinking along the same lines.
"I am , but when I eat, I will not be. But you will still be ugly/rude/obnoxious"
A tribute to W. C. Fields.
Always remember that beauty is skin deep, while ugly goes right to the core!
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8 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:
Good for you! People shouldn't get away with stuff like that. In our case, it was just a matter of only four chairs to the left of where we were sitting, so the view was only slightly better. Had we just walked in, sat in those chairs, and had to move to horrible seats I would have said something.I'm just tired of pax who feel they're entitled to: cut the line/rush the elevator/Hog loungers for hours & yet disappear for hours, only to magically reappear when you sit down on one of "their" lounge chairs. If I see a lounger that's been vacant for 45 min. I'll claim it. I always love those boors who then suddenly come back after a 2 hour lunch & demand their chair back.
Yes, I'll remove their belongings & hand them to the pool butlers who should actually be doing their jobs! At least on Oceania, they crack down hard on chair hogs & seat savers.
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1 hour ago, Bloodgem said:
For me it's the not knowing when they lasted washed their hands, before they lean/touch my DS's wheelchair.
As soon as someone places a hand on the chair we will not touch that area again until we have sanitized the area. This makes the chair hard to push if they have touched the handle.
I most certainly would yell at someone for doing that.
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On 8/7/2019 at 5:55 PM, julie3fan said:
Yes, this! Aggravating! Then I wonder if *I* would be equally rude by shussing them?
I certainly don't hesitate to do it. Turning the cheek is nice, but after a while, the calluses start to hurt!
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On 8/7/2019 at 12:05 PM, Peachypooh said:
I was in line for a restaurant a few years ago. I am 5 foot 6 and at the time weighed 145 pounds. I remarked to
my husband that I hoped we would be seated soon because I was starving. A man in front of me said "that's funny
you don't look like you are starving"....Yes I know I technically was not starving but I thought that was extremely rude
of him to insult me.
Lucky for him your husband wasn't close to a Lemon meringue Pie! I could see that clod wearing it now!
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22 hours ago, finny2 said:
My husband likes to wear collared, print, silk shirts that button up but are not tucked into pants. They are not as casual as polo shirt but they are not a dress shirt. Are these acceptable for Chic night dining? I don't think I can get him to wear a sport coat over one.
Should be fine. Only thing.. make sure no "skin" shows either in front or in back. Sometime a go, had a guy bend over to pick up his napkin. All I can say is, if I were a Werewolf, that "Moon" could have caused a disaster!
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5 minutes ago, donaldsc said:
If you had thought fast which we never do, you could have whipped out your cell phone and reported him to security.
DON
I never carry the phone with me on board. It stays in the room except for photos, though that would have been an excellent thought.
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On 8/4/2019 at 6:48 PM, cincicruisers said:
I use a walker. On my trip on the Epic years ago a gentleman about ran me over to get in the elevator. I was waiting to go in so those on the elevator could get off. I kept hearing on the boards about this but I had never had a problem. It’s the only time it happened to me in all my cruises.
I've noticed that on the Riviera, pax just rush the elevator before anyone could get off. I've come up with a good one for all of you who experience this: If it happens, say very loudly: "We just hit the iceberg. There's plenty of time to get to the lifeboats & for you gents, plenty of time to get into your wives' clothing to make sure you're first in line!" For those of us in the elevator, it always gets a great laugh!
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On 8/5/2019 at 6:57 PM, julie3fan said:
I'm not sure if it is purposefully rude, or people not realizing, but I've had numerous people reach around me for things in the buffet line. And I know I'm not alone.
I've elbowed a few stomachs when pax try that. It gets the message across real quick.
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Weirdest & rudest thing ever done to me was last Jan. on the Oceania Riviera. My spouse Richard & I had just finished breakfast & were looking over the just posted lunch menu. This guy & his wife came over to us & here's the exchange. First he puts his hands on my stomach & exclaims "Wow! You must be having twins!" His next response is "You must go through an awful lot of toilet paper from eating so much!" Ok, I'm 5-9 & weigh in at about 220LB. Not thin, but there were some much bigger pax than me on board. He was thinner than me but not by much. He came very close to a punch in the mouth for putting his hands on me. Normally, I always can come up with a very good(and nasty, if it has to be)come back, from years of watching Don Rickles & other comedians, but I was just too floored to say much. I finally told him if comes near me again, he'll wake up in the infirmary. Saw him one more time the next day & as he seemed to be approaching, I gave him a look, that gave him pause. We never saw him after that. Just weird.
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On 7/25/2019 at 9:13 PM, Misssmb said:
Went on Marina last November and we loved it so much that we booked Riviera for this November. Two recent bad reviews were posted. Can it be that bad or just really picky people?
We've done 2 trips on the Riviera & have loved it. This negative review posters are talking about is TOTALLY false! This was done by someone who has a vendetta or other issue with Oceania. They claim to have spent over $70K on a Mediterranean cruise. I don't care whether you had the owner's suite. It's virtually impossible to spend that much on a 10-20 day cruise. That's high even for a world cruise on any line in most any suite!
No cruise is perfect, but these 2 have been pretty close. In Jan. 2018 the weather was terrible. I still gave an excellent review. I never fault any ship due to weather. I wholly recommend you try Oceania. Hope to see you next Feb.
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On 8/1/2019 at 11:37 PM, ak1004 said:
After reading the last Riviera review, I decided to compile a list of cruise lines with average review rankings. Here is the list:
Viking 4.59
Azamara 4.36
Crystal 4.28
Seabourn 4.19
Celebrity 4.15
Oceania 3.99
Royal 3.99
Holland 3.97
Princess 3.94
Silversea 3.92
Regent 3.92
Carnival 3.92
Cunard 3.91
NCL 3.76
Costa 3.28
Few comments:
I was surprised to see Viking and Azamara getting the highest marks. I always considered Oceania, Viking and Azamara being in the same category, but below the "luxury 4". Crystal and Seabourn marks are not surprising (although I expected them to be ranked above Viking and Azamara), but Silversea and Regent?? same as Carnival? And Oceania same as Royal, and below Celebrity? The difference between 3.99 and 4.15 might not seem big, but considering that most lines are in 3.90-4.30 range, it is pretty significant and very surprising, at least to me. I would put Celebrity close to Princess and Holland.
Thoughts?
Quite surprising, though it shouldn't be. Each line certainly has it's loyalists! As a whole, however, I take CC reviews with a grain of salt. This can be said with mine as well, I'm sure! CC cruisers are really a tiny blip compared to the overall cruising public. Where I tend to "write off" a review is no real explanation as to what some dis like. Some do go into detail, but a surprising amount seem to just "bash" a line & then move off to do the same on another line. There's a few OP's out there that go from one blog to the next to foment an argument. Some make me wonder if they've actually EVEN been on a particular ship. One could fake a cruise just by gathering reviews from a particular blog & take it from there.
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On 8/2/2019 at 6:55 PM, FolsomMike said:
I usually cruise with Celebrity but just started looking at Oceania for a Great Britain itinerary. Within five minutes of plugging my name and number into their site, they called me to book a cruise (that’s never happened before). The lady was very nice when I told her I had just started my research and she said she would send me an email with contact info when I was ready to book. I’m very impressed with their customer service but would I better off (and get a better deal) by ignoring her and finding a regular travel agent?
We did our first 2 cruises through O's customer service staff. They were very nice, but we never got anything "special". There was always the push to get the "O life" package, which always sounded like you got all these perks for free, which you certainly did not! We prefer to just book just the cruise & do all the other plans ourselves. This time around, we used our TA which we've used for Cunard/Celebrity/Princess. The cruise cost was the same, but we got over $600 OBC, which we never got booking direct.
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46 minutes ago, Go-Bucks! said:
That's the one thing I don't like about Oceania...and the music and entertainment reflects the elderly demographic. Princess or Celebrity demographics appeal more to me as well as greater options in activities. I still plan to sail them all though.
I'm fine with the demographic(we're 65/57)So we're not exactly teenagers ourselves! I find that the entertainment lacks for a couple of reasons. 1)I think the budget is more skewed towards the food(fine by me!) and the fact we're talking a small ship relative to others we've been on: QM2(150000 tons)Regal Princess(148000 tons) Eclipse(122000 tons) Each of those ships can hold 3000 or more pax v/s Riviera at 1250 pax(and less on the smaller O ships) Simple economics of scale at play. Still the entertainers are young & definitely eager to try their best. I find them generally more enthusiastic about what they do than on many of the larger ships. They seem to enjoy interacting with the pax more than on the large ships. We've often seen them sitting & chatting with pax during tea or on the terrace with pax during dinner(as has been the case with us)
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22 hours ago, AlaskaNewbie68 said:
This happened to a good friend and her wife on another line. There are closed-minded mean-spirited people everywhere, sadly.
We've cruised Cunard/Celebrity/Princess & now enjoy Oceania. We found Cunard & Princess very gay friendly(both have daily LGBT meetings)Celebrity really does not do much promotion. Yes, there's a small placard on a bulletin board, but nothing in the daily paper. Oceania had one meeting on our trip last Jan. Having it right at dinner time is not too bright. Virtually no attendance. We do have to say, we've gotten more looks on Oceania than any other line. I think age has something to do with it, as we've found the average pax seems more elderly than those we've seen on other lines. One would like to think that pax on Oceania are a bit more "worldly" than other lines. As long as no "remarks" are made, we'll stick around Oceania. It's just too good a cruise line to let minor things make us go elsewhere.
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20 hours ago, LHT28 said:
well they probably were not worth knowing them then
How rude of them but I bet you enjoy your dinner without them
The woman explained to the waiter about to seat them: Sorry, but this just too close to the entrance. Really! If we were any further, we'd be eating outside the ship! Just her look as they approached the table said it all. We certainly had room to spare at that 4 top. The "Seabass for two" in puff pastry was outstanding. We highly recommend it, by the way.
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On 7/26/2019 at 6:31 PM, LHT28 said:
not sure if this will work or not just scroll down the page until you see the reviews
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=607
this is one
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=660498
Wow! I read that review. Either that person is plain out & out lying, or they have some vendetta against the line. I remember this woman (usually on Princess) who bragged about Oceania, but it turned out she cancelled the trip. At least she gave a pretty good review for a cruise she never took! If you read reviews enough, I think you could fake your own review without even setting foot on the ship. Now, about that wonderful 6 mo. cruise we took on the Europa........
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On 7/31/2019 at 12:02 PM, LHT28 said:
The show time is usually the same for all itineraries ...some exceptions may apply so do check the CURRENTS daily
2 tops are available but it can also depend on how many others also want 2 tops you may have a short wait or you may get a table for 4 all to yourselves
We had a 4 top to ourselves In Jacques, as the couple assigned to our table were pretty obvious about not sharing a table with a gay couple.
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On 7/31/2019 at 11:18 AM, ricka47 said:
My wife and I will be taking our first O cruise this October. We'll be the Insignia for an 11-night Caribbean cruise from MIA. We're looking forward to it as we hope that it will be a step up from HAL and X. I like the idea of a single evening dress code and no set times for dining. We greatly enjoy Aqua class on X and it seems to me like Oceania has a similar concept but applies it to the whole ship.
But, I do have a few questions about dinner:
1.) Are tables for two generally fairly easy to obtain or is there often a wait at peak times - 7ish or so?
2.) It appears that there is a single show each evening and that is usually at 9:30 each evening for a typical Caribbean cruise. Is that the case?
3.) Is two hours a good time to generally plan for dinner?
1) 7PM might be getting crowded. On Riviera, we usually got there by around 6:45. Never had to wait more than a few min.
2) Yes. If you're used to big ticket shows, you might be disappointed. Most of the budget goes towards the food. So don't expect a really top notch show. They usually start slow & get better as the cruise advances.
3) Yes, unless it's in the specialties such as Le Reserve(which I don't think is on the smaller ships)
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On 7/29/2019 at 7:03 PM, masscruiser2010 said:
A year ago, after a decade of primarily sailing on the better mass-market cruise lines like Celebrity and Holland America, we decided to sample the six-star lines to see if they are that much better.
We have now tried Seabourn, Crystal and Silversea (still trying to find a cruise we want to take on Silversea), and while all three have pluses and minuses, the food on these generally is a serious cut above the larger ships.
But every time we got into a discussion back home of who had the best cuisine at sea, Oceania loyalists insisted the food on the Oceania ships was second to none.
So earlier this month, we tried a cruise on Oceania's Insignia.
To get the news upfront, there is no possible way one could assert that the food on Oceania is better than the food on Seabourn and Crystal.
The disappointments started at breakfast time. Oceania offered someone wanting a dark or grain bread one (!) type of dark bread, frequently served slightly stale, and not the array of wheat, rye, multigrain and nut breads found on most other cruise lines. The juice was even more pathetic -- grapefruit juice served out of a carton that was more or less brown in color, and did not come even close to tasting fresh. And if you took breakfast in the buffet, the trays that held bacon and fruit slices were never refreshed until they ran out (how appealing is that) -- with the servers trying to serve you the last scraps rather than sending for a refill. One morning, when we declined the tiny scraps of bacon and asked for some actual slices, we were told a half hour before buffet closing that they had run out (!).
At lunchtime, while the dining room when open was a pleasant option though with a limited menu, the buffet was even more disappointing. The food options offered each day did not even measure up to Royal Caribbean, much less to the luxury lines. As a matter of fact, we would even rate the buffet of NCL -- Oceania's mass-market sister -- as better than the Oceania buffet. The Insignia's sandwich choices were pathetic, the cheese selection was the same day after day, and the organization of the buffet -- with the grill clogging traffic in the middle -- was such that the scene was generally one of chaos.
The best of the dining on Oceania came at dinner in the main dining room, which we actually found better than the specialty restaurants. The entrees in the main dining room were generally pretty good. The best choice for those dining in the specialty restaurants is the veal chop in the Italian restaurant, which was excellent.
But the restaurants and specialty restaurants were certainly no better than those on Celebrity or Holland America. And none of the restaurants was better than The Haven restaurant on the larger NCL ships.
None of this is to say that this was a bad cruise. It wasn't. The ship, though the staterooms and bathrooms are relatively small, has recently been tastefully redecorated -- and the staff of the ship on the whole was cheerful and had a wonderful, can-do attitude. The shortcomings and problems we encountered were, as some say, First World problems.
But Oceania appears to have a cadre of loyalists who take cruise after cruise on its ships, and who have little or no recent experience with any other cruise line. While that is just fine, all I can say is enjoy your cruises -- but stop telling people Oceania has the best dining at sea, better than any of the luxury lines. It doesn't.
Okaay, I'll field this one. We're both in the food industry & considered "gourmands". We have cruised 6 times on Cunard(QM2/Victoria). Done 3 on Celebrity Eclipse. One on Regal Princess. Two so far on Oceania Riviera & another scheduled for Feb. 2020. On the QM2, two cruises were in the Grills. The Britannia MDR was excellent in 2004, but gradually declined each year we cruised. The Queens Grill was & is still our favorite. If it was not on the menu, and I requested, it was prepared. Britannia was decent, but not outstanding. Especially on Victoria, where it was rather standard dining. Todd English(now gone)was very good overall. Being from fairly close to Boston, we were very familiar with a number of his restaurants.
Our first trip on the Celebrity Eclipse, we dined in Moonlight Sonata. The food overall was very good. Definitely a step above the last few "Britannia" cruises on Cunard. Murano/Tuscany/Qsine were very enjoyable, but no where near the Grills in quality or attention to detail. By 2017, the food quality in Moonlight Sonata was the lowest quality we've seen on a ship. Not terrible, but not what you seem to think is "premium". Thankfully, the specialties were still very good & had not(at the time)suffered cutbacks. Our one time on the Regal Princess(2016)had by far the best buffet we've seen on any ship. The MDR had food that was easily the equal of Celebrity(2014-2015)The desserts, however, were rather bland, obvious use of Sysco/US Foods type standardized ingredients. The Norman Love desserts were the exception, however. The specialties: Crown Grill/Sabatini's had nice ambience, but with the exception of outstanding Chilean Seabass, had rather standard steak offerings of no higher than "standard" grade quality& not "choice," as I would have expected for the price.
Now onto Oceania..I have to use our 2 trips on Riviera as comparison. Quality can vary among ships in the same fleet. For this reason I recommend trying Riviera/Marina over the smaller ships. We found the GD to be superior to Moonlight Sonata, but service & attention to detail far above Celebrity. The specialties have been absolutely outstanding. Only the Queens Grill on the QM2 surpasses & only just slightly(2009-2010 QM2 v/s 2018-2019 Riviera). The Terrace had cold water Lobster available many nights, along with Dover Sole(my favorite)cooked to order. Breakfasts were quite similar on all the lines, though more custom orders were available in the Grills & on Riviera. Lunch was generally better in the GD than on the other lines again exception the Cunard Grills.
NCL, with the exception of the Haven is widely known to have the worst food of any major line. I'm talking MDR, not specialties. Seabourn has dropped considerably in quality, due to management from HAL taking over in the past few years. As someone who purchases millions of dollars in quality ingredients for our business, unless you're in the same culinary fields as me & my spouse, I can't give you too much credit for your review. Only in Crystal would I tend to agree with you, but that's about it. I suggest you purchase the "Berlitz guide to cruise ships & cruising" to get an unbiased comparison of all the lines. Does Oceania have the best food at sea? No. Then again, it's NOT a luxury line. I would have to classify it more as a premium plus line. If you really want to go all out in comparisons, try Hapog-Lloyds' Europa ships.
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33 minutes ago, Kingofcool1947 said:
My Uncle Festus loves Oceania for its excellent food.
Hmmmm, he seems younger than you. You're not "I'm my own Grandpa" I used to hear about are you? LOL!
Royal Princess Food - as bad as the reviews ?
in Princess Cruises
Posted
That is a food warmer! It just keeps cooked food hot. We use them in our business. Best to get the food when first placed inside. Everything tends to get soggy over time.