PinonNoir

I filed a claim with my credit card, and their initial response was "no". I plan on filing an appeal, just haven't had time to do so yet. Thanks though!

I can't answer about the band. We went to a comedy show one night and that was it. When you dine with a group of 10 dinners tend to go quite late.

Update: I forgot to mention disembarkation issues. The last day on the ship they have you head to the gangway in a color coded system, supposedly to make it more orderly. We were one of the last groups called, and I expected since we were called that the gangway wouldn't have much of a line. Wrong! Holy crap, what a cluster-truck! The line stretched back to the lounge! We were in no hurry as we figured we couldn't check into our hotel right away, so we took a seat and waited the line out. Twenty minutes later the line was down to two dozen people, so we joined in. When our number was called we were relaxing in Terrace Cafe, and could have spent at least 15 more minutes there without issue. Who is making the call on when they call the next batch for disembarkation? They do this at the end of EVERY CRUISE, so you think they'd have it figured out by now. We are fairly fit so standing for 20 minutes wouldn't have been a huge issue, but there were people with walkers and canes in that line the entire time. Last note, twice while disembarking they stopped the line to get somebody in a wheelchair off...and this is a VERY slow process. I think it took 10 minutes both times, with people clustered up behind them waiting to get off. Simple rule, people in wheelchairs get off last. That may sound harsh, perhaps even ageist, but you are inconveniencing dozens of people for one person. If there is a line at disembarkation, wheelchairs should wait it out. Ok, putting on my flame retardant suit!

Wait, English Muffins are an American invention? I'm happy to say I had them most mornings for breakfast, so they remain available. I can't comment on corned beef hash...not my thing. Hell, just the name is off-putting!

Actually my comment was more of curiosity regarding dress code enforcement. I would prefer to wear jeans myself, but opted to remain respectful to the code. I'd be happy if they changed the rule to allow clean un-torn jeans. We are spending three extra weeks in Iceland and I'd have preferred to not have to pack dress pants that I won't use the rest of the trip.

I will say the best food on the ship was a Toscana special pasta that should be on the regular menu, and the key lime pie from Polo. Our butler was able to get us key lime pie on several occasions to match with a sauternes we had brought with us. Really exceptional pie!

I recently wrote a review about our stateroom experience on our Riviera cruise, and I wanted to write a review about our cruise experience overall. This was our third Oceania cruise, so we had some experience and expectations going in. I will try to remain balanced in my review. We just disembarked 9 days ago, so I'm writing this while my memory is fresh. First the positives: 1. The multitude of restaurant options is great. There is something for everybody, and for a 12 day cruise it was nice to be able to eat in a variety of spaces. 2. The ship has a lot of common spaces to enjoy, and none of them felt overly crowded. 3. The Barista's spot makes excellent coffee....the best on the ship in our opinion. We were regulars there. Really fantastic...even staffed by an Italian! 4. The Oceania staff is excellent. They always seem to go above and beyond with limited exceptions (sticking to positives here). 5. The ship was clean everywhere we went, including common area bathrooms. 6. Embarkation went smoothly, and we were in our stateroom quickly. Our luggage showed up fairly quickly. 7. It seemed that the Bridge crew went out of their way to sail in such a manner as to keep the ship's movements minimized as much as possible. 8. We had dinner in Privee 3 times, and two of those times were outstanding (remember, this is the positives)! 9. Our Butler and support staff were top notch, cordial, professional and just outstanding in every way! 10. Fellow passengers all seemed to be well seasoned travelers, with mostly positive attitudes. This is important to us. We hate being around people who are "fun vampires". Ok, now the negatives...which I'm going to be as honest as possible about. I am not piling on here, just telling it like it is: 1. The food has slipped. We noticed this in pretty much every restaurant, with the possible exception of Toscana. However, on our last night , we ate in Toscana, and I ordered a Maine Lobster dish. It was bad...very fishy...as if the lobster was way past it's prime. I returned it immediately and ordered another pasta I had ordered previously, and it was of course excellent. Why did they serve lobster that was unworthy of an Oceania customer? It was really bad! This is my last night on the ship, and it remains a solid memory. Bad form. 2. The wifi. Holy mother of God what in the world is Oceania doing with this wifi? I could hear my old 4400 baud modem clanging away as I tried to log in, but the wifi on the ship was no match for my 4400 bauds! I write a travel blog for fun....and I couldn't even upload a photo without waiting an hour! Fortunately we were near land on occasion and I could use my international plan to do some work, but I'm still a week behind thanks to their "Pony Express" wifi! We had two "at sea" days due to canceled ports of call (coming up on #3), and I can't tell you how many hours I wasted trying to write one blog post! Also, when you are logged in, you get logged out repeatedly.....over and over....never for more than a few hours at a time. It was a constant struggle, almost like they would log you out on purpose! 3. Ok, here is a rant with a conspiracy theory. Our ship pulled into the Faroe Islands, turned around in the harbor about a dozen times, very slowly, and then abruptly left. The Captain said it was due to weather, but it was sunny and calm. We were supposed to be there for two full days, and I had a private excursion planned (for 10 people) that I ended up losing over $2000 on. A week prior to this the Faroe Island populace had a pilot whale hunt where they killed a bunch of them in front of another cruse ship. It's my firm belief that Oceania Corporate told the Captain to pull into harbor, make a big show of the fact we were there, and then depart, sending a political message. The company I was working with on the excursion advised me they had no idea why the Captain didn't dock, as the weather was calmer than usual. If Oceania wants to take a political stance with the Faroe Islands, fine, but don't impact my cruise experience! I was really looking forward to this port! 4. We had a habit of getting iced tea every day at the Waves Bar by the pool. Our last day on the ship, we stopped by the bar and there was nobody there, during their opening hours. We went up to Horizons to see if they could help us. They told us they didn't have iced tea, go back to Waves Bar. When we told them nobody was there, they said "oh well". This was a group of 3 guys at the bar. W T F? This is not the service we have come to expect from Oceania! One of these guys should have said "what is your stateroom number, I'll get some and bring it to you!" I think the fact it was the last day on board lended itself to staff taking a lazy attitude towards the customers...."oh well, they are about gone, I'm done hustling for these guys". I hope that's not the case, but it sure seemed like it. 5. The Grand Dining Room. We ate here for breakfast one time. Once! The food was cold, the coffee was cold, the service was terrible...and it wasn't even crowded! Again, W T F? Why is the service in the main dining establishment on the ship so crappy? How can it be that hard to bring warm eggs from the kitchen to the table? We ended up eating 10 of 12 breakfasts in our suite. 6. The "internet guy". This guy had the worst attitude on the ship. We couldn't get logged into the wifi (not that it was worth logging into) on our first day so we went to see him on our second day. He really doesn't want to be there. After taking care of us he walked away, and there was somebody waiting behind us. We realized his "working hours" had ended at the same time he took care of us, so screw that guy behind you, he can wait until tomorrow. Again, W T F? 7. The Best of Oceania! One of the 3 nights we ate in Privee we picked the "Best of Oceania" dining menu. It was terrible. Every dish was lackluster. It's been too long to remember details at this point, but the entire group of 10 was disappointed. If you do Privee, stick with the Polo and Toscana menus. 8. The "Sommeliers". The wine people on the ship, while they are nice, don't know how to pour wine in equal servings. Now I know pouring one bottle for 10 people is difficult, but this is likely a common occurrence and it should be practiced. We always ended up with one person who had almost twice as much wine as another, and with high end wines and high end enthusiasts, this is not a fun vibe! 9. Dress code. I know the dress code says no jeans to dinner, or around the ship after dinner, but this code is broken so often without consequence that I wonder why it's the dress code? I would prefer to wear jeans every day....just my thing, but I didn't. Kinda weird to see what was accepted in the restaurants in the end. Maybe just allow jeans? I know, you purists out there want us all in tuxedos. 10. Stemware. Ok, this is just going to be me most likely, but stemware matters. Double the amount of decent Pinot Noir glasses you currently carry. Schott Zwiesel makes some excellent Pinot glasses that are actually made with Titanium, and they are super hard to break. I know, these are my daily drinkers at home, and I've barely broken any over the last 15 years! Buy a bunch of these so your high end red wine drinkers are happy. Ok, I think I've mentioned everything here. I'll have my wife review tomorrow....she has the good memory in the family...and will add anything she brings up. Again, thanks for reading!

I can definitely state the the recent refurbishment didn't affect the Owners Suite bathrooms. There are numerous cracks in the tiling that have been there for some time. Still a nice bathroom...just not recently refurbished.

You know, that's quite possible. If a hot tub is important to you I'd ask your TA to inquire. On that note, I hope everybody is using a TA for cruising...mine has been invaluable in getting discounts and arranging group dinner reservations the second they become available! They cost you nothing and take care of you...find a good one and stick with them!

Deck 12. I don't remember the exact suite number.

We just got off the Riviera, and the Oceania Suite our friends were staying in definitely had a hot tub on the deck. Sorry I didn't get a photo, but it was there.

I read Owners Suite when I first saw the post. I have corrected my post. The Oceania Suite on Riviera still has a hot tub. Our friends were making fun of us for not having one...rightfully so!

Editing this post...yes, Oceania Suite still has a hot tub.

Torqued, while our Owners Suite didn't have a hot tub, our friends Oceania Suite did. You should check with your TA on the ship class you are choosing.

No matter what the wine concept on the ship, we will always bring our own wine. There is no replacement for incredible RRV and SC Pinot Noir!

If that's the case it will have an impact on future cruise plans. Oceania better understand wine enthusiasts are an important part of their client base.

Well, as it is now, if you didn't bring wine but wanted it, you'd have to buy a bottle. With SM$ you get "free" wine during dinner. If you bring your own wine they aren't pouring you the free wine, so you are saving them money. Last time we did Silversea there was no corkage, since wine was included. Am I misconstruing the wine details of SM$?

ORV, I would agree. We walked to restaurants with wine and mixed drinks in our hands a few times and nobody questioned it. We also brought full glasses of wine from our suite to a comedy show, and nobody blinked an eye. I think you can pretty much do what you want when it comes to alcohol. The Simply More $$ change will likely make all the written rules disappear. I'll bet they will start waiving corkage as well, since bringing your own wine will actually be saving them money!

Your butler will get you any bartender supplies you want. Orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, peeler, shaker, jigger, rock glasses....just ask and it appears. If you pick a wine there is indeed no corkage. Also important that if you dine in your stateroom there is of course no corkage.

Sorry if I made that confusing. For the 6 bottles in the Owners Suite I had my bartender friend pick the spirits. While he was disappointed they didn't have Tanqueary 10, he made do with regular Tanqueray and Blue Sapphire. I opted for a bottle of Port as my only pick from the 6 bottles. Do not pick their Port...it is really God awful! If this is the only Port somebody ever tries, they are truly missing out on something wonderful!

This rule is supposed to be for every stateroom. I brought an obvious wine shipper with 6 bottles and there was never a question from anybody. My other 6 bottles, including two magnums, were in a piece of carry on luggage, wrapped in bubble wrap. Both of these were xrayed so they knew what it was. An hour after boarding we walked over to Majestic Wine with my carry on, and I fit 9 bottles of white in that. A friend joined me and carried a box of liquor and a soft sided wine carrier back on board. Again, we went through the xray, no question asked. The rule is as effective as their wifi.

No problem whatsoever. Their rule is 6 bottles per stateroom, but that rule is never enforced, or even brought up. Corkage in the restaurants is $25. Free to drink in your stateroom. The wine selection on the ship, particularly for Pinot Noir, is abysmal.

We boarded with a case of wine, then took a trip to Majestic wine in Southampton near the dock and grabbed 9 more bottles of white wine. The little fridge barely fits two bottles of wine plus all the tonic water and other stuff our resident bar tender needed for happy hour. It would have been nice to have more room for wine in the fridge, particularly for pre-chilling our precious California Pinot for dinner...as it's supposed to be at 55 degrees for serving.

Never happens in our house. I'm used to being second fiddle.

ORV, my review was about the Owners Suite, not Oceania overall. I tried to focus on the suite. I did mention the the view is incredible. I will try to balance my first post out with some positives: #1 For our group of 10 the space was excellent for nightly cocktail hours, so if you are with a group the living space is a big plus. The deck space on the port side (without chaise lounges) was also an excellent spot to congregate when the weather was nice. To be honest, they should just get rid of the chaise lounges. They were never used (except as a tripping hazard). #2 You get the best Butler on the ship. Our Butler, Vinod, had canapes ready for us pretty much every day, and took care of our every need to accommodate lots of ice, mixed drink requirements and glasses. Once he realized we were serious wine drinkers, he even brought in some of the better red wine glasses from Polo or Toscana. He was able to expand a dinner in Red Ginger from 4 people to 8, and another Red Ginger dinner from 4 people to 6. He was also able to get us off the ship sooner than most people when we tendered out in South Queensferry. He went above and beyond continuously, and for that our entire group benefited. #3 Having a second bathroom was very nice. I will note that we found that our friends Oceania Suite also had a second bathroom, so it's not just Owners Suites with this benefit. I'm not entirely sure why they put a shower in the guest bathroom? Maybe if you are traveling with kids? #4 The bluetooth speaker system worked quite well. It seems they just added this, as the receiver was jury rigged to a loose wire on top of the under-counter refrigerator, but it worked. I really liked that it worked out on the decks, and was loud enough to hear it, even while underway! #5 The guys who make up your room are super nice and professional. Just a joy to work with! We made it clear we didn't like using a duvet, and they set us up with a top sheet. We sleep hot, so this was excellent. #6 Having decks on both sides of the ship allowed us to see a terrific send-off from Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, as well as sunsets from either side of the ship. As you enter any Port you have the option to view the side you want, which can't be said about any other suite category. Ok, hopefully this balanced things out. I appreciate all of the comments here, positive and negative. I have some things to say about the Oceania ship itself, so I'll try to write a review for that.