nadalina

Wow!  I’ve been a member of Cruise Critics since 2008 and I didn’t expect so much pushback by simply expressing my experience as a first-time O cruiser. For years I have placed O on a very high pedestal but they were, candidly, out of my price range. So this cruise was a true splurge for me and not one I regret at all in any way. I have not asked for nor have I wanted or expected sympathy, agreement or validation. As others have said, opinions about food and service are completely subjective and I own my opinions. 
 

To answer some of your questions, no, I did not complain while onboard for a couple of reasons. Whether you agree with my reasons or not or whether you would have handled the issues differently is irrelevant. Again, MY reasons, MY opinions.  #1, I didn’t complain because there wasn’t anything I wanted them to do or to “make right”.

#2, I didn’t want to make a scene, cause a problem, draw attention to myself, or cause someone/anyone in particular to get in trouble because of my complaint. #3, It’s Oceania, for crying out loud, so my particular experience must be an aberration and there’s no need to bring it to their attention. It will fix itself. 
 

No, I did not attend any of the solo gatherings. #1, I wasn’t invited to any, and #2, I would not have gone even if I had been because I wasn’t there to meet other single people. I signed up to share my tables everywhere so I could meet others, no matter the age, ethnicity or marital status.

Out of the many meals I ate onboard, only two were room service. As someone else noted, there’s no place to eat in the solo staterooms, really, so I had the tray placed on my bed and ate there. The fact that both of those meals were really bad is just a simple fact, in my opinion. 
 

I participated in three events and went to the spa three times and bought $200 worth of products. No complaints there. I did not take any shore excursions, so I can’t offer an opinion about those. I didn’t indulge in the ice cream and milkshakes because I’m lactose intolerant, but they looked very enticing.  As for the entertainment, I thoroughly enjoyed the pianist and the string quartet. The singers and dancers were fine, as was the Cruise Director. I played a little in the casino but quickly lost my gambling allowance. I purchased a lovely pair of Swarovski earrings in the Boutique, and I purchased two $125 (plus 20% tip) bottles of delicious wine for my table in Toscana that I am delighted to learn that I can buy here for $64.95 each. 

Here’s to Oceania and its continued success and to all of their loyal guests!!

19 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

Too bad you didn't buy your fare off of some serious cabin upgrade sale to make it less expensive.

 

You had very high expectations. And it seems like food can be obsessive for some cruisers, esp. solo cruisers. Did you eat at Terrace Cafe? If so, what did you think? We love it. (Never have eaten in the GDR so far. Always prefer the TC when not in a specialty restaurant.)

 

BUT I note you didn't discuss the solo gatherings or other interactions O has for both solo and non-solo cruisers on board. Did you do any of that?

 

(Wife and I were 1st time cruisers on Riviera 12/2021 and then 2nd time on Sirena 11/2022. We had a fantastic time.

I have lived alone for over 30 years and I still work full time for the same man for 27 of those years. I eat 99.9% of my meals alone and cooking for one is not easy or fun, so, yes, when I cruise, quality of food is highly important to me, as is excellent service. I wanted SO MUCH to love every aspect of this cruise!  I met some wonderful people that I hope will keep in touch. There were aspects of the cruise that I loved. I went to two wine tastings and a whiskey tasting that were excellently presented and a lot of fun. The library is gorgeous and an absolute delight!  Barista’s was excellent, just very crowded at times and not nearly enough seating. Everyone raved about the ice cream and milkshakes but I didn’t partake. The other desserts I tried were delicious. I did eat in Waves twice ( once inside and once outside) and at the buffet three or four times. The food at Waves sounded and looked delicious, but the quality was disappointing the second time. As for the buffet, the offerings were beautiful and plentiful and, for the most part, good. The cook making eggs and omelets to order needs to find a new position. And training desperately needs to be conducted with the waiters here. So many didn’t have a clue about the nuances of good service. They were all very cute, polite and friendly but inexperienced. Not a big deal but a little surprising. My disappointing experiences regarding the food happened in different locations but I had some wonderful experiences as well. The dining room offered a dessert soufflé of different flavors every night — amazing and unheard of on other lines!!  I am not a fan of lobster but I love most all other seafood, and all of the seafood I ate was superb and perfectly cooked — shrimp, escargot, sea bass, salmon, grouper, calamari and monkfish!!  I truly regret my negative experiences but I truly don’t believe I am exaggerating them either. 

And I do plan to let O know about my experiences on the comment survey they send out. 

For those of you who asked, no, I didn’t complain at the time. Perhaps I should have.  I wondered while onboard if I was the only one having a disappointing experience with the food, thinking I might be being overly critical. However, as I was leaving the ship, I ran into a large wedding party group that I had met on the first day and they, too, were very disappointed and even more critical than I was. So that confirmed it wasn’t just me. 
 

I did have wonderful experiences with some of the crew members, the most significant one being a wine sommelier from Ukraine named Uliana.  She is delightful and I hope we will keep in touch. 
 

It isn’t that anything was terribly bad on this cruise, just disappointing. It’s the little things. The nuances of elegant service just wasn’t there. Like the waiter in the Terrace Cafe who would bring me coffee and place it on the table too far away for me to reach, or the assistant waiter in the MDR who would pick up my plate before I was finished and without asking first, or the waiter in Toscana who served the only gentleman at the table of four first before the three ladies because the man was closest to him. I expect more from O!!

37 minutes ago, Snaefell3 said:

Regatta sails out of San Pedro, not Long Beach.  I wonder how a cruiser with 100 cruises wouldn't know.

 

Had a room service take an hour on Regatta this week.  After I mentioned it, the Restaurant Mgr stopped me in the hallway to apologize the next day.

Stuff is going to happen, but Regatta, in my experience, was into making it right.

Hahaha…..you’re right, of course, we did sail out of San Pedro. I flew into and stayed in Long Beach but I do know the difference. Thanks for calling me out on it though. 

I’ve been on well over 100 cruises since 1989, mostly on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, but it has been on my bucket list to sail on an Oceania ship for years. Frankly, it’s too expensive for me, but I recently returned from a 7-night on the Regatta out of Long Beach, California. I admit that I’m a very picky cruiser and I had high expectations prior to boarding, and I wanted so badly to be blown away by their excellence. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I was so disappointed in the service and food. The ship is lovely and exudes an elegant sophistication.  I traveled alone and had one of the 150 sq. ft. solo cabins.  I was afraid I would be unhappy with the room but I wasn’t. Yes, it was small but they smartly utilized every tiny space and there was plenty of storage space. I was in 6030 and the view was obstructed but not as badly as the other solo cabins. Mine only had a small rescue raft outside my window instead of the much larger lifeboats, so I could see the ocean whereas others could not. I’m going to write a review, but just quickly and briefly, here are a couple of my main complaints. On the first day my steward asked if I had any special requests and I asked for ice every day and ginger ale in my fridge. I didn’t think that was a major deal but evidently it was because I only got ice three days out of the seven. I asked again and again and gave gentle reminders but it did no good. I ordered room service twice. Both times the food was really not good. The first was a cheeseburger (cooked medium) and fries. The beef was cooked well done, cold, hard and dry. So were the fries. No mayo, ketchup or mustard. The salt shaker was empty. The second time I ordered some snacks. The shrimp cocktail (3 shrimp) was good, but the spinach and artichoke dip was so cold and so hard that I had to scrape it out of the tiny container with a spoon and it came out in one glob and wasn’t edible. The “salsa” was puréed tomatoes ONLY with no taste at all. No salt or pepper. And the cheesecake was so dry and tasteless that I couldn’t eat it. All of my steaks were served extremely well done, cold and dry. The sirloin steak was so tough and dry it was inedible and what was supposed to be a small filet on a ciabatta roll was too tough to be from a tenderloin. It looked beautiful on the plate but was cooked well done, cold and was probably a piece of top sirloin.  At the only tea time I went to, I went early and was the first person served. I asked for three little sandwiches, all different. The bottoms of the various breads were slightly wet and the tops were so hard I couldn’t eat two of them. The chicken salad was on a tiny roll and it was okay. The meals in the Polo Grill and Toscana were okay but nothing to brag about.  I’ve had much better meals in restaurants at home. I could go on and on but I’ll stop here. The bars and wines, both in product and service, were excellent. I genuinely hate my experience turned out this way. But for once I was ready to leave the ship. And for the price I paid, I wish I had used the money to go on three Celebrity cruises.  Please feel free to ask any questions.

Thank you, All, for your valuable advice and information. And for being patient with me as I learn the details about this wonderful cruise line. I’m excited for the firsthand experience!

I suppose I was thinking the daily gratuities are for the main dining room personnel, not the specialty restaurants, but I’m sure Harters is correct.  By the way, I know each guest is guaranteed at least one dining experience in each specialty restaurant but if I wanted to have dinner in one of them more than once and there is room available to seat me, may I do so for an additional charge?

Hey Y’all, forgive me if this has already been discussed but what about tipping in the specialty restaurants?  It will be my first with Oceania.  On other lines’ specialty restaurants, depending on the service and extent of the courses served, I would typically tip $20.  What do you recommend?

Excellent advice…..thank you!  Actually, availability of the nicer brands to drink neat was my biggest concern.  I’ll definitely do what you suggest. 

I'll be on my first cruise with Oceania next month and I'm trying to decide whether or not to purchase the premium drink package.  Does anyone have a list of the whiskeys and prices they offer?  Thank you!

Cabin assignment finally appeared in an email from MSC along with all other docs.  I had chosen cabin 9077, a fantastica balcony, and they changed it to 11152, the same category just two decks up.  I prefer the lower decks for my cabin because I love the view of the sea, but, oh well.  This is my first cruise with MSC, so I’m excited to try something new.

I’m on the 9/25 sailing and my cabin still has not been assigned.  My booking had a cabin number that I selected and I hope I get to keep it because I chose it for a reason.  Even as late as this morning, I still received an email offer from MSC to upgrade but I’m quite happy in my balcony cabin and have no desire to spend more money.  

I’m new to MSC and this will be my first visit to their private island.  While I love the sea, I cannot be out in the sun and heat for very long at a time because of medication I take.  I’ve read that it is a gorgeous island but the vegetation is young and not many areas of shade.  I was thinking not to get off the ship here for that reason.  Is this island a must-see and I’ll regret not going?

I tried to post this question yesterday but I don’t think I was successful, so if I have double-posted, please forgive.

I am booked on the Meraviglia the end of September, my first with MSC.  Yesterday I tried to purchase the dining package for three restaurants for $77, but every date and time said “Fully Booked”, even the lunch times.  Is there a possibility of obtaining a reservation immediately after boarding, or perhaps just showing up and hoping to find an available table?  One thing I thought of that might pose a problem is that I am traveling solo and perhaps their online system will not accept reservations for just one person.  Thanks for any suggestions or comments.

I am booked on this ship in September, my first with MSC.  I have a few questions, please, and any other tips or suggestions for an MSC newbie would be greatly appreciated.  

1.  Are there ample electrical outlets in the cabins?  110 or 220?

2.  Are small, desk-top fans allowed?

3.  Are there guest laundry facilities?

4.  I typically take plenty of single dollars, fives and tens to tip for room service and my favorite bartender(s).  Of course, I pay the standard gratuities as well and add extra when deserved.

5.  Tipping in the specialty restaurants has often been controversial on other cruise lines. Some believe the extra charge includes the gratuity for the waiter, but I always tip the waiter in cash in addition to the extra charge.  What is the situation on MSC?

Thanks so much in advance for your responses!

Great information, Paul!

Thank you so much for responding. If you have any suggestions, i.e. things not to miss, I’d love hearing about them.

Thanks again,

Peggy

Good morning, All.

Cruising around Cape Horn and through the Straight of Magellan is on my grandfather’s bucket list, so I am doing some research for him. Our family are all experienced cruisers but never in this part of the world. I would really appreciate any input, comments and suggestions you might have. Specifically, I have these questions:

1. Are the seas around the Horn always extremely rough or are they somewhat unpredictable?

2. Is having a balcony cabin an absolute must, like, for instance, in Alaska?

3. We are considering three cruise lines: Holland America, Princess and Celebrity. If you have any experience for this particular cruise on any of these three lines, I would appreciate your comments. (We have been on all three lines, just not for this type of cruise.)

I look forward to hearing your responses and really appreciate your time.

Peggy

I will be taking two 16-year-old young ladies (my granddaughter and a friend) on the Oasis very soon and they are concerned about appropriate dress attire for their age. They would like to dress up but are afraid they might be the only ones and would be embarrassed to be over-dressed. Anyone with fairly recent experience or observations regarding this, your comments would really be appreciated.

Many thanks,

Peggy

Dear thehams.....

Even after over 75 cruises, on cruises that I take with others who have not been on many cruises and I am the "planner" for all of us, I am just like you. Unless someone is as OCD as we are, it is impossible for them to understand. I am taking my 16-year-old granddaughter and her same age girlfriend on the Oasis the end of May, and every day I obsess over "what else can I do in advance?" Just this morning I was trying to decide about making advance specialty restaurant reservations. I have our gratuities paid, our beverage packages bought, FlowRider lessons booked, shore excursions booked, show reservations made for four of the nights, and now all we need are dinner reservations in some of the specialty restaurants.

I know CB at Sea and the others are right..... I should relax and not be doing all of this. After all, they are teenagers!! So far they have wanted to do everything I have planned -- lessons, shore excursions, shows.... but I know I'm going overboard (no pun intended) about dinner plans. I'm fine letting them do their own thing. In fact, I WANT them to. But, just in case they want to go to the Hibachi dinner or to Chops with Grandma, I need to have something planned. Just can't help it.

Yes, planning a cruise can be overwhelming.

kcb, all three of us have iPhones and two have iPads. Were you able to use Skype with your WiFi pkg or did you even try? I have read that other cruise lines do not allow use of Skype.

kcb, I can't tell you how valuable your review is for me. I am taking my granddaughter and her friend on the Oasis in celebration of her 16th birthday on the May 30 sailing. I have over 50 cruises with Celebrity but only 5 or 6 with RCCL, but I do have reciprocal credit with RCCL and have Diamond membership. We will be in a balcony cabin on deck 7, which, I know, will be quite crowded, especially the bathroom, but the prices were so high for the jr. suite and family suite and I just couldn't swing it this time. Oh well, we'll manage.

I do have a question about the WiFi package. I apologize for being such a dummy about things like this, but did you also purchase a cruise ship plan with your wireless carrier? Is it necessary to have the two, really? The AT&T plan includes a decent amount of voice and text but very little data for $90, but, of course, you can buy more. Again, I apologize for my ignorance to those of you who are far more tech-savvy than I, but could someone please explain what all WiFi on the ship includes?

Many thanks,

Peggy

I have about 75+ cruises under my belt and I'll quickly admit that I drink considerably more on a cruise than I ever do at home. In fact, I may literally go for months at home without even having so much as a beer. But when I'm on a cruise, I want to relax, eat what I want, and have a drink whenever I want without having to worry about the cost and my onboard account. That's why I have been ordering the best beverage packages for my last several cruises, and I have not regretted one dollar of it. A Bloody Mary or a Mimosa or Bellini with breakfast, a beer or two for lunch, a couple of pina coladas mid-afternoon by the pool, a couple of cocktails before dinner, a glass or two of wine with dinner, and, finally, a coffee with liqueur with dessert and/or a Baileys nightcap..... that's my typical day on a cruise and I never feel the least bit inebriated.

So I just say: to each, his own. But for me, the ease of it all, paying for it in advance, and not having to worry about the cost makes the ultimate beverage package well worth the money. I'll be sailing on the Oasis next month and we all have our packages. Don't have to worry or even think about the high prices!!

Cruising should be fun and relaxing and not worrying or stressing over anything, so do whatever is right for you and BE HAPPY!!

All with the best of intentions!

Peggy

My 40-year-old daughter and I are splurging on our first suite ever on the Epic in a few weeks. We will be in one of the two-bedroom Haven suites on deck 16. We have been on many cruises before but a balcony cabin is our typical category. Any tips about check-in, appropriate uses of butler and concierge services, and anything else we need to know will be greatly appreciated. I have read many posts from years ago up until recently regarding gratuities for the butler and concierge and opinions really run the gamut and vary greatly, so I'm still confused. I guess there is no right or wrong here and it's a personal decision, so I'll just go with my gut at the time, depending on how much we use them.

Many thanks,

Peggy

Just upgraded and the only one left on deck 16 is 16006. I'm sure we will love it and I'm keeping it as a surprise for my daughter. Can't wait!

Many thanks to all of you for the valuable information.