chloemonkey

On 5/18/2024 at 8:56 AM, Torquer said:

We love having a private whirlpool tub on our balcony when on a cruise, but there are only a very small number of cruise lines that have them.  Oceania was one of them that had them in their top suites, and the balcony tub is the main reason we are willing to spend the small fortune to stay in these suites.

 

We were devastated a while back when we learned that Riviera had removed them at it last refit.  So now the question is, did Marina retain her whirlpool tubs in her just-completed refit?  When we were in an OC on Marina a couple months ago we asked our butler, and he had not heard they were going to be removed, but we want a definitive answer from someone actually staying in OS, VS, or OC on Marina post-refit.

Following......but we were on the Riviera AFTER the refit and did still have the private whirlpool in the Vista Suite.

On 5/22/2024 at 2:39 PM, ORV said:

No, it's usually announced at the Repeaters Party, or you can ask the CD or FCC/OCA. They all know, among others. 

We have also heard from the butlers on a few occasions as the "new" cruisers are a bit more work due to not knowing the routine.....they weren't complaining - just explaining why it took a "bit" more time to get to our requests a couple of times..  

13 hours ago, Harters said:

Nor me. I'd rather have indulgent and decadent than healthy. Which is why I'm a short fat man, instead of being a short man. 

I agree with both of you....we tried it twice on the Vista......the avocado toast had NO taste.....wrap was also lacking in flavor.  But TONS of people seem to love it!  I guess I am just not destined to ever choose "healthy" over a good old cheeseburger or ham sandwich! lol.....but glad that so many are happy with this new addition!  Still enough unhealthy options for the rest of us onboard!

On 5/19/2024 at 12:52 PM, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Here's someone else's picture of the new Aquamar Kitchen.   

It might "look" like a buffet - but it is not.....these are the items that the chefs/cooks have at their disposal to prepare salads, wraps, smoothies......etc.

Not sure how this fits into the discussion but we sailed in Vista Suites on the Riviera both before and post refit....and I was really disappointed in that the only change that I could find was the carpet had been replaced.....  But also figured that they were doing more in other staterooms....Did not see any discernible changes elsewhere.....so curious as to what if anything has been done to the Vista Suites on the Marina.  Of course even if it's NOTHING....we will still be happy........

4 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Remember the pdf is not the Bible or the 10 Commandments. It is not written in Stone. It is only valid as of the day it was sent. Shore tours may be added to, or subtracted from, those early editions. If you’re into ship tours, I’d recommend requesting a new pdf around cruise final payment date if your old one is over 60-90 days old.

Just made final payment last week....so perfect timing I guess?  We also do lots of private tours.....and just need to get our act together and book this stuff!  Thanks for all the great advice...

I have done this several times before but am now drawing a BLANK!  How can I print a copy of ALL of the Shore Excursions offered for a voyage?

Thanks,....and yes...I will probably feel very silly when I am reminded.....but hubby and I like to read them "old" school style...

I have done this several times before but am now drawing a BLANK!  How can I print a copy of ALL of the Shore Excursions offered for a voyage?

Thanks,....and yes...I will probably feel very silly when I am reminded.....but hubby and I like to read them "old" school style...

2 hours ago, rheasue38 said:

Hi!

We are also on the June 24th and July 6th cruises. We order food at Aquamar and they deliver it to us in Terrace. We have been on Vista several times. This is our 54th Oceania cruise.

Rhea

Just curious.....why you wouldn't just eat at Aquamar?  Maybe I am missing something  And I only hope to live long enough to get to 54 cruises Oceania!  Good for you!  

Just now, chloemonkey said:

 

I agree with you on BOTH of your reviews!  As I was SO happy not to be spending all that money on the Prestige Bev Pkg to drink that "swill" this past March on the Vista!  Hoping that the new offering is also in place on the Marina come September.....

p.s.....the cookies still suck! lol

On 11/8/2023 at 3:59 PM, Clutj said:

For the very few who are interested, the Heidseck Monopole Blue Top has replaced the Germain as the house champagne on Vista as of the current Panama Canal Eastbound cruise Nov 2023.  Some menus are still catching up, but below is the Horizons proof.  While not up to Montaudon quality from several years ago, it is (to me) an improvement, less sweet… I have noticed a couple other ships getting this upgrade as well. My thanks to management!
(PS, the cookies are still terrible to my taste…)

On 4/6/2024 at 1:13 PM, Kay S said:

You know, I'm an Oceania newbie, and I'm wondering if all this "snooty" talk is typical of conversation at dinner on the ship?  I sure hope not.  I want to enjoy my dinner (or slice of pizza)  in peace.

We LOVE Oceania but always choose to eat on our own....I will leave it at that.

4 hours ago, basor said:

+ 1 - no noise in 12004 SEP - NOV 

+2....no noise in 10001.......3/9 thru 3/27.

4 hours ago, basor said:

+ 1 - no noise in 12004 SEP - NOV 

+2....no noise in 10001.......3/9 thru 3/27.

She attended the Cordon Bleu in France....and worked for Wolfgang Puck at Spago for a few years.....and I know she also worked in the catering department of a large upscale hotel chain....can't remember the name right now.....

And as for family connections....I guess the same could be said about Claudine Pepin?  As I love her to death and have sailed on a few cruises where both she and her lovely father were passengers and also gave presentations.  She is also the godmother to an Oceania ship.....so those family connections may have been in play there as well?   I give all of them total credit for doing what they have managed to do in the culinary world.....as I am NOT a great cook and truly appreciate those who take this ability to a new level...whether professionally trained or self-taught.

1 hour ago, Snaefell3 said:

I've enjoyed in Toscana (even if it is a somewhat dissonant note), pre-Giada.

As have we.  And I am not suggesting that it is the "best" Italian food ever nor that it has improved since her addition to the equation.......but it does make for a nice switch off between Polo, Ember, Jacques (when available) and Ember.  And the occasional dining room -which we do not find to be such that we eat there more than 2-3 times on a 2-3 week cruise.

As many have said....food is so subjective.  For example we do NOT like Red Ginger and only force ourselves to eat there once every 2-3 weeks.  But we do live in an area that is know for Michelin Star rated Asian cuisine....so are spoiled when it comes to Asian and Asian Fusion cuisine.

I DO wish that Polo still offered prime rib on the menu......

We enjoy the Intercontinental along with their restaurant, Toro Toro......and it is less than a 10 minute taxi from the cruise terminal.

8 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

Though have you read the cognitive dissonance groupthink of the Vista Cheerleaders and Ember, a glorified Applebee's!

 

And the praise for the on-board "Pizza Hut". (I enjoyed a pizza on Riviera in Nov 2023, but that isn't what I'm looking for when it comes to fine dining or interesting cuisine when a couple is paying say $350-500 per couple per day.)

 

Now all they need is a Denny's, a Burger King, and a DQ to complete the culinary triumph of modern American "cuisine"? 😞

8 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

I ate the evening pizza at Wave's on Riviera 11/2023. Oh boy, the joy. Pizza. Like we can have every Friday night in America.

 

I have NO desire to pay more and get less on Vista. Even on the Extraordinary Saving Sale from 2023, we're paying $350-400 per day per couple. So, do I want "Ember", a glorified Applebee's? No! And I'm not seeing anything wowing me about Aquamar, either. Cost cutting moves for O. The "pay more, get less" program for Vista, for those who want to be on new ships at any price.

Recently off of a B2B2B on our first Vista cruise and of course we were concerned with the loss of Jacques.  Still think it was wonderful and miss it.  BUT we also really enjoyed Ember (and we were NOT inclined to do so beforehand!) so I think that you need to reserve judgment until you have experienced it all.

For one thing, the pizza at Waves is NOT like the pizza that is routinely offered at home.  AT least not in the USA where we have PLENTY of pizza options.  My dear hubby is not a fan of pizza but loved the pizza in Waves.  We have tons of gourmet pizza restaurants in the greater Los Angeles area and still find Waves offering to be truly enjoyable.  We also truly loved many items on the Ember menu.  And as for the sound issue?  The first night we sat on the inner portion of the restaurant.....on four later occasions we were a bit closer to the windows and that area did seem to be a bit quieter.  Again, we were happy enough with some of the menu offerings that we dined there five times....

The Dover Sole in Toscana is also part of Giada's changes I believe?  And my husband loved it enough to dine there five times as well....and this if from a man who does not really enjoy Italian food.....

So keep an open mind....as we found the Vista's food offerings to be above par and certainly as good as the other Oceania options that we have enjoyed on the Riviera.  

And as for your '$350-$400 per day"......our costs are closer to $1000 per day and we are very satisfied with the offerings on the Vista.  Give it a chance and you may agree!  And if not?  You can choose to cruise elsewhere.....

On 4/2/2024 at 7:55 AM, WNcruiser said:

Of course not. Sitting at a table in Waves or Terrace and not having anyone come by with water asking if you would like coffee or tea in the AM. Dirty dishes sitting for extended periods with staff walking by ignoring them.
 

During lunch at Waves yesterday we had no silverware on the table. We asked three different staff members for silverware which never came. We finally took it from another table. Twice in Aquamar no one came to take our order, we had to flag someone down. 
 

In Ember our steaks came out completely overcooked. No one came to check to make sure they were cooked properly. Again we had to flag down our waiter to let him know. 
 

In my opinion the majority of the crew just do the bare minimum and are not overly friendly. We have found a couple that are better and try and stick with them. No where near Regent or Seabourn service. 

So odd that we were on the two sailings just prior to yours and found no similar issues.  Our experience was the total opposite as we found the staff to be so overly concerned with our satisfaction that it bordered on being bothersome at times.

Our experience was that this was among (if not the best) service that we have had of all of our Oceania cruises.....funny how we all have varying degrees of satisfaction and opinions.....Guess that is what makes the world go around.  Hope your last day or two provide you with a better experience....

3 hours ago, Waltershipman said:

Yes i am concerned due to new ownership When we sailed in 2019 it was great

 Met quite a few passengers on current Vista sailing while in line for Future Cruise booking agent and they all have sailed Azamara recent and all said never again….i was surprised as we used to enjoy them.,..so do your homework…

On 3/15/2024 at 5:27 PM, clo said:

Nor do I. They do quite a few things quite well, so why set myself up for disappointment if I don't have to.

OT but I just remembered that decades, we were living in Oregon and met an older friend at a local Mexican. They had what they called queso fundido aka melted cheese. IIRC it was yellow cheese and nothing else. Over the years I started making my own version: queso fundido con chorizo y poblano. Chorizo fresh from our Latino market , oaxaco cheese and roasted poblanos. Served with corn chips.
 

Now you’re just making me “almost” ready to head back home to Los Angeles where we have so many wonderful options for Queso Fundido!  Yours looks fantastic!

Thankfully I do still have a few more days to “force” myself to at these various Vista offering……most of which have been truly great!  Food……I love it all!

On 3/18/2024 at 9:47 PM, Torquer said:

Back to the question that was asked about the HDMI port on the TV (not about streaming)...I had no success on a recent cruise on Marina.  I travel prepared with my own small universal remote so that I can change the input source on hotel TVs when the supplied remote doesn't have the option.  Although my universal remote could operate the Samsung TV, it would not change the source.  So I looked on the back of the TV to get the model number and then found a PDF of the manual.  It is a special hospitality model TV that runs its own operating system that displays all the Oceania menus (there is no external box); it is the TV itself doing the O GUI.  In this mode, the source inputs are locked out.  I found the remote control codes to take it out of this special hospitality mode and put the TV into normal mode, so that I could plug something into the HDMI port.  However, I was reluctant to do it fearing I might not be able to get it back to the mode that runs the Oceania menus and info.  BTW, the supplied remote control did not have one of the special buttons needed to enter this remote control code.

 

So bottom line, if Vista is similar to Marina, it may be possible to use the HDMI ports, but it will take some work, knowledge, and probably your own universal remote control.

Dang…..you could probably also figure out these new light switch panels in our suite! lol…..I am being sill of course and sincerely applaud all of you able to do all of these things!  Hubby and I are still trying to figure out how to lower the lights in the living room of the cabin without also turning out the bedroom lights! lol….

and don’t get me started about the new phones! lol…..

Interestingly enough we too were lamenting the loss of Jacques…and do still. Is it?   It having been on the Vista for 3 weeks plus now….we are also liking Ember quite a bit!  Sad that we cannot have it all….but nice to know that there are options that vary based on various ships….

Next sailing in a few months will be on Marina….ao maybe we will once again enjoy Jacques…..personally we are NOT fans of 5e new Aquamar offerings…. It it seems to. E packed most days,

!  That’s what makes the world go around, right?

We are currently on Deck 10 in a Vista Suite and DO hear footsteps from the bridge….nothing that is truly bothersome though.

On 3/7/2024 at 4:34 PM, basor said:

Their avocado toast was unbelievable, delicious fish tacos, yummy soups and salads, poke bowls, fruit smoothies, fresh fruit...I could go on and on.  During meal times, it is hard to find a table after the first few days as people discover it.  It opposite to Waves and open to the Sea (like Waves)  and very bright and cheery.  It is like a smorgasbord - choose something from terrace, something from Aquamar and something from Waves and enjoy it all!

Somehow I lost the thread of what if anything…is going on with Le Reserve options?  As I am still trying to figure out if Le Reserve is still available?  And what in the world that has with this new Aquamar offering other than space usage?  STILL wanting to know if Le Reserve is currently an option?