New To Oceania - Review of Marina September 2017

Oceania has a solid product that seems to withstand the changing winds of the mass cruise lines.

Celebrity announced yesterday they are renovating their fleet (rooms, pool deck cafeteria) and apparently taking common space away from each ship to allocate to suite only.

I, amongst others, have posted their superficial "fit and finish" decision does not mention improvements to the the actual on board food, beverage and service - the decline of which has been described on this thread by others.

I am most thankful that Oceania, to this point in time, understands that substantive on board experience in food, service etc is also as important as room renovations.

Fingers crossed that Oceania does not dilute their on board product like many of the mass cruise lines!

We don't purchase the liquor packages either (for various reasons) but I just wanted to say that it's been my perception that most, if not all, lines require BOTH parties to purchase the liquor package. At least O does give people a choice. I never understood why it should be necessary for both parties to opt for a package unless perhaps they are concerned that the person with the more expensive package (or perhaps just the package) will "share" with his or her spouse.

 

 

Most of the mass market cruise lines have the annoying add-ons such as charging extra for sodas and specialty restaurant reservations. However, not all require both parties to purchase the liquor package. We were on Royal Caribbean in May of this year and my husband had the liquor package and I did not.

 

 

Most of the mass market cruise lines have the annoying add-ons such as charging extra for sodas and specialty restaurant reservations. However, not all require both parties to purchase the liquor package. We were on Royal Caribbean in May of this year and my husband had the liquor package and I did not.

Although the details aren't clear per this Cruise Critic news item published a couple of days ago it looks as though Royal Caribbean may be changing that policy and requiring every adult in a cabin to purchase the package:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=8119

Celebrity did not require both to purchase in our experience. Also allows purchase up until the last two days of the cruise, paying only for days used. However, the wine selections were so hit or miss; we probably would not purchase again.

Thank you. I'm sure I don't have many admirers and even have one very disruptive XXXX. But one thing you've probably noticed about me, I'm not afraid to state my opinion either good or bad.

 

Having spent over four decades in media and marketing, I saw their shift early. While there are still many things that Celebrity is doing well, it finally came to the point where I needed to move on to receive the quality I enjoy while cruising. Celebrity has shifted their bell curve. I don't have a problem with that. I know they'll sail with high occupancy rates until Celebrity steps over the line and chases too many more away than they are replacing. Everyone has their own tolerance level.

 

Currently Oceania appears to be offering the better quality/value with Azamara close behind. The problem AZ has is their limit of cabins which keeps their pricing higher. However their bottom line is probably doing very well.

 

Some day I hope to sail Celebrity again. They just will probably need a new CEO at the helm for the changes to shift in the direction I prefer. Until then O, AZ and maybe a few other more premium lines will benefit.

 

As a side note, I just bought 2 pound porterhouse steaks for $4.99/pound...custom cut at 1 1/4" each. They grill great!

Well, you have at least one admirer here. I agree with your opinion of Celebrity 100%. Their focus on drink packages and the lax dress code enforcement have caused a shift in the Celebrity passenger profile. I don't want to cruise with people that I wouldn't like to have as neighbors.

Thanx for sharing.

Ira

Carnival was the line that required both parties in a cabin to buy a drink package because too many of their cruisers were sharing drinks with their young (above drinking age) cohorts. Then it spread to the rest of their sister lines. They also instituted a 15 maximum drink per day policy because of the binge drinkers.

Perhaps those people migrated to Royal who's now considering the same policy.

We have a short, inexpensive HAL cruise booked to the Panama Canal. We've never been on HAL before but one thing that put me off is that if I want the liquor package, my wife must buy it. She drinks maybe one or two liquor drinks at max. Thus I won't be buying their package and probably will reduce my drinking as well.

Since I'm driving to the port, I plan on slapping a luggage tag on a 40 1/2 liter case of 7-cent bottled water from Costco.

My liver appreciates the policy but I don't/

Carnival was the line that required both parties in a cabin to buy a drink package because too many of their cruisers were sharing drinks with their young (above drinking age) cohorts. Then it spread to the rest of their sister lines. They also instituted a 15 maximum drink per day policy because of the binge drinkers.

 

Perhaps those people migrated to Royal who's now considering the same policy.

 

We have a short, inexpensive HAL cruise booked to the Panama Canal. We've never been on HAL before but one thing that put me off is that if I want the liquor package, my wife must buy it. She drinks maybe one or two liquor drinks at max. Thus I won't be buying their package and probably will reduce my drinking as well.

 

Since I'm driving to the port, I plan on slapping a luggage tag on a 40 1/2 liter case of 7-cent bottled water from Costco.

 

My liver appreciates the policy but I don't/

NCL also requires (and always has, if my recollection is correct) all adults in a stateroom to purchase the alcohol package. Further, it requires all those under the age of 21 in the cabin (or connecting cabin) to purchase the soda package.

Thank you so much for introducing me to Oceania with your review. I am considering using their services for a much longer cruise in the future.

I book suites with Celebrity and have two booked for next year; one for Italy and Greece on the Reflection and the other on the Edge to see something new, as the inaugural falls over our anniversary. I booked both during the first hour they were featured and received excellent pricing.

However, my DH and I are also looking for a change and Oceania appears to be our next choice for many reasons, but mostly due to its longer itineraries. Not sure if I would be booking a suite for their prices. My DH and I do not drink very much, so inclusive packages on Celebrity make little sense. However, I have been trying different alcoholic beverages...don’t know whether that is good or bad.

You have definitely given us some great information about Oceania, as I want to just sail away and be gone for an extended amount of time while living the good life with a long cruise...of course a small suite would be nice, but paying for it is another thing...we are picky about our cabin’ choices, so I need to do more research.

Thank you!!!

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Oh, oh, have we made a huge mistake? We haven't sailed with Oceania for ten years, one reason being the noise heard from adjoining cabins. We just booked a TA on Marina from NY to London for 2019 and had hoped they had improved the noise problems with the newer ships but apparently they have not. I am noise sensitive and slamming drawers/doors is not my idea of a quality cruise. We have cruised with Celebrity for years now and rarely experienced these problems but wanted to give Oceania another chance.

We recognize that this "slamming" could occur on any ship but if others have had similar experiences on Marina I hope they will post to give us additional information. Thanks.

Bill

Bill, in various rooms around all of the ships I think the most noise I've ever heard has been a toilet flushing, and that was immediately next to us. I certainly have never heard slamming doors and the like.

Maybe I should get my hearing checked. :D

I notice the drawer slamming more on the R ships

Love those people who like to get up at 5 am & hunt for their clothes in every drawer in the cabin :(

Even worst are those obviously hard of hearing that want to watch tv , at or before 5am, while they’are slamming drawers and looking for clothes! O should kill all cabin tv service until at least 6am!

I could tell a longish funny story about this, relayed by a ship’s social hostess, but it would get to many upset! Centered on what the most common comments received on the O questionnaires!

Greetings from South Beach, ABoatNerd. I loved your review. We sailed Marina in her maiden year, and I remember the banging drawers and doors. We were in PH 10022. I put something in the closet door to prevent it from closing because the light went out when it did. We loved the ship and sailed in the same PH on Riviera, and the issue had been fixed. Great read. I will look for you on threads.Thanks for the amusement.

Mary

Thank you for your excellent review ABoatNerd. It is obvious from the above comment, banging drawers and doors was a problem in Marina's maiden year.

Not fixing obvious problems is what annoys me the most about the cruise industry and the fact that they get away with it! Can you imagine having a job in Customer Service, where it is your job to fob people off, saying problem will be fixed, etc. every cruise, knowing that this will not be the case? No wonder the people in these jobs are often the least helpful/friendly of all staff on cruise ships!

Never had a problem of noise on our 16 O cruises, perhaps we have been lucky with great neighbours.

Normally sleep till 7 and to bed by 11 pm. Next cruising Jan 13th hope all will remain as previously!

There is another way of looking at this all inclusive question. The wholesale duty free price of alcohol is very small. I don't know but probably around £5 a bottle?

So the cost to the cruise line of providing free booze is very little. On the other hand cruise lines that charge (a lot) for booze get a considerable part of their profit from selling it. That's why they push it so hard. Consequently they can reduce the headline price of their cruises.

So the truth is that on lines that charge for booze the drinkers are providing a substantial subsidy to the non drinkers. Doesn't seem fair to me.

There is another way of looking at this all inclusive question. The wholesale duty free price of alcohol is very small. I don't know but probably around £5 a bottle?

So the cost to the cruise line of providing free booze is very little. On the other hand cruise lines that charge (a lot) for booze get a considerable part of their profit from selling it. That's why they push it so hard. Consequently they can reduce the headline price of their cruises.

So the truth is that on lines that charge for booze the drinkers are providing a substantial subsidy to the non drinkers. Doesn't seem fair to me.

As a side note, the servers & bartenders pushing the liquor packages and upgrades on Celebrity are doing so because they receive the full gratuity of what they sell. That's why so many try so hard once you first get on board.

A senior bartender, I've had on a couple of cruises, admitted that once the servers get the gratuity, there's no further incentive to serve drinks which is why they become lax and it's harder to get service.

When I sailed O, I didn't feel that there was pressure to upgrade me when I had the basic liquor perk. Don't you have to go to guest relations to upgrade?

On AZ in August, there was an upgrade table just past check in however he didn't stop people walking by. It was just available if you stopped. The upgrade there was not pushed by servers or bar tenders.

There is another way of looking at this all inclusive question. The wholesale duty free price of alcohol is very small. I don't know but probably around £5 a bottle?

So the cost to the cruise line of providing free booze is very little.

Long gone are the days of Duty free alcohol to the cruise lines at least on this side of the pond

YMMV

Lyn;

Actually the cruise lines still enjoy tax free status from most of the alcohol taxes and tariffs. The largest savings they are granted are the exemptions that allow them to act as importers and distributors of alcohol which frees them from the two and three tiered distribution chains. Being able to buy direct from the producers, in large quantities, without added state and federal sales taxes allows them to buy at 25% or so of typical US or foreign retail prices.

When you have a Carnival or NCL cruise line buying 100,000 cases of a single wine, your concept of unit pricing may not be large enough.

Lyn;

 

Actually the cruise lines still enjoy tax free status from most of the alcohol taxes and tariffs.

If you say so