Just back from our first O cruise

[Softball20]

After months of planning and researching, we returned home from our first O cruise the other day. We have taken many cruises over the years, and we were excited to try something different. We had a very nice vacation, but once was enough.

 

We were on the Regatta for the Radiant Rhythms itinerary, which began with an overnight in Buenos Aires and ended with an overnight in Rio. I loved the itinerary as everyplace was new for us, and I hadn't heard of most of them! Boarding the ship in BA was easy, and we quickly got in our cabin on deck 7 and headed straight up to the Terrace to purchase our beverage package for the trip. We boarded mid afternoon, so there were no lines and our cabins were ready.

 

The ship itself is beautiful; obviously smaller than other ships on which we've sailed. I know that many like the small size ship, and after sailing on the Regatta I can see pros and cons. I could NEVER do one of the mega 6000-passenger ships, but I have no problem with the 2800 - 3000 size.

 

Our biggest disappointments were in the food, service and overall value. One of the things that attracted me to this sailing, besides the itinerary, was O's reputation for outstanding food and service. I'd always wanted to try a line that was a "notch above" where we typically sailed, just so see what the differences were. While we found the food to be very good, we did not at all find it to be any better than what we have had on Celebrity, particularly in their Aqua Class restaurant, Blu. Don't get me wrong, we didn't have a bad meal on the ship, and I found the menu to be very varied. Perhaps I had built up my expectations, but we just didn't find it to be better, and given the price differences between the two lines, I had a hard time justifying the value.

 

The service was another huge disappointment. There were certainly bright points and some good servers, but overall it was sloppy and inefficient, particularly the wine/beverage service during meals. It almost seemed like the staff was confused and really didn't work well together. It was not at all outstanding and not at all a well oiled machine. Service was generally slow. On our first night in the MDR (second night of the sailing as we ate in town on the first night), it was at least 25 minutes before a server or beverage server came to the table. I'm all for a leisurely meal, and we don't like to be rushed, but the pace at many times was beyond that. On the other hand, on one evening in the main dining room, we were among the last tables left, and the staff started noticeably turning the lights up and down repeatedly as if to tell us to leave. Totally unacceptable. We ate in the specialty restaurants on four of the twelve nights. The food was very good in both, although better on one of the two nights in each. We had hoped that service there would have been better, but it wasn't noticeably so. I was surprised that the staff seemed to rotate between restaurants and that there didn't appear to be a dedicated staff in the specialty restaurants. I would think that one would need to work their way up, so to speak, to serve in the specialities, but it didn't appear to be that way. On our first night in Polo Grill, the sommelier was completely incompetent. She was terribly slow in taking our order, she was unfamiliar with the wine list and she left a whole round of dirty wine glasses on the table for a good half hour during the middle of the meal. It really shouldn't have been that hard as we were just ordering selections by the glass since we had the beverage package. We traveled with two other couples and at one point one of the others in our group asked for a suggestion for a different wine to try - the server had no idea.

 

It also seemed that general customer service was lacking and that there were times that the staff was not at all accommodating. I can give examples if needed, so as not to make this too long.

 

The staff was generally very friendly, and everyone was polite and always had a smile and a greeting. We had no issue with that. It was just the general service that we all found to be deficient. Our cabin steward and her assistant were very good and very efficient.

 

The ports were very interesting. To my this itinerary was a kind of hybrid between a very busy Med cruise where there's lots to see, and a Caribbean cruise were we would typically find a beach. I liked the ports - some better than others, but that's always the case.

 

The entertainment was surprisingly better than we expected. The four singers were excellent, and we went to all of their shows. They also doubled as the social staff, and they were all great kids, fairly recently out of college and hoping to work in the entertainment industry. They were just so nice and personable. They even invited us to join them for dinner one night. The house band was quite good, too. I'm not a fan of a string quartet, but they were good musicians. The singer at the piano bar was awful.

 

Overall we had a great time, but I just can't justify the fact that this cruise was about twice the cost as on Celebrity or Holland. If we had found the service to be better, I would have had an easier time justifying the price difference, but I just didn't see the overall value given the poor service and that the food wasn't better. This was the consensus of all six in our group, as well as some friends we made along the way. The fact that it was a smaller ship didn't make the difference for me either. We still had to wait in line to tender (no big deal), we still had to wait for a table for dinner a couple times (no big deal), and on most nights we couldn't get a seat in Martini's before dinner as it was packed. We would end up going to the bar outside the dining room, but service there was really slow as there was just one bartender handling all the overflow from Martinis.

 

Sorry this was so long. I'm glad we tried it, but I guess it just wasn't what I expected.

[pinotlover]

The title and position of sommelier has changed somewhat over the last decade, particularly in the finer restaurants. Historically, the title was for the "wine guy"/ server that helped with wine selections and service. However, today, in many finer restaurants, the title Sommelier is reserved for those individuals that have passed the international Sommelier tests and have received the Sommelier designation. All others filling the job/roll are referred to as wine steward or something else. Oceania maintains the historical usage of the term wherein it is a position and not a designation. We found that your observation that some of the wine stewards not being knowledgeable about wine was very true. On our most recent cruise, only the Head Sommelier was actually a Sommelier and the others all wine stewards with varying degrees of knowledge of wines and particularly wine pairings. Some are clueless, and merely order takers, while others have the experience and do admirable jobs for their position as wine stewards.

[ORV]

Thanks for your review and perceptions. I find you hit on something that I think is an issue here, and that is some posters create unrealistic expectations for new Oceania cruisers.

 

I personally think the food is a step above Celebrity, but I've never dined in Blu on X. I do think the food is fine on Celebrity though.

 

The only service issue I've ever really had on Oceania is a steward that appeared to be new.

 

What I like about Oceania is I feel more comfortable about virus spreading due to the way the buffet is served, that there are virtually no children which also increases the spread of germs and that there is just simply less people. On the larger cruise lines I tend to worry so much about germs I have trouble enjoying my vacation. In real life I never give it a second thought.

[Caroldoll]

We cruise quite a lot with Oceania, but mostly on The Riviera. The food on the bigger ships is really much better than the smaller ones like The Regatta, in my opinion, and of course this is subjective.

 

I too found that the service on the Regatta was a little slow, but it was years ago. We have one booked for Alaska in 2016 and I do hope I don't read another "so-so" review.

 

We have about 20 cruises on Celebrity, but it has been some time and we have been on M class ships. I thought I would like to try an S-class ship, but in my case the cost was exactly the same as Oceania, so I think it might vary according to cabin size.

 

I can't say much other than I am sorry that you had this middle of the road experience. That was a nice itinerary though! Looking at the bright side always helps.

[Softball20]

The title and position of sommelier has changed somewhat over the last decade, particularly in the finer restaurants. Historically, the title was for the "wine guy"/ server that helped with wine selections and service. However, today, in many finer restaurants, the title Sommelier is reserved for those individuals that have passed the international Sommelier tests and have received the Sommelier designation. All others filling the job/roll are referred to as wine steward or something else. Oceania maintains the historical usage of the term wherein it is a position and not a designation. We found that your observation that some of the wine stewards not being knowledgeable about wine was very true. On our most recent cruise, only the Head Sommelier was actually a Sommelier and the others all wine stewards with varying degrees of knowledge of wines and particularly wine pairings. Some are clueless, and merely order takers, while others have the experience and do admirable jobs for their position as wine stewards.

 

Very true, and I guess I used the term sommelier quite loosely.

[Queen of DaNile]

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience and so sorry that it did not live up to the "hype". Hopefully management will look at your comment card and correct any deficiencies.

[Softball20]

We cruise quite a lot with Oceania, but mostly on The Riviera. The food on the bigger ships is really much better than the smaller ones like The Regatta, in my opinion, and of course this is subjective.

 

I too found that the service on the Regatta was a little slow, but it was years ago. We have one booked for Alaska in 2016 and I do hope I don't read another "so-so" review.

 

We have about 20 cruises on Celebrity, but it has been some time and we have been on M class ships. I thought I would like to try an S-class ship, but in my case the cost was exactly the same as Oceania, so I think it might vary according to cabin size.

 

I can't say much other than I am sorry that you had this middle of the road experience. That was a nice itinerary though! Looking at the bright side always helps.

 

We did our own air fare on miles, so our actual cost for this 12-night sailing was about $5300 in an A2 cabin. Obviously it's hard to compare unless you have the exact same itinerary, but our last Celebrity cruise in Aqua class (which are just regular size balcony cabins), albeit in the Med, was about $2500. Now this O cruise included gratuities and free internet (which is a huge savings for us as my husband has to stay connected with work), but there's still quite a difference. The cost of the beverage package is about the same on both lines, but we did notice that the actual drink prices on O to be a bit more, so that break-even point on the package is less.

 

There was definitely a bright side. I'm glad we did it, and we did have a good time, it just wasn't what we had hoped for. Live and learn.

Edited March 11, 2015 by Softball20

[JVNYC]

From ORV:

What I like about Oceania is I feel more comfortable about virus spreading due to the way the buffet is served, that there are virtually no children which also increases the spread of germs and that there is just simply less people. On the larger cruise lines I tend to worry so much about germs I have trouble enjoying my vacation. In real life I never give it a second thought.

 

 

+1 - absolutely agree with you. I feel all of these are big plusses and are worth the price point.

Edited March 11, 2015 by JVNYC

[Softball20]

I liked the fact that they served you at the buffet, too, but they tend to serve too much so I always had to tell them to start with just a bit. No big deal. As for the no kids thing, that doesn't bother me - we all have germs and we're going to get them somewhere.

[Anna201213]

It was my 4th cruise with Oceania and I have some negative points

1st disappointment:

Oceania air dept. We had one stop flight for Montreal to Miami and same for the return. There is a lot of non stop every day between those cities

 

2nd disappointment

Pre cruise hotel in Miami. The room was ordinary for the price we paid to Oceania, street view and 8th floor...I wrote a complaint aboard and the concierge phoned telling me that I paid for a standard room.. Never again I will pay for Oceania pre cruise hotel

 

3th disappointment

I agree with Sofball for the bar outside the Dining Room. The service is slow on the Riviera.

Terrace Cafe: the night before disembarkation. Lack of service. Usually we had a good and prompt service. Same complaint for the breakfast the last morning. We waited 20 minutes for a coffee. We would have like having the same good service as usual.

 

Toscana: My entree was lobster and pasta....nothing to remember.

[Mura]

Many of us don't use O's hotel package because it's usually far more expensive than booking the hotel on your own. Yes, they'll give you a transfer which can be more convenient, and sometimes if you are using a deviation the hotel will be included. But normally the hotel charge is per person, which makes it much more expensive than the typical room cost.

 

Lesson learned.

 

Mura

[hypercafe]

Thanks for your review. I also find that Oceania provides a nice trip but is hyped some. This best food at sea is a strech.

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

[Paulchili]

Softball20,

Thank you for your time to write the review. I am sorry that the cruise did not live up to your expectations, especially as I remember how much you looked forward to it.

I think ORV may have hit the nail on the head with the comment that due to some enthusiastic reviews here by Oceania loyalists ("cheerleaders"), the high expectations for newcomers to Oceania may be unreasonable.

In any case - now you know that Celebrity or HAL are your preferred cruise lines going forward.

Happy sailings.

[LHT28]

Thanks for your review and perceptions. I find you hit on something that I think is an issue here, and that is some posters create unrealistic expectations for new Oceania cruisers.

 

 

+1 I agree also

 

Softball thanks for your review

 

We are not foodies but we like quality food

We have had some hits & misses on our O cruises ..nothing is perfect

 

At least you tried O & now you know that it is not for you

 

Lyn

[hypercafe]

Very true, and I guess I used the term sommelier quite loosely.

 

Maybe Oceania uses it quite loosely.

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

[Softball20]

Softball20,

Thank you for your time to write the review. I am sorry that the cruise did not live up to your expectations, especially as I remember how much you looked forward to it.

I think ORV may have hit the nail on the head with the comment that due to some enthusiastic reviews here by Oceania loyalists ("cheerleaders"), the high expectations for newcomers to Oceania may be unreasonable.

In any case - now you know that Celebrity or HAL are your preferred cruise lines going forward.

Happy sailings.

 

I do try to take some of the more enthusiastic reviews with a grain of salt. Everyone has their preferences, but nothing is ever going to be perfect.

[TrulyBlonde]

I have only been on a Med Riviera B2B and our 1st on Regatta is this May to Alaska. Thank you for your comments and I hope they fix a few of your issues very soon. I have only taken one X cruise on an M ship Aqua class and enjoyed Blu but felt O was much better. The speciality restaurant on X was excellent but very disappointed with the large buffet and I love the one on O.

Due to itinerary and timing, Oct 2015 we will be on X for a long B2B in OZ and NZ with Fiji, too. It will be on Solstice in Aqua and am actually looking forward to trying a newer ship of that size, although we tend to prefer the smaller ships. It will be nice to do a real comparison of each.

[Softball20]

We've been on the Equinox (once in the Med and once in the Caribbean - totally different experiences) and on the Silhouette, all in Aqua class. The S class ships are very nice. Despite the number of passengers compared to the O ships, we've just never felt crowded. I think that might have to do with the fact that because of it's size, there are more options and more venues for people to go. There were several times on our last cruise on the Silhouette, our group of eight were the only ones in a particular lounge.

 

We also like the specialty restaurants on X. I'm not a big fan of buffets one way or the other, but the one on O was nice. No complaints with the lay out or the offerings. We only did lunch there once, but we went to breakfast several times.

[Kevnzworld]

Good review, and though I sailed on the Riviera, I agree.

Celebrity also offers more wines by the glass if you have the drink package. I find that the sommelier's on both lines seem to primarily be interested in selling wine by the bottle, unless they get tipped.

The value proposition doesn't add up in Oceania's favor.

As I've written before, Seabourn is worthy of the hype. Larger cabins, walk in closets, included drinks and gratuities....and MUCH better food...for roughly the same price

Edited March 11, 2015 by Kevnzworld

[Softball20]

Good review, and though I sailed on the Riviera, I agree.

Celebrity also offers more wines by the glass if you have the drink package. I find that the sommelier's on both lines seem to primarily be interested in selling wine by the bottle, unless they get tipped.

The value proposition doesn't add up in Oceania's favor.

As I've written before, Seabourn is worthy of the hype. Larger cabins, walk in closets, included drinks and gratuities....and MUCH better food...for roughly the same price

 

Good point -- I thought that, too, that there wasn't a great variety of wines by the glass. We were able to find a couple good ones, but just not too many from which to choose. None of the servers ever tried to sell us a bottle at all.

 

I must admit that as much as I've wanted to try Seabourn, I'm a bit hesitant now.

[TrulyBlonde]

Good point -- I thought that, too, that there wasn't a great variety of wines by the glass. We were able to find a couple good ones, but just not too many from which to choose. None of the servers ever tried to sell us a bottle at all.

 

I must admit that as much as I've wanted to try Seabourn, I'm a bit hesitant now.

 

I had a feeling that the smaller, more intimate ships would not be for you after many of your questions and posts. O is much quieter, and I think most people cruise, tour, eat and go to bed at a fairly early hour to prepare for the next days itinerary. I would assume Seabourn, Silversea, Regent, etc would all be quite similar. Lessons learned in life.

[Softball20]

Actually, the ship was fairly busy in the evening; much more so than I expected. The demographic on this sailing was younger than I expected, too. We are both in our very early 50s, and I expected to be among the youngest. No offense to anyone out there, but from all I've read, we seem to be on the young end of the O demo. There were many, many others in our age range, and several younger. I don't know if it's because of the itinerary, the length of the sailing or what, but it was definitely more of a mixed demo than I expected. Either way is fine. We were with two other couples, and we met other people, so we always had fun where we were.

 

That said, there seemed to be stuff going on in the evening. There were people in Horizons late. Granted we closed it on most nights (and got up to go out and about each morning), but a lot of others hung in there until around midnight. The shows were pretty packed, and Martinis was touch and go. Some nights after dinner or after the show there was a crowd other nights it was kind of quiet. On most nights we could not get a seat there to have pre-dinner drinks - that was typically around 6:30 or so, and then we'd do dinner around 7:30 or so.

[bitob]

We have 10 Oceania cruises and no two have been alike in terms of food and service. Our last cruise was the best in those two areas by far-- 30 nights Cape Town to Singapore. It was perfection

Chef Maarten, his buddy pastry chef Rene and gm raffaele cinque were the reason

 

We have sailed on celebrity a number of times and I agree that the food is quite good We do not Sail for the food

For us smaller is better. We only sail the smaller r ships and we are trying seabourn next with only 450 passengers. We like the intimacy of a small ship.

Edited March 11, 2015 by bitob

[WendyG]

Thank you for writing your review. We are sailing on our first O cruise this Sunday and are excited to experience the difference between the others we've sailed (Princess, Celebrity, Royal, Holland, NCL, Costca, and Silversea)

 

I am going to drop my expectations of service and food "down" a notch, as to not feel disappointed!

 

I will say I have never had a bad cruise, some are just better than others!

I enjoy all of them no matter what, I visit new places, meet new people, and best of all, I'm OFF from work!! :D

[Paulchili]

Thank you for writing your review. We are sailing on our first O cruise this Sunday and are excited to experience the difference between the others we've sailed (Princess, Celebrity, Royal, Holland, NCL, Costca, and Silversea)

 

I am going to drop my expectations of service and food "down" a notch, as to not feel disappointed!

 

I will say I have never had a bad cruise, some are just better than others!

I enjoy all of them no matter what, I visit new places, meet new people, and best of all, I'm OFF from work!! :D

 

Wendy,

It seems that you have the right attitude.

Hopefully your first Oceania will not disappoint you.

Please let us know one way or another.

Enjoy your cruise.