Experience In Chez Jacques

[HeatherInFlorida]

In a perfect world I would like to see Oceania have a minimum age policy of at least 12 ...

no smoking ships

If drunks become unruly the staff have the right to place them in the brig until they are sober

But the world is not perfect & I do not own the company :D

 

..............

 

And I hope not from your lips to those who do own the company as far as smoking is concerned. Believe me, no one hates it more than I do but DH smokes a pipe and the day they take his little tiny corner away will be the day we never cruise again:(:(:(.

[Mura]

He is offending the other guest by allowing it, though. :rolleyes:

 

And I misunderstood Mura's comment. :D This is how rumors get started! :o

 

LOL. It's rather circular, isn't it? I misunderstood someone's comment, then you misunderstood mine! It happens often enough in print ...

 

I agree totally that far more guests are unhappy when offenders get away with their behavior.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

And I hope not from your lips to those who do own the company as far as smoking is concerned. Believe me, no one hates it more than I do but DH smokes a pipe and the day they take his little tiny corner away will be the day we never cruise again:(:(:(.

No worries Heather

FDR stated several years ago that there will never be a non smoking ship with O

Think your DH is safe ;)

[Paulchili]

No worries Heather

FDR stated several years ago that there will never be a non smoking ship with O

Think your DH is safe ;)

 

...and no ban on children cruising on O either.

Perhaps when his grand kids grow up - maybe then :D

Of course, all this is silly talk as Oceania is now part of NCL and these types of corporate decisions are now made differently than they were done before the "merge".

Edited March 12, 2016 by Paulchili

[CintiPam]

It is my opinion that the Maitre d' had to have known what was going on and should have taken care of the situation without involving the guest in this situation. The man was loud, and he did visit several tables, including ours. :eek: And we were seated right at the entrance next to the Maitre d' station.

 

Just like with the Noro cruises, when this actually happens to YOU, then you can be the judge. ;)

 

This thread can go on and on about this and that, but I really am curious about the children sailing free statement. :confused:

 

Hopefully he visited your table after he finally ate something when the main course was served. At that point his voice went down a bit and he became much more more coherent in his conversation. I forgot to mention all the foul language he sprinkled in the conversation that first hour!

 

Of course, the point of my posting is that IMO the maitre d' failed in his role that evening as he did in the OP's case.

Edited March 12, 2016 by CintiPam

[Spursgirl]

I have just booked my first Oceania cruise and am looking forward to it immensely.

 

Am sure that the incidents described by Kitty9 and Cintipam are very isolated occurrences but both incidents should have been dealt with by the Maitre D.

 

We enjoy dining in the speciality restaurants on all of our cruises and have had some wonderful evenings particularly on Azamara.

 

Have no doubt we will have a similar lovely experience on Oceania but would certainly complain if a foul mouthed drunk was sharing our table and ruining our dinner.

[Paulchili]

Spursgirl,

I agree - the odds of having a wonderful dinner in the specialties are very much in your favor.

Although there have been a couple of incidents reported here recently, I can't remember when was the last time anyone had a similar complaint here.

Just think of how many dinner were served in the specialties since 2004 on all of O ships :D

[Spursgirl]

Spursgirl,

I agree - the odds of having a wonderful dinner in the specialties are very much in your favor.

Although there have been a couple of incidents reported here recently, I can't remember when was the last time anyone had a similar complaint here.

Just think of how many dinner were served in the specialties since 2004 on all of O ships :D

 

Thank you Paulchili,

 

As a glass half full girl am sure you are right and that we will be extolling the virtues of Oceania like many of you on these boards when we return.

[LHT28]

Spursgirl,

I agree - the odds of having a wonderful dinner in the specialties are very much in your favor.

Although there have been a couple of incidents reported here recently, I can't remember when was the last time anyone had a similar complaint here.

Just think of how many dinner were served in the specialties since 2004 on all of O ships :D

I agree I have not experienced any of those problems on O before

Hope it is not a sign of things to come :eek:

[Jancruz]

This is one of the reasons that I continue to say NO KIDS. Oceania should make a rule.

 

Never happen!

Jancruz1

[Jancruz]

We sailed on Renassiance years ago and I remember they had a slogan

 

no kids

no smoking

no kidding

 

And thats the reason they went bankrupt..

Jancruz1

[Jancruz]

I read this with interest, as I'm considering taking an Oceania cruise.

As a parent of a toddler and preschooler, my options in the cruise world are fairly limited unless I want to fit a "square peg into a round hole" (like taking a 2 year old on Oceania.)

May I vent for just a moment, and decry the lack of "nicer" cruise lines that are also family friendly? Yes, we've travelled on Disney, and will do so again in just a few months, but we have chosen Disney only because they are really able to accommodate children, not because we actually care a lot for their product.

I think there is a niche market for more upscale cruises that can still accommodate little ones with a nursery, in room babysitting, appropriate family dining venues (and adults only ones as well). I just don't understand why folks who cruise with children only have choices of, essentially, Disney or RCCL if they want EVERYONE to enjoy the cruise (including mom and dad having a little time away from kids), or, traveling on upscale lines who really aren't equipped to accommodate little ones, and frustrating others and probably themselves in the process.

 

 

Try the Haven on NCL..we took our four year old Great Grandaughter and it was perfect we were on NCL and she loved it!!

and so did we..

Jancruz1

[RJB]

And thats the reason they went bankrupt..

Jancruz1

You got to be kidding. If you are not then you have a very narrow minded view of those times including 9/11 a few days before. Many other reasons and it had nothing to do with kids.

[kitty9]

Believe me, no one would have wanted to approach this family. Let's just say they are hard drinking, table flipping, reality show-types who would not take kindly to being admonished.

[Paulchili]

Believe me, no one would have wanted to approach this family. Let's just say they are hard drinking, table flipping, reality show-types who would not take kindly to being admonished.

 

Not the kind of people we normally see on Oceania.

Are "The Times a Changin' ? :(

[travelglobetrotter]

Well, happily we have never had such problems in any restaurant on the 5 O ships we've sailed on, and I hope we never do. I know I can't control what the guests do, and while I can complain to the maitre'd, I can't control his actions either, but I can control my own actions. After speaking up, I would leave, explaining why, and dine somewhere else. Life's too short to spend it simmering for a few hours about the bad behavior of others.

[wristband]

I am confused. Was this a birthday party for the 2 year old? Was it a balloon party for a hapless "adult?" Did the table break out an obnoxious sing song to serenade each other? The "adults" sound juvenile and infantile and out place in a lovely setting as Jacques.

 

Aside from the disruptive and rude behavior egged on by indifference, would it have made sense for you to lean over and hiss "get that rotten kid under control asap or we will boot it hesto presto down the hall to Reception!"

 

You have the patience of Job!

[mpfund]

And thats the reason they went bankrupt..

Jancruz1

 

 

They refused to pay commissions to travel agents, which also hastened their fall.

[Mura]

There were many reasons but for US it as that they were due to meet with the banks on 9/12 to refinance ... and obviously that didn't happen!

 

They also were in a pattern of totally changing itineraries and times of cruises ... for example, we booked our first Ren cruise in Oct '99 -- a 14 day cruise, Lisbon to Barcelona. Before we left on that cruise we had booked our second, Athens to Istanbul in February 2000.

 

By the time we left on our cruise, the itineraries were 5 days in duration, not 10-14. They DID give us 3 hotel days in the embarkation and debarkation ports which made it an 11 day trip. (And we did love the time in the cities.)

 

Then by May 2001 we were back to 14 day cruises.

 

I remember complaints on the Renaissance message board (for some reason it disappeared soon thereafter) from people who'd planned a honeymoon around a cruise which now had disappeared at the last minute because of the changes from 14 days cruises to 5 day cruises.

 

So I would say there were lots of reasons for Ren's demise, but I don't think it was because of "no children, no smoking, no kidding".

 

Sorry, Jan ... just my perspective.

 

(I remember people asking how much we'd paid and we quickly learned not to answer because it seemed like no couple was paying the same as any other couple.)

 

Mura

[kitty9]

I am confused. Was this a birthday party for the 2 year old? Was it a balloon party for a hapless "adult?" Did the table break out an obnoxious sing song to serenade each other? The "adults" sound juvenile and infantile and out place in a lovely setting as Jacques.

 

Aside from the disruptive and rude behavior egged on by indifference, would it have made sense for you to lean over and hiss "get that rotten kid under control asap or we will boot it hesto presto down the hall to Reception!"

 

You have the patience of Job!

 

It was an anniversary party for one of the four couples.

[orchestrapal]

And thats the reason they went bankrupt..

Jancruz1

 

 

They refused to pay commissions to travel agents, which also hastened their fall.

 

Sorry Jan I think your wrong on this one. If only Oceania was that way now. The limited smoking is tolerable but poorly behaved children under foot and making noise wherever they are is far from tolerable. Sorry to disagree !:D

[LHT28]

gosh from all the talk on kids you would think Oceania was rampant with toddlers running about the ship :eek:

 

There have been some reports of small children onboard over the years but very few very young children & most others are well behaved pre teens or teens

[bitob]

It's the unruly and uncontrollable toddlers in the specialties that have become offensive. If they are at the pool we can move. A reasonable age limit is fair to everyone. Those with children under that limit can decide ahead of time if the still want to cruise on Oceania with a toddler.

Edited March 13, 2016 by bitob

[Mura]

Then maybe it wasn't a happy anniversary for that couple ... unless the toddler in question is theirs!

 

Mura

[S2000ap1]

Jacques , do others not find it slightly noisy in any case as a result of the hard flooring, whereas the other restaurants have carpet ?

 

Last year we had a table of people who liked their own voices which which was a bit annoying but just about tolerable.

 

The kids , I think we would have walked out , making our feelings known , so what would Oceana think about upsetting us , as customers !

 

Oceana should have dealt with this, and from the onset of decorations stopped things dead . How many covers are there ? So maybe 6 covers against the annoyance of maybe 40 or so others.

 

We have walked out of restaurants for exactly this reason before.