Lets talk about something else---MARINA

[fb0075]

Anybody on-board for update??

 

FRANK

[ORV]

Not on, but got off a week ago. What would you like to know?

 

Our cruise was great. Service was much better than Riviera recently.

 

One thing we had noticed, and another passenger discussed is that Marina tends to have a lot of movement in the water, when it really doesn't seem that rough.

 

The ice creams are really excellent.

[Tarpeian Rock]

We were on Marina in January - South Pacific, 17 days. It was the overall best cruise we've ever had, and the best of our 3 O cruises. While we very much enjoyed Regatta and Riviera previously, my wife and I agreed: there was something special about Marina. The level of service, attentiveness, friendliness, attention to detail were a cut above our two prior Oceania experiences. It actually got to be a running joke with us: after each truly perfect day, we'd think: well, something's bound to go wrong tomorrow. It never did. Five specialty dining experiences, three LaReserve meals, more time in the MDR than we usually do - nothing but perfection. I should add that we're not show people and didn't attend any except for Belissimo, whom we love. We fell in love with Marina, to the degree that in future cruise planning, the ability to experience her again will be a factor in selecting an itinerary.

[Paulchili]

We were on Marina in January - South Pacific, 17 days. It was the overall best cruise we've ever had, and the best of our 3 O cruises. While we very much enjoyed Regatta and Riviera previously, my wife and I agreed: there was something special about Marina. The level of service, attentiveness, friendliness, attention to detail were a cut above our two prior Oceania experiences. It actually got to be a running joke with us: after each truly perfect day, we'd think: well, something's bound to go wrong tomorrow. It never did. Five specialty dining experiences, three LaReserve meals, more time in the MDR than we usually do - nothing but perfection. I should add that we're not show people and didn't attend any except for Belissimo, whom we love. We fell in love with Marina, to the degree that in future cruise planning, the ability to experience her again will be a factor in selecting an itinerary.

 

We too prefer Marina over Riviera (even before Riviera's current issues) in all aspects but the spa deck.

I also like the art on Marina much better than that of the Riviera.

Marina & Nautica are our favorite Oceania ships.

Edited April 2, 2016 by Paulchili

[fb0075]

We too prefer Marina over Riviera (even before Riviera's current issues) in all aspects but the spa deck.

I also like the art on Marina much better than that of the Riviera.

Marina & Nautica are our favorite Oceania ships.

 

WOW!!!

 

We were on the Jan 28th NON NORO cruise and decided it was one of the BEST in years---this being our 120th cruise but first on O larger ship---

 

What we liked---Production shows---after the R ships which had none--

Specialty Restaurants--Insignia was good but Regatta was

AWFUL!

Loved the Texas Hold-em tourneys

Crew was exceptional

 

 

 

 

Glad to hear that the Marina could top it!!

 

FRANK

[RJB]

We were on Marina in January - South Pacific, 17 days. It was the overall best cruise we've ever had, and the best of our 3 O cruises. While we very much enjoyed Regatta and Riviera previously, my wife and I agreed: there was something special about Marina. The level of service, attentiveness, friendliness, attention to detail were a cut above our two prior Oceania experiences. It actually got to be a running joke with us: after each truly perfect day, we'd think: well, something's bound to go wrong tomorrow. It never did. Five specialty dining experiences, three LaReserve meals, more time in the MDR than we usually do - nothing but perfection. I should add that we're not show people and didn't attend any except for Belissimo, whom we love. We fell in love with Marina, to the degree that in future cruise planning, the ability to experience her again will be a factor in selecting an itinerary.

We did the south pacific a year ago Jan. on Marina and it was one of the best cruises we ever did. Would like to do it again, but Marina does not do it next year, looks like Serena is going. Will wait to see if Marina is going in a few years and they try it again.

[BPCruiser]

We did the south pacific a year ago Jan. on Marina and it was one of the best cruises we ever did. Would like to do it again, but Marina does not do it next year, looks like Serena is going. Will wait to see if Marina is going in a few years and they try it again.

 

 

Totally agree!! We love the Marina and did the South Pacific in April 2014 on her. 14 days round trip Papeete to Papeete. Unfortunately O has pulled Marina from French Polynesia and replaced with Sirena. Plus now all sea days removed and itinerary down to 10 days.

Would love to go back to FP but only want to do it on Marina as that is our favorite ship. So hoping Oceania re-evaluates and puts Marina back in FP.

If so.... We will be back.

Does anyone have any insight as to why O took the Marina from the South Pacific?

[Paulchili]

Does anyone have any insight as to why O took the Marina from the South Pacific?

 

Trouble filling her without great incentives?

Easier to fill Sirena.

Just guessing.

[canuck.qc]

As Paul mentioned I also think it has to do with filling the ship. When we were in FP Marina had many business, medical and alumni groups certainly at a discount, an incentive to fill the ship. There were several tender ports so I think the smaller R ship would help make the tender process quicker & more efficient.

[roothy123]

As Paul mentioned I also think it has to do with filling the ship. When we were in FP Marina had many business, medical and alumni groups certainly at a discount, an incentive to fill the ship. There were several tender ports so I think the smaller R ship would help make the tender process quicker & more efficient.

 

I think that was definitely one factor. We did the 18 day Easter Island/French Polynesia cruise on Marina, and there were lots of complaints about the tendering. There are always complaints about tendering, of course (or at least dislike of it), but when you have a large number of people that have to tender, it's worse. Easter Island was a nightmare to some, as it's not an easy port to visit in the first place with it's limited port infrastructure, iffy weather, huge numbers of passengers wanting to go off early morning, and the need to tender to a multi-level platform.

 

As for having trouble filling Marina on our itinerary, I was kind of wondering if the ship would fill until a couple months pre-cruise. However, at cruise time, Marina was stuffed to the gills and there wasn't a single vacant stateroom or suite. I personally thought service was a little off (perhaps due to the fullness of the ship plus a lot of new crew members who had just gotten on board) so I'm a little surprised to hear that so many of you like Marina better than the other bigger ships. After 10 or 11 cruises, I can't pick a favorite ship, and I haven't even cruised on Nautica or Sirena yet. I can't even decide whether I like the R ship or the O ships better!

 

I can tell you one thing, at least: When I mentioned on my mid-cruise comment card that I was disappointed by a couple things (40 minutes for room service at 5pm; cleanliness on ship seemed a little less perfect) the crew certainly took notice of it. I was visited and called by a number of staffers, asking for more info and apologizing. After a while I was a bit embarrassed about it, as the disappointments weren't all that big, just some things I noticed compared to past cruises.

[Paulchili]

 

As for having trouble filling Marina on our itinerary, I was kind of wondering if the ship would fill until a couple months pre-cruise. However, at cruise time, Marina was stuffed to the gills and there wasn't a single vacant stateroom or suite.

 

Do you happen to know if they filled the ship with last minute discounts/incentives or without?

That would make a lot of difference to Oceania.

[roothy123]

Do you happen to know if they filled the ship with last minute discounts/incentives or without?

That would make a lot of difference to Oceania.

 

I don't really know. I did check pricing every so often on the website and on any brochures we got, and didn't see a drop in price. It's possible they added some incentives but if so, I don't remember or didn't notice. Between silver status and a good TA, we usually don't pay that much to incentives. As to availability, I did check it a bit out of curiosity over a period of several months, but it didn't take any big leaps, just some slow swings towards being fullish. I did notice that Oceania was later than usual in assigning our stateroom (we had a GTY on an inside room) and there was no upsell offer, just a free upgrade that came only 4 or 5 days before we left for Chile. I got the impression they were juggling more than usual, with much of it at the last minute, but perhaps that had nothing to do with being full; don't know.

[Paulchili]

Then perhaps they had no real trouble filling the Marina and changed to R ships for a different reason?

[newbie60]

Then perhaps they had no real trouble filling the Marina and changed to R ships for a different reason?

 

We were on Marina last year for 32 days - first 16 days Sydney to Auckland. That cruise was sold out 18 months in advance and many, many travelers were offered enormous cash payments to give up their cabin and take another cruise.

 

OTOH - the second 16 days was so poorly sold that folks that got on in Auckland heading to Papeete told fantastical stories about the discounts, large amounts of OBC, etc. that were offered to entice them to sail that journey. Many of these folks had booked in the 30 days prior to the sailing and the ship still sailed with around 1100 passengers vs 1250.

 

JMO - but they have to low ball some if not all of the FP cruises and it would certainly be easier to fill a 680 passenger ship.

 

BTW - since we were booked for the whole 32 days as a Grand Journey, we were not offered any discount or increased OBC. There were about 98 passengers doing the Grand Journey and we weren't terribly amused listening to the stories about the tremendous pricing offered for the second half of our journey!

 

We got what we paid for and the cruise was wonderful so no complaints except that it will be a long time before I get hooked into another Grand Journey!

[BPCruiser]

I guess it remains a guessing game but all I know is we thoroughly enjoyed our 14 day FP cruise on Marina in 2014 and our Australia to Auckland Marina Cruise in 2015.

Would really like to plan for another FP cruise as it is our favorite thus far but the verdict is still out on the Sirena and it's presence in French Polynesia. WE enjoy the cabin size and multiple speciality restaurants that Marina has to offer in comparison to the R class ships.

I plan to watch the reviews of Sirena and those who cruise her in 2017 French Polynesia. I am looking at Paul Gauguin cruise options as well for FP 2018 as an alternative to the Sirena.

 

We love Oceania and feel very loyal to them but would look certainly at other options. Booked back on the Marina for May 2017 Barcelona to London.

Also wondering why they have changed the FP cruise roundtrip Papeete to 10 days instead of the 14 we enjoyed. Loved those leisurely Sea Days to enjoy cruising in the beautiful South Pacific. IMO, not all changes are good.... Both our Marina cruise in FP and Marina Sydney to Auckland were sold out to my knowledge months in advance.

 

Maybe others feel similarly, would hope that Oceania listens to the voices who are loyal to them and maybe reconsider bringing Marina back to the South Pacific. ;)

[Paulchili]

BPCruiser,

FWIW - I suspect that you know that Sirena will have Tuscan Steak (combination of Polo & Toscana) and Red Ginger as her 2 specialty restaurants.

They will also offer Jacques items at lunch in the MDR.

[BPCruiser]

BPCruiser,

FWIW - I suspect that you know that Sirena will have Tuscan Steak (combination of Polo & Toscana) and Red Ginger as her 2 specialty restaurants.

They will also offer Jacques items at lunch in the MDR.

 

Thanks Paulchili,

 

Yes I am aware and have read that info either on the O website or here on the Boards. Hoping it turns out to be a win-win for Oceania and their wonderful Speciality dining. Itinerary and length of cruise very important as it is our preference to always pick an Oceania cruise that has at least 1 Sea day preferably if not more. If O would change the Sirena back to a 14 day round trip Papeete with some Sea days, it would certainly be an attractive booking option for me despite the smaller cabins of the R Class ships. Time will tell.

Next best option Imo for French Polynesia is Paul Gauguin.

[BPCruiser]

Does anyone know if there is any true validity to the prospects of the Marina being in dry dock anytime soon for refurbishing? Carpets in hallways,cabins and love seats in cabins are beginning to show their age.....

[Paulchili]

Does anyone know if there is any true validity to the prospects of the Marina being in dry dock anytime soon for refurbishing? Carpets in hallways,cabins and love seats in cabins are beginning to show their age.....

 

She will be in dry dock this May/June after her T/A cruise before our Lisbon to London cruise.

[BPCruiser]

She will be in dry dock this May/June after her T/A cruise before our Lisbon to London cruise.

 

Paulchili,

Thanks for the info, I will be anxious to hear your impressions of the refurbishment when you do your Lisbon to London cruise as well as your suggestions for port excursion "must sees". We are doing Barcelona to London 2017 with stops in Lisbon and maybe some similar ports as your itinerary.

We typically arrange our own private excursions with others from our Roll Call but for our 2017 cruise we have the O Life 4 included port excursions. We are not a big fan of the ships excursions but hate to not utilize them since they are a free perk included in our booking. Wish they would rebate the 4 excursions $$ back to our booking and then we could book independently. Kinda like when you don't use the Oceania airfare.

[Paulchili]

Will try to remember to post :)

[Mumofnine]

Just back from 10 days French Poynesia Cruise on Marina; this was our 4th cruise on Marina and 2nd to FP (2014). Ship as beautiful as ever, service excellent, crew very courteous and food, especially in specialty restaurants, the expected excellent standard.

I believe the ship was close to full but what was very apparent was more diversity in passenger nationalities including some groups from South East Asia and more Europeans than on previous cruise. There were also some Conference Groups on board.

There were a small number of children who were extremely well behaved.

Obviously the destination and itinerary will determine the passenger demographics.

The only complaint I heard more than once was lack of information on what was available for those wanting to go ashore independently (if not doing ship's excursions).

I did feel at times that the ship might have been on "auto-pilot" as the only time we heard from the Captain was his daily sea report at midday, which of course was when most passengers were ashore!

Still love Oceania and the Marina but thinking of looking at Viking Ocean for 2017, based purely on Itinerary choices.

[Silver Sweethearts]

I think that was definitely one factor. We did the 18 day Easter Island/French Polynesia cruise on Marina, and there were lots of complaints about the tendering. There are always complaints about tendering, of course (or at least dislike of it), but when you have a large number of people that have to tender, it's worse.

 

That is why a ship such as the Paul Gauguin is the best way to visit French Polynesia. The islands just aren't set up to handle the number of people trying to tender in all in one day from larger ships.

[Caroldoll]

We did discuss the smaller ships with management and O has made the decision to send the small ships to all the really nice ports. Marina and Riviera will mostly do Med and Caribbean. I am sad as I like the huge cabins on Marina and Riviera and I detest the solid balcony situation on the R ships...you can not see the view unless you stand up.

 

I agree, the service on Marina is much better than Riviera and I do believe that Management on that ship gives much more attention to detail.

 

I am sad to see Marina and Riviera shoved to those two itineraries. Oh well, all good things come to an end.

[Caroldoll]

I agree with you on this, but I have more to say. They have a more authentic feel to the experience. Once a person has done Gaugin..they will never look back. I did and I was sorry.