Sirena Review - Mexican Riviera

[curtdesilets]

We just got off this week from our 10 Day "Coasts and Canyons" cruise on the almost new Sirena. Here is a copy of my review just submitted this morning to Cruise Critic. Let me know your thoughts!

 

This was our third Oceania Cruise, our previous two being on Regatta to Alaska. We chose Oceania this time due to an excellent experience on Regatta last July. I will be concise here as compared to my previous reviews.

 

Overall I would rank this cruise a B+ on the school grading scale.

 

1) The Ship/Cabin: We never sailed the Sirena when she was a Princess ship, but the $50 million dollar upgrade looks well spent. Hard to believe it was a 17 year old ship. She is beautiful: New and better furniture, marble public Bathrooms. computer screens in the elevators. Nearly a carbon copy of Regatta, but quite a bit newer feeling. Beds and linens brand new. Still need to get used to the small cabins on R-ships, but the public areas are immaculate.

 

2) Dining: We may not be a good source for this. We ate exclusively @ the Terrace Cafe with a couple stops @ Waves Grill. I was told that the table service at the Grand Dining Room was quite long (slow). We typically eat dinner early (5-6 pm) so we decided not to wait. That being said, the Terrace was excellent with a great assortment of food cooked to perfection. The new Tapas selections were particularly wonderful. Waves was just okay; nothing spectacular. Reminded me of an upscale Dennys. Fries were great however.

 

We unfortunately did not reserve any specialty restaurants, and were going to wing it on board. Very difficult to get a seating this way as both restaurants were fully booked by the 3rd day of a 10 day cruise. I am sure if we pressed, we could have gotten a seating, but my wife was satisfied with just eating at the Terrace. Frankly, I was just as happy. After 25 cruises on several lines, in our experience, nothing compares to the food quality on Oceania in terms of buffets. It is astoundingly good. Most of the dishes in the Dining Room were served here as well, but it was warm and ready to eat instantly @ 630pm when Terrace opens. Rarely a crowd here for dinner.

 

3) Service: As always, Oceania excels in this department. No problems whatsoever. As we do eat early, out room stewardess and steward were right on the ball making up our room spotlessly in record time. Excellent. Bar Service and Terrace service were equally excellent.

 

4) Ports: We have done the Mexican Riviera many times, so nothing new here, except for La Paz which was really nice. If you go, check out the Whale Museum in the heart of the Melancon. We also went to their local Anthropology Museum and had a nice guided tour. We did somewhat boring excursions in Cabo and Ensenada. Ensenada has great wines in case you did not know.

 

5) Entertainment: The Activities Staff did wonderful with a somewhat grouchy crowd. The String Quartet and House Band were great. We listened to the quartet extensively. They are amazing. Afternoon Tea was also excellent, with the Quartet being the centerpiece. We missed most shows as we are early crashers Casino staff were wonderful. My wife actually won. The Enrichment lecturer was quite good and very professional.

 

Overall Expression: Sirena is not quite up to the par of Regatta, or perhaps the other O-ships. 90% excellent, but it was the little things. Something was lacking. The Cappuccino machines were sometimes malfunctioning or not being maintained. Towels were sometimes not available in the bathrooms. A public toilet or two was not flushable, as was ours once (they fixed it immediately). Water and soft drinks would be available for bingo, but no glasses (once). The bingo machine died halfway through the cruise. One of the early morning cleaning guys had significantly bad B.O. and he would clean the library while I was reading and leave a NASTY presence. I was not sure how to address that, but clearly the Hotel manager should do so or at least notice. Little things kept reminding me of a certain lack of attention to detail. Christmas cookies would be out along some displays, but the next morning empty plates and a disastrous spread of cookies was sitting there way too long. Little things like that. Even Dottie, the cruise director, wasn't as bubbly and nice as previously. Our fellow passengers consisted of a large number of whiners and complainers which sort of put a damper on our experience. The demographic on this particular cruise was a bit older than I expected. There was only one child on board.

 

Don't get me wrong; we had a GREAT cruise, but not the best cruise. Still, we got what we wanted: a nice relaxing 10 days off to relax, to do nothing and to overeat some outstandingly good food. We were well pampered and well satisfied. Sirena is only 6 months into her life as an O ship. Still working out the bugs I suspect.

[ORV]

Thanks for your review.

[LHT28]

Good review

 

We were in La Paz Many years ago & did tour museum there it was great way back then so probably better now

 

Too bad about the whiners that can take the wind out of even the most cheerful of people ;)

 

 

Lyn

[alexandra cruiser]

in 2 wks.

Did your s go to Mex.Grand Canyon,railroad, excursions?

What was weather like?

Was it colder by a lot on ocean during seadays?

[curtdesilets]

Good review

 

We were in La Paz Many years ago & did tour museum there it was great way back then so probably better now

 

Too bad about the whiners that can take the wind out of even the most cheerful of people ;)

 

 

Lyn

 

La Paz is Peaceful (tongue in cheek :rolleyes:). I have a buddy that retired there who loves it. We had an hour break in the middle of the tour and rather than shop, we went into the Whale Museum (Museo de La Ballena). Quite a TREAT! It too is brand new, as old as Sirena (6 months).

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g150771-d5932769-Reviews-Museo_de_La_Ballena-La_Paz_Baja_California.html

[curtdesilets]

in 2 wks.

Did your s go to Mex.Grand Canyon,railroad, excursions?

What was weather like?

Was it colder by a lot on ocean during seadays?

 

1) Our cruise unfortunately did not include the port for the train tour to Copper Canyon. I would love to do that one. But be forewarned, it is a long day. The excursion host said it was 18 hours total. It is definitely a bucket list item like Machu Picchu, but again, requires a bit of stamina.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrocarril_Chihuahua_al_Pac%C3%ADfico

 

Interesting Side Note! The concept of the railroad was officially recognized in 1880, when the president of Mexico, General Manuel González, granted a rail concession to Albert Kinsey Owen of the Utopia Socialist Colony of New Harmony, Indiana, USA, who was seeking to develop a socialist colony.

 

2) Weather was delightful, South of Ensenada. Lower to Mid 80's as a high, 60's as a low. First 2 days (Catalina and Ensenda) were a high in the low 60's. And yes the last Sea Day back North was COLD and Blustery.

 

3) You will have a GREAT time. Let me know how the train ride was!!

 

-Curt (OP)

Edited December 24, 2016 by curtdesilets
Sidenote

[Mura]

Had you really wanted a specialty reservation you should have pressed because you are GUARANTEED a number of slots at each restaurant, depending on your room category. Then again, we have often NOT used all our slots so I understand your being happy with Terrace. I definitely am not one to insist that by definition the specialty restaurants are better than anything else.

 

I remember when on Renaissance and we hadn't used our reservations, we'd get a call asking us if we wanted to make one. That's never happened on Oceania ... at least not to us!

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise in general.

 

 

Mura

[curtdesilets]

Had you really wanted a specialty reservation you should have pressed because you are GUARANTEED a number of slots at each restaurant, depending on your room category. Then again, we have often NOT used all our slots so I understand your being happy with Terrace. I definitely am not one to insist that by definition the specialty restaurants are better than anything else.

 

I remember when on Renaissance and we hadn't used our reservations, we'd get a call asking us if we wanted to make one. That's never happened on Oceania ... at least not to us! Glad you enjoyed your cruise in general. -Mura

 

I Would Have Pressed...however my wife wasn't feeling up for a sit down dinner. Too bad. I would have loved to tried both. It sounded from the Maitre D's position that the restaurants were already overbooked for some reason.

[Hawaiidan]

Good to hear We will be on her in 10 days for a 21 day to Tahiti.

 

I totally agree with you on the Terrace... some of the best meals I have had I got there. and as a plus you can see what menu item looks like and craft an entire meal around your whims My wife prefers it. Where else you get escargot, samosas prime rib,, and lobster with forest mushroom en croute finished up with apple strudel !!!

[Paulchili]

We were on the cruise with OP and I agree (mostly) with the review.

The "re-do" of Sirena did work out very well, IMO. She is updated in many areas and the more modern touches work well without conflicting with the overall feel of the R ships.

Red Ginger looks good and is as good as on the O ships. The Tuscan Steak is not quite as good as the 2 separate restaurants were, IMO.

The Jacques Bistro at lunch, while OK, was a disappointment from the Jacques on O ships. I love Jacques but with this Bistro I was just as happy to have lunch at the Waves or the Terrace - once or twice in the Bistro was enough for me.

We seldom eat in the MDR either for lunch or dinner - mostly the Terrace, Waves or specialties. MDR is good for long dinners with good friends when conversation is enjoyed by all; not quite as good with "strangers" when conversation can be more strained making the dinner extra long. JMO.

I am not sure if I want the other R ships to follow the dining changes on Sirena or stay the same.

For those visiting La Paz in the future do not miss the excursion with the whale sharks. Even if you do not snorkel, you can see them very well from the boat.

Overall a very nice and relaxing cruise.

[RJ2002]

3) Service: As always, Oceania excels in this department. No problems whatsoever. As we do eat early, out room stewardess and steward were right on the ball making up our room spotlessly in record time. Excellent. Bar Service and Terrace service were equally excellent.

 

Thanks very much for your review, and nice to hear the mostly favorable comments. We are considering a voyage on Sirena next year.

 

I do have one follow-up question. Some earlier reviews made mention of the fact that some of the crew were not proficient in English. I seem to recall that the Terrace was mentioned in particular. Did you find this to be the case on your cruise?

[Mura]

I'm not the OP but we were on Sirena in October and I didn't feel that some crew members were no proficient in English. Maybe we encountered different people ...

 

Mura

[alexandra cruiser]

and will dress accordingly. Sounds similar to weather here in FL.so no problem.Just a jacket and slacks for sea days. Will go to whale museum and taking tour to see them.

Only my DH is taking LONG train exc.,,I DID read how long it was and have afear of heights,,so not for me.Going on my own exc.there.

Will be on Regatta and already familiar with that ship, wouldn t go on Sirena because NO TUBS, even in PH,from what I see. Sorry, but a dealbreaker for me.

[curtdesilets]

and will dress accordingly. Sounds similar to weather here in FL.so no problem.Just a jacket and slacks for sea days. Will go to whale museum and taking tour to see them.

Only my DH is taking LONG train exc.,,I DID read how long it was and have afear of heights,,so not for me.Going on my own exc.there.

Will be on Regatta and already familiar with that ship, wouldn t go on Sirena because NO TUBS, even in PH,from what I see. Sorry, but a dealbreaker for me.

 

Weather can change however. We have had 3 days of storms and today is very windy and cold in Los Angeles. Seems that all of the Mexican Ports (other than Ensenada) have pretty stable weather this time of year. High in the 80's low in the 60's. It is actually HIGH Season for these resorts right now.

 

I am glad your hubby is doing the train ride. We are in a similar position and my wife would not do it but I would. Guys LOVE trains. It's genetic! :D

Edited December 24, 2016 by curtdesilets

[curtdesilets]

Thanks very much for your review, and nice to hear the mostly favorable comments. We are considering a voyage on Sirena next year.

 

I do have one follow-up question. Some earlier reviews made mention of the fact that some of the crew were not proficient in English. I seem to recall that the Terrace was mentioned in particular. Did you find this to be the case on your cruise?

 

Only the busboys and busgirls had very limited English. All of the servers and attendants were very proficient in English. Where I did have a hard time was an explanation of some of the dishes, in particular, the new TAPAS items. You WILL experience this (:confused: ) for sure in Terrace.

[easyboy]

Thank you for your objective and fair assessment.

 

 

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[curtdesilets]

We were on the cruise with OP and I agree (mostly) with the review.

The "re-do" of Sirena did work out very well, IMO. She is updated in many areas and the more modern touches work well without conflicting with the overall feel of the R ships...

For those visiting La Paz in the future do not miss the excursion with the whale sharks. Even if you do not snorkel, you can see them very well from the boat.

Overall a very nice and relaxing cruise.

 

I probably played some games with you Paul for those O points. We scored enough to get my DW a canvas bag. Great cruise overall, with a few glitches, which I had expected. Thanks for the Whale Shark suggestion. Next time for sure!! :)

[curtdesilets]

Thank you for your objective and fair assessment.

 

 

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Thanks for your objective and fair assessment of my assessment :p. I am not exactly a travel writer (I am a Chemist), but I do have some proficiency in all things CRUISE related. I organized our little Meet N Greet, and we actually had about 20 or so attend. What's funny is Dottie (CD) came by and we never really conferred with her about our planned meeting. She seemed overly concerned that we might make a bad assessment.

 

I take Cruise Critic another way. I like to see the positive aspects much more than the negative ones. To try to manage 400 staff from several different countries with limited English and perform to the standards upheld by the most demanding passengers, is not an easy task. I like to give credit whenever we have a great time on a cruise, which is always. Never had a BAD cruise. But there are things that can be addressed from time to time.

[Paulchili]

I probably played some games with you Paul for those O points. We scored enough to get my DW a canvas bag. Great cruise overall, with a few glitches, which I had expected. Thanks for the Whale Shark suggestion. Next time for sure!! :)

 

Yes - you probably did at trivia :)

It was a good cruise and the whale sharks were definitely a highlight.

[Hawaiidan]

Any O cruise on any O ship is better than not being on a O ship....

 

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

[tiller]

Thank you for your review!

[Jancruz]

We just got off this week from our 10 Day "Coasts and Canyons" cruise on the almost new Sirena. Here is a copy of my review just submitted this morning to Cruise Critic. Let me know your thoughts!

 

This was our third Oceania Cruise, our previous two being on Regatta to Alaska. We chose Oceania this time due to an excellent experience on Regatta last July. I will be concise here as compared to my previous reviews.

 

Overall I would rank this cruise a B+ on the school grading scale.

 

1) The Ship/Cabin: We never sailed the Sirena when she was a Princess ship, but the $50 million dollar upgrade looks well spent. Hard to believe it was a 17 year old ship. She is beautiful: New and better furniture, marble public Bathrooms. computer screens in the elevators. Nearly a carbon copy of Regatta, but quite a bit newer feeling. Beds and linens brand new. Still need to get used to the small cabins on R-ships, but the public areas are immaculate.

 

2) Dining: We may not be a good source for this. We ate exclusively @ the Terrace Cafe with a couple stops @ Waves Grill. I was told that the table service at the Grand Dining Room was quite long (slow). We typically eat dinner early (5-6 pm) so we decided not to wait. That being said, the Terrace was excellent with a great assortment of food cooked to perfection. The new Tapas selections were particularly wonderful. Waves was just okay; nothing spectacular. Reminded me of an upscale Dennys. Fries were great however.

 

We unfortunately did not reserve any specialty restaurants, and were going to wing it on board. Very difficult to get a seating this way as both restaurants were fully booked by the 3rd day of a 10 day cruise. I am sure if we pressed, we could have gotten a seating, but my wife was satisfied with just eating at the Terrace. Frankly, I was just as happy. After 25 cruises on several lines, in our experience, nothing compares to the food quality on Oceania in terms of buffets. It is astoundingly good. Most of the dishes in the Dining Room were served here as well, but it was warm and ready to eat instantly @ 630pm when Terrace opens. Rarely a crowd here for dinner.

 

3) Service: As always, Oceania excels in this department. No problems whatsoever. As we do eat early, out room stewardess and steward were right on the ball making up our room spotlessly in record time. Excellent. Bar Service and Terrace service were equally excellent.

 

4) Ports: We have done the Mexican Riviera many times, so nothing new here, except for La Paz which was really nice. If you go, check out the Whale Museum in the heart of the Melancon. We also went to their local Anthropology Museum and had a nice guided tour. We did somewhat boring excursions in Cabo and Ensenada. Ensenada has great wines in case you did not know.

 

5) Entertainment: The Activities Staff did wonderful with a somewhat grouchy crowd. The String Quartet and House Band were great. We listened to the quartet extensively. They are amazing. Afternoon Tea was also excellent, with the Quartet being the centerpiece. We missed most shows as we are early crashers Casino staff were wonderful. My wife actually won. The Enrichment lecturer was quite good and very professional.

 

Overall Expression: Sirena is not quite up to the par of Regatta, or perhaps the other O-ships. 90% excellent, but it was the little things. Something was lacking. The Cappuccino machines were sometimes malfunctioning or not being maintained. Towels were sometimes not available in the bathrooms. A public toilet or two was not flushable, as was ours once (they fixed it immediately). Water and soft drinks would be available for bingo, but no glasses (once). The bingo machine died halfway through the cruise. One of the early morning cleaning guys had significantly bad B.O. and he would clean the library while I was reading and leave a NASTY presence. I was not sure how to address that, but clearly the Hotel manager should do so or at least notice. Little things kept reminding me of a certain lack of attention to detail. Christmas cookies would be out along some displays, but the next morning empty plates and a disastrous spread of cookies was sitting there way too long. Little things like that. Even Dottie, the cruise director, wasn't as bubbly and nice as previously. Our fellow passengers consisted of a large number of whiners and complainers which sort of put a damper on our experience. The demographic on this particular cruise was a bit older than I expected. There was only one child on board.

 

Don't get me wrong; we had a GREAT cruise, but not the best cruise. Still, we got what we wanted: a nice relaxing 10 days off to relax, to do nothing and to overeat some outstandingly good food. We were well pampered and well satisfied. Sirena is only 6 months into her life as an O ship. Still working out the bugs I suspect.

 

I enjoyed reading your review but since I was on the same cruise do not agree 100% with several of your points..I did not find whiners and complainers on our cruise..just a lot of seniors with opinions..I also found Sirena to have one of the best staffs I have seen in my 35 Oceania cruises..I found Theirry the GM amazing and visible around the ship at all times. I found Dottie and Tom to be their usually happy selves..Matteo the concierge helped me several times..my cousin fell in Horizons and broke her arm and without Matteo and medical..I would not have been able to do anything..Thanks Matteo if you are reading this..

A few bugs I noticed I sent off to FDR and know they will taken care of promptly..

Looking forward to my Explorer in January (2 days) and Regatta (10 days) in April..

I did make the CC meeting but was a little late and you had already left..sorry we did not meet..

Happy Channukka and Merry Christmas to all!!

Jancruz1

[Jan.and.John]

Thanks for taking the time to review - we were on the Panama Canal cruise immediately preceding yours and agree with your Sirena assessment. I was expecting to NOT like Red Ginger but loved it - wish you'd had a chance to try it. I'd rather have Toscana and Polo, yet here we are with another Sirena cruise booked for next fall!

 

Hopefully we didn't wear Dottie out! She was wonderful on our cruise.

 

 

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[ronrick1943]

Curtdesilets, thanks for a honest and fair review-I think I'd take your opinions as a paying cruiser over others. I think most cruises have some whiners & complainers-you need to over look those type of people (they just wouldn't be happy if they didn't complain about something during the trip. I've only cruised "O" 8 times, then when over to SilverSeas, now we and a few friends are going to try Regent a sister of "O".

We've got 2 cruises booked so far in a Grand Suite for us, looking forward and if all goes well-we'll book the 3rd on the ship. Wanted to try something new, so we booked the Explorer and the Mariner. I think will book another "O" again in between---now that we're retired we can do the things we want a little more.

Keep writing you reviews when you cruise, it's great to hear what other think.

Rick

[Jancruz]

Curtdesilets, thanks for a honest and fair review-I think I'd take your opinions as a paying cruiser over others. I think most cruises have some whiners & complainers-you need to over look those type of people (they just wouldn't be happy if they didn't complain about something during the trip. I've only cruised "O" 8 times, then when over to SilverSeas, now we and a few friends are going to try Regent a sister of "O".

We've got 2 cruises booked so far in a Grand Suite for us, looking forward and if all goes well-we'll book the 3rd on the ship. Wanted to try something new, so we booked the Explorer and the Mariner. I think will book another "O" again in between---now that we're retired we can do the things we want a little more.

Keep writing you reviews when you cruise, it's great to hear what other think.

Rick

 

Glad to hear you are booked on Explorer it is supposed to be the most beautiful ship afloat....I can give you feedback when I return in January..was on Mariner in August and enjoyed very much, I am sure you will too..

Happy Holidays to all

Jancruz1