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December 11 Sirena cruise review

tiller

By tiller,
in Oceania Cruises

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tiller

tiller

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I know there's another review up here, but I hope no one minds a second one! I also submitted this to Cruise Critic.

 

Oceania Sirena Review

 

My mom and I were on the December 11, 10-day "Coast to Canyons" cruise on the Sirena. We traveled as part of a larger group. Other than a transatlantic cruise on the Queen Mary 2, Oceania is the highest-end cruise line either of us had been on. I was a bit nervous coming into the cruise, having read some negative reviews of the ship. However, overall it was one of the best cruises I've been on, especially for the food.

 

Embarkation and Debarkation: The Sirena was by far the smallest cruise ship I've ever been on—Holland America's Maasdam was the smallest until now. With only 599 passengers to board, and no other ship at the Port of Los Angeles on our first or last day, getting on and off the ship was incredibly easy. It took barely 20 minutes from the time our group was called on the last morning to having our luggage and waiting for the bus home.

 

The Ship: Sirena was incredibly easy to get around. You could walk from one end of the ship to the other in just a few minutes. One night we had dinner at Tuscan Steak on the 10th deck and didn't finish until 9:20, and we were down the elevator and across to the Sirena Lounge on the 5th deck just after 9:30 and in time for the show. Our cabin, Stateroom 6017, was right above the Sirena Lounge but we never heard any noise from there, even during one of the production shows. I also didn't notice any signs of wear and tear with the furnishings. All the chairs were very comfortable, though I would suggest having chairs that are slightly less heavy in the Sirena Lounge to make it easier to arrange them for trivia. The boutiques were small but we made good use of all our shipboard credit. I was surprised that they don't sell bottles of liquor in the boutiques to take home.

 

The Cabin: Ok, this is the one big issue I had. The cabins were just too small. I knew going in the bathroom would be tiny, and it was. And I know that Oceania couldn't do anything about the cabin size. However, it was still a huge shock to open the door and see how little room there was to move about. I lost count of how many times I walked into the beds or makeup table. We did have enough space for all our belongings, by using every drawer and hanger available to us. We also used the laundry facilities once, and they would be a must on a longer cruise. But the beds were incredibly comfortable, and our cabin attendant Zin and her assistant were fantastic. We also appreciated having a minibar.

 

The Passengers: Befitting the higher cost compared to most ships that sail out of Southern California, the passengers on the Sirena were largely older. I'm 43 and was probably in the bottom 10 percent in terms of age. There was one little girl traveling with her grandparents, but no other children. We had a good mix of different cruising experiences, from Carnival through Seabourn. People were by and large very friendly and dressed nicely for dinner. I still can't figure out what country club casual is, though.

 

The Food and Drink: The food on the Sirena was easily the best part of the cruise. There were a few items we didn't like as much—my mom was disappointed by her monkfish in the GDR one night, as was I with the roast chicken, and our entrees at Tuscan Steak were overdone—but those were rare missteps. It's too hard to list all the highlights, but some of the best meals and dishes we had were the miso seabass at Red Ginger, all the breakfast pastries in the GDR and Terrace Café, the ice cream at lunch and dinner, the veal Bolognese in the GDR, and the omelettes. And I must give a specific shout out to the holiday cookies they started putting out midway through the cruise. The cocktails and wine by the glass selection were also very good, though we weren't able to get Moscow Mules in the Horizons Lounge one night because they had already run out of ginger beer. My favorite drink wound up being a sparkling wine cocktail, the Hugo.

 

The Activities and Entertainment: I do wish there had been more activities on port days, especially because these are ports that the heavily West Coast crowd had likely visited numerous times. Morning trivia would be nice, or perhaps other choices beyond putting, shuffleboard, bean bag toss, and spa seminars. I did enjoy the lectures we attended on sea days. The bright side was I got a lot of reading done on the port days where we didn't take excursions. The nighttime entertainment was very good and high quality. My mom enjoyed being able to understand the production show singers, and Dale Kristien was excellent. After a two-hour dinner and show, we were too tired to go up to the Horizon Lounge, so I can't speak to that.

 

The Excursions: We took three excursions, one each in La Paz, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. I liked the La Paz tour, which mostly took us around the city, and the Puerto Vallarta excursion, which included a tour and tasting of a tequila factory. However, the Mazatlan excursion was disappointing. It was an hour shorter than scheduled, and the guide did not make it clear when we were in the Gold Zone. Also, both the Mazatlan and PV tours included long stops in jewelry stores. I would expect a little better from Oceania.

 

The Service: Next to the food, this was the best part of the cruise. It helped to have 400 crew members to 599 passengers. The staff was always very helpful without ever being obtrusive. I loved not being asked over and over again if I'd like something to drink. The staff at the Terrace Café was always on top of things. I thought being served at the buffet might be inefficient but it worked great. A special nod to Valentina, who was always really kind and helpful, and very generous with desserts.

 

The Value: I have never been on a cruise before, excluding a riverboat, where so much was included. No charge for coffee drinks, or for lobster, or for ice cream. It's hard to judge how much we saved compared to sailing on Princess or Carnival or Celebrity, because I wouldn't have indulged like this on those ships. However, given the level of service and all that's included, I think Oceania is a much better value than I anticipated. I don't know when the opportunity to sail with them again might arise but I would certainly consider it.

 

Overall, I would give the Oceania Sirena very high marks but perhaps wouldn't mind trying an Oceania ship with larger cabins next time.

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Paulchili

Paulchili

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Thank you for your full and objective review.

We were on that cruise as well and I agree in general with your observations.

Also with your shout out to Valentina :D

To get a larger cabin you may have to move up to a PH. The larger ships have veranda cabins that appear larger but I am not sure that they actually are.

The bathrooms though are much nicer and a bit larger. Also, they have 4 specialty restaurants which I think does make a big difference for us as Jacques (different from the Bistro on Sirena) is my favorite and separate Toscana and Polo are better than Tuscan Steak, IMO.

Do try the larger ships if you get a chance.

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Wol

Wol

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Thank you for your full and objective review.

We were on that cruise as well and I agree in general with your observations.

Also with your shout out to Valentina :D

To get a larger cabin you may have to move up to a PH. The larger ships have veranda cabins that appear larger but I am not sure that they actually are.

The bathrooms though are much nicer and a bit larger. Also, they have 4 specialty restaurants which I think does make a big difference for us as Jacques (different from the Bistro on Sirena) is my favorite and separate Toscana and Polo are better than Tuscan Steak, IMO.

Do try the larger ships if you get a chance.

 

I fully agree about separate Toscana and Polo.

 

We are not fans of Red Ginger and to my surprise - because I had assumed otherwise - something like 30% of people I talk to are of the same opinion. We usually make reservations - because we can - and then exchange them onboard for the other(s).

 

On the small ships Toscana and Polo have great ambiance, and menus.

 

To attempt to make the small ships like the big ones is IMO a huge mistake. The Tuscan restaurant is neither of the "combined" ones: the decor is unfriendly and the menu is a very poor replacement for them. Gone is the "big cheese", many of the items we enjoyed and the experience is, sadly, just not the same. I know that most of the staff agree.

 

Oceania seems set on refitting the other three in the same way: I just hope that they get enough feedback to abandon this experiment. If it ain't broke.....

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LHT28 Holiday Sharing Rare

LHT28

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good review

 

Mini bar???

The other ships have mini fridges they did away with the alcoholic beverages in them a few years back ...hope they are not bringing that feature back

 

Cabins yes they small but some research before you booked would have brought out how small the bathrooms are

Try a PH or one of the O class ships if you sail on Oceania again

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Paulchili

Paulchili

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I fully agree about separate Toscana and Polo.

 

We are not fans of Red Ginger and to my surprise - because I had assumed otherwise - something like 30% of people I talk to are of the same opinion. We usually make reservations - because we can - and then exchange them onboard for the other(s).

 

On the small ships Toscana and Polo have great ambiance, and menus.

 

To attempt to make the small ships like the big ones is IMO a huge mistake. The Tuscan restaurant is neither of the "combined" ones: the decor is unfriendly and the menu is a very poor replacement for them. Gone is the "big cheese", many of the items we enjoyed and the experience is, sadly, just not the same. I know that most of the staff agree.

 

Oceania seems set on refitting the other three in the same way: I just hope that they get enough feedback to abandon this experiment. If it ain't broke.....

 

FWIW - the "big cheese" is still there but a lot of other things are missing indeed :)

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LHT28

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By minibar I did mean the mini fridge--just non-alcoholic beverages. Sorry for any confusion!

 

I did know ahead of time how small the bathrooms were, but wasn't expecting the cabin as a whole to be so small.

I recommend "new to Oceania" cruisers mark out the size of the cabin in an area of their home

165 sq ft approx 9.5' wide x 17 ft long

in that put a bathroom, sofa, queen bed, desk, small table & chair & closets

 

reality check on cabin size :eek:

There are photos on the website of the layout

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Paulchili

Paulchili

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OMG -- thank goodness the "big cheese" is still there.

But I heard that they threw Olive Oyle overboard :D

 

Yes, they did :D

But I always had butter instead with all that delicious bread (and the roasted garlic) - so no loss for me :)

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