Oceania Marina review from a first timer on O

[Gardendog]

There have been several reviews of the Marina 7 day cruise February 18 to 25 and I am now adding my 2 cents worth.

 

DH and I have been on a cruise a year since the early 2000, and have cruised a few times with Regent, a few times with HAL, a few times with Azamara, and once with both RCCL and Windstar, so even though we are new to O, we are not new to this type of cruise.

 

We had originally booked a veranda cabin but got offered an upsell a few weeks before we set sail and when the price was right for us, we jumped and accepted the PH1 suite.

 

Embarkation was swift, and since we were onboard early we decided to try our luck and get a La Reserva reservation. We were lucky enough to get one and also a first night meal at Polo. This way I could use my OBC for the meal.

 

We were able to go to our suites at 1 sharp, met our butler and our luggage came before 3. I don't think I have ever received my luggage that early on any cruise. Usually I'm just happy to get it.

 

We enjoyed the complementary sparkling wine as we quickly unpacked and had no problem finding room in the spacious walk in closet for our clothes, even though I did not travel light.

 

After the muster we went to Horizon to listen to the band and dance. It was not crowded there and the dance floor was pretty empty so there was plenty of room to do our turns. We were very impressed with the Marina band and the small Ardor group that played most evenings during cocktail hour. Besides Regent, this was the best cruise for dancers that we have been on. Nice, varied dance music. I was searching the O board for information about this and there was very little. If you like dancing, latin and ball room, O is the cruise for you!

 

Dinner in Polo was great, we had signed up for a shared table but the others did not show up, so we sat at a four top all by ourselves. We had brought onboard several good bottles of wine and we had the butler send one up for this night. We paid corkage and were served well.

I would like to mention that I really appreciated that the sommeliers only served us our wine, did not ask if we were sharing with the whole table, this is for when we shared tables later on.

 

The bed in the suite was wonderful and we had a good night's sleep

[Gardendog]

Day 2 Key West

We had been to Key West before, but it's a lovely place to visit. After room service coffee, we went to the Terrace for breakfast. It was crowded with lines for the eggs. It was also difficult to find a spot to sit, and it did not seem as if people were sharing tables, but we found a spot. My eggs were cooked just right, just don't like to stand in long lines, and later in the cruise I figured out that they will make my eggs in Waves, give me a numbered sign to put on my table and the waiter from Waves will find me and deliver my eggs to me, Yeah!

 

I had downloaded a walking tour of historical houses in Key West so that is what we did, followed the walking instructions and saw all these cute houses and learned a bit about their history. I also did some shopping there.

 

Tonight was the Captain's welcome party. After reading here on CC, I thought it would be packed and we would not get a seat if we were not there early, but that is not how it was on this cruise. We found a lovely spot by the window and there were plenty of seats to be had.

 

From CC we learned that we could have any drink we desired, not just the drinks they offer you, so we ordered our drinks at the bar. Music was good, and we danced and were joined by another dancing couple, which was fun. We dined with them in the GDR, and went back for more dancing. Many people joined and it was a fun evening.

 

I forgot to mention that we did see the show the first night, it was a show by the singers and dancers. Some of those "kids" also danced late at night, teaching us some new line dances.

[Gardendog]

Day 3 Sea Day

Lovely day! DH worked out in the work out room, one of the ellipticals was broken, so he had a short wait. I have noticed that the work out room is usually very busy in the beginning of a cruise, but is quite empty at the end . . . .

 

I ran and walked on the track up on top in the aft, 10 laps is a mile, by running two and walking two, it's easier to keep track of how far you have gone. It was windy and after 3 miles, I called it quits. It was nice going by the croquet are and the shuffle board are, one of these days I want to learn shuffle board.

 

Breakfast was busy again, but perhaps this was the day I discovered Waves.

 

We come from a cold Wisconsin winter and we were anxious to get a spot on the Spa terrace, but it was slim pickings. People were very good at saving spots for random folks who might or might not show up during the day. We had our balcony so we were able to be outside, and later on we found some spots. We were never on the pool deck, so I have no idea how the service is there, but on the Spa Terrace, there was no service at all. There was a beverage cart just inside so I could get a soda or ice water. This is probably deliberate, for a more tranquil experience.

 

We made it to tea this day. What a lovely experience. I did not indulge but the wait staff offered me over and over and it all looked so beautiful. The string quartet played as we drank our tea and ate our goodies. They do serve tea daily, but we only went this once. I think it is a lovely tradition and I hope that they continue.

 

This was the night of the CC meet and greet which one of the CC members arranged and another hosted. It was lovely. Thank you so much for hosting, and thank you for arranging. I forgot your handles, but you know who you are.

 

Dinner was in Jacques and it was lovely. We really enjoyed the meals on this cruise. We shared the table and enjoyed our dinner companions. No show tonight but we did go dancing, so that made it a good evening.

Edited March 3, 2017 by Gardendog
adding

[Robjame]

Lovely! Thank you for this.

[Queen of DaNile]

Thanks for sharing your impressions. Sounds like you enjoyed your cruise and will be back on Oceania someday :)

[Toranut97]

I always look forward to reviews by first timers! Very nice to hear your insights.

 

Adding that we never even bother with the spa terrace after the first cruise where we tried, several times. Exasperating and simply impossible to get in.

 

So happy you seem to have had fun!

 

Donna

[LHT28]

I guess the word is out on the spa deck :D

Never had an issue getting a seat there but we do not spend all day up there

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise

[HeatherInFlorida]

I loved reading your review! Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I especially loved reading all the things you did that I couldn't. I feel sure we met at the wonderful CC get together party ... one of the best I've ever attended thanks to James for hosting and Lois for getting all our information. I thought her personal invites sent to our cabins was such a nice touch.

 

This was to be our last cruise because as we age I just feel I don't have the energy to do all that I want, but even doing nothing on Oceania was so wonderful that we just booked Riviera on 12/2.

[Gardendog]

Day 4 Harvest Key Belize

 

Since Harvest Key is such a new port, there was very littleinformation about this port on Cruise Critic, at least for O cruisers, so Iwant to share our experience there.

 

 

It was an absolutely gorgeous island, we were lucky enoughto be there on a sunny day. We were not quite sure if we would be able to useour OBC for activities on the island but decided to try to do so. We broughtcash just in case. We did not bring our snorkeling gear since I had read thatthe snorkeling was non-existent on this island.

 

 

It was a long but pleasant walk from the ship to the island,but we could have used the ride that goes back and forth. I needed the steps,so we walked.

 

 

There were lots and lots of lounges on the beach and manyclamshells. I decided to ask how much the clam shells were to rent for the day,and the young men running the beach activities said that it was free, just signup and give your state room number, get a clam shell and you are good to go. Sowe did. Next I asked about the electric boats and the kayaks, I got the sameanswer. I was hoping to use the Stand up paddle boards, (SUP), but they werenot available for O cruisers?!?!?

 

 

In addition to these activities there was Zip-lining, but Idid that last year in Costa Rica and I have pictures to prove it, didn’t buy at-shirt, but don’t have to do it again. Also a ride they called Superman whereyou were attached to the back and flew like Superman along a zip-line over thebeach. I did not feel the need to do that either. As we drove the electric boatalong the small lagoon, we saw a ropes course as well, I did not see anyone onit, just the helpers, but we went out early in the morning. I was also concernedabout where to put our belongings (money, phones etc) when swimming, but therewere lots of lockers. Again, you just needed to sign up, got the token and itwas easy to store your belongings. These lockers were then just a one time use,you needed another token to lock it again.

 

 

The area for the electric boats and the kayaks (and I gatheralso the SUPs) was very small. The flora was recently planted, but it was sobeautiful.

 

 

We went back to the ship for lunch and to pick up oursnorkeling gear. We swam and snorkeled but saw zero fish. We saw more jumpingfish on the electric boat. There were dolphins just outside the lagoon.

 

 

Servers were walking around selling drinks. No othervendors. There were places to eat as well. We just walked by the pool areawhere there was a swim up bar. The pool was big and had a small waterfall inthe middle.

 

 

We went on this cruise just to get away from winter. Lasttime in Belize we did the cave tubing and the ATV in the jungle and saw Belizecity, so we were happy with this excursion. I have not been to many privateislands, but this one was at the top!

 

 

I decided to ask at the reception if I did incur anyexpenses on the island, but the fellows were correct, it was all “free”(included). I don’t know if people who bought these excursions in advance hadto pay. I did not ask them, did not want to rock the boat, HA.

 

 

The night before this excursion, we were supposed to put a card on the bed if we needed beach towels. We did, and got the beachtowels, one each. They were small and if you went swimming and needed to dryoff, there was not an extra to put on the lounge chair. O could improve on this.

 

 

 

In the evening we had cocktails and danced to the wonderfulMarina Orchestra. We had dinner in Polo, this was the originally scheduled reservation.We saw the production show. It was good.

[globevest]

Thank you for a well written and informative revie.

[Gardendog]

Thank you for your kind remarks. I typed all this in Word, for ease of editing, but as I copied it and pasted it here, the formatting was changed, thus no spaces between some words (probably where there was a new line in Word.) It makes it more difficult to read that way, I will proof more closesly as I continue to paste from my Word docs here.

 

Yes, Heather in Florida, I met you at the CC meet and greet. It was lovely. What an opportunity we all had.

[Gardendog]

Day 5 Roatan

We had scheduled a private tour this day, and had to be meeting our driver within three hours of coming to port, so we ordered room service. It came right on the dot and was just what we had ordered.

 

There were so many ships in port so we had to be tendered. First the CD said that the organized tours would leave first and then non tour passengers could leave on the tender, but after a little bit the CD made an announcement that there was a lull in the tendering for the groups, and individuals could go. We got our tender tickets and waited in the marina lounge for our color to be called.

 

We had scheduled a best of Roatan tour with deep water snorkeling, but the weather was not cooperating with very windy conditions so we were not able to go out in a boat. Instead we drove around and looked at the island, saw lots of beautiful new construction and very poor areas as well. The driver took us to a “store” that he really wanted us to visit, Hmm.

 

We went to a place where there were not supposed to be any vendors, Halfmoon Bay, paid our $10 each for a lounge chair on a small rock or pad, not a beach at all. This was also supposed to be a good snorkeling location, but again, the weather did not cooperate, and we saw zero fish. LOL In addition, there were a few vendors asking us to buy things, not a constant stream, but enough.

 

This was not our favorite excursion at all. We had been to Roatan before, last time was very nice, this time, not so much.

 

This evening was the repeaters’ party and since it was our first cruise with O, we were not invited, so no dancing today.

 

We had purchased the La Reserva dinner for this evening and at 6:50, our butler escorted us to the dining venue. We sat with some very nice other guests and the meal and wine pairings were great. One of our dinner companions only ate vegan food and the chef was able to make all his dishes look similar to the rest of ours. Our dinner companion was pleased. They must have misunderstood my restrictions, but I am used to picking in my food, eating what I can, so it was OK. This was one of the best meals, due to our companions. One of the couples had made a reservation for earlier in the week,but that one got canceled since 12 people canceled together, so this one couple rescheduled for this evening.

 

We attended the show and later in Horizon, one of the cast members, Caleb, had his own show. We attended and listened to him sing. He was great.

[HeatherInFlorida]

........

Yes, Heather in Florida, I met you at the CC meet and greet. It was lovely. What an opportunity we all had.

 

I thought I remembered you especially because you had come so far. Yes, we were very lucky to have such a lovely evening and it was fun meeting the people from Cruise Critic. I'm waiting for a review from Erica. Thanks again for this review. Fun to read your perspective.:)

[Queen of DaNile]

Thank you for the detailed review of the "new" Harvest Caye. It certainly does give one a good idea what to expect. Appreciate the tip on the electric boats as we were thinking about reserving one in advance - now we will wait until we get there. :cool:

[Gardendog]

Day 6 Costa Maya

This day we had scheduled a private tour to Chacchoben Ruins. It was a half day tour and very interesting.

 

When we came back, after lunch, we went to the Spa terrace and found room for us. Yeah!

 

Cocktails and dancing, dinner at Red Ginger, show in Marina lounge and then to bed.

 

Day 7 Sea day

 

DH worked out in the gym, much less crowded than earlier in the cruise. I ran and walked on top of the ship, windy again. Spent most of the day on the Spa Terrace, and tried to find something to buy to use up the OBC. I succeeded. It’s not that difficult. :DOur OBC were used for gratuities, La Reserva, cocktails most nights and corkage. There was some left so I came home with something new to wear.

 

I packed early, don’t want that hanging over me the whole day, and it’s so much easier to pack going home than coming. We brought way too much stuff! Almost a whole suitcase full of things we did not wear. Have to do better next time.

 

We had cocktails and danced to the Marina Show Band in Horizon. Again, we really liked and appreciated the music in the Horizon lounge. The bartenders and wait staff there were great.

 

We had reservations in Toscana this evening, and opened our last nice bottle of wine. It was a shared table and we enjoyed our dinner companions.

 

We saw the Broadway show, singing and dancing and Le Miz! We don’t do Karaoke, so we went to bed early, and put our suitcases out before we went to bed.

 

Disembarkation Day

 

We got up early, and went to the Grand Dining room for breakfast. We saved the best for last! We got a window table and Julio from India was our waiter. Wow is all I can say! I guess he also works in Toscana, but he was the best waiter during our entire cruise. “Would you like to start with some fresh berries?”

 

I had no sense of them wanting to shoo us off the ship. Instead he served us the whole time, refilling our coffee cups. It was all very civilized.

 

We were off at 8:45, and having Global Entry, we got to go to the front of the line. There is no designated line for Global Entry, but when we asked, they did let us go first.

 

We had a late afternoon flight so we had rented a car for the day. A short Uber ride later found us at a car rental place on Miami beach. We made our way slowly up the road towards the airport in FLL, stopping to shop along the way.

 

Final thoughts

 

Our butler and house keeping staff were great, Antony and Anna and crew. Officers and crew were polite and greeted us at all times. The ship was clean and well maintained. It was a pleasant cruise. The food was delicious, we really enjoyed the “specials”.

 

Because we had made reservations for all 4 of them and added La Reserva, it meant that we had reservations at a scheduled time almost every night. On a longer cruise, we would have had some more “free nights” when you eat when you want to that night. It turned out to be almost like a cruise with set dining except that it was at slightly different times of the evening and with new table mates every night.

 

With the right itinerary and price we would go back to Oceania.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thank you again for writing about your experience. We loved it too and just booked a 10-night Riviera 12/2:). You've given me so ideas for things to enjoy next time that we skipped this time.

 

 

It was fun meeting you and talking with you. Unfortunately I came home to Strep and an Upper Respiratory Infection so my TKR surgery had to be canceled today. Best laid plans!!

[Gardendog]

All the best for your surgery Heather in Florida, and have a wonderful cruise later on in the year.

[easyboy]

Thank you for sharing your experience.

[J80crew]

Thank you for sharing the information about dancing. We are dance lovers (ballroom, Latin, and swing) about to take our first Oceania cruise this fall on Riviera. One of the things we like about Celebrity, which has been our line of choice, is the opportunity to dance to some really good bands both before and after dinner (especially on the Millenium class ships with the Rendezvous lounge), and I was concerned that we might not find something equivalent on Riviera. It sounds as though I needn't worry. I'm so glad I found your post; it's difficult to find reviews that mention ships' dance venues and the quality of the music for ballroom. We dancers should start a forum to rate various ships and bands.

[happy cruzer]

Thanks for including some great details. Someone had asked earlier about dancing on another thread and I think I mentioned Horizons but you have recent experience. Very helpful.

 

Also the details about your wine service were helpful. Sounds like you had a very good wine steward. We too hate to asked if we are sharing the wine. How many glasses works fine. Did you get the proper glasses for your wine? If you don't mind sharing details about Red Ginger, what wine did you pair with the food there?

 

The private island description is much appreciated as well.

 

Again, thank you very much.

[ronrick1943]

Nice report, thanks for taking the time-enjoyed.