Just get of the Sirena, quick review.

[AtA]

Just now, LHT28 said:

thanks

 Some dishes have changed & some cooks should not be in the kitchen

We have had some  dishes that were not up to par  but for the most part  they are still many that are good

JMO

I'm glad to hear that as I'm going on Serina with my son in January. One thing I played up to him was how good the food is.

[Mura]

We haven't been unhappy with food on Oceania -- then again, our last cruise was May 2018.  Yes, of course, there have always been the occasional dish that disappointed!  But in general we were very happy with the food.

 

It has always been superior to the cruises we took on other lines -- even Queens Grill on the QE2 -- but I have to admit there haven't been that many, and not in recent years.  (After all the last QE2 cruise was in 2004.)

 

I do wish I hadn't had to cancel the April 2019 cruise (NY-Southampton) since I'd have a  more recent experience to relate!

 

Mura

[Hokapontas]

We came off a Sirena cruise of 17 days in early July.

I agree with the poster. Samey choices in the GDR (fruit cup I never ordered, ew), less choice in every restaurant and I will add, overcooked seafood (to a fault!) and cool food in the Terrace.

We had a Spanish night or two in the Terrace, and everything seemed as if it had been cooked at 4 in the morning and warmed slowly in the afternoon, nothing was pleasant. I was looking forward to it too.

We ate mainly in the GDR, and avoided seafood in the end. It was good, but it used to be a highlight, these days we get our thrills from itinerary, lovely staff and nice surroundings.

The ships tours were better than the last time we took one, 5 years ago.

The crowd was a discount set - a few times I saw them bringing open bottles of wine and glasses of drink from happy hour into restaurants. Streams of them. I hadn't seen that before!

I did love Sirena, but am holding off booking anything further. We will look at how things are sailing in 2021.

 

 

[Hawaiidan]

9 hours ago, Hokapontas said:

We came off a Sirena cruise of 17 days in early July.

I agree with the poster. Samey choices in the GDR (fruit cup I never ordered, ew), less choice in every restaurant and I will add, overcooked seafood (to a fault!) and cool food in the Terrace.

We had a Spanish night or two in the Terrace, and everything seemed as if it had been cooked at 4 in the morning and warmed slowly in the afternoon, nothing was pleasant. I was looking forward to it too.

We ate mainly in the GDR, and avoided seafood in the end. It was good, but it used to be a highlight, these days we get our thrills from itinerary, lovely staff and nice surroundings.

The ships tours were better than the last time we took one, 5 years ago.

The crowd was a discount set - a few times I saw them bringing open bottles of wine and glasses of drink from happy hour into restaurants. Streams of them. I hadn't seen that before!

I did love Sirena, but am holding off booking anything further. We will look at how things are sailing in 2021.

 

 

Hey  thats Spanish/Mexican.... it is what it is     Italian  not far behind...    A lot of passenger behavior has to do with where the ship is sailing and the time of the year . 

In 10 cruises I have found the cuisine  to be excellent....  some dishes better than others but always you had the ability to select what was best that day.    I prefer the Terrace for excellent seafood... as you get it hot and just right  it you work with the line cooks....    The Tuna steaks at Waves are fantastic

[LHT28]

I have mentioned this before & on my comment cards

not sure what the problem is with O  but they  cannot seem to serve  the food HOT unless you get it fresh off the grill

Even in the Terrace sitting in the pans  the food is luke warm at best

I am not sure they even have water pans or heat under the pans of food

JMO

 

[victory2020]

On ‎8‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 1:54 AM, Hokapontas said:

We came off a Sirena cruise of 17 days in early July.

I agree with the poster. Samey choices in the GDR (fruit cup I never ordered, ew), less choice in every restaurant and I will add, overcooked seafood (to a fault!) and cool food in the Terrace.

We had a Spanish night or two in the Terrace, and everything seemed as if it had been cooked at 4 in the morning and warmed slowly in the afternoon, nothing was pleasant. I was looking forward to it too.

We ate mainly in the GDR, and avoided seafood in the end. It was good, but it used to be a highlight, these days we get our thrills from itinerary, lovely staff and nice surroundings.

The ships tours were better than the last time we took one, 5 years ago.

The crowd was a discount set - a few times I saw them bringing open bottles of wine and glasses of drink from happy hour into restaurants. Streams of them. I hadn't seen that before!

I did love Sirena, but am holding off booking anything further. We will look at how things are sailing in 2021.

 

 

I don't understand how bringing a glass of wine into dinner is "discount"? I like to sip on wine while I look at the menu, and don't like to have to count on the waiter getting it to me when I want it in the dining room. 

[welshfamily]

I had hoped the original poster was incorrect or simply more picky then we are as a family re food. We have just completed 10 days on the Sirena. I have posted a review. The simple truth is the menus in the Grand Dinning room have changed considerably. Quality of everything except the beef was good. 

I agree with the poster who said Dinner used to be a highlight. Finding 3 courses to eat was difficult after the first few days as all items were repeated or continually on the menu. My husband likes to be serviced his evening meal so the Terrace is not an option. 

The speciality restaurants were excellent. However I would not count on extra reservations as the queues of people waitlisted everyday was incredible. Friends we made were in the two Owners suites and they couldn’t change one of their reservations and ended up eating in the main Dinning room.

However that’s  a story for them to tell.

As for eating off the ship, hard in the evening’s, as Oceania tends to sail at 6pm. We only had one night with a 10pm sail away.

[ricka47]

I suppose that we have to face the fact that no cruise line is as good as it was even 5 or 10 years ago.  Plus, perfection is not attainable at almost any cost.  We started cruising in 1993 and have stayed with the mainstream lines (RCI, X, DCL, HAL, Princess).  Not one has gotten better over the years; instead all have gone downhill.  This is most obvious in the MDR which often have beautiful surroundings and mediocre (at best) offerings.

 

Our first Oceania cruise is this October and we're hoping for an improved experience over what we have been having on the mainstream lines.  But, from reading some of the posts on CC since booking, our expectations certainly have dropped a bit and maybe that's a good thing.

[firsttimers68]

We were on the same cruise as the OP and I agree with everything that was said by them. 

[cruisesport]

Sirena has some wonderful itineraries for 2020 and 2021...I had planned to do a booking tomorrow.  Now holding off. If word spreads as it has here, there will be promos to fill that ship. However, here is only a small sampling of those sailing. Most are not reading CC and many are new.

 

 

[wripro]

5 hours ago, ricka47 said:

I suppose that we have to face the fact that no cruise line is as good as it was even 5 or 10 years ago.  Plus, perfection is not attainable at almost any cost.  We started cruising in 1993 and have stayed with the mainstream lines (RCI, X, DCL, HAL, Princess).  Not one has gotten better over the years; instead all have gone downhill.  This is most obvious in the MDR which often have beautiful surroundings and mediocre (at best) offerings.

 

Our first Oceania cruise is this October and we're hoping for an improved experience over what we have been having on the mainstream lines.  But, from reading some of the posts on CC since booking, our expectations certainly have dropped a bit and maybe that's a good thing.

Maybe no cruise line is what it was ten years ago but the others don't continue to advertise "the best food at sea."

[StanandJim]

14 minutes ago, wripro said:

Maybe no cruise line is what it was ten years ago but the others don't continue to advertise "the best food at sea."

All boats float on a common tide, high or low  😜

[victory2020]

I was on the HAL Veendam a couple of weeks ago & Sirena was in most ports with us. Since I am sailing her for the first time in December, I took the opportunity to ask passengers from her if they liked the ship. I really didn't hear any negative comments.

[sbrito]

We just got off the 10-day Sirena cruise as well and I have to say I loved every minute of it. Serving of cocktails could be a bit slow at times, and there wasn't a great variety in the MDR but I certainly never went hungry or displeased with the meal I was served.  It was our first Oceania cruise so have no basis of comparison but I will say that it certainly will not be our last Oceania cruise.  The service was amazing and the staff were always friendly and attentive.  The food in the specialty restaurants was terrific.  It was a wonderful experience through and through.   There will always be something to complain about on any cruise line you go on.  If you choose to focus on the wonderful as opposed to what you may consider to be sub par, you will have a tremendous experience! 

[bbqoug]

5 minutes ago, sbrito said:

We just got off the 10-day Sirena cruise as well and I have to say I loved every minute of it. Serving of cocktails could be a bit slow at times, and there wasn't a great variety in the MDR but I certainly never went hungry or displeased with the meal I was served.  It was our first Oceania cruise so have no basis of comparison but I will say that it certainly will not be our last Oceania cruise.  The service was amazing and the staff were always friendly and attentive.  The food in the specialty restaurants was terrific.  It was a wonderful experience through and through.   There will always be something to complain about on any cruise line you go on.  If you choose to focus on the wonderful as opposed to what you may consider to be sub par, you will have a tremendous experience! 

Good to hear.

Hopefully our experience on Sirena next April for our first O cruise will be similar.

 

This past April we were on our 2nd Azamara cruise. Other than having to fly home part way through due to a death in the family we were on course to have our best cruise ever. We were enjoying the food and service immensely. 

When I got home and started reading comments on CC by people on the same cruise, there were many complaints about the food and especially the service.

When I and a few others stated our views about our positive experiences, one of the people complaining said we were calling her a liar.

On the contrary, it just shows that different people on the exact same cruise can have vastly different experiences (or possibly perspective).

 

I will read other reviews about the Sirena with interest between now & then, but we will go into our cruise with a hopeful and positive attitude.

[cruisesport]

We will watch and see, we are on the insignia in dec and may then book the itinerary we were intending to book this wed on the Sirena. If reviews about Sirena continue to be negative or mixed at best, there may be promotions and by booking on the ship, we will get something extra most likely.

[firsttimers68]

On 8/20/2019 at 10:01 PM, sbrito said:

We just got off the 10-day Sirena cruise as well and I have to say I loved every minute of it. Serving of cocktails could be a bit slow at times, and there wasn't a great variety in the MDR but I certainly never went hungry or displeased with the meal I was served.  It was our first Oceania cruise so have no basis of comparison but I will say that it certainly will not be our last Oceania cruise.  The service was amazing and the staff were always friendly and attentive.  The food in the specialty restaurants was terrific.  It was a wonderful experience through and through.   There will always be something to complain about on any cruise line you go on.  If you choose to focus on the wonderful as opposed to what you may consider to be sub par, you will have a tremendous experience! 

I think most people do focus on the wonderful, I know we do! However that doesn't detract from the problems people have faced onboard. Sirena was below par, in comparison to other Oceania ships and I feel sorry for the staff who did their best under the circumstances.

[rrunner]

On 8/6/2019 at 11:39 PM, Mura said:

We haven't been unhappy with food on Oceania -- then again, our last cruise was May 2018.  Yes, of course, there have always been the occasional dish that disappointed!  But in general we were very happy with the food.

 

It has always been superior to the cruises we took on other lines -- even Queens Grill on the QE2 -- but I have to admit there haven't been that many, and not in recent years.  (After all the last QE2 cruise was in 2004.)

 

I do wish I hadn't had to cancel the April 2019 cruise (NY-Southampton) since I'd have a  more recent experience to relate!

 

Mura

We think the food on Oceania  surpasses all other cruise lines.  I have sailed approx 20 times with Cunard and many with Celebrity.  Oceania has superior  seafood and steaks.  We have not sailed Queens Grill however on Cunard.  

[Toranut97]

On 8/8/2019 at 3:54 AM, Hokapontas said:

 

The crowd was a discount set - a few times I saw them bringing open bottles of wine and glasses of drink from happy hour into restaurants. Streams of them. I hadn't seen that before!

I did love Sirena, but am holding off booking anything further. We will look at how things are sailing in 2021.

 

 

I didn’t think there was anything wrong with bringing your Beverages into the restaurants from the bars. In fact, waitstaff are usually there with trays to assist you. What a nasty snipe.

 

Donna

[ricka47]

25 minutes ago, Toranut97 said:

I didn’t think there was anything wrong with bringing your Beverages into the restaurants from the bars. In fact, waitstaff are usually there with trays to assist you. What a nasty snipe.

 

Donna

I guess that I am guilty of being part of the "discount set" (whatever that is).  I see nothing wrong with bringing a drink that you purchased elsewhere on board into a restaurant.

[StanandJim]

32 minutes ago, ricka47 said:

I guess that I am guilty of being part of the "discount set" (whatever that is).  I see nothing wrong with bringing a drink that you purchased elsewhere on board into a restaurant.

Nothing wrong with bringing a drink which you have not finished in., and as Toranut has mentioned the Bar  staff will happily transport those unfinished cocktails into the Dining Room  on trays.  

 

Another type of person arrives at the bar in the last 5 minutes of Happy hour to order three 241 Rounds as a method of getting around buying a bottle in the Dining Room. 

 

Again, nothing  illegal or immoral, just indicative of grasping sort of mindset.

Edited August 22, 2019 by StanandJim

[Phillygirl3]

Wow, I'm so confused by the negative comments and some positive regarding Sirena.  We are holding a cabin until I can do a little more research of the ports, but after reading some of the most recent comments, I am having seriously trepidations about going through with the booking.  I have relied heavily, in the past, on my fellow cruise critic posters and, for the most part, the postings have been on target.  If anyone has done any trips to India, UAE ports on Sirena, I would be interested in hearing feedback.  Thanking you in advance for your responses.

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, Phillygirl3 said:

Wow, I'm so confused by the negative comments and some positive regarding Sirena.  We are holding a cabin until I can do a little more research of the ports, but after reading some of the most recent comments, I am having seriously trepidations about going through with the booking.  I have relied heavily, in the past, on my fellow cruise critic posters and, for the most part, the postings have been on target.  If anyone has done any trips to India, UAE ports on Sirena, I would be interested in hearing feedback.  Thanking you in advance for your responses.

usually Nautica  does that route  & part of the RTW  cruises on Insignia   so maybe look in the review section  as well

[wripro]

On 8/20/2019 at 9:04 AM, StanandJim said:

All boats float on a common tide, high or low  😜

Not sure what that means but it sounds nice.

[Phillygirl3]

Thanks, LHT28, but this is the ship we have to take for this itinerary and for the date that is most convenient for us.