Recent Marina Reviews-Disappointing?

[welshfamily]

We have recently booked our 3rd cruise with Oceania. This time on the Rivera. Our first cruise on the Insigna ( August 2018), in need of a refit, was excellent. There were issues, mainly around getting drinks in the Terrace at Lunch, but on balance the cruise was as good as any we had taken. 5* review, not that I wrote one. 

Our second cruise on the Sirena ( August 2019) newly refurbished, was just not good from start to finish. Many things were different. Boarding was ...... an ordeal!!!!

 The Menu’s in the GDR  had reduced, the Sommelier told us none of the included wines in the premier drinks package were drinkable and it was just as difficult to get a drink in the Terrace at Lunch time. To top all this we had ‘the meal from helll’ one night in the GDR. 

However, the  Maitre de , listened and not only told us, 6adults, he would deal with the member of staff concerned but did everything he could to make sure our next night in the GDR was the best experience possible. 3* review, again not written. 

As you can see we are going with Oceania again. 

Our reasoning. We had a good time on both cruises. All the issues were with Staff. Even the best establishments have staff who should find a different career.

 Michelin restaurants have bad days, if wine Quality is an issue ( makes us cross ) we can buy better bottles or pay corkage, after all we get our moneys worth just from the other drinks we enjoy though the day. The ports are good, the dates perfect,  the price is right and Oceania staff did try to right the wrong. The food was of excellent quality, only the choice had changed.  We fancy trying the slightly bigger ship. 

All lines are cutting back. Cruising is not the same today as even 10 years ago. 

We still love to  cruise. 

 

 

 

 

[rainyday458]

We were told that NCL had bought the line a couple years ago and had started changing the quality of food and service.

if this is incorrect I will go back to the source for an explanation.

[StanandJim]

5 minutes ago, rainyday458 said:

We were told that NCL had bought the line a couple years ago and had started changing the quality of food and service.

if this is incorrect I will go back to the source for an explanation.

Please tell your "source" that although NCL did buy Oceania, they very quickly placed our CEO  into their top executive spot.

Oceania is his  pet project and chief claim to fame.  

Mr. Del Rio keeps a very close watch on Oceania quality and service, and has the clout to keep it high.  

 

In short, don't believe everything that you read-

[pinotlover]

To be completely fair, NCL bought PCH which primarily consisted of Oceania and Regents. That sales price was fairly heady and now the former PCH lines have to perform well enough, on a ROI basis to justify that purchase price, or the stockholders will hold the aforementioned current CEO accountable.Adding to those initial costs have been significant ongoing costs to bring portions of that fleet to more competitive levels. Everything happens in degrees. The source isn’t totally wrong, just perhaps not totally correct. Everything isn’t black or white.

[StanandJim]

Oh I don't know, RCI, for example has been trogging along with the (mostly) disappointing ROI figures of Azamara for nigh onto two decades at this point.

Everything, it seems, cannot be measured on a balance sheet-

 

[ranchcruiser]

We have just returned from 18 day cruise on Marina.  We had an awesome experience, but there were some areas we were not happy with.  This was our third cruise on O and our 40th cruise altogether.

 

On previous O cruises we LOVED the bed.  So much so that after this cruise we were going to purchase two of them.  This cruise the bed was NOT too good.  We will not be purchasing any now.  Cabin attendant seemed overworked, but she did her best and it was always clean and tidy.  Room service was great as was the food.

 

We were disappointed with Jaques.  I will probably get blasted for this, but to us the food was just so so.  Nothing special.  Chef Pepin would NOT be happy!!!!  We spoke with other passengers that agreed.  We did enjoy the other two specialty restaurants.  

 

Ship seemed understaffed in some areas.  We had to flag down servers in Horizons Lounge to get more wine often.  The music was great in the bar by the casino and also in Horizons.  

 

We enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of Oceania and did enjoy the buffet, but it was often very crowded and hard to find a table.  We enjoy being able to stay informal and go there and not have to dress up for dinner.  We did that often.

 

Overall the O experience just seemed a little off for us.  We are presently looking at other luxury lines.

 

 

[petcoke]

If you look at the last 25 reviews Oceania comes out with 3 star av, in the past it would have been 4/5 star ???

[ranchcruiser]

2 hours ago, petcoke said:

If you look at the last 25 reviews Oceania comes out with 3 star av, in the past it would have been 4/5 star ???

 

We hope Oceania is looking at this decline!!!!  We started out sailing many years ago on RCCL, Princess and then moved to Celebrity and watched them keep lowering their standards!!!  That is why we moved to O.  Now they seem to be doing the same dang thing!!!!

[Wishing on a star]

I just looked at the reviews on Marina, and punched in the last 30 reviews.  Unless I did something incorrectly, the average review is 3.2.     That is eye-opening.

 

I think I will do the same for the Regal Princess (our last cruise) and see how that comes out.

 

I do know that I am NOT a fan of NCL.

News of people not able to cancel cruises in Asia right now???
Too many stories like that of passengers not being given the necessary treatment and respect.

 

Edited February 4, 2020 by Wishing on a star

[Paulchili]

3 hours ago, ranchcruiser said:

 

We hope Oceania is looking at this decline!!!!  We started out sailing many years ago on RCCL, Princess and then moved to Celebrity and watched them keep lowering their standards!!!  That is why we moved to O.  Now they seem to be doing the same dang thing!!!!

 

28 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

I just looked at the reviews on Marina, and punched in the last 30 reviews.  Unless I did something incorrectly, the average review is 3.2.     That is eye-opening.

 

I think I will do the same for the Regal Princess (our last cruise) and see how that comes out.

 

I do know that I am NOT a fan of NCL.

News of people not able to cancel cruises in Asia right now???
Too many stories like that of passengers not being given the necessary treatment and respect.

 

I would suggest that if either or both of you are before the penalty phase just cancel the Oceania cruise. It sounds like you are going to be anxious all the way up to the cruise and have already decided that you will not like it.

JMO.

[Wishing on a star]

I had edited to add that the other average rating came up to about 4.2.  But, the system had timed out!!!!

 

(And, while I don't like to engage in personal side conversations,  I do like to discuss relevant facts and insight.  Paul,  be assured that I will give your opinion the appropriate amount of consideration.)

 

 

[Wishing on a star]

 

Ranchcruiser,  about the bed....

I would guess (and hope) that the beds on Marina are at their best-used-by date, and will be replaced during the upcoming refurb.   I will be watching for any info on that!

 

PS:  Princess beds have been notoriously BAD.    The beds on the Regal are the very last ones to be be replaced with the new Princess Bed.  They were supposed to have been replaced some time ago, but this is just now being completed.  They have been putting all of their money in to new ships, while ignoring the basic need of a decent bed on the Regal.   To top that off,  their slogan has been "Come back new". (refreshed). Hahahahaha!!!!

 

[ORV]

I would guard against making assumptions based on a few reports here. 
 

Truly, there is no comparison between Princess & Oceania. 
 

Perhaps when you get back from your cruise you could give us your take on it. 

Edited February 5, 2020 by ORV

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

Truly, there is no comparison between Princess & Oceania.

Just disembarked from Princess- truer words were never spoken. 😀

Edited February 5, 2020 by Paulchili

[Mura]

I was surprised to see the critical comment about beds on Oceania.  True, it's a while since we sailed ... but our beds were always super comfortable.  Perhaps they ARE ready for replacement ... I can't argue about that.  But with the upcoming refurb, I'm sure this would be one of the first issues to be addressed.

[Shawnino]

On 2/4/2020 at 9:57 PM, Mura said:

I was surprised to see the critical comment about beds on Oceania.  True, it's a while since we sailed ... but our beds were always super comfortable.  Perhaps they ARE ready for replacement ... I can't argue about that.  But with the upcoming refurb, I'm sure this would be one of the first issues to be addressed.

 

Maybe it's just me but I would think bedding would be equally/more subjective than food.

 

Our mattress at home is marketed as "Rock of Gibraltar". It's softer than the floor, but might not be softer than a really plush carpet on floor.  The upshot is that no hotel/ship/guest-bedroom mattress will ever remind us of home. 

I would bet other people have their own Goldilocks Zones for mattresses as well.

Life goes on for us (what would we do, never travel?), but maybe for some, the differences in firmness are just too egregious.

[Mura]

Yes, you're right.  Beds are as equally subjective as food.  At the same time, I've seen so many comments on CC about how great the beds are with almost never a negative comment.  Maybe I was reading the wrong posts?  We have a relatively hard mattress at home, too, but I do prefer Oceania's.  I'm not insisting that everybody else think they are fabulous.  Clearly not everyone will.

 

It's hard to tell if a complaint about the mattresses is based on personal preference or indeed they need to be replaced.  I wonder how often Oceania DOES replace them ...

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We just got off the Island Princess after a 25 day cruise to Easter Island and very much enjoyed the semi-firm mattress in our aft-facing Vista Suite. Now, I realize we paid over $375 pp/day (before perks and TA discounts), so one would expect a quality night's sleep when paying that much for a cruise. We also enjoyed having great Internet service pretty much the whole trip, even on our balcony, except when it got slow for about a day when cruising through the "no shipping lane zone" between Easter Island and mainland Chile out in the middle of nowhere.

 

But I will say the food in the Island's MDR was only so-so when compared to that on Oceania. OTOH we never got heartburn from the Princess food and I lost 3 pounds, so for us those are good things!

[ORV]

I was always under the impression that a quality mattress lasts quite a few years. And Oceania's mattresses are quality mattresses. I have a Stearns and Foster that is approaching 15 years old that is still in good shape and quite comfortable, and I find the Oceania mattresses more comfortable. I'm pretty sure Marina nor Riviera are close to 15 years old. 

I realize there are different people in the rooms all the time but shouldn't a quality mattress get quite a few years use out of it? Why should different people sleeping in a bed cause any more wear and tear than me sleeping in my bed every night? I could see how suitcases being thrown on the beds and loaded and unloaded on a regular basis could cause wear, but really how much. 

 

Mass market flat slabs of foams on metal frames are no comparison at all to the mattresses that Oceania uses. I can see how the former would wear out much faster. 

[LHT28]

10 minutes ago, ORV said:

I was always under the impression that a quality mattress lasts quite a few years. And Oceania's mattresses are quality mattresses. I have a Stearns and Foster that is approaching 15 years old that is still in good shape and quite comfortable, and I find the Oceania mattresses more comfortable. I'm pretty sure Marina nor Riviera are close to 15 years old. 

 

We also have S & F  that is  over 10 yrs old  ..seems fine  still

glad to hear  I can get several more years of comfort

 

That said O's beds are very comfortable   & if one is saggy  then ask for  a replacement