Oceania Marina & Service

[RetiredandTravel]

The CC review of the Marina is somewhat critical of service.  

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=526

 

We weren't impressed with the service on Regent (same owners as Oceania) on our last cruise.  Currently considering a South America Cruise on Oceania.

 

Any Feedback from experienced Marina cruisers impressions of service would be appreciated.

 

Please feel free to add any other interesting information on the ship & cruise.

 

Many Thanks.

 

 

Edited July 20, 2021 by RetiredandTravel
typo

[LHT28]

Have a read through this forum  you will get  info on the ship etc..

If there is something specific you want to know  people are happy to help

 

Not for everyone  just depends on what type of onboard experience you are looking for

With most cruises sailing pre covid  with 70% +  repeaters   some of us like Oceania

 

You can find fault with most things in life if you go looking for them

JMO

[shepherd really]

On the ships service the is exemplary, the Miami office, not always so good.

[RetiredandTravel]

23 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Have a read through this forum  you will get  info on the ship etc..

If there is something specific you want to know  people are happy to help

 

Not for everyone  just depends on what type of onboard experience you are looking for

With most cruises sailing pre covid  with 70% +  repeaters   some of us like Oceania

 

You can find fault with most things in life if you go looking for them

JMO

 

 

Its a pretty straight forward & justified question given the review.  It seems to have offended you I guess I don't understand that.

 

 

 

 

[Harters]

My only experience of an O cruise was with Marina in 2017 (we're cruising on Sirena next year). We had no issues whatsoever about service. I've no other recent cruising experience to compare that with (our previous cruises were with P & O in the 1990s) but, in absolute terms, I can't think  of anything that I thought could/should be improved.

 

Were there any specifics of your Regent experience that you are hoping to avoid with O?

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

Its a pretty straight forward & justified question given the review.  It seems to have offended you I guess I don't understand that.

 

 

 

 

You’re giving a lot of credence to a single item on a single cruise by someone writing a piece for an internet chat room.

And, in any case, the concern with “service” appears to have been waiting too long for something.

RIDICULOUS.

[ToxM]

Never had a problem with wait times for service. It might help to know what issues you had with Regent so the more knowledgeable O cruisers here can help you with their experiences. 

[qballer]

I was on Marina's last cruise in South America. It was extended with about  8 sea days, ending in Miami instead of Lima.  The only complaint was the internet, very slow. Hopefully this has been up graded. We sat in Panama  bay for 3 days, and were resupplied at anchor. They only food supply not available was greek yogurt, my wifes only complaint. The ship was Covit free. They also had a couple free Happy Hours to keep us happy. We got to cross the equator and a day transit through the Panama canel.                                                                                                                                                                                                   I also had included airfare which was invaluable. We first headed back to Lima and denied entry. Then Chile and again denied entry. 7 days later Miami. Passenger's with their own airfare, had an   interesting time trying to get fights home. Oceana took care of our flights to west coast. We are scheduled for 25 day cruise in Oct........ hopefully. Can't wait to get back.

[ToxM]

It’s also worth bearing in mind that any bar we had for service has been disintegrated into pulp by Covid. 

 

It’s a whole new world of cruising now….

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

Its a pretty straight forward & justified question given the review.  It seems to have offended you I guess I don't understand that.

 

 

Not  offended at all

 We have had good service & bad service but overall  we like Oceania 

If there is  a problem we talk to the GM & all is made  good

 

YMMV

[RetiredandTravel]

1 hour ago, Harters said:

My only experience of an O cruise was with Marina in 2017 (we're cruising on Sirena next year). We had no issues whatsoever about service. I've no other recent cruising experience to compare that with (our previous cruises were with P & O in the 1990s) but, in absolute terms, I can't think  of anything that I thought could/should be improved.

 

Were there any specifics of your Regent experience that you are hoping to avoid with O?

 

I may have been served better without mentioning my recent Regent experience.  My first Regent cruise the service was outstanding and the second it was poor.  Many frequent Regent cruisers on my last cruise speculated that Regent quality had deteriorated since being acquired by Norwegian.  Considering Oceania and Regent are both owned by Norwegian I wanted to make sure there isn't a systematic issue.  Especially considering the PROFESSIONAL review I attached which mentioned Marina service as a con (so much for single item on a single cruise).

 

Wow some real militaristic fans of Oceania over here.  My interest is finding out peoples impressions of Marina service, so please save the lectures and move on.

 

If people think I'm being a troll I'd suggest people read the reviews of the Mariner from 2019.

 

If people would like me to write a detailed review of why we felt the service was poor I will.  We treat all people with respect and are far from demanding.

 

One Mariner experience was our toilet overflowed to no fault of our own, the entire floor (and especially our room) had water and sewage gushing out.  It took two frantic calls and 20 minutes before the repairman was sent to turn off the water.  The water and sewage had started to consume our bed, the entry and bathroom had 4-6 inches of water and sewage by the time the water was turned off.  Following is part of my review discussing the incident, I was far to nice.

 

"Cabin: The newly refurbished cabin was beautiful and the housekeeping was phenomenal. Housekeeping not only did their job well they also were very interested that we were happy & enjoying ourselves. Unfortunately our toilet overflowed which wasn't pleasant, water all over. I will say housekeeping did everything in their power to fix the problem and the head of housekeeping apologized. No one else from Regent on board seemed to care. When I asked reception if they could contact us when it was resolved they acted like I was bothering them. I would have at least expected an apology letter and a bottle of wine (all inclusive) or something. crickets!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LHT28]

My last cruise in 2019 on Marina was fine... service was good

the seas were bad I think the Captain could have done better avoiding the snow & would not let us out to play  🙄 in it  ...not nice

 

On one cruise  on Riviera  the food  was not good ..DH was served raw chicken in RG  then in Jacques the Dover sole was a little off that was 2014

 

 

[Harters]

14 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

If people would like me to write a detailed review of why we felt the service was poor I will. 

On reflection, no need.  I had wondered if your negative Regent experience might have sparked a thought about our Marina experience. If I'd had an overflow toilet issue, I'd be regarding that as a very negative experience, regardless of any apologies.

[Flatbush Flyer]

35 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

...so please save the lectures and move on....

Yes, sometimes we should heed our own advice.

[RetiredandTravel]

20 minutes ago, ToxM said:

Never had a problem with wait times for service. It might help to know what issues you had with Regent so the more knowledgeable O cruisers here can help you with their experiences. 

 

 

OK.  Again, our first Regent cruise the service was phenomenal always efficient with a smile.  We vowed to always go with Regent and after our second cruise we vowed never again.  Housekeeping, Room Service and some waiters in the Italian Restaurant were  great, most of the rest of people acted like they didn't like their job (or me).   The service was usually efficient, sometimes slow but rarely a smile.

 

Here a a couple examples:  

 

Second night we were seated for dinner in the main dining room.  Within two minutes the waiter came over and asked us for our order.  I (very politely) asked if we could get a couple minutes and a glass of wine, that's all I did.  This seemed to enrage the waiter, he was visibly upset.  The wine guy (Regent is all inclusive) then came over asked which wine we wanted and sloppily poured the wine to the top of the glass, the wine guy was also very mad honestly I thought he might slug me.  It was so uncomfortable we asked to sit on the other side of the restaurant the rest of the trip.

 

One night we went for a pre dinner cocktail.  Waitress took our order, nothing for 1/2 hour.  I walked up to the bar and nicely asked how she was doing and she screamed at me that she was working on it.  Another waiter overheard her and brought the drinks.

 

In the afternoon I often will walk to the Observation Lounge get myself a Champagne and my wife a Chardonnay.  On the first cruise the bar tender would smile and after a couple days she would just go get it and hand it to me.  The first time I went on the second cruise she (definitely not smiling) poured 1/2 a glass of Champagne because she didn't want to wait for the bubbles to subside and re pour (no one else in the bar), my wife got a 1/3 a glass of wine because the bottle emptied and I guess she didn't want to open another.   

 

On the first cruise the Observation Lounge was a blast after 6PM vibrant and friendly, second no one there, we stopped going just didn't feel welcome.

 

My purpose really isn't to blast Regent, we just don't want to go on a long cruise with uncomfortable service.

 

thanks

 

 

[ToxM]

17 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

 

 

OK.  Again, our first Regent cruise the service was phenomenal always efficient with a smile.  We vowed to always go with Regent and after our second cruise we vowed never again.  Housekeeping, Room Service and some waiters in the Italian Restaurant were  great, most of the rest of people acted like they didn't like their job (or me).   The service was usually efficient, sometimes slow but rarely a smile.

 

Here a a couple examples:  

 

Second night we were seated for dinner in the main dining room.  Within two minutes the waiter came over and asked us for our order.  I (very politely) asked if we could get a couple minutes and a glass of wine, that's all I did.  This seemed to enrage the waiter, he was visibly upset.  The wine guy (Regent is all inclusive) then came over asked which wine we wanted and sloppily poured the wine to the top of the glass, the wine guy was also very mad honestly I thought he might slug me.  It was so uncomfortable we asked to sit on the other side of the restaurant the rest of the trip.

 

One night we went for a pre dinner cocktail.  Waitress took our order, nothing for 1/2 hour.  I walked up to the bar and nicely asked how she was doing and she screamed at me that she was working on it.  Another waiter overheard her and brought the drinks.

 

In the afternoon I often will walk to the Observation Lounge get myself a Champagne and my wife a Chardonnay.  On the first cruise the bar tender would smile and after a couple days she would just go get it and hand it to me.  The first time I went on the second cruise she (definitely not smiling) poured 1/2 a glass of Champagne because she didn't want to wait for the bubbles to subside and re pour (no one else in the bar), my wife got a 1/3 a glass of wine because the bottle emptied and I guess she didn't want to open another.   

 

On the first cruise the Observation Lounge was a blast after 6PM vibrant and friendly, second no one there, we stopped going just didn't feel welcome.

 

My purpose really isn't to blast Regent, we just don't want to go on a long cruise with uncomfortable service.

 

thanks

 

 

 

Gosh definitely sounds like there was some issues. 

 

I am sure more seasoned Oceania cruisers will back me up when I say that I have never encountered any staff in the restaurants and bars like that. We had one slightly surly dealer in the casino, but it didn’t stop me playing the poker tournaments. 

 

I am sorry you had your second experience with regent ruined for you. 

[RetiredandTravel]

Thanks.  Yes, there was some major issue there.  Dealers are surly by definition.

 

Good to hear on the service.  Oceania has some very interesting cruises in South America. 

 

We like our food & wine.  Oceania gets great reviews on food and the premium wine list ($60/day) looks good, big plus.

 

 

[Harters]

There was no sign of anything as bad as your experience. Restaurant and bar serving staff were entirely professional, IMO.  Certainly no  sign that a waiter was enraged or that the wine person might assault us. And certainly never heard any member of staff scream at a guest. Must have been awful for you

[PhD-iva]

2 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Wow some real militaristic fans of Oceania over here.  My interest is finding out peoples impressions of Marina service,

 

Most O cruisers are polite and helpful, some very helpful. Many of them post here on CC. Then there are a few posters “with attitude” although often they also can provide helpful info. Just have to ignore those and keep reading the polite, helpful posts. 
One (of many) reason(s) I left Celebrity is that, judging from the many trolls on the Celebrity boards on CC, many Celebrity cruisers fit the profile of self-important person w attitude. Mostly I find that’s not the case w O cruisers and posters.

My DH and I cruised on Marina in 2016. I was thrilled and my DH had many/several complaints about the service. Several issues over the 10-day cruise (and several more non-issues unless you’re my DH). Anyway, I’m thrilled to be looking forward to my next cruise on Riveria, coming up in November, sans DH.

[shepherd really]

3 hours ago, LHT28 said:

My last cruise in 2019 on Marina was fine... service was good

the seas were bad I think the Captain could have done better avoiding the snow & would not let us out to play  🙄 in it  ...not nice

 

On one cruise  on Riviera  the food  was not good ..DH was served raw chicken in RG  then in Jacques the Dover sole was a little off that was 2014

 

 

Was this in April TA NY to South Hampton?  I was on that cruise and the fun the crew had the next morning having a snowball fight on the pool deck and seeing snow for the first time was a highlight of the cruise.

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, shepherd really said:

Was this in April TA NY to South Hampton?  I was on that cruise and the fun the crew had the next morning having a snowball fight on the pool deck and seeing snow for the first time was a highlight of the cruise.

yes that was the one

Pax  could not go & play though 😉

 

[shepherd really]

Just now, LHT28 said:

yes that was the one

Pax  could not go & play though 😉

 

I did, the smoking area was open and I'm not really a stickler for rules.  That was a really nice trip. 

[basor]

6 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

The CC review of the Marina is somewhat critical of service.  

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=526

 

We weren't impressed with the service on Regent (same owners as Oceania) on our last cruise.  Currently considering a South America Cruise on Oceania.

 

Any Feedback from experienced Marina cruisers impressions of service would be appreciated.

 

Please feel free to add any other interesting information on the ship & cruise.

 

Many Thanks.

 

 

I just read this review and it appears to be from many years ago as it talks about things now included (WIFI) and several other items that have changed....you might find asking for more current reviews (ha,ha - of course due to COVID those will still be 18 months old)...

[RetiredandTravel]

 

 

38 minutes ago, basor said:

I just read this review and it appears to be from many years ago as it talks about things now included (WIFI) and several other items that have changed....you might find asking for more current reviews (ha,ha - of course due to COVID those will still be 18 months old)...

 

Heres one from 10/19  like that one?

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=670174

 

 

Seriously I'm just trying to get peoples impressions of the Marina service.   Shouldn't be that big of a deal. This group is so defensive it makes me wonder.

[nikless]

3 hours ago, RetiredandTravel said:

  Dealers are surly by definition.

 

 

 

 

Your posts were intriguing until I saw that....