Boarding Sirena tomorrow!

[khuselid]

Hi all,

We are getting on Sirena tomorrow for 32 days. Reykjavik to London. Happy to answer any questions anyone might have. We have not sailed Sirena before…not looking forward to the tiny shower!😉

 

Kim

[vadraw]

That is great; we join you on the 30th; Oslo - London.  Any ship information you think would be useful would be helpful.  We've sailed Oceania and R ships before so we're familiar with the layout but haven't sailed any of the Oceania R ships since they purchased Sirena and upgraded her.

Thanks,

Don

[oskidunker]

On Oct 1. Please report on food quality in the Red Ginger and Tuscan Steak house with entree recommendations. Whats good . What to avoid. Also , How full is the ship? How easy was embarkation? 

[Mareblu]

8 hours ago, khuselid said:

Hi all,

We are getting on Sirena tomorrow for 32 days. Reykjavik to London. Happy to answer any questions anyone might have. We have not sailed Sirena before…not looking forward to the tiny shower!😉

 

Kim

Have a wonderful cruise.  We are embarking Sirena on 17 October, so we may pass each other on the gangway🙂  Please, if you are able, keep us informed on how things are.  Many thanks.

[shank63]

We did 12 days on Sirena at the end of July, our first cruise on an R ship.  The ship size, layout and service were all outstanding.  We have cruises booked on Riviera and Marina, but look forward to sailing on Sirena again, sometime in the future.

[MEFIowa]

We'll be on Sirena 11/18/22. So anything you can say about the staff, service, number of passengers, entertainment, restaurants, pool, etc. will be appreciated. 

[pinotlover]

23 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

We'll be on Sirena 11/18/22. So anything you can say about the staff, service, number of passengers, entertainment, restaurants, pool, etc. will be appreciated. 

Boarding with you! 🥂

 

Payment in Full date was in May and our cruise has been fully waitlisted for a year. In these times it will be interesting to learn if fully waitlisted still means the ship will be full.

[MarkWiltonM]

40 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

We'll be on Sirena 11/18/22. So anything you can say about the staff, service, number of passengers, entertainment, restaurants, pool, etc. will be appreciated. 

 

We will be on Sirena for the same cruise. Our first time on Oceania. Also have Riviera and Vista booked.

[MEFIowa]

16 minutes ago, MarkWiltonM said:

We will be on Sirena for the same cruise. Our first time on Oceania. Also have Riviera and Vista booked.

We've finalized our excursions. All independent. Can't wait.

 

I created a Roll Call for it. Have you joined that here on CC?

 

We were on Riviera 12/13-23/21 for the W. Caribbean. Then back on her in Med in late 2023 and again for Baltic in late 2024. We'd prefer the bigger ships, but you get what you get.

Edited August 16, 2022 by MEFIowa
Added sentence

[SombraDeLuna]

We spent 3 weeks on Sirena during June/July.  Book massages with Irena -- she is fantastic!  

[ORV]

33 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

We've finalized our excursions. All independent. Can't wait.

 

I created a Roll Call for it. Have you joined that here on CC?

 

We were on Riviera 12/13-23/21 for the W. Caribbean. Then back on her in Med in late 2023 and again for Baltic in late 2024. We'd prefer the bigger ships, but you get what you get.

Have you cruised on the R ships? 

[MEFIowa]

4 minutes ago, ORV said:

Have you cruised on the R ships? 

No, but the 216 sq ft on Sirena for our B2 pales to the 282 for the A4 we had on Riviera. And my wife loved the bathtub on Riviera. We know people love the R Ships, so we're not concerned. Sure we'll like them. But just a whole lot smaller and with few specialty restaurants. My wife's least fav is Red Ginger; she doesn't like Asian.

Edited August 16, 2022 by MEFIowa
Typo

[ORV]

Ok, I was just curious if you had experience or had already made up your mind due to specifications and what others here say. I personally do prefer the O ships, but we're always fine on the R ships. You never know, you might be one of those that actually prefer them, once you've experienced them. 

 

You do know the bathtubs are going away on everything below PH? My wife prefers a tub also, but she'll be alright. 

[Norseh2o]

We will follow your posts as we board the Sirena on 10/25/22. Had hoped to board in Bilbao but decided clearing the waitlist might never happen. We are looking forward to completing our final ‘cancelled by Covid’ cruise on NCL (Star 10/6-10/16) and will enjoy a few days in London and a few days in Lisbon before boarding the Sirena. Thanks!

[davencl]

5 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Boarding with you! 🥂

 

Payment in Full date was in May and our cruise has been fully waitlisted for a year. In these times it will be interesting to learn if fully waitlisted still means the ship will be full.

The Aug. 30th portion is not fully waitlisted.  I'll be joining you at that time.  I booked just as reservations opened up and it filled up fast.  But many cancelations before final payment.

[khuselid]

OK here’s a dreadful thing!🤣 Our handy magnets don’t work on Sirenas walls! I’ve had the same bag of magnet hooks for years and apparently the thick wallpaper they installed at the last upgrade makes them unusable. The ceiling is still metal and I could hang some of them there. O has provided 3 hooks across from the bed and 2 next to the bathroom ( this in a veranda cabin).

 

drat!

[LHT28]

22 minutes ago, khuselid said:

OK here’s a dreadful thing!🤣 Our handy magnets don’t work on Sirenas walls! I’ve had the same bag of magnet hooks for years and apparently the thick wallpaper they installed at the last upgrade makes them unusable. The ceiling is still metal and I could hang some of them there. O has provided 3 hooks across from the bed and 2 next to the bathroom ( this in a veranda cabin).

 

drat!

I have never had the need for magnets  so not sure how  sad you are feeling now  😞

[pinotlover]

8 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I have never had the need for magnets  so not sure how  sad you are feeling now  😞

We never take so much stuff that we need magnets! Taking our flippers and snorkels to FP was a stuffy as we ever get. Worst case, stuff can go in a suitcase under the bed.

[Kate-AHF]

46 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

We never take so much stuff that we need magnets! Taking our flippers and snorkels to FP was a stuffy as we ever get. Worst case, stuff can go in a suitcase under the bed.

I for one will really miss not being able to use my roll-up magnetic dry erase calendar.  One glance tells us where dinner is that day (if a specialty) and the time, what shore-x we have planned - and if plans change, one swipe of the finger fixes it.  Don thinks it's the most helpful thing in the cabin, and I agree with him.

 

I'm not sure why anyone would be dismissive of someone wanting to use magnets.  If it doesn't apply to you, then what does it matter?

[nursinadream]

@Kate-AHF, what a great idea!  Every morning and afternoon my husband asks, "what's going on tomorrow, tonight" and so on.  I don't remember either so I look at my little paper scratch calendar.  Your idea sounds grand. Sorry about your hooks @khuselid 😞

 

Deb

[Kate-AHF]

I think I found a substitute:

https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Whiteboard-Stainless-smudge-free-wet-erase/dp/B0875RP2ZP?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1

 

The wardrobe doors are shiny, so it should work!

 

Many thanks to @khuselid for the heads up on this!

[mauibabes]

My DW was a teacher for 30 years and there is no end to her creativity for sticking things on walls. We use the hooks all the time so we will see what works when we are on Marina in January. If the magnets don’t work on the wall due to the wall paper, consider the entry door or bathroom door to post the calendar on. 
Mauibabes

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, Kate-AHF said:

I'm not sure why anyone would be dismissive of someone wanting to use magnets.  If it doesn't apply to you, then what does it matter?

OH Dear

Sorry  I did not put   😄🙂in my post

 I do not really care what people take  on their cruise  ...seriously

[khuselid]

9 hours ago, mauibabes said:

My DW was a teacher for 30 years and there is no end to her creativity for sticking things on walls. We use the hooks all the time so we will see what works when we are on Marina in January. If the magnets don’t work on the wall due to the wall paper, consider the entry door or bathroom door to post the calendar on. 
Mauibabes

They worked on marina in April. Great idea about the whiteboard! The only thing here we find that works is the ceiling. They did however add some wall hooks which are welcome.

I don’t know why folks seem to have a need to tell us that they don’t need hooks or whatever. Does that make you better? Weird. 

[mauibabes]

Since we travel with several couples, we have even acquired a small white board that magnetically sticks to our exterior door so we and friends can leave messages for one another.  It becomes a comment and picture place for guests and crew also.  Lots of funny drawing have been left to the amusement of all. Sorry if that whiteboard idea sounds tacky but it has worked for us and friends. 
Enjoy your travels,

Mauibabes