"Bulgari gift set" listed as "highlight" on Oceania Website

[X-elite]

The Oceania website lists "Bulgari gift set" as a highlight for penthouses. Well, onboard now and the attendant and concierge are saying no, contrary to the attached list. I've told them it shouldn't be listed on their website if it's not true.

 

Not as bad as no fork this morning on room service delivery.

 

Not as bad as three dirty spoons in a row today at Waves ice cream (in the napkin)...

[1985rz1]

4 minutes ago, X-elite said:

The Oceania website lists "Bulgari gift set" as a highlight for penthouses. Well, onboard now and the attendant and concierge are saying no, contrary to the attached list. I've told them it shouldn't be listed on their website if it's not true.

 

 

But "Certain Limitations apply," so your cruise must have those limitations.

[LHT28]

Usually the gift sets are for top suites

[Sthrngary]

24 minutes ago, X-elite said:

The Oceania website lists "Bulgari gift set" as a highlight for penthouses. Well, onboard now and the attendant and concierge are saying no, contrary to the attached list. I've told them it shouldn't be listed on their website if it's not true.

 

Not as bad as no fork this morning on room service delivery.

 

Not as bad as three dirty spoons in a row today at Waves ice cream (in the napkin)...

@X-elite  I have never seen that Bulgari Gift Set for Penthouses in my past research.  See picture below:

 

 

I have seen it offered the the upper leave suites like Oceania, Vista and Owners Suite.  See picture below.

 

 

Seems the Marketing department has happened again.  One day, marketing departments will focus on Under promise and over deliver.  Cruise brands seem to have a hard time with this one. 

 

I am sure you are disappointed so may I suggest you share this with the Oceania Corporate Office.  On the other items of missing folk and dirty spoon's.  Unacceptable however, there should be some set ups in your cabinet if I am not mistaken.  Still kind of gross so sorry that happened. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[EJL2023]

I just pulled up a few cruises for sale now and under PH I don’t see that reference to that amenity. Only under the higher tiers. Also I don’t see it listed when looking at the ships information on their website. Perhaps it has recently changed?? 

[LHT28]

it seems to be on the  cruise booking  page for  some of the R ships

 

 IT dept  strikes again

[AMHuntFerry]

45 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

But "Certain Limitations apply," so your cruise must have those limitations.

A $3099 PH2 would be one of the 7-day Caribbean cruises (or similar LA RT or NYC RT) which are O's least expensive offerings. I'm guessing gift sets are limited to high-cost cruises if any. Listing it on the website is a bad move in any case.

Edited September 26, 2023 by AMHuntFerry

[BSR]

Currently sailing on the Regatta in a PH suite.  No Bvlgari gift set.  They do replenish the bottles dailly so you can take some home.

[Cruisedreamer1]

We were promised a tote bag and never got one in our cabin neither did others. A man who was blind advised the crew that he NEEDED one for carrying his items and they had to scramble to get him one! The tote or the gift set are not deal breakers just disappointment in what is offered prior to boarding.

 

Better corporate communications with customers should be on their "to do" lists!!!

[X-elite]

Clean spoons for ice cream and not eating fruit slices with my fingers were higher on my list today!

 

We'll move soon to an owner's suite on  this back-to-back. They were sold out on this cruise & the wait list didn't work...

 

As for marketing hype, we think Oceania's cuisine is ok, but don't believe the hype. You'd be disappointed with multiple cold dishes that should have been hot or at worst warm.  Receiving two out of three items on a breakfast card order doesn't cut it. Toscana menu now on the Oceania website is not current. One item we wanted to order based on what we saw on the website is no longer offered... Minor issues. We haven't starved...

[Sthrngary]

As someone that is NEW to Oceania, knowing the good, bad and ugly helps us.  We can set expectations.  On the other hand, I rate improvement in my cruise experience as better than what I have had before.  For me, improvement is my definition of luxury.  

 

To someone that has done Premium-Plus, Luxury and Ultra Luxury cruise, they rate on their experience.  The cleanliness is simply sloppy.  Missing utensils are lack of detail.  I personally would have expected better.  

 

On those items, yours was the first I have ever heard of these items.  On the food being good but not great, with hit or misses, that seems to be the trend and consensus. 

 

What part of your cruise have you enjoy the most and why? 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[X-elite]

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

What part of your cruise have you enjoy the most and why?

After eight cancelled cruises during Covid, the best part is just returning to cruising. We had a safe cruise to Hawaii in January and now on this back-to-back. We have a 94-day cruise booked for next January! 😃

 

My posts today are meant to be accurate, not negative. Getting Caesar salads instead of the salads we ordered doesn't ruin the cruise by any means, but mentioning it might help others keep their expectations about Oceania food more in line with the reality. The examples I've given today are not complete, but very representative...

[Torquer]

We've been fortunate to stay in the top suites (OS, VS, or OC) and have always gotten the Bulgari gift set, in pre-covid cruises.  Our first cruise on O post-covid is coming up in February.  It is listed as a "Highlight" for our suite on our cruise, but not listed for PH and below.  Perhaps they are in the process of phasing it out for PH and below.  I certainly agree they should not be stating it on the website if they are not giving it out. 

[mauibabes]

Let’s call this a faux pax by O because that gift set was only included in Oceania, Vista and Owners Suites and NOT Penthouses. Was in PH on Vista, no B Gift Set.  
Mauibabes

[LHT28]

31 minutes ago, Torquer said:

We've been fortunate to stay in the top suites (OS, VS, or OC) and have always gotten the Bulgari gift set, in pre-covid cruises.  Our first cruise on O post-covid is coming up in February.  It is listed as a "Highlight" for our suite on our cruise, but not listed for PH and below.  Perhaps they are in the process of phasing it out for PH and below.  I certainly agree they should not be stating it on the website if they are not giving it out. 

The gift sets were never  in PH

It is  an error  on the website  under the cruise booking cabin description

It is not listed in the  amenities when you look at the  cabin category

 

 

 

[FetaCheese]

5 hours ago, Cruisedreamer1 said:

We were promised a tote bag and never got one in our cabin neither did others. A man who was blind advised the crew that he NEEDED one for carrying his items and they had to scramble to get him one! The tote or the gift set are not deal breakers just disappointment in what is offered prior to boarding.

 

Better corporate communications with customers should be on their "to do" lists!!!

Just off Regatta. Nice blue tote bag was in closet.  Asked steward if it was a gift.

 Yes it was, and brought it home for our collection of stuff they give us !

[Cruzin Terri]

We received a Bulgarian Gift Set in a PH 1 on the Insignia on last years Christmas Cruise.

Usually stay in a PH and that was the only time we got one.

Terri

[Hambagahle]

13 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

@X-elite  I have never seen that Bulgari Gift Set for Penthouses in my past research.  See picture below:

 

 

I have seen it offered the the upper leave suites like Oceania, Vista and Owners Suite.  See picture below.

 

 

Seems the Marketing department has happened again.  One day, marketing departments will focus on Under promise and over deliver.  Cruise brands seem to have a hard time with this one. 

 

I am sure you are disappointed so may I suggest you share this with the Oceania Corporate Office.  On the other items of missing folk and dirty spoon's.  Unacceptable however, there should be some set ups in your cabinet if I am not mistaken.  Still kind of gross so sorry that happened. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

We have been in the Owners, Vista and Oceania suites on Riviera (are booked in a Vista suite on Vista).  We therefore have had those gift sets.  The various products come in a nice box but I don't want to take the box (limited space on flights!) so I take what I want out of it.  Soaps, moisturisers etc.  They are nice products but I would not go as far as to buy them in a shop!

[X-elite]

Photo attached of connecting door placement on R-class PH. (There had been a question on this in the past, but the CC search function doesn't provide useful results.)

[Brad1185]

Our first O cruise starts Friday. I’m thinking we made a very bad mistake. 

[shepherd really]

15 minutes ago, Brad1185 said:

Our first O cruise starts Friday. I’m thinking we made a very bad mistake. 

And I’m thinking you should stop the handwringing and judge for yourself.  

[Sthrngary]

19 minutes ago, Brad1185 said:

Our first O cruise starts Friday. I’m thinking we made a very bad mistake. 

@Brad1185 Not that I am an expert or anything on Oceania, I am NOT!! I would like to know why you think you might have made a mistake?  My gut tells me you are reading posts by folks that have 98% things that are wrong, and 2% things that are right.  

 

Unless this is your first cruise, which I doubt, this Oceania Blog is no different then NCL, Celebrity, MSC, or any other brand.  Some folks talk about how everything is perfect.  Other talk about who everything is a issue of one thing or another. Both groups of people in my humble opinion are being sincere.  Yet they are the top and bottom 10%.  It is the 80% in the middle that I focus on. The more you read, the more you learn to manage your expectations.  

 

My experience comes from other brands.  The more I read, the more I could approach things that might be less then perfect in a way that it did not negatively impact my vacation.  An example for flying internationally as only an example is, the seats and area around the seat have been less then clean.  I bring disposable cleaning clothes now just in case.  Usually I don't have to use them which exceeds my expectations.  On cruises, (NOT Oceania, YET), my first day I notices my bathroom cleanliness was not to my liking.  I use the same disposable cleaning clothes for the cruise as for the flight.  The alternative was to get upset every time and it started my vacation out on the wrong foot.

 

As it relates to the cruisecritic.com Oceania Board, the folks here seem to be much more realistic about managing their expectations and having realistic expectations.  For me a great example is a trend of Oceania missing ports.  Since I have not cruised Oceania yet, my expectation is in my upcoming cruise, I might miss a port (or two).  I have educated my wife and guests of the possibility to manage their expectations.  If it happens, we will be disappointed but not shocked.  If it does not, it will exceed our expectations.  

 

Back to my original question?  Why do you think like you made a mistake?

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Brad1185]

After reading probably hundreds of posts the majority don’t seem happy with the quality and direction of the company. O seems very disorganized and not together as a company. The quality really does not appear to be there at all. I should have remembered if O has anything to do with NCL it’s not going to be good.  Right now if they said you can cancel Fridays cruise and get a full refund and I could grab a Viking cruise I would defently do that.  Many warning flags are going off at the same time. This really does seem to be starting off on the wrong foot especially with all the emails we have gotten from O of all the changes they are doing to something that has not started yet. 

[ORV]

Have you read the posts from those that have been on Viking and Oceania and feel Oceania is pretty much superior in every way? 

 

If you go in with a bad attitude then you'll find everything wrong. Just try to have an open mind. 

[Sthrngary]

1 minute ago, Brad1185 said:

After reading probably hundreds of posts the majority don’t seem happy with the quality and direction of the company. O seems very disorganized and not together as a company. The quality really does not appear to be there at all. I should have remembered if O has anything to do with NCL it’s not going to be good.  Right now if they said you can cancel Fridays cruise and get a full refund and I could grab a Viking cruise I would defently do that.  Many warning flags are going off at the same time. This really does seem to be starting off on the wrong foot especially with all the emails we have gotten from O of all the changes they are doing to something that has not started yet. 

@Brad1185 Thank you for responding.  I have a lot on the line as well.  I also have totally read every single post on this and other boards about Oceania.  The truth is, if what I wanted was a close to perfect as possible, I would have booked the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection or Regent Seven Seas Cruises. It would have cost me three times as much. Yet I studied those brands also.  The brand boards are less then complementary at times, just like this board.

 

Instead of focusing on hearsay from those posting, take their comments under advisement.  Control what you can control just like what you would have done with Viking.  My wife also said, if this cruise does not go well, that is it for cruises.  So I feel your pain.  I am confident that what will go wrong, will indeed go wrong.  Roll with the punches and stay flexibly.  It is a cruise, in a floating hotel, on the water, with weather as a constant issue, things will go wrong.  All brands.

 

My unsolicited advice is, go on Friday looking for the positive instead of the negatives, report back here so we can all learn from you.  I am a betting man.  I BET you will be pleasantly surprise if you go into it as a new adventurer. 

 

PS: I have cruise most brands.  NCL is no better or worse for me than any other.  I tend to go in the NCL Haven, Celebrity Retreat and MSC Yacht Club to manage my expectations. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.