Oceania Receives World’s Best Rating!

"its_my_dime" (hold the spam) wrote:

In the main dining room, there are maybe a dozen (rectangle, not round)
tables for 2 that are side by side.

Hmmm, anyone have pictures of these rectangular tables for two on Oceania?

"its_my_dime" wrote:

We thought the food ingredients were very good. Preparation was uneven.

I'd rather have them both be good, but if I had to choose, would opt for high
quality ingredients.

The afternoon "tea" was very good.

I'm glad to hear it. The pictures of Oceania's tea look good. We enjoy the
afternoon tea ritual and the foods usually served, especially tea sandwiches.
Celebrity Mercury had a very nice "Gourmet Tea" (not sure of name) once during
the voyage. That was very enjoyable.

The hors d'oeuvres at the bar before
dinner were exceptionally bad (unless you like potato chips and the same
chopped onion & tomato on a cracker every evening.

Uh oh. Not good enough by a long shot. HAL does this well.

"its_my_dime" wrote:

We thought the food ingredients were very good. Preparation was uneven.

I'd rather have them both be good, but if I had to choose, would opt for high
quality ingredients.

The afternoon "tea" was very good.

I'm glad to hear it. The pictures of Oceania's tea look good. We enjoy the
afternoon tea ritual and the foods usually served, especially tea sandwiches.
Celebrity Mercury had a very nice "Gourmet Tea" (not sure of name) once during
the voyage. That was very enjoyable.

The hors d'oeuvres at the bar before
dinner were exceptionally bad (unless you like potato chips and the same
chopped onion & tomato on a cracker every evening.

Uh oh. Not good enough by a long shot. HAL does this well.

No flames here. Just some comments where I disagree with a few of your
comments or just want to amplify them.

Boarding was quick and easy
Not really. First was check-in in a building two blocks away. You could
then walk or wait for a bus to the ship. It then took about 10 minutes to
slowly inch up the stairs to the ship. Perhaps we hit a crowded time.

Ports are smaller less visited
Not in our case where we did the Venice - Spain trip.

No security screening as you return to the ship
Our ID cards were always scanned and our we were verified against the
computer image. They did not check packages.

Buffet food is not hot and not tasty
Uneven. I would say mixed. I did like the fact that we were always served
on the buffet line. This may have slowed things down a little but keeping
the guests out of the food is a good thing.

Dinning Room food is fair, service varies from excellent to rude, often no
taste to many items.
Suffers from being too crowded. If you were seated next to tables for six or
eight, it could be a while before you got served or received your next
course. Food varied from excellent to fair. It was never "uneatable".

Extras as very expensive like sodas, internet time, tours, etc
AMEN! And with a vengeance. M/S Profit Center.

Ports stays are short due slow ships.
Since many of our ports were within 10 hours sailing, I think we left early
because the ship didn't want to pay the extra charges by staying after 6:00
pm.

Entertainment is not the great, string quartet was good
The orchestra was amateurish and seemed to take a break from 9:00 pm to
11:00 pm. We had a really great lounge piano player. The string quartet
was ok on its own but was a disaster when it tried to play with the
orchestra. The "stars" were mixed. I do not think a ship of this size can
compete with a 2000 - 3000 passenger ship in hiring entertainers and should
not create the expectations that it did.

Tours are expensive and a complete rip off.
These are, of course, a major profit center. We heard some horror stories
about unintelligible guides and long waits to enter certain sites.
Basically, the ship tries to make you feel that you can't survive without
their tours in the uncivilized, unsafe wilds of Italy, France and Spain!!
People have a choice: do some homework and go on your own (or with another
couple) in a cab or limo...or take the ship's tour.

Cruise Director and staff are JERKS!!
Some day, I will post the 30 or so frequently asked Cruise Director
questions (i.e.: Does the crew sleep ashore?; What do they do with the ice
sculptures after they melt?) I wouldn't want their job. I think it is
unfair to describe them as Jerks. However,... if you called them frequently
unhelpful; or salesmen for the ship's tours; or purveyors of the party
line... I would agree.

Butler service was first day next time seen was day 8.
Butler service was only for the extra special cabins. We traveled with the
peasants in a "superior" cabin and didn't have this service.

Automatic tips billed to your charge (can be adjusted if you know to do it
ahead).
Many ships are doing this. It was well publicized. At least, we had the
opportunity to remove it (I paid it). Some ships are making it a mandatory
charge.

And the worse single item --- NO COOKIES!
I assume you are joking. We had them at dinner and they were very good.

imd



"Stuck in Central Florida" wrote in message
om...
Oceania is a value if you prepared for a mass market product sold as
something else. We visited the British Isles and enjoyed most of the
ports
for the ports and the people.

A summary that will cause lots of flames===

They a few thing well:
Ships are very clean
Ship is basically the Renaissance R ships with lots of new teak.
Staff is very friendly
Boarding was quick and easy
Beds are very comfortable
Ports are smaller less visited

They do many things poorly:
No security screening as you return to the ship
Buffet food is not hot and not tasty
Dinning Room food is fair, service varies from excellent to rude, often no
taste to many items
Extras as very expensive like sodas, internet time, tours, etc
Ports stays are short due slow ships.
Entertainment is not the great, string quartet was good
Tours are expensive and a complete rip off
Cruise Director and staff are JERKS!!
Butler service was first day next time seen was day 8.
Automatic tips billed to your charge (can be adjusted if you know to do it
ahead).

And the worse single item --- NO COOKIES!

No flames here. Just some comments where I disagree with a few of your
comments or just want to amplify them.

Boarding was quick and easy
Not really. First was check-in in a building two blocks away. You could
then walk or wait for a bus to the ship. It then took about 10 minutes to
slowly inch up the stairs to the ship. Perhaps we hit a crowded time.

Ports are smaller less visited
Not in our case where we did the Venice - Spain trip.

No security screening as you return to the ship
Our ID cards were always scanned and our we were verified against the
computer image. They did not check packages.

Buffet food is not hot and not tasty
Uneven. I would say mixed. I did like the fact that we were always served
on the buffet line. This may have slowed things down a little but keeping
the guests out of the food is a good thing.

Dinning Room food is fair, service varies from excellent to rude, often no
taste to many items.
Suffers from being too crowded. If you were seated next to tables for six or
eight, it could be a while before you got served or received your next
course. Food varied from excellent to fair. It was never "uneatable".

Extras as very expensive like sodas, internet time, tours, etc
AMEN! And with a vengeance. M/S Profit Center.

Ports stays are short due slow ships.
Since many of our ports were within 10 hours sailing, I think we left early
because the ship didn't want to pay the extra charges by staying after 6:00
pm.

Entertainment is not the great, string quartet was good
The orchestra was amateurish and seemed to take a break from 9:00 pm to
11:00 pm. We had a really great lounge piano player. The string quartet
was ok on its own but was a disaster when it tried to play with the
orchestra. The "stars" were mixed. I do not think a ship of this size can
compete with a 2000 - 3000 passenger ship in hiring entertainers and should
not create the expectations that it did.

Tours are expensive and a complete rip off.
These are, of course, a major profit center. We heard some horror stories
about unintelligible guides and long waits to enter certain sites.
Basically, the ship tries to make you feel that you can't survive without
their tours in the uncivilized, unsafe wilds of Italy, France and Spain!!
People have a choice: do some homework and go on your own (or with another
couple) in a cab or limo...or take the ship's tour.

Cruise Director and staff are JERKS!!
Some day, I will post the 30 or so frequently asked Cruise Director
questions (i.e.: Does the crew sleep ashore?; What do they do with the ice
sculptures after they melt?) I wouldn't want their job. I think it is
unfair to describe them as Jerks. However,... if you called them frequently
unhelpful; or salesmen for the ship's tours; or purveyors of the party
line... I would agree.

Butler service was first day next time seen was day 8.
Butler service was only for the extra special cabins. We traveled with the
peasants in a "superior" cabin and didn't have this service.

Automatic tips billed to your charge (can be adjusted if you know to do it
ahead).
Many ships are doing this. It was well publicized. At least, we had the
opportunity to remove it (I paid it). Some ships are making it a mandatory
charge.

And the worse single item --- NO COOKIES!
I assume you are joking. We had them at dinner and they were very good.

imd



"Stuck in Central Florida" wrote in message
om...
Oceania is a value if you prepared for a mass market product sold as
something else. We visited the British Isles and enjoyed most of the
ports
for the ports and the people.

A summary that will cause lots of flames===

They a few thing well:
Ships are very clean
Ship is basically the Renaissance R ships with lots of new teak.
Staff is very friendly
Boarding was quick and easy
Beds are very comfortable
Ports are smaller less visited

They do many things poorly:
No security screening as you return to the ship
Buffet food is not hot and not tasty
Dinning Room food is fair, service varies from excellent to rude, often no
taste to many items
Extras as very expensive like sodas, internet time, tours, etc
Ports stays are short due slow ships.
Entertainment is not the great, string quartet was good
Tours are expensive and a complete rip off
Cruise Director and staff are JERKS!!
Butler service was first day next time seen was day 8.
Automatic tips billed to your charge (can be adjusted if you know to do it
ahead).

And the worse single item --- NO COOKIES!

I believe the net of this thread is neither of us found Oceania to be the
advertised product. It is not a bad product, just not an excellent or
luxury product. My wife and I are not interested in returning to the line
when there are other choices that offer a product more to our likening.

I believe the net of this thread is neither of us found Oceania to be the
advertised product. It is not a bad product, just not an excellent or
luxury product. My wife and I are not interested in returning to the line
when there are other choices that offer a product more to our likening.

Even Silversea does buffets, and they are about as upscale as you get.

Ernie





"brenda" wrote in message
The fact that they do buffets at all is a huge tip-off this is not an
upscale cruise line!

"E.k.R." wrote:

Even Silversea does buffets, and they are about as upscale as you get.

Ernie





"brenda" wrote in message
The fact that they do buffets at all is a huge tip-off this is not an
upscale cruise line!



I was just thinking the same thing. I've seen some pictures of Silversea
buffets.
They may have been outdoor theme buffets, though. RSSC, too. And I am sure
I've seen pictures of small indoor breakfast buffet pictures of several of the
upscale lines, including on the Deutschland.

I think of buffets as alternatives for those who wish to dine more casually or
at their own pace, and as long as the buffets are not subsitutes for dining in
a restaurant, I welcome them.

"E.k.R." wrote:

Even Silversea does buffets, and they are about as upscale as you get.

Ernie





"brenda" wrote in message
The fact that they do buffets at all is a huge tip-off this is not an
upscale cruise line!



I was just thinking the same thing. I've seen some pictures of Silversea
buffets.
They may have been outdoor theme buffets, though. RSSC, too. And I am sure
I've seen pictures of small indoor breakfast buffet pictures of several of the
upscale lines, including on the Deutschland.

I think of buffets as alternatives for those who wish to dine more casually or
at their own pace, and as long as the buffets are not subsitutes for dining in
a restaurant, I welcome them.