Refurbinshing of Marina and Riviera.

Any plans to refurbish the Marina or the Riviera? They both seemed fine the last time we were on but you never know what Oceania is planning to be do and when. :):):)

Marina had a refurbishment in May 2016. We got off in Lisbon and they were tearing up the carpet at we disembarked. She was out of service about 7 days as I recall.

Marina had a refurbishment in May 2016. We got off in Lisbon and they were tearing up the carpet at we disembarked. She was out of service about 7 days as I recall.

Thanks for the info. We have not been on Marina in about 2 years. On Riviera last summer and she looked pretty good.

According to a recent thread here, Riviera is scheduled for a drydock refurb in April 2018.

Oceania has always been meticulous about doing regular "refurbishing" of the ships. If the "R" ships who date back from the 1990s still look good to most of us, I don't understand the concern about Marina and Riviera which are far younger.

We were on Sirena in October which had a massive upgrading after being acquired. We were on Nautica in June/July which looked just as good. We'll be on Marina in November and I fully expect her to look just as good as she did when we were last aboard her in May 2015.

I'm more concerned about the recurring outbreaks of Noro than I am about the ship looking aged or dated! (Actually, I don't myself care about things that look "dated" because we tend to prefer older styles! When we were looking at coop apartments in the late '70s we preferred brownstones from the miod-19th century to modern buildings ...)

We were on the QE2 in 2003 and 2004 (not long before she was retired, I think) and because she dated from the late '60s, even in the Queens Grill room we were in on the second and last trip, you saw the age. I've never seen anything approaching that on any of the Oceania ships, and we've been on all of them.

... Well, not yet on Riviera ... but we're booked on Riviera in May 2018.

Mura

I was just on the Marina in February and everything was gorgeous, with my only complaint being my seat in the showroom could've used some padding. It was very dark in there, so they may have all been that way or it may have just been the chair I sat in. I actually only went to two shows and the one other one I attended by the time we got there was standing room only. Ship looks fabulous, and still can't get over the bathroom in our cabin!!! I know I'm going to have a little bit of culture shock in a couple weeks going on the Regatta!

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Riviera definitely going in next year, April, 2018.

Heard this when I was on her in March, this month earlier.

they usually go in every 3 yrs

I am sure there are things need doing but they also do some repairs along the way so you never really notice

On Regatta last yr the carpet in our cabin could have used a good clean .:(

Well I'm happy to hear that Riviera is due for a checkup in April 2018 since we'll be boarding in May ...

But as I've indicated earlier, this isn't a big priority for me! But it's our first time on Riviera so it will be nice to have her brand spanking new ... or at least as close to that as she can be!

Mura

Oceania has always been meticulous about doing regular "refurbishing" of the ships. If the "R" ships who date back from the 1990s still look good to most of us, I don't understand the concern about Marina and Riviera which are far younger.

 

We were on Sirena in October which had a massive upgrading after being acquired. We were on Nautica in June/July which looked just as good. We'll be on Marina in November and I fully expect her to look just as good as she did when we were last aboard her in May 2015.

 

I'm more concerned about the recurring outbreaks of Noro than I am about the ship looking aged or dated! (Actually, I don't myself care about things that look "dated" because we tend to prefer older styles! When we were looking at coop apartments in the late '70s we preferred brownstones from the miod-19th century to modern buildings ...)

 

We were on the QE2 in 2003 and 2004 (not long before she was retired, I think) and because she dated from the late '60s, even in the Queens Grill room we were in on the second and last trip, you saw the age. I've never seen anything approaching that on any of the Oceania ships, and we've been on all of them.

 

... Well, not yet on Riviera ... but we're booked on Riviera in May 2018.

 

Mura

In 2004 QE2 was approaching the age of close to 40 years. Marina/Riviera are five or six years old. Big difference.

I thought I'd said that ... I wasn't trying to compare the Oceania ships to the QE2 as equals in age!

In 2004 QE2 was approaching the age of close to 40 years. Marina/Riviera are five or six years old. Big difference.

The White House in Wash D.C. is over 200 years old. Does not mean it has not had a refurbishment and looks the same as when built. You are not trying to tell us that the QE2 never was refurbished?

Of course not. I was simply trying to indicate that the age and worn furnishings we noticed on the QE2 towards the end of her existence as a passenger ship were far more than anything I have seen on the Oceania ships. Which is something I would have expected given their respective ages.

Of course not. I was simply trying to indicate that the age and worn furnishings we noticed on the QE2 towards the end of her existence as a passenger ship were far more than anything I have seen on the Oceania ships. Which is something I would have expected given their respective ages.

I guess that is one of the reasons that Cunard had to be sold. Could not take care of their ships and make a profit. We were never on the QE2 so I will have to defer to your report. Also I would never question anyone from Brooklyn. The greatest city in the country. And never wanted to deal with a formal class system on a ship. Much too stuffy for us.

We enjoyed our two QE2 cruises. Both were last minute fire sales. The first NY-NY down to the Caribbean. We were in cheap digs on that one. One of the smallest cabins we've ever been in but it was well laid out. The beds were the most uncomfortable ever but the bathroom was quite spacious. For the second (Southampton-NY) we were in the Queen's Grill. Quite a change!

We weren't fond of the class system, especially all the formal nights either, but it wasn't too offensive. At least not for us. One thing that bothered us greatly was their smoking policy: okay on the port side, not okay on the starboard side. (Possibly the reverse, I forget.) But many people violated the rule and smoked wherever they wished. No crew member ever said a word ...

The DID have an excellent children's program. We thought we got our money's worth, but we weren't paying the true cost on either cruise.

Mura

We enjoyed our two QE2 cruises. Both were last minute fire sales. The first NY-NY down to the Caribbean. We were in cheap digs on that one. One of the smallest cabins we've ever been in but it was well laid out. The beds were the most uncomfortable ever but the bathroom was quite spacious. For the second (Southampton-NY) we were in the Queen's Grill. Quite a change!

 

We weren't fond of the class system, especially all the formal nights either, but it wasn't too offensive. At least not for us. One thing that bothered us greatly was their smoking policy: okay on the port side, not okay on the starboard side. (Possibly the reverse, I forget.) But many people violated the rule and smoked wherever they wished. No crew member ever said a word ...

 

The DID have an excellent children's program. We thought we got our money's worth, but we weren't paying the true cost on either cruise.

 

Mura

Does not seem to be any last minute fire sales on O. Or at least I don't see them. Would be great for us in the Carib. as we could pack in a day or 2 and drive to Miami in an hour or so. Smoking is not a problem as I stopped before we started with O. Don't see anyone out of place with the smoking and wonder what the crew would do if someone was. Queens grill sounds nice, but was it any better than our restaurants? Kind of like the fact that there is not much of a class system on O. The person next to us at the pool could be in an inside cabin or an owners suite. Have not had a formal night since our last Crystal Cruise, about 10 years ago. And do not miss them at all.

The only Cunard ship we have been on was the QE2. We found the food excellent in all the restaurants we tried which was basically the Lido (buffet), the Queen's Grill restaurant and I forget the name but it was the third (and largest) of the four main dinner restaurants. But I wouldn't say they were superior to Oceania, no.

Mura

The only Cunard ship we have been on was the QE2. We found the food excellent in all the restaurants we tried which was basically the Lido (buffet), the Queen's Grill restaurant and I forget the name but it was the third (and largest) of the four main dinner restaurants. But I wouldn't say they were superior to Oceania, no.

 

Mura

Good, so everyone is happy. But today would you go back on Cunard (Carnival) ? Or stay with O. ? Just sitting here with nothing else to do. Not time to eat. Watching the live web cam from Ft. Lauderdale and Miami seeing all the ships leave and wishing I was on one of them. Say Hi to Brooklyn for me.

I think you know the answer to that. We're about to take our 15th Oceania cruise. The first was the same year that we did our QE2 cruises. We've never done another Cunard cruise and have no temptation to do so.

Remember, we had two great offers on our QE2 cruises. Prior to receiving them we never thought we'd be on the QE2 and the offers were too good to pass up. But we're much happier on Oceania, no question about that.

The QE2 was a beautiful ship (even in her old age) and still went faster in reverse than other ships go forward. When we were heading for St. Thomas on that first Caribbean cruise, the captain put the pedal to the metal so as to get the best anchoring position. We were racing another ship and we won. There was no question of that big ship being able to dock! Also, just as a reminder, as big as the QE2 was in terms of size and length, she only carried 1750 passengers. So she was nothing like today's monster ships.

By the way, yesterday's Wall St. Journal had an article on the uptik in interest in smaller ships as opposed to the behemoths.

Mura

The only Cunard ship we have been on was the QE2. We found the food excellent in all the restaurants we tried which was basically the Lido (buffet), the Queen's Grill restaurant and I forget the name but it was the third (and largest) of the four main dinner restaurants. But I wouldn't say they were superior to Oceania, no.

 

Mura

It was the Mauritania restaurant.

Thanks for the info, Wripro. But the Mauretania didn't seem right in my memory -- not that there was no such restaurant, I just didn't think that was the one we were assigned to on that first cruise. So I checked my diary, which I should have done yesterday, and we were actually in the Caronia. (I think maybe my first mistake was saying we were in the largest restaurant ...)

I'm not sure, though, that the restaurants all had separate kitchens. I suspect not ...

Mura

Sure I said this once before the amounts spent on refurbishment to date is not huge to,be honest relative to build costs.

A bottom scrap, coat of paint with new soft furnishings and carpets , I bet even the small,ships would not see much change from 25 million us. Let alone the engineering upgrades and repairs that would be needed on occasion.

QE2 Had completely new propolsion system fitted later in life the cost must have beeen enormous, (suffered lots of vibration when first fitted ), to save fuel and make her more economic to run , she was equipped with new A diesel/electric system similar to that now commonly employed in big cruise ships like the celebrity ones. Think she originally had steam turbines.

Some will see the odd bits of wear and tear , others using rose tinted glasses won't , the odd person will find all sorts to critique , but generally the ships seem to me to be in good condition decor wise , and there will in odd cabins and odd places where wear is evident .

Bit who cares the overall experience is what matters,especially the efforts of the crew that will always make the experience worthwhile.

Decor and furnishings are the easiest things to change on a ship. Ships primarily become obsolescent for three reasons, rising fuel costs, rising labor costs and the rising costs of obtaining replacement parts.

For the first ten years of a ships life, her various component manufacturers carry replacement parts, " in stock".

For the next ten years, replacement parts are scavenged from other installations

By the third decade, parts must be machined to order.

Which is why only one in one hundred ships sails for forty years or more.

Jim & Stan

Yep, that goes for virtually all large engineered machines , even cars , especially now they are full of FREDS

We will be on in Dec. Can't wait to start packing. :):):)