DrJW

THE WORST CRUISE

Having been on this site for the last year , I know that there are many DEVOUT, unconditional fans of Oceania cruise line who will undoubtedly find pleasure in 'countering" or possibly even forthrightly attacking each and every point I make!

It is for the benefit of those possible future new O passengers that I make the effort to share what are clearly our personal opinions. Given that we no longer plan to be a future customers of O , I won't need to endure the often sarcastic and caustic replies that are posted when the "O

groupies " see negative comments ... Here goes :

We had a penthouse suite which was lovely . Kept up very well by housekeeping . We enjoyed Julia so much that we gave her additional gratuity, in addition to the all incl pre paid gratuitous that was incl in our fare.

We enjoyed each and everyone of the four specialty restaurants ..... The cuisine as well as the charming attentive service was delightful.

The ship itself (other then the foolish configuration of spa locker rooms )is beautiful ! Why built two seperate locker rooms ; one for steam and sauna and one shower and no mirror and then need to go to yet another locker room for use of the one bathroom or one other shower? Both men and women had two distinct seperate rooms! Why could they not have had one larger stream/sauna / showers and toilet I just one area for each sex rather then the two for each? No combs, no mirror in one area. Made no sense to me . Also while the steam area made much noise, ..... Very little heat ! They shut it down several times during the sailing for "maintenance " in an attempt to improve... No positive change resulted ,

The Sanctuary, outside , was wonderful and most relaxing.

What made this trip poor for us , other then the several days of rough seas and generally poor weather with missed ports and late or early departures due to three ER airlifts .... All of course which could not be avoided on any cruise line ..... Was as follows:

Poor, was the terribly chronic slow and poor service in the MDR : no matter if the room was full of totally empty, each dinner took about 2 1/2 hours.... Long elapsed time between the courses and apparently overwhelmed wait staff . The food in MDR was at best, mediocre . Many other similar complaints overheard with repeated apologies from the maitre d .. But no changes effected! Even though we always arrived at 7:00... We never made it on time for the. 9:30 show!

Food being as fair as it was , on three occasions , I put in an order the day before for a special entree request they was a served in other specialty restaurants and also offered to room service. IT WAS DENIED!

So henceforth we had dinners in our suite several times allowing us to order what we wanted from where we wanted ! The down side was they most food deliveries , even breakfasts , delivered to suite was tepid in temperature ....even coffee ! While staff in MDR always asked upon guests departures , how things were. They were told... But changes were never apparently made.

If only the wait staff were as present and as attentive as the Sommeliers were.. My God... They were there instantaneously, the moment one sat down ( great source of additional revenue for O!)

Poor meals and service in MDR. Many passengers are at Terrace just to avoid the long wait. Long time ait to get in MDR, long wait to place orders and long wait to get services.

Entertainment on board was better then expected .. Varied and quite enjoyable ,

The CD, Ray.. A joke.. Basically just an announcer of the days events and repeating the captains noon announcements which were mumbled and not well articulated . I thought that CD s are meant to be entertaining... He is not at all ... He makes PA ANNOUNCEMENTS .. That's it..

The front desk reception staff highly uninformative and not knowledgeable to simple queries . I needed to go to deck 11 and address any questions to our exec lounge concierge ,Damiano, to get answers . Front desk staff abrupt she often rude.

Overall the crew on deck, Waves, boutiques , inattentive , unfriendly , possibly at the end of their contracts and burnt out and or worried about their fate with NCL buying O!!

There were of course some delightful attentive crew..... But far too

few to be found ! Very little if any deck service ... Bars of course were always fully stocked and staffed with friendly bartenders !

Our last experience on Crystal and Silversea, where we hope to return , has a 100% more attentive and friendlier crew... Smiling, chatting with guests, even often remembering names..... Not at all on this sailing.. They were there to do their assignment ... Often appeared

reluctant to the even do so !

Not a great ambience !

Our butler was terrible: Rude.surly when we first met him... Only

asking why we were on board early! We got on board and went to our penthouse when instructed to! Did not even help us put

Luggage on bed or explain butler services!

It got so bad that we needed to ask for another butler. This only after 3 days of having to endure s very angry man with major attitude !

We met with the head butler; clearly he knew what we were attempting to communicate with him... Our butler was changed immediately ! Replacement was great and was what was to be expected from the onstart! Later found out that our original butler was also ending his contract with this sailing... Still no excuse for his lack of care !

Worse were the services provided by the ships physician. Granted it was rough sailing, with many ill crew and passengers. Coughing was rampant throughout the ship. Nevertheless, I have in all my years working in the medical field EVER met such a rude, arrogant physician . His exam at best lasted 3-5 minutes. He barely listened to chest. Never checked ENT.. Unless I asked! He has his basic protocol/

Nose and throat swabs testing for 'influenza '.... CBC Panel and then a shot of cortisone .. For this you are billed $550.00 then he gives you a bunch of OTC MEDS such as Tyndall, losenges ., etc, EVERYONE whom we spoke to on board shared that they received the same " care"... In and out in 5 mins. Bottom line. After spending close to $2,000.00 for both of us ..no relief whatsoever! I told him that I was wheezing at night and could not sleep.. No response. Finally i diagnosed myself as having an URI and took the meds that I took a long!

Granted, ship docs are typically not known for their astute skills or personalities.. But this one from Turkey was most unknowledgeable... Didn't know basic drugs ....I would not refer a sick cat to him! Another interesting point when both my wife and I took our temps before we went to medical center, we were afebrile each time but when the nurses took our temps each time we both were told we had fevers of 101! Both thermometers in room showed 97.5 or 98.1 ! I hate to think that they have " rigged " their equipment.. But what would justify the often 3.0 variance??

Additionally, they need a clerk or receptionist in the medical center. Both nurses were totally overwhelmed with paper work with explaining to each coming passenger the fee schedule rather than having that tend to to the needs of bedridden ill patients who were calling out for assistance . The doc stayed in his office just shouting out: "NEXT"!

Trust me, it was bad.

That's it, even if would not have gotten ill.. I would have rated this cruise a 4... Having been ill with all that other issues.. I rate it: "horrible!"

even in our earlier sailimgs on rccl or Princess, we were received more warmly!

We look forward to returning to Crystal... We don't need a penthouse or a butler we just need a pleasant responsive crew!

.. That's why I'm confused !!

I assumed that i could text for free as long as I had free wi fi connection. ATT said that in foreign countries that no longer holds true. ....that we shall be charged if we don't purchase a plan.!!!

I never planned to make calls just send and receive texts. THUS MY CONFUSION!!😩😩

We are getting conflicting information from AT&T re cell use abroad. We have free wi fi and internet use on board O ship as well as hotels we are staying at pre and post cruise..Also I have read if one goes close to internet cafes in cities one can also access free text and emails on personal phone.

Friends told me that if we turn off CELLULAR DATA on SETTINGS on our phones then when are not close to wi fi towers we will not get any pop ups or other notices and have to pay for them.

THOROUGHLY CONFUSED! AT&T tells me that this is no longer true as of 11/19. We now need to get a PASSPORT INTERNATIONAL package for $30...which allows unlimited texts coming and going..and 120 megabytes..[whatever that means..not computer savy :confused:] \They say if we dont get this package that even with free wi fi abroad we still will have to pay!

Now I don't know if I should buy the additional plan or is this just a way for phone company to make $$$. I was under the impression that we could access unlimited email..receive and send with the free wi fi that we have been offered by O and hotels... ATT also advised with this plan ..each phone call is 50cents a minute....

Would appreciate any and all counsel you could provide!

Thank you very much!

I have sent several enquiries to Guest Services through their on line link, completing all the identification information that they request, but very rarely do I get a reply ..even after 2-3 weeks have elapsed...Anyone have a similar experience. I would hope that once a future passenger has fully paid for her voyage, that Guest Services would be a bit more responsive. Realize that they may be quite busy and need to reply in order of received emails..but 2-3 weeks??

Thanks!

I have heard that even though O specifies different boarding times on the final documents that passengers receive..which IMHO is an excellent decision primarily to avoid an abundance of passengers all gathering and lining up to board at the same time....BUT I've been told by previous passengers, that in spite of the specified scattered embarkation times, many passengers ignore this guideline and board as soon as the ship allows boarding, regardless of their cabin category!! :mad:

My question: Does O acually enforce these boarding times by not allowing passegers to board unless it it their stated time? If they don't it defeats the entire purpose of staggered boarding times.

Eager to hear your input

I'm aware that one of the perks of the higher stateroom categories [i.e. PH suites, etc] are allowed to board and check into the ship earlier. In our case, our tickets show Noon. Does this mean that after we check in to get our ID's we can go DIRECTLY to our stateroom ;) or does it mean that weneed go to have an earlier lunch at the Terrace or Dining Room and wait for ur cabins to be cleaned :(. I am hoping that 'early boarding' means that our stateroom will be prepared earlier, allowing us to get our luggage delivered earlier prior to the larger groups coming on board.

Thanks for informatiion.

Is the on board laundry 'special' of 20 items for $20 available on all sailings as well as available to passengers throughout the sailing or just at certain times?

Perfect !😄

Does O have photographers snapping away while on board and then displaying the photographs at the photo gallery the following day?

Are purchased made on board while on criuise and charged to the passengers credit card on file...are they posted as being charged in US or abroad?

The reason I ask that many CC companies charge a 3% transaction fee for charges made abroad..so was wondering how O posts their charges.

Thanks for feedback.

How bad is the Mosquito and other insect situtation in Brazil, Buenos Aires during their summer season. Many fellow cruisers are suggesting that we pack repellants...such as Deet. I was hoping to hear from someone who actually visiited/lived in these areas ..what their thoughts are.

.

Thanks.

Thank you for responding to my questions! Most helpful guys!!

Does anyone know about how many PH Suites on the Riviera/ Marina each Butler is responsible for? As to 'pressing of clothes'..is this a one time 'offer' or can one periodically ask to have this done on a complimentary basis throughout sailing? O states that Butlers will also 'pack and unpack' for PH cat....How does one know where they put everything?:D

Do Butlers aboard the Marina/Riviera also have the additional task of being the room stewards/stewardeses having housekeeping responsbilities and bringing food orders..or is that done by Stewards and the Butlers are just that Butlers [making special reservations, and serving canapes, etc.]

Thanks.

Curious..do they have 'female' Butlers as well? :)

In order for us to tell taxi where to drop us off for embarkation on boarding day..can anyone share the name [ and possibly address as well] of the port from where Marina embarks passengers?

Our packet just states: "Terminal de Passejeros"

Apparently there is more than one of those...

Is it Benito Quinquela Martin Passenger Terminal?

thank you

I know that the description of 'country club casual ' can cover a broad area.

I was wondering if nice mens or womens jeans are allowed during the evening meals in all of the dining venues besides the Terrace Cafe [i.e. MDR and speciality restaurants.? [ Some of those jeans can cost more than dress slacks! :o ]

Appreciate your thoughts!

Ruth

We are scheduled to sail on Marina very soon. I won't be posting any additional queries prior to this cruise. I do want to thank EVERRONE, those with constructive replies and even those who were rather caustic in their responses.

It's truly amazing how ones' personality comes through in their writing! :)

We are very much looking forward to all aspects of this cruise..and feel much enlightened with the knowledge that each one of you shared!

THANK YOU AGAIN SO MUCH!

j

is not 'doom and gloom'! :)

i have met several past cruise line passengers who when they disembarked to collect their luggage.. It was not there.. 😩!!

Possibly , mistakenly picked up by other passengers!

Is there no way for either Oceania or terminal authority personnel could have staff available to insure that as passengers leave the terminal that the luggage on the carts or being carried is theirs? Or would this be too cumbersome to do....sure would save a lot of disappointment !

No other cruise line we have sailed:

Renaissance

princess

royal carribean

crystal

silversea

have charged for launderette!

I'm am so disappointed with o for allowing this!

curious .. If one can't use cash on board.. How does one pay for washer and dryer? Btw, do they charge for both?

Truly disappointed in O for this petty

charge!!

That is truly nothing less than disgusting!

I heard that O nickel and dimes it ( drinks..Costly excursions.. At time gratuities .. BUT CHARGING for launderette (one on every deck) is EMBARASSING!

It's not the $2 cost per machine .. But the principle!!!

Makes me question based on this little issue if I shall return for future bookings !

Is it true that on Marina ... There is a charge for washer and dryer per load?

All other lines don't charge!

Hope this was misinformation ??

Thanks!

JW

Does NCL already own Oceania? If not, then when does this go into effect?

Does anyone have any thoughts of possible 'changes/modifications/cut backs/enhancements, etc.' that may be happening to the O ships and to its passengers and crews. Friend have shared that when Carnival took over some of the other cruise companies..they noticed a marked change in the service...cutbacks in other areas as well..[i.e. Room stewards were assigned more stateroooms each to clean in the same period of time..resulting in less than examplary housekeeping.]

Eager to hear anyones thought re; NCL's takeover at to the immediate and not so immediate impact on O?

thanks..so are you saying to stay away from the Blue Dollar exchange? The rate is so much better than the 'legal' one!