Braveheart11

"If nothing else, a wonderful lesson on “how to beat a dead horse”!!!! Wiks"

Careful there, O might put it on the grill at Terrace Cafe as the "finest meat du jour at sea" . Kidding. You are right of course. Lol.

"I don’t think you should

I dislike Azamara. Will never go back

Nice to have options "

Indeed!

I am not going back......they did not deliver as advertised. Once was enough.

"We have been on marina since dec 3. Food has been excellent in every venue. What a difference the chef makes."

This could well be true but it is too late now to save our business. Is no one out there besides me bothered by O unabashedly claiming "the finest cuisine at sea"?

A little perspective for you all.....the food was not horrid. It was about expecting "the finest cuisine at sea" and discovering the hard way that clearly it is not. I am disturbed that people are being sold this bill of goods by O. It is what got us to book them. Still, with all the inconsistencies, disappointments, and training issues, I still managed to gain 4 pounds in 10 days! Lol.

I am sorry I don't know who the executive chef was on this cruise.

Have to agree with you LHT28, for the sake of the guests let's hope it is not a trend, and yes proper training does make a huge difference in performance.

I have made a lot of negative statements about my recent cruise on the Riviera, so, for the record, this was the nicest ship I have ever cruised on.

The best part of the cruise was the ship.

Gosh, you'd think we were on the same cruise. Something else that bothered me was one show at 9:30 and if you have late dinner reservations, like one at 8 and 2 at 9 (the price you pay for a table for two) you miss the shows. We only went to 2 shows in 10 nights.

I also thought it peculiar that NO dining room was open until 6:30 unless you count room service.

"Braveheart, had we experienced what you describe we wouldn't be back either!

Regarding the three tables for two close to each other, were you on one of the "R" ships? I know that configuration in the GDR since in 2005 I managed to tear my meniscus trying to squeeze into the window table when all seats surrounding were full! But I haven't seen that configuration on the "O" ships. I agree that it isn't optimal. Sometimes I like it because we LIKE to share, and it's easier to do so when the tables are that close ... OTOH, whenever we have been seated there the other two tables were already chatting away so we were left out in the co".

Mura,

We were on the Riviera, one of the two big ships. The squished in tables for two were in the Italian restaurant. All the restaurants on this ship have tables for two and I must confess I thought In Toscana the tables for two were along the window and I was disappointed to see where they put us. It only got worse when two other couples arrived on each side of us and I could hear every word of their conversation as I am sure they could hear ours. So much for my "sweet nothings" I had planned. Haha. Unfortunately, I don't enjoy dining with strangers, I am sad to say. The other tables for two we had were much more comfortable than this one. I hope you can understand.

"I, too feel bad you had a bad experience....just to help those of us who are curious about detail,would you be more specific about your disappointments? Was it all related to food,and if so, was it quality,lack of choices,"blandness" (or opposite) ? Also was it GDR and Terrace or specialty restaurants too

Also curious what other cruise lines you compared the food with?"

Our primary cruise lines are Crystal and Celebrity. We book suites on Celebrity because of the separate dining room (and kitchen) for suite guests. This I feel provides better service and food quality.

The food on O was so inconsistent I don't know where to begin, so I will begin with the embarkation lunch in the Terrace Cafe. We boarded at 11:30 and were immediately directed toward the Terrace and told lunch was being served. They were not ready for us at that time so the boarding passengers all grabbed tables and had to wait for the line to open. When an attendant came around with water, the water was tap water warm, I kid you not. That was the first meal. Bad first impression.

The meat was not cooked to requested doneness in Terrace and Waves (filet/lobster sandwich), and hamburger. The Ribeye at Terrace was too tough to finish. Filet ordered from room service way overcooked.

In Toscana I ordered Tuscan Trio, one of the items was carbonara and they served fettuccine Alfredo instead, and I guess they thought it ok to sub without asking. Suffice to say that didn't go over too well with me. In addition, though we had a table for two, we were wedged in between two other tables for two and it might as well have been a table for six as these tables were 18-24" apart with my poor wife being backed up to a wall. This was not a romantic or, for me, a comfortable atmosphere. After the entrees, we decided to leave. Nino, the maitre'd, saw us leave and to his credit called me up the next eve to find out what the matter was. He invited us back and saw to it the second time we were served a meal he could be proud of. This included carbonara, a window table for two, and biscotti and cannoli plate to our room. Kudos to Nino.

At Jacques my filet was not as tender as I hoped and my wife's lamb as dreadfully overseasoned with rosemary. She did not eat it all. The maitre'd, Anna, went out of her way to see my birthday and our anniversary was properly celebrated. Kudos to her.

Good meal a Polo. Food and service.

High tea a disappointment.....scones far inferior to Crystal or Cunard. We came in one day about five minutes before shutdown and they were already starting to break down the tables and displays. We sat for a while before one poor server came over to us. It was not a welcoming feeling.

Cookies....disaster. Same bland cookies every day at buffet, in concierge lounge, at Baristas. Best cuisine at sea? Hardly.

Ice cream....icy, low butterfat content. Obviously not high quality stuff.

Grand Dining Room not bad service, bur wife's veal piccata was tough and bland. We didn't eat there often, but we did notice some menu items were sometimes repeated the next day. I did not take these to be items you could always order either.

Casino.....problem there too. Went to cash slot ticket and no cashier. Was told she would be back in 10 or 15 minutes. That didn't work as we had a dinner res. So I got the manager. The manager said he couldn't do her work and she couldn't do his, so I'd have to wait. So much for cross-training, right? When my wife heard this, she headed straight to hotel manager and believe me he got the money in a hurry. Let's just say we didn't spend one dollar more in there. So much for good service or even proper service.

About the crew, and this is the toughest thing to write about. I must give mixed reviews. Some were great, accommodating, friendly, and smiling as it should be on a luxury or near luxury product. Others, including some officers, would not return greetings, or smiles, let alone conversations. Often times I found myself standing around waiting for help while two staff socialized. This does not make the passenger feel special or even welcome. Let's just say there is a lot of room for improvement here.

There is more I could say, but perhaps I have already said too much.

Lastly, I want to say there were many satisfied and happy customers...just not us. This is primarily from expecting "the finest cuisine at sea" which in my humble opinion was not delivered, not even close. Shan't be back.

Happy sailings to you all.

"Sorry the food was so bad that you will not cruise on O again. I can understand the cuisine not meeting expectations, and over promising and under delivering is a recipe for failure, and have some recent reports on bland food. I know food is very subjective but for me I cannot imagine O's food so bad as to switch cruise lines. Sorry you were so disappointed. Good luck on your future cruises."

It was indeed about expectation and ours were far too high when the picture is painted as "the finest cuisine at sea". I would not even rate O in my top three based on the very uneven performance of the kitchen on this particular cruise. To each his own I guess. Many passengers were delighted with the offerings, just not us. And thank you for your kind words and Happy Holidays and happy sailing.

We just got off the Riviera on the 22nd and "the finest cuisine at sea" it wasn't, despite Oceania's claim. This was our first and last cruise with Oceania. I guess it was a matter of expectations and ours were not met. The ship by the way was beautiful.

The waiter was aware of the missing meal as was the manager. All apologized profusely, no one knew what happened or who mEssex up.. Tonight as we were leaving dinner the maitre de talked to us again, aplogized, and offered to get us an extra dinner reservation at Red Ginger tomorrow plus a bottle of wine. Oceania is taking care of us. They are making it right. Very impressive customer service.

If you are happy, that's all that counts!

I booked OLife with air and they gave me direct flights both directions. In fact,the very ones I would have chosen myself.. I have to confess I sweated it out up to the point the flights were chosen, because I made the mistake of not opting to go in a day early.

I am sailing on Oceania for the first time 12/12/17, but the specialty restaurant reservations can only be made so many days before the embarkation date, and the number of reservations is based on what cabin category you book. Suites for example are guaranteed two reservations in each restaurant whereas categories below suites are only guaranteed one reservation in each specialty restaurant. I was able to make my reservations for a 12/12/17 sailing in a B1 veranda at precisely 12:01a 10/28/17. I was able to get a table for two in all restaurants as I must have been among some of the first in Concierge and lower to make reservations. My choices were limited to times of either 8 or 9 pm. If you are willing to be flexible and share tables with others you will have more choices with dining times. I suggest you make your reservations as soon as they become available. If you go on Oceania.com, "manage your account" can assist you with this.

"Until breakfast this morning the cruise has been glitch free. Our meal never came so we left the dining room and went up to the buffet."

Are you saying you brought this to the attention of your waiter and no action was taken or explanation offered? This is bad, very bad.

Thank you for your post. We will be first-timers on Riviera in December. Of late we have been Celebrity suite passengers. Your brief comment is reassuring. I have been somewhat concerned about our expectations for the Oceania brand.

Undated on S2 2129. One night we had a sound like a golf ball rolling with the waves. Lol it was the sparkling wine. Yes during the day if the TV is off I do hear a cart at times. I want to say 2 times a day. Really I think the Suites is very nice. Great location.

 

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Thank you for your input.

I will say that I think we were in 2133 on Silhouette. We heard a lot of noise like a conveyor belt in the ceiling. I enjoy have our suite on deck 12, but don't know if I dare have a suite aft of 2129.

 

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Good to know. 2121 would be forward of that. Hope it is conveyor free. Thanks.

We are on our 4th day on Solstice in 2129 it has been quiet.

 

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Good to hear it. Thanks for the info.

We've been in 2123 on Eclipse and Equinox with no noise issues. The area above is a carpeted dining area.

That's reassuring. Thank you Mary Lou.

I have stayed in 2125 on Equinox. Minimal noise. One morning, around 5:30, because I was awake, I could faintly hear carts rolling. The noise would not have woken me. I was told by someone who is knowlegable that 2121, 2123, and 2125, and the comparable cabins on starboard, are under the carpeted areas of the Oceanview, so they are the quietist.

Very helpful Straughn....thanks a lot.

I was hoping for some feedback on the S2 Sky suites on deck 12 (2121 and 2119) of the Equinox immediately below the Oceanview. Is there a noise issue with these cabins due to chair movement, carts, voices, etc. above? Thank you.

Murano

Bistro on 5 is to Sushi on 5 as Molecular Bar is to World Class Bar.