mamaclark

Just now, cruisemom42 said:

 

I do exactly the same, and I agree with your assessment.

 

I am a bit overwhelmed. I was sure when I opened this topic I would be shouted down as a traitor to O. Clearly, I misread the current climate AND my fellow cruisers. Forgive? What I have learned is that "times they are a changin' " in cruising and that I need to realize the old days at the price point I am willing to spend are gone. So, I shall look at this cruise from a different and more relative/current perspective. I cannot tell y'all how helpful this has been to us. 

50 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

We had no bad meals (but those cookies need butter!),

Now that made me laugh!

17 minutes ago, QuestionEverything said:

But my intent to book with O is very much gone given the skipped port, likely to skip ports and the 1 hr reduction in port time due to "environmental" bull.

Thank you! Skipped ports and reduced ports were an issue for us in Alaska. We book for the itinerary. We have a lot to consider for this cruise since we will only have 48 hours to make a decision. May need to look at 2025. Thanks.

36 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

With our multiple cruises on Oceania, we have reasonable expectations on what to expect. We know which foods they generally do well, and what to avoid. Therefore, even though we still get some excellent meals, some mediocre, and some poor ones; we generally trend to very good because we don’t reorder those that have proven substandard. We only rarely see less than great service, but it does occasionally happen. They are wine stewards, not sommeliers. Expect no more.

 

Overall, as far as food and services go, I don’t believe Oceania has declined much since Covid. Destination Services has always been a train wreck, so we try to book our own private tours. I believe the greatest difference between now and pre Covid on O is the number of ports now missed and or the number of port hours cut. It went from a rare occurrence, to happening most every cruise. Outside of the debt issues and saving money, this no longer has anything to do with Covid.

 I agree! Thank you for mentioning the skipped ports.

1 hour ago, Sthrngary said:

I shared this with you to give you yet another perspective form a long time vacation cruiser.  Many will agree, many will disagree and some will just give you their perspective.  Take everyone with a grain of salt as you should also take me.  This is social media and CruiseCritic.com should be a safe environment. 

I appreciate your excellent review and thank you for sharing your perspective. To be fair, there were too many "at sea" days (some scheduled, some not) FOR US which meant a lot more ship time. That could not be helped. We love the destination intensive itineraries O typically offers. We essentially use cruising to see the places we know we want to visit, but may never go on our own. Thus, our floating hotel needs to be comfortable, clean, have good food and worth the cost. Thank you!

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

We will be honest, candid, and back-up what we say with facts.  Folks can certainly dispute subjective issues (such as the quality of beef) but "inedible" or "cold" is something that most understand. 

Such an excellent post. I hope you are able to share your experience with us. One thing I should have stressed was the outstanding staff you will encounter on O, from top to bottom. I could never say enough good about them! Enjoy!

5 hours ago, tigerfan75 said:

It’s unfortunate that you had such a poor experience, and that recent reviews are making you doubt your choice of O for future cruises.  Only you can make that call.

 

So, I can only pass along another R-ship experience.  Currently on the Insignia from LA to Bali, 55-days.  It is the best cruise experience we have ever had.  Sure, some things were not up to par, and we reported them, or wrote them into the surveys.  O quickly acted on most of them.  Still, an overall great experience and value for our dollar, so we have booked a 50th Wedding Anniversary trip to Alaska with multiple staterooms for Family in 2025.

 

Best of luck in whatever you choose to do.

Thank you for your thoughtful and kind response. Have a wonderful celebration with your family.

As always, we chose this cruise for the itinerary. Japan, Vietnam and Singapore are of particular interest to us. 

7 hours ago, osandomir said:

Would you please provide an example of what cruise line offers a better itinerary to Japan. It’s definitely possible. We mostly cruise with Oceania but I would really be interested to look it up.

7 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Well, as one example, I'll point to the 28-day Japan "cherry blossom" cruise I took last April on Holland America. Just for starters, you get 28 days circumnavigating all of the main islands of Japan for less than the price of the 16 day Regatta cruise mentioned by the OP.

 

(HAL does offer a limited number of Japan cruises in the fall, but to me cherry blossom timing was a big driver, and while it's a bit of a crap shoot as to whether you'll hit "full bloom" or not, the HAL itinerary is designed to take you from the south to the north, so at some point along the way you're bound to hit the sweet spot.)

 

The Oceania itinerary really doesn't even include that much of Japan, and does none of the very interesting and lesser known northern ports. (For example, I really liked Aomori and Hakodate). It does include stops in other places like Vietnam and Singapore, which is fine, but it's not Japan.

 

The HAL cruise has the minimum number of extra-Japan stops (at least one foreign port per cruise, much like US regulations, and the 28-day cruise is really considered 2 14-day cruises...) The 2024 itinerary (now sold out) is shown below as it is fairly similar to the 2023 one I did, although it does include a few more intriguing-sounding ports on the western side.

 

There are probably others as well. All I know is that when I was looking for 2023, O's itineraries were not even in my top 3 or 4.

 

 

Oceania Regatta Itinerary:

 

 

HAL Itinerary:

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, Snaefell3 said:

News Flash: NCLH, CCL, RCL, etc. spent 2 years with expenses and no revenue, subsisting off salvaged ships and massive borrowing.

 

Where do y'all expect the cash to pay off COVID debt is going to come from?  Not just Oceania/NCLH's $6,000,000,000, but all the other lines' debts, too?

 

Some of it is going to come from suspended dividends, but no surprise if it comes out of value delivered to passengers, too.  Decide cruising is no longer for you if you wish, but I'm going to have "realistic expectations" until the good times come again (they are, aren't they? 🙄).

 

 

Thank you for your perspective, but this is their problem, not mine. I buy, they supply.

So noted.

18 minutes ago, lj77346 said:

So hopefully all will be well on the Regatta this year as I will be sailing on her for 23 days in April and May.  You can't get a hit everytime you go to bat, so I hope the Regatta isn't in a prolonged slump.

I appreciate your response very much. I suspect there is a tremendous difference between Vista and Regatta. I suppose we could just arrange to eat ashore when we can.

Thank you, I  realize for every bad review there are many good ones unwritten. I am agonizing over whether to pull the trigger on this rather expensive cruise when the list clears, which undoubtedly it will. All I can do is compare prior experiences. I never had a bad bite of food on Oceania, never. Were you on the Regatta?

I continue to struggle with posting anything negative about a cruise line I have touted and loved for so long. We had an absolutely hideous Alaska cruise last summer on Regatta and I did not publicly post, only complained to my TA. We have tried to book the Tokyo to Singapore cruise since before Covid, no one's fault for sure. We are waitlisted for the Oct. 29 cruise. Since booking I continue to monitor reviews for Oceania and I am staggered by the number of mediocre and downright bad reviews on the food. On Oceania! I had three inedible meals and one that never arrived. So understaffed, too! Does anyone read the reviews or pay attention?  I know, this is heresy.

On 2/8/2024 at 3:58 PM, clo said:

Excellent point, excellently made. Thanks.

This made me laugh! Good one! I have often wondered if some of the comments come from "plants" from other cruise lines. Anyone else?

On 9/22/2023 at 1:02 PM, Acrusa said:

Free laundry but on 7 day cruise really don't matter I guess.

It takes three days to get your laundry back, too, so you must plan carefully.

On 8/8/2023 at 6:00 AM, chromered7 said:

Because of the recent changes on our usual cruise line has the experience remained the same on O ? We are looking at alternatives for cruises in the future and O  has a very good reputation  but is that still true?

I have yet to post a review and I intend to...but briefly, we just returned from an Alaskan cruise on the Regatta August 28-September 7. This was our fourth O cruise and it paled in comparison to our previous cruises. The food was lack luster and repetitive, not bad, just very ordinary. My husband sent back two steaks, one in Polo (raw) and the other from GDR (full of gristle). I finally cancelled my entree another evening (GDR) at 9:20 after hearing nothing to let us know what was taking so long. They were short staffed in most areas and we had a language barrier with too many of the staff in the restaurants. I think that is what I missed the most, not having that chance to build a relationship with the staff we saw every day. We did love our room steward and rewarded her in our reviews and gratuities. We came home and canceled a cruise we booked for next spring.😥

10 hours ago, LHT28 said:

it does not matter  they have to turn them in 

If you do not remove the auto tips  then staff member will get the $ back

 We usually give  the staff an envelope with  a note of thanks & cabin #  so the Purser can check  for auto tips

Really? I cannot leave our wonderful cabin steward a little something extra?

1 hour ago, rbtan said:

Yes. Some of us know how to be more generous than others. We're in the hospitality industry. We always tip over and above.We're talking about our attendant(and assistant)For the rest. we tip over & above if we have fixed seating. Otherwise we just leave the auto tip alone. If one removes the auto tip, they should not be cruising. To say I don't have enough is hogwash.

Wow! I should have been more specific about trying to clarify the bar tab with auto tip vs. cash. Having said that, we are keenly aware of how hard people in the hospitality industry work and, if anything, are a little over the top. We can and do "know how" to do that; for some though this is the trip of a lifetime and they cannot do "over and above." You know what they say...walk a mile in my shoes and those would not be Ferragamos. Have a blessed day.

4 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I have seen people try that  & just cough under their  arm  anyway  so the germs are still in the air waiting for someone 🤑

 

Works for me and the CDC. I think the point is never to cough or sneeze into your hands. 

On 8/6/2023 at 9:29 AM, LHT28 said:

After you cough or sneeze  into your hands  GO WASH your hands  or at least gel up

Use the inside of your elbow if you cannot sneeze or cough into a tissue. Throw tissues away and wash hands. CDC

5 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Just to be clear, the only tip that is discretionary is the cabin-based gratuity ($18 or $23 per person per day which can be increased or decreased). The gratuities for drinks and spa services are mandatory and will be charged to your account.

Yes, got it, thanks for reinforcing. The cabin service is always so outstanding, I can't imagine anyone not giving AT LEAST what they suggest.

Just now, AMHuntFerry said:

They were discussing tips at land-based restaurants.  People do not typically tip in the restaurants on O, although there are exceptions for say, Privee (private rented room) or some other exceptional service.

 

Most of it regarded the bar. I appreciated the tip on using cash rather than just signing to the cabin. Thought I had better check...thanks so much!

On 7/3/2023 at 9:47 AM, redraider1966 said:

Plus 1.  We base our tip on the amount before taxes, being careful about the charge for any alcohol purchases.  If the restaurant offers a "suggested" tip, presumably to make it easier on the customer to determine the appropriate amount, we look closely at the amount on which the "suggested" tip is based before accepting the "suggestion."

You are doing all this on TOP of the amount charged for gratuities by O?

On 7/15/2023 at 11:46 AM, Sny said:

Check Tours by Locals.  We've had nothing but good experiences with them.  Excellent communications.

I am happy to see this and would be interested to know where you have used them. We are booked in April 2024 Tokyo to Singapore. I am looking at them for Tokyo.