Marina Review

[doowopbob]

We were aboard Marina for a cruise from Athens to Rome 11-14 to 11-24. This was our first time on Oceana and I must say that after this cruise we are spoiled. We have cruised 3 times on HAL which we considered our favorite cruse line along with Celebrity until now. I really don't think they can compare to Oceana.

The Marina is a beautiful ship. From the time we arrived at the dock in Athens until we left the ship in Rome we were treated like royalty. I must say that while the service on the other lines we have sailed on has been for the most part very good they were not as good as on Marina. I made a game of trying to get past a crew member without them smiling and wishing us well and I failed. We stayed in a Penthouse suite which I would highly recommend. Our butler (sorry to say I don't remember his name) was so much better than the one we had recently on Celebrity. When you called his page he was either knocking on your door or calling you within 20 seconds, and he couldn't have been nicer.

 

I can't comment on the Main dinning room as we never ate there. I will say that several people who did had problems with under or over cooked food. We ate at Red Ginger twice, The Polo Grill twice, Jacques once and Toscana twice. Our butler was able to get us the extra reservation at Red Ginger and we were able to get into the Polo Grill and Toscana by throwing ourselves on the mercy of the Maitre d. The other two nights we had our butler serve us in our room from Jacques and The Polo Grill. All these restaurants were fantastic in our view. I never thought I'd ever say I was "all lobstered out" but after this cruise I was.

 

The only (minor) complaints about Marina have been echoed by others. The shower is too small. We had no need of a tub and would have preferred a shower that you can turn around in. Also the layout of the library is ridiculous. The arm chairs and sofas are laid out so that you can't get to the shelves to check out the book when someone is sprawled out in them which is always.

 

The only ship's tour we took was the bus ride into Florence which was ridiculously over priced as were all the ships tours. We arranged all our other tours with people we met on our roll call. Had wonderful weather throughout the cruise.

 

On the last day of the cruise we did something we have never done before which was to put a deposit down for a future cruise. After sailing on Oceana and Marina we would find it hard to sail on any other cruise line. We appreciate very much the strict smoking policy and the lack of children's programs which makes it more of an adult experience. We are looking forward to our next cruise.

[BillPizzaiolo]

Nice review. You seem to echo what most of us feel about Marina. Thanks, Bill

[cathi]

Yes - after sailing on Marina it is really hard to think of cruising on any other ship!!! We too were impressed with the crew and the food. We,also, never made it to the main dining room in our 12 days onboard. We loved the relaxed attitude and the overwhelming choice of food in the buffet that we ate there most times!!

 

Sure hope the Riveria is just as good!!!

[Mura]

OTOH, Cathi, Howard and I DID get to the GDR a couple of times for dinner. Our experiences weren't as I've seen from others -- we had prompt attentive service and the food was just fine.

 

That being said, our favorite restaurant was Jacques. We were disappointed with Red Ginger (which we HAD expected to like best) so we only dined there once.

 

Loved the ship but not the REALLY long walk from our forward cabin all the way aft to the restaurants.

 

Mura

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review.

 

Kirk

[RetiredFL]

We were on the same cruise as Mura and agree the MDR was fine for both food and service. We found no evidence of the slowness complained of by others.

However I did notice several officers around the ship that I recognized from the R ships but were not listed in the brochure or acknowledged by the captain at the cocktail party. I got the sense they were observing and advising the Marina staff of improvements to be made or procedures to be changed. Just my impression but it appears valid.

We agree we enjoyed Jacques much more than Red Ginger. It seemed like a more relaxed atmosphere. I suspect that since we are from the SF Bay area we have plenty of great Asian restaurants so Red Ginger was not as much of a treat as it might be for some. Mura and Howard may feel the same being from NYC.

We truly enjoyed the ship but certainly have not abandoned the R ships and may still favor them slightly. If we had to rate them, Marina would be a 9.50 and the R ships a 9.55!

[CintiPam]

Thanks for posting your review. We absolutely loved our Marina experience in the Baltics in June and look forward to checking out the 2013 itineraries for both Marina and Riviera.

[findacruise]

DH and I are currently on our first Regent cruise. We love the suite, have had fabulous shore excursions and it's a great itinerary and price. But we sure do miss the food on Oceania and the speciality restaurants. So far we have eaten in Prime 7,main DR and Veranda buffet. Their king crab legs were outstanding, but the crab cake had too much filler and the onion soup no match. We dine in Signatures in 2 nights so we'll see how that is. Food in main DR is good, don't get me wrong. Veranda buffet in the evening can't match Marina, but the neither do the R ships. I know food is subjective, so this is MHO and my DH's too. Oh yes, and the couple we are traveling with. Perhaps with a common owner they could trade some recipes! Cheers from Safaga, Jordan :)

[Cruiser Jane]

I'm really surprised at how many of you prefer Terrace Cafe to the MDR! We usually go to the MDR. Never a crowd (because you are all in the Terrace Cafe - thank you), and the service and food are wonderful! My husband and I cook at home all the time and host dinner parties where we serve others. I really enjoy being served. And I've never had a problem with the time between dishes. We almost always dine with other CC members and it's so much fun.

 

Ok, now for my review: We also found the shower to be too small and too short for tall people, and we'd rather have had the bathroom reconfigured with a larger shower, no tub, and a larger closet! I had to crawl on hands and knees into the very small closet in the regular staterooms, to retrieve my shoes. You couldn't see because your clothes were blocking the light, and couldn't fit between the night table and the sliding closet door towards the wall. O can easily fix this but probably won't. It would involve giving up a full sofa for a loveseat and moving the bed, fixed headboard and night tables over so one can get in the closet!

 

I'm surprised noone has mentioned the elevator problem. Maybe O has fixed this - again a simple fix. There are 2 sets of elevators across from each other. Each has a button which is not tied in to the other side. When someone wants to call the elevator, they press both buttons. Thus both elevator sets come to get them. Consequently the elevators stop at every floor to pick up noone! They are sometimes totally full and it's not possible to walk 10 floors on Marina. I'm sure other larger ships have this problem also. I have always tried to walk the stairs whenever possible, and this is possible on the "R" ships, but not on Marina when you are going from Red Ginger to Horizons! 10 decks!!!

 

Specialty Restaurants: We ate in Red Ginger 3 times, and all the others at least once. You don't need a butler to get an extra night in one of the SR's. I found all of them to be good most of the time, and all of them to have a bad night; just like your favorite restaurants at home. There is always a new waiter or cook who hasn't quite learned the ropes. But overall I think the food on all the Oceania ships is excellent! Yes we've had a bad experience here and there, but overall, it's mostly good.

 

Likewise, we've had good cruises, and not so good cruises with Oceania. We have booked what will be our 9th next Nov. 22 Rome to Rio. But DH and I have had a great time on all of our cruises and that's because of all of you! Our CC family. WE MAKE OUR OWN FUN!

 

Cheers,

Jan

[Paulchili]

I'm surprised noone has mentioned the elevator problem. Maybe O has fixed this - again a simple fix. There are 2 sets of elevators across from each other. Each has a button which is not tied in to the other side. When someone wants to call the elevator, they press both buttons. Thus both elevator sets come to get them. Consequently the elevators stop at every floor to pick up noone! They are sometimes totally full and it's not possible to walk 10 floors on Marina. Cheers,

Jan

 

Oh, it's been mentioned more than once - you just probably missed it.

It is a problem indeed - and it should be relatively easy to fix, in my non-professional opinion.

Glad you are enjoying the MDR, leaving the Terrance Cafe that much less crowded for us :D

[Love.II.Cruise]

Thank you for the review! We can't wait till our cruise.

[yorkiemomjn]

Thanks for posting your review. We absolutely loved our Marina experience in the Baltics in June and look forward to checking out the 2013 itineraries for both Marina and Riviera.

 

Pam, we loved that cruise, too! We will probably book another one for 2013 when we are on the Riviera's maiden voyage in April. Maybe we will get to cruise together again!! :D

[CintiPam]

Pam, we loved that cruise, too! We will probably book another one for 2013 when we are on the Riviera's maiden voyage in April. Maybe we will get to cruise together again!! :D

 

That would be wonderful. I am sorry that I will not be getting back to Istanbul in 2012, as I had hoped, but this wedding planning business definitely is time consuming! (I confess I had damp eyes when daughter emerged from the dressing room while trying on her first wedding gown.)

 

So we will be enjoying our first October cruise and our first not on Oceania. Looking forward to a fabulous itinerary, which includes a return to fantastic Malta and four new ports in Sicily (great for history buffs like Mr. you-know-who) and personally checking out the differences between my beloved Oceania and Azamara.

[roothy123]

I know most people don't cruise to do laundry, but my husband has a bit of a thing about it. Are there small laundry rooms on Marina? Yes, I think??

[JimandStan]

I know most people don't cruise to do laundry, but my husband has a bit of a thing about it. Are there small laundry rooms on Marina? Yes, I think??

 

Yes, there is a self serve laundromat on every passenger cabin deck. :D

[ksps cruise fan]

Ok, now for my review: We also found the shower to be too small and too short for tall people, and we'd rather have had the bathroom reconfigured with a larger shower, no tub, and a larger closet!

 

The shower is still a problem and universally hated. Chatting with the ship's concierge, I asked about changes to Riviera. He immediately said, "I hope they're going to change the showers in the bathrooms.

 

I met two very, very tall gentleman who went to the spa each night to shower and get dressed. They simply couldn't shower in their suite.

 

Thinking about the many tub/shower combinations we've seen in European hotels, Marina could do a very simple, very quick fix as a stop gap measure until they completely re-do their bathrooms. There's room to install a panel of glass to "largely" block the water spray. With a second hook for the hand-held shower installed higher on the wall where a fixed shower head would go, that would be a huge improvement over the current version.

 

 

I'm surprised noone has mentioned the elevator problem. Maybe O has fixed this - again a simple fix.

 

Fixed. The elevators work the way they should.

 

Specialty Restaurants: We ate in Red Ginger 3 times, and all the others at least once. You don't need a butler to get an extra night in one of the SR's.

 

There's a desk on the 5th floor devoted to handling restaurant reservations on the day-of. That's where cruisers who don't have a butler should go on the day-of to see about an extra visit to a specialty restaurant. Although the desk is staffed until the early evening, you really need to pay a visit no later than 9:00 a.m.

 

Jacques is the hardest to land an extra reservation because of its popularity.

[Mura]

Jacques is the hardest to land an extra reservation because of its popularity.

 

 

Our experience is probably somewhat "off" because we went there on the first night of our Oct 21 cruise (Rome to Istanbul). Our butler had booked us into Jacques that first night but in the morning I told him we would be six people. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to give him the names and cabin numbers of the other people so he wasn't able to book the reservation.

 

That's fine, we said, we'll just go down to the GDR. Which we did.

 

Once we got there and asked for a table for six, they asked if we wanted to go to Jacques!

 

We had a fabulous night there, right by the kitchen so we could watch all they were doing.

 

Hubby and I dined there twice more and it was more crowded each night. But that first night it was pretty empty.

 

For US -- I say again for US -- we much preferred Jacques to Red Ginger. And we didn't encounter the problems others have in the GDR.

 

And yes, the Terrace Cafe was great for lunch and dinner -- we never got there for breakfast but I have no doubt it was great for breakfast as well. We had a VERY port-intensive cruise and so we had breakfast just about every morning in our room. But my mother taught us the glories of breakfast in the GDR back in 2004 when we took her on a cruise, and so since then if we don't have an early morning tour -- then we opt for the GDR for breakfast. That's ONE way to limit your intake!

 

Mura

[jb111guy]

My wife and I will be sailing for our first cruise ever on marina on 3/7 from Miami to the Caribbean for 12 nights. We understand that shore excursions with other passengers arranged in advance online with non-Oceania operators can be very good. Any ideas?

 

How is Oceania with dietary challenges (gluten-free and lactose intolerant). Also, is it hard to get into the specialty restaurants beyond the allowed guaranteed reservations (one in each of the four venues)? I think we will have a concierge or butler as we are in a penthouse suite.

 

Does anyone know about the cooking classes? My wife adores cooking and baking and this will be important to her. Also, how are the workout facilities. I need circuit training every day if I am not to gain 20 pounds in 12 days.

 

Many thanks and happy New Year to all from us in LA.

 

J and V

[LHT28]

My wife and I will be sailing for our first cruise ever on marina on 3/7 from Miami to the Caribbean for 12 nights. We understand that shore excursions with other passengers arranged in advance online with non-Oceania operators can be very good. Any ideas?

 

Go to the ROLL CALL area and click on Marina then the sailing date

You will fine your fellow shipmates & may be willing to share private tours

 

How is Oceania with dietary challenges (gluten-free and lactose intolerant).

Contact the cruise line in advance (NOW) & they will have everything in place when you embark

Talk to the Maitre'd just to remind them you need special meals

Also, is it hard to get into the specialty restaurants beyond the allowed guaranteed reservations (one in each of the four venues)? I think we will have a concierge or butler as we are in a penthouse suite.

 

Just ask your butler to arrange them

 

Does anyone know about the cooking classes?

J and V

 

Cooking classes can be found @

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/ships/marina/lifestyle/bonappetit.aspx

 

enjoy

[Paulchili]

The shower is still a problem and universally hated. Chatting with the ship's concierge, I asked about changes to Riviera. He immediately said, "I hope they're going to change the showers in the bathrooms.

Jacques is the hardest to land an extra reservation because of its popularity.

 

I agree with the showers being somewhat of a problem but unlike you, I wish for removal of tubs to allow for a larger shower stall :D

It's interesting to see that Jacques was the most popular - it usually is Red Ginger. Perhaps it varies from cruise to cruise.

[JimandStan]

I agree with the showers being somewhat of a problem but unlike you, I wish for removal of tubs to allow for a larger shower stall

 

I thought that it had already been established that the tubs were being modified by the addition of shower curtains and hand held showers for benefit of those who don't care for the shower stalls.

[ksps cruise fan]

I thought that it had already been established that the tubs were being modified by the addition of shower curtains and hand held showers for benefit of those who don't care for the shower stalls.

 

I'm curious where you got your information about Marina modifications to the shower. I like your information much more than mine, but mine suggests nothing concrete about a retro-fit.

[ksps cruise fan]

I agree with the showers being somewhat of a problem but unlike you, I wish for removal of tubs to allow for a larger shower stall :D

It's interesting to see that Jacques was the most popular - it usually is Red Ginger. Perhaps it varies from cruise to cruise.

 

I also would prefer a larger shower stall, but that will require a major re-do of the entire room; I doubt that Oceania would pull its newest ship out of service for this fix. I'm hoping for the quickest, easiest fix immediately so other cruisers won't have to suffer.

 

Although my husband and I love Asian cuisine -- we ate Thai last night since I wasn't able to get to a grocery store after arriving home -- I was disappointed by Red Ginger's version of each dish. In Toscana and now in Jacques, the emphasis is on authenticity. In Red Ginger, the recipes aren't even close to authentic despite text claiming otherwise.

 

My husband ordered the spiced lamb chops. While he liked the lamb itself well enough, he couldn't taste any of the Asian spices.

 

My tuna tataki was drizzled artfully with a cream sauce that theoretically contained wasabi but that seasoning was AWOL. When I asked about the traditional Yuzu sauce I was told that that sauce came with some other appetizer, and I didn't have my wits about me to say bring it anyway. This problem of weak spicing was repeated on my noodle entree (not pad Thai.) The seasoning wasn't up to the level of Thai restaurants in America. Of course, American levels aren't even close to the native version in those countries. The preparation was so incredibly bland that I asked for the condiment tray to doctor my food.

 

I may have been the first person to ask our particular waiter for the condiments since he had no idea what I was talking about. I reassured him that any Asian restaurant would have a condiment tray and to simply ask the chef. Eventually, the condiment tray was presented with great flourish and and the statement that the chef makes all his own condiments. Whoops! That became pretty obvious. The custom-made Sriracha sauce had about half the power of the authentic Hoy Fong bottled version. The diced green chilies weren't steeped in vinegar the traditional way, but seemingly packed in water diluting the flavor. And so on. When a diner can't even adjust the seasoning because the condiments themselves are watered down that's just wrong. Now, you don't know me so you don't understand how hysterically funny my complaint is. I'm not a chile head! I can't eat Thai-authentic heat levels! So for me to be complaining about lack of heat is totally atypical. But that's how weak the flavoring was.

 

The decor of Red Ginger is staggeringly beautiful and I was even willing to eat there a second time. (I figured I'd be happy with a meal of sushi/sashimi and tuna tataki and the lamb despite it's lack of Asian flavor.) However, my husband wasn't enthusiastic and we never bothered to try again.

 

Now, I know that some folks reading this review will disagree strongly, but I wanted to share my different point of view.

[TKS]

 

How is Oceania with dietary challenges (gluten-free and lactose intolerant).

J and V

 

One of our new friends on a recent cruise was lactose and gluten intolerant, so we got to see how O works for dietary restrictions.

 

Once you've let O know of your dietary needs, you will be presented with menue choices each day for your meals. It means a little pre-planning for your meals, but you will find O very serious about meeting dietary needs. I even saw O present gluten free bread at dinner for our friend on the spur of the moment.

[wiks]

In May, we traveled on Marina for 16 days with a friend who needs gluten free meals. She could not have been happier with the gluten-free service, menus and ordering process. She was very impressed.:)

 

Wiks