cruzadict Posted January 5, 2012 #1 Share Posted January 5, 2012 We are booked on Xmas/New Year cruise on Riviera and as this is our first cruise with Oceania was wondering what festivities etc are in place for the cruise. A re there many children on board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksps cruise fan Posted January 5, 2012 #2 Share Posted January 5, 2012 We are booked on Xmas/New Year cruise on Riviera and as this is our first cruise with Oceania was wondering what festivities etc are in place for the cruise. A re there many children on board? My husband and I just got back from the Marina holiday cruise. Why don't you begin by reading my posts on this board? I've already shared a lot of information. I'll try to post later specifically answering your question about holiday festivities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted January 5, 2012 #3 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Having sailed on the Marina for 19 days last April from Miami to Barcelona and thoroughly enjoyed it with the exception of a few issues I made the mistake of recommending the ship to good friends for the Christmas/New Year Caribbean cruise. To say they hated it is an understatement. Hundreds of unruly kids. Understaffed pool area, Useless butler in their PH1. And that's just the beginning. Listening to the stories it was as if we had sailed on two different ships. The moral imo is never to sail during the holidays, especially to the Caribbean. If you have to I recommend one of the luxury line with smaller ships and lesser chances of so many kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksps cruise fan Posted January 5, 2012 #4 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Having sailed on the Marina for 19 days last April from Miami to Barcelona and thoroughly enjoyed it with the exception of a few issues I made the mistake of recommending the ship to good friends for the Christmas/New Year Caribbean cruise. To say they hated it is an understatement. Hundreds of unruly kids. Fact: The ship sailed with almost 70 kids -- not hundreds. I never heard any explanation of the age range included in the count. As I wrote earlier many kids were well behaved. As we were leaving the ship, I saw a number of kids I hadn't seen -- or more significantly heard -- the entire cruise. HOWEVER... A gang of approximately 30 kids were essentially out of control much of the cruise with no parental supervision and inadequate control by ship staff. The problem got worse as the cruise went on. The gang seems to have formed on the ship; the culprits were both English speakers and Spanish speakers who became friends. I'm sorry your friends hated the cruise, but there really was respite from the gang. I never crossed paths with any of the kids at night with the exception of an on-deck party New Year's Eve. We saw almost no kids in the specialty restaurants. On Christmas multi-generational families filled the very large tables near us in the GDR and the kids' behavior was flawless. The kids were well dressed and they visited pleasantly with their family members. Occasionally a kid might get out of his/her seat but only to take a picture of the family. Any time we returned to the ship from a port call in early afternoon, the pool was quiet and relaxed for most of the remaining hours until dinner. The families seemed to stay off the ship until the last minute. During one of the last shows of the cruise, two kids were seated in the front row of the audience; I think it was the night the cruise director performed. This had not been the case any other nights. The two girls were not talkative while they were in their seats but they got bored and would leave the theater for a while only to re-enter. Frankly, if the cruise director had not tried to score some humorous points off their behavior, the show could have gone on without anyone being affected. Still, I don't want to minimize the outrageous behavior of the gang with the kids' constant running and screaming. (I was certain someone was going to get hurt, and I only hoped it was not one of the frail seniors amoung the guests.) The offending families ought to have been put off the ship at the next port. I remember a ship -- Carnival??? -- that had a total non-smoking policy and anyone caught smoking on board was put off at the next port. Oceania's marketing material is unambiguous about the tone of the ship. They should follow that model. I've got to believe that the good will Oceania would achieve would outweigh the anger from the parents whose children cause the problems. Understaffed pool area, That situation ebbed and flowed. Even during the periods when I thought there should have been more chair attendents and/or drink waiters, I was more willing to walk over to someone to make my requests known than stew about the delay. Besides, once the batch of poolside attendandents realized my husband and I were inclined to ask for water/soda/etc, they would glance our way when walking around thereafter. Problem solved. Useless butler in their PH1. And that's just the beginning. Listening to the stories it was as if we had sailed on two different ships. The moral imo is never to sail during the holidays, especially to the Caribbean. If you have to I recommend one of the luxury line with smaller ships and lesser chances of so many kids. In spite of my more balanced take on our holiday cruise, my husband and I have come to that conclusion as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksps cruise fan Posted January 5, 2012 #5 Share Posted January 5, 2012 We are booked on Xmas/New Year cruise on Riviera and as this is our first cruise with Oceania was wondering what festivities etc are in place for the cruise. A re there many children on board? Festivities: o There are decorations throughout the ship. o There was a gingerbread village in a corner of the GDR bar. The gingerbread houses themselves weren't particularly spectacular, but as we approached Christmas and thereafter, the pastry chefs put plates of dried fruit and cookies among the village structures. o Santa arrived on Deck 15 at 9:00 a.m. on Christmas day, paraded through the ship and then distributed toys in the central area of Deck 5 for about an hour. o Guests were invited to join with the dancers, who must have acceptable singing voices too, to form a holiday chorus. This group paraded through the ship singing on Christmas afternoon. o "Now That's What I Call Christmas" was the name of the show Christmas night. The show consisted of Christmas music performed largely by the excellent ship's singers but the guest chorus did one song. The show was bewilderingly rounded out by a typical production-style group of songs that had no relationship to Christmas with the performers wearing costumes that had no relationship to the holiday either. o Special menus offered Christmas Eve, Christmas night and New Year's Eve. We overheard one of the restaurant managers say that the special holiday meals would be offered at all the restaurants, although the regular menus were also available. o Parties in Horizons, around the pool deck, and in Martinis at mid-night for New Year's Eve. There were some very, very dressed up women on New Year's Eve, but I don't think the number was more than 50. Probably fewer than 20 men wore tuxedos on New Year's Eve. Most people were more dressed than usual, but not dramatically so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted January 6, 2012 #6 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I remember a ship -- Carnival??? -- that had a total non-smoking policy and anyone caught smoking on board was put off at the next port. Oceania's marketing material is unambiguous about the tone of the ship. They should follow that model. I've got to believe that the good will Oceania would achieve would outweigh the anger from the parents whose children cause the problems. KSPS, I remember hearing about that incident. On the one hand I had sympathy for the families involved --not the two boys who were caught smoking. But I did agree with the policy. If you have a policy and don't enforce it, you might as well not have a policy. Certainly those two families learned a lesson. I wonder what punishment the two boys got when everyone got home. I hope it was significant! That incident took place a long time ago, I think ... Since the Princess fire a few years ago I think that the no-smoking rules have been stringently enforced. Am I wrong? As to the behavior of the children, it seems that many people were unhappy with their demeanor. The ship should certainly have weighed in here. Could it be that the offended passengers complained among themselves but not to ship personnel? I'm not justifying the ship's non-reaction if that happened. But the first thing to do, I think, is to complain to higher-ups on the ship. If they do nothing in response, then you have a serious complaint to make. If nothing is said to them, they may well not know. I am not a polyanna, I just like to see all the sides of a situation ... I would have been MOST unhappy myself on this cruise! Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 6, 2012 #7 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Fact: The ship sailed with almost 70 kids -- not hundreds. I never heard any explanation of the age range included in the count. As I wrote earlier many kids were well behaved. As we were leaving the ship, I saw a number of kids I hadn't seen -- or more significantly heard -- the entire cruise. HOWEVER... A gang of approximately 30 kids were essentially out of control much of the cruise with no parental supervision and inadequate control by ship staff. The problem got worse as the cruise went on. The gang seems to have formed on the ship; the culprits were both English speakers and Spanish speakers who became friends. I am curious as to what the ship's staff could do short of placing the little offenders in the Brig :confused: Perhaps the parents were notified but chose to ignore the warning with the same attitude "it is my cruise & I will do what I want" you see on the mainstream lines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted January 6, 2012 #8 Share Posted January 6, 2012 with the same attitude "it is my cruise & I will do what I want" you see on the mainstream lines At least Oceania does not permit those wretched "Swim-Diapers" in their pools. SO UNSANITARY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksps cruise fan Posted January 6, 2012 #9 Share Posted January 6, 2012 KSPS, I remember hearing about that incident. On the one hand I had sympathy for the families involved --not the two boys who were caught smoking. I think Carnival had to enforce the policy more than once. The other incidents, I recall, involved smokers who had booked the ship as a way to force themselves to stop smoking, but apparently weren't able to follow through. Still, I don't think the policy had to be enforced many times. As you say, this was a very long time ago. If you have a policy and don't enforce it, you might as well not have a policy. Amen to that! One significant difference is that Carnival made all the guests on the ship actually sign a statement of compliance with the non-smoking policy. Wouldn't it be lovely if Oceania instituted a similar procedure for families bringing children aboard! Since the Princess fire a few years ago I think that the no-smoking rules have been stringently enforced. Am I wrong? You're right. There are only two smoking areas anywhere on Marina: a section on the pool deck across from La Reserve restaurant that is well away from the central area with the lounge chairs and a partially glassed-in area in the Horizons lounge. One of the early days of the cruise, I saw ash trays on the tables of the Deck 12 smoking area and lots of smokers were congregated there. I don't believe the ash trays were out again and that area came to be occupied by knitters and board game players. I never smelled smoke elsewhere from people trying to break the rules. As to the behavior of the children, it seems that many people were unhappy with their demeanor. The ship should certainly have weighed in here. Could it be that the offended passengers complained among themselves but not to ship personnel? I know people complained to the powers that be. If I had to speculate, I wonder if people complained about so many things -- great and small -- that I wonder if management blew off the legitimate issues because the complainers showed so little judgement. For example, friends of ours shared the story of their jitney ride around Tortola. Another person on the jitney ride was complaining long and loud about his dissatisfaction with the cruise. The list included a complaint that no one picked up his shoes daily. (He was not in a butler-staffed suite.) Earlier, the man had delivered his criticism in a meeting with the Captain and General Manager, Thierry Tholon. The complainer's greatest outrage was that at the end of the list of complaints, the Captain offered to fly the man home at the next port. (The complainer did not accept the offer.) I certainly have no way of knowing how many others cruisers buried substantive complaints in a flood of trivia. I had an opportunity to chat with Nolan Dean near the end of the cruise on an entirely unrelated matter and he volunteered that our holiday cruise had included more extreme behavior and stressful situations than he had ever encountered on other holiday cruises. I was surprised he volunteered that, but he did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBFlorida Posted January 6, 2012 #10 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Really? I wonder what the baby that was in the pool daily was wearing? I am getting sick thinking she may have been diaperless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 6, 2012 #11 Share Posted January 6, 2012 There are only two smoking areas anywhere on Marina: a section on the pool deck across from La Reserve restaurant I do hope people were not smoking outside La Reserve that is NOT the smoking area .... Please tell me they have NOT moved it:eek: The smoking area when we were on was on the pool deck forwarrd of the pool & under the staircase same area as on the R-ships A few years ago people were put off Oceania for smoking on their balcony even after warnings I think now you do not get a warning just a vacate order Since this was the FIRST holiday cruise for Marina it is not surprising they had more children onboard ....more cabins more kids With all the discounts & promotions you will get more people trying Oceania that would not have done so in the past Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksps cruise fan Posted January 6, 2012 #12 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I do hope people were not smoking outside La Reserve that is NOT the smoking area ....Please tell me they have NOT moved it:eek: The smoking area when we were on was on the pool deck forwarrd of the pool & under the staircase same area as on the R-ships A few years ago people were put off Oceania for smoking on their balcony even after warnings I think now you do not get a warning just a vacate order Perhaps an employee new to Marina put the ashtrays out in the wrong place once. As I wrote, the ash trays were never again placed in front of the La Reserve area. I don't know where the ash trays next appeared. I did think it was odd for the area in front of the expensive surcharge restaurant would be considered the smoking section. Apparently, it wasn't. Between regular vacation rotation and the company's effort to train the staff that will sail on Riviera, cruisers will find a lot of new employees among the staff on Marina. I had particular struggles with lunches at the Waves Grille because of that issue. The Waves Grille is our favorite place for lunch, but the experience was not a turn-key operation. Three time my husband or I ordered something and what appeared on the plate did not include all the elements listed on the menu (e.g. one day the Blackened chicken was served on a bun. Another day it arrived without a bun.) Some days, the Grille waiters would deliver lunch poolside, complete with a system of numbers, and other days the order taker balked at these deliveries. When I wrote about our experiences on the mid-cruise comment card, the restaurant manager called to apologize and to explain the training issues. In spite of the kids... In spite of the glitches like Waves... I chose to have a good time on my vacation cruise and I did. Typically, I find the temps too cool to sit outside on the first and last days of a cruise. Not so this time. We had temps in the low 80s both coming and going so lounging outside two extra days was a gift I'll always associate with this cruise. I liked Jacques restaurant and it offered some variety after our cruises with the two restaurants on R-class ships. The bed was the best bed we've ever experienced -- land or sea -- so that was a gift. I chose to ignore the merely adequate sightlines and enjoy the fact that the singers and dancers were far more talented than the typical crop we'd seen in production shows on other cruise ship lines. The interior decoration was gorgeous so that was a gift. The food remains the best of any cruise line we've sailed. Still, we won't be doing the Caribbean holiday sailing next year and I'll be watching this board closely to see how Oceania handles children both for routine cruises and holiday cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 6, 2012 #13 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Perhaps an employee new to Marina put the ashtrays out in the wrong place once. As I wrote, the ash trays were never again placed in front of the La Reserve area. I don't know where the ash trays next appeared. Perhaps it was some passengers that found the area more comfortable than the smoking area under the stairs A quick call to "00" will remedy the situation;) Good to know they have not move it there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eskie Posted January 7, 2012 #14 Share Posted January 7, 2012 I have found out the reason why we were parked 20 minutes by tender while we were in St. Barts :( Someone told me that the Marina usually tenders closer (5 min tender ride), but the rich and famous were in town! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2081140/Roman-Abramovichs-little-party-400-guests-costs-5m.html The waves were really rough that day and I decided against going, now I am wishing I went and so I could see all the yachts closer up, especially the worlds largest! Some day..maybe one of those will be mine....okay..I'll keep dreaming ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 7, 2012 #15 Share Posted January 7, 2012 The waves were really rough that day and I decided against going, now I am wishing I went and so I could see all the yachts closer up, especially the worlds largest! Some day..maybe one of those will be mine....okay..I'll keep dreaming ;) Here are some shots of the yachts you can dream about http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2677134680101934561Msplgv http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2339246010101934561cVwxJp http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2587569070101934561fDvYRq Some are for rent ;) Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted January 7, 2012 #16 Share Posted January 7, 2012 ksps cruise fan, Perhaps it just seemed like hundreds of kids to them. But even 30 unruly children commandeering the pool area can disrupt any sense of peace and destroy the experience. My friends actually appealed to some of the parents and were sneered at and told to mind their own business. Well, it was their business since they paid good money for the cruise, wanted to sit by the pool and these kids were not allowing them to do so. What can ship's management do about it? Talk to the parents of the offending children because it is their fault that they allow their progeny to run rampant without regard to other peoples' needs. Warn them that if the behavior continues they will be put off at the next port of call. Will they offend these people and risk losing their business? Of course, but by not doing so they are offending other passengers and risk losing their business. They have lost my friends forever as clients and these are people who cruise three to four times a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksps cruise fan Posted January 7, 2012 #17 Share Posted January 7, 2012 ksps cruise fan, Perhaps it just seemed like hundreds of kids to them. But even 30 unruly children commandeering the pool area can disrupt any sense of peace and destroy the experience. My friends actually appealed to some of the parents and were sneered at and told to mind their own business. Well, it was their business since they paid good money for the cruise, wanted to sit by the pool and these kids were not allowing them to do so. I'm fascinated and depressed -- but not surprised -- to learn that the parents blew off your friends. Maybe we all should have spoken directly to the offending kids. After all, the one time I know an adult did complain about foul language, the problem got solved. Now, you and I know that it shouldn't be the responsibility of the other passengers to deal with problem behavior. But which is worse: continuing to do nothing when we all realized that neither the parents nor management was doing anything or having our cruise spoiled to varying degrees? What can ship's management do about it? Talk to the parents of the offending children because it is their fault that they allow their progeny to run rampant without regard to other peoples' needs. Warn them that if the behavior continues they will be put off at the next port of call. Will they offend these people and risk losing their business? Of course, but by not doing so they are offending other passengers and risk losing their business. They have lost my friends forever as clients and these are people who cruise three to four times a year. I agree that management should have done more than they did -- if they did anything. I know they were caught totally by surprise; however, that doesn't excuse their ineffective response. I think the problem will largely solve itself on cruises when school is in session, but I'm sure going to be reading posts about cruises in late February (Islands in the Sun and Mayan Mystique) when so many of the New York and New England schools are out for a President's Day break. With the newer, glitzier ships Oceania has got to figure out who they are as a cruise line and what they're going to do to maintain that identity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted January 8, 2012 #18 Share Posted January 8, 2012 On all my O cruises, taken when school is in session, there has never been one problem with kids. It never even occurred to me that there could be a problem which is why I so heartily recommended O to my friends for their Christmas cruise. I have learned my lesson but unfortunately, Oceania has lost two very frequent cruisers for good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eskie Posted January 8, 2012 #19 Share Posted January 8, 2012 On all my O cruises, taken when school is in session, there has never been one problem with kids. It never even occurred to me that there could be a problem which is why I so heartily recommended O to my friends for their Christmas cruise. I have learned my lesson but unfortunately, Oceania has lost two very frequent cruisers for good. Being a former teacher, I was looking forward to my first O cruise because of what I have read on the boards. With the phrase I have read on here many, many times, what is the best thing about Oceania? - NO KIDS!" I was so excited that I wouldn't have to go into "teacher mode". I feel for your friends getting blindsided with the number of children, there were a lot. I know one of the Junior head waiters and he had told me there were 81 at the beginning of the cruise, but I know we had picked up more families at different ports! We spent a lot of time at the pool, and the time we were there, most of the children were well behaved. A couple of times they had a rather loud game of Marco Polo and another time, there were quite a few children at one time in the pool. Unfortunately, I wish I could say that all adults set good examples - the 1st day, a couple of children were having fun in the pool, and a senior turned around and yelled at them. I didn't hear what he said, but the look on the young girls face! She was stunned, looked at him, looked at her parents, looked at him and didn't know how to react. The children went back to laughing and having fun and the senior went and complained to the bar staff. I was amazed at the situation. Another time I saw a middle age adult doing running jumps and splashing everyone. He did it twice, the second time, an elderly lady said, "I didn't say anything the first time, but that wasn't really necessary to do it again and splash everyone". He basically told her to mind her business, in a "not so nice way". One of those really good parenting moments. We have real mixed feelings whether we will sail with Oceania again. We have a list of positives, but we had a couple of things that happened to us that makes it a deal breaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 9, 2012 #20 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Being a former teacher, I was looking forward to my first O cruise because of what I have read on the boards. With the phrase I have read on here many, many times, what is the best thing about Oceania? - NO KIDS!" The only cruise you are going to have NO KIDS is on one of P & O's adult only ships Oceania has never claimed to be kid free That said we have not really encountered any bad kids on our cruise with 1 exception There was a family group of entertainers (no names... you will know if you sailed with them) but the kids ran amuck during the cruise Most of the limited number of children onboard were well behaved & you hardly knew they were around Now bring on a larger ship & it will attract more families I suspect Oceania was as shocked & unprepared by the hooligans as the passengers were They need to have a plan in place for future cruises where they may have the same situation Maybe a zero tolerance policy on bad behavior by children & adults alike As I have stated before the discounts & lower fares may bring a different type of passenger to Oceania GOSH I am starting to sound snooty :eek: Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted January 9, 2012 #21 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Lyn, I wanted to write to you privately about something but my computer has totally disappeared my file regarding the Norway cruise. Could you write to me at mura at speakeasy dot net? It's NOT important, but if I can get the name of the cruise itinerary, maybe I can retrieve the missing material. Thanks, Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redmanflorida Posted January 9, 2012 #22 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Simple solution Life Guard and a Uniformed Security Officer it seems every one wants to be Polictcally Correct .Marina is not inexpensive as thier Cruises are often 10 days or longer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksps cruise fan Posted January 9, 2012 #23 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Simple solution Life Guard and a Uniformed Security Officer it seems every one wants to be Polictcally Correct .Marina is not inexpensive as thier Cruises are often 10 days or longer! Lifeguard absolutely! We all know that if the kids had run around the pool deck or tossed kids in the pool at their home swim club/country club, the life guard would have whistled at them. Repeated infractions would have resulted in time out of the pool. I don't think Oceania anticipated the consequences of the glitzier ship on bookings. They were caught off guard and made very, very poor decisions about how to respond to the presence of a huge crowd of kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted January 9, 2012 #24 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Let's see.....the pool is open 12 hours a day, which means two shifts, plus a third guy to cover breaks and days off. When you consider salary, benefits, room and board for THREE employees, it might be more cost effective to just give away noise cancelling headphones on the pool deck. :eek: Or better still, bring back the Cabanas! :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksps cruise fan Posted January 9, 2012 #25 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Let's see.....the pool is open 12 hours a day, which means two shifts, plus a third guy to cover breaks and days off. When you consider salary, benefits, room and board for THREE employees, it might be more cost effective to just give away noise cancelling headphones on the pool deck. :eek: Or better still, bring back the Cabanas! :rolleyes: You've raised legitimate issues for normal hires, but Oceania is trying to solve a time-limited problem. Kids in any number haven't been an issue on during the school year. This year, the holiday cruise in the Caribbean lasted 12 days. Next year, the equivalent cruise is scheduled to last 14-days. (I would not anticipate similar problems on the 16-day Panama Canal transit or any other far-flung holiday cruise.) I don't think Oceania has to solve a year-round problem. College students would be a ready labor pool during their holiday break. I don't know enough about the college calendars to know if the college labor pool would be available surrounding the President's Day holiday, another peak school vacation time. As for the financial considerations, but I doubt employees hired for a limited duration have to receive benefits. (Employment lawers please correct me if I'm wrong.) On the topic of meals, given the excess quantities of food I see packed up at the end of every meal in the Terrace Cafe, I wonder how much extra food would have to be prepared to feed these temporary employees. I don't know enough about crew cabins to speak to that issue for two or three additional employees. Of course, the cost of temporary hires is a moot issue if the Cruise Director, Assistant Cruise Director, General Manager, Security Officer -- frankly anyone wearing an Oceania badge -- would only step up and say something when he/she sees a kid acting inappropriately. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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