true45 Posted December 21, 2012 #26 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Don't know about Oceania yet But Celebrity has super onboard service, Princess mostly just OK, Carnival awful having all within the last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Acrusa Posted December 21, 2012 #27 Share Posted December 21, 2012 We where on the Regatta last feb Sydney to Auckland, the service was the best from the captain to the hotel manager to the maitre'd in all the restaurant venues the wait staff and CD and tour operations. That being said most of, or all the top staff memebers, where all being sent to either the Marina Or Riviera.So I think the big problem for Regatta and also I think the Natuica is that these ships have staff that is not up to par.Or just learning the ropes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdvenLee Posted December 21, 2012 #28 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Gee, I sure hope that the Regatta will be good for our South American trip.....Lima to Rio starting on Jan. 23rd. We were on the Regatta three or four years ago and thought it was wonderful. Also, we were on the Marina a year ago and think we prefer the smaller ships....not because of food/service, but for other reasons. Sooooo, do hope they have not sent off all the good staff to the larger ships. Hopefully, that was a one time thing, but guess we shall see. My philosophy is......"No cooking with poor service beats cooking any day!!!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare msn123 Posted December 21, 2012 #29 Share Posted December 21, 2012 We were on Regatta right after Thanksgiving for a short 7 days around the Caribbean. Food was up to the usual high standards (our 14th cruise with Oceania so we do know what we are talking about) and service was fine. I would also say it was a difficult cruise for the staff as they had to get everyone in to the specialty restaurants over 7 days...quite a juggling act, but handled very well. I wouldn't be worried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Acrusa Posted December 21, 2012 #30 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Gee, I sure hope that the Regatta will be good for our South American trip.....Lima to Rio starting on Jan. 23rd. We were on the Regatta three or four years ago and thought it was wonderful. Also, we were on the Marina a year ago and think we prefer the smaller ships....not because of food/service, but for other reasons. Sooooo, do hope they have not sent off all the good staff to the larger ships. Hopefully, that was a one time thing, but guess we shall see. My philosophy is......"No cooking with poor service beats cooking any day!!!!" We will be on Regatta this Feb 22 Rio to BA looking foward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted December 21, 2012 #31 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Most of the ships will have new staff on one cruise or another ..they are all learning the Oceania way of doing things The service may be good on one cruise & not so good on the next just depends on the staff/chef/crew on board at the time We have had mostly great experiences on our Oceania cruises sometimes there is a hiccup along the way If it is bad just speak to the Concierge or Maitre'd & they will see that whoever needs to get the word will We are not big complainers but will when required Nothing in life is perfect ...even Oceania YMMV Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaCroisiereS'amuse Posted December 22, 2012 #32 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Service on the September Regatta crossing was stellar & the best I have had from "O"..... The only whinges were from a small group of my fellow countrymen who had got a last minute deal & were expecting P&O/Cunard "luxury".... They had clearly not done their homework, as one of the big gripes at the "UK get together" (spent 5 minutes & made our excuses!) was the lack of formal nights :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted December 22, 2012 #33 Share Posted December 22, 2012 IMO the lesson learned from this thread is that O is lacking in consistency. The hallmark of upscale brands is consistency. I did some legal work for Ritz Carlton years ago and their goal was to have every guest have the identical service experience no matter which Ritz Carlton they stayed at and they worked hard at achieving that goal. I think O wants the same. EG Toscana should be great on all ships and sailings. Same for GDR or Polo. O has some work to do in this area. Could be a training issue (since it's people that make the difference). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted December 22, 2012 #34 Share Posted December 22, 2012 IMO the lesson learned from this thread is that O is lacking in consistency. The hallmark of upscale brands is consistency. I did some legal work for Ritz Carlton years ago and their goal was to have every guest have the identical service experience no matter which Ritz Carlton they stayed at and they worked hard at achieving that goal. I think O wants the same. EG Toscana should be great on all ships and sailings. Same for GDR or Polo. O has some work to do in this area. Could be a training issue (since it's people that make the difference). Your so right. Just saw a business article on Ritz Carlton. Have you ever wondered how when you walk in the door of one of their hotels the greet you by name. The door men get it from your bags and whisper into a small mike to everyone else you come into contact with as you register. We went up to the Executive Lounge to register and were greeted at the door by name.( 20 something floors above the main entrance at the Arts in Barcelona) Our experience on O has been similar but it may be because we have been on the same ships in the same OS 10 or more times and they do get to know you and do pass on information to their colleagues. I'm sure after this group of postings FDR will look into the inconsistencies. Ships probably have more staff turnover to deal with than RC Hotels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted December 22, 2012 #35 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Your so right. Just saw a business article on Ritz Carlton. Have you ever wondered how when you walk in the door of one of their hotels the greet you by name. The door men get it from your bags and whisper into a small mike to everyone else you come into contact with as you register.We went up to the Executive Lounge to register and were greeted at the door by name.( 20 something floors above the main entrance at the Arts in Barcelona) Our experience on O has been similar but it may be because we have been on the same ships in the same OS 10 or more times and they do get to know you and do pass on information to their colleagues. I'm sure after this group of postings FDR will look into the inconsistencies. Ships probably have more staff turnover to deal with than RC Hotels. None of that happens by chance at the Ritz Carlton. It is all perfectly orchestrated. It sets the bar pretty high for other upscale brands. Their mantra by the way -- "We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen." Extraordinary service does happen on O -- but not ALL the time. And that is the trick -- getting it to happen all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted December 22, 2012 #36 Share Posted December 22, 2012 The only whinges were from a small group of my fellow countrymen who had got a last minute deal & were expecting P&O/Cunard "luxury".... They had clearly not done their homework' date=' as one of the big gripes at the "UK get together" (spent 5 minutes & made our excuses!) was the lack of formal nights :p[/quote'] They could have worn their formal attire no rules against that ;) I see a lot of negative reviews but most seem to be because they did not do their homework on what Oceania cruises is all about ;) Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaCroisiereS'amuse Posted December 22, 2012 #37 Share Posted December 22, 2012 They could have worn their formal attire no rules against that ;) I see a lot of negative reviews but most seem to be because they did not do their homework on what Oceania cruises is all about ;) Lyn That was of course suggested :confused: Many reviews of that kind at "cruise dot co dot uk". It's far less moderated than here and makes for amusing reading at times :D check out "Was it really a 5* experience?" On page 2 of the "O" reviews......some of the responses to this bad review are a hoot! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ronrick1943 Posted December 23, 2012 #38 Share Posted December 23, 2012 I don't think you can compare the Ritz-Carlton with "O", I love the Ritz-Carlton-but you pay $400 to $800 a night and you don't get the breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in between. Last year we were on the Marina and everything was good for us, we'll be on it again this Jan 16th, 2013 for Tahiti and we've booked again on the Riviera for Aug 28, 2013 for Rome/Venice. I'm not worried about the service this is are 6th cruise, we've had a few things go wrong, but it's always taken care of in a timely matter. Things happen from time to time----if you go with the flow, it always work out. But I don't think it's as bad as people are saying----and their are always two sides to the story. When someone gets upset, they pretty much over state what really happened. Sorry, but that's the way I feel. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted December 23, 2012 #39 Share Posted December 23, 2012 I don't think you can compare the Ritz-Carlton with "O", I love the Ritz-Carlton-but you pay $400 to $800 a night and you don't get the breakfast, lunch, dinner and everything in between. Last year we were on the Marina and everything was good for us, we'll be on it again this Jan 16th, 2013 for Tahiti and we've booked again on the Riviera for Aug 28, 2013 for Rome/Venice. I'm not worried about the service this is are 6th cruise, we've had a few things go wrong, but it's always taken care of in a timely matter. Things happen from time to time----if you go with the flow, it always work out. But I don't think it's as bad as people are saying----and their are always two sides to the story. When someone gets upset, they pretty much over state what really happened. Sorry, but that's the way I feel.Rick I dont think O is comparable to the Ritz Carlton either. They are not in the same league. I used Ritz Carlton to demonstrate the idea of how consistency is a driving force behind the brand. I am sure O aspires to have that level of consistency which is achievable at any level -- Marriotts strive for consistency too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted December 23, 2012 #40 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Consistency is a desirable addendum to any business plan, but it isn't exactly the hallmark of aristocracy. McDonald's is probably the most consistent business on the planet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted December 23, 2012 #41 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Consistency is a desirable addendum to any business plan, but it isn't exactly the hallmark of aristocracy. McDonald's is probably the most consistent business on the planet. And that is precisely my point A burger customer can go into any McDonald's and know what to expect and get what they expect. They are not disappointed and they return again and again. That's a good business model (at the high and low end) That same expectation should be met when dining in Toscana or Polo or the GDR on any O ship. Apparently it is not and that is the problem being discussed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelinjudy Posted December 24, 2012 #42 Share Posted December 24, 2012 On our last 4 or 5 Oceania cruises (one on the Marina and 4 on the Regatta) we found the food to be highly overrated, quite mediocre, and usually cold when served. Some of the meats were completely tasteless, unless smothered in some kind of sauce, (except those from the Terrace grill) and some of the Waves food was almost inedible! It appeared that Oceania is emphasizes presentation above taste. Having sailed with Oceania since it's beginning, I think they are slipping in many ways, not just food.:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAexNY Posted December 24, 2012 #43 Share Posted December 24, 2012 On our last 4 or 5 Oceania cruises (one on the Marina and 4 on the Regatta)we found the food to be highly overrated, quite mediocre, and usually cold when served. Some of the meats were completely tasteless, unless smothered in some kind of sauce, (except those from the Terrace grill) and some of the Waves food was almost inedible! It appeared that Oceania is emphasizes presentation above taste. Having sailed with Oceania since it's beginning, I think they are slipping in many ways, not just food.:( And you keep sailing with Oceania because .........? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted December 24, 2012 #44 Share Posted December 24, 2012 And you keep sailing with Oceania because .........? She doesn't. She's a devoted Azamara cruiser. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted December 24, 2012 #45 Share Posted December 24, 2012 She's a devoted Azamara cruiser Yet she did FIVE on Oceania??? Yes, that type of devotion is rare indeed.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigmjh Posted December 24, 2012 Author #46 Share Posted December 24, 2012 ... I think they are slipping in many ways, not just food.:( Exactly my point. And, as I stated, IMHO I believe Azamara is fast closing in on Oceania's market. BTW - I agree completely with you that the Terrace Grill has the best hamburgers! :D Also, had consistently good service every time we ate out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted December 24, 2012 #47 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Yet she did FIVE on Oceania??? Yes, that type of devotion is rare indeed.... I believe she did the 5 on O first and then switched to A But she certainly can answer herself She is a frequent poster on the A boards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowvoyager15 Posted December 25, 2012 #48 Share Posted December 25, 2012 I believe she did the 5 on O first and then switched to ABut she certainly can answer herself She is a frequent poster on the A boards Check Conde Nast traveler. The excursions were rated at 68 while most of the other catagories were rate in the 90's. Maybe they will improved this department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryw Posted December 25, 2012 #49 Share Posted December 25, 2012 I must say that in some ports having a McDonald's snack hit the spot. And the fries were always hot. Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelinjudy Posted December 25, 2012 #50 Share Posted December 25, 2012 I believe she did the 5 on O first and then switched to ABut she certainly can answer herself She is a frequent poster on the A boards We took Oceania cruises intermittently with Azamara cruises, and were able to make very timely comparisons in food, service and PH suites. We are done with Oceania--no more "O" cruises for us--Azamara is definitely our preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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