LionelFlyer Posted September 19, 2013 #1 Share Posted September 19, 2013 We began cruising in 1971. This cruise around the Black Sea on Oceania was to be our 24th Cruise. We were told it would be FIRST CLASS all the way and the best one we'd ever been on! It turned out to be a 10K mistake of the first magnitude! We were misdirected to the ship as we attempted to board it when a fight nearly started between 2 Oceania employees as to which stairs/ramp we were to use. Our luggage was at our room, but so was someone else's, outside the door - blocking it! The Concierge Room was 162 Sq Ft, not the 282 Sq.Ft they advertised it would be. The cabin attendent never made herself known to us until the second day when I inquired of a woman near my room if she knew who had taken away my bottle of Champagne? There was NEVER any ice in the Ice Buckets in the room. The Reception area did not know the name of the Ship's Program Director. Food? It was so bad I actually LOST WEIGHT on this 12 day cruise. The beef was tough; if you wanted it done Medium, it would come "still bleeding" or done so well it may as well be a Cowboy boot! Silverware and plate dropping was a common occurrence. My wife celebrated a birthday on board at one of the Specialty restaurants. They paired us with a couple unknown to us - they arrived quite inebreiated and proceeded to consume 3 more bottles of wine each. The ship had no policy for dealing with obviously drunk passengers other than to keep plying them with more alcohol. A CELEBRITY ship was at the same ports of call as we throughout the Black Sea, only it was docked at each port. Except for 2, we stayed in the harbors and tendered in to port, losing nearly an hour each day. Could someone not care to PAY FOR DOCKING FEES? The tours were quite expensive compared with any tours we've ever taken on any of the other 23 cruises - I have a friend taking the exact same trip via another cruise line to Ephesus this month as we took. She is getting more time and more perks on her trip than we did and paying over $ 100 less than we did! I could go on and on about this disaster of a cruise. SERVICE wasn't even a word in a dictionary for this company. It didn't exist at all. The so called Entertainment wouldn't even qualify for "Off-Broadway" it was so bad. Whenever the ship had to use it's PODS to maneuver at a dock or in a harbor, the entire ship shuttered and dishes fell from the tables on the rear eating areas at breakfast and early evening dinner times. If OCEANIA were to offer us a FREE CRUISE, I would refuse it. I simply would not put myself in the position of such abuse ever again. I can't think of a worse cruise experience we have ever had on any line. These guys make Carnival seem like the old British CUNARD they were so bad.:mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypercafe Posted September 19, 2013 #2 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Sorry you had such a bad trip! You must of been on one of the small ships as the rooms are quite small, the larger ships have the bigger ones. Yes the shore ex are three times the price. Too bad you did not research before hand, at least you got away for a few weeks and it all could not have been bad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaCroisiereS'amuse Posted September 19, 2013 #3 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Just to split hairs on a technical level.....neither the R ships nor the O class vessels have podded propulsion either :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted September 19, 2013 #4 Share Posted September 19, 2013 I do not believe a word of the OP's post It ought to be removed Fighting crew members? Inebriated passengers? Champagne stolen? No ice? Add to that the pods issue Has the clear ring of a fraudulent post IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaCroisiereS'amuse Posted September 19, 2013 #5 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Not forgetting that the OP would have had the option to specify a table for 2 when he booked the speciality restaurant :rolleyes::rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baseball fan Posted September 19, 2013 #6 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Interesting. My parents are older and very picky....and my mom LOVES Oceania. Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShopperfiendTO Posted September 19, 2013 #7 Share Posted September 19, 2013 We began cruising in 1971. This cruise around the Black Sea on Oceania was to be our 24th Cruise. We were told it would be FIRST CLASS all the way and the best one we'd ever been on! It turned out to be a 10K mistake of the first magnitude!We were misdirected to the ship as we attempted to board it when a fight nearly started between 2 Oceania employees as to which stairs/ramp we were to use. Our luggage was at our room, but so was someone else's, outside the door - blocking it! The Concierge Room was 162 Sq Ft, not the 282 Sq.Ft they advertised it would be. The cabin attendent never made herself known to us until the second day when I inquired of a woman near my room if she knew who had taken away my bottle of Champagne? There was NEVER any ice in the Ice Buckets in the room. The Reception area did not know the name of the Ship's Program Director. Food? It was so bad I actually LOST WEIGHT on this 12 day cruise. The beef was tough; if you wanted it done Medium, it would come "still bleeding" or done so well it may as well be a Cowboy boot! Silverware and plate dropping was a common occurrence. My wife celebrated a birthday on board at one of the Specialty restaurants. They paired us with a couple unknown to us - they arrived quite inebreiated and proceeded to consume 3 more bottles of wine each. The ship had no policy for dealing with obviously drunk passengers other than to keep plying them with more alcohol. A CELEBRITY ship was at the same ports of call as we throughout the Black Sea, only it was docked at each port. Except for 2, we stayed in the harbors and tendered in to port, losing nearly an hour each day. Could someone not care to PAY FOR DOCKING FEES? The tours were quite expensive compared with any tours we've ever taken on any of the other 23 cruises - I have a friend taking the exact same trip via another cruise line to Ephesus this month as we took. She is getting more time and more perks on her trip than we did and paying over $ 100 less than we did! I could go on and on about this disaster of a cruise. SERVICE wasn't even a word in a dictionary for this company. It didn't exist at all. The so called Entertainment wouldn't even qualify for "Off-Broadway" it was so bad. Whenever the ship had to use it's PODS to maneuver at a dock or in a harbor, the entire ship shuttered and dishes fell from the tables on the rear eating areas at breakfast and early evening dinner times. If OCEANIA were to offer us a FREE CRUISE, I would refuse it. I simply would not put myself in the position of such abuse ever again. I can't think of a worse cruise experience we have ever had on any line. These guys make Carnival seem like the old British CUNARD they were so bad.:mad: A lot of little things wrong but they all add up I guess. A am curious about the docking experience. Although you had to tender, weren't you closer to the city centre than if you had docked? I agree tenders eat into visiting times and we avoid tender ports when we can, but the general give and take is that if you tender, you're usually closer to the tourist site (e.g., Dubrovnik). Oceania tours are notoriously pricey and honestly isn't really worth complaining about because it is what it is and can be easily avoided with enough planning, which most cruisers do (plan tours in advance). Same with the entertainment. I think even O cheerleaders would agree that the entertainment is not what you go on O to experience, and for some shows, "Off Broadway" is probably better than O shows. When you share a table, you have to expect that you will be paired with people who are unknown to you. I do however sympathize with your specialty dining experience and it is surprising that 3 full bottles were served to them; perhaps the waiters thought that they were being shared between the 4 of you? O is strict about non-smoking and maybe this part needs to be brought to the attention of head office (I'm assuming obviously drunk means falling down drunk or pretty close to it) because it's also a safety/liability issue as well. Sorry about your bad experience. We've generally been pleased with our O cruises and hope it will be good again on our upcoming O cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaCroisiereS'amuse Posted September 19, 2013 #8 Share Posted September 19, 2013 The OP states that they arrived drunk, and then were served 3 more bottles EACH......I can't quite see this happening unless "O" have moved over to airline sized quarter bottles :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sasue Posted September 19, 2013 #9 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Forget Oceania? Never!! We recently returned from our Nautica cruise, first Oceania cruise. It was our 12th cruise, and we were thrilled with everything about this cruise from start to finish. We will definitely cruise with Oceania again, the sooner the better!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treasure4two Posted September 22, 2013 #10 Share Posted September 22, 2013 I do not believe a word of the OP's postIt ought to be removed Fighting crew members? Inebriated passengers? Champagne stolen? No ice? Add to that the pods issue Has the clear ring of a fraudulent post IMO I totally agree and with the fact that this is their first and only post and allege they have had so many cruises, it sounds like a sabotage attempt. Most is hard to believe and from their post, I am glad they will not take another Oceania cruise as I love an cruise on Oceania! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay23 Posted September 22, 2013 #11 Share Posted September 22, 2013 We are considering sailing with Oceania, and the OP is very disturbing. However, it seems that his experience was unusual, and judging by the response, very unlikely. I cannot believe that in a "speciality" restaurant which has to be booked beforehand, that passengers have to sit with strangers if they don't want to. That wouldn't happen on any cruise ship I have been on. Is this the norm on Oceania's ships? I noted he did not mention the name of the Oceania vessel. Which ship was it? :confused: PS sorry the two previous posts were not there when I started mine...... making mine somewhat irrelevant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted September 22, 2013 #12 Share Posted September 22, 2013 We are considering sailing with Oceania, and the OP is very disturbing. However, it seems that his experience was unusual, and judging by the response, very unlikely. I cannot believe that in a "speciality" restaurant which has to be booked beforehand, that passengers have to sit with strangers if they don't want to. That wouldn't happen on any cruise ship I have been on. Is this the norm on Oceania's ships? I noted he did not mention the name of the Oceania vessel. Which ship was it? :confused: The vessel is irrelevant. Most of us who cruise Oceania frequently will tell you that the OP's story is a fiction. Ignore it. It just doesn't happen as he tells it. Can things go wrong occasionally? Of course -- but not what the OP is describing. First post on CC and bashing a cruise line? 'Nuf said. As for dining, you have a choice in ANY dining venue on O to have a table for 2 -- buffet, GDR or specialty restaurant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
findacruise Posted September 22, 2013 #13 Share Posted September 22, 2013 We are getting ready for our 10th Oceania cruise. There may have been an occasional misstep on a cruise, but never anyting such as the OP detailed and never in the ongoing scenario over the entire cruise! And, all one has to do is mention it to an officier on on the mid-cruise report and a phone call is forthcoming asking what can be done to rectify the situation. Agree with comments of other "O" cruisers as to shore excursion pricing and entertainment not be as high quality as some ships, but as they said, it is a know fact if one does due diligenc you know that upfront. No one should judge Oceania from that post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted September 22, 2013 #14 Share Posted September 22, 2013 Probably the only true statement is the cost of excursions, and there are ways around that. Thread needs to disappear! Very true. But we still have free speech here. Love Oceania and do not believe a word in that post. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare terry&mike Posted September 22, 2013 #15 Share Posted September 22, 2013 Wherever you go, there you are. I wonder if the OP has ever looked around to notice that the problem may be coming from within. He admits he booked this cruise based on it's popularity, thus knowing that many people have had an above average experience with Oceania. There have not been a plethora of posts from his particular sailing of others who had a miserable experience, thus making this sound more isolated. And judging from the many, many posts in favor of Oceania as a whole, and very few negative posts towards Oceania, again, possibly there is no happy place for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKS Posted September 22, 2013 #16 Share Posted September 22, 2013 To those concerned about your upcoming first O cruise. You will find there are folks who would say nothing bad about O, no matter what happened to them, and there are those who would not be happy if everything went exactly perfectly and the cruise were free to boot. Those are the outliers, and one must simply disregard the "too good to be true" and "oh, poor me" posts. The simple fact is one must take responsibility for oneself. Do all the appropriate research before you sail, set realistic expectations for the cruise, arrive with a good attitude (after all this is a vacation), and remember you are on a cruise ship, not a private yacht. Not everything is going to happen your way, sometimes things don't go perfectly, we all encounter people who rub us the wrong way, and there are things beyond the control of even the most careful employee of a cruise ship. But there are also wonderful new experiences to enjoy and interesting new people to meet. To the OP, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise, but since I assume you won't cruise O again, you won't have to be bothered by either fellow passengers or crew again. I hope you find a cruise line that better serves your expectations and needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted September 22, 2013 #17 Share Posted September 22, 2013 To those concerned about your upcoming first O cruise. You will find there are folks who would say nothing bad about O, no matter what happened to them, and there are those who would not be happy if everything went exactly perfectly and the cruise were free to boot. Those are the outliers, and one must simply disregard the "too good to be true" and "oh, poor me" posts. The simple fact is one must take responsibility for oneself. Do all the appropriate research before you sail, set realistic expectations for the cruise, arrive with a good attitude (after all this is a vacation), and remember you are on a cruise ship, not a private yacht. Not everything is going to happen your way, sometimes things don't go perfectly, we all encounter people who rub us the wrong way, and there are things beyond the control of even the most careful employee of a cruise ship. But there are also wonderful new experiences to enjoy and interesting new people to meet. To the OP, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise, but since I assume you won't cruise O again, you won't have to be bothered by either fellow passengers or crew again. I hope you find a cruise line that better serves your expectations and needs. +1 Well said - my thoughts exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vistaman Posted September 22, 2013 #18 Share Posted September 22, 2013 it is like a story about a cruise where everything that can go wrong was due to happen - all on the same cruise??? i did more as 50 cruises -sorry for boasting and yes - once my champagne was stolen by visting travel agents in LA but replaced - a stewardess refused me breakfast in the room because i was a single man - drunk people on a table after 4 free martini's on a welcome party - a waiter who trew sauce over me after i did complain about him but all those facts on the same cruise ??? :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted September 22, 2013 #19 Share Posted September 22, 2013 It is also interesting (and unusual) that OP did not return here. People with "legitimate" complaints and issues do tend to return to their own thread and reply to posters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willidc Posted September 22, 2013 #20 Share Posted September 22, 2013 We have also been cruising since 1972 (our honeymoon), on five different cruise lines (including Cunard), and find the original post very difficult to believe. We have four Oceania cruises under our belt since July 2012 and have two more booked for 2014. I do not see us cruising with any other cruise line in the future unless there is some special itinerary or other circumstance (such as grandchildren to be taken on a Disney ship, etc.). We are not people who part with our money easily---we are frugal, but not cheap---and we feel that the extra money spent for an Oceania experience is worth it. Aside from the comments regarding high prices for shore excursions, the entire post is unrealistic and screams 'troll'. :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Sharon Posted September 22, 2013 #21 Share Posted September 22, 2013 We are considering sailing with Oceania, and the OP is very disturbing. However, it seems that his experience was unusual, and judging by the response, very unlikely. I cannot believe that in a "speciality" restaurant which has to be booked beforehand, that passengers have to sit with strangers if they don't want to. That wouldn't happen on any cruise ship I have been on. Is this the norm on Oceania's ships? I noted he did not mention the name of the Oceania vessel. Which ship was it? :confused: PS sorry the two previous posts were not there when I started mine...... making mine somewhat irrelevant. I have recently returned from my first Oceania cruise on Nautica and loved pretty much everything. When you book the speciality restaurants you can choose whether you wish to dine alone or share a table. We did the latter and met some lovely people. I agree the excursions are the most expensive I have experienced on a cruise ship, but we either explored on foot or booked private torus, as seemed to be the norm with everyone else. Would love to return, given the right itinerary, dates and price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ronrick1943 Posted September 22, 2013 #22 Share Posted September 22, 2013 Agree, the shows aren't that good, the tour prices are high. But the service, food and the people of Oceania are really, really good. I think OP needs to take a good look at them self, some people just want to be unhappy in everything they do. I would think anything and any place they go is the same-so OP have a miserable life, but don't put it on someone else. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted September 22, 2013 #23 Share Posted September 22, 2013 We are considering sailing with Oceania, and the OP is very disturbing PS sorry the two previous posts were not there when I started mine...... making mine somewhat irrelevant. Before panicking read some of the review or other posts on this forum No cruise line is perfect but Oceania is not as bad as this post has suggested If it were that bad they would not have at least 50% repeat cruisers on each sailing Even our worst cruise on another line had some good qualities ;) Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted September 22, 2013 #24 Share Posted September 22, 2013 I tend to discount any post that is effusively wonderful or totally negative. Besides that, we were on the Black Sea cruise last year on Regatta and I don't recall ONE tender port, let alone all. I do wonder if this person was on the ship at all. Anyone can have a bad experience or two (even three) on any ship, but it's hard to credit so many in one cruise. (I'm ignoring the comments about excursions and the entertainment because these are pretty well universal comments made even by Oceania fans.) You know, if you are with a totally obnoxious couple at dinner -- and as has been said, it's easy enough to get a table for two -- why not just leave? No one is stopping you. Enough said ... I won't belabor the point any more. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanny18 Posted September 22, 2013 #25 Share Posted September 22, 2013 Next month we'll be going on our 16th O cruise with 2 more booked already. Nothing is perfect and we've had some things go a little wrong on some cruises, but by and large we have enjoyed every one of them since we started sailing with Oceania in October 2003. I wonder who encouraged the OP to put such disparaging, vitriolic words to paper and as someone else reported, very poor syntax. No one passenger could have gone thru what he went thru on a 12 day cruise!! The Black Sea cruise, if I remember correctly had none or may be one tender port. We should all stop writing about this and perhaps he will go far, far away and bother some other cruise line. :rolleyes: Arlene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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