No longer an Oceania Cheerleader

[A Knitter]

We experienced similiar dining priblems on our recent Marina trip Barcelona to Rio last November. GDR quality was less than expected. The dining room was virtually empty and we still had to ask the waiter to take our order. Our first night in Red Ginger was not good. They sat us (2) in a heavily trafficked area among the servers and the experience was unsatisfsctory. Our Butler was concerned and asked us to return again. Service was great. It should be great all of the time. We expressed our concerns and the problems were fixed. I agree that the staff was very new. We will be on our first Azamara cruise next month and we will compare the two lines. I love Oceania like Lynn and willing to go with the flow. I am happy to be able to cruise period but Oceania has changed since my first voyage in 2006. If Lyn has a complaint this is serious.

[LHT28]

Carol

We found the same problem in Barbados

Celebrity & Windstar were further along the dock & had shuttles to the port building

Oceania passengers were walking

I think some did get a ride back on one of the shuttles as we did see the bus stop at Oceania gangway

 

Sounds like you had a very bad time of it especially in an OS you do expect more

 

 

Lyn

Edited January 25, 2014 by LHT28

[Caroldoll]

And thanks for the support. It was not our best 22 days...or so. There is more, but some of this is not objective...it is more subjective.

 

We are sticking with O on two June b-2-b's in Italy. We will see. Those were too close to cancel...too many arrangements. Maybe they will change, but I seriously doubt it.

[Pan Am Girl]

I really hope OP posts her review. The powers that be do read these threads and, as business owners, they need to know.

 

Here is my take. On two of our cruises, I was responsible for/had encouraged groups of ten friends to travel with us. One trip was through Tahiti and the other trip Mediterranean/Greece, both on Princess. We had a wonderful time and at a very reasonable price -- both trips we all had connecting balconies. Now these friends are asking us again to put something together. My DH and I travel for the ports -- and have been eyeing thirty day cruises on Oceania (Dubai-Capetown and Capetown-Singapore). The friends are at an age when they can take thirty days' time and afford it. There is NO WAY I am going to chance recommending to these friends to pay more, and not get the value. If there is inconsistency then I will not take the chance of being responsible for them being disappointed in spending their hard earned money. DH and I have cruised on O, Nautica , on a wonderful port-intensive trip. This was a number of years ago and there were glitches then -- in Grand DR, in tendering ashore, even the signature dish, Jacque's steak in the GDR being totally tough and unedible, etc. We also try to focus on the positive and realize sometimes there can be an "off" event (although there shouldn't be). I realize most have posted good reviews. But how many more don't say anything, but just don't come back? For myself, I would try O again, but if I have an experience similar to the OP, I wouldn't give them another chance and I wouldn't risk it again. I am always willing to pay extra, but if the value isn't there, then they just wouldn't see me again and I would keep trying elsewhere.

 

As a business owner myself, I always bent over backwards to give excellent service and correct any problem. That is what I expect when I receive service.

CLEARLY, there is a lack of training (a common cost-savings method, which has a way of backfiring) as OP pointed out, and rightfully so.

[roothy123]

Carol

We found the same problem in Barbados

Celebrity & Windstar were further along the dock & had shuttles to the port building

Oceania passengers were walking

I think some did get a ride back on one of the shuttles as we did see the bus stop at Oceania gangway

 

Sounds like you had a very bad time of it especially in an OS you do expect more

 

 

Lyn

 

I don't remember Celebrity providing a shuttle in Barbados in March. The availability of shuttles is one thing I don't depend on as a given on any cruise line!

 

On Marina, we often eat on the Terrace and get our dinner from the grill. The food there is definitely consistent!

 

I didn't notice any drop in quality or service in August on Marina, but I suppose there are good days and bad days - especially around the holidays, I would guess. I once heard someone describe spending the holidays on a cruise as "interesting." I don't know if that meant that there was a lot more drinking, fewer kids, or what, but I found it interesting.

Edited January 25, 2014 by roothy123

[Caroldoll]

Christmas on the Riviera was a complete letdown. We had two friends who we had met on the Regatta about three Christmases ago along with us. They enjoyed their time. We didn't work things over. I didn't disclose to them the terrible temperature problems in our suite, although when they came over for cocktails one evening the livingroom was in its 100 degree mode and the bedroom was like a meat locker..they noticed it. One thing I will say is that there was a mechanical officer who looked like Santa who was from Spain, I believe, and he worked like a Trojan to try to get our suite right..never happened. I think it was a computer problem, but whatever problem it was nasty. He was wonderful, though. I think a lot of their problems with service are a result of their constantly moving personnel from ship to ship. At least in June I will have my old Butler from as long back as Regent back! Pridham!

 

We had a completely unspectacular CD. He said utterly stupid things and pinned most problems on top management! I guess that is the easy way out. I heard that David ?Sherman? was the next CD and he did things quite differently...and more to our liking. Good for the next cruise which would have been January 13.

 

We will see in June, and I will post.

[Paulchili]

Lyn,

I am just catching up with this thread and I can hardly believe what I am reading here.

I take your opinion very seriously - having followed you here on CC for years as well as having cruised with you. When you say you had problems, I believe that you had them. You are an objective, positive person and anything but a complainer.

Sorry to hear about your bad experiences. We don't have anything booked on Oceania till 2015 but we will closely follow the trends here.

Paul

[YoHoHo]

Lyn I am sorry to read of your disappointing cruise. Based on your posts I am sure this was very serious. I too have my opinions and experiences and have tried to hold back so as to not appear overly critical but have had similar (worse) than you describe - not attitude ( mostly) but service -NOT room attendants who have been beyond expectation (butlers are a different though).

 

I do make negative posts occasionally but mostly on policy which to me is less subjective. I also promised myself that I would try to keep to happier notes as I prefer to read about those with the full knowledge that it is just one side of the coin. It is easier to complain but sometimes the truth will out.

 

I guess the reality lies in that we only have one O cruise booked and even had none at one point for the first time since we first sailed with O and have just not yet pulled the pin and cancelled - something we discuss almost daily.

 

All that aside as I said I am sorry to read your cruise did not meet what should be O's standards and left you so unhappy.

Edited January 25, 2014 by YoHoHo

[MVPinBoynton]

Having not cruised with O before and having my first experience with them still 14 months away, I am quite surprised to read that O is not as perfect as I had expected. I guess they are like any other cruise line where some cruises just aren't up to the standards that are expected.

 

In a way it is good that this thread was started, so that my expectations won't be so high. Hopefully they will then be exceeded when I finally get on the Nautica.

[roothy123]

 

In a way it is good that this thread was started, so that my expectations won't be so high. Hopefully they will then be exceeded when I finally get on the Nautica.

 

I think that's a good thing to post about (expectations). I had high expectations before I cruised on one line. I knew the experience wouldn't be what I had experienced on Oceania, but Oceania didn't have a short cruise going to the ports I wanted (routine Caribbean ones), was a third cheaper than Oceania, and lots of people seemed to like the cruise line. It was touted as better than the big lines and ships I will probably never travel on unless I run out of money. The cruise turned out to be disappointing - not horrible, but disappointing. It didn't matter much, because I cruise more for the ports than for the cruise experience. However, several other people on the ship, who had "graduated" to the line from an affiliated line, told me their experience was no different from the other line, despite the fact that they expected it to be different and better. I just rolled with the punches and enjoyed the ports, as well as the great food when I found it (surprisingly, the vegetables rather than the main courses!) but will not set my expectations too high again for that cruise line.

[nyfeds]

Reading the posts on this thread is very concerning, as we recently booked our first Oceania cruise for May 2015. Now, these comments give me some pause. Lyn, I am terribly sorry to read of your dissatisfaction. Your past posts have always been well written and well balanced, as have many others on this Oceania forum. What a letdown for you this time around.

 

I hope the powers that be at Oceania are listening and can regroup/rebound.

 

It is greatly appreciated to read reviews, good, bad or indifferent and I thank you for sharing.

[buggins0402]

Having not cruised with O before and having my first experience with them still 14 months away, I am quite surprised to read that O is not as perfect as I had expected. I guess they are like any other cruise line where some cruises just aren't up to the standards that are expected.

 

In a way it is good that this thread was started, so that my expectations won't be so high. Hopefully they will then be exceeded when I finally get on the Nautica.

 

+1. My feelings exactly. I've lowered my expectations for our Marina cruise in June. With the bar set lower, perhaps there is a chance to exceed.

 

Interesting to note though, with included air, the price we are paying per day is not horrendously more than some of the fares for the mass market alternatives (adjusted to add separately purchased air into the price). So perhaps my expectations were set too high.

[tallship]

Lyn and Caroldoll-

Sorry to hear of this. From the recent reviews, I thought only Regent was suffering from the cutbacks and inconsistency.

 

Looking forward to your review, Lyn. Hope you are someplace warm. Crazy weather we are having.

 

Tina

[pacheco18]

I think one area in which cruisers would be wise to lower expectations is food. There is way too much hype about the food on these boards IMO leading some to expect more than will be delivered

 

I have had some truly great food on o

I have had average to mediocre meals -- and even a few awful ones.

 

Is the food largely better than most other lines? Yes. But there are always flaws and problems

[LHT28]

I don't remember Celebrity providing a shuttle in Barbados in March. The availability of shuttles is one thing I don't depend on as a given on any cruise line!

 

 

It may depend on the docking location

they were at the end of the pier that was futher out from the port building

[LHT28]

Lyn and Caroldoll-

Sorry to hear of this. From the recent reviews, I thought only Regent was suffering from the cutbacks and inconsistency.

 

Looking forward to your review, Lyn. Hope you are someplace warm. Crazy weather we are having.

 

Tina

 

Home doing laundry with -6C & blowing snow :eek:

 

Lyn

[hypercafe]

People must not forget you are on a ship with a fixed amount of staff, if it is a very busy night they can not bring in more help not can they backfill for a sick person nor can they send someone out for a missing item or repair part. Also no matter how fine the dinning is said to be you are still having dinner with your 1250 new best friends. Because of this I really expect things to be not so good sometimes and why I disregard the bottom 10% of reviews. I also disregard the top 10% of reviews to take into account the people that love the line so much they would put a positive spin on the ship sinking. After all no matter how you cut it it is a cruise, not a land based vacation.

[LHT28]

Just to clarify

We did have a good cruise & the majority of the staff were same as usual no problems there

The food in the Terrace, Waves & GDR at least what we had ordered was very good ...I do not recall having any bad meals there

 

The service issues were maybe (now I am guessing here) from new staff & some that just do not play well together with other Nationalities

 

The biggest issues were in the specialties ..food was overcooked, or undercooked in the case of DH chicken Satay which was still raw

 

 

Other people seemed to have no complaints & a few we spoke with did mention the level of service was down in some areas...cost cutting maybe ?

 

Of course you can get a bad meal once in while & we do take that into our expectations but when the negatives seem to pile up the bells start ringing

I am sure things will change & the good service will be there once again

We are just not willing at this time to take that chance

We still have our 2015 cruise booked & hoping to hear that things have improved over the next few months

 

We love Oceania & would hate to give up cruising

 

We are NOT foodies we just like well prepared quality food

We are not into the fancy dishes ..just simple folk that like nice things ;)

 

If we had not experienced this I would also be questioning someone if I had read my post before & indeed I have in the past wondered at some people's negative experiences with Oceania

 

Everyone has to make their own decisions based on their experiences

 

Lyn

Edited January 25, 2014 by LHT28

[Caroldoll]

I wonder how he would like to be told that he has to be out of his suite in 5 days...or having his key cards (both) deactivated, or staying in a suite that is either freezing cold or hot like 100 degrees.

 

I found the food to be excellent in the specialty restaurants, so that is a good thing.

 

I feel that I have reasonable concerns.

[MightyQuinn]

Lyn - I'm sorry you had service issues on Riviera but I appreciate you sharing your experiences. There is no excuse for surly or argumentative staff, even if they were inexperienced or new to Oceania. There is also no excuse for undercooked chicken at any venue, but truly surprising at the highly touted specialties. I know you brought these issues forward on-board, so I hope they were recognized and addressed. We board Riviera in a few weeks and while I'm anticipating another wonderful experience, I'll steer clear of the chicken satay.

[I_r_a]

Hi LH,

 

Thank you for a reasoned review.

 

Ira

[Playtennis]

Lyn,

There are few people who post on the CC Oceania board whose opinion and information I value highly. Yours is one of them. You have always been willing to answer questions and, while an Oceania “Cheerleader” you have often ensured that the information you have given is accurate (with most of the warts slightly shaded;)).

 

Something must have happened on this cruise to make you so upset that, as you blogged yesterday at 2:25 PM:

“We were so disappointed with the service by certain staff we have cancelled our 2 upcoming cruises and a 3rd is hanging in the balance.”

 

For me, it represented a large downgrade of the entire cruise and of Oceania. As you saw from further postings it also gave some newbies to O pause for thought.

 

What concerns me is that 21 hours later you posted on another thread (reviewing the cruise that you were on) this:

“….We did love the cruise with a few exceptions

This cruise was all about relaxing & that we did

Maybe we will sail with you another time on Oceania”

 

So I guess the question is - which is it? Are you soured on O enough to completely throw sailings on her away or were there a few things that went wrong and you are still going to sail on O? The difference means quite a lot to those who are researching O for the first time.

[hypercafe]

With total regards to the OP and the experience they had, if I were planning a trip on Oceania I would not let one persons experience make me second guess my plan.

[Floridiana]

Carol

We found the same problem in Barbados

Celebrity & Windstar were further along the dock & had shuttles to the port building

 

By 'further along", you mean farther away?

 

The shuttles are provided by the Barbados port authority for the ships that are docked further away from the port building. We got shuttles each time, but the ships next to us and closer to the building didn't. The bus driver asked passengers to which ship they were going and did not take the people whose ship was close to the building. It would probably be a different story if they had canes or walkers.

 

In all the ports where I have been, shuttles were provided by the local authority or we had to walk on the pier. Neither Azamara, HAL, Norwegian, Oceania, Princess ever had their own shuttle busses. The only exception I have experienced is the freighter Aranui in the South Pacific. They hired shuttles in Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa.

[Andy]

Hi Everyone,

 

I've removed several rude & member directed posts. Please, let's not make it personal, and appreciate the information LHT28 is sharing with us. I'm finding the insights shared on this thread very informative, and hope you agree.

 

Thanks very much for your understanding.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Host Andy