My first Oceania experience - but not my last !

[Cornishpastyman1]

After 6 very enjoyable cruises with HAL (my only previous cruise line) I was onboard the Marina from Barcelona - Rome in October. I had heard great things about O, especially the food.

 

Overall it was a wonderful experience and the food was every bit as good as I'd hoped. As a first-timer in the lowest level of cabin (on floor 7) I was allowed just one night at each of the 4 speciality restaurants, but out of 10 nights that was not bad at all. I thought Red Ginger was easily the best of them, but the other 3 are very good too.

 

We split our remaining 6 nights equally between the Grand Dining Room and The Terrace, which says how nice the Terrace was. Being self service it's obviously a much less leisurely affair than having a waiter bring your 4 courses in the GDR, but there's an enormous choice of cold buffet and hot food, as well as the grill, where lobster tails, fillet steak, lamb chops and a stir-fry are available on demand. Must mention the desserts too - very often they look great but taste disappointing. I won't say this wasn't the occasionally case but more often than not they were very good or even superb. The Terrace serves until 9 pm, which was ideal on those occasions when we didn't get back until 7.30 as it allows time to get ready, have a lovely meal and be available see the 9.45 pm show.

 

Oceania are reputed to spend more per head on food than anyone and I can believe it. The daily afternoon tea in the Horizons lounge is a sight to behold - and taste, and you will travel a long way (and probably be unsuccessful) in seeking better burgers than those served at the Waves Grill. Complimentary soft drinks/mixers are a nice touch too, as was the barista counter.

 

I'd heard indifferent reports about the entertainment but it was fine, in the single-level theatre. There's no state-of-the-art stage with moving parts, so no Vegas-style productions but I thoroughly enjoyed every show. If you are booked into a speciality restaurant you may not be able to attend, not that this was any real concern to me, as food must take precedence every time :)

 

We went to the usual 'Name that Tune' sessions (and won 12 O points, which I redeemed for a nice T-shirt) which were good spirited fun. There would have been several similar 'contests' but the port days were intensive - just one sea day at the end of the cruise - and staying up beyond 11 pm was not an option.

 

The ship itself, being around 2 years old, was gloriously and immaculately elegant and the bed linen something I shall long recall. The library was fabulous, and the beds around the pool extremely comfortable.

 

The service was as good as HAL's i.e. as close to faultless are you'll get. Everyone seemed to be doing their utmost to ensure we had a good time, and the tendering process went smoothly.

 

Suffice to say I'm a convert and look forward to the next time I cruise with Oceania, and there most certainly will be a next time !

 

I didn't take any of the ships excursions, as they were very expensive and our itinerary was made up of ports that are easy to do on your own or with a private company :

 

Marseille (10 October)

 

The cruise line provided a free shuttle for the 4 mile/15 minute ride from the enormous commercial port to the Old Port area. It dropped us at the Centre Bourse, from where you walk almost straight ahead into the Old Port - maybe 100 yards ?

 

From there, as you look ahead to the Notre Dame de la Garde high on the hill in the distance, the Quai du Port, on your right with the Hotel de Ville, is the Petit Train's departure point. It's about 2/3 of the way down that side of the marina. Get your ticket there (€8 pp) from the booth. Trains leave every half hour or so so if you just miss one you can spend time walking around the marina - check out the fish market on Quai des Belges, near the metro station and the famous mirrored shelter and/or the Fort St Jean.

 

The 'train' takes about 25 minutes to get to and from the ND de la G, and you'll want about 30-40 minutes up there. I though the whole thing was great - you get a decent commentary on the train and the basilica itself is amazing.

 

Saint Tropez

 

Cannes is not a bad place but the best thing about it is that it has a train station for going somewhere more interesting (like Nice). This shows the bit we see on telly each May

 

After less than an hour at Cannes we caught a train to Nice (about 35-40 minutes).

Instead of walking down Avenue Jean Médecin (a mile) we should have taken the tram to Place Messana.

 

That Ho-Ho leaves from the Lido on the Promenade des Anglais NOT where it shows on the leaflet we got from the Tourist Office.

 

Monaco

 

Cinque Terre

We took the 10 am ferry and would have done the whole run to Monterosso but the last one back only arrived at 4.40 - which would have been cutting it fine for the 5 pm all-aboard. The return fare was €15, the single €10.

 

The train from Vernazza - La Spezia station took about 15 mins, and the walk back to the ship about 20-25 as it's just over a mile and a half.

 

Pisa/Lucca

We shared a taxi from the dock with 3 other couples. Cost about €35 pp, stopping at Pisa for an hour and Lucca for 3. Great day, but with hindsight 2 and 2 would have been slightly better as we did not want lunch at Lucca and there's much more to Pisa than the leaning tower.

 

On October 16 we were supposed to anchor off Sorrento at noon and take a private tour to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello.

 

High swells meant the captain could not guarantee that the tenders would run so he switched to the dock at Naples. By the time we had disembarked it was 12.30 and our tour then began. Starting from Naples rather than Sorrento delayed arriving at Positano by at least an hour but we got it all done by the time the light was failing at Ravello.

 

I didn't note down the time throughout the day but reckon we spent about 90 minutes at Positano

and an hour each at Amalfi

and Ravello

before setting off back to Naples (not via the Amalfi Drive) at around 6.45 p.m. which got us back at the ship around 8 pm.

 

Capri - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uujBnlG7ahs The hydrofoil takes about 40 minutes (from Naples, less from Sorrento) and we visited Villa San Michele http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-TA79Z4-ZE

 

Our final day (October 18), was spent at sea sailing from Naples - Rome. All best, Tony

[CintiPam]

Hi, Tony, great to read about your first Oceania cruise. Glad you enjoyed it. We will sail to some of the same ports in late May on Riviera. We have a port day in Amalfi and I am trying to decide between going up to Ravello or Capri this time.

 

I watched your Amalfi Coast trilogy, but backwards with the Ravello part first, so I kept wondering who the lady was running away from you in most of this video!:D (Fortunately the other two cleared that up for me.) Your Capri video was gorgeous.

 

As always, you supply great information and excellent production values.

[MVPinBoynton]

Hi Tony,

I am so glad you enjoyed O. We will be doing our first O cruise in April to Bermuda and then another in March 2015 to China and Japan. I look forward to seeing your videos on this cruise more for the food than the ship, since we are on the smaller Regatta and Nautica for our cruises. Next week we will be doing our first HAL cruise, so also glad you like them.

[G&G]

Thanks for your review.

 

We too were HAL cruisers and were first time on Oceania last March 2013.

 

We go again next week on the Riviera and have three more Oceania cruises booked. Goodbye HAL after 30 years sailing with them.

[JimandStan]

Goodbye HAL after 30 years sailing with them.

 

Us too, isn't it sad?

 

[G&G]

Us too, isn't it sad?

 

 

YES !

 

What HAL offered 30 years ago, Oceania offers today !

[vistaman]

my second Oceania will be my last ...

obviously priorities and tastes are very different and there is ample choice .

[orchestrapal]

my second Oceania will be my last ...

obviously priorities and tastes are very different and there is ample choice .

 

Why take the second. They don't force you!

[MVPinBoynton]

my second Oceania will be my last ...

obviously priorities and tastes are very different and there is ample choice .

 

Gosh, I hope you don't like the 2nd one or you might have to change your mind. :D

[vistaman]

Why take the second. They don't force you!

 

i just did finish my second one last saturday what will be my last cruise on Oceania for sure ...

[LuAnn]

After 6 very enjoyable cruises with HAL (my only previous cruise line) I was onboard the Marina from Barcelona - Rome in October. I had heard great things about O, especially the food.

 

Overall it was a wonderful experience and the food was every bit as good as I'd hoped. As a first-timer in the lowest level of cabin (on floor 7) I was allowed just one night at each of the 4 speciality restaurants, but out of 10 nights that was not bad at all. I thought Red Ginger was easily the best of them, but the other 3 are very good too.

 

We split our remaining 6 nights equally between the Grand Dining Room and The Terrace, which says how nice the Terrace was. Being self service it's obviously a much less leisurely affair than having a waiter bring your 4 courses in the GDR, but there's an enormous choice of cold buffet and hot food, as well as the grill, where lobster tails, fillet steak, lamb chops and a stir-fry are available on demand. Must mention the desserts too - very often they look great but taste disappointing. I won't say this wasn't the occasionally case but more often than not they were very good or even superb. The Terrace serves until 9 pm, which was ideal on those occasions when we didn't get back until 7.30 as it allows time to get ready, have a lovely meal and be available see the 9.45 pm show.

 

Oceania are reputed to spend more per head on food than anyone and I can believe it. The daily afternoon tea in the Horizons lounge is a sight to behold - and taste, and you will travel a long way (and probably be unsuccessful) in seeking better burgers than those served at the Waves Grill. Complimentary soft drinks/mixers are a nice touch too, as was the barista counter.

 

I'd heard indifferent reports about the entertainment but it was fine, in the single-level theatre. There's no state-of-the-art stage with moving parts, so no Vegas-style productions but I thoroughly enjoyed every show. If you are booked into a speciality restaurant you may not be able to attend, not that this was any real concern to me, as food must take precedence every time :)

 

We went to the usual 'Name that Tune' sessions (and won 12 O points, which I redeemed for a nice T-shirt) which were good spirited fun. There would have been several similar 'contests' but the port days were intensive - just one sea day at the end of the cruise - and staying up beyond 11 pm was not an option.

 

The ship itself, being around 2 years old, was gloriously and immaculately elegant and the bed linen something I shall long recall. The library was fabulous, and the beds around the pool extremely comfortable.

 

The service was as good as HAL's i.e. as close to faultless are you'll get. Everyone seemed to be doing their utmost to ensure we had a good time, and the tendering process went smoothly.

 

Suffice to say I'm a convert and look forward to the next time I cruise with Oceania, and there most certainly will be a next time !

 

I didn't take any of the ships excursions, as they were very expensive and our itinerary was made up of ports that are easy to do on your own or with a private company :

 

Marseille (10 October)

 

The cruise line provided a free shuttle for the 4 mile/15 minute ride from the enormous commercial port to the Old Port area. It dropped us at the Centre Bourse, from where you walk almost straight ahead into the Old Port - maybe 100 yards ?

 

From there, as you look ahead to the Notre Dame de la Garde high on the hill in the distance, the Quai du Port, on your right with the Hotel de Ville, is the Petit Train's departure point. It's about 2/3 of the way down that side of the marina. Get your ticket there (€8 pp) from the booth. Trains leave every half hour or so so if you just miss one you can spend time walking around the marina - check out the fish market on Quai des Belges, near the metro station and the famous mirrored shelter and/or the Fort St Jean.

 

The 'train' takes about 25 minutes to get to and from the ND de la G, and you'll want about 30-40 minutes up there. I though the whole thing was great - you get a decent commentary on the train and the basilica itself is amazing.

 

Saint Tropez

 

Cannes is not a bad place but the best thing about it is that it has a train station for going somewhere more interesting (like Nice). This shows the bit we see on telly each May

 

After less than an hour at Cannes we caught a train to Nice (about 35-40 minutes).

Instead of walking down Avenue Jean Médecin (a mile) we should have taken the tram to Place Messana.

 

That Ho-Ho leaves from the Lido on the Promenade des Anglais NOT where it shows on the leaflet we got from the Tourist Office.

 

Monaco

 

Cinque Terre

We took the 10 am ferry and would have done the whole run to Monterosso but the last one back only arrived at 4.40 - which would have been cutting it fine for the 5 pm all-aboard. The return fare was €15, the single €10.

 

The train from Vernazza - La Spezia station took about 15 mins, and the walk back to the ship about 20-25 as it's just over a mile and a half.

 

Pisa/Lucca

We shared a taxi from the dock with 3 other couples. Cost about €35 pp, stopping at Pisa for an hour and Lucca for 3. Great day, but with hindsight 2 and 2 would have been slightly better as we did not want lunch at Lucca and there's much more to Pisa than the leaning tower.

 

On October 16 we were supposed to anchor off Sorrento at noon and take a private tour to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello.

 

High swells meant the captain could not guarantee that the tenders would run so he switched to the dock at Naples. By the time we had disembarked it was 12.30 and our tour then began. Starting from Naples rather than Sorrento delayed arriving at Positano by at least an hour but we got it all done by the time the light was failing at Ravello.

 

I didn't note down the time throughout the day but reckon we spent about 90 minutes at Positano

and an hour each at Amalfi

and Ravello

before setting off back to Naples (not via the Amalfi Drive) at around 6.45 p.m. which got us back at the ship around 8 pm.

 

Capri - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uujBnlG7ahs The hydrofoil takes about 40 minutes (from Naples, less from Sorrento) and we visited Villa San Michele http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-TA79Z4-ZE

 

Our final day (October 18), was spent at sea sailing from Naples - Rome. All best, Tony

 

thank you so much for sharing your beautiful videos with us...and can't wait to see Nice again....after way too many years to tell...this spring!!! LuAnn

[cruisemuse13]

i just did finish my second one last saturday what will be my last cruise on Oceania for sure ...

 

You sound so adamant. I am sorry you did not enjoy your cruise, and my curiosity is getting the better of me. Why are you so disenchanted?:confused:

[orchestrapal]

You sound so adamant. I am sorry you did not enjoy your cruise, and my curiosity is getting the better of me. Why are you so disenchanted?:confused:

 

Do we really want to know???

[vistaman]

You sound so adamant. I am sorry you did not enjoy your cruise, and my curiosity is getting the better of me. Why are you so disenchanted?:confused:

well i 'll give you the top 5 issues :

- Oceania does present itself a lot better as it actually is

- i did stay in a penthouse - one evening they simply did forget to service my cabin and the last 5 days no single bed linen was freshly replaced - not even a pillow sheet ...

- once on board you are faced to outrageous rates for everything especially for wines - usury i do call it with a 18 % service for "your convenience" and compulsory gratuities of 15 $ + 7 $ for the butler - a day

- very cheap and boring entertainment led by a tedious cruise director

- main dining room : extremely slow service and very bad sommeliers obviously not trained for that duty

[Solar Yellow]

Oh good. Another potentially hijacked thread. Can we just let Vistaman start his own thread and not respond to him here? Please? Pretty please?

[JimandStan]

Maybe I shouldn't be so bold, but I have to wonder if there is any connection between people who object vehemently against tipping and the lousy service which they always claim to be receiving.... :p

[journeyfan]

Jim and Stan,

 

You being the experts, may I ask you. Do you tip extra in advance for butler service? We just completed a cruise on Riviera in a Penthouse suite and we found the butler annoying and worthless. The only thing we asked him to do was secure an extra specialty restaurant reservations for us and he failed at that. When we asked him to get us the extra reservation, should we have handed him $20?

 

We believe in tipping after we receive good service, not before.... but do we need to re-think that when cruising on Oceania?

[LHT28]

When we asked him to get us the extra reservation, should we have handed him $20?

 

We believe in tipping after we receive good service, not before.... but do we need to re-think that when cruising on Oceania?

Not J & S

but I think you should have had a word with the Hotel manager if the butler did not do a good job you are already tipping him in the daily gratuity rate

 

I agree tip extra after the service is provided if you feel it is warranted

 

Others will disagree ... JMO

Edited February 24, 2014 by LHT28

[JimandStan]

Jim and Stan,

 

You being the experts, may I ask you. Do you tip extra in advance for butler service? We just completed a cruise on Riviera in a Penthouse suite and we found the butler annoying and worthless. The only thing we asked him to do was secure an extra specialty restaurant reservations for us and he failed at that. When we asked him to get us the extra reservation, should we have handed him $20?

 

We believe in tipping after we receive good service, not before.... but do we need to re-think that when cruising on Oceania?

 

Specialty Restaurant Reservations are a tricky way to monitor a Butlers worth, because there are lots of other passengers who are equally as "Suite" as you are, whose Butlers' may theoretically be jockeying for those same reservations.

That said, people who genuinely believe they can't think of anything for their Butler to do, just aren't trying.

 

From getting the Racing forms delivered on your breakfast tray, to having a pint of Iced cream waiting bedside when you retire, the Butler can do it all.

 

And yes, if we cruise with a Butler who is new to us, we tip in excess of the auto tip in advance.

Repeat Butlers already know our tipping habits.

Edited February 25, 2014 by JimandStan

[edgee]

well i 'll give you the top 5 issues :

- Oceania does present itself a lot better as it actually is

- i did stay in a penthouse - one evening they simply did forget to service my cabin and the last 5 days no single bed linen was freshly replaced - not even a pillow sheet ...

- once on board you are faced to outrageous rates for everything especially for wines - usury i do call it with a 18 % service for "your convenience" and compulsory gratuities of 15 $ + 7 $ for the butler - a day

- very cheap and boring entertainment led by a tedious cruise director

- main dining room : extremely slow service and very bad sommeliers obviously not trained for that duty

 

I was on the same cruise.

…I found entertainment to be most enjoyable…far from "cheap or boring" and (except for the comedian) extremely talented performers.

…Overall, very prompt service in the dining rooms

…18% service charge is high, but only slightly higher than the 15% charge on mass market cruise lines.

…While no cruise experience is perfect, to my DW and me Oceania generally provided us with a product that is what it presents itself to be

[Mura]

Back to the "tipping in advance" question.

 

We ourselves never have. I know there are regulars who do.

 

We do reward with extra after the fact. We've never felt the need to "encourage' the butler to give us good service by tipping in advance.

 

You know, it does depend on your butler. Maybe we've just been lucky, but we've had marvelous service without tipping in advance. However, I've seen comments here at CC where butlers were just about useless -- certainly not cooperative. But we've never found that. We've never had the same butler twice, but they've all been helpful and just all around wonderful.

 

In fact, they have often done more than we requested. Like when Howard went back to the room to get the bottle of wine we'd forgotten and he returned with our butler. The butler could easily have said, "Okay, take it yourself", but he did not.

 

You should NOT have to feel that you need to tip in advance. And if you are not happy with the service you are getting, talk to the Hotel Manager.

 

Another consideration is just how much you are going to require of your butler ... if you think you won't use him much, don't worry about it. If you

use him a lot, reward him accordingly.

 

The thing is ... we started out not using them at all. And gradually, as we've had more cruises, we use them more and more...

 

Mura

[vistaman]

giving bad critics is obviously a crime to some people

approaching the level of 80 cruises i do know the differences .

concerning the butler : i gave also extra mid cruise...with the effect he was even more stacky.

[orchestrapal]

giving bad critics is obviously a crime to some people

approaching the level of 80 cruises i do know the differences .

concerning the butler : i gave also extra mid cruise...with the effect he was even more stacky.

 

I wish my French or Belgian were as good as yours but what is "stacky"?

[rallydave]

Specialty Restaurant Reservations are a tricky way to monitor a Butlers worth, because there are lots of other passengers who are equally as "Suite" as you are, whose Butlers' may theoretically be jockeying for those same reservations.

That said, people who genuinely believe they can't think of anything for their Butler to do, just aren't trying.

 

From getting the Racing forms delivered on your breakfast tray, to having a pint of Iced cream waiting bedside when you retire, the Butler can do it all.

 

And yes, if we cruise with a Butler who is new to us, we tip in excess of the auto tip in advance.

Repeat Butlers already know our tipping habits.

 

Was taught at an early age that a tip was always provided to show appreciation for excellent service. Providing the tip ahead of time seems like a bribe in advance similar to "greasing ones palms" as some people do in restaurants and the like in advance to move ahead on the wait list.

 

Sorry guys but, that is gauche and IMHO something that should never be done. Perhaps it is the accepted way of "buying" excellent service in the NE however, most people don't pay in advance for service or anything else.

 

Sometimes people paying in advance are categorized as "suckers" as they pay for something that they never get. Butlers as well as other "service" people who get tipped need to earn their tips and not get paid in advance whereby they don't need to earn their tips.

[buggins0402]

I wish my French or Belgian were as good as yours but what is "stacky"?

 

Flemish Belguim so it's probably Dutch.