Question from a hal lover

[Mekka]

When I took my first SilverSea cruise, I was surprised when I first walked on the ship and was greeted by name by the Cruise Director (Fernando- who is famous for this). I was escorted by a crew member to my cabin, where my Butler was waiting with a cold bottle of champagne. He invited me to relax while he unpacked my bags. (I let him do it out of curiosity, even though I prefer to do it myself) I went to lunch, where I was greeted by name by the Maitre' D. and had a fabulous meal. At that point, I realized I had entered a different world. By the way--I was staying in a basic oceanview cabin. These sorts of experiences happen all day long. HAL's crew is good and they try hard to please, but they simply aren't staffed to provide this kind of treatment. It has to be experienced. Simply stating that the food and service are better doesn't convey the difference. A lot more is included in your fare and when you price it out, the difference isn't as big as you might think. Go for it- you won't be sorry.

[iancal]

Have to agree with Mekka.

 

We have only been on one high end cruise-it was Crystal. It was a different world that we would like to get used to. Alas, it is not to be.

 

The food, service, everything was not just different. It was in a class by itself and not comparable to the mass market lines like HAL, Celebrity, or Princess.

[Mary Ellen]

DH and I talked this over this morning. If our Oceania cruise had been our 'swan song', it would have been a pitiful end to our cruising. I know others rave about Oceania, but the (VERY) frequent brochures we receive from them now go straight into recycling.

 

We had some very good service on Oceania's Riviera. We also had service so bad that it would be kind to call it abysmal. Mainly the problems were with some of the Eastern European servers in the Grand Dining Room. It got to the point with one of them, that we would state that we didn't want to be seated in Oleana's section each time we dined there. There was a Balinese GDR waiter who was delightful, but he was the only one we encountered there who was.

 

Each night we would have pre-dinner drinks. Not once, never, in the entire two weeks were we asked if we wanted a second drink. It wasn't unusual for us to wait 15-20 minutes to flag someone down to even get that first drink.

 

Another problem we encountered in the bar areas was the seating. It was very low, like we typically encounter in Europe. For older passengers it can be difficult to stand up from those low seats, particularly since they don't have arms.

 

In the decades we've sailed on HAL we've never encountered the language problems we experienced on O.

 

One area where the service was outstanding was the serving area of the buffet. That was better than what we typically find on HAL. The one thing I missed was the Deli station found on HAL. The table staff in the buffet area was, for the most part, Eastern European and there were again some 'attitude' and language problems.

 

Food. While that is subjective, we really didn't care for the food in the GDR. Frequently the food served didn't match the menu description. One example was a lunch menu that had crudites with "tartar sauce". I thought that was different, but I'll give it a try. I was served 1000 Island dressing. Probably at least half the nights we ate in the GDR I ordered off the 'always available' menu. That gets boring.

 

While there is one salmon dinner I had on the Eurodam that stands out as the worst meal I've ever had on a cruise, there were several on the Riviera that gave it stiff competition. Considering we've had 100s of dinners on HAL and only 14 on Oceania, HAL still comes out ahead. On HAL the waiters always seem to notice when someone isn't eating a dish. They want to know if there is something wrong and if they could bring a different item. Our servers on O didn't ask, didn't care. I have never walked out of a HAL dining room hungry. There were a few nights on O where we went straight to the buffet after dinner.

 

Specialty Restaurants. This is hard. We've (usually) very much enjoyed HAL's Pinnacle Grill and loved the Tamarind. Caneletto's is meh.

 

On Oceania we loved our dinner at Toscana (Italian) as food and service were both excellent there.

 

Red Ginger (pan-Asian) was meh. Service seemed a bit pretentious. Maybe I don't know any better, but I didn't get the whole thing about choosing chopsticks based upon the variety of wood. I had the miso glazed sea bass, that many rave about. It was 'ok', nothing special.

 

The steak place (Chops??). I've had better fillets at the PG and it's always been prepared within my preferred range (as long as there is pink in the center, I'm happy). I ordered 'medium' on the Riviera. It came with a cold, red center - twice. When I wanted to send it back, again, our waitress (snottily) told me that I'd have to have it butterflied to get it to 'medium'. No, steaks prepared 'well done' need to be butterflied. We were with others that night. One wanted prime rib 'medium rare'. They were informed that prime rib is only served 'medium'.

 

Jacques (French) was a nice change of pace. Service was very good and the food was ok.

 

We haven't yet sailed on a HAL ship with the new Dive-In burger place, but the burger place on the Riviera was outstanding. Even though we're not usually burger people, if it had been open for dinner we probably would have eaten there at least several times, as it was better than the GDR. We liked that there was an order taker at the front of the line (not behind a counter) and that someone would bring our meals to our table. The seating area there was much, much nicer than what we've seen at HAL's Terrace Grill. Tables were set - and numbered to aid with delivering orders. There was staff constantly clearing tables and bringing beverages.

 

On HAL we've booked all sorts of cabins, from insides to the (now) Neptune Suites. Our Concierge cabin on the Riviera was better than anything we've had on HAL. We were happy with our cabin steward team. They did an excellent job, just like we've experienced on HAL. The cabin quality/amenities is where Oceania really outshines HAL. We participated in a 'cabin crawl' on our Oceania cruise and visited a nice variety of cabins. I'd say the Riviera's Penthouse cabins are closest to HAL's Neptune suites. We also saw 2-3 higher level suites than those. I've visited a HAL PH and every O suite we visited was much nicer than that.

 

As nonsmokers, we really liked being able to sit out on our Oceania balcony and enjoy the fresh sea air. If you are smokers, you'll like HAL's policy better if you have a balcony.

 

Would we cruise on Oceania again? We'd consider it - if we had friends who really wanted to do so and we loved the itinerary. In the meantime, all mailings will continue to go into recycling.

 

Having sailed on the Riviera and on the Prinsendam, if we were looking at taking a 'swan song' cruise, it would be on the Prinsendam - without question.

 

Oh, don't fall for the Oceania '2 for 1 - including air' special pricing. That's their normal price. Nothing special there.

Edited April 27, 2014 by Mary Ellen

[sail7seas]

What a helpful post, Mary Ellen.

I've been told by local friends very similar things that you have written but never seem to see these same comments on the forums. There are a number of people who head off to Oceania expecting a fine experience but come away disappointment.

 

I am sure the same could be said for all cruise lines/hotels/restaurants but I've heard this more than once about Oceania.

 

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Let me preface my question by saying that we are fans of HAL and say how satisfied we are with almost everything HAL. We both entered our 80's last year and can tell that physically we are having difficulties, so that our days of cruising may be nearing an end. We are considering as a farewell to switch to an upscale cruise line such as Oceania. Knowing how satisfied and spoiled we have been with HAL, does this make sense to anyone. Thanks for any opinion and comment. Bud

 

Is there any chance you could fit two more cruises into your life. Try a different line and then go back to HAL once more time. Just a thought!

[Krazy Kruizers]

DH and I talked this over this morning. If our Oceania cruise had been our 'swan song', it would have been a pitiful end to our cruising. I know others rave about Oceania, but the (VERY) frequent brochures we receive from them now go straight into recycling.

 

We had some very good service on Oceania's Riviera. We also had service so bad that it would be kind to call it abysmal. Mainly the problems were with some of the Eastern European servers in the Grand Dining Room. It got to the point with one of them, that we would state that we didn't want to be seated in Oleana's section each time we dined there. There was a Balinese GDR waiter who was delightful, but he was the only one we encountered there who was.

 

Each night we would have pre-dinner drinks. Not once, never, in the entire two weeks were we asked if we wanted a second drink. It wasn't unusual for us to wait 15-20 minutes to flag someone down to even get that first drink.

 

Another problem we encountered in the bar areas was the seating. It was very low, like we typically encounter in Europe. For older passengers it can be difficult to stand up from those low seats, particularly since they don't have arms.

 

In the decades we've sailed on HAL we've never encountered the language problems we experienced on O.

 

One area where the service was outstanding was the serving area of the buffet. That was better than what we typically find on HAL. The one thing I missed was the Deli station found on HAL. The table staff in the buffet area was, for the most part, Eastern European and there were again some 'attitude' and language problems.

 

Food. While that is subjective, we really didn't care for the food in the GDR. Frequently the food served didn't match the menu description. One example was a lunch menu that had crudites with "tartar sauce". I thought that was different, but I'll give it a try. I was served 1000 Island dressing. Probably at least half the nights we ate in the GDR I ordered off the 'always available' menu. That gets boring.

 

While there is one salmon dinner I had on the Eurodam that stands out as the worst meal I've ever had on a cruise, there were several on the Riviera that gave it stiff competition. Considering we've had 100s of dinners on HAL and only 14 on Oceania, HAL still comes out ahead. On HAL the waiters always seem to notice when someone isn't eating a dish. They want to know if there is something wrong and if they could bring a different item. Our servers on O didn't ask, didn't care. I have never walked out of a HAL dining room hungry. There were a few nights on O where we went straight to the buffet after dinner.

 

Specialty Restaurants. This is hard. We've (usually) very much enjoyed HAL's Pinnacle Grill and loved the Tamarind. Caneletto's is meh.

 

On Oceania we loved our dinner at Toscana (Italian) as food and service were both excellent there.

 

Red Ginger (pan-Asian) was meh. Service seemed a bit pretentious. Maybe I don't know any better, but I didn't get the whole thing about choosing chopsticks based upon the variety of wood. I had the miso glazed sea bass, that many rave about. It was 'ok', nothing special.

 

The steak place (Chops??). I've had better fillets at the PG and it's always been prepared within my preferred range (as long as there is pink in the center, I'm happy). I ordered 'medium' on the Riviera. It came with a cold, red center - twice. When I wanted to send it back, again, our waitress (snottily) told me that I'd have to have it butterflied to get it to 'medium'. No, steaks prepared 'well done' need to be butterflied. We were with others that night. One wanted prime rib 'medium rare'. They were informed that prime rib is only served 'medium'.

 

Jacques (French) was a nice change of pace. Service was very good and the food was ok.

 

We haven't yet sailed on a HAL ship with the new Dive-In burger place, but the burger place on the Riviera was outstanding. Even though we're not usually burger people, if it had been open for dinner we probably would have eaten there at least several times, as it was better than the GDR. We liked that there was an order taker at the front of the line (not behind a counter) and that someone would bring our meals to our table. The seating area there was much, much nicer than what we've seen at HAL's Terrace Grill. Tables were set - and numbered to aid with delivering orders. There was staff constantly clearing tables and bringing beverages.

 

On HAL we've booked all sorts of cabins, from insides to the (now) Neptune Suites. Our Concierge cabin on the Riviera was better than anything we've had on HAL. We were happy with our cabin steward team. They did an excellent job, just like we've experienced on HAL. The cabin quality/amenities is where Oceania really outshines HAL. We participated in a 'cabin crawl' on our Oceania cruise and visited a nice variety of cabins. I'd say the Riviera's Penthouse cabins are closest to HAL's Neptune suites. We also saw 2-3 higher level suites than those. I've visited a HAL PH and every O suite we visited was much nicer than that.

 

As nonsmokers, we really liked being able to sit out on our Oceania balcony and enjoy the fresh sea air. If you are smokers, you'll like HAL's policy better if you have a balcony.

 

Would we cruise on Oceania again? We'd consider it - if we had friends who really wanted to do so and we loved the itinerary. In the meantime, all mailings will continue to go into recycling.

 

Having sailed on the Riviera and on the Prinsendam, if we were looking at taking a 'swan song' cruise, it would be on the Prinsendam - without question.

 

Oh, don't fall for the Oceania '2 for 1 - including air' special pricing. That's their normal price. Nothing special there.

 

 

Really great information.

[Krazy Kruizers]

OP

I know that you mentioned "and can tell that physically we are having difficulties" -- does this mean that you may have problems flying or driving to and from the embarkation and disembarkation ports?

That could be a problem if you do consider the Prinsendam as the majority of her cruises are in Europe and elsewhere. There is only one cruise that leaves from Ft Lauderdale -- and that is around the Christmas holidays. Would that work for you?