Live from Oceania Regatta – post refurbishment!

[editor@cruisecritic]

Good point! It's an oceanview.

 

Carolyn

 

quote=LHT28;43034329]Are you in an Ocean View or Obstructed View Cabin both use the OV designation :confused:

[las313]

Thanks you Carolyn for the link. I will keep watching for update.

[Jamey Bergman]

It's day three and we've had a sea day in between boarding in Vancouver

and our port call at Sitka today, so there's time to get the lay of the

land on the newly refurbished Oceania Regatta. So far, here are our

favorite things:

 

1. There's no nickel and diming. On Oceania Regatta (as on all Oceania

ships), you can dine at the fabulous Toscana and the Polo Grill

steakhouse for no extra charge (though to be honest, the menu at The

Grand Dining Room, with its Canyon Ranch, Red Ginger and Jacques

selections available in addition to everything else is pretty

phenomenal). You can get a cappuccino or a latte at Barista's for no

additional charge. Milkshakes, ice cream cones and smoothies at the Waves

Grill? Yep, no additional charge. These are just a few examples, but

they¹re appreciated.

 

2. Speaking of Baristas, which is located in the bar adjacent to The

Grand Dining Room, it's an inspired addition to Regatta for a couple of

reasons. One, every ship on any line needs extra-good coffee, and you¹ll

find that here. Two: Instead of building the coffee bar into the

harmoniously designed The Reception Hall (deck five, surrounding the

Titanic-esque stairway to deck four), it left that space alone. On other

Renaissance-class ships operated by other lines, the lofty hall space

is tinkered with; on Azamara its coffee bar is tucked into a corner there

(not too bad but the area does get clogged and it does impede traffic).

Worse, on Royal Princess, the powers-that-be decided to add an extra

boutique and covered up a window with it. Sorry, I digress.

 

On all the cruises I've ever done on this style of ship (which encompass

Oceania, Princess, Azamara and even Swan Hellenic), the bar at the

entrance of the Grand Restaurant, while lovely, was always

under-utilized. It wasn't a fun place to go, never had a buzz or a vibe,

and was pretty much, save for pre-dinner cocktails, empty. So having

Baristas there * brilliant. It's busy morning, noon and even into the

evening. In the daytime, it's primarily a coffee bar (but you can get a

glass of wine), and snacks are almost always available. It¹s charming and

Baristas has given new life to the space.

 

3. This may not appeal to you, but this is the first ocean cruise we've

been on where an all you can use Internet package is available. It¹s

not cheap * at $28 per day * but for those of us who have come to depend

on our iPads and laptops not only for email but also for sending

trip-related photos and commentary to Facebook, Instagram and other

social networks (and for reading our home newspapers online each day),

it's taken a lot of the stress out of staying connected. Plus: We've

found the Internet to be, in most cases, surprisingly faster than we¹re

used to onboard.

 

More tomorrow.

 

Carolyn

[editor@cruisecritic]

We had a marvelous day in Sitka! It's been billed as Alaska's most exotic port, and it definitely lived up to that reputation. Many of the tours focus on the outdoor experience -- we had a blast on our salmon fishing expedition. We've posted a photo album from the day on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/CruiseCritic) -- do you recognize the guy in the top photo?

 

Carolyn

[PaulMCO]

We had a marvelous day in Sitka! It's been billed as Alaska's most exotic port, and it definitely lived up to that reputation. Many of the tours focus on the outdoor experience -- we had a blast on our salmon fishing expedition. We've posted a photo album from the day on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/CruiseCritic) -- do you recognize the guy in the top photo?

 

Carolyn

 

 

Did they have a fish special that evening in the GDR???

[TKS]

Looks like he was having a pretty good time. Also, it looks like he's doing more than researching CC'ers opinions, rather he's experiencing some typical cruise experiences for himself.

[PaulMCO]

Looks like he was having a pretty good time. Also, it looks like he's doing more than researching CC'ers opinions, rather he's experiencing some typical cruise experiences for himself.

 

 

Wonder if it was a private tour or an Oceania tour :D (stir the fish bit)

[editor@cruisecritic]

The Internet has generally worked very well with just one glitch: I can't get onto the forums without spending twenty minutes just...waiting. Sorry for slow posts, I'm doing the best i can. Hoping to have another for you in a few....

 

Carolyn

[editor@cruisecritic]

I’m hoping to post restaurant-related photos today on Facebook but I’ll share here first a couple of insights into dining on Oceania Regatta:

 

*The most sublime restaurant onboard (for evenings, anyway) is La Toscana. Fantastic menu, so large that you can eat here several times and try different dishes each time.

 

*Having said that, The Grand Restaurant – for breakfast, lunch and dinner – has been a favorite spot. The breakfast menu includes everything you’d want (from eggs to salmon/lox to pancakes) plus some: You can also start you day with a steak or lamb chops. One nit to quibble about: On a cruise line where food is a major priority I’m a little surprised that the orange juice isn’t fresh squeezed. Other kudos for the Grand in the evenings, when to make up for there not being room for Jacques and Red Ginger – the two extra specialty restaurants on the O class (the larger Marina and Riviera) – there are items from those eateries on the dinner menu each night. Love that….

 

*Another great spot, especially for lunch (and even more especially for a late lunch, when you come back from port and you’re famished) is Waves Grill, which is open until 4 p.m. You place an order for anything from a Kobe burger (frankly the regular burgers are just delicious) to a Reuben to a hot dog in many forms (also very good hotdogs), and they come with crisp, hot and salty fries. Waves has a very popular milkshake/ice cream bar.

 

*The Polo Grill has been hit and miss. Our first visit wasn’t too tasty; I ordered the lobster tail with gratinated breadcrumbs and it was really…not very good (you can also get it simply steamed and I recommend that approach wholeheartedly). Otherwise, it’s the usual steakhouse fare, with lots of salads (even entrée salads), different cuts of steak; lamb chops (had them last night, perfectly cooked). Desserts are perhaps a weak link; we tried the “homemade” marshmallows with dipping sauce; our waiter couldn’t confirm that they actually were made on premises and frankly they tasted like any other kind. The key lime pie was a little lumpy but the crème brulee was excellent.

 

*The Terrace for lunch (the ship’s buffet venue) and breakfast offers a nice range of dishes but it seems so congested. I’m thinking part of the reason is that in Alaska it’s been nippy and so no one is eating outside…but it’s a bit chaotic, and sometimes hard to find a table, so haven’t gone here much. We do want to try dinner here, and will report back.

 

*Service in restaurants has been inconsistent and that does trouble me because, aside from high standards in cuisine, Oceania has always represented fabulous service. Perhaps you could chalk some of the inconsistency to the fact that the ship has just come out of the shipyard after a major refurb (one day at lunch in the Grand, the kitchen apparently, according to our waiter, had some kind of meltdown due to a new menu and the table next to me waited 1.25 hours for a hotdog). Where I’ve seen issues has, primarily, been in the Grand – yesterday morning, my waiter greeted me with an abrupt “coffee? Juice?” while the waiter at a nearby table did his job the right way by saying “good morning, my name is --, how are you today.” Little niceties that make your meal special…. Some of it’s little stuff, but little stuff to me is just kind of sloppy.

 

*The Grand got the most attention in the refurbishment and one big and fantastic change has been in the addition of lots more tables for two!

 

*Speaking of The Grand, after our salmon fishing expedition in Sitka (great fun, by the way, and we caught a lot of fish) the chef there cooked it for us, and prepared special plates to match the fish – in this case king salmon served simply with boiled potatoes, butter sauce, and asparagus, just yum.

 

I’ll post a link to the Facebook album for restaurants later today. We’re also photographing menus, so will include those.

 

Any questions? Post ‘em here.

 

Carolyn

[editor@cruisecritic]

This is a 165-square ft. oceanview cabin. It got new furnishings too -- and the bed is one of the most comfortable we've ever slept in. I will admit it's awfully small for two people, and we've done little here other than sleep. We have a connecting door and can hear everything from our next door neighbors; they eat breakfast in-cabin every day, which I can't imagine. Just not enough...space. By the way, we know this cause we can hear clink of spoon on china but otherwise, and if you don't have the connecting door, soundproofing is very good.

 

All in all, whether or not this cabin will work for you depends on how much you spend time in your stateroom. If you do like to eat meals, sit on the balcony, have private time, you should opt for a higher category. If it absolutely doesn't matter, this one's perfectly comfortable.

 

Carolyn

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thank you so much, Carolyn, for taking the time to tell us all this. I especially appreciate it knowing in a few short months I'll be walking onboard. Will be very interested to see how I feel about the Regatta vs the Riviera which we've been on twice and loved, but also have such fond memories of the smaller ships of yesteryear. I'm so happy they have brought some of my favorite parts of the Riviera over to the Regatta.

[LHT28]

I thought the cabins were refurbished with the new headboards a few years ago???

 

Were they done again?

[Marisha115]

*Speaking of The Grand, after our salmon fishing expedition in Sitka (great fun, by the way, and we caught a lot of fish) the chef there cooked it for us, and prepared special plates to match the fish – in this case king salmon served simply with boiled potatoes, butter sauce, and asparagus, just yum.

Carolyn,

Are you saying that the chef in the GDR cooked the salmon you caught? :eek: Because that is awesome! Did you make special arrangements ahead of time?

 

And thanks for all the updates and the FB albums. :D

[trinaM]

What refurbishments has Oceania made to the ship.

 

How does the Oceania Experience to ALASKA compare to Celebrity, or Holland america?

 

Can you Describe the special foods(special dinners) they provided?

[editor@cruisecritic]

In the evening, there are a handful of places to have a drink on Oceania Regatta. Barista’s closes at 6 p.m. and then opens for cocktails for pre- and post- cocktails for passengers heading to the Grand Restaurant, adjacent. Martini’s has a terrific ambience with one fatal flaw: It’s open to the ship’s small casino and the clang-clang-clang sounds of slot machines is a real turnoff. The Horizon Bar, the ship’s observatory up on deck 10, has great potential: Three sides forward are floor-to-ceiling windows (the space also hosts afternoon tea, occasional craft sessions, and during the day is a really quiet and nice place to read a book and watch the world go by). Last night I had Norwegian fjord flashbacks, along with a beautiful sunset, and again tonight, watched the sun set to the west, and admired a craggy, majestic and snow-covered Alaskan mountain range.

 

Still: Each of the three times we’ve stopped by after dinner, we’ve been disappointed. One night, Horizon clearly hadn’t been cleaned up from the pre-dinner rush. It was filthy. If there’s any consistency to service in Horizon, it’s that it has been iffy – including tonight. I find it mystifying that we’re charged an 18 percent auto-gratuity on drinks we literally have to walk up to the bar to order. I don’t know where the bar staff is, but it’s not out on the floor serving passengers.

 

The thing is, on this kind of itinerary – when it’s late well after 10 p.m., this should be the most amazing place onboard! We’ve just watched the sun set in the west (alas, no green flash!), and now are admiring an awesome mountain range, ragged and snow-dusted. It’s the best show onboard.

Edited June 12, 2014 by editor@cruisecritic

[HeatherInFlorida]

I am in love reading your updates and you make me ache to cruise Alaska. We have never done it although we've not met anyone who hasn't said we must before we kick the bucket. Just such a long flight from FL and we're getting no younger. But your description of the majesty before your eyes makes me think twice.

 

I'm shocked about the bar service and clean-up! It just doesn't sound like the Oceania I've come to know ... disappointing. Hope it improves!

[editor@cruisecritic]

Yes there was, PaulMCO. It was the most delicious black cod! We tried it, too :)

 

Carolyn

 

Did they have a fish special that evening in the GDR???

[editor@cruisecritic]

Don't know if the headboards are new -- but the rest of the furnishings are either brand new or beautifully re-done. Seriously comfortable beds. I want to take ours home.

 

Carolyn

 

I thought the cabins were refurbished with the new headboards a few years ago???

 

Were they done again?

[pacheco18]

Don't know if the headboards are new -- but the rest of the furnishings are either brand new or beautifully re-done. Seriously comfortable beds. I want to take ours home.

 

Carolyn

 

 

All the mattresses have been replaced. Brand new. They actually had a handout one evening in how to order one so now u can purchase while on board

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[editor@cruisecritic]

Thanks, Heather in Florida -- it's a great trip. The highlight has to have been yesterday's trip to Hubbard Glacier. I can't believe how close our captain got us to glacier. We saw (and felt) it calving, and also loved watching the seals come out to play. They were as interested in our ship as we were in them!

 

I can't remember if I've posted this but on Cruise Critic's Facebook page there's a photo album from yesterday (go to Facebook.com/CruiseCritic). Take a look!

 

Carolyn

 

 

I am in love reading your updates and you make me ache to cruise Alaska. We have never done it although we've not met anyone who hasn't said we must before we kick the bucket. Just such a long flight from FL and we're getting no younger. But your description of the majesty before your eyes makes me think twice.

 

I'm shocked about the bar service and clean-up! It just doesn't sound like the Oceania I've come to know ... disappointing. Hope it improves!

[editor@cruisecritic]

Just launched: I share five surprises about Oceania Regatta!

 

Link: http://www.cruisecritic.com/blog/index.php/2014/06/12/live-from-oceania-regatta-5-surprises/

 

Carolyn

[LHT28]

Carolyn there is NO "LA" in Toscana ;)

[I_r_a]

> I share five surprises about Oceania Regatta! <

 

Thanx, Carolyn

 

Ira

[melody hounddog]

Wonderful review! Thanks for posting.

[editor@cruisecritic]

Just posted on Facebook: Our restaurants photo album. We'll be adding Polo Grill and Toscana later tonight (thanks, LHT28 for the tip about Toscana, but I kind of like the "La"):D

Edited June 13, 2014 by editor@cruisecritic