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LIVE - Marina Jan 22-Feb1 - Back to the Future

sldispatcher

By sldispatcher,
in Oceania Cruises

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Iamthesea

Iamthesea

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Posted
16 foot seas and 35-50 mph winds today.

Forecast to worsen with rapid improvement overnight.

 

Grand Cayman expected to be cancelled and proceed directly to Cozumel.

 

This being done because of slower speeds necessary due to rough seas.

 

 

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YIKES! We had similar seas for one or two days last February. But we were able to sit out on our veranda with blankets. :cool:

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shedevil

shedevil

Posted
Posted (edited)

Thank you for sharing your experience. I am going to share this thread with our roll call for Marina February 1-8, 2017.

 

Might I ask one more time. The life vests at muster. We have had to wear those fashion statements at every muster we have done on Oceania. Can your clarify that the lack of life vests were due to the late boarding and not a policy change by Oceania.

 

Going to upload our Roll Call information sheet, and I want to change our meet & greet notes if we don't have to drag around the big (but very necessary) orange bricks.

 

:D

 

Sharon

Edited by shedevil
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sldispatcher

sldispatcher

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Truth or Dare

 

Here is the unbridled truth. It is too soon on the trip to pass judgment on the Marina. The problem with any of these reports is that people will read them as a single post and not as part of a whole. There will be panic and talks about cancelling a cruise if but one less than complimentary item shows up. That is ridiculous. There are others who post more provocative things either to (a) air out their feelings or (b) to grab some attention in cyberspace that they are not getting at home. I’m not interested in either and gladly skip over any that have popped up in other threads if a quality reason is not given.

 

Now that I’ve "aired out my feelings"….here we go.

 

The trip is not perfect by any means. Between stressful flying weather, delayed embarkation, code red status, one member with a respiratory illness, one developing a cough, 3 feeling queezy today and Neptune having a temper tantrum for the last 24 hours, our band of travelers is taking on the appearance of something more like a M.A.S.H. unit. The aft section of the ship and lower is a bit jarring in how it is handling in the rough water. Much less stable than some of her larger counterparts, but that is to be expected.

 

Code Red was lifted as far as I could tell this evening with the return of menu covers, table bread, etc. Even the Terrace Café is no longer wrapped in the world’s longest sheet of plastic wrap. The seas are ebbing and we are making a beeline to the protected waters of the southern Yucatan Peninsula. We will slow down there and lazily make our way into Cozumel.

 

Service has been erratic at times based on different travelers in our group. We have no complaints other than a drawer in the walk-in closet went flying out during the day today and it will need maintenance to fix it. One of the sliding rod mechanisms has been going back and forth with the rolling of the ship. The sound drilled into our heads during a prolonged nap time today. It reached a point where, tonight, I have stuffed a slipper in the mechanism. We will bring it to the butler’s attention in the AM if our stateroom attendant is not already on the case. That bumping noise would be in a 3 way race for extracting information from any enemy with water boarding and having to watch The View reruns.

 

Our relatively new cruisers are having to adjust from an Alaska scenery packed Celebrity cruise to the gentle Caribbean way of Oceania. They have enjoyed napping today, but also have suffered from a lack of response from the room attendant this evening when she just needed a little room service. They are understanding, but for the price point, lack of attention is really not acceptable.

 

The a/c temp control in cruise ship rooms is always a joke to me. The dials/controls always seem to appear as though a wide range or settings will be available. For the most part, I always find them to be coolish or sorta cool. We actually like it COLD. There is a good 5 degree setting difference between our room and another while the thermostat gauge is set in the same place. (Here come the commenters telling me I need to call guest services or let the butler know…I appreciate your zeal to correct what you may think if my lack of thinking on how to resolve it…but I was referring to the range on the thermostat control, not how to get the issues looked into.)

 

Now for a food comment or two. There was a line outside of the MDR at 620. When the doors opened, the line continued to grow for the next 30 minutes in an unrelenting fashion. I am personally tired of the need to get room numbers before seating a party. How about this…seat the party and then collect the room numbers. Holland America or Royal Caribbean should not be able to seat people faster than an “upper premium” cruise line. Either change the process or add someone else checking in diners. Now, here come the come the posting zealots who will now tell me to go at a later time. That’s well and good and I understand the reasoning behind it. I know about European dining times, yada, yada, yada. However, not everyone will want to do that. I am simply pointing out that an “upper premium” dining room experience starts before you enter the establishment. That may very well be the only night of the cruise that happens. We’ll see. But my guess is it is not the first time it has ever happened.

 

Because of the MDR getting slammed at one time, service came across as a bit disjointed at times but nothing that detracted from the dinner. It was just a little slow out of the chute.

 

Food is so subjective that I won’t even go there. I still think the standards are fairly high across the board in terms of ingredients and craftsmanship. Food temp was evidence of either a slower service out of the kitchen or with the wait staff. It was just not quite at 100%. This is probably some residual from the long embarkation day coupled with a stormy day at sea.

 

The ship is indeed quiet for the most part. I’ve seen two tween kids. Halls are often devoid of fellow passengers. The casino was quiet. Trivia seemed well attended. The Terrace Café was a zoo at 1pm today as sauntered through there. The lack of outside eating tables due to weather shoved everyone in doors. Table squatters were everywhere. There are enough activities and entertainment throughout the day for anyone if they are so motivated. There is also enough of those same things for someone to not do any of it and still have a great time. This is an introverted ship and line. And the loyal following LOVES it that way. In fact, the frequent travelers on Oceania pay extra money for that very privilege.

 

Some might think the average Oceania cruiser would be fussy and demanding. I actually find them to be just the opposite. Almost all reserved. Almost all enjoy the serenity. Almost all enjoy the casual but reserved onboard life. Almost all can enjoy the difference between fine linens and bedding.

 

Lunch in the MDR is highly recommended. I love that place for a more civilized experience. But I love staying on the ship when others go ashore at port as well.

 

I tell you the truth though, we are just now getting settled in for 9 more days. The trip will morph as we go along. The question is how much Oceania and the Marina will play a part in making the difference as opposed to other choices that are out there. The first 24 hours or so is not really a fair judge on the trip as a whole at this point. One would be hard pressed to make a final decision based on a single day’s activities and events.

 

I guess you could try, but I dare you.

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scdreamer

scdreamer

Posted
Posted

I am enjoying your posts - and agree wholeheartedly about the A/C. We were on Regatta for the 23-day Amazon trip in December, and the A/C was impossible to predict. At times the room would be icy, and then it could turn quite warmish ... with no movement on the control dial. Sleeping was tricky - as we like the room to be cold, and there were times it certainly wasn't even cool.

 

We, too, had rough seas and high winds coming out of Miami, and missed a port due to reduced speed of the ship. Nothing to be done about that, and no one seemed to be too upset.

 

I also loved having lunch in the GDR. My husband and I were taken by the "Taste of ..." offerings, sometimes enjoying one as a shared appetizer, and other times each ordering our own for the main course.

 

We rarely dined at the Terrace - neither of us is a buffet fan. Even breakfast in the dining room was delightful ... and we were in a PH, so could have easily ordered in.

 

Hope you have a wonderful rest of your trip.

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blambition

blambition

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Posted (edited)

The dinner menu that you posted, was that actually your very first night? I am hoping so, as that is one of the few nights we do not have a dinner reserved in an alternate dining room. Unfortunately we are only on a seven day sailing, February 1. The menu looks fabulous, it's making me hungry right now.

I personally have no problem going to the MDR closer to 7:30 PM so that is not going to be a problem. I am wondering why they even bother taking your cabin number.

I am very glad that I got a prescription for Compazine! Even with more than 100 Cruises in my past I do not do well with a lot of motion. The one sailing that we had in the beginning of February we managed to follow a storm the entire time.

Hoping that you have seen the last of the bad weather, and that it will be smooth sailing from here on out for you!

It sounds like you are judging everything very fairly and realizing that Oceania has had to make allowances for the last week or two, and everything will hopefully go better in the next couple of days.

Thank you for posting I am enjoying reading everything, and loving the pictures!

 

 

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Edited by blambition
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sldispatcher

sldispatcher

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50dc6daf478dd062eca993f808583d3d.jpg

 

A sticky bun greeting to all this morning from The Terrace Cafe (hint: if they ask if you want the maple syrup, the answer is always yes.). Sadly, these used to. E served in a chaffing dish with a melted butter/syrup combination that gave them a gooey goodness that is no longer there.

 

At 730am the Terrace was essentially empty.

 

Seas are very calm now and we have the trolling motors out enjoying a calm at sea day.

 

55513ef5aa883532b76ad2adea7d8ae0.jpg

 

 

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RJB

RJB

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Posted
50dc6daf478dd062eca993f808583d3d.jpg

 

A sticky bun greeting to all this morning from The Terrace Cafe (hint: if they ask if you want the maple syrup, the answer is always yes.). Sadly, these used to. E served in a chaffing dish with a melted butter/syrup combination that gave them a gooey goodness that is no longer there.

 

At 730am the Terrace was essentially empty.

 

Seas are very calm now and we have the trolling motors out enjoying a calm at sea day.

 

55513ef5aa883532b76ad2adea7d8ae0.jpg

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Glad to see that things have calmed down. Hope that is how it will be the rest of the trip. Last Feb. on Riviera the sea was perfect but the Noro was ugly. I guess we can't have everything going our way. Safe trip.

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sldispatcher

sldispatcher

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Hint for the suite guests regarding breakfast. If you enjoy breakfast in the room but not sure what time, fill out your card but LEAVE THE TIME BLANK. Your butler, when called, will have most everything prepped and won't have to write things down. Makes for faster service and easier service.

 

 

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cruisingxpert Great Review Rare

cruisingxpert

Posted
Posted
Hint for the suite guests regarding breakfast. If you enjoy breakfast in the room but not sure what time, fill out your card but LEAVE THE TIME BLANK. Your butler, when called, will have most everything prepped and won't have to write things down. Makes for faster service and easier service.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I never thought of that. I like it. Thanks for the tip.

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RJB

RJB

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Posted
Hint for the suite guests regarding breakfast. If you enjoy breakfast in the room but not sure what time, fill out your card but LEAVE THE TIME BLANK. Your butler, when called, will have most everything prepped and won't have to write things down. Makes for faster service and easier service.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Do not see how you can do that and get your breakfast very fast. Any hot food will have to be cooked and then brought up to your floor. Would take much too long. We have been ordering in our room for 10 years and it comes when we want it. Also makes it easier for our butler to serve everyone who wants it.

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Iamthesea

Iamthesea

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I am personally tired of the need to get room numbers before seating a party. How about this…seat the party and then collect the room numbers. Holland America or Royal Caribbean should not be able to seat people faster than an “upper premium” cruise line. Either change the process or add someone else checking in diners.

 

This is just a guess, because it happened during the middle of our Noro cruise last February. They are checking room numbers to make sure that no quarantined passengers have left their room to eat. So you could have some B2B passengers that were quarantined before you got on the ship.

 

Just in case you did not know, if one passenger in a stateroom is sick, all passengers in that stateroom stay quarantined to at least 48 hours (reports last year were up to 4 days in quarantine.) This if the sick passenger is feeling better or not! So you can imagine that there are some that try to escape. ;)

 

50dc6daf478dd062eca993f808583d3d.jpg

 

A sticky bun greeting to all this morning from The Terrace Cafe (hint: if they ask if you want the maple syrup, the answer is always yes.). Sadly, these used to. E served in a chaffing dish with a melted butter/syrup combination that gave them a gooey goodness that is no longer there.

 

At 730am the Terrace was essentially empty.

 

Seas are very calm now and we have the trolling motors out enjoying a calm at sea day.

 

55513ef5aa883532b76ad2adea7d8ae0.jpg

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I looked for those last year and never found them. Now I know where to and what to look for. :D

 

Hint for the suite guests regarding breakfast. If you enjoy breakfast in the room but not sure what time, fill out your card but LEAVE THE TIME BLANK. Your butler, when called, will have most everything prepped and won't have to write things down. Makes for faster service and easier service.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

You never did say what stateroom you are in. I am curious if it is 7133 and who the Butler might be for my cruise coming up?

Edited by Iamthesea
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Paulchili

Paulchili

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This is just a guess, because it happened during the middle of our Noro cruise last February. They are checking room numbers to make sure that no quarantined passengers have left their room to eat. So you could have some B2B passengers that were quarantined before you got on the ship.

 

Just in case you did not know, if one passenger in a stateroom is sick, all passengers in that stateroom stay quarantined to at least 48 hours (reports last year were up to 4 days in quarantine.) This if the sick passenger is feeling better or not! So you can imagine that there are some that try to escape. ;)

 

No, I don't think that that is the reason why they do it because they have done it on all cruises that I've been on recently and I've never had any Noro on our cruises (knock on wood :D)

Not really sure why they do it. I could speculate but I won't.

Edited by Paulchili
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