Sirena questions

[CateW]

46 minutes ago, robomet said:

Hello, we are booked in June on the Sirena #7116 and are contemplating booking a PH instead.  Will you please tell me of your experience?  Thanks so much!

Honestly, we love the aft cabins and although the cabin is small it is well appointed and there is plenty of storage.  The bathroom, however is small but the balcony is wonderful.  The balcony's on deck 6 are even bigger and a little less $$.  I would any of the aft balcony's again in a minute on a 7 night cruise.  On a longer cruise, I would opt for a PH.    If you are on a longer cruise, the extra space might be better for you.  

[maryella]

I sailed in a PH in July for 9 nights along the coast of Spain. While the PH might give u a little extra room I felt it was definitely not worth all the additional $. The balcony size was standard with 2 chairs and a small table. The bathroom was very small with 1 sink and stall shower. We r petite and there wasn’t enough room for either myself or my daughter to even dry ourselves after a shower without slamming your arm into a wall. Our butler delivered our breakfast in the morning but that was all we used him for. Afternoon canapés got boring after 2 days so we opted out. I was overall not thrilled with Oceania as we were nicked and dimed for everything (drinks, gratuities etc). I felt other lines gave better value. 

[jes95135]

20 minutes ago, maryella said:

I sailed in a PH in July for 9 nights along the coast of Spain. While the PH might give u a little extra room I felt it was definitely not worth all the additional $. The balcony size was standard with 2 chairs and a small table. The bathroom was very small with 1 sink and stall shower. We r petite and there wasn’t enough room for either myself or my daughter to even dry ourselves after a shower without slamming your arm into a wall. Our butler delivered our breakfast in the morning but that was all we used him for. Afternoon canapés got boring after 2 days so we opted out. I was overall not thrilled with Oceania as we were nicked and dimed for everything (drinks, gratuities etc). I felt other lines gave better value. 

Maryella,

A tad curious -- which other lines did you feel gave better value?

[maryella]

Depending on itinerary of course there were more inclusions on seabourn, crystal, regent and  Windstar when I sailed them. I will say the food was pretty decent on Serena as was the service. Just not thrilled with room size and all the additional fees (including the coin launder mat

[LHT28]

37 minutes ago, maryella said:

I sailed in a PH in July for 9 nights along the coast of Spain. While the PH might give u a little extra room I felt it was definitely not worth all the additional $. The balcony size was standard with 2 chairs and a small table. The bathroom was very small with 1 sink and stall shower. We r petite and there wasn’t enough room for either myself or my daughter to even dry ourselves after a shower without slamming your arm into a wall.

 

I cannot believe the PH  bathrooms would be smaller  than the regular cabins  ..now they are small but never had a problem getting dried off  & I am NOT petite 😁

[Mura]

The PH bathrooms on the "R" ships, while not huge, are definitely larger than those in the standard cabin bathrooms.  The PH bathrooms on the "O" ships are noticeably larger than those on the "R" ships.  Of course once you get into the top suites on all of the ships, bathrooms become MUCH larger.  But we aren't talking about those ...

 

I've said before that when we returned to a standard veranda cabin on Nautica a couple of years ago after a lot of cruising on Marina, I was surprised at how much tolerant I was of those truly small bathrooms than I had been in the past.

 

Mura

[jes95135]

1 hour ago, jes95135 said:

Maryella,

A tad curious -- which other lines did you feel gave better value?

Maryella,

"gave better value" and " more inclusions" are not necessarily the same thing.  Seabourn, et al are generally (cabin for cabin) at a higher price point than Oceania, which is at a higher price point than say Princess or Holland or NCL, Carnival.  It comes down to how much more is one willing to pay up front so as not to be nickel and dimed throughout the cruise.  I must agree, that in general an all inclusive experience is very pleasant (but one must consider the cost).

[Mura]

It is clear that we all define "nickel and diming" differently.  For example, I don't consider it "nickel and diming" to have to pay for my drinks when I get them, gratuities, and so on.  Always bear in mind that these days we get our gratuities paid by our TA after many cruises but even when we DID pay for them we didn't think of them in this way.

 

Now, when we sailed on NCL quite a while ago what we considered "nickel and diming" were the constant Bingo and Lottery Ticket sale announcements, the omnipresent photographer, etc.  Those we found very irritating so I can understand where OP is coming from if she is used to having "all inclusive" fares.

 

We tend to prefer not having all inclusive fares because when we don't use a benefit very much, we don't want to be paying for it!

 

If Oceania's approach bothers you, then it's most likely not a good fit.  It IS for us, but it isn't for everybody.

 

Mura

 

 

[JPR]

PH3 on Sirena is fine. We would not book a lower category. Shower is quite good but the bathroom is small enough without going to the postage stamp sized bathroom at lower categories.