Oceania ..NEVER AGAIN...floating nursing home

[Jay23]

What is a “roach”.?

[Glenndale]

What is a “roach”.?

A cockroach :(

[ToxM]

I have to say that complaining to the Sous Chef about a food hygiene issue of that magnitude wouldn’t have been the best way to proceed, if it were me I would have been onto the GM, F&B Mgr Restaurant Mgr and reception .... “not getting back to you” sounds very odd indeed. I have to call shenanigans on this post ... my experience with Marina was very different.

 

 

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[PaulMCO]

I have to say that complaining to the Sous Chef about a food hygiene issue of that magnitude wouldn’t have been the best way to proceed, if it were me I would have been onto the GM, F&B Mgr Restaurant Mgr and reception .... “not getting back to you” sounds very odd indeed. I have to call shenanigans on this post ... my experience with Marina was very different.

 

 

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The Sous Chef was designated by the Restaurant Manager to investigate since it was his responsibility for this area.

 

 

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[ToxM]

The Sous Chef was designated by the Restaurant Manager to investigate since it was his responsibility for this area.

 

 

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I don’t understand why you didn’t follow up with the Rest. Mgr when you got no response from the Sous Chef.

 

 

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[bitob]

The Sous Chef was designated by the Restaurant Manager to investigate since it was his responsibility for this area.

 

 

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Paul. Sorry you and m had such a bad experience. You know that our circumnavigation in March was beyond fabulous Different cruises can yield different experiences

 

We have future cruises booked on crystal regent and the pg. some with other cruise friends. Join us !!! Email us for details if ur interested

 

Leaving for Antarctica on seabourn tomorrow

 

 

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[Shawnino]

@Paul MCO: Thank you for your notes. You write really well and I'm grateful you took the time.

 

All those issues and you gave it 3/5?

What would you need to have happen to give it 1/5? Get shot or something?

 

You are the most forgiving person I've ever met on here (in a way, I admire you for it... such a positive attitude).

[Changeofplans]

I, too, am sorry to hear that and anxious to hear details as I’ve considered Oceania but chose a March 9 Azamara cruise instead. Sounds like too many elderly people (ie floating nursing home?!) I did a week Silversea at Christmas and was bored to tears! NOTHING going on in the evenings and the crowd wasn’t that old!!

 

 

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[warburg]

Greetings from South Beach, jamesnmphs. Thank you for your response. DH and I really enjoyed Riviera, and I never saw anything unacceptable on four ships and six cruises on O. so far. I think I will chalk the roach experience up to chance. Things happen. For example, one evening our dachshund ran into our bedroom and began to circle the bed. We got a flashlight and turned the light under it. A huge tarantula was running around there. Our dog chased it and my DH got rid of the thing. We lived on the eighth floor, had no bananas or other tarantula habitats, and had never seen one of these before in New York City. We asked around, to no avail. How the tarantula got into our apartment remains a mystery.

Mary

[Changeofplans]

The Sous Chef was designated by the Restaurant Manager to investigate since it was his responsibility for this area.

 

 

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I’m only reading this thread to see if “Dr Hugs” completes his review and I’ll admit, I’m new to CC forums, but to call “shenanigans “ on another members post (PaulMCO..joined 2008!) seems unnecessary at best, if not flat out rude! He appears to be a valued and active member of CC and was very specific and thoughtful about his experience . Hope I’m allowed to say that...

 

 

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[PaulMCO]

@Paul MCO: Thank you for your notes. You write really well and I'm grateful you took the time.

 

All those issues and you gave it 3/5?

What would you need to have happen to give it 1/5? Get shot or something?

 

You are the most forgiving person I've ever met on here (in a way, I admire you for it... such a positive attitude).

 

Because it was vacation and I did enjoy myself. I do business in Africa (TIA = This is Africa) and Middle East -- so forgiving when thing goes to Mr. Murphy are second nature.

 

I don’t understand why you didn’t follow up with the Rest. Mgr when you got no response from the Sous Chef.

 

 

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As far as follow up with the Restaurant Manager == we got tired of complaining with zero follow up from other staff. Complained about the cold food, the cabin, the air con etc.. Did it help..

 

Paul. Sorry you and m had such a bad experience. You know that our circumnavigation in March was beyond fabulous Different cruises can yield different experiences

 

We have future cruises booked on crystal regent and the pg. some with other cruise friends. Join us !!! Email us for details if ur interested

 

Leaving for Antarctica on seabourn tomorrow

 

 

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Enjoy your Seabourn Antarctica cruise -- let us know how you like it. I would like to go back again.

[keithm]

are you suggesting a trusted Oceania regular is making things up?

Did I say that? No! I said I've never seen a bug of any kind(outside of flies in port)in the food inside any ship I've been on. Did you read the rest of my rather short post where I said: that "it's possible".

[Cruise Junky]

Did I say that? No! I said I've never seen a bug of any kind(outside of flies in port)in the food inside any ship I've been on. Did you read the rest of my rather short post where I said: that "it's possible".

 

"It's possible, though very slim chance" is what you wrote. Responding that way to a trusted long time poster implies that you think they're making things up.

[MarkieMarkNYC]

On the plus side, it sounds like nobody had the shoes ripped off their feet.

[susans14]

:loudcry::loudcry: I am posting this in hopes of dissuading those contemplating an Oceania Sirena Cruise.

 

 

 

Currently on the 35 day Oceania Sirena San Diego to Rio..sounds great, doesn't it??? Cruising the Amazon..great, huh???

 

 

 

Not so fast, dear readers....never again..

 

 

 

the most boring, worst entertainment..if any..

 

food above average, staff incredible and wonderful..

 

 

 

We are in a PH1...most expensive penthouse suite..have met with general manager..4x..i have profuse notes about the myriad of disappointments..if you are seeking anything close to the deceptive brochures, you may be in for a shock..more coming on this board when I can finally depart in Rio...dumped us in ghetto ports and more..so sorry I ever booked Oceania..they are riding on a reputation no longer deserved..5 star..in their dreams.:loudcry::loudcry: we booked back to back and jumping ship..cannot bear 21 more daysfrom Rio to Miami..flying home.

 

Let's see how 5 star Oceania handles my concerns when I call them next week. Many unhappy passengers here who will never return...:eek:will keep you posted with the details...

 

 

 

Just had a horrible experience on the Regatta- 34 day Sydney to Sydney. So many issues we wanted to jump ship twice but thought it would get better. It did not. I am waiting for my lengthy and detailed review to get posted. I have been on 3 Oceania Cruises before this that I loved but that was before NCL bought them. It seems like quality has declined dramatically- while I am no spring chicken the average age on this ship was probably upper 70 s and there were 3 medical emergencies ( which had nothing to do with how I felt or our experience on board) There was some virus going around and it seemed like 25 percent or more of the ship got sick. The medical doctor on board was big on IVs and so many of the passengers were receiving them- an unusual amount. The only profit center on this cruise was medical. The bills people were getting were crazy. We were so lucky to not catch anything - except I did get food poisoning one night which was horrible- I chose not to go to the doctor because I didn’t want that to be followed by 10 days on IVs and a 15,000$ bill which was typical-It was crazy. I will never go on an Oceania ship again

 

 

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[susans14]

I am so sorry you have had problems.It must be bad if you are now flying home.

 

Look forward to hear more and to understand your decision.We are embarking Marina today and will make up our mind.

 

 

 

I would be interested in your experience on the Marina. I was on it for 2 cruises during its inaugural year when it was fresh and Oceania was great. I just got back from a 34 day oceania cruise on the Regatta. It was horrible and I mean horrible the first cruise of the almost 40 I have been on that felt that way Much of that had to do with the condition of the ship. The cabins were worn out and there were other mechanical and electrical issues that really made it almost unbearable. The service was still good but the food was in a definite decline from the earlier cruises. The meats and fish were frozen as were the vegetables etc etc. The ship was disorganized and there were huge issues on 7 of the 18 ports.

 

 

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[jamesnmphs]

Just had a horrible experience on the Regatta- 34 day Sydney to Sydney. So many issues we wanted to jump ship twice but thought it would get better. It did not. I am waiting for my lengthy and detailed review to get posted. I have been on 3 Oceania Cruises before this that I loved but that was before NCL bought them. It seems like quality has declined dramatically- while I am no spring chicken the average age on this ship was probably upper 70 s and there were 3 medical emergencies ( which had nothing to do with how I felt or our experience on board) There was some virus going around and it seemed like 25 percent or more of the ship got sick. The medical doctor on board was big on IVs and so many of the passengers were receiving them- an unusual amount. The only profit center on this cruise was medical. The bills people were getting were crazy. We were so lucky to not catch anything - except I did get food poisoning one night which was horrible- I chose not to go to the doctor because I didn’t want that to be followed by 10 days on IVs and a 15,000$ bill which was typical-It was crazy. I will never go on an Oceania ship again

 

 

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Susans14, what were the medical emergencies and can those be blamed on Oceania? When I did a Transatlantic last November/December, we also had 3 medical emergencies with one passenger being airlifted from the ship once we reached Gibraltar, with the ship moving. The passenger had fallen and broken a hip, not Oceania's fault and I believe two passengers died on board, again, not Oceania's fault.

 

 

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[ronrick1943]

Still waiting to hear from the OP---guess we'll never know.

[harrodsfan]

I have no horse in this race but do have a close friend that did the Amazon on Oceania in the Owners Suite and hated it. They did a very similar one on HAL and loved it. They have also sworn to avoid Oceania after that cruise.

 

 

 

As to the comment about you won't take the time to defend Oceania, I don't think the OP was asking you to.

 

 

 

We did the amazon and Brazil on regent and it was our least favorite trip. On the water. The boat was fine. The ports meh!

 

 

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[palamoh]

Ref Susan’s 14 Blog, On our Riviera Dec 12 Miami/Miami cruise I also got Food Poisining. Got the impression after I posted concerning this, that most readers discounted it to Nora or just didn’t believe me. Got over it quickly and discussed with The Food and Bev Mgr, got a “I’m sorry”, If you have every been misfortunate to get this illness, you know it immediately. The symptoms are different from Nora and it hits you so sudden, It usually last from 12 to 48 hrs, mine was over in about 14 hrs. Food Poisining can happen in the best of Resturants. I know of two others on this cruise that had it as well. This won’t stop me from cruising with Oceania, but you cannot avoid a bad piece of food, there is no precautions for it.

[jamesnmphs]

Ref Susan’s 14 Blog, On our Riviera Dec 12 Miami/Miami cruise I also got Food Poisining. Got the impression after I posted concerning this, that most readers discounted it to Nora or just didn’t believe me. Got over it quickly and discussed with The Food and Bev Mgr, got a “I’m sorry”, If you have every been misfortunate to get this illness, you know it immediately. The symptoms are different from Nora and it hits you so sudden, It usually last from 12 to 48 hrs, mine was over in about 14 hrs. Food Poisining can happen in the best of Resturants. I know of two others on this cruise that had it as well. This won’t stop me from cruising with Oceania, but you cannot avoid a bad piece of food, there is no precautions for it.

 

 

 

It is unfortunate that you got a case of food poisoning. It is no fun. But thank you for not being negative and your post was well written.

 

 

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[keithm]

"It's possible, though very slim chance" is what you wrote. Responding that way to a trusted long time poster implies that you think they're making things up.

Again you're implying! I said the chances are slim, not impossible. If I said the OP was making things up, I'd say I don't believe you & think you're making this up. Please don't put meaning where NO meaning is implied. I said I've never seen it on any ship I've been on. I didn't say it couldn't happen. Ever see the part in Victor/Victoria where the bug is "planted" to score a free meal. Now that I could believe, though if the suitcase is screened coming on board I think that ruse would get spoiled.

[The A Train]

Susans 14......by chance was the doctor from South Africa?

 

He's one that immediately suggests IV's and a $5000 plus bill.

[susans14]

Susans 14......by chance was the doctor from South Africa?

 

He's one that immediately suggests IV's and a $5000 plus bill.

 

I am not sure where he was from—but I am not exaggerating at all when I say medical was the profit center. He had everyone that went there with the virus going around on IVs- several times a day! I hope those people took out cruise insurance that covers it. The only time I saw him was I went to medical to ask if they had any masks to cover your mouth and nose and they did not. It is probably a good idea to bring those disposable masks on a cruise like this one where so many people were sick.

[roothy123]

Actually it looks like their cruise is just about over. Rio arrival is on Fri Jan 19.

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/south-america-cruises/san-diego-to-rio-de-janeiro-SIR171216/

 

I also read somewhere that cruisers going to some off-the-beaten-track ports of call have to leave the port area and venture further afield to appreciate what the destination has to offer. Can that be the problem?

 

Frances

One reason I love Oceania is that they DO go to off-the-beaten path ports. Some of the places I knew absolutely nothing about have ended up being wonderful ports. (Ronne, Denmark, Visby, Sweden, Santa Cruz de la Palma and Lanzarote in the Canary Islands come to mind).

 

As for that part of the world, it is not exactly Europe, so if you're expecting Europe, you're probably going to be disappointed. And yes, a 35 day cruise with rather unusual ports is definitely going to attract older, more travel experienced people than a ten day one to the usual hotspots.

 

I've heard some bad things about Regatta, and some people have questioned if NCL is cutting too many corners, but I can't imagine that Oceania has changed so much that I will want to jump ship on my next cruise with them.

 

But I'm interested in hearing what the OP has to say - and yes, I would have loved to have boarded Sirena in the OP's place!