Decline in food standards on Sirena. Poor bar service.

[jo-b]

15 hours ago, wripro said:

How about then...Oceania, the finest cuisine at sea....on some sailings, on others not so much!

At the future cruise lecture a couple of days ago it was mentioned that O have copyrighted that phrase “ the finest cuisine at sea” 

[pinotlover]

I had one lunch and one ( too many) Dinner in the Terrace Cafe and I think I recognized part of the wine service problem.

 

1. Easily only have one wine steward on each side of the buffet line is not enough during busy times.

 

2. I noticed an operating practice of the waiters that magnified the problem. The stewards followed the procedures both times. If the tables were laid out 1-30, the wine steward   would start at table #1 and work their way to table 30. Here is where the problem starts. Instead of then returning to table #1, they turned around and revisited table #29, then 28, etc. So if one came in and sat at table #5, and the wine steward was at table #8 working progressively, one had probably finished their meal before the steward got to table 30 and then back again! What was likewise really strange was sitting at table 27, finally getting a glass of wine, then having the steward return in a couple of minutes before you’d barely have time for a couple of sips! After that, they’d never be seen again! Operationally very strange! One’s chances of service would increase the closer to the center of the area they sat, and decrease as they moved toward the ends!

[wripro]

8 hours ago, jo-b said:

At the future cruise lecture a couple of days ago it was mentioned that O have copyrighted that phrase “ the finest cuisine at sea” 

Did they also copyright "Fake brochure fares that don't mean a thing!"

[PaulMCO]

49 minutes ago, wripro said:

Did they also copyright "Fake brochure fares that don't mean a thing!"

+1, or Free Air and if you do not want it we will give you a credit..

Ironic you can Trademark a phrase even if it is not true  🙂

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 8/27/2019 at 2:45 PM, LHT28 said:

I think if you have a bottle of wine  the regular waiters should be able to pour you a top up & not have to wait  for a wine waiter

...

 

 

On 8/27/2019 at 4:56 PM, LHT28 said:

sorry cannot help here

We will buy a bottle of wine at dinner in the GDR or Specialties  but most of time they pour you  a glass then come back later to pour another if wanted from your bottle 

Sometimes they have left the bottle on the table  so we could pour our own top up

Not sure if the package  deal is good or not but from some here it sounds like a challenge

...

 

Surely if you have purchased a bottle of wine for dinner, you can just tell the sommelier to leave it on the table for you to pour yourself?  If the service was so bad, I'd demand they do that.

Edited August 29, 2019 by Wendy The Wanderer

[LHT28]

5 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

 

Surely if you have purchased a bottle of wine for dinner, you can just tell the sommelier to leave it on the table for you to pour yourself?  If the service was so bad, I'd demand they do that.

Some do some don't  I never had a problem with them coming back to refill our glass

I usually only have one glass but DH will have  a refill

[Wendy The Wanderer]

5 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Some do some don't  I never had a problem with them coming back to refill our glass

I usually only have one glass but DH will have  a refill

 

Guess if they were slow I demand they leave it.  After all I'm paying for it.  But if it's not a problem, then fine.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Guess if they were slow I demand they leave it.  After all I'm paying for it.  But if it's not a problem, then fine.

i guess it depends  on the day

 Are you sailing on O ??   if not it is a moot point

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

i guess it depends  on the day

 Are you sailing on O ??   if not it is a moot point

 

Yes, it's moot.  I just worry about standards falling on Regent too, which is why I have been following this thread.

[Paulchili]

58 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

 I just worry about standards falling on Regent too, which is why I have been following this thread.

What “falling standards” are you seeing on Regent?

Curious as we are sailing on Regent in 2 weeks

[Wendy The Wanderer]

2 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

What “falling standards” are you seeing on Regent?

Curious as we are sailing on Regent in 2 weeks

 

None that I know of, just always vigilant!  Actually there was a flurry of bad reviews lately, and there's been discussion here on CC, you probably read it. 

 

Hope you have a great cruise.

[Paulchili]

22 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

None that I know of, just always vigilant!  Actually there was a flurry of bad reviews lately, and there's been discussion here on CC, you probably read it. 

 

Hope you have a great cruise.

Thank you.

I am sure we'll have a great cruise - looking forward to exploring the Explorer 😀

[Jancruz]

I was just on Regatta for two weeks..the food was fabulous, the wine stewards were always pouring wine and I had a wonderful time...I always wonder why people have to start comparing each trip they have....I have been on 32 Oceania cruises and each one has been different..but so what...I had a wonderful time on each..the staff was different the main chef was different and the itin different loved each one..

Paul you will ;love the Explorer it is the most beautiful ship I have ever seen!!

Jancruz1

[Paulchili]

8 minutes ago, Jancruz said:

Paul you will ;love the Explorer it is the most beautiful ship I have ever seen!!

Jancruz1

That is what I hear and the main reason we are trying her.

[Mura]

5 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Guess if they were slow I demand they leave it.  After all I'm paying for it.  But if it's not a problem, then fine.

We usually either buy a bottle from the list or bring in our own + corkage.  In OUR experience the red wine is left on the table (unless there's just no room, which can happen at a larger table).  White wine is usually chilling but near by.  I'm one who has no hesitation to refill my glass if no one shows up to do it for me.  It's more difficult with whites, of course, because they may be far enough away to be awkward ...

 

But for us that's not much of a problem since I'm the wine drinker and I prefer reds ...

 

Mura

[pinotlover]

We always table share at dinner. As Mura said the whites typically went into an ice bucket where ever there was room for such. That wasn’t always next to one’s table. For the reds, it varies. If we were at a six (6) top, that has more table space, our bottle was typically left on the table. If we were at a four (4) top it was always taken elsewhere and not left.

[slw207693]

Jancruz:  we were on the Regatta (our 32nd as well) with you a couple weeks ago (Happy anniversary) and the food was not fabulous.  Only the speciality restaurants were a notch above.   We had dinner in Polo with GM and even he left half his steak because it was over cooked!   The lobster and shrimp in Terrace grill are pre-cooked and reheated before being put on plate.   We developed an understanding that mine were to hit the grill and then instantly removed to avoid being overcooked.   The scones at tea were crumbly and dry - the Executive chef addressed the issue, turned out better the next day but the day after, overcooked and dry.   We bring a wine suitcase with 6-12 bottles and have issues with sommeliers overfilling because they aren’t able to get back in timely fashion.  More junior chefs are doing the serving in Terrace, the maitre d’s in all the restaurants are clearing tables, pouring water, etc.  staff reduction is apparent throughout the ship - not enough to feel completely neglected but enough after many cruises for us to raise an eyebrow or two. The Executive chef on Regatta was newly promoted and being trained by a  chef from corporate, both of whom I spoke to numerous times.  We had several repeats (same stir fry 2 days later in Terrace).  I’m hoping that the food was more a result of using up foods before the refurbishment Regatta is about to undergo.  

 

We were on Marina last August with Mr. Binder and the food was outstanding.  Executive chef Laurent was on top of it all and expected perfection and it was delivered.   

 

We love Oceania, are booked out to 2021 for that 40th ‘complimentary’ cruise.   Oceania has over a million guests who are repeaters.    Not everything can be star quality all the time.   All the staff work hard and we make sure each and every one know that we appreciate all their hard work on our behalf.  

 

[clo]

On 8/27/2019 at 8:27 AM, pinotlover said:

What has declined significantly is the preparation of that food.

Thank you so much for your post.  Sigh.  When we first cruised almost 20 years ago I found the food what I've since described s LCD - lowest common denominator - feeding the masses.  We love to cook and we love to dine.  We chose Oceania first for the ports but almost equally for the food.  I'm not even going to tell Bob about this kind of 'stuff' and I hope that the food is so, so good.  (I've scaled down from excellent and hope to report back otherwise.)