Regatta: New Look, Tips, Insights??

[Tansy Mews]

For the past day or so workers have been installing green emergency lights along one side of the halls leading to emergency exits. Not too intrusive work. 
 

If you plan on sharing with a third person reconsider getting a cabin on the 3rd deck. The sofa bed is on the wrong side - not the window / porthole side. The new desk configuration makes it the only place though. We are normally two but is a problem if you are three during the night. Must clamber over to get to the washroom!

[Rideau Rambler]

On 1/15/2020 at 12:14 AM, kennyd50 said:

Did many diners where a jacket or sport coat during dinners?  Was told to bring one, do not want to.

One of the (many) reasons to love Oceania - no dinner jacket required for gentlemen. In our experience, not required for the Sept 2019 B2B cruise with Jacques Pepin on Marina. Not required on B2B Caribbean in weeks ago on Sirena. Collared golf-style shirts, short sleeve or long sleeve shirts, collared shirts and sweaters, khakis and cords perfectly welcome. 

[Rideau Rambler]

On 1/3/2020 at 11:45 AM, TLCOhio said:

 

Don't worry!!  Not seeking to get too "deep" about the carpets, TV channels, the name of the Captain's wife, etc. Just like to know some of the  "basics" in order to help maximize the "experience" while on the ship for this length of time (18 days).  All of this sharing has been great and very helpful.  Looking forward to lots of great surprises.   KEEP IT COMING!!!

 

Just made our speciality dinner reservations this morning.  We are in a basic balcony room (B1-Veranda Stateroom, 6027, near front elevators, one level above main floor with entertainment, Grand Dining Room).  This was the first day for making these dining reservations with our room class.  Their Oceania system worked reasonably well.  Some times and days were a little limited, but it worked OK for our needs.  Based on our Nautica sailing in late 2018, the staff on the ship was somewhat flexible to make some added adjustments, etc., after we get on the ship for these two dining places, etc.  

 

As to our OLife excursion bookings, we did those much earlier, targeting those at a higher cost/value level in ports where our experienced TA suggested having a ship tour would be best.  In a few of these ports, local "conditions" are not as ideal for doing certain activities on your own and/or taking too many chances.  Will have a good mix of ship, private and DIY activities.  Will continue to research and consider options for each of these many, varied ports in the South Pacific.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Barcelona/Med: June 2011, with stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Great visuals with key highlights, tips, etc. Live/blog now at 250,093 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

Classic Cruiser 777 listed many items we noticed on freshly relaunched Sirena Jan 6-25, 2020. Add to the list my favorite new feature - slow silent closing drawers and closet doors. No more slamming drawers next door!!!!!

[redshine]

Need to move safe so you can hang shirts

 

Edited February 12, 2020 by redshine

[mexicobob]

On 1/21/2020 at 9:17 AM, Flatbush Flyer said:

We occasionally ask the F&B mgr. or GM on Sirena for missing Toscana menu items since the regular Tuscan Grill menu is a combo of Toscana and Polo that has been pared down a bit. Ask them (or the exec chef, specialty restaurant chef, mister d') 24-48 hrs prior to dining. GDR requests may be a bit harder to do given the size of service. But, it never hurts to ask.

 

BTW: any chance that you could not advertise your blog in every single post?

Second the motion about your blog post. 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, mexicobob said:

Second the motion about your blog post. 

but then his  blog type threads would die 😉

[DoulaAnn]

redshine, is that the only closet in the room?  That would never work for the two of us.

 

[drkitkat123]

20 hours ago, LHT28 said:

but then his  blog type threads would die 😉

i also find the what seems to random different fonts, capital, italics, colours etc quite difficult to read 

[LHT28]

15 hours ago, DoulaAnn said:

redshine, is that the only closet in the room?  That would never work for the two of us.

 

of course not 

If you scroll through the  RTW  cruise thread from last year you will see photos of Insignia  cabins

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2621045-“live-from”-2019-oceania-insignia-world-cruise-jan-11-july-11/

 

[DoulaAnn]

On 2/11/2020 at 3:34 PM, Rideau Rambler said:

Classic Cruiser 777 listed many items we noticed on freshly relaunched Sirena Jan 6-25, 2020. Add to the list my favorite new feature - slow silent closing drawers and closet doors. No more slamming drawers next door!!!!!

No more slamming drawers??  YAY!!!! That's a plus right there.

[redshine]

There is a closet that holds dresses and slacks, this is the closet that my husband used to use to hang his shirts but the safe blocks that

 

Very poor planning where they put the safe, there were other choices that could have been used

[roothy123]

Hope this isn't a repeat, but I don't have time to read the whole discussion.  We got off Regatta last month in Auckland and little things I found that were new, at least in an F inside cabin, included:

 

-3 hooks along one wall for pants, backpacks, etc.  

-Lots more on TV than before, both in the Oceania section (liked seeing my invoice to date) and the movies/news/music section (liked music channels, but a little confusing as another channel and what is was playing was displayed on each channel, so you'd look at the screen, and think that info was what you were hearing)

-Two part vanity/medicine cabinet/whatever you call it in the bathroom - I put stuff I used a lot in one section and many days didn't even bother to open the other section

-Lots more USB ports, above or under desk, by bed, etc. 

-Room on side of desk to put Oceania papers/brown booklet. etc. so as to free up whole top drawer of desk for our stuff

-Could stick specialty restaurant cards, or excursion tickets and whatnot part way into the slot to the sides of the mirror above the desk - makes desk area less cluttered while still keeping them quite visible

-Hung up a lot of shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts in that short hanging "closet" to the side of the regular closet area, above safe, I think.  It's not just for jackets!  If you want hangers, just ask your cabin steward.  He/she can get you thin wire ones or the heavier ones. 

-Probably nobody cares about this, but I found the bow cam to be much higher quality (resolution/clarity) than the one they had before.

 

Things I wanted, because they seemed so basic: 

 

-Pens and small pads of paper in Oceania at Sea, and at pc's in Library.  I didn't bring pen/paper, and had to go next door to get something from Card Room for taking notes.  (I suppose you just print, print, print, but it seems wasteful...)

-To be able to take our room steward Rosario home with us - incredible person. Made up our room extra nice one day,  and every other day always offered a smile and a friendly "Hello Mrs. (my name)."

 

Things that have changed: 

-You must do your cruise evaluation online.  You can use the computers in Oceania at Sea or Library or your own device. They are cutting down on paper use.  Mid-cruise comments, however, can still be done on paper.   

-For our cruise, they did the night before the last night special party (celebrate - with crew) at 5 PM or thereabouts rather than at 9 or 10 the way it was done before.

 

Edited February 16, 2020 by roothy123

[roothy123]

As for staff and crew: CD when we left Jan. 20 was Corey Powell.  He did a great job.  GM was Claudio Melli.  He was very helpful to us when our privately-arranged Meet and Greet needed a place to meet and greet!   Many of us know Jamie (Jaime?) from the Philippines from past cruises.  We were happy to see him on our cruise.  He's the Maitre' D at the Terrace part time and Polo part-time.   

 

As for excursions, I was pleasantly surprised at the prices of the ones for Australia and New Zealand.  They seemed reasonable, especially for the convenience.  I didn't take too many, but for the ones I did, the price wasn't bad, especially when you consider that the transportation is thrown in - which often leaves from beside the ship, not outside in the port somewhere.   In general, I found prices for private and Oceania excursions to be reasonable.  Also, once in a while, they're the only game in town, so I'm grateful cruise lines offer them. 

 

If you have trouble getting your large suitcase to fit under the bed, try getting it to go in at the front of the bed rather than the side.  That worked for us.   

 

Keep planning and researching.  I did one heck of a lot of it pre-cruise, and it allowed me to enjoy my travels much more than if I had simply gotten on the ship and (oh no!) simply relaxed.  Oh, and I don't mind the constant blog references.  Nobody is being forced to read them, or the blogs themselves!

 

OK, here's the Terrace, table for two, while passing Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, NZ!

Edited February 16, 2020 by roothy123

[roothy123]

I 

On 2/14/2020 at 3:15 PM, redshine said:

There is a closet that holds dresses and slacks, this is the closet that my husband used to use to hang his shirts but the safe blocks that

 

Very poor planning where they put the safe, there were other choices that could have been used

We used that space for shirts, jackets, and tops.  We put my (few) dresses and all pants in the regular closet with the bath robes. 

[Tansy Mews]

The desk area is much better arranged. Less likely to miss things. Lots of plugs and a couple of USB "plugs".

Lighting seemed better. 

My husband thought that the bathroom had better sound insulation.

[clcmdse]

We like the changes very much in the rooms on Regatta. Just got off in Auckland this week. The new furniture and color scheme are lovely. No more annoying need to clear table top to get into desk drawer. Love the number of plugs and USB ports.  We also wondered whether there was better soundproofing because we did not hear next door’s bathrooms. And poster’s wish is their command!  They have repositioned the safe in the small closet to allow more hanging. Hopefully you can see the picture I took. 

[redshine]

could not see the picture - that is great news, we have a 56 day cruise on Nautical next year

where did they put the safe?  

[clcmdse]

Oh darn. And I took a pic specially.  lThe shelf is in the same location as earlier poster’s pic, but just moving the safe to below the shelf made more accessible room for shirts and men’s pants folded over.  This closet is in addition to the full closet next to it.  

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, clcmdse said:

but just moving the safe to below the shelf made more accessible room for shirts and men’s pants folded over.

As long as one doesn't have to get down on their knees to operate the safe 😊

Sometimes these things can be tricky with bifocals.

Edited February 20, 2020 by Paulchili

[clcmdse]

nah, not even close.  There are still four drawers below the safe. So actually the safe is around waist level.  Now talk to me about a hotel I went to recently...  That safe was on the floor of the closet!   My only point in posting was to follow up on the earlier post which had a great observation about the poor placement of the safe in the closet. By the time we boarded a few months later, that had been changed.

 

Catherine

[Paulchili]

2 hours ago, clcmdse said:

There are still four drawers below the safe. So actually the safe is around waist level. 

Thanks - good to know.

Hate those safes on the floor in some hotels.

[roothy123]

We found plenty of room for our month of clothing.  However, if you need a tiny bit more, and you're not a short person, there's a small space (triangular shelf) above the large cabinet to the side of the area with the safe.  In our inside cabin it was to the right of the safe/jacket/shirt area we're talking about, and above the open cabinet where I put my camera bag and my spouse occasionally put his backpack. It's where our cabin steward stored the plastic thing that goes on the bottom third of the bed on embarkation day so people can put luggage there to unpack.  (Sorry, I don't know what to call that!)  I think the cloth one that the stewards put on the bed every morning is usually stored there too.)  My husband moved those things and we put our hats up there (Australian hat with wide brim, sun hat, etc.)  It was a nice little cubbyhole for weird items like that which we didn't expect to use a lot but didn't want to put in suitcases under the bed or in v-shaped cabinet. 

 

That v-shaped compartment is great for holding things like backpacks/camera bags, etc., but I suppose you could put some folded clothes in there, too, if you wanted.

Edited February 21, 2020 by roothy123

[catsngoats]

I am glad to hear that the safe is lower.  Just got off Marina last month, and the safe was too high for me (5’2”).  

[Globe]

Is there still a hair blower in the drawer of the table in the little sitting area?

Globe

[clcmdse]

There is a hair dryer, and it is a pretty good one. But I am happy to report - at least in our cabins - the lift-up desk drawer has been removed. I say happy because I continually had to move items on the desk to get to it. In our cabin the hair dryer was in a drawer in the small closet below the safe.  The built in table now has a regular thin desk drawer.