First time sailing on Oceania and had a fantastic time!

[OleMissSamfordMom]

My husband and I took a western Mediterranean cruise onboard Marina from Nov. 11 - 19 and just loved it! We hadn't cruised since our honeymoon 32 years ago (with 4 kids we mostly take family vacations we can drive to!), but when our daughter took a job on the production team of Marina as a vocalist, we knew we had to cruise again! It was an amazing time!

 

First, the food...outstanding! We ate once at all the specialty restaurants and loved them all. I think our favorite was a toss up between Red Ginger and Jacques. The watermelon salad at Red Ginger is really as good as everyone says it is! Polo Grill and Toscana were also delicious though. The main dining room surprised us with how good it was! We started each morning with a light breakfast and cappuccino in Baristas, and it was lovely to sit at the window bar and gaze out over the pool and whichever pretty port we were in for the day. A late lunch at Waves after our excursions as incredible too! My husband's favorite there was the surf and turf sandwich, while I rotated between burger, reuben and panini. All very good. 

 

The service was incredible! Boy, did I feel pampered and special! Everyone on staff did an amazing job. I celebrated my birthday onboard and was delighted to find a special birthday display on my stateroom bed after dinner, complete with balloons and towel animals! Speaking of staterooms, ours was a B1 veranda room and we thought it was very roomy and nice. We loved the balcony for reading in the late afternoon or for our first glimpse of the new port. Plenty of storage space and room in the bathroom also.

 

My husband and I really enjoyed all of our excursions as well. We did all Oceania excursions since we're new at this and decided to keep it easy. They ranged from very good to great. We mixed things up...vineyard in Tuscany from Livorno, Portofino and Santa Margherita tours with ferry ride from the port of Genoa, Tapas, sangria and flamenco dancing in Palma de Mallorca, the aquarium (absolutely fabulous) and city tour in Valencia, visit to to the French village of Ceret and art museum from Port Vendres, highlights of Corsica, and ending with a city tour of Barcelona. A couple of our tour guides were absolutely exceptional and were rewarded with many good tips!

 

Of course a highlight for us was getting to watch our daughter do what she does best...performing each night. All of the cast members were extremely talented young people that filled the stage with lots of high energy, beautiful singing and terrific dancing. We thoroughly enjoyed the production shows! The entertainment team also assisted with mini golf, afternoon tea, ping pong, cornhole, etc. and were always extremely cheerful and helpful. We thought these types of activities were just perfect for us. We hit the fitness room each morning, played paddleball, shuffleboard and did trivia as well. We're very active 56-year-olds, and though we knew the ship tends to serve an older clientele, there were actually quite a few people around our age as well. We met many lovely people at dinner and on excursions. After a busy day exploring, we actually liked to relax a bit when we returned onboard. The O-points we earned got as some great free merchandise at the end of the cruise too!

 

One of our favorite onboard experiences was the cooking class we did! It was "In the Kitchen with Jacques" and it was so well done! We've come home and made the entire meal twice already and are so proud of ourselves!!

 

I have nothing but great things to say about our cruise and can't wait to sail again with Oceania!

[PhD-iva]

How wonderful to read about your fabulous cruise. I’m so pleased that your daughter has found a home for her talents, at least for the near future. Pls be sure to keep us Updated as she explores the world through O!

[MEFIowa]

36 minutes ago, OleMissSamfordMom said:

We hadn't cruised since our honeymoon 32 years ago (with 4 kids we mostly take family vacations we can drive to!), but when our daughter took a job on the production team of Marina as a vocalist, we knew we had to cruise again! It was an amazing time!....

Met the parents of two new production team members while on Sirena on 11/18-28/2022. One was a dancer, the other a singer. Their parents were enjoying their time on the ship and with their adult child. And the kids seemed to appreciate showing off for their parents. Was nice to see the families enjoying their cruise. I kidded the dancer that she needs to stay working on cruise lines so she can get her parents some deep discounts in the future. She concurred. 😉

[OleMissSamfordMom]

Yes, that's what we're hoping for too! 😃

[mauibabes]

We have friends on Marina now and we will be on board in three weeks in Buenos Aires. If she is aboard, we will definitely have to give her the best from a proud mom. 
It is so great to hear how people fall in love with Oceania. We did too years ago and have declared the crew our extended family and we look forward to every time we are preparing to sail. 
Mauibabes

[LGW59]

2 hours ago, OleMissSamfordMom said:

My husband and I took a western Mediterranean cruise onboard Marina from Nov. 11 - 19 and just loved it! We hadn't cruised since our honeymoon 32 years ago (with 4 kids we mostly take family vacations we can drive to!), but when our daughter took a job on the production team of Marina as a vocalist, we knew we had to cruise again! It was an amazing time!

 

First, the food...outstanding! We ate once at all the specialty restaurants and loved them all. I think our favorite was a toss up between Red Ginger and Jacques. The watermelon salad at Red Ginger is really as good as everyone says it is! Polo Grill and Toscana were also delicious though. The main dining room surprised us with how good it was! We started each morning with a light breakfast and cappuccino in Baristas, and it was lovely to sit at the window bar and gaze out over the pool and whichever pretty port we were in for the day. A late lunch at Waves after our excursions as incredible too! My husband's favorite there was the surf and turf sandwich, while I rotated between burger, reuben and panini. All very good. 

 

The service was incredible! Boy, did I feel pampered and special! Everyone on staff did an amazing job. I celebrated my birthday onboard and was delighted to find a special birthday display on my stateroom bed after dinner, complete with balloons and towel animals! Speaking of staterooms, ours was a B1 veranda room and we thought it was very roomy and nice. We loved the balcony for reading in the late afternoon or for our first glimpse of the new port. Plenty of storage space and room in the bathroom also.

 

My husband and I really enjoyed all of our excursions as well. We did all Oceania excursions since we're new at this and decided to keep it easy. They ranged from very good to great. We mixed things up...vineyard in Tuscany from Livorno, Portofino and Santa Margherita tours with ferry ride from the port of Genoa, Tapas, sangria and flamenco dancing in Palma de Mallorca, the aquarium (absolutely fabulous) and city tour in Valencia, visit to to the French village of Ceret and art museum from Port Vendres, highlights of Corsica, and ending with a city tour of Barcelona. A couple of our tour guides were absolutely exceptional and were rewarded with many good tips!

 

Of course a highlight for us was getting to watch our daughter do what she does best...performing each night. All of the cast members were extremely talented young people that filled the stage with lots of high energy, beautiful singing and terrific dancing. We thoroughly enjoyed the production shows! The entertainment team also assisted with mini golf, afternoon tea, ping pong, cornhole, etc. and were always extremely cheerful and helpful. We thought these types of activities were just perfect for us. We hit the fitness room each morning, played paddleball, shuffleboard and did trivia as well. We're very active 56-year-olds, and though we knew the ship tends to serve an older clientele, there were actually quite a few people around our age as well. We met many lovely people at dinner and on excursions. After a busy day exploring, we actually liked to relax a bit when we returned onboard. The O-points we earned got as some great free merchandise at the end of the cruise too!

 

One of our favorite onboard experiences was the cooking class we did! It was "In the Kitchen with Jacques" and it was so well done! We've come home and made the entire meal twice already and are so proud of ourselves!!

 

I have nothing but great things to say about our cruise and can't wait to sail again with Oceania!

Love seeing this, thank you for taking the time to post it.  We too will be Oceania first timers in May 2023 and very much like seeing other new O cruiser experiences.  Curious to know what other line(s) have you sailed?  For us, we will be graduating from Celebrity.

[OleMissSamfordMom]

46 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

We have friends on Marina now and we will be on board in three weeks in Buenos Aires. If she is aboard, we will definitely have to give her the best from a proud mom. 
It is so great to hear how people fall in love with Oceania. We did too years ago and have declared the crew our extended family and we look forward to every time we are preparing to sail. 
Mauibabes

Yay! That would be awesome! She's the singer named Emma from the US. Is that the one through the Drake Passage? It should be an experience! I hope you have a wonderful time!

[OleMissSamfordMom]

32 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Love seeing this, thank you for taking the time to post it.  We too will be Oceania first timers in May 2023 and very much like seeing other new O cruiser experiences.  Curious to know what other line(s) have you sailed?  For us, we will be graduating from Celebrity.

The only other one was Royal Caribbean for our honeymoon in 1990! I can't believe we took so long of a break! I've definitely been bitten by the bug and hope to make this a regular thing!

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 minutes ago, OleMissSamfordMom said:

Yay! That would be awesome! She's the singer named Emma from the US. Is that the one through the Drake Passage? It should be an experience! I hope you have a wonderful time!

Congrats on your daughter's talent.  So much better for her that she is a singer, not a dancer, on the Drake Passage!  It must be very hard, not to mention dangerous, to do those dance routines during the 'Drake Shake'!!!

 

[mauibabes]

Ole Miss Mom, 

We will definitely seek out Emma. We do a lot of events on board winning Big O Points so we will see her for sure. Yes that is our cruise and this is our third time trying to make this SA itinerary so we are excited. 
Since we have heard from others that Drake’sPassage can be meek and mild or wild, so we will 🙏 for M&M. 
Mauibabes

[OleMissSamfordMom]

13 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

Ole Miss Mom, 

We will definitely seek out Emma. We do a lot of events on board winning Big O Points so we will see her for sure. Yes that is our cruise and this is our third time trying to make this SA itinerary so we are excited. 
Since we have heard from others that Drake’sPassage can be meek and mild or wild, so we will 🙏 for M&M. 
Mauibabes

Thank you so much, and yes, I will be too!!

[mauibabes]

Mom, she is in for an exciting contract term on Marina and will be amazed cruising in the Amazon.  Hopefully she can get out on a tour and see the monster lily pads and things in Manaus. She will definitely have some amazing stories to tell when she returns home. 
Mauibabes