Marina Review

4.5 / 5.0
808 reviews

A beautiful ship!

Review for the South Pacific Cruise on Marina
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andrek
10+ Cruises • Age 2020s

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Sail Date: Jan 2015
Cabin: Penthouse Suite

Our flight to Papeete was on time and we landed in Papeete at 5:15am on the day we were to embark on the cruise. We did not sign up for the expensive transfers ($129pp) to the port and took a cab to the city center and had them drop us at the Hotel Tahiti Nui. There were no day rooms available and the only thing we could do was sit in the breakfast buffet room (very depressing) and pay about $40 for a $5 buffet. We did meet another couple that was also waiting and left to go to the port at 9am. There were 12 chairs available to sit in to wait to board. They said we would board around 11am. We gave them our luggage and walked around town. I do not blame Oceania for this. We should have come in the night before and then we would not be sitting around waiting to board. We did board at 11am and it was very pleasant from then on.

Our cabin was a Penthouse 2 mid ship. It was identical to a regular balcony but had an extra 5 feet from end to end. Making it feel spacious and slightly more comfortable. We upgraded 5 days before the cruise as we could not refuse the price. Our butler,BOSCO, was very professional. The cabin was spotless and very new looking. I did not see anything that looked warn out. The crew maintained the cabins beautifully. I think my favorite spot on the ship was Baristas with Lucca. I loved getting up each morning to his double capuccino and fresh croissants. We had very bad weather and I got sick on our cruise from which turned out to be gallbladder stones, which sent me to the ships doctor for a few days. The medical staff were excellent, but have very limited equipment. My only concern is that French Polynesia is a very poor country and it took 4 days to get to an ultrasound machine to diagnosis the source of my pain. So, if you have any medical concerns, this itinerary may not be that great. I spent over $5000 with the ships doctor (blood work, iv anitibiotics, pain meds). We do have insurance and hopefully some of this will be covered. The medical staff was very professional and kept a close eye on me. Many people passed through the medical center. The average age was about 65-70 on this cruise.

Aside from my medical problems that occurred, for the first 5 days I was healthy and had a ball at the restaurants, pool and other venues. We did not get off the ship as they were tenders and it was pouring rain most of the time. We had planned to stay in the over the water bungalows in Moorea at the end of our trip but ended up going home instead to get surgery. My favorite restaurants were Jacques and Toscana. The service was unbelievable and the wine list very good! I loved selecting my olive oil. The main dining room was good but the buffet upstairs was probably just as good with the food quality. We loved our wine and food dinner at La Reserve! I think that was one of the highlights of the ship and cruise. It was definitely worth the extra money. Drinks were very reasonable on the ship and happy hour every night was 1/2 off. We brought some whisky on board for my husband to drink on the balcony and he loved that. We did not do any entertainment but the string quartet at the daily tea was amazing! So was the tea. People loved the culinary at sea program!

Cabin Review

Penthouse Suite

Cabin PH2

Perfect cabin, perfect location

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