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Let me begin by stating that this was our 10th cruise with Oceania. My comments are our opinion and based on personal experience on the December 21, 2019 Sunny Holidays Cruise on Oceania Sirena.  Oceania is not what it used to be.  We observed and experienced a large discrepancy in the food from previous sailings.  Chilean Sea Bass, Caviar, Almond Croissants and high levels of meat were a given previously.  They were lacking on this cruise.  In fact, several people complained vigorously regarding the steak.   Oceania has been highly rated for its food.  That did not appear to be the case on this cruise.  New year's Celebration were around the pool.  Now divided in different areas. The descriptions of  the shore excursions did not match the material given to the guides.  We had a excellent guide and yet his description as written of the day did not match what we paid for.  Yet, when we complained to the destinations desk, we were told that everyone loved the guide.  We did too.  However, we did not get what we paid for.  The main dining room and the Terrace grill appeared to be short of waiters.  It wold take two or more hours to dine in the dining room.   The Canyon Ranch Spa was previously always a wonderful experience.  That is no longer there, being replaced by a spa where, there are basically all recent graduates of schooling (as stated by a technician) .  We were not notified in advance of this change. Regarding the decoration of the ship.  The redecoration of the ship is beautiful, and our cabin stewards were excellent.  The showers are very small, yet the sofa was comfortable.  Regarding the entertainment, we understand that it can not be compared to the larger ships, however, three nights of movies for entertainment is not acceptable.  The stand up comics and Stuart were excellent, however enrichment activities were minimal.  Tender workers were excellent.  Cruisers who experienced this for the first time would not have noticed the difference.  Lastly, research the ports.  When it says Belize, it does not mean that you will actually be in Belize where you can readily tour, instead we were taken to a water park, away from everything in Belize.  With that said, there were constant concerns on the cruise from past cruisers, even those who had 17 sailings regarding the downgrade from previous cruises.  We were very disappointed with this cruise.  The previous comments reflect our opinion.

What Has Happened to Oceania?

I chose this cruise as the dates coincided with my Winter break from school (I am a teacher).  I live in the Midwest, so the warm weather itinerary was appealing, and the Panama Canal was on my bucket list.  I was cruising Solo, (my boys spent the time with their respective in-laws), and I was more than a bit nervous.

Embarkation was quick and easy, with lots of helpful, smiling Oceania representatives.  I was impressed.  My room wasn't quite ready yet, so I went up to have lunch. A good selection of food was available. 

I had a Veranda stateroom on level 6 - it was wonderful, with an extremely comfortable bed.  YES, the bathroom was quite small, but adequate.  My room stewards were very attentive, and really made sure my stay was everything I wanted it to be. I LOVED having a veranda cabin for this trip.  I used it every day, and spent part of the time going through the Panama Canal sitting out there, sipping champagne.  Lovely!

The lecturer was incredible.  As a teacher myself, I was impressed with her ability to keep our interest, and her sense of humor added just the right touch to the presentations.  She was extremely knowledgeable, and very approachable afterward for questions.  The room was packed every time she spoke.

The only entertainment I can speak to is the string quartet, who played in the lobby each night before dinner.  They were incredibly talented - and they also drew crowds whenever they played.

I never felt lonely or alone on this trip - I met SO many interesting, kind, friendly people, and plan on staying in touch with several of them.  Our cruise had people from all over the world - one night I had dinner with a couple from Germany, the next from Scotland, and there was a family group from Australia.  On this Holiday cruise, there were children aboard, but they were extremely well behaved and I rarely ever encountered them on the ship.

We had a lot of sea days (basically every other day), but I was never bored.  I have read other reviews, talking about how there is "nothing to do" on Oceania, but I think that all is in how you view things.  If you expect to be entertained every waking moment by other people, this is, perhaps, not the cruise line for you.  If you appreciate interesting ports of call, less people aboard, good food, and plenty of opportunities to meet people and experience the world, then do try them out.  I was so happy with my trip that I have booked two more (another on the Sirena in 2021, and one on the Marina this coming summer).

I did have an issue with another passenger, and the crew took care of this immediately.  Other passengers also helped me out, and made sure I was safe and ok.  Much of this was done without me having to say or do anything - people just kept an eye out for each other, and Oceania was right there when needed. 

I never waited in line for anything (other than for my Tender color or number to be called - we had several Tender ports, but never an issue or really a wait).  There were always available lounge chairs by the pool, and the library was a great place to curl up with a book for a bit. The weather was mostly sunny and warm, so it was great to spend so much time outside before going back to the cold, frozen tundra.

The food was outstanding - especially in the (included) specialty restaurants.  The service in the main dining room (mostly during breakfast) needs some work - the senior staff was superb... but I think there were a lot of new trainees that had no idea how to serve food or drinks.  At breakfast, getting a refill on coffee often took a LONG time, even if there weren't many people there.  Hopefully, with practice they will get better!!

With that said, I overheard many people complaining on this trip about how the service has gone downhill, and was truly awful.  I didn't experience that (except for my morning coffee!!!) but perhaps my expectations were different.  The only thing I really took umbrage at was the Single Supplement they charge... but that's another issue :)

Anyway, I would HIGHLY recommend Oceania - I was pleased with my experience and as stated already, I will travel with them again.

FABULOUS Winter Cruise - some more attention to detail would be great!

Have cruised several times with Oceania before and they were all fine in the past.Not this time.

We have a PH Suite which was fine with the exception of the postage size bathroom.

The Spa was not serviced and kept clean and the Steam room and Jacuzzi were both warm but to HOT. No Sauna.

My wife purchased the Premium Drink Package and more often than not could not get American Chardonnay (kept telling her that they ran out including our second day out.

Service in restaurant was the worst, often waited to be served wine half way through the meal. Food was awful unlike and past Oceania Cruises.

Excursions were a joke and we cancelled many after the first few.

Entertainment was fair at best.

Staff other than the cabin staff for the most part were not friendly and treated guests as second class citizens.

I could add many more negative comments but surely you get our message by now.

Horrible Experience

To fulfill a bucket list item for me (to be on a ship during the holidays); we booked this cruise.  We were also anxious, as Oceania fans, to try Sirena.  The ship is wonderful; much like the other R ships.

Most of the PH3 suites are on the floor below Waves Grill and the Terrace Cafe.  The noise (of the workers) late at night and in the wee morning hours was bothersome to us.  The suite itself was lovely. The TV seems too small for the room and it has terrible sound.

We found the food quite good but not quite up to what we have experienced before.  We were not as impressed with Red Ginger or the new Tuscan Steak (supposedly a combination of Toscana and Polo Grill) as previously.

Nice touches include a large walk-in shower; a nightlight in the bathroom; and a magnifying mirror at the vanity/desk.

Wonderful Christmas and New Year's trip

The length, West Coast Departure and Xmas and New Year.  The public areas of the ship were nicely appointed but the showroom is a flat level and one can not see the feet of the dancers from about a few rows back. One is obliged to view the presentations on a large screen TV's that are located at the front of the showroom. 

Dining was very average and the menus were mostly in French and Italian. During the two weeks, we felt that the Menu except for the last night was repeated again. The two specialty restaurants were all show and fluff. The lobster portions were bit size. There was no turkey, ham and/or  trimmings to be had on Xmas day.The goose served instead was not appealing or tasteful. 

As to entertainment, the acts were very dated. A male singer in one production show sang two complete songs off key. 

The hot tub was not even bath water temperature. If one wanted  hot water the shower in one's cabin was the place to go. On rough sea days the very deep pool over flowed onto the decks. The water overflow was not moped up and became a hazard. 

The best musical group on board was a classical string quartet from Poland. 

The best asset of the ship is it's crew. However, many of them are originating from the former Soviet bloc countries and they have a mindset of they are right and y'all are wrong. We personally witnessed and heard waiters from the east bloc counties arguing with passengers at two separate times. One over the temperature of tea water in the Red Ginger. Our worst  experience was over a Champagne bottle which upon opening exploded and spayed approximately 1/2 to 1/3 of the bottle into the air and the waiter from Serbia told me to kiss off when I asked for a replacement and then that was followed by his supervisor from Brasil when I complained to him. Weather wise fog in the first two ports of call. Cold days at sea and high waves in Cabo MX

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

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