Husband's Big 80 birthday - chose Oceania as previous experience on Riviera was very good. Love our food. Very nice itinerary, so we thought, out of Southampton finishing up in Barcelona. Ship - very similar to Riviera. Beautifully decorated and spotlessly clean. We had Penthouse Suite which was excellent. Very good design. Everything worked except WiFi which was dreadful and you could only have one device working (if it did!) at any one time. Cabin staff were excellent - always cleaned and ready for when we returned. Butler was helpful but we don't really use the Butler. Concierge was awful, rude, arrogant, ignorant both to me and about other guests. Overall the food was good as you would expect from the Cruise line that advertises "The best food at sea..." However........service was slow and seemed disorganised in the Grand Dining Room, the buffet area you had to have everything served to you, often not what you really wanted, which slowed down the process. Often plates were taken away before you finished your last mouthful which I hate! It was over busy at times - I think because the Grand Dining Room was certainly not up to standard. When we did go to the GDR for breakfast there were issues. The worst kipper and smoked haddock I have ever seen - so awful we walked out! Speciality restaurants were good but we were not keen on the Italian Restaurant. Polo Grill, Red Ginger and the French restaurant were all good. There was little coordination between the booking systems and the actual restaurants. Wine was very expensive. The added on gratuities plus another Spanish tax made it a ridiculous price. Entertainment was mixed - some excellent and some awful. Art loft..... well I've never seen such awful examples of a tutors work. The sessions were ok but overcrowded and chaotic. The Culinary Centre was good. Fun and informative . The Special Dining in Prive was an experience, interesting and the food delicious. There were some booking issues for other guests though - they were not happy! Gym was good, classes limited. Front Spa area not serviced, loungers uncomfortable, jacuzzi far too hot on one occasion and outside shower not working. Ports were very interesting - we do not do Ships excursions as we prefer to be independent. Transfers to the ship however were poor in a number of the ports and trying to get accurate info difficult. This did cause us issues as often long waits for buses without any seated waiting areas - my husband cannot stand for long. Some very long unnecessary walks off the ship into the port - little consideration for anyone with any disability. Other Cruise lines seem to have far better in port service. We had a number of Public Holiday days in ports which meant access to attractions was limited and shops closed. The 2 nights in Bordeaux was not 2 nights as they moved the ship on the second day making any independent excursions very difficult especially as it was a public holiday. We saw the Captain once during the whole cruise. He did not attend his drinks party nor did he attend the Thank you parade for the staff. Poor! Would we travel with Oceania again?. Sadly I very much doubt it. I think if we go 6 star again we will try another company. The rudeness of the Concierge was unacceptable. Oh and they got our final account wrong... so beware - we have never had that on a cruise before they are normally spot on! Read Less

We choose this cruise because chef Jacques Pepin was going to be onboard! Unfortunately, the entire cruise was overshadowed with the onboard illness of some cruisers and staff! We were told little about it except that protocol and precautions were put in place to handle it! Thus for the entire remainder of the cruise we had no laundry, no concierge lounge, no preset tables, no salt and pepper shakers, and informal dining area that was wrapped in Saran Wrap and difficult for us and staff to use! but we did have the constant wiping of tables,railings and chairs etc as we tried to dine, and/ or enjoy the views! They were able to have chef Pepin provide us with a book signing, although it was poorly promoted and we heard about it through word of mouth,and a demo and question and answer time, which we enjoyed! We felt the staff were tense, and under pressure. The captain gave us very little info, although several days after his first announcement he did say it was not a norovirus but precautions were going to continue for the rest of the cruise! We are glad this wasn't our first cruise or one that was for a very special occasion, because we would have been very disappointed! We enjoyed our shore excursions, liked the ship size and ease of getting around, also liked that the age of our fellow passengers had gotten younger since our last Oceania cruise! We do not go to evening entertainment,or the casino. Read Less

We cruised with Oceania in January 2016 from Hong Kong to Bangkok and had a very good time. In November 2016 we did a Med Cruise going from Venice to Rome, however this one was a bit of a disappointment. It was billed as a Jacques Pepin food oriented cruise and it was advertised as one with special menus, food talks, excursions, etc. There was one cooking demo by M. Pepin which was very interesting, but no real innovative menus or other presentations. By the time we booked (We'd tried to book the cruise early in the year but were told it was sold out.), all the shore excursions involving cooking were booked as well as all the ones on board with no additional selections added. Some of our shore excursions involved some time spent with a tour guide and then too much time on our own for shopping. We don't visit foreign countries and pay for shore excursions to shop for more than an hour at several different stops. Also, if you're looking for variety among your ports of call, this is not the one for you. Several of them were very similar. We found out mid way on the cruise there was noro virus on board. Their beautiful library was locked down from the very beginning and a few days into the cruise, the laundromat was locked up. We expected some consideration in a price break on ship's laundry but there was none. Internet was very bad so lots of folks were not happy about that. The evening shows didn't start until after 9:30 so all of those were out for us since we're not late night people. I don't think we'll consider another Oceania cruise. Read Less

My husband and I are in our early 60's and just returned from our second Oceania Cruise in Europe. This was our sixth cruise having been on Royal Carib and Princess to destinations in the Caribbean. Oceania is a much more luxurious and low key experience than the others we've been on. There were only 900 guests. The boat holds 1200. Plus 800 employees. So obviously the service was extremely attentive. If you're looking for late night partying with big splashy shows this is not the cruise line for you. However, the entertainment that they did have was certainly fun and enjoyable. There are no zip lines or fake surfing but there was a concert pianist who was terrific and other offerings we enjoyed. The passengers are mature and hail from all over the globe. We enjoyed sharing our dinners with others we met and especially our dinner at La Reserve. It costs extra but is a very special evening involving a tasting menu and wine pairing. But all the restaurants are excellent. Going to La Reserve is just an extra special treat especially if you are celebrating a big life event such as a milestone birthday or anniversary. The excursions we took with Oceania were very good. Our day in Capri was awesome. I was a bit disappointed with the winery excursion in Sicily. When you go on a bus tour you spend too much time getting on and off the bus and making stops to the rest rooms. This cannot be helped I suppose. Our best day was in Marseilles where we hired an outside company called Provence Connections. We were the only two on the tour. Fabrizzio was our guide and he was awesome. I think hiring a local tour rather than using the ships excursions is probably less expensive and more meaningful and I will do more of that on subsequent voyages. We were in stateroom 7063. Being in the center of the ship is best if you get seasick. But try to be on the 8 or 9th decks. The 7th deck is okay but a bit higher up is preferable. The spa is small but I had the best facial! Expensive but worth it. My husband said his massage was just okay. Embarkation and debarkation were a breeze. Very orderly and quick. I LOVED our trip and can't wait to plan my next cruise on Oceania. Read Less

This was our first cruise but the couple we were with have cruised 17 times. From the initial contact to our disembarkation the experience was an absolute positive one. Our flight from Montreal to Rome was long but uneventful and was completely organized. our arrival at the Marriott Flora was expected and we were greeted at the entrance by an Oceania Representative. The next day we were transported to the Marina which was such a positive and exciting event. Once we received all the necessary accreditation we went to the Grand Dining awaiting the final prep of our Stateroom. The room itself was large with a very large balcony; it remained spotless the entire cruise. The staff maintaining our stateroom exceeded our expectations. From the Capitan Leo, General Manager, Damien Lacroix, Cruise Director, Peter Roberts, Food and Beverage Director, Marc Walter, Chris Rogan Development and Head Chef Alexis every single person to the deck staff were so helpful and accommodating. The Ports of Call and the organized tours were excellent and even the tours we coordinated on our own great. Thank you Marina for a holiday Adèle will never forget. (Thanks Diane and Louis). The food was exceptional and exceeded all our expectations. i cannot say enough about the Entertainment Team headed by Jason and the Social Director, Katie. One of our favourites on the Ship were the Bellissimo String Quartet with Sasha, Inna, Kristina and Polina; we looked forward to hearing you every day. Read Less

We went on this cruise because we did the Baltic last August and it was superb. We signed on for another cruise in the exact same Oceania suite. The recent experience was not so good. I was served a raw chicken leg in the dining room and the lobster thermidor in Jacques was lukewarm, the beef in the steakhouse was tasteless and tough, caeser salad dressing tasted like it comes from a bottle. Overall the food was not nearly as good as last year. The service was not as good a last time either. We were served dinner in out suit over an hour late one evening. Was there a merger in the past 13 months? The shore excursions are pretty boring and pretty expensive. We won't be back. At this point I would rather fly to europe, stay in a good hotel and get a better feel for the country. Since the trains are so good in europe why not use them? Read Less

Oceania's Marina has the best quality food of the 8 cruise lines we traveled on, but there are major problems in entertainment and excursion policies. We were booked in a Concierge cabin and dined 6 times in specialty restaurants. All served superb food, especially Jacques. All pax get 4 free reservations and our Concierge was able to arrange two extra dinings. The 4pm tea service and violin concertos were excellent. The service quality in all areas and room were outstanding -- no complaints about the ship or its personnel. It was my 2nd cruise on the Marina. However, Miami HQ has major policy flaws. Passengers (pax) are given a choice of on-board-credits or free excursions; however, the OBC can only be used after departure. All of our excursion requests were fully booked by other pre-cruise pax and the prices are about 25% more expensive than other cruise lines. If you book five pre-cruise excursions, the price is reasonable. HQ simply doesn't arrange enough excursions to meet demand. To use our OBC we booked two $193 massages and paid for tips. Other OBC pax bought liquor or items in the boutiques. You should not select the OBC option. There is only one show at 9:45 pm every night and that is past our bed-time for early next day events. The reason is dining only starts at 6:30 pm and specialty restaurants also offer 7:30 and 8:30 options. On average dining took 2 hours 45 minutes, so there can only be one late show. All but one other cruise line we traveled on had an early show that Oceania refuses to offer. This voyage started in Southampton thru Copenhagen. Since we couldn't book excursions, we arranged our own thru cruise critic blog or per trip advisor recommenda-tions. We visited most ports before and enjoyed all of them. The lectures by a Professor were academic, but didn't help much for independent travelers. We never knew what berth we were docked in or that free shuttles were provided to city centers in Zeebrugge, Goteberg, and Copenhagen. There were continual problems with accessing online wifi especially in late afternoon. I used the fitness center and group lessons. On my prior Marina trip the fitness classes were too crowded, but not this time. Read Less

Sailed from Papeete, French Polynesia to Lima Peru. Cuisine on ship was unbelievable. Top quality food. No charge for specialty restaurant dining in the four specialty restaurants on board. Main dining room was excellent also. Specialty restaurants require reservations, but the main dining room did not and we never had to wait. For lunch the Dining Room featured different areas of the world each day and a food sampling plate was available of special delicacies. Don't normally eat in the buffet for evening meal but couldn't pass up, steak and lobster tails on two occasions. Higher staff to passenger ratio and it showed. Prompt attention to all details, whether dining or cabin. Staff was extremely friendly and efficient and frequently remembered our last name. Ship never felt crowded. Afternoon tea was special and sweets served often changed, accompanied by a string quartet. Only disappointment was not being able to tender in at Easter Island due to weather on both scheduled days. Rest of the ports were special and we enjoyed each one. You do pay more on Oceania but the money was well worth it. There is no charge for soda or specialty coffees. Have a variety of Coke products along with bottled water in stateroom refrigerator at no charge with daily replenishment was nice. Also encouraged to take readily available bottled water (free of charge) when going off the ship. Some of the meals like all those in Red Ginger Restaurant, ate there three times, equaled or exceeded some of the top restaurants around. Read Less

Our sailing from Papeete to Lima was our 5th cruise with Oceania but our 1st on a larger O class ship. The ship was beautiful and as usual Oceania met our top three criteria with their wonderful crew, excellent cuisine and a super comfortable bed. We also enjoyed having a greater choice of specialty restaurants and had a fantastic dinner at La Reserve. You have to pay extra for La Reserve, but it is well worth it as the dinners are special and include wine pairings. Our only disappointments were that our 282 sq. ft. stateroom did not feel much bigger than the 165 sq. ft. staterooms we usually book on the R class ships because most of the extra space is taken up by a bathtub (which we do not use), and that the private Spa terrace did not have a thalassotherapy pool (it only has hot tubs). I also found the loungers at the Spa terrace to be less comfortable than those at the pool deck because the backs are not adjustable. We were also disappointed at not being able to visit Easter Island, but Oceania cannot be blamed for the rough seas. The captain made several attempts to find a calmer waters to launch the pontoon for the tenders and the water kept coming over top of the pontoon into the ship. It was obviously unsafe for loading passengers. So he spent the day circumnavigating the island twice to give views from both sides of the ship. Some passengers criticized the captain for not sticking around for the second scheduled day at Easter Island, but the forecast was for much rougher seas the next day and forecasts less than 24 hours in advance are generally accurate. So in our view he made the right decision and we appreciated getting to spend an extra day in Lima. We did not book any Oceania excursions, as they are far too expensive and booking independent tours in French Polynesia and Easter Island was easy. You do not need to form a group; most tour operators take individual bookings. We did lose some money when we had to cancel Easter Island at the last minute, but the money we saved by booking independent tours at the other ports more than made up for the loss. This was our 2nd time cruising the islands of French Polynesia and we plan to return again, as it is in our view an unspoiled paradise with some of the best snorkeling in the world for those who love warm water, calm seas and gorgeous scenery. Read Less