We have all experienced the pandemic and wondered what cruising would look like in the New Reality. We took a chance on an early return to cruising on Oceania Marina and are so glad we did.
Pre-cruise, there was a lot of uncertainty, with various European ports opening/closing/changing requirements. Oceania could have handled communications better with passengers. However, O offered ...
When our (my wife and I) scheduled Crystal Cruise to SE Asia fell apart due to multiple schedule changes, and with 3 weeks suddenly open on our calendars, we opted at the last minute to schedule this Rio to Buenos Aires itinerary (as far away as possible from covid-19 issues). We literally booked on Sunday before a Wedn departure from Rio. We considered a Celebrity Buenos Aires roundtrip as well ...
We chose this trip for a few reasons:
1) the itinerary - to sail around Cape Horn/southern ocean
2) Timing - wanted a trip over the holidays (this one was from Dec 19-Jan 4)
3) Friends had sailed on the Oceania Marina ship To the Baltic a couple of summers ago - and had raved about their experience
SERVICE: Overall, the service was fantastic - ratio of Crew to Passengers is 1.56:1 - - ...
We chose this cruise because my parents wanted to see Greece and this cruise went there. They also dreamed of going on an Oceania cruise because the food is supposed to be great as well as service and staterooms.
The cruise began on a sour note as the cruise could not leave from Monte Carlo as it was slated. The reason was given as weather, however, we spent 3 days in Nice before departure and ...
This cruise was 3 back to back segments totalling 34 days covering East and West Mediterranean islands and ports some of which we had not previously visited and an Atlantic Crossing with a stop in Cape Verde
Marina and Riviera are comfortable stable ships and we choose them for that reason. On this trip there were challenges. Strong wind forecasts 2 days ahead of arrival in Monte Carlo made ...
Marina is looking good as usual. Food was good to great. No real misses, everything is better than the mainstream lines. Ports were very good with 3 days in Isreal.
Getting on the ship is amazing, 5 minutes at peak time. They processed everything on board, was a nice touch. The ship never feels overcrowded and laid out well.
Ports were good. Ship tours thru O-Life Florence/Pisa, Rome, ...
We really like the quiet atmosphere of Oceanic - very few children, not a lot of loud music. The pool area stays relatively quiet.
The food is, for the most part, very good - especially in the specialty restaurants. We had the wine and beer package, which allows beer and wine by the glass at meals. It was adequate. I would suggest they add a couple of WBTG at each restaurant to complement the ...
This was our 6th Oceania Cruise, 3 on each Riviera and Marina. This size of ship suits and have not tried the smaller ones.
We booked our flights independently and flew to Lisbon on the day of the cruise arriving at the terminal about 11am, had a quick coffee at the coffee shop next to the cruise terminal and a Pasteis de Nata which was delicious.
Embarkation was quick and efficient and we ...
While we still like Oceania there were a number of areas that fell short of our expectations on this past cruise.
Food – Over all we found the food on this trip was not as good as our prior two trips on Marina and Riviera. The Bouillabaisse in Jacques was not good at all.. No mussels, no clams, no fennel (I don’t think) and no broth. It was pasty, more like a sauce that I would expect in a ...
We have been on Oceania twice prior and because 3 nights in St Petersburg, 14 days and the Baltic was on our bucket list. Every place we had not been to and that was really appealing. We had travelled with Oceania twice prior and relatively positive experiences.
The staff, whether, food, drinks, entertainment or cabin staff are excellent and very accommodating.
The negatives,
- Showers ...