Marina Review

4.5 / 5.0
811 reviews

Lovely Ship but Not All it is Cracked Up to Be

Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on Marina
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RobertaV
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Apr 2015
Cabin: Concierge Level

We have sailed with Oceania once before which was great, but it was 3 years ago and on Regatta before they were taken over by NCCL and what a difference. Marina is a beautiful ship, the cabins10062 was fine, bathroom excellent. Originally we were in cabin 9012 . On arrival the toilet was full of sewage which we flushed and didn't think too much about. However for the next four days we had sewage coming up in the toilet! We complained on the second day and were sent the plumber who was from Eastern Europe. He proceeded to tell my husband that he did not know how to flush the toilet and proceeded to give him a lesson. We were furious. We then complained to reception who put us in touch with Javier Cortes who made all the right noises and eventually moved us to another cabin. Quite a horrible first few days. Other than that we were not offered any other kind of compensation.

The ship also had Noro virus on board which completely altered everything. The concierge lounge didn't have anything to eat in it, only paper cups, the self service laundry was closed, various food was not available. The concierge level is a total waste of time. We did not get any benefit from this at all. In Lima there was no priority boarding, the lounge was a room on Deck 9 too small with not much in it. The concierge sitting area in Canyon Spa a to altar waste of time, no room for everyone, no shade and really useless. Certainly not worth the extra money.

The speciality restaurants are quite good but the main dining room was poor. The menu is limited, one evening there was nothing on the menu we could eat. The food was all cold, the staff were disorganised, the wine waiters fairly useless, they know nothing about the wines they were selling. There were not enough waiters especially at breakfast so there was a long wait for food. The waves terrace cafe was shambolic. They ran out of food, there was nowhere to sit quite often, the service was poor and it seemed badly run.

Cabin Review

Concierge Level

Cabin A1

Nice cabin although a bit small. Difficult with wardrobes, not easy to get dressed together. Not enough space to put everything. Bathroom lovely, but who designed the bath taps? Impossible to turn them on without hurting your neck or arms, ridiculous.

Port Reviews

Port Canaveral (Orlando)

Visited the space centre. So good, interesting and informative. The transfer not as we had arranged but did work. we felt that it was just as easy to take a taxi and not prearrange anything

Miami

South beach was a dream, and a trip around the bay to see the famous homes. Bay side fun . We walked and looked at al of the wonderful Art Deco buildings.

Charleston

We took a walking tours lasting 2 hours starting at the Mill house hotel. It was excellent, Nancy our guide so knowledgable and so interesting. It is an amazing colonial town steeped in history. The market was fun and the shops also excellent. A lovely stop to have made , one of the loveliest places in the USA

Lima

We had been to Lima before so just chilled out and walked a bit. We stayed in the Belmond Miraflores formally the Orient Express hotel. Wonderful place, beautiful huge room with a bathroom that was incredible. A round bath the could fit a dozen people in it. A sauna, a wet room just amazing. Breakfast was on the roof as was the pool. Great

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