Sirena Review
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I had sailed on Oceania 3 times on the Marina & Riviera the disappointment was not about the size of the ship it was the decline of Oceania in general.
Embarkation: Process went well, fast and easy. Walked aboard, instead of a glass of champagne and staff with smiles, we received this comment, "Need to see your sea pass card. After giving it to him, he said, "your cabin won't be ready until 3 p.m.." This was now 12:30 and we were dismissed. We spent our time in the library, which was fantastic, actually authors you have heard about. After a horrible, cereal laden hamburger at the grill and a smoothie that was like water flavored juice the announcement was made--cabins ready.
Food: Now this is where Oceania used to be the top of the line, well that ship has sailed so to speak. As previously noted, the burgers were preformed tasteless and smoothies/milkshakes were made with ice chips and sugar water turning out to be tasteless and thin. Speaking of tasteless, all the food was bland and tasteless. Several times I had "Jacques Pepin's signature dishes" for dinner and at the Bistro--hugely disappointing. Food looks beautiful but tastes like nothing. I can recall only one dish that was fabulous, a Risotto with Smoked Ricotta. Portions were inconsistent as well, some large and others tiny, for example my Chicken and wine dish--large, table mate ordered scallops, she receive 3 tiny scallops sitting on 3 equally tiny potatoes--that's it. Do not order the Rack of Lamb it was horrible. Pad Thai noodle dish made with fettuccine noodles. My table mate and I ordered a shrimp dish. When we complained about the lack of taste, that it could use something, even garlic, the waiter offered to get us some garlic ??? I never finished any entree, due to non flavor or just plain bad tasting. The Terrace Cafe seemed a little better, but still not up to previous standards
Cabin Review
Veranda Stateroom
Cabin: The cabin itself was very nice, lots of storage. The bathroom extremely tiny--this was not an excuse of a small ship, I have been on these ships before at the same size and configuration and the bathroom is a tad bigger. The shower looked like the original shower from the build date, showing signs of wear. Toiletries were great and in nice sized bottles, not the tiny ones that are hard to get product out. The balcony, had rust stains running down the walls and everything felt dirty and greasy, chairs, rails and floor. The "teak" floor appeared to have been installed by workers with poor eyesight since black caulking was streaked all over the deck. The separation panel had paper stuffed in it, so it wouldn't rattle--I believe there are parts for that. The TV sat in a corner, that made it tough to see from the bed and had a 16-18 inch screen. The cabin itself was Freezing--couldn't get it to warm up, tried everything for a day and called to have it fixed. They came and fixed and followed-up on it. The "stocked" refrigerator in your cabin was stocked with 2 cokes, a sprite, one tonic water and soda water. It was never re-stocked. Maybe not a complaint, but they put two huge bottles of water on the desk--I would prefer smaller bottles, perhaps in the refrigerator and then they would fit in the bathroom as well.