We chose this cruise after seeing the itinerary. Not only did this cover the east side of Australia, where a lot of cruises stay, but we were very interested in seeing some of Western Australia. The cruise also included two ports in Papua, New Guinea and two in Indonesia. Since this cruise is during the height of summer, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia were very warm with high humidity. Papua New Guinea is not a tourist mecca, by any stretch. Darwin was very warn also. The tours that we took off the most part were very good to excellent. The tours we selected revolved mainly around the wildlife and we were not let down. We did get to see all the animals that most have heard of plus some we hadn't. The guides we had were very knowledgeable and really made the tours enjoyable. There were also tours that included going to the top of a lighthouse, the last whaling station in AU and many wineries.There were a few ports that we decided just to stay in town and do our own sight seeing. Along the way there were visitor information guides to assist. Also, the residents in Western Australia are very nice and quite friendly. They were willing to assist with any questions we had. We have cruised on Oceania many times and previously on the Regatta. The ship, is to get and entire rework under their 'Oceania Next' program which includes all new staterooms and penthouses by September of this year. Right now the ship is a bit worn, but kept in very condition. We look forward to seeing the 'new' ship in the future. This is one of the smaller ships of Oceania with only 684 passengers. The ports and excursions are the highlights with a few amenities on board. Most passengers were retired folks like ourselves and it is a much quieter environment that other cruises lines. There were very few children on board. since we were on the ship for 34 days on this cruise and doing a back to back on to New Zealand for another 14 we really enjoyed the extra space a Penthouse. It is well appointed. It comes with a mini fridge stocked with complimentary soft drinks, a safe, hair dryer, with a few extras The cabin was 322 sq. ft. that includes a three cushion sofa, a small table and two comfortable chairs. The dining rooms were very good, as usual.with Toscana and Polo being excellent. Probably the most important thing to comment on is the staff. We couldn't have enough kind words to describe the level of service, from our butler, cabin attendants, servers, hostesses, barista, sommeliers and maitre d's.We truly enjoyed the level of service provided by all and the entire trip. Read Less

Horrible time. I first have to say this was my 4 th cruise on Oceania and will be my last. This cruise line has gone down hill very quickly ( perhaps since Norwegian took over). The public rooms were refurbished and are in nice shape but the cabins need a complete gutting. The food which was excellent in the past is just okay. The meats and fish are frozen for the most part . The vegtables were always carrots, cauliflower and broccoli and I am wondering if they were frozen too. What really made this the cruise beyond disappointing was that we lost 4 ports due to either technical difficulties with the ship or what they claim was weather. It seems that there is an issue with the ships tenders . There was one problem after the other with this cruise. The worst part about it was lack of information and complete disorganization. There were just too many disappointments and as of yet no meaningful recognition of this by management. Read Less

My husband and I wanted to take this cruise because we wanted to see Australia and the itinerary was good - although it did not turn out that way. I had sailed on Oceania before —years ago before Norwegian purchased them and we enjoyed it. Since being bought by a public company with a lot of debt the quality has gone downhill. There was one issue after another. I think this particular ship needs to be gutted there were too many issues. The cabins are very worn . The couch was so disgusting we had to put a sheet over it to feel comfortable to sit on it. We booked a cabin facing the back of the ship we could not use the balcony as it was covered with black soot everyday. It was impossible to sit outside with the smell of exhaust from the smoke stack( very toxic) The smoke smell was also in the cabin despite keeping the door to the terrace locked. This was acknowledged by the Workmen that were sent to check the situation but nothing was done to rectify it as we are at sea. They said it has to be looked out when in port for an extended period. The cabin also had a moldy smell. Upon returning home we had to wash everything we brought whether it was used or not because of that. In the past the food was excellent , Oceania now uses predominantly frozen fish and meats. I didn’t ask about the vegetables ( being frozen) but they were the same everyday- carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and zucchini. This was a huge disappointment. Unfortunately we missed 4 ports ( which added 25 percent more sea days) 1 was due to a broken PA system on the ship that took 13 days to fix. For 13 days there was no music in any of the common rooms, the restaurants ,the fitness center, the spa etc. . The entertainment in the main lounge was also limited. This was all very disappointing as it was Christmas - New Years Time. This greatly hampered the enjoyment of the cruise. It was disappointing enough to miss out on so many ports and add so many sea days BUT What was worse is that 2 of the ports visited were done when the cities were literally shut down. Whoever planned the port dates should be fired. We were in Cairns for Christmas Day - everything and I mean everything was closed- The same for the Darwin port, it was New Year’s Day. How were we to know this would be the case , where we live things are open on those days. In Port Moresby Papua New Guinea the public government buildings that were mentioned as must see were also closed. I am not even sure why Papua New Guinea was chosen as a port as there is no infrastructure to support a cruise ship. It is also extremely dangerous and dirty. One of the highlights of the trip was to be Kangaroo island. Again we could not get in because they said the tenders were not able to negotiate through the waves. They sent tenders out empty with doors open - of course they would be bouncy and take on water( it almost seemed like a dog and pony show) There was a small boat sailing around with no apparent issues. The captain also claimed the anchor could not hold the boat. That we would be pulled-to shore. The winds were about 15 miles per hour or less. That tells me the anchor may be broken . This would be inconceivable unless there is a hurricane-and speaks to the unsafe condition ships anchor and tenders might be in , We are boaters and never heard of such a thing. We have also been out on tenders in worse conditions. There was a ferry service available that could have been used to move the passengers from the ship. I have experienced that before. The tenders couldn’t make it so the ship hired the ferry service. I am sure that wasn’t an option because of the added cost to an already debt laden company ( that is apparently cutting cost at the expense of quality- which they claim and charge for) This port was the 4 th port missed because of the tender situation. Either the ship has the wrong tenders or these ports should not be on the itinerary during this time of year ( we are not talking about bad weather). We had tours booked in some of those ports that involved being in the water and those tour operators said there were no issues . I wonder if we really had to use the lifeboats if they were viable- if the captain was afraid they would break or not be possible to use in these conditions- then are they safe at all. These are serious questions . The reception desk seems no knowledge of anything . Almost every time I asked a question I received no answer or the wrong answer. Simple things like when does the laundry close( I was told at 8 pm- it closes at 10) it goes on and on. This was such a terrible experience that we considered flying home earlier but hoped to get to Tasmania ( which we did). The only thing that makes the experience worse is the lack of customer care or service. Oceania did not respond to my concerns until my travel agent put pressure on someone either at her agency to reach out to Oceania or someone at Oceania. They claimed they offered to move my cabin and that I was offered $500 credit on a future cruise. THIS DEFINITELY DIDNT HAPPEN I WAS NOT OFFERED A DIFFERENT CABIN AND I WAS NEVER OFFERED $500 ON A FUTURE CRUISE. That response was a summary of what the whole experience felt like- Disorganized ,Dishonest and Frustrating. Read Less

We looked forward to what we believed to be a cruise to have an insight into Australia. The actual outcome on the Regatta to circumvent round Australia was something else. Having being taken in by what cruise details via the Oceania brochure and having researched over a considerable amount organising private and ship tours at the proposed destinations. From the day of departure the cruise became a great disappointment as we missed 4 ports of calls, our personal brochure had Esperance and Exmoor as docked and Alotua and Port Moresby were anchors. This turned out to be the complete opposite. We also have now learnt of the ships ongoing problems from when the ship left San Diego to reaching Sydney for our cruise. Unfortunately any excuse was made to not use the tenders for going on shore, this became a joke as every time we heard the Captain or the Cruise Director come over the speakers we knew there was going to be a statement saying that the sea was to rough and the tenders as you can see are taking on water via the open windows. And that we are waiting for Miami to make a decision. It was obvious the ship engines were not being taxed as for some days it just virtually treading water. Out of a 34 day cruise we had 13 days at sea, so we were left to look at the horizon for 2 x 4 days and 1 X 3 days at sea. The entrainment was really never changed to accommodate this fact. An additional film was laid on in the grand lounge. And we continually heard from the Cruise Director that Oceania appreciated the passengers understanding and by way of appreciation Oceania will be giving free cocktails for 1 hour. Well, that was really considerate. Well, some passengers did not drink alcohol. We only watched one of the ships entertainment staff as a warm up act for the main act, it was an embarrassment to sit through, really second rate stuff considering it was New Year's Eve. We also noticed the amount of ships officers having meals in the grand dinning room, Polo and Toscannas. In fact one night whilst docked in Adelaide, there was 2 tables taken solely by ships officers. Some of these Officers were to the point of being rude, just walking past you and not speaking. The destinations team was the usual type, ask anything outside their tours and they did not want to know, one individual came into the main dinning room one night for dinner with a ships officer and some fellow countrymen on board and we have never seen such poor etiquette by any staff member of all the years we have been cruising. In our opinion the owners, ships senior management let down not only the guests on board, but also the Food & Beverage crew in the majority who were working very had to keep a high standard. The ship was under booked, we were told by at least 100 passengers. On the very last leg some 20 travel agents boarded the ship to up the numbers, plus help future bookings for Oceania cruises. The fact that NCL now own Oceania and RSS is quite visible by the condition of the Regatta, like any take over profit has to be made from the monetary borrowed and interest paid off and this always comes about by making cost cutting measures, the level of training, amount of fresh food, maintaining the ship in all areas has clearly been compromised e.g even the ships golf putting area had been damaged and the hole markers missing. No money to even repair such as a simple thing as that. Our room 8030 was in reasonable condition, however on the last 4-5 days a very heavy odour appeared. We wrote a letter to Frank Del Rio, Bob Binder and Guest relations and received a reply. It's not until you challenge an organisation where you really find out if you are a valued guest. Be warned you may think you are, even if you are/have been a lifelong Oceania customer. They actually replied to some of our criticism by saying that it was e.g the reason the ship did not leave Sydney at the correct time was because the Captain was aware of rough seas ahead, well once we challenged this statement, Oceania corrected their statement and said yes the PA system was also a problem. This was typical not only on the cruise, but also in Oceania's replies about problems we incurred on board the ship. So summing up, if are the type who has no problem laying on sun beds every day, have days and days at sea, and do not mind missing ports. Then the Regatta and Oceania is for you. If you are travellers who wish to explore the world, be adventurous, do not take lightly to the patronisation of Oceania. Then stay well clear of this ship and this company, we have sailed with them for the last time after sailing with them 5 times before. There other more modern cruise companies out there who offer just a supposedly up market experience. If Oceania via NCL foolishly think that they are the best, then sadly they are so far out to sea, they cannot sea the shore. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we had sailed on Oceania in the past and liked it and we liked the itinerary. This was the worst cruise we have ever been on. First of all the ships cabins need to be gutted. We were in a Penthouse suite and the carpet was stained and the sink cracked. My husband was sick for most of the trip because of the mold in the room. While 25 percent of the passengers had some virus he had mold poisoning. The food has gone down the drain - frozen and boring! While the itinerary was good we missed 4 important nature ports 3 because of “weather” and 1 do to mechanical difficulties on the ship. After coming home and doing research we learned that those ports should not be on the itinerary for this time of year because of the nature of weather in Australia OR the ship needs to be equipped with more up to date tenders. The weather wasn’t bad and the private tours we booked on land that involved being on the water in smaller boats then the tenders were surprised at the cancellation because of weather. In one port they had another ship come in and tendered the passengers ashore with no issue. We also had 2 ports on Christmas and New Years when every thing is closed so it felt like those ports were missed also. That was a abomination considering a little better planning could have avoided that .It was one issue after another and it looks like Oceania s cutting costs wherever they can. The worst part was the lack of professionalism from customer service. They basically did not acknowledge any of the issue and offered nothing. Read Less

We wanted to see Australia. Upon entering the ship it was filthy. I had to get the maid to clean it again. The first day the PA system was broken and we missed our first port and their was no music for the first 13 days. The food was all frozen junk. We had the room in the back of the ship and the balcony was filled with shoot we could not go on it for fear of being asphyxiated. There was smoke also in the room. We missed 4 ports because the tenders were not safe in 2 ft sees. We prayed there wouldn’t be a real emergency we wouldn’t have made it. There was 3 emergencies on the ship. 40% of the People on the ship were sick. The busiest person was the Doctor. People paid $30 for a bandage. One passenger was billled $19,000 for medical expense. There was a complete lack of communication on what was going on. We spent weeks planning our stops at these ports. One stop was a completely beautiful sunny day with not a cloud in the sky and it was cancelled because of waves as we watch 18 ft little boats fly by with no problem. We stopped at one port on Christmas Day. The entire town was closed, totally. Another one was New Years Day same totally closed. The entertainment was better at many grade school talent shows. The poor people working on this ship were worked to death. It was disheartening. If they paid me $10,000 to go on this ship I would refuse. The best thing about this ship was that we were lucky enough to be the very first people off this disaster. Read Less

My wife and I decided it was time to see Australia and this cruise seemed to have a great itinerary- It was horrible - The food which Oceania is known for and which we had enjoyed on earlier cruises was not good. It was the same quality we have had on lower end cruises. Our cabin smelled from mold as did other parts of the ship. The entertainment was awful- actually it was a joke.. There was one snafu after another and you got the feeling that the ships management was not giving anyone straight answers. The ship needs to be scraped . What is clear is that while the ship is dirty and old and moldy the service has clearly fallen from our previous experiences. The food should have still been on par with the past Oceania Cruises we enjoyed. I think the cruise line has fallen in response to the bean counters at NCL after they were recently acquired. It is clear that the quality of the experience has fallen tremendously in every category. This was like having a bad dream. Read Less

Summary: A most disappointing cruise with Oceania. With essentially 3 missed tender ports, 3 evacuations for medical reasons, mechanical issues with the PA system that forced 1 missed port and one delayed port, What was to be a moderately port intensive cruise became a transatlantic cruise with a couple of stops in Australia and Indonesia. My DW thought it was a 1* -- I thought it was a 3* = 2* average I must admit that I am not an expert at maritime weather, but Aussie tour guide on this cruise I have talked with stated -- you do not get Esperance, Exmouth and Kangaroo Island during January. I should not have to know this, but I expect Oceania operations to know such matters. Further scheduling Cairns on Christmas and Boxing days was a waste. Scheduling Darwin on New Year’s Day is also a mistake. This was our 13th cruise with Oceania. Second time on Regatta our first cruise was also on her. I must question my Loyalty to Oceania now, especially in view of our expectations for this cruise and how badly we were disappointed. You see a lot of new competition (like Viking) in this market. Embarkation/Disembarkation – was smooth and efficient. We arrive at 10:50 and were on the ship in Terrace by 11;15. Getting off was easy and quick. There was lots of help locating luggage. Ship’s Condition. The R ships are old and the furnishings in our stateroom certainly could use a makeover. Much of the issues are cosmetic but we had mechanical issues too like AC not working, veranda door could not be opened, bathroom that would not lock, low water pressure. All were taken care of in first couple of days, but it is symptomatic of the ship. They really need to makeover the PH showers. These are not safe and never have been. Easy to slip or fall getting in/out of the shower-tub. The service. Very mixed when it was good it was great. When it was bad it was horrible. Early on it was horrible – attribute this to the new and old crew – many got off early in the cruise. Mid cruise to end of cruise it was excellent. The food. Was a fan of O food in past, and this cruise was a disappointment. The food in the Terrace was bland and tasteless. The servers would give you small portions – you had to ask for more or a larger slice. Food temperature was an issue too. Definitely a lack of quality assurance in kitchen. Breads (croissants and baguettes were either the usual great or just poor). Unfortunately, the meal highlights in the Terrace – were the baby roaches running through the fettucine. My DW had to point this out to the “chef” several times before he removed it to the back. The GDR had issue with food temperature and quality. No consistency. Best meals were those from Red Ginger and the Sunday Brunch. The food in Toscana was excellent and consistent and the service was the best of any dining venue. Food in Polo was a big disappointment. Meat was dry and tasteless. I guess dry aged beef – means drain the blood and age the meat so it has no taste. Excursions -- we did a mix of private and Oceania. The Oceania tours were well organized, but expensive. We had a mixed bag of experiences some the best we have done and some just so so. So, to summarize – Itinerary- Poor --too many missed ports. I had been to all of the cities (Adelaide, Bali, Cairns, Brisbane and Melbourne) – we missed all of the small ports except the last one Eden. Embarking/Disembarking – Excellent Stateroom/Ship – Average Service – Average to Excellent (early on it was so-so) Food – Mediocre to Poor – comment – highlight were the roaches in the pasta. So will we be back -- maybe. But we are also booked and looking at Crystal, Viking and Silversea. Read Less

Our trip of a life time - circumnavigating Australia. 1.Advertised as best gourmet dining at sea - not so! Boring watery vegetables, mashed potatoes like soup, tough lobster and meat etc etc 2. One excursion promised 4 things - we only experienced one of the 4 and our request for refund was handled very very poorly! 3. Our stateroom was small, tired, chipped and banged up. No actual advantage to paying for the concierge level except perhaps a bottle of champagne( we’re non drinkers) and one Oceania bag for 2 people. No concierge or lounge. 4.the fact that we missed 4 ports was blamed on the weather by the company. We think that Oceania needs to do more research - why were we cruising down the west coast of Australia during cyclon season? The advertising promised that this smaller ship would allow us to see parts of Australia not available to passengers on larger ships. False advertising! Very disappointing, expensive cruise and the company is not listening. There is no response to our requests for refunds, discounts etc - let alone any kind of apology! Read Less

This is not a luxury ship. Old with mildew present onboard. Ship should be retired. It is like a nursing home with poor entertainment and very little activities especially on sea days. We missed 4 ports because of 3 emergency medical evacuations. Service is efficient and food is good but not great. We are Elite class Celebrity and will never go on another Oceania cruise. Aqua class cabins on Celebrity and Blu restaurant is superior to Oceania. The excursions desk was helpful and did their best to offer good trips. Visiting Papua New Guinea was a waste of 2 ports .Komodo island was a ripoff. You can see the dragons in Singapore or Taranga zoo in Sydney. If you require a small ship do an Azamara or Silversea itinerary. Oceania is overpriced for the quality of the ship, ports offered and overall experience. Save your money. Our concierge cabin with veranda was tired with very little storage and horrible bathroom with a lousy shower ! Read Less

Having taken many cruises a long way from home it was nice to take one close meaning minimal travel. We liked the itinerary as it included a few places where we hadn't been. We missed four of the tender ports due to rough seas which would have been disappointing for those who haven't been there before and came so far but it was unavoidable. We didn't do any of the ship's shore excursions as we found them very expensive. Private tours were much cheaper and able to be modified to suit your preferences and the weather etc. Entertainment was generally very good as they were having to continually change the schedule due to more days at sea etc. Guest entertainers were very good as was the resident team led by Cruise Director Julie. The service was excellent in restaurants and bars. We found that they would run out of our favourite wine some days in some bars and then they would find some the next day or they would have it in another bar/restaurant. They obviously don't have a central system where they can find it in a hurry. We love Oceania and will be travelling with them again in July. Read Less

We chose this cruise bc of Oceania's reputation for good service. But the service we got was horrible. Every time we had to interact with someone (anyone) from guest services, the responses were invariably "what did YOU do to screw this up, valued passengers of ours?" Almost every port of call had a major mishap - either we had to miss 2 due to weather, the tender was hours late, they had the wrong gangway out, they dropped us off at the wrong spot to retrieve a shuttle back to the ship and left us standing in the rain for 90 minutes, etc etc. It ended up that we spent an extra 2.5 days at sea - out of a 13 day cruise bc of weather, but NO efforts were made to help make up for the missed shore excursions. The lecturer was OK, although his style was disjointed, and with so much time at sea, the bridge experts became the only option to fight off boredom. Unfortunately, they were both controlling ladies who would not let the passengers play the game - instead monopolizing the play. We were never welcomed to the ship, and they could not wait to get us off the vessel either (admittedly, we couldn't wait to leave, so that worked out great) We would NEVER consider cruising with Oceania again. Save your money and go for a better, and more affordable cruise line. Read Less

Looking for cruise in warmer location in the winter. Never visited NZ/AUS. Heard good things about Oceania. Liked small ship. Regatta is "Old" but we did not notice any particular defects. We had two ports cancelled due to stormy weather for safety reasons. Disappointing but beyond control of Oceania. Cost of missed tours was refunded. No mechanical problems that we were aware of. Embarkation went smoothly. We had priority boardung due to cabin location. Fairly large que for concierge class and below at the check in. Rooms onboard not ready until about 1:30 PM. Everyone ends up in the buffet line until room is ready. Cabin air conditioning somewhat loud, but not overpowering. We did not find the electric outlets a problem. All of our plugin equipment worked on 220V. Room came with a Laptop computer. This device is only useful for using the internet. It can't upload any personal files (thumb drive) or save anything like camera downloads. So, bring your own laptop if you need to do any serious work. Overall a positive experience. Would book Oceania again. Read Less

My wife and I chose Oceania because the company had a good reputation among some of our friends, who are seasoned travelers. We had been satisfied with previous cruise lines, i.e., Crystal, but Oceania had the best travel time for us. Our excitement of seeing the Regatta from the outside gave way to gross disappointment when first taking in the so-called renovated interior. It had a very dated appearance, reminiscent of the first cruise we took 43 years ago. This view was shared by all of our many friends, whom we were fortunate enough to meet on board. Apparently, the other Oceania ships are nicer. That being said, the ship was spotlessly clean. Our stewards were a highlight of the trip and basically served as our private concierges. Otherwise, service was a mixed bag. By in large, it was excellent throughout, but with several glitches. For example, we requested morning coffee in our cabin. The waiters were as nice as could be, yet we often had to call several times because our order had been forgotten. In another instance, a sommelier had total screwed up our bill that we had to stay for an extra 20 minutes till he tried unsuccessfully to straight it out. Many of our friends did not like the food, but we did. Helping size was small but typically we can always ask for more. We are both fish eaters and were astonished to find out that they rarely served fresh fish. As a result frozen lobsters were terrible. We complained to the head chefs in 2 restaurants, who noted that it was company policy? Yet, huge fish markets at most ports. Humm! The speciality restaurants (Polo and Toscano) were hardly special. All fluff with no stuff. Menus did not change. 2 bad entrees there! Indian and Asian buffets were exceptional with legitimate native choices. Wine was good with a large selection and rather inexpensive! Passengers were disappointed that the ship did not dock at Akoroa (Christ Church) and we bypassed Milford Sound, ostensibly because of bad weather. No fault of of the ship unless the captain made a bad choice. The costs of excursions were out of sight and inflexible. We booked only one trip with Oceania for a 10 hour drive along the Great Ocean Road in Geelong. Because my wife wasn’t feeling well, we had to cx, but they would not return money even though there was a waiting list. Shame on them! Fortunately, I had made reservations in all of the other ports with private companies at a fraction of the Oceania cost and greater flexibility We were very pleased with global Viator and local Zealandier. Both were communicative and provided great tour guides. Opting for the WiFi package saved us a lot of money, but the bandwidth was weak and no more than one device can be used at a time. Ancient! Entertainment was good to excellent, even though the showman always catered to an older audience. Enrichment activities were inadequate. The ship needs at least one nationally recognized presenter per cruise. The laundry room was a disaster! Only 3 operating washer-dryers for 600+ passengers. 3 hours to wash underwear in a small hot room with guests who paid a lot of money needing to sit on the floor! Really? The bottom line is that we like cruising will not ever use Oceania. The value is overrated! Read Less

Having taken three previous excellent cruises with Oceania (on Regatta and Nautica), we jumped at the chance to book a trip to see Australia and New Zealand aboard Sirena, a so-called "sister ship." Little did we know that Sirena is apparently the ugly sister of the bunch. We booked our trip in early February, 2016, and, since our desired Penthouse level was not available, we booked a suite on level 7, and were placed on the wait list for an upgrade to a Penthouse suite (level 8) at that time. Because of serious overbooking by Oceania, we never were able to secure the upgrade, and I can forgive Oceania for that problem. What I cannot forgive them for, however, is the way the overbooking problem was handled. Numerous passengers we spoke to were offered cash rebates (we heard of one couple offered $17,000 cash plus a free trip on another Oceania cruise if they would drop off the trip; offer received while couple was in Sydney; others received lesser offers to downgrade and/or drop off trip.) I had tried on numerous occasions to obtain a portside room, figuring our previous trips with Oceania would curry some favor, but we were not allowed at any point to enter such a request. When they made a request of us to downgrade our suite, my response was quite terse: "You made your bed--now sleep in it!" This ship does not measure up to either Nautica or Regatta, either in quality of service or quality of food in the main dining areas. (The premier dining rooms [Toscana and Red Ginger] are excellent, however.) We experienced surliness on the part of a couple of waiters, and a couple also reeked of tobacco while serving us in the Grand Dining Room. Most servers were pleasant and helpful, but we've never experienced the unpleasant attitude of a handful of service personnel such as we experienced on Sirena. Since we've always previously stayed in Penthouse suites (~322 sq ft), it's hard to compare with the smaller 7th-level suites (216 sq ft). These suites seemed almost claustrophobic, leaving very little room to unpack. As one of our traveling companions noted, "where else can you sit on the toilet with your feet in the shower?" (This is not an exaggeration, by the way.) Excursions are hit-or-miss. It is strongly suggested that participants read descriptions very closely, as many excursions have similar features (particularly gardens). Entertainment is typical of a 650-passenger ship--nothing great, eminently skippable, or, if one is easily amused, a way to postpone early bedtime. There is no lack of activities on board to entertain almost anyone: trivia, bridge, table tennis, putting contests, bingo, and more (most on a daily basis). The ship is definitely oriented to a 60+ age group, and children are few and far between (there are virtually no activities oriented toward them.) Would we go again? Absolutely not, for two reasons: 1) the ship was terrible (by way of comparison) and 2) we've seen Australia & New Zealand once, which was a great experience, but once was enough. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the itinerary and we were not disappointed. The itinerary was amazing and we were successful in arranging private tours in all of the ports except 3 where Oceania had booked all the spots in the preferable tours. In those ports, we had no choice but to book with the ship and it was ridiculously expensive. The tours were great but about 4 times what we would have paid with the same tour operators if we had been able to book privately! The ship was a great size - we much prefer the smaller ships. The ship was always spotless, with crew cleaning and attending to any issues constantly. However, Oceania seriously overbooked this cruise and we were not able to reserve the cabin we originally wanted, a Concierge Veranda, even though we booked 15 months in advance of sailing! Instead we reserved a Veranda, with wait list for Concierge. We never were able to crack the wait list because Oceania had booked this particular cruise with 30 alumni groups attached to Go Next. The alumni groups did not bother us from a noise standpoint, but when the various alumni groups arranged their individual cocktail parties (usually about 4-5 groups at a time), they took over the Horizons Lounge, making it nearly impossible for the other passengers to find a seat in the lounge. One night, due to rough seas and inclement weather, we literally could not find a seat ANYWHERE on the ship to enjoy a cocktail. Alumni groups had taken over Horizons Lounge and all the other passengers were vying for a very few seats elsewhere. We were very irritated by this because we had paid for the cruise, too, but we were relegated to sitting in the sofa and chairs near the Reception Desk and walking up a level to the bar to get our drinks before dinner. We felt this was a huge mistake on Oceania's part to allow this kind of usurpation of the public areas by one group only. Once we hit better weather, these problems went away, but it was still aggravating not to be able to go to Horizons Lounge for a drink because it was occupied for most of the cruise by the alumni groups. We found the service to be excellent, with the exception of a few hiccups the first 2 nights in the dining room. Once the wait staff and sommeliers got their acts together in the dining room, things were very smooth there as far as service went. We had a favorite waiter but he was often fully subscribed (I have a feeling others wanted him as their waiter, too). However, from day 3 on, we had few service issues in the dining room at all for dinner. Food was always outstanding! We also had wonderful service in the specialty restaurants and at the Patio Grill. Even the buffet the one night we ate there was excellent. All in all, I would say that kudos are in order for the food and service. Red Ginger and Tuscan Grill were both fabulous with outstanding service and excellent food. We were disappointed to say the least in the Cruise Director, Julie. She was very nice but she was not very visible. She was the worst Cruise Director we have ever experienced on any cruise line. She was not as enthusiastic as most we have sailed with and she did not create an air of excitement. The cast shows were good and 4 of the 6 kids were very good but 2 were only mediocre. We have experienced far better on other Oceania cruises and other cruise lines, even on small ships. Where most Cruise Directors are highly visible and always mixing with the cruisers, Julie was nowhere to be seen. It just appeared to us that she was a bit tired to be in this highly energetic job. The comedian was very enjoyable, as was the guitarist, but my favorite was the pianist. He was amazing! The cabin was comfortable, although small. We were one of the couples who were given an offer we couldn't refuse to move to a lower cabin. We moved from Veranda to a cabin on deck 3 with a porthole. We were concerned that we would feel claustrophobic but that was not the case. The cabin was only about 50 SF smaller than a Veranda cabin (and that may be in the balcony), so we were fine. The bathrooms are incredibly small, as others have said. How anyone of any girth at all could fit into the shower, I do not know. But storage was great and we had no issues. Seeing as how the seas were so incredibly rough (3 nights of constant rocking and rolling with an inability to walk the halls without holding onto the rails), we would have never been able to use our veranda balcony anyway. The porthold afforded us some amazing views of the sea up close and personal when we were in the roughest of the waters. It looked like we were inside a washing machine but we were also positioned in the best spot on the ship for stability - smack dab in the middle on a lower deck. All of that rocking and rolling allowed for great sleeping! The few issues we did encounter did not spoil our vacation at all and the itinerary was worth it. The free specialty restaurants, the free water given to guests as they disembarked at each port, the ability to do our own laundry are all good perks. I wish that ice cream, pizza and cookies were available all day long instead of only until 2:00. Plus it would be nice to be able to get something light to eat late at night instead of only through room service. Some cruise lines offer all of this and it would be easy to do - Oceania should consider this as well. On this cruise, the casino and boutiques were prevented from being open while in New Zealand waters. This was a problem, as there was very little to do after dinner except the show. Many people just gave up and went to bed. Oceania should have done better research and known that this would be the case and it should have prepared some other kind of entertainment for the evening. They acted like this was a big surprise and if it was, shame on them. Nonetheless, when the boutiques were open in Australia, they were not that good, so this was a disappointment, too. But even with these few disappointments, we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and are planning to sail Oceania again. Read Less

We chose this cruise based on our satisfaction with 3 previous Oceania cruises and for this cruise's ports of call. There were high points and low points during the cruise, unfortunately with too many lows. The main problem was too much time at sea due to the 2-day crossing of the Tasman Sea plus a 3rd day that was onboard ship when it visited Milford Sound enroute to the east side of NZ. The seas were often rough, and Sirena (as one of Oceania's smaller ships) really didn't cope well with the rolling waves even once we reached the Pacific Ocean side of New Zealand. Oceania's cuisine continued to be excellent, although we couldn't enjoy several dinners as the ship was rocking and rolling. Red Ginger remains our favorite, as it was on Marina and Riviera. The Tuscan Grill is also good, but we thought the menu succeeded better with its grill selections than its Italian ones. Although we had previously cruised on the same-sized Regatta, and later cruised on Marina and Riviera at the concierge level, we found Sirena's concierge level cabin to be too small for our comfort. The small bathroom and tiny shower were especially disappointing. We also encountered a problem with air and water leakage from wind and sea spray coming into the cabin due to an improper seal around the veranda door. Some neighboring cabins also had the same problem. Internet service was free (at least for us), but it was spotty at best, and often non-existent. The problems were likely due to the ship's frequently isolated location as well as the demand from many passengers trying to access the internet at the same time. I wonder how other cruise lines deal with this issue. The best aspect of the Sirena cruise was certainly all the attentive staff who provided excellent service throughout, especially for room maintenance and restaurant service. We have been consistently impressed by service on Oceania cruises. Our main lesson learned from this cruise it that we won't be booking again on Sirena due to its small size and the cabin-related problems that we encountered. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the destination and our prior cruises with Oceana. While our cabin was good, our cabin attendant was usually no where to be found. The food was a disappointment, especially the 2 upscale restaurants. At the Tuscan Steak our steaks had to be sent back and at The Red Ginger fod was returned and service was lacking. It was a chore to get our wine bottles we had previously purchased. The entertainment was just so-so with mostly dancing and singing. The entertainers were talented but more thought should have been put into the staging. There was a comic we walked out on who was not even a little funny. Shore excursions were poor with only a couple worth the time. Way too much riding in a bus and little fun things to do. On one we rode 30+ minutes to a cheese maker who said we were cancelled and had nothing for us except we could walk around the store and purchase products. This cruise taught us not to us Oceana's shore excursions. WiFi was included in our package but was useless. If we had been paying more for it we would have wanted a refund. I don't understand why the ship can't update the wifi service. There were several large groups on the ship and it seemed the service was geared to them and not the other passengers. There were times areas would be closed for their use. This was our 10th cruise with Oceana and we are not sure if they are changing their service or if this was a one time event on this ship. Read Less

Disclaimer: This is a detailed and comprehensive review. My husband and I recently sailed on Oceania's cruise of Australia/New Zealand (9-14 April 2017) on the ship, Sirena. This was our first ocean cruise ever and to say we were impressed is an understatement. The Sirena was amazing. It apparently had been refurbished within the last year and it was very beautiful and well-equipped with several dining areas, lounges and other amenities like a pool and hot tub on an open deck, a gym with floor to ceiling views of the ocean, a library, computer room and a spa with a full range of services. I must start by commending our Oceania POCs for their help. Christopher and then Sebastian, who worked with us throughout the pre-planning stage to book our cruise, select our room and excursions, and answer my many, many questions. They were very professional, patient and helpful throughout the process and everything went smoothly thanks to their efforts. One of the things which especially impressed us was how Oceania took care of us when our flight from LA to Sydney was delayed 18 hours. We had purchased their pre-cruise package for two nights hotel in the Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney which included airport pickup upon our arrival in Sydney. When our flight was rescheduled in LA, we figured we would have to find our own way to the Shangri-La Hotel upon arrival. But, when we cleared customs, there was a limo driver, holding a sign with our names on it, waiting to take us to the hotel. We had a B1 stateroom with a veranda and we loved it. It was spacious and comfortable with a queen size mattress, couch, desk, small refrigerator stocked with soft drinks and water, lots of closet space and drawers, and a small, but surprisingly easy to maneuver in, bathroom with plenty of hot water for showers. The bed mattress and pillows were to die for. My husband and I both have back issues and the mattress seemed to make them disappear. The veranda was roomy and private with two chairs and a small table, a perfect place to sit and read, have a drink and watch the ocean. (Thanks to our Oceania consultant, we picked a room with no view obstructions, like life boats.) A big, soft robe was provided for each guest (so don't pack one) and soft slippers. Also, each room has 110 volt outlets for charging cameras, laptops, tablets, etc., so converters aren't needed. The food was amazing. There are a number of dining options – the Waves Grill for burgers, hot dogs, fries and a small salad bar, two specialty restaurants – the Tuscan Steakhouse and the Red Ginger, the Grand Dining Room, and the Terrace Cafe. While some people, dressed up, dining attire throughout the ship is business casual. However, we saw people in jeans and sometimes shorts in the dining areas and it seemed to be accepted without any issue. We tried all of the venues but found ourselves eating mostly at the Terrace Cafe for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It had great buffets with a lot of choices for all types of dining preferences. There were stations for having omelets made, grilled meats and seafood, pizza, and rich, creamy ice cream. The breakfast sticky buns were so good and hard to resist and about 2/3 of the way through the cruise I discovered at dinner they would grill a flank steak or chicken for you, as well as, lobster tail. After that, I had lobster tail every night. Each night there was a special theme – like Italian or Indian – but there were enough other choices if you preferred something other than the special theme. We did try the two specialty restaurants. The Tuscan Steakhouse was hit and miss. Some of the food was quite good but some things we did not care for. The Red Ginger, which served Asian cuisine, was fantastic. Loved everything we ate there. We also made use of the free room service a number of times. The food was good and the service prompt. My husband is an early riser and likes to have coffee and orange juice when he first gets up so he had Room Service bring him that every morning. Then, later we would head up to breakfast. At 4 pm, there was a semi-formal tea served each day with little sandwiches, desserts and tea with a classical quartet playing music. Very delicious and relaxing. Alcoholic beverages are one of the few things not included in your cruise package. You can pay by the drink or purchase a package that covers all your drinks for the duration of the cruise. The package was pricey – over $800 per person – so it might be better to pay by the drink depending on how much you would drink over a two week period. We did not make much use of the various lounges and the bar area preferring our room and veranda but there seem to be a lot of people who did. There was shipboard entertainment but nothing that enticed us although others found it enjoyable. I did attend two afternoon lectures on days at sea which were quite interesting. The library was well stocked with books and you could choose any book and take it your room. When we booked the cruise, our package included free wireless, pre-paid gratuities, and five free shore excursions each. The choice of free excursions is limited to basic excursions. But, there are higher level excursion categories, such as, Oceania Choice, Oceania Exclusive, Artist Loft, Culinary Discovery, and Food and Wine Trails – all for a higher price. We signed up for Scenic Villages of the Sapphire Coast, Countryside Victoria, Devils and Roos, Fox II Nature Sail, and Nelson Sightseeing. I added one Oceania Choice excursion, Nature's Wonders Wildlife Safari, as well. We were very disappointed with the Countryside Victoria and Nelson Sightseeing excursions – not worth the time. Devils and Roos was to a wildlife park which was basically a family run zoo but the tasmanian devils and the kangaroos, which you could get close to and pet, were worth the excursion. The Fox II Nature Sail was nice, except for the annoying music played by the boat captain, but we were able to see the world's smallest dolphins, Hector's, and little blue penguins which made the trip worthwhile. And the Nature's Wonders trip was fantastic – the beautiful New Zealand coast line, the little blue penguins, baby seals and ATV ride were well worth the price. We think it would have been nice to have some excursions geared to specialty groups (other than food and wine) such as golfing or birding. We ended up booking our own golfing and birding excursions ahead of time which worked out well but you have to be careful to make sure you make it back on board the ship before it departs. Boat departure time and the last shuttle bus or tender back to the ship is always posted as you leave the ship. If you miss the ship, you have to find your own way to the next port of call. The crew and staff on the boat were ALWAYS friendly, courteous and helpful. Even when you met a staff member in the hall, there was always a “hello” or “have a nice day”. Staff in the Terrace Cafe, which was a buffet, would quickly come to your aid when you were holding a plate or two and trying to navigate back to a table, especially in heavy seas. Room cleaning was done each morning and in the evening there was a turn down service with chocolates on the bed. Every evening we received an information sheet describing the next port of call, or if at sea, a schedule of onboard events, such as lectures and entertainment. Oceania should be commended for how efficiently they got people on and off the ship for embarkation, debarkation and for all the shore excursions. Everything was so efficiently organized with well placed signage and staff nearby to guide guests through the process. We were never confused or uncertain where to go, what shuttle to get on, where to wait, etc. Additionally, we never had to stand in long queues for our excursions. We just sat in the lounge area until our bus number was called and off we went. Getting on and off tender boats was easy with plenty of staff to help those who needed it. Couple of things we didn't like: 1) TV reception was good but limited. Basically, we had several American news channels – MSNBC, CNN, Fox News and I think, BBC – that were usually broadcasts from the previous day. There was one channel that seemed to show older episodes of American shows and three movie channels. There was a schedule in the room for the movies shown for the entire trip but it wasn't always accurate and there were few movies we recognized. Many seem to be lesser known and independent films. Still, we did find something to watch in the evenings and a few that were extremely good movies. 2) Wireless was available in the room and throughout the ship. However, it was often difficult to get and stay connected. And, for each room, there was only one wireless account so only one person in a two person room could be connected at the same time. This was sometimes annoying but we were able to work things out by taking turns. 3) We wish we had longer time at some of the ports of call but we realize that would make the cruise longer by a few days. That would have been okay with us! Except for the few things mentioned above, we LOVED this cruise, the Sirena, its staff and crew, the ports of call, the food and service, and the whole cruising experience. Oceania advertises that it provides luxury cruising and we certainly felt that it delivered. We can't wait to try another Oceania cruise in the future. Read Less

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Everything (ship, staff, food, itinerary) was fantastic, just as we've come to expect from Oceania, except for their tour management. The tour write-ups posted on-line based on which we made tour reservations were frequently very different from the description provided in the blue book and onboard and from the contents of the actual tour. We showed one guide what had been posted and he said "we've never done that". Apparently Oceania never had the posted write-ups reviewed or approved by the end vendor and does not hold them to these descriptions. Several tours were canceled last minute "Due to low participation". OK, they couldn't fill the bus (or boat, or whatever). But to cancel the tour I contracted with them months before at the last minute left me with the option of booking a tour I was not interested in or, possibly, a good one with a much higher cost. They make enough on these tours to subsidize the vendor and run the tour even with a half empty bus. And if they can't do that, they should discount my purchase of any alternative I select - they broke the contract and they expect me to suffer the consequences. On the positive side the crew was fantastic. United Airlines lost our luggage for 8 days, finally delivering it to the ship in Carins. The Executive Concierge took over working with them to find and deliver it, keeping us informed at all times, and the laundry washed our meager set of carry-on clothes every night for free ... in by 11pm and back by 7am. Bar tender knew what we drank and brought it to us every evening without us even ordering (although we did wave him down one night when we wanted something different). We ran into our favorite waiter in the Sydney airport (he was getting some well deserved time back home) and he ran over and hugged my wife we'd become such good friends. Read Less

Small ship had advantages and disadvantages: in rough seas the motion is much more of a problem and we had some very rough seas. Another advantage is that smaller ship can dock much closer to towns than larger ones: unfortunately, this was not the case and we were shunted to ports much further than I expected. Cabins are incredibly small and they look large compared to the bathrooms. Again, the advantages of the small ship failed to make up for the small cabins: much larger on Marina size ship. Food was great but after a while menus became repetitive. Staff was terrific and everyone could not have been nicer. Tuscan Grill was our favorite but that is a personal choice. Most ports were great but could have done with overnight in Hobart and Melbourne even though that would have required us to miss either Eden or Broome. Shore excursions in New Guinea were confused to say the least: buses not on time and tour rushed due to same but great visit with villagers. Wine available on ship was overpriced and ended up buying wine in town and paying $25.00 corkage. Would travel with Oceania again but only on two larger ships. Read Less

This was our fifth cruise with this line and we were in the minority. Most passengers we met had enjoyed many, many more. Service is attentive. Our circumnavigation of Australia provided us with diversity in choice of ports. We appreciated the shuttle buses to the city centres. Unlike other cruise lines we have used, Oceania has a nice bistro where you can get speciality coffees and not have to swipe your card-a pleasant experience, and the place was always busy. There are nice sofas and chairs for your comfort. You don't have to buy bottled water or soft drinks, either. I hate the hard sell of other lines for soft drinks and coffee. The negative is the tiny bathroom with the tiny shower for tiny people, They don't appear to have been updated since Sirena's inclusion. Oceania's shore excursions are expensive. It does, however, provide information to go it alone and a local representative was available at the gangway. The lectures we attended were very interesting. Not sure yet when we will cruise again but, depending on the itinerary, it will be wih Oceania. You can't beat their beds and pillows for comfort-slept like a baby. Read Less

We chose the cruise around Australia because of the itinerary. We loved this ship, which is the same as the three other smaller Oceania vessels. The entertainment was good to excellent, using Aussie talent as we cruised around the continent. Dining was wonderful, as usual, with excellent food in the Grand Dining Room as well as the specialty restaurants. We used private tours, so I cannot comment on the ship tours, but we heard positive responses from other travelers about them. Embarkation was slow, but this was the fault of Australia, not Oceania. We had a "A" cabin, which I would substitute for a "B" cabin next time on the smaller ships of Oceania because there was nothing special about being in concierge versus a balcony cabin. Cabins are small but nicely appointed and our cabin attendants couldn't have been any better. The staff is well trained and professionally friendly. We enjoyed the specialty restaurants, especially Red Ginger. I miss Toscana, which was merged with Polo to form the Tuscan Grill. It was successful as a meat and seafood venue, but I missed the pasta of the day and emphasis on Italian food that Toscana offers on the other ships. However, other travelers loved the blended restaurant, so it's a matter of taste. We were able to book extra times in Red Ginger, being flexible and willing to share tables with other passengers. Be aware that there are no facilities for children and we've seen very few on Oceania. The typical passenger is older, well traveled, and looking for new ports and adventures. We are longterm Oceania travelers and were very satisfied with our trip. We've already booked our next adventure. Read Less

Wonderful cruise on a nicely remodeled ship. This was our 28th Oceania cruise and we cruised in an owners suite. The suite is totally remodeled - it now has two rooms with a separating door. Great for room service breakfast. Our butler brought breakfast each day without disturbing us. Outstanding closet space and six foot wide shower.The itinerary was fantastic!! All suites now have showers - no more tub/shower combos. Having Red Ginger and Tuscan steak as the two specialty restaurants was really wonderful. We ate 28 of our 34 dinners in one of the two specialty restaurants. The other 6 were in the terrace cafe. Jacques (at lunch) needs a total revamping of their menu. Oceania needs to make the GDR (Grand Dining Room) more like the original menu with just a few specialty dishes from Jacques. The new concept does not work for us - and stopped us from eating lunch in the GDR. This used to be one of our favorites. We also enjoyed the "Smile" string quartet very much - and listened to them almost every evening. Read Less