Marina Cruise Reviews - Reviews

I did not particularly like the ship and encountered quite a few problems.  Most of the staff were good but had 5 rude employees.  There is not much to do on some of the stop.  I prefer to go on a cruise with alcohol included.  It felt as if they nickel ed and dime you the whole trip.  $1 for laundry.   Why not just up all fares by $1.  A bit ridiculous.  The tours and transportation were a ridiculous cost.  We hired private drivers and it was 1/4 cost of their tours.  Overall not so good for me.

We chose this cruise as a way to see many ports that we had not visited, but in particular, Easter Island, Lima (Peru), Belfast and Dublin.  We were not disappointed in the itinerary.  As we have sailed on Oceania many times, we anticipated that the service would be friendly and efficient and the food terrific.  Once again, Oceania came through with a great cruise experience.

The itinerary was wonderful and the Marina is a beautiful ship. We had a Penthouse Suite and it was very roomy and comfortable. There was more than enough storage space for our belongings. Our butler was attentive and the appetizers offered were very nice. Unfortunately, we didn't order the appetizers very often as they were served after 5PM and we wanted to enjoy Happy Hour from 5 to 6.

We arrived in Papeete by ferry from Moorea along with quite a few other passengers. The Marina was very close, but it was extremely difficult trying to get our luggage down the road from the ferry dock to the ship. The road was so rough our bags would not roll. It was also very hot. We had two in our group who have difficulty walking and it was almost impossible for them to roll their bags. It would have been nice if the ship's crew would have met the ferry with a luggage cart to assist us. It would not have taken long and it would have made the embarkation process so much better.

We did have a negative experience in the Grand Dining Room. Perhaps our expectations were too high, but the food and service in the GDR was spotty. The first time we visited, the waiter originally brought me the wrong entrée and the maître d' spent way too much time trying to assign blame. Our companion ordered the broccoli slaw and when it was served, there was no broccoli to be seen. They then brought a dish covered in broccoli and the maître d' seemed sarcastic when he said he had personally added the broccoli. Our companions ordered a fish dish that was cold when served. Our second try was much better, with excellent service and food. At our third and final visit, we found the service acceptable, but the food mediocre and fairly bland.

The service and food in Toscana was superb. Maria, the maître d', Vincent, the assistant maître d', Max our waiter, and Alexandra, the sommelier, all made us feel special and welcome. We wanted to try everything on the menu and everything we did try was wonderful both in presentation and taste.

We ate several times in the Veranda Café for dinner. Although I am not too fond of buffets, we found the atmosphere and the food superior to the GDR. It was rarely crowded and there was a large selection of food available and the food was delicious and either hot or cold as appropriate.

We ate in the other specialty dining rooms and found them to be very good. We did feel that since we had booked a penthouse suite, we should have had more opportunity to eat in the specialty dining rooms. We were given four reservations. It would have been nice to have the opportunity to eat in each restaurant twice at least.

Oceania should have been more honest about the stop at Pitcairn Island. It obviously was not a good place to go ashore and the alternative of having the islanders come on the Marina was a good one. It should have been advertised as such, not giving an excuse three weeks ahead that bad weather precluded us going ashore.

Kudos to the Captain for finding an alternative tender site on Easter Island when the swells made it too dangerous at Hanga Roa. The tender staff were excellent in making sure everyone transferred to and from the tenders safely. The tender ticket system was terrible and the Destination Services staff allowed themselves to get very frustrated as the passengers became very frustrated. Again, on other ships, if we were in a suite or above, we had a chance to get tender tickets without waiting in the lounge with the other 1200 people. At Easter Island, I was in line 45 minutes before the tickets were to be given out. By the time I got our tickets, we were in the second to last group before open tickets.  Some people were getting 50+ tickets! The second day wasn't any better. When I asked the schedule for the colors so we could anticipate when our group would be called, the staff member said I didn't need to know that. I later asked another staff who disclosed the color before ours so our group of 4 knew when we could proceed to the elevator as we had 2 people who have difficulty with stairs.

The disembarkation in Lima was very difficult. It seemed like everyone wanted to get off at the same time and the shuttles could not cope with the number of people. There was a very long line and it seems like there has to be a better way to control the crowds and make the process less stressful.

Our negative comments are presented with the idea to improve service on the ship. All in all, however, it was a wonderful cruise and the crew and ship were excellent.

The ship was beautiful and easy to navigate. Really enjoyed the bathtub and liked the easy to walk in front of people in the Marina Lounge.

We upgraded tp consierge class and did not see any difference for the $

ok ......................

With this being our first cruise with Oceania, we were impressed. Except for the limited space for late night entertainment, the cruise was the best of three we have taken. The dining experience was excellent, especially at the Terrace. The casino had limited slots and somewhat outdated. Overall....an enjoyable cruise.

beautiful, modern ship - luxurious marble bathroom -

Everything on this ship was superb with the exception of the entertainment - that was adequate at best.

Very impressive ship- opulent and stately

The Oceania Marina is a beautiful ship with a great deal of comfort inlcuding a very accomodating staff. The beds could not have been more comfortable and the staterooms were very sutibable for a luxury ship. The "Enchanbting Rivieras" intinerary was our reason for taking this cruise and we were not disappointed. However, these locations would have been more comfortable in late October or early November. The heat was a downer, but we chose to go during August-Sept. which was the only choice for this exact itinerary of which we were aware. Overall, there was way too much "hoopla" about the cuisine, which lead to disappointment except for the new Oceania offering of "Red Ginger."

Loved the itinerary. The pre-cruise excursion to Iguazu Falls was amazing and so glad we went. Antarctica exceeded expectations, absolute beautiful. Very disappointed in our experience on the MARINA. We sailed on Oceania Insignia in 2019 on an Around the World cruise and expected similar service and amenities on this voyage. Staff on MARINA seemed more focused on making sure they were right instead of “making it right”.

Jerusalem was a huge disappointment with monster crowds at the Christian sites as well as horrible traffic throughout the excursion. Barcelona, Malta, Ephesus, Istanbul, and Athens made it a worthwhile trip.

Fantastic ship and cruise - will be traveling again on Marina

We enjoyed very much this cruise. Río de Janeiro, Punta del Este, Montevideo and Buenos Aires are exceptional. The rest of the islands are NOT worth seeing. we could have stayed in the ship because it was wonderful.

Need more sea days instead of those ugly ports , we just ratter stay in ship another sea day

We also enjoyed the "day at sea" which came in the middle of the voyage. Allowed us to leasurely enjoy the ship. By the way, we were only on the ship for the 1st 7 days. We got off in Rome. Did not know there was also a 14-day cruise.

This was a trip of a life time! Oceania chose the best itinerary (although planning during Jewish holidays was probably not the best timing) to see the best of Italy, Greece, Israel, and Cyprus. Cruising on Oceania is a dream. The food is the best you can find on a ship, the comforts are of high standards, as is the service. The only thing I would improve is the scheduling of the flights. They should have arrived a little earlier to we didn't have to stress getting to the ship, as the port is over an hour away. Other than that...thank you Oceania. It was a dream come true!

We loved the food and service and the Mediterranean itinerary. The only negative was the internet connections. You were routinely thrown off and we couldn’t even load our small local newspaper. Even getting our email was an arduous process.

Oceania has gone downhill in customer experience. Marina management is horrible! We had been on the sister ship Riviera a few years back and the service and attention to detail were excellent, because of that experience we decided to book on the sister ship Marina. Riviera's experience made us want to come back, however, the Marina experience was horrendous and will make us choose other higher-end cruise lines as opposed to returning to Oceania. First, we opted for a Penthouse with butler service. Per Oceania, this included helping with unpacking and packing, laundry services, in-room dining and other amenities. There is no way they could even deliver on the unpacking promise as our butler didn't even introduce himself to us. We finally met our Butler on the second evening when we tried to contact him to get some glasses for wine. (on the Riviera the staff made an effort to introduce themselves to us, not the other way around) After several attempts, he finally responded and came and introduced himself, and let us know that he had many cabins to take care of and one guest suite that had paid "a lot of money" and was being very demanding and taking up all his time. I told him we wouldn't be using any of the butler services but only had one request, that he makes sure that two fresh wine glasses and two fresh champaign flutes be placed in our room every day (that was our only request!). He left and brought some in... we never saw him or fresh glasses per our request again, until the last night when he came in to ask about our experience and asking for a good survey. Are you kidding me? I asked. I soon realized this wasn't an isolated incident, rather than helping guests most staff just sat around chit-chatting with each other while guest needs went ignored. This ship can't have that many bad employees, this ship has bad management that doesn't pay attention! Management too just stands around chit-chatting while guests have open conversations around them about the horrible service, I witnessed several of these occasions and not once did management engage with these clients. You have to find people if you want any service (with exception of Grand Dining and Toscana). As for using a Som... good luck number one, they are not knowledgeable and number two they will pour your first glass and good luck in finding them after that. Everyone has some bad employees, but this isn't about bad employees this is about bad management that sees guests having bad experiences and instead of engaging and correcting the issue they turn their heads and ignore the issues. It's as if the guests are coming into their home and interrupting their fun. Rivieria service made me come back, Marina service lost me forever!