Marina Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Excellent cruise with famous food and services , even that we miss a port that we want to see Edinburgh  Scotland . and a rainy and windy day in Newcastle.

but over all we enjoy the cruise and the excellent service of Oceania staffs.

We will come back for another cruise and recommend Oceania for our friends.

The itinerary and the excursions that we selected.  

Also enjoyed the specialty restaurants and booked a paid wine pairing dinner..A fabulous experience with assigned  dinner  guests

The best part was the food.

Although having only one choice for eating after 2:00 pm in the daytime until dinner was not ideal. If you were on an excursion and returned in the late afternoon, your only option for food, other than room service, is a sandwich/salad station.

Our best experience on board was with the on board Culinary Chef and his class, it was outstanding.

They need to give you port information concerning weather etc the night before you dock so you can prepare for the day. Telling you the morning of your arrival is not really helpful.

For the hype given this cruise line, we found the level of service overall to be  unimpressive.

Oceania claims to provide a higher level of service, but unfortunately we did not find this to be the case.  We had a lovely time but Oceania could definitely work on improving their excursions and entertainment.  The ports were good but for the extra money, the level of service should be higher. 

It just seemed that everything was a level below our last cruise on Riviera. Started with being given incorrect pier information (and had to walk to correct one pier). When this information was shared with appropriate folks, there was no apology and wonderment about what they were supposed to do with this information. Many of the more administrative types (concierge, reception, etc) were younger and seemed to not quite understand what good customer service looks like. Food was not quite as good and the dinning room staff seemed to be out of sync. Food portions in the special restaurants seemed skimpy. Ordering a simple cocktail often took three conversations with wait staff and then took a long time to get the drink. Entertainment not as good. Shower handle broke off from the wall and took two days to fix. Lots of little things that made us question whether we really got what we paid for. Will consider another cruise line before going back on Oceania

The Marina was a beautiful ship and our room was spacious and comfortable. We loved having both a bathtub and a seperate shower. There was plenty of storage in our room to unpack our 4 suitcases since we were to be gone 3 weeks. We loved our Veranda especially cruising through the fjords in Norway.  The food was better than other cruise lines we've been on and enjoyed the specialty restaurants.  It was an added bonus to have bottled water and sodas always stocked and available in our refrigerator at no charge.

Unfortuately when we boarded we were told our room would be available in 10 minutes, 21/2 hours later we were able to get into our room. I would not recommend signing up and spending any money out of pocket for tours through Oceania. They same tour was not consistent on the three buses used. We did "Paris on our own" through Oceania. Our bus driver neglected to gas up the bus the night before so we had to stop (which took 30 minutes), then she got lost once we were in Paris so we wasted time driving around in circles for almost 30 minutes, the guide jumped off the bus & ran to another bus to ask where they were supposed to park and drop us off. Our guide never spoke to us about the country or the history of Paris. All the other tours gave us history where we were going. The drive was supposed to take 2 hrs & it took us 4.15 hrs to get to Paris. We were only to have 4 hrs once there but because of getting gas, the driver getting lost and traffic we only had 2.15 hrs in Paris. We were dropped off at a different location so we allowed an extra 15 minutes to find where we needed to get to since we were unsure. Another tour in Kristisnsand by land & sea was a partial waste as well. There were 4 buses for the tour. 2 went directly to Lilisand to explore, shop/or eat first before the boat ride and then 2 buses went and took the boat ride first before going to Lilisand. We were on a bus that took us to the boat first ( boat ride was nice) before going to Lilisand. By the time we arrived in Lilisand it was 4:45 PM. Our guide neglected to share with us that all stores closed at 5 PM. So by the time we went the bathroom and walked to the stores to browse they were closing.  When speaking to Oceania about the Paris fiasco & a complete waste of money and our time. We asked for a refund since we spent 8 hrs driving for 2.30 minutes in the city not what was advertised & they denied it.  We could have enjoyed the ship then could have cared less.so much better to book tours on your own. This is a good ship if you just want it to be your place to sleep and eat. Not much else on board. I would think twice before spending the money for an Oceania cruise except that it went everywhere we wanted to go.

We were able to upgrade to the concierge level veranda stateroom which made our cruise fabulous.  The concierge was a great help with our tour plans and being able to use the concierge lounge was very enjoyable.  We loved the specialty restaurants but also enjoyed the main dining room.  The service was excellent everywhere on the ship.  

Of course Oceania is known for the best cuisine at sea and this was no exception - absolutely superb.  The North Atlantic can be a bit rough in early Spring, and our sailing was no exception - rough but Marina handled it beautifully

Definitely recommend to others.  Staff, service,  and ports were excellent. What more can we say...we love transatlantic voyages.  There is a lot to do on board.  Country fair, afternoon tea, bingo etc. 

Was extremely disappointed as this was advertised as a luxury cruise.  Have been on Princess and was treated much better. Our flight from LA to New York and then from New York to Lima was horrible. We got into Lima at 6:30 AM and were exhausted. This exhaustion carried out through the cruise as excursions were scheduled for early in the mornings which meant we had to get up early to dress and get breakfast.  Service was poor on board ship; most of the crew acted like they were bored.  Food at the buffet was poor; had a hard time finding something to eat.  We ate dinner and some breakfasts in the Grand Dining Room which was good.  The four specialty restaurants were good.  Used the spa one time and felt pressured to use their consultation services.  The evening entertainment in the Marina lounge we attended was good.

First of all, the Pitcairn Island was not advertised as an on board experience until after we had paid in full for the cruise.  (which added 4 sea days to the cruise) Then to add insult to injury, Oceania aired a documentary the day AFTER we bought items from the residents to learn that 6 convicted Felons were among the descendants living there! Wow, amazing we were supporting criminals thanks to Oceania.  THEN, the ONLY TOUR and the MAIN REASON we booked was Easter Island which had bad weather on the 22nd.  We circled the island to see if the Owners Suite (of course) could possibly get to their private tour from the other side, then circled it AGAIN.  The Captain then just started sailing to Lima!  We didn't even wait the next scheduled day to see IF the weather would clear. So this fiasco added another 6 days of staying on the ship!  Total 10 days out of 18 we were trapped with crew who mentioned THEY were glad to get to Lima early so THEY could get 'good internet, have a free day to shop and call home!  Seriously, and WHO was paying for this benefit?  The last and extremely disappointing thing was how Oceania dumped all the passengers that had late flights on the 28th (reservations were made by Oceania) at a Marriott hospitality room with no food, coffee cups with no coffee, no chairs and we had to drag our luggage up and down the elevator.  (Our flight was after midnight on the 29th, which meant we had a 17 hr layover, some guests had a 22 hr layover!!!!) Again all because Oceania wanted to fill the ship again.  Out of sight, out of mind!  Well, we HAD already booked another 23 day cruise, but are SERIOUSLY considering canceling our $44,000+ payment just because of this current cruise experience. Oh, and by the way, we were told several times to enjoy the fine dining while we were at sea.  WE DO NOT BOOK FOR FINE DINING, WE BOOK FOR THE ITINERARY!!! For $26,000 we could have dined in 5 star restaurants for a year!  Oh, and Destination Services blamed this on our AGENT!.........That was the last straw! 

We travel take Oceania cruises whenever we can,15 of our 40 times so far.  We believe thier food is the best at sea and that their service is near the top as well.  This is based on discussions with other experienced cruisers as well as our own experience.  The only problem is that an occasional excursion is below minimum expectations and that most are overpriced but this seems to be normal for cruise excursions in general.

Over all the cruise was OK. The food was very good and had a good variety. The bands, piano player and stringed group were very good. The staff was great. Service was great. The production shows, solo singers and magician were not up to par. Cooking classes were very good as well as the wine pairing seminars. The casino was just OK. 3 to 4 machines were out of service and 3 to 4 continually broke down, but the casino staff were very helpful in all areas. For the most part, docking was in the harbor and we had to be tendered to shore. When docked, the docks were working docks, filled with containers, etc. We were able to take 5 of the 6 shore tours booked. Norfolk Island was canceled due to rough seas. The tours were for the most part, way over valued (expensive). 3 of the 5 tours did not meet advertised expectations, one of which was so bad, they should give us all our money back.

- Moorea Island Highlights - Just OK. Hard to understand the tour guide

- Le Truck Island tour - Bad - should not be called a tour. didn't see much, very few views, couldn't understand the guide

- Pago Pago Eastside and Downtown - Terrible, terrible, terrible. No views, stopped at family craft spot, visited a beach that was nothing but a coral wading area where several people were cut and no entertainment as advertised. Should get our money back.

- Nadi Sightseeing - Good tour, nice views and good stops, good tour guide

- City Sights and harbor cruise - Good tour. Great views of all aspects of the harbor and a very informative bus tour of the city with good stops along the way. Good tour guide.

The itinerary was outstanding.  But somehow I expected more.  After about 20 hours total travel time, we arrived in Papeete and were boarded promptly.  We were on a Oceania chartered flight by Air Tahiti Nui.  We arrived at 10 PM to find that all of the restaurants and buffets were closed.  Here it is the first day of the cruise and you board 200 older clients and you have no food except room service.  Room service was soon swamped making it slow.  Very poor planning Oceania.

If you are concierge class or above, don't expect any special treatment from Oceania.  The Executive and Concierge Suites were okay.  I expected a special venue for breakfast and lunch for concierge class, but there was none.  The rooms are nicer, but that's about all you get.

Great cruise on Oceania. We went from Cape Town to Rio in Nov/Dec of 2015. Added on the free pre-cruise 3 night stay in Cape Town which was a great value!

The cruise met all of our expectations. The ship was very nice, there was plenty to do and the stops were interesting. It helped that the water was glassy smooth all the way across the Atlantic. The specialty restaurants on the ship were outstanding and the main dining room food and buffet food were as good as that on any other cruise we have taken. All in all, a very good value and a great cruise.

This was our 3rd Oceania cruise--what happened to this once wonderful cruise line?  Excursions were not as described: 2 hours shorter than stated; one excursion served food that was QUICKLY COVERED by flies!!!  Free internet was a total joke.  One was fortunate to get online 15 minutes during a 24 hour period.  Food & food staff, as always, was absolutely wonderful.  But otherwise---not such a great value per dollar!  Consider carefully when choosing this cruise line!!

Most enjoyable! The Marina is one of our favorites. The Oceania suites are very comfortable. Enjoy the Ships Art collection. It is beautiful. The French  restaurant on this cruise was outstanding!

This was an excellent cruise with food and service highlighting as always. However there were itinerary problems;

1. No sea days, but we knew that going in

2. Oceania scheduled port calls in Rome and Florence at inopportune times. Rome on Sunday when the Vatican Museum was closed and Florence on Monday when museums were closed

3. Oceania/Marina continued a troubling pattern of changing port calls on the fly. Instead of Tendering at Taormina they docked at Messina. Instead of tendering at Sorrento, they docked at Naples. Their explantation was that seas were too rough to tender safely.  It was simply not the case and these changes disrupoted plans for independent tours at those ports.

We had a great time on the Oceania, Marina.  This was our second cruise on the Marina last year we did a 7 day cruise Rome to Barcelona.  We enjoyed that cruise so much that we did a 10 day Rome to Venice.  I would rate the Oceania Marina  AAA+++ food an staff were great. 

We were on the Marina which is a lovely ship it was sold out but never feels crowded in the public areas.  Service is always first rate and the food very good.

My only complaint is the excursions, they are sometimes wonderful and sometimes the worst, and very pricey.