I will not sail with Oceania, again. They market perks which they don't deliver and came away from this trip feeling as if Oceania does not welcome single travelers. I wrote to Oceania and their response was not friendly or customer focus. Oceania appeared to be living on old glory based on an outdated brand.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
I arrived in Tahiti early morning and soon after rode the bus to the ship. I spend the morning in Horizons while room was prepared.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
After awhile the food was boring and did not changed much. The main dining room did not seem any better.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
I was surprised how filthy the gym was throughout the route; sweat stains on the floor, dust everywhere. Looked as if it had not been cleaned in a long while.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
It appeared this ship was operating with the bare minimum number of crew members. Some crew members were helpful, cheerful while others appeared tired and short in patience. In some cases, dishes/silverware were not clean, still with stain from previous users, and in some case bread was stale and hard as a rock.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The upkeep of the ship was visibly missing/lacking.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The cabin is one of my favorite size and layout, I loved it. Cleaning was poor and often my cabin was done late in the afternoon and a couple of times I sat on the balcony waiting for the crew to finish after being out of the cabin the entire morning and part of the afternoon. When asking crew to resupply my cabin, they did not follow up.
Ship tip
This is an old ship with very few conveniences e.g., technology. Electrical plugs are only found in the cabin to charge phones/iPad and passengers are not allow to leave devices charging unattended due to fire hazards. The ship has breakdowns which may impact the selected route. Passengers who started the route in San Diego spent 10 days in Hawaii because the ship broke down; they were given $500 onboard credit per cabin. DON'T BUY EXCURSION THROUGH OCEANIA, BUY THEM AT EACH PORT; THEY ARE MUCH CHEAPER AND MORE FUN.
I joined other passengers and went on a diving excursion which I purchased on the pier. We spent time with 3 young islanders who made the experience once to remember for a long time. They took us to best places: feed the sharks, hold stingrays, coral garden, along the lagoon. They were flexible and allowed for everyone to enjoy and relax the time. They were great singers also. Passengers who did the same excursion through Oceania complaint about their experience; rushed and missed most of the places we anchored.
The best part of this port was visiting the Robert Louise Stevenson mansion; it was beautiful. Again, the weather did not cooperate with this excursion. There is not much to see in town either.
This is a highly busy port and traffic is a nightmare. I went to see the fire walkers and in the way I learned a lot about the history about the island and was surprised to see pine trees in a tropical island. I was not expecting to see so many cows around the island.
We were fortunate to disembark, the island is beautiful and full of history. Everywhere in the island, the island offered amazing views, so many places for beautiful pictures. The return to the ship was not easy; the waves were high and wind strong. This island is dangerous to disembark/embark, tender services was stopped for about 3 hours due to the sea conditions.
These are 140 islands and words don't describe how beautiful this area is. The island are easy to move around. I highly recommend to skip the excursions to Russell via Oceania, the ferry is cheaper and very efficient. Also, skip the lunch cruise around the island, it is not worth it, wasted money.
Because my flight to the US was after 3PM, I spend the morning visiting various sites around the city, It was a wonderful opportunity to go around the city and spend time at the museum, gardens and other wonderful sites.
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