Beautiful ship, rooms were great. Based on info from friends and the fare we paid, we had high expectations that were not close to being met. Buffet restaurant was too crowded. Bakery items looked good but tasted mediocre. Service was inconsistent, as were updates from the crew. Food, even in the Specialty restaurants was of uneven quality. Coffee quality was excellent at Barista's and of lesser quality elsewhere. The wine by the glass selection was average in quality. It was nice though to utilize a corkage fee so we could occasionally enjoy good wine for a reasonable price.
Excursions run by Oceania are overpriced.
The "free WIFI" was a joke. Only one device allowed online at a time and it was painstakingly difficult to "toggle" back and forth between devices (and no instructions were given on how to do this). Get serious and allow TWO DEVICES PER CABIN!
We were also promised Oceania-labeled tote bags, but we were told they didn't make it to the cruise on time.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
No issues, very smooth.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Buffet: pastries, pancakes, waffles looked great but tasted average. Overcrowded during main meal times, not set up efficiently.
Specialty restaurants: Hit & miss. Highlight was Red Ginger for presentation and tasty appetizers.
Wine quality was mediocre - they can spend the same per bottle & get better quality if they tried. Mixed drinks were weak and inconsistently prepared.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Fitness center was adequate. Too many activities like Bingo & Trivia. More activities for active people would be a start.
Prior to each port visit, there should be a brief presentation made by the someone on what sights are good to see, recommendations on foods to try,
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Shows were OK, music was generally good. Comic was ok first night, not so much the next. There was not enough information on the guest speaker program.
Children's Programs
No kids.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
The room steward was friendly, excellent at his job, kept the room looking great & friendly. Most waiters were helpful & friendly, but a couple of them spoiled some dinner experiences. Similar inconsistency with bar servers.
Only tried room service once. The omelette was missing and the coffee was not good. There should have been a place on the card to order espresso or cappuccino.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Well maintained generally very clean. There were helpful, simple-looking maps in various places.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Just about the right size, adequate drawer space, and the bathroom was a decent size & well thought out. But, we were not informed that this room is directly across from the staff pantry door, so beginning every morning around 6am, there was a lot of noise created by the staff in this area.
Ship tip
Ask for things that aren't on the menu (i.e. "fresh squeezed orange juice")
Captain did not inform us until very late (only after word spread amongst passengers who had talked with him at a small event) that this port stop would not happen due to the threat of strikes. Very poorly handled.
Also cancelled for same reason. But the strikes never happened. It seemed presumptuous of them to cancel two ports at once. By the time we passed Porto, it was apparent based on news reports that the strikes weren't going to happen.
With traffic, the town of Bordeaux is a 2 hour drive away! If Oceania is going to park the boat that far away, they need to provide free shuttle service into town. Unacceptable.
We arranged for our own excursion for much less than Oceania's and it went fine, but to see the beautiful town of Bordeaux, it requires 4+ hours in a bus, which is too much. There has to be a port that is closer than Le Verdon.
The worst I could imagine. No good information given by the crew via announcements. Hundreds of people formed a line to the expected customs area, and for 40 minutes there was no information from the crew on the status of the Customs people showing up. Very disorganized. Unreal.
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