There was so much right and wrong about the cruise. When you can't use the toilet in your cabin and they can't get your wife's food correct, it spoils the whole cruise experience. Our previous experience on the Oceania Marina was entirely different.
My final word for Oceania is this. Viking Ocean cruises is coming for you with a fleet a brand new ships and a base cabin that is better than this ship's veranda cabin. The days with you can compete with an outdated ship and an inferior cabin (bathroom) design ARE NUMBERED. The word is going to get out.
A 'luxury cruiseline'. Not on this ship.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Lima is the worst embarkation experience ever. Our transfer dropped us off a Oceania pickup point filled with hucksters trying to help us with our bags. We were lucky when we got on the Oceania coach to take us to the ship. There were only two of us. The competition with shipping trucks was chaos. The backup for the port security guard to check our passport and sift through disorganized paperwork to find our name took and inordinate amount of time. Imagine the later coaches FILLED with passenger. The back up was horrible.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
1 out of 5
My wife has special dietary restrictions. It took a third of the cruise before the came close to meeting her needs.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The little Ukrainian string quartet was marvelous, if a little thin skinned.
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
Ship Quality
1 out of 5
The ship is tired and outdated.
Cabin / Stateroom
1 out of 5
It is a design that I previously encountered on Azamara. We had a 'Deluxe' Ocean View cabin. The bathroom design was horrible. I am a short person 5'5". I could not sit on the toilet; it was too close to the wall. I and many others competed to use public toilets. The shower was small with a clinging shower curtain. If Oceania had provided an accurate room schematic on their website (there was none), I would have recognized this wretch ship design from my previous Azamara experience and would not have booked this cruise.
We went on the Basic City Tour Excursion in Iquique in the Atacama Desert. Oceania put 25 elderly passengers coming from winter in North America on an UNAIRCONDITIONED bus with temps in the high 80s. By the time we got to town, I was soaked with sweat. I told the tour guide he needed to get the bus fixed. We did a walk around and a tour of a museum and palace. When we met up with the bus, it was not fixed. I bailed on the excursion and walked back to take the shuttle back to the ship. I complained at the excursion desk. After a non-committal initial response, Oceania sent a second written reply giving us a 25% refund. HOW GENEROUS, he said facetiously.
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