Caribbean Pearls- Oceania Marina-Feb 2012

[MemberErik]

First Impressions
As we exited the gangway, we were greeted by the “General Manager” of Marina, as I understand it, roughly the equivalent of the Hotel Manager on Crystal. We entered on the 6th floor and were able to immediately look down at the beautiful Grand Staircase which is made of wrought iron and Lalique crystal there are also 2 glass elevators.
Marina has a much more residential feel to it than the Crystal ships, there are original paintings and sculpture everywhere and they are actually quite interesting, i.e. they weren’t just purchased to match the décor. Ceiling heights, although I haven’t measured them on either ship, on Marina, seem to be lower than those on Crystal, excepting the 5th floor. Nearly all the furniture in the public areas is very deep and also appear to be lower than normal (perhaps in proportion to the ceiling height?). Our overall first impression was that it is a very attractive, shiny new, ship.

[HostDave]

Thank you so much for posting this. I can't wait to read the rest of your impressions! I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that Crystal's "art" is there only to match the decor

[MemberErik]

Accommodations
Due to claustrophobia issues, on Crystal, we have sailed mostly in Penthouse Suites (PS), occasionally booking the Penthouse (PH). For comparison purposes, the PS on Serenity is 538 sq. ft., the PS on Symphony is 491 sq. ft.. The same-named Penthouse Suite on Marina is only 420 sq. ft. which makes it more similarly sized to the PH category on Crystal (PHs are 403 sq. ft. on Serenity, 376 on Symphony). The Penthouse suite on Marina costs less per diem than either of these Crystal categories.

On the Marina, (and soon on the Riviera), Oceania has developed a new category of specialty suite, the “Oceania Suite” it is billed as “over 1000 sq. ft.” (for some reason, no exact dimensions) They are mostly located on the 12th floor (Lido Deck), although there are a couple of these suites located at the far aft of the ship on 11. This category is priced at approximately the same per diem cost as the PS on Crystal (at least for the itineraries we searched, but YAMMV), with double the real estate!

The Oceania Suite comes with many amenities, exclusive to the specialty suites, one I previously mentioned was the early embarkation, we were also able to make 8 specialty restaurant reservations (2 in each), online, for our 12 day itinerary, after full payment. Other amenities in room include: a Powder room bath off the living room (with a slightly smaller shower), Media room with 50” flat screen TV and DVD (Blu ray) player, ipod cradle, and stereo, Dining area with seating for 4 (your butler can arrange room service from any of specialty restaurants so even without a reservation, you can still order in the same food). The living / dining area contains a large couch, 2 chairs, a wet bar with refrigerator and a variety of glasses, as well as a bar set up with 5 top shelf brands and 2 bottles of wine (beer and soft drinks are replenished daily, the other is a onetime setup although substitutions can be made). On the verandah, there are 2 large chairs, a chaise lounge and the most “over the top” amenity…… a bath style Jacuzzi tub and outdoor television.

The bedroom contains a king size “Prestige Tranquility Bed” with 1000 count cotton sheets and duvet, a pillow menu is provided so everyone should be able to find a pillow that suits their needs. This bed was the most comfortable bed I have slept in away from home, be it at sea or on land. There is also a vanity and stool and another flat screen TV with DVR (Blu ray) player. Off the corridor to the full bath is a large walk-in closet, decked out in a zebra wood or similar veneer, plenty of drawers and shelves and hanging space…it would be a pleasure to do a World Cruise or Grand Voyage with this size closet.

The Master Bath is over-sized and decorated with mosaic tile flooring, granite counters and marble tiled walls, it is equipped with a Jacuzzi tub, separate standing shower enclosure, toilet, bidet, 2 side by side vanity sinks and 2 of the largest, deepest, medicine cabinets I have ever seen, (no need to clutter the counters), there are also ample drawer space for other appliances, etc.. The toiletries provided are from Bulgari, they are large format and in fact, the shampoo, was large enough so that 2 people, taking 2 showers a day, only used 1 ½ bottles in 12 days.

[Marybeth]

Thanks for reporting back. Our Oceania cruise is coming up quickly. Of course we are not on one of the newer ships but I'm excited to read about the experience and service etc.

[MemberErik]

Luggage delivery
Our bags were delivered about 3pm. It is interesting to note that Marina has 2 service elevators forward so no passenger elevators are put out of commission for the delivery of bags on embarkation day. We were able to unpack and stow our clothing before we were required to attend the muster drill.

Muster Drill
In the wake of the Costa Concordia disaster, all cruise lines are approaching the muster drill with a bit more soberness and Oceania is no different. We checked in with our Lifeboat captain in the ship’s theater (Marina Lounge). We were asked to sit with our lifeboat mates till our entire group was assembled. We were told to sit in silence, while they reminded us that in in event of a real emergency we should dress warmly regardless of the outside temps, wear lace up shoes and have our necessary medications in one location in our staterooms so we could grab them at a moments notice. The cruise director read the USCG script over the public address system and we were finished, in all, about 45 minutes (and another 20 to get an elevator to our room).

[MemberErik]

Food and Beverage Venues

The Grand Bar
The Grand Bar is basically a group of chairs and sofas that line the hallway leading to the Grand Dining Room, we stopped here for a pre-dinner drink. Unlike Crystal, the cocktail servers usually do not bring a check till asked, then you present your room key card and they prepare a bill, the bill comes with 18% gratuity added, no tip line for additional gratuity. Having to ask for the check slows down your ability to make a quick escape, but once you know this is the process, you can present your card and ask for the check with the final order.

The Grand Dining Room
We had no specialty restaurant reservations on the first night of the cruise and decided to try out the Grand Dining room(GDR). It is a lovely room with tiered seating areas and large windows. We were hungry and arrived shortly after it opened and it seemed to already be about ¾ full. We were seated immediately. Our waiter took our meal order and I then went about trying to flag down a wine steward. When I got her attention and ordered a glass of white wine, she put the hard sell on to by purchase a full bottle, I explained that I ordered white by the glass and but sometimes ordered red by the bottle. It took some time and a bit of effort to receive a subsequent glass of wine and to produce the final wine bill. Meanwhile, the waiter brought one incorrect appetizer and one incorrect entrée, which I will say he quickly rectified, (I suspect a lack of fully understanding English was at fault). The waiters in the GDR seemed to be the least experienced, perhaps they train there and move on to other venues?

We were seated in a good spot to observe the Maître D/ entrance, he turned away a number of underdressed (shorts, t shirts, etc.) men who either didn’t return to the GDR or went to the room and changed. We also noted something what I always thought was the case with “open seating”, that the majority of the people still want to come to dinner between 7-7:30pm, at that time the line at the door backed up quite a bit and when we left the dining room there were probably 50-60 people waiting for a table.

[YFlower]

Thanks very much for these reports!

[HostDave]

How do they handle the people waiting to be seated?

[MemberErik]

Basically they just lined up at the entrance and waited for a table. I don't know if this happened every night or not as this was the only night we ate in the GDR.

[MemberErik]

Red Ginger

Red Ginger was our first specialty restaurant experience on Marina, we had made a reservation at Toscana online, but later a Canadian group on board had decided to “take over” that venue for the night and we were told that we could keep our reservation at Toscana (no chance) and eat off a fixed menu (I wonder if they would have actually let us do this if we would have agreed) or take a reservation at a single table at Red Ginger that evening. We took Red Ginger.

Specialty restaurant reservations require a little explanation, Oceania has two types of reservation in their specialty restaurants, the first is for a table of whatever size you choose (we choose 2) which you choose your tablemates, the second is a “share” table put together by Oceania, usually a table for 6-8. Because of our room category and early online booking, we were able to secure tables for 2 at all the specialty restaurants.

Red Ginger is a striking venue, black lacquer, with red accents, the food is fusion/Asian, not from any one country as well as original dishes with Asian ingredients. I had a delicious 5-spice rack of lamb and watermelon duck salad (tastes better than it sounds). Again, we had a little trouble locating the wine steward and ordering a glass, as well as getting the final check, granted, we were seated behind a column, but the food waiter found us.