Oct15
Oceania’s Knowledgeable Concierge
Over dinner in Regatta’s main dining room, an impeccably dressed man at the end of the table says, “I gain ten pounds every contract, and lose eight when I go home.”
Meet Bruno Haag, the knowledgeable and affable concierge on Oceania’s Regatta. He has an adult lifetime of experience at sea: seven years with venerable Royal Viking Line, three years with Silversea, and six years and counting at Oceania, where it appears he has found a permanent home. (Swiss-born, Bruno’s terra-firma home is in Australia.)
Bruno serves as the front-line for passengers, with one of his biggest challenges being lost luggage. The airline is to blame, of course, but Bruno pulls together all of his resources to locate the luggage and get it on board. He also makes sight-seeing recommendations for guests who aren’t booked on tours, and reservations at restaurants ashore, using his satellite phone to conduct the transaction on the spot — at no charge.
The Oceania product is continually evolving, Bruno says. “We are a young cruise line, and there’s always room for improvement,” he adds. “We listen to our guests and make decisions based on their feedback.”
Just a few of his favorite features on Oceania:
- Open-seating dining, “very much appreciated by those who have cruised Crystal,” he says, where there are two assigned seatings.
- Two specialty restaurants, where guests may dine at no extra charge
- The inclusion, also at no extra charge of specialty coffees, milk shakes, and coming in the spring of 2010, soft drinks and bottled water.
- A welcome bottle of champagne in the Concierge and Penthouse categories as well as suites. Also for those categories, upgraded Hermes amenities, priority embarkation at 11 a.m. at no extra charge (normal embarkation is at 1 p.m.), priority tender service and priority luggage delivery upon embarkation.
- Outdoor dining at the Terrace Cafe.
Also, Oceania’s price-to-value is “unbeatable,” he adds, “and the itineraries are wonderful.” And so is the cuisine — at a net gain for Bruno of about two pounds per contract, or so he says.
