Here’s a link to a story that provides more details on the float-out of Oceania’s new 65,000-ton Marina. There are some great pictures at the bottom of this article that give you a true sense of the layout of this exciting new ship.
http://www.travelagentcentral.com/cruises/sneak-peek-marina-oceanias-new-build-debuts-genoa-20056
We did 2 trips this fall as opposed to our one long trip a year.
The first was on the Marina with concierge privileges. Although,
getting to the ship meant 24 hrs of travel (bad weather and horrid airline connections): lost luggage due to the airlines (8days). The
staff was more than A+. Our clothes were washed and iron EVERY NITE, returned by 6am. The concierge was on top of our luggage situation the entire time. BUT, we did get to see the Adriatic and
ports in the Balkans, as well as ports in western Greece that were
available to our Not too large ship.
Fellow passengers knew of our travails and were most helpful. I was able to take the great Cooking class, in a real classroom.
We never were slowed down by lines to get somewhere, the new
open areas were perfect and just yelled ‘RELAX’ . The decorators did a fantastic job, with subdued taste that said comfort.
NOW for the Christmas cruise with 2500+ passengers, it took an hour to check in. The reception area was so gaudy with music as
loud as one hears at a football game. The menu in the main dining room was the same every day (10 days). The dining areas were
noisy. The special restaurants while smaller and less noise, cost about $25 each; again the menu was the same.
We arrived in Antigua along with 5 other large ships, there was hardly a place to move on the pier. We met not one other passenger. And, I talk to everyone.
Needless to say the extra cost is worth every penny for a smaller ship. We even spent 35 days on one of Oceania’s small ships a few years ago, disembarked with many new friends; and almost knew every one on the ship. corni lingley
Wow thank you for all the detailed insight Cornelia! It’s great to see the difference you had between a small ship experience and a large ship experience. I think many people would agree with you that there is an added value for taking a smaller ship.