bradpole

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

This was exactly our experience.

 

One thing that we found much better on Crystal was entertainment and activities. Service was comparable to O, food slightly better on O.

 

If you remove all the hype from Crystal cheerleaders and look at some objective reviews, you are left with small cabins on a 25 years old ships that even after extensive refurbishment still have a lot of maintenance issues. But they charge 50-60% more than O for this. Some people are willing to pay those prices, but please don't tell us that they are more luxury than O, especially when comparing to the new ships like Vista.

I would agree!  We remember saying, "you're serious?" when we saw the menu for the Trident Grill and the lack of cooked to order options in the Marketplace (buffet). 

One option we really did enjoy was the now discontinued "Silk" restaurant for lunch, however the very odd and late opening time of 1:30 (90 minutes after other options) was very perplexing.  

18 hours ago, Psoque said:

There are two different things that makes this whole “premium” designation rather fluid and very elusive.

 

One is the actual usage of the terms such as “premium” and “luxury.” There appears to be a disagreement about which line is “premium” and which line isn’t.  Celebrity Cruises, for example calls itself a “premium” line.  On the other hand, some travel agencies, especially those who sell a lot of Oceania itineraries, love to say that Oceania is special because it is a “premium” line, with an onboard experience much better than the “mass market” lines, including Celebrity, etc.  I also read here some of the Oceania fans comparing Oceania to a german luxury car brand.  And on some of the brochures, Oceania likes to call itself a luxury brand.  And for an obvious reason, Celebrity/HAL/Princess will never call itself a “mass market” cruise line.  I personally consider anything that I can reasonably afford to be a mass market cruise, since I consider myself nothing more than a typical consumer of cruises.

The other is that, cruise experience, at least based on my personal experience, is somewhat unpredictable, because most cruise lines execute their “luxury,” “premium,” etc. service in a rather inconsistent manner.  There are major overlaps in what you experience on a “luxury” line and other lines.  And each line excels in one aspect or another.  For example, I consider cabin design of Riviera to be as good as on a Crystal ship.  However, the gym on Riviera is maintained in a much poorer condition than what I have seen on Celebrity/HAL/Princess ships.  The level of dining service inconsistencies we have experienced on Riviera is something I can’t even forgive on a Celebrity cruise.  So, the labels do not mean much, in my opinion.  Being on a “luxury” cruise does not mean all aspect of that cruise is better than a “premium” cruise.   The same can be said about an experience on a “premium” line… some aspect MAY be “premium,” some may be “luxury,” and some may be more consistent with “budget.”

 

So we can go on and on about labels.  But in my mind, they don’t really mean much.

 

 

I couldn't agree more, also one thing to note, just because something is "luxury" to one person doesn't mean it is luxury to another.  

On the surface Crystal, a luxury line, on paper should be better at all things than Oceania.  To us they weren't.  We enjoyed our one Crystal cruise, but find ourselves happier on Oceania.  We found the quality and presentation of the food in their main restaurant out of this world, however their casual options were severely lacking, in our opinions.  We prefer casual, and the dinners in the Terrace Cafe and lunches at Waves suit us better than the equivalents on Crystal.  

On 4/21/2024 at 10:40 PM, TRLD said:

For me the issue was extreme lack of variation. The sea day schedule pretty much the same with the 3 music options, string quartet, show band and piano player doing basically the same routines each day. Mostly playing background music for tea, happy hour, etc. Little variation  little change in what was being played, little interaction with passengers. Basically playing their curated list.

To the OP, thank you for posting your review.  I've skimmed through most of the thread.  Don't worry I'm not going to "attack" you.  I completely understand O is not for everyone.  Just as X is not for everyone.  I will say one thing, "One does not book an Oceania cruise for entertainment."  For some that is an issue, for us, not one bit.  Personally we enjoy the product as it is, including the repetition.  One benefit of the minimal activities onboard is once you learn the schedule, that's pretty much the schedule the entire cruise, as well as from cruise to cruise.  We've done port intensive cruises where we have cared about the ports (Europe) as well as several Caribbean sailings with O where we don't care about the ports at all and have remained onboard the entire sailing.  For us we enjoy the onboard product just as it is, no need for any more activities or live music.  Is everything perfect?  Not a chance, nothing ever is, but for now we're happy.  

We've done the big ships, and we're done with them.  For us the atmosphere on the R ships suits us just perfectly.  Thankfully there are choices and you know that O is not for you.  

12 hours ago, no fuss travel said:

If I remember correctly, when they put in the smoking rooms, the washrooms in Horizons were eliminated on the the Regatta, Insignia and Nautica.  It is a nuisance.

Of course I can't find it now, Murphy's law says I'll find it a month from now and not remember why I was even looking for it, but I have a deck Plan of Insignia in her initial layout with Ren. Cruises.  The area where the Artist's loft is actually had slot machines initially.  I think R7 could have been the first to not have slots there, but I could be VERY wrong on that.  You can still the the remnants of what could be considered "The Cage" or cashier booth today (It is used as someone's office).  The bathrooms were always on Deck 9, in the space directly above on 10 is the emergency generator.  

The R class ships that have restrooms in Horizons were all additions added by other operators over the years (ie Princess).  Sirena's deck 4 also differs slightly from the other R classes that weren't modified by Princess.  The last few Portside Oceanview cabins were modified to create a couple of accessible cabins which were not part of the initial arrangement.  

18 minutes ago, Zoey123 said:

We are getting ready to book an Oceania cruise this summer and am wondering if drinks are allowed in the Library, and if so, is there wait staff or could we go to the bar in Red Ginger or the Tuscan Grill to grab a drink and sit in the Library? We will probably end up with aft area cabins, and with my elderly parents thought that might be a better place to have a cocktail before dinner rather than going all the way up to the lounge.

 

Other questions:

 

Are there formal nights?
Is the ship as casual as it seems?
Examples of daytime activities on sea days? (It will be my 25 year old niece’s first cruise and worried she will get bored on sea days)

How is the entertainment?

 

Thanks,

Formal nights?  Thank goodness, NO!

Casual as it seems?  For Gentlemen in the evenings slacks and collared shirt for the Grand Dining Room or the specialities.  If dining the the Terrace shorts are fine.  Although dressing to a higher standard is fine if that is something you enjoy.  There are gents who do wear a jacket and tie.  

Activities... "one does not book an Oceania cruise for entertainment" is the best advice I can give you.  We enjoy the sedate atmosphere, others may not.  For us we enjoy hunkering down with our Kindles with periodic breaks to participate in the "BIG O Points" events.  They are nothing challenging, but fun.  There are usually 3 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon; Baggo, golf putting, table tennis in the morning followed by shuffleboard and mini golf in the afternoon.  There are usually some lectures in the lounge, but they usually don't interest us.  

The evening entertainment is fine, no lavish production shows on these ships!  Most days the piano player will be in Martinis before dinner, the string quartet later in the evening, then the show at 9:30 in the lounge.  Sometimes the band will play up in Horizions after the main show.  

On 4/13/2024 at 7:20 PM, West Windsor girl said:

Great cruise on Sirena. Haven’t been on Oceanea since before Covid.  Nice to see they are better than ever. The crew was terrific and the food was outstanding. We were recently on a Silversea. Cruise and were very disappointed. Oceanes Wins hands down.

Glad to hear you had a great cruise!  We board 2 weeks from today... can't wait!

Thank you for sharing!  That was wonderful!

On 4/10/2024 at 3:25 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

I love the R-class, and I've showered in a non-suite cabin. I hope O holds on to at least a couple of them. Perhaps for longer, more interesting itineraries.

 

We love the little R class sisters as well.  We enjoyed the O class, but stepping back on an R class just felt like coming home!  Yes, the bathrooms are tiny (we generally book interiors), but are very well designed and functional!  We’ve had bigger bathrooms on other ships that have had less storage and were less functional!  A perfect example was Crystal Symphony, her standard ocean view bathrooms (this was before her most recent dry dock) although they were bigger we felt the bathroom was much more frustrating than the tiny ones on the R class.  The bathroom had 2 vessel sinks mounted on top of the counter that made it very hard to actually wash your hands without rubbing the sink bowl, very annoying!  Plus it was tub only, and in rough seas it felt a little iffy stepping in and out of the tub.  

15 hours ago, judi666 said:

I agree the general energy level on this particular cruise seems very low.  It’s hard to actually explain.  There are tons of really nice, well traveled folks.  There are activities available, but every day the same things. How many times can you play baggo or do the mini-golf?  ....

What you're describing sounds like every O voyage I've been on.  I can't remember if it was this thread or another where I remarked that after the first or second day we hardly need to refer to Currents anymore because we know at 9:30 baggo is in horizons, followed by put put at 10:30, 2:30 shuffle board and 3:30 mini golf... or whatever times/order that particular cruise director has them scheduled for.  One does not book an O cruise for entertainment.   

3 hours ago, Classiccruiser777 said:

Oceania has declined while becoming more expensive to the point that we’re not considering them for the foreseeable future.

Everyone has different perspectives and experiences, I do agree Oceania is becoming more expensive, but we haven’t seen any decline in the areas that are important to us….thankfully. Is everything perfect?  Not a chance, has it been perfect in the past?  No, but we continue to enjoy our experiences!

11 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

Regatta is a small ship. I’ve sailed on the very similar Sirena. There’s no need for an app onboard. Not enuf stuff going on. No 5,000 pax trying to get their meals scheduled. I can see the need on an X ship, or RCC, Carnival, etc.

In my opinion, no need for an app on O.
Now, “improve the wifi” - did I hear anyone say? YES, now you’ve got me going on that one!

You read my mind!  I was going to submit a reply saying basically the same thing, then I saw yours.  Once you read the currents on day 1 and 2 there is hardly any variation (which we enjoy).  The one item that does change is the opening time for Terrace Cafe for breakfast; dependent on if it is a sea day or port day.  
 

As for the OP’s comment regarding the wasted paper for ship advertising I have to say O’s use of “ship spam” is laughably tiny compared to the mass markets!  Art auctions, laundry specials, shopping talk, free charm bracelet, $10 sale, “clearance” T shirt sale, etc..  Thankfully none of that onboard O, just the occasional spa “special” or the book onboard reminders

8 minutes ago, robmtx said:

 

Actually I think Wilmington and Philly have the same prob: The Del Memorial bridge has a 166ft clearance below.. That's fine for massive cargo ships but not so much for tall cruise ships like the ones in Baltimore 😞

I'm not an expert, nor do I know any of the bridge clearances up the Delaware, however Enchantment did call in Philly once or twice after her lengthening back in ~2005?  Also, the port of Wilmington has hosted a P&O Grand Class ship a good 10 or more years ago.  Both of those would have sailed under the Delaware Memorial Bridges.  

On 3/18/2024 at 4:52 PM, Kay S said:

"Preferred" is subjective, I think.  I've been on the R class ships before, and I really like the small ship atmosphere.

We’re the same way.  We enjoy the extra space, especially in the terrace cafe, and the dining options on the larger ships…but there’s just something about the smaller more intimate R class ships that we like better. Yes, even with the tiny bathrooms. 🙂 

8 hours ago, Vallesan said:

I agree … classy but not essential… but … there was always a little ‘thrill’ when the package arrived as you knew the cruise was ‘just around the corner’!

 

Not essential but nice!

That has always been my opinion!  What is even nicer coming home from a cruise, going through all the accumulated mail and seeing the envelope for your next cruise!  

42 minutes ago, Travel Lady in CT said:

 ...I can't remember all the times and locations for events.

That's generally not an issue, for us anyway, on Oceania.  That is one benefit of a small ship (especially our beloved R class) compared to the other ships out there.  There really isn't a whole lot going on onboard, and to us that's what we're looking for!  Generally speaking after reading Currents the first day we have the schedule (for the events we care about) memorized for the trip.  Once we learn the time and location of the morning and afternoon Big O events (Baggo, put put, shuffleboard, etc..) there's really not a need to ever refer back to Currents.  Even the evening entertainment hardly ever changes.  Piano in Martini's before dinner, Quartet after dinner, and if we've managed to stay up "late" show at 9:30 in the lounge.  

Also, now that O provides a wifi login for each person we can use our regular messaging services to communicate with each other in the highly unlikely event we can't find each other on the smaller ships. 

Our last cruise a couple of years ago on RCL the app was a nice to have...when it worked.  

18 hours ago, EJL2023 said:

Not experienced this decline.  Perfect, nah…but a wonderful experience. 

That has been our experience, nothing is perfect, but have thoroughly enjoyed our experiences onboard, yes even post covid.  

13 hours ago, KathyL2537 said:

White Nights and Azamazing evenings, there was nothing even close to that on Oceania

Thankfully there aren’t!  
 

Thank you for your review.  Besides not having a white night or something like that, we enjoy the fact that the grand dining room and the terrace cafe offer basically the same menu.  Those of us who enjoy a nice casual meal can still have a good meal without having to go to grand dining room.  
 

Oceania isn’t for everyone, that’s why there are so many different lines, but for now we enjoy the product the offer…especially the smaller R ships.  

7 hours ago, pinotlover said:

They are relocating and apparently downsizing the library to make room for the crepe and ice cream venues.

That’s a shame. Personally I’ve always thought the lower level of the atrium was such wasted space on Marina and Riviera and thought some sort of cafe would be better use of this area.  

On 2/15/2024 at 10:08 AM, golfguyhhi said:

PLEASE..PLEASE..PLEASE --stop telling people how wonderful it is to dine at The Terrace!!!!!

 

If I can't find a seat at my favorite dining venue when I board in 5 weeks, I will hold you all responsible.

 

Stop it!!

Too funny!  I was thinking the same thing!  

1 hour ago, ORV said:

Should you really have to explain to people to not touch the food?

Sadly yes. Always amazes me how inconsiderate people can be.  

On 1/16/2024 at 8:08 AM, Redtravel said:

Useless.  If you fill with ice water, they sweat. They melt quickly. I don’t use them. I leave them behind. I bring my own insulated container.

I agree, but the same could be said about the disposable plastic they replaced.  For those of us that brought insulated bottles even before I appreciate the refilling stations around the ship. 

4 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Anyone who thinks onboard spending is not a significant revenue generator knows very little about the cruise industry.

From a 2018 study by Port Economics Management (porteconomicsmanagement.com):

• Revenue. The base fare paid by the average cruiser accounts for 72% of the revenue, implying that cruise lines are able to generate an additional 28% revenue tranche with onboard services, such as gambling, excursions, drinks, and personal services. Additionally, cruisers are spending on goods and services at ports of call, which are not accounted for here.

I don't doubt Oceania makes money from onboard spend, but it has to be a much smaller percentage compared to the mainstream lines.  Sometimes there just isn't anything to spend your money on once onboard an Oceania ship compared to Carnival, Royal, Princess, etc...  

Specialty dining, coffee, soda, better quality pastries, ice cream, photos, more and larger gift shops, $10 watches, inch of gold, art auctions, etc...  Thinking back to my last RCL cruise there are countless tables setup on boarding day to get you spend, not to mention a table setup here and there during the cruise for impulse purchases.  

15 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

If a little rust here and there really bothers you, than a classic cruise ship like any of O’s four R ships are definitely not for you.

Or any ship, regardless of age. 

13 hours ago, wencel said:

Thanks for the helpful responses everyone! I will pack my own reusable with lid... I seem to have a skill for spilling 😁 I do enjoy a nice cappuccino and hope Oceania's proprietary brand is decent.

Last month on Nautica they were refilling the machines with Lavazza.  Personally I don't care what brand it is, as long as it tastes good!  I didn't have any issues with the new coffee last month on Nautica or in August on Insignia.  It is still good and strong!

22 hours ago, ChatKat in Ca. said:

One both lines above, there was either nothing to do (literally).  No music, enrichment - NOTHING.

I’ve often told people, “you do not book Oceania for the entertainment.”  I have no idea when you were looking for music but there is live music before and after dinner each night. Generally piano music in Martini’s, the strings in the upper hall (R class ships) or the promenade between the dining room and Martini’s (O class ships), and often the show band in Horizons during happy hour, and also sometimes after the main show as well.  
 

You also mentioned giving your cabin number to dine, in the Grand Dining Room they ask simply to ensure you don’t have allergies noted, or even a special request on file.