FeliciaLee

My husband and I were on the Bermuda March 16th, 2024 cruise. It was awesome. Maybe not as great as our other two Oceania cruises, but no complaints. This was our first time on one of the newer ships. We liked Vista, thin walls and all. But we also love the small ships. Probably we love the small ships even more, due to the overwhelming, cozy feel of community. Aquamar as an eating venue worked out pretty well. While some of the dishes weren't a big hit with us, others were totally awesome. For example, Waves no longer has my second fave: the tuna sandwich, but Aquamar has something very similar. They also have the best smoothie if you are suffering from the dreaded cruise crud: Immunity. Sometimes they are pretty heavy handed on the cayenne, so watch that carefully if you can't have spicy, spicy spices ;) My husband still favors Purple Rain. There have been a lot of comments with regards to Waves changing their menu. Well, the surf and turf is still wonderful, but my husband definitely preferred the filet. I thought the burger was better. Unfortunately, the burgers on the rest of the menu have changed for the worse. They are much thinner and very dry, no matter how you ask them to be cooked. On the plus side: Waves is still fantastic and the best outdoor grill experience on any cruise line we've ever tried. Just a matter of opinion, of course. A huge, unexpected treat for us was the buffet. We are not buffet people and never thought it on the small ships was anything special at all. So imagine our surprise at the excellent buffet on Vista! While it wasn't always 100%, it was much improved and we ate dinner there twice. The first time, lobster tails were excellent. The second time, well, just say that they were as bad as on the R ships. The new Baristas was very nice. The space is much improved. In general, perhaps we like the old location better. No complaints, just a coffee addiction that made the old location good for us. But as far as the space and the bakery, wow. We loved it, and we also loved the daily quiches and beignets. My husband likes to get the lamb lollypops. He orders them every morning at breakfast and has lamb often in the restaurants. What an Oceania exclusive that works for him in most situations! Just one of the many reasons we love Oceania. We also thought Ember was great. So put us in that smaller category of people who love it. The scallop main was totally awesome. Toscano on Vista was miles better than our last experience on Insignia. Maybe Insignia was just a one-off. Everything was great, plus we had a front row to the Space X launch in Canaveral. The ship started moving, and we thought we might miss it, but amazingly it launched right in front of the window where we were sitting! As far as dining in general, on this cruise we had no real misses. Part of that, however, may be due to the fact that this time around we were more used to Oceania, their menus and their stand-out entrees. So we were perhaps able to navigate our meals better. Although Vista is a much bigger ship, with lots more passengers, they had less trivia than the small ships. What a bummer for us and for our trivia team (we were super into it and very competitive). Two men on our team had never been on Oceania before, and were totally hyped when I told them how much trivia they could expect, only to be disappointed when it didn't seem to pan out the way it does on the small ships. Overall, once again we had a great cruise. Not as great as our previous two, but it is completely a matter of subjectivity. Vista couldn't be any more beautiful. The crew was warm and friendly and we saw lots of familiar faces. The passengers were friendly and awesome as well. We just missed that small ship warm and cozy feeling. Our next cruise is also on Vista, but maybe we'll be able to sneak in a small ship cruise here and there in the future. No matter which ship we sail, it seems like we are always pleased with Oceania and haven't had that feeling since we were on Crystal back in 2019.

We have only taken one Seabourn cruise. One of those great deals online. It was 11 nights in Nov/Dec 2022. The things we loved were: friendliness and warmth of crew and passengers. Prizes for games. Gelato. Cabin. Price per night for value. Buffet. The things that weren't so great: lack of activities. Start of dining time at 7pm. So-so quality and service in MDR. Espresso was never hot enough no matter how much we begged. We really had a great cruise on Seabourn, but the late dining time just isn't for us. Keep in mind that although it includes more than Oceania, you still have to pay the port fees & taxes additionally. So that ups the price per night. Also, shore excursions aren't included, either. But for the price per night? Yes, it was an excellent product and an excellent cruise!

It probably was a blip cruise. While we absolutely love Oceania more than Regent, it is solely due to subjective reasons. Regent is an excellent product and you got very unlucky. Sirena is a great ship that has Red Ginger and a combo Polo/Toscano. You are in for a real treat! Both were excellent on our trip. Also, Dottie will be your cruise director and she is a treasure.

My second favorite was the ahi tuna. Oh well. The new additions look great.

The only place we really felt the difference in space per passenger was in the cabin. Since you know you already love Seabourn, certainly you'll have an awesome time!

It's a great ship and you will have a fabulous time. Red Ginger is awesome.

On Insignia last month, there were several announcements and even a drawing for $200 obc.

It was a Christmas cruise on Insignia. But as Basor pointed out, perhaps I was able to get a bare bones cruise due to the fact that Oceania hadn't rolled out SM across the board. This was my review, if you are interested:

We bought two of these. On the first one it truly was with nothing included. The second one has SM and we have checked on Oceania's website to make sure of that. Both were bargains at well under $200 pp/pd. On another note, we met some couples on our Christmas Insignia cruise. Two of them, at different times of the cruise made mention that they had gotten significant discounts due to not wanting SM. One of them said that he and his wife don't drink, so they didn't understand why they were forced into SM. The other couple said that they don't like shore excursions, so were able to get that credit as a discount to their overall fare. If Oceania truly is allowing this kind of opt-out, surely it won't last long!

I'm right there with you.

Although I only have limited experience (two cruises with Oceania so far), it seems like the servers will try to downplay the always available options. They will say things like: "These will always be listed for a time you might not see anything else you want." As in, this is an inferior choice. So for the first cruise, and most of the second cruise, my husband and I never tried the always available options. But finally one day I did and it was absolutely fabulous. My husband wasn't as crazy about the sirloin, but the chicken was falling off the bone and extremely tasty. Give it a try, even if only as an appetizer portion!

Oooooh yeah! That lobster pad thai!!! Do they get the recipe from Red Ginger? It is super delish.

If I recall correctly, on the Sirena the penultimate night offered chateaubriand (excellent). Then last month on Insignia the penultimate night offered beef wellington (also excellent, but not quite as excellent as the chateaubriand). So maybe in the main dining room, there will be special offers on not only holidays, but on the penultimate night of the cruise?

You got it! When I showed my husband, he was like: ummm

As always, great info. With regards to the older ships, yeah that is where we mostly find the best deals. But not always. For our March Bermuda cruise, Vista was cheaper than any other ship! Also, I just found a cruise on Riviera for only $99 pp/pd 🙂