Sharkette76

Your cats are gorgeous!! Thanks for doing the Live report. I'll be following along. Safe travels.

Those suitcases are the best!

We live in Florida and love the Caribbean, so are looking at the 12 day roundtrip from Miami, departing on 11/13/25. 

I am about to book my first Seabourn cruise for November 2025. Is this too far out to use a referral code?

Following as well. Thanks for taking us along!

So sorry for your loss, Charla. Hope this cruise brightens your spirits. If you're up for a little shopping in Curacao, there's a small boutique called "Meow". They have the most unique women's clothes ever - and reasonably priced. Walking distance from the port - easy to find - they have a couple of locations (I hit them both!). Enjoy your trip!

Thanks everyone for the feedback. This is the first review I have done but I've been a long time stalker! I've learned so much here that I wanted to share our experience. With so many changes at X, we are open to other lines. In fact we did a transatlantic crossing on QM2 in Queen's Grille last summer. 

I forgot to mention the bread on O and it deserves a special mention. It is just outstanding! Everything from croissants to rolls to the pizza - really well done.

Happy cruising everyone!

20 hours ago, dock said:

Since you had SM, any opinion about the quality , number of people etc on the excursions. 
 

Did Butler deliver Cappucinos in the morning? 

 

Finally any issues with noise from the TV from the next cabin. It seems the insulation on Vista seems to be a concern. 
 

Thank you. 

 

 

We actually booked before SM was in place, so we had a choice of amenities and chose the beverage package (beer and wine at meals). We have been to the Caribbean many times, so never do a ship's shore excursion there. We have our favorite places to go and we hop a cab in each port. SM is not a good deal for us in the Caribbean. It may be in a port intensive location or someplace we haven't been.

The butler delivered our lattes a couple of mornings, but they usually came from someone in Room Service. Either way was fine with us - always on time and hot.

I listened for noise having read the same comments, but we were never bothered by anything. There were times I could hear the TV if I strained, but it really was not an issue for us (maybe we had quiet neighbors!).

After many Celebrity cruises in a SS on both S class and Edge class ships, based on the changes and pricing for X, we decided to try Oceania. For simplicity’s sake, I will compare Vista to the Edge class as they are both the newest designs. We were on a 10 day Southern Caribbean itinerary, January 9 to January 19, in a Penthouse Suite, on Oceania Vista. Below is a summary of our experience. YMMV.

Embarkation

We had an assigned time of 11:00 for embarkation. We arrived at 10:50 to find that the doors to the building were not open and there was a line of people extending around the building waiting to go in. I joined the back of the line while DH looked for a separate suites entrance. No such luck. The doors opened at 11 and it took about 15 minutes to get inside. From there the process was efficient and we were onboard about 11:45. You cannot drop your bags in your cabin and must carry them until cabins are ready  - around 1 for suites, 2 for concierge and 3 for all others. This is an area where Celebrity wins hands down.

Suite

We had a PH3 on deck 10 (10031). The room was very nicely done. It had much more storage than the Edge, but we really didn’t need it. If we had been on an extended voyage, it would have been useful. The bathrooms were comparable. Vista had a large shower vs. the shower over tub on X. I liked them equally. DH is 6’4” and has to duck under the water on X, so preferred the Vista shower.

The biggest difference in the suites is the layout of the bedroom itself. We absolutely love the bed facing the ocean on the Edge. In fact, after our first Edge voyage, we rearranged our bedroom to turn our bed to face the water! With that in mind, we found that the traditional bed arrangement on Vista left us wishing we were on the Edge. The room was dark with a double slider and a small window that did not let in much light.

The top picture is the Edge, taken from the bed. The second picture is Vista.

Bars/Alcohol/Water

Oceania does not have bottles of water anywhere on the ship. Instead, they leave you a refillable metal bottle and they have water stations around the ship. I’m a bit of a germaphobe, so was not fond of just rinsing the bottles in hot water every day, then reusing them, but that seemed to be the only option. DH is a camel and usually takes 4 – 5 large waters off the ship for beach excursions. We only had 2 refillable bottles so we had to improvise. DH drank PowerAdes after working out, so kept the bottles and filled them with water to take off the ship.

Wine is included for lunch and dinner and was readily available. There were not many choices, but I found a French Chardonnay and DH found a Shiraz, so we were happy.

O has a 2 for 1 Happy Hour every day from 5 to 6. Given that beer and wine is included with meals, most people do not get the drink package (we did - $30pp/day). At 5PM every day, the bars get overrun with people getting their daily drinks from the happy hour menu (not every drink is 2 for 1). At about 6:15, everything clears out and people go to dinner.

We love meeting new people and talking to the great bartenders at the Martini Bar on X and we anticipated doing the same on O. Unfortunately, the bars themselves are very small with only 5 or 6 seats at the actual bar. There are lots of tables and couches around the bars, and the bartenders are extremely busy and not able to interact with customers. There is one small bar that serves a very large area around the corner. We saw several people come around to the bar complaining that they had no service and had been waiting 20 – 25 minutes for someone to take their order. Normally, this is not a big deal, but if you only have 1 hour to get your drinks 2 for 1, then it becomes a point of contention for people.

Dining

O includes specialty dining for all guests. You are allotted 1 reservation at each of the 4 specialty restaurants and can make these reservations before boarding the ship, 75 days ahead for suites, 60 days for Concierge, and 45 days for others. People routinely log in right at midnight on their assigned day to get reservations at a preferred time and non-sharing. Dinner is served from 6:30 to 9 nightly.

DH and I prefer to go to the 7PM show on X, then eat at 8. On O, there is one show nightly and it is at 9:30. We never made it to a show. More on that later. We also do not want to share a table, just not our preference, so I did log in at midnight to make our reservations. Look through the O boards and you will see that this is a commonplace, accepted practice. It was very surprising to me.

The specialty restaurants were not as good as Luminae or Blu IOHO. Service was very good but the food was disappointing. For example, in the Italian restaurant, DH had Dover Sole. It was beautiful, deboned tableside and looked fantastic. When he tried to eat it, it was so tough that a knife wouldn’t cut it. I had chicken and I honestly could not recognize the cut of meat. I cook a lot of chicken and whatever was on my plate was mystery meat. I did not eat it.

I have food allergies and had to fill out a menu every day and turn it in downstairs by 10, for the following evening’s meal. So, on Monday morning, I needed to know what I was going to eat Tuesday night. Even doing that, I pre-ordered a soup at the Chinese restaurant, and when it arrived, I stirred it only to find mushrooms (my specific allergy) floating in it. So glad I looked first! Big fail here.

The bottom line for us is the lack of consistent servers who get to know your food preferences, allergies, etc. is a major negative. We ate in a different place for every meal, so we never had the same server or sommelier twice. We much prefer the service in Luminae or Blu. The servers there have always called us by name, had our drinks in hand as soon as they saw us, and made sure my food was prepared correctly wrt my allergies.

Wine Pairing Lunches

This is where O really shined. They offered 2 wine paring lunches – Cellar Master’s lunch ($180pp plus 20% grat) and the Sommelier’s Choice lunch ($99pp plus 20% grat). We had 2 of the best meals we’ve ever had on land or sea with these wine paring lunches. The menus are below. Everything was modified perfectly for my allergies. The service was fantastic and the discussion of the wines was very informative. If you are on an O cruise, I cannot recommend these highly enough. They sell out the first day so be sure to sign up as soon as you board.

The Butler Discussion

We had an assigned butler whom we saw every day. We normally just want coffee every morning at 6:30 and we have gotten that on both X and O. On both ships (X in October after butler changes) different people delivered the coffee each morning. Butlers can also sometimes get you an additional reservation at a specialty restaurant, which ours did toward the end of the cruise. He specifically asked us to go back to the Italian restaurant and it was better the second time, but still nothing special.

We decided to try having dinner “served course by course” by our butler. This essentially gives you another coveted specialty restaurant reservation. We chose the steakhouse. This was a nice experience, but everything was delivered at once (he was busy with other diners) and it is not something that held much value to us. It was nice to try, but we’d rather go out for dinner.

Pool and Spa

Spa area access is included with a Suite. There is a beautiful Hydro pool, but there is a lack of shade. Chair hogs are in abundance at the main pool. There are lots of complaints on social media. There are plenty of chairs available in the sun, but this is not the demographic to lay in the sun all day. It feels like a poor design to have so few shaded loungers that people have to fight over them (there was a fight when someone removed items from a saved lounger).

Activities

There are different activities on O that are not on X. I enjoyed art classes and a cooking class. There was also bingo and enrichment talks, but we did not attend any of these. The theater is a little small and the sight lines are not good. There are many complaints about not being able to see the shows.

Ports

We have been to the Caribbean many times. We chose this cruise in part because it stopped in St. Bart’s and we have never been there. This was a tender port which we unfortunately missed due to rough seas. The tenders were the ship’s small life boats. The tender process leaves a lot to be desired. 1 member of each group must wait in line (with hundreds of others) to get a tender ticket. Then the group must wait in the theater for ticket to be called. There is no special accommodation for suites.

Fellow Passengers

It is worth noting that the average age on our cruise had to be late 70s, early 80s. We’re in our late 50s, early 60s, so we were definitely on the younger side for this cruise. Enough said.

Summary

We are glad we tried Oceania. The ship is very nice but for the reasons noted above, for our next cruise, we will price compare with Regent, SS and X, but will not consider Oceania. Based on recent reviews on this board, we just booked the Ascent.

We got the same questionnaire for our cruise 2/24 (!) in a Sky Suite on the Edge. Never seen this before, but it makes a lot of sense to find out our preferences ahead of boarding. Love your live reviews!

Agree with wldflr. I also went to Nicole's Table pre-pandemic. I love to cook and this was one of the best cooking classes I've taken. Great atmosphere. beautiful place, fantastic food and lots of cooking tips. I am determined to make it back! 

This is great information. Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. 

Turtle neck sweaters and layers for our Alaska cruise. Sigh.....we live in Florida. Not much use for those here.

Great review and so nice to meet you guys onboard! Agree with all your comments, especially the high quality of food and service in Blu. We have been in Luminae on our last couple of cruises and were tentative about Blu. I'm a convert!

16 hours ago, Silkroad said:

Thanks for your review. Those mid ship S1s are very tempting. Did you enjoy any live music or shows? I hope your ankle is healing well😊

We went to most of the shows and loved them all with the exception of the last singer. He showed a 5 minute video before he came onstage, telling us how great he was. DH and I couldn't take it so we left before he even came out. Enough is enough!

10 minutes ago, jcpc said:

One question for you:  Did you find the layout of the ship cumbersome due to wearing a boot on your foot?  I don't feel as if the ship was designed with "mobility challenged" guests in mind.

Generally, I got around pretty well. I did manage to "get stuck" in Eden and had to use the little elevator to get back up to 5. It is unexpected to have to hold the floor button the entire time or the elevator stops.

There have been many reviews of The Edge, so I am adding just a few notes based on my experience last week on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary. I am recovering from tendon surgery so wore a large walking boot on the cruise. Our room steward added a shower chair and brought a wheelchair for me to use on shore excursions.

The Ship is absolutely beautiful. Bright, airy spaces with lots of natural light. My DH and I both loved it. The Retreat Lounge and Sundeck are very nice. We spent quite a bit of time enjoying the outside deck that is part of the Retreat Lounge. There is a great breeze and a fabulous view. We found the bar service in the Lounge to be very slow, but the drinks were quite tasty. As others have mentioned, there is very limited shade on the sundeck. I’m sorry to report that the chair hogs are out in full force to snag the only shaded spots early (before 8AM there are towels and books on any shady spot). It seems like it would be pretty easy to add some shade. Hope X is listening.

Sky Suite cabin was well laid out. Our shower has the new shower door. I did not anticipate the impact of simply facing the bed towards the ocean. Wow! We actually used our veranda much less than we normally do because the view from bed was so spectacular (and comfortable!)

We had a great experience in Luminae. Raffy was our server and Yelena was the sommelier. Fantastic service and great food. We had a reservation for Fine Cut, but canceled it mid week because our experience at Luminae was so good.

We ate lunch twice at the Grand Bistro. Service was quick both days. The French onion soup there is the best I’ve ever had. It has a very rich and savory broth – delicious. We were disappointed in the Croque Monsieur that we had on our second visit, as it was not sautéed before adding the bechamel sauce. It was simply a ham and cheese sandwich with a gooey sauce on it.

Only other thing worth mentioning is our butler, Josip. He was delightful and very helpful. He brought us lattes every morning and filled my ice bag every day so I could ice my ankle. He was able to resolve an issue we had with shore excursions that the Retreat Concierge had not been able to resolve.

Overall we loved the cruise and would happily sail on the Edge again once the prices come down a bit. We enjoyed meeting lots of CC folks who helped make the cruise special. I’m happy to answer any questions.

Date of Cruise:              3/24/19                                                                                                                                   

Ship:         Edge                                                                                                                                            

Cabin #:           11197                                                                                                                                                  

Deck #:         11                                                                                                                                       

Cabin Category:                 S1                                                                                                                                             

Cabin Location:            Midship just off aft elevators                                                                                                                                   

Bed Position:            Facing the ocean                                                                                                                                       

Balcony Type:           Standard                                                                                                                                       

Balcony/Window Size:                   Standard Sky suite                                                                                                                               

Balcony/Window View/Obstruction:               None                                                                                                         

Balcony Overhang?:          Slight additional overhang on the forward side                                                                                                                                            

Magic Carpet Issues?:          N/A                                                                                                                                         

Noise Issues?:                None at all                                                                                                                                  

Wind Issues?:           No                                                                                                                                       

Connecting Cabin? Where Does it Connect?:       No

Suite Details:              Gorgeous cabin. Huge bathroom. Really well laid out. Shower has a shower door.                                                                                                                                       

Advantages/Problems/Comments:                    Loved the bed facing the ocean. We actually used our balcony less than expected due to teh fabulous view from bed.                                                                                                       

Would You Book It Again?: Absolutely, but not at the current prices.

Photos or Photo Links:

Seeing this review brightened my morning! Love your travel blogs Paul. You always include very helpful information. We're in a Sky Suite on Edge at the end of March. I am very much looking forward to reading your insights. Thanks for taking the time to let us all tag along!

Count me in as another avid reader of all Norris reviews! This is my morning indulgence while I sip that first cup of coffee. Thanks so much Norris for sharing your thoughts and wonderful pictures. Can’t wait for more!

Love your blogs and am excited to read more. Thank you for taking time to do this. Your outfits totally rock!

I was having the same problem when I clicked on any of the packages to try to add something to my booking (drink package). I called RC and they said they were having trouble with Chrome to please try a different browser. I switched to Edge and have no problems with that.

We're on the same itinerary and heading to Maya Chan in a few weeks. Just curious - what time did you meet their representative in the morning and was the meeting spot easy to find? Thanks!

 

PS How was the sea grass?

Hi Rick - It was easy to find the meeting place. Just keep walking all the way out of the port gate. It is just beyond that on the right. They have a kiosk and a sign with a few greeters. We met them right around 9. There is definitely sea grass. You will want water shoes for sure. Even so, nothing beats floating in a chair and having a waiter bring you drinks.

PS - the tacos were absolutely outstanding. My 18yo DS keeps telling me I need to get the recipe. They were making the flour tortillas right there in front of you. Yumm........

 

Also, where did you go to the beach in Costa Maya, we are still looking for somewhere nice and quiet to spend the day with shade, possibly drinks and wifi and ocean without to much junk in it to go in to cool off.

We were also on this cruise. Went to Maya Chan and I highly recommend it. Very relaxing, quiet, all inclusive with terrific food. Check the Costa Maya board for more info.

I booked an aft balcony on deck 11, but in looking at the picture, it looks like deck 9 has a larger balcony. We really enjoy the balcony and spend a good deal of time out there, so for us, the bigger, the better. Is this just an optical illusion or can anyone confirm if there is a difference in size on other Away ships?