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Oceania Serina vs Emerald Princess for Mediterranean


eurodl
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Hello fellow cruisers,

 

We've never sale Oceania before. We have a reservation on the Emerald Princess for a 2019 Mediterranean cruise. We first considered switch to Celebrity but decided to stick with Princess. My SIL just returned from Oceania and was very impressed. After doing some research and speaking with one of their agents we are leaning towards Oceania. We would be going from a M1 mini-suite on the Emerald to probably an A1 on Sirena. We like the idea of a smaller ship and although the price in more it looks like several things are included with Oceania which are not on Princess (air, soda package, etc.). We would lose our Premier Beverage Package on Princess but we don't drink that much and the itinerary is very port intensive. We like the overnight in Venice. We've been trying to find a land tour after our Princess cruise so this would take the trouble out of planning that portion. The mini-suite is much larger than the veranda but not sure if that's a deal breaker.

 

Any input would be much appreciated. We have 3 couples in our group and we are all getting a little overwhelmed with everything as this is our first international trip. :confused:

Edited by eurodl
Misspelled Sirena
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FWIW: Oceania spent $40 million on Princess' former Ocean Princess to turn it into Sirena.

I trust that many others will chime in on the significant difference in quality of food, service and cabin amenities with O the clear leader.

Some CC posters will say that the ship doesn't matter on port intensive Med cruises. I disagree. After all, the ship is where you relax, eat and sleep after a busy day of touring. Why not have a stellar dining experience, dignified atmosphere and heavenly bedding each night?

Edited by Flatbush Flyer
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The differences are night & day

Emerald is almost 4 X larger = 3000 pax

M1 cabin 266sq ft + Balcony

more entertainment

more charges for things

 

 

Sirena 684 Pax

A & B cabins 165 sq ft + balcony

PH 322 sq ft including balcony

no extra fees for ALL non alcoholic drinks including smoothies, Cappuccino

no extra charge for Specialty restaurants

 

 

It is tough to compare an apple & a pear

 

you have to decide what is more value to you

 

 

 

enjoy whatever cruise you choose

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Princess is Holiday Inn (solid but not spectacular) and Oceania is Hyatt/Westin (upscale but not stuffy).

In this case you get what you pay for.

Hope you give Oceania a try and then decide for yourself.

PS Sailing on Marina/Riviera would be a little more similar to Princess with more dining options than Sirena.

Edited by Paulchili
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Princess is Holiday Inn (solid but not spectacular) and Oceania is Hyatt/Westin (upscale but not stuffy).

In this case you get what you pay for.

Hope you give Oceania a try and then decide for yourself.

PS Sailing on Marina/Riviera would be a little more similar to Princess with more dining options than Sirena.

 

We would prefer one of the other ships but Sirena is the only one with the itinerary at that time of year.

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You won't find many positive comments on this board about Princess (although I doubt if most of them have actually sailed on Princess), but I have had 9 wonderful cruises on 7 different Princess ships, including the Emerald. We always have either a minisuite or full suite. You can have a great experience and since you don't drink much alcohol, you don't really need to spend much money onboard....especially on a port intensive itinerary.

 

I've had one cruise on Oceania Insignia and it was wonderful too. But I wasn't happy about how small our cabin and bathroom were after having been in Princess cabins. You'll have to get a PH suite on Sirena to get a cabin the same size as a minisuite on the Emerald. Good it's not a deal breaker for you.

 

The bedding on Oceania is heavenly, but the new bedding on Princess is nearly as great. Food on Oceania is very good, but I think Princess' is good too (disclaimer: I'm not a foodie). I did get seasick on one day of rough seas on the small O ship but have never gotten seasick on the larger Princess ships. More activities and entertainment on Princess, but we like to relax on the balcony so not a big deal for us. It's very quick and easy to get around a small ship, especially if you're midship. The OLife perks are nice and keep the cost managable. I'll be taking the world cruise on Insignia so I'll certainly find out what it's like to live for 6 months on a small ship, but since I'm nearly Elite on Princess, I'll definitely be sailing with them again in the future.

 

P.S. I liked Celebrity too, but not as well as Princess.....although they have lots of perks.

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You won't find many positive comments on this board about Princess (although I doubt if most of them have actually sailed on Princess), but I have had 9 wonderful cruises on 7 different Princess ships, including the Emerald.

 

I might be the exception but we have cruised on Princess enough to be Elite (top loyalty level for those of you who are non-Princess cruisers) and Platinum on Oceania - so we know both lines pretty well.

That said, my opinions are just that - my opinions only.

We all have them :)

We cruise on Princess (in mini-suites) for unique itineraries but we know what to expect for the money we paid. The money paid is nowhere near what we pay for Oceania (usually for PH) but neither is the food, service or overall experience, IMO.

Edited by Paulchili
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It looks like Sirena is going in for dry-dock in May 2019 with several refurbishments to public areas and staterooms. The person I spoke to at Oceania said that the veranda's have glass enclosed showers but all the pictures and videos I've seen show a shower curtain. Maybe the bathrooms will be one of the things that will be updated.

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It looks like Sirena is going in for dry-dock in May 2019 with several refurbishments to public areas and staterooms. The person I spoke to at Oceania said that the veranda's have glass enclosed showers but all the pictures and videos I've seen show a shower curtain. Maybe the bathrooms will be one of the things that will be updated.

 

 

Some of the "Sirena" pix floating around are generic "R" ship pix taken on Insignia/Nautica/Regatta.

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After the dry dock, the Sirena veranda bathrooms will have glass shower doors, but the size of the cabin and bathroom will not change. We were just in an A1 cabin on the Sirena for 16 days and had a great time. We especially like eating outside up at the Terrace Cafe which is their buffet. However, we do like switching cruise lines so we don't get burned out sailing on the same one.

 

If you haven't sailed with O yet, then I would highly recommend you give them a try because you'll probably more than likely have a great time!!! You also get to go to their specialty restaurants for free!

 

But, if I had to chose between O's R class ships, such as the Sirena, or O class ships, such as the Riviera or Marina, I would definitely lean towards the O ships as they are bigger, more things to do and the veranda cabins, especially the bathrooms, are much bigger than their R ships. But the R ships are fun too, just smaller.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just to update everyone.  We decided to stick with Princess for the Mediterranean cruise.  We may end up with a TA from Rome to Miami but would be on Celebrity as this is the only one that fits within our timeline.  Thanks to everyone for all the information.  Hopefully we can take Oceania some time in the future.

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