Oceania Cruise Line - Regatta

[kelmac]

lyndenfa, Can you tell me what kind of deal they have for the internet on board ship? Is there a base price for an amount of hours? 12 days away from my kids is making me a bit nervous and I am hoping to at least keep in touch via emails while at sea.

 

Hi BOYNSEA,

 

Oceania charges .95 cents a minute to use the internet and since the service is very, very slow that can add up quickly.

 

I paid $80 for 100 minutes. I choose this because I had tons of ship board credit to use up.

 

If I didn't have all that ship board credit I wouldn't have used the internet at all. Too slow, and too expensive.

 

The lady who runs the internet room is very nice and very helpful -- I guess they can justify the higher rate because of the personal service provided.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Kel:)

[neepawa]

Here are the various Rate Plans for our sailing on the Regatta in February:

 

$.95 per minute with no plan

100 minutes for $80. Extra minutes at $ .80 per minute

200 minutes for $140. Extra minutes at $ .70 per minute

500 minutes for $300. Extra minutes at $ .60 per minute

800 minutes for $400. Extra minutes at $ .50 per minute

1200 minutes for $540. Extra minutes at $ .45 per minute

 

You will have an e-mail address: YOURNAME@regatta.oceaniaatsea.com

 

Don

[PaulMCO]

Agree with your points. We are 59/52 and sailing on the Regatta made us feel YOUNG :). I don't mind the older crowd, because it is usually minus the children.

 

Regarding the Salt Water pool -- did you notice in the morning after a moderate ocean chop the pool had sloshed out most of the water. I would not be feasible to desal 20,000 gallons a day to refill the pool. That is why it is Saltwater.

 

Getting back to the hijack -- FOX NEWS ROCKS!!!

[Barbados52]

We were on this cruise 1/4/10 as well.....since my husband and I are in our 40s we were pretty much bored to death. The ship was nice and clean as any cruise ship should be. Tours were a little bit more subdued than what we are used to but reasonably well organized with only one major delay. Staff was friendly and polite, again just like all of the other lines we have been on. The only problem we encountered was the time limitations as far as service. If you were on an excursion that got back after 2 p.m....no lunch for you unless it was hot dogs etc. or room service. We are not early risers while on vacation and would have breakfast in the room about 8:30 a.m. Lunch service was unavailable after 2 p.m. so it was many many many hot dogs, hamburgers and paninis for us. Then after having lunch later....dinner was 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. we are also used to eating later. We did notice the servers in the dining room were not as friendly if you arrived after 8:30 or so........I am sure they wanted to be done early as well and made that quite clear. Entertainment was sparse...enjoyed the comedian, magician and contortionist...others things not at all. As for night life.....zippo.....zilch....nada. Even the specialty restaurants were nothing to write home about...service in the steakhouse was very very slow considering the table next to us were on their 3rd course before we ordered and had been seated after us. But things happen. We were glad we got a discounted rate and had not paid the normal price for such a "relaxing" cruise. The one saving grace was the cabana we paid extra for. It was wonderful...the service was fantastic and the privacy made it worth every dime. Even with the so so weather it was a luxury I truly enjoyed. While we like to meet new people it was difficult with the activities being geared toward the older passengers. I know nothing of big band music and trivia of the early 1900s. While we will probably never go with Oceania again.....it was still a nice vacation and we did meet a few people that were also new to Oceania...which is always a great experience in itself. Oceania is a great cruise line....just not for us in particular.

[katz]

Barbabos-----We were on our first Oceania cruise this fall. We are a little older than you, but were on the younger side of the passenger age. We enjoyed the cruise and plan to cruise with Oceania again. Your experience is a very good reason for people to research the cruise lines before booking. The atmosphere can go from anywhere from wearing a lampshade on your head to a very quiet subdued experience. We have always found RCC to be a happy medium. We enjoy Oceania because it is port intensive, and for this cruise, we are more interested in what was going on off the ship that on.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[Krewzz]

We were on this cruise 1/4/10 as well.....since my husband and I are in our 40s we were pretty much bored to death.

...dinner was 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. we are also used to eating later. We did notice the servers in the dining room were not as friendly if you arrived after 8:30 or so........I am sure they wanted to be done early as well and made that quite clear....Even the specialty restaurants were nothing to write home about...service in the steakhouse was very very slow considering the table next to us were on their 3rd course before we ordered and had been seated after us. But things happen.....

As far as activity geared towards younger people, you would probably be happier on RCCL, NCL, or Carnival. I was on the Holiday Cruise 12/23 - 1/4 where there were probably more younger folks than on your cruise (based on a conversation I had with a crew member after your cruise ended) but still the crowd is older than on the other lines I mentioned.

 

My group most often ate very late, sometimes arriving in the dining room at or after 8:30 pm. Because the seating is not fixed, we had occasion to experience many waiters and the dining room managers. Sometimes we were among the last 2 or 3 tables to leave. Not disputing your experience, but I never perceived the attitude you perceived. Maybe you had different waiters, but among the ones I noticed, I can't imagine them displaying any attitude like that.

 

Also ate late in both specialty restaurants, and had the same experience. Regarding your experience in the Polo Grill, did you question the manager as to why a table next to you would be seated later and on their third course before you even ordered? They are not perfect, but were there other factors involved? Maybe you ordered wine or had cocktails before ordering???

[wantoret]

Hi Heather,

Thanks for your balanced review. We are taking the same cruise in March. How were the ports? Did you enjoy any excursions more than others?

 

Cliffe27,

I guess we're almost old (62,63), but thanks for your tip on the Horizons after 10:30. Maybe we can stay up that late once in awhile. Did you have a favorite excursion?

Cynthia

We met you fellow cruisers on the New England cruise - it seemed so long ago that we had planned this O cruise - now here is only 45 days away. I am with you though - the 45 days can't come soon enough!!

 

Dennis and Peggy and our friends from Ft Lauderdale!

[SunDapple]

Since there will never be agreement on the battle of the "news" stations, how about we go back to talking about how Regatta is a beautiful ship and Oceania a wonderful cruiseline?! :D That said, I would like to see "Comedy Central" to lighten things up! ;)

 

I'm with you, Comedy Central! I can get my news from the Daily Show! :D

[SunDapple]

I'm with you, Comedy Central! I can get my news from the Daily Show! :D

 

Oh, and one more thing, we were in Insignia this past summer, and one of the folks with whom we had made friends, decided to loudly voice his political opinions during lunch at Waves. It kind of turned my stomach. We had been having such a lovely time, why ruin it with politics? There's room enough on this planet for all of us to co-exist, isn't there?

[Barbados52]

Nope....no wine or cocktails....not big drinkers here.....and at that point didn't care to talk to a manager.....just wanted it over and done with. We also looked forward to the different ports of call...we have been on 12 previous cruises so are not newbies to cruising. We didn't expect lampshades...LOL....it was just an interesting experience seeing a ghost ship after the 9:45 p.m. show was over....no one and I mean no one in the casino or elsewhere. Every cruise is an experience to learn new things and meet wonderful people and thats the great thing about ships. :)

[LunaSeaRetreat]

We met you fellow cruisers on the New England cruise - it seemed so long ago that we had planned this O cruise - now here is only 45 days away. I am with you though - the 45 days can't come soon enough!!

 

Dennis and Peggy and our friends from Ft Lauderdale!

 

Hi,

I made my speciality dining reservations this morning.:) Hope to catch up with you at our roll call get together after sail away. This winter has just been too cold; I'm ready to tropical breezes.

Cynthia(and Matthew)

[LHT28]

We didn't expect lampshades...LOL....it was just an interesting experience seeing a ghost ship after the 9:45 p.m. show was over....no one and I mean no one in the casino or elsewhere.

A lot also depends on your fellow cruisers

We found it is quiet after the show. A few people in the casino or in Horizons.

 

We are usually one of the ones in bed by 11pm resting up for the next day's port of call;)

 

 

Lyn

[StanandJim]

it was just an interesting experience seeing a ghost ship after the 9:45 p.m. show was over....no one and I mean no one in the casino or elsewhere.

 

You must not have looked in Martini's :rolleyes:

[dwelsh]

Hi Lyn:

 

Remember you from our 2008 S. America on Isnsignia. HAU?

 

I have observed your posts and your great aquired knowledge of "all things cruising" and I would like to comment on the apparant disdain that some of the younger cruisers express about the "older" group.

 

I remember over the close to 40 years that we have been floating that, whereas when we boarded we always were dismayed that the pax all looked soooo old. Well, over the years it appears that they are now sooooo young.

 

We are about to embark on Silversea Silver Shadow for a 26 day LA - LA S. Pacific adventure and I am sure that 80+ will be the median age. Great, I hope that there are also a few "youngsters" to keep the ship "rockin'," so we can join in the fun.

 

My wish for you "young "sailors is that you too are granted health and longevity to enjoy your cruises till you too cruise off to your final port.

[LHT28]

Hi Lyn:

 

Remember you from our 2008 S. America on Isnsignia. HAU?

 

I have observed your posts and your great aquired knowledge of "all things cruising" and I would like to comment on the apparant disdain that some of the younger cruisers express about the "older" group.

 

Hi David

Though we are over 60 we enjoy all ages of cruisers (well maybe not the under 20's so much)

When we were 40+ we sailed HAL and met many people from the older generation and I can tell you they had more energy than I do ;)

 

enjoy the upcoming cruise on SS & maybe will see you again on an O cruise

 

Lyn

[Krewzz]

Nope....no wine or cocktails....not big drinkers here.....and at that point didn't care to talk to a manager.....just wanted it over and done with. We also looked forward to the different ports of call...we have been on 12 previous cruises so are not newbies to cruising. We didn't expect lampshades...LOL....it was just an interesting experience seeing a ghost ship after the 9:45 p.m. show was over....no one and I mean no one in the casino or elsewhere. Every cruise is an experience to learn new things and meet wonderful people and thats the great thing about ships. :)

On the holiday cruise, there were folks at Martinis often well past midnight. Interesting that your cruise was so different. Regarding your very bad Polo Grill experience, surprising to me if it was as you described it, you would not want to talk with the manager to try to correct the situation.

 

Criticism is very valuable, of course, but I try and relate the actions or inactions of the guests to a problem to understand the guest's attitude and the overall situation and determine if to me anyway the criticism is relevant.

[merryecho]

"I remember over the close to 40 years that we have been floating that, whereas when we boarded we always were dismayed that the pax all looked soooo old. Well, over the years it appears that they are now sooooo young."

 

 

"We have met the enemy and they are us...."

[roothy123]

Hi Barbados. I was on the Jan. 4 cruise, which I think is the one you were on (Islands - Regatta). Are you sure you didn't see my husband in the casino every night around 11 PM? He sure wasn't holed up in the stateroom with me!! (Yes, I'm 58, and NOT a night person, and generally wake up at 7 or 8 AM, looking to see if we've docked yet in a new port! Needless to say, Oceania suits me fine!!) Oh wait, maybe my husband was in Martinis - although he seldom drinks!

 

Glad you liked the cabanas - I was disappointed when Oceania put those in, as the back of the sun deck used to be my little semi-private photography/relaxing venue! With the not so fantastic weather we had (well, the whole eastern part of the globe, from what it seemed...) I was wondering if people got their money's worth (or their free shipboard credit's worth!) from the cabanas! Many of them went vacant a lot......

 

Merryecho...love your quote, as it is applied to cruisers! That made me laugh....

[Barbados52]

It was towards the end of the cruise and truly didn't care at that point...since we don't plan on using Oceania again at this time. We were at dinner with someone who did complain one time about the meal in the dining room not being correct and it was quite embarrassing to her and to her table mates the amount of fuss that was made by the wait staff and managers. I didn't not want that experience to happen to me in the Polo.

As I said.....it was a nice cruise....just not a repeater for us. :)

[volleyballmom87]

:confused:I haven't read this entire thread to see if they ever got off of the which news channel is better kick. But I do not cruise to watch TV so as far as I am concerned it really doesn't matter. When it comes down to it, if something REALLY important happens, ALL of the stations will cover it. And unless it is something MAJOR (like Kansas City was wiped off the earth):eek:, it will not effect my vacation. As long as they are not showing Titanic on a loop, I am fine. We are rarely in our cabin and if we are, it is to sleep or get ready for our next adventure. Leave your TVs, phones, computers, watches, etc at home and enjoy your technology free vacation for goodness sake.:cool: