How does Celebrity compare to Oceania?

[scdreamer]

Our last cruise was a ten-day Eastern Med on Oceania's Insignia, and we absolutely loved the service, food, ambiance. We're sailing on Celebrity in a few months - only because Oceania does not have an Alaska itinerary now. This will be our first time on Celebrity (we have sailed on RCCL, Princess, and NCL), and we're looking forward to the experience. We realize that one of the main differences is, of course, the much larger size of the M-class ships of Celebrity.

 

We are a fairly well-traveled and active couple in our late 50s/early 60s, not too formal, but we appreciate the good things in life.

 

How will Celebrity compare to Oceania? Has anyone been on both lines, and can tell us what is good about each and how they compare?

[Ruthk]

Yes I have sailed both. I am Elite with Celebrity and love the line and their ships. BUT there is no comparison in the area of food - Oceania is better by a country mile. I love their rule of country club casual and no formal nights, and I loved their long days in port, and no surcharge for their two spectacular restaurants (best osso bucco ever!). Then there are the negatives (for me) with Oceania - tiny casino, poor entertainment, boring evenings, one little outdoor pool, and those negatives are the positives of Celebrity, we especially like their pool area. The M class ships fit our bill as we like the larger ships and the food is very good, just not Oceania caliber.

 

Ruthk,

St. Catharines, Ontario,

Canada.

[tak2]

Your style of travel is similar to mine. We prefer Oceania, but Celebrity is our second choice. Decision is often based on itinerary.

 

We have been on RCCL, Princess, NCL, HAL, but our last 6 were on X and O, 3 times each, within last 4.5 years. Our comparison is based on services/amenities for guests in concierge/AQ class cabins.

Oceania's shortfall is well known in the size of bathroom, bit I found the AQ bathroom , although bigger, is actually less functional, due to design flaws.

I did enjoy Celebrity's nightly entertainment, which was missed on those evenings on Oceania when we happened to have energy left from the busy daytime sightseeing, or on sea days.

Oceania's ships are superbly maintained, which is not the case with X, unless yours has recently been refurbished. Cabins on O seem to have superior soundproofing.

Food of course is very subjective. I was very pleasantly surprised with Blu, both in food quality, service , and ambience. Yes, I agree with many others that this is similar to a specialty restaurant. Oceanview cafe on X was a zoo, but what can you do with may be over 2000 passengers going through there during breakfast hours? Terrace cafe vastly superior. On the other hand, you are not going to Solstice class in Alaska, so the traditional lines aren't bad. On Celebrity, MDR again was disappointing, on both my past 2 X cruises. Specialty restaurant on X was top notch. perhaps eating more at specialty restaurants will balance your dining pleasure.

Celebrity's service is also very very good. They try to cater to your needs as best as they can ( we felt well looked after on both lines ), but on such a big ship, you just do not FEEL the kind of corporate culture that exists on Oceania.

We have had great cruise experience on both lines, I hope you do too!:)

[eandj]

Yes I have sailed both. I am Elite with Celebrity and love the line and their ships. BUT there is no comparison in the area of food - Oceania is better by a country mile. I love their rule of country club casual and no formal nights, and I loved their long days in port, and no surcharge for their two spectacular restaurants (best osso bucco ever!). Then there are the negatives (for me) with Oceania - tiny casino, poor entertainment, boring evenings, one little outdoor pool, and those negatives are the positives of Celebrity, we especially like their pool area. The M class ships fit our bill as we like the larger ships and the food is very good, just not Oceania caliber.

 

Ruthk,

St. Catharines, Ontario,

Canada.

 

 

We too agree with the above. Food was outstanding. Service, appearance and atmosphere even in theri main dining room was beautiful and upscale. Specialities were wonderful and no added charge.

 

But we DO like the entertainment options on X much more, larger pool areas and casino. Food is good, but not like O. Service is very good. Not sure X has gotten the Select dining figured out yet. Seems the service is slipping since they added that. Formal nights mean your Dh will need to pack a suit or at least a dark sport coat and tie, which you don't need on O.

 

I think the OP will be pleased with X. I'd take either.

 

Have you seen the new Oceania ship, Mariner??? What a stunner!!

[jjeffjb]

O is my favorite cruise line. There are good indications that Regatta will be cruising Alaska in 2011. You should know the details sometime in April.

[adelphi_sky]

What about price points? Oceania seems to be a bit more upscale that Celebrity. So, are we really comparing apples to apples? The comparisons may be a bit skewed as Oceania prices are more than double the prices of Celebrity with smaller ships. I guess a better question would be, for their price points, how does each two compare?

[scdreamer]

I, too, heard something about Regatta sailing in Alaskan waters beginning next summer (2011) --- oh well, we had already booked Celebrity when we heard. I'm sure we will have a fine time ...

[cruie4ever]

How can any one make a true comparison between these 2 cruise lines ? It is like comparing a 4 to a 5 star hotel in the same area of the world . It simply doesn't compute.

 

Oceania is a 6 star line & would be better compared to Crystal or Seaborn .JMVHO

[jackdiamond]

I had heard that both Oceana and the S class were 5.5 stars.

[FinelyCruising]

From everything I have read there is a distinct difference with night-time amenities. I am not so much a night owl as I am one who likes to see a bit of life and fun in the evening for entertainment yet I do amit to being a casino lover.

 

I have a cruise booked on Marina, and yes, wow, she is a stunner, but I think it might be better to wait for a different itinerary than the one I booked in order to ensure by virtue of the itinerary that the night time is sleepy time for us for full day stops in a very port intensive cruise in an effort to avoid the miss of the Celebrity night time experience.

 

I will probably cancel the Marina cruise we have booked.:o

[Steph27]

You need to go to the Azamara board to read the comparisons with Oceania. You really cannot compare Celebrity large cruise ships to the former R class ships. I like Oceania for the intimate country club atmosphere. The very stricht smoking policy was the forerunner to Celebrity changing theirs. I am excited about Marina (Not Mariner) and look forward to booking soon.

[FinelyCruising]

Steph if you are talking to me, I am sure I am speaking about Oceania and not Azamara.

[pacheco18]

I like them both - as you can see from my list of cruises.

 

I love O - I love the intimacy of the ships. I love the fact that you get to know almost everyone on the ship during a cruise. Sometimes, however, I crave some sea days (which I will get on the TA on Marina) and some nightlife -- just a little. All things being equal, O would be my choice but it really depends on the itinerary. I do not think O's food is as terrific as others do (born and raised in NYC where I have eaten in the finest restaurants LOL). I think Celebrity's food is surprisingly good, considering the number of people they serve. It's all still cruise ship food and has limitations.

 

Celebrity is really the best "value" in cruising. You get a lot for your money. We chose the Baltic cruise for 2011 on Celebrity rather than O - we wanted a few days at sea to relax (isn't that what cruising is all about?) and the price difference was ridiculous - we are paying far less for a top CC cabin than we would pay for a mere outside cabin on O and with a huge OBC to boot.

 

I can easily afford O - so it's not about the money - it's about value. I am excited about the Eclipse - it sounds divine. I will use all that extra money I saved for shore excursions and shopping.

[glenneagle]

We have done18 Celebrity cruises and four Oceania.

We love O for Europe as they do many smaller ports.The Pool area and entertainment is better on Celebrity.We did aqua class on the Solstice twice and found blue just as good as O food and service wise. You will love Celebrity just as much as Oceania. cost wise it cant be beat.

[pacheco18]

There is a common theme to all these posts.

You can love them both and enjoy them both.

[Denny01]

I'll disagree a bit on not being able to compare Celebrity to Oceania..yes, they are differnt levels, but the OP isn't trying to decide between the two, the OP wants to know what the differences are since they are cruising Celebrity (M-Class so there isn't Aqua Class Avail) for Alaska. Many have provided legit points, and I'll add one specific along with the other comments on better pool: the M-Class has the T-Spa/Aqua Pool which is, subjective opinion, the best in the busienss. Large Inside, Free, Very warm, lots of water action, pipes to stand under and get shoulder/back massaged, pipes on the side that form 'lounges' in the water with bubbles coming up through them. fantastic.

 

We usually get a SR forward on M-Class so we can zip up the the T-Spa int he morning, enjoy it and then eat at the very nice, healthy Aqua Cafe.

 

So, yes, I bet the OP will find the Celebrity M-Class right up their line, for a larger mainline Cruise Line.

 

Enjoy!

 

Denny

[pacheco18]

I would add one more comparison - and it's a big one.

 

The Cruise Director on my Alaska Millennium cruise was young and unimpressive. He did not "make" the cruise -in fact he had no impact at all IMO. Rather talentless individual I thought. Cannot recall his name. He basically introduced entertainers and made announcements.

 

Now - let's talk Leslie Jon (and his staff) on the Insignia - WOW - he in many respects WAS the cruise. So much talent and skill!!!! If I could be sure he would be the CD on a particular cruise I would be persuaded to book that cruise.

 

I will have more to compare when I take my upcoming cruises but right now, there is NO comparison when it comes to Cruise Directors I have experienced.

[eandj]

Have you seen the new Oceania ship, Mariner??? What a stunner!!

 

 

OOPS. :o My bad. It is the Marina as you pointed out. ....I was just looking over her itineraries last week. We'll be waiting to book until they have had enough runs and offer an itinerary we want to do. Will be interested in reading the reviews tho!

[lbom]

I like them both - as you can see from my list of cruises.

 

I love O - I love the intimacy of the ships. I love the fact that you get to know almost everyone on the ship during a cruise. Sometimes, however, I crave some sea days (which I will get on the TA on Marina) and some nightlife -- just a little. All things being equal, O would be my choice but it really depends on the itinerary. I do not think O's food is as terrific as others do (born and raised in NYC where I have eaten in the finest restaurants LOL). I think Celebrity's food is surprisingly good, considering the number of people they serve. It's all still cruise ship food and has limitations.

 

Celebrity is really the best "value" in cruising. You get a lot for your money. We chose the Baltic cruise for 2011 on Celebrity rather than O - we wanted a few days at sea to relax (isn't that what cruising is all about?) and the price difference was ridiculous - we are paying far less for a top CC cabin than we would pay for a mere outside cabin on O and with a huge OBC to boot.

 

I can easily afford O - so it's not about the money - it's about value. I am excited about the Eclipse - it sounds divine. I will use all that extra money I saved for shore excursions and shopping.

 

I totally agree with you... I just came off of Celebrity Century (a different class of course), and I really didn't know what to expect as our last cruise was on Insignia in the Med in '08. I was pleasantly surprised.

 

If you are going strictly for value for the money, then Celebrity is a good value and I mean that. The staff did a great job of filling in all of the gaps when Oceania has shortfalls (evening entertainment for one), but this is a completely different experience than on Oceania.

 

I went into a lot of comparison detail on my blog (http://lbom.wordpress.com) if you want more specifics... One important thing is that the clientele is younger and more diverse (my DH spent our time on the ship commenting on all of the tattoos...) and that certainly wasn't the case on O. On Insignia, your time is spent in port enjoying the culture and not really on the ship... not a ton of "at sea" days and we found Insignia to be a home away from home and a quiet place to unwind and relax.

 

Don't get me wrong -- for a Caribbean cruise in the middle of Winter, it was just what we needed and it was a great alternative for us while saving a few good pennies. Also, the itineraries to Alaska generally bring more families and couples on board... not a party atmosphere per se and more "educational".

 

All in all, I would stick with Celebrity and I bet you'll have a great time!