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Oceania VS Other Lines -- Prices


kelmac

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Don,

As usually (but not always :)), you are correct. People should choose any cruise line, any itinerary at any price that suites them.

To be fair to 3418ahl, however, he does have a point and is comparing "apples to apples" - which some posters do not agree with.

List price for the lowest category cabin on Seabourn for the 28 day cruise is $9500 (rounded off); very similar O 28 day cruise a couple of weeks later (B2B 14 days) is $11,100 for lowest OV cabin (2for1 list price) - leaving about $ 1600 towards airfare.

It is not unreasonable to see that someone could see this as a better value (included alcoholic drinks, tips, larger cabin, etc). BTW, the air credit for O cruise is only about $500 for each segment - if taken, the cruise alone is still around $10,000 (give or take).

It is an individual choice that we all make for ourselves for whatever reason - and from the future cruises list it appears that 3418ahl has made his/her choice.

 

When was Don wrong? I must have missed that post:p

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In general, I find that Oceania's prices for PHs which are the only thing comparable to suites on Seabourn and Silversea, are about the same as the luxury lines without the tips and alcohol included. Where O shines is if you are willing to sail in a smaller cabin you can get a great product for less.

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In general, I find that Oceania's prices for PHs which are the only thing comparable to suites on Seabourn and Silversea, are about the same as the luxury lines without the tips and alcohol included. Where O shines is if you are willing to sail in a smaller cabin you can get a great product for less.

 

We are sailing on Marina in July and the per diem is actually more for a Concierge A2 than we paid for SS CV stateroom earlier this year. Our choice of "O" after sampling SS and several "O" voyages is largely based upon the smoking policy. Guess we were very unfortunate to have a very smoky experience on the SS

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We would love to try other cruise lines if their smoking policies were more restrictive. Unfortunately for those of us with allergies and/or asthma, smoking policies are a "make or break" consideration. Healthwise, we cannot afford to be on a ship that allows smoking in staterooms or on balconies much less in public areas. Price has nothing to do with it. Oceania, Regent, and Azamara are the only lines we can take. Ddcruiser

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We would love to try other cruise lines if their smoking policies were more restrictive. Unfortunately for those of us with allergies and/or asthma, smoking policies are a "make or break" consideration. Healthwise, we cannot afford to be on a ship that allows smoking in staterooms or on balconies much less in public areas. Price has nothing to do with it. Oceania, Regent, and Azamara are the only lines we can take. Ddcruiser

 

Celebrity's smoking policy is pretty much the same.

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Celebrity's smoking policy is pretty much the same.

Generally true, and one of the reasons we decided to experiment with Celebrity for a 7 day cruise over out anniversary last year, sailing on Celebrity Mercury, which we chose because it is one of the smallest ships in their fleet and therefore closer to Oceania.

 

Because it was our anniversary, and because prices were so much lower per diem than Oceania, we decided to go for a Sky Suite on Deck 12 with an enormous balcony. The balcony was the primary reason we booked this suite.

 

Imagine our chagrin when we discovered that one of the designated smoking areas was about 15 feet forward of our balcony, and all the odors blew back and even into our cabin if the door was open. It rendered the balcony all but unusable. The smoking areas were not displayed on any of the pre-cruise images we researched.

 

We loved the balcony at sailaway, but the smoke was so bad from then on that we never did get to dine at the large table on the balcony. We were virtually locked into our cabin.

 

decksky.gif

 

 

 

Our balcony as we sailed, the last time we could enjoy it:

 

day1-9.JPG

 

 

 

Someone else's picture of dinner on the balcony that we couldn't enjoy:

 

mercurybalcony.jpg

 

 

 

We could have cheerfully attended the hanging of the Celebrity person responsible for designating the smoking areas.

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We are sailing on Marina in July and the per diem is actually more for a Concierge A2 than we paid for SS CV stateroom earlier this year. Our choice of "O" after sampling SS and several "O" voyages is largely based upon the smoking policy. Guess we were very unfortunate to have a very smoky experience on the SS

 

Dwelsh,

It seems that Silversea has changed their smoking policy.

 

At Silversea, the comfort, enjoyment and safety of all guests is paramount. Most areas on board are non-smoking, however there are certain areas where cigarette smoking is permitted: specifically designated tables in some bars and lounges and specifically designated outside areas on the open deck. Cigar and pipe smoking are only permitted in the Connoisseur’s Corner and in specifically designated outside areas on open Decks 9 and 10 aboard Silver Shadow, Silver Whisper and Silver Spirit, and open Deck 9 aboard Silver Cloud and Silver Wind. As a safety precaution, smoking is not permitted on any guest suite veranda. Silversea kindly requests that all guests observe the non-smoking areas.

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[/u]

 

Dwelsh,

It seems that Silversea has changed their smoking policy.

 

At Silversea, the comfort, enjoyment and safety of all guests is paramount. Most areas on board are non-smoking, however there are certain areas where cigarette smoking is permitted: specifically designated tables in some bars and lounges and specifically designated outside areas on the open deck. Cigar and pipe smoking are only permitted in the Connoisseur’s Corner and in specifically designated outside areas on open Decks 9 and 10 aboard Silver Shadow, Silver Whisper and Silver Spirit, and open Deck 9 aboard Silver Cloud and Silver Wind. As a safety precaution, smoking is not permitted on any guest suite veranda. Silversea kindly requests that all guests observe the non-smoking areas.

 

Well, that is SOME progress, which is great. I cannot imagine SS personnel policing this new policy. Unfortunately smoking in staterooms is still permitted and that smoke permeates the corridors. We were unable to use the Bar area because the smoke from the smoking side filled the whole room.

Just checked the SS`Board and, guess what!!!

 

Message from Silversea:

 

We have not changed our smoking policy, and as "dougburns" points out above, the suites were mentioned in only one area of the website, and that one page has been corrected on the new website.

 

Thank you Cruise Critic members for bringing this to our attention.

 

Steve Tucker

Silversea Cruises

Vice President, Field Sales

The Americas

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dwelsh said:

Well, that is SOME progress, which is great. I cannot imagine SS personnel policing this new policy. Unfortunately smoking in staterooms is still permitted and that smoke permeates the corridors. We were unable to use the Bar area because the smoke from the smoking side filled the whole room.

Just checked the SS`Board and, guess what!!!

Message from Silversea:

We have not changed our smoking policy, and as "dougburns" points out above, the suites were mentioned in only one area of the website, and that one page has been corrected on the new website.

Steve Tucker

Silversea Cruises

Vice President, Field Sales

 

Dwelsh,

That message from Steve Tucker was posted in Sept. What I posted in my previous post was taken from the Silversea's website yesterday. If the policy has not changed....it is odd that SS has not corrected the website!!

Here is the latest post from the SS board with regards to smoking.

billcrooz posted today:

we just got off the Spirit and you CANNOT smoke in your suite or veranda ! if you could they would have ash trays in the suite ! that being said there are still some that will continue to disobey and leave their butts in the beverage glass.

__________________

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dwelsh said:

Well, that is SOME progress, which is great. I cannot imagine SS personnel policing this new policy. Unfortunately smoking in staterooms is still permitted and that smoke permeates the corridors. We were unable to use the Bar area because the smoke from the smoking side filled the whole room.

Just checked the SS`Board and, guess what!!!

Message from Silversea:

We have not changed our smoking policy, and as "dougburns" points out above, the suites were mentioned in only one area of the website, and that one page has been corrected on the new website.

Steve Tucker

Silversea Cruises

Vice President, Field Sales

 

Dwelsh,

That message from Steve Tucker was posted in Sept. What I posted in my previous post was taken from the Silversea's website yesterday. If the policy has not changed....it is odd that SS has not corrected the website!!

Here is the latest post from the SS board with regards to smoking.

billcrooz posted today:

we just got off the Spirit and you CANNOT smoke in your suite or veranda ! if you could they would have ash trays in the suite ! that being said there are still some that will continue to disobey and leave their butts in the beverage glass.

__________________

 

It seems kind of silly to assume that smoking is not allowed in the stateroom just because there is no ashtray there. That is faulty thinking.

 

On the other hand if their policy states no smoking in the stateroom then it's against the rules and shouldn't be done. If it is allowed then you just ask for an ashtray.

 

What their website does say is exactly as Juli2020 posted about 4 posts back. From that I would think it's not allowed on the verandah but is allowed in the stateroom. But then again the stateroom is not mentioned as one of the places it's allowed. This is exactly why confusion exists. The guidelines should be more exact.

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It seems kind of silly to assume that smoking is not allowed in the stateroom just because there is no ashtray there. That is faulty thinking.

 

On the other hand if their policy states no smoking in the stateroom then it's against the rules and shouldn't be done. If it is allowed then you just ask for an ashtray.

 

What their website does say is exactly as Juli2020 posted about 4 posts back. From that I would think it's not allowed on the verandah but is allowed in the stateroom. But then again the stateroom is not mentioned as one of the places it's allowed. This is exactly why confusion exists. The guidelines should be more exact.

 

I think this discussion should be on the SS thread. let's talk about the positives of "O" on this one!!:):):):)

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No, it's about the difference in pricing of O compared to other lines. No mention of smoking at all in the title of this thread. So unless you're comparing the price of a pack of ciagrettes on O as compared to other lines let's have at least one thread that stays on topic and does not disintegrate into a smoking one.

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No, it's about the difference in pricing of O compared to other lines. No mention of smoking at all in the title of this thread. So unless you're comparing the price of a pack of ciagrettes on O as compared to other lines let's have at least one thread that stays on topic and does not disintegrate into a smoking one.

 

Sorry about that, I'm not the one that brought it up though. I was just replying to the previous posts.

 

In all honesty though I've never understood the anal need to keep threads on topic on various internet forums. I view it as a conversation, conversations move and evolve. I really haven't been around people at a gathering that insists that conversation continues on the same subject. But I'm off topic there, forgive me.

 

Concerning the price of O vs other cruise lines. It's too high in my opinion, but as long as they fill their ships at the price they ask then I would say their business model is working. We all have to ask ourselves if we want to participate in that. Obviously I do.

 

PS, I haven't cruised SS in about 6 years but way back then they were giving cigarettes away at the bar. Do they still do that? Not that I wanted any of them. I guess if they do you'd have to take that into consideration in figuring the O price vs others if you smoked a lot. LOL:D

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I think this discussion should be on the SS thread. let's talk about the positives of "O" on this one!!:):):):)

 

I guess technically that is true, but if the SS discussion hadn't started up in connection with the pricing, I wouldn't know about the smoking situation over there. We've never sailed on SS but have been considering doing so, and now I know that it wouldn't be a good fit for us.

 

Had these comments remained on an SS thread, I would still be ignorant ... true, we can't include every other line in our discussions of Oceania, but these thread migrations aren't always a bad thing!

 

IMO ...

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A agree that threads evolve and usually become something different over time. As the OP, I can live with that because the original topic usually gets covered and then it clicks this "stream of consciousness" and becomes something else. One topic leads to another and it is usually interesting!:)

 

The only think I hate is when you are the last to post -- and the thread dies, and feel like you were the "buzz kill" that put the thing to bed. :rolleyes::)

 

Enjoy!

Kel

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it wouldn't be such a problem if almost every thread didn't eventually "evolve" toward the topic of smoking.

 

So you are saying, most threads fly around until they are sucked up by the "black hole" of topics; smoking. Even Art Auctions and dress code threads are sucked up by the "black hole"? :rolleyes::)

 

Enjoy!

Kel

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I'll add to the black hole of smoking and price.

 

We just came off a 2 week Panama Canal cruise on the Celebrity INfinity -- smokers were relegated to a corner to the rear of the pool deck. Smoke undetectable.

 

I am one of those cruisers who loves O but sometimes sails Celebrity. For the Panama Canal with 6 sea days and a canal crossing day it was superb. We had a huge aft CC balcony cabin for less than an inside on O. Food is quite good -- their specialty restaurant is better than anything on O. Entertainment was amazing -- great production shows with incredibly talent --and with all those sea days we stayed up to enjoy it. Live music all over the ship. Also -- all the activities were great for sea days. Formal nights are not really formal anymore - my husband wore sport jacket with silk tee underneath -- and there is plenty of space on the ship to avoid crowds. The ONLY time we hated crowds was at buffet breakfast on a port day when everyone seems to want to eat at the same time. But still, we could have room service or eat in the MDR. Service was excellent all around - comparable to O. The biggest difference IMO is that the Celebrity crowd is far less sophisticated/upscale than the O crowd. We travel with another couple so finding companions to spend time with is not critical.

 

We are back on O in January and then again on November for the Marina TA with a Celebrity cruise in between on one of their newer Solstice class ships.

It's all good.

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I'll add to the black hole of smoking and price.

 

We just came off a 2 week Panama Canal cruise on the Celebrity INfinity -- smokers were relegated to a corner to the rear of the pool deck. Smoke undetectable.

 

I am one of those cruisers who loves O but sometimes sails Celebrity. For the Panama Canal with 6 sea days and a canal crossing day it was superb. We had a huge aft CC balcony cabin for less than an inside on O. Food is quite good -- their specialty restaurant is better than anything on O. Entertainment was amazing -- great production shows with incredibly talent --and with all those sea days we stayed up to enjoy it. Live music all over the ship. Also -- all the activities were great for sea days. Formal nights are not really formal anymore - my husband wore sport jacket with silk tee underneath -- and there is plenty of space on the ship to avoid crowds. The ONLY time we hated crowds was at buffet breakfast on a port day when everyone seems to want to eat at the same time. But still, we could have room service or eat in the MDR. Service was excellent all around - comparable to O. The biggest difference IMO is that the Celebrity crowd is far less sophisticated/upscale than the O crowd. We travel with another couple so finding companions to spend time with is not critical.

 

We are back on O in January and then again on November for the Marina TA with a Celebrity cruise in between on one of their newer Solstice class ships.

It's all good.

 

Laraine,

 

I agree with you 100% about Celebrity. If you go Aqua Class, with the Blu dining room, it's closest thing to a Large ship version of Oceania. The alternative restaurants on Celebrity are the best at sea! We use to alternate between HAL and Celebrity, but for now -- we like the Oceania/Celebrity combination. Same smoking policy on both lines! The Solstice class ships of Celebrity are something special and a real game changer in the large ship category.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

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