PH vs. OC

[Royalco]

On the Marina, I am trying to decide if the Oceania Suite is worth the additional cost (approx.$4,000pp) over a Penthouse Suite?

The OC is approx. 1,000 sq. ft. vs the PH at 420 sq.ft. Other than size, are there other perks, etc.? Any opinions?

[JimandStan]

On the Marina, I am trying to decide if the Oceania Suite is worth the additional cost (approx.$4,000pp) over a Penthouse Suite?

The OC is approx. 1,000 sq. ft. vs the PH at 420 sq.ft. Other than size, are there other perks, etc.? Any opinions?

 

Lets put it this way, the Penthouse Suite is the size of a nice hotel room, the Oceania Suite is the size of a nice apartment. It comes with a fully stocked bar (no refills, just a fairly complete set up on sailing day) and you won't find yourself restricted too closely on the number of specialty restaurant reservations that you can get.

 

The dining room in the Oceania Suite setup is also a very nice touch. There is room to invite friends in on a small scale, or you may prefer to have a second table set up on the veranda for exquisite, private meals al fresco.

 

Much has been said, pro and con, about the media room, but we loved ours. Having that second TV option outside of the main living area made the Suite seem enormous to us.

 

It is also very nice to be issued one of those black boardered key cards showing that you are an OVO passenger... :rolleyes:

[Jancruz]

In a nano second I would take the OC..

Jancruz1

[wripro]

I agree with the others. Though I sailed in a PH I regretted not going for the Oceania suite.

[AWED23]

Jim and stan.....Do you by any chance have that link to over 125 pictures of the Marina?...I have tried going back on the threads but have not been successful....Thanks, Rob.

[AWED23]

Thanks for the fast reply....Rob

[Royalco]

Thank you Jim and Stan. Your comments convinced me to go for the Oceani Suite. I booked

the cruise for a PH and now find to upgrade to the OC I am wait listed. However, I am number one on the list. Hopefully someone will cancel.

[JimandStan]

Thank you Jim and Stan. Your comments convinced me to go for the Oceani Suite. I booked

the cruise for a PH and now find to upgrade to the OC I am wait listed. However, I am number one on the list. Hopefully someone will cancel.

 

You won't regret it:

[MiamiBeach]

Jim and Stan, are these pics from an Aft OC? I've seen other photos where the balconies were all glass, or so I thought.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Such beautiful pictures! We sail for the first time on Oceania next year in a PH3 on deck 7 aft. I'd love an OC, but I think we'd be spoiled rotten and may never back down. For now, we'll go with the PH3.

[JimandStan]

Jim and Stan, are these pics from an Aft OC? I've seen other photos where the balconies were all glass, or so I thought.

 

 

Yes, 11083 :D

[JPR]

PH3 is ideal. We're just not awake (or at least with the light's on!) in our room all that much, particularly other than showering and changing.

[Mura]

We lucked out with a VS on Marina for our October cruise, luxurious digs that we aren't likely to book on our own ... but O asked us to switch cruises and upgraded us that way. (Our usual cabin is a PH on the "R" ships.)

 

We loved all that space. But from what fellow passengers said about the PH I think in the future -- should we book on Marina/Riviera -- we'll try to get an OC. That is just because of complaints we heard about the space in the PH cabin not being all that convenient.

 

Now, I did NOT have the opportunity to check out the PH personally so I'm going by what I heard.

 

One drawback to the VS was the light switch set-up. I decided you need a Ph.D. in Light Switching and we only had a B.A., maybe an M.A. There are so many light systems, especially in the living room, and NO master switch ... that turning out the lights can be a challenge. Even so, we did figure it out.

 

Eventually.

 

The big drawback to a VS on Marina was the VERY LONG WALK to a dining room. That may have its benefits in that DH no longer needed to take his post-dinner walk on the deck! It was a long enough hike just back to the room.

 

That being said, would I turn down another such upgrade?

 

No way!

 

Mura

[JimandStan]

One drawback to the VS was the light switch set-up. I decided you need a Ph.D. in Light Switching and we only had a B.A., maybe an M.A. There are so many light systems, especially in the living room, and NO master switch ... that turning out the lights can be a challenge. Even so, we did figure it out.

 

It's the same deal in an Oceania Suite; far too many lighting options for the uninitiated.

Were they as strict with the forward lighting blackout on the Marina as they are on the R ships?

[Mura]

We did get a phone call late one night towards the end of the cruise informing us that the lights on our deck were bothering the bridge crew. (We had the VS directly below the bridge.) We weren't aware of any lights on the deck being ON but fiddled around with the light switches anyway. Apparently they were satisfied since they didn't call again.

 

Later on we thought that perhaps what was actually causing the problem might have been lights from our living room because the curtains weren't completely drawn.

 

Mura

[JimandStan]

We did get a phone call late one night towards the end of the cruise informing us that the lights on our deck were bothering the bridge crew. (We had the VS directly below the bridge.) We weren't aware of any lights on the deck being ON but fiddled around with the light switches anyway. Apparently they were satisfied since they didn't call again.

 

Later on we thought that perhaps what was actually causing the problem might have been lights from our living room because the curtains weren't completely drawn.

 

Mura

 

Sounds like the situation has improved.

 

On the R ships, all of the curtains on the forward facing windows and sliding glass doors must be closed up tight before dusk.

The first time that we booked a Vista, we thought that we could get away with only closing the shear curtains at that time, but no dice.

The heavy (almost blackout) silk curtains must be closed, or it "interferes with the forward views from the bridge"

 

And that can't be good :eek:

[Mura]

When was that? We were in a Vista on Insignia in June 2006 and I don't recall any such restriction. We were in 7004 on that cruise which is just below the bridge.

 

Mura

[JimandStan]

When was that? We were in a Vista on Insignia in June 2006 and I don't recall any such restriction. We were in 7004 on that cruise which is just below the bridge.

 

Mura

 

I's been the policy for as long as we have been booking Vista Suites (the last one on an R ship was June of '09.

The cabin attendants automatically draw the drapes when they turn down the beds, so unless you un-draw them, perhaps you never noticed.

[Mura]

That's very possible. Certainly nothing was ever said to us. I wonder if the itinerary might have had something to do with it? (Not likely, I think.) This was a Dover-Dover itinerary largely in the North Sea -- Iceland, the Faroes, Scotland and Ireland.

 

Mura