Princess vs. Oceania

[bandgbasset]

Hello:

 

We love princess, but are looking to sail to alaska next year on oceans's regatta.

 

Has anyone ever sailed them? I like the idea of a smaller ship. I love the food and service on princess.

 

Just returned from a Hal cruise with noro for 2 weeks to Norway and Scotland. Laundry was closed, library was closed, puzzles were taken off the tables,no games, the list goes on. The food was cold although it was pretty good, but it was never served hot, and the overall service was nothing like princess.

 

Just curious if anyone has sailed with Oceania and how did you like it and was it worth the extra cost.

 

Thank you for your help.

[capecodder2]

I assume you have looked at and/or posted on the Oceania board. There are the answers to your questions and many comparisons between the 2 lines - although that is like comparing apples and oranges. Having sailed quite a few cruises on both, my preference is Oceania, but Princess is okay when we need keep to a lower budget. They are, however, nothing alike and I suggest you read both boards. Which is the better fit for you depends on what you want from the cruise.

[Cruzn ELM]

As previously said, they are quite different. Here are a few thoughts that I hope will help in making your decision.

 

I cruised Sydney to Bangkok on the Nautica. Oceania is definitely classier, and yet more casual in that every night is country club casual. That being said, it means you dress at night as you would to go to a country club or nice restaurant. No jeans etc.

 

Being a smaller ship they do not have the entertainment venues that you would experience on the Princess ships. For our trip they brought on different entertainers throughout the cruise. They have a gym and daytime activities but again not to the same magnitude that you would find on Princess.

 

The rooms are nicer, with wood finishing touches and nice closets.

 

The food was very good. They have one nice dinning room in which you are guaranteed to be able to eat a minimum number of times depending on the length of your cruise, but not every night. Other times you would be eating in the buffet, but it is nothing like Horizon Court.

 

If you prefer a lot of activity, stick with Princess, if you like a more relaxed laid back cruise give Oceania a try.

[rdsqrl]

. . . They have one nice dinning room in which you are guaranteed to be able to eat a minimum number of times depending on the length of your cruise, but not every night. Other times you would be eating in the buffet, but it is nothing like Horizon Court...

Wait, what? You're not guaranteed to be able to eat in the dining room but you have to eat in the buffet some nights? That's insane; I don't care how nice the buffet is. Well, now I can cross Oceania off my list.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Wait, what? You're not guaranteed to be able to eat in the dining room but you have to eat in the buffet some nights? That's insane; I don't care how nice the buffet is. Well, now I can cross Oceania off my list.

 

Don't worry. They got it wrong. You can ALWAYS eat in the main dining room (MDR), but you usually only have one reservation per speciality restaurant during a cruise. Sometimes you can squeeze in another. There is no charge for the specialty restaurants either. No one is forced to eat at the buffet certain nights.

[rdsqrl]

Don't worry. They got it wrong. You can ALWAYS eat in the MDR, but you usually only have one reservation per speciality restaurant during a cruise. Sometimes you can squeeze in another. There is no charge for the specialty restaurants either. No one is forced to eat at the buffet certain nights.

Whew. I feel better! I really like the looks of Oceania and had plans to sail with them at some point (just as soon as I go from broke grad student to not-so-broke wage earner!).

[Host Jazzbeau]

One big plus for Oceania, especially their R-class ships like Regatta, is that their smaller size allows them to visit (and dock at) ports that can't handle the bigger ships. But this only benefits you on certain itineraries, where Oceania visits such ports.

 

Check the Alaska itineraries of the Oceania and Princess cruises you are considering. Does Oceania actually visit any smaller ports that Princess can't?

 

On the other hand, Princess one-way cruises from Whittier to/from Vancouver visit Glacier Bay, which Oceania doesn't. Most people consider Glacier Bay the #1 destination.

 

On the third hand, if you're comparing round trips from Seattle (or Vancouver or SF) where nobody does Glacier Bay -- then Oceania will offer a very classy experience.

[Cruzn ELM]

Don't worry. They got it wrong. You can ALWAYS eat in the main dining room (MDR), but you usually only have one reservation per speciality restaurant during a cruise. Sometimes you can squeeze in another. There is no charge for the specialty restaurants either. No one is forced to eat at the buffet certain nights.

 

Sorry - brain freeze. We only used the MDR once because you could feel the ships motion quite a bit in there and a friend I was traveling with is very susceptible to motion sickness (patches etc. weren't working). So since it wasn't for us, I didn't think about the MDR being the usual option for others. Fortunately, the specialty restaurant was in a steadier location and because we were not at ships capacity, we were able to eat there several times.

[JanetAlice]

One big plus for Oceania, especially their R-class ships like Regatta, is that their smaller size allows them to visit (and dock at) ports that can't handle the bigger ships. But this only benefits you on certain itineraries, where Oceania visits such ports.

 

Check the Alaska itineraries of the Oceania and Princess cruises you are considering. Does Oceania actually visit any smaller ports that Princess can't?

 

On the other hand, Princess one-way cruises from Whittier to/from Vancouver visit Glacier Bay, which Oceania doesn't. Most people consider Glacier Bay the #1 destination.

 

On the third hand, if you're comparing round trips from Seattle (or Vancouver or SF) where nobody does Glacier Bay -- then Oceania will offer a very classy experience.

 

Not true. Golden Princess does visit Glacier Bay every other week. She is round trip out of Seattle.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Would be interested in the cost comparison of the two itineraries OP is considering...

[hubofhockey]

Would be interested in the cost comparison of the two itineraries OP is considering...

 

I got a bit of sticker shock when I saw what Princess was charging for Alaska. Princess is not one of the cheaper options.

[Rikka]

Just for your information, Oceania uses mostly the R-class ships that were purchased from Renaissance Cruises after they went bankrupt in 2001 (although their new ship is a completely new design) Princess also bought two of those ships and they are now sailing as the Ocean Princess and the Pacific Princess. The 8 original R-class ships were built for Renaissance and were almost identical. They have 680 to 700 passengers, and are our favorite ships. We have sailed on them twice before and are sailing on the Ocean Princess again in three weeks. If you decide to sail on either the two small Princess ships, you will be sailing on a ship that is - at least in design and layout - the same as the two smaller Oceania ships.

 

There have been cosmetic changes to all of them of course. I understand that the service and amenities on board Oceania are a step up from Princess. We first traveled on these ships when they belonged to Renaissance and loved every minute of the experience. In those days, the entire fleet was completely non-smoking - a revolutionary concept at the time.

 

We find that the small size of the ships alone seems to foster a more intimate experience.

[dorisis]

After more than 30 cruises on Princess and at least 50 on other lines, I can say Oceania is my favorite. Even as good as some luxury ships. Speciality restaurants are free as well as soda, water and special coffees. HOWEVER..the entertainment is far superior on other lines especially Princess. If you are taking children, Oceania may not be a cruise for you. I also find their loyalty program better than Princess.

 

~Doris~

[billie5]

Princess and Oceania are our two favorite cruise lines. I will not repeat what the other posters have said, because I find it quite accurate. Well, not the MDR-buffet comment, of course.:) But that has been corrected.

 

It is ironic that OP mentions the great food on Princess. We agree their food is quite good (except perhaps for vegans, who would be better off on NCL or RCI). But Oceania's food is indeed another step up from Princess.

 

We use Oceania when the itinerary warrants it. They do stop at ports which are missed by other lines. Also -- rarely -- as a special treat, as Oceania is definitely more expensive.

[shepp]

On the third hand, if you're comparing round trips from Seattle (or Vancouver or SF) where nobody does Glacier Bay -- then Oceania will offer a very classy experience.

 

Wrong about San Francisco, as well. Plenty of SFO cruises go to Glacier Bay, and Oceania's sailings from here don't.

[gertz]

Now I am going to make a remark about a ship or ships that I have never been on and more than likely will never be on.

Oceania R class ships. Like the Princess R class ships and pay a bunch more money, why? and never.

Loved the mini suit on the Ocean cabin 80 something big, double balcony. Nice. Like the aft dining room even buffet was good, lousy pizza tho. Speciality restaurants, only ate at the steakhouse can't remember if it is Sterling's or what makes no difference only ate there once or twice.

MO terrible show room and lounge maybe they have changed it some now.

But quiet frankly everyone to there own preference but on long cruises I did not like it. Port intensive would be fine but paddling back and forth across the ocean not for me and also unless they have found another gear it is slow. Think the Coral and Island much better overall ships for my cruise.:D

[Aussie Gal]

I have been on long cruises on both Princess and Oceania. We were on the Ocean Princess from Capetown to Dover in 2010 and that was 32 days and we were on Oceania's Nautica (sister ship to the Ocean) from Hong Kong to Athens in 2008 and that was 35 days.

 

We loved both cruises and they are our number and 1 and 2 favourite cruises of all time.

 

Oceania was the better product for a number of reasons. The first being the food, which was fantastic. Secondly, we could eat in all 4 restaurants - MDR, Buffet which becomes a restaurant at night, and the two other restaurants which on a Princess ship are Sabattini's and the Steak House without any extra cost. We weren't restricted to just one alternate restaurant on our cruise as it was a long one. Thirdly, we love the dress code of Country Club Casual which everyone adhered to whilst on board and finally, even though it is a small ship we were able to have anytime dining which we love.

 

There isn't the entertainment at night that there is on Princess and that can be a problem but our itinerary was a busy one and of course being on a longer cruise and on a smaller ship, we did meet so many great people so we always found plenty to do.

 

I cannot compare the larger Princess ships to Oceania as we mainly cruise on the "little ships", though Oceania will be christening their 2nd large ship shortly and cruising on those two would be a different experience from being on the smaller ones. From what I have heard from friends, the larger ship that is in service now is a wonderful cruising experience.

 

We want to return to Oceania in the future though their pricing is more expensive than Princess. We did do a wonderful 14 day cruise on the Ocean Princess when it was the Tahitian Princess in Alaska in 2008 when we visited unusual ports including Kodiak and Valdez.

 

Jennie

[Host Jazzbeau]

Wrong about San Francisco, as well. Plenty of SFO cruises go to Glacier Bay, and Oceania's sailings from here don't.

 

OK, let me rephrase it so my minor inaccuracies don't obscure the main point:

 

If you are comparing a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay with one that doesn't, most of the advice I've seen is that Glacier Bay trumps all other points of comparison so I would pick Princess over Oceania.

 

If you are comparing two cruises that don't do Glacier Bay, I would prefer Oceania over Princess or any mass market line (if I could afford it).

 

As to the comparison of Oceania's R-ships with those on Princess: Oceania spent millions refitting their ships; the public spaces are very classy, they have extensive art collections, and they don't look old or run down (I can't speak to what Princess has done with theirs since 2001). On Oceania there is no nickel-and-diming: in addition to all the included things that someone mentioned above, there are no auctions and no photographers. I also particularly liked the absence of formal night. OTOH, some people really do like auctions, ships' photographers, and the opportunity to dress up, so YMMV.

[Talisker92]

We have sailed on both the Oceania Insignia and the Ocean Princess and loved both of them.

Unfortunately Oceania has priced itself out of our budget and we will stick with Princess. We are booked on the Pacific Princess in October 2013.

[CruisinChris]

Agree with all previous comments, including that Oceania is a step-up (they have two new ships, btw, built for them, that are gorgeous). The most important factor here is that we are talking about ALASKA. Given that very important fact, anybody would be silly not to cruise Princess. Princess OWNS Alaska, has the best infrastructure, and the best itineraries hands down. They do Alaska better than anybody and they do a fantastic job of bringing Alaska onboard. Save Oceania for the Med. For Alaska, you must go Princess.

[cruisetrail]

Hello:

 

We love princess, but are looking to sail to alaska next year on oceans's regatta.

 

Has anyone ever sailed them? I like the idea of a smaller ship. I love the food and service on princess.

 

Just returned from a Hal cruise with noro for 2 weeks to Norway and Scotland. Laundry was closed, library was closed, puzzles were taken off the tables,no games, the list goes on. The food was cold although it was pretty good, but it was never served hot, and the overall service was nothing like princess.

 

Just curious if anyone has sailed with Oceania and how did you like it and was it worth the extra cost.

 

Thank you for your help.

 

You can get better food and more "special" itineraries with Oceania if this is what you are ready to pay premium price for.

Ships: Oceania ships are small, claustrophobic and dead boring.

I've seen Oceania Marina recently. The design is awful for a premium cruise line.

Princess offers good (maybe not as good as Oceania) food and beautiful ships (Grand Class).

[missouri01]

Agree with all previous comments' date=' including that Oceania is a step-up (they have two new ships, btw, built for them, that are gorgeous). The most important factor here is that we are talking about ALASKA. Given that very important fact, anybody would be silly not to cruise Princess. Princess OWNS Alaska, has the best infrastructure, and the best itineraries hands down. They do Alaska better than anybody and they do a fantastic job of bringing Alaska onboard. Save Oceania for the Med. For Alaska, you must go Princess.[/quote']

 

I agree wholeheartedly! choose the line to give you the best experience for the destination. ....after long days of sightseeing in Europe, it was so nice to get back to the Insignia to relax in a wonderful atmosphere....everyone gets to know each other, guests and employees greeting each other like long time friends.