seatrial Posted January 15, 2014 #1 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I have been on over 30 cruises, 6 to Alaska. I have never sailed with Oceania, but I have been on the Azamara Journey in Europe, so I'm familiar with these ships. Almost everything about Oceania appeals to me, especially since the Regatta is to receive some updates in May/June 2014. However, there is one aspect of Regatta that concerns me. When I am in Alaska I like to go outside on forward decks and watch the scenery. For those that have been on Regatta in Alaska, are there outside areas that passengers can access to have a forward view? I see that Regatta has the cabanas behind the upper-deck wind-screen. Are passengers ever allowed on the bow for glacier viewing? Right now HAL Amsterdam is also an option. It has great forward deck space, but I really would love to try Oceania. One other question; is the pool in front of the spa only for spa-patron use? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoHoHo Posted January 15, 2014 #2 Share Posted January 15, 2014 For those that have been on Regatta in Alaska, are there outside areas that passengers can access to have a forward view? I see that Regatta has the cabanas behind the upper-deck wind-screen. The cabanas will be removed on the renovation. If they leave the blue windscreens though the viewing will be good but not suitable for photography. Are passengers ever allowed on the bow for glacier viewing? Nope We thought the best viewing was from deck 11. Could see both sides and get a nice panorama a the ship slowly turns about. That is also near where they setup a specialty hot 'coffee plus' station on deck 10 that we made good use of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted January 16, 2014 #3 Share Posted January 16, 2014 The cabanas will be replaced with a mini-golf putting course, like Marina and Riviera. If it is similar to theirs, there will be "rocks" on the course upon which, should you be pretty tall to begin with and have a great sense of balance, you may be able to crane your neck over the windscreen. :rolleyes: I personally preferred the fitness track on deck 10. One is able to see both sides, and can duck into Horizons Lounge if it gets too windy or chilly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiidan Posted January 16, 2014 #4 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I have been on over 30 cruises, 6 to Alaska. I have never sailed with Oceania, but I have been on the Azamara Journey in Europe, so I'm familiar with these ships. Almost everything about Oceania appeals to me, especially since the Regatta is to receive some updates in May/June 2014. However, there is one aspect of Regatta that concerns me. When I am in Alaska I like to go outside on forward decks and watch the scenery. For those that have been on Regatta in Alaska, are there outside areas that passengers can access to have a forward view? I see that Regatta has the cabanas behind the upper-deck wind-screen. Are passengers ever allowed on the bow for glacier viewing? Right now HAL Amsterdam is also an option. It has great forward deck space, but I really would love to try Oceania. One other question; is the pool in front of the spa only for spa-patron use? Thanks Nothing wrong with Oceania, but Holland America has Alaska wired in terms of ports, permits into national parks and reserves that others just don't have...like Glacier Bay. They also have the tour operators, berths and times that are the best. Oceania is the new kid on the block and it will take time for them to develop in this geographic area in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted January 16, 2014 #5 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Nothing wrong with Oceania, but Holland America has Alaska wired in terms of ports, permits into national parks and reserves that others just don't have...like Glacier Bay. They also have the tour operators, berths and times that are the best. Oceania is the new kid on the block and it will take time for them to develop in this geographic area in my opinion. HAL and Princess have the connections, sure, but their "Alaska Machines" are so slick at this point that it almost feels like you are viewing the Alaska scenery on a really good big screen TV. EVERYTHING is mechanized, sanitized and pasteurized to within an inch of its' life. Much too plastic. Smaller is always better in Alaska, trust me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthnlarry Posted January 17, 2014 #6 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Nothing wrong with Oceania, but Holland America has Alaska wired in terms of ports, permits into national parks and reserves that others just don't have...like Glacier Bay. They also have the tour operators, berths and times that are the best. Oceania is the new kid on the block and it will take time for them to develop in this geographic area in my opinion. We've just returned from our 9th HAL cruise on the Eurodam to the Caribbean. Over the years, we have seen a steady decline in the quality of HAL cruises, and had started cruising solely with Oceania (4X), Azamara (4X), and Celebrity (2X). Last year, we booked a HAL cruise on the Prinsendam to the Amazon. Loved the itinerary, but the ship was a disaster. No AC, nonfunctional and/or backed-up toilets, and bad food. As a result, all pax received a substantial future cruise credit. We used our fcc for our Eurodam cruise, and accepted an upsell to a neptune suite. Loved the extra room in the suite and the large veranda. However, the quality of their food had not improved, and was not to our liking. Seafood dishes, in particular, were to be avoided. Service in many of the bars was very, very slow unless seated at the bar. As a result of our last 2 HAL experiences, we will not take another cruise with them for a very, very long time if any. We will continue cruising with Oceania, Azamara, and Celebrity depending upon itinerary. We loved our cruises with them, and they offer an experience that is far superior to HAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiidan Posted January 17, 2014 #7 Share Posted January 17, 2014 One must ask why am I going to Alaska.. to eat and be served in luxury, or[/b] do I seek a grand adventure of discovery? Holland has ships in the 1200-1400 pax Regatta is 600 Food and service on Regatta will be great Holland will be fine but not luxury I would avoid Princess because they pack in 2400+ and are the slick operation only when connected to their cruise tours. Holland cruise tours too. Holland will spend an entire 12 hour day in Glacier bay with National park Ranger naturalists on board giving talks and narration. Regatta will not offer this at all nor be allowed even in the bay. The best Regatta can do is a short "drive by" the Hubbard or the sad little Tracy arm ( the poor mans Glacier bay) for a few hours Viewing on Holland will be better than Regatta because of the forward bow and the un-screened top decks You can't have everything on any one ship is my point. You, as I said, have to see what ship gives you the experience you want. Me, I go to see stuff and discover natural history which is what Alaska is all about I can eat a great meal later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted January 17, 2014 #8 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Holland will be fine but not luxury That's the point, HAL is not even serviceable any longer, (see the previous post) the ships are in ill repair and the food is just plain lousy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiidan Posted January 17, 2014 #9 Share Posted January 17, 2014 That's the point, HAL is not even serviceable any longer, (see the previous post) the ships are in ill repair and the food is just plain lousy. I have cruised with them and, boy never had a bad meal, some great or experienced any problem with the HAL ships... I respect your opinion, however My experience has been the exact opposite. So....its entirely subjective...like food and wine . In fact there was a HAL ship in town yesterday and I quired the passengers I met as to how it was going. Never heard a gripe.... There are and have been breakdowns on every ship from Regent to NCL...It happens...but not that often. I have heard the same complaints on Regent Mariner as I heard on NCL.... Oceania is better in some but not all respects and for the naturalists point of view is not the best of the options Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seatrial Posted January 18, 2014 Author #10 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Thank you for all of the feedback. I returned from a HAL Noordam cruise just a couple of weeks ago. We upgraded to our very first Neptune suite. We had a great time and I have always enjoyed HAL. However, I must say that in my opinion there have been cuts that are resulting in a lower quality experience on HAL. With that said I would still give them another chance. We enjoy going on hikes in Alaska. For the most part we tend to arrange our own activities in port. I did some looking at Oceania excursions and was surprised at the cost. One other cost question, we enjoy wine with dinner, what is the typical cost for a lower-end bottle of wine on Oceania? What is the typical cost for cocktails? Thanks again for your help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted January 18, 2014 #11 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Thank you for all of the feedback. I returned from a HAL Noordam cruise just a couple of weeks ago. We upgraded to our very first Neptune suite. We had a great time and I have always enjoyed HAL. However, I must say that in my opinion there have been cuts that are resulting in a lower quality experience on HAL. With that said I would still give them another chance. We enjoy going on hikes in Alaska. For the most part we tend to arrange our own activities in port. I did some looking at Oceania excursions and was surprised at the cost. One other cost question, we enjoy wine with dinner, what is the typical cost for a lower-end bottle of wine on Oceania? What is the typical cost for cocktails? Thanks again for your help? We are going to Alaska with O in June. Our first cruise there was with Celebrity. We would not even consider an O tour (anywhere). Ridiculously priced, large buses, they control itinerary, can be cancelled for lack of participation etc. The nice thing about Alaska is that you can book private small group tours without having a group of your own (our roll call is barely active). The operator forms the small group for you. We have booked 4 fabulous private tours for our June cruise. We book early as the best operators fill their slots quickly. I will let someone else respond about the wine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted January 18, 2014 #12 Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) House reds or whites can be as low as $26; there is a fairly good choice in the range of the low $30's. Remember, however, that all alcohol purchases are subject to 18% gratuity, which renders the lowest price over $30, and an average price around $40. If you're booked in Concierge (category A) or better, you'll get a bottle of sparkling wine in your cabin; that can be exchanged for a bottle of house red or white. We like wine but don't have an educated palate. We avoid "jug" wines, but often drink "three buck Chuck" at home. Having said that, the house red a couple of years ago didn't agree with us, but have recently been "pretty good" to our lower standards. However, we are generally happy in the $35 to $42 range, including gratuity. As for excursions in Alaska, we have sailed there twice on Regatta, in 2011 and 2013, and once on Celebrity in 2010, and used ship's tours exclusively in all 26 days. Most were based on boats, not buses, and were not any more crowded than private tours to similar areas. I researched many private tours and found few significant savings. In some cases, the private tours in which I was interested were not available as all their capacity was booked by the ship. Edited January 18, 2014 by hondorner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted January 18, 2014 #13 Share Posted January 18, 2014 You can also bring your own wines on board and consume in your cabin or pay a corkage fee to consume in the dining venues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie60 Posted January 18, 2014 #14 Share Posted January 18, 2014 As mentioned before, the lower end wines are in the $25-35 range. There is always a lovely French rose for around $28 that we enjoy at lunch. The wines by the glass are very expensive - costing nearly half the cost of a full bottle. The best option for purchasing wines is either embarkation day or the next day (check with a sommelier as soon as boarding). They will have a 'sale' of bottles that have generally been on the wine list in the past but are now being phased out. If you purchase 3 bottles or more, you'll get a 30% discount. They will store the bottles for you and give you a receipt. Whenever you want a bottle in a restaurant, ask for your specific bottle (DH always keeps the receipt on him to insure they note the correct bottle) and it will be delivered to you. If you have a butler, he can do this for you and you can enjoy it in your room. On a longer cruise, with multiple sea days, they often have a 'wine bazaar' at which more bottles can be purchased - some at a very good discount. In September, DH bought a 2002 Dom Perignon for my birthday for $150 at the bazaar. When we got home, we found the same bottle/vintage selling for $149 at retail. We are wine collectors and were initially skeptical of the wines that we might find on board but have been pleasantly surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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