Caribbean cruise on Oceania Riviera/Regatta or Celebrity Eclipse

[travellerin1984]

Hi guys!

 

I really need your help. I have this wonderful problem of planning next winter cruise. A bit background information about us: Scandinavian couple, in our early and late thirties, enjoy food and wine and travelling. We have done three cruises on Celebrity, two of them in Aqua class. One of the cruises in normal balcony stateroom out of San Juan. We enjoy cruising and loved our Caribbean cruise this winter. We want to do one more Caribbean cruise in January 2015 and have started discussing which ship to book.

 

Our alternatives are 14 nights exotic Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Eclipse. Very nice ports but we have started to get bored of Celebrity entertainment (same shows) and even the food gets a bit repetitive after couple of long cruises. We are discussing Oceania Riviera/Regatta mainly because of the food offerings. Here are our alternatives:

 

Ship: Oceania Regatta, Oceania Cruises

January 6th, 2015 for 10 nights

10 Nights - Mayan Mystique - Miami Florida to Miami Florida

Starting in Miami with stops in Cruising the Straits of Florida, George Town, Cozumel, Belize City, Santo Tomas, Roatan, Costa Maya, Key West

 

Ship: Oceania Riviera, Oceania Cruises

January 4th, 2015 for 10 nights

Carefree Caribbean - Miami Florida to Miami Florida

Starting in Miami with stops in Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, Grand Turk, San Juan, Tortola, Philipsburg, Gustavia, Cayo Levantado, Great Stirrup Cay

 

 

Ship: Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Cruises

January 4th, 2015 for 14 nights

14 Nights Exotic Southern Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Eclipse

Starting in Miami with stops in Oranjestad, Willemstad, Kralendijk, Castries, Bridgetown, St. Johns, Basseterre, Philipsburg

 

 

Oceania is a bit pricier so we would book oceanview stateroom and in Celebrity Aqua Class stateroom. It is really a difficult choice. You get 14 nights in balcony stateroom with Blu with drink package or 10 nights in a oceanview stateroom on Oceania.

 

We enjoy good wine. During the last cruises we have noticed that sommeliers in Celebrity dont really have the time to discuss choices and flavors. How do you consider Oceania wine service compared to Celebrity? Do they know the wines and have right education?

 

I appreciate your comments, feedback and tips.

[hypercafe]

I have done both, as far as X goes to be fair it has to be Aqua class so you get the special rest. That said it boils down to space and food. Do you want to have dinner and share the public rooms with 1200 or3000 of your new best friends? As for food Oceania starts off with much more upscale ingredients. I would do both but Oceania is a step up IMO.

[orchestrapal]

If your bored with the entertainment on X you may not want to try Oceania because from all that has been said often on CC it is not their strong point.

If your changing to a much more intimate ship, great people, service and wonderful food and specialty restaurants you've come to the right cruise line.

You may also find that on the Regatta you may be the youngest on the ship as it trends an older group of passengers.

[travellerin1984]

If your bored with the entertainment on X you may not want to try Oceania because from all that has been said often on CC it is not their strong point.

If your changing to a much more intimate ship, great people, service and wonderful food and specialty restaurants you've come to the right cruise line.

You may also find that on the Regatta you may be the youngest on the ship as it trends an older group of passengers.

 

If the food is good enough it is enough entertainment for us. I think the broadway kind of shows are really not our cup of tea... We are too young and too european for the shows. We do enjoy nice, long meal with good wine pairings. We don't mind older passengers, we usually dine on our own and are not that social so we don't expect meeting a lot of new friends. We enjoy more quality time together.

 

The only thing I am thinking of is the price. Oceania 10 nights costs quite a lot more than 14 nights on Eclipse. Especially when Celebrity is offering drink package it is a big difference... I like more the idea of booking Oceania and my boyfriend is more into Celebrity because of the cost...

[Caroldoll]

I would do The January 4 on the Riviera. I love those ports. I love the food on Oceania and I love the Riviera. I don't like having to pay for the specialty restaurants on Celebrity.

[deadzone1003]

If the meals on Celebrity are getting repetitive, then you should try Oceania and the Riviera may fit what you are looking for as it has the most diverse food venues.

[roothy123]

Of our Caribbean cruises, only one has been on Celebrity (Summit-one of the smaller ones, to Caribbean via San Juan - St. Lucia, St. Thomas, Barbados, etc. - and did NOT pay for Aqua so couldn't go to Blu). We've done 2 Caribbean cruises on Oceania, plus some European cruises. We tried and tolerated Celebrity because they offered a short (7 day) cruise and the price was right. However, it was obviously very disappointing in many regards after doing so many O cruises. However, I think a lot depends upon what you want from a Caribbean cruise. The crowd on Celebrity seemed to be much more into lying on a beach at each port than going anywhere else. I suppose if I lived in a very cold climate, and no beach for miles around, I would be happy going to the beach and sipping rum drinks. However, I like cruises that have a good amount of sightseeing available, and preferably a little off the normal tourist route. While that southern Caribbean cruise on Celebrity sounds pretty good, especially Curacao (Willemstad), Barbados (Bridgetown), & St. Lucia (Castries), I think I would still stick with Oceania, perhaps the Mayan Mystique cruise. We did that a couple years ago and loved it. Then again, we loved San Juan, Costa Maya, and St. Barts, so each of the itineraries you listed have great ports! It would be tough for me to decide if I hadn't been to so many islands in the Caribbean already! Each is just a little different, and variety is important to me.

 

If you ARE into sightseeing more than beach/watersports, I'd suggest either taking shore excursions or looking into your own travels where you can, as a few of the ports on various itineraries are somewhat limited if you simply stick around the port. For Mayan Mystique, for example, there is little to do easily in Belize City (which is a bit shabby, to be honest), but if you spend some time and money going to the Mayan ruins, you'll see much, much more. Even a place I didn't expect to like a lot (Costa Maya) turned out to be one of my favorite places. Barbados (I'm back to Celebrity now) was fantastic, but we rented a car and did our own tour, so I can't really say if others loved the island as much as we did. (It has some great scenery on the eastern side.)

 

If you're used to Celebrity ships, you will probably be totally unfazed by the size (and number of pax) of Rivera. On Regatta, a good thing this year is that they are adding a made-to-order grill for dinner on the Terrace. We love the grill on Marina, and are really happy that there will be one more dining venue on the smaller ships.

 

I don't drink, so I can't answer your question about wine!

 

Whichever cruise you choose, enjoy!

Edited February 10, 2014 by roothy123

[kimanjo]

I have sailed:

 

Azamara Quest

 

Celebrity Equinox

 

Oceania Rivera

 

So I can judge them all... I have opinions on all 3!

 

Ask away.

[Travelcat2]

I have sailed:

 

Azamara Quest

 

Celebrity Equinox

 

Oceania Rivera

 

So I can judge them all... I have opinions on all 3!

 

Ask away.

 

Which would you rate the best overall of the three?

[sabrefan]

Oceania and Celebrity are our two favorite cruises. Have taken two cruises on Equinox, both 10 and 11 day Caribbean. Just got off our second cruise on Reflection which was a 7 day, the classic beverage package was very nice to have. Have been in Aqua Class but we find the food in Blu, good but very repetitive. However, we do like Lawn Grill, Qsine and Tuscan. For the cost difference between Oceania and Celebrity you can easily pay for many dinners in the specialty restaurants. The Solstice class ships are laid out very well and as such the flow of people is much smoother. Entertainment is better, casino is much nicer and their are more ship shore excursions to choose from.

 

We decided to go to the Caribbean on Oceania last year, we booked a 10 day cruise for February 2013 and we were offered to take a 14 day cruise in the same cabin class, except the cruise was to depart Miami in March and it was for 14 days at no extra charge. We of course took the offer. The food is great on the Riviera in all the restaurants. The entertainment was not that bad, the age group of the passengers is slightly older on Oceania compared to Celebrity. Oceania is able to go to some different ports because their ships are smaller. We go back on a 10 day Caribbean cruise on the Riviera on 2/22/14. We liked the cruise last year so much on the Riviera that we are going to Alaska on the Regatta on 6/7/14.

 

Good luck with your decision, if you can afford Oceania, they are better than Celebrity but if not Celebrity Solstice Class ships are not too many steps below.

 

 

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[pthjudy]

Hi guys!

 

I really need your help. I have this wonderful problem of planning next winter cruise. A bit background information about us: Scandinavian couple, in our early and late thirties, enjoy food and wine and travelling. We have done three cruises on Celebrity, two of them in Aqua class. One of the cruises in normal balcony stateroom out of San Juan. We enjoy cruising and loved our Caribbean cruise this winter. We want to do one more Caribbean cruise in January 2015 and have started discussing which ship to book.

 

Our alternatives are 14 nights exotic Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Eclipse. Very nice ports but we have started to get bored of Celebrity entertainment (same shows) and even the food gets a bit repetitive after couple of long cruises. We are discussing Oceania Riviera/Regatta mainly because of the food offerings. Here are our alternatives:

 

Ship: Oceania Regatta, Oceania Cruises

January 6th, 2015 for 10 nights

10 Nights - Mayan Mystique - Miami Florida to Miami Florida

Starting in Miami with stops in Cruising the Straits of Florida, George Town, Cozumel, Belize City, Santo Tomas, Roatan, Costa Maya, Key West

 

Ship: Oceania Riviera, Oceania Cruises

January 4th, 2015 for 10 nights

Carefree Caribbean - Miami Florida to Miami Florida

Starting in Miami with stops in Cruising the Atlantic Ocean, Grand Turk, San Juan, Tortola, Philipsburg, Gustavia, Cayo Levantado, Great Stirrup Cay

 

 

Ship: Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Cruises

January 4th, 2015 for 14 nights

14 Nights Exotic Southern Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Eclipse

Starting in Miami with stops in Oranjestad, Willemstad, Kralendijk, Castries, Bridgetown, St. Johns, Basseterre, Philipsburg

 

 

Oceania is a bit pricier so we would book oceanview stateroom and in Celebrity Aqua Class stateroom. It is really a difficult choice. You get 14 nights in balcony stateroom with Blu with drink package or 10 nights in a oceanview stateroom on Oceania.

 

We enjoy good wine. During the last cruises we have noticed that sommeliers in Celebrity dont really have the time to discuss choices and flavors. How do you consider Oceania wine service compared to Celebrity? Do they know the wines and have right education?

 

I appreciate your comments, feedback and tips.

 

Just got off the a Riviera yesterday and saw your post this morning. (At $.99 a minute I used internet only for email.). It was our first 0ceania cruise but 31st overall. If you are looking for service with a capital S with the best food you can imagine, Oceania is for you. The ship is tasteful luxury, elevators and public rooms relatively empty, and yes, they know their wines! It Is more expensive for the Caribbean but I would choose a shorter cruise in an inexpensive cabin on O, than a longer, better room on any other cruise line. There was entertainment, but forget the glitz. No nickel and diming, no photographer, no pushing drinks. That's what Oceania is all about!

[caviargal]

It Is more expensive for the Caribbean but I would choose a shorter cruise in an inexpensive cabin on O, than a longer, better room on any other cruise line. There was entertainment, but forget the glitz. No nickel and diming, no photographer, no pushing drinks. That's what Oceania is all about!

 

I agree. IMO, Celebrity is not what it used to be and the nickel and diming is annoying.

 

We simply would not choose a mass market cruise, period. We do not cruise just to cruise and rarely ocean cruise anymore. That being said, we enjoyed the onboard experience with O enough to take another.

Edited February 13, 2014 by caviargal

[Floridiana]

Oceania's Riviera, not question at all. Great food, great beds, new shows, not too small not too big.

Edited February 13, 2014 by Floridiana

[pacheco18]

We have sailed Celebrity as well as O

 

The food in the specialties on Celebrity is as good as anything on O. I have not eaten in BLU (we don't do AQ) but folks rave.

 

Personally, I would not waste my money (cost on O will be a lot higher for a lesser stateroom) on the Caribbean on O. I just did it. I would choose O in a heartbeat over Celebrity for almost any other itinerary, especially for a unique itinerary in an area where smaller ships can dock where large ones cannot.

 

The S class ships have the fabulous wine tasting room (Wine Cellar) -- I cannot imagine that that venue does not solve the wine issue for you. I have sailed on Eclipse and Solstice with wine aficionados and they loved that venue.

Edited February 13, 2014 by pacheco18

[Dr65]

We have cruised maybe 20 times on Celebrity and once on Oceania(Nautica). We are in our mid 50's but very active. We feel there is a much hipper vibe on the S class ships and much more going on. We also feel the food and service in Blu equals that of Oceania's. If the price on Oceania was close to Celebrity than I would say give Oceania a try, but if Celebrity is far cheaper it's a no brainier for us. Hope this helps.

[pacheco18]

Agree. There is much more to do on the s class ships. If the ship is ur destination as it is for some in the Caribbean then the s class ships are a better choice

 

 

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[travellerin1984]

Hi guys!

 

Thank you for your nice comments! We decided to book 14 nights on Celebrity Eclipse. After talking to our travel agent we decided to book Aqua class. Oceania is quite a lot more expensive than Celebrity so we made a budget and decided it is better to invest more money on excursions. The main reason was the drink package, we can enjoy all inclusive wines during the whole cruise. On Oceania it would be have been a big cost to buy wine for the meals. We still want to try Oceania. Maybe a mediterranean cruise next year... We are still young and have the time.

 

Once again, thanks for comments!

[LHT28]

Hi guys!

 

The main reason was the drink package, we can enjoy all inclusive wines during the whole cruise. On Oceania it would be have been a big cost to buy wine for the meals.

Is the Oceania drink package more than Celebrity? :confused:

 

Enjoy your cruise

[pacheco18]

It is currently free on celebrity as part of their - 1 2 3 promotion. Great deal

 

 

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[Cruiser Jane]

I guess it's too late for my comment as our friends have decided. I think Oceania's prices are going way too high and they are going to suffer some for it. But the food choices on O offer over 100 different courses to X's 27 different offerings. X's food is really not good compared to O's.

 

We did this X cruise last year and found that the ports were over crowded with mega ships and there was way too much confusion for us and we just stayed on board in places like St. Maaten. Oceania's smaller ships can get into ports that the mega ships are not allowed in. O can go to more secluded and interesting destinations.

 

On the Eclipse, I noticed the tables in the café were not cleaned appropriately; sometimes left sticky. No placemats. More like an A&G cafeteria. We were in O's Terrace café after they closed once and noticed the crew UNDER the tables cleaning the legs and floor. Nothing is ever dirty on O. Having said that, the ratio of staff on O is much higher than the ratio of staff to cruisers on X. Thus there are not enough workers to clean the ship like O does.

 

I also found the class of people to be much different.

 

X was 1/3 the price of O for that cruise we took. It was okay, but I really don't think I want to go on another X cruise.

 

Jan

[Travelcat2]

Cruiser Jane: The points that you bring up, IMO, are the important ones. It is difficult (at best) to compare Celebrity to Oceania as they are so different and market to a different segment of the cruising population. If people are going to pay less money to sail on Celebrity, they are not going to get the quality they receive on Oceania (or apparently the cleanliness???) On the other hand, many people are looking for what Celebrity is offering -- which could be why they build larger ships.

 

To compare it with automobiles for a moment, there is always a market for a Lexus, Cadillac, Honda, Dodge, Ford, etc. Each is different and people have reasons why they select them. There is really no right or wrong cruise line (or car) to pick -- you go with what offers what you are looking for.

[JimandStan]

It is currently free on celebrity as part of their - 1 2 3 promotion. Great deal

 

 

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Free Laraine? Oh no you didn't :eek:

 

Would it not fall into the category of -Just as free as the infamous "Free Air"?- : :p

 

That said, I would not even ACCEPT the Celebrity Drinks Package FOR FREE (and I DO enjoy a cocktail!!!) because they have all kinds of ridiculous limits and stops built into it.

 

They limit the price, the size, the number, AND the quality of the cocktails that they dispense under that Plan, -oh, and by the way, it is the Passenger who must wade through all these rules.......presumeably while drinking! .

 

It is really incredibly tacky.

 

Being lumped in with the "out of control Spring Break Set" is one of the reasons why I'm no longer interested in sailing with Celebrity, even if they do Class Divide their ships with that "Aqua Class" nonsense.

Edited February 14, 2014 by JimandStan

[pacheco18]

It is free. Check the promotion. Not like included air. If is like when o includes gratuities from time to time

The wine cellar on x is fabulous

Not all of us are cruise snobs lol

I cannot imagine you on any line but o

The rest of us have choices

 

 

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Edited February 14, 2014 by pacheco18

[JimandStan]

Speaking of snobs, I'm actually surprised that the class division on the Celebrity Ships hasn't received more of a negative reaction in a side by side comparison between the two Lines.

Where is the righteous indignation from those who are denied entrance to Blu?

[pacheco18]

Guess those of us who don't sail aq don't care. Suite passengers may access

 

What about the folks who

Can't access the spa deck or cc or exec lounges on o

Every line offers perks based on cabin booking. O included

 

 

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