Oceania vs SilverSea, and few Oceania questions

[KLB10]

Considering a 7 night Oceania Cruise for the Wife and I with a standard balcony room. The other option is a 7 night SilverSea with an Ocean view room for $600 more. The Oceania includes the prepaid gratuities but not alcohol so the price is a wash. Comes down to the Balcony plus whatever advantages Oceania has vs the SilverSea advantages. Never sailed either line

 

Any thoughts welcome.

 

 

 

Also a few Oceania questions

 

1. Dinning options- I have priced together I little of how it works but any further explanation would be great. Really like Polo Grill menu, how many time should we expect to go? Can we order room service for a price?

 

2. Pool Deck- How often is it difficult to find a lounge chair and are any of them reserved for Suite guests or rentals? There seem to be some large wicker chases in the photo, I would assume those are not first come first serve.

 

3. Drink Prices- Although I we both drink, I don't know if we would drink over $800 to cove the all-inclusive especially considering some drinking will be off the boat. What are the prices?

[StanandJim]

Really like Polo Grill menu, how many time should we expect to go?

On a seven day Itinerary in a standard veranda cabin, you'll be guaranteed one visit to each of the Specialty Restaurants, and may manage more if you are flexible regarding date and time and you are willing to share a table.

Can we order room service for a price?

Room service is complimentary to all cabin categories, but the food does not come from Polo.

Pool Deck- How often is it difficult to find a lounge chair and are any of them reserved for Suite guests or rentals? There seem to be some large wicker chases in the photo, I would assume those are not first come first serve.

None of the lounge chairs or day beds are held for any guest. If any "reserving" goes on, it will be done by your fellow passengers. The itinerary of your cruise makes a great difference there; in some areas of the World, sightseeing far outweighs pool sitting.

Drink Prices- Although I we both drink, I don't know if we would drink over $800 to cove the all-inclusive especially considering some drinking will be off the boat. What are the prices

Beer runs from six to ten dollars per bottle, dependent on the brand, mixed drinks from eight to twelve dollars per and Martini's from ten to sixteen. All of these prices are subject to an additional 18% service charge.

Edited January 3, 2015 by StanandJim

[LHT28]

I cannot help with comparing lines

 

in another thread a passenger just posted menus etc including the bar menus

 

http://www.thepreismans.com/riviera_mayan_menus.htm

[PaulMCO]

Considering a 7 night Oceania Cruise for the Wife and I with a standard balcony room. The other option is a 7 night SilverSea with an Ocean view room for $600 more. The Oceania includes the prepaid gratuities but not alcohol so the price is a wash. Comes down to the Balcony plus whatever advantages Oceania has vs the SilverSea advantages. Never sailed either line

 

Any thoughts welcome.

 

 

 

Also a few Oceania questions

 

1. Dinning options- I have priced together I little of how it works but any further explanation would be great. Really like Polo Grill menu, how many time should we expect to go? Can we order room service for a price?

 

2. Pool Deck- How often is it difficult to find a lounge chair and are any of them reserved for Suite guests or rentals? There seem to be some large wicker chases in the photo, I would assume those are not first come first serve.

 

3. Drink Prices- Although I we both drink, I don't know if we would drink over $800 to cove the all-inclusive especially considering some drinking will be off the boat. What are the prices?

 

We just did the same comparison for this last minute Christmas cruise. We had same choice Silversea in a OV versus Riviera in the balcony. Difference was about $600 in favor of O and we decided on Riviera.

 

Pool deck is first come first served. O does not like people reserving chairs but they do not enforce the policy.

 

Polo -- depends on what ship. Easier to get multiple on the 600 passenger ships. You are guaranteed one booking. But many times you can get a late seating if you are willing to share.

 

Service is more attentive on Silversea. O is not bad but not as good as Silversea.

 

Drinks will run about $12 per. Wine $50 to $75 a bottle. On O you can bring your own wine onboard and pay a $25 corkage fee to drink in the restaurant.

 

Dress Code - Silversea is more formal.

 

Food is subjective. Have had good meals and bad meals on both.

 

Veranda. It is your choice. I would miss it, that is me. However many times if you have alot of sea days they bare not usable due to wind.

Edited January 3, 2015 by PaulMCO

[BenMurphy]

The Wife???????????????????????????????????????

 

you'd be going alone if you were my "husband"

 

regards:eek:

[KLB10]

The Wife???????????????????????????????????????

 

you'd be going alone if you were my "husband"

 

regards:eek:

 

indeed, If you were my wife I would go alone.

[Caroldoll]

I do not like the formality of Silversea. Silversea only has one other dining venue that does not charge. Silversea is very, very dressy. I don't like that. Personally I didn't feel the service was any better on Silversea. I would not like to give up a balcony. Not under any circumstances. This is all personal, of course.

[hypercafe]

I also looked at both however the dress on SS was a turn off to me. I like the resort casual all the time deal. On Oceania the pool deck does get really busy on sea days in a warm place. Part of it is smoking so if that is a problem for you it further cuts down on sitting areas

 

 

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

[PaulMCO]

indeed, If you were my wife I would go alone.

 

Excellent comeback :D

[Baybear]

Excellent comeback :D

 

He probably paraphrased that from a quote frequently credited to Winston Churchill after a similar altercation to the above.

 

Lady to Winston Churchill: Sir, if you were my husband, I'd poison you!

 

Churchill: Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it.

[Paulchili]

Silversea does have a more personalized service and the comparable cabins are larger on Silversea. That is where their superiority ends, IMO. We do not drink, so all inclusive is not an issue for us.

The food is better on Oceania (with many more choices) and the formal dress code on Silversea is a deal breaker for us.

We would only take Silversea for a unique itinerary that O does not offer.

[KLB10]

Thanks to all, very helpful answers

 

 

Looking at the menus raises a few breakfast questions, the room service breakfast menu very limited, does the Terrace Cafe have Breakfast buffet or menu?

 

Also will they let me order breakfast for "the wife" in the GDR and take it back to the room myself?

 

We would like to eat breakfast on either the pool deck or in our own.

 

I should mention i am looking at Caribbean cruise in March

[LHT28]

Thanks to all, very helpful answers

 

 

Looking at the menus raises a few breakfast questions, the room service breakfast menu very limited, does the Terrace Cafe have Breakfast buffet or menu?

 

Also will they let me order breakfast for "the wife" in the GDR and take it back to the room myself?

 

We would like to eat breakfast on either the pool deck or in our own.

 

 

If you get an A cabin or above you can order a hot breakfast in your cabin

B cabins & below just continental

 

Terrace & Waves is buffet style but some items are cooked to order

You can eat on the back deck of Terrace (outdoors) or there are tables in the waves area

Also the GDR also has menu for breakfast

Taking food back from the dining venues is frowned upon ;)

[Hawaiidan]

Thanks to all, very helpful answers

 

 

Looking at the menus raises a few breakfast questions, the room service breakfast menu very limited, does the Terrace Cafe have Breakfast buffet or menu?

 

Also will they let me order breakfast for "the wife" in the GDR and take it back to the room myself?

 

We would like to eat breakfast on either the pool deck or in our own.

 

I should mention i am looking at Caribbean cruise in March

 

Room service is limited.... plain and simple

The Terrace doesn't not have a menu it is a very up-scale buffet.

I have no idea if you could carry your plate to your room.... it would be a very long walk and not easy in my book.. Yom might do this from the Terrace or Waves but not the main dining room as its not self serve.

 

Waves is a limited menu but excellent breakfast and lunch spot... it is no the pool deck but no tables near the pool.... maybe 100 ft distant and under a overhead. Its my preferred breakfast spot.

 

In my book the Caribbean is a crowded and hectic place. People on all ships /lines all wit an urgency to get it all in. Plus its port-port-port-port with very little time to enjoy the ship... To me it makes no real difference in that region what line you take...NCL or Silversea. Your ship will be a crash pad and not much more.

 

I would suggest a nice 14 to 20 day cruise like around Tahiti. That's where Oceania shines.

On such a cruise It has been my experience that you can get Polo almost as many times as you want. That goes for all the specialties'.

Don't short change your experience

[critics0001]

We have been on both and have booked one cruise on each line for this year, so we like both lines. You did not mention which ships you are looking at. The SS are significantly smaller in size than have the size of any Oceania ship.

Service is better on SS than Oceania significantly better in restaurants but very similar in cabins. Cabins are also larger on SS.

Food is better in the main dining room and the buffet on SS. Higher quality and better service. On smaller SS ships there are fewer restaurants than O. But on SS Spirit there are just as many as the large O ships. If you like sushi, SS superior to O.

There are more activities on O but this is also accompanied by more bothersome announcements. The entertainment is comparable but shows on SS are smaller.

SS being all inclusive, the alcohol is included and has a very good selection. They both serve the same French champagne, free on SS but $15.50(+18%) a glass on O. If you don't drink then O may be the way to go.

We generally do not book cruise ship tours but we have taken 2 tours on each cruise line to use up cruise credits. Both O tours were terrible and overpriced. In fact they are the highest priced ones in the industry. SS were not cheap but both were great.

Internet rates are higher on O than SS.

It looks like we favor SS. O has better spa and exercise equipment as well as being larger in size. If you want informal go O. You will need an extra bag for the dress up days on SS. On a 7 day cruise there will be 4 nights where you need to dress better than on any day on O. However if you avoid the main dining room you can dress down on SS.

In the spirit of the previous issue, best regards, The Spouses

[Paulchili]

You will need an extra bag for the dress up days on SS. On a 7 day cruise there will be 4 nights where you need to dress better than on any day on O. However if you avoid the main dining room you can dress down on SS.

 

Is this a new policy? In the past one had to obey the dress code for the evening in all venues (except in your own suite, of course).

[wripro]

Dress codes on all the luxury lines have become more lax in the last couple of years. They are all going after the younger demographic which does not care to bring tuxedos for a 7 day cruise.

[critics0001]

Not a new policy but one that was not enforced on our last cruise in the deck grill and la terrazza.

[Merriem]

Our experience on Silversea was so bad that we would not repeat for free. Go with Oceania.

[Travelcat2]

And we have enjoyed both Silversea and Oceania. IMO, it is difficult to compare Oceania to a "true" luxury cruise line. In the case of Silversea, all of their ships are considerably smaller than Oceania. On Silversea, you do not have to think about whether to take alcohol on board and pay a corkage fee in a restaurant, buy a package or ??? When I first started reading the Oceania boards, it seemed that Silversea passengers just were not interested in alcohol. Boy -- how wrong I was. It is rare when there is not an active "alcohol" thread on the Oceania board. And, Happy Hour is a big deal on Oceania.

 

It seems that going from mainstream to luxury "lite" or "premium plus" is the natural progression for many passengers. While there will always be some luxury cruisers that decide to go down a level, it does not seem to happen often.

[Merriem]

And we have enjoyed both Silversea and Oceania. IMO, it is difficult to compare Oceania to a "true" luxury cruise line. In the case of Silversea, all of their ships are considerably smaller than Oceania. On Silversea, you do not have to think about whether to take alcohol on board and pay a corkage fee in a restaurant, buy a package or ??? When I first started reading the Oceania boards, it seemed that Silversea passengers just were not interested in alcohol. Boy -- how wrong I was. It is rare when there is not an active "alcohol" thread on the Oceania board. And, Happy Hour is a big deal on Oceania.

 

It seems that going from mainstream to luxury "lite" or "premium plus" is the natural progression for many passengers. While there will always be some luxury cruisers that decide to go down a level, it does not seem to happen often.

 

First of all I respect your opinions. However I do not know how Silversea can be considered a luxury line. We were on the Shadow in Asia. There was dirty water coming out of the faucets in the bathrooms, poor food. I know there are died in the wool Silversea fans, but we were shocked. It was after this that this ship flunked it health inspection in Alaska. I felt the food on oceania was really good, and the service outstanding. It was much more luxury.

[joan24]

Hi Jackie. Hope all is well and that your New Year started out beautifully. Happy New Year to you both.

Joan

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

The OP may wish to ask the same question over on the Silversea board....there is some crossover, but Silversea cruisers are a slightly different bunch and more varied in terms of nationality and background so the OP will have some different answers to consider if they want a balanced opinion.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

...

It seems that going from mainstream to luxury "lite" or "premium plus" is the natural progression for many passengers. While there will always be some luxury cruisers that decide to go down a level, it does not seem to happen often.

 

Obviously you are speaking anecdotally. I'm a counterexample, as is one of my cruise buddies. Regent is just too expensive, and doesn't seem to win the value proposition stakes for us any more.

[OctoberKat]

Indeed, Wendy, I concur. Jim and I will slip back and forth between the luxe and light-luxe ships depending on itineraries and availability of higher-end suites. We're on Regent Navigator this month (!), Silver Whisper in November, Azamara Quest in August of 2016 and hoping to book onto one of Oceania's smaller vessels sometime between now and then.