Switching from Celebrity to O

[MVPinBoynton]

Most things other than the entertainment and high priced excursions are better on O than on X. We still enjoy X; but when the price is reasonable, we will go with O.

 

We have also found that our fellow passengers on O are very experienced travelers that are a pleasure to chat with. People seem to normally come to O after cruising on many other lines and are looking for something better. With O, they find what they like.

[Hawaiidan]

Is there a Terrace Cafe equivalent on Celebrity? I'm a big fan of the Terrace Cafe buffet.

 

I'm very interested in this thread because Celebrity is constantly being brought up on the Oceania board with so many comparisons. I was beginning to think am I missing something about Celebrity? I've never sailed them.

 

Nothing even close.... I tried celebrity and disliked the faux-class system, the pay extra for everything, the crowds, the play dress up game and the kids.

 

Celeb is a mass market ship pretending to be a luxury line.....cost for what one pays may be less.....but you also get way less. the value you get on Oceania ...for the 1 fare ( air-gratuities-internet-shore ex--drinks-all specialties-stocked refers at no charge- coffee bar-nocharge-- lobster every day in every restaurant ...even the pool grill)

[maggie.1008]

For the price I still feel X is the best deal at sea. Way better than Princess or HAL IMHO.

[LHT28]

For the price I still feel X is the best deal at sea. Way better than Princess or HAL IMHO.

If your criteria is the $$.. it may be

 

With Oceania we are willing to pay more for the intangible things as well as the the ones you see/get

 

YMMV

[JVNYC]

Nothing even close.... I tried celebrity and disliked the faux-class system, the pay extra for everything, the crowds, the play dress up game and the kids.

 

Celeb is a mass market ship pretending to be a luxury line.....cost for what one pays may be less.....but you also get way less. the value you get on Oceania ...for the 1 fare ( air-gratuities-internet-shore ex--drinks-all specialties-stocked refers at no charge- coffee bar-nocharge-- lobster every day in every restaurant ...even the pool grill)

 

Thanks Dan. This is what I thought.

[gbp]

The executive lounge is a large room where you can grab a snack or a coffee or read the paper or use the one computer there (if you have an Internet package).

It is not a big deal. There is a similar lounge for concierge class

 

Michaels club is a large space with deep seating with snacks complimentary alcohol and other drinks and where there is entertainment at cocktail hour. It is only for suite passengers and many people socialize and have drinks there

Thanks for the details!

[gbp]

I'm still wavering between Celebrity (Sky Suite S2 on Silhouette) and Oceania (PH2 on Marina) for our upcoming Baltic cruise. We've sailed on both RSSC (Mariner) and Celebrity (Solstice - verandah cabin) and like both for different reasons.

 

Both Baltic cruises have 3 days in St Petersburg, but Silhouette has overnights in Stockhom (embarkation port) and Copenhagen. Marina adds Riga, Latvia and Klaipeda, Lithuania. Marina has one sea day, Silhouette has two sea days. Regardless of the cruise, we will probably do independent private tours, in part because of my hearing disability. Ideally, the tours would include hearing aid-compatible headsets.

 

If the Marina would indeed have Culinary Center lessons during the cruise, I know my wife would really enjoy those. She'd also like lessons at the Artist's Loft. I don't know much about Celebrity's Top Chef-related activities. My wife is a big fan of the show. From what I've read, the food on Oceania is excellent, and it's great that the specialty restaurants are included. On the other hand, I've heard good things about Luminae on Celebrity. As suite customers, we could also eat at Blu, depending on availability.

 

Decisions, decisions... :)

[bitob]

Either one is a good option. We did the baltics on celebrity with only private excursions. It was great Oceania does a good job there too.

[bitob]

Thanks Dan. This is what I thought.

 

 

Obviously I disagree

If you are in a suite it is fabulous

[Iamthesea]

I'm still wavering between Celebrity (Sky Suite S2 on Silhouette) and Oceania (PH2 on Marina) for our upcoming Baltic cruise. We've sailed on both RSSC (Mariner) and Celebrity (Solstice - verandah cabin) and like both for different reasons.

 

Both Baltic cruises have 3 days in St Petersburg, but Silhouette has overnights in Stockhom (embarkation port) and Copenhagen. Marina adds Riga, Latvia and Klaipeda, Lithuania. Marina has one sea day, Silhouette has two sea days. Regardless of the cruise, we will probably do independent private tours, in part because of my hearing disability. Ideally, the tours would include hearing aid-compatible headsets.

 

If the Marina would indeed have Culinary Center lessons during the cruise, I know my wife would really enjoy those. She'd also like lessons at the Artist's Loft. I don't know much about Celebrity's Top Chef-related activities. My wife is a big fan of the show. From what I've read, the food on Oceania is excellent, and it's great that the specialty restaurants are included. On the other hand, I've heard good things about Luminae on Celebrity. As suite customers, we could also eat at Blu, depending on availability.

 

Decisions, decisions... :)

 

We sailed the Baltic's cruise with Celebrity. Wonderful cruise! However, as much as we enjoyed Stockholm and Copenhagen, I don't know if we would have wanted to stay overnight at either. While it sounds romantic, by the time we toured the cities during the day, we would have been too exhausted to go out at night...and we ate late 50's and early 60's. :D We would love the chance to go to some smaller cities on Oceania!

 

On Celebrity, we love the Sky Suites, but beware of the locations of the S2's under the OV Café. The noise can be annoying. Even so, I'd still book the S2 over a standard veranda stateroom for a long cruise.

 

You mentioned the Artist's Loft on Oceania. Does anyone know if classes can be booked online? I looked and didn't see a place. The culinary classes that we were interested in were already booked. :(

Edited January 25, 2016 by Iamthesea

[LHT28]

If the Marina would indeed have Culinary Center lessons during the cruise, I know my wife would really enjoy those.

Decisions, decisions... :)

If you ask on the Roll Call of the cruise you are contemplating people can tell you when the Culinary Classes are available

[LHT28]

Obviously I disagree

If you are in a suite it is fabulous

 

Not everyone books suites though

[no fuss travel]

Riga is a fascinating city to see. It is very walkable, but you must beware of the pickpockets there. We ate in McDonalds and watched the pickpockets at work. They work in teams of 2 or 3, so the one that does the lifting can pass off the goods very quickly to an accomplice and therefore is not caught by the police. Because we were watching the woman, she finally gave up and left and waited for us to leave before she came back in. Our tour guide had warned us that McDonalds was where most of the pickpocket incidents happened. All three of the Baltic countries are well worth visiting and we found them quite fascinating.

[tropicalkerry2002]

Loved Gamla Stan's great architecture. Loved the Vasa Museum. Loved the City Hall Tour.

 

Also loved the Art Deco area in Riga, and I believe that's where we took a great walk in a park along a river...

[gbp]

Many thanks got all the helpful advice! Although the Marina cruise is more expensive than the Silhouette cruise, especially if we wanted a couple of days pre and post-cruise in Stockholm and Copenhagen respectively, the added Riga and Klaipeda ports are tempting.

 

Since we are celebrating our 25th anniversary, I want the cruise to be special, yet more affordable than an all-inclusive luxury line such as Regent, where the fares reflect amenities such as shore excursions that we would do on our own.

[Silver Sweethearts]

The value you get on Oceania ...for the 1 fare ( air-gratuities-internet-shore ex--drinks-all specialties-stocked refers at no charge- coffee bar-nocharge-- lobster every day in every restaurant ...even the pool grill)

 

Does "drinks" mean both alcoholic and non-alcoholic or just non-alcoholic beverages?

[LHT28]

Does "drinks" mean both alcoholic and non-alcoholic or just non-alcoholic beverages?

All non alcoholic drinks are included in the fare

[bitob]

Not everyone books suites though

 

 

You can book a suite on celebrity for the cost of a much cheaper cabin on Oceania. That's the comparison I would make. Celebrity's current promotion for suites also includes premium alcohol package ( so all beverages included). Unlimited internet per person not per cabin and gratuities plus large obc. It's a suite deal. Virtually all inclusive. Add what ou ta gives us and it is incredible

 

Again we will continue to cruise Oceania - we are close to 14 cruises on o -- but celebrity in a suite is a great option with the right itinerary

Edited January 26, 2016 by bitob

[LHT28]

You can book a suite on celebrity for the cost of a much cheaper cabin on Oceania. That's the comparison I would make.

That is great if you like big ships with lots of passengers

I would not like to be confined to the upper decks to avoid the masses either

 

To each is own

[ABoatNerd]

Good morning all.

 

Our household has ended our patronage of Celebrity and we look forward to sailing on other lines like Oceania in the future.

 

The intense class system on Celebrity is repulsive to us; an in your face class structure that far exceeds anything we have experienced on our Cunard cruises. This, together with the rapid decline in product offering, has contributed to ending our relationship with Celebrity. Friends just returned from a suite experience on Celebrity and were underwhelmed. They specifically disliked the food in Luminae; said it was "messy slop" with limited taste and over use of sauces. Food in the specialty restaurants had fallen in quality.

 

We are examining a couple of cruises with Oceania. The comments on this thread are very helpful - we anticipate that the patrons, the mingling of everyone, the service and high quality of the food will meet our needs.

 

I am certainly impressed with the Oceania marketing group - I registered to receive information in the morning and I was contacted by noon by a gracious lady from the Florida office.

 

Happy and safe cruising to all.

 

ABoatNerd

[hiccups]

Good morning all.

 

I am certainly impressed with the Oceania marketing group - I registered to receive information in the morning and I was contacted by noon by a gracious lady from the Florida office.

 

Happy and safe cruising to all.

 

ABoatNerd

 

Boy, I'm just the opposite. Oceania has contacted me by phone TWICE and I believe I asked for email contact. They didn't win any points for not only ignoring my request, but calling back. I don't answer the phone for numbers I don't recognize, so they've left VMs twice. I don't like that they require a phone number.

Edited January 26, 2016 by hiccups

[LHT28]

Boy, I'm just the opposite. Oceania has contacted me by phone TWICE and I believe I asked for email contact. They didn't win any points for not only ignoring my request, but calling back. I don't answer the phone for numbers I don't recognize, so they've left VMs twice. I don't like that they require a phone number.

Maybe they thought your query was important enough to call & get it sorted by phone

or maybe they were just trying to get you to book a cruise :D

[We're The Groupnors]

We've been on many X cruises, and took our first O cruise in October 2015. O is "country club casual" every night, so no need for formal wear, which could be a con for you. The ships are smaller and quieter, with little to do in the evenings other than dinner and drinks. Our preferred dining time never seemed to be convenient for evening entertainment, as the shows were either while we were dressing for dinner or eating dinner. You can't even walk around the deck at night, other than on the walking track, as there are no lower outdoor decks on the Marina, which we sailed, other than your own balcony. Food was very good, but simpler or less rich options were hard to come by. Specialty restaurants were outstanding. Service was outstanding. No young children on our sailing at all; take this for what you will. We're looking at another O cruise for March since X will be overrun with kids during March break, and we're hoping to avoid that by sailing O.

Edited January 26, 2016 by We're The Groupnors

[LHT28]

Our preferred dining time never seemed to be convenient for evening entertainment' date=' as the shows were either while we were dressing for dinner or eating dinner. You can't even walk around the deck at night, other than on the walking track, as there are no lower outdoor decks on the Marina, which we sailed, [/quote']

The show usually is at 9:30 pm & usually dinner is mostly done

unless you eat very late it is not a problem for most

 

We walk around the pool deck or on the deck above the pool depending on the winds

[We're The Groupnors]

The show usually is at 9:30 pm & usually dinner is mostly done

unless you eat very late it is not a problem for most

 

We walk around the pool deck or on the deck above the pool depending on the winds

 

We like to eat dinner at 8:30 or 8:45 pm, similar to the traditional late dining time on X. Lounge entertainment was done by the time we went for drinks at 7:30 to 8:00 pm, and the show was taking place while at dinner. Many people are on a similar schedule to this, and we do not consider it very late. As the OP is a regular X cruiser it's very possible that they have this same evening schedule.

 

In terms of the pool deck, it's enclosed and does not have great views, with chairs being between the walking area and windows. The deck above has the walking track and is very windy when at sea. We like having an outside deck in the lower part of the ship near the dining rooms and lounges to take a stroll with great views of the water but protected from the wind.

 

Not looking to have a back and forth on this, but rather just providing the OP with our experiences having been on both lines.