One Criticism - NFL Not Oceania Material?

[Travelcat2]

I think it is absolutely possible to enjoy both a more sedate cruising experience and watching sports. People have a multitude of interests.

 

 

As long as people don't scream at the top of their lungs at the screen every 2 minutes I wouldn't mind if Oceania had it onboard. Whether in your stateroom or in public area, screaming at the screen (which has been my experience watching people watching football over the years) is not sedate:)

 

On a more serious note, I believe that this is a cost issue. As mentioned previously, the interest level is not that high and there would be the issue of "where do we draw the line" - NFL, College Football, Basketball, Hockey, Skiing, Tennis, Olympics? We all want different things and, as, someone suggested, it is best not to book a cruise during the time a special program(s) will be running.

[TrulyBlonde]

Easy solution. If you are passionate about a particular sport's season or seasonal activity then don't cruise during those periods. While I enjoy NFL games, there is no great loss if I miss them; HOWEVER, I am an avid skier and you will not find me on a cruise during ski season (January through mid-April). Ski season coincides with the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl, so I don't miss them either, but FWIW skiing is the driver in that decision, not football. One must have their priorities, whatever they may be.

 

I understand fully ;-)...Thanksgiving until closing day in April! Then we have June thru Sept at the lake house. That was some great Christmas powder yesterday, was it not? Oh...I forgot March Madness..DH has priorities: skiing, college basketball and then me. Just kidding.

 

Spring and Fall is cruising time for us.

[curtdesilets]

Great post! We could care less about any "games" that are on television. IMO, children and families would be better served spending time playing these games with each other instead of watching them on television. I applaud you for not cruising during ski season since this is important to you. There are some of us that wish that Amazing Race or Survivor were telecast on cruise lines but certainly understand why they are not. We record television shows that are important to us and make sure that we do not see or read anything that will give away the ending:)

 

The counterpont might be something like this: NFL football is watched by 10s of millions of people, the Super Bowl by 100s of millions whereas the Amazing Race??

 

But a counterpoint to that would be the World Cup is watched by Billions. So where does it stop? Oceania may want to position itself as the anti-sports cruise line. Who knows?

 

I just was mentioning that on Oceania, American Sports are VERY DIFFICULT for a sports fan to monitor with no American Sports Networks or Broadcast Newtworks being offered.

 

We too like to disconnect from the outside world while cruising, but I like to make that decision. I think the technical answers offered by some on this message chain, might offer some reasoning. Bandwidth may be a chief contributor.

 

I would also add that Oceania cruises much more to Europe than the West Coast of the North America, so it may make more sense to have mostly European Networks.

 

I am curious however...What teams do Frank Del Rio like? :rolleyes:

[curtdesilets]

I was on Insignia for the last Super Bowl. The game started about 1 am local time. Only about 20 people stayed up to watch it. They showed it again 9 am and again only around 20 people.

I enjoyed watching it but considering Oceania has to pay a license fee, it was hardly worth it.

 

Oceania has already test marketed this. For small ships, it seems like it will not be cost effective nor popular. Got it.

[Condocat]

We have cruised during basketball season and my husband signs up for unlimited internet and watches the games on his iPad or iPhone.

 

All you need is the internet to be connected (which sometimes is not always great), and the "Watch ESPN app" on your device.

 

Once you have that set up up, you can watch anything ESPN is broadcasting!

 

He was in heaven.

 

Hope this helps.

[TrulyBlonde]

We have cruised during basketball season and my husband signs up for unlimited internet and watches the games on his iPad or iPhone.

 

All you need is the internet to be connected (which sometimes is not always great), and the "Watch ESPN app" on your device.

 

Once you have that set up up, you can watch anything ESPN is broadcasting!

 

He was in heaven.

 

Hope this helps.

 

The part (which sometimes is not always great) when your team is playing and you miss an important play....also DH yells at the TV ;-). Thanks for the info.

[LHT28]

We too like to disconnect from the outside world while cruising, but I like to make that decision.

But you do have that choice you just need to exercise it ;)

 

Do not cruise Oceania when your sports teams are playing

[LHT28]

We have cruised during basketball season and my husband signs up for unlimited internet and watches the games on his iPad or iPhone.

 

All you need is the internet to be connected (which sometimes is not always great), and the "Watch ESPN app" on your device.

 

HMMMM

Maybe this is why the free internet is so slow for others :D

All the sports fans watching their games on their phones using up the bandwidth

:(

[LHT28]

I really do not understand why people would go on a cruise then sit in the cabin watching sports or surfing the internet

You could save your money & do the same thing at home with faster internet speeds, big screen tv & your comfy chair with your feet up & your favourite beverage at hand :D

 

to each his own but why complain when it is your choice to cruise during sports season

 

JMO

[Paulchili]

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I would also add that Oceania cruises much more to Europe than the West Coast of the North America, so it may make more sense to have mostly European Networks.

 

That would make sense only if the majority of passengers were European - which is never the case.

The networks chosen should be the ones of interest (news and sports) to the majority of passengers - which is always North Americans - and not the region were the ship is (not a great demand for Chinese news or sports even when the ship is in Asia :D).

[m1k2s3]

Oceania may not be for me during major sports events.

 

 

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We were on Riveria during the Super Bowl this year and watched it up in the Horizon Lounge. They had it on a huge screen and served tons of snack foods - hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, etc. It was great watching it with a large group of people - had a real sports bar feel to it.

 

 

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[pete_coach]

I really do not understand why people would go on a cruise then sit in the cabin watching sports or surfing the internet

You could save your money & do the same thing at home with faster internet speeds, big screen tv & your comfy chair with your feet up & your favourite beverage at hand :D

 

to each his own but why complain when it is your choice to cruise during sports season

 

JMO

Sure you can stay home but, you can also sit in your cabin on rainy or windy or overcast days, be comfy with your feet up and your favorite beverage in hand and relax too. It is not like you are in there for the entire 7, 10, or 12 or whatever days?

Where and how and with whom you relax is really up to you since it is your vacation :)

[tiller]

We were on Riveria during the Super Bowl this year and watched it up in the Horizon Lounge. They had it on a huge screen and served tons of snack foods - hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, etc. It was great watching it with a large group of people - had a real sports bar feel to it.

 

 

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I was on the Celebrity Solstice during the Super Bowl--I called it Super Bowl Monday because we were in New Zealand, so the game aired live Monday afternoon. They had a similar set up with the food, and it was a lot of fun.

[Flatbush Flyer]

So the question of the day: Is sports considered contrary to "culture"? Or to put it another way: Is sports culture contrary to Oceania culture? I guess the ultimate question is: Are sports and culture mutually exclusive and perhaps polar opposites? Hum???

 

 

Interesting query. Though I have no empirical evidence, I would guess that the predominant Oceania passenger "culture" consists of individuals with a fairly broad interest base that is flexible enough to find them focused on the immediate surroundings (e.g., next port tour of shipboard lecture vs a sports event that could be taped at home for later viewing).

 

Personally, I find only certain sports events demanding my "right now" viewing. College championships involving schools I have attended, rare events (e.g., Triple Crown finale) would draw my interest onboard. But, I'd already have made recording settings just in case.

 

 

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[buggins0402]

I really do not understand why people would go on a cruise then sit in the cabin watching sports or surfing the internet

You could save your money & do the same thing at home with faster internet speeds, big screen tv & your comfy chair with your feet up & your favourite beverage at hand :D

 

to each his own but why complain when it is your choice to cruise during sports season

 

JMO

 

Agree. I'm not even looking at a cruise (or any travel) in what would be a perfect winter get-away month. February 2018 have the Winter Olympics circled on our calendar.

[Mura]

We aren't particularly sports fans so we don't miss these things.

 

That being said ... DH will listen to baseball on the radio (he prefers it to TV for some reason) but never football. For the most part we are satisfied to check the scores.

 

This also being said: we were on board when the Giants won the superbowl (not in 2011, the time before) and I was assuming they would be creamed. But when I heard they had actually won AND the ship announced they would be making the game available in our rooms. I did watch that one.

 

Being such a great sports fan, I tend only to watch when I know my team is winning or has won ...

 

Not all US-ers are football fans and must watch the games when on a cruise ... then again, to be fair, Oceania does have European sports available... I'm not sure that is only in European climes, maybe it is.

 

I do remember that in the past we had more choices for TV viewing -- such as some TV series (CSI, etc.), CNN, etc. These things have changed so these days I find few stations that really interest me. I'm not a Fox News fan! I would prefer CNN which is no longer available. (Guess my politics, I dare you.)

 

But I can understand why a small line like Oceania doesn't consider it cost effective to make such stations widely available -- so I guess sports fans should be happy when they ARE provided. Such as the few Super Bowl results that were mentioned in recent posts.

 

I'd like them to broadcast operas and classical music concerts, but I'm not expecting that EVER to happen!

 

Mura

[TrulyBlonde]

 

I do remember that in the past we had more choices for TV viewing -- such as some TV series (CSI, etc.), CNN, etc. These things have changed so these days I find few stations that really interest me. I'm not a Fox News fan! I would prefer CNN which is no longer available. (Guess my politics, I dare you.)

 

 

 

Mura

 

Mura I always love your info:)

But, I must confess, I am a Bigly Fox News fan. :)) Yuge!

[Mura]

No problem! Our politics don't have to be the same!

 

In fact, from what I have seen on many cruises, mine are usually in the minority!

 

Mura

[edgee]

ESPN on cruise ships is a rarity and they've never been the cable network for the Super Bowl. Broadcast networks rotate the SB. Early round playoff games may air on ESPN, as will the college football playoffs.

ESPN is hemorrhaging customers, recently they lost one million in a two month period. Cord cutting is all the rage and customers railed against high prices.

 

I would not depend on Oceania for must see sports. A few years ago they brought in a final four BB feed, the quality was poor and there wasn't much interest. We watched five minutes then left.

Mass market lines offering more activities do a great job with the NFL and Princess had a major partnership with them to air virtually every game. I haven't experienced the playoffs or SB on a ship but they are very important capstone events for many of us.

 

Never have seen a sports channel on Oceania. However, on other cruise lines which carry ESPN, Sunday night and Monday night football and playoffs including Superbowl ARE carried on ESPN international which picks up the US network broadcast regardless of which one is carrying the game..including the Fox, NBC or CBS announcers and graphics but usually not the commercials.