The prodigal son returns, and tries Oceania!!!!

[Jade13]

The R class ships were designed and built by Frank Del Rio when he was at Renaissance cruises. They are his babies. They are older, but he loves them. He bought Sirena (Ocean Princess) and refit / refurbished her. Right now she's getting bad reviews. Looks like Princess slacked off on maintenance when it was confirmed she was sold. O put extra personnel on board to deal with issues, should the pop up after the refit.

 

 

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My favorite ship is Azamara Quest with is an R class ship.

 

 

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[G&G]

Oceania put fifty million into Sirena and she shines!

 

There is no validity to the theory on this thread that little ships on Oceania are better because they are smaller. We've been on every one of their ships and most more than once, Regatta three times. We've enjoyed them all. When I'm on an R ship I think I prefer them. When I'm on an O ship (Marina and Riviera) I think I prefer them. Next up we are sailing an R ship, then we sail on an O ship.

 

Oceania is not perfect by any means. Sometimes I am irritated with something that happens but overall we love their product.

 

Ditto. We prefer O ships especially the Riviera. Four specialty restaurants are excellent and found cabins much larger than Regatta for same price. But we did survive a storm on the Regatta; lasted 24 hours, 30 ft seas and 70 knot winds. And we were able to dine at the Italian Restaurant, Toscano. Just hold onto your wine glasses when we hit a big wave :eek:

[Hlitner]

We once had breakfast (on the R4) with the Marine Architect (Sir John McNese) who designed the R ships for Renaissance. He told us the tale of how he had a lunch meeting in London, with the bankers and executives who were starting Renaissance (we assume Mr. Del Rio was present). During the luncheon (at his London Men's Club) the R folks described their idea for a ship...and Sir John quickly sketched a ship on a paper Napkin. Everyone liked what they saw and ordered several ships (later to become 8 vessels). Once Sir John finished the architectural drawings he went back to the R folks who reviewed the drawings and ultimately order the 8 R ships. When Sir John started to suggest some design changes for the subsequent ships...the R folks told him NO!...They wanted 8 identical ships...right down to their soap dishes. Their thinking was that any crew member would be able to move from ship to ship..with no issues since each vessel was identical. The rest is history. And by the way, that breakfast with Sir John happened on the R4 during a Tahiti cruise. He told us that it was the first time he ever cruised on a R ship.

 

And by the way, the reason Sir John was knighted was because of his genius in designing the Sovereign of the Seas....which was the first cruise ship to have an Atrium. He told us that the Atrium (called a Centrum) was a challenge never before done..because of safety and structural issues. He solved the structural issues by hiding huge supports inside the Centrum elevator shafts. Seems like a simply idea...but nobody else had ever thought of it.

 

The other part of the story is that when we first met Sir John we had no clue he was the ship' designer. He asked DW what she thought about the ship...and DW responded that it reminded her of a men's club (because of all the wood paneling). He just laughed and said. "that is what I had in mind with the design." Part of the interior was modeled after his London men's club....the same place where he had that first luncheon meeting that launched a cruise line.

 

Hank

[puppycanducruise]

Thank you for sharing your comments.

Looking forward to reading more.

[UPNYGuy]

Ditto. We prefer O ships especially the Riviera. Four specialty restaurants are excellent and found cabins much larger than Regatta for same price. But we did survive a storm on the Regatta; lasted 24 hours, 30 ft seas and 70 knot winds. And we were able to dine at the Italian Restaurant, Toscano. Just hold onto your wine glasses when we hit a big wave :eek:

 

 

 

That is interesting. I did feel that the Regatta had fantastic seakeeping ability. IMHO one of the smoothest ships we have sailed on yet. None of the 'rocking horse' pitching that the Panamax length exhibit. At least none on our sailing. And when it did get a bit rougher, the ship rode with the seas, rather than fought them.

 

And I will touch on the cabin and bathroom size ;).

 

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[sammiedawg]

Thank you for the comparison. We will likely book an O ship. Didn't mean to start a comparison that the R ships were better than the O ships. I said the R were better than most mass market vessels because they were smaller. But I can see where the confusion came from.

 

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I'm very happy you enjoyed Regatta. By all means try an O ship. Enjoy the features of whichever one you are on.

 

Oceania cruisers debate all the time whether O or R ships are better. If I had to pick one for my very last I would choose Marina or Riviera.

O ships have four specialty restaurants plus Privee and La Reserve for dinner. The Terrace grill to order section is bigger and there are more choices of made to order grilled meat and seafood. Cabins and baths are larger, more luxurious and the ships are drop dead gorgeous.

But when I'm on an R ship I love the classic beauty and ambience. And the libraries and small sitting areas around the ship are to die for. Cannot wait for my next one that is just around the corner!

[rkacruiser]

Very experienced cruiser friends of mine sailed on one of the Renaissance ships and returned saying "never again". Their reason: the noise level in the Dining Room was more than they enjoyed. Has that issue been resolved, maybe with the addition of noise reduction materials during all of the ships re-fits?

[UPNYGuy]

Very experienced cruiser friends of mine sailed on one of the Renaissance ships and returned saying "never again". Their reason: the noise level in the Dining Room was more than they enjoyed. Has that issue been resolved, maybe with the addition of noise reduction materials during all of the ships re-fits?

 

 

What type of noise level? Just general noise? I did hear a bit of prop shaft type noise, but not enough that bothered me. I thought that the MDR was fine in that regard.

 

 

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[rkacruiser]

What type of noise level? Just general noise? I did hear a bit of prop shaft type noise, but not enough that bothered me. I thought that the MDR was fine in that regard.

 

 

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General conversational noise; no mention was made of any mechanical noise.

[Charlie1422]

Threads like this is what led me to CC. No petty bickering or arguing, just experienced cruisers sharing their knowledge. Thanks to all!

 

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[northerngirls]

This ^ [emoji4]

 

 

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[UPNYGuy]

General conversational noise; no mention was made of any mechanical noise.

 

 

 

What I heard was a gentle whirring of the prop shafts. Sounded like a bearing might need to be replaced. The conversational din was not bad at all.

 

 

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[rkacruiser]

What I heard was a gentle whirring of the prop shafts. Sounded like a bearing might need to be replaced. The conversational din was not bad at all.

 

 

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That's good to know. Thank you. Given the age of the ships and the improvements made in materials used for interior decor, I am guessing that the noise issue in the dining room has been solved.

[SetAnOpenCourse]

I was wondering if you could elaborate on how you grew to appreciate the promenade design which does not allow a full walk around. The full wrap is virtually a must- have for me but I'd like to hear your perspective.

[UPNYGuy]

I was wondering if you could elaborate on how you grew to appreciate the promenade design which does not allow a full walk around. The full wrap is virtually a must- have for me but I'd like to hear your perspective.

 

 

If you look at the attached image, my comment will make more sense. The design of the deck made me think about all the design challenges that go into shipbuilding. When designing an approximately 30,000 GRT cruiser, you have very tight design constraints. Every last bit of space must be used very efficiently. You can't have "wasted space" (not that cruise lines really waste space with newbuild psr in the 30s now) like you might on a megaship.

 

The lack of a wrap-around promenade allows for a more spacious MDR and cabaret lounge, because the walking track would otherwise cut into the space. And because the ship has a track on the top deck, I didn't really miss it. I thought I would complain to DW partway through, but I didn't. I think I would have if the MDR and lounge were narrower, thus making the seating tight.

 

That is what I meant.

 

 

 

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[UPNYGuy]

Continuing on, my wife and I found the food to be among the best we have had at sea. I only had one meal I did not care for, and that was not the fault of Oceana. I deliberately went out on a limb, and ordered something out of my comfort zone. I do not usually order seafood, and I ordered salmon. When docked in Sitka, the staff went off and purchased up the local fresh catch. They served it later that night in the Terrace Café. It was done properly, I just do not care for salmon. I never have. I have just never had it fresh. I figured if there was any chance I would enjoy it, I should try it that way. The filet mignon I ordered for lunch the day after from room service arrived hot, juicy, and almost melted when I was eating it. On previous cruises, meat would arrive rubbery from room service delivery.

 

 

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[UPNYGuy]

We ordered room service more than usual, because the service was prompt, efficient, friendly, and quite frankly, we were SO laid back on this cruise (as was everybody else on board) that we just enjoyed, TRULY enjoyed our balcony. DW and I would order a pot of coffee and hot water for tea, and get a late start on our mornings. We never felt rushed, and really felt able to go at our own pace.

 

Also, Oceania has a rather large DVD library for those so inclined. The selection on Regatta topped out just over 1000 titles. This was on our desk on Embarkation day.

 

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Edited August 1, 2017 by UPNYGuy

[UPNYGuy]

To the cabin. On the R class ships, the balconies are 216 sq ft. This is roughly the size of the standard balcony cabins on HAL. We did not have any issues with the size of the cabin, but it is not massively huge. The bathroom on the other hand is quite tiny. I could probably soap up the shower and spin around and have it like a car wash [emoji23]. I doubt HAL cruisers will have much to gripe about with the bathrooms. Oceania provides Bvlgary bath products, which make up for the clingy shower curtain. We have also sailed on Norwegian Sun, which also has similar and tiny bathrooms. But I could see that as a possible issue for someone that is claustrophobic. This is not my photo, but it will give an idea.

 

 

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Edited August 1, 2017 by UPNYGuy

[UPNYGuy]

Another thing that stuck out to us was that Oceania does NOT have photographers or art auctions on the ship.

 

It hit me when we boarded at the pier that we weren't being paraded past a screen with a photo of the ship on it. We were never hounded at dinner for photos, and never at the ports. We did not see anybody dressed up in costume trying to pull us into photos either. I asked Dottie, the wonderful CD, and she said Oceania does not have photographers on the ship. She also pointed out the lack of art auctions as well.

 

 

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[UPNYGuy]

And for those of you wondering. Yes I have dailies. I'll get to those and the entertainment. I'm too tired to do that now. [emoji23]. That's on my to-do list. I was pleasantly surprised. The entertainment might not be to everybody's liking, but it sure was to mine!!!

 

 

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[ski ww]

Really am enjoying reading your reviews. I have looked into maybe doing a cruise on Oceania. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

Allan

[northerngirls]

So glad I came across your review. We are doing our first Oceania on Regatta in May 2018. Following with great interest!

 

 

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[ABoatNerd]

Thank you so much for your excellent review. My household is leaving for our first Oceania voyage Sept 12.

 

Your analysis is particularly enlightening given the growing gap between the mass cruise lines and Oceania. Thankfully, HAL has always had a decent product which we have enjoyed from time to time.

 

Our TA indicated that Oceania is acquiring increased business, particularly from former Celebrity patrons.

 

Our household fired Celebrity two years ago due to their rapid decline in product quality, erosion of service, fixation on increasing their class system, beverage package pricing model, onboard nickle and diming etc.

 

Your photos of the room service menu is great - can hardly wait to order in just over a month.

 

There still are customers who are not fixated on the "lowest possible price" - rather on value for money and consistent delivery of a specific product

[sammiedawg]

Another thing that stuck out to us was that Oceania does NOT have photographers or art auctions on the ship.

 

It hit me when we boarded at the pier that we weren't being paraded past a screen with a photo of the ship on it. We were never hounded at dinner for photos, and never at the ports. We did not see anybody dressed up in costume trying to pull us into photos either. I asked Dottie, the wonderful CD, and she said Oceania does not have photographers on the ship. She also pointed out the lack of art auctions as well.

 

 

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I'm enjoying your thoughts.

Normally we could care less who the CD is. But we

love seeing Dottie and her husband Tom. Was he your comedian?

Dottie has worked for many lines but told us she hopes to retire from Oceania. She has been there almost ten years.

[RuthC]

Another thing that stuck out to us was that Oceania does NOT have photographers or art auctions on the ship.

Two highlights of an Oceania cruise.

 

Happy you had a good time.