Any advice from those who have sailed with Oceania?

[OnTheJourney]

Just wondering being that I get brochures from this company ALL the time - at least one every few days! Some of the itineraries look quite interesting. I've cruised with 5 of the major lines, but am always interested in finding out about the possibility of trying others.

 

Thanks for any advice or suggestions...

[Mura]

If you try a search (assuming it's working again) you'll find a number of threads on this subject. It might help us answer you better if you tell us the lines you've sailed with and what you are looking for in a cruise.

 

We ourselves love Oceania but it isn't for everybody. That's not a snobbish comment! It's just true, as it is of any other cruise line. For example, if evening shows are important to you, you'd no doubt be disappointed with Oceania.

 

Mura

[Classiccruiser777]

Great food, great beds, smaller ships, port intensive itineraries, some good entertainment, most passengers go to bed early.

 

We’ve sailed Cunard, Holland America but O is our preferred line by far.

[LHT28]

Best thing to do is try a cruise on Oceania & see if it ticks your boxes

As Mura said it is not for everyone just depends on what you are looking for in a cruise ship

[orchestrapal]

If you are truly interested in O read through this blog thread by thread and you will know everything you want to know, the good and some of the not so good.

If you love the mass market lines O is probably not for you.

[PhD-iva]

Oceania is my favorite cruise line. However, IMO their excursions are not a good value. If you are so inclined to do the research yourself, you can find local third party excursions that are just as good and cost less. This is especially true of the “included free” excursions that are part of a bundled package. There my criticism of O ends. Everything else is terrific! I must save up my pennies to be able to book my next cruise on O. Fabulous!

 

 

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[kkmiausa]

I hope I can help here. Cruise preferences and requirements evolve. I took many small Caribbean cruises and never knew the difference on RCL NCL.

Then upped to Celebrity our first European cruise 11 years ago. After that we have done upscale river cruises *Not Viking ugh and our first more upscale Ocean ship was Oceania Marina. On that we only had a concierge level room. Then our next trip was Seabourn which is supposed to be so highly rated. I was thoroughly disappointed. Then downgraded again because friends were going and took a Princess lol. Was fine when we learned to eat every night in the private dining rooms at the small added cost. Then this year we took another Oceania on the Riviera this time and since we got used to Penthouse luxury on the Seabourn - we chose the Penthouse level on Riviera and totally loved it! We even sprang for another cruise this year on Regent Voyager also Penthouse expecting a fabulous upscale experience. Well drumroll - although we have booked Regent again for next June - based solely on itinerary- also we just booked a Caribbean (we live in Miami and have not done the Caribbean in over 15 years) on Oceania Riviera. CONCLUSION: Oceania is fabulous and my highest rated and beloved line. I wish it had had the itinerary for June. I can't imagine ever cruising with anyone other than Oceania unless the itinerary supercedes. I have never done Crystal - haven't found one yet going where I want to go - but would try that to compare. I think you cannot go wrong with Oceania, especially the larger ships like Marina or Riviera.

 

All the best.

[OnTheJourney]

Thanks for all those responses! Sounds like it'd be worth a try. In response to the question about which lines I've been on, I've sailed with RCCL (mostly), but also Celebrity, HAL, Carnival, and Tauck (riverboat cruise). I wouldn't say I "love" or am hooked in any way on only sailing with the mainstream lines, which is why I'm inquiring about some others. I'm intrigued about smaller ship cruising and have not done it yet (with the exception of the Tauck river cruise this past October). Friends of mine have done several small ship cruises and really enjoyed them. I don't feel loyal to any one line and decide my cruises based on the itinerary and when the cruise is offered. Certainly port convenience is a factor as well. I'm lucky to be near both Bayonne and Baltimore, both within 2 hours by car.

[Andee]

We had only cruised on Celebrity, Orient, and Princess before our first Oceania cruise in 2004. Oceania immediately became our favorite line. Last month, I just kept saying to DH, "I'm so happy to be on this ship".

I like the size, the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff, the food, the environment, the lectures, the port tourist office rep on board at almost every port.

I know that I'm paying for them, but I like that I don't have to pay extra to have our mini-frig stocked with diet ginger ale, for cappuccino, for bottled water, and for the specialty restaurants.

It's just the right fit for us.

[UDSpud]

Comments from a frequent Oceania cruiser -

 

1) There are 2 larger "O" class ships (which these days are at 1250 passengers closer to small) and 4 "R" class ships at about 650+ passengers. If you know the Pacific Princess, these are sister ships.

 

2) Food quality is selling point Oceania emphasizes.

 

3) Entertainment is, in my opinion, underrated considering the number of passengers fares available to help pay for the entertainment. If memory serves me right, there are no balcony seats. The main entertainment lounges on both "O" and "R" ship are single level. The lounge shows should be once an evening, running roughly 9:30 to 10:15 (IMO late because Oceania emphasizes relaxed dining). The production casts are 4 singer/dancers on the "R" and about 12 on an "O".

Physical background sets have been largely replaced with screen graphics. Non-production entertainment usually consists of individual comics, singers and magicians and usually one per night and two nights each.

 

4) Despite an older demographic, the "O" ships have deck games (shuffleboard, croquet, miniature golf and a single ping pong table) with regular group scheduled competition as well as on your own.

 

5) The number one feature is great people. Passengers are usually friendly, smart refined and well traveled. I have found the crew to be very friendly as long as your

discussions do not delay their service to other passengers. Many appreciate you using their first name and most will help you to try to learn a greeting in their home language. Unlike many large cruise ships, the Oceania singer/dancers help with the games, do greeting for non-production lounge shows and greeting at the entrance of the Horizons afternoon tea. I, as a personal preference, enjoy a production show where I have met some of the performers. Also, trivia is an excellent way to meet fellow passengers.

 

Reading past threads on the Oceania Cruise Critic Board will give you more points to consider.

[Caroldoll]

I hope I can help here. Cruise preferences and requirements evolve. I took many small Caribbean cruises and never knew the difference on RCL NCL.

Then upped to Celebrity our first European cruise 11 years ago. After that we have done upscale river cruises *Not Viking ugh and our first more upscale Ocean ship was Oceania Marina. On that we only had a concierge level room. Then our next trip was Seabourn which is supposed to be so highly rated. I was thoroughly disappointed. Then downgraded again because friends were going and took a Princess lol. Was fine when we learned to eat every night in the private dining rooms at the small added cost. Then this year we took another Oceania on the Riviera this time and since we got used to Penthouse luxury on the Seabourn - we chose the Penthouse level on Riviera and totally loved it! We even sprang for another cruise this year on Regent Voyager also Penthouse expecting a fabulous upscale experience. Well drumroll - although we have booked Regent again for next June - based solely on itinerary- also we just booked a Caribbean (we live in Miami and have not done the Caribbean in over 15 years) on Oceania Riviera. CONCLUSION: Oceania is fabulous and my highest rated and beloved line. I wish it had had the itinerary for June. I can't imagine ever cruising with anyone other than Oceania unless the itinerary supercedes. I have never done Crystal - haven't found one yet going where I want to go - but would try that to compare. I think you cannot go wrong with Oceania, especially the larger ships like Marina or Riviera.

 

All the best.

We are with them, although we will cruise on other lines. We also like the cabin placements. When we are cruising in a warm climate and we want a private place, we do OS on Oceania. If we don't care and we are in inclement ports, we will do others. If we want a lot of tours, we will do Regent, although we prefer private. It is all on you. O has the best food hands down. Do it and try it. There is no cruise line that will tick EVERY box.

[Hambagahle]

We started cruising with Regent (when it was Radisson) and then tried Oceania a few years ago and were hooked. For one the food is a lot better (unless of course Regent has improved which I don't know...) We also like the "luxury à la carte" aspect of Oceania. You can include things you want - like a Prestige Beverage Package - and not pay for things you do not want - like their excursions which ,as noted above, are ridiculously expensive. We cruise in suites - we have had the Oceania, Vista and Owners Suites on the Riviera so far. Of those we loved the Vista BUT would not pick it for a cruise with a lot of sea days because you cannot use the balcony when at sea. It was fine for our recent Mediterranean cruise where we were in port all day and at sea at night. As it happens though our next cruise is back with Regent - decision made on a question purely of the itinerary (Panama Canal) which we have done before and wanted to do again. Oceania has one of the ex "R" ships on this route and we don't like the idea of a very small ship. Regent costs a lot more but then everything is included. Probably we'll do the ship's excursions since they won't cost extra. On Oceania we plan our own...

[marycruz]

We started cruising with Regent (when it was Radisson) and then tried Oceania a few years ago and were hooked. For one the food is a lot better (unless of course Regent has improved which I don't know...) We also like the "luxury à la carte" aspect of Oceania. You can include things you want - like a Prestige Beverage Package - and not pay for things you do not want - like their excursions which ,as noted above, are ridiculously expensive. We cruise in suites - we have had the Oceania, Vista and Owners Suites on the Riviera so far. Of those we loved the Vista BUT would not pick it for a cruise with a lot of sea days because you cannot use the balcony when at sea. It was fine for our recent Mediterranean cruise where we were in port all day and at sea at night. As it happens though our next cruise is back with Regent - decision made on a question purely of the itinerary (Panama Canal) which we have done before and wanted to do again. Oceania has one of the ex "R" ships on this route and we don't like the idea of a very small ship. Regent costs a lot more but then everything is included. Probably we'll do the ship's excursions since they won't cost extra. On Oceania we plan our own...

 

I am also looking at the Oceania Riviera for next year.

 

Can you explain why you cannot use the Vista verandah while at sea? Too windy?

[hrprof]

We did our early cruising with Regent when it was Radisson. We switched to Oceania when we discovered more interesting itineraries and greater value. We prefer the R ships because they are smaller - we always spoil ourselves by booking Owners Suites - all are in the stern. We we used the Vista once - for the Panama Canal (SF to NY) cruise. It was the perfect choice for the Canal transit. On the R ships, the Vistas on deck 7 are preferable. deck 6 places you right over the lounge where evening entertainment is staged. Yes, the wind can be a threat - the balcony is open to it. It didn't bother us a bit.

[JimandStan]

Can you explain why you cannot use the Vista verandah while at sea? Too windy?

 

 

Exactly, but it really is a case of probably not choosing to use the veranda rather than "cannot". Nobody bars the door. :halo:

[I_r_a]

Hi three,

 

>Thanks for any advice or suggestions..

 

The name of the firm is pronounced O see ann a.

 

The i is silent.

 

Ira

[Andee]

When we were on board, staff said O-she-ann-a

 

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[marycruz]

Exactly, but it really is a case of probably not choosing to use the veranda rather than "cannot". Nobody bars the door. :halo:

 

 

Thanks. That's kind of what I thought it meant. I don't like it when it's too windy out there but it's nice sometimes being at sea and having some breeze if it's nice weather. :halo:

[marycruz]

We did our early cruising with Regent when it was Radisson. We switched to Oceania when we discovered more interesting itineraries and greater value. We prefer the R ships because they are smaller - we always spoil ourselves by booking Owners Suites - all are in the stern. We we used the Vista once - for the Panama Canal (SF to NY) cruise. It was the perfect choice for the Canal transit. On the R ships, the Vistas on deck 7 are preferable. deck 6 places you right over the lounge where evening entertainment is staged. Yes, the wind can be a threat - the balcony is open to it. It didn't bother us a bit.

 

Thanks. :)