Who is comparable to Oceania ?

[jodorro]

Hi there ,

I’m looking to organise a cruise /river cruise for my mother (in her 80s) and I in July/august. My mum loves marina & riviera for :

great food and variety of restaurants 

size of penthouse rooms

no formal dressing required

use of executive lounge with penthouse

 

Could anyone suggest any comparable cruise or river cruise lines that could be comparable re my above comments ? Someone mentioned Viking River cruises might be an option ??

 

Really appreciate any feedback.

cheers

jo 

[GeezerCouple]

14 minutes ago, jodorro said:

Hi there ,

I’m looking to organise a cruise /river cruise for my mother (in her 80s) and I in July/august. My mum loves marina & riviera for :

great food and variety of restaurants 

size of penthouse rooms

no formal dressing required

use of executive lounge with penthouse

 

Could anyone suggest any comparable cruise or river cruise lines that could be comparable re my above comments ? Someone mentioned Viking River cruises might be an option ??

 

Really appreciate any feedback.

cheers

jo 

 

Your mother has been on Marina and/or Riviera, and knows she "loves" them?

 

Is there something about them that you do not like, such that you are looking for something else?

If so, what "different" are you seeking?

 

GC

 

[LHT28]

Most river cruise  do not have large cabins  some  have   butlers like Oceania

Some river cruise lines are more inclusive than others

Scenic & Uniworld come to mind

I would look on the river cruise forum  for comparisons 

 

If you are looking at Ocean cruises ..what are you looking for  that would something that Oceania offers  that your mother would like to have on another line??

if she  likes Oceania  why look elsewhere ..JMO

[Cruise Junky]

If you’re looking at River cruises look at Scenic or Avalon Either would be good. Crystal has also started a river cruise but not cheap. 

[jodorro]

Hi Geezercouple , LHT28 & CruiseJunky,

 

thanks so so much for your responses.

Why we are thinking of maybe a river cruise (if comparable) to Oceania’s Marina & Riviera is because we want to escape some of  Melb, Australia’s winter, hence July/August it is . My mum can’t deal with the heat so the Mediterranean cruises are out then & she doesn’t like too cold so Iceland is out . She’s already done the Ireland , uk , Scandinavia, Russian cruises a couple of times and hence we thought it would be nice to try a river cruise .

 

I’ll check out scenic , uniworld , Avalon and crystal river cruises.

 

thanks so much

jo

 

 

[GeezerCouple]

2 minutes ago, jodorro said:

Hi Geezercouple , LHT28 & CruiseJunky,

 

thanks so so much for your responses.

Why we are thinking of maybe a river cruise (if comparable) to Oceania’s Marina & Riviera is because we want to escape some of  Melb, Australia’s winter, hence July/August it is . My mum can’t deal with the heat so the Mediterranean cruises are out then & she doesn’t like too cold so Iceland is out . She’s already done the Ireland , uk , Scandinavia, Russian cruises a couple of times and hence we thought it would be nice to try a river cruise .

 

I’ll check out scenic , uniworld , Avalon and crystal river cruises.

 

thanks so much

jo

 

 

 

Ah.

It wasn't clear (not to me, anyway) that you were restricting your question *only* to river cruises.

That's different.

GC

[LHT28]

you will find July hot  in some of the river cruise Countries

we were in Budapest in June one year it was 33C  Amsterdam 30C

similar to the MED

what about Norway  it was not too warm there mid 20's this July but a few of the other ports were 30C

this summer seems there was no escaping the heat

[Jancruz]

Hi..The cruise line I suggest is AMA , great fod, service and ships..

Jancruz1

[Paulchili]

River cruises have their advantages but they are a different animal from ocean cruises.

I think both of you should be open and flexible because there is no river cruise comparable to Oceania that would fit your requirements save for no formal dress code.

They do not have large cabins - in fact they are quite small; only 1 restaurant with a limited dinner menu (generally speaking, one of each dishes - meat, fish and vegetarian) and certainly no exec. lounge.

That said, they are small ships, well organized excursions and visit places that ocean ships cannot.

However, I can’t think of where you would have to river cruise in July/Aug to avoid the heat.

Edited October 29, 2018 by Paulchili

[Paulchili]

43 minutes ago, jancruz1 said:

Hi..The cruise line I suggest is AMA , great fod, service and ships..

Jancruz1

Jan - that is what I though based on our prior experiences..

However, this year we cruised on Viking & AMA B2B and this time Viking won hands down in all respects (to my great surprise). I guess it can vary from cruise to cruise.

That said, neither came even close to Oceania - at least not for me.

Edited October 29, 2018 by Paulchili

[jo-b]

3 hours ago, Paulchili said:

River cruises have their advantages but they are a different animal from ocean cruises.

I think both of you should be open and flexible because there is no river cruise comparable to Oceania that would fit your requirements save for no formal dress code.

They do not have large cabins - in fact they are quite small; only 1 restaurant with a limited dinner menu (generally speaking, one of each dishes - meat, fish and vegetarian) and certainly no exec. lounge.

That said, they are small ships, well organized excursions and visit places that ocean ships cannot.

However, I can’t think of where you would have to river cruise in July/Aug to avoid the heat.

 

I would agree with this we have just done our first Scenic Europe river cruise, food was fine but not O standard, Top level balcony cabin was very small, only one chair at the dressing table so cannot sit in the cabin. Balcony tiny.

We were surprised that the level of agility had to be higher too, there is a lift but it  doesn't go to the top deck . Also we spent usually only half a day in places and often dropped at one and picked up at another so no wandering off the ship for a coffee on your own. Most times town was a good 20/45 minutes walk away. (This could be because of low water levels on the Rhine to be fair) 

 

We wouldn't repeat but that is personal. And even in October it was warm. Inland it is likely to be hotter than the coast. I find Scandinavia worth repeating personally beautiful scenery and not too hot! 

[sammiedawg]

Viking river food was mostly average when we were on their Grand European trip a few years ago.  On the first night one couple joked during dinner  “ we know we are not on Oceania”.   But a few dinners were excellent.  

Viking has higher passenger counts than their competitors.  Less space per passenger.  

Overall their product is good but I would try something else if we go again.  

 

 

[sitraveler]

I've said it before, a river cruise is like a bus tour, except your hotel moves with you.  Nothing like an Oceania cruise. If you want a cruise, take an ocean cruise.

[Nauga146]

We decided to try a river cruise with Tauck.  We were quit impressed.  Yes the cabins are smaller - the ships are smaller.  It's a totally different experience, be we found the service on Tauck stellar.  We also considered AMA and Uniworld when we were shopping.  It was the reputation for service as well as the itinerary that drew us to the trip we took.  Realize that ocean cruising and river cruising are different, but both can be wonderful experiences.  

[TrulyBlonde]

1 hour ago, sitraveler said:

I've said it before, a river cruise is like a bus tour, except your hotel moves with you.  Nothing like an Oceania cruise. If you want a cruise, take an ocean cruise.

 

Perfectly stated. I have done 3 river cruises and won't be back.  Tauck does an excellent job for a river cruise but nothing beats an ocean cruise in my opinion.

[pinotlover]

The quality of food on Uniworld matches or exceeds that of Oceania. Every dinner is predominately fresh local produce with dishes and wines of the the regions visited. One isn’t getting frozen food packed in for Day 6 or 7 of the cruise. 

 

Uniworld is all inclusive with no games such as drinks Packages or add on tips. Their included shore tours are far better than the ones offered by Oceania. 

 

Having utilized both Uniworld and Viking, I can say that the Uniworld experiences is so vastly better that comparing those two lines would be like comparing Oceania and Carnival.

 

I highly recommend exploring Uniworld.

[jodorro]

I can’t thank you all enough for your comments. Uniworld could be a good option !

I’ll look into that further .

It does sound like Oceania is certainly hard to beat !

cheers

jo 

[LHT28]

I think Crystal also have  River cruises 

worth check out  I guess

[RJ2002]

jodorro, the river cruises in Europe this year have had some challenges with water levels, so if you are not already familiar with this situation, you might want to read up on that so that you are aware of the potential issues.  Who knows what the conditions will be like next year?

[jo-b]

It is worth having a quick scan of the River Cruising thread also there is a lot of information about the different lines. 

 

. Particularly with recent low water issues in Europe on the Rhine and Danube different operators have handled the situation much better than others sometimes just because they have more ships (Viking) so it is easier for them to do ship swaps, but others just seem to be so much better at communication. I think it speaks volumes how a company deals with problems, also the service from HO is often very different from the impression you get onboard.

[sugarbird]

We have been on Tauck and AMA river cruises in Europe--both were excellent!! Ama is noted for their food--also in Bertlz guide to river cruises--the top ten river cruise ships --all are AMA ships.

[StanandJim]

FWIW,my understanding of the original question in this thread was that it concerned Viking Ocean, not Viking River.

[bitob]

11 hours ago, portofinoitaly said:

 

Perfectly stated. I have done 3 river cruises and won't be back.  Tauck does an excellent job for a river cruise but nothing beats an ocean cruise in my opinion.

Agree 100%.  We will never take another river cruise BUT if we were to do so it would be on Tauck,  They do a superb job -- if you enjoy river cruising.  We learned that we do not.

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, StanandJim said:

FWIW,my understanding of the original question in this thread was that it concerned Viking Ocean, not Viking River.

 

Au contraire...

 

OP asked about "...any comparable cruise or river cruise lines ..." to Oceania's Riviera and Marina, and gave a few specifics for comparisons (e.g., great food, space in PH, no formal dressing required...).

 

That was "cruise or river cruise"... 

And in a subsequent post, OP again specifically mentioned thinking a river cruise might be nice.

 

Indeed, OP's original mention of Viking was specifically for *river* cruising: " Someone mentioned Viking River cruises might be an option ??"

 

GC

[KatieBelle]

Another option might be an Alaska cruise.  You might consider cruise lines other the Oceania if you mother prefers Marina & Riviera.  Oceania typically sails the R ships in Alaska.  If that is a deal breaker for you mother, other cruise lines might be a better option.  Also, Alaska can be rather cool/cold even in July.  Not sure what you happy medium would be for perfect sailing temperature.   

 

A second option would be a cruise of the Great Lakes.  These are smaller ships and offer a different experience than river or ocean cruising.  But the Great Lakes are beautiful and quite divergent.

 

Katie