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Oceania vs. Crystal


SandJCruiser
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We have just come back from our first Crystal cruise and loved it.  We are thinking about also trying Oceania as wel!.  Our interests are in service, food, itinerary, and onboard entertainment/enrichment.  Don't care about casino, are not picky about cabins, and don't usually do ship excursions any more.  Would love to hear from those who have experience with both lines.

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3 hours ago, SandJCruiser said:

We have just come back from our first Crystal cruise and loved it.  We are thinking about also trying Oceania as wel!.  Our interests are in service, food, itinerary, and onboard entertainment/enrichment.  Don't care about casino, are not picky about cabins, and don't usually do ship excursions any more.  Would love to hear from those who have experience with both lines.

For us service and food are the same, great! However, on the cruises we have taken, Crystal’s onboard entertainment and enrichment programs are definitely a step up from Oceania. However, as far as itineraries go since Crystal only has 2 ocean vessels, Serenity and Symphony, we have to give the nod to Oceania with their fleet of 6 ships. However, as far as ships go, we have to give the nod to Crystal as their 2 ships have full promenade decks to walk around.

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I would say Crystal for sure. Love the Cove, Ave abd the large coffee bar area  with windows. Cabins are bigger than O unless on O newer ships.  PH better on C. Shows better on C.  The list is endless.

 

 

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3 hours ago, riandei said:

We love crystal.  We are trying O in January. Crystal has a serious lack of sailing opportunities with ony 2 ocean vessels.

 

We are hoping that O will offer a product that fills the void.

I would have thought Regent would be more comparable  to Crystal

more inclusive  than Oceania

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I wanted to TRY Cyrstal,but DH refuses to dress up for dinner,and C has formal nites.So now go on Regent ex.when O has itinerary on Marina or Riveriera,,,with the larger cabins and tubs.Wonder if C will ever relax the dress code,,,would love to give it a try.PS..forget about me getting DH to change his mind...Went on Seabourn and made such a fuss about a sportscoat,which he wore on FORMAL nite,they never told him NO to entrance.BUt all other men had suits,at least.MEN"""'''

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There really is no actual answer to your question except you trying Oceania and deciding for yourself. All of us have different requirements, expectations and experiences that may have nothing to do with those of your preferences and likes/dislikes.

I tried Crystal and although there were many things to like about Crystal I definitely prefer Oceania (you can read my full review in the link I gave above).

Conversely, I know of at least one loyal O cruiser who tried Crystal and became Crystalized.

You really have to make this decision for yourself.

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3 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I would have thought Regent would be more comparable  to Crystal

more inclusive  than Oceania

Regents prices seemed much higher than Crystal to me.  Will keep my eyes on them for future sailings.

 

thanks

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9 minutes ago, riandei said:

Regents prices seemed much higher than Crystal to me.  Will keep my eyes on them for future sailings.

 

thanks

Does  Crystal also include airfare in the prices?

Or are you comparing  cruises  without air ?

just curious

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I have done Regent twice. Crystal is far above it . I think C is more of a night ship than  R. C is more of a night ship than O too. People think C has small cabins but for 2 ships O has smaller.  cost i  have no idea as I book for the ports and the service.

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Also an O regular that has been Crystallized. 

 

I really think if you love Crystal, I would tend to do an O cruise on either of the two O class ships (Marina/Riviera) as the cabins (particularly the bathrooms) tend to be larger.  The food is more varied and more ambience than the smaller R ships.

 

We still will sail with O but only if a particular itinerary is special.

 

Agree with Henry that O tends to miss ports.  Have missed St Barts 3 times on O and our last cruise this year around Australia we missed 5 ports.

 

Crystal is more expensive, but O's prices are increasingly going higher, less club benefits.  Our next cruise to the Amazon (next week), Crustal was cheaper than O who is doing the same itinerary the same week. R class PH versus a Seabreeze PH was almost the same. 

 

When comparing both O and Crystal, as a newbie, you will have to add mandatory (gratuities) extras and desired options (drinks) to get a good comparison.   Oceania air is not Free but a costed extra that can be removed.  A good way to compare is to use the cruise only price.

 

Regent is always more than any Crystal cruise we have priced.  Navigator class is much small than Symphony/Serenity -- more comparable to Explorer.  Regent includes excursions too.

Edited by PaulMCO
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On ‎10‎/‎31‎/‎2018 at 10:45 AM, alexandra cruiser said:

I wanted to TRY Cyrstal,but DH refuses to dress up for dinner,and C has formal nites.So now go on Regent ex.when O has itinerary on Marina or Riveriera,,,with the larger cabins and tubs.Wonder if C will ever relax the dress code,,,would love to give it a try.PS..forget about me getting DH to change his mind...Went on Seabourn and made such a fuss about a sportscoat,which he wore on FORMAL nite,they never told him NO to entrance.BUt all other men had suits,at least.MEN"""'''

BTO(black tie optional) nights on Crystal are just that.. optional. On two recent Crystal cruises I chose to wear  a jacket with no tie, same as I sometimes do in Polo, Toscana or Jacque on Oceania or in the grand dining room if the AC is particularly cold. Suit or tux wearers made up about 50% of men on these recent Crystal cruises..I would estimate that another 40% of men wore jacket but no tie and about 10% wore no jacket...just a collared shirt. I pack the same for Crystal cruises as I do for Oceania. I do not believe an experience like your DH's  Seabourn one where most men wore suits would happen on Crystal. 

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Thanks for that info re BTO,,,will look more at C,,but also see you must make dining time choice,,,not open dining. Do you have to make reservation for time before ea.dinner if you want to choose,,as they say.?Then is a full hot breakfast avail.in all cabins on C?? I hav e asked for brochure online 2 times and NONE sent. Odd way to deal with potential new customer,it seems.Guess I ll try calling.Do like they sail out of Miami sometimes,,,can just drive down.Need to explore my options since O doing away with tubs in all but 2 ships..boo.

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22 minutes ago, alexandra cruiser said:

Thanks for that info re BTO,,,will look more at C,,but also see you must make dining time choice,,,not open dining. Do you have to make reservation for time before ea.dinner if you want to choose,,as they say.?Then is a full hot breakfast avail.in all cabins on C?? I hav e asked for brochure online 2 times and NONE sent. Odd way to deal with potential new customer,it seems.Guess I ll try calling.Do like they sail out of Miami sometimes,,,can just drive down.Need to explore my options since O doing away with tubs in all but 2 ships..boo.

No, dining on both Crystal ships is now open dining.  Hot breakfast is available. Crystal has a handful of sailings out of South Florida every year but they are rarely round trip. Generally only one or two are round trip.

Edited by edgee
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We were invited onboard Crystal once as guests for dinner when the Symphony visited our city. We noted the women were served smaller portions than the men in our party. Also the wait staff were less professional and too casual compared to our experience on O. That did it ... we stick with O. 

Edited by Noxequifans
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Then again there is the growing trend on Oceania of cruise directors who cannot shut up and find a need to read the entire daily schedule over the P.A. thus dragging down the Oceania travel experience. Certainly Crystal or even Celebrity are far better in the area of minimal announcements. After a recent yakity yak experience on Oceania, we have not been back...not saying we will eliminate Oceania from our future travel plans, but it does make us hesitant each time we compare options for future cruises. To be fair, some Oceania cruise directors (eg. Julie James and a few others) are much more courteous and do not "over announce" but the trend seems to be in the talkative direction, unfortunately.

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On 11/5/2018 at 8:30 AM, Noxequifans said:

We were invited onboard Crystal once as guests for dinner when the Symphony visited our city. We noted the women were served smaller portions than the men in our party. Also the wait staff were less professional and too casual compared to our experience on O. That did it ... we stick with O. 

 

 

Very surprised at your post.  We found the service on Crystal better than any cruise line we have ever sailed including Oceania, Seabourn, the PG.  

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"Amen" to edgee's comment above regarding loquacious Cruise Directors on the PA system.  Yadda, yadda, yadda......blah, blah, blah.  

 

Yes, dear, we read the Currents; we know what's on; we don't need you to read it all back to us several times a day.  Sure, it's not so bothersome when inside our cabin with the door closed.  Still, we always jump up anyway and start to listen, just in case you're about to tell us something important for a change.  

 

And there's no escaping you when we're out in a public area and you've got the volume turned up to 11.  A real conversation-stopper.

Edited by DrHemlock
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I find that one CD on oceania reads the novel at least twice a day. gee, one time at noon- that the cruise line for me. I can read too. if in an open area i run to my cabin. but at 5 could be in a bar or watching sail away.   I had Julie once she talked to much-even saw it during a show-sititng with guests. it ruin the show for me.

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