What is a reasonable facsimile to Oceania?

[Ken the cruiser]

9 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

I feel your frustration.... I looked around for a year when I got upset with O,  Did hundreds of hours of research,  cost analysis, reviews... you name it to find an alternative.      My  honest conclusion  is that there is nothing even remotely the equal.     So  NO... I wound sucking up a problem I had with O  when I came to the stark reality that O is not perfect, nor am I.      Try as I would, I just could not find the same value, cuisine, ship size, cabins as O.         Sorry.

Did you look at Crystal? Some of there Caribbean and Mexican Riviera cruises are pretty competitive with O.

[Cruseforme]

After having an absolute horrible pre cruise experience with Azamara, which we ended up finally getting our money all returned after they moved our cruise by one week for a charter (within 4 months of sailing date), without telling anyone for 1 month, we went to Regent, and didn’t really think they were worth it (folks seemed to enjoy bashing Oceania and lesser cruise lines, and food was just about the same...but in honesty, the cruise was being sold rock bottom price), so we went to Crystal.  We thoroughly enjoyed them.   We’ve been on on several cruises with them so far, and have plans for more next year.   We still enjoy Oceania, but like having choices.  I would tell you to shop around, and check itineraries for what you are interested in.   Only you can decide what line you like, and even then, what ship you enjoy.  

[Paulchili]

20 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

I feel your frustration.... I looked around for a year when I got upset with O,  Did hundreds of hours of research,  cost analysis, reviews... you name it to find an alternative.      My  honest conclusion  is that there is nothing even remotely the equal.     So  NO... I wound sucking up a problem I had with O  when I came to the stark reality that O is not perfect, nor am I.      Try as I would, I just could not find the same value, cuisine, ship size, cabins as O.         Sorry.

Agree - see my post # 12 above.

As always, others may feel differently.

[Hawaiidan]

15 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Did you look at Crystal? Some of there Caribbean and Mexican Riviera cruises are pretty competitive with O.

No.....However  I would never ever consider another Mexican or Carribe cruise !!!   Taking Crystal to Mexico would be like booking an all inclusive  resort in Harlem NY.. or  Compton CA..

  Packed ports with 10,000+ passengers, crime, and the sameness, squalor, of all the carribe ports.   No desire to ever go back, not for love or money!   Been to them all from Key west to Barbados .   Thanks  for the suggestion... however. 

 There used to be a joke that there was really one island  and that each evening  as the ships sailed off into the night, the locals changed the signs to a different name and ships came back the next day !       

Edited June 24, 2019 by Hawaiidan

[Hawaiidan]

On 6/22/2019 at 6:43 PM, Mura said:

Why are you concerned about being on Oceania's larger ships?  They aren't THAT large (although yes, larger than Seabourn or Azamara).  But they use the extra space well.  It's very nice to have 4 specialties as opposed to 2, the handicraft center, and other spaces.  We do like the "R" ships -- we've sailed on them since Renaissance days -- but also like the two larger ships.

 

We never felt overwhelmed by the number of other passengers on Marina and Riviera, whereas we did on ships that were 1750 to 2300 passengers.

 

Have a great cruise whatever you decide,

 

Mura

Size matters.....Marina and Rivera   at 1100-1200 are the largest I will ever sail on again and are very well designed to minimize  the humanity problems..   With the new floating ant farms being built 3000--4000-5000 even 6000 people on board and dont forget hundreds of crew all milling around too!  

[Ken the cruiser]

7 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

No.....However  I would never ever consider another Mexican or Carribe cruise !!!   Taking Crystal to Mexico would be like booking an all inclusive  resort in Harlem NY.. or  Compton CA..

  Packed ports with 10,000+ passengers, crime, and the sameness, squalor, of all the carribe ports.   No desire to ever go back not for love or money   Been to then all from Keywest to Barbados .   Thanks  for the suggestion... however. 

 There used to be a joke that there was really one island  and that each evening  as the ships sailed off into the night, the locals changed the signs to a different name and ships cam back the next day       

Sounds about right as we have no plans to go back to either of those locations as we've been to both many times. Just giving the more inexpensive ways to try Crystal.

 

As a different comparison, we just did a 30 day Crystal cruise from Singapore to Tokyo by way of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China (Taiwan, Shanghai and Hong Kong), Korea and Japan (mainland plus Okinawa) in a B1 balcony cabin on the Symphony for a net price of around $350 per day. That of course included drinks, gratuities, unlimited internet for 2 (with great service quality) and about $3,500 in OBC from our TA which paid for most of our excursions. As for lectures, we had two on each sea day which were given by different olks to include 3 ambassadors as well as Astronaut Scott Kelly and a 4 star general, whose name escapes me right now, who expertise for 30 years was in international peace negotiations. Point being the quality of their professional lectures was outstanding the entire 30 days!! Also, Crystal's evening shows for the most part were top notch. And on top of all that, the Symphony has a full promenade deck to burn all those calories off eating in their fabulous food served in their various specialty restaurants, buffet and MDR. I'm just saying Crystal offers a quality cruise alternative to what Oceania offers.

[Mura]

Dan, I don't see anyone here arguing that going on one of those behemoths is a good idea.  I wouldn't sail in a ship larger than the "O" ships either (having done so a few times but the largest was 2300).  And I understood where Hoyaheel is coming from with concern about the size of these ships considering that they have been sailing on much smaller ships.

 

Mura

 

[clo]

11 minutes ago, Mura said:

Dan, I don't see anyone here arguing that going on one of those behemoths is a good idea.  I wouldn't sail in a ship larger than the "O" ships either (having done so a few times but the largest was 2300).  And I understood where Hoyaheel is coming from with concern about the size of these ships considering that they have been sailing on much smaller ships.

 

Mura

 

You can imagine how I feel, having recently sailed with about 100 pax. 🙂  We didn't get many peoples' names but we knew everybody on board.  And after two women departed half way through we were the only two 'Americans.'

[AtA]

On 6/23/2019 at 8:56 AM, orchestrapal said:

After 13 Oceania Cruises we tried Crystal and were instantly crystallized And it  is now our first choice.

We found the the food to be excellent with greater variety than O and of course the lectures on Crystal are fantastic and often something we miss on O. The cabins are smaller than O even in PHSuites but very well laid out with the best butler service we have ever had.

We also did  a b/b on Viking which was very enjoyable but not up to O in food or service. We do not take group tours so can not speak to those which are included on Viking. The ships are new and modern and very well kept but cold and devoid of anything which would provide warmth such as plants and fresh flowers.

Bottom line we recommend looking for the lower priced Crystal  offers off season if you can.

 

As Crystal devotees, I believe that the standard cabins on Crystal are smaller than on the O class Oceania ships but are larger than on the R class ships. Penthouses are larger on the O class but again smaller than the penthouses on the R class.

I found the food on both ships to be excellent. 

What sets Crystal apart for me was the service and the lectures. So much more to do on Crystal on sea days in terms of lectures, classes, etc.

We had issues on our first and only Oceania cruise 2 years ago to Cuba in a PH and for that reason had no desire to cruise with Oceania again, but I'm trying it once more with my son on a 7 day Caribbean cruise. First time we were on Marina and this time we'll be on Sirena. 

[AtA]

5 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

 

 There used to be a joke that there was really one island  and that each evening  as the ships sailed off into the night, the locals changed the signs to a different name and ships came back the next day !       

I'm thinking it's no joke. LOL. Thanks for the laugh. I hadn't heard that one.

I forgot to say, that yes try Crystal because even on some of their other cruises they are competitive. And I don't drink either.

[Paulchili]

2 hours ago, AtA said:

What sets Crystal apart for me was the service and the lectures. So much more to do on Crystal on sea days in terms of lectures, classes, etc

I agree with that but with a caveat. While Crystal has excellent enrichment programs and other programs on sea days, they do not offer these programs on port days (not even trivia 😀). Thus it works well if you are on a cruise with many sea days but not so much on a port intensive itinerary where few if any of those “nice” things are offered.

[tvmovielover]

One of the few things O could improve are the enrichment programs.  Their experts are not always that great.  Even Viking has some great lectures on each cruise.  Oh dear, I am going to have to look at Crystal again for enrichment alone!  I would miss the Trivia though.

[orchestrapal]

7 hours ago, Paulchili said:

I agree with that but with a caveat. While Crystal has excellent enrichment programs and other programs on sea days, they do not offer these programs on port days (not even trivia 😀). Thus it works well if you are on a cruise with many sea days but not so much on a port intensive itinerary where few if any of those “nice” things are offered.

 

On port days on Crystal  there are always current movies with fresh warm popcorn on offer. Frequently the lecturers are around the ship and sitting having coffee and holding small discussions with fellow cruisers. Long lunches in an uncrowded dining room can be a wonderful time to speak with and learn about the staff. These days with no set schedules can be much more enjoyable than much less desirable port visits.

Edited June 25, 2019 by orchestrapal

[Paulchili]

35 minutes ago, orchestrapal said:

 

On port days on Crystal  there are always current movies with fresh warm popcorn on offer. Frequently the lecturers are around the ship and sitting having coffee and holding small discussions with fellow cruisers. Long lunches in an uncrowded dining room can be a wonderful time to speak with and learn about the staff. These days with no set schedules can be much more enjoyable than much less desirable port visits.

The problem with that philosophy  is that I don’t want to pay some $600+ per day (or whatever) to watch current movies and I don’t want to be on a cruise that visits “less desirable ports” at that cost either .

To do those things I can stay in the comfort of my home for no extra cost and go to the movies. 😀

We will be on a trans-Pacific Crystal cruise with many sea days to take advantage of those benefits but I wouldn’t even consider a Crystal cruise for a port intensive cruise.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Paulchili

[orchestrapal]

9 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

The problem with that philosophy  is that I don’t want to pay some $600+ per day (or whatever) to watch current movies and I don’t want to be on a cruise that visits “less desirable ports” at that cost either .

To do those things I can stay in the comfort of my home for no extra cost and go to the movies. 😀

We will be on a trans-Pacific Crystal cruise with many sea days to take advantage of those benefits but I wouldn’t even consider a Crystal cruise for a port intensive cruise.

 

Different strokes for different folks. We are luckily at the stage where the ship IS the destination. 

[Kingofcool1947]

On 6/22/2019 at 9:40 AM, Sopwith said:

So after going off HAL, Princess and their ilk we switched to O as our favoured cruise line.  After two good and one bad on-board experiences and remarkably poor customer service from their head office we're rethinking our preferences.

 

Is there a reasonable facsimile out there in the same range of price and service, i.e. without getting into the next level of price (Regent, Crystal, et al) and their all-inclusive pricing?  (We drink very little, so not keen to pay for included drinks and wine.  We also prefer not to be locked into ship's tours.)

 

I'm thinking of the likes of Azamara, Cunard, Seabourn, or ???

 

Any advice or insight will be welcome.

 

Thanks.

 

Hop over to MSC.   Or  Viking.   You may like them.

Good luck in your quest.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Kingofcool1947

[clo]

1 hour ago, orchestrapal said:

We are luckily at the stage where the ship IS the destination. 

No snark intended but what is that "stage"?  Does it mean you've done all the land 'stuff' that you're interested in?

[tfred]

i would think that Viking and Azamara would be closer to the O experience

 

Larger ships (MSC, Cunard, X) are heading to the Ship within a Ship experience.  Dedicated, closed off areas where suites and classes have private restaurants, bars, pools.  The advantage is that you can get small ship attention and have large ship common events.  You may or may not like the idea of 3,000 pax outside your private retreat

[Hawaiidan]

2 hours ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

 

Hop over to MSC.   Or  Viking.   You may like them.

Good luck in your quest.

MSC....   with 5000 people and crew    NO,   Last time I was on a ship that size  it launched and recovered high speed aircraft

  Viking, too sterile/austere, with underwhelming cuisine and choices and overwhelming shore ex  programs + pre pay a year in advance....     ( depending on the source of you cruise$ that could possibly cost you a 15-30% loss)

[Hawaiidan]

14 hours ago, AtA said:

I'm thinking it's no joke. LOL. Thanks for the laugh. I hadn't heard that one.

I forgot to say, that yes try Crystal because even on some of their other cruises they are competitive. And I don't drink either.

Thank you...... there is one small fly in that ointment....   I have just about run out of places to cruise to.   I dont want to start repeating stuff.  Yes I know there are people who have sailed to the same port 4-5-6 times .   I would not enjoy that as I would rather do something  which I have never done.. be it a cruise, a land trip, an adventure.

Sadly or realistically , I have been to all the places where Crystal is a competitive with O.    Might have been fun .

God only gives you so much time... you can waste it doing the same things or  spend it wisely discovering the world and its alternatives 

[Kingofcool1947]

On 6/22/2019 at 10:57 AM, Ken the cruiser said:

What type of cabin are we talking, oceanview, balcony or suite?

 

Penthouse or Owner’s Suite?

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

 

Penthouse or Owner’s Suite?

If you don’t mind ships with 2,000 - 3,000 people, a Celebrity corner aft-facing sky suite on one of their S class ships or the aft-facing Penthouse on one of their M class ships IMHO would be a suitable substitute given all the perks, such as a butler, access to Michael’s club, free quality internet for both of you, free gratuities, premium beverage package, $300 OBC and suite-class only dining in the Luminae. But, of course, they also have quality entertainment in their very classy 3 story theater, 2 - 3 lecturers and at least 3-4 trivias  on sea days as well as other fun things to do. Simply put, a X cruise is just more fun to go on than an O cruise IMHO.

 

However, O does have some unique longer itineraries whereas X ranges from 4 - 16 day itineraries. For us we usually book a TA or TP on X and then tie the previous or next cruise to it, depending on the itinerary.

 

But again, this is just my opinion. And as I said before, we also like Crystal if they have an itinerary that catches our eye. But with only 2 ships, that’s not very often. 

[keithm]

On ‎6‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 4:06 PM, Classiccruiser777 said:

IMO Cunard is a step up from HAL but be advised that is far more formal. If you don’t like dressing up for dinner and the evening it may not be a good fit. Also, Cunard has much larger ships and the food isn’t nearly as good.

 

Just curious, did you try to get the unsatisfactory issues resolved while onboard? The few issues we’ve had we talked to the right people and they were resolved.

Sorry, but the food in the Grills was every bit as good as O. You can venture off menu easily as well. Prices however, are higher in the Grills than standard cabins on O(Riviera). True if you don't like the formal dress, I'd suggest another line. I have to admit on Riviera pax always dressed well. Not tuxedos, but sport coats are well in evidence & thankfully, jeans were not permitted in rest. at night on Riviera.

[AtA]

4 hours ago, Hawaiidan said:

Thank you...... there is one small fly in that ointment....   I have just about run out of places to cruise to.   I dont want to start repeating stuff.  Yes I know there are people who have sailed to the same port 4-5-6 times .   I would not enjoy that as I would rather do something  which I have never done.. be it a cruise, a land trip, an adventure.

Sadly or realistically , I have been to all the places where Crystal is a competitive with O.    Might have been fun .

God only gives you so much time... you can waste it doing the same things or  spend it wisely discovering the world and its alternatives 

I believe their new smaller ships will be traveling to some more exotic ports and there are also the river cruises. 🙂

[AtA]

16 hours ago, Paulchili said:

 

Edited June 25, 2019 by AtA