My thoughts; Crystal versus Oceania

[ak1004]

17 minutes ago, AtA said:

I'm giving my observations. And you are correct, you do notice things that another line does differently. The good and the bad. No cruise line is perfect. Not even Crystal. 

Absolutely! And I also find that some people take things a bit too personally. They come to defend their favourite line like it’s their baby.. I have seen it on all boards, Oceania, Crystal, Celebrity you name it.

 

When comparing lines, I think It’s also important where you sail. On port intensive cruises like Europe, enrichment programs and daily activities are much less important, and Crystal advantage in those areas becomes much less.

[LHT28]

33 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

The simple truth is that once you get used to one line, you notice every small thing that another line does differently. I remember a big Oceania fan tried Crystal few weeks ago and posted a 3 star review.

 

Once you want to find negatives, you will find them. We noticed some things that Crystal does better, other things that Oceania does better, but we enjoyed both lines very much. I cannot imagine sailing on one line only. It's boring. Change is good.

I agree   but we found the  food  not really any better on Crystal  & then their  is the insider secrets

The entertainment was good  except we are not fans of magicians or comedians

I am never bored on a cruise   but I am not  running from one event to another either  😉

 

 

[ak1004]

3 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Change is good if you are either ambivalent about your choice or like both lines equally.

It’s not as good if you have a strong preference for one or the other.

Then add the perks of loyalty, etc, etc and all of a sudden change may not be as good as one thought.

I have a strong preference for Oceania but I cruise other lines as well but not for the sake of change, rather for itinerary (or occasionally to try a brand new ship that is supposed to be great).

Agree.

 

For us, we go by itinerary and price. We won’t sail on Carnival, and have clear preference for Oceania and Crystal, but won’t hesitate sailing on Celebrity, Princess or Azamara. We know what each line is and what it isn’t and don’t expect a Honda to be a Mercedes.

 

No line is perfect, we can agree on that. I just find it hard to believe that anyone can not enjoy a line like Crystal or Oceania. Unless of course you decide in advance that it’s not a good fit. But of course everyone has different preferences and it’s very personal.

[cruisemom42]

13 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Change is good if you are either ambivalent about your choice or like both lines equally.

 

 

Or if you just happen to be the kind of person who craves variety. Variety keeps things fresh for me. My son jokes that when we go to a restaurant that we might only visit every couple of months, he'll say "Have the lamb, mom, you love the lamb here." And I'll say, "No, I had it last time, I want something different."

 

Or maybe a better example: my favorite hotel in the world is in Rome. I go to Rome often. Yet I don't always stay in this hotel. I like variety and I have enjoyed all kinds of hotels from budget walk-ups to five stars at the top of the Spanish Steps. And every 3rd or 4th visit I go back to my favorite and enjoy it that much more.

 

I've been cruising since childhood and not sure I can even count how many lines I've been on. Only one that I would never sail again. I'm looking forward to my first Oceania adventure. I'm not the type who is always thinking "This is better." or "This is worse."  I just think: "This is different."

 

[Paulchili]

36 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

don’t expect a Honda to be a Mercedes.

..don’t be so sure.

These days a Honda may have more technology and be more reliable than a Mercedes for a lot less (maybe less luxury). 😀😀

[1985rz1]

2 hours ago, AtA said:

See the picture I posted with my son sitting in the club chair. You may be puzzled but it was what it was. 

If the ship had any interesting daytime activities and/or evening entertainment, I would have happily overlooked the food. I've been on HAL and Celebrity and found there was more to do on both those ships.

I do not dispute your description of the room.  I've  said it looks different from the PHs we have had and that the place where the club chair looks smaller than what we've experienced in 8055.  The space between the bed and the veranda doors looks very small, compared to our experience.  You have  a very legitimate gripe.

 

I am trying understand why it is different from the norm and so I can avoid it in  future reservations as it is not one that we would want. Thanks for sharing that information?

Edited January 15, 2020 by 1985rz1

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, Paulchili said:

..don’t be so sure.

These days a Honda may have more technology and be more reliable than a Mercedes for a lot less (maybe less luxury). 😀😀

 

Haha.. I know exactly what you are talking about.. I'm driving a Mercedes and my wife is driving a Honda. In terms of value for money, there is no comparison. But I still prefer a Mercedes. In the same that I prefer Crystal/Oceania over Celebrity, knowing that in terms of pure value for money, Celebrity provides a better value. 

[Paulchili]

18 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

In the same that I prefer Crystal/Oceania over Celebrity, knowing that in terms of pure value for money, Celebrity provides a better value.

Exactly.

We are cruising on Princess RT from home to Hawaii. We know what to expect from Princess and do not expect an Oceania experience but it’s a relaxing cruise without any flying into warm waters (at the right price point).

How bad can that be - life is good  😀

[AtA]

1 hour ago, clo said:

I forgot that a cruise employee said that they can stack more of them than they can towels. This is an anti-noro precaution.

Sounds weird but makes sense I guess.

[AtA]

1 hour ago, clo said:

Do you think they had put two twins in there, pushed together, to make a king?

No, it was definitely a queen sized bed.

[AtA]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

 

When comparing lines, I think It’s also important where you sail. On port intensive cruises like Europe, enrichment programs and daily activities are much less important, and Crystal advantage in those areas becomes much less.

Agreed. 

[clo]

40 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

But I still prefer a Mercedes.

Why? We drive a Toyota RAV4 and a friend drives the equivalent Lexus. They're almost identical in looks but one cost $30k and one $60k.

[ak1004]

9 hours ago, clo said:

Why? We drive a Toyota RAV4 and a friend drives the equivalent Lexus. They're almost identical in looks but one cost $30k and one $60k.

 

Maybe for the same reason you are sailing on Oceania and not "almost identical" Celebrity? 

 

Some people are very happy with Honda/Toyota/Celebrity/Princess. Others prefer Lexus/Mercedes/Oceania/Crystal. Some don't mind to try both. It really comes to what's important to you and how much you are willing to spend.

 

btw, if you compare a fully loaded Toyota/Honda with basic Lexus/Acura, you mind find out that the difference is not that big. Same when comparing Celebrity and Oceania and accounting for all inclusions. But now the question of course is: do you need all the inclusions? My wife doesn't need leather seats, sunroof and all the bells and whistles. In the same way, people who don't drink, might not find much value in all inclusive lines like Crystal.

[ORV]

10 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Haha.. I know exactly what you are talking about.. I'm driving a Mercedes and my wife is driving a Honda. In terms of value for money, there is no comparison. But I still prefer a Mercedes. In the same that I prefer Crystal/Oceania over Celebrity, knowing that in terms of pure value for money, Celebrity provides a better value. 

While we're getting off topic here. Personally I don't think Honda is making as good a product as they did 10-15 years ago. I've never owned one but have friends and relatives that do. I've driven and rode in many of them over the years. I guess this ties into cruising because everyone says the cruise lines quality has gone down in the same time period. 

 

I seriously looked at the Hyundai when we just bought a new car, in the end bought another Mercedes. Hyundai has a lot of bang for the buck, especially in their top end. 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2020 by ORV
can't type

[AtA]

9 hours ago, clo said:

Why? We drive a Toyota RAV4 and a friend drives the equivalent Lexus. They're almost identical in looks but one cost $30k and one $60k.

LOL. My last car was the Toyota RAV4 (2011) and I fully intended to buy a new RAV4 as I really liked the car. However they changed the seat so I could no longer get it comfortable (On long rides my back can start to hurt if the seat isn't angled right) so had to look elsewhere. I wound up with the Lexus NX 300 which is a glorified Toyota RAV4. And it doesn't cost anywhere near $60k.

[ak1004]

10 hours ago, AtA said:

Agreed. 

 

So if you came across a good port intensive itinerary on one of Oceania O class ships, would you consider it? Or there are other deal breakers on Oceania except entertainment, daily activities and enrichment program? 

 

[AtA]

8 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

My wife doesn't need leather seats, sunroof and all the bells and whistles. In the same way, people who don't drink, might not find much value in all inclusive lines like Crystal.

As I've said before it isn't just the all inclusive with Crystal. It's also things like the entertainment and the activities. Crystal was the last luxury line to go all inclusive and yet people still preferred it to the other lines because of their daily activities and their willingness to go out of their way. If it's even remotely possible, Crystal will not say no.

[AtA]

2 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

So if you came across a good port intensive itinerary on one of Oceania O class ships, would you consider it? Or there are other deal breakers on Oceania except entertainment, daily activities and enrichment program? 

 

Hard to say because our first cruise on Oceania 3 years ago on the Marina left such a bad taste in our mouths. Service on that cruise was just ok and the attitude of the staff was poor. No one seemed happy on that cruise. Our room was dirty as I mentioned and our butler was nowhere to be found the few times we needed him. We went to voice our concerns to the concierge who said he'd get back to us. He never did.

 

Now compare that to our cruise this time where the staff was superb! Our butler was probably one of the best we've had and our stewardess always had a smile and went out of her way to help. Roland the concierge was on top of the few issues we did have and was probably the best concierge we have ever encountered. And the front desk staff was friendly and helpful as well as the destinations desk.

 

The other issue for us is I'm not sure we'd ever choose an itinerary that was completely port intensive. When we did the Baltics a few years ago, it was very port intensive. We had planned to stay in London visiting friends and catching up on one of our favorite cities but 3/4 through the cruise we decided to bag London and fly home the day we got off the ship as we were so tired from sightseeing. Nowadays we try and choose a cruise that has a mix of sea days and port days.

 

To answer your question, most likely not as I'd go back to Regent before Oceania. (We used to sail Regent but stopped when they included all tours as many times we prefer to do private tours). Or I'd try Seabourn or Silversea. 

[clo]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

Maybe for the same reason you are sailing on Oceania and not "almost identical" Celebrity? 

 

Now that is funny. We cruised - for the first time, mind you - on Oceania because we had wondered if there was a cruise from Rio to Buenos Aires. Had never heard of them before. And our next cruise will be on Hurtigruten on the oldest ship in their fleet. Here was the cabin we had on a cruise with them last spring.

 

[Hawaiidan]

12 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Exactly.

We are cruising on Princess RT from home to Hawaii. We know what to expect from Princess and do not expect an Oceania experience but it’s a relaxing cruise without any flying into warm waters (at the right price point).

How bad can that be - life is good  😀

Well...I had the same attitude...  Took a HAL cruise 30 days...     You can  only ignore huge differences  for so long..   I had no choice if I wanted to get to Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima   Poor to BAD on so many levels I gave up.   Some days food was so bad that I just did not eat anywhere... A first

 

And like  the Marines who suffered in those places... so did I.

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, clo said:

Now that is funny. We cruised - for the first time, mind you - on Oceania because we had wondered if there was a cruise from Rio to Buenos Aires. Had never heard of them before. And our next cruise will be on Hurtigruten on the oldest ship in their fleet. Here was the cabin we had on a cruise with them last spring.

 

 

is that plastic container your toilet?

[clo]

3 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

is that plastic container your toilet?

You're cute 🙂 The liner in that was actually compostable. The bathroom was something else. The shower had no "curb" or whatever it's called so the water from the shower, especially if we were underway, would 'flow' across the room. Bob went ashore and got an empty wine case that we put all our HABAs(health and beauty aids) in and we would put it on the toilet lid. The only mirror was in the bathroom and the only electrical outlet was beside the bed. Good thing we brought a simple extension so I could see what I was doing with my hair 🙂 But we loved it so much we're sailing on her in April but a tad nicer room.

 

[AtA]

33 minutes ago, clo said:

You're cute 🙂 The liner in that was actually compostable. The bathroom was something else. The shower had no "curb" or whatever it's called so the water from the shower, especially if we were underway, would 'flow' across the room. Bob went ashore and got an empty wine case that we put all our HABAs(health and beauty aids) in and we would put it on the toilet lid. The only mirror was in the bathroom and the only electrical outlet was beside the bed. Good thing we brought a simple extension so I could see what I was doing with my hair 🙂 But we loved it so much we're sailing on her in April but a tad nicer room.

 

 

Reminds me of our cruise on Nat Geo to the Galapagos. Got into the room which was I think half the size of my son's room on this past cruise and the bathroom only had a shower curtain and was maybe the same size as my son's bathroom on this past cruise and thought, "what did I get myself into?" Turned out to be one of my favorite cruises of all time. Food was good. Lectures even better and we had two tours each day exploring the Galapagos.

[clo]

27 minutes ago, AtA said:

Reminds me of our cruise on Nat Geo to the Galapagos. Got into the room which was I think half the size of my son's room on this past cruise and the bathroom only had a shower curtain and was maybe the same size as my son's bathroom on this past cruise and thought, "what did I get myself into?" Turned out to be one of my favorite cruises of all time. Food was good. Lectures even better and we had two tours each day exploring the Galapagos.

Galapagos is still on our bucket list. We felt the same about the ship above and one of her sister ships that we cruised to Antarctica. And we felt our fellow passengers were there for the overwhelming experience not 'just' cruise junkies.

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, Hawaiidan said:

Well...I had the same attitude...  Took a HAL cruise 30 days...     You can  only ignore huge differences  for so long..   I had no choice if I wanted to get to Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima   Poor to BAD on so many levels I gave up.   Some days food was so bad that I just did not eat anywhere... A first

 

And like  the Marines who suffered in those places... so did I.

Not to worry Dan.

We’ve cruised on Princess before and we know what to expect.

Having the appropriate expectations for any trip or cruise is the best way not to be disappointed.