Cystal vs. Oceania

[AtA]

3 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Thanks docmark.

I guess you had a better deal on Crystal than I had.

We paid $495/pp per diem for a tiny B1 vs your $522/pp per diem for a PH.

I suppose it also depends on the itinerary as we are paying a little less for the same B1 on a trans-Pacific cruise with MANY sea days.

Also, as FF said, it is more indicative of the cost when one compares same categories on each line.

What that doesn't include though is the much superior entertainment and enrichment activities on Crystal versus Oceania. 

And did the cost comparison include the included alcohol on Crystal versus the not included alcohol on Oceania?

[AtA]

43 minutes ago, Justalone said:

Thank you for posting the pic.

Yikes, that is a small shower stall!  
Would you say that some folks as large as you characterized would have a difficult time turning around in the shower stall?  Maybe leave the glass door open?

And the location of the toilet?  I would feel sorry for those who are excessively corpulent.  How would one sit comfortably on it after having a fine meal?  I guess one can squeeze their legs together when  one feels the urge to go.  Looks like the tiny space one finds in an airline toilet.

To pay all that money to get a premium category stateroom, and to not have a decent sizes bathroom seems so wrong to me.

Doe any have a photo of the bathrooms on Crystal for comparison?

Are you looking for a standard cabin or a PH on Crystal? Also which ship?

[Paulchili]

13 minutes ago, AtA said:

What that doesn't include though is the much superior entertainment and enrichment activities on Crystal versus Oceania. 

And did the cost comparison include the included alcohol on Crystal versus the not included alcohol on Oceania?

You are making some assumptions and subjective observations.

We do not drink so that is a non-issue for us. Quite the opposite, on inclusive lines I feel I am paying for others’ indulgences rather than what I am using.

I do agree that the enrichment on Crystal is superior to that of Oceania and entertainment is probably better.

That said, we are happy enough with O’s entertainment (subjective) and we prefer the food and overall ambiance of O over Crystal (again - subjective).

So - while Crystal seems to be a better fit for you for a number of reasons, O suits us better for many other reasons.

As I mentioned in my review, I can get a PH on Marina for less than a B1 on Crystal with all the other things I enjoy on Oceania. I miss the enrichment of Crystal but that’s not enough to make me Crystalized.

Edited January 21, 2020 by Paulchili

[Flatbush Flyer]

8 minutes ago, AtA said:

What that doesn't include though is the much superior entertainment and enrichment activities on Crystal versus Oceania. 

And did the cost comparison include the included alcohol on Crystal versus the not included alcohol on Oceania?

Perhaps OP has or hasn't figured in the "freebies" in each case. The Oceania standard O Life price includes airfare/air credit, and a perk (e.g., basic booze or some tours) as well as no charge specialty restaurants and unlimited  internet. Are ALL of those included in that Crystal fare?

 

I don't know what extras OP's Crystal fare included (e.g., is the booze unlimited type/amount?). But, for argument's sake, let's say Crystal provides all of the above in their price (???) and the Oceania perk selected is tours. That would mean the O passengers wanting unlimited booze would pay $120/night more for 2 people- still a far less total cost (of at least $1+k less) than Crystal.

 

In any case, I'm confident that no matter how you slice it/dice it, Crystal's (or Regent or Silversea, etc) regular pricing will always cost significantly more than Oceania's (or Azamara). 

I have often done a fully inclusive side-by-side comparison of Oceania and Regent but have never come up with Regent having better value for us.

 

For us, it's somewhat akin to hotels. I can stay at a Ritz Carlton for twice the price of an Intercontinental. But, will the quality/service difference really be that significant?

 

[Cruisemonty]

Generally, a standard balcony cabin on Marina or Riviera costs a bit less than a standard balcony cabin on Symphony or Serenity. I took 7-day cruises in Europe on Riviera in a penthouse (2017) and Serenity in a B1 balcony cabin (2019), and I greatly preferred our cruise on Serenity. The food, service and ambience on Crystal were wonderful, and the cabin was very nice with double sinks and a bathtub. The passengers on Crystal were more lively and sophisticated than the passengers on Oceania, and the included wines and drinks were far superior to the wines and drinks we bought on Riviera.  We booked another cruise in a B1 on Crystal for 2021.

[Flatbush Flyer]

7 minutes ago, Cruisemonty said:

Generally, a standard balcony cabin on Marina or Riviera costs a bit less than a standard balcony cabin on Symphony or Serenity. I took 7-day cruises in Europe on Riviera in a penthouse (2017) and Serenity in a B1 balcony cabin (2019), and I greatly preferred our cruise on Serenity. The food, service and ambience on Crystal were wonderful, and the cabin was very nice with double sinks and a bathtub. The passengers on Crystal were more lively and sophisticated than the passengers on Oceania, and the included wines and drinks were far superior to the wines and drinks we bought on Riviera.  We booked another cruise in a B1 on Crystal for 2021.

O's included Airfare or air credit figured in to that comparison (I.e., does Crystal include that)? $1k+/person can be more than "significantly less."

[Cruisemonty]

Just now, Flatbush Flyer said:

O's included Airfare or air credit figured in to that comparison (I.e., does Crystal include that)? $1k+/person can be more than "significantly less."

 

I forgot about the airfare on Oceania. Crystal does not include airfare. See the spreadsheets on drib critic (Google it) for detailed comparisons of pricing on Crystal, Regent and Oceania. You can search with and without fees and/or airfare.

[Flatbush Flyer]

24 minutes ago, Cruisemonty said:

 

I forgot about the airfare on Oceania. Crystal does not include airfare. See the spreadsheets on drib critic (Google it) for detailed comparisons of pricing on Crystal, Regent and Oceania. You can search with and without fees and/or airfare.

Don't need to check.

 

I've done (and still do) many many many comparisons of similar long Intercontinental itineraries between Oceania and "luxury" lines. 

 

IMO, though some positive reviews of Crystal/Regent/et al. are intriguing, my price comparisons (net daily rate of all anticipated expenses -both fare-based and optionally required in calculations for a true price comparison), find that the $$$ thousands difference in bottom line pricing always has Oceania representing a far better "value" for a "solid" product.

 

For us, there's another element to consider. Currently, we spend 80-100 nights on O ships annually. We are acquainted with many officers and that often translates to reasonably exceptional service. We use several of O's too selling TAs, which has it's own value when our "Rolodex" of Miami contacts is not enough to address any issues. 

 

And the loyalty perks (at Gold and above) are not exactly "chump change." 

Edited February 3, 2020 by Flatbush Flyer

[Paulchili]

15 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Don't need to check.

 

I've done (and still do) many many many comparisons of similar long Intercontinental itineraries between Oceania and "luxury" lines. 

Agreed.

Here is my personal experience - there is nothing like a personal experience (couple of years ago) 😀

 

Cost – we stayed in a B1 balcony cabin on Crystal that was 269 sq. ft. for $495 per diem cost. Later this Fall we have a B2B on Marina (booked as 2 separate voyages) in a PH2 with 420 sq. ft. 

Both of our Marina voyages cost less per diem than the Crystal did ($437 & $406 per diem respectively). The only cost difference between the two is included alcohol on Crystal; as we don’t drink, this is of no added value to us.

Not only does the PH, which is almost double the size, cost less per diem but each of our Oceania cruises includes 2 free excursions/pp (about $750 value), 3 bags of laundry, $600 OBC on one and $900 on the other cruise, 2 spa sessions each cruise, a butler and ensuite dining from 4 specialty restaurants (as well as unlimited visits to specialties at no fee). In addition, we will receive loyalty refunds from our TA after each Oceania cruise – thus further lowering the per diem cost of Oceania cruises

Conversely, our Crystal cruise cost us an addition $1200 for shore excursion – and that was with 10 sea days and 4 ports where we didn’t take any excursions (pus one port where the excursion was cancelled due to weather).

So there is absolutely NO comparison at all as to the monetary value for the cruise on Crystal vs Oceania for us. Of course, if it were only that we get a much larger cabin (with all sorts of benefits) for less money but nothing else, then it may not be a bargain. Such may be a case on Princess (and some others) where we may get a huge cabin for less money but not much else. However, on Oceania it’s not just the lower cost but we do NOT have to sacrifice anything that we value – we get great food, good service and friendly staff & fellow passengers.

 

This is just IMO & IME - as always, YMMV.

[Mura]

I'm going back to the bathroom size on Oceania ships.  Haven't been on Crystal so of course I'm not talking about their ships.  (I was skipping ahead to get here so didn't read the interim posts carefully; my apologies.)

 

I am also of a larger size!  Even so, when we returned to a B1 on an "R" ship in 2017 after quite a while of being in PH and above (whether on "R" or "O" ships) I was surprised that the shower no longer bothered me.  This was before they removed the curtain and put in a door on the "R" ships.  I never had a problem bending down to pick up the dropped soap.  Yes, it was tight -- again, I should say that I'm not tall although I'm wider than I should be.  These showers bothered me more when we were first sailing on Renaissance than they did 15 years later!

 

Sitting on the loo can be a problem!  I won't deny that.  It's a tight corner in a veranda cabin on the "R" ships.

 

If you are on Riviera or Marina, this isn't so much of a problem -- although I confess that on these ships we've been in VS and OC suites most of the time; once in a PH.  So I can't make an opinion about the lower cabins there.  I'm just assuming from what I have read on CC that these cabins are larger than they are on the "R" ships.

 

Mura