Oceania vs NCL

[shadow2252]

In everyone’s honest opinion what would be better... Concierge on Oceania or NCL Haven on Escape?   I am leaning towards Oceania as it a lot smaller ship...what is everyone’s take on this?   

[Jancruz]

I love both but it is like comparing an orange and an apple..completely different..

Jancruz1

[Mura]

Indeed.  Although I'm wondering if a better comparison wouldn't be a suite on O with the Haven.  When we were on NCL (which was quite a while ago, on GEM) we were in a family penthouse -- a step or two down from the Haven but still very comfortable for two people with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths.  We were happy with the space, and accepting of the other services available on the ship.  But we didn't think it compared to Oceania.  At the time we'd been on an OS on Regatta once but every since then were in a PH.

 

When on the GEM we did tour the Haven (not inside any of the rooms) and it's a very pleasant space indeed.

 

But another question is which Oceania ship category are you considering in terms of concierge?  The "O" ship rooms are rather larger than the "R" ship cabins, especially the bathrooms.

 

But Jan is the expert!

[Hawaiidan]

46 minutes ago, shadow2252 said:

In everyone’s honest opinion what would be better... Concierge on Oceania or NCL Haven on Escape?   I am leaning towards Oceania as it a lot smaller ship...what is everyone’s take on this?   

 two entirely different experiences for two entirely different demographics.     The O cabin is much smaller.  However on NCL , once outside your cabin you will be sharing  a HUGE ship with thousands.    On Oceania  a much smaller ship it will only be hundreds...     My personal take on NCL's ESCAPE, is that is  exactly what you will want to do once on board....

To me it is all about the quality of my experience. shared with other low key travelers.

[Rebels82]

If you love kids and people having meals with baseball caps on do NCL. A lot of NCL cruisers are there to have a fun filled drinking week. A lot of Oceania cruisers have experienced that and have moved on. We are NCL Platinum Plus cruisers and have “matured” to Oceania. If you are a gambler and smoke do NCL. If you are a gambler and don’t smoke....Oceania is for you.

[njhorseman]

12 minutes ago, Rebels82 said:

If you love kids and people having meals with baseball caps on do NCL. A lot of NCL cruisers are there to have a fun filled drinking week. A lot of Oceania cruisers have experienced that and have moved on. We are NCL Platinum Plus cruisers and have “matured” to Oceania. If you are a gambler and smoke do NCL. If you are a gambler and don’t smoke....Oceania is for you.

Sorry, but I cruise on both Oceania and NCL and while previous posts about "apples and oranges" are correct, your description of NCL's passenger demographics is a gross exaggeration . Will you run into some people wearing baseball caps ? Yes...but not  a great number and  frankly I don't spend my vacation time worrying about what other people are wearing.

 

Fun filled drinking week on NCL? Some, sure. But I've encountered more than my share of drunks on Oceania too, including some passengers who obviously had serious long-term alcoholism problems  and weren't much fun at all.

 

Kids? Sure. But it will vary by length of itinerary and timing of the cruise. I just did  a 21 day NCL cruise which had a grand total of three...that's right, 3 children under the age of 21 on board. On the following 10 day cruise there were 600 kids because it was a school holiday week.

 

I can't argue with the problem of smoking in the casino on NCL . It's a simple fact that NCL allows smoking in the casino and Oceania does not. 

[Mura]

Our experience on NCL was nearly 10 years ago but even so ... the GEM is 2300 passengers, so not one of the new behemoths.  Getting off the ship in ports and at final debarkation was very delayed, I'll admit. But while there were indeed lots of children on board, we didn't see many inebriated passengers or baseball caps in the dining rooms. It was certainly a different experience from Oceania but not one that bothered us all that much.

 

Then again, we haven't been back!

[crooz4fun]

6 hours ago, shadow2252 said:

In everyone’s honest opinion what would be better... Concierge on Oceania or NCL Haven on Escape?   I am leaning towards Oceania as it a lot smaller ship...what is everyone’s take on this?   

I will probably be in the minority on this, but I would much prefer the Haven on the Escape.  We've sailed on Oceania many times and in fact our next cruise is on the Riviera. 

As a frame of reference, we were in a Penthouse Suite on the Marina sailing from Papeete to Lima.  We also did a TA in the Haven on the Epic.  We had a wonderful time on both.

 

The Haven is a world all it's own on the very large ships.  Small intimate cocktail lounge and restaurant with great service, very good food, although I would give the nod to Oceania for food. We had a pool with Jacuzzi's and a workout room just a few steps from our suite.  Never any crowds, in fact hardly any other people.  We had a 2 BR suite which was far better than the Penthouse we had on the Marina.  The passengers in the Haven are very different than what some posters have identified as NCL cruisers.  Fellow passengers in the Haven will be more comparable to Oceania passengers than to the NCL passengers described in the other posts.

 

The only time we left the Haven was for some specialty dining and the entertainment, which was a big plus for us.  The production shows were fantastic, the likes of which you won't see on Oceania.  The specialty dining was not as good as on Oceania, but very good. The biggest difference we found in the food was that Oceania spends more and food and you get more of the more expensive ingredients.  We did not see a lobster tail, although the shrimp cocktail in the Haven was better than any I've ever had on land or at sea.

 

It really depends on your priorities.  If food is important and entertainment is not, go with Oceania. For us, the superior entertainment more than made up for the difference in the food.
 

[Paulchili]

Crooz4fun - how did the per diem price compare?

How many people in the 2 bedroom suite?

Edited February 27, 2020 by Paulchili

[pete_coach]

On Oceania versus NCL, Less people, less entertainment, less activities, less kids. Better service, better food, better cabins...many more walkers and scooters 🙂

[Shawnino]

I've never understood why NCL calls it a 'Haven' when they allow children in it.

[Jancruz]

Ive seen children in the Haven but always extremely well behaved ..I love the Haven and would not go on NCL any other way..

Jancruz1

[crooz4fun]

21 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Crooz4fun - how did the per diem price compare?

How many people in the 2 bedroom suite?

For our sailing we we're just my wife and I.  She used the second bedroom as a "dressing room".  I was originally looking at a crossing on the Riviera from NY to London.

 

We had the Ultimate Beverage Package per person, 250 Free Internet minutes of WiFi per person, 120 minutes phone call credit per stateroom if call from suite telephone, US$ 50 shore excursion credits per person per each port of call (a total of US$ 100 shore excursions credits per stateroom per each port of call), 4 Specialty Dining Meals, US$ 150 per person shipboard credits (a total of US$ 300 shipboard credits per stateroom plus Chocolate Covered Strawberries and a Bottle of Wine per suite plus NCL.  Plus our TA took care of the gratuities.   The all in price (including the gratuities for the drink and specialty dining packages) was  $8,407 for the 15 night sailing for both of us (about $280 pp night).  That was, at the time, the about the same as a balcony on the Riviera.

 

Definitely well worth it!

Edited February 28, 2020 by crooz4fun
typo

[crooz4fun]

obab

8 hours ago, Jancruz said:

Ive seen children in the Haven but always extremely well behaved ..I love the Haven and would not go on NCL any other way..

Jancruz1

I totally agree.  We hardly saw any kids on our sailing, but then again, is was a crossing and that's typical for crossings.

 

We have also sailed in the Yacht Club on the MSC Seaside for a 7-day Eastern Caribbean.  The experience compares very favorably to the Haven.  

Edited February 28, 2020 by crooz4fun
typo

[samiam0403]

On 2/26/2020 at 4:37 PM, shadow2252 said:

In everyone’s honest opinion what would be better... Concierge on Oceania or NCL Haven on Escape?   I am leaning towards Oceania as it a lot smaller ship...what is everyone’s take on this?   

 

Having now done both (Concierge on Riviera, and multiple Haven cruises), if not sailing with children, I'd choose Oceania any day of the week. I've been telling friends and family that Riviera was like having the entire ship be the Haven. Obviously, there aren't any Broadway shows or go-carts, but if you just want to relax with great food, not worrying about endless upcharges, and the most comfortable bed ever, then O is ideal. 

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, samiam0403 said:

I've been telling friends and family that Riviera was like having the entire ship be the Haven.

That is the main difference between the 2 lines IMO

[njhorseman]

10 hours ago, samiam0403 said:

 

Having now done both (Concierge on Riviera, and multiple Haven cruises), if not sailing with children, I'd choose Oceania any day of the week. I've been telling friends and family that Riviera was like having the entire ship be the Haven. Obviously, there aren't any Broadway shows or go-carts, but if you just want to relax with great food, not worrying about endless upcharges, and the most comfortable bed ever, then O is ideal. 

I'm looking at the bill for my just-completed 51 day NCL cruise...in an ordinary balcony by the way, not a Haven cabin...and I can't find any "endless upcharges". Just one item that would have been included on Oceania but isn't on NCL, a bottled water package that cost us a total of a tick over $50 including gratuity. 

 

To me the one thing that sticks out on Oceania vs. NCL is that the main outdoor pool area on NCL is virtually unusable, with loud music and large crowds.

 

Even though the food on Oceania is better...substantially better in some respects, slightly better in others,  the food on NCL is certainly good enough. We didn't starve to death . On our last Oceania cruise...36 days...we couldn't stand eating in the GDR...service too slow, food sometimes not prepared very well, so with the exception of the few nights where we had specialty restaurant reservations we ate in the Terrace Cafe. Eating in any cruise line's buffet, even one as good as Oceania's with its endless supply of lobster tails is hardly a gourmet dining experience. 

 

The absolutely worst steak and lobster we've ever had on a cruise ship was on an Insignia cruise (a segment of the ATW cruise no less), where in two visits to Polo we first had virtually inedibly tough rib eye steaks and on the next visit steamed lobster that wasn't just almost inedible, it was completely inedible...soft mush. To make the experience even better we had a late reservation and it was obvious that the wait staff just wanted to get out of there and did everything they could to rush us through our meal. I've never had that happen to me on all my NCL cruises.

Edited March 1, 2020 by njhorseman