Oceania vs Celebrity Suites

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

I've seen people on the Celebrity board mention that they match loyalty status. Do you know if that's only for Celebrity guests or do they match all cruise lines? Thanks. 

MSC matches loyalty status with just about any cruise line or hotel chain.  At one tine they had equivalent matches up to their highest level (Black Card) but I am not sure if that is still the case.  MSC has awful customer service here in the USA and that can even extend to the matching process.  You can check on their website and even call them which is not always successful.  When we did the match there was little incentive to do it before booking a cruise as they will retroactively give you the match discount (generally 5%).  When we took our first MSC cruise (in the Yacht Club) we did have their highest category (Black Card) which did not mean a lot in the YC since you already get just about everything.  But that Black Card did get us a free meal in an alternative restaurant (not as good as what we got in the YC's own restaurant) and also got us a couple of sold chocolate cruise ships (these pieces must weigh over a pound) as a gift.  The best perk is the discount (5%) off the cruise price.

 

Hank

[LHT28]

4 hours ago, ORV said:

I've seen people on the Celebrity board mention that they match loyalty status. Do you know if that's only for Celebrity guests or do they match all cruise lines? Thanks. 

I believe they match all lines

I have seen someone with NCL  status  get  it with MSC

[ORV]

10 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I believe they match all lines

I have seen someone with NCL  status  get  it with MSC

I'm wondering if they would match the OBC we get on Oceania? Even if I did go on the Yacht club and everything was included you can always buy stuff in the gift shop or go on excursions with OBC. I can see them matching simple stuff like Celebrity has but matching someone that is Gold, Platinum or Diamond on Oceania would be a bigger step. 

[jagoffee]

26 minutes ago, ORV said:

I'm wondering if they would match the OBC we get on Oceania? Even if I did go on the Yacht club and everything was included you can always buy stuff in the gift shop or go on excursions with OBC. I can see them matching simple stuff like Celebrity has but matching someone that is Gold, Platinum or Diamond on Oceania would be a bigger step. 

I believe it is a status match and not a benefits match.  They will match whatever the equivalent (number of points/cruises/days equivalent) level is the same.

[LHT28]

27 minutes ago, ORV said:

I'm wondering if they would match the OBC we get on Oceania? Even if I did go on the Yacht club and everything was included you can always buy stuff in the gift shop or go on excursions with OBC. I can see them matching simple stuff like Celebrity has but matching someone that is Gold, Platinum or Diamond on Oceania would be a bigger step. 

All you can do is ask  then decide  if worth it to you

I am not a fan of  big ships 😉

 

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, jagoffee said:

I believe it is a status match and not a benefits match.  They will match whatever the equivalent (number of points/cruises/days equivalent) level is the same.

so do they give a free cruise if you are coming up to  the 20th  40th on O ?

[Flatbush Flyer]

19 minutes ago, ORV said:

I'm wondering if they would match the OBC we get on Oceania? Even if I did go on the Yacht club and everything was included you can always buy stuff in the gift shop or go on excursions with OBC. I can see them matching simple stuff like Celebrity has but matching someone that is Gold, Platinum or Diamond on Oceania would be a bigger step. 

You forgot to mention the Platinum cruise perk on O.

In any case, I always have to chuckle at “ship within a ship” and “suite privileges” on mass market lines particularly regarding the promise of “better” food than whatever the regular passenger have to endure.

That’s a big difference from Oceania where all passengers have access to all dining venues and “specialty” restaurants don’t serve “better” food. Rather every Oceania restaurant has excellent food and the “difference” among them is menu focus, ambiance and style of service.

[ORV]

5 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

I believe it is a status match and not a benefits match.  They will match whatever the equivalent (number of points/cruises/days equivalent) level is the same.

I see, so I'd probably be better off sticking with Oceania. I'd have to see what the MSC program offers though. Speaking of big, we were docked by a MSC ship in Costa Maya Dec of 19, the last cruise we went on. That's the Riviera on the left.  

[Tedferg]

Thanks Hank - I had never thought of MSC, must look at them. I will also look at some O itineraries and price out including air fare. We have a few friends who sail O and feel it is a 20 - 30% premium, but worth it for food and small ship feeling. However, as I mentioned, it came out to twice the price when I did my comparison.

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Thanks Hank - I had never thought of MSC, must look at them. I will also look at some O itineraries and price out including air fare. We have a few friends who sail O and feel it is a 20 - 30% premium, but worth it for food and small ship feeling. However, as I mentioned, it came out to twice the price when I did my comparison.

Do the bottom line math- not cabin price comparisons.

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Thanks Hank - I had never thought of MSC, must look at them. I will also look at some O itineraries and price out including air fare. We have a few friends who sail O and feel it is a 20 - 30% premium, but worth it for food and small ship feeling. However, as I mentioned, it came out to twice the price when I did my comparison.

 if it is all about the $$ then Oceania is probably not for you

JMO

[ORV]

4 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Thanks Hank - I had never thought of MSC, must look at them. I will also look at some O itineraries and price out including air fare. We have a few friends who sail O and feel it is a 20 - 30% premium, but worth it for food and small ship feeling. However, as I mentioned, it came out to twice the price when I did my comparison.

The experience is an intangible that's hard to put a dollar figure on. You have to decide what that is worth to you. For some people it's not. The mass market pricing will win just about every time. But, you're on a mass market ship. 

[marieps]

If the OP is looking for a full comparison, one must consider that he/she is considering Insignia.  AS an R class ship, I would caution the OP about the bathroom size in any cabin below PH.  We are E+ on =X=, and tried Regatta in 2019 for 16 days.  The shower was so small!  (A3 cat).  But we loved the cruise, so we're doing a PH on Sirena for the October TA...if she sails!    

[Tedferg]

19 hours ago, ORV said:

The experience is an intangible that's hard to put a dollar figure on. You have to decide what that is worth to you. For some people it's not. The mass market pricing will win just about every time. But, you're on a mass market ship. 

Agree about intangible and don't want to beat this to death, it is clearly my perspective. I priced a 7 day Alaska May 2022 from Vancouver. Cost Per Day Princess $519, Celebrity $580, HAL $533. Oceania $866 Cruise Only, $1,055 O Life. The first three are All Inclusive.

[ORV]

3 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Agree about intangible and don't want to beat this to death, it is clearly my perspective. I priced a 7 day Alaska May 2022 from Vancouver. Cost Per Day Princess $519, Celebrity $580, HAL $533. Oceania $866 Cruise Only, $1,055 O Life. The first three are All Inclusive.

As you said we don't want to beat it to death but it would help to know which class of cabin on each line you priced.

[Tedferg]

3 minutes ago, ORV said:

As you said we don't want to beat it to death but it would help to know which class of cabin on each line you priced.

On Oceania I picked the lowest level Verandah, I think that was B2, on others I picked basic Balcony and let site choose Balcony. 

[ORV]

Sound like this is an R ship. From what you post I don't think you'd be happy with Oceania, but you never know until you try it. I would highly recommend you try an O ship first if your previous cruises are the lines you mentioned above. 

 

I personally like Celebrity, many here don't. Given a preference I would choose Oceania over it every time, and gladly pay more. I cruise Celebrity with friends that don't really want to pay the difference for Oceania. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

24 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

The first three are All Inclusive.

??? Unlimited Internet, unlimited beverages and unlimited specialty restaurants? Even O’s cruise only passengers get those items.

Of course, this doesn’t address the difference in quality of food and service as well as the space and crew ratios- all far superior to the lines you cited.

Also, it’s what you don’t get on O - pesky photogs, phony art shows, smoking with few restrictions, thousands of passengers, .....

Edited January 29, 2021 by Flatbush Flyer

[Flatbush Flyer]

51 minutes ago, marieps said:

If the OP is looking for a full comparison, one must consider that he/she is considering Insignia.  AS an R class ship, I would caution the OP about the bathroom size in any cabin below PH.  We are E+ on =X=, and tried Regatta in 2019 for 16 days.  The shower was so small!  (A3 cat).  But we loved the cruise, so we're doing a PH on Sirena for the October TA...if she sails!    

I am convinced that a lot of folks don’t understand the desirability of the R ship shower size and position of the head (toilet). Because O is so well respected for its food, those items serve a dual purpose by reminding folks when their girth has suffered from eating all the wonderful food. AND no extra charge fir this “amenity.”😎

BTW. The NEXT redo provides R ships with shower door -no more clinging shower curtain.

[Tedferg]

33 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

??? Unlimited Internet, unlimited beverages and unlimited specialty restaurants? Even O’s cruise only passengers get those items.

 

Unlimited beverages ? I thought you needed O Life for more than beer / wine with dinner.

 

I do agree that small ship, good service, good food would be nice. I friend who sails O loves the attention of a Butler, frankly that would make my skin crawl. (I do know a Butler only comes with higher categories)

Edited January 29, 2021 by Tedferg

[Flatbush Flyer]

6 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Unlimited beverages ? I thought you needed O Life for more than beer / wine with dinner.

In the cruise world, “beverages” are nonalcoholic items. That said, one O Life option is wine/beer with meals - upgradeable to unlimited booze for $20/person/day.

 

Also, remember that O let’s you bring unlimited wine and spirits onboard for in-cabin consumption. And you can bring that wine to public venues fir a $25/bottle corkage charge (including gratuity).

 

What difference in daily cost you are left with in a true daily cost comparison is “chump change” when you consider the difference in quality of the overall Oceania experience.

[Tedferg]

26 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

What difference in daily cost you are left with in a true daily cost comparison is “chump change” when you consider the difference in quality of the overall Oceania experience.

Well O cruise only with no alcoholic drinks is $347, $287. $344 more per day  respectively for Princess, Celebrity, HAL. That is 67%, 47%, 63% more. My original point was that I am intrigued to try O but the claim that it is only ~20% more does not ring true to me.

[shank63]

Years ago we cruised on Celebrity when the ships were in the 2,000 pax size.  We are more mature now and will not cruise on a ship with 1,500 other passengers, certainly not 4,000 or more.  The Oceania O ships are the best fit for us for all the reasons listed in previous posts, and the passenger load is the most important.

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Agree about intangible and don't want to beat this to death, it is clearly my perspective. I priced a 7 day Alaska May 2022 from Vancouver. Cost Per Day Princess $519, Celebrity $580, HAL $533. Oceania $866 Cruise Only, $1,055 O Life. The first three are All Inclusive.

 

Compare the sq ft of the cabins  

The R ships have very small W/C  a lot of people  cannot handle that

 Like  I said before  if it is all about the $$ O is probably not for you

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

15 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Well O cruise only with no alcoholic drinks is $347, $287. $344 more per day  respectively for Princess, Celebrity, HAL. That is 67%, 47%, 63% more. My original point was that I am intrigued to try O but the claim that it is only ~20% more does not ring true to me.

Really depends on the itinerary. I’ve seen comparisons where O is cheaper than Celebrity for the same ports/days. 

But, it really doesn’t matter if what you want is a vast difference in product. Ask the thousands of former Celebrity cruisers who have tried Oceania once and never return to Celebrity.

Of course, if money is all that matters to you and you don’t mind eating mediocre food while getting nickel/dimed to death on mass market lines, Oceania may be a wasted experience for you.