Oceania vs. Regent

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, Russiamomm said:

Convince me why we should jump to Oceania, assuming we’re able to get a penthouse.any takers?  😃

give them a try & decide for yourself

Everyone has different wants/needs

enjoy what every cruise you choose

[ronrick1943]

15 hours ago, LHT28 said:

give them a try & decide for yourself

Everyone has different wants/needs

enjoy what every cruise you choose

I couldn’t agree more, each person has their own idea what is good, bad or just don’t like.  We moved from Oceania to Regent to Silversea.  We tried to book a Oceania cruise today but couldn’t get the suite we wanted—-so back to Silversea.  

[Troban]

We have sailed Navigator ( our first cruise) then 2 more Regents and sailed O with 2 more booked. 
 

Both are great small ship cruising. Service is wonderful. I would not do less than a Penthouse on O unless Vista. The bathrooms were tiny in a balcony. 
Regents rooms on newer ships are superb layout and design. 
 

Food is great on both, we don’t do shows much so no help there. 
I usually base decision on if I prefer excursions on our own. We booked our own in Med and on USA East Coast so Regent not an option. Panama Canal sailings I am not going to wander off so Regent worked well. ( Do note not a lot of night life on either line as say Holland)

[ak1004]

I read several times that if you account for all inclusions, the price becomes similar, but I still cannot see how this is possible.

 

Here are two very similar itinerates:

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/baltic-cruises/london-to-copenhagen-MNA220605/

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/SPL220602/summary

 

Both are 12 nights, similar ports and same period.

 

Regent cheapest category is CAD $17,699 (veranda). Oceania veranda is CAD $5,899.

 

Extra expenses on Oceania (all prices in CAD):

Business flight - around $3,500.

Excursions - around $2,500 (probably less, but lets be conservative).

Beverage package - around $1,000

 

Total for Oceania: CAD $12,900

 

Regent is still about 40% more expensive. And I don't even mention the fact that not everyone takes a full beverage package, many people drink only couple drinks per day, the business flight can be booked with points, and many people organize private tours which are much cheaper.

 

What am I missing?

 

[cotto22]

There are a couple of obvious, though perhaps minor ,differences. The Oceania cabin size is smaller, and I don't believe transfers are included on Oceania, unless they have been added  for 2022. I am not sure where you are coming up with the cost of business air, but I don't think it was from Oceania! They are quoting almost $2000 for one way to Europe this year, so who knows about next year!

  We enjoy both lines and switch back and forth from cruise to cruise. This fall, if all goes well, we are on Oceania, and next summer, it will be Regent. And, if the things clear up, we will be trying Silversea again in 2024. So far, 2023 is open for negotiation. 

  By all means choose the itinerary and line that fits your budget. No one wants to pay more if you can get a comparable product for less.

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, cotto22 said:

There are a couple of obvious, though perhaps minor ,differences. The Oceania cabin size is smaller, and I don't believe transfers are included on Oceania, unless they have been added  for 2022. I am not sure where you are coming up with the cost of business air, but I don't think it was from Oceania! They are quoting almost $2000 for one way to Europe this year, so who knows about next year!

  We enjoy both lines and switch back and forth from cruise to cruise. This fall, if all goes well, we are on Oceania, and next summer, it will be Regent. And, if the things clear up, we will be trying Silversea again in 2024. So far, 2023 is open for negotiation. 

  By all means choose the itinerary and line that fits your budget. No one wants to pay more if you can get a comparable product for less.

 

Oceania veranda is 282 sqft and Regent 307 as far as I can see, doesn't seem very significant. PH on Oceania is 420 sqft, significantly larger than veranda on Regent, and it's $8,249, so the total would be still much less than Regent for a larger room.

 

Business cost is a direct quote from expedia.ca. This is a typical cost of business flight from Toronto to Europe, we did it few times.

 

Yes, transfers are not included, but this is typically an extra $150-200, not really material.

 

My point was not to argue that one of the lines is better than the other, but to question the claim that the cost is similar if you account for all expenses. I would be glad to be proven wrong with some examples as we would love to try Regent, just cannot justify paying 40-50% more compared to Oceania.

[ORV]

I'm pretty sure transfers are now included with Oceania if you book your flights through them. Exceptions apply. 

[Woofa]

I have been reading these comparisons for quite some time and I honestly think that it is almost impossible to make an across the board statement other than Oceania trends cheaper than Regent on most comparable (not equal) cruises.  This feels like the commercials where Kroger fills a cart with groceries and declares your weekly shopping is $37 less than Tom Thumb.  Then Tom Thumb fills another cart with groceries that looks similar but is obviously slightly different and declares it is $43 cheaper than Kroger.  

What I know is that you can almost always find a cruise on Oceania at a price you could not match on any of the "4 luxury lines.". True, you might have a smaller room, or no balcony, or not have free drinks or excursions or business class air.  But, those things are important to some people and not as important to others.  We are taking an Oceania cruise in 2023 because we decided that it was the best value experience for the price for us.  Truth is, its a stretch and we cannot really afford the luxury lines at this point in our lives (around 50). Hopefully we will have the ability to also try the luxury lines as we get older but if not we felt that Oceania gave us the best chance to have a luxury level cruise for about double what a mainline cruise would cost.  We are foodies that don't really drink and on this cruise at least, don't plan on many excursions and have easy, cheap access to the port (miami.)

Comparing 282 sq ft to 305 sq feet is just about impossible.  You really need to spend a few nights in each to see if there is a difference to you.  Comparing food at this level also seems an exercise in futility.  I can only guess that the food on Oceania and the four luxury lines are all great but some people like certain tastes better.  I have read many posts that passengers love regent for the ability to have everyone on the cruise drinking free and never have to show their key.  I am sure this makes for some livelier times in the bars but to be honest, that does not matter to us.  Also, where have these people been travelling (outside of cruises and a very few all inclusive resorts) where you don't have to pay for every meal and every drink and have your wallet handy?  

Truth, if we had thought we could take a cruise vacation on one of the luxury lines for what we are paying, we probably would have tried them first.  But we couldnt.  Assuming we love Oceania will that stop us from trying regent, or crystal if our TA finds us great deal, no.  Do your best research and find the fit that looks the best for you.  I can't really imagine someone being disappointed on any of the five lines assuming normal circumstances and a desire to have fun.

 

 

[Paulchili]

5 hours ago, ak1004 said:

Regent is still about 40% more expensive. And I don't even mention the fact that not everyone takes a full beverage package, many people drink only couple drinks per day, the business flight can be booked with points, and many people organize private tours which are much cheaper.

 

What am I missing?

Nothing 😀 Your math is close in most cases to your example.

Of course, there will be exceptions where prices are closer but there is no "free lunch" 😀

[ak1004]

3 hours ago, Woofa said:

 

Truth, if we had thought we could take a cruise vacation on one of the luxury lines for what we are paying, we probably would have tried them first.  But we couldnt.  Assuming we love Oceania will that stop us from trying regent, or crystal if our TA finds us great deal, no.  Do your best research and find the fit that looks the best for you.  I can't really imagine someone being disappointed on any of the five lines assuming normal circumstances and a desire to have fun.

 

 

 

I think it would be much easier to find good deals on Crystal if you are willing to have a smaller cabin or no veranda.

 

For example, to compare to a similar 12 nights cruise in summer 2022, here is the one - https://www.crystalcruises.com/voyage/london-to-stockholm-ocs220719-12#suites-and-fares

 

Ocean view starts at $5,500 USD (or $7,000 CAD), veranda starts at $8,300 USD ($10,600 CAD).

 

Still more expensive than Oceania, but the difference is much smaller. If you don't care much about cabin size or veranda, the price is pretty good.

 

Here is another one - https://www.crystalcruises.com/voyage/london-to-lisbon-ocs220908-11

11 nights London to Lisbon, OV starts at $3,850 USD. You won't find anything close at Regent or Silversea.

 

And of course it depends on personal preferences. If you don't drink (like us), on all inclusive lines you are subsiding the drinkers, so for us, Oceania is a better value - we pay for what we use.

[Robjame]

10 hours ago, ak1004 said:

. I would be glad to be proven wrong with some examples as we would love to try Regent, just cannot justify paying 40-50% more compared to Oceania.

I would agree with everything you say as we have done similar comparisons in CAD. 

The exception we have found is when we search Regent using “Special Offer” > “Canadian Dollar at 
Par”. We were looking at Bridgetown to Bridgetown, 12 day, at $7499 pp CAD. This came out very nicely in a per day comparison particularly as, at the time, we were trying to avoid US departures. There are European options.

 

There is another Special category in Regent called “Priced in Canadian Dollars’. No idea what that means but it might be worth investigating if you want to try Regent.

[Flatbush Flyer]

14 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

I think it would be much easier to find good deals on Crystal if you are willing to have a smaller cabin or no veranda.

.....Still more expensive than Oceania, but the difference is much smaller. If you don't care much about cabin size or veranda, the price is pretty good.

 

..... Oceania is a better value - we pay for what we use.

So, perhaps a similar experience but no balcony? Makes zero sense to me.

The key argument you made about O (with which I agree) is that, pre-cruise, you can decide how much inclusiveness you desire (one of the great things about O Life). So, nickel/diming still avoided and you get great quality/value including the “finest cuisine at sea.” ™️

[LGW59]

50 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

So, perhaps a similar experience but no balcony? Makes zero sense to me.

The key argument you made about O (with which I agree) is that, pre-cruise, you can decide how much inclusiveness you desire (one of the great things about O Life). So, nickel/diming still avoided and you get great quality/value including the “finest cuisine at sea.” ™️

Just booked a 16 day TA Dec 2022 in O riviera vista suite, roughly $18k USD total for two of us.  For comparison we had been booked on Celebrity Beyond 12 day TA Nov 2022 in PH suite $31k total for two of us.  Did not even need to haul out the calculator the math jumped off the screen.

Edited September 18, 2021 by LGW59

[Flatbush Flyer]

34 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Just booked a 16 day TA Dec 2022 in O riviera vista suite, roughly $18k USD total for two of us.  For comparison we had been booked on Celebrity Beyond 12 day TA Nov 2022 in PH suite $31k total for two of us.  Did not even need to haul out the calculator the math jumped off the screen.

Yes. How anyone could ever suggest that Celebrity is anything other than an expensive “wannabe” escapes me.

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

So, perhaps a similar experience but no balcony? Makes zero sense to me.

The key argument you made about O (with which I agree) is that, pre-cruise, you can decide how much inclusiveness you desire (one of the great things about O Life). So, nickel/diming still avoided and you get great quality/value including the “finest cuisine at sea.” ™️

It makes sense if you want more variety and more options. Maybe Crystal has some itineraries that O doesn’t have? Maybe you just want to experience a different style of cruising?

 

Every line has its nuances. We found the entrainment better on Crystal for example compared to O. But we liked the food better on O. 
 

I would really like to try Regent as well, but it’s not worth to me to pay 40% more. 10%? Probably yes.

[ToxM]

My 14 day + 4 day precruise TA on regent in ‘24 was cheaper than a comparable 18 day TA on Vista in ‘23. Adding in the flights which I will arrange myself it’s at least the same price flying biz from the UK, so adding in the alcohol and the excursions it’s going to be cheaper. 

 

I love Oceania, but Vista prices seem extra high to me. 

 

Looking forward to comparing my next three O cruises with the Regent one. 

[ak1004]

11 hours ago, ToxM said:

My 14 day + 4 day precruise TA on regent in ‘24 was cheaper than a comparable 18 day TA on Vista in ‘23. Adding in the flights which I will arrange myself it’s at least the same price flying biz from the UK, so adding in the alcohol and the excursions it’s going to be cheaper. 

 

I love Oceania, but Vista prices seem extra high to me. 

 

Looking forward to comparing my next three O cruises with the Regent one. 

Would you mind sharing the itinerates of both cruises and the category you compared? 

[ToxM]

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

Would you mind sharing the itinerates of both cruises and the category you compared? 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/transatlantic-cruises/london-to-new-york-VIS230830/?sr=%2Fcruise-finder%23ship%3DVIS%26sort%3Dfeatured%3Adesc%26page%3D2%26pageSize%3D10

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/VOY240112/summary?source=top results

 

Lowest category on each ship - balcony on RSSC/Balconette on O

 

£860pp air credit on RSSC LON - CPT, GIG - LON

£490pp air credit on O NY - LON

 

£1290 value pre-cruise land tour included on regent - 4 days (included in cruise price)

 

Transfers from airport - hotel - hotel - ship on RSSC (included)

13 included tours (all of the ports included apart from St Helena I would only do ships tours)

 

Tips: O extra/RSSC included

Drinks - RSSC included/extra-per O life

 

 

We also got a small but useful saving from our TA (rare in the UK - about £200 each I believe)

 

I am a big Oceania fan, but the relatively small difference in price and the allure of the RSSC itin made it a no brainier. 

 

 

 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, ToxM said:

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/transatlantic-cruises/london-to-new-york-VIS230830/?sr=%2Fcruise-finder%23ship%3DVIS%26sort%3Dfeatured%3Adesc%26page%3D2%26pageSize%3D10

 

https://www.rssc.com/cruises/VOY240112/summary?source=top results

 

Lowest category on each ship - balcony on RSSC/Balconette on O

 

£860pp air credit on RSSC LON - CPT, GIG - LON

£490pp air credit on O NY - LON

 

£1290 value pre-cruise land tour included on regent - 4 days (included in cruise price)

 

Transfers from airport - hotel - hotel - ship on RSSC (included)

13 included tours (all of the ports included apart from St Helena I would only do ships tours)

 

Tips: O extra/RSSC included

Drinks - RSSC included/extra-per O life

 

 

We also got a small but useful saving from our TA (rare in the UK - about £200 each I believe)

 

I am a big Oceania fan, but the relatively small difference in price and the allure of the RSSC itin made it a no brainier. 

 

 

 

 

That’s a useless comparison.

Find the same (or close) Regent southern TA on O (not a northern TA which will almost always have higher port taxes) and the same cruise days for both (I.e., 4 land days is not comparable  to cruise days). The price difference will increase (even after adding Prestige booze and Passport tours on O). Gratuities? TA or O Club will cover.

[ToxM]

6 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

That’s a useless comparison.

Find the same (or close) Regent southern TA on O (not a northern TA which will almost always have higher port taxes) and the same cruise days for both (I.e., 4 land days is not comparable  to cruise days). The price difference will increase (even after adding Prestige booze and Passport tours on O). Gratuities? TA or O Club will cover.

 

It’s not useless, those are the two cruises I was considering so that was why i was comparing them. 

[ak1004]

In this specific case, the flight credit available from Regent is huge - $6,100 CAD, and without the flight the price is only $8,100 CAD. So yes, I think in this case the price is actually closer to Oceania prices, but still higher if you take same number of nights.

 

The conclusion is that it's worth to check Regent flight credits, sometimes it's worth to take the credit and arrange your own flight.

[ronrick1943]

On 9/18/2021 at 9:58 AM, Flatbush Flyer said:

So, perhaps a similar experience but no balcony? Makes zero sense to me.

The key argument you made about O (with which I agree) is that, pre-cruise, you can decide how much inclusiveness you desire (one of the great things about O Life). So, nickel/diming still avoided and you get great quality/value including the “finest cuisine at sea.” ™️

I have to disagree with you on “The finest cuisine at sea”—it just isn’t.  I know it’s just an opinion but it is an opinion.

[ak1004]

4 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

I have to disagree with you on “The finest cuisine at sea”—it just isn’t.  I know it’s just an opinion but it is an opinion.

Which line in your opinion has a better cuisine?

[Flatbush Flyer]

12 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

I have to disagree with you on “The finest cuisine at sea”—it just isn’t.  I know it’s just an opinion but it is an opinion.

Don’t shoot the messenger. Best Cuisine accolades fo O comes from Bon Appetit, Saveur and several major metro newspaper food/travel reviewers.

BTW: “best at sea” doesn’t mean “best anywhere.”

Edited September 19, 2021 by Flatbush Flyer

[ronrick1943]

14 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Don’t shoot the messenger. Best Cuisine accolades fo O comes from Bon Appetit, Saveur and several major metro newspaper food/travel reviewers.

BTW: “best at sea” doesn’t mean “best anywhere.”

I realize that, however you have to take that with a grain of salt—“O” is a heavy advertiser with those magazines.  LikeI said the food is good, but not near what they advertise.