New to Oceania

[ne1travel]

My wife and I are fairly new cruisers.  We have only cruised Princess.  We do not want to get into the LARGE ship capacity thing and are looking at Oceania.  I keep getting brochures weekly from them now and it looks like such a nice cruise line.  We do like getting dressed up for dinners etc.  What is the dress code like during the day?  Of course, all the brochure photos show everyone dressed so well always. Just curious as we start to plan now that we are beginning to open up to cruising again. 
thanks….

[anonymousegirl]

I haven't sailed on O yet, but during the day will be very casual. Tee shirts and shorts on hot weather cruises and jeans and sweaters on cold ones. At night, it looks like people smarten up a bit- but I've seen lots of people saying they just wear a nice polo or long sleeve shirt with a pair of chinos. For my cruise next summer, I plan on white or black pants and a dressy (not sparkly) blouse in the evening. 

[Jancruz]

Tell you wife to think Chicos or JJill for evening and she will tell you what to wear!!

Jancruz1

[LHT28]

dress code for us  is smart but casual

DH does not wear  a jacket in the evening & looks just fine

If you want to dress  to the nines  feel free to do so

JMO

[Hawaiidan]

Golf  shirts and slacks or dockers..    Golf shirts  or similiar shirts  rather than Tee shirts and base ball caps.  Maybe a nice dress shirt and blazer for dinners. 

 There are no formal nights and  dressing up is more casual . However, dress to a level you feel comfortable in.  The ship has an ambiance that is low key and convivial yet  classy way..     Much of the evening revolves around conversation and dining.    TOTALY different than princess...... there is no class system, once out of the cabin all passengers are treated equal.    As to the size.... well you will be with about 75% less passengers then Princess... and of these, most will be well traveled and well mannered. 

 Children will be all but absent.It is an adult cruise

I tried 6 lines befor I found O  and  never looked back..   Maybe you will too

[vlloyd]

I am also new to Oceania (July 3, 2022, SIRENA, Ireland & England) and have cruised primarily on Celebrity and Princess. 

The printed info on the website and on the mailed documents indicates that sandals are not allowed in the MDR in the evening.  Seriously?

I'm hoping an Oceania veteran can enlighten me.  Thanks!

[GeezerCouple]

18 minutes ago, vlloyd said:

I am also new to Oceania (July 3, 2022, SIRENA, Ireland & England) and have cruised primarily on Celebrity and Princess. 

The printed info on the website and on the mailed documents indicates that sandals are not allowed in the MDR in the evening.  Seriously?

I'm hoping an Oceania veteran can enlighten me.  Thanks!

 

That had me a bit worried the first time, too, and made little sense, especially for women.

 

I think it means no plastic flip-flops, or perhaps no "hiking sandals" or whatever those really clunky ones are.

But if someone is otherwise dressed appropriately (and that includes quite a nice range), I'd be surprised if one were to be stopped due to footwear.

 

I wore something that wasn't all that much different from "flip-flops", but they were made with slightly sparkly metallic-finish leather.  I was also dressed in "nicer" casual clothing... black slacks with assorted nicer/evening tops.  I don't remember noticing anything like an "odd glance" at any dining room.

 

GC

[mauibabes]

Remember, Oceania is Country Club Casual dress. My wife only wears Fit Flops and they can be quite blingy. It is a foot problem and comfort issue and she has not been challenged even though the official position is No Sandals but let’s just call them “Dress “ sandals. When we were told about this requirement she asked our Butler and he told her if something was said, just tell the Maitre d that her PH XYZ said they were OK. Never had an issue 

 

Just go and enjoy your cruise and you will not be going back to Princess.

Ciao, Mauibabes

 

[LHT28]

40 minutes ago, vlloyd said:

I am also new to Oceania (July 3, 2022, SIRENA, Ireland & England) and have cruised primarily on Celebrity and Princess. 

The printed info on the website and on the mailed documents indicates that sandals are not allowed in the MDR in the evening.  Seriously?

I'm hoping an Oceania veteran can enlighten me.  Thanks!

 Beach type sandals  are not allowed  dress sandals are OK

 

[CptBoatface]

Hmm, from the pnw, so I might need my keens and wool socks for regional flair. Fashion forward, didn't say it was good fashion 

[Hawaiidan]

4 hours ago, vlloyd said:

I am also new to Oceania (July 3, 2022, SIRENA, Ireland & England) and have cruised primarily on Celebrity and Princess. 

The printed info on the website and on the mailed documents indicates that sandals are not allowed in the MDR in the evening.  Seriously?

I'm hoping an Oceania veteran can enlighten me.  Thanks!

correct...seriously       they mean  casual stuff     flip flops and   bare feet stuff....   You aint on Princess 

[vlloyd]

Thanks for the input, everyone--very much appreciated!  👡

[indigosails]

23 hours ago, vlloyd said:

I am also new to Oceania (July 3, 2022, SIRENA, Ireland & England) and have cruised primarily on Celebrity and Princess. 

The printed info on the website and on the mailed documents indicates that sandals are not allowed in the MDR in the evening.  Seriously?

I'm hoping an Oceania veteran can enlighten me.  Thanks!

Depends on the type of sandal. Flip-flops are definitely out, but stylish/dressy sandals are fine for the ladies. 

[jondfk]

On 6/24/2022 at 9:20 AM, ne1travel said:

My wife and I are fairly new cruisers.  We have only cruised Princess.  We do not want to get into the LARGE ship capacity thing and are looking at Oceania.  I keep getting brochures weekly from them now and it looks like such a nice cruise line.  We do like getting dressed up for dinners etc.  What is the dress code like during the day?  Of course, all the brochure photos show everyone dressed so well always. Just curious as we start to plan now that we are beginning to open up to cruising again. 
thanks….

 

We've sailed Princess nearly 25x, recently completed our first sailing on O in April of '22.

 

Daytime dress was essentially identical to Princess.  More or less anything goes, we sailed from Tahiti which meant lots of shorts, polo's and tee shirts.  Similar common sense policy's no swimwear in the food venues and the like.

In the evening folks dressed up a bit, but especially on our very warm weather itinerary, I saw few jackets on gents.  Be it Princess or Oceania it was fairly clear the ladies took more pleasure in getting glammed up in the evenings.  A few gents put on a tie but that was about as far as it went.

 

As for our comparative experience I'll say this.  We sail again with Princess in August and then again with O in September.  We have no FCCs remaining with Princess and I'm unlikely to purchase one while onboard.  On the other hand we have an FCC with Oceania and will certainly add one or two during our upcoming sailing.  The only thing that is likely to bring me back to Princess is their year round west coast presence, we prefer to drive to the pier and O offers a scant few spring / fall west coast sailings.

Edited June 25, 2022 by jondfk

[Astro Flyer]

On 6/25/2022 at 2:56 PM, jondfk said:

The only thing that is likely to bring me back to Princess is their year round west coast presence, we prefer to drive to the pier and O offers a scant few spring / fall west coast sailings.

We’ve sailed Princess many times but due to several reasons will cancel this year’s Fall cruises (24 days). We’ve wanted to try Celebrity for the first time & now that they’ll be sailing from LA (Fall 2022 to Spring 2023) we’ll book a cruise. We already have a September 2023 cruise (20 days) booked from Vancouver to LA (Alaska & Coastal) on Regatta & look forward to experiencing both new cruise lines.

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by Astro Flyer

[avalong]

13 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

We’ve sailed Princess many times but due to several reasons will cancel this year’s Fall cruises (24 days). We’ve wanted to try Celebrity for the first time & now that they’ll be sailing from LA (Fall 2022 to Spring 2023) we’ll book a cruise. We already have a September 2023 cruise (20 days) booked from Vancouver to LA (Alaska & Coastal) on Regatta & look forward to experiencing both new cruise lines.

 

Hi Astroflyer, I remember you from the Princess board! I think you will be happy on Oceania. My husband and I ventured from Princess to Windstar and Oceania and never looked back. We also took a Celebrity cruise once due to timing and some weird circumstances and it was fine, but no match for Windstar and Oceania.

[jondfk]

53 minutes ago, avalong said:

Hi Astroflyer, I remember you from the Princess board! . . . 

I too remember you too from the Princess board.  In fact I have a distant memory of meeting at an M&G at some point in the past . . .

 

This weekend we booked our first Viking Oceans voyage RT from LAX to Hawaii, a run we've done on princess something like 7 times.  It's good to see some of the more premium lines pay a bit more attention to the West Coast.  Sure, Florida is the cruise capital of the universe but we, and many others, cruise more when the offerings are closer to home.  Here's hoping Oceania uses some of their new fleet capacity to scoop up more west coast market.

[ORV]

2 hours ago, jondfk said:

I too remember you too from the Princess board.  In fact I have a distant memory of meeting at an M&G at some point in the past . . .

 

This weekend we booked our first Viking Oceans voyage RT from LAX to Hawaii, a run we've done on princess something like 7 times.  It's good to see some of the more premium lines pay a bit more attention to the West Coast.  Sure, Florida is the cruise capital of the universe but we, and many others, cruise more when the offerings are closer to home.  Here's hoping Oceania uses some of their new fleet capacity to scoop up more west coast market.

They've got to deploy these ships somewhere. Still a lot of locations unavailable. What's the status on Asia these days? Did I read that AU opened back up? Not the right season yet though. 

[avalong]

3 hours ago, jondfk said:

I too remember you too from the Princess board.  In fact I have a distant memory of meeting at an M&G at some point in the past . . .

 

This weekend we booked our first Viking Oceans voyage RT from LAX to Hawaii, a run we've done on princess something like 7 times.  It's good to see some of the more premium lines pay a bit more attention to the West Coast.  Sure, Florida is the cruise capital of the universe but we, and many others, cruise more when the offerings are closer to home.  Here's hoping Oceania uses some of their new fleet capacity to scoop up more west coast market.

Amen to that!

The only M&G I've attended in my whole life was aboard the Pacific Princess during their 50th anniversary cruise when the entire Love Boat cast was onboard. Could it have been that one?

[jondfk]

1 hour ago, avalong said:

Amen to that!

The only M&G I've attended in my whole life was aboard the Pacific Princess during their 50th anniversary cruise when the entire Love Boat cast was onboard. Could it have been that one?

I wish, I had 5 sailings booked on Pacific when we went to Travis off the ill fated Grand cruise.  The first couple were cancelled while we were in quarantine, the remainder, when she was sold off.  

 

Perhaps we've just been active on the same threads...

[Astro Flyer]

5 hours ago, avalong said:

Hi Astroflyer, I remember you from the Princess board! I think you will be happy on Oceania. My husband and I ventured from Princess to Windstar and Oceania and never looked back. We also took a Celebrity cruise once due to timing and some weird circumstances and it was fine, but no match for Windstar and Oceania.

Thanks for sharing your insights & remember you from the PCL board.
 

We’ve become too disillusioned with Princess management after being our first choice for the past 35 years. Good friends primarily sail Oceania & also PCL & have greatly enjoyed O including in April without any diminished experiences. We’re looking forward to a more upscale experience even if it results in fewer days at sea. We’re expecting an experience similar to on Sitmar in 1988 only months before merging with PCL.

 

[Astro Flyer]

5 hours ago, jondfk said:

I too remember you too from the Princess board.  In fact I have a distant memory of meeting at an M&G at some point in the past . . .

 

This weekend we booked our first Viking Oceans voyage RT from LAX to Hawaii, a run we've done on princess something like 7 times.  It's good to see some of the more premium lines pay a bit more attention to the West Coast.  Sure, Florida is the cruise capital of the universe but we, and many others, cruise more when the offerings are closer to home.  Here's hoping Oceania uses some of their new fleet capacity to scoop up more west coast market.

I also recognize your CC name & could have briefly met you at a M&G but it wasn’t on the PCL 50th that ‘avalong’ mentioned. Thanks for sharing your experiences & for us the onboard experience is our primary destination & being an hour away from the Port of LA eliminates the current crazy air transportation issues.

 

I have lots to learn about an O cruise & eagerly anticipating our 2023 cruise & maybe beyond then.

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by Astro Flyer

[Jancruz]

6 hours ago, jondfk said:

I too remember you too from the Princess board.  In fact I have a distant memory of meeting at an M&G at some point in the past . . .

 

This weekend we booked our first Viking Oceans voyage RT from LAX to Hawaii, a run we've done on princess something like 7 times.  It's good to see some of the more premium lines pay a bit more attention to the West Coast.  Sure, Florida is the cruise capital of the universe but we, and many others, cruise more when the offerings are closer to home.  Here's hoping Oceania uses some of their new fleet capacity to scoop up more west coast market.

As of this time they will not use LAX as any kind of a departure port

Jancruz1

[HiFi43]

Jan Cruz…We are actually leaving from LA port in San Pedro September 25 this year from LA to Tokyo on Regatta. Of course this cruise has been canceled two years in a row when we’ve been booked on it so maybe this is a “signal” that Oceania would prefer not to sail from LA.

[LHT28]

12 minutes ago, HiFi43 said:

Jan Cruz…We are actually leaving from LA port in San Pedro September 25 this year from LA to Tokyo on Regatta. Of course this cruise has been canceled two years in a row when we’ve been booked on it so maybe this is a “signal” that Oceania would prefer not to sail from LA.

Or it could be that the pandemic had something to do with the cancellation 🤔