New to Oceania

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, Jancruz said:

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

Jancruz1

I'm departing Los Angeles on the 2024 180 day ATW cruise on Insignia. 

There are a substantial number of cruises on Regatta scheduled to depart Los Angeles.

Vista has a cruise departing Los Angeles in Nov. 2023 .

 

 

[Jancruz]

3 hours ago, njhorseman said:

I'm departing Los Angeles on the 2024 180 day ATW cruise on Insignia. 

There are a substantial number of cruises on Regatta scheduled to depart Los Angeles.

Vista has a cruise departing Los Angeles in Nov. 2023 .

 

 

Thats true;....I am leaving from LA in September 

I hear they are not going to put a ship here in San Pedro on a regular basis like Carnival, Celebrity and in the past Princess who is now moving to San Diego..I assumed that was what we were talking about but I am sure you know more about Oceanias schedule  than I..

 

[njhorseman]

4 hours ago, Jancruz said:

Thats true;....I am leaving from LA in September 

I hear they are not going to put a ship here in San Pedro on a regular basis like Carnival, Celebrity and in the past Princess who is now moving to San Diego..I assumed that was what we were talking about but I am sure you know more about Oceanias schedule  than I..

 

There's a difference between not using LA as "any kind of departure port", which is what you said in your first post and "not going to put a ship here in San Pedro on a regular basis", which is what you're saying in this post. 

"Not on a regular basis" doesn't mean there aren't (or won't be on the future) "any", and Oceania's published schedule clearly includes cruises departing San Pedro, so  it's not a matter of what I know, it's a matter of what my eyes are reading.

Edited June 28, 2022 by njhorseman

[Hawaiidan]

15 hours ago, LHT28 said:

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

Well might be  but California  is  not business friendly lately...  at least LA and SF  have a ton of problems to deal with.    San Diego is the only sane one.

[Jancruz]

7 hours ago, njhorseman said:

There's a difference between not using LA as "any kind of departure port", which is what you said in your first post and "not going to put a ship here in San Pedro on a regular basis", which is what you're saying in this post. 

"Not on a regular basis" doesn't mean there aren't (or won't be on the future) "any", and Oceania's published schedule clearly includes cruises departing San Pedro, so  it's not a matter of what I know, it's a matter of what my eyes are reading.

Of course you are correct..

Jancruz1

[rbtan]

On 6/24/2022 at 12:20 PM, 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….

I'm sure there are plenty of good answers. Basically, the dress code is what they call Country Club Casual. I call it elegant casual. Nice shirt, nice pants & shoes. Perhaps a sport coat. No ties necessary, though you'll see a few. Saw one tux on one cruise. Vanished after the first night. Daily dress code is similar to most lines: Lots of shorts, Hawaiian type shirts. Quality of clothing we've seen is a step up from the raggy looking shorts we've seen on other lines. Generally, jeans are restricted to Terrace Grill. Normally you won't see them in the specialty rest. In some cases there have been postings outside the rest. door saying that jeans are unacceptable. This is on Riviera. I can't say about the smaller ships. Food overall is excellent think "Capitol Grill" style. I think you'll like it. Pricing is more akin to Club Class minisuites on Princess(perhaps a little higher)

[rbtan]

On 6/24/2022 at 3:49 PM, 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!

Stylish sandals are fine. Just no "beachy" type sandals. Basically the type you'd wear at a nice restaurant & not Applebee's.

[-Lew-]

On 6/27/2022 at 6:02 PM, Astro Flyer said:

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.

 

 

@Astro Flyer Hello Frank...

 

Like you, after 50+ Princess cruises we began looking elsewhere back in 2020 cruising on both Celebrity and HAL that year.  Unless something changes we won't be back on Princess...our current bookings are with Celebrity, Regent, and Viking Ocean.  We're also seeking a more upscale experience.

 

Nan and I wish you and Helena excellent cruising experiences on Oceania and Celebrity and any others you might sail.

[rbtan]

8 hours ago, -Lew- said:

 

@Astro Flyer Hello Frank...

 

Like you, after 50+ Princess cruises we began looking elsewhere back in 2020 cruising on both Celebrity and HAL that year.  Unless something changes we won't be back on Princess...our current bookings are with Celebrity, Regent, and Viking Ocean.  We're also seeking a more upscale experience.

 

Nan and I wish you and Helena excellent cruising experiences on Oceania and Celebrity and any others you might sail.

Well, if you've got a trip planned on Regent, you'll not find much more upscale...unless you do Hapog-Lloyds Europa ships.

[Poly Grad Sweethearts]

On 6/24/2022 at 12:49 PM, 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!

 

[Poly Grad Sweethearts]

 times on Oceania it means no rubber or plastic flip flops, not regular sandals. Casual during the day a little dressier at night. Great atmosphere

 

 

[Astro Flyer]

On 7/14/2022 at 6:27 AM, -Lew- said:

 

@Astro Flyer Hello Frank...

 

Like you, after 50+ Princess cruises we began looking elsewhere back in 2020 cruising on both Celebrity and HAL that year.  Unless something changes we won't be back on Princess...our current bookings are with Celebrity, Regent, and Viking Ocean.  We're also seeking a more upscale experience.

 

Nan and I wish you and Helena excellent cruising experiences on Oceania and Celebrity and any others you might sail.

Thanks Lew for the well wishes as we move on from Princess and hopefully some day our paths will cross again on a ship or in Maui.
 

Our desires didn’t change with Princess but in our opinion enough things diminished for us to seek a more upscale experience. One like we experienced during our 2nd cruise sailing on the Italian cruise line Sitmar in 1988…amazing food & service from the all Italian & Portuguese crew.

 

 

[Ride-The-Waves]

Doing our first Oceania cruise in November and looking forward to the ship.  So far the Oceania experience has been less than positive.  It also appears that many things on O are simply designed to "nickel and dime" you from your money.  The incomprehensible shore excursion program being one.  Another the "deviation" fee for air travel.  Third the over the top cost of booking business class air through Oceania.  None of these are passenger friendly.  We have sailed with Azamara and enjoy the "R" class ships - perfect size for our needs.  We have also sailed the larger ships and Celebrity's Solstice class offers a lot for the value.  Despise the behemoths (Oasis) and the Celebrity Edge class abominations.

 

To sail O this Fall have booked air separately from O, international business class at almost half the cost O wanted.  Currently working shore excursions since the alternatives offered by O with convoluted pricing just don't make sense.  I'm sure we will enjoy the cruise itself once embarked and underway.  Great itinerary and what appears to be a wonderful ship.  But in this case, getting there with O is NOT half the fun.  Azamara had (pre-pandemic) a wonderful feeling of "returning home" on embarkation.  Not getting the same sense from O...

[Cliff-FLL]

On 6/28/2022 at 5:57 PM, rbtan said:

 Generally, jeans are restricted to Terrace Grill. Normally you won't see them in the specialty rest. In some cases there have been postings outside the rest. door saying that jeans are unacceptable.

Oh, goody! The "jeans" discussion!  Per Oceania, "We request that casual jeans, shorts, t-shirts, baseball caps, or tennis shoes not be worn in the restaurants after 6 PM."  It used to say that "dressy" jeans were acceptable but, awhile back, they flipped it to casual jeans were not acceptable.  Subtle change in perspective, but it still allows for "jeans" to be worn in the dining rooms.  My gut is telling me that they'll accept jeans, provided they don't look too much like jeans.  Also, rips, tears, holes, strands, and other signs of mutilation are a clear no-no, which is not unreasonable.

There are some that believe that the appearance of jeans on any Oceania vessel, at any time, is unacceptable - even if Oceania doesn't restrict it.  I remember one poster that lamented people wearing jeans on shore excursions because they weren't keeping up Oceania's image. 🤣  I have several pairs of slacks that have a bit of a "jeans" appearance, but they're not made of cotton/denim, don't have rivets at stress points, etc.  No one has ever given me a problem going into any evening dining venue.🤷‍♂️

[rbtan]

2 hours ago, Cliff-FLL said:

Oh, goody! The "jeans" discussion!  Per Oceania, "We request that casual jeans, shorts, t-shirts, baseball caps, or tennis shoes not be worn in the restaurants after 6 PM."  It used to say that "dressy" jeans were acceptable but, awhile back, they flipped it to casual jeans were not acceptable.  Subtle change in perspective, but it still allows for "jeans" to be worn in the dining rooms.  My gut is telling me that they'll accept jeans, provided they don't look too much like jeans.  Also, rips, tears, holes, strands, and other signs of mutilation are a clear no-no, which is not unreasonable.

There are some that believe that the appearance of jeans on any Oceania vessel, at any time, is unacceptable - even if Oceania doesn't restrict it.  I remember one poster that lamented people wearing jeans on shore excursions because they weren't keeping up Oceania's image. 🤣  I have several pairs of slacks that have a bit of a "jeans" appearance, but they're not made of cotton/denim, don't have rivets at stress points, etc.  No one has ever given me a problem going into any evening dining venue.🤷‍♂️

Personally, I'm against jeans, period. I've seen too many crappy looking jeans on too many ships. On the Riviera, I have seen "Jeans not permitted in the restaurants" signs. This did NOT include Terrace or the GDR. Just the specialty rest. For guys.. is it too hard to at least wear a pair of khakis(not all wrinkled) & a decent collared shirt. This is what we wear on board. During the day resort casual is fine. The Country Club casual style should be the norm at night. A sport coat & no tie for say, Jacques is what we wear. Just seen too many trashy looking pax on the lower end lines.

[rbtan]

1 minute ago, rbtan said:

Personally, I'm against jeans, period. I've seen too many crappy looking jeans on too many ships. On the Riviera, I have seen "Jeans not permitted in the restaurants" signs. This did NOT include Terrace or the GDR. Just the specialty rest. For guys.. is it too hard to at least wear a pair of khakis(not all wrinkled) & a decent collared shirt. This is what we wear on board. During the day resort casual is fine. The Country Club casual style should be the norm at night. A sport coat & no tie for say, Jacques is what we wear. Just seen too many trashy looking pax on the lower end lines.

 

[eddieg07410]

Thinking of taking an Asia Cruise February 2024. The itinerary is perfect. It goes to Seoul which is very rare and spends acoustic[le of days in most important ports. My concern are the recent review I have read of the Riviera. Most reviews point to a decline in quality recently. I don't know if this is result of the Covid situation as most cruise lines have had difficulty getting their act together or a shift in emphasis by the cruise line. Would like to hear comments from recent cruisers before deciding. By the way we are in our seventies and are taking a Viking cruise to Australia in 2023.

[rbtan]

2 hours ago, eddieg07410 said:

Thinking of taking an Asia Cruise February 2024. The itinerary is perfect. It goes to Seoul which is very rare and spends acoustic[le of days in most important ports. My concern are the recent review I have read of the Riviera. Most reviews point to a decline in quality recently. I don't know if this is result of the Covid situation as most cruise lines have had difficulty getting their act together or a shift in emphasis by the cruise line. Would like to hear comments from recent cruisers before deciding. By the way we are in our seventies and are taking a Viking cruise to Australia in 2023.

On our Jan. cruise the ship was half full. This was evident in most lines. There were some minor cutbacks in order to save some $$. This also was similar to other lines. The ship will be completely redone by that time. I feel you need to check reviews again to see if there rally is a decline. We felt the issues were minor & did not affect out love of the line. We have enough faith in O that we are booked in Jan. 2024 on the new Vista.

Edited July 22, 2022 by rbtan
Punctuation

[shepherd really]

8 hours ago, rbtan said:

Personally, I'm against jeans, period. 

If you are against jeans, don't wear jeans.  Problem solved.

If you are against other people wearing jeans, too bad.  That is your problem.

 

Personally, I'm against self-appointed fashion police, so I ignore them.  

[escrick]

3 hours ago, shepherd really said:

If you are against jeans, don't wear jeans.  Problem solved.

If you are against other people wearing jeans, too bad.  That is your problem.

 

Personally, I'm against self-appointed fashion police, so I ignore them.  

I agree.  Fashion, like food, is a very personal phenomenon.  I will always vote, though, for clean and tidy.😉

[jackdeb]

Dress code again, really? Do people not read previous posts. The dress code is O’s to enforce or not at their discretion. Everybody has opinions but they are just that opinions, personally I don’t think there should be any jeans in the evening. Dressy Jeans are an oxymoron!

[Arizona cruisers]

On 6/26/2022 at 7:45 PM, 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 Frank!  We are also doing our first O in Dec 2022.  Would love to see you again on another cruise!

 

[Astro Flyer]

On 7/22/2022 at 10:24 AM, Arizona cruisers said:

Hi Frank!  We are also doing our first O in Dec 2022.  Would love to see you again on another cruise!

Hi Judy & George…that would be great! It appears that some of us PCL fans are moving on from the new Princess cruises including Lew & Nan. Hope to hear about your first O cruise in December.

[Silver Sweethearts]

On 7/20/2022 at 8:57 PM, Astro Flyer said:

Our desires didn’t change with Princess but in our opinion enough things diminished for us to seek a more upscale experience. One like we experienced during our 2nd cruise sailing on the Italian cruise line Sitmar in 1988…amazing food & service from the all Italian & Portuguese crew.

 

Small world department.  We sailed with Sitmar often from the mid-70's until its demise.  After that we started with Silversea and then Seabourn.  Now Silversea and Regent get our business, but we have everything on hold because Maui is more to our liking at the moment than the rest of the world.

[oskidunker]

Only sailed Sitmar once. It was great. Also fed up with Princess cuts