First Oceania Cruise - Totally Satisfied!

[DENIE]

My wife, sister-in-law, and I just completed our first Oceania Cruise - 6/15 to 6/25 Opulent Mediterranean - aboard the Riviera.  We could not have been more satisfied! For us, this was a year and a half in the planning, and spending time on this Board getting terrific advice and answers to questions (thank you!).  

 

Most of our recent experience has been on Celebrity and decided to try Oceania based on the recommendation of friends. We immediately found so much to like about the smaller size and more intimate experience.  The inclusion of all specialty restaurants was most appreciated!  We also took advantage of the La Reserve wine dinner, and Moet and Chandon experience, and the spa services.  We also noticed that by a couple days in, many of the staff were addressing us by name.  We have never had such a warm and caring staff! 

 

After a couple days aboard, we decided we must book another cruise, so opted for a 2024 cruise aboard the upcoming Vista!  We cannot wait, and are so happy to join the Oceania family!  I think we found a new "home" (even though we have a "one off" cruise with a bunch of friends on HAL this December).

 

Dale

 

 

Edited July 1, 2022 by DENIE
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[edgee]

Oh my. No complaints? Unheard of! This IS Cruise Critic😁

Seriously, congratulations on making a smart choice! So much to like about Oceania.

[DENIE]

8 minutes ago, edgee said:

Oh my. No complaints? Unheard of! This IS Cruise Critic😁

Seriously, congratulations on making a smart choice! So much to like about Oceania.

Hahaha!  Ok, so my sister-in-law ordered rare prime rib in Jacques that came out very well done.  The Maitre'd worked with us and brought something else. Otherwise, seriously, nothing to complain about that was worth noting! We absolutely had a fabulous cruise.  Of course, our motto is that "any day on a cruise ship is better than just about anything else".  So blessed to have this fabulous cruise! 😄

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, DENIE said:

Hahaha!  Ok, so my sister-in-law ordered rare prime rib in Jacques that came out very well done.  The Maitre'd worked with us and brought something else. Otherwise, seriously, nothing to complain about that was worth noting! We absolutely had a fabulous cruise.  Of course, our motto is that "any day on a cruise ship is better than just about anything else".  So blessed to have this fabulous cruise! 😄

That what was put us off Oceania 11 years ago, but thankfully in January Riviera cooked every one of our steaks and other meats exactly how we ordered them [always medium rare].  So I would chalk this up to a one-off.  Glad you enjoyed everything else, as we did!

[DENIE]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

That what was put us off Oceania 11 years ago, but thankfully in January Riviera cooked every one of our steaks and other meats exactly how we ordered them [always medium rare].  So I would chalk this up to a one-off.  Glad you enjoyed everything else, as we did!

Yes!  Everything else that was "cooked to order" was done exactly right!  It was wonderful!

[hamrag]

7 hours ago, DENIE said:

.....our motto is that "any day on a cruise ship is better than just about anything else".  So blessed to have this fabulous cruise! 😄

Our attitude also, across 15 different cruise lines, we refuse to stress the small stuff and walk in the opposite direction when we encounter unreasonable complaining! All being well, we board Insignia next week for our first Oceania and we are certain our conclusion will be as yours! 😊

 

Thanks for posting.

[ToxM]

I was a Celebrity refugee, the difference is such a revelation 🙂

 

Glad you had a fabulous time, welcome to the O family!

[Hlitner]

Thanks for the post :).  It does give us some hope for the future.

 

Hank

[shank63]

16 hours ago, DENIE said:

We cannot wait, and are so happy to join the Oceania family!  I think we found a new "home" (even though we have a "one off" cruise with a bunch of friends on HAL this December).

 

Dale

 

 

Welcome home!

 

[patty1955]

We've been loyal Celebrity cruisers but now my favorite is Oceania! The food is so much better and they remind me of how Celebrity was when we first started sailing. My only complaint about our Oceania cruise was too many ports. 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, patty1955 said:

We've been loyal Celebrity cruisers but now my favorite is Oceania! The food is so much better and they remind me of how Celebrity was when we first started sailing. My only complaint about our Oceania cruise was too many ports. 

Choose a sailing with less ports 🙂

 

 Maybe look at  a Transatlantic

[patty1955]

37 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Choose a sailing with less ports 🙂

 

 Maybe look at  a Transatlantic

Our next Oceania cruise is Bermuda. It has 2 sea days and 5 days in Bermuda. We've been to Bermuda before so we're not even sure if we'll go ashore. 

[Noxequifans]

13 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

Our next Oceania cruise is Bermuda. It has 2 sea days and 5 days in Bermuda. We've been to Bermuda before so we're not even sure if we'll go ashore. 

We also went there a few times ,,,,, loved it. Also went ashore on our own and enjoyed it. 

[DENIE]

I must add that we really loved getting the pins and luggage tags.  We immediately placed the luggage tags on our suitcases, and plan to leave them there!  😃

[MEFIowa]

Wife and I had a similar magnificent 1st O cruise on Riviera on 12/13-23/21. So much so that we, too, booked another cruise while on her (Sirena, 11/18-28/22) and have later booked cruises in 2023 (Med, Riviera) and 2024 (Baltic, Sirena). We had such an enjoyable time on and off the ship. We wanted to do excursions at every port (and used the sea days and NCL islands for recharging during the voyage).

 

Fell in love with the Terrace Cafe, eating under the stars aft.

 

And got to know the boutique staff quite well. Did you meet a tall Belorussian in the clothing boutique? Or a lovely South African woman in jewelry? And the Kenyan in watches? (Enjoyed his class on time and time pieces.)

[DENIE]

57 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

Wife and I had a similar magnificent 1st O cruise on Riviera on 12/13-23/21. So much so that we, too, booked another cruise while on her (Sirena, 11/18-28/22) and have later booked cruises in 2023 (Med, Riviera) and 2024 (Baltic, Sirena). We had such an enjoyable time on and off the ship. We wanted to do excursions at every port (and used the sea days and NCL islands for recharging during the voyage).

 

Fell in love with the Terrace Cafe, eating under the stars aft.

 

And got to know the boutique staff quite well. Did you meet a tall Belorussian in the clothing boutique? Or a lovely South African woman in jewelry? And the Kenyan in watches? (Enjoyed his class on time and time pieces.)

Hi!  We didn't spend a lot of time in the boutiques, so I don't think we encountered this staff.  We also loved the Terrace Grill more than we thought we would.  There was a wonderful French Market Dinner that they had for 2 nights near the end of the cruise that was just terrific!  We love Oceania! 😃

[ToxM]

Some cruises can be a tad port intensive I would absolutely suggest thinking about a transatlantic, absolutely loved mine on Sirena.

[escrick]

Thank you, Denie, for this positive review.  My husband and I will take our first Oceania cruise next year, and so I am very interested in your information. By the way, we lived in Scottsdale for sixteen years and loved it!

[DENIE]

7 hours ago, escrick said:

Thank you, Denie, for this positive review.  My husband and I will take our first Oceania cruise next year, and so I am very interested in your information. By the way, we lived in Scottsdale for sixteen years and loved it!

You are welcome.  I did a full-review in the "Reviews" forum.  It sometimes takes several days for it to appear, but you might want to check there.  Let me know if you have any other questions - happy to help!  

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, DENIE said:

You are welcome.  I did a full-review in the "Reviews" forum.  It sometimes takes several days for it to appear, but you might want to check there.  Let me know if you have any other questions - happy to help!  

When it appears, could you post the link here?  Many CC 'Boards' users never check the 'Reviews' section!

[DENIE]

1 minute ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

When it appears, could you post the link here?  Many CC 'Boards' users never check the 'Reviews' section!

Sure!  I will watch for it. It isn't there as of tonight.  

[LHT28]

9 hours ago, DENIE said:

Sure!  I will watch for it. It isn't there as of tonight.  

Usually CC will send you an email when it is posted 

[escrick]

Thanks for your offer to help, Denie.  As next year approaches, I will probably have several questions.  Cheers, and a Happy July 4th.

[Nol2929]

On 6/30/2022 at 7:26 PM, DENIE said:

My wife, sister-in-law, and I just completed our first Oceania Cruise - 6/15 to 6/25 Opulent Mediterranean - aboard the Riviera.  We could not have been more satisfied! For us, this was a year and a half in the planning, and spending time on this Board getting terrific advice and answers to questions (thank you!).  

 

Most of our recent experience has been on Celebrity and decided to try Oceania based on the recommendation of friends. We immediately found so much to like about the smaller size and more intimate experience.  The inclusion of all specialty restaurants was most appreciated!  We also took advantage of the La Reserve wine dinner, and Moet and Chandon experience, and the spa services.  We also noticed that by a couple days in, many of the staff were addressing us by name.  We have never had such a warm and caring staff! 

 

After a couple days aboard, we decided we must book another cruise, so opted for a 2024 cruise aboard the upcoming Vista!  We cannot wait, and are so happy to join the Oceania family!  I think we found a new "home" (even though we have a "one off" cruise with a bunch of friends on HAL this December).

 

Dale

 

 

Thank you for the review!  This October will see us on our first Oceania cruise, departing from Lisbon and ending in Rome.  Thank you!

[DENIE]

26 minutes ago, Nol2929 said:

Thank you for the review!  This October will see us on our first Oceania cruise, departing from Lisbon and ending in Rome.  Thank you!

You are welcome! It is not out there yet, but hopefully soon.  Seems they are a bit tardy!  Our prior 3 cruises were on Celebrity, which is still a fine line.  But Oceania, in our opinion, is just that much better on a number of counts, especially the food and fewer crowds!