First time on Oceania - some impressions

[Hanoj]

We are looking forward to our first cruise with O aboard the Vista in August. One thing I especially liked with the Viking ships is the full promenade deck that equals a 1/4 mile. The Viking ships also felt airy, and I liked being able to easily see outside while in most the public areas.

[YourWorldWithBill]

1 hour ago, Mariastreby said:

I’m also interested in your answer to this, @CurlerRob. We are also mainly Viking cruisers, with two more this fall and over the holidays.

...................
Yes, we like Viking, but Oceania’s larger ships are great with their Waves Grill, Baristas, larger theater seating area, many more restaurants, classy decor, and having better service at the cabin levels from PH on up.

Thanks for this lengthy description, @Mariastreby. We've also been on Viking a couple of times, and our reason for trying O is mainly the appeal of the food (and maybe the casino!). The idea of several options for dinner and lunch, with the general agreement that O has the best food, was too good to miss.

The buffet in the Lido on Viking was especially impressive, much better than so many others.

[jonthomas]

dont compare O to Viking if you have NOT been on O and only if you have been on both recently...because things have changed....

[Mariastreby]

8 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

dont compare O to Viking if you have NOT been on O and only if you have been on both recently...because things have changed....

I’ve been on a 2 week Viking cruise last June, and another from December into January 4th of this year. Our Riviera cruise was 11 days in March. Can’t get much more recent than that.
Have two longish cruises booked for both the Vista next year and on the Viking Mars this September, then at Christmas time. 

[jonthomas]

Viking Ocean, not river, they are different. So how did you compare the two?

Our observation also was that those who were drinking several glasses of wine with their meals didn't find the food quite as objectionable as we did. For us and a couple we befriended, the food was dreadful in all venues. Our acquaintances sent back several meals, one was a chunk of fat, disguised as some kind of roast. We stuck to mostly salad and bread.

But again many found the food ok. The common denominator for them  was wine included with every meal.

We hope that if O begins to include liquor with meals, they do not lower the quality of the meals, as this may affect how the meals are perceived,  especially after a finished bottle of wine. 

We left all other cruise lines in the dust for "the best food at sea".

So far we have not been disappointed. 

[Hanoj]

8 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

We left all other cruise lines in O’s wake for "the best food at sea".

So far we have not been disappointed. 

You’re welcome.

[zalusky]

31 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

Viking Ocean, not river, they are different. So how did you compare the two?

Our observation also was that those who were drinking several glasses of wine with their meals didn't find the food quite as objectionable as we did. For us and a couple we befriended, the food was dreadful in all venues. Our acquaintances sent back several meals, one was a chunk of fat, disguised as some kind of roast. We stuck to mostly salad and bread.

But again many found the food ok. The common denominator for them  was wine included with every meal.

We hope that if O begins to include liquor with meals, they do not lower the quality of the meals, as this may affect how the meals are perceived,  especially after a finished bottle of wine. 

We left all other cruise lines in the dust for "the best food at sea".

So far we have not been disappointed. 

We were on the Regatta for a 3 week cruise this last January.  It was ok but I found the food somewhat repetitive.  Toscana was good.  Pollo was a big disappointment.   We ate at Waves a lot and got variations of surf and turf simply because I felt the proteins in the other venues were a let down.  Now that being said the service was great and everybody was friendly but  "Best food at sea" no way at least for this sailing.  I have lots of other stories of good and bad but I prefer to be a forward thinker.

 

I do realize each sailing can be completely different.  Will I sail O again sure but not on the R class vessels.  Looking forward to trying out all the other guys just to compare.

[jonthomas]

Even on the same ship things can change. We were on the Marina,  18 day. Amazing desserts in Terrace Cafe. After the first 10 days they became not edible. The pastry chef was replaced by another. Consistency is important, no matter who the chefs are.

[zalusky]

1 hour ago, jonthomas said:

Even on the same ship things can change. We were on the Marina,  18 day. Amazing desserts in Terrace Cafe. After the first 10 days they became not edible. The pastry chef was replaced by another. Consistency is important, no matter who the chefs are.

I don’t know if it’s good or bad but the head chefs really don’t have much flexibility.  We discussed with the head chef on our regatta sailing about trying come up with more keto options AKA low carb breads as an example.  He was able to create something called chaffles which has ingredients available on the ship but even though we found some other recipes we would have to go into town to procure the ingredients he was not allowed to use anything not procured by corporate.

[CurlerRob]

9 hours ago, Orator said:

How did  compare to your Viking cruise?

 

I try to avoid doing direct comparisons, as I find they inevitably include judgements that are based on my personal likes and dislikes - which will not be shared by others. While I'm sure that some of that crept into my posted O review, I tried hard to base the review on observed facts that would let others assign their own level of importance to them.

 

For comparison purposes, @Mariastreby's factual descriptions of Viking attributes in post #48 are quite accurate in my view - but I would not necessarily have the same preferences (example - I prefer the Viking Scandinavian décor - but that's simply my opinion). Hopefully, when coupled with my O observations, their post should help others in reaching conclusions

 

Not to avoid your question completely - both lines are quite acceptable to us and we will sail both again. Each has different strengths and weaknesses, many of which are illustrated in the two posts referenced here.

 

My view is that no-one should care what I prefer, but my hope is that many can make use of what I saw. HTH a little. 🍺🥌

[Robson1]

On 11/17/2022 at 11:20 AM, Heidi13 said:

 

The 4th of the R-Class ships is Regatta.

 

Sorry, but to my recollection, P&O/Princess have only ever operated 2 of the R-Class ships - Tahitian Princess (later named Ocean Princess) and is now Oceania's Sirena. The Pacific Princess was sold to Azamara, now sailing as Azamara Onward.

.

Edited June 15, 2023 by Robson1

[Straughn]

21 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Some of the more elderly guests, accustomed to eating at 4;00-5:00, at home, likewise line up early so to retire early. We find that simply waiting until 7:00-7:30 yields a seating with out lines or inconveniences.

What time do the specialty restaurants and the MDR open for dinner? I thought I read somewhere it wasn’t until 7 PM? I tend to eat around 8 PM. Is there likely to be a wait then? Thanks.

[LHT28]

8 minutes ago, Straughn said:

What time do the specialty restaurants and the MDR open for dinner? I thought I read somewhere it wasn’t until 7 PM? I tend to eat around 8 PM. Is there likely to be a wait then? Thanks.

Dinner venues  usually open at 6:30   sometimes the reservations  will have 6 pm

[Woofa]

And remember, you do need a reservation for the specialties, only walk in for MDR, Terrace and if have the newer Waves pizza.

[avalong]

On 6/14/2023 at 3:57 PM, Mariastreby said:

I’ve been on a 2 week Viking cruise last June, and another from December into January 4th of this year. Our Riviera cruise was 11 days in March. Can’t get much more recent than that.
Have two longish cruises booked for both the Vista next year and on the Viking Mars this September, then at Christmas time. 

Does Viking still require ALL the money upfront?

[basor]

4 minutes ago, avalong said:

Does Viking still require ALL the money upfront?

yes unless you have another Viking cruise booked and then it is 6 months...

[FetaCheese]

This is the Oceania board.

[Mariastreby]

11 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

This is the Oceania board.

True, but there have been multiple discussions in the last couple of days comparing the two cruise lines. They appeal to a nearly identical demographic. Various people have asked about comparisons between the two. 
 

Final payment is rather far ahead for Viking, perhaps even a full year. But 6 months ahead if you have another cruise booked. So I would say that Oceania does make it easier to pay. It’s my understanding that for shorter cruises, it is 4 months ahead. But we’ve recently booked two 23+ day cruises on Vista. They required a higher deposit, and I think final payment is due 5 months ahead. 

[ak1004]

2 hours ago, Mariastreby said:

True, but there have been multiple discussions in the last couple of days comparing the two cruise lines. They appeal to a nearly identical demographic. Various people have asked about comparisons between the two. 
 

Final payment is rather far ahead for Viking, perhaps even a full year. But 6 months ahead if you have another cruise booked. So I would say that Oceania does make it easier to pay. It’s my understanding that for shorter cruises, it is 4 months ahead. But we’ve recently booked two 23+ day cruises on Vista. They required a higher deposit, and I think final payment is due 5 months ahead. 

 

We usually book 2 years in advance - my understanding is that Viking requires full payment even if it's 2 years in advance.

 

To me this alone is a deal breaker. Why would I give a cruise line an interest free loan, especially in the current high interest rates environment? Some other lines give an option to pay in full as well, but in return they give a nice discount (15% for P2P SS, Uniworld 10% etc). To pay 2 years in advance and not get anything in return? Thank you, but no.

[1985rz1]

19 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

We usually book 2 years in advance - my understanding is that Viking requires full payment even if it's 2 years in advance.

 

To me this alone is a deal breaker. Why would I give a cruise line an interest free loan, especially in the current high interest rates environment? Some other lines give an option to pay in full as well, but in return they give a nice discount (15% for P2P SS, Uniworld 10% etc). To pay 2 years in advance and not get anything in return? Thank you, but no.

Maybe the policy has changed, but we recently booked 2 Viking cruises in early and mid 2025, and payment schedule for one is 1 year before sailing; the second is 6 months before sailing (reduced because of the 1st).  

Edited June 16, 2023 by 1985rz1

[Hanoj]

6 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

We usually book 2 years in advance - my understanding is that Viking requires full payment even if it's 2 years in advance.

 

To me this alone is a deal breaker. Why would I give a cruise line an interest free loan, especially in the current high interest rates environment? Some other lines give an option to pay in full as well, but in return they give a nice discount (15% for P2P SS, Uniworld 10% etc). To pay 2 years in advance and not get anything in return? Thank you, but no.

Viking is continuing its relentless expansion, not so much to grow the industry but to increase their market share by expanding its ocean fleet, much like they did with European river cruises. This requires significant capital investment and Viking has convinced its customers to provide interest free financing by requiring payment in full very far in advance of other lines.  This approach is not without its risks, especially if the quality deteriorates - an acute risk if expansion is too rapid. There is some evidence of this, if only anecdotal.

 

By changing its marketing and pricing strategies, Oceania may be able to capitalize on Viking vulnerabilities to attract such customers. One of the increasing complaints about Viking’s on board experience is that their itineraries have become stale. 
 

Two weeks ago we booked our first Oceania cruise on Vista in August ‘23. This is for a 12 nights British Isles itinerary. We had a similar (but not quite as interesting) fully paid Viking cruise for May 2020 that was cancelled. Interestingly, the Viking cruise was 14 nights (and still is - they just have the one itinerary that can be done in opposite directions), but two of the nights are in the embarkation and debarkation ports. Very expensive hotel stays called a cruise since it’s on the ship. But, beer and wine with lunch and dinner are included in the fare.

 

[CurlerRob]

8 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

We usually book 2 years in advance - my understanding is that Viking requires full payment even if it's 2 years in advance.

 

To me this alone is a deal breaker. Why would I give a cruise line an interest free loan, especially in the current high interest rates environment? Some other lines give an option to pay in full as well, but in return they give a nice discount (15% for P2P SS, Uniworld 10% etc). To pay 2 years in advance and not get anything in return? Thank you, but no.

 

Your understanding is not correct. Viking's normal PIF is 12 months - if you have another trip on the books, you can request a 6 month PIF. There are the occasional, high-demand trip where PIF is immediate, but they are very few in number.(Cancellation penalties are closer in to the sailing dates, similar to other lines).

 

Their PIF dates are still well in advance by industry standards, but as long as pax continue to accept it, or course they'll take the interest-free loans! 🍺🥌

[Hanoj]

7 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Your understanding is not correct. Viking's normal PIF is 12 months - if you have another trip on the books, you can request a 6 month PIF. There are the occasional, high-demand trip where PIF is immediate, but they are very few in number.(Cancellation penalties are closer in to the sailing dates, similar to other lines).

 

Their PIF dates are still well in advance by industry standards, but as long as pax continue to accept it, or course they'll take the interest-free loans! 🍺🥌

Viking PIF dates may vary depending upon customer residence at booking. 

 

[CurlerRob]

15 minutes ago, Hanoj said:

Viking PIF dates may vary depending upon customer residence at booking. 

 

Quite possibly correct for the UK or Oz - I can't claim any direct knowledge. My experience is that my comments are accurate for US/Canada - happy to be educated if that's not correct! 🍺🥌

[Sebbiesgrammy]

And it depends on what the promotion details are at the time of booking.  Dear friends are Viking devotees and encouraged us to travel with them in late 2025 on a "new" ship with new itinerary. Hard to say no to a $25 pp deposit in May 2023 but the fine print says PIF is required December 2023, almost 2 years before sailing.  That's how they are paying for the new ship I assume 😂