Regent versus Oceania

[pappy1022]

I don’t think that anyone is asking Regent to be just like Oceania. They are just commenting that they like some things about Oceania more than Regent. It’s an opinion so please respect it. In totality, I prefer Regent over Oceania. I have sailed multiple times on both. The allure for some is that you can customize what you value and not pay for what you don’t want. For example, if you aren’t a drinker, you don’t pay for that. Or if you don’t like ship provided excursions, you don’t have to pay for that. The price point for Oceania is significantly less than Regent. For a very similar cruise that I have booked on Regent, the cost is $15K and on Oceania it is $8K. The Oceania price is the OLife price that includes air (not business class), transfers and a choice of included excursions, or included drinks, or a shipboard credit of $800. If I was paying for my entire family, Oceania would be attractive because of the price difference. But, for just my wife and I and the stage we are at in our retired life, I much prefer Regent. My 1 wish for Regent would be that they would provide a credit, as they now do for air travel, if you didn’t want to use their shore excursions. They do offer options for all other non ship services such as air, hotel, transfers, etc. so why not do the same for the remaining third party service, excursions? If it’s on the ship, include it in the price. If it’s off the ship, give us options.

[loriva]

DH and I have sailed with Regent twice (Explorer and Splendor) and Oceania (Riviera) once.  All three were post-COVID.  (Previous cruises were mass-market lines.)

 

I'd throw in my two cents that the itinerary really matters on which cruise line we might prefer.  We did a Caribbean itinerary for our first Regent cruise on Explorer in Dec 2021-Jan 2022 as well as our Oceania cruise (February 2023).  Both sailed out of Terminal J in Miami, so we drove to each cruise--airfare not a factor.  Since we had been to most of the ports previously, the shorex was not a big factor either.  The included excursions on Regent were so-so--sometimes big buses and long drives.  We booked our own on Oceania and enjoyed them.  The Concierge-level suites on Regent were much larger than Oceania--415 sq. ft. versus 291--but I find the design and layout of both more than sufficient to our needs.  The specialty dining on both (included in the fare on both) is very similar in my view--a steakhouse, an Italian, a French, and a pan-Pacific.  (And the La Reserve experience on Oceania (an extra cost) was superb.)  I found the experience much the same on both lines--although I did prefer Jacques to Chartreuse.  I also give higher marks to the Terrace on Oceania--the choice at the grill is wonderful.  We found service on both lines comparable--always friendly and professional.  So on a Caribbean itinerary--where excursions were not really a factor--I'd say I preferred Oceania.  (Price overall could not be a point of comparison between the two cruises as the Regent cruise was a "Hail Mary" after having three cruises with Regent cancelled due to COVID and having to find something to sail on to use our FCCs and the Oceania cruise was a Florida-residents special, so a very good price.)

 

Our second Regent sailing was a British Isles itinerary.  While I don't have an Oceania for direct comparison, I'd probably give Regent the nod on this one due to the included international Business air and ease of selecting shorex for the different ports (although I learned to check how far the sites to be visited are from where the ship docks).  (On the included airfare, we could have probably gotten home earlier and with fewer self-paid hotel nights if we had booked independently.  We had to wait three days until Regent had contracted seats with British Airways after Hurricane Nicole prevented our originally scheduled return to Florida.)

 

We also just completed our first ocean voyage with Viking (the Homelands itinerary) and liked them very much for the ship, accommodations, food (not so much the included wine--but they have a very liberal BYOB policy), service, and excursions.  They'll also be in our calculations going forward.  I'm keeping a spreadsheet to compare costs and experiences, initially with the idea of selecting a new preferred line.  At this point, however, we'll probably just keep with the idea of itinerary first--then finding one of our preferred lines that best suits our timing.  It's nice to have choices even though I think we'll also start cutting back on cruising given the huge price increases we're seeing for 2024 and beyond--double in some cases.

[Got2Cruise]

The size of the Oceania ships is the reason we don’t consider them. For us that’s the deal breaker. 

[PhD-iva]

1 hour ago, Got2Cruise said:

The size of the Oceania ships is the reason we don’t consider them. For us that’s the deal breaker. 

Oceania’s R class ships have 656 pax
https://www.oceaniacruises.com/ships

compared to Mariner’s 696

https://www.rssc.com/ships/seven_seas_mariner

[DaveFr]

4 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

Oceania’s R class ships have 656 pax
https://www.oceaniacruises.com/ships

compared to Mariner’s 696

https://www.rssc.com/ships/seven_seas_mariner

I think a better comparison is to the Navigator which is slightly smaller than the R class ships and carries 496 passengers. The Mariner is significantly larger than the R class ships.

 

Dave

 

 

[papaflamingo]

22 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

I don’t think that anyone is asking Regent to be just like Oceania. They are just commenting that they like some things about Oceania more than Regent. It’s an opinion so please respect it. 

I don't think my post was disrespectful, you want shore excursions pulled out of the pricing.  Others want drinks pulled out, etc.  So it seems to me that you would like Regent to be more like the Oceana model and only offer the services YOU like as inclusions and ala carte those you don't wish to use.  Then again, that's just my opinion.... please respect it. 😏

Edited May 30, 2023 by papaflamingo

[papaflamingo]

4 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

I don't think my post was disrespectful, you want shore excursions pulled out of the pricing.  Others want drinks pulled out, etc.  So it seems to me that you would like Regent to be more like the Oceana model and only offer the services YOU like as inclusions and ala carte those you don't wish to use.  Then again, that's just my opinion.... please respect it. 😏

I'm curious pappy, what did you find funny?  

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Regent was all-inclusive long before they added excursions to the mix.  And it was quite different from Oceania even then.  No carding, no happy hour crowds in the bars, better food, better service.  I like that Regent is all-inclusive, and that's despite that I don't drink alcohol any more.  I also don't go to many of the big shows, preferring listening to musicians in a bar.  

 

The inclusive excursions was something Regent tried, probably to enhance the "all-inclusive" identity.  It worked for a while, but right now it's failing, perhaps mostly because of Covid.  On the other hand, we've had some wonderful private excursions organized with small groups of fellow travellers in the past; on Azamara, Oceania, Seabourn, and yes, even on Regent.  So this is different, I believe, than the other included amenities because it materially affects your trip in many cases.

[pappy1022]

And it is entirely up to a 3rd party to deliver, just like transfers, hotels, air travel. All onboard services are 100% the responsibility of Regent personnel. That’s the difference. If Regent has no control over their excursion providers, as many have said including Regent, then give us a choice to use Regent as the middleman or go on our own and offer a credit just like all other 3rd party providers for Regent. 

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

It worked for a while, but right now it's failing

………… in your opinion

 

For us, we still favour the Regent offering of fully all inclusive. 

Our recent experiences of Regent cruises, and the included excursions, have not changed our thoughts.

[flossie009]

3 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Regent was all-inclusive long before they added excursions to the mix. 

 

3 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

It worked for a while

14 years so far …………..,. and still working for us

 

 

1 hour ago, pappy1022 said:

then give us a choice to use Regent as the middleman or go on our own

You already have that choice

 

[pappy1022]

Sure we do, but we have paid for excursions in our base fare. It’s hard pay for something you don’t use or you don’t see the value in. We shall see what value I get from Regent excursions on my upcoming cruise. Hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised.  I still love everything else about Regent and they are my cruise company of choice. 

[welshfamily]

We are just about to cruise with Regent for the first time after many cruises with Oceania.

We like the Oceania product but felt their pricing model has changed substantially from pre covid. 

Itineraries and ships.
We can only sail in school holidays. Oceania’s itineraries for the Marina and Riviera were almost identical both Iceland and Norway for July and August this year. Sailing on anything less than a penthouse on an R class ship is cramped particularly if you are well over 6 feet tall. 
Price 

A PH on the Serena  with Economy flights plus gratuities plus drinks package came to 
more than Regent were asking for a similar itinerary particularly as Regent had Casablanca …. A place I have always wanted to go. We priced this against an entry level veranda. This was in January ….marked drop in Oceania's pricing since then.
Please note This was after final payment which is 4 months out in the UK.

We are not heavy drinkers but do prefer the “ pay for most things up front “ model. This is why we always have a drinks package. We pay for 2 staterooms ( son …medical needs and daughter …just delightful company). 
 

We went with Concierge as we liked the idea of a pre cruise hotel with all transfers. PH’s all sold out.

We upgraded to Business class flights. Regent worked hard to find us flights. We had to compromise but that was fine.

Will not go into the things that have changed with our booking here as they are water under the bridge now. 
 

On our cruise Regent advertised a price and stuck to it. Everything is included …..unless we want to upgrade wine etc. We don’t have to go on the Excursions just as we don’t have to eat in all the venues. 
As long as the food is decent, the sheets clean and the company congenital we are going to enjoy ourselves. 
 

 

 

 

 

[alainciao]

3 hours ago, welshfamily said:

We are just about to cruise with Regent for the first time after many cruises with Oceania.

We like the Oceania product but felt their pricing model has changed substantially from pre covid. 

Itineraries and ships.
We can only sail in school holidays. Oceania’s itineraries for the Marina and Riviera were almost identical both Iceland and Norway for July and August this year. Sailing on anything less than a penthouse on an R class ship is cramped particularly if you are well over 6 feet tall. 
Price 

A PH on the Serena  with Economy flights plus gratuities plus drinks package came to 
more than Regent were asking for a similar itinerary particularly as Regent had Casablanca …. A place I have always wanted to go. We priced this against an entry level veranda. This was in January ….marked drop in Oceania's pricing since then.
Please note This was after final payment which is 4 months out in the UK.

We are not heavy drinkers but do prefer the “ pay for most things up front “ model. This is why we always have a drinks package. We pay for 2 staterooms ( son …medical needs and daughter …just delightful company). 
 

We went with Concierge as we liked the idea of a pre cruise hotel with all transfers. PH’s all sold out.

We upgraded to Business class flights. Regent worked hard to find us flights. We had to compromise but that was fine.

Will not go into the things that have changed with our booking here as they are water under the bridge now. 
 

On our cruise Regent advertised a price and stuck to it. Everything is included …..unless we want to upgrade wine etc. We don’t have to go on the Excursions just as we don’t have to eat in all the venues. 
As long as the food is decent, the sheets clean and the company congenital we are going to enjoy ourselves. 
 

  

 

 

 

Hi Welsh,

Just returned from the Splendor which had a stop in Casablanca.  We took a tour to Rabat which visited the Hassan 2 mosque in Casablanca and then went to Rabat.  Riding through Casablanca was depressing and I thought the whole excursion was going to be a downer.  However, just outside of Rabat everything changed and the city was fantastic.  Everyone I talked to was disappointed in Casablanca.  Sorry, but thought you ought to know.

[as3369]

We depart 4 weeks from today for our 1st Regent cruise for a 10 day Baltic on the Splendor.  I have enjoyed reading everyone's comments and comparisons on the cruise lines.  However, I think we all have specific reasons why we choose what works best.  

 

Without even departing, I am already LOVING the all-inclusive product that Regent offers.  The only other all-inclusive sailing we have completed was a 10 day package to the Galapagos aboard Celebrity Flora.  That trip and experience led us to look for additional all-inclusive sailings.  Hope to meet some of our fellow cruise critic members on future sailings.  Bon Voyage!

[curmudgeon98]

Currently doing our first Regent cruise (on Mariner), and I can't say I'm really impressed.  I'm wondering if it's partly a "hangover" from just completing the world cruise and and turning over the entire passenger base (and much crew) in one day.  Ship condition (to my mind) is fine.  Decor a little rococo for my tastes, but everyone has their own preferences.  Cabin (Concierge-D) is reasonably spacious, but I really don't like the high-stepover bathtub shower - at 6-1, my head hits the ceiling and it feels as claustrophobic as the standard room showers on R-class Oceania or Azamara ships.  Room steward and bar service have been quite good.  Dining room service (CR and Prime7) has been pretty poor; lots of bustle, but food often arrives barely warm.  Observed a couple of real fails in customer service by Maitre'd and waitstaff in DR. 

 

Food quality has not been noticeably better that Oceania or Azamara.  Indeed, other than the use of higher-cost ingredients, it hasn't been better than HAL or Celebrity either.   Included shore excursions have been reasonable (with some care in selection); destination staff made a real effort to give good details as to the time on buses and amount/difficulty of walking for the various excursions - we dropped a couple that would have had too much bus time for my patience/comfort.

 

Coming up to this cruise, I'd been thinking we might be finding a new preferred default cruise line in Regent, with the quality of Silversea and Seabourn, but the more relaxed atmosphere of Oceania and Azamara.  So far I'm not seeing it.  That's OK; you can't please everyone.       

[jjs217]

20 hours ago, as3369 said:

We depart 4 weeks from today for our 1st Regent cruise for a 10 day Baltic on the Splendor.  I have enjoyed reading everyone's comments and comparisons on the cruise lines.  However, I think we all have specific reasons why we choose what works best.  

 

Without even departing, I am already LOVING the all-inclusive product that Regent offers.  The only other all-inclusive sailing we have completed was a 10 day package to the Galapagos aboard Celebrity Flora.  That trip and experience led us to look for additional all-inclusive sailings.  Hope to meet some of our fellow cruise critic members on future sailings.  Bon Voyage!

I hope you love it.  My husband and I certainly enjoy our cruises on Regent.  We got off a 2 week Splendor cruise a week and a half ago.  Frankly, I'm ready for our next one.  Regent isn't perfect - none of the cruise lines are, but it comes pretty close.  The few glitches we experienced were either resolved, or forgotten about after a couple more glasses of bubbly.  You will be spoiled - enjoy and have a wonderful time.

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, curmudgeon98 said:

Cabin (Concierge-D) is reasonably spacious, but I really don't like the high-stepover bathtub shower

That is why many guests choose the shower-only suites on Mariner (marked with an asterisk* on the deck plans). 

In those suites the shower occupies the full space previously allocated for the unpopular tub/shower combos.

We prefer a PH or Horizon suite on Mariner as they are very spacious and well configured .............. but again opting for those with a shower-only bathroom.

 

Sorry your Regent cruise did not meet your expectations.

 

 

[cardygans]

We love Oceania.  This past fall we did 45 days Barcelona to Miami, last year around Xmas we were on Regent for 30days. 1) We are not really drinkers - so if we have an occasional glass of wine it's on us.  2) We rarely do organized  group tours - hate 'em!  so we book our own way around 3) Oceania passengers seem to be more relaxed and less entitled (I knows that going to get me in trouble) but I find Oceania  passengers less demanding and enjoying themselves 4) We always travel penthouse or above on Oceania and have never been dismissed by staff if there is an issue of any kind.   5) I found the selection and quality of food better than Regents.  We were on O for 45days and the menu always rotated and always seemed new.  30days on Regent and the choices felt monotonous.  

 

So, for us we love the casual feel of Oceania, the quality, and especially the price as we don't need to drink ourselves into oblivion, can walk on our own, and always book our own airfare.  We also have a killer TA that gets us everything we want.  !5 cruises on Oceania, 9 Regent, 3 Viking.  3 more 45+ days already booked with O, Riviera and Vista.

Edited June 2, 2023 by cardygans
typos

[pingpong1]

2 hours ago, cardygans said:

"...as we don't need to drink ourselves into oblivion..."

Really?  Is that what Regent cruisers regularly need to do?

[Techno123]

5 hours ago, pingpong1 said:

Really?  Is that what Regent cruisers regularly need to do?

Apparently they are on Voyager at the moment 😜 a large group (200) who won the cruise from their employer and are definitely making the most of the all inclusive element.

 

[alainciao]

23 hours ago, jjs217 said:

I hope you love it.  My husband and I certainly enjoy our cruises on Regent.  We got off a 2 week Splendor cruise a week and a half ago.  Frankly, I'm ready for our next one.  Regent isn't perfect - none of the cruise lines are, but it comes pretty close.  The few glitches we experienced were either resolved, or forgotten about after a couple more glasses of bubbly.  You will be spoiled - enjoy and have a wonderful time.

Hi jjs,

We were on the Barcelona-London cruise and also enjoyed it.  We're long time Regent cruisers and have been on O a lot but years ago.  I have to ask what you thought about one aspect of our cruise.  I thought the entertainment was way below pre covid. The Regent orchestra in the Meridian lounge pre dinner was not good.   We did not go to see the comedian who I understand was very good.  What did you think?

 

[jjs217]

1 hour ago, alainciao said:

Hi jjs,

We were on the Barcelona-London cruise and also enjoyed it.  We're long time Regent cruisers and have been on O a lot but years ago.  I have to ask what you thought about one aspect of our cruise.  I thought the entertainment was way below pre covid. The Regent orchestra in the Meridian lounge pre dinner was not good.   We did not go to see the comedian who I understand was very good.  What did you think?

 

Hi alainciao - we never go to the shows, so I can't comment on them.  Sorry!   We usually sit in bed and read after dinner.  Boring!!  Hahaha.  Also, we always hang out in the Observation Bar before dinner, not the Meridian lounge.  The piano player in the OB was actually pretty good (can't remember his name) on the evenings he played slow music.  Some nights, everything he played was in double time - we would kind of laugh and wonder what he had been smoking.  I did notice that as the cruise went on, the OB got more and more crowded.  Maybe people were fleeing the Meridian Lounge.  

[alainciao]

I forgot about Ray in the OB.  He was the saving grace for entertainment.  He was very talented.

[PaulMCO]

On 5/31/2023 at 8:10 AM, alainciao said:

Hi Welsh,

Just returned from the Splendor which had a stop in Casablanca.  We took a tour to Rabat which visited the Hassan 2 mosque in Casablanca and then went to Rabat.  Riding through Casablanca was depressing and I thought the whole excursion was going to be a downer.  However, just outside of Rabat everything changed and the city was fantastic.  Everyone I talked to was disappointed in Casablanca.  Sorry, but thought you ought to know.

Considering the King lives in Rabat, I would expect so.

 

I lived in Rabat for a year (actually Tamara Plage), and I seldom went to Casa.  Rabat is a beautiful city.