Considering O - from a HAL Guy

[SonuvaBeach]

On 6/7/2023 at 12:23 PM, SATaxman said:

 

We are looking forward to our first Oceania cruise. My post regarding RCL was a response to a post regarding the difference in price with other lines. RCCL ships are tooooooooo big. We have only cruised with them as "guests" who worked hard to "earn" the trips. Although on one of the 2 RCCL cruises we paid for, we met a group of people through Cruise Critic. Spent 10 days on private excursion with the group, hung out in the concierge lounge, and really did not see the crowds until we disembarked in Rome to wait for our driver. My husband said: who are all of these people?

Hi..my wife and I are on the Marina with you in October.We have to agree..RCL  ships...especially the new ships..are just TOO.... TOO BIG, TOO MANY PASSENGERS, TOO MANY KIDS, TOO MUCH LIKE AN AMUSEMENT PARK! We had a similar experience on the Voyager of the Seas back in February...we spent a good deal of our ship time in the elite/concierge lounges. When getting off the ship to catch a cab back to the airport in San Juan, my wife asked.."Where did all these people come from?" Probably our last RCL cruise. We will be on the Insignia to Bermuda in a couple weeks...our first O cruise...only 640 to 680 passengers...CAN'T HARDLY WAIT!! See you in a couple months on the Marina!

[cayman09]

After 5 HAL cruises and their ever growing sized ships we tried Oceania. We loved HAL but the crowding and decreased service & food levels were concerning. On our last transatlantic the main dining room was the last straw. On consecutive nights, a waiter missed taking an order from one of six at our table and the next night took all of the orders but never delivered one dinner. Coffee was served cold and came after breakfast was served and no refills offered. We were so disappointed that we paid for specialty restaurants the last half of the cruise. Our first Oceania cruise was a refreshing change on Regatta. The food in every restaurant was a step up, the service was superb and the small size of the ship fit our needs. 

 

We're already booked on Sirena for January.

[SATaxman]

2 hours ago, SonuvaBeach said:

Hi..my wife and I are on the Marina with you in October.We have to agree..RCL  ships...especially the new ships..are just TOO.... TOO BIG, TOO MANY PASSENGERS, TOO MANY KIDS, TOO MUCH LIKE AN AMUSEMENT PARK! We had a similar experience on the Voyager of the Seas back in February...we spent a good deal of our ship time in the elite/concierge lounges. When getting off the ship to catch a cab back to the airport in San Juan, my wife asked.."Where did all these people come from?" Probably our last RCL cruise. We will be on the Insignia to Bermuda in a couple weeks...our first O cruise...only 640 to 680 passengers...CAN'T HARDLY WAIT!! See you in a couple months on the Marina!

That is exactly what my husband said 5 years ago on RCCL when we disembarked in Rome. Who are all of these people. We hung out with a group of 16 from Cruise Critic. Did all private tours. Concierge Lounge, Piano bar. Looking forward to MARINA in October. Went to Alaska on Regent Mariner last August. Too small. I think we will prefer the O size ships.

 

[LSuzQ]

3 hours ago, SonuvaBeach said:

Hi..my wife and I are on the Marina with you in October.We have to agree..RCL  ships...especially the new ships..are just TOO.... TOO BIG, TOO MANY PASSENGERS, TOO MANY KIDS, TOO MUCH LIKE AN AMUSEMENT PARK! We had a similar experience on the Voyager of the Seas back in February...we spent a good deal of our ship time in the elite/concierge lounges. When getting off the ship to catch a cab back to the airport in San Juan, my wife asked.."Where did all these people come from?" Probably our last RCL cruise. We will be on the Insignia to Bermuda in a couple weeks...our first O cruise...only 640 to 680 passengers...CAN'T HARDLY WAIT!! See you in a couple months on the Marina!

Please report back on your Bermuda cruise! Doing the same in ‘24 and looking forward to hearing about your experience.

 

[SonuvaBeach]

20 minutes ago, LSuzQ said:

Please report back on your Bermuda cruise! Doing the same in ‘24 and looking forward to hearing about your experience.

 

I shall do so..I make youtube videos of our cruises...here is my youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/existentialtraveler.  Follow me there:)

[ORV]

21 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

WOW!  These board offer opinions, not facts.  Facts on a specific cruise question is much better answered by the cruise company, not some random commentary on CC.  Especially on a thread created to praise "O" - you will not find an unbiased answer.

Appreciate your opinion, I’ll consider it for what it’s worth. 

[mauibabes]

@Ride-The-Waves

Oh contrair, when we post we try to offer offer information, like so many others, that is based on our specific Oceania experiences. IMHO, While this is an O board, We have found it quite enlightening when it comes to preparing cruisers for what it is like on board.  No line is perfect so there are always some negative experiences that can be shared and we have ALL had them. Our worst experience was a toilet that backed up and overflowed, TWICE over two days. Bad, yes but I really felt terrible for our Room Steward who had to clean up and sanitize the bathroom, again twice.  By the way, not O’s fault as a guest upstream had put a washcloth in the toilet. I will say no more.

What is hard to take sometimes is the constant postings based on negative experiences on another cruise line by a Newby who has yet to sail on O and equating them to how O operates. Again, JMHO but our experience is that O goes out of their way to offer a wonderful cruise experience and a great value for the dollars we spend. You do not get 60% returning cruisers by delivering a substandard product. Since we have sailed O for 15 years, we do hope to have some credibility. 
Have a great cruise, wherever you sail. 
Mauibabes 

 

[cruisemom42]

On 8/12/2023 at 6:35 PM, Ride-The-Waves said:

Lets don't oversell O to those who have not experienced an O cruise.  We have cruised for decades and enjoy nice cabins, good food and great itineraries, and not "loyal" to one cruise lines.  Last year we did a TA on Riviera followed several months later by a Panama Canal transit on HAL Zaandam.  Similar sized ships.  We found Zaandam significantly better to include food especially in the specialty restaurants.  "O" has coined the advertising slogan of "best cuisine at sea."  It is not, especially when including ambiance of the restaurants.  "O's" specialties are crowded, table to close together, compared to Zaandam.  And the noise levels in the specialties is nearly unbearable, so bad that we did not return to one for a second meal.  Tables in the buffet are also too close together miming access and forcing diners to walk circuitous routes to tables.  We found the suite cabin adequate but nothing special.  Dining room crew were even a bit "uppity" to guests.  "O" is not a panacea.  Azamara is much better and friendlier.  Even HAL's Zaandam is superior.

 

Just goes to show how subjective things can be even when we think we are being objective.

 

After a number of HAL cruises, I took my first on O last month. I loved the food in the GDR and found it so much quieter, comparably, than the MDR on a HAL ship. Granted I am not usually on the smaller ships -- but HAL only has two of those smaller ships left, and I suspect their days are numbered...

 

I find I hard to believe, based in my own experiences (most recent HAL cruise was in April of this year for 28 days on Westerdam), that anyone could fail to appreciate that the quality of the food is consistently better on O (e.g., better beef, better lamb, better seafood, etc.). HAL's preparation of "beef Wellington" did not resemble the real thing in any way. HAL no longer serves caviar or foie gras in their MDR. HAL doesn't use 100% cotton linens (there's a reason those napkins slide off your lap). I could go on....

 

Were there some misses?  Yes, there were. But another thing I appreciated about O's GDR were knowledgeable wait staff. When asked about an item, they could furnish additional information and indeed, make recommendations when I was dithering between two choices. On HAL nowadays I am often met with a blank look if I ask for specifics about any dish. The most I got on Westerdam was one waiter who said to me, "I wouldn't order the XX tonight, there have been a lot of people sending it back (!!)

 

Also, if you drink wine, you have to appreciate that O still has sommeliers -- or if they are not all sommeliers, at least they are bar staff -- who take wine orders and also can provide ideas and recommendations. Wines are poured from the bottle, and you are of course invited to taste first. On HAL, orders are taken by assistant waiters and any wine purchased by the glass arrives in a tiny little one-serving carafe -- you don't even get to see the bottle to know whether you're being served what you ordered. 😖

 

Finally, very few of the desserts on HAL have any taste to them, although they may look good. (The one exception are the fruit crisps.).  Desserts on O were consistently better and tasted like they should. I especially enjoyed the daily souffles, although I'll admit that once it came undercooked. Once, in 17 days -- I'll take that. No one is perfect, but I'd say 95% of the time, for me, it was better than HAL.

 

[Guest debbiejohncruise]

On 6/5/2023 at 6:43 PM, friendswithdave said:

 I did my best to include apples to apples. I added port taxes to the HAL fare but not the O fare. No O life, O fares, or O anything (at least I think.) Assumed cheapest balcony on O, best balcony on HAL using a Club Orange upgrade and including that in the price. Newest ship on both lines.

 

I should add I am assuming a lower rate than is currently available on HAL because we have booked the same week and the same itinerary every year for quite a few years. I know from experience the HAL fare will drop significantly between now and then. If the O fare drops similarly, then it may be more of a fair fare comparison. I will keep watch to be sure. I tend to book ~3 months out when fares tend to drop to their lowest point on cruises in low demand. Therefore my booking time is Sept for the Dec cruises I am watching.

 

When I do reach out to my travel agent I will probably ask for a quote on both. That will be a true apples to apples comparison. We can then make the final decision and book.

We are also HAL cruisers and trying our first Oceania cruise Sep 2024 around the St Lawrence.