Dilemma between two itineraries and lines

[tv24]

We enjoyed our Atlantic crossing on Oceania a few years ago.  The ship was beautiful and the passengers friendly.  We were excited about the cuisine, Jacques Pepin and all of that, but in the end we were underwhelmed.  It was just good, not exceptional.  And it was impossible to get a reservation in the specialty restos.  Our friends made a joke that the woman in charge of reservations should have been named "Dr. No" since no was the only word in her vocabulary. We got into the restaurants by showing up 8:30 when most venues were emptying out.  Which leads me to the most surprising observation:  There was nothing happening on board in the evening!  Everyone ate early and went back to their staterooms.  And this was on a crossing where there were only a couple of ports.  A big contrast to our Seabourn experiences where there was usually something going on in the evenings and lots of friendly people to hang out with.  We will return to O someday, but we are not in a hurry.  We will be on Seabourn in November.

[Vineyard View]

Thanks tv24. Both itineraries are port intensive so I will admit we are not late night people. If I were on a transatlantic, it might be a different story. Oceania boasts the best cuisine at sea, which I believe is more marketing than anything, but our recent SB cruise was certainly a step up in food and dining experience over Viking (although we could get extra specialty dining on board ahead of time on each of our cruises with them). Sounds like you were not very impressed with their food even pre-pandemic compared to SB?

[SLSD]

10 hours ago, tv24 said:

We enjoyed our Atlantic crossing on Oceania a few years ago.  The ship was beautiful and the passengers friendly.  We were excited about the cuisine, Jacques Pepin and all of that, but in the end we were underwhelmed.  It was just good, not exceptional.  And it was impossible to get a reservation in the specialty restos.  Our friends made a joke that the woman in charge of reservations should have been named "Dr. No" since no was the only word in her vocabulary. We got into the restaurants by showing up 8:30 when most venues were emptying out.  Which leads me to the most surprising observation:  There was nothing happening on board in the evening!  Everyone ate early and went back to their staterooms.  And this was on a crossing where there were only a couple of ports.  A big contrast to our Seabourn experiences where there was usually something going on in the evenings and lots of friendly people to hang out with.  We will return to O someday, but we are not in a hurry.  We will be on Seabourn in November.

Do you think the lack of people out and about on Oceania cruises after dinner has to do with the fact that alcohol is not included?  We know people who book Oceania instead of Seabourn because they do not want "to pay for alcohol for others" when they themselves do not drink alcohol.  Or, is the passenger demographic even older than Seabourn?  Just curious.  

[tv24]

3 hours ago, SLSD said:

Do you think the lack of people out and about on Oceania cruises after dinner has to do with the fact that alcohol is not included?  We know people who book Oceania instead of Seabourn because they do not want "to pay for alcohol for others" when they themselves do not drink alcohol.  Or, is the passenger demographic even older than Seabourn?  Just curious.  

Good questions, SLSD.  And I'm note if I can offer more than a couple of observations.  On "O" one can purchase a drinks package, but it is quite expensive.  Otherwise individual drinks are also expensive.  Anyway, at happy hour, the bars were full and people were drinking.  On our crossing, the demographic was about the same as a crossing on Seabourn, active Seniors.  Our conclusion was that the crowd on "O" was not into nightlife.  Lots of interest in food, both the restaurants and the cooking classes, for which there was a fee.

[Mr Luxury]

38 minutes ago, tv24 said:

Good questions, SLSD.  And I'm note if I can offer more than a couple of observations.  On "O" one can purchase a drinks package, but it is quite expensive.  Otherwise individual drinks are also expensive.  Anyway, at happy hour, the bars were full and people were drinking.  On our crossing, the demographic was about the same as a crossing on Seabourn, active Seniors.  Our conclusion was that the crowd on "O" was not into nightlife.  Lots of interest in food, both the restaurants and the cooking classes, for which there was a fee.

Could it be that O suits a more sedate crowd?

[tv24]

6 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

Thanks tv24. Both itineraries are port intensive so I will admit we are not late night people. If I were on a transatlantic, it might be a different story. Oceania boasts the best cuisine at sea, which I believe is more marketing than anything, but our recent SB cruise was certainly a step up in food and dining experience over Viking (although we could get extra specialty dining on board ahead of time on each of our cruises with them). Sounds like you were not very impressed with their food even pre-pandemic compared to SB?

Vineyard:  We enjoyed the food on both Seabourn and Oceania.  But I think we were victims of the food hype on Oceania and had expectations that were so high that they could not be met.

[Vineyard View]

2 hours ago, tv24 said:

Vineyard:  We enjoyed the food on both Seabourn and Oceania.  But I think we were victims of the food hype on Oceania and had expectations that were so high that they could not be met.

Great information and way of looking at this. I wondered if we would experience the same. Valid observation for sure. Gives me more data to consider. 
Oceania has changed their booking now that includes basic wine/beer at lunch and dinners, and “x” included excursion credit based on length of cruise. They are definitely targeting Viking…..and probably the heels of luxury lines. 

[Charleyben]

14 hours ago, Mr Luxury said:

Could it be that O suits a more sedate crowd?

The cooking classes are subject to extra charge but not the alternative restaurants.