Retreat Cruiser Tries Oceania Vista PH

[Moby Jones]

1 minute ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Lisa has moved back to parent some time ago......new President is Laura B ....

 

You're quoting the wrong poster. Keep up!!! 😆

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, LuAnn said:

You will love that cruise...just did it last May..same cruise but opposite direction. Regatta was the first O ship we sailed on a long time ago. Hoping you have a wonderful time and let us know all about it!! 

Thanks... I'm rather excited.

 

I guess everyone knows that our first Non-Celebrity was on Ponant on a ship that only has maximum capacity of 184.    Of course it is a totally different product than either Celebrity or Oceania.   While very different, we embraced the differences and would sail them again dependent on itinerary.  

 

We booked Oceania knowing it will be different than Celebrity but also from our reading believe that it might be a fit for us.    I know other's like the OP enjoy a cruise different than us but that is the beauty of choice.  

[Oceangoer2]

22 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I expressed some of my concerns with recent changes on Celebrity with Lisa both in person and via e-mail.     She did say that they are making some changes over then next couple months and hope to win us back as a dedicated cruiser.    She is such a good Marketeer!

Hi Jim....somehow my post to you crossed with another poster...hope this helps you to convey your important message to the new X President:

******

Lisa has moved back to parent some time ago......new President is Laura B ....

 

 

 

 

Edited January 30 by Oceangoer2

[Ex-Airbalancer]

2 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Hi Jim....somehow my post to you crossed with another poster...hope this helps you to convey your important message to the new X President:

******

Lisa has moved back to parent some time ago......new President is Laura B ....

 

 

 

 

I believe Jim knows the prez of Celebrity but sometimes we all have grey moments 😉

[Whinenowine]

12 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I believe Jim knows the prez of Celebrity but sometimes we all have grey moments 😉

Indeed--I recall those pictures of the nice Zenith meal with Laura on the Edge during Jim/Iain's last cruise. 

[Jim_Iain]

16 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Hi Jim....somehow my post to you crossed with another poster...hope this helps you to convey your important message to the new X President:

******

Lisa has moved back to parent some time ago......new President is Laura B ....

 

 

 

 

Your are of course correct.   I wrote Laura at an e-mail address different than the one you posted and she gave me when I brought it up to her in person at a Zenith Lunch.   Sometime brain freeze.     At least they both began with L.

 

My response came back directly from her and not one of the Executive Assistants.   

Edited January 30 by Jim_Iain

[Oceangoer2]

1 minute ago, Jim_Iain said:

Your are of course correct.   I wrote Laura at an e-mail address different than the one you posted and she gave me when I brought it up to her in person at a Zenith Lunch.   Sometime brain freeze.     At least they both began with L

I thought it was just a slip like we all make...but just in case...with being an almost double zenith..... your 'comments' would carry weight, so posted the updated address.  BTW, I somehow missed the photo with Laura...can you re-post or direct me to the thread?  TIA.

[Oceangoer2]

4 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Your are of course correct.   I wrote Laura at an e-mail address different than the one you posted and she gave me when I brought it up to her in person at a Zenith Lunch.   Sometime brain freeze.     At least they both began with L.

 

My response came back directly from her and not one of the Executive Assistants.   

Can you share 'response' or is it privileged?  Sometimes high execs do not want their conversations published.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Can you share 'response' or is it privileged?  Sometimes high execs do not want their conversations published.

 

I would prefer not do share but basically - 

 

She appreciated my candor

Agrees with many of the issues I raised

Indicated that due comments from guests that changes were in the works but some of those take time an should be implemented by June.

She hopes to win us back as a dedicated customer.

 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Oceangoer2 said:

I thought it was just a slip like we all make...but just in case...with being an almost double zenith..... your 'comments' would carry weight, so posted the updated address.  BTW, I somehow missed the photo with Laura...can you re-post or direct me to the thread?  TIA.

 

 

 

Edited January 30 by Jim_Iain

[swigso]

On 1/27/2024 at 4:41 PM, Lastdance said:

Which Apex TA are you doing next year?  

The 08 March 25 sailing from Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona, it is visiting Bermuda which we really want to see

were originally going to do a B2B sailing on 01 March but have decided to try the Sun Princess. This will be our first non Celebrity cruise (save for a few on Azamara and RCCL )

Edited January 30 by swigso

[LuAnn]

On 1/30/2024 at 8:31 AM, Oceangoer2 said:

I thought it was just a slip like we all make...but just in case...with being an almost double zenith..... your 'comments' would carry weight, so posted the updated address.  BTW, I somehow missed the photo with Laura...can you re-post or direct me to the thread?  TIA.

You're almost a "double Zenith"?? WOW!!! 

[Oceangoer2]

40 minutes ago, LuAnn said:

You're almost a "double Zenith"?? WOW!!! 

Noooooo....You misunderstood....I'm not a 2 Zenith.....I was responding to Jim's email....HE is a 2 Zenith....but yes...WOW for him.

[Liao]

On 1/26/2024 at 9:25 AM, Sharkette76 said:

After many Celebrity cruises in a SS on both S class and Edge class ships, based on the changes and pricing for X, we decided to try Oceania. For simplicity’s sake, I will compare Vista to the Edge class as they are both the newest designs. We were on a 10 day Southern Caribbean itinerary, January 9 to January 19, in a Penthouse Suite, on Oceania Vista. Below is a summary of our experience. YMMV.

 

Embarkation

We had an assigned time of 11:00 for embarkation. We arrived at 10:50 to find that the doors to the building were not open and there was a line of people extending around the building waiting to go in. I joined the back of the line while DH looked for a separate suites entrance. No such luck. The doors opened at 11 and it took about 15 minutes to get inside. From there the process was efficient and we were onboard about 11:45. You cannot drop your bags in your cabin and must carry them until cabins are ready  - around 1 for suites, 2 for concierge and 3 for all others. This is an area where Celebrity wins hands down.

 

Suite

We had a PH3 on deck 10 (10031). The room was very nicely done. It had much more storage than the Edge, but we really didn’t need it. If we had been on an extended voyage, it would have been useful. The bathrooms were comparable. Vista had a large shower vs. the shower over tub on X. I liked them equally. DH is 6’4” and has to duck under the water on X, so preferred the Vista shower.

The biggest difference in the suites is the layout of the bedroom itself. We absolutely love the bed facing the ocean on the Edge. In fact, after our first Edge voyage, we rearranged our bedroom to turn our bed to face the water! With that in mind, we found that the traditional bed arrangement on Vista left us wishing we were on the Edge. The room was dark with a double slider and a small window that did not let in much light.

The top picture is the Edge, taken from the bed. The second picture is Vista.

Bars/Alcohol/Water

Oceania does not have bottles of water anywhere on the ship. Instead, they leave you a refillable metal bottle and they have water stations around the ship. I’m a bit of a germaphobe, so was not fond of just rinsing the bottles in hot water every day, then reusing them, but that seemed to be the only option. DH is a camel and usually takes 4 – 5 large waters off the ship for beach excursions. We only had 2 refillable bottles so we had to improvise. DH drank PowerAdes after working out, so kept the bottles and filled them with water to take off the ship.

Wine is included for lunch and dinner and was readily available. There were not many choices, but I found a French Chardonnay and DH found a Shiraz, so we were happy.

O has a 2 for 1 Happy Hour every day from 5 to 6. Given that beer and wine is included with meals, most people do not get the drink package (we did - $30pp/day). At 5PM every day, the bars get overrun with people getting their daily drinks from the happy hour menu (not every drink is 2 for 1). At about 6:15, everything clears out and people go to dinner.

We love meeting new people and talking to the great bartenders at the Martini Bar on X and we anticipated doing the same on O. Unfortunately, the bars themselves are very small with only 5 or 6 seats at the actual bar. There are lots of tables and couches around the bars, and the bartenders are extremely busy and not able to interact with customers. There is one small bar that serves a very large area around the corner. We saw several people come around to the bar complaining that they had no service and had been waiting 20 – 25 minutes for someone to take their order. Normally, this is not a big deal, but if you only have 1 hour to get your drinks 2 for 1, then it becomes a point of contention for people.

 

Dining

O includes specialty dining for all guests. You are allotted 1 reservation at each of the 4 specialty restaurants and can make these reservations before boarding the ship, 75 days ahead for suites, 60 days for Concierge, and 45 days for others. People routinely log in right at midnight on their assigned day to get reservations at a preferred time and non-sharing. Dinner is served from 6:30 to 9 nightly.

DH and I prefer to go to the 7PM show on X, then eat at 8. On O, there is one show nightly and it is at 9:30. We never made it to a show. More on that later. We also do not want to share a table, just not our preference, so I did log in at midnight to make our reservations. Look through the O boards and you will see that this is a commonplace, accepted practice. It was very surprising to me.

The specialty restaurants were not as good as Luminae or Blu IOHO. Service was very good but the food was disappointing. For example, in the Italian restaurant, DH had Dover Sole. It was beautiful, deboned tableside and looked fantastic. When he tried to eat it, it was so tough that a knife wouldn’t cut it. I had chicken and I honestly could not recognize the cut of meat. I cook a lot of chicken and whatever was on my plate was mystery meat. I did not eat it.

I have food allergies and had to fill out a menu every day and turn it in downstairs by 10, for the following evening’s meal. So, on Monday morning, I needed to know what I was going to eat Tuesday night. Even doing that, I pre-ordered a soup at the Chinese restaurant, and when it arrived, I stirred it only to find mushrooms (my specific allergy) floating in it. So glad I looked first! Big fail here.

The bottom line for us is the lack of consistent servers who get to know your food preferences, allergies, etc. is a major negative. We ate in a different place for every meal, so we never had the same server or sommelier twice. We much prefer the service in Luminae or Blu. The servers there have always called us by name, had our drinks in hand as soon as they saw us, and made sure my food was prepared correctly wrt my allergies.

 

Wine Pairing Lunches

This is where O really shined. They offered 2 wine paring lunches – Cellar Master’s lunch ($180pp plus 20% grat) and the Sommelier’s Choice lunch ($99pp plus 20% grat). We had 2 of the best meals we’ve ever had on land or sea with these wine paring lunches. The menus are below. Everything was modified perfectly for my allergies. The service was fantastic and the discussion of the wines was very informative. If you are on an O cruise, I cannot recommend these highly enough. They sell out the first day so be sure to sign up as soon as you board.

 

The Butler Discussion

We had an assigned butler whom we saw every day. We normally just want coffee every morning at 6:30 and we have gotten that on both X and O. On both ships (X in October after butler changes) different people delivered the coffee each morning. Butlers can also sometimes get you an additional reservation at a specialty restaurant, which ours did toward the end of the cruise. He specifically asked us to go back to the Italian restaurant and it was better the second time, but still nothing special.

We decided to try having dinner “served course by course” by our butler. This essentially gives you another coveted specialty restaurant reservation. We chose the steakhouse. This was a nice experience, but everything was delivered at once (he was busy with other diners) and it is not something that held much value to us. It was nice to try, but we’d rather go out for dinner.

Pool and Spa

Spa area access is included with a Suite. There is a beautiful Hydro pool, but there is a lack of shade. Chair hogs are in abundance at the main pool. There are lots of complaints on social media. There are plenty of chairs available in the sun, but this is not the demographic to lay in the sun all day. It feels like a poor design to have so few shaded loungers that people have to fight over them (there was a fight when someone removed items from a saved lounger).

 

Activities

There are different activities on O that are not on X. I enjoyed art classes and a cooking class. There was also bingo and enrichment talks, but we did not attend any of these. The theater is a little small and the sight lines are not good. There are many complaints about not being able to see the shows.

 

Ports

We have been to the Caribbean many times. We chose this cruise in part because it stopped in St. Bart’s and we have never been there. This was a tender port which we unfortunately missed due to rough seas. The tenders were the ship’s small life boats. The tender process leaves a lot to be desired. 1 member of each group must wait in line (with hundreds of others) to get a tender ticket. Then the group must wait in the theater for ticket to be called. There is no special accommodation for suites.

 

Fellow Passengers

It is worth noting that the average age on our cruise had to be late 70s, early 80s. We’re in our late 50s, early 60s, so we were definitely on the younger side for this cruise. Enough said.

 

Summary

We are glad we tried Oceania. The ship is very nice but for the reasons noted above, for our next cruise, we will price compare with Regent, SS and X, but will not consider Oceania. Based on recent reviews on this board, we just booked the Ascent.

I have sailed Oceania a few times, on the Riviera before it was refurbished.  It was a very nice ship, food was good as was the service, but the type of passenger (certainly not all, but more than I liked) carry on like they are "special".  Also the entertainment was just not all that.  Started sailing with Celebrity in the Retreat are, a few years ago and it hits all the buttons for me, the service is stellar!