Oceania Vista and Explora Journeys Compared

[Waltershipman]

4 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Well, this is to be expected due to the price difference.

 

But all other factors equal (say same itinerary) - would you say that EJ is worth the price difference? From your description, you enjoyed Vista very much.

Absolutely enjoyed Vista yet there was something that i can't quite put my finger on that made EJ experience exceptional. Perhaps less crowded and more space.  Both have strong points particularly entertainment on Vista yet more and better staff on EJ 

[ak1004]

5 minutes ago, Waltershipman said:

Absolutely enjoyed Vista yet there was something that i can't quite put my finger on that made EJ experience exceptional. Perhaps less crowded and more space.  Both have strong points particularly entertainment on Vista yet more and better staff on EJ 

 

EJ has space/passengers ratio of 69 vs Vista 56 (922 vs 1,200 guests with almost the same tonnage). Also better Passenger to Crew ratios. I guess numbers don't lie..

 

Interesting what you are saying about entertainment because entertainment was never among O strengths.

[Waltershipman]

7 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

EJ has space/passengers ratio of 69 vs Vista 56 (922 vs 1,200 guests with almost the same tonnage). Also better Passenger to Crew ratios. I guess numbers don't lie..

 

Interesting what you are saying about entertainment because entertainment was never among O strengths.

They had an amazing singer and comedian from Ireland 

[Waltershipman]

Just now, Waltershipman said:

They had an amazing singer and comedian from Ireland 

Space ratio totally matters and can be felt on the ship in many places as well as in GDR

[Waltershipman]

9 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

EJ has space/passengers ratio of 69 vs Vista 56 (922 vs 1,200 guests with almost the same tonnage). Also better Passenger to Crew ratios. I guess numbers don't lie..

 

Interesting what you are saying about entertainment because entertainment was never among O strengths.

Great singers on O and GDR was massively busy and full

[CJANDH]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

EJ has space/passengers ratio of 69 vs Vista 56 (922 vs 1,200 guests with almost the same tonnage). Also better Passenger to Crew ratios. I guess numbers don't lie..

But EJ is sailing half full so the actual passenger to crew ratio is much better.

[Waltershipman]

3 minutes ago, CJANDH said:

But EJ is sailing half full so the actual passenger to crew ratio is much better.

Absolutely agree

[ak1004]

43 minutes ago, CJANDH said:

But EJ is sailing half full so the actual passenger to crew ratio is much better.

 

Good point. We sailed on SS twice, and SS has passenger to crew ratio almost as good as EJ (around 67), and I didn't see significant different between SS and O in terms of crowds. Don't forget that O average cabin size is 25% smaller than EJ, so public areas are not necessarily larger per guest.

[edgee]

On 2/25/2024 at 10:31 AM, Nashna said:

Oceania doesn't do official Meet & Greets.  I was told nothing could be arranged until we boarded.  When checking in, the concierge was waiting for me and set up an appointment that afternoon to arrange the event.  She informed me that they had been following our roll call and noticed the large number of attendees (56).  They arranged snacks, sent out invitations, and arranged for a portion of Horizons to be blocked off for our group.  The General Manager and Food & Beverage Manager attended.  There were no official announcements...just a group of new friends getting together.  Amazingly, most folks had been following the roll call, but not participating.  I originally expected about ten people to meet casually...we had 56.  I was impressed to learn that Oceania follows CC roll calls.  

And you did a great job! Best meet and greet I have attended on any cruise, Thanks so much!

Ed

[Waltershipman]

2 minutes ago, edgee said:

And you did a great job! Best meet and greet I have attended on any cruise, Thanks so much!

Ed

It was great

[Nashna]

ThThank you.  Sadly, Nina, the concierge who was so helpful, had her contract shortened during our sailing and left the ship when we did.  I also felt that there was something a little off on the Vista.  I was surprised at the level of service in the Terrace Cafe.  We took a sunset sail in Antigua and planned to eat outdoors in the Terrace as the excursion returned at about 7:00pm and we were dressed casually. At 7:00 pm, half the tables were not set, and the staff appeared rushed.  We waited thirty minutes for our wine, then proceeded to the buffet.  There were about ten people around the grill, waiting for their orders.  We were told to come back for our order in 15 minutes. We opted to go back to our room and order room service. Seriously, it was like McDonalds with better food.  When we got back to the table, our wine had arrived.  We took our glasses and headed back to our room.  We met the F & B Manager in the elevator, who asked how our meal was.  When he heard about our experience, he asked for our room number and had a head waiter deliver the food and two bottles of wine to our room. He salvaged our dinner. We had a delightful meal on our patio sailing out of Antigua.  If the buffet food isn't ready, O. should have waitstaff serving meals to the table instead of inconveniencing guests.  The Terrace Cafe was visibly understaffed.  The only other time we witnessed poor service was in Polo...again, the issue appeared to be understaffing.  

[Waltershipman]

1 hour ago, Nashna said:

ThThank you.  Sadly, Nina, the concierge who was so helpful, had her contract shortened during our sailing and left the ship when we did.  I also felt that there was something a little off on the Vista.  I was surprised at the level of service in the Terrace Cafe.  We took a sunset sail in Antigua and planned to eat outdoors in the Terrace as the excursion returned at about 7:00pm and we were dressed casually. At 7:00 pm, half the tables were not set, and the staff appeared rushed.  We waited thirty minutes for our wine, then proceeded to the buffet.  There were about ten people around the grill, waiting for their orders.  We were told to come back for our order in 15 minutes. We opted to go back to our room and order room service. Seriously, it was like McDonalds with better food.  When we got back to the table, our wine had arrived.  We took our glasses and headed back to our room.  We met the F & B Manager in the elevator, who asked how our meal was.  When he heard about our experience, he asked for our room number and had a head waiter deliver the food and two bottles of wine to our room. He salvaged our dinner. We had a delightful meal on our patio sailing out of Antigua.  If the buffet food isn't ready, O. should have waitstaff serving meals to the table instead of inconveniencing guests.  The Terrace Cafe was visibly understaffed.  The only other time we witnessed poor service was in Polo...again, the issue appeared to be understaffing.  

Totally agree

Staffing at Terrace cafe was poor as well as food delivery. Standing waiting for an order was neither organized nor pleasant at dinner time

 

Thanks for your observations. Overall i agree and cannot quite put a finger on it but tes something was off on Vista. Speaking of off when we disembarked my DW tested positive for Covid and I tested positive 4 days later 

 

Be well be safe

 

[tine-tine]

This is not a Vista thing rather an Oceania thing, service has become appalling. I have cruised many times with O and my last cruise on R class was a great cruise with truly awful service and tedious, bland food, I was requested by my Oceania Cruise Specialist to put my issues in writing, to which Oceania responded and acknowledged my concerns with some OBC for my upcoming cruise and also informing the ship of my concerns and special requests.

I decided to go with my next O cruise as final payment had passed and to make an assessment if the service issue was a one off but cancelled my future cruise on Vista for January 2025 and booked EJII instead.

[Nashna]

On 3/18/2024 at 1:45 PM, Waltershipman said:

Totally agree

Staffing at Terrace cafe was poor as well as food delivery. Standing waiting for an order was neither organized nor pleasant at dinner time

 

Thanks for your observations. Overall i agree and cannot quite put a finger on it but tes something was off on Vista. Speaking of off when we disembarked my DW tested positive for Covid and I tested positive 4 days later 

 

Be well be safe

 

I'm so sorry to hear that Covid struck you both.  Hopefully, it was a mild case.  We are continuing our quest for a new favorite cruise line.  

[Waltershipman]

45 minutes ago, Nashna said:

I'm so sorry to hear that Covid struck you both.  Hopefully, it was a mild case.  We are continuing our quest for a new favorite cruise line.  

While having Covid was less than pleasant we are vaxed to the max and got through ok we layed low. It was our 1st covid experience 

 

We too are searching for our next favorite cruise line. Explora Journeys is very high on list even with  their back of house issues 

 

Happy  cruise  and hope to see you  again

[don731]

Excellent thread.  We were on Vista for 17 days in February, and were less impressed than our previous cruises on O (Riviera).  We felt it was not up to the price point we paid for a concierge verandah, even with prepaid gratuities and generous OBC.  Will check out EJ for sure.