Oceania Compared to Crystal, Seabourn, Silversea

[slgjhg]

Oceania Compared to Crystal, Seabourn, Silversea

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Hi All,

 

I have been over at the cruise critics review site and must admit I am confused. On one particular cruise of Regatta, two people posted and one gave a one ribbon while another on the same cruise gave a 5 ribbon. There are 13 member reviews and it is sort of like what I just reported. One cruise in 04 had 4 posted reviews and each was different. It is a little difficult for someone who is contemplating taking a cruise with Oceania to know what to make of this. Add to the mix the Cruise Critic professional review and ?????????

 

 

Cruise Critic specifically contradictaded things one member had criticized. I thought I might look up the members and get a sense of their postings. One member was so outrageous in his review. (Very snobby) If that was consistent with his posts, I thought I would simply discount. However, I would much rather hear from people who have cruised, Oceania, Chrystal, Seaborn, Silversea and Others comparable and hear your comparations.

 

Thanks to you all for any help you might provide.

 

Regards,

 

Shannon

[Sculpta]

there is nothing better than silversea or seaborn............everything else is a wannabe.

[capecodder2]

I just have to add my 2 cents for whatever it is worth. The wonderful thing about us - people in general - is that we don't all want or need the same things, no matter if we are speaking of cruising or anything else. If we did, we would all want to live in the same place, eat the same food, cruise on 1 line. How boring! That is why you can have several reviews on any ship, hotel, destination, restaurant and they are all different in satisfaction and thoughts.

 

Personally, we have several criteria for cruising (which we have done a lot of) and the destinations of the cruise is our determining factor. The cruise part is very enjoyable, we like the idea of unpacking only once and knowing where we are going to sleep and eat, seeing a little of a lot of ports. We can then go back on a land vacation another time and see in depth any port that we especially liked and didn't have enough time for. In the end, the cruise part and the ship is just the transportation to distant lands. We like small ships, 1900 passengers is the maximum size we will take. We like a balcony cabin of decent size and comfort, an enjoyable dining experience with "any time" sitting, and prefer a ship that offers lectures on the destination ports. We don't care about shows or nightlife, casinos, formal dining attire, bingo, bridge, or on-board shopping experiences. Not to say we haven't gone to shows or shopped on board, but on a scale of 1 to10, it is about a 2 in importance.

 

The cruise lines you have mentioned are beautiful 5 star lines, more formal than most, also more expensive. Your satisfaction and choice of a cruise line will depend on what is important to you and that you need to determine. Use reviews and opinions as information, not as a determining factor in your choice. We love Oceania for its size and comfort of its ships and itineraries. We also enjoy a couple of other cruise lines for its exotic destinations. Thanks.

[spindrift]

I think the post before this one is right on target. It is what you might want to expect.

 

After more than 26 cruises on Vistafjord and Sagafjord and experiencing the real respect onboard (also prior to the takeover by Cunard), we decided to move on to other lines, the first one being Seabourn. It was lovely, but it missed our being recognized by the Captain and the rest of the cruise staff--but it was to be an adjustment to which we needed to become accustomed. The next cruise with them was lovely; however, we moved on to Silver Seas and Crystal.

 

We sailed on the Crystal Harmony shortly after its inaugural, and we fell in love with the crew and staff and everything about the management of that line. We also tried Silver Seas, and what is NOT to love about them. We were on them several times, but shortly after our last trip on the "Titanic" themed cruise, my Mother had a major stroke, and since she loved that line so much, we have respected her desire to travel on them and we have not sailed on Silver Seas so she does not become sad she cannot go.

 

We then started with Princess, and were totally shocked that we loved them so much. They are wonderful. We've been on many lines, but we took a look at Oceania strictly because of the new owners who were formerly with Rennaisance (with whom we had never traveled but had friends who did and loved them) and because of Mr. Watters, former President of Crystal--an extremely well-managed ship. We are so looking forward to our trip 1/3/05 to South America (booked earlier but did not want to leave Mother over the holidays).

 

I understand they are excellent, and for some reason, I feel they WILL BE excellent. I know this doesn't answer your question directly, but I wanted to share our feelings about trying the line for we do a lot of cruising and would love to find a line to whom we can depend and sail on several times a year. This will be a true test. I encourage you to give them a try as well.

[rustymerle]

My husband and I sailed Oceania last Christmas (12 days). The president and CEO of Oceania and their families were on board. I believe the cruise was sold out. We had selected Oceania because we had sailed the South Pacific when the ship was owned be Renaissance. We had a fabulous time on Ren. There are a lot of good things about Oceania. We loved the country club casual and the itinerary. Cost was reasonable.

 

The one area that prevented us from exalting the praises of Oceania was the clientele. It seemed as if the preponderance of the passengers were complainers and whined about everything. I know that may sound a little strange, but it was very true. You would think the passengers were there to have a good time and just enjoy the trip … But Nooooooo. Not this bunch. My husband and I just tried to ignore the negativity and thank goodness we met at least a dozen other folks who were fabulous. Out of 600+, it was not a large percentage of folks. However, it made up for the complainers. It is hard to believe that so many of the same type of folks were on a ship so large. It must be some kind of Guinness Record! Unbelievable!

 

One of the things I love about traveling is meeting people from different cultures. The majority of the travelers were from south Florida, so there was little variety. One of the more interesting results of having a ship full of complainers is that if you were nice, you really stood out. In fact many of the waiters at the restaurants asked us if we could come back every night because we were so nice. We thought that was quite telling and a little amusing.

 

On the up side, I think because of our demeanor, we always got a table when there were none available and often given free drinks. Go figure. Win one for the nice guys!

 

Enough of that. There are a couple of things to keep in mind about Regatta. The chaise lounges around the pool are "reserved" very early with passengers leaving books, towels, etc. and then disappearing for hours. This is particularly an issue on days at sea. Oceania tries to address the “reservation issue”, but is unsuccessful. One solution could be to add more chaises in different locations/decks for those folks who really just want to read in the shade. Interestingly, Ren never had this problem with the same number of passengers.

 

The restaurants can be VERY noisy. The voices bounce off the windows surrounding the restaurants. We went to the Italian restaurant for a romantic anniversary dinner and were placed at a table for two at the back of the restaurant. Romantic, right? WRONG! The problem was there were two tables for 8-10 adjacent to us who were trying to out yell each other. We were relieved when their food came, because the decibel level of the restaurant reduced significantly and my husband and I could actually hear each other. Not exactly the romantic dinner we had in mind. We had a similar situation with the Polo Grill. Do not have them seat you at the tables in the back. They are too noisy. The best and quietest tables are along the sides.

 

The food on the terrace was unpredictable. It was suppose to have this great paella. It did not. In fact, I even tried some fresh from the kitchen thinking it would be the best. It was still not very good. Desserts are always great. Other dishes were good. Pork chops in the Italian restaurant were fabulous. Steaks at the Polo Grill were fabulous.

 

As far as the cabin was concerned, I was disappointed our veranda room did not have a refrigerator, but we took matters into our own hands. We brought a soft sided “cooler” with us and made our own. We also brought wine. Since we drove to Miami, it was not a problem. Folks flying may have more of a challenge. Rooms are comfy, but very small. That is one of the reasons we selected Silversea. The cabins are larger. Also, the penthouse rooms on Oceania were not that great of a bargain and not that big. The owner's suite would be the way to go on Oceania, but they get pretty pricey.

 

A word to the wise. My husband and I love to travel, but we are NOT travel agents. There are many people on the message boards that are travel agents (or friends of travel agents) and sometimes I wonder what they are thinking. One travel agent in particular (who shall remain nameless) was so cheap that she demanded the guide on the excursion in Dominica comp her and her husband because she had a group. The excursion was only $20 per person. It was not like it was $50 - 100 each! Then she did not even tip the guy. Can you imagine? This guy is living at poverty level and gets stiffed. Nice people! Even a few bucks would have been a nice gesture.

 

It seems that if Oceania is giving trips away or providing travel at greatly reduced prices, the travel agents will continue to say whatever will keep the trips flowing in. I have noticed on the Oceania boards (cruisecritic and Yahoo) that if negative items are brought up, the travel agents and their buddies will quickly jump in and get very defensive and lambaste the offender. So if you want an objective opinion, I suggest asking those who are not travel agents. Don't get me wrong. I love our current travel agent. I feel as if she gives us the straight scoop rather than what she thinks we want to hear. We fired the travel agent who booked Oceania because we knew more about the cruiselines and trips than she did. So she missed out on booking a very expensive Silversea trip.

 

One area that has not been discussed is the cruise director. The guy we had on the Regatta was a joke. He was one of the most unfriendly guys I have ever met. I think he went to the Insignia after Regatta, but there is no telling where he is now. For some reason, there is a travel agents-led cheering section for him on the Oceania board, but I have no idea why. Every time we saw him he looked hung over and barely offered a greeting or smile. I think if my husband and I were travel agents, the cruise director probably would have treated us differently! The blonde woman who served as some kind of hostess and also sang was fabulous, however. Sorry, but I cannot remember her name.

 

Incidentally, the way Oceania celebrated Christmas was a joke. There was barely an acknowledgement. New Year’s Eve was fabulous, though.

 

Will be sail Oceania again? Not sure. We got tired of the nickel and dime and 18% charge on top of every drink. By the way, that is another reason we selected Silversea. As far as the clientele, something tells me we will not have to deal with the excessive complaining on Silversea.

 

In a nutshell, when we select cruises we look at itineraries, cabins/ship, cost and amenities. We were attracted to the country club casual of Oceania, but we think a few nights of dressing up will be fun on Silversea. We like the smaller ships. We are not big crowd people. That is what bothered us about the pool area on Oceania. It was ridiculous. Being on a ship with 2000-3000 people does not appeal to us either. Overall, I suspect Silversea will be worth every dime. Since we are celebrating my husband's 50th birthday, we selected the 14 day Christmas trip. I have a feeling it will be fabulous.

 

I hope this information is useful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[slgjhg]

Hi all,

 

I just wanted to get back to the threads I started and say "Thank You" for your personal experiences you shared and the advice you provided. I really appreciate it. I can't believe that in such a short time I have, as a result of these board, booked a cruise with Silversea. We are going to do a short trip i n February on the Whisper. I found it at an auction and simply couldn't resist. When I spoke with my TA he couldn't believe it. Silversea is something I have wanted to do for some time. It is wonderful to realize that I am going to do it. (Um, I hope I don't have a crisis of expectations.)

 

I have also done a good deal of exploring on the internet and in the library.

 

But special thanks to all who took their time and energy to respond to my questions.

 

Regards,

 

Shannon

[meow!]

Could you be so kind as to tell us what type (though you are not supposed to give names as per the rules of this board) of an "auction" it was, and how many percent discount you finally got? Thank you.

[slgjhg]

Meow,

 

It was an internet, well known I believe, site. After checking Silversea site, it appears I "won" the cruise for an additional 10% reduction. The savings would have been much greater if I had not upgraded to veranda suite. They are clearly very caucious with Silversea, you can not see what the winning bid is unless you are the winner. I have tried to no avail. The offered itineraries are very limited but they have been on the site since May.

 

Regards,

 

Shannon

[meow!]

Thank you for your reply and congratulations. This sounds reasonable: the agent gets 10% commission from Silversea, and some agents may get further volume discount, and I wonder whether some agents may "pair" your reservation with some Venetian club member to further lower costs, and give you a total of 10% discount, which benefits both you and themselves! In any case this is the Oceania column, may be such information will be more beneficial in the Silversea column instead.

 

P.S. By the way, we have also been enticed to try Silversea for once this December (out of long awaited curiosity as well) due to their recent deep discounts, making them not that much more expensive than Oceania with everything considered.

[slgjhg]

Meow,

 

I think you are probably right. This would perhaps be of more value on the silversea board but that is not where you posted your question. Nor is it where I posted the answer. My original questions about the various lines are posted on several different boards and here we are, so what does that mean?

 

I wonder if UK1 could care about where or howmuch someone got a veranda suite for, when he only talks about Silver and Owners suites. Or some of the others who speak with authority and then are contridictaded by Host, Richard.about size and various amenities of this or that suite. Excuise me but I am just excited about doing this, once. Also, just because it is not posted where you might think it should be doesn't mean it isn't read. Have you ever looked at those #'s? Often there might be a post with 3 replies , yet many many more people have read the post. So what does that say?

 

I think it says people are paying attention. They have an interest, even if they don't speak (post). They want to know what is going on.

 

Regards,

 

Shannon.

[meow!]

Actually I agree with you and appreciate this interesting discussion which just happened naturally on this thread. What I meant was that I was just worried that as a consequence some others might say that we were veering "off topic" in this column!

[narob]

We are sailing the Insignia in a couple of weeks to visit the Black Sea and are really looking forward to it! We know a new cruise ship will have some service issues and the fact it runs four different restaurants has to be challenging. We have been on the Silver Shadow, when we did Egypt and Greece last year(during the war). It was one of our greatest cruises ever, but more so for the locations and the fact that Silversea threw in the land package in Egypt and the ship was one third full. Even their service and food was not letter perfect, but we never dwell on the negative of a cruise, but all the positives---never had a cruise, we didn't like. Keeping all that in mind, we are going for one third of the daily rate of the Silversea ship, so even with add-ons, I don't expect Oceania to ever approach the rates of Silversea, which makes Oceania an incredible value. That being said, we don't expect Oceania to be equal to Silversea, but attempting to come close at a fraction of the rates is good enough for us. Check back with us later, in October, when we recover from re-entry.

[slgjhg]

Hi All,

 

Thanks for your comments and perspective. Mostly though, I appreciated your positive attitude. If you are leaving in a couple of weeks, we may cross paths. We are sailing on the Royal Sept.16th out of Rome for 30 days to Bangkok, we have stops in Istanbul and Kusidasi before heading to Egypt.

 

Have a wonderful trip, Istanbul is wonderful, I can't wait to return.

 

Regards,

 

Shannon

[Sculpta]

Nothing irritates us more than nickeling and diming........we will not sail on Holland America because of that...will try Oceania, but if they do it, we will not return and go back to ole faithful, Silversea.............or Raddison, which we would anyway- nothing like it on the seas.

[Jancruz]

I suggest the following:

Figure out the difference in your fare between Radisson or Seabourn and Oceania put that amount in your on board account when you board Oceania..then you can have everything you want, cokes, water, gratuities ,wine with dinner and even have money left over and there will be no nickle and diming as it will all be paid for !! I always laugh at that expression, as if you havent paid for everything you get on all inclusive ships one way or another..

Jan

*****

[RMAC66]

Hello Jan

 

First time cruiser question. I Understand that we need to secure our on board expenses with a credit card but is paying an amount of money "down" with cash or travelers checks an option? Have had the credit card woes in the past and do all we can to avoid trouble now! we are cruising on the Insignia in october. Thanks for your help, Maybe this is a question direct for Oceania.

 

Aloha

Ryan

[ClaudiaF]

you can pay your bill at the end in cash or travelers checks or leave it /some on your credit card -your choice..you just need to handle it at reception at the end of the cruise -not the day you get off -before ;-)

[Jancruz]

Claudia is absolutely right..you can pay your bill anyway you choose, it is not a problem..

Jan

*****