New to Oceania

[LHT28]

oh oh. The comment about "way casual" got my attention too! I was planning on bringing a few sundresses and a nice dinner dress for one night on our Carib cruise. Should I stick with pants and capris and leave the dresses at home? My DH prefers me to wear dresses or skirts, but I don't want to stand out too much.

I take a nice skirt & top that mix n match with a pr of dress pants.

You will see all types of dress on Oceania ...bring something you like to wear.

 

We even saw formal dresses on the Panama cruise this yr.

 

Lyn

[Jancruz]

On Oceania think Chicos and Coldwater Creek and you will be very comfortable and appropriately dressed..People new to O tend to overdress and if they are comfortable with that (as I would be it is fine) there are so many threads on dress no one should feel uncomfortable with what they bring..it is true you dress as if you are going to a nice restaurant..but that to is misleading..some restaurants are "nicer" than others..

Jan

*****

[happy cruzer]

Ok, let's get specific.

 

On cruises outside of the Caribbean, in any of the dining rooms at night, will you see shorts, t shirts, blue jeans, baseball caps, tank tops? I don't care what folks wear but I do want to know what to expect.

[LHT28]

Ok, let's get specific.

 

On cruises outside of the Caribbean, in any of the dining rooms at night, will you see shorts, t shirts, blue jeans, baseball caps, tank tops?

 

On ANY Oceania cruise you will not see any of those dress codes in the dining rooms for dinner.

Maybe for lunch & breakfast you will see short in the dining venues but NEVER for dinner. :eek:

[hondorner]

The dress code is completely relaxed in the Tapas on the Terrace buffet. You will see shorts, tee shirts, etc. in that venue. Folks often use the terrace restaurant when they have returned late from touring and have not changed. Other folks just don't want to dress.

 

Having said that, I must add that if one takes advantage of that relaxed dress code for dinner, their choices for the rest of the evening are limited to walking on deck or going back to their cabin. The dinner dress code is actually an evening dress code, and folks who go to the lounges, showroom or casino are expected to be dressed as they would in the restaurants other than the terrace. We had some folks show up at the entertainment in shorts and while no one prevented them from entering, they really stuck out as misplaced. Or, maybe it was that the gentleman wore socks with his sandals and shorts...:eek:

 

But, if you stick to the deck in the evening, eat only on the terrace and are not visiting any conservative nations, it's possible to do the entire cruise in shorts and tee shirts -- we made the acquaintance of one couple who did exactly that on our Amazon cruise. They were interested only in the travel, not in the ship. They were great as tour buddies but we never saw them in the evening, except those times we ate on the terrace.

[Dale Jr]

Or, maybe it was that the gentleman wore socks with his sandals and shorts...

 

LOL. That is also a pet peeve of mine. Also in the same vein as those gentlemen who wear black speedos with dress socks and black shoes on the South Florida Beaches.

[LHT28]

The dress code is completely relaxed in the Tapas on the Terrace buffet. You will see shorts, tee shirts, etc. in that venue. Folks often use the terrace restaurant when they have returned late from touring and have not changed. Other folks just don't want to dress.

 

Yes Don

I forgot about the Terrace ...we usually don't eat there very often at night but even the nights we did most were in long pants or skirts.

Nothing like the attire on some of the mass market lines though. :)

 

Lyn

[LHT28]

Darn gremlins!!

[djr7879]

I think that I suffered from too much buildup about how fabulous O is and I was left disappointed with many things. Aside from an outstanding, rack of lamb from Polo Grill, I thought the food was average. I did enjoy the afternoon tea.

 

The staff and crew were WONDERFUL! Absolutely no complaints. The small size is also very nice.

 

The people on our ship dressed really casual. We brought nice clothes that were appropriate for a nice restarant in America and we were WAY over dressed.

 

The entertainment is really bad, but I didn't have any expectations so it was not disappointing. The string quartet that played at tea was very good.

 

The rooms, even our PH, were really small. The verandah was really nice, but doesn't offer much privacy.

 

Keep your hopes at bay and then maybe you will be pleasantly surprised.

Thanks for a blanced viewpoint...always very helpful. We have not cruised on Oceania before, but are strongly considering it. One question regarding the food; you say it is "average" and I have no basis to agree or disagree, but I am interested as to what it is "average" in comparison to. Specific other cruise ships? High end restaurants oo land? Thanks.

[happy cruzer]

Thanks for the update on the how folks dress in the dining rooms. Yes, I did expect the "buffet" to be casual.

 

And just a suggestion regarding djr's question, to make food a more objective subject, maybe the reviewers could mention things like

 

served at proper temperature

variety of choices

any special prep available

spiciness

service times between courses

quality of meats and seafoods

freshness of ingredients

 

Can you tell I like specific details? I promise to do a review after my cruise with too many details.

 

Thanks everyone.

[hondorner]

...One question regarding the food; you say it is "average" and I have no basis to agree or disagree, but I am interested as to what it is "average" in comparison to. ...

Perhaps a more reliable guide would be the average of comments from various passengers. I have now seen one call it average and a couple call it below average, but they balanced either out since one called it too bland and the other called it too exotic. On the other hand, over the couple of years I have been reading this board, I have probably seen 50 to 100 call it anything from excellent to great to "the best food on the ocean." Therefore, the average opinion probably falls somewhere in the range of "outstanding".

 

I think you are right on when you ask to what they are comparing it. For example, my normal fare when not cruising is TGIFridays, Applebees, Golden Corral, Pizza Hut and Checkers. If I said the food was average, you might have reason to worry. ;)

[caribbeansun]

In relation to high end restaurants on land it would be considered 3-3.5* at the very best.

 

In relation to other cruise lines I'm told it's much better although personally we had a better experience on Holland America - as I only have the two experiences on cruise lines I don't consider myself to have a sufficient sample to make that judgment.

 

FWIW our experience on O was comparable to LovesAffens post although I don't think I'd be quite as critical of the entertainment - the food didn't meet our expectations based on what we read on this forum but it would seem our expectations had been wrongly aligned with land based eating establishments.

 

 

Thanks for a blanced viewpoint...always very helpful. We have not cruised on Oceania before, but are strongly considering it. One question regarding the food; you say it is "average" and I have no basis to agree or disagree, but I am interested as to what it is "average" in comparison to. Specific other cruise ships? High end restaurants oo land? Thanks.

[LovesAffens]

I previously cruised on RCCL, Royal (now Orient, I think) and NCL and I thought that the food would be much better than the lines that I previously cruised on, but for the most part, I did not think so. I was expecting food so good that one would moan while eating it, so maybe my problem was with expecations. Someone asked for examples: every lobster that we ate was really dry and not very good, steak not cooked properly, bland italian food in Toscana, food not hot enough. Please don't get me wrong, it was not bad, just not as good as all of the reviews led me to believe.

 

As to dress, we were on the Istanbul to Venice cruise and I guess that again I expected a little nicer dress than maybe I would have for the caribbean. I took a couple of skirts and pants and a few dressy jackets to interchange. The first and only night that we went to the Grand Dining Room, I felt terribly overdressed. Most people were in really casual pants and just a plain top - some with sandals that were birkenstockish. Because of all of the information on the Oceania website and material, I was afraid that my dressy sandals with heels would be frowned on, but apparently not. We did wear shorts one day at lunch in the Grand Dining Room, but I didn't see anyone in shorts at night. We ate most of the time at Tapas on the Terrace because you could wear shorts and super casual sandals. The food was usually the same as the GDR, but served buffet style. They have servers who serve the food so that it is more hygenic than having passengers serve themselves. The pasta made to order there is excellent and they have someone making caesar salds to order which I also really loved. There is a chocolate fountain with many things that you can "dunk". It was lovely most nights and we were able to sit on the back of the ship and enjoy the evening.

[happy cruzer]

the details were very helpful! I understand where you are "coming from" now.

 

Thanks.

[Bahama Kid]

We are thinking about taking our first cruise on Oceania and find the comments about dress and food interesting. We've cruised on nine different lines and are now hooked on Crystal. When evaluating food, we use Crystal and Royal Viking as the standard - the best. Celebrity Mercury was quite good. After 42 days on Regal Princess - Ugh! We enjoy getting dressed up for dinner - makes the dinning experience all the better. We look forward to the at sea activities of which Crystal has a full schedule. We have heard that Oceania, in comparison, has few. Should we sail on Oceania?

[LHT28]

We are thinking about taking our first cruise on Oceania and find the comments about dress and food interesting. We've cruised on nine different lines and are now hooked on Crystal. When evaluating food, we use Crystal and Royal Viking as the standard - the best. Celebrity Mercury was quite good. After 42 days on Regal Princess - Ugh! We enjoy getting dressed up for dinner - makes the dinning experience all the better. We look forward to the at sea activities of which Crystal has a full schedule. We have heard that Oceania, in comparison, has few. Should we sail on Oceania?

 

That is a decision only you can make.

I cannot compare with Crystal as we have not sailed with them.

 

People do dress nicely for dinner (or at least on the 3 O cruises we have been on) not over the top but not NCL casual either.

Oceania has many things to do during sea days it just depends on your interests.

On a port intense cruises I just like to relax on the sea days but others like to be busy.

There are lectures, cards, computer classes, cooking demos, movies, jewelry demos, wine tastings, martini tastings, gym, fitness seminars, fitness classes.. probably more but cannot think of any right now ;)

 

Enjoy whatever cruise you choose

Lyn

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Not trying to be a shill for Regent, honest. But Regent is dressier, so maybe you could try them--they have reduced formal nights, but not eliminated them, and many cruises also have informal nights. I can't wait to do a country-club casual Oceania, myself. My husband hates wearing a jacket, let alone a suit and tie.

 

Why do you want to stray from Crystal?

[mike35]

Our two favorite cruise lines are Crystal and Oceania, but they are very different products. Our own "ratings", on a scale of 1 to 5 are - FWIW:

 

Crystal

*Cuisine -- 5 -- exceptional variety, one can have the chef prepare specific items, foie gras to die for, best frogs legs I've ever eaten, wonderful service

*Entertainment -- 5+ -- The best afloat -- world-class musicians, lavish production shows, class..class..class

*Enrichment programs -- 5 -- again, world-renowned lecturers, Yamaha piano lessons, Berlitz language lessons, computer lessons

*Staterooms -- 4 -- rather small but nicely appointed

*Service -- 5

*Negatives (for me) -- fixed dining only, formal nights

 

Oceania

*Cuisine -- 4.5 -- good selection, generally well-prepared. No made-to-order entrees.

*Entertainment -- 3 -- Minimal, but generally enjoyable. The four entertainers who sing and dance are quite congenial and mix with the passengers. Might have magician, violinist (who overcomes marginal talent with sheer volume on her amplified violin), etc.

*Enrichment programs -- 4 -- accomplished lecturers that may or may not offer information pertaining the the itinerary

*Staterooms -- 3.5 -- very small, very clean, very well organized

*Service -- 5 -- being smaller than Crystal, the staff generally knows everyone on board by name, and they truly seem to enjoy serving their passengers.

*Passengers -- many, many repeat passengers, well-traveled, perhaps a bit less "snooty" than those on Crystal

 

Again, this is just one man's opinion. As a cruise travel agent, I'm often asked what is my favorite cruise line, and I generally give my clients a similar analysis as stated above.

[Druke I]

I agree very much with Mike's posting above.

 

We've been on Crystal twice, and Oceania twice. We have two more cruises booked with Oceania.

 

I personally found not only some of the passengers on Crystal to be "snooty/snotty", but felt that some of the mid-management types had over-inflated opinions of their importance.

 

I seriously doubt that I would book again with Crystal, but then, you never know. Given the right itinerary, etc., I might well book Crystal.

[meow!]

I have not been on Crystal, and cannot comment on their service (intangible) and food (subjective). From the internet, I can tell that Crystal is expensive (tangible), for that price you can go RSSC, Silversea or Seabourn, and its cabins are small (real sq.ft. numbers as published by the respective cruise lines themselves), and roughly similar in size to Oceania, and much smaller than the other three mentioned. Of course, Crystal also has large premium suites, but for a price even higher than top suites in the other lines! That is without mentioning that Crystal has large ships with several times the number of passengers than other luxury lines, and a two-shift, pre-assigned regimentation of dinners and shows, unlike all other lines mentioned here!

[Jancruz]

I happen to think Crystal is one of the best..I wont go on them again however, because of 3 things

1) Set dining..I like the ability to sit with whom I want and eat at what time I want

2) Formal nights..I have passed the place in my life where I want to take out the formals and diamonds and pearls..give me a nice long skirt, Chico top and some lovely silver jewery and I am happy

3) Smoking on the balconies..enough said on that..

 

Food, entertainment, staff and speakers are all as good as if not better than O..so it really depends on what you as an individual or a couple are looking for..

Jan

*****

[mike35]

That is without mentioning that Crystal has large ships with several times the number of passengers than other luxury lines!

 

Huh? Crystal Symphony has 940 passengers, the Serenity has 1080 - hardly "several times the number of passengers than other luxury lines".

[meow!]

Yes, definitely: RSSC has five ships, Voyaguer 700 berths, Marina 700 berths, Navigator 490 berths, Paul Gauguin 330 berths and Explorer 390 berths, and these are the largest. Silversea has four ships, Shadow/Whisper with 382 berths each and Cloud/Wind with 294 berths each. Seabourn has three ships, Pride/Spirit/Legend with 208 berths each. That is a total of 4586 berths from a total of 12 ships, an average of 382 berths each. Compared to Crystal's two ships averaging 1,010 berths each, that is nearly three (several) times. If you take the median instead of the mean of the 12 non-Crystal ships mentioned, it comes to 350 berths.

 

P.S. For Antarctica, the RSSC Explorer carries only 198 passengers, further reducing the average of the non-Crystal group to 366.

[wripro]

Other reasons not to sail Crystal imo.

 

1. Ships too large to go to smaller ports. They have to dock much further away than say, Silversea or Seabourn.

 

2. This is true about Oceania as well.....tips and alcohol are not included. But on Oceania you can get a cabin for much less than Crystal so it's not as offensive. Crystal's per diems are as high or higher than Sebaourn, Silversea or Regent.

[wripro]

Other reasons not to sail Crystal imo.

 

1. Ships too large to go to smaller ports. They have to dock much further away than say, Silversea or Seabourn.

 

2. This is true about Oceania as well.....tips and alcohol are not included. But on Oceania you can get a cabin for much less than Crystal so it's not as offensive. Crystal's per diems are as high or higher than Sebaourn, Silversea or Regent.