New to Oceania....have some questions

[MOYSHA]

We are thinking of going on the Nautica this summer( Rome to Athens). This will be our first time on Oceania and wanted to get input from our fellow CCers.

We have, in the past preferred Celebrity. Can you compare the Nautica to Celebrity as to service, dining, shows, friendliness of staff and any other comparisons. I assume that even though it's the summer, the amount of children on the ship is minimal.

We are "down to earth" late 60's, .

Thanks in advance for your input, it's important to us

 

Al

[StanandJim]

Can you compare the Nautica to Celebrity as to service, dining, shows, friendliness of staff and any other comparisons. I assume that even though it's the summer, the amount of children on the ship is minimal.

We are "down to earth" late 60's, .

 

 

We find Oceanias' food to be in a whole different league than X. This may be a function of serving 640 versus nearly 3000 on the Solstice.

 

X has a high profile decoration style (The Olympic Restaurant on the Millie for example) which was intriguing at first.

In the long run, however, we find the cool elegance of the Oceania ships more soothing.

Frankly, we find the lawn club and the hot glass shows to be misplaced onboard a ship.

 

Service too, is better on Oceania, again because with fewer passengers to serve the staff has a chance to learn your preferences, and the time act on them.

 

The shows on Celebrity are bigger and more elaborate. By virtue of the smaller stage in the showroom,the smaller audiences, and the smaller budgets, the entertainment on O is not a strong point.

 

These European itineraries are so port intensive, however. that we're seldom in the mood for a show after dinner.

 

It should be noted here that if you doze off in a Celebrity showlounge, you might get away with it. On the Nautica, the lounge is intimate enough that the entertainers can see and hear you!

 

There are very few children onboard Oceania ships, seldom more than 5.

[tak2]

I was on Millenium Barcelona to Venice in 2005, Insignia Istanbul to Barcelona 2007; Infinity South America 2007, Insignia TA Lisbon to Rio 2008. Balcony level cabins.

 

I was won over by Celebrity in 2005 ( was fan of HAL before ), but once I tried O, I'm now convinced it's head and shoulder above X. Many O passengers are seasoned cruisers and travellers, which I look at as a valuable experience. The service is very much superior in the dining areas, particularly at the supervisory levels. But it does get some new staff that may not fit into the O philosophy of " we not just have a duty to please, we have a desire to please " but by and large we found a very strong following of this philosphy in the dining room staff. Ambience of dining and quality of food again is far superior on O.

Cabin steward performance I would rate as equal, but cabin quality such as furniture and carpet are kept up better on O, simply because they refurbish these ships so often!( all three O ships refurbished , or will be refurbished, 07,08,09)

Entertainment is well known to be a weak point of O, and they are not denying it. They go on these port intensive cruises that most passengers do not even notice .

Small size of bathroom, particularly the shower, is a common area of complaint. I much prefer the shower on X.

Because of lack of facilities that appeal to children, O ships are not attracting families with children. The ship is small, which makes it very easy to get from point A to B, and getting ashore is swift because it only has one third the passengers of a X ship. If you like socializing with fellow passengers, you keep running into new met friends on this ship. On the other hand, O does not have much public space to walk around, so some people may feel bored.

Internet speed is much slower on O, and more expensive per minute, a source of frustration if this aspect is important to you.

 

Although I now favour O, I am still going on Millenium in March. Then I'll go on Regetta in September. I'll be in a better position to compare after some updated comparisions by October.

[nparmelee]

Our X cruise was on Summit, veranda cabin, I think they called it a concierge class. Personally, I think the size of that cabin and bathroom is very similar to O's A and B class cabins. We prefer the O furnishing, they seem to be a touch better than on X. We prefer the food on O, probably because they are cooking for less people so the quality just seems to be more consistent. The buffet on O is much better than on X for us. On vacation we like our espresso and capuccino in the mornings and its nice to not have to sign a charge slip for those. Service to us is slightly better on O, we prefer the any time dining to the set times and tables. Entertainment is definitely the lagger on O, for us that is not important as we rarely go to the shows on larger ships anyway.

 

We like the smaller ships, it seems easier to get to know other people on board. There are rarely lines and if there are they seem to move quickly.

[tak2]

Our X cruise was on Summit, veranda cabin, I think they called it a concierge class. Personally, I think the size of that cabin and bathroom is very similar to O's A and B class cabins. .....

.

 

X M-class cat. 2 balcony cabins are 170 sq. ft, same as O A/B cabins in size but O's bathrooms are smaller. Concierge class on X ( again, M-class) is 190 sq. ft, plus a slightly bigger balcony . Concierge class on O offers 2 more guaranteed reservations in specialty restaurants.

In my comparisions, I used M-class because OP stated preference for Celebrity in the past, and M-class would be more or less same age as Regetta class.

[Bruin Steve]

We are thinking of going on the Nautica this summer( Rome to Athens). This will be our first time on Oceania and wanted to get input from our fellow CCers.

We have, in the past preferred Celebrity. Can you compare the Nautica to Celebrity as to service, dining, shows, friendliness of staff and any other comparisons. I assume that even though it's the summer, the amount of children on the ship is minimal.

We are "down to earth" late 60's, .

Thanks in advance for your input, it's important to us

 

Al

 

Al,

I guess my viewpoint is somewhat different than most you will find on this board.

I am an Elite level Captains Club member on Celebrity and I have cruised with Oceania once and am returning for a second Nautica cruise in June.

 

BOTH line are very good at what they do...just different. Both have their good points and bad points and strengths in some diffent areas.

 

Personally, I prefer Celbrity...but I enjoy Oceania as well...If both had offered the same itinerary at the same time of year, I likely would have opted for Celebrity...I think it's better value for the money...and we like the more lively nightlife and entertainment...

 

We've twice chosen Oceania--for the excellent itineraries mostly, but also because there is quite a lot they do well...

 

I will try to be as objective as possible in comparing the two:

 

Ships: Thoiugh three times the size, I have never found the Celebrity ships (M-class being my typical choice) to be crowded in any way...The space-per-passenger ratio on the M-class is actually slightly better than on the Oceania ships. The larger ships allow for more and larger amenities--the Oceania ships have most of the same amenities--just fewer in number and smaller in scale--smaller spa, smaller casino, fewer bars and lounges, pools and jacuzzis--it's all relative . About the only fundamental difference is that whereas the Celebrity ships have a theater with full stage and backstage facilities and other lounges which may host alternate entertainment, Oceania has but one lounge which must also double as the showroom--but which laccks the facilities to stage any elaborate entertainment.

 

Entertainment and nightlife: Whereas Celebrity has a nightly array of entertainment oprtions including grand production shows, we found Oceania's entertainment to be extremely limited. Many shows seemed extremely amateurish while some nights, there was no show (They did bring onbioard a fairly good magician for a couple of shows, but their version of a production show was the cruise director's staff singing a few numbers each. One night, they merely moved the Piano Bar pianist to the big room, another they had the "lecturer" show her slide show and talk about Benny Hill! One night the slot was taken by the Karaoke "finals". Except for the Casino, the whole ship seemed to be asleep by 10 each night...

 

Food: This is one are where I thought Oceania hit high marks...The food, both in the main dining room and in the specialty restaurants, was excellent. We also love Celebrity for their food, but Oceania did seem to top it...though "food" is often a question of personal taste...Really though, hard to find a bad meal on either line.

 

Service: To those who think Oceania's service is superior to Celebrity's, I disagree...Oceania has Open seating in the dining room--which can be a plus for oddball itineraries where you never know when it is you are returning from port and ready for dinner. But, since you don't have the same wait staff every night, they really never get to know you. We think Celebrity's service is excellent...and, by the second night, my waiters always know that I prefer iced tea...and refilled often, no lemon...the X waiters know me by name and the service is, IMHO, the best...I never quite get that with Oceania, though, to be truthful, I have no real complaints either--they are professional and do their job well...Service from the cabin stewards is about the same (Caveat--I have had suites on Celebrity that included the butler service and have not on Oceania, so I will hesitate to throw that into the equation since it would not be fair to "O")...

 

Cabins: I think Celebrity's cabins are a touch larger (Obviously, this varies by category), but Oceania's cabins are well-laid out and feel comfortable enough...

 

Food options: One plus point for Oceania is that the specialty restaurants come with no additional surcharge. The negative is that, other than room service, there are really no food options for off-meal hours. Most cruise ships, you can always head up to the buffet for a nosh of some sorts whenever you want...or 24 hour pizza...or something...On Oceania, heaven forbid you feel like a bite of something between 10 am when the breakfast buffet closes down and 11:30 when lunch starts or from 5:00 to 6:30 pm between Afternoon Tea closing down and the restaurants opening for dinner...or after 9:30 when dinner closes down...This is one of the hardest things for us to get used to...

 

Kids: Celebrity has a kids and teens program...Oceania does not. This does deter some families from cruising, so, overall, there are fewer kids...but, on our cruise, there were 25-30 kids--with little to nothing to do. I sort of wished they had some sort of activity program to keep them busy. That final "Karaoke" in the normal show slot was nothing but the 6-15 year olds taking turns playing at the mike...

 

Friendliness of staff: Maybe it's just me, but I find the staff on Celebrity MUCH friendlier...We play a lot of trivia games and on Celebrity, we tend to get to know all of the assistant CDs plus the Captains Club Hostess, the Concierge and others...Maybe it's just our Captains Club status, but they really do go a long way to make us feel like family...I never got that feeling on Oceania. Fewer people, but the crew is smaller as well--so a lot of the staff were still always rushing around. On our cruise, the CD himself usually hosted trivia, the Assistant CDs, as I noted, had to put on shows, etc.

 

Shore excursions: Assuming you may want to take some througfh the ship, we've found the selection offered not as good (fewer passengers, fewer offerings) and the prices for the same tours to be a bit higher.

 

Hotel packages: We have on some occasions opted to go with Celebrity's hotel packages...Don't even think about it with Oceania--every package we have seen has been unconscionably overpriced --like $1000 per night for a hotel I can book myself for $269 (--and stayed there pre-cruise last time for $113 per night--Conrad Istanbul--though I see now, they've taken that option off the board)

 

Overall: Really, though, even though there are differences, BOTH are pretty nice cruise experiences...The passenger demographics are really quite similar, both ships have a degree of elegance and class, you will get great food and service either way, you'll get a really nice itinerary. I'd say if you love Celebrity, you'll still enjoy Oceania--though you might note some of the differences, just realize it can't be the same thing and doesn't try to...

It's a slightly different experience you may ALSO like--without having to compare every detail...

 

You get a smaller, quieter ship with a little less to do...But you do get great ports, excellent food, elegant service...You don't have to dress up for formal nights or rush to the dining room the same time every night...You have some entertainment, but it won't be the high point of your cruise...You'll likely meet nice peoiple and you'll enjoy the vacation...

 

Good luck...

[suec12]

I have sailed quite a few of the cruise lines (but not Carnival) and also really like Celebrity. We had a booking on the Solstice, departing Rome and going to Greek Isles. But we have changed to Oceania, our first cruise with them upcoming in May. If Celebrity had offerred the same itinerary, I think I would have stayed with them since the cost is much less. But Oceania has more time in the Greek Islands and ends in Istanbul (the Solstice departed and finished in Rome - a lousy departure port IMO). So I am in fact excited about trying Oceania but I do think Celebrity has a good product as well.

[arzz]

suec12 -- we too were booked on Solstice (RT Rome to the Greek Isles -- Nov 9 -- we perceived it to be our best affordable option to spend some time in Greece) and just exchanged that cruise for Athens to Istanbul on the Nautica Oct 29. Shortly after booking the Solstice, Celebrity canceled the port at Rhodes so that we would have had three seas days out of 11 days on board and one less day in Greece -- the difference between these cruises seemed to really be this: On the Solstice we could take a cruise that made some stops in Greece -- on the Nautica we will really be seeing Greece and we just happen to be traveling in shipboard comfort. With the anniversary sale the prices of the two are not that different.

 

I have cruised Celebrity and Azamara, each one time -- neither line was distinguishable in any particular way -- we prefer HAL (for us it is the little things not the big ones) -- but after the Nautica in November, who knows?

 

It is the itinerary that drives the cruise decision for us with the cruise line and affordability following.

 

We are just plain happy on a cruise ship -- and delighted to be really seeing Greece.

[hondorner]

This is an interesting thread for me, but for the opposite reason -- we just booked our first cruise with Celebrity. We are sailing on the Mercury for a 7 day cruise in Alaska on Aug 23, 2009.

 

Now, I know that Celebrity has newer and larger ships than the Mercury, with more restaurants and amenities, and the Infinity does almost the same itinerary out of Seattle. But, the dates of the Mercury sailing suit us better, including our anniversary on the 28th and working around our daughter's birthday.

 

So, I looked at standard verandas, concierge class, the new sunset verandas and found them all within $20 or $30 of each other in price. Thinking that the sunset verandas (at the aft end of the ship) were like the desirable aft balconies on Oceania, but slightly larger, I initially booked one. then, I discovered they are like a shotgun apartment with a smaller bed shoved to one side and a family pull-out on the other side of a divider, that you can't see the balcony or the TV from the bed, and the balcony has no overhead and is directly below the kid's pool. I quickly nixed that, and ended up with a Sky Suite for not very much more, still less than an Oceania balcony.

 

Part of the reason I took the suite was because in my opinion, the fixed seating is a total drag, and formal nights are a burden. We prefer to eat early, yet the 3 ports are all late departure times, and we would have to give up port time to hurry back and get ready for dinner. On those nights, we would prefer to eat late, but have no choice on Celebrity -- we either eat late every night, or we eat early every night and miss port time.

 

We had already decided we would not eat in the dining room on formal nights -- too much trouble and too pretentious. But, we discovered the Mercury does not have an evening buffet -- the buffet is closed, and the space is turned into a casual dining area with menus -- and waiters in training for the main dining room. Plus, one has to make a reservation for the casual dining. There are no other alternative restaurants.

 

So, we ended up taking a Sky Suite so we would be more comfortable eating our dinner in the suite, with butler service, because I doubt we will eat in the main dining room more than twice. The only downside of that is that the suite has only a tub/shower, and we prefer not to have to step over the side of a tub to take a shower (one of the reasons we don't take a penthouse on Oceania).

 

All in all, once one gets used to Oceania, it is really difficult to go to other types of service. The Oceania way just seems to make so much sense, and be so natural and comfortable.

 

I know we could have solved some of our problems with the Mercury by going on a larger Celebrity ship, but that brings its own set of problems and annoyances.

 

I wish Oceania went to Alaska...

[wripro]

Once there are two new ships in Oceania's fleet you may get your wish about Alaska.

[Meribeth]

hondorner,

 

You'll be pleased with the sky suite. If you have a choice, take one on the Sky deck. The balconies are bigger and there are no cabins over you. You'll have great views in Alaska.

[jerseygirl3]

This is an interesting thread for me, but for the opposite reason -- we just booked our first cruise with Celebrity. We are sailing on the Mercury for a 7 day cruise in Alaska on Aug 23, 2009.

 

Now, I know that Celebrity has newer and larger ships than the Mercury, with more restaurants and amenities, and the Infinity does almost the same itinerary out of Seattle. But, the dates of the Mercury sailing suit us better, including our anniversary on the 28th and working around our daughter's birthday.

 

So, I looked at standard verandas, concierge class, the new sunset verandas and found them all within $20 or $30 of each other in price. Thinking that the sunset verandas (at the aft end of the ship) were like the desirable aft balconies on Oceania, but slightly larger, I initially booked one. then, I discovered they are like a shotgun apartment with a smaller bed shoved to one side and a family pull-out on the other side of a divider, that you can't see the balcony or the TV from the bed, and the balcony has no overhead and is directly below the kid's pool. I quickly nixed that, and ended up with a Sky Suite for not very much more, still less than an Oceania balcony.

 

Part of the reason I took the suite was because in my opinion, the fixed seating is a total drag, and formal nights are a burden. We prefer to eat early, yet the 3 ports are all late departure times, and we would have to give up port time to hurry back and get ready for dinner. On those nights, we would prefer to eat late, but have no choice on Celebrity -- we either eat late every night, or we eat early every night and miss port time.

 

We had already decided we would not eat in the dining room on formal nights -- too much trouble and too pretentious. But, we discovered the Mercury does not have an evening buffet -- the buffet is closed, and the space is turned into a casual dining area with menus -- and waiters in training for the main dining room. Plus, one has to make a reservation for the casual dining. There are no other alternative restaurants.

 

So, we ended up taking a Sky Suite so we would be more comfortable eating our dinner in the suite, with butler service, because I doubt we will eat in the main dining room more than twice. The only downside of that is that the suite has only a tub/shower, and we prefer not to have to step over the side of a tub to take a shower (one of the reasons we don't take a penthouse on Oceania).

 

All in all, once one gets used to Oceania, it is really difficult to go to other types of service. The Oceania way just seems to make so much sense, and be so natural and comfortable.

 

I know we could have solved some of our problems with the Mercury by going on a larger Celebrity ship, but that brings its own set of problems and annoyances.

 

I wish Oceania went to Alaska...

 

Don, since you've been so helpful to me with information regarding Oceania, I'm going to help you with your trepidation about dining on Celebrity. While you may enjoy eating dinner in your suite or balcony since you booked a Sky Suite (which, btw, are lovely and the balcony is humongous if you booked one on Sky Deck), don't be put off by the casual dining that is set up in the buffet area in the evenings. We went there 3 times on our last cruise, and we thought it was fantastic. First of all, while it is recommended that you make a reservation, if you do that the first time and then speak to the maitre 'd, he will do his best to make sure you have the time you want each time thereafter. They set up the tables with china and white linen, flowers and candlelight; we actually thought the ambiance was better than in the MDR because it wasn't as noisy. We traveled with friends and requested a window table for 4 passengers at 7 p.m., and we had absolutely no problem getting what we requested. As far as the waitstaff being in training, let me assure you, it is for that very reason that they will jump through hoops to please you. They are being watched and they want to move up, so you will get outstanding service. The nominal $2 pp gratuity is a suggestion and well worth it. The menu is not as extensive as the menu in the MDR, but it is perfectly acceptable...several choices for appetizer, soup, salad, entree, dessert. There is full bar and sommolier service, as well.

 

Don't give up on trying the casual dining. We feel it's one of the "best kept secrets" about Celebrity!

 

Jo-Ann