edgee

Not sure how value could constructively be added to the discussion. Since Oceania brazenly touts itself as having best cuisine at sea, I think it is fair to compare it straight up with cruise lines with much higher fare structures.. IMHO O food is equal or better with cruise lines that have much higher price points but because it is not all inclusive, for some who purchase alchohol and ship tours, the cost of an O cruise can equal that of some cruise lines with more all inclusive pricing.

Just disembarked 14 night Regent Splendor TA cruise. Also have cruised 27 nights on Oceania Vista in last 6 months. Regent is clearly superior in main dining room, both in terms of service, food quality and diversity of choices...not even close IMHO. Oceania wins in food options and quality in buffet and in Waves/ Outside Grill area, but service is better on Regent Staffed served model on O buffet creates crowding and IMHO the facade of being more sanitary without any documented better/healthy results. In fact the only time I have encountered a noro virus outbreak in more than 50 cruises has been on an O cruise. Specialty restaurants are a tie.

I am also on the ship. The internet/technical staff has told me July or August. Agree the current situation is not good.

We are three days from the end of our Splendor crossing Miami to Barcelona. We had itinerary changed on day of embarkation skipping Bermuda and Horta due to anticipated bad weather. Replaced with Nassau and Funchal resulting in 8 straight sea days. Weather has been warm and nearly perfect. Loved the sea days! I wish you an equally wonderful cruise!

My TA arranged a special several thousand dollar savings on a cruise I had already booked. Price was some kind of special offered through a few agencies but not offered on the RSSC website or to the general public. I lost shareholder onboard credit, onboard booking benefit and Amex Platinum...total of about $800 in onboard credit. Probably first time I have boarded a ship with zero onboard credit. Savings on cruise fare was so good I did not care.

I cruised Vista twice in a 3 month period. Floors in Terrace were terribly slick. Almost fell a couple of times during first cruise. Second cruise they had placed ugly long floor mats which help to alleviate the problem. Not sure they are permanent but OMG are they unattractive.

Agree tv is biggest issue.The speakers on the flat-screen are in the back, aimed right at the wall of adjoining cabin. We were in 9012 and the neighbor had to keep his volume below 7% or we could hear it. Crazy!

Regent is wonderful. Good luck.

10001 is a large suite with zero neighbor's TVs against your walls. Very very few cabins have that advantage.

Yes. Food is served by staff. Of course there are a few examples of locations where guests touch shared food surfaces, like coffee machines and self service cookie trays in lounges, but O is for the most part a staff served group of ships. I personally have a 180 degree different viewpoint. I am currently on Regent Splendor which has fewer guests on the ship and buffet area is all self served and very efficient. No crowding around areas waiting for staff to make salads etc. Is O any more sanitary due to staff served food? I personally do not believe it is..in fact out of 45 cruises the ONLY experience I have had with a noro virus outbreak was on an Oceania ship. However, many folks feel better with O staff served model..we all have choices in cruising!

Two cruises on Vista. Two bad experiences with neighbors' TVs turned very low still keeping me awake ar night. Staff acknowleges it is a pervasive poblem. IMHO nearly everybody will experience the "thin wall" problem on Vista if they cruise her frequently. It is a matter of luck depending on neighbors..not really what cabin you are in.

Thanks. I am on Regent Splendor now and reception desk supervisor helped open Vista and spent many months on the ship. (In fact I have met many staff who transfer back and forth between O and Regent.) He told me he is going back to O to help launch Allura. He said that the noise issue on Vista is one of the priority items they are addressing during construction to make sure it does not repeat on Allura. Hopefully, also for Allura, they will also rectify the bad design issues of the theatre.

Just bring your ear plugs and white noise machine.The noise bleeding issue between cabins is a damn shame on that ship!

A little more onboard reporting on Splendor's Starlink. Ran into the contract workers from Miami installing Starlink as we cross the Atlantic. They were closing a men's room just as I arrived to make use of it..needed access through the area to run some cable. We had really crummy internet on the old system today..worst of the cruise...still do not have an answer why it will take till at least mod summer for Starlink to go live on Splendor.

Agree! Seems that if they have to go through this on Vista, they would take same or similar measures proactively on Allura.