Oceania vs Regent food and buffet opinions

We have an opportunity to go on the Mariner for a week at a great price. We usually cruise Princess and Celebrity and have been generally pleased with the rooms and dining. We recently went on the Oceania Marina and were impressed with the upscale quality vs Princess and Celebrity (at a much higher cost but worth it). We really liked the quality of the Terrace grill on Marina because of the great selection of food and the speed we could get finished. Dinner was great there because we could have food equal to the Main Dining room in a buffet setting.

Could anyone who has been on both lines (Oceania and Regent) comment on the food. I have read reviews and found out the there is no dinner buffet. The buffet for breakfast and lunch at the La Veranda seemed to be not as good as the Oceania Terrace Grill. The La Veranda buffet turns into the SETTE MAR AT LA VERANDA for dinner which is a partial buffet. Is the Regent buffet as good as the Oceania? Since there is no dinner buffet, is the partial buffet as good as the Terrace grill at dinner.

It appears the rooms and excursions are much better on Regent than Oceania.

Final question: If the cost were the same what line would you prefer - I know that is very subjective but I like the food options on Oceania vs what I think Regent offers.

Thanks, Rick

I preferred Oceania's food as at lunchtime the whole terrace area is open whereas on Regent it is split into 2 halves so there didn't seem to be quite as good a selection. However I found Oceania were chasing you out at 2pm whereas Regent was much more relaxed. Also, of course, you have to purchase alcohol (either by the glass or as a package) on Oceania - with Regent it is included. Sette Mari was lovely and I did enjoy the food there and main dining was also very good and not too slow. To be honest, if you can get Regent for more or less the same price as Oceania I would go Regent.

Been there, done that Regent+1

Between just those two lines? Regent, IMO/E.

The Oceania buffet is large, for sure, but I much prefer regent. The regent salad bar is way better, and you can serve yourself. I really disliked having to try to communicate my wishes regarding my salad composition to someone who didn't speak English well on Oceania. Much easier to do my own salad making on regent. Since that is what I eat for lunch, it is a big deal to me.

Just disembarked from our first Regent cruise after 4 recent cruises on Oceania. IMHO there is no way on earth to compare the rather lackluster Regent La Veranda lunch or breakfast buffets to the terrific choices and excellent service on Oceania. We found that Regent salad bar options are minimal, choices of food from the grill are lackluster compared to the wonderful lobster, Kobe beef and other options for lunch on Oceania and the speed of service from grills to table are especially poor and inefficient on Regent compared to Oceania. However, on the positive side for Regent, their main dining room tops Oceania in terms of spacious available seating and the menus are about equal. We did have some hiccups with dining room service efficiency on Regent, but have also had those happen on Oceania. Did love the all inclusive aspect of Regent and found the staff overall more friendly and helpful than Oceania. Also, loved loved loved the walk in closets and bathroom setup on Regent.

Ironic, since I felt the Oceania salad bar was tiny and sparse compared to that on Regent. Don't eat beef or lobster at lunch so the availability of those was irrelevant to me, but there are way more options on the Regent salad bar than that on Oceania. Plus you can serve yourself, which again, for me personally is a big plus.

My favourite part of the Oceania 'grill' was the freshly cooked seabass - small but perfectly cooked - I think I had this every day for 10 days :D

Ironic, since I felt the Oceania salad bar was tiny and sparse compared to that on Regent. Don't eat beef or lobster at lunch so the availability of those was irrelevant to me, but there are way more options on the Regent salad bar than that on Oceania. Plus you can serve yourself, which again, for me personally is a big plus.

I agree Rachel, I thought the Oceania salad bar was exactly that--tiny and sparse. I'm a big salad person, so that was disappointing. That being said, the food on O in general was terrific.

But, if the cost were the same, we would choose Regent every time. For the great staterooms, and the all-inclusiveness, but mainly the ambiance--much friendlier than Oceania.

As for the serving, I suspect that *being served* is better, more sanitary, but it's sure not convenient, especially for a salad bar.

Oh, and I dare someone to post a thread like this on Oceania. They are pretty partisan over there.

I prefer Verandah to The Terrace. I dislike not being able to serve myself, I found the salad bar small, and Regent's tables are more elegant with tablecloths and crystal. I thought the specialty restaurants in Oceania were very good (Jacques was outstanding) while I didn't care for food in main dining room. It was not as good as Compass Rose (Regent). I prefer Regent to Oceania in all categories. I also found that although the service in Oceania was very good it was difficult to get to know the servers. They were good and polite but wouldn't spend much time chatting. We have met so many wonderful people in Regent that we look forward to seeing them again. They are like family. It's all a matter of preference but Regent is my line of choice.

Regent is far superior in Compass Rose and La Veranda. Oceania was better in Jacques (vs. Signatures) and their Asian Fusion Restaurant, Red Ginger (Regent does not have an equivalent to Red Ginger...... yet). Oceania's Terrace Café buffet had tons of food but we found the quality lacking. We watched spaghetti "cooked" in water that had become cold and was served to us. Also observed someone preparing a seafood dish trying to pry open a clam which is quite dangerous (depending upon whether the clam was dead when put into the water or simply was put in cold water). We noticed no major differences between Prime 7, Sette Mari and Oceania's equivalent dining venues. Last, yes - I have posted this on Oceania.

Obviously these are my opinions and yours may differ.

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Oh, and I dare someone to post a thread like this on Oceania. They are pretty partisan over there.

I have to wonder if the attack chihuahuas over there realize they're probably driving more people away from Oceania than enticing them to try.

IMO it depends on what you are looking for. In the MDR DH & I felt O dominated R. In the steak house R was clearly superior. We did not have a Jacques on the Nautica to compare to Signatures. Toscana was head and shoulders above Sette Mari. If you want good food we would vote for O every time.

On the other hand O cabins are small. We always buy at least a PH no matter what line and IOO the PHs on O are too small. A PH B on Voyager is perfect for us.

IOO service on both lines is superb.

The clincher for us is the included excursions. It makes life a lot easier.

Regent, given the right itinerary is the choice.

Having said all that our next cruise is on Seabourn. Neither R nor O was able to give us the combination of Baltic to Barcelona that we wanted; so we are doing a UNESCO World Heritage in the Med.

Funny, I thought Toscana was terribly overwrought. Too pseudo-Italian, all that crazy stuff with olive oils etc. And the food was just okay. Sette Mare has fewer pretentions, but I always found good.

Jacques was as good as, or perhaps superior to, Signatures. But Regent has nothing like La Reserve--that was a great experience, the equal of any fine dining I've done in my life.

NewLondon/Bill; y'alls World Heritage in the Med sounds wonderful. Also, well written comparison on O & R.