Switching from Celebrity to O

Has anyone done this? If so, why did you and are you glad you did or would you switch back/to a different cruise line?

We're loyal X cruisers (Elite Plus well on our way to Zenith), but the changes X has made recently have put us off. We enjoy getting dressed up on formal nights, now they have "Evening Chic". We always book a higher end suite that used to come with some special perks, like a private bar/lounge, but now that's being offered to cabins that paid 1/2 what we paid. It seems it's all about the deals and the discounts. I get it that there is competition out there, but it's watering down the brand.

We've looked at several O cruises. We like the cabins (PH Suite) and we understand the food is excellent (very important to us). The price is comparable, maybe a little more but not much. The only thing we're not wild about is the overnights in port. If I book a cruise I want to be sailing not docked. Minor though.

Share your thoughts.

Well O is resort casual all times throughout the ship. You can dress up but few do. It's really a trade off, we have decided we like the options of a larger ship at times.

We have sailed 7 different lines, however, mostly Celebrity (Price and itinerary met our requirements). We sailed on O's Marina in concierge class across the Northern Atlantic, with multiple stops on both sides.

The ship was incredibly beautiful; our balcony/concierge room was fine; loved the concierge lounge for drinks, snacks, magazines, and newspapers; guest lecturers during sea days were terrific. The crew was very good, but we almost never saw the officers anywhere on board.

Those sailing with us were mostly a mixture of Australians, Canadians, Brits, and of course, Americans. Most ages, I would guess, ran from 30s to 80s; there were few children on board (I think I saw 4). Fellow cruisers were very friendly, and obviously well cruised!

We both loved the food - outstanding! (That was one of the reasons we were encouraged to cruise the Marina by our travel agency manager.

We too are loyal X but have waiting for the right O deal to make the switch.... X has been a disappointment our last 2 sailings. I must say tho...that overnights are a plus for me...i like spending more time in port...with the exception of the caribbean

Has anyone done this? If so, why did you and are you glad you did or would you switch back/to a different cruise line?

 

We're loyal X cruisers (Elite Plus well on our way to Zenith), but the changes X has made recently have put us off. We enjoy getting dressed up on formal nights, now they have "Evening Chic". We always book a higher end suite that used to come with some special perks, like a private bar/lounge, but now that's being offered to cabins that paid 1/2 what we paid.

Read the Oceania brochures or website carefully so you know what you will be getting

If it will bother you not having people dress up or no formal nights then O is not for you

As stated it is country club casual or elegant casual .. people dress nicely but not many in formal wear or even suits & ties

If you want bar set up in your suite choose one of the top suites OS, VS or OC

You are free to bring your own spirits/wine for in cabin use also

There are many itineraries with no overnights just choose one of those if you do not like overnighting in the port

Do your research before you commit

I have done 10 plus o cruises

I'm on eclipse now and loving it.

We are elite and are in a suite

I have two more cruises booked on each line

Both are terrific

With reference to your comment about the private club, Sky suites did not pay half what you paid so access to Michaels club and imo it is a silly reason not to sail celebrity. If you like formal Oceania will disappoint. Folks dress up on celebrity much more than they do on o

I think suite /elite passengers are treAted far better on celebrity than on Oceania and I have sailed in suites on both lines. Here on celebrity we have a private restaurant a private club and private events. Oceania is far more egalitarian. Everyone is treated the same for the most part

Try it. It's very quiet. Not a lot to do. We love quiet. We have not gone to one event on this celebrity cruise by design. Some people who move from mass market to Oceania are bored. You have to try it to know for sure

We sailed almost exclusively with Celebrity for about 13 years. At its peak the food and entertainment surpassed that on O. But the food declined to the point where we looked elsewhere, and discovered O five years ago. No regrets. We love O (except for the dismal shows.)

Harry and Carol

We sailed almost exclusively with Celebrity for about 13 years. At its peak the food and entertainment surpassed that on O. But the food declined to the point where we looked elsewhere, and discovered O five years ago. No regrets. We love O (except for the dismal shows.)

 

 

 

Harry and Carol

I believe luminae and blu have changed that equation

In those venues food is quite good. Specialties are excellent. We never go to mdr on either line

Is there a Terrace Cafe equivalent on Celebrity? I'm a big fan of the Terrace Cafe buffet.

I'm very interested in this thread because Celebrity is constantly being brought up on the Oceania board with so many comparisons. I was beginning to think am I missing something about Celebrity? I've never sailed them.

I sail on both X and O. I enjoy them both, but favor O if itinerary is the same.

When staying in a suite on X, the service is the best we have ever had along with the Michaels Club, Luminae, and perks that come with it.

I recently returned from OZ/NZ and S. Pacific on X. The demographic on the S.Pacific/Fiji Islands cruise (Aussie Spring break) was similar to our USA Caribbean Spring break and that itinerary was a mistake. Beware LOL!

However, the NZ cruise had an entirely different demographic on board and very similar to what you find on O. More mature, well traveled, quiet, and well dressed.

The buffet on X is not at all like the Terrace Cafe and I missed being served and the quality was not the same. I avoided it most days.

It is fun to change to a larger ship occasionally, and S class ships on X are beautiful.

.....we always book a higher end suite that used to come with some special perks, like a private bar/lounge, but now that's being offered to cabins that paid 1/2 what we paid.

Um, wow.

First of all, suites still come with special perks, like private bar/lounge and private dining room.

Those perks aren't offered to any cabin- only suites. But you seem to be saying you'd prefer those perks not be open to ALL suites, just people in the "higher end" suites?

Maybe you ought to charter your own yacht for a private sailing! Then you don't have to put up with folks who paid 1/2 of what you paid.

I sail on both X and O. I enjoy them both, but favor O if itinerary is the same.

 

When staying in a suite on X, the service is the best we have ever had along with the Michaels Club, Luminae, and perks that come with it.

 

I recently returned from OZ/NZ and S. Pacific on X. The demographic on the S.Pacific/Fiji Islands cruise (Aussie Spring break) was similar to our USA Caribbean Spring break and that itinerary was a mistake. Beware LOL!

 

However, the NZ cruise had an entirely different demographic on board and very similar to what you find on O. More mature, well traveled, quiet, and well dressed.

 

The buffet on X is not at all like the Terrace Cafe and I missed being served and the quality was not the same. I avoided it most days.

 

It is fun to change to a larger ship occasionally, and S class ships on X are beautiful.

I agree

Demographic on cruise from which we just disembarked similar to o

Suite service and perks better than o. Private restaurant and lounge wonderful

Buffet on celebrity to be avoided except for Asian dishes which are quite good

Um, wow.

 

First of all, suites still come with special perks, like private bar/lounge and private dining room.

 

Those perks aren't offered to any cabin- only suites. But you seem to be saying you'd prefer those perks not be open to ALL suites, just people in the "higher end" suites?

 

Maybe you ought to charter your own yacht for a private sailing! Then you don't have to put up with folks who paid 1/2 of what you paid.

Right

And it isn't half of what the op paid

We too are loyal X but have waiting for the right O deal to make the switch.... X has been a disappointment our last 2 sailings. I must say tho...that overnights are a plus for me...i like spending more time in port...with the exception of the caribbean

One thing that I think sets O apart from Celebrity is the itineraries. O frequently has point to point itineraries with different embarkation and disembarkation cities. Port times tend to be more generous, unusual (because of the smaller ships) and itineraries are more intensive. Also agree with other posters that Terrace is much better than the Celebrity.

We are totally itinerary driven and that governs the decision

We are also Elite Plus on X. I am going on O Riviera in March in a PH Suite. I will still continue cruising on X but their suite prices are now so high that I thought I would try another line. We have cruised most of the luxury lines but enjoy X for all the choices on a larger ship. Also do not want to cruise with too many kids. Will let you know how I compare the 2 lines after March cruise on O.

Another thing to consider if you are used to the segregated dining rooms & other areas (only for suites) on X you will be disappointed with O

Everyone mingles together

You have the Executive lounge for PH & above passengers but just non alcoholic drinks there & some snacks, newspapers etc...

Executive lounge is nothing like Michaels club. Judging from her post I agree the op will hate mingling with those not in top tier suites

Executive lounge is nothing like Michaels club...

Could you please elaborate on the differences between Michael's Club and the Executive Lounge? Thanks!

The executive lounge is a large room where you can grab a snack or a coffee or read the paper or use the one computer there (if you have an Internet package).

It is not a big deal. There is a similar lounge for concierge class

Michaels club is a large space with deep seating with snacks complimentary alcohol and other drinks and where there is entertainment at cocktail hour. It is only for suite passengers and many people socialize and have drinks there

Has anyone done this? If so, why did you and are you glad you did or would you switch back/to a different cruise line?

 

We're loyal X cruisers (Elite Plus well on our way to Zenith), but the changes X has made recently have put us off. We enjoy getting dressed up on formal nights, now they have "Evening Chic". We always book a higher end suite that used to come with some special perks, like a private bar/lounge, but now that's being offered to cabins that paid 1/2 what we paid. It seems it's all about the deals and the discounts. I get it that there is competition out there, but it's watering down the brand.

 

We've looked at several O cruises. We like the cabins (PH Suite) and we understand the food is excellent (very important to us). The price is comparable, maybe a little more but not much. The only thing we're not wild about is the overnights in port. If I book a cruise I want to be sailing not docked. Minor though.

 

Share your thoughts.

We recently completed our first Oceania cruise (35 days Cape Town to Miami) on the Insignia. We were in a Penthouse which comes with Butler service. We have been on two Celebrity cruises once in a balcony and once in a suite. The butler service on Oceania was head and shoulders better than the butler service on Celebrity. The food on Oceania was the best we have ever had on 15 plus cruises although the food in the Celebrity specialty restaurants is outstanding.

We found Oceania to be more relaxing and comfortable and loved the occasional extra port time given by overnights and/or late departures. There are no formal nights on Oceania so if you are looking for formal nights, you won't find them.

We will definitely cruise on both lines again.

We are on our first Oceania cruise right now, on Riviera and I can say we are impressed. We have more than 35 cruises on X and decided to leave the line after seeing far too many things that we just don't care for. We usually book a PH or RS on X so we know the perks you get with the suites, and to be honest, other than the free internet, none of the other perks mean much. We do not like Luminae at all and find the food there to be more fussy than delicious. We dine at Murano almost exclusively and have felt that it was the end all be all for restaurants at sea, but after experiencing the food at the specialty restaurants on Riviera, Murano has been bumped to 4th place, especially knowing that you don't pay extra for the specialties on Riviera. The variety of menu items on O when compared to Murano is huge with so many more things offered.

One thing that's different on O is we feel service in the Grand Dining Room isn't consistent as it has been on X. But in other areas, O exceeds our expectations in terms of service. We also prefer the buffet on X but Waves Grill is absolutely amazing.

If things continue to go as it has been, I can't see us returning to X anytime soon.

Right

And it isn't half of what the op paid

You're right. My upcoming TA on Silhouette I paid 50% more than the SS not 100%.

I was asking a question. There was no need to be snarky.

Micmacmissy: "Maybe you ought to charter your own yacht for a private sailing! Then you don't have to put up with folks who paid 1/2 of what you paid. " There's no need for that. Maybe you thought you were being funny, but it was just plain rude.

My comment regarding MC being opened to SS guests was a result of our most recent experience at Luminae on Reflection, where we had only ate there 3 times (on a 14 day cruise) and each time was terrible experiences and actually walked out once. The dining room was poorly managed and the staff was overwhelmed. We are concerned that the same will happen with MC.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback that actually answered my question. I appreciate it.

You're right. My upcoming TA on Silhouette I paid 50% more than the SS not 100%.

 

I was asking a question. There was no need to be snarky.

 

Micmacmissy: "Maybe you ought to charter your own yacht for a private sailing! Then you don't have to put up with folks who paid 1/2 of what you paid. " There's no need for that. Maybe you thought you were being funny, but it was just plain rude.

 

My comment regarding MC being opened to SS guests was a result of our most recent experience at Luminae on Reflection, where we had only ate there 3 times (on a 14 day cruise) and each time was terrible experiences and actually walked out once. The dining room was poorly managed and the staff was overwhelmed. We are concerned that the same will happen with MC.

 

Thanks to everyone for the feedback that actually answered my question. I appreciate it.

Russ,

There is a huge difference between:

A- Complaining that a lounge/dining room is overcrowded and understaffed

B- Complaining that 'passengers who paid 1/2 of what I paid' were allowed in the same venues as you

I'm glad you clarified, as option A is completely understandable and relatable to anyone on these boards (and more likely to generate helpful responses), while option B would make you sound as if you were insulting everyone who doesn't travel in a 'higher-end suite' (and there isn't much help for someone who has that attitude, hence the joke!)

With apologies,

MMM

:):):):)

If the op's issue is overcrowding in Michaels club as a result of the policy change that issue has been beaten to death on the celebrity forum.

Michael's club is underutilized. On our two week eclipse cruise from which we just returned Michaels club was frequently empty. It is most busy cocktail hour but seats were always available. Folks on board the reflection, the ship with the most suites, are reporting the same. It has been much ado about nothing

As for the private dining room, luminae, we felt food and service were truly outstanding, on par with anything we have experienced on Oceania