Celebrity VS Oceania

I was looking at some Oceania cruises and was wondering if anyone had an opinion on which would be the better option. S class Celebrity Penthouse suite with all the new perks or Oceania Regatta Owners suite. If both itineraries were acceptable.

thanks

Very different ships. Friends of ours have had the Owners suite on Regatta and loved the suite but where not fans of the ship due to it's lack of amenities. They like Seabourn so small doesn't bother them but they were not fans of any of the old R Class ships that they've been on.

We spent a lot of time in 2010 reviewing the whole cruise market [while looking for a cruise to Celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary]. We decided on the Penthouse on Eclipse. As I recall, it was Oceania's attitude to specialty restaurants. They would not permit you to eat in a specialty restaurant more than twice per cruise - despite them being at a fee restaurants. We would not countenance any cruise line who told us that we could not eat somewhere if we were paying for the highest level suite.

Add to that, Oceania ships are, in our opinion [an experience from Azamara], too small.

Since then, Celebrity have added their new suite perks and this, definitely, puts Celebrity in the lead.

Thanks,

I would not like being told how often I could choose the specialty restaurants either....

We spent a lot of time in 2010 reviewing the whole cruise market [while looking for a cruise to Celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary]. We decided on the Penthouse on Eclipse. As I recall, it was Oceania's attitude to specialty restaurants. They would not permit you to eat in a specialty restaurant more than twice per cruise - despite them being at a fee restaurants. We would not countenance any cruise line who told us that we could not eat somewhere if we were paying for the highest level suite.

 

Add to that, Oceania ships are, in our opinion [an experience from Azamara], too small.

 

Since then, Celebrity have added their new suite perks and this, definitely, puts Celebrity in the lead.

Never cruised Oceana so cannot compare to Celebrity. If you already have stayed in Celebrity PH ignore my comments and obviously use your own judgement. However, I really prefere the M class PH to the S class. It maybe older but the layout is to my mind much better. The balcony is amazing. We usually book RS on S class because we do not find the room layout and balcony worth the extra but on M class it has to be the PH.

Never cruised Oceana so cannot compare to Celebrity. If you already have stayed in Celebrity PH ignore my comments and obviously use your own judgement. However, I really prefere the M class PH to the S class. It maybe older but the layout is to my mind much better. The balcony is amazing. We usually book RS on S class because we do not find the room layout and balcony worth the extra but on M class it has to be the PH.

Sorry, I have to disagree! There are pros and cons to both the M-class and S-class PH but the layout of the M-class PH is not good. The flow is bad and the only good thing about it is the exercise I get just using the suite. The balcony is amazing. The butlers pantry is wonderful. There is plenty of hanging space for your clothes. The aft view is wonderful.

The S-class PH has, as I have said, the much better flow. It is lighter. There is amply drawer space [but not enough hanging space] for clothes. The bathrooms are light-years better than the M-class PH. The location is wonderful.

I would find it impossible to design the perfect PH because I want and aft view with a central location!

Well I am not a suite cruiser but have sailed both lines. I think (but please check) if you are in a suite on Oceania then you can eat pretty much as much as you wish in a speciality restaurant and I also think it is no fee. Can't comment on the suites themselves but the overall ships are very different. Regatta is a 600+ passenger ship, older, much more intimate and fewer "bells and whistles", you do not feel part of a swarm when you get off the ship. I would certainly give the food nudge to Oceania, even with the new Luminae experience, which we did eat in on our last trip. I would say speciality restaurants are comparable. I would say the passengers on O. are a more upscale group overall and service can sometimes be a bit snooty. But in the end, I woiild decide if I wanted a big "glitzy" ship with alot more passengers or a more refined small ship with less on board activities / entertainment options. Life is filled with difficult choices!

We have sailed Oceania twice. Once when they had just one ship and last November in a Vista Suite. We were on the Insignia the last cruise. First of all the suite was lovely. Great bed, and a half bath off the living room.

The food in the MDR was excellent, and the service was great. The speciality restaurants were nothing great, and we cancelled our other nights in them.

We found the ship to have a very boring athomesphere. There was nothing going on. One day I saw a bean bag toss being set up, and it looked like something you might see in a nursing home. We met some nice people who were new to Oceania, and they were not impressed.

I do not think the value is there...

Well I am not a suite cruiser but have sailed both lines. I think (but please check) if you are in a suite on Oceania then you can eat pretty much as much as you wish in a speciality restaurant and I also think it is no fee. Can't comment on the suites themselves but the overall ships are very different. Regatta is a 600+ passenger ship, older, much more intimate and fewer "bells and whistles", you do not feel part of a swarm when you get off the ship. I would certainly give the food nudge to Oceania, even with the new Luminae experience, which we did eat in on our last trip. I would say speciality restaurants are comparable. I would say the passengers on O. are a more upscale group overall and service can sometimes be a bit snooty. But in the end, I woiild decide if I wanted a big "glitzy" ship with alot more passengers or a more refined small ship with less on board activities / entertainment options. Life is filled with difficult choices!

No, we were told, two visits maximum even when we made it clear that it was a deal breaker. So, unless things have changed since 2011 ...

We also found Luminae to be considerably better than the specialty restaurants on Celebrity. As, prior to Luminae, we only ate in the specialty restaurants, we did have a firm baseline from which to measure.

We often cruise Celebrity but love the R class ships.

Oceania wins by a mile.:D

We have cruised both Celebrity and Oceania, and consider X a much better value. We did not think the food on Oceania was superior to X, although we always eat in Blu as Aqua Class. We also agree that Oceania seemed snooty to us, with a very non-diverse passenger mix.

In our opinion, Oceania is not worth the extra expense, and we'd rather sail twice on X than once on Oceania.

Although we prefer Oceania to Celebrity on almost every level, for us, the difference in pricing has become an issue. Since the price differential has become so wide, we no longer see the value in all that extra per diem that Oceania demands. Oceania has "specials" but that is only from their frankly insane rack pricing.

Also, we've been able to find better deals on Azamara lately, although they can be few and far between. We've got a couple booked there that because of the timing of booking we will be paying LESS than we would on Celebrity, and that is a big no-brainer for us.

We've been on Oceania, Celebrity and Azamara. If you are a "high activity" type person and don't mind formal dress or waiting in line then X is your choice. Yes, I know you can eat at the X buffet to avoid formal dress. If you prefer better service, food and "country club casual" dress then A or O are your choice. We also factor in itinerary and price as we still consider all 3 lines when planning a cruise.

PS O is rated a near luxury line and X is a premium or mass market line, if that makes any difference to you.

I was looking at some Oceania cruises and was wondering if anyone had an opinion on which would be the better option. S class Celebrity Penthouse suite with all the new perks or Oceania Regatta Owners suite. If both itineraries were acceptable.

 

thanks

We were on the Oceania Riviera earlier this year and loved it. We typically sail in suites but we did not have a suite with Oceania because the only added benefit was a few extra days in booking the specialty restaurants. I just did not see the value in getting a suite. There are two special lounges, one for suites and one for concierge guests. We were in concierge and thought the lounge was pretty useless. The concierge was extremely useless. All questions we had that are typically handled by concierge he could not do and referred us to different people. Friends that we made that had suites had the same opinion of the suites lounge.

With that said, it all comes down to what you are looking for in a ship. We do not do any of the activities and were very content with Oceania. If you enjoy shows and ship activities, then you may find Oceania to be boring. If you want a quiet ship with no crowds around the pool, then Oceania is perfect.

With Oceania, you can book each specialty restaurant once ahead of time. However, as long as you are flexible in your schedule you can book additional reservations once you are on board.

From a value perspective, I would choose Celebrity because you pretty much will have everything (i.e. all drinks, specialty dining, suites-only restaurant, etc). With Oceania, if you still want the suite, you will have specialty dining (as does everyone else) and a very beautiful suite.

We've been on Oceania, Celebrity and Azamara. If you are a "high activity" type person and don't mind formal dress or waiting in line then X is your choice.

The OP was considering a PH on Celebrity. With the new perks, it would be unlikely that he would ever have to wait in line.

I looked at one of their brochures recently and threw it away. The prices were almost double X's.

I looked at one of their brochures recently and threw it away. The prices were almost double X's.

That depends on what you are comparing. If you read this thread, it's high $ suite passengers doing the comparisons. That's different than someone comparing a Celebrity outside or a balcony to Oceania, Azamera cabins.

There are advantages to both....if you want a large ship, big casino, large stage shows, the answer is obvious. If you don't care, or prefer a smaller ship then the Celebrity Advantage goes away. Food is subjective, but Celebrity MDR pales vs the others being discussed. Luminae may make it closer but I suspect still a big difference.

Let's not forget that the smaller oceania/azamera ships can dock closer to "downtown" than the larger S-Class or even M-class ships. That can make a very big difference on some itineraries. It can also open some ports that Celebrity ships just can't visit.

Different strokes for different folks...

If not comparing specific staterooms, not apples vs oranges. We have been on Oceania 2x. Have sailed with Celebrity more times. We prefer "O" as more quiet, hardly any children, no photographers snapping tons of pics of us, better food, more choices, best beds, etc. We usually stay in balcony. Stayed once in concierge. Cabins same size in both. Lounge for concierge small, not great, nice totebag. Unless less than $200 pp difference, would chose balcony again. Even if u pick 2 dinner sites beforehand, afterwards, if u talk to the reservation table, if available, will let u pick other dates. Going on the Solstice this November so will see what Celebrity is changing since our last cruise 2 years ago

We have sailed on both; did not care for Oceania. We had a "regular" PH, really just a large cabin, nice enough!

That was just last year ... we ate in the specialties as often as we wanted ... probably 4 or 5 times in each (there were 2) ... on a 35-day cruise ... we made no reservations until we were on the ship.

Thanks to everyone.......

I think all in all Celebrity is a better fit.....I love the casino and like the occasional show.....and with luminae and free use of the specialty restaurants, and premium beverage package included I think it is the best mix. Again, thanks to all those with exp on Oceania for their take on the question.

I looked at one of their brochures recently and threw it away. The prices were almost double X's.

We booked a cruise on the riviera for august 2015 in the med (7 night)! The price was € 1.739,-- per person in the PH-Suite including the tips and the alcoholic beverage package. The price for the sky suite on the X Constellation in july 2015 (Med too) was about € 2.150,-- including tips, classic beverage package and $ 500,-- onboard credit!

We stick with a veranda or balcony cabin, so we can cruise more often.

The brochure that I reviewed, had 3 cruises that I was interested in but as I said the prices were roughly double what X charges (with the 123GO).

We have sailed Oceania twice. Once when they had just one ship and last November in a Vista Suite. We were on the Insignia the last cruise. First of all the suite was lovely. Great bed, and a half bath off the living room.

 

The food in the MDR was excellent, and the service was great. The speciality restaurants were nothing great, and we cancelled our other nights in them.

 

We found the ship to have a very boring athomesphere. There was nothing going on. One day I saw a bean bag toss being set up, and it looked like something you might see in a nursing home. We met some nice people who were new to Oceania, and they were not impressed.

 

I do not think the value is there...

We had the Marina(or Riviera) docked next to us in Jan. in the Caribbean. I loved how Celebrity had the cold wet towels/water etc. & Shelter from the heat. Oceania(which is supposed to be more upscale)had none of that. Certainly made us feel more special(Well, isn't that special!)

We booked a cruise on the riviera for august 2015 in the med (7 night)! The price was € 1.739,-- per person in the PH-Suite including the tips and the alcoholic beverage package. The price for the sky suite on the X Constellation in july 2015 (Med too) was about € 2.150,-- including tips, classic beverage package and $ 500,-- onboard credit!

For some reason the UK prices (and probably European sites too) on Oceania are much cheaper than those here in the US. I know this because some of my friends gave been booking Oceania through a UK website. Conversely the prices for Celebrity seen to be higher than what we pay here in the US. I dont know about suites but balconies and OV are WAY more on Oceania in the US even with discounts than I pay for Celebrity. I also sail solo so everything is double. Last year I took an 11 night eastern med cruise in Aqua for $2,300 single occupancy. In November 2014 I took a 13 night Med/Adriatic cruise on Celebrity for $2,200 single occupancy in a 2B cabin. I dont think you can come close to that even with rock bottom prices in the UK for Oceania.

We looked into an Oceana cruise last year. While airfare is included, they were very inflexible about making any changes unless you were booking one of their hotel packages that were outrageously overpriced. Otherwise you had to take a credit instead, which was way less than the average air fare. As a result, we went elsewhere.