Vallesan

Thank you. Interesting post. I have just started to look at Explora as an alternative to Oceania. We have sailed 10 times with Oceania with another in a few weeks and then again in April. I’m less than happy with the reduced ‘perks’ but no price reduction so am looking for another line for the future. Have you sailed Seabourn, Regent or Silversea? If so how would Explora compare? Price wise they are all similar now. Have sailed on the ones I’ve mentioned but not Explora. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I’m sure Perrier and Pellegrino will still be available in the restaurants as they were before (fingers crossed!). I really dislike the Vero both still, and sparkling!

I did too! Sailed on Sirena and Nautica several times and have fond memories. Now, I just prefer the choice of restaurants on the larger ships but do miss the atmosphere of the ‘R’ class.

@1985rz1 ….. well said!

But only R class ships!

You can please some of the people some of the time ……… !!!

??? All ‘businesses’ are ‘for profit ‘ organisations?.?

I think the excursion credit has been one huge nightmare for Oceania. There have been so many complaints about tours being full and no others offered but even more of a headache I think has been when Oceania have cancelled a port, for whatever reason, and people were feeling very aggrieved that nothing was offered in ‘compensation’ for missed tours. I think Oceania will be glad to see the back of the headache causing ‘included excursion credit’!

You don’t drink alcohol so I’m not sure that Regent, Seabourn or Silversea would offer better value for money for you. We’ve only sailed Silversea once last year to the Norwegian Fjords and it was wonderful but that may have been partly to do with the spectacular scenery. The butler service in every suite may not suit everyone. Coming back to the cabin to find spectacles polished and shoes shined was just one step too far for us! We only sailed Regent once and that was enough …. give me Oceania anyday! Seabourn, we loved. Excellent service without being obtrusive, no butlers in majority of suites but the food wasn’t as good as Oceania. So to your original question …. ‘value for money’. Not sure you will find it on any of the lines I’ve mentioned. They are all pricing themselves out of the market for us at the moment. Oceania, at today’s prices, still offers us the best value. Tomorrow is another day!

Never seen any children on Seabourn. They may offer a kids program but I’ve never seen it advertised and actually I would say Oceania us far more children friendly.

Well makes me think! We are sailing October 2nd and have the ‘30 day prior to sailing’ discount letter. May just book a 2025 cruise now before SM disappears. If the price goes down we should still get the discounted price without SM if it’s worth having. If not at the very worst we will lose £300 deposit. A chance worth taking? Who knows??

Seabourn ‘compares’ to Oceania in some ways. Some aspects are better some aren’t. They are similar products but ‘different’. We love both but at the end of the day price for similar itineraries would be our deciding factor.

Your status will be ‘B3’ as you booked your cabin as a ‘B3’. When it’s upgraded to an A2 it will carry the concierge benefits.

I asked my TA to contact Oceania about the repair to the aft lift. “… they aim to have it fixed by the end of October”. At least I know that there will be a problem when we sail early in October. I can take suitable mobility equipment so that if all else fails I can use the stairs!

It’s all in te ‘terms and conditions’ of booking. Unfortunately not many people read them thoroughly.

Yes on our 10 Oceania cruises the Americans have always been the majority. In saying that it was the same on our Seabourn cruises and on RSS and Silversea. I think it has to do with the size of the ships amongst other things

NCL and Oceania may be under the same ‘umbrella’ but they are very different ‘creatures’. The fact that Oceania ships are very much smaller means the passengers are different, often more well travelled, who enjoy the smaller ships because they can dock in ports that the huge ships can’t. When you have travelled on your first Oceania cruise you will have a better idea of how different Oceania is to NCL or other large lines with huge ships. The fact of the matter is that on Oceania, in general, the majority of passengers are from the US so the staff know what American’s expect!

Yes and that will be exciting for them I agree but …. ‘American’ cruisers…. they will definitely already be familiar with them!

Can’t understand why the crew will be ‘excited’. They should already ‘know’ what ‘American’ cruisers are like because they are nearly always the majority on ‘European’ cruises! Enjoy your first time on Oceania!

Maybe even a double! Enjoy your cruise Orv.

Ahh! You take me back to a heart shaped pizza served by a dishy Italian waiter in a tiny restaurant on the Adriatic coast in 1966! Memories!

Definitely a different screen to the one we get in the UK! However, as I said above if it’s only to praise staff I’m sure you could use the address provided above. The staff will still be ‘praised’.

Can I just add that I have contacted guest services recently at GuestServicesEMEA@oceaniacruises.com I wanted a particular speciality restaurant booking and I was able to contact guest services at that address. Given that the object of the email is to praise some staff I think you would be able to do that via the email address above.

Bottom line of section “Call Centre Hours” underlined address is GuestServicesEMEA@OceaniaCruises.com

Sorry you have lost me! Why not wait until you board to then get the benefit of the silver level?