Vallesan

16 minutes ago, cruisingxpert said:

Has anyone looked at Explora Journeys?  I have been on 22 O cruises and went on my first Explora cruise in May and have a second booked in Dec.

Food is comparable to O and the Culinary Director Franck Garanger used to be Culinary Director at O.  You would even recognize several of the menu items if you have been traveling O for a number of years

OT cabins are a bit larger than O balcony cabins

Ship size is similar with approx 300 less passengers

Everything is included, Specialty restaurants(4) gratuities and drinks at anytime in the day- not just lunch and dinner

More pools and hot tubs than O

Beautiful loungers- even nicer than O ones which are very nice

Like O they have a great Terrace buffet which is even larger with lots of made to order items.

I took a look at 2 10 day itineraries in Feb 2025 and O with just grats priced at $675pp per day and Explora (all inclusive)  priced at $652pp per day  Canadian dollars because I get rerouted to Canadian pricing.

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.

3 hours ago, Jayne E said:

New “Included Perks” list Vero sparkling or flat water. Looks like no longer offering Pellegrino or Perrier? Another cut back….albeit small.

 

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!

3 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

1: I love R Class Ships.  2: For now. 

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!

2 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

I met Dondra, the Azamara CEO at an event last month. She's incredible down to earth and the vision she has laid out for that cruise line is awesome. Good things are coming from A. 🙂

But only R class ships!

22 minutes ago, basor said:

But this is what many people were asking for - back to the "old ways" where every thing was "al a carte" .....be careful what you ask for!  Just look at all of the postings about SM.....hate it, don't use it, don't want it, never sail O again and then when O goes back to the original "al a carte" - postings - hate it, never sail O again.  Not talking about pricing but exactly what you want included in the base price....

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

2 hours ago, shepherd really said:

Things we know:

Oceania is a for profit organization

Maximizing profit is why a for profit org exists.

Changes in policy will have the primary purpose of maximizing profits.

 

This is a bit of flailing about by O, an increase in prices to customers and an attempt to put lipstick on this newest pig of a price scheme while making it harder to actually assess the net increase in fares. 

 

IOW business as usual.

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

12 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

. Now with no excursion credit you’ll likely see a drop in passengers taking ship excursions and instead doing private tours. Not sure how that benefits the cruise line…

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’!

2 hours ago, Harters said:

I've been reading the current thread that O is scrapping Simply More. Not to repeat the discussion going on there but it now prompts me to consider alternatives to O which might be better value for money. Not necessarily cheaper (and even a bit more expensive) but a similar "inclusive" deal to Simply More and definitely with O's casual vibe (including dress code, etc). Viking and Regent immediately spring to mind but who else should I be looking at? 

 

TIA

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!

47 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

except they have a kids program and welcome families....

 

so if kids on board is not your thing, you may want to stay away from SB...

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??

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

For us, O is the best option at this point in terms of the overall package, but it doesn't mean we don't check other options. Going on our first SB cruise next week, will report back how does it compare to O.

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.

12 minutes ago, soccermom4 said:

We are booked on Marina for 2/2025 in cabin 7108 (extended balcony).  I paid for it as a B3.  The Oceania website has now been updated.  The deckplan that has it B3 is labeled "Pre-2025".  New deckplan has it as an A2.  It's our first Oceania cruise, so I really didn't care about having a Concierge etc.  However, now I'm curious about what our status is.  I'll reach out to our TA, but thought I'd ask here too.

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!

10 hours ago, cdfev said:

I guess not. When you pay the fares, I believe the provider should be forthcoming about why they made the change. Air and train providers routinely offer you alternatives if they cannot deliver what they sell you, I think a premium cruise line should do this as well. It is clear the Oceania apologists do not agree with this, and I do not believe this cruise line deserves such. I am very much a go with the flow and adaptable person and made the best of what I think was an improper way of handling the situation by this cruise line. You all are obviously much better travelers than I am and I apologize for noting what I think is bad customer service.

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

2 hours ago, Harters said:

Without question. I've done three cruises with O. One a transatlantic. Another a Barcelona round trip. And the third a UK round trip. Now it is certainly my impression that there was a higher proportion of Europeans on the UK one, but even so, we were still very much a small minority. 

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

2 hours ago, JCMass. said:

Last cruise on NCL, Oceania is part of that family of cruise lines, the General Manager came to the Meet and Greet and told us it was his first cruise from an American port.  He sat down and talked with a group of us about our likes and dislikes about cruising.  He was very experienced working on ships in Europe, he told us we were quite different.  I bumped into him again in the buffet dining area a few more times, he was talking to people about their experience.  He told us our dining habits were more casual, more of us in the buffet, and at the casual eating venue's.  He said we were very enthusiastic about cruising and enjoyed ourselves.  He was happy to be cruising out of the US. 

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!

2 minutes ago, JCMass. said:

Often they have time to be off the ship in a new country.  

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

44 minutes ago, JCMass. said:

We are embarking on September 18 from Boston.  We have been on other ships that hadn't been to the US in many years, the crew is usually excited because they have never been to the US.  Often the staff want to have conversations to see what the American cruisers like.  We have been told it is quite different than Europeans, especially with dining times, they like to dine later. We were also told we like to eat at more casual venue's during the day, Europeans like to sit down to enjoy all their meals.  Looking forward to our first time on Oceania. 

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!

10 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

I feel your pain. I recommend you take something for it:🍸.

Maybe even a double! Enjoy your cruise Orv.

6 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

……..

Best pizza I've ever had, Amalfi coast restaurants....in Cinque Terre, too, probably everywhere in Italy.

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!

1 hour ago, cruisefam38 said:

This is the screen I have gotten and the screen I am getting this morning

 

 
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. 

12 minutes ago, mlmdaisy said:

This is bizarre.  I just checked the link for a third time and see no e mail address.  Where exactly is it, please?

 Bottom line of section “Call Centre Hours” underlined

address is GuestServicesEMEA@OceaniaCruises.com

21 minutes ago, NewSalty said:

So it would seem that receiving that $100 bronze level award before the cruise is an anomaly?  It does show up on the website, and is available to use for pre -cruise purchases.  But I worry that using it may preclude it from being upgraded to the silver level award that it should be by that time. 

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