CruisinShips

Random observation from a longtime CC poster, but an Oceania forum newbie: In other forums when discussions about suites come up, you invariably get the "must be nice", or the "I'd rather spend my money on other things" type comments. It's nice to be able to have these discussions without the feeling of coming across as insensitive of others.

I find myself still trying to process my opinion on the Virgin cruise, lol. It's just a very interestingly re-invented version of what I have been used to. No main dining room, but five upscale restaurants (no upcharge) that are, in my opinion as good as specialty restaurants on other mid-range cruise lines. No buffet, but instead a "food hall" setup with various restaurants from which you order from your table (not self serve). The food was all pretty darned good. The entertainment was pretty good. The ship was very modern, albeit a little less "intuitive" when it comes to getting around than some of the newer mega ships. It did not feel crowded. Hammocks on every cabin's balcony. The dinner and show reservation process was app based, and was stressful for many who had trouble getting what they wanted in advance. Not the case with "Mega Rockstar" suite category guests. Our Rockstar Agent (butler) was always around and handled all of our arrangements. Fully stocked and restocked bar in our suite. All of that was amazing...the crew was the happiest and most upbeat group I have ever seen on a ship. I will say if you're homophobic or otherwise uncomfortable with crew members sporting facial hair and/or tattoos, then this may not be the cruise for you. We saw it as people thriving in a work environment that let them be themselves. It was just a very diverse crowd with an energetic and 20-30 something vibe (in spite of the fact there were many people older than that) and I still don't know if I liked it although we had a great trip! I know that makes little sense!

For us, it's only the case sometimes. When you live within 45 miles of two major ports, and you like cruising, you tend to rationalize going on cruises with itineraries to Caribbean islands that all start to look alike. That's when the actual ship experience becomes more important. Contrarily, when you have a port intensive cruise that's based on a great itinerary, the ship experience is much less important IMO.

Actually, this long, boring post is about our cruising evolution and how we came to book our first O cruise. I post this because as I read the threads, it seems many here are very loyal to Oceania and might find it interesting to hear about other experiences and others' cruising evolution. - As a younger family many moons ago, we took a couple of short cruises, one Carnival (never again), and a RCL (better). Back then, we didn't even know from a balcony cabin. Cruising, especially living in the Fort Lauderdale area, was a fairly inexpensive getaway; - As our kids got older, we evolved to week-long RCL cruises. I remember our first balcony stateroom and it changed everything. It was still relatively inexpensive and easy. We also tried a new NCL ship, and it wasn't bad; - The kids became adults, financial situation improved, and we graduated to the two story Grand Loft Suites in a couple of RCL megaships. That's when cruising really changed for us. An amazing stateroom. The Oasis/Allure with their suites only lounge and restaurant was also an absolute game changer. We took cruises where we never visited the main dining room (a very good thing to be able to do on RCL lol), and maybe visited the buffet once if at all. At that point, being a Diamond on Royal, we probably stayed with them for too long...as we realized we were typically on ships where most amenities were geared towards kids (waterslides, flowriders, rock climbing walls, etc.), but we were two people in our 50s cruising without kids who avoided those very things; - So then we threw in a Tauck land tour...enjoyed it very much...were by far the youngest in the group but really loved getting to know many of the people. The negative to those Tauck type tours tends to be the long bus rides...nothing beats waking up in a new locale as opposed to driving there! - With that newfound realization about the RCL megaships, we went in a completely different direction and booked a Holland America partial Panama Canal cruise (mainly because of the itinerary). That certainly was a change! In all honesty, wet found the overall shipboard experience to be somewhat lacking. Food quality was meh, the ship felt dated, and the shipboard experience was just not very memorable (except for the actual Panama Canal part, which was great); - Fast forward to now (the pandemic came and we hadn't cruised since October 2019). My wife was still a little iffy about cruising, but we decided to get our feet wet again by booking a 5 night cruise on the new adults-only Virgin Voyages line. That cruise ended about 10 days ago. I could write much more about that experience if anyone is interested, but suffice it to say it was a completely different kind of cruise than we had ever been on. While there were people of all ages (over 18) on board, it was definitely geared to a younger, hipper, racier vibe. Our experience, staying in what's called a "Mega Rockstar Suite", was for the most part very good...but it's probably as different from O from an age and tenor standpoint than you can get. Our next booked cruise will be on a Celebrity in the fall (our first for whatever reason), and then the one we just booked on the Vista after that. So after many years of for whatever reason being "Loyal to Royal", we are anxious to experience different cruise lines. I wonder if anyone else has had a similar evolution to their cruising experiences?

Great post, and thank you. FYI, we did put down the deposit for the Vista sailing and (as of now) we are completely on board and excited (although it's still a ways away). Thanks for the encouragement!

So it's $25/day for your spouse and you to be able to both have basic wifi at the same time. I'm used to that being included in the price of a suite on other lines...this sounds a little ticky tack, but it is what it is!

Thanks for the responses!

I am thinking dress is typically more casual on Caribbean cruises than on European itineraries. I am a 62 year old man who enjoys going to nice restaurants, and I almost never wear anything except nice jeans and a long sleeve shirt. I never feel underdressed. Maybe it's a generational thing. It's funny, this is an age old discussion on all of the various CC cruise line forums. I've always seen people who are adamant about what should (or should not) be acceptable....and then when I am actually on the cruise, it seems nearly anything goes and no one seems to care.

I live in a country club community and country club casual certainly includes jeans (as long as they aren't ripped of very faded). I get from posting in different cruise line forums on CC over the years that this seems to matter to some, but personally, I'm one of those people who doesn't really understand why I should give too hoots about what the guy or girl sitting three tables away is wearing . The decor of the restaurant venue, the service and the quality of the food are what I care about.

A basic Caribbean cruise on the Vista in early 2024 in a PH2. We are seasoned cruisers in our early 60s who typically sail in suites...have been on Royal, Celebrity, Holland America, NCL and most recently Virgin. We have been "warned" by some friends who recently sailed on Oceania that we may feel a bit too young relative to other passengers. That part doesn't necessarily deter us...we felt that way on a Holland America Panama Canal cruise we took a few years ago, and more recently on a Tauck land tour we were on last year...met many nice people in spite of most being at least 10 years older. What's interesting to me is that suites don't come with a (full) alcohol package...we do tend to imbibe more than usual when cruising (especially on Caribbean cruises where it's more about relaxing during the daytime). I have seen it mentioned that you can bring alcohol on board? Other lines allow you to bring a bottle of two of wine only...what is the story with Oceania in that regard? Another question...are the specialty restaurants included or is their an upcharge? I have seen it mentioned that there may be a limit to how many you can attend? Is that the case? Last question (for now ;-)) ... how is the Live TV on their ships? I know that may be a strange question and some will question why that's important, but we like the background noise of a TV during our downtimes. The Virgin ship we were on a couple of weeks ago literally had THREE channels of live tv (BBC, MSNBC and Espn 2). Most cruise lines have bad choices, and they often show some version of a network that repeats some of the same shows in a loop throughout the week...curious if any TV people can fill us in on that. Thanks for reading this and I look forward to following this board!

We tipped our (mega) RS agent as he escorted us to the elevators on the last morning of our cruise. I know it was neither required or expected, but he was so helpful and accommodating...and always available...during our cruise we just felt it was something we wanted to do. He booked all of our dinner and show reservations, change a couple of times for us along the way, and got us booked on the Behind the Scenes tour.

Leaving this Friday (4/14) for that JLo Limitless sailing that we didn’t know about when we booked. Just got this email from VV…can’t say I’m too disappointed lol. Ahoy, We are thrilled to have you on board with us as we set sail on The Limitless Voyage this week. We love the ethos of being limitless — the belief in yourself and everything you can achieve. Our special programming - featuring 14 inspiring speakers, epic one-off entertainment acts, and new well-being experiences - will make this an incredibly special sailing. You’re also stepping on board the brand that was the first ever to win every category in its class at the Cruise Critic Cruisers' Choice Awards - Best Overall, Service, Dining, Cabins, and Value. We were looking forward to welcoming Jennifer Lopez on board to say a quick bon voyage, but, unfortunately, she won’t be able to join us given some schedule changes. She sends her love to everyone, and we’re planning a future date together. Jennifer helped create all the special moments across this voyage, and she’s deeply proud of the whole experience and the entire program is ready for you. In fact, read on because we have even more in store for you. Richard Branson will be there with some other special friends to kick off the voyage. Richard also wants to make sure you have the vacation of your dreams, so he’s organized an incredible sail away spectacular for you. Just before departure, we’re inviting all Sailors to join us on the top deck for a Virgin Voyages Celebration Drone Spectacular. You really won’t want to miss it, and you’ll have an unbeatable view aboard Scarlet Lady as the Miami sky lights up just for you. To make the voyage and the memory of it even better, we have a few other gifts from Jennifer and Richard for you: • We are automatically applying $100 onboard credit to every cabin so you can treat yourself to something special from us. (Please note that this credit will become visible and available for use only once you are onboard.) • From Jennifer, there will be complimentary tasters of her new natural Delola Spritz Crafted Cocktail as one of the drinks at the Sail Away Party. • Lastly, there will be a custom gift from Jennifer coming your way post voyage as well — so we’ll share news on that later. Of course, if you have any questions about your booking based on the information above, please contact our Sailor Services team to help get you sorted. We can’t wait to see you this Friday for this first-ever, one-of-a-kind voyage — it’s going to be absolutely amazing. You'll be so happy you got on board with us. Sea you soon!

People like what they like, regardless of where they are. It's why they have McDonalds in Tokyo. I see nothing wrong with any venue having a couple of basic choices for the simple eats types.

Please forgive me if this was posted, but I can't find it. Does anyone have a list of the brands for various spirits categories (Scarlet Lady preferably) if such a thing exists? Thanks

Do you know if there is a difference in this procedure between Rockstar vs Mega suite guests?

It appears as though the menus look somewhat limited, and most of the dishes offered (in the nicer restaurants in particular) are creative and include sauces and other interesting combinations. I love that, but not everyone does. So my question is are they receptive to any sort of special requests (like the grilled chicken without sauce, as an example)? Has anyone who might be a picky eater, or is married to one made such requests? Thanks

Question about Extra Virgin's menu for those who have been there recently. The menu seems a little limited for an Italian restaurant. Can one get basic spaghetti and marinara, or a chicken parm, for example? Just curious....

I had posted about this same thing recently. I booked online and called the next day to see if I could upgrade my suite. That's when I was told about the Florida resident discount, which really reduced the effective cost of my upgrade. Very glad I called.

Nothing is going to rain on my parade. First cruise since October 2019...and we can't wait to be back on the ocean, and to try Virgin.

My wife isn't thrilled about it. Obviously concerned some rich and powerful woman will try to steal me away. 😉 Or maybe that's a motivation for her to go....not sure which!

How do we know that? Curious how to tell how full a ship is in advance of the cruise. Thanks

41 minutes.

I had the same thoughts, but I suppose my questions arise from the need to delay every ensuing departure and arrival time throughout the cruise if it's only about the 200 people who sign up. Is it possible that there are way more than the 200 on board (but the 200 is only for those who want to pay the extra $500 for the special events)? I am not concerned with there being more women than usual...the more the merrier, lol....but the question is more about whether the usual activities and shows for the masses will be altered or different than a regular voyage.

I booked this voyage a couple of weeks ago, without knowing anything about this (sailing 4/14-19) Virgin Website Link We received an email yesterday informing us that embarkation and leaving port (and subsequent port arrivals) would all be delayed by an hour as a result of this "one time" event. I am sure the event will be great for those to whom it applies and those who will be participating....hopefully it won't dominate the overall cruise experience for those of us who aren't participating. That Virgin is offering to change our cruise (stated in the email we received) if we prefer is both nice of them and concerning at the same time. It's too close to the cruise for us to even seriously consider changing anyway. Curious if anyone in this group has an thoughts or insights for us. Thanks

Sometimes I call and use your name. Sorry, I'll stop doing that. 😉