Regent vs Oceania aka Luxury vs Premium Plus

In two days time we will board the Voyager for our first Regent cruise, we have been a couple of times on Oceania and liked it very much.

The reason for this comparison is that it´s often stated on this forum that a Luxury line like Regent just can´t be compared to a Premium Plus line like Oceania or Viking for some reason, I just don't get that! For me it´s easy, the best product thats gives you valid for your money wins no matter what they call themselves, nor do I think that all Inclusive automatically is Luxury you often just pay more up front!

I´m very curious how we will notice that Regent are so obviously Luxury and Oceania Premium Plus that they can´t even be compared!

We are usually in a PH when we sail Oceania and on the Voyager we will be in a Delux Veranda suite so it´s about similar I think.

I might update as the trip goes by or I will just complete my comparison when we arrive home, It depends on the Internet speed on Regent:)!

Price:

We where looking at two similar 10 day Med cruises this summer Regent or Oceania, at least on this two sailings Regent wins hands down, they where € 500-600 cheaper then Oceania, and with included gratuity, drinks, excursions, and laundry it was a no-brainer for us to try out a new cruise line. We will have no butler on Regent like on Oceania time will tell if we miss him much!

Pre cruise:

The pre cruise document from Oceania are nice but it does not even come close to the nice leather(or fake leather :)) folder that Regent sent to us with the pre cruise document inside! Very upscale and for sure luxury, do I see a trend here:D

Regent did also send us a welcome mail one week before the cruise which was a nice gesture!

As another said in another thread- All inclusiveness should not dictate "luxury".

We are very much looking forward to following along with YOUR observations and opinions. I hope the OP has a wonderful cruise and doesn't let this thread get derailed. There seems to be a lot of interest in this subject and that is what Cruise Critic is supposed to be all about.

Thanks Winters Gate, I absolutely agree with you. Why not compare the two lines?

Since you're in Scandinavia, I will presume that the fares for both lines did not include air, am I correct? This is the best way to compare R and O since for North American pax Regent includes business air these days.

Looking forward to what you think of Regent Voyager.

Wendy, thats right there is no air included and one should also be fare to say that we did get a very good deal on our Regent cruise, the original price was about equal to Oceania when drink package and gratuity has been added to the O price.

It will be interesting to read the comparison as I have compared Oceania and Regent myself. First it should be noted that Oceania does include economy air (sometimes economy plus) for people residing in the U.S. and Canada (and may include air for other countries - not sure which ones).

Agree that luxury does not have to be all-inclusive but the four most recognized luxury cruise lines (In my opinion) are all-inclusive (Crystal, Regent, Seabourn and Silversea). There are also luxury yachts, river boats, etc.

Previous comparisons between the two cruise lines are quite mixed. Some passengers prefer Oceania and others prefer Regent. Personally, I find the larger suites on Oceania's newer ships to be superior to Regent's and Jacques restaurant is likely the best food that we have had at sea. On the other hand, we found the quality of the food in the MDR and buffet restaurant to be less than Regent. Service was about the same.

Enjoy your cruise and I look forward to reading your final review.

I will follow your posts with interest. We went the opposite way, from Regent then to Oceania. Our First Oceania cruise was a mini disaster as I was trying to save money thinking Oceania was supposedly less expensive. Lesson learned. The two subsequent Oceania cruises have been fine, and I would sail with them again, but Regent is still our preferred line. If you are wanting a fairly comparable experience on Oceania, you will end up paying the same or more than Regent. Boy, do I get blasted on the Oceania boards for that, but it is try. Our minimum on Oceania is PH. And we do the prestige drinks package, etc ,etc.

I will follow your posts with interest. We went the opposite way, from Regent then to Oceania. Our First Oceania cruise was a mini disaster as I was trying to save money thinking Oceania was supposedly less expensive. Lesson learned. The two subsequent Oceania cruises have been fine, and I would sail with them again, but Regent is still our preferred line. If you are wanting a fairly comparable experience on Oceania, you will end up paying the same or more than Regent. Boy, do I get blasted on the Oceania boards for that, but it is try. Our minimum on Oceania is PH. And we do the prestige drinks package, etc ,etc.

Definitely understand what you are saying....... the Oceania board is fierce -- not for the faint of heart.

Definitely understand what you are saying....... the Oceania board is fierce -- not for the faint of heart.

Some are downright mean if I say anything negative. And I am not a negative person, I just say it like I see it.

If you are wanting a fairly comparable experience on Oceania, you will end up paying the same or more than Regent. Boy, do I get blasted on the Oceania boards for that, but it is try. Our minimum on Oceania is PH. And we do the prestige drinks package, etc ,etc.

Yes that´s true with a PH and prestige drink package on O the price are about equal or as in this case fare more then on R, and then you even have to pay extra for excursions witch i believe are quite pricey on O.

When it comes to excursions I will not compare because we haven't done any excursions on O, as a matter of fact we hardly ever do excursions at all, we are still both in our working careers and mainly cruise just to take it easy and relax, eat a nice breakfast in the MDR and stroll around in port for a few hours and head back to the ship for lunch is what we like(the exception is some self arranged tours in SP and Rom etc.). However this cruise on R with the included tours we decided to make some excursions so we booked five half day tours, time will tell if we like it or not!

Is it possible to cancel an excursion with short notice on R or do you have to pay some sort of penalty then?

Winters Gate - if you cancel an included excursion, there is no cost. However, when you book a Regent Choice excursion, your tickets show a cancellation date. If you do not cancel by that date, you can/will be charged for the excursion.

Winters Gate, If you do decide to cancel one of the included excursions, I hope that you'll be good enough to turn your ticket back in to Destination Services. There are often people hoping to book a certain tour that was filled by the time they tried, and if tickets are returned (you can just drop them in the box at the desk, no need to wait in line), that will open a spot for other passengers. So many people are lazy about following through with that simple act of consideration for others — aargh. I hope you enjoy Regent, including the excursions, as much as we do.

Yes, poss you're right it is beneficial if a guest cancels and turns in tickets as soon as you know. That gives destinations a chance to open up the wait list and even reorganize bus seatings. So many people forget (or don't care) that it bears mentioning.

We have more than several Regent Cruises and many Oceania Cruises.

We have found them to be equal when ALL THINGS ARE CONSIDERED. We book OS on Oceania and Master or Grand on Regent.

We find that we do not get any perks from Regent for the size of the suite, i.e. getting off early or just anything. Don't want to infuriate anyone. On Regent we do NOT like any of the specialty restaurants, but we LOVE the MDR, Compass Rose, so no loss. On Oceania we are able to eat in the specialties all the time and we detest the MDR. This has something to do with the suite we have. We have a real at home family feeling with Oceania and nothing but a cold feeling on Regent (Except we love Natures Rhythm entertainment).

One thing might mean a lot to one person and nothing to another. To each his own. At this point in my life I would take a cruise for the itinerary.

If you are in a standard suite on Voyager you will love the cabin size and large walk in closet. That and the included business class airfare for those of us who don’t have status gives Regent a step up. These are two things that can be measured and are not subjective.

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A quick first report, the lunch in the Veranda was very nice and the champagne are flowing, life is good so to speak😄!

Looking forward to your report. we have sailed Oceania quite a bit with hit/miss results. We had a horrible CD on an Amazon cruise (23 days), and very lackluster evening entertainment once the show was over. We are not into the crowded disco dance floors on the larger cruise lines ... but would really like a bit more of a 'real band that plays 60's forward. the smaller oceania ships seem to have an iPad 'choose you song' system which could be ok but can also easily get loaded with many of one genre in the queue.

We're looking at Regent but are a little concerned that there may not be enough night life after the shows.

We've also cruised Oceania and always enjoyed the ships, we like the Owners Suite, we now cruise Regent and enjoy those ships. Don't really know what we like better about Regent but we do think they are a little better, maybe it's just not having to show the card--but whatever they are both good lines. (Most likely it's because they have the same Corporate philosophy). On Regent we like the Grand Suites` both for size and service. I know you said these suites don't give you any benefits, but they do give you a lot of extras when staying in one.

We find that we do not get any perks from Regent for the size of the suite, i.e. getting off early or just anything.

I know you said these suites don't give you any benefits, but they do give you a lot of extras when staying in one.

Caroldoll - We had a Master Suite on our Regent cruise last month, and do agree with ronrick1943 that we got a lot of little extras because of the suite. What sort of perks/extras/amenities do you feel were missing?

Really looking forward to further reports from the ship.

My only comment about those that stay in top suites (including ourselves) it that it is a totally different experience. We have stayed in every category of suite on Voyager and the only suite we did not care for was the Grand suit (it isn't terrible - just has a teeny master bathroom).

Hope that the TS enjoys their cruise!

We have cruised Regent and Oceania. We take large suites - Owners/Vista/Oceania suites on O. Seven Seas Aft (Mariner) on Regent and now are booked in a Grand Suite for our next cruise. We don't do many excursions - actually on our last Oceania cruise we only used one of the Oceania excursions on the entire cruise. Might sound blasé to say so but we've been just about everywhere and know what we want to do in each port and then do it on our own. So paying Regent prices with included excursions is a bit wasted on us! But we do drink (!!) so to the Oceania fare we have to add the Premium beverage package which adds up to about $150/day for the two of us. We can't use either the Regent or Oceania included air because our TA is in the US and we live in Europe... we take the discount for non use and then book our own.

Food - I haven't been on Regent for about 5 years now. But I do find the Oceania food - all over the ship - better than my recollections of Regent food. I am interested to see how it will be on Splendour versus my recollections!

All in all - they are both good cruise lines. For us it is the itinerary that is important!

And all that said - I am really looking forward to hearing your reactions and comments as your cruise continues...

My only comment about those that stay in top suites (including ourselves) it that it is a totally different experience.

are you saying that those who stay in the top suites are different from regular regent guests? in what way?

I don't think that Tc is saying that people who stay in top suites are different from other people (but see below). I think she's simply saying that staying in a top suite is a different experience (which surely it must be, though I'm not sure about the "totally" part).

But note the famous exchange between F Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway:

Fitzgerald: "The very rich are different from you and me."

Hemingway: "Yes, they have more money."

Sometimes it is not about money staying in top suites. Some are fortunate to receive suite upgrades. Same holds true with free cruises.

Regent is smart filling top suites and extending free cruises to people they know will inform others about their positive experience.

This is true on any luxury line. You get more benefits in larger suites and this is not uncommon. You pay more for the real estate you get more. This is similar to the Ritz Carlton’s where you have larger rooms and club access with free food and drinks free internet and a welcome gift or spa/restaurant credit. Outside of your suite, you are treated like anyone else.