Possibly new to Oceania -- a few questions!

Hello, fellow cruisers!

 

My husband and I are ready to take the next step "up" in cruising -- we've been sailing with Celebrity and Holland America for years and are looking for something a bit grander. From what I've heard, Oceania might be a good gateway line into more luxury cruising. HOWEVER, we are both 35, and I'm curious if you think we will feel out of place (we do just fine on HAL, as it were).

 

We don't have kids, don't like lots of noisy families, like fine dining, enjoy quieter forms of entertainment (e.g., jazz, acoustic guitar, etc.), don't like the typical daytime cruise entertainment usually found on the mainstream lines (e.g., game shows, trivia, etc.). We like to relax, have nice conversations with other adults, read, spa, and generally unwind.

 

Do you think there might be people sailing in their 30s, or 40s-50s? It's a week-long Miami-Miami cruise on Riviera during a school break (husband is in the education field so we have no choice), so I'm wondering if that might help skew the crowd a bit younger.

 

Other questions about Oceania itself, when looking to compare to mainstream lines:

 

• Are you allowed to order a bunch of different items from the menus, or just one appetizer, one entree, etc? We like to get a few things and share them. Didn't know if that was frowned upon on O.
  
• Regarding the beverage packages, I understand that the lesser one includes beer, wine and champagne during dinner and lunch, and the more expensive includes spirits on top of that, plus you can enjoy your drink at any time. But does "spirits" = things like cocktails (frozen or otherwise), or just, say, a single liquor on the rocks?
  
• Also regarding the drink packages, are there limits to the price point of what's included? For example, is it wines under a certain cost per glass? If so, would you pay the full charge if you want one not covered, or just the difference? I don't drink a whole lot, and it's difficult to figure out which way to go since I can't seem to find the prices anywhere on O's beverage menus.
  

Okay, I think that's it for now. If anyone would like to chime in, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

 

p.s. Heading out on Celebrity in 4 days... can't wait to be on the sea!

Food is much better on the Riviera than on Celebrity. Celebrity's specialty rest. are very good, but being a foodie & in the food industry the food on the Riviera was outstanding. The Grand dining room(as it's called on the Riviera)is more like Celebrity from at least 5 years ago before the food quality went down hill. The specialty rets. are included. Only La Reserve costs extra, as wine is paired with the food. You can feel free to "Order for the Table" any extra dish you might wish to try. This line is a real food lovers ship. I heartily recommend the formal tea service served daily in Horizons lounge. It's a relaxing venue with a great string quartet playing while you are served tea & the goodies to go with it. All soft drinks/bottled water are complimentary. Wine packages are reasonable. I'm not much of a drinker.. a glass of wine here & there works for me. As to age, yes, you will be among the younger. Our recent 10 day cruise on Riviera at 63/55 we were among easily the younger set. Your cruise at 7 days should have a younger crowd overall. We normally do 14 day trips on Celebrity Eclipse, but with the food last Jan.(2017)being fairly crappy, compared with the previous trips(I blame a bad ex.chef)we decided to try Oceania. Price wise it was about $1000 more pp. for 10 days versus the 14 day trips on Eclipse. Two days before the cruise, I received an e-mail offering a $200pp upgrade from an interior room to a veranda. Of course we took it & it was a great deal. Can't always count on upgrades like that. My partner, Richard nearly flipped when he opened to door & saw the light streaming in. The cabins on the Riviera are larger than veranda cabins on Celebrity/HAL. You'll have a full sized tub/shower & a separate enclosed shower as well.(enclosed shower is fairly small, but still nice)As much as we liked Oceania, we still have a Concierge veranda booked for 14 days on the Reflection.(Jan.2019) Should the food quality be crappy again, then I'd say we'd bid farewell to celebrity.

In regards to age bracket. We sailed Insignia last September round-trip from New York visiting New England/ Bermuda. We are early 30s. We received alot of comments like "who would have thought of seeing younger people on a cruise, where do you find the time?" we just replied "We are surprised to see so many older people on a cruise, who would have thought they had so much free time". All in good humor :) Oceania is now one of our favorites! It was a really special cruise to us and everyone on board was lovely. We are on Marina for 2 weeks in November as a result and have our eyes on Azamara sailings. After seeing Viking Sun in Sydney the other week I wouldn't mind adding them to the list. I would explore brands that appeal to you and not worry so much about secondary generalizations that don't really impact the experience.

Chris86, we are booked on that same cruise this September. We have been on Marina twice but never on the smaller ships. Not to hijack the thread but can you tell me what you thought of that cruise. Any suggestions, tips would be greatly appreciated [emoji3]

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Wow, everyone -- thank you all so very much for all of your thoughtful and highly detailed responses!

I think we'll do it. :D

As mentioned, we love good food (which we do NOT waste, so not to worry!) and agree that Celebrity has absolutely gone downhill in that regard over the years. I used to think of that line as foodie-centric but have been disappointed as of late. We've been doing Aqua Class the last handful of cruises and have even noticed a decline in Blu, the AQ specialty restaurant. Which is a shame.

I've done more research and think we are going to go with a Concierge Level Veranda because I am a sucker for access to spa areas (hence Aqua Class on Celebrity) and those staterooms sound like a nice combination of luxury and not too crazy (for us). I'm still torn about the drink packages but I suppose I can book now and decide that later (maybe even on board?). I am beyond excited for Jacques food (PBS fanatic here) and tea time, and for being surrounded by people who have similar interests, regardless of their ages!

Thanks again for all of your insight.

Ashley

Wow, everyone -- thank you all so very much for all of your thoughtful and highly detailed responses!

 

I think we'll do it. :D

 

As mentioned, we love good food (which we do NOT waste, so not to worry!) and agree that Celebrity has absolutely gone downhill in that regard over the years. I used to think of that line as foodie-centric but have been disappointed as of late. We've been doing Aqua Class the last handful of cruises and have even noticed a decline in Blu, the AQ specialty restaurant. Which is a shame.

 

I've done more research and think we are going to go with a Concierge Level Veranda because I am a sucker for access to spa areas (hence Aqua Class on Celebrity) and those staterooms sound like a nice combination of luxury and not too crazy (for us). I'm still torn about the drink packages but I suppose I can book now and decide that later (maybe even on board?). I am beyond excited for Jacques food (PBS fanatic here) and tea time, and for being surrounded by people who have similar interests, regardless of their ages!

 

Thanks again for all of your insight.

Ashley

Since you mentioned Celebrity, the only reason we booked Aqua was for access to Blu. We found the food in Marina's Grand Dining Room to be far superior to Blu. We will never go back to Celebrity.

Since you mentioned Celebrity, the only reason we booked Aqua was for access to Blu. We found the food in Marina's Grand Dining Room to be far superior to Blu. We will never go back to Celebrity.

I find this both intriguing for me and sad for Celebrity. I suppose this is how it goes when trying new things! Thanks for your feedback -- very interesting.

I find this both intriguing for me and sad for Celebrity. I suppose this is how it goes when trying new things! Thanks for your feedback -- very interesting.

Our two new go-to cruise lines are Oceania, for food and itineraries, and Celebrity for entertainment as we did have a blast on a recent Celebrity Eclipse cruise to the Canary Islands and then a TA back to Miami.

However, from here on out when we cruise with Celebrity we will be booking a Sky Suite as the Illuminae restaurant menus really look inviting and the prices are comparable to an O concierge cabin. However, since Celebrity doesn't do long, cool itineraries, O definitely has them beat in that area as well.

However, from here on out when we cruise with Celebrity we will be booking a Sky Suite as the Illuminae restaurant menus really look inviting and the prices are comparable to an O concierge cabin.

I've really wanted to try Luminae, as we've heard good things and it might be more in line with what we're looking for. I do really like a lot about Celebrity, so it's not as if I'd write them off forever. Plus, I am really interested in the new Edge class. Maybe I'll do a suite on one of those... though when the ship is new (and on a school break), that'd probably be more expensive than what we'd be comfortable spending on O at that point! Ah, well. We suffer sometimes.

Keep in mind that a Concierge room on Marina and Riviera is exactly the same size as the regular veranda rooms. The difference is in the extras that come with it, such as access to Spa Terrace, 3 bags of laundry, hot breakfast, bottle of bubbly, earlier booking of Specialty restaurants and access to the Concierge lounge. I'm sure I missed something.

Keep in mind that a Concierge room on Marina and Riviera is exactly the same size as the regular veranda rooms. The difference is in the extras that come with it, such as access to Spa Terrace, 3 bags of laundry, hot breakfast, bottle of bubbly, earlier booking of Specialty restaurants and access to the Concierge lounge. I'm sure I missed something.

Thanks, ORV! I am very much interested in the Spa Terrace access -- I think that's the biggest draw for me. Though hot breakfasts in the room might be nice on occasion, too... we like doing that sometimes.

We did our first cruise last February on the Riveria and had a great time with a couple about your age even though my friend and I are in our 60s. They loved it too. I found the people overall to just be ones that liked to visit with like minded people. My husband and I always laughed when we were younger as we were so much younger than the others around us as we had the same type of interests you list and that was where we fit in. I think you will be very happy.

One more perk on the Concierge now is the ability to get room service from the menu in the GDR at lunch and dinner. That will be nice too. Julia

Ashley,Good idea,wait until you get on board before you choose a beverage package.You can start the package anytime but it lasts until you disembark. You need to find out your ‘beverage’ habits.:')

We looked forward to the spa deck but was slightly disappointed and on both occasions hardly used it.It was too hot as it is enclosed with a clear wall.Would be lovely in cooler sunny weather.Unfortunately on Marina a few weeks back,there were 4 couples,non first language English,Europeans,who got to the loungers first and kept three seats per couple.One double for the men and a single for the ladies!!,

Ashley,you will love it,I’m sure..

Chris86, we are booked on that same cruise this September. We have been on Marina twice but never on the smaller ships. Not to hijack the thread but can you tell me what you thought of that cruise. Any suggestions, tips would be greatly appreciated [emoji3]

 

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We really loved the diversity in weather. Nice and cool for touring and nice and warm for swimming. We DIY the ports of call. Hired a car in Rhode Island for the mansions and ocean drive. Boston we walked around to the main sites. Bar Habour we used Oli Trolleys for the longer tour. ( I would recommend). Halifax downtown was disappointing we hired a car for peggy cove and a drive along the surrounding coast. Very worth our while. Burmuda we ended up at Hamilton not St George which was in our favour. In the middle of the island everything was easily accessible via the public busses.

It was a lovely cruise. Staff kept referring to it as such a short cruise. I.e I guess Insignia does the world cruise. haha so trying to get extra reservations for speciality was impossible. I think in future I will not go on with an expectation that you can't dine in the speciality as often as you like and stick with my allocated allowance. I assume it it most likely impossible on most sailings?

I haven't been on the larger ships yet but very much appreciated the smaller vessels. The evening we sailed form rhode island over to Boston we took the inland route so it felt like a river cruise :) fun to sail past a US Navy celebration during dinner :)

oh one thing to note. I would allow for more time for tenders. due to a lack of interest they tend not to be very frequent and we waited over 1 hour at bar harbour as a result this caused complications with our private tour operator. It was annoying as they let us board the tender then waited for 45mins/ 50mins before leaving the ship (after waiting 20odd minutes in the showroom). Inquiries with staff lead to I'm sorry I'm new I don't know. It wasn't until a large O tour group boarded that we left. Best to have your tour operators email or phone number in this case.

Besides the two word of caution above everything else met or exceeded our expectations

We really loved the diversity in weather. Nice and cool for touring and nice and warm for swimming. We DIY the ports of call. Hired a car in Rhode Island for the mansions and ocean drive. Boston we walked around to the main sites. Bar Habour we used Oli Trolleys for the longer tour. ( I would recommend). Halifax downtown was disappointing we hired a car for peggy cove and a drive along the surrounding coast. Very worth our while. Burmuda we ended up at Hamilton not St George which was in our favour. In the middle of the island everything was easily accessible via the public busses.

 

It was a lovely cruise. Staff kept referring to it as such a short cruise. I.e I guess Insignia does the world cruise. haha so trying to get extra reservations for speciality was impossible. I think in future I will not go on with an expectation that you can't dine in the speciality as often as you like and stick with my allocated allowance. I assume it it most likely impossible on most sailings?

 

I haven't been on the larger ships yet but very much appreciated the smaller vessels. The evening we sailed form rhode island over to Boston we took the inland route so it felt like a river cruise :) fun to sail past a US Navy celebration during dinner :)

 

oh one thing to note. I would allow for more time for tenders. due to a lack of interest they tend not to be very frequent and we waited over 1 hour at bar harbour as a result this caused complications with our private tour operator. It was annoying as they let us board the tender then waited for 45mins/ 50mins before leaving the ship (after waiting 20odd minutes in the showroom). Inquiries with staff lead to I'm sorry I'm new I don't know. It wasn't until a large O tour group boarded that we left. Best to have your tour operators email or phone number in this case.

 

Besides the two word of caution above everything else met or exceeded our expectations

Hey Chris, I would love to run some questions by you. If you are willing, my email is gbits@optonline.net. Thanks!

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Regarding the availability of extra specialty reservations -- never assume. It's more likely to depend on how many other passengers want extra reservations as well (for example, we rarely do and we don't always use up our allotment). It can depend on the length of the cruise -- if it's only 7-10 days my guess is it will be more difficult than on longer cruises.

Just try is all you can do.

Regarding the availability of extra specialty reservations -- never assume. It's more likely to depend on how many other passengers want extra reservations as well (for example, we rarely do and we don't always use up our allotment). It can depend on the length of the cruise -- if it's only 7-10 days my guess is it will be more difficult than on longer cruises.

 

Just try is all you can do.

Do the specialty restaurant menus change or are they pretty much the same fleet-wide? If i recall from our 2 Riviera cruises, they were pretty much the same on both. Am I remembering correctly?

Yes, they are the same. The one exception is that Marina and Riviera have all four specialty restaurants (plus the fee based La Reserve and Privee). Originally the "R" ships just had Polo and Toscana. Recent plans have been to combine Polo and Toscana into "Tuscan Steak" and put Red Ginger in the vacated space. In addition, some Jacques courses on the GDR menu, and now "Bistro" coming into play in the GDR.

The menus are the same in all venues. (By that I mean Polo and one ship has the same menu on the other ships. Not that all of the restaurants have the same menu ... but I imagine we all have figured that out already.)

Yes, they are the same. The one exception is that Marina and Riviera have all four specialty restaurants (plus the fee based La Reserve and Privee). Originally the "R" ships just had Polo and Toscana. Recent plans have been to combine Polo and Toscana into "Tuscan Steak" and put Red Ginger in the vacated space. In addition, some Jacques courses on the GDR menu, and now "Bistro" coming into play in the GDR.

 

The menus are the same in all venues. (By that I mean Polo and one ship has the same menu on the other ships. Not that all of the restaurants have the same menu ... but I imagine we all have figured that out already.)

Thanks. We always ate too much when we went to Toscana, but really enjoyed Ginger, so we're glad O was able to bring Ginger to the R class ships by merging Toscana with Polo.

While on the Riviera in January, the upgraded beverage package included a 20% discount on any bottle of wine in any venue.

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My wife and I are also new to Oceania. We just booked a 7 day Bermuda cruise out of NY for Aug. 2019 on Insignia. The reason for the choice is hopefully the food, everything I have heard is that the food is good. We tried our first cruise on Princess recently, while the food wasn't bad, it was nothing to get excited about.

Hopefully there will be enough to do on the sea days so we won't get bored.

Regarding pkgs/wine by the glass. We often will sample a wine by the glass. If it is to our liking, we will purchase an bottle or two. Remember that what remains in the bottle will be held with your stateroom number and can be called for at any restaurant at any time. However, later in the cruise your favs might disappear from inventory.

Also, any wines that are complimentary in your stateroom/suite can be enjoyed in any restaurant without corkage fee.

For our upcoming TA cruise we will likely purchase up to a case of some of our favs and accept the $25 corkage fee. Plus, some will be consumed on the veranda with a room service cheese plate.:hearteyes:

Now one other word of caution: Get to the gym today! One of the obscure treats on Oceania ships is the bread basket that comes to the table in every venue. Oceania purchases all bread flour from one farm source in France. Pastry chefs (3 on R ships, ? on O ships) make all croissants, sticky buns, bread sticks, seeded rolls, baguettes, etc. fresh every day! I abstain from all bread, even croutons, on a daily basis. I save all my carbs for the bread products on Oceania because they are that special!

Originally the "R" ships just had Polo and Toscana. Recent plans have been to combine Polo and Toscana into "Tuscan Steak" and put Red Ginger in the vacated space. In addition, some Jacques courses on the GDR menu, and now "Bistro" coming into play in the GDR.

On our Insignia cruise last August we dined with the Hotel Manager and he told us that the “Tuscan Steak” concept was being reconsidered.

On our Insignia cruise last August we dined with the Hotel Manager and he told us that the “Tuscan Steak” concept was being reconsidered.

Just in our brief two 10 day cruises on the Riviera, if they had to get rid of one specialty restaurant, Toscana is the one we wouldn't miss when compared to Ginger, Polo and Jacques. But, that's just our opinion which, of course, doesn't amount to much when compared to those that have cruised many more times on O than we have.

Now one other word of caution: Get to the gym today! One of the obscure treats on Oceania ships is the bread basket that comes to the table in every venue. Oceania purchases all bread flour from one farm source in France. Pastry chefs (3 on R ships, ? on O ships) make all croissants, sticky buns, bread sticks, seeded rolls, baguettes, etc. fresh every day! I abstain from all bread, even croutons, on a daily basis. I save all my carbs for the bread products on Oceania because they are that special!

Yes, yes, yes; their bread products are exceptional. Great skill, procedures, formulas and ingredients. Until a recent cruise I had not had Normandy bread. Just one of the many listed as a footnote on the GDR breakfast menu. I tried one slice toasted and was hooked. An even texture / crumb almost cake-like in appearance. Crisp on the outside and disappears in the mouth.

The head pâtissier prepared our dessert in La Reserve so took the opportunity to complement him on their wonderful offerings. He modestly gave the credit to the ingredients.

As KattieBelle advised, I'm off to the gym. (Not. But everything else on the internet *is* true ;) )

Yes, yes, yes; their bread products are exceptional. Great skill, procedures, formulas and ingredients. Until a recent cruise I had not had Normandy bread. Just one of the many listed as a footnote on the GDR breakfast menu. I tried one slice toasted and was hooked. An even texture / crumb almost cake-like in appearance. Crisp on the outside and disappears in the mouth.

 

The head pâtissier prepared our dessert in La Reserve so took the opportunity to complement him on their wonderful offerings. He modestly gave the credit to the ingredients.

 

As KattieBelle advised, I'm off to the gym. (Not. But everything else on the internet *is* true ;) )

Agree about the quality of baked goods on Oceania. Currently on Crystal and I had one croissant - most likely my first and last - not worth the calories and butter. :D

The only exception to great breads on Oceania are their bagels which they bring on frozen. :(