Sherrie74 Posted April 27, 2011 #1 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I only have one cruise under my belt and that being a Caribbean one just recently with Celebrity which was wonderful. A friend and I are looking at a Mediterranean one for June 2012 for her 50th. We are checking out and comparing costs with other lines and find Oceania has one we are leaning more towards a lot (Italy / Turkey) ... but... the prices seem significantly higher than other lines. So I would like to garner some information from seasoned cruisers from Oceania and get some advice. Why would you sail Oceania rather than Celebrity, RC, HA etc. Also ... one additional question ... if you should book within a few months prior to departure, what is the chance of some of the excursions being filled up. Is there a way to find out prior to the actual booking of cruise. Thanks to everyone who chooses to respond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted April 27, 2011 #2 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Just a quick answer, Sherrie, because I know there are others who can give you more experience about the lines you mention. Oceania is more expensive -- it is also a higher end product. You do get what you pay for. We don't tend to take ship's tours but when we do, we've never encountered one that was sold out. No, I'll qualify that a bit. A tour such as to the Alhambra from Malaga may sell out because only 250 tickets are available on any one day. Perhaps if the tour is limited in size because it uses a small vehicle (whether car, plane or boat) it could sell out. But in general there is no problem waiting until you board to book. Anyone else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potterhill Posted April 27, 2011 #3 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I see you are from Toronto....we are in London. We have done three cruises, all on Oceania. Whenever I price a similar cruise on a different line I have to add airfare and then they are always higher than Oceania. Now, I haven't checked a lot of cruises, but this has been consistent. Except , of course for the so-called luxury lines. They are of course more $$. Airfare from Canada is generally higher and this makes the Oceania cruises more reasonable in the end. The ships are smaller, the food is great as is the service. We love it and see no reason to change. We have two more booked, both in 2012. The entertainment is low key but is fine for us. In fact on our last cruise, I never went to the show once. We prefer to linger over dinner with our new found friends. Another thing, because there are no services for children on board, there tends to be very few. Don't know if this is an issue for you or not. There is tons of info here answering similar questions. Search and you can read for hours and learn all kind of stuff about "O". Try it, you'll love it! Mo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted April 27, 2011 #4 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I agree with MO Oceania is our cruise of choice they do cost a bit more but worth it for us We also do our own tours most of the time Murmansk was one tour we did book in advance & glad we did because space was limited As Mura said it depends on the tour & if space is limited whether it will sell out Most likely the cruise will sell out early ;) We usually do our own air & take the air credit from Oceania but do compare both options Country club casual ...no formal nights, limited smoking areas (2) no surcharge for specialty restaurants, open dining some of the reason we love Oceania Hope you give them a try Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted April 28, 2011 #5 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Further to my earlier comments (dinner was just about to hit the table) and those of Lyn and Potterhill, for US the Oceania advantages are: very limited smoking, no formal nights, smaller ship, excellent service and especially excellent food. We don't care that much about the entertainment which occasionally has been excellent (to our classical-music oriented ears) but usually is not. If you are on a port intensive cruise, you may not care to stay up late for a "show". There are lots of threads here that will discuss differences between the various lines, and I suggest that you hunt around! Someone like me has mostly an Oceania experience -- a couple of QE2 cruises, one on NCL in recent years -- and so we are prejudiced. But I have seen many posts from HAL, Princess and other line aficionados who can better compare the lines. If you like a smaller ship with fine cuisine and a more casual dress code, Oceania certainly could be for you. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jancruz Posted April 28, 2011 #6 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Before answering we should know your approximate age..that makes a difference on sailing on Oceania. If you are in your 20's,30's or 40's this may not be the ship for you.. Jancruz1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherrie74 Posted April 28, 2011 Author #7 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Curious as to what is meant by "air fare credit" if you do not take air with pkg. I agree that travel from Canada is expensive but did find a decent flight to Barcelona with KLM via Amsterdam which turned out cheaper than the last flight to/from Fort Lauderdale. :confused: Return to Toronto was a total killer as we needed to get back same day. Kids I have no problem if there are not many around but really am into the entertainment aspect of what was available on the last ship I was on. I have perused some of the threads and written down a lot of things that will help in our final decision. Jan .... will be turning 60 soon. What is the age that is frequenting these cruises?? I sort of assumed would be a more mature crowd?? I appreciate all the comments but please keep them coming. Thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted April 28, 2011 #8 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Curious as to what is meant by "air fare credit" if you do not take air with pkg. With Oceania the price you see includes air if you want to do your own air they will give you a dollar amount off the price shown in the brochure or online. The amount varies by cruise I price out with air & what I can find on my own then decide Mature crowd is the right age on Oceania ;) Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted April 28, 2011 #9 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Regarding the air fare credit: that depends on the itinerary. You need to ask your TA (or O) what that will be for you on the particular cruise. If entertainment is extremely important to you, then O is probably not the cruiseline for you. But yes, you're in the right age range! Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredFL Posted April 28, 2011 #10 Share Posted April 28, 2011 As you can see by our signature we have quite a few Oceania cruises under our belt and more planned for the future. We like the small ship, casual dress code, open seating dining, minimal children and strict smoking policy. In short we like being treated like civilized adults! (your age will fit right in) As to entertainment, it is not Oceania's strong point but most cruises are port intensive enough that after a leisurely dinner and a walk around the ship most people opt for bedtime. There is always a piano player in Martinis, a string quartet in the upper hall and some sort of cabaret show in the lounge. As to air fair credit, Oceania includes your air travel in their price, I presume from Canada also, but you may chose to take a credit against the cost of the cruise and make your own arrangements. We usually see what the credit is and then see what booking on our own is and make a decision. Many times we book our own since we like to stay longer in Europe beyond the end of the cruise. You have until final payment to accept or decline the credit. Your travel agent should be able to go over the options with you and Oceania is good at trying to work things out to your satisfaction. As to shore excursions, we have never booked in advance and have always been able to get what we wanted after boarding. I presume there may be a few, such as overnight on land or helicopter tours, that might be sold out or need to be booked in advance so they can plan. Again you travel agent should know. Come join a lot of very satisfied cruisers on Oceania! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no fuss travel Posted April 28, 2011 #11 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Coming from the west coast there is no way we can find an airfare less than $750 which is what Oceania would have given us for not using their air. We had to pay a deviation fee of $100 per person to extend our time and also to arrive earlier. Even with this deviation fee, I still could not price match. maybe you can get better deals from Toronto, not from out here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherrie74 Posted April 28, 2011 Author #12 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Potterhill .... so when you travel from Canada ... which airline does O usually use to get you over to Europe, direct or via a change of planes. No Fuss ... should I take it that you can not "add on" days before or after without being penalized on the airfare? This is what I understood to your "deviation fee" comment. Understand that with all the port activities you may not need extra need for more entertainment. God, I love this website ... everyone is so helpful here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted April 28, 2011 #13 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Sherrie, The deviation fee (I believe it is now $100pp) allows you to go in to the departure port early and/or stay late in the arrival port. If you want to change itineraries (say your cruise leaves from Dover/London and you want to spend a few days in Paris first) there is another fee. Most people, of course, just use a deviation to the port in question. That's why you first need to find out what the credit is for your cruise, and then see what you can do on your own. We have once or twice done a deviation but usually we book our own air because we almost always wants to spend extra time in the first and last city. We had a transatlantic in 2009 that was Miami-Barcelona. Since we live in NYC, it was virtually impossible to find a reasonable open jaw fare (NYC-Miami, Barcelona-NYC). So we took Oceania's flight to Miami and then a deviation in Europe giving us some extra time in Barcelona. Now, it's usually convenient leaving from NYC to Europe most of the time which is why we usually do our own airfare. You have to do your own research and then decide. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherrie74 Posted April 28, 2011 Author #14 Share Posted April 28, 2011 To everyone .... THANKS ...we have a while to decide what to do, thinking June 2012. Lots of great information received. Next trip is land locked .... starting in Denver .... 7 National Parks and then resting in Vegas. and back home. 19 days. But .. still dreaming of St Thomas and the Solstice. More water is in my future for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Noggins Posted April 28, 2011 #15 Share Posted April 28, 2011 We have sailed with Oceania, Seabourn, Cunard, Princess, Silver Seas, Regent, RCI and Celebrity over the last 4/5 years. We have paid a variety of rates and have thoroughly enjoyed every trip. We would sail again with every line too if the circumstances were right. Of course, every product is different and there are reasons the prices are different too - and by and large you do get what you pay for. What you need to decide is whether the product offered by Oceania is what you want to pay for. If you want a smaller, more personal ship with probably the best dining experiences anywhere at sea then Oceania could be for you. If you are happy with a larger environment with a wider range of facilities and entertainment then Celebrity / RCI et al may suit you better. As you will see from these boards Oceania travellers are a pretty happy bunch - but those that experienced it and decided to move on elsewhere are probably not merrily posting away here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potterhill Posted April 28, 2011 #16 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Sherrie, why don't you email me and I can call you....Not great at typing and no time to deal with it today. But.,,..,I talk faster than I type!!!!!!! potter hill at sym pat ico dot ca Not saying I know everything, but perhaps I can help Mo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted April 28, 2011 #17 Share Posted April 28, 2011 To everyone .... THANKS ...we have a while to decide what to do, thinking June 2012. Lots of great information received. Next trip is land locked .... starting in Denver .... 7 National Parks and then resting in Vegas. and back home. 19 days. But .. still dreaming of St Thomas and the Solstice. More water is in my future for sure. Sherrie, We did a Badlands-Grand Canyon trip in May 2007 with a Danish friend (also ended up in Las Vegas but only for the night) and it was fabulous. Sisse had always thought she could see all the parks in two weeks, but I told her "give me three weeks and we can see SOME" so that's what we did. Our first real stop was the Badlands and as we pulled up to the first turnout she ran out of the car and exclaimed, "You come to Europe when you have THIS??!!" She just loved the entire time and still talks about it. Now she wants to do it again with her new love ... but that will have to wait because we're doing a New England trip in June with the two of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imagineer Posted April 28, 2011 #18 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Potterhill .... so when you travel from Canada ... which airline does O usually use to get you over to Europe, direct or via a change of planes. Hi Sherrie, ...nobody answered this question for you, so let me give you our experience as a typical flight itinerary for a Western Med cruise. We're in Victoria, our flight over was on Lufthansa direct from Vancouver to Frankfurt, changing over to a smaller plane from there to Rome, on our way back we flew Air Canada direct from Rome to Toronto and transferred to a flight direct to Vancouver... ...we were on our own to get from Vancouver back to Victoria, no big deal, just a short hop across the water... ...hope this helps... cheers, the Imagineer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jancruz Posted April 28, 2011 #19 Share Posted April 28, 2011 The ship is perfect for you... Jancruz1 Curious as to what is meant by "air fare credit" if you do not take air with pkg. I agree that travel from Canada is expensive but did find a decent flight to Barcelona with KLM via Amsterdam which turned out cheaper than the last flight to/from Fort Lauderdale. :confused: Return to Toronto was a total killer as we needed to get back same day. Kids I have no problem if there are not many around but really am into the entertainment aspect of what was available on the last ship I was on. I have perused some of the threads and written down a lot of things that will help in our final decision. Jan .... will be turning 60 soon. What is the age that is frequenting these cruises?? I sort of assumed would be a more mature crowd?? I appreciate all the comments but please keep them coming. Thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aohkay Posted April 28, 2011 #20 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Kids I have no problem if there are not many around but really am into the entertainment aspect of what was available on the last ship I was on. Sherrie: The entertainment on Oceania is not even close to what you experience on mainstream lines...and this is one of the reasons why people love O. Entertainment on O is much, much more subtle than that of the mainstream lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribbeansun Posted April 29, 2011 #21 Share Posted April 29, 2011 I'd also be curious about airline and routings to Europe from Canada using O's air. Typically we take the air credit and use Errorplan points to get to Europe as we prefer to arrive several days in advance and return several days after the cruise. We've found the deviation fees to make air more of a question mark. You can figure out the air credit by going to the O site and pricing out the cruise with air and then redoing it without air. There's also the $250/pp hotel credit to factor in now as well. Our list (others will be different) Why pay for O: - itinerary - smoking policy - causal dress Why not pay for O: - if on board entertainment is important to you (please note that with their port intensive European itineraries we found the lack of entertainment to be a non-issue. In the Caribbean however it is very noticable) - budgetary concerns - size of the air credit (sometimes it has been very small making using points for air not feasible) Potterhill .... so when you travel from Canada ... which airline does O usually use to get you over to Europe, direct or via a change of planes. No Fuss ... should I take it that you can not "add on" days before or after without being penalized on the airfare? This is what I understood to your "deviation fee" comment. Understand that with all the port activities you may not need extra need for more entertainment. God, I love this website ... everyone is so helpful here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted April 29, 2011 #22 Share Posted April 29, 2011 I only have one cruise under my belt and that being a Caribbean one just recently with Celebrity which was wonderful. A friend and I are looking at a Mediterranean one for June 2012 for her 50th. We are checking out and comparing costs with other lines and find Oceania has one we are leaning more towards a lot (Italy / Turkey) ... but... the prices seem significantly higher than other lines. So I would like to garner some information from seasoned cruisers from Oceania and get some advice. Why would you sail Oceania rather than Celebrity, RC, HA etc. Also ... one additional question ... if you should book within a few months prior to departure, what is the chance of some of the excursions being filled up. Is there a way to find out prior to the actual booking of cruise. Thanks to everyone who chooses to respond. Allow me to jump in a little late here ...with a slightly different take... With your only cruise to dat on the Celebrity Solstice, you, no doubt, had a great cruise experience... Oceania is merely a slightly different cruise experience...on a smaller ship... If your prime concern in cruising is the price, then Oceania might not be the choice for you...Even when you try to compare apples to apples, it IS a bit more expensive...Oceania advertises "Free Air"...but it is really no different than any other line...there is a price including air...and a price (subtracting the "air credit") that would be the "Cruise only" price... When you do the price comparison, take into consideration either the price of the Oceania cruise LESS the air credit or the price of another cruise plus the air cost...Also consider add-ons such as transfers. I tend to look at the stripped down "cruise only" prices...not including any add-ons like transfers, insurance etc. One can buy one's own insurance at a lower price and find one's own transportation at a lower price, and so on. Yes, the airfare MAY be to your advantage...if so, consider that. I think, in the end, you will find Oceania to still be a bit more expensive. Do you get more for your money than on Celebrity? Personally, I do not think so. what you get is "different"...Both are very good cruises...nice ships, excellent food and service, etc. Each line does some things a little better, others a little worse...Both are, overall, near the top of the industry (discounting the very expensive luxury lines from the equation)... In "different" what you get are smaller ships (some pluses to that, some minuses--everyone's needs and desires are different, remember), open seating dining, no formal nights...The ships, with fewer people and an older demographic tend to get "quieter" early at night... On demographics, BTW, remember Oceania has no childrens or teens program, so they get far fewer families with kids...and the higher prices tend to attract people who are past that point in life when saving money or spending it on a mortgage and kids' educations and the like are still a concern. But, the real reasons to cruise with Oceania are: 1) The itineraries... 2) If you have a great preference for the small ship/open seating/casual dress thing. The way I usually look at it is that if the itinerary really strikes me and is one I wish to take, the price differential is not a deterrent. In the end, either cruise line will give me a wonderful cruise with great food, service, etc. I can afford the price either way...Sure, I'd rather pay less than more, but, in the long run, it doesn't matter to me...Great itinerary? I'm going... Oceania does do some great itineraries aided by the fact they have smaller ships....That allows them to dock at some more unusual ports that don't have the capacity to accommodate a large ship... As to shore excursions, I have not seen too much of a problem with them filling up too early...With small ships, they somethimes have a problem with them being canceled due to lack of enough sign-ups... One suggestion most of us here on Cruise Critic know is to consider private tours instead...Often much better to go with a group of 6-10 in a van or minibus than witha shore excursion tour of 30 to 40 on a big bus...You can usually get to more places with fewer waits and dead time...and you can actually get close enough to hear your guide...If you go to the Roll Call section of Cruise Critic and find your cruise, there are often people organizing such private small group tours.... Good luck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted April 29, 2011 #23 Share Posted April 29, 2011 I'd also be curious about airline and routings to Europe from Canada using O's air. I think it depends on the Routing & who the contracts are with ..no set airline I have only used O air once to Europe & once to the USA Both times we did a deviation For Europe we asked for BA they picked the flights & we accepted with a $150. pp upcharge + deviation fee For USA we asked what flights they were offering, they came back with AC both ways so we accepted & happily paid the $100. pp deviation fee I check for flights that I will be happy with & then ask O what they have (with deviation fee) if I do not like them I ask for the flights I want & see if there is any upcharge.... then decide a good TA can help a lot;) We do not have enough point to fly anywhere ..maybe from YYZ to YTZ if that was allowed :D Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted April 29, 2011 #24 Share Posted April 29, 2011 In general I find that O's air credits are less generous than other cruise lines. So if price is a consideration and one has no access to FF miles, it might be cheaper to take their air and even to pay the deviation fee to get better flights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hototrot Posted April 30, 2011 #25 Share Posted April 30, 2011 sherrie we have just booked our first cruise with oceania riviera for july 7th 2012 venice to barcelona they have some brilliant deals at the moment or we certainly couldnt afford to go otherwise we have an oceanview our agent told us we will be spoilt for life and will not want to go with any other line we have only the dawn princes to compare it to ch.alk and cheese i can not wait . the brochures of the new ship is incredible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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