lor74 Posted October 4, 2011 #1 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Hello, As I am preparing for my next cruise, I see that there is a Marina sailing in January in which the inside cabin is cheap when compared to the normal pricing. I generally cruise with Celebrity and Princess, and would consider this Marina cruise just for the sake of trying something different. My questions are: Would I be making a mistake in choosing the inside cabin on the Marina (12 night Caribbean), vs. a balcony on the Equinox (10 or 11 night)? How is the atmosphere on the Marina, is it a "rich" crowd? How do most people dress? Are all the restaurants included & is there a dress code? The recent reviews all complain about the entertainment...do they have the same type as the other cruise lines (comedians, singers, magic, etc)? In general the room is not that important to me, and it seemed like a no brainer at first to go ahead and try Oceania...but after reading a lot of mixed reviews, I am not so sure. My wife and I are in our mid thirties, and our goal is to mainly relax by the pool, and enjoy some good food (but we are not foodies). Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbwex Posted October 4, 2011 #2 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Would I be making a mistake in choosing the inside cabin on the Marina (12 night Caribbean), vs. a balcony on the Equinox (10 or 11 night)? Well there is a big difference to me between an inside cabin and a balcony cabin. But that is me -- I always get a balcony cabin. That being said, some people don't care one way or the other, and as we shall see below, there might be other considerations. How is the atmosphere on the Marina, is it a "rich" crowd? How do most people dress? Are all the restaurants included & is there a dress code? The nice thing about Oceania is that it never gets dressier than country club casual. No ties, no jackets, just slacks and collared shirts for men, and the equivalent for women. Not that some men don't wear jackets, but that is purely their preference, it is not requested and not in the dress description. Even in the fancy restaurants -- country club casual for dinner every night! Breakfast and lunch are totally casual. Is it a "rich" crowd -- I don't think it is necessarily any richer than any other premium line. It appears richer and more upscale than the bottom-of-the-line mass market lines. It's nicer than Carnival, but no "richer" than HAL. The recent reviews all complain about the entertainment...do they have the same type as the other cruise lines (comedians, singers, magic, etc)? Well, the entertainment is not O's strong suit. O's larger ships have slightly better entertainment facilities, but don't expect production shows as on the mass market lines. In general the room is not that important to me, and it seemed like a no brainer at first to go ahead and try Oceania...but after reading a lot of mixed reviews, I am not so sure. My wife and I are in our mid thirties, and our goal is to mainly relax by the pool, and enjoy some good food (but we are not foodies). DW and I are certainly not "foodies" but we definitely enjoy good food, and that is where Oceania excels. The food in the MDR is far better than we had on HAL even in HAL's specialty restaurants. The food in Oceania's specialty restaurants is clearly several steps above the MDR food, and there is no charge for the specialty restaurants. (We ate in one or the other of the specialty restaurants 7 nights out of 14 on a Baltic cruise -- there were lots of openings (on one of the R ships with only two specialty restaurants.) I cannot compare Equinox, having not sailed the line at all. I can say that Oceania has superb service. We had a suite on HAL compared to a B-1 on Oceania, and not that the service on HAL was bad, but it did not compare to Oceania. I know Oceania is not a luxury line, but I often wonder what else I could need that Oceania doesn't provide -- the level of service is fantastic. If the cabin is not a deciding factor, then I would try Oceania. Even with the less good entertainment, you will see from this board that lots of people love O, and stick with it all the time. I enjoy entertainment, but with port-intensive cruises, I think I look forward to high tea in Horizons everyday on Oceania more than I looked forward to the production shows on HAL! Again, I have not cruised with Celebrity, but Equinox is a very large ship -- 2850 passengers. Marina is small 1250 passengers. A small intimate cruise versus sailing with a whole lot of people. For lots of reasons, I would give Oceania a try. I think you will really, really like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted October 4, 2011 #3 Share Posted October 4, 2011 The food on the Marina is the best food at sea - bar none - if that is important to you. The atmosphere is relaxed and casual. "Try it - you'll like it". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmsMom Posted October 4, 2011 #4 Share Posted October 4, 2011 We have booked a 14 nighter on the Marinq in June 2012. This will be our second Oceania cruise. We have also been on Celebrity twice and Seabourn last March. In my opinion, there is no comparison between Oceania and Celebrity....Oceania wins hands down. The shows may not have been as spectacular but we don't cruise for the shows and we often don't even make it to the shows. We enjoyed the other passengers...they were very congenial and if they were wealthy they certainly didn't flaunt it. We liked the fact that there were no formal nights....the dress on board was pretty much like we would dress at home. The afternoon tea was awesome. We didn't find the service any better on Seabourn than Oceania. The Oceania food and activities were better. Not that we didn't like Seabourn but we really didn't see much difference in the quality. As far as an inside cabin, that is a personal and financial choice. If you don't spend much time in the cabin anyways and don't mind no windows, I would go for it. I think Oceania is a first rate cruise line and am looking forward to sailing with them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lor74 Posted October 4, 2011 Author #5 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Thanks for the replies. I think I am going to go ahead with it....just a few things to check and I could have it booked this week :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted October 4, 2011 #6 Share Posted October 4, 2011 We enjoy both Celebrity and Oceania and recently sailed on the Eclipse (twin to Equinox) Just be aware that the two lines are entirely different and your cruise experience on O will not be at all like your experience on Celebrity. Rather than lots of activities, music everywhere and great shows, you will have a more upscale, country-club like environment. O is more low key and more intimate. The demographic will be different too. Food is about the same IMO -- with the specialty restaurants like Qsine and Tuscan Grille outshining anything on O (although Marina's cuisine is supposed to be a world apart and I will not experience Marina food until November). Many think the food on O is the best at sea -- maybe you will agree. I think you should give it a try -- it will be different but wonderful just the same. It's nice to try different lines and mix it up a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathy Maneri Posted October 5, 2011 #7 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I've been on all the Celebrity ships at least once if not twice. I've been on the Solstice and the Equinox (which I did a Med cruise last May). I've decided I'm ready for a non-formal, smaller ship with a different itinerary, so I'm now booked on the Marina for next March (Caribbean) and Nov 2012 on the Riveria (back to the Med). On Celebrity I've been in an inside, oceanview, veranda, concierge and celebrity suite and it was all a matter of what price I wanted to pay at the time. On Oceania I'm in inside cabins on both cruises. For my Med cruise I will spend the xtra money on excursions and land tours, which is more important to me than a larger cabin. I'm really excited about trying Oceania. It's all a matter of what you feel comfortable spending. So for me, its the itinerary that matters the most. PS: I booked Holland's Eurodam for this December, just to see what kind of product they are offering (also in an inside cabin). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lor74 Posted October 5, 2011 Author #8 Share Posted October 5, 2011 We enjoy both Celebrity and Oceania and recently sailed on the Eclipse (twin to Equinox) Just be aware that the two lines are entirely different and your cruise experience on O will not be at all like your experience on Celebrity. Rather than lots of activities, music everywhere and great shows, you will have a more upscale, country-club like environment. O is more low key and more intimate. The demographic will be different too. Food is about the same IMO -- with the specialty restaurants like Qsine and Tuscan Grille outshining anything on O (although Marina's cuisine is supposed to be a world apart and I will not experience Marina food until November). Many think the food on O is the best at sea -- maybe you will agree. I think you should give it a try -- it will be different but wonderful just the same. It's nice to try different lines and mix it up a bit. After doing more research and discussing it with my wife, we have decided to go back to Celebrity or Princess this time around. Although I am ready for what the Marina has to offer, it is not right for her at this time. She spends all her time by the pool, and would miss the live music and the activities, and I see that the shows all start at 9:30 which would be late for her. Wherever we end up, it will be great! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aohkay Posted October 5, 2011 #9 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Thanks for the replies. I think I am going to go ahead with it....just a few things to check and I could have it booked this week :) If you do your research and can live/ cruise with what you find out, you shouldn't be disappointed with anything. IMO, people that complain about the entertainment/ food/ demographics of Oceania, should have booked with a different line. I don't have much cruising experience, but I can tell you one thing, it would be very hard for me to book with anyone else besides Oceania now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capecodder2 Posted October 5, 2011 #10 Share Posted October 5, 2011 If the main things are the pool, music, and activities, then you are making the right choice with Celebrity or Princess' big ships. There is no way Oceania can compete with Equinox in those areas, nor do they want to. We enjoyed our Caribbean cruise on the Equinox where we just wanted warm weather and relaxation out of cold New England, hardly getting off the ship since we have been to those island many times. For the more cultural cruises and intensive wonderful destinations in Europe, Asia, or Africa, O is the only possibility for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M5M Posted October 6, 2011 #11 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Well if you were thinking the Mariner on January 3, for an inside cabin......the advertised price was great........ I got the brochure in yesterday's mail, called this morning at 8 AM when TA opened, all cabins were sold out. I was pretty annoyed because not only did the advertising travel agency know nothing about the sale, neither did the person I got at Oceania. Both would have sold me the regular rate cabin, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted October 6, 2011 #12 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Well if you were thinking the Mariner on January 3, for an inside cabin...... Maybe they were confused because Oceania does not have a ship called the Mariner :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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