Linda VH Posted March 28, 2012 #51 Share Posted March 28, 2012 For us part of the entertainment is the casino. We have not sailed O but understand the casino is very lacking???? We sailed Crystal and enjoyed the casino very much and I would sail them again. X does, of course, have a larger casino - and now non-smoking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzmaven Posted March 28, 2012 #52 Share Posted March 28, 2012 For us part of the entertainment is the casino. We have not sailed O but understand the casino is very lacking???? We sailed Crystal and enjoyed the casino very much and I would sail them again. X does, of course, have a larger casino - and now non-smoking! The casino on the Marina is comparable to the casino on the Crystal Symphony (without the smoke). If that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted March 29, 2012 #53 Share Posted March 29, 2012 The casino on the Marina is comparable to the casino on the Crystal Symphony (without the smoke). If that helps. But nothing like the casinos on the Solstice Class ships. You can actually get lost in those casinos. I cannot imagine choosing O if the casino is your #1 priority. It is not O's priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kissing Seahorses Posted March 29, 2012 #54 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I've sailed twice on Oceania & once on Crystal, not at all on Celebrity but we are booked for the May 6 cruise on Azamara (Celebrity's up market line). It's all lifestyle, money, the company you'd like to keep - we would sail on Oceania again but find that their shore excursions are awfully expensive & although gratuities are included the sticker shock on the last day when you add in all your on board & shore excursions can be pretty surprising. Crystal didn't suit us at all. It would be impossible to argue against their luxury & brilliant attention to service - & now they are all-inclusive, too - but we called it our 'Captains of Industry Cruise' in honor of our fellow passengers. Crystal Cruisers love the ambiance & almost seem to like the at sea days more than the port days, & they love to dress up, too. Me - I can play Trivial Pursuit at home with friends & am uncomfortable with so many dress-up days. ALSO - while on our only Crystal Cruise we developed a nodding acquaintance with a woman whose luggage had been lost at Heathrow - she literally had the clothes she stood up in, which were great for travel but not so great on dress-up night. She wasn't moved to buy new things from the cruise boutique, either, & Crystal told her she could only dine early in the evening in the steak house restaurant in that attire & we were so offended on her behalf. Great for so many people, not so great for us. You are at least a little mistaken as there is no steakhouse restaurant on either of Crystal's ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuNYC Posted March 29, 2012 #55 Share Posted March 29, 2012 I just returned from an cruise on O. Unfortunately my expectation were too high. I expected more for my PH experience. I did like not having to dress, but the specialty restaurants could not accomodate the demand. They should enlarge them or more fully staff them. I love mid-size ships and the Marina and stateroom were beautifully decorated....................but copared to Celebrity it was not worth the premium price. Funny but I heard a lot of people say that they liked the Crystal experience better. That's what makes the world go round............different strokes for different folks. For me it is back to Celebrity or Azmara. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted March 29, 2012 #56 Share Posted March 29, 2012 You can actually get lost in those casinos. Is that supposed to be a benefit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted March 29, 2012 #57 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Is that supposed to be a benefit? LOL. Depends who I am hiding from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sldispatcher Posted April 1, 2012 #58 Share Posted April 1, 2012 David - I disagree. Sorry you are not enjoying your cruise wherever you are. I love O but I also love the Solstice class ships. I go back and forth between Celebrity and O with no problem. I don't recall me saying that I was not enjoying it. I was actually not ready to disembark from Celebrity. I said in my opinion that there is something special about Oceania's Marina that we favored over the larger ships/Celebrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted April 1, 2012 #59 Share Posted April 1, 2012 I don't recall me saying that I was not enjoying it. I was actually not ready to disembark from Celebrity. I said in my opinion that there is something special about Oceania's Marina that we favored over the larger ships/Celebrity. I guess I misunderstood the import of your post: "But beware, once you try O, going back to Celebrity, especially on the bigger ships will be tough. Trust me, I know. And can vouch for it on a daily basis right now" But when you said it was "tough" being on Celebrity ("on a daily basis") that implied to me that you were "suffering" (or at least wishing you were on Marina) by being on Celebrity and not on O's Marina. Let me clarify as well then. My "opinion" is quite different. I would choose an R ship over Celebrity most of the time and pay double the price for a nearly identical itinerary but not Marina. For me, once there are 1200 passengers O loses any advantage it may have over Celebrity S class ships. The intimacy is gone IMO. I have two future cruises booked on O - both on R ships. I will book 2 or 3 cruises for 2014. I will not even consider the itineraries on Marina and Riviera. I am cruising on Azamara for the first time for the R ship intimacy. To each his own. There are plenty of Marina fans like yourself on these boards and O does not need me to fill the new ships. LOL I am glad you are enjoying yourself and sorry I misread what you were saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted April 1, 2012 #60 Share Posted April 1, 2012 I just returned from an cruise on O. Unfortunately my expectation were too high. I expected more for my PH experience. I did like not having to dress, but the specialty restaurants could not accomodate the demand. They should enlarge them or more fully staff them. I love mid-size ships and the Marina and stateroom were beautifully decorated....................but copared to Celebrity it was not worth the premium price. Funny but I heard a lot of people say that they liked the Crystal experience better. That's what makes the world go round............different strokes for different folks. For me it is back to Celebrity or Azmara. Were you on the same cruise as Travelinjudy? Seems like you both were a bit disappointed. You mentioned the Marina, didn't you just get off the Regatta? If possible could you elaborate on your cruise, what you liked and what you didn't like etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miniaccountant2003 Posted April 1, 2012 #61 Share Posted April 1, 2012 I have crystal booked but considering switching to oceania. I understand the service is exceptional on crystal, but I have heard the food on oceania is fairly close in quality. The staterooms are a little bigger on oceania. Price point is 350 per day lower on oceania with the drink package and gratuities included. Really struggling with the way to go on this. Any verification on the food and service aspects:confused: My husband and I have cruised on both Oceania Marina and Crystal Symphony. I would say that the food and service are a little better on Crystal but we will definitely sail on both lines again depending on time and itinerary. I thought the buffet food had more variety and higher quality on Crystal. As an example, they had specific theme days such as Latin or Asian. On another occasion they had some of the best veal sliced at a carving station that I have ever had, including a delicious sauce which, as I recall was a wine reduction with a hint of blue cheese. The servers also remembered our names very quickly and that did not happen even once on the Marina. The orange juice was fresh squeezed on Crystal but not on Oceania. Regular coffee was not great on either but both have wonderful espresso. On the other hand, Crystal has set dining times and two specialty restaurants and formal nights. The Marina has open seating and four specialty restaurants and no formal nights. Food in the specialty restaurants I would rate as equal. One area where the service was better on Oceania was with our room steward. The room was always magically cleaned while we were at breakfast every time. That was not the case on Crystal and problems ranged from the room still not being cleaned while we were preparing to go for dinner to a bottle of wine being mysteriously delivered and then requested to be taken back by the steward as it was delivered in error to the fruit being replaced sporadically. Truthfully, I think the service is dependant upon the individual providing the service and not necessarily indicative of the cruise line overall. Lastly, if it matters, we thought the bed was much more comfortable on Oceania than on Crystal. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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