Rare welshfamily Posted February 21, 2013 #1 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I wonder if anyone could advise me. First some background. We are a family of 4. Parents plus adult 'children ' 24 and 27. We have cruised exclusively with Celebrity, usually Aqua class. Our travel agent has recommend the Riviera on the 16th of August from Istanbul to Rome. B class cabins. (We teach therefore must travel in the peak season). None of us drink particularly but we always have a premium non alcoholic package each. Do you think we would find Oceania a good fit and if so do they offer packages for soft drinks etc or is it just a well to pay as you go. Thank you in advance for your advise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kissing Seahorses Posted February 21, 2013 #2 Share Posted February 21, 2013 It sounds like Oceania might be a good fit. On Oceania all soft drinks and non alcoholic coffees, etc are included in the fare. Premium drink packages are almost $60US per person, per day so if you don't drink much it might make sense to pay as you go or purchase packages for only those family members that will drink over $60 worth of alcohol per day (this is a fairly easy threshold to meet on holiday - IMHO). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted February 21, 2013 #3 Share Posted February 21, 2013 It sounds like a good fit for you with the exception that there may not be many cruisers your children's age as Oceania tends to have an older crowd. If they don't require much company their own age, you'll all love Oceania. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 21, 2013 #4 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I have no idea about Celebrity but I think Oceania would be a good fit for you As mentioned the bottled water & sodas are included as are the 4 specialty restaurants I would suggest 2 cabins though Give them a try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
globevest Posted February 21, 2013 #5 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Have sailed with Celebrity once in Aqua Class, eating mainly in BLU and enjoyed it. I would do it again for the right itinerary. Tried their buffet twice and would never go there again. Have sailed Oceania many times and would rate them them significantly better than Celebrity. If you choose Riviera I believe you will find All restaurants equal or superior to BLU. The Riveria 'buffet', The Terrance, is superb in comparison to the buffet on Celebrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mringenoldus Posted February 21, 2013 #6 Share Posted February 21, 2013 My husband and I are huge fans of Oceania. We also have adult children near to your kids age. They are very experienced cruisers - and I can say with a fair amount of certainty that they would find Oceania deadly dull in the evenings and would be quite bored. I recall the time I took them on a Princess cruise in the off season. The cruisers on that trip were mostly retired folk and the kids thought that particular trip was a bit of a snore. Additionally, I think you might find four adults sharing a B cabin a somewhat tight squeeze. I have taken our gang on Celebrity Soltice, among other cruise lines, and they had a wonderful time. They don't tend to hang around with their dad and I most evenings - although I certainly don't know why - we are a barrel of fun :) My recommendation to your travel agent would be to revisit the Oceania itineraries when it is just the two of you traveling. You will love the cruiseline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare welshfamily Posted February 22, 2013 Author #7 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Sorry if I gave the impression that we would all be in the same cabin. My youngest is 6 feet 5inches and barely fits in his own cabin let alone as an extra. We would have two B1's. I didn't even realise you could put more than 2 in Oceania's cabins. He also has a disability and gets tired so late nights are out and cigarette smoke is an issue which is why we have stuck to Celebrity so far but we have done most of their itineraries. Our TA has said it is easy to avoid smoking on Oceania and as we enjoy good food and our cruises are about seeing new places, peace and relaxation with hopefully good company and light entertainment she felt we should consider Oceania. We had thought of Azamara but she thinks Oceania is better. Of course this is her opinion hence this post as Cruise Critic members have enhanced our Celebrity cruises with their company both on board and on private trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenndale Posted February 22, 2013 #8 Share Posted February 22, 2013 ... Our TA has said it is easy to avoid smoking on Oceania and as we enjoy good food and our cruises are about seeing new places, peace and relaxation with hopefully good company and light entertainment she felt we should consider Oceania. We had thought of Azamara but she thinks Oceania is better. Of course this is her opinion hence this post as Cruise Critic members have enhanced our Celebrity cruises with their company both on board and on private trips. I've enjoyed both cruiselines. With your status on Celebrity you would be eligible for perks like free internet and laundry on Azamara. You would pay extra on Azamara for the speciality restaurants but on Oceania they are included. A tends to stay longer in port and is also moving to included alcohol which will be reflected in their pricing, not a good move for us as we drink only small amounts of alcohol. A's cruises also tend to be shorter from what I've seen. A difficult choice :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mringenoldus Posted February 22, 2013 #9 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Glenndale - you are from the same town as one of our favorite cruising buddies! We are scheduled to sail with them again on the Marina in April 2014. (We met trying to find strength in numbers to defend ourselves from the "Trivia czar" they had running the trivia game on Sapphire Princess a few years ago) My husband just visited them in your town on New Years Eve a few months ago. Welshfamily - my sons are also over 6'6" so I understand what you are saying about fitting in a cabin :) Your circumstances may be unique, making Oceania an option for you to consider. But I would honestly say that the first time we boarded Oceania - we were in our mid-50's - I looked around very concerned. At first blush, I thought perhaps I had made a mistake as we appeared to be quite a bit younger than our fellow passengers. We later met a number of others around our age and did have a wonderful time. You know your kids. I think you just have to decide if there being few - or more likely - no young people onboard would have any negative impact on your kid's enjoyment of the cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 22, 2013 #10 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Contrary to some opinions here Oceania is not a nursing home We started cruising O in our mid 50's & i can tell you some of the 80 yr olds put us to shame We are now mid 60's & still amazed at the stamina of some our shipmates that are much older than us We have also encounter several youngsters in their teens, 20's & 30's Summer month & itineraries will have a different demographic than so other times of the year I think at their age they are probably mature enough to find something to entertain themselves in the evenings if need be I would give Oceania a try then you can decide for yourself Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mringenoldus Posted February 22, 2013 #11 Share Posted February 22, 2013 LHT28 I have nothing but regard for my fellow Oceania cruisers. But this does not alter the fact that the most typical O cruiser represents an older and well traveled demographic. Had we boarded Oceania with our adult kids unaware of this, it would have been a very different experience for them. Given their previous comments regarding the Princess trip, I would anticipate it would not have been a positive one. The OP may have a different experience with their children On our Regatta itinerary, there were two teen sisters. On Insignia, there was a young couple who was doing a world wide trip and part of their travels included the TA on Insignia. The OP appeared to be trying to make a comparative decision. That is best made with varying points of view. Having been on both cruise lines, I hope I was able to provide that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 22, 2013 #12 Share Posted February 22, 2013 As the OP stated they were looking for a quiet cruise and good food (subjective of course) Their adult children may fit in fine or they may not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvin81 Posted February 24, 2013 #13 Share Posted February 24, 2013 We took our first O cruise 4 years ago when my daughter was 19. She wasn't looking for other young adults to hang out with. If there were others onboard she wouldn't have spent time with them anyway as it was the typically port intensive O cruise -- we were out all day and happy (and tired) to go back to the cabin after another fabulous dinner. We generally ate at a table for two, sometimes talking to our neighbors. In the specialty restaurants we shared a table and she was a bit bored by the end of those dinners, but not always. Some nights we had more lively conversations than others :). It all depends what your adult children are looking for. We went on our cruises to see places we hadn't been before and spend time together. One of our favorite days was on Corfu, where we rented a car with a couple in their 40's that we met by the pool one day. Their age didn't matter -- they were fun people! She was happy to have a wonderful vacation on a very nice cruiseline. And is thrilled we're going again this summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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