1st time on O, just back.

[kimanjo]

Previously sailed on Celebrity and Azamara, this was my first O cruise.

 

I am not really writing a review, but just giving my info in case anyone has any questions.

 

May 5th-16 Aegean Gems. Riviera DH (51) and Me (50)

 

Had PH3 7133 (oversized balcony).

 

The ship is beautiful. I don't think the ship was full... but boy did it feel spacious. Many loungers available. Yes, the beds are as comfortable as advertised (but a little small, but the comfort more than makes up for it).

 

Food was excellent. We did find Polo the one dissapointment. Not as good as I expected. DH's porterhouse was just ok, nothing special, a little tough.

 

We really liked the self service coffee machines ( I guess we are weird).

 

We asked for Sprite Zero in our fridge and it was there!!

 

Staff fantastic.

 

And yes, people do turn in early. Most of the pax look to be very active sorts, so its no wonder. But, we do too, so we liked that.

 

I would absolutely book O again. DH thinks he wants to try the smaller ships next time.

 

I could never back to a ship any bigger than the Riviera.

 

Any questions, ask!

[G&G]

Previously sailed on Celebrity and Azamara, this was my first O cruise.

 

I am not really writing a review, but just giving my info in case anyone has any questions.

 

May 5th-16 Aegean Gems. Riviera DH (51) and Me (50)

 

Had PH3 7133 (oversized balcony).

 

The ship is beautiful. I don't think the ship was full... but boy did it feel spacious. Many loungers available. Yes, the beds are as comfortable as advertised (but a little small, but the comfort more than makes up for it).

 

Food was excellent. We did find Polo the one dissapointment. Not as good as I expected. DH's porterhouse was just ok, nothing special, a little tough.

 

We really liked the self service coffee machines ( I guess we are weird).

 

We asked for Sprite Zero in our fridge and it was there!!

 

Staff fantastic.

 

And yes, people do turn in early. Most of the pax look to be very active sorts, so its no wonder. But, we do too, so we liked that.

 

I would absolutely book O again. DH thinks he wants to try the smaller ships next time.

 

I could never back to a ship any bigger than the Riviera.

 

Any questions, ask!

 

We also just completed our first cruise on Oceania (Riviera), 24 days to Barcelona. The cruise experience was outstanding and we booked another cruise while on board.

 

We also found most people turned in early. I was concerned that the Showroom was too small, 600 seats available for 1250 passengers. We attended every show and the showroom was never full except for thr Farewell Show; other shows, theater approx. 70% full. After the show we went to the Horizon and at most there were 20 people in the lounge. I felt I was back on a Holland America ship :D

[cdn.cruiser]

We have also sailed on celebrity, solstice class ships and are looking forward to our first O cruise this fall( riviera) We found the furnishings on the celebrity solstice beautiful, is the O ship really nicer? The cabins look similar. Both have granite bathrooms, I know O has a tub, but otherwise should be similar. I think the main difference is the food. Is that right?Sorry to hear your steak in polo wasn't tender, I would be disappointed as well. I found the crew on the celebrity very friendly. Expect the same on O.

Could you point out other differences between celebrity solstice and Oceania riviera.

Also correct any opinions I have from what I wrote.

I of course know that the specialty restaurants are included and non alcoholic drinks, after all we are paying a premium on O .

I guess my main question is , everyone says how beautiful the O ships are and I am interested in knowing if they are really nicer than the celebrity solstice class ships.

Thank you for your comments.

[kimanjo]

My last cruise on Celebrity was on the Equinox. The X ships are very attractive. As are the Oceania ships. The way I see them is the X ships look more "Swedish" to me. Straighter, more angular lines. The O ships are a little more "ornate", but not in a stuffy way. The chairs in the common areas are upholstered in current textures and colors. Aqua's, browns etc. Really just overall very, very nice. I had an inside on X, and a PH 3 on O, so it's very hard to compare. The PH is very spacious!

 

If Celebrity had ships the size of O's, and no childrens programs, I would certainly sail X again in a heartbeat.

 

It's those 2 items that will have me sailing O or Azamara from now on.

 

Helped?

[swaluv]

We are sailing own our first Oceania on Sunday. Thanks for the review!

[wripro]

The Solstice ships carry 2800 passengers as opposed to 1260 on the Riviera. That amkes for a whole different experience no matter what the decors are.

[Paulchili]

On my last Solstice trip there was a loud concert in the atrium that lasted till MIDNIGHT and could be heard on all floor around the atrium. As my cabin was mid-ship deck 6, I heard every single word of every single song that the group sang until midnight (even with ear plugs).

You will NEVER experience this on any O ship and that alone is reason enough for me to never go on the Solstice again.

I have stood in some very long lines on the Solstice :(

The food on O is on a different level altogether, IMO.

YMMV.

[pacheco18]

The Nautica and Reflection were side by side at the port in Messina.

 

My husband and I looked at each other and agreed -- no more than 600 or so passengers for us. I cancelled a Celebrity cruise and I will stick to the R ships, hopefully on Oceania, but also on Azamara.

 

Note: you also can't make 1200 feel like 600. That, too, makes for a whole different experience.

[Mura]

I am not about to tell people that O is better than everything else, certainly not better than Celebrity or Azamara which we have not sailed on. I AM an O loyalist but I also am not blind to some of its short comings.

 

Still, I'm puzzled about OP's comments that the beds were small. We've never felt they were small! A queen is a queen, a twin is a twin, a king is a king. Now, if you're used to a King on the other lines and you're now in a Queen, yes, that would be smaller.

 

(You only have king's on the elite suites on the O ships but I never felt the beds were small. I agree that they are super comfortable!)

 

As to the shows, one reason the theater isn't full is because most of us experienced O cruisers know that the shows aren't the prime experience on O. That doesn't mean we (meaning DH and myself) don't go to some shows. But we don't go to all shows.

 

We also tend to eat late so by the time we leave the restaurant, there's time for a walk around the deck and back to the cabin. We've usually missed the show.

 

As has been already said, you do have to bear in mind the size of the various ships before making absolute comparisons. The "R" ships are 684, the "O" ships 1250 and apparent Celebrity rather more. This DOES make a difference. To some of us, a really big difference.

 

We did a TA on one of the smaller NCL ships a few years ago -- 2300 passengers. The only time we really noticed the difference was when we were trying to leave or reboard the ship. And that WAS a pain, especially when leaving the ship.

 

We did two cruises on the QE2 (1750 passengers) and didn't notice a problem.

 

But we will try to stick to smaller ships ... the QE2 worked in this respect but she's no longer available, so we'll look to ships no larger than Marina/Riviera in the future.

 

For the record: we do love the "R" ships. But I also love the extra space in the cabin and additional restaurant opportunities on the "O" ships. So we've been going back and forth.

 

Mura

[kimanjo]

I am not about to tell people that O is better than everything else, certainly not better than Celebrity or Azamara which we have not sailed on. I AM an O loyalist but I also am not blind to some of its short comings.

 

Still, I'm puzzled about OP's comments that the beds were small. We've never felt they were small! A queen is a queen, a twin is a twin, a king is a king. Now, if you're used to a King on the other lines and you're now in a Queen, yes, that would be smaller.

 

(You only have king's on the elite suites on the O ships but I never felt the beds were small. I agree that they are super comfortable!)

 

As to the shows, one reason the theater isn't full is because most of us experienced O cruisers know that the shows aren't the prime experience on O. That doesn't mean we (meaning DH and myself) don't go to some shows. But we don't go to all shows.

 

We also tend to eat late so by the time we leave the restaurant, there's time for a walk around the deck and back to the cabin. We've usually missed the show.

 

As has been already said, you do have to bear in mind the size of the various ships before making absolute comparisons. The "R" ships are 684, the "O" ships 1250 and apparent Celebrity rather more. This DOES make a difference. To some of us, a really big difference.

 

We did a TA on one of the smaller NCL ships a few years ago -- 2300 passengers. The only time we really noticed the difference was when we were trying to leave or reboard the ship. And that WAS a pain, especially when leaving the ship.

 

We did two cruises on the QE2 (1750 passengers) and didn't notice a problem.

 

But we will try to stick to smaller ships ... the QE2 worked in this respect but she's no longer available, so we'll look to ships no larger than Marina/Riviera in the future.

 

For the record: we do love the "R" ships. But I also love the extra space in the cabin and additional restaurant opportunities on the "O" ships. So we've been going back and forth.

 

Mura

 

 

Mura

 

I could be totally wrong, but we had the beds separated and made up as 2 beds. I think if they are pushed together, they make up into a Queen bed.

 

Two "normal" twins pushed together make up a standard King???

 

Apparently, the size wasn't an issue for me... I usually am awake between 4:30 and 5:00 am every morning. On the ship I slept until 6:30 most mornings!! It was great.

 

And as for size, I knew after my last Celebrity, I couldn't go back to a big ship. My Azamara in 2007 "enlightened" me to the smaller ship experience, and it took that long to get DH to go with me!

 

J.

[Mura]

That may be the problem.

 

It has been my impression that two twins make a queen, two doubles make a king.

 

So if you thought two twins would be a king size bed, I can see the problem!

 

Mura

[JimandStan]

That may be the problem.

 

It has been my impression that two twins make a queen, two doubles make a king.

 

So if you thought two twins would be a king size bed, I can see the problem!

 

Mura

 

 

Mura Mura Mura, how ever DO you buy sheets?

Two twins together constitute a King

[potterhill]

A twin bed is 39 inches. A double is 54. A queen is 60. A king is 78. Two doubles would make an astounding 9 foot bed!!!!!

 

The beds on O are referred to as queen I think, but made of two beds so when separated they are indeed a bit smaller. However I think they are actually somewhere between a queen and a king as 30 inches would be quite narrow as a single. I also remember looking at our bed and thinking that it looked bigger than a queen but definitely not as big as our king.

 

Purely an educated guess as I did not measure. ;-)

 

Mo

[YoHoHo]

Well OT. As per ehow.com, the bed size depends on where it is defined. A US queen size bed (60" x 80" or 152 x 203 cm) is equivalent to UK/Ireland's king size (60" x 78" or 152 x 198 cm) and Europe's 160 x 200 cm (63" x 79").

 

A U.S. twin bed is 39" x 75" (97 x 191 cm)

 

I am sure I saw older posts here on purchasing an O mattress that the O mattress are a European definition.

 

Assuming O's beds are a 'European' queen size then they will be smaller than a US queen size. Depending on what one is used to an extra few inches makes a world of difference.

Like potterhill I have not measured so just joining in the speculation. I have never taken a tape measure with me on vacation so can't say what the actual dimensions are. That said, to me two 'halves' feel smaller to me than when they are put together into one.

 

No matter, they are wonderfully comfortable beds.

[Mura]

Mura Mura Mura, how ever DO you buy sheets?

Two twins together constitute a King

 

Not a problem since I don't have to buy either twin or king size sheets!

 

I, too, checked the official dimensions and they do indeed say that two twins equal a king, but they sure don't in my existence. I don't care what the number of inches are! When I'm sleeping in a twin bed it's obviously small. When I'm sleeping in a king bed there's a heck of a lot more room between DH and myself then seems possible if the two halves are twins. Obviously, I'm not a mathematician.

 

Regarding the difference between European and U.S. sizes, that's very true. But I have to say that we sleep in a queen bed at home and I've never felt that the beds on O were smaller than our bed at home. I'll have to check next time we have a queen on O.

 

I guess, given a choice between more comfort or larger space, I'd go for comfort.

 

Mura