Oceania vs Celebrity - Australia / New Zealand

[sabrefan]

I have booked a 16 day Australia / New Zealand cruise for 2015 on Oceania Marina. I have also looked at a 14 day Australia / New Zealand cruise on Celebrity Solstice. The Celebrity cruise is cheaper and does not stop at Napier, NZ or Geelong, Aus. Just wondering if anyone has experience with either of these cruises? Since I am booked with Oceania already I am leaning this way in spite of the price difference.

[LHT28]

Weigh your options

What is the price difference?

Same number of days? same number of ports? time in ports

What extras to you have to pay for onboard

What ports do you want to see

 

It is more than just the basic prices to consider

[Paulchili]

Cruised with both ships in the area.

For me, O wins hands down in every category but price and maybe entertainment (depending on your requirements). Not in the same class.

Period.

[Paulchili]

To add to my prior comment -

The Celebrity cruise is perfectly fine as long as your expectations are realistic.

This is a perfect example of "You get what you pay for".

Keeping that in mind, you will be fine on either cruise.

[sabrefan]

Paulchili,

 

Thank you for your reply. I have been on O once and already have two others cruises scheduled in 2014 because we enjoyed the Riviera so much. I have been on Celebrity 3 other times, all we're very nice as well. You are right, at the end of the day O is our number 1 choice.

[Paulchili]

You are welcome.

That is a great itinerary.

The Geelong stop may allow you to go to the Great Ocean road easier than from Melbourne (plus you DO want to see Melbourne itself as well).

Bay of Islands is very nice too.

Enjoy.

[sabrefan]

Paulchili,

 

Funny that you mention shore excursions in Geelong. This is one stop where we are having a tough time deciding between two shore excursions. Trying to decide between Great Ocean Road & 12 Apostles or Otway Fly Treetop Walk, which sounds very different. My wife and I both like nature and landscapes. The Great Ocean Road trip is 10 hours versus the Treetop Walk coming in at 8 hours. Certainly interesting in hearing your opinion on this especially if you have gone on the Ocean Road & 12 Apostles.

 

Thanks,

Sabrefan

[Paulchili]

Paulchili,

 

Funny that you mention shore excursions in Geelong. This is one stop where we are having a tough time deciding between two shore excursions. Trying to decide between Great Ocean Road & 12 Apostles or Otway Fly Treetop Walk, which sounds very different. My wife and I both like nature and landscapes. The Great Ocean Road trip is 10 hours versus the Treetop Walk coming in at 8 hours. Certainly interesting in hearing your opinion on this especially if you have gone on the Ocean Road & 12 Apostles.

 

Thanks,

Sabrefan

 

Sabrefan,

We did the Great Ocean Road many years ago (1998?) on a land trip in Australia driving from Adelaide to Melbourne (in 2 or 3 days). They are called 12 apostles but only 7 (?) remain due to constant erosion. You would be in the bus a long time, albeit along a scenic highway. It's a pretty drive - think of Hwy 1 in California.

Perhaps you can get a group together from your roll call so that you can be in a smaller vehicle with a more flexible itinerary?

You can also Google for some pictures of the GO Road and see if it is "amazing" enough for you to do the long day.

It's a tough choice that only you can make :)

Either way, I am sure that you'll enjoy the cruise.

[Hawaiidan]

Done this, if you pick up a car rental in Melbourne around 8:30 its an easy drive down the coast road to the apostle's 7 now not 12. And drive back to Melbourne airport to drop the car it is an easy 8-9 hour getting back at the ship by 5. I dropped the car at the airport because it avoids the congested city and took a cab back. Car ran me $60 for the day.

 

I am like you interested in nature..to me Melbourne is just a big busy city with nothing much to offer. The road is a 7.5 on a scale of 1-10 Nice but not astounding like the Big Sur . Easy to drive:o

 

As to Oceiana vs Celeb solstice.... my biggest complaint is that the Solstice is a mega monster of 3000, and dosent feel like a ship.. with lawns and gardens... which I find offensive on a ship. Oceiana will have 1/3 the passengers and none of the nickel-dime Celeb business model

 

quote=sabrefan;40588342]Paulchili,

 

Funny that you mention shore excursions in Geelong. This is one stop where we are having a tough time deciding between two shore excursions. Trying to decide between Great Ocean Road & 12 Apostles or Otway Fly Treetop Walk, which sounds very different. My wife and I both like nature and landscapes. The Great Ocean Road trip is 10 hours versus the Treetop Walk coming in at 8 hours. Certainly interesting in hearing your opinion on this especially if you have gone on the Ocean Road & 12 Apostles.

 

Thanks,

Sabrefan

[Mumofnine]

If I had to make a choice between the Otway Fly Over or Great Ocean Road including Port Campbell National Park I would go for the latter; NO, it is not the Big Sur but it is beautiful and it is IN Australia!

With an interest in nature and scenery you could consider the Dandenong Ranges with their quaint villages and/or Yarra Valley (wineries) to the east of Melbourne city.

To me, Melbourne is not "just a busy city"; it is the cultural capital of Australia, has a European-style café culture with unique laneways and arcades, beautiful parks and gardens and some lovely architecture.

Melbourne does not have the "wow" factor of Sydney Harbour but it does have some "hidden" gems if you scratch the surface ( just a bit biased as I am a long-term resident of Melbourne).

Enjoy our beautiful country!!

[sabrefan]

Mumofnine,

 

Thank you for your reply. This cruise starts in Sydney and ends in Auckland. When we dock in Melbourne we are going this Puffing Billy, wildlife and Dandenongs tour. The bus goes through Ferntree Gully to Belgrave. We then board the train. We then reboard the bus at Menzies Creek. We then to a winery followed by a stop at Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary then back to the ship.

 

The next port we stop at is Geelong, from this port we will take the Ocean Rd & 12 Apostles trip with a visit to Port Campbell National Park. Can't wait to visit your country.

 

Sabrefan

[Hawaiidan]

Mumofnine,

 

Thank you for your reply. This cruise starts in Sydney and ends in Auckland. When we dock in Melbourne we are going this Puffing Billy, wildlife and Dandenongs tour. The bus goes through Ferntree Gully to Belgrave. We then board the train. We then reboard the bus at Menzies Creek. We then to a winery followed by a stop at Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary then back to the ship.

 

The next port we stop at is Geelong, from this port we will take the Ocean Rd & 12 Apostles trip with a visit to Port Campbell National Park. Can't wait to visit your country.

 

Sabrefan

 

Don't get me wrong Melbourne may be the cultural capital and have all these cafes and parks. However, none of that interests me at all.... but that's me. I don't care for cities much.

 

The landscape and the wilds in the region, next to Tasmania, are the best in the region... far superior to Sydney and north and the the far west.

[pacheco18]

We are regular O cruisers but we chose the Celebrity Solstice from Sydney to Auckland

 

We did all private tours

 

It was great

 

Terrific food in the MDR (not in the buffet)

Great shows

Saved a BUNDLE (thousands pp) and used it for some incredible private excursions and some wonderful shopping

 

My rule of thumb -- I only cruise Celebrity when I go with friends -- so I can be sure I will find other folks I want to spend time with. On Oceania, that's never a problem

[Mumofnine]

The landscape and the wilds in the region, next to Tasmania, are the best in the region... far superior to Sydney and north and the the far west.

 

My sentiments also, although Tasmania (was born and bred in North West Tasmania before moving to Victoria) is where my heart lies with wonderful memories of growing up with access to beautiful beaches, fertile farming areas, trout-filled streams and snow-capped mountains (albeit small) not far inland.

The only place in the world that has managed to capture the same feeling is the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland where we regularly visit.

Saying that, the only city in Australia where I would want to live is Melbourne!

 

I hope that any of you visiting us "downunder" will take home wonderful memories of a beautiful country.

[rallydave]

 

The landscape and the wilds in the region, next to Tasmania, are the best in the region... far superior to Sydney and north and the the far west.

 

A bit confused over you comment about Tasmania and think perhaps you mean Hobart since there in nothing but sea next to Tasmania and it is true that the area and wilds near Hobart are really great.

[Mumofnine]

A bit confused over you comment about Tasmania and think perhaps you mean Hobart since there in nothing but sea next to Tasmania and it is true that the area and wilds near Hobart are really great.

 

I think Hawaiidan meant that regional Victoria has some of the best scenery in Australia ALONG with or surpassed only by Tasmania.

I am sure our Northern and Western States would beg to differ!

Everyone has a preferred "type" of scenery; some love the open, dry, dusty centre of Australia. Others love the tropical north; I love green hills/mountains and sea coasts. Best thing is we are lucky to have it all!!

[Hawaiidan]

I think Hawaiidan meant that regional Victoria has some of the best scenery in Australia ALONG with or surpassed only by Tasmania.

I am sure our Northern and Western States would beg to differ!

Everyone has a preferred "type" of scenery; some love the open, dry, dusty centre of Australia. Others love the tropical north; I love green hills/mountains and sea coasts. Best thing is we are lucky to have it all!!

 

 

That is to say,"fairdinkum""Bobs your uncle"sort... of places. The south east of Australia is the garden of all. If you get the chance, visit to molecreek karst.

[ruthnlarry]

We have taken 4 Oceania cruises and prefer O over Celebrity. However, we took B2B NZ/Australia cruises on Solstice, and enjoyed them very much. The first leg was from Auckland to Perth followed by Perth to Sydney for a total of 35 days. O could not come close to the price of our B2B. In fact, we would have probably paid more on O for just 1 leg.

 

We had only previously cruised on Celebrity once to the Galapagos, but we were upgraded on the first leg from an oceanview to a verandah. On our second leg, we became elite because of our previous Azamara cruises. This entitled us to great benefits including free limited internet, laundry, and free daily cocktail hour.

 

The food on Celebrity was good, but not as good as O. We love O's specialty restaurants, especially the Dover sole prepared tableside. We never miss high tea on O. The string quartet providing entertainment is excellent as are the pastries and hor d'oeuvres.

 

The shows on Celebrity are very good especially the Cirque de Soleil. Also, the Celebrity's cabins are a lot more spacious those on O's R class ships.

 

Based upon itinerary and price, we were very happy to have cruised on Solstice. If there was not a significant price difference, we would pick O over Celebrity.

[Mezzaluna]

We were just on Celebrity Equinox (Solstice class) in Norway and have sailed on Solstice herself (eastern Mediterranean). They're big ships, no question. Good food, good service, good facilities. While on Equinox in September we looked at Australia-New Zealand itineraries. Since we are interested in having a fair number of New Zealand ports of call, the limited number of itineraries of any length were not what we wanted. If we were going to fly from the midwestern U.S. to the South Pacific, we wanted to have a rather extensive voyage. When we looked at the number and variety of options on Oceania, there was no comparison.

 

We booked the Spotlight on New Zealand 34-day Grand Voyage last night (Papeete - Auckland, January 24, 2015). We're eager to see the natural wonders and, I must admit, also the movie locations from Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films. We're unabashed fans. It was the scenery from the films that made me realize I should look seriously at traveling to New Zealand and Australia. Now that I've done more research, I can see these lands as places I'll want to visit repeatedly.

Edited November 15, 2013 by Mezzaluna