The Happy Wanderer wandered to Oceania---a report

[Cindy]

I really enjoyed your report! I'm not loyal to any line, and so far I have cruised with HAL, Princess, Carnival, and RCI, with a Celebrity cruise scheduled for next May. My husband and I are interested in trying both Oceania and Azamara in the future, and I enjoy reports from people who can compare either of those with lines I've been on.

[Scrapnana]

Great review. The lack of evening entertainment and outside space would bother me the most.

[ekkc10753]

Thank you Ruth! I really appreciate the detail, especially learning that there's no outside deck. Even though we usually book verandas because room service breakfast and pre-dinner wine on the porch is so delightful, we make good use of the main deck walking, meeting other people strolling and staring at the wake

But attentive service...even if it's not all warm and cuddly.....hmmmm!

[PirateShark]

Thank you Ruth for a very balanced and thoughtful review of Riviera :) I do agree that food choices are subjective (and yes, we like frou frou) but I am pleased to hear that you got very good service which is something that has been slipping lately with HAL. I can't wait to contrast and compare Oceania in just over a month from now but don't know if I'll make as many articulate observations as you have. Glad you enjoyed your cruise but even more happy to find that chocolate tastes like chocolate on Oceania!

['The Bear']

RuthC ----- Many thanks for the detailed comparison of the 2 lines. My wife and I have been considering sailing with Oceania, like many others, due to declining food quality and service cutbacks. I've been waiting for a comparison from someone who's opinion I value and trust ---- Kudos for this detailed report!!

 

The lack of an outside deck, along with the difficulty of getting inside cabins will probably rule out our Oceania trial --- I would never have known without this report!! ..........Perhaps Azamara???

 

Many thanks again Ruth!

 

[sapper1]

Just got home and read your review. Great job!! It really gives one a nice feel for the ship. That was a lot of work so thanks for taking the time.

[LordSpain]

Thank for the nice report Ruth. We tried Regent last month with mixed results http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1951100 . Maybe we'll try Oceania if the opprtunity presents itself.

 

See you on the Oosterdam in April for the South Pacific Crossing!

 

Bruce

[Rowsby]

Great review......thanks so much.....!!

We've been looking at their cruises to Bermuda since HAL plugged the plug.....

Did you use some type of laundry service....??

[superoma]

Thanks Ruth for a good report. enjoyed reading it.

[SilvertoGold]

Thanks, Ruth, for this review. Excellent in all respects.

 

Interesting to hear about the desserts: this is enough to get my hubbie onto Oceania. He really did not think it is possible to get a good dessert on a cruise ship after suffering though HAL's "pies" and other pseudo- desserts.

 

Appreciate your time and efforts to compare and contrast. A great overview of Oceania for the uninitiated. It was a fun, informative read.

[tomc]

One of the best to-the-point reviews I've seen. Straightforward, objective and no complaining. I know how much you enjoy the nightlife; it's too bad there was not enough of it.

Edited December 8, 2013 by tomc

[ruthnlarry]

RuthC ----- Many thanks for the detailed comparison of the 2 lines. My wife and I have been considering sailing with Oceania' date=' like many others, due to declining food quality and service cutbacks. I've been waiting for a comparison from someone who's opinion I value and trust ---- Kudos for this detailed report!!

 

The lack of an outside deck, along with the difficulty of getting inside cabins will probably rule out our Oceania trial --- I would never have known without this report!! ..........Perhaps Azamara???

 

Many thanks again Ruth!

 

[/b']

 

Oceania ships do have an outside deck, but not as large as the outside areas on HAL. However, we have never had a problem obtaining outside seating on Oceania during our 4 cruises on Nautica, Regatta, and Insignia. We have not cruised on either Riviera or Marina, but have seen photos of their outside decks.

 

While boarding may be prioritized according to cabin type, we have never waited more than 10-15 minutes to board any Oceania ship once entering the terminal.

 

There are self-service washing machines and dryers on the R Class ships that use tokens purchased from Guest Services.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thanks Ruth, You report reads a lot like I have had comments of those that have returned. It is kinds of a mixed bag. I have found that those that jump from Cruise line to Cruise line and have stumbled on to Oceania and usually spend far more really like it and have returned. Those that have favored one line over another tend to have a mixed feeling about it. Yes there are good things but equally a lot of the complaints were yours with no out side deck and lack of evening entertainment. Food is so subjective but I had heard the comment about the sauces before and if someone is bit picky it was harder to deal with. That being said I have known people come back that thought that Oceania was better than Seabourn :D I do think that when it gets right down to it, as much as I hate saying this it really depends on price. Was the bit higher price worth paying for the things that were exceptional yet losing those thing one missed such as an outside deck and Piano Bar.

While I have not yet been on Crystal, Ruth I really do think you should try that, it has everything you want with a great Piano Bar, great outdoor wrap around deck, small ships and people I know quite well feel the food is definitely a few steps above.

 

I do know that after I tried several cruise lines, I had gone almost two years not sailing on HAL, going back I kept saying....There is no place like home ;) In my various lines we have tried so far the only line we have found that we really like as well as HAL is Norwegian, for us but we like it for different reasons and find it a good alternative for something different.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

Thanks for the review Ruth! You pretty much covered everything that anyone would want to know about Oceania......Glad also you had a good trip, and are back home safely, and able to provide your very good advice on this board!:)

[eswn]

Thanks for the easy to understand review (English is not my mother tongue). It is evidently written by someone with enough objectivity and self confidence. I enjoyed your open, direct, simple, and yet elegant style of reporting your experience on a ship that I would love to try some day. There is hardly a trace of pretentiousness in your posts. Beauty is truth, truth beauty.

 

Sorry if I have been commenting on your writing style uninvitedly (all praises though). Just cannot resist it.

 

By the way, like many, I love chocolate too.

[rwams]

Thank you for the excellent review Ruth. I really enjoyed it.

[scopewest]

Thanks for the review, I enjoyed reading it.

[whogo]

Thanks for the review, Ruth, beautifully done! How did country club casual suit you?

[LindaM]

First of all Ruth - what a fabulous report.

 

Thank you so very much. You shared a lot of insight into Oceania.

 

I know you have sailed on the Prinsendam so, if you don't mind - how does she compare to Oceania. I am only asking as I have found the service better on the EE than the other ships and some things a 'step up' from the other ships in the fleet.

 

Thank you for the time and effort you put into this review. It was a great read.

 

And, welcome home:)

 

You beat me to it....that is what I was going to ask. She hasn't responded yet, and I am anxiously awaiting her response!! I think we take for granted the wrap around promenade deck. It is really important for those without a verandah. Even with one, it's nice to be able to walk around the promenade deck. We used it to watch the ship dock in Morocco. On another thread, someone said only certain categories were eligible for a hot room service breakfast. I hope she compares it favorably!

[kazu]

You beat me to it....that is what I was going to ask. She hasn't responded yet, and I am anxiously awaiting her response!! I think we take for granted the wrap around promenade deck. It is really important for those without a verandah. Even with one, it's nice to be able to walk around the promenade deck. We used it to watch the ship dock in Morocco. On another thread, someone said only certain categories were eligible for a hot room service breakfast. I hope she compares it favorably!

 

I suspect she was waiting for this question:D

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you RuthC for giving great details about the various dining venues.

I loved your review and glad you took time to write it.

[rogerthornhill]

We were also on this cruise. Having met the lovely and charming RuthC on an earlier cruise we were shocked and very happy to discover that we had the cabin next to hers.

 

Knowing her, she'll be along sometime to answer questions, but I can do some in the meantime. We haven't sailed on HAL as much as RuthC, but we are 4 star Mariners. Her answers may vary, but here is our take.

 

We've also sailed on the Prinsendam. Comparing the Riviera to the Prinsendam is difficult. On the Prinsendam we experienced constantly excellent service. On the Riviera it was feast or famine.

 

Food. Agreed subjective. We didn't find that the food was better than we've seen on HAL. We had dinner there 8 nights of the 14. We went for the "always available" part of the menu at least 3 to 4 of those nights. I can't think of any night we had to choose between two tempting choices. It was more like 'making do' with a choice.The Grand Dining Room was beautiful. We liked the looks of the room and the space between tables far better than any dining room on HAL. When we had an eastern European server, we also had attitude that we've never seen on HAL. Even when HAL had eastern European waiters in the PG for a while, they never made us feel that it was beneath their dignity to wait on us. We did have most breakfasts and lunches in the GDR. Due to problems walking they did tend to seat us in an area near the entrance. That was greatly appreciated. We thought that would be nice as we'd get the same wait staff and they'd learn our preferences. Not with the rotation of staff as Ruth mentioned.

 

Waves is far superior to the Lido Pool burger spot on HAL.

 

In the Terrace Cafe service was better. There isn't any self service. Everything is served to you on the buffet. I can have difficulty walking. Many times the server came out from their station to carry my dish to our table. No hunting down 'someone' to help. Ruth did have problems one day trying to get the waiter to understand that she wanted cold chocolate milk. She had brought warm chocolate milk (in a glass) to Ruth and just couldn't get that Ruth wanted cold. At one point she did offer to get ice to put in the warm milk. Thankfully the manager came along and took care of getting cold chocolate milk for Ruth.

 

Outdoor space. We did greatly miss the walk around deck. The first part of the cruise it was very windy. Luck would have it that the wind was hitting our side of the ship. If there had been a walk around deck like on HAL we would have gone to the leeward side of the ship and sat there. The deck chairs on the Riviera are up on the highest decks and in pretty open areas. They weren't set up for our use on those windy days. Even when they are set up they are looking inward. If one could easily turn them around (which they couldn't) you would face a glass-like wall, not the open sea. We didn't use our verandah as much as Ruth. We had the door open between our verandahs and could see her foot up on the lower railing even on cold, windy days. We found the "cashmere" lap blanket pretty thin and scratchy. They weren't keeping us warm out on the verandah.

 

Front desk. Like HAL they must send that staff to a 'no service with a smile' school.

 

County Club casual. After reading the O forum I debated bringing a sport coat. I was very glad I did and even wish I'd brought more than one.

 

Laundry. The closest to a laundry package was on certain days only, you could have 20 items washed (no ironing included) for $20. We did our laundry ourselves. The laundry rooms are nicer than on HAL. There one on each deck with passenger cabins. Each one has a comfy sofa, a nice sized TV and a refrigerator stocked with bottles of water (no extra charge). Tokens are available at the Front Desk, charged to your room only (no cash payment). Two dollars to wash (25 minutes) and another two to dry (45 minutes).

 

Cabins. WOW. Over the years we've had almost all categories on HAL. This is one area where Oceania wins without question. The quality of materials far outshines HAL. Granite, wood, nice carpeting... No laminate seen. We like HAL's beds but LOVE the ones on Oceania. The PH suites we saw on the cabin crawl are better than the (now) Neptune suites we've had on HAL. We saw two types of even higher level suites and they blow the HAL PH suites out of the water.

 

Now, back to Ruth.

Edited December 8, 2013 by rogerthornhill

[kazu]

thanks so much for your comments rogerthornhill. Very interesting indeed.

 

Looks like there are pluses and minuses to every cruise line:)

 

Thanks so much for mentioning the Prinsendam in your comparison. Very appreciated.

 

Several of our roll call members on our last EE cruise sailed Oceania, Azamara and river cruises primarily. It was their first cruise on the Prinsendam and I thought they would be disappointed.

 

I asked them at our last get together for their opinion - and they rated Prinsendam above Azamara and just a smidge below Oceania. I was quite surprised :)

 

So, I was curious about the opinons for those who have been on the EE to see if they matched.

 

Thank you again

Edited December 8, 2013 by kazu

[janmcn]

Thanks, Ruth…glad you did enjoy it…but wonderful info on the ship. I will say the lack of "outdoor space" (i.e. Promenade) X's this ship and any other like it out. I LOVE being able to walk, sit, use the deck for photos, etc. I won't sail on any ship that doesn't allow for that…so…too bad….but I won't be on that ship.

[LindaM]

thanks so much for your comments rogerthornhill. Very interesting indeed.

 

Looks like there are pluses and minuses to every cruise line:)

 

Thanks so much for mentioning the Prinsendam in your comparison. Very appreciated.

 

Several of our roll call members on our last EE cruise sailed Oceania, Azamara and river cruises primarily. It was their first cruise on the Prinsendam and I thought they would be disappointed.

 

I asked them at our last get together for their opinion - and they rated Prinsendam above Azamara and just a smidge below Oceania. I was quite surprised :)

 

So, I was curious about the opinons for those who have been on the EE to see if they matched.

 

Thank you again

 

Jacqui,

 

They probably rated Oceania above P a smidge because of the staterooms. I've been in a beautiful stateroom on Regent---with bathrooms of marble and glass. They are impressive. I've only visited the better suites on P. They are older, so it's hard to truly rave about them. At any rate, it is nice hearing such good remarks about P. Those Regent folks are quite annoyed with me when I rave about her.