Are some people too hard to please?

[StarFlyr]

My dad had an expression that "Some people would gripe if they were hung with a new rope". That about says it.

[Travelcat2]

My dad had an expression that "Some people would gripe if they were hung with a new rope". That about says it.

 

Your dad is a very wise man!!!!!!!!!

[Travelcat2]

We have been on Oceania 15 times with a 16th the first of next month, so obviously we are their cheerleaders because every aspect has been to our satisfaction. My husband's favorite spot is the Terrace for most all meals where we can sit outside and enjoy the fresh air & sights (depending on the weather, of course). The staff, and we mean all of them, are outstanding. We cannot recall any issues with the staff in our trips with Oceania.

 

True that the standard rooms are somewhat small. We previously had PH category and moved to Concierge because we just didn't take advantage of the butler's service plus the trips are port intensive, and we were not in the room very often; however, they were well appointed.

 

The only dislike I have are the cabanas. They blocked the whole front of the ship if you wished to view outside forward.

 

 

We love the Marina as the rooms are more roomy, and we love the Concierge Lounge, which we use regularly. Very nice.

 

We, however, changed from Oceania to Regent for our Cape Town to Singapore trip as I felt there were many more perks. We are really excited about sailing on Regent. Our neighbor has been on many, many Regent, and recommends them highly. The one thing I will miss is seeing the crew with whom we became so familiar. It was great to board O and see all the faces, and even some of the crew remembered us by name.

 

I'm sure that if we find the Regent experience as good (I'm sure we will since it is under FDR), then we will get to know the crew as well. with regular sailings. It is like "coming home." Can't wait for our first w/R.

 

Really liked your post but are concerned that your expectations for Regent may not be realistic. I understand that you will miss the crew that you are used to seeing (however, Regent and Oceania crews switch lines so you may see familiar faces). You will most likely like the suites as they are larger than on Oceania.

 

My concern is about how much you like the Concierge Lounge and Terrace Café. As someone who is a Regent loyalist that has sailed on the Riviera (and will do so again in November), you have mentioned two areas that we have difficulty with. First, the Concierge Lounge. On Regent, everyone is treated equally and therefore there is no "special" area where only certain people can enter. The Coffee Connection, in my opinion, is 100% better than the Concierge (or Executive Lounge) on Oceania - it has more offerings and is larger and more comfortable (but does not have two internet stations).

 

I certainly agree than anything that FDR is involved with is wonderful. However, he made the two cruise lines very different. It sounds like you have been on the newer Oceania ships as well as the smaller ships. I can only compare Regent with the Riviera. We disliked the Terrace Café for the following reasons:

 

1. It was too large and felt like a cafeteria.

 

2. You could not serve yourself. I understand the sanitary issues involved in serving yourself but this is something that Regent guests prefer to do.

 

3. There were many more choices on the Riviera as it is a larger ship but we felt that quality was less than on Regent. I am almost 100% certain that you will disagree with my opinion because most people we speak with love the Terrace Café.

 

We do feel that the specialty restaurants (specifically Red Ginger and Jacques) is better than anything Regent has to offer. Polo is equivalent to Prime 7.

 

As a long time Oceania customer I feel that it is important to not compare one cruise line with the other since they were not meant to be the same. Also, if you do make the comparison, you will probably dislike Regent. While we remain Regent loyalists, we appreciate what Oceania has to offer and will continue to sail on her when the itinerary is appealing.

 

Note: We do not like Regent's all-inclusive excursions.

[Hambagahle]

I do not have the problem with what TC calls "elitism" - in fact I like having additional things thrown in when I book a larger suite (Executive Lounge, priority boarding and suite occupancy and more dinner reservations in the Oceania case) or Business or First class air (special check in, priority luggage handling, airline lounge etc) "You get what you pay for". BUT I have to say that on the Riviera I was not overwhelmed by the Executive lounge. In fact I rather wondered why it exists. There are no windows so no view. When I used it there was no staff member present. I could get a cup of tea or coffee from the machine and a biscuit or small sandwich if I wanted one. But Barista's was a whole lot better. I suppose I could have read newspapers there had I wished... but other than that I think it is a waste of space and could be more productive for Oceania used as an inside revenue-producing cabin!

 

For the rest of the "Class differences" or "perks" on Oceania that come with a larger suite - I love them and I really do not see why Regent doesn't have them as well...

[newlondon]

Agree with you Ham 100%. The airline example says it all.

[findacruise]

We have been on Oceania 15 times with a 16th the first of next month, so obviously we are their cheerleaders because every aspect has been to our satisfaction. My husband's favorite spot is the Terrace for most all meals where we can sit outside and enjoy the fresh air & sights (depending on the weather, of course). The staff, and we mean all of them, are outstanding. We cannot recall any issues with the staff in our trips with Oceania.

 

True that the standard rooms are somewhat small. We previously had PH category and moved to Concierge because we just didn't take advantage of the butler's service plus the trips are port intensive, and we were not in the room very often; however, they were well appointed.

 

The only dislike I have are the cabanas. They blocked the whole front of the ship if you wished to view outside forward.

 

We love the Marina as the rooms are more roomy, and we love the Concierge Lounge, which we use regularly. Very nice.

 

We, however, changed from Oceania to Regent for our Cape Town to Singapore trip as I felt there were many more perks. We are really excited about sailing on Regent. Our neighbor has been on many, many Regent, and recommends them highly. The one thing I will miss is seeing the crew with whom we became so familiar. It was great to board O and see all the faces, and even some of the crew remembered us by name.

 

I'm sure that if we find the Regent experience as good (I'm sure we will since it is under FDR), then we will get to know the crew as well. with regular sailings. It is like "coming home." Can't wait for our first w/R.

 

We, too, had sailed on a number of Oceania cruises before we took our first Regent cruise. Our personal experience, which may differ from yours, is that we did not miss the concierge lounge. We loved all the additional space in the regular cabin and the closet was much easier to access. The crew was very friendly and remembered us very quickly., even though it was our first cruise. Passengers friendly and well traveled.

 

As we know food is highly subjective, but on the 2 cruises we were on, we found the food to be a slight tick below Oceania, in the specialty restaurants. However, we did have good meals in Sette Marie. That was until our last Oceania cruise where we found Polo significantly lacking. But, we know that can vary from ship to ship. Not a deal breaker for us.

 

We like the all inclusiveness of Regent for those areas where I wasn't comfortable booking our own shore excursions - Middle East and Asia. And, we appreciate Regent's business class upgrades for when we don't have enough points.

 

We will continue to book by itinerary and needs for a particular cruise. Our next ocean cruise is on Regent. It will be on the Mariner. Our other 2 were on Voyager. We are looking forward to being back on board. We love the comfortable, low key feeling.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[spindrift]

Thank you for your comments. I don't think I have an issue with "comparisons" per se. I enjoy features of the various trips.

 

The Concierge Lounge we enjoyed a couple of times on the Marina because it was nice coming back from tours, stopping by the room, picking up a few appetizers for our room, had a cocktail, freshened up, and then went to dinner. In the am, we picked up juice and coffee, dressed for the day, and went to breakfast. So, that is a good memory for us. We did, in fact, use the computers a few times. Convenient for our boarding passes as well.

 

The Terrace on the Marina was much larger and tables a bit close together, but we used to eat outside on the small ships and Marina, and loved the ambience of the area. We found the "buffet" to be quite nice since they had the same as in the dining room, and we love crab and sushi, and that was wonderful. We are not big eaters.

 

Now, Red Ginger--that is our all time favorite. Jacques was our least favorite (but it was our friends favorite--taste, I guess). Red Ginger can't be beat in my estimation, but I enjoy our home Club restaurant as well as others in the neighborhood, and on other ships.

 

Last week we did Alaska again on Princess and had a suite. We couldn't have had better room service (i.e., steward), better service, excellent food, etc. etc. Of course it isn't Oceania or the other luxury lines, but we felt like our service was just the same. Could not have been better.

 

Enjoy each line and trip for what it is and appreciate the opportunity to travel.

 

And yes, we hope we see some of the same crew that was on O, if it is true that they move about. :D I do believe we will love Regent.

[Travelcat2]

The things that you like in the Concierge Lounge are available in the Coffee Connection on Regent (minus the computers)*.

 

On the not so positive side, you will not find much crab or sushi in the Terrace Café equivalent, La Veranda. I believe that you can special order it in Compass Rose. While there is no Asian equivalent to Red Ginger, there is a rumor that there will be Regent's new ship (crossing my fingers).

 

It sounds like you have an open mind when to comes to cruising on cruise lines other than Oceania so you should really enjoy Regent:)

 

 

 

*Computers are adjacent to the Coffee Connection on the Mariner and Navigator but are down the hall on the Voyager. I appreciate the separation on the Voyager because people that are enjoying snacks, coffee, etc. and chatting can get a bit noisy for people that are trying to concentrate on their computer.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Travelcat2

[spindrift]

Appreciate the info, TravelCat. It is nice to communicate with those who really have an "open" mind and are willing to make great suggestions. Glad to hear your comments. Can't wait.