brian_uk Posted August 14, 2005 #1 Share Posted August 14, 2005 We had a great time on Insignia in June and are looking at 2006. Our friends are telling us that however good Insignia was.......Crystal is way better. Forgetting about cost for a moment ......................What can be that much better ?????????? Except perhaps for Shuttle buses which I have addressed elsewhere. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esther e Posted August 14, 2005 #2 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Brian We have never been on Crystal and have no desire to sail the liine. I understand there are 2 seatings and that doesn't thrill me if I were going to be on a luxury liner. I'd much rather Radisson any day, which I consider a definite luxury line. Interestingly enough, cruisers on Crystal seem to be just as loyal to the line as cruisers from Oceania. We love the Regatta and have 2 more cruises booked. Esther Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windrunner I Posted August 14, 2005 #3 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Crystal is a great line BUT....... I would only consider it better than Oceania if you like paying more, fixed seating dining, fewer dining options, being told how to dress, less comfy beds and less time in port. :) Crystal has really good food (Oceania's is beyond excellent) and for all the raves and hoopla over Crystal's service, I found Oceania's to be far more friendly and approachable if very slightly less polished in a few instances. IMO, if Crystal rates an 8 (on a scale of 1-10), Oceania rates a 9 to 9.5. The only line that I feel surpasses Oceania is Seabourn, but they're easily double, if not more, the price. The only reason people still rave about Crystal is they've never cruised this line. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaudiaF Posted August 14, 2005 #4 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Crystal is a great line BUT....... I would only consider it better than Oceania if you like paying more, fixed seating dining, fewer dining options, being told how to dress, less comfy beds and less time in port. :) Crystal has really good food (Oceania's is beyond excellent) and for all the raves and hoopla over Crystal's service, I found Oceania's to be far more friendly and approachable if very slightly less polished in a few instances. IMO, if Crystal rates an 8 (on a scale of 1-10), Oceania rates a 9 to 9.5. The only line that I feel surpasses Oceania is Seabourn, but they're easily double, if not more, the price. The only reason people still rave about Crystal is they've never cruised this line. :) and to add..Crystal has 300+ more passengers. Crystal pre-arranges when ( two seatings )and with whom you will dine :eek: While they do have reservation restaurants ( like oceania) I recall having to pay for them? It has been a few years since we took our last ( literally) cruise on Crystal , so I may be wrong about charges.. but I am pretty sure it was per couple ( it could have just been $10/15 or 10 for the tips?) anyone know what they do these days? Crystal has formal night(s)..so you have to drag the tux and gown around the world with you.:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAV Posted August 16, 2005 #5 Share Posted August 16, 2005 While they do have reservation restaurants ( like oceania) I recall having to pay for them? It has been a few years since we took our last ( literally) cruise on Crystal , so I may be wrong about charges.. but I am pretty sure it was per couple ( it could have just been $10/15 or 10 for the tips?) anyone know what they do these days? Crystal's alternative restaurants come with a "suggested" gratuity of $6 per person. No additional charge other than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janycels Posted August 16, 2005 #6 Share Posted August 16, 2005 We were on the 1st leg of the World Cruise on Crystal (30 days-from LA to Hong Kong) and found that it is more "stuffy" than Oceania. Maybe it is only this particular cruise-guests return yearly to the same group-making it more like a country club setting, but the formal nights, the assigned seating, having only two times for the dinner , 1st or 2nd seating, makes it far less appealing than the Oceania schedule. It does have great shows, food,ambiance, comfort, luxury, etc. etc. etc. and we met many great people on the cruise. Still,we found that (on our cruise) the land tours were less than reliable, and many were just plain bad! On one tour we spent most of the time at a large souvenir shop. All in all, I think that CRYSTAL attracts the same cruisers, like a reunion, each year. Some folks enjoy "dressing "to the 9s" and having a set dinner schedule. So this ship is perfect for them. We like the laid back Oceania. So, to each his own. Jan S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian_uk Posted August 16, 2005 Author #7 Share Posted August 16, 2005 We appreciate the advice and having just spoken with friends just off the Baltic Crystal Cruise we are now totally convinced that Oceania is the Line for us. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike35 Posted August 16, 2005 #8 Share Posted August 16, 2005 The comparison is, to me, extremely difficult. We took our first Crystal cruise in November 2003, and we were convinced that there couldn't be a better cruise line (in all fairness, it was only half full, and we had single-seat "anytime" dining). We then took our first Oceania (Insignia) cruise in April of this year, and said, "wow" - in many respects we like this better than Crystal (no formal nights, more congenial fellow passengers and crew, no charge for alternate restaurants). Then, we just came off of a Crystal Symphony Baltic cruise and again renewed our affection for Crystal - especially the entertainment (superb production shows, world-class concert pianist, etc) and enrichment programs (Howard Fineman was one of the guest lecturers, and his presentations on the current political situation in the U.S. was fascinating and on-point). They also had Berlitz Russian language classes, which we took. But -- we had assigned seating, 3 formal nights, and a $6/person charge for the two alternate restaurants. Bottom line -- we really do love both lines, and on future cruises we will base our decision on the itinerary and price rather than the cruise line. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lord of the seas Posted August 17, 2005 #9 Share Posted August 17, 2005 We appreciate the advice and having just spoken with friends just off the Baltic Crystal Cruise we are now totally convinced that Oceania is the Line for us. Brian Brian, Save up a bit more and experience the best of everything. Silversea. Once you have sailed with them,you do not consider anything else In life you get what you pay for!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruin Steve Posted August 17, 2005 #10 Share Posted August 17, 2005 Okay, first, I have never sailed on Crystal... ...and I am still almost 11 months away from sailing on Oceania... I HAVE sailed on Carnival, Norwegian, (the now defunct) Premier, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Celebrity... My personal feeling is that I can have a wonderful time on ANY cruise line... Sure, some do some things a little better than others, some a little worse... Some folks love bigger ships, some love smaller ships...I've found each has its advantages and its disadvantages... In the end, I prefer better food and better service... Of course, the starting point is that just about ALL cruise lines will give you pretty good food and service...So the differences are usually good to very good to excellent...They're all in the "acceptable" range... So, when all is said and done, it often comes down to PRICE (or, perhaps a better term here: VALUE)... If every cruise was priced about the same, then by all means, you always go for whatever you perceive to be the "best" (of course realizing that different people place different levels of importance on different things)... But, alas, there is a HUGE price difference in various cruise lines... So, the question becomes, "Yes, it may be "better", but it costs three times the amount! Is it really THAT MUCH better?" So, the answer usually is NO... Someone once told me "They don't 'nickel and dime' you...soft drinks are free"... Of course they're not "free", you've paid $5000 a person for a cruise that another line charges $1500 a person for...Those are the most expensive soft drinks you'll ever buy... If I were SO rich that money didn't matter, then I guess I'd always be searching for "the best"...But, even though I make pretty good money (I guess), I'd rather go on three cruises on lines that I've found to be very good to MY standards than go on only one cruise that may only surpass the other slightly... If you really enjoy Oceania, why pay all that much more just to see if Crystal outdoes it? Unless, of course, you get a great deal on Crystal (A couple of years back, we ALMOST cruised on Crystal--they pulled a ship [Harmony] from China during the SARS scare and redeployed it to California/Mexican Riviera and were offering incrdible deals--like starting at $795 per person for a 7-night cruise...Unfortunately, we had too many calendar conflicts...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jssabs Posted August 17, 2005 #11 Share Posted August 17, 2005 I followed the evolution of Oceania after having cruised on the old Renaissance line. We cruised Oceania's Christmas cruise (Dec 2003). Frank Del Rio was on that cruise and we had the opportunity to have several private discussions with him. I was impressed by how receptive and reponsive he was to everyone's comments and thoughts. He also wasted no time in implementing improvements as he was able to do so. We really like the Oceania concept, namely open seating, casual dress, etc. Nightly entertainment does leave something to be desired however but overall we felt at that time that Oceania had the best thing going especially at the prices charged. We just returned from our first Crystal cruise and had a great time. Crystal is a little bit more expensive but we felt definitely worth the added cost. We were not crazy about the fixed seating for dinner and the formal nights but we still felt that it was a great cruise. Food, service, entertainment, etc. were superb. As to which line offers the better cruise, it is a difficult comparison. Both offer a superior product and I don't think you can go wrong with either one. We would probably favor Crystal in the future primarily because we found that the people we met on Crystal seemed to be more interesting and slightly more sophisticated travelers then those we met on Oceania. This is not to take anything away from those that sailed on Oceania but it just seemed that there was a more diverse group of people on Crystal whose interests were more compatible with ours. We would go on either line again and itinerary would probably play a major factor. Nevertheless you really can't go wrong with either line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian_uk Posted August 17, 2005 Author #12 Share Posted August 17, 2005 Actually Lord, if you read my original posting, I made it clear that money was not the issue. But quite honestly in reading your posting I am convinced that Silverseas would NOT be for us. As far as the rest of the help given I think that you are basically right. in that the itinerary is the first criteria and then the cruise line. Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike35 Posted August 17, 2005 #13 Share Posted August 17, 2005 Brian,Save up a bit more and experience the best of everything. Silversea. Once you have sailed with them,you do not consider anything else In life you get what you pay for!! Ahh, the subjectivity of it all! Our travel agent, who is quite sophisticated and can afford and appreciate the very best that life has to offer, sailed his first Silversea a couple of months ago. He generally enjoyed the cruise but was underwhelmed with the food! He has a very keen palate and enjoys the top restaurants in our area. I later learned that when Oceania started up, they "stole" Silversea's executive chef (Jacques Pepin), so that might be the reason. As so many have stated, every cruise line has its positives and negatives; none are perfect and certainly none will satisfy everyone's personal desires. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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