Celebrity Cruiser Tries Oceania

[kitty9]

After having our two previous cruises on Celebrity being a disappointment, we decided to move over to Oceania and give that line a try. I can tell you, we will now be loyal Oceania cruisers and I'll detail the reasons why. Mind you, I will be comparing Oceania Riviera and the S class of X.

 

Riviera is a beautiful ship, carrying 1200 passengers, that's amazingly spotless. We saw nary a sign of rust anywhere. The public rooms are sparkling clean with crew around constantly wiping down, polishing or sweeping all the time. There was one young lady who even got down to wash the pedestals of the chairs in the casino. The public restrooms were spotless, even during heavy use. Balconies were hosed down at every port stop and the ship's exterior was also being cleaned at every stop.

 

We usually book the PH on X so we did the Owners suite on O and found it to be much better on O as the suite is much better appointed, better quality furniture and a balcony that swept around both sides of the aft of the ship, that can't be beat. Unlike the midship PH on X, the OS on O takes up the entire width(aft) of the ship, which makes for a much nicer outdoor experience. Our suite was immaculate with nary a threadbare cushion, rug or drape.

 

O has four specialty restaurants that are far and away superior to any of X's specialties. There was a time when I felt that the Murano-type restaurants were the end all-be all of fine dining at sea, but no more. The Chez Jacques on O is absolutely spectacular with a much larger and diverse menu than Murano. Items like foie gras, prime rib, filet, lobster prepared in three different ways, Dover Sole, surf and turf, along with many other items make up their very large menu. And those menu items are prepared in very different ways, and not just your basic food prep. I found that the same old, same old menu in Murano had gotten tired and there was has been no effort to change things in any way to update their menu. Silk Harvest, imho, when compared to Red Ginger on O, ranks slightly higher than a PF Changs. O also has Polo, a steak house with delicious entrees and finally, Toscana, an Italian bistro with eclectic Northern Italian food. Unlike X, none of O's specialty restaurants are extra charge.

 

O's lunch buffet is nicer than X in the fact that their choices change every day, so it's not the same Mexican, stir fry, salads, simple sandwiches, and blah Indian fare, so that makes O's buffet more interesting. And O has Waves, a casual venue open for breakfast and lunch, where they serve your basics like burgers and hot dogs, but they also have a surf and turf sandwich which has slices of filet cooked to your liking and medallions of lobster served on freshly made chiabatta bread, and they have seared ahi tuna and mahi mahi sandwiches. Don't think they have those at the pool grill on X. Another plus for O is their casual dinner buffet where they have many of the same menu items that are on that night's main dining room menu.

 

X has Cafe al Bachio and O has Baristas, and while the snacks at Cafe are much better and varied, there's no extra charge for fancy coffees like lattes and espressos on O. Their gelato bar is no extra charge, unlike on X where one single scoop is nearing $3. Soda, tea, bottled water, coffees, smoothies and milk shakes are no extra charge on O----just alcohol costs extra.

 

Overall evening entertainment on X is better and I would rank their daytime activities as equal. O has a culinary institute on board where you can take cooking lessons in a fully equipped kitchen. They also have a dedicated art studio staffed with a resident artist who gives classes in drawing and painting. It's very well attended.

 

Now, here's the nicest part of O. When you book another cruise on board, if the fare goes down, or they offer additional perks, you will get the lower price and the perks without any penalty, even after final payment, plus you get an additional $100 on board credit for the cruise you're currently on. We booked another cruise and received OBC of $250, paid gratuities and a couple of shore excursions. Not only that, but round trip airfare is included.

 

Now I know you're going to say that O is a lot more than X, but I have to honestly say, for our upcoming 10 day Western Caribbean cruise on O, the fare is just a bit more than a 10 day cruise on Equinox in the PH. Just the airfare alone makes up that difference.

 

As an aside to those of us who like few kids on board, you will not find kids except for maybe one or two, as there is absolutely no kids program whatsoever.

 

So, I guess this is a farewell to X. I hope everyone here continues to enjoy your cruises on X and that you have fair skies and smooth seas.

[az_tchr]

After having our two previous cruises on Celebrity being a disappointment, we decided to move over to Oceania and give that line a try. I can tell you, we will now be loyal Oceania cruisers and I'll detail the reasons why. Mind you, I will be comparing Oceania Riviera and the S class of X.

 

Riviera is a beautiful ship, carrying 1200 passengers, that's amazingly spotless. We saw nary a sign of rust anywhere. The public rooms are sparkling clean with crew around constantly wiping down, polishing or sweeping all the time. There was one young lady who even got down to wash the pedestals of the chairs in the casino. The public restrooms were spotless, even during heavy use. Balconies were hosed down at every port stop and the ship's exterior was also being cleaned at every stop.

 

We usually book the PH on X so we did the Owners suite on O and found it to be much better on O as the suite is much better appointed, better quality furniture and a balcony that swept around both sides of the aft of the ship, that can't be beat. Unlike the midship PH on X, the OS on O takes up the entire width(aft) of the ship, which makes for a much nicer outdoor experience. Our suite was immaculate with nary a threadbare cushion, rug or drape.

 

O has four specialty restaurants that are far and away superior to any of X's specialties. There was a time when I felt that the Murano-type restaurants were the end all-be all of fine dining at sea, but no more. The Chez Jacques on O is absolutely spectacular with a much larger and diverse menu than Murano. Items like foie gras, prime rib, filet, lobster prepared in three different ways, Dover Sole, surf and turf, along with many other items make up their very large menu. And those menu items are prepared in very different ways, and not just your basic food prep. I found that the same old, same old menu in Murano had gotten tired and there was has been no effort to change things in any way to update their menu. Silk Harvest, imho, when compared to Red Ginger on O, ranks slightly higher than a PF Changs. O also has Polo, a steak house with delicious entrees and finally, Toscana, an Italian bistro with eclectic Northern Italian food. Unlike X, none of O's specialty restaurants are extra charge.

 

O's lunch buffet is nicer than X in the fact that their choices change every day, so it's not the same Mexican, stir fry, salads, simple sandwiches, and blah Indian fare, so that makes O's buffet more interesting. And O has Waves, a casual venue open for breakfast and lunch, where they serve your basics like burgers and hot dogs, but they also have a surf and turf sandwich which has slices of filet cooked to your liking and medallions of lobster served on freshly made chiabatta bread, and they have seared ahi tuna and mahi mahi sandwiches. Don't think they have those at the pool grill on X. Another plus for O is their casual dinner buffet where they have many of the same menu items that are on that night's main dining room menu.

 

X has Cafe al Bachio and O has Baristas, and while the snacks at Cafe are much better and varied, there's no extra charge for fancy coffees like lattes and espressos on O. Their gelato bar is no extra charge, unlike on X where one single scoop is nearing $3. Soda, tea, bottled water, coffees, smoothies and milk shakes are no extra charge on O----just alcohol costs extra.

 

Overall evening entertainment on X is better and I would rank their daytime activities as equal. O has a culinary institute on board where you can take cooking lessons in a fully equipped kitchen. They also have a dedicated art studio staffed with a resident artist who gives classes in drawing and painting. It's very well attended.

 

Now, here's the nicest part of O. When you book another cruise on board, if the fare goes down, or they offer additional perks, you will get the lower price and the perks without any penalty, even after final payment, plus you get an additional $100 on board credit for the cruise you're currently on. We booked another cruise and received OBC of $250, paid gratuities and a couple of shore excursions. Not only that, but round trip airfare is included.

 

Now I know you're going to say that O is a lot more than X, but I have to honestly say, for our upcoming 10 day Western Caribbean cruise on O, the fare is just a bit more than a 10 day cruise on Equinox in the PH. Just the airfare alone makes up that difference.

 

As an aside to those of us who like few kids on board, you will not find kids except for maybe one or two, as there is absolutely no kids program whatsoever.

 

So, I guess this is a farewell to X. I hope everyone here continues to enjoy your cruises on X and that you have fair skies and smooth seas.

 

Excellent review. The only thing I cannot buy into is that the fare is just a little bit more and with the included airfare - no difference. pretty hard to accept that as fact.

[Thorhillcruiser]

You're comparing apples with oranges.It's great that you found your niche cruise line. Bon Voyage.

[blueboro]

Glad it was that great. But I have never found a comparable priced O cruise to one on X. Typically twice as much. Wish I could afford the O to try them but satisfied with X.

[north29]

But you are comparing a 1200 Boutique ship with a mass market ship, not really possible. I agree with you one might be surprised about the actual price differences when you factor every thing in. Same can be said for most river cruises

I doubt that I would still be able to afford a cruise on O, my max output for a cabin, in that I usually travel and average of 70 days a year, is a low level Balcony cabin and that is only if on a 10 plus day cruise.

I almost booked a O cruise a year or so ago, and it was a steal from Chile to Papeete with air for about$10K but after figuring up the Easter island tours and other $$$$$ tours, it was above $15K which was not bad for, if I remember, 14 +days. Still wish I could have pulled the trigger on that one, but timing for the offer was late and I had another one paid for(final)

[helen haywood]

Well, I just ran some numbers comparing a 10 night April Regatta cruise versus the 11 night April Equinox cruise I am taking. If I price balcony to balcony then the Regatta was $1600 more than my balcony. But if I compare suite to suite the Regatta is less. I couldn't exactly compare apples to apples, I compared Regatta's PH to Equinox's Celebrity Suite as the PH was already booked I guess. The Regatta is $1735 less. However, the Regatta's PH is 260 sq ft with 62 sq ft balcony whereas the Celebrity Suite is 395 sq ft with 104 sq ft balcony.

 

I guess if you are booking suites it would be something to consider!

[blueboro]

Guess that is why I have always seen O as twice as much...I don't even look at suites. I can't afford nor would I pay for a suite on any line

[uktog]

This is a very interesting post. I wonder have you tried Azamara and if so how did that comparison come out. I am wondering now that Azamara has refurbished its ships where the comparison particularly at suite level will shape out

[El Crucero]

After having our two previous cruises on Celebrity being a disappointment, we decided to move over to Oceania and give that line a try. I can tell you, we will now be loyal Oceania cruisers and I'll detail the reasons why.

 

Can you give a general impression and comparison of how passengers were dressed, both casual and for dinner, on the two lines?

 

Thanks for you review. I keep watching Oceania and Azamara for something affordable.

[maggie.1008]

I am going on my first Oceania cruise next month. We are in a PH suite that is about the same size as a Celebrity suite on X S class ships. O is 420 sq ft. I am on the Rivera. No drink pkg. but they will let you bring on anything you want to drink. $25. corkage if you bring wine to dinner. I will let you know how they compare when I return.

[Iamthesea]

We are also going on our first Oceania cruise... next week. Really looking forward to the 10 nights.:)

 

I was under the impression that O's PH Suites were the same size as Celebrity's Sky Suites, not the Celebrity Suites. Oceania counts the size of their larger balcony into their sq. footage.

 

Well, I just ran some numbers comparing a 10 night April Regatta cruise versus the 11 night April Equinox cruise I am taking. If I price balcony to balcony then the Regatta was $1600 more than my balcony. But if I compare suite to suite the Regatta is less. I couldn't exactly compare apples to apples, I compared Regatta's PH to Equinox's Celebrity Suite as the PH was already booked I guess. The Regatta is $1735 less. However, the Regatta's PH is 260 sq ft with 62 sq ft balcony whereas the Celebrity Suite is 395 sq ft with 104 sq ft balcony.

 

I guess if you are booking suites it would be something to consider!

 

Oceania is quite a bit more when comparing apples to apples.

 

We normally sail in an AQ on Celebrity, so we booked the standard Veranda stateroom, B3 - (same size as AQ) for our Oceania cruise.

 

Fare without air (you do not have to take their air and can take a reduction) is $3699 pp which does include tax.

 

Our cruise on the Equinox last February - 11 nights - was $3936.86 Total for 2 and included the Beverage Package and I believe that gratuities.

 

We are purchasing the O Beverage Package and the cost is an additional $120.

 

That being said, we are curious to see if the extra cost is really worth our trying Oceania again. One of the main reasons we are choosing Oceania over Celebrity is to have a different Caribbean itinerary over past sailings with Celebrity. The smaller ship can get into ports that the larger shops cannot.

 

Another reason is the downgrading that has taken place on Celebrity in the last year or so. The product is not the same as it used to be, and after sailing the same brand 2-3 times a year, we are tiring of the cruiseline. But we will be back as you can see from our signature. Time will tell if we will return to Oceania. The product will have to be really good. ;)

[wwcruisers]

Darcie -- thanks for the great review. Would love to try Oceania, but it's still too pricey for us (but, so is the PH or RS on X). Sounds like it might be a good option for those who can afford it. :cool:

[Christine Frances]

Darcie. For benefit of other disabled cruisers you should also post the portion of your review that you put on the O board about how they lacked the ability to let you get off in ports. As the ramps were steep or had steps. Other people in motorized scooters or power wheelchairs would appreciate that info. Very glad you enjoyed the food and the ship:)

[Christine Frances]

This is a very interesting post. I wonder have you tried Azamara and if so how did that comparison come out. I am wondering now that Azamara has refurbished its ships where the comparison particularly at suite level will shape out

 

 

Plus the Captain's Club benefits transfer over.

[kitty9]

This is a very interesting post. I wonder have you tried Azamara and if so how did that comparison come out. I am wondering now that Azamara has refurbished its ships where the comparison particularly at suite level will shape out

 

Azamara ships are the old Renaissance ships and are not conducive to the mobility challenged. It's the same reason why I can't cruise Oceania's R class ships.

[susietb]

We tried Oceana and found it a little too sedentary for our taste. We will continue on Celebrity and eat in Luminae with the "cool kids."

[luvbluseas]

After having our two previous cruises on Celebrity being a disappointment, we decided to move over to Oceania and give that line a try. I can tell you, we will now be loyal Oceania cruisers and I'll detail the reasons why. Mind you, I will be comparing Oceania Riviera and the S class of X.

 

Riviera is a beautiful ship, carrying 1200 passengers, that's amazingly spotless. We saw nary a sign of rust anywhere. The public rooms are sparkling clean with crew around constantly wiping down, polishing or sweeping all the time. There was one young lady who even got down to wash the pedestals of the chairs in the casino. The public restrooms were spotless, even during heavy use. Balconies were hosed down at every port stop and the ship's exterior was also being cleaned at every stop.

 

We usually book the PH on X so we did the Owners suite on O and found it to be much better on O as the suite is much better appointed, better quality furniture and a balcony that swept around both sides of the aft of the ship, that can't be beat. Unlike the midship PH on X, the OS on O takes up the entire width(aft) of the ship, which makes for a much nicer outdoor experience. Our suite was immaculate with nary a threadbare cushion, rug or drape.

 

O has four specialty restaurants that are far and away superior to any of X's specialties. There was a time when I felt that the Murano-type restaurants were the end all-be all of fine dining at sea, but no more. The Chez Jacques on O is absolutely spectacular with a much larger and diverse menu than Murano. Items like foie gras, prime rib, filet, lobster prepared in three different ways, Dover Sole, surf and turf, along with many other items make up their very large menu. And those menu items are prepared in very different ways, and not just your basic food prep. I found that the same old, same old menu in Murano had gotten tired and there was has been no effort to change things in any way to update their menu. Silk Harvest, imho, when compared to Red Ginger on O, ranks slightly higher than a PF Changs. O also has Polo, a steak house with delicious entrees and finally, Toscana, an Italian bistro with eclectic Northern Italian food. Unlike X, none of O's specialty restaurants are extra charge.

 

O's lunch buffet is nicer than X in the fact that their choices change every day, so it's not the same Mexican, stir fry, salads, simple sandwiches, and blah Indian fare, so that makes O's buffet more interesting. And O has Waves, a casual venue open for breakfast and lunch, where they serve your basics like burgers and hot dogs, but they also have a surf and turf sandwich which has slices of filet cooked to your liking and medallions of lobster served on freshly made chiabatta bread, and they have seared ahi tuna and mahi mahi sandwiches. Don't think they have those at the pool grill on X. Another plus for O is their casual dinner buffet where they have many of the same menu items that are on that night's main dining room menu.

 

X has Cafe al Bachio and O has Baristas, and while the snacks at Cafe are much better and varied, there's no extra charge for fancy coffees like lattes and espressos on O. Their gelato bar is no extra charge, unlike on X where one single scoop is nearing $3. Soda, tea, bottled water, coffees, smoothies and milk shakes are no extra charge on O----just alcohol costs extra.

 

Overall evening entertainment on X is better and I would rank their daytime activities as equal. O has a culinary institute on board where you can take cooking lessons in a fully equipped kitchen. They also have a dedicated art studio staffed with a resident artist who gives classes in drawing and painting. It's very well attended.

 

Now, here's the nicest part of O. When you book another cruise on board, if the fare goes down, or they offer additional perks, you will get the lower price and the perks without any penalty, even after final payment, plus you get an additional $100 on board credit for the cruise you're currently on. We booked another cruise and received OBC of $250, paid gratuities and a couple of shore excursions. Not only that, but round trip airfare is included.

 

Now I know you're going to say that O is a lot more than X, but I have to honestly say, for our upcoming 10 day Western Caribbean cruise on O, the fare is just a bit more than a 10 day cruise on Equinox in the PH. Just the airfare alone makes up that difference.

 

As an aside to those of us who like few kids on board, you will not find kids except for maybe one or two, as there is absolutely no kids program whatsoever.

 

So, I guess this is a farewell to X. I hope everyone here continues to enjoy your cruises on X and that you have fair skies and smooth seas.

 

I think that we will be joining you shortly, as X has done nothing but disappoint us. We cannot afford the PH but I would rather have 1 excellent cruise per year than 2 disappointing cruises per year or per 18 months! Thank you for the excellent review and excellent information!

 

Also X does not even act like it cares!

[Jade13]

I enjoyed your review. But I would expect a luxury lite cruise would be better than Celebrity which is a mass market cruise line. It sounds like the penthouse and owners suites are similar in price but what about the other cabin categories?

[greydog]

I enjoyed your review. But I would expect a luxury lite cruise would be better than Celebrity which is a mass market cruise line. It sounds like the penthouse and owners suites are similar in price but what about the other cabin categories?

 

After 27 X trips, 2-3 annually, we're trying Oceania Riviera (1200 pax) on Dec-15, 7nt W. Carib from MIA.

 

The price for Oceanview is $1749 pp without air, $2200 with air from major hubs. Their OV is 242 ft. and has dbl-french door size window. CHOICE of 3 shore excursions, $300 OBC, Basic bev pkg. Internet free.

 

So its about double X OV price for similar tirip - HOPE THE FOOD 'REP' MEETS MY HIGH EXPECTATIONS. Many X cruiser reviews laud their O experience.

 

will do review afterwards. We tried MSC Divina Yacht Club - it was nice but not worth to us the $400 pp per day rate. Their suite same size a S-class suite. Happy Cruising

[redjetz]

After 27 X trips, 2-3 annually, we're trying Oceania Riviera (1200 pax) on Dec-15, 7nt W. Carib from MIA.

 

The price for Oceanview is $1749 pp without air, $2200 with air from major hubs. Their OV is 242 ft. and has dbl-french door size window. CHOICE of 3 shore excursions, $300 OBC, Basic bev pkg. Internet free.

 

So its about double X OV price for similar tirip - HOPE THE FOOD 'REP' MEETS MY HIGH EXPECTATIONS. Many X cruiser reviews laud their O experience.

 

will do review afterwards. We tried MSC Divina Yacht Club - it was nice but not worth to us the $400 pp per day rate. Their suite same size a S-class suite. Happy Cruising

 

We, too, are trying out Oceania, doing your Dec. 15 as the second leg of a B2B, so 17 nights. That part of December is a bit of "off season" so the rates were lower, at least on our packaged B2B. The cost was marginally higher than a comparable 17 day trip on X that time of year. Don't have the invoice handy to look it up.

 

We like Celebrity, are going next month and have a nice 29-day B2B in the fall, but a bit of variety will be nice to look forward to. Like the others, we will report back.

 

Cheers

[hypercafe]

We have sailed both and Oceania does provide a nice product. It is a very quiet ship both day and night with one show around 9:30. I think Crystal is much more like a upscale version of Celebrity with lots going on both day and night.

 

Sent from my SM-T320 using Forums mobile app

[jbuch02]

We've cruised both but only once and on Riviera compared to 34 on Celebrity vessels. The reason for the 34/1 ratio favoring Celebrity is value.

 

When comparing comparable cabins on the Marina or Riviera (comparable in quality to Celebrity S class ships but smaller), without the "free" air Oceana offers, you are looking at a Celebrity cruise in a second tier Veranda that is around $165 - $195pp/d compared to $220 - $255pp/d on Oceana. I've found this price differential to be pretty uniform although you will find bookings with discounts frequently.

 

As you move up in Category with Oceana the perks get better but it's simply a convenient way for the line to pull more money out of your pocket. Celebrity does the same thing just not with the perks quite as useful. e.g., when looking for basic transportation, a Chevy serves that purpose about as well as a Cadillac.

 

Is it worth the extra cost? If you can afford it yes, definately. The food is very good and possibly a cut above Celebrity's now that they have entered a period of cost cutting and profit maximization testing just how far they can go before loyalists, and I am one, will bail. 10 years ago, I would not have said that. Many have decided to bail on Celebrity and Oceana heavily targets the Celebrity demographic. After one cruise with them, I have been inundated with some of the most beautiful brochures imaginable all intended to lure me back. They've come close on multiple occasions. I keep a very close eye on them.

 

We were watching and comparing two cruises in the French Polynesians between Celebrity and Oceana. Oceana's originated in Papeete and we'd do two 7d B2Bs, Celebrity's B2B originates in Sydney, sails through Papeete and two other destinations near by, goes on to Hawaii with 4 Island stops there then crosses to Vancouver. 31d. The 14d Oceana cruise with air in an OV cabin was $2000 more than the 31d Solstice crossing from Sydney to Vancouver via the French Polynesians and Hawaii without air. Admittedly a portion of this 31d is considered a repositioning cruise so, there are no perks but then again in an OV cabin on Oceana, there are none either. But you can see the gross price difference between the two lines.

 

Back to the food. They have a large, underused MDR and that is because there are 4 specialty restaurants that have no cover charge. However, your loyalty status and your cabin level determines how many times you can dine in the specialty restaurants. On a 10 day Riviera cruise, first timer in a Veranda, if I remember correctly, we could dine 5X in the 4 specialty restaurants. We were very impressed with all of them - Polo Grill, Jaques, Toscana and Red Ginger going to Red Ginger 2X. The Buffet is much better than anything Celebrity offers in terms of presentation and food quality but it is also smaller and not as well laid out (gets crowded) as the Buffets on the S class ships.

 

The entertainment is passable but not anywhere near as good as Celebrity's. Production shows, and there was only one, are not even close compared to Celebrity's but take that for what it's worth; we only saw one.

 

The Veranda Cabin on Oceana Riviera was luxurious and somewhat larger than Celebrity's S class cabins of the same class. I'd call them upscale compared to Celebrity. Bathrooms are quite a bit larger, feature a tub and a shower and are laden with marble.

 

One of the recent things Oceana has done to attract cruisers is to bundle shore excursions. This was not available on the cruise we went on and the cost was twice what Celebrity might charge and Celebrity shore excursion pricing is high compared to what you can do on your own. So, this isn't a big draw for as I do all the excursion planning using private tour guides and drivers I hire myself.

 

The air option from Oceana is really not much different that Celebrity's ChoiceAir. Sometimes you'll get a better deal sometimes you won't. You have to price shop. I should add that our last 3 Celebrity cruises we've booked with ChoiceAir. When they first started doing this 5-6 years ago it was terrible. It's really pretty good now and the advantage is, you can skip the additional cost of flight insurance because ChoiceAir will get you to the ship, wherever it is, if there are delays. At least they say they will. I've never had to test it. Good connections so far.

 

The Riviera is gorgeous with sensible layout, easy to navigate. Public spaces are luxurious. Service and staff attentiveness, mostly European and Asian, is just as good as anything Celebrity touts and they do and I think Celebrity still delivers great service most of the time.

 

The demographic parallels that of Celebrity. 55ish + is probably the median age, no kids, well educated and lots of professionals, many retired but an equal number of still employed. That was my experience. We met a dozen or so very likeable folks. Since I did all the planning and arranging for this port intensive, Eastern Mediterranean itinerary, having 6-8 people on each tour, I can say not one of the couples we shared these tours with were not really nice people. We met several more single ladies traveling in groups of two who we loved sitting around sipping Martinis with or joining them for dinner. Hilarious, worldly and very engaging conversationalists, all of them.

 

So that's my tale. Would I cruise with them? Absolutely, if the price (value) and itinerary were right. But we feel at home on Celebrity despite some of the things corporate has undertaken to change the character of the line over the last decade. Celebrity is, indeed, a mass market operation a little different than it was when it retained the characteristic upscale X-ellence that the Chandris Group intended when the first Century Class ships became Celebrity Cruise line. But it remains a great value to us and like other's have said the same, I'd rather cruise for 21 days on Celebrity for the same amount of money as 14 on Oceana in comparable cabins.

Edited February 13, 2016 by jbuch02

[ORV]

Just one correction to the post above, number of specialty reservations on Oceania has nothing to do with loyalty status, it is cabin level and the number of days on the cruise.

[LabGuy64]

Are you saying you booked the owners suite for this western Caribbean cruise?

And what was the difference between this cruise where you booked the owners suite and a comparable PH on Celebrity?

 

It is fine if you like Oceania better....but what was the cost difference?

 

 

Now I know you're going to say that O is a lot more than X, but I have to honestly say, for our upcoming 10 day Western Caribbean cruise on O, the fare is just a bit more than a 10 day cruise on Equinox in the PH. Just the airfare alone makes up that difference.

 

So, I guess this is a farewell to X. I hope everyone here continues to enjoy your cruises on X and that you have fair skies and smooth seas.

[LabGuy64]

A better comparison might be a sky suite vs the penthouse on the regatta

 

 

Well, I just ran some numbers comparing a 10 night April Regatta cruise versus the 11 night April Equinox cruise I am taking. If I price balcony to balcony then the Regatta was $1600 more than my balcony. But if I compare suite to suite the Regatta is less. I couldn't exactly compare apples to apples, I compared Regatta's PH to Equinox's Celebrity Suite as the PH was already booked I guess. The Regatta is $1735 less. However, the Regatta's PH is 260 sq ft with 62 sq ft balcony whereas the Celebrity Suite is 395 sq ft with 104 sq ft balcony.

 

I guess if you are booking suites it would be something to consider!