Viking versus Oceania

[orchestrapal]

13 hours ago, UDSpud said:

What causes cruisers to prefer certain cruise lines usually is dependent upon their list of priorities.  I have also found that all the cruise lines I have sailed on can have a poor cruise or something (or someone who disappoints).

 

I have been very lucky with the people on Oceania ( both crew and passengers ).  I am also apparently one of the few who like deck games and the "O" ships have many (mostly geared to "mature").

 

Most of my "on ship" good memories involve people situations and I am surprised by many of the complaining I read on CC boards. 

 

Oceania, Viking and Crystal all are good in this regard (probably due to their size and possibly the passenger to crew ratio).

 

It helps if you have a good sense of humor just in case you get "pranked"

 

On a recent Viking cruise following happened - Near the cruise end the 4 person (two male, 2 female) performers were doing the ABBA/Beatles show (both at an early time and later.  I was close to the front so I could see fairly closely.  At the early show, several numbers involved the two young ladies in short bright red dresses with about 10" fringe on the bottom of the dress.  Below the dress hem-line was black tight stockings.  The fringe was U shaped with the tops of the U attached to the hem-line.  During the dance number, the tops of one side of the U came loose and this piece of fringe hung down twice the normal length and was easy to see.  After the first show, I saw both ladies in the lobby on the way out and mentioned this.  One performer "B" thanked me and the other "M" sounded like "why are you noticing this".

 

At the second show. I sat 4 rows back from the stage and 1 seat from the aisle.  When the number came up, I noted that all the fringe stayed in place at the start, but "M" had one fringe break loose again.  During an off stage break,

"M" got the fringe fixed.

 

A little later the number had the performers come up the aisle's. "M" came up our aisle and stopped at our seats, looked at me, and did aa little hip thrust to show the fringe was intact.  After the show, I saw her in the lobby and

remarked to her "you really got me".  She then smiled and nodded.

 

 

We found the musicians on VO to be most cordial and we actually became friendly with many of them. We have not had  an experience like your’s on O but will try harder next time. We still enjoy both lines and are booked on both in the coming months.

[caviargal]

On 1/7/2019 at 9:40 AM, harryw said:

Roothy-

 

As we are leaving for our first HAL cruise in 2 weeks, on the Nieuw Statendam, how would you compare HAL food with Oceania?

 

It has been years since our last HAL cruise and we opted for Pinnacle Grille every night due to food quality in the MDR.  The food on Oceania was wonderful, even in their casual Terrace Cafe, where guests are served and food is prepared fresh.

Edited January 8, 2019 by caviargal

[harryw]

4 hours ago, orchestrapal said:

 

We found the musicians on VO to be most cordial and we actually became friendly with many of them. We have not had  an experience like your’s on O but will try harder next time. We still enjoy both lines and are booked on both in the coming months.

We took our first Viking Cruise last year (Sea), and found that they had the BEST ship band we’ve ever heard. The duo lead singers were superb and played numerous genres.

The backup musicians were excellent.

[Vineyard View]

We enjoyed our HAL cruises. Pinnacle grill is excellent. MDR was fine and even good - we sailed their smaller ships as that is our preference. Viking is almost always very good, but they have their misses just like anyone from time to time. 

 

We are booked on another Viking cruise in October, but we are also looking at Oceania and HAL for a couple others - the itinerary can most certainly drive the decision. 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I haven't been on HAL, so can't compare it to any other line.