Oceania veranda or Celebrity sky suite?

[jabrown40]

For future cruise planning, I'm just wondering - for those who have been on both ships, which you would prefer and why. Let me preface this by saying my husband and I are what everyone else calls "foodies." We eat out frequently in Chicago restaurants, and have enjoyed fantastic food on vacations. We have taken one cruise on Celebrity, and enjoyed our meals in Blu, and Murano, but thought Tuscan Grill was a big disappointment. We enjoy music in the evening, but are not dancers. We enjoyed the shows on the Silhouette. Just received a brochure from Oceania, and was surprised to see the cost would have been about the same as the trip we have planned in a sky suite in March in the Caribbean on Reflection (after factoring in beverages, gratuities, etc. ) Love hearing others impressions!

[maggie.1008]

If you are foodies I would go with Oceania. To me any restaurant on Oceania is fabulous. I have sailed several times in Sky Suite and Luminae on X and was not that impressed. I do like the Specialty Dining on Oceania`s 2 larger ships, Riviera and Marina as there are more choices. The MDR on Oceania is wonderful. Leave again in November on the Oceania Riviera. Going with first time cruisers that are all foodies. They will be wow`d.

[bphman]

No question. I would take Oceania hands down. Although Celebrity is the best of the mass market lines, Oceania is at a totally different level. They do have an older demographic to which I belong. Food is superior with a much better selection of restaurants on Oceania. The Sky Suites are nice but nothing special unless you have an aft corner on Solstice class. I sailed before Luminae so I can't compare but even the MDR on Oceania is superior to Blu. On the Lido on Oceania they served Lobster tails and filet every night. Jacques was wonderful as was Red Ginger. Butler service on Celebrity was less than impressive. It may sound like I am bashing Celebrity but I am not. I love Celebrity. But, I would take Oceania hands down. With that being said, I sailed on Marina and not the R class ships although we have sailed Azamara and enjoyed their R class ships very much.

[bitob]

We are regular Oceania cruisers who have sailed in suites on celebrity. The ambiance of the two lines could not be more different. Oceania is very low key. You need to be able to entertain yourself.

 

We have had very good food on both lines. Oceania has the edge but not by much. Look at the itinerary and decide what you expect in terms of on board experience. It's night and day

 

 

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[DIALTWO]

Hi,

 

we cruise a lot. Are Elite + on Celebrity and Princess. Working on more cruises with Oceania. Have taken maybe 4 and the food is superior. The ambiance low key and elegant. All speciality restaurants are included in what you pay to board. We've had a sky suite but really Oceania is our preference.

 

Enterrtainment not as exciting as the big ships. Little in the way of shops and NO photography at all! Yeah.

 

cheers,

 

Dianne and Al

Victoria BC

ps having said that we are on 2 B2B for Month of November on Celeb Constellation. Next April taking a TA on Princess over to Barcelona. We use the TA to get us to Europe and our beloved French Riviera (Antibes).

 

enjoy whatever you decide.

 

For future cruise planning, I'm just wondering - for those who have been on both ships, which you would prefer and why. Let me preface this by saying my husband and I are what everyone else calls "foodies." We eat out frequently in Chicago restaurants, and have enjoyed fantastic food on vacations. We have taken one cruise on Celebrity, and enjoyed our meals in Blu, and Murano, but thought Tuscan Grill was a big disappointment. We enjoy music in the evening, but are not dancers. We enjoyed the shows on the Silhouette. Just received a brochure from Oceania, and was surprised to see the cost would have been about the same as the trip we have planned in a sky suite in March in the Caribbean on Reflection (after factoring in beverages, gratuities, etc. ) Love hearing others impressions!

[pl281]

I've only been on Oceania's smaller ships - they have a steak house and an Italian restaurant - both I feel are MUCH better than celebrity.

 

But you are really looking at 2 different experiences - at least on Oceania's smaller ships Everyone is treated the same regardless of cabin - the only difference is how many speciality restaurants reservations are included vs space avaialble

[maggie.1008]

For the Mass Cruise lines X is the best by far. I will continue to cruise with them. However Oceania is a step above and worth the money in my opinion.

[Host Jazzbeau]

We sailed Oceania five years ago and were not impressed by the food. We sailed Crystal two years ago and were blown away by how good the food was. We sailed Celebrity in a suite this spring and found the food in Luminae and the Chef's Table almost as good as Crystal and the service even better. Plus we got access to Michael's Club with a dedicated suites Concierge, invites to many VIP events, and a Butler who made it clear that most Celebrity rules didn't apply to us. The rest of the Celebrity ship (Constellation) wasn't that different from the ambience of Oceania but it had better shows and an even better non-smoking policy. We also went to every port that was promised, at the times that were promised. So my vote would be for Celebrity. [And if you can wangle an upgrade to a Celebrity Suite, you're golden!]

Edited September 18, 2016 by Host Jazzbeau

[keithm]

We sailed Oceania five years ago and were not impressed by the food. We sailed Crystal two years ago and were blown away by how good the food was. We sailed Celebrity in a suite this spring and found the food in Luminae and the Chef's Table almost as good as Crystal and the service even better. Plus we got access to Michael's Club with a dedicated suites Concierge, invites to many VIP events, and a Butler who made it clear that most Celebrity rules didn't apply to us. The rest of the Celebrity ship (Constellation) wasn't that different from the ambience of Oceania but it had better shows and an even better non-smoking policy. We also went to every port that was promised, at the times that were promised. So my vote would be for Celebrity. [And if you can wangle an upgrade to a Celebrity Suite, you're golden!]

Give the Queens Grill on Cunard a try sometime.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Give the Queens Grill on Cunard a try sometime.

 

I don't got to show you no stinkin' formal wear!

[TrulyBlonde]

I have sailed both with my preference being Oceania. The food on O is superior and I like the low key ambience. The pool area is not noisy and much more comfortable loungers. The food in the Terrace Cafe (O buffet) is a huge step above that on X which I tend to avoid. Love to dine al fresco on O Terrace Cafe.

 

I choose X when the timing and itinerary work best for us. We also will only cruise in Suites on X and with their included perks, it makes for a nice experience.

[jabrown40]

Thank you for all of the great info, I will be taking a look at possibly switching our 2018 cruise for an Oceania experience, my husband doesn't want to mess with changing our next cruise in March. Trying Viking next year, I'm anxious to see how that goes!

[bitob]

I have sailed both with my preference being Oceania. The food on O is superior and I like the low key ambience. The pool area is not noisy and much more comfortable loungers. The food in the Terrace Cafe (O buffet) is a huge step above that on X which I tend to avoid. Love to dine al fresco on O Terrace Cafe.

 

 

 

I choose X when the timing and itinerary work best for us. We also will only cruise in Suites on X and with their included perks, it makes for a nice experience.

 

 

I second buffet comparison. We avoid the buffet on celebrity. The terrace on o is wonderful

 

We also only cruise x in suites with access to luminae and other perks.

 

 

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[waterbug123]

I've sailed twice on Celebrity Solstice, twice on Reflection and once on Eclipse. I have also sailed twice on Oceania, once on Nautica and once on Riviera.

 

As cabins go, a Sky Suite on Celebrity is bigger than an Oceania veranda, so if that matters to you it's a definite consideration.

 

As for food....

We ate in the MDR several times on the Nautica and thought the food was as good or better than most specialty restaurants on other lines. The Nautica is one of Oceania's smaller ships and only has 2 specialty restaurants but I thought both were outstanding. The Riviera is a larger ship and has more restaurants. We enjoyed them as well, but felt the overall service was severely lacking. The ship felt much more like a mass market line in terms of ambience and service, and while we hope to sail on Oceania again, I'd much prefer to do so on one of their smaller ships, despite the more limited number of specialty restaurants.

[maggie.1008]

Reg. balcony cabin on Oceania Riviera is 282 sq ft. Sky suite on X is 300 sq ft. not much difference. On O book the extended balcony for the same price if you can get one. On X book aft Sky suite for larger balcony. The bathrooms are nicer on O. My last cruise on O I stayed in PH cat. and it comes with a Butler and is 420 sq ft. Some great prices right now that come with air on O.

[waterbug123]

Reg. balcony cabin on Oceania Riviera is 282 sq ft. Sky suite on X is 300 sq ft. not much difference.

 

True, not much difference, but that extra little bit has always made our Sky Suite seem extremely spacious. And on Oceania's smaller ships the veranda cabins are much smaller. On Nautica they are only 216 sq ft. That IS a big difference from a 300 sq ft Sky Suite! :)

[maggie.1008]

Another reason I like Oceania`s Riviera and Marina, bigger cabins.

[kitty9]

We've cruised Celebrity since Horizon was still in the fleet, almost always in the PH or RS, but as we've seen X heading downward in many aspects, we decided to try Oceania, and we've never looked back. I much prefer a low key, relaxing cruise (we never go to the evening shows), so we don't find Oceania boring. Their specialty restaurants are far above any of X's, and we used to think Murano was the end all, be all, but no more. We liked our first Riviera cruise so much that we were back on board one month later.

[dabear]

We've been on both and stayed in an M class sky suite and O veranda. C 's ss is larger and usually has better entertainment (but not great). O has better food, service and is more upscale. If you are a foodie, go with O.

[ISABELLA]

Does any of Oceania ships have solarium like Celebrity? I like to spend some time there especially on cruises with many sea days - like TA.

Thanks