Newbie

[Mura]

They may be owned by NCLH but they operate independently

 

Oceania does have open seating show up anytime when restaurants are open & they seat you

You can share a table with others or just yourselves

Depends on the likes as far as the Specialties go ...food is subjective

Buffet is not self serve & some items are cooked to order on the grill like shrimp, lobster, steaks etc...

You can check out the sample menus on O website or some websites have menus posted from fellow passengers

 

I would give them a try you may like Oceania

 

 

PLUS, while NCL technically owns Oceania they also technically own Regent. But the big cheese in corporate, Frank Del Rio, is the person who started up Oceania. Oceania is his baby. He's not going to let it become a mass market line. From what I recall, NCL wanted to have a luxury line (Regent) as well as one not quite so luxury (Oceania) and from what I have seen, not much has changed.

 

You certainly won't encounter the nickel&diming we saw on NCL back in 2010 when we did a TA on GEM. While NCL for us did not compare to Oceania (we haven't been on Regent), we enjoyed the cruise. We were in a Family Penthouse which qualifies as a suite and thus were dubbed "VIPs". So we did get special service and could ignore the parts that didn't appeal.

 

I haven't been on NCL since but I don't think you would find a similar experience on either Oceania or Regent. The idea was not to make all of them the same.

 

Mura

[Paulchili]

From what I have read, I think we will like Oceania... the only thing really bothering me, is we really do not care for NCL. and they own Oceania. We don't like NCL food, how they do the going to eat timing, and the specialty restaurants were just not that special. The ports for the cruise we are considering knocks the number 1 and 4 off my bucket list... can't pass that up.

 

Think Staybridge (NCL) and Intercontinental (Oceania) - same group of IHG hotels but they are day and night from each other.; or Courtyard by Marriott (NCL) and JW Marriott (Oceania) - same group but very different hotels.

Or think of Seabourn that is owned by Carnival Corp - yet Seabourn is nothing like Carnival.

Nothing on Oceania is like NCL - not food, not ship, not service, not passengers.

In all of the above examples you get what you pay for - it's that simple.

Edited June 3, 2017 by Paulchili

[Go-Bucks!]

It's easy to assume that people who have been on the mass market lines all want super entertainment and bingo and all the rest, but that isn't always the case.

 

 

I really appreciate your statement; you are so right.

 

I have been a bit put off when reading so many posts on the O board that knock the "mass market" lines or the cruisers who sail on them. I've been wondering if I'm going to find alot of cruise snobs on O ships. I've ONLY been on mass market ships before (Carnival, Princess and Celebrity), but have had fantastic vacations with good food, enjoyable activities, and met many nice people. Even though I have 2 O cruises booked, I still plan on sailing on other lines.

 

 

I don't drink alcohol, do bingo, art auctions, evening shows, trivia, or pool games. I like to relax, exercise, read, go to the spa and see the world. I've never had any trouble doing that on the mass market ships. A cruise is what you make it. And the other cruisers I've met were educated and thoughtful people. Maybe we shouldn't stereotype people by the cruiseline they choose to sail on.

[Mura]

Go-Bucks, we started out on mass market lines as well. I apologize for any comments that made you feel unwelcome or uncomfortable. We really are a nice group ... In general!

 

I hope to sail you with sometime soon.

Mura

[janecambridge]

It's easy to assume that people who have been on the mass market lines all want super entertainment and bingo and all the rest, but that isn't always the case.

 

Well said.Our last cruise was Oceania (our first with them) we loved it all.We have booked a big expensive suite and cruise in January with them for a double celebration.

We chose Oceania for all the reasons listed here by others and of course a once in a lifetime itinerary.We would rather have one extra special trip next year then 3 not so...Having said that we did enjoy a sail on Cunard for different reasons ( oh and you do not have to always wear a jacket at mealtimes),We also sailed 2 Princess cruises,for different reasons again.We have sailed Royal Clipper twice,Regent once,Disney once and Saga once.What some have others don't. We have enjoyed all of them.

One thing we do not enjoy on any ship, is evening entertainment unless a comedian,so we just go elsewhere after dinner.😈

[Irie]

I am glad to hear that about Cunard and jackets.

 

Their dress code says you do.

[LHT28]

if you read through the reviews on CC you will see some people's expectations of Oceania do not meet what Oceania offers

 

People have to do the research & choose a cruise that suits THEIR needs/wants

 

I do not think anyone cares if you sail luxury lines or mass market lines just do not keep whining on about it at dinner how XXX does not do this or does this better

Accept the cruise line you are on for what it does for you

There is no perfect cruise line IMO

[Paulchili]

if you read through the reviews on CC you will see some people's expectations of Oceania do not meet what Oceania offers

 

People have to do the research & choose a cruise that suits THEIR needs/wants

 

I do not think anyone cares if you sail luxury lines or mass market lines just do not keep whining on about it at dinner how XXX does not do this or does this better

Accept the cruise line you are on for what it does for you

There is no perfect cruise line IMO

 

Well said Lyn.

Oceania is our preferred cruise line but we cruise on others at times for itineraries and other reasons. On cruise lines that we have cruised on before, we know what to expect and thus do not complain or compare - we usually get what we expected and what we paid for. On cruise lines that we have never sailed on before (Crystal, Viking Ocean) we look at it as a new adventure (and will return or not, depending on the experience).

That's all you can ask for.

[Classiccruiser777]

...the only thing really bothering me, is we really do not care for NCL. and they own Oceania. We don't like NCL food, how they do the going to eat timing, and the specialty restaurants were just not that special.

The co-founder of Oceania, Frank Del Rio, is now the CEO of NCL and Bob Binder, another co-founder of Oceania, is CEO of Oceania. If anything, Oceania management took over NCL.

[buggins0402]

We don't like NCL food, how they do the going to eat timing, and the specialty restaurants were just not that special. The ports for the cruise we are considering knocks the number 1 and 4 off my bucket list... can't pass that up.

 

One thing you may not like is that dining time is open (similar to NCL). On both lines you have the opportunity to reserve speciality dining times prior to the cruise. The speciality dining on O is included in the cruise price... which is not the case on NCL. None of the NCLH cruise lines have set dining (same assigned table and waiter each night).

 

We prefer open dining, to the extent that it is our biggest hot button in selecting a cruise. O does opening dining particularly well. We have never had an issue getting table for two (another hot button for us) in the MDR.

[Go-Bucks!]

Go-Bucks, we started out on mass market lines as well. I apologize for any comments that made you feel unwelcome or uncomfortable. We really are a nice group ... In general!

 

I hope to sail you with sometime soon.

Mura

 

Mura,

 

I was saying quite the opposite - I appreciate you saying that many O cruisers look down on those who sail on mass market ships because that idea is rarely said openly but is often implied in posts. You just pointed out the so-called "elephant in the room" that I've picked up on in some posts (Not yours.)

 

To be honest, the same attitude can be found on most boards. Like, the Celebrity cheerleaders think their favorite line is much better than Princess. And the Princess cheerleaders think their line is better than Carnival. And I'd bet that those who sail on luxury lines look down on Oceania! ;p

 

There's something for everyone and every wallet. I'd just like to see comparisons without judgemental attitudes. But I've never gotten that feeling from you though! :D

[sammiedawg]

Oceania is more expensive but after the first cruise or two you probably won't think twice about the price. The included extras, free specialty restaurants and much, much better food quickly won us over. And I don't have words for the level of comfort on these ships, from the luxurious padded lounge chairs to the luxury bedding. Sometimes I hate to get off the ship to go ashore.

 

No cruise or travel experience is perfect and Oceania surely is not. But it is a whale of a lot better than any of the mass market lines and much less expensive than the true luxury lines.

By the way Oceania does play bingo and it is great fun.

[Mura]

Mura,

 

I was saying quite the opposite - I appreciate you saying that many O cruisers look down on those who sail on mass market ships because that idea is rarely said openly but is often implied in posts. You just pointed out the so-called "elephant in the room" that I've picked up on in some posts (Not yours.)

 

To be honest, the same attitude can be found on most boards. Like, the Celebrity cheerleaders think their favorite line is much better than Princess. And the Princess cheerleaders think their line is better than Carnival. And I'd bet that those who sail on luxury lines look down on Oceania! ;p

 

There's something for everyone and every wallet. I'd just like to see comparisons without judgemental attitudes. But I've never gotten that feeling from you though! :D

 

 

Glad we're on the same page.

 

On another note, we're traveling around Portugal right now so I probably will not be commenting much for a while.

[Greenhopster]

i am thinking about doing my first Oceania trip

 

Probably 25 days to South America.

 

I have done lots of cruising on RCI, Carnival and Celebrity.

 

Will I like Oceania?

Yes Yes Yes. My last 4 of 20 plus cruises have been on Oceania. They are tops.They treat you very well.

[CorgiNole]

We are preparing for our next cruise on Oceania (my 2nd, mom's 12th). In the past I've cruised HAL (2001) and Princess (2004 & 2010). I really like Oceania for the smaller ports and great food. On our cruise last summer we were often the only ship in a given port. I also like the personal touches. Being on a smaller ship, you recognize passengers and crew. And the crew recognizes you as well. Most of Mom's cruises on O were with my late father. On our trip last summer, several of the crew asked after him or expressed remembrances of him. It is a nice touch. While I don't miss the big entertainment and night clubs, I do miss being able to watch a movie on a big screen over the pool deck (Princess - fond memories with my son bundled up in the Arctic circle). However, things like that are not a deal breaker. I would love to do one of the longer cruises, but I just can't take month off from work at this time.

[cruiseluvva]

I am glad to hear that about Cunard and jackets.

 

Their dress code says you do.

Having cruised extensively on Cunard I can assure you a jacket us required for men every night - unless dining in the buffet. But then only one bar is open to passengers that are not correctly dressed. There are also 2-3 formal evenings per week, depending on whether a voyage or a crossing.

[tvmovielover]

We have cruised on O and RCL. O has better food and a more relaxing atmosphere but both can be right for a given itinerary or group of people. A plus I did not see mentioned as specifically in other posts was that O not only handles open dining well but that there are seldom long lines for the GDR as happened on our last RCL cruise (their "anytime dining' and special reservations do not always work). There can be a line at a specialty or the GDR at popular times but the lines clear quickly. We also recently tried and enjoyed Viking Oceans but they had longer lines too. Good food tastes even better when you did not have to wait in a long unhappy line to get in to eat it. Both RCL and Viking had more shows and more dancing that the cruisers appeared to really enjoy. We cruise for the ports though and the only entertainment we try not to miss is trivia (on any ship!). O is great Irie, try it long or short cruise.

[powlan]

I've been on high end and not so high end, large cabins and not so large cabins, good food and not so good food, great entertainment and no entertainment, fun and no fun, great deals and budget busters , port intensive and transatlantic, and people I cared for and people who I didn't care for. That being said, I was and am glad that I'm healthy enough and have the resources enough to cruise. (I've cruised on O 4 times) Go on it with an ultra positive attitude and you'll have a great time on Oceania. Enjoy!!

[Floridiana]

We have done cruises of 4 weeks on lines we did not know before including our first Oceania cruise. Our motto: If the itinerary fits, just go for it. If the value is not there for our needs, we don't book them again and look for a different line with a similar itinerary of interest. My take is, try Oceania. Food is excellent, beds are superb!

[ORV]

I've been on high end and not so high end, large cabins and not so large cabins, good food and not so good food, great entertainment and no entertainment, fun and no fun, great deals and budget busters , port intensive and transatlantic, and people I cared for and people who I didn't care for. That being said, I was and am glad that I'm healthy enough and have the resources enough to cruise. (I've cruised on O 4 times) Go on it with an ultra positive attitude and you'll have a great time on Oceania. Enjoy!!

 

Good post, way too many people seem to go on a cruise thinking they're really a critic. Just go have fun. If something negative happens deal with it and carry on.

[Irie]

I have appreciated all the comments

 

Looking forward to my first O cruise!:)

[sammiedawg]

Good post, way too many people seem to go on a cruise thinking they're really a critic. Just go have fun. If something negative happens deal with it and carry on.

 

Great post!

Indeed there are a few who are literally timing and analyzing every little transaction as soon as they get on the ship. The most critical ones want to compare the Oceania ship with what they have experienced on other lines. And they make mountains out of molehills.

Just enjoy yourself.