Ociania versus Cunard

[thames_side]

We have been cruising for around 20 years. Various different cruise lines. In recent years we have settled on Cunard Q Victoria and Elizabeth queens Grill.. We like the large suite, the exclusive ship within a ship atmosphere on the top decks. Particularly the Grills lounge with its own bar, big windows and access straight on to the Grills terrace. We have an assigned table for 2 near the windows in the restaurant high up on the ship. Dining whenever we like. But we have the stability of a large ship and all the other facilities to visit when we want to.

Thinking of Marina, it seems to me we would need to go for a Penthouse suite which comes out around the same price as Queens Grill.

What to do?

[hehny]

I can tell you I used to love the grills on cunard but I found the quality of the food plummeted and i wasn’t worth the price, If you are interested in in a ship within a ship concept highly recommend the Haven NCL.

 

Far prefer the food on Oceania and Marina is one of my favorites. The ship is small enough that you don’t need to worry about separate areas. But definitely not a ship within a ship concept. It’s fantastic not to wait for elevators!

 

I do miss the idea of walking in and having my table. There are times when we have had to wait and even in a ph could not get reservations to the specialty restaurants. We just learned to alter our dining times.

 

We didn’t find much to offer in terms of activities,so we tend to use Oceania for more port intensive cruises. Cunard had more offerings for onboard activities.

 

But the last time we were on Marina (July) the service and food were exemplary. The cabins are very comfortable. I would be hard pressed if all things were equal to choose cunard over Oceania, even though I love q.v.

 

Think about what is most important to you. Can you live with unassigned dining? Are you okay on a smaller ship? Will you miss the activities and exclusivity of the grill?

 

Good luck and happy cruising!

Edited October 29, 2017 by hehny

[Shawnino]

I have yet to sail Oceania but I wanted to take the other side of hehny's suggestion to try NCL Haven. We did not find it to be a Haven in any way, shape, or form. True, the area is keycarded off from most of the ship's passengers...but their Haven friends can and do keycard them in. Families with (loud) children sail in the "Haven". The restaurant is for Haven guests only, but we found the menu unimpressive and it never changed on our 11-day trip.

 

Why am I here? My wife and I are switching away from NCL, and we're going to try Oceania first. The biggest things for us are a good quiet room with god bedding, and great food. NCL has slid terribly on both counts the last couple years. Most of the NCL specialty restaurants are still fine, but Moderno is a dumpster fire (I guess they're getting rid of it) and the MDR is a gong show. Oceania advertises itself as 'the finest cuisine at sea' so we thought that's a great place to start. We also like the more casual dress code on Oceania vs. some of the other midscale/luxury lines, and that it's easy to find port-intensive itineraries on Oceania. Let's see how we go.

[LHT28]

I think if you prefer the segregation then stick to those lines that have the 'Ship within a ship" concept Eg: Celebrity, NCL, MSC

Oceania has a more casual dress code than Cunard so you may be disappointed with how others dress ( this has been discussed before)

 

Oceania is open dining so you will not always get the same table & some nights the 2 tops are hard to get

I would seriously look at Oceania & what they offer & compare to your needs/wants

Oceania may not be for you

 

JMO

[Flatbush Flyer]

I think if you prefer the segregation then stick to those lines that have the 'Ship within a ship" concept Eg: Celebrity, NCL, MSC

Oceania has a more casual dress code than Cunard so you may be disappointed with how others dress ( this has been discussed before)

 

Oceania is open dining so you will not always get the same table & some nights the 2 tops are hard to get

I would seriously look at Oceania & what they offer & compare to your needs/wants

Oceania may not be for you

 

JMO

 

 

 

Unless, of course, food quality is important, in which case, O would be worth a go.

 

 

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[Paulchili]

I think if you prefer the segregation then stick to those lines that have the 'Ship within a ship" concept Eg: Celebrity, NCL, MSC

Oceania has a more casual dress code than Cunard so you may be disappointed with how others dress ( this has been discussed before)

 

Oceania is open dining so you will not always get the same table & some nights the 2 tops are hard to get

I would seriously look at Oceania & what they offer & compare to your needs/wants

Oceania may not be for you

 

JMO

 

Agree 100%

The two cruise lines are day and night different from each other and if you like Cunard so much you will most likely be disappointed with Oceania.

I am on the other side - tried Cunard twice in the Princess Grill (via complimentary upgrades both times) and while we enjoyed ourselves we have no desire to return to Cunard and we really like Oceania (25+ cruises).

There is no right or wrong in these matters - everyone has the right to like what suits them best for any number of reasons.

There is nothing like trying it and deciding for yourselves.

Edited October 29, 2017 by Paulchili

[jo-b]

I would agree with Paulchili Cunard ships are more "old fashioned" looking dark interiors, there are formal nights, more entertainment and onboard activities. With Grill's class you get the impression of exclusivity but you are on a large ship and the other guests are still there.

 

In our experience the food is far better on O, the passengers are better dressed overall albeit not formally, the ship is lighter and brighter, the service better. The buffet would be a revelation after canard's canteen approach.

 

The only way to tell is to try it, there are a lot of 7 day Med cruises try a balcony cabin and see how you like it.

[ABoatNerd]

Hi OP:

 

We have done NCL, Celebrity, Cunard and our first cruise on Oceania in September.

 

We picked Oceania because it does Not focus on class segregation. There are different levels of cabins with private lounges, but it is very minimal versus Cunard and some mass cruise lines.

 

Oceania has outstanding food and service versus the other lines. The guests are simply high end and the attributes of the cruise line are high quality, we simply could not be more pleased.

 

If you prefer the "ship within a ship" configuration - then Oceania is not the cruise product for you.

[Classiccruiser777]

We are "diamond" Cunard cruisers that have, for the most part, switched to Oceania. We did so because we found that Oceania offers far better food and beds, more port intensive and overnight itineraries and smaller ships (little to no crowds).

 

Cunard has formal nights, better entertainment and lectures and, on QM2, a proper promenade deck.

 

For crossings we still sail with Cunard and, on occasion depending on the offer, other cruises. But for us now Oceania is a cut above.

[janecambridge]

We have sailed Cunard,balcony and then Princess grill for a short trip as a treat.One sail on Oceania,PH.

The food in Princess Grill was not good,nor the service at that time.Main restaurant a lot better.Nice having same table and same wait staff each time.

Cunard has evenings that are jacket optional and jacket required.Neither evening requiring a tie for men. Also formal evenings which one does not have to attend.

We are not bothered with entertainment,except comedians so that is not an issue on either company.

We like the open feel on Victoria when sitting outside or watching scenery.Most of Riviera is enclosed in plastic Windows.

We preferred the quiz afternoons on Cunard.The nightclub is great and much better for us then ballroom dancing,.Also the pub was a huge hit for our transatlantic passengers.

Afternoon tea on Cunard is very special.

More activities on Cunard and guest speakers were often very interesting.

Felt more relaxed on Oceania and can't pinpoint it..Food exceptional,mostly..

Segregated classes doesn't bother us either,on ships,planes or trains.Take us for what we are or forget it.We like a good laugh and it doesn't matter what you have or don't have...except a good sense of humour.

We have shares in Carnival so get OBC for that on Cunard,but nothing on Oceania...yet.!

We liked all the staff and passengers on all three sailings and any problems were handled very well from both companies.

Our next sailing is with Oceania,great itinerary..Would say this is the line we would look at first if we can ever afford to go again.

 

 

OP.we loved our penthouse and I don't think you can go wrong.Choose cabin wisely,book and sit back and wait for a great time.A lovely ship.There are plenty of helpful people on here to help with any other queries.

[thames_side]

Many thanks for your helpful and honest replies. It seems the quality of the food is the big winner for Ociania. I agree Cunard grills food is not what it was. You just have to find what they do well and go for that. Certainly keep off the fish which is always overcooked. You can always go off menu if there is nothing you fancy. Perhaps if they do get a fourth ship they will have to up there act in order to fill it.

I do like the big QG suites whereas I don't think the PG suites are worth the money - just slightly stretched standard cabins. I don't go on Cunard for the formal evenings but I don't mind. Tying the bow is a good test of manual dexterity!

We don't go for fly cruises these days so the cruise I am looking at for Ociania is round British Isles August 2019.

Perhaps I will give it a go.

Nobody has mentioned the executive lounge on Marina. Not sure it looks very exciting from the photos.

[LHT28]

The lounge is a place to pick up a coffee, snack read the newspaper or talk to the Concierge or use the computer there

[Mura]

No, the lounge is far from exciting. But if you missed lunch and want something to tide you over to dinner, it can be handy.

[potterhill]

And the concierge we had was useless. We were able to obtain what we wanted on our own. All things we had asked him for that he was unable to obtain.

 

 

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[kohl57]

We've done 10 cruises with Oceania (and one with its progenitor, Renaissance Cruises) from 2006-2016 aboard R7, REGATTA, MARINA and RIVIERA. Standard or Concierge veranda cabins. Except for R7, all Caribbean itineraries from Miami.

 

And sailed in Cunard (QE2, CARONIA, QUEEN MARY from 1977-2007 in min Tourist (trans-Atlantic), Princess, Britannia and Queens Grill. This last August we made our first Cunard cruise in 10 years aboard QUEEN ELIZABETH. I have reviewed this on this site so won't repeat it here.

 

For us, Cunard impressed enormously. We had a standard veranda cabin and dined in the Britannia Restaurant. We were delighted with the cuisine, menu and preparation. I'd rate it good. Oceania I'd rate as very good. Service in the dining room was hugely superior on Cunard with a set sitting and a lovely table for two at dinner. Equally and uniformly excellent at open sitting for breakfast and lunch. My wife has to eat gluten-free (celiac disease) and this was the deal breaker for us: Cunard was far better than Oceania in accommodating her diet. Made the cruise for her after many frustrations aboard Oceania.

 

Lido dining is much much better on Oceania... no contest here.

 

I actually thought Cunard's afternoon tea superior to Oceania's.

 

Bar service is also better on Cunard. But Oceania has much better deck service.

 

Oceania is also enormously superior in terms of the attractiveness, tidiness and general atmosphere of the open decks and pools. QUEEN ELIZABETH was... a mess in these aspects.

 

We both really liked the more formal dress code of Cunard and thought the entertainment vastly superior to Oceania.

 

We enjoyed QUEEN ELIZABETH so much we are returning next year and in Princess Grill at a rate for a 17-day cruise that is a far better deal than we'd get with Oceania.

 

In the end, we enjoy both lines but I'd give the edge to Cunard in terms of value.

Edited October 30, 2017 by kohl57

[Mura]

We haven't been on a Cunard ship since two cruises with the QE2, so that's a while ago. We DID enjoy the Lido buffet back then, and we'd already cruised on Oceania (although it was early days for O).

 

I question the comment that Oceania was difficult to deal with in terms of special menus (such as celiac disease). NOT from personal experience. But I've seen many posts here that describe how easy it is to talk to the dining staff (usually a day early) in terms of adjusting menus for various problems, INCLUDING celiac.

 

Glad it worked out for you on Cunard, however.

[ronrick1943]

If you like a more ptv type area--why not get a larger suite with butler. It's very nice and you have the space you need to be alone.