Oceania Experts - Celebrity Claims In New Brochure

[ABoatNerd]

Greetings to the Oceania experts on this board AND Happy New Year to all!

 

In yesterday's mail I received 2 brochures; the Oceania Sur la table and Celebrity Beyond Event.

 

Was a very interesting contrast to say the least. Oceania's brochure is focused on food and service and Celebrity's on so called "free" perks and savings.

 

Thought you Oceania experts might wish to mull over & comment on two Celebrity claims in their brochure:

 

1. Premium cruise line - "make a modern luxury escape with the best premium cruise line"

 

2. Wine collection - "the most awarded wine collection at sea"

 

I pose this query on this board because I believe Oceania is more probable to hold these "titles".

 

Personally I do not believe either of Celebrity's statements.

 

What do you all think?

[Mura]

Well, this is the first time I've heard Celebrity called a "premium" line. As to the wine claim, I suppose it is possible ... I personally doubt it, but these kinds of "competitions" are often pretty suspect anyway.

[jo-b]

Could be the wines that have been awarded not the Celebrity collection of wines perhaps?

 

From our experience O is a more 'premium" line, but then I have no clue as to what makes any line Premium.

 

Trying to decide on a river cruise last year a couple had Premium cruises and Luxury cruises as well as just "cruises" I had to get through to the price per cabin to find out which was the "better" of the two/three. And now I can't remember!

[tunaman2011]

Greetings

 

In our experience we have found that Celebrity has some impressive wine selections in their top specialty restaurant (which is now $65/person). But how many people go on a cruise vacation to spend over $1,000 for a bottle of Screaming Eagle? Their wines by the glass are drinkable, but not anything special. We were just on Celebrity and it was a good cruise but in our opinion food and service is better on Oceania. Not that the food or service was bad, but Oceania just seems a higher quality line. Now the entertainment on Celebrity is better but you are on a much bigger, more crowded ship. So there are always trade offs when choosing a cruise vacation.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

[ORV]

Hands down Celebrity has a better beverage product than Oceania. Not just wines.

 

But I prefer Oceania for other reasons, and I don't have trouble finding anything to drink with them.

 

Oceania has some enjoyable wines, Celebrity has better by the glass choices.

 

In the past nine years I've been on over 30 cruises between the two lines, so I feel I have a pretty fair perspective on them. I usually get a drink package on either line.

 

The other is just marketing speak. Much like what Oceania does, kinda like "the best food at sea". Sometimes it is.

[JimandStan]

Sorry to disagree with you, Orv, but I find the Celebrity Beverage Packages, with their price level cut offs to be tacky in the extreme.

 

I almost feel that I need an abacus at the bar to keep track

[AMTDGT]

Sorry to disagree with you, Orv, but I find the Celebrity Beverage Packages, with their price level cut offs to be tacky in the extreme.

 

I almost feel that I need an abacus at the bar to keep track

 

We are X elite plus and have just booked our first Oceania cruise, for 4 reasons. We normally travel with X in Suites or Aqua class.

1. Our last X cruise (B2B) in October/November, generally speaking (there were some exceptions) had the weakest customer facing crew we have experience on X.

2. Our group all had drink packages and almost always had to supplement the package by a couple of dollars for meal time wine.

3. Even in Blu, the food quality/selection seemed a bit weak and over salty

4. The other passengers, (could have been the route), were frequently pushy and rude,

5 Not withstanding Celebrities marketing department, we have burnt out their interesting (to us) ports, and the new ones they add (if they really do) are a rehash of the old ones.

 

After discussions with friends, we booked Oceania, albeit at a lower cabin class, because:

1. They do many ports we want to do and can't get there on X (Africa, Amazon etc).

2. We understand the crews are very customer focused and competent at their jobs

3. We understand the drink packages have a bigger scope than X

4. We understand the food is generally very good and the selection and venues varied.

 

It remains to be seen if Oceania meets our expectations.

[Go-Bucks!]

We are X elite plus and have just booked our first Oceania cruise, for 4 reasons. We normally travel with X in Suites or Aqua class.

1. Our last X cruise (B2B) in October/November, generally speaking (there were some exceptions) had the weakest customer facing crew we have experience on X.

 

I found the crew on Celebrity (especially the officers) to be friendly and purposefully speak to the passengers. O staff was very friendly too.

 

3. Even in Blu, the food quality/selection seemed a bit weak and over salty

 

I liked Blu on the Infinity, but not on the Silhouette. I won't make the mistake of booking Aqua class ever again.

 

After discussions with friends, we booked Oceania, albeit at a lower cabin class

 

We're used to sailing Princess and Celebrity in full suites, but booked a verandah on Insignia a few weeks ago. It was the same price as a suite on the other lines but way too small for us on anything more than a 7 day cruise. The bathroom was the worst - size of a closet with the shower being 3' x 2'!! For our upcoming world cruise we moved up to a PH suite.

 

1. They do many ports we want to do and can't get there on X (Africa, Amazon etc).

 

We book for itinerary too - that's why we decided to try Oceania.

 

2. We understand the crews are very customer focused and competent at their jobs

 

All of our staff were excellent. The room stewardesses were sweet and helpful; even the buffet workers were so pleasant.

 

4. We understand the food is generally very good and the selection and venues varied.

 

We found the food to be generally very good, even the buffet. But we felt like all the hype we read on CC made our expectations a bit too high.

 

It remains to be seen if Oceania meets our expectations.

 

Overall it was a great cruise but very different from Celebrity, mostly due to the small size of the ship. Hope you enjoy. :D

[ORV]

We are X elite plus and have just booked our first Oceania cruise, for 4 reasons. We normally travel with X in Suites or Aqua class.

1. Our last X cruise (B2B) in October/November, generally speaking (there were some exceptions) had the weakest customer facing crew we have experience on X.

2. Our group all had drink packages and almost always had to supplement the package by a couple of dollars for meal time wine.

3. Even in Blu, the food quality/selection seemed a bit weak and over salty

4. The other passengers, (could have been the route), were frequently pushy and rude,

5 Not withstanding Celebrities marketing department, we have burnt out their interesting (to us) ports, and the new ones they add (if they really do) are a rehash of the old ones.

 

After discussions with friends, we booked Oceania, albeit at a lower cabin class, because:

1. They do many ports we want to do and can't get there on X (Africa, Amazon etc).

2. We understand the crews are very customer focused and competent at their jobs

3. We understand the drink packages have a bigger scope than X

4. We understand the food is generally very good and the selection and venues varied.

 

It remains to be seen if Oceania meets our expectations.

 

Not withstanding Jim & Stan's perception on this topic I believe your understanding of point #3 to be incorrect. The wines by the glass that are in the package are superior and at a higher price point on Celebrity than Oceania, and on Celebrity you always have the option of spending a few dollars to get something a little better on the wines by the glass if you don't like what's in the package. On Oceania if you don't like the wines by the glass, which are all included in either drink package they have, then you'll need to buy a bottle, or bring your own and pay the corkage.

 

Celebrity has more specialty cocktails. To me they also have a better flavor. They have more single malt options on the Premium package. They also have more options at Cafe Al Bacio.

 

But as I said earlier I'd prefer to be on Oceania instead of Celebrity. But I feel like you have to give props where they're due.

[keithm]

Greetings to the Oceania experts on this board AND Happy New Year to all!

 

In yesterday's mail I received 2 brochures; the Oceania Sur la table and Celebrity Beyond Event.

 

Was a very interesting contrast to say the least. Oceania's brochure is focused on food and service and Celebrity's on so called "free" perks and savings.

 

Thought you Oceania experts might wish to mull over & comment on two Celebrity claims in their brochure:

 

1. Premium cruise line - "make a modern luxury escape with the best premium cruise line"

 

2. Wine collection - "the most awarded wine collection at sea"

 

I pose this query on this board because I believe Oceania is more probable to hold these "titles".

 

Personally I do not believe either of Celebrity's statements.

 

What do you all think?

Celebrity IS still considered a premium line..When you compare it to Carnival/NCL/RCCL. We cruised them from 2014-2017. The Eclipse was excellent overall. Food this past Jan. was pretty bad compared to the past. So we're trying Oceania this Jan. Still have a 14 day cruise booked on Reflection for 2019. Any cruise line may get voted #1 in any category. What percentage of cruisers read Conde Nast or other such travel magazine? They take a survey & voila! "We're voted #1!!!" (in the category of our choice)it's all subjective. We find Celebrity to have a nice itinerary & for the most part pretty good food. We find Cunard to have much more of the traditions of true ocean liner voyages & excellent food in the Grills. Oceania: "The finest food at sea". That's their slogan, but how true is it really? I would presume the food is considerably better than more "standard" lines, simply because the food budget is much higher. Being in the food industry & one of the owners of a large catering company, I'll give a thorough review of our upcoming Jan. trip on the Riviera. We've booked all the specialty rest. as well as Le Reserve, so we'll get a full taste of what's on hand. We're both "foodies", so this should be fun.

Edited December 31, 2017 by keithm
additions

[Ken the cruiser]

We like both Oceania and Celebrity, but for different reasons.

 

We just finished a 25 day B2B on the Eclipse and had a wonderful time. Our only regret is that we were in a Concierge cabin rather than a Sky Suite. However, we have since rectified that situation and have booked Sky Suites on all of our future Celebrity cruises. Three reasons we like Celebrity: their wonderful evening shows, interactive game shows and 2-3 lectures on sea days. We're also looking forward to going to the Illuminae restaurant and Michael's Club on a daily basis.

 

 

On the other hand, Oceania has GREAT food and a wonderful Terrace Cafe buffet! They also have much smaller ships which make for a much more relaxful cruise, great itineraries and children are few and far between.

 

So depending on the itinerary and the mood we're in will depend on which "premium" cruise line, X or O, we choose. Well, there is one other thing. The most we'll pay for a Sky Suite is around $350/pp/day while we'll pay whatever the going price is for a Concierge cabin on any O ship if one of their itineraries catch our eye. Then there are the Silver class benefits. Those are hard to beat.

 

As far as wine goes, the sweeter the better. For me a glass of Muscato at dinner works great. But since our drinking days are behind us now, the beverage packages are of no concern to us.

[janecambridge]

Celebrity has more specialty cocktails. To me they also have a better flavor.

 

 

ORV, When we were on Riviera,Gusti in Martinis would make any cocktail you asked for.We even cheekily looked up a few on the internet and showed him.He was great and the cocktails were the best ever ( even if he did joke that the cucumber slices were recycled from the spa)😀

[floridatravelersforlife]

It's analogous to Nordstrom vs Walmart. The verbs and nouns in O say quality while X language stresses value (low cost).

 

X used to be quality but then abandoned the quality conscious cruiser. Today they offer glitz as a veil for quality.

[rallydave]

Sorry to disagree with you, Orv, but I find the Celebrity Beverage Packages, with their price level cut offs to be tacky in the extreme.

 

I almost feel that I need an abacus at the bar to keep track

 

And, jim or stan, when was the last time you were on Celebrity or Oceania for that matter??

[Mynki]

Greetings to the Oceania experts on this board AND Happy New Year to all!

 

In yesterday's mail I received 2 brochures; the Oceania Sur la table and Celebrity Beyond Event.

 

Was a very interesting contrast to say the least. Oceania's brochure is focused on food and service and Celebrity's on so called "free" perks and savings.

 

Thought you Oceania experts might wish to mull over & comment on two Celebrity claims in their brochure:

 

1. Premium cruise line - "make a modern luxury escape with the best premium cruise line"

 

2. Wine collection - "the most awarded wine collection at sea"

 

I pose this query on this board because I believe Oceania is more probable to hold these "titles".

 

Personally I do not believe either of Celebrity's statements.

 

What do you all think?

 

The phrase 'premium cruise line' is so subjective it's pointless to use it. I would have thought that it would only apply to true 6* cruise lines. Not the likes of Celebrity or Oceania.

 

The 'Modern Luxury' phrase used by Celebrity should be ignored by all.

 

People need to understand that Celebrity is a two tier line. If you want to see the best Celebrity has to offer you need to be travelling in suite class. Anything else is simply another mass market line.

 

If you're ever on an S class ship, have your sommelier show you their wine tower. The list of quality wines is impressive. Note I'm not referring to the offerings by glass on either classic or premium package. These are poor. Again, use of the word premium is annoying because wines in this category cost just a few pounds here in the UK and really are nothing special. Drinkable, but won't be considered 'premium' by many.

 

In recent times the Celebrity marketing department appear to have being trying to sell a faux luxury experience to people who know no better. They serve fake kobe beef in the sushi restaurant, low grade caviar and punt fake yank champagne at every opportunity.

 

We have two trips booked with X, one due to itinerary and timing, the other because I want to sail on their new ship, Edge. I won't be booking any more trips with them until we have tried three other lines for comparative purposes. But to summarise, the Celebrity marketing department seem to be amongst the most disingenuous, shysters in this industry.

[ABoatNerd]

Mynki:

 

Your analysis above is excellent.

 

Celebrity marketing blather is deliberately inaccurate given the 2 class, constantly downgrading experience. Modern luxury implied for every guest on the ship - bull.

 

Many of my friends have followed me from Celebrity to Oceania in order to experience a consistent product delivered to everyone on the ship.

 

What we agree is that Celebrity is a mere shadow of its once high quality product.

 

My TA concurs - many of her long time Celebrity only clients have moved to Ocean, Viking.

 

The Celebrity brochure is already re-cycled.

 

Thanks for your analysis.

[PhD-iva]

I raise my hand to vote w those who have moved up from X to O. I strongly prefer the food and experience on O. The smaller ships are more intimate and less crowded. We don’t care about evening entertainment production shows. We still cruise on X when we want to travel w family who will only book w X in order to maximize loyalty points and who value the X evening entertainment.

 

 

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[Travelcat2]

Greetings to the Oceania experts on this board AND Happy New Year to all!

 

In yesterday's mail I received 2 brochures; the Oceania Sur la table and Celebrity Beyond Event.

 

Was a very interesting contrast to say the least. Oceania's brochure is focused on food and service and Celebrity's on so called "free" perks and savings.

 

Thought you Oceania experts might wish to mull over & comment on two Celebrity claims in their brochure:

 

1. Premium cruise line - "make a modern luxury escape with the best premium cruise line"

 

2. Wine collection - "the most awarded wine collection at sea"

 

I pose this query on this board because I believe Oceania is more probable to hold these "titles".

 

Personally I do not believe either of Celebrity's statements.

 

What do you all think?

 

From everything that I've heard and read, Celebrity is likely the best premium cruise line but Oceania is not premium - it is premium plus or luxury lite. IMO, Oceania's competition is Azamara and Viking Ocean - not Celebrity. Celebrity is in direct competition with Princess and Holland America!

[ChucktownSteve]

 

What we agree is that Celebrity is a mere shadow of its once high quality product. .

 

I concur. I believe the beginning of the end started when the 20 year contract with Chandris, following the sale, expired a few years ago. IMO, that's when Celebrity ceased being X .

[buggins0402]

From everything that I've heard and read, Celebrity is likely the best premium cruise line but Oceania is not premium - it is premium plus or luxury lite. IMO, Oceania's competition is Azamara and Viking Ocean - not Celebrity. Celebrity is in direct competition with Princess and Holland America!

 

I would agree. We have sailed Celebrity and O and that is exactly how I categorize them.

[Flatbush Flyer]

As I read this thread, all I can think of is all the former Celebrity cruisers I've met on their first O cruise who shake their head and exclaim: "don't know why we didn't move up to Oceania years ago."

Celebrity, like Viking (and not even that good), is a "wannabe" at best.

 

 

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[Go-Bucks!]

As I read this thread, all I can think of is all the former Celebrity cruisers I've met on their first O cruise who shake their head and exclaim: "don't know why we didn't move up to Oceania years ago."

Celebrity, like Viking (and not even that good), is a "wannabe" at best.

 

I think that the choice of a cruise line, for most people, is an economic decision. Cruising has become a very mainstream type of vacation for middle income people in all age groups whereas in decades past it was almost exclusively for the wealthy. Some people are blessed to be able to "move up" to Oceania, but others will never be able to do that. I'm glad that they can at least have a cruise vacation even if they're on Celebrity.

[Flatbush Flyer]

I think that the choice of a cruise line, for most people, is an economic decision. Cruising has become a very mainstream type of vacation for middle income people in all age groups whereas in decades past it was almost exclusively for the wealthy. Some people are blessed to be able to "move up" to Oceania, but others will never be able to do that. I'm glad that they can at least have a cruise vacation even if they're on Celebrity.

 

 

 

I only say this because you're a fellow Buckeye fan:

Dig deep in doing the math and you'll find the bottom line net cost of Oceania on the right cruise with the right itinerary is in the same ballpark as Celebrity- yet, it's a far better product!

 

OSU PhD '73

 

 

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[Mynki]

I only say this because you're a fellow Buckeye fan:

Dig deep in doing the math and you'll find the bottom line net cost of Oceania on the right cruise with the right itinerary is in the same ballpark as Celebrity- yet, it's a far better product!

 

OSU PhD '73

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Can you demonstrate that with real and live cruise pricing now? I'd be interested in an objective comparison using existing ships.

[Mynki]

Celebrity marketing blather is deliberately inaccurate given the 2 class, constantly downgrading experience. Modern luxury implied for every guest on the ship - bull.

 

Many of my friends have followed me from Celebrity to Oceania in order to experience a consistent product delivered to everyone on the ship.

 

What we agree is that Celebrity is a mere shadow of its once high quality product.

 

 

The suite class product is good. Though it should be, on the new Edge ship an entry level sky suite on Med itineraries is currently between $600 and $700 per person per night. This is directly comparable to some true 6* luxury lines.

 

Beverage packages, which seem to play a very big part in peoples choice to sail with Celebrity, are annoying though.

 

First of all the premium package costs $65 +18% gratuity pppn. But if you don't specify what brand of liquer or even water you want to your waiter you will often be given a brand used in their cheaper classic package.

 

Restaurants regularly run out of wines on the premium package, but will happily pour you something from the classic package.

 

Some of the popular bars simply don't stock premium package scotch or at least some of them.

 

When disembarking in port, there are no longer any premium grade bottles of water to collect, only bottles on the classic package.

 

The blatant nickel and diming continues, in Qsine all of the cocktails require an upcharge over and above the premium package. Many glasses of wine, beers and other alcoholic beverages require a $1 or $2 upcharge these days. This to me just makes the product look cheap.

 

Then there are the brand choices...

 

For example, Stella Artois is considered a low grade beer here in Europe. It's very cheap to purchase 50p (65c) per bottle in cases from supermarkets. Yet Celebrity sell it as a premium product! I suspect this is because most people onboard are from the US where it's not a popular product and people will be unfamiliar with it.

 

Some of the package wine is really cheap stuff too. How they have the audascity to claim it as a premium product is beyone me.

 

So yeah, I stick by my comment of modern luxury = faux luxury and is aimed at people who know no better