New to Oceania - Looking for Ship Info

[Trobrah]

We generally cruise on NCL but are considering Oceania to Cuba later this year.  It looks like the Sirena, Riviera and Insignia all cruise from Miami to Cuba.  Since we aren't familiar with any of the ships, we aren't sure which to book.  We don't use a lot of amenities, but spend a considerable amount of time on the balcony.  We prefer specialty restaurants to the main dining room.  We don't gamble and aren't particularly interested in shows.  With that in mind, would appreciate any recommendations.

 

Are all of the ships former R ships, or are any relatively new?

 

Thanks.

[Paulchili]

Sirena & Insignia are R ships; Riviera is newer and larger with 4 specialty restaurants (2 more than R ships).

If you are accustomed to NCL ships you might like Riviera better.

Edited January 6, 2019 by Paulchili

[LHT28]

if you spend a lot of time on your balcony  try to book one of the extended ones on deck 7

check the deck plan

[Noxequifans]

The Riviera offers concierge and executive lounges for the higher category suites. 

[Mura]

It's always difficult to advise people as to what they will like!

 

If you are used to larger ships (our one NCL cruise was on GEM which is 2300 passengers) then I agree that you might prefer Marina or Riviera (the "O" ships) which are 1250 passengers. That does NOT mean that you wouldn't like the smaller "R" ships (684 passengers) but there are more options for activities on the two larger ships.  Two more specialty restaurants, extra activities in general.

 

We started out on Renaissance so we came from the "R" ships to the "O" ships and like both of them for different reasons.  But some Oceania regulars prefer one over the other.  It's impossible for us to tell you what YOU would prefer.

 

It would be nice if we could absolutely assure you that OUR choice will be YOUR choice ... however ...

 

Good luck on making your decision.

 

Many regulars will say that you should go for the itinerary and THEN choose the ship.

 

Mura

 

[Ken the cruiser]

When we've cruised on the smaller R class ships we book the aft-facing A1 or A2 cabins. You have great views on both sides of the ship with no wind on sea days, because you're in the back. Unfortunately, there are no aft-facing A category cabins on the larger O class ships other than owner suites.

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

. Unfortunately, there are no aft-facing A category cabins on the larger O class ships other than owner suites.

you could always book a PH  on deck 7

[Ken the cruiser]

22 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

you could always book a PH  on deck 7

That is true. We just never considered it as it was usually around $140/pp/day more than an A balcony and really didn't offer any additional perks that interested us other than a larger aft-facing cabin.

Edited January 7, 2019 by Ken the cruiser

[ORV]

15 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That is true. We just never considered it as it was usually around $140/pp/day more than an A balcony and really didn't offer any additional perks that interested us other than a larger aft-facing cabin.

Have you ever cruised in one of them? While I agree the normal balconies are perfectly fine the PH on the O ships are well worth extra money. Perhaps not the price you quoted but many times they offer them as a upsell at a much better price. 

[Ken the cruiser]

4 minutes ago, ORV said:

Have you ever cruised in one of them? While I agree the normal balconies are perfectly fine the PH on the O ships are well worth extra money. Perhaps not the price you quoted but many times they offer them as a upsell at a much better price. 

I'm sure they're great, especially if you can get them as an upsell for a fraction of the retail price. 

[Trobrah]

Thank you everyone. In 2006 we sailed on the Tahitian Princess which was a former R Class ship and we loved it. So that size was perfect. We had a balcony cabin which was very nice. There was a main restaurant and a specialty steak house which I believe was called Sabatini's. 

[buggins0402]

2 hours ago, Trobrah said:

Thank you everyone. In 2006 we sailed on the Tahitian Princess which was a former R Class ship and we loved it. So that size was perfect. We had a balcony cabin which was very nice. There was a main restaurant and a specialty steak house which I believe was called Sabatini's. 

Tahitian Princess and Sirena are the same ship.  She has gone through extensive renovations since leaving the Princess fleet and is scheduled for another renovation in May 2019.

Edited January 7, 2019 by buggins0402

[daveispar]

18 hours ago, LHT28 said:

if you spend a lot of time on your balcony  try to book one of the extended ones on deck 7

check the deck plan

Yes, they are the B3 category and are great.  We had 7008 to the Baltic last year and next Nov we have 7009 from Barcelona to Rio.  They are more open on one side (where the ship narrows).  7009 will be great for sunsets, all the way down the Atlantic to Rio !  Also, because of the balcony configuration, no wind problem at all.  Check them out.  They are also available aft, but, I prefer the forward ones.

[warburg]

Hello, Trobrah. We are fans of Oceania. That is why our upcoming cruise on Riviera is our seventh on this line, We do prefer Marina and Riviera, but sail the ship that is going where we want to go. In 2015, we sailed Insignia for the second time because it was crossing the Panama Canal. In 2017 we took Regent's Explorer twice because we liked the itineraries and love that ship, too.

 

No matter how much we might love a ship, we would not like it to be our only motivation. The main reason for that is very little goes on aboard when almost everyone is off the ship. Although we might stay aboard occasionally, especially in a port we know well and don't like very much, it is not the usual thing. Have a good time on whatever ship you choose. Happy cruising!

Mary

Edited January 7, 2019 by warburg