R class or O class and why?

[ilikewhatisgood]

For those who have travelled both classes of Oceania ships, which do you prefer and why?

[LHT28]

we like both  just depends on the itinerary  & which ship goes  where we want to go

[RJB]

3 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

we like both  just depends on the itinerary  & which ship goes  where we want to go

The O ships, hands down.   A lot more choices  in everything we do on ship from dining to public spaces and much larger cabins.  R ships are past their prime and should be retired.  Glad to see there will be new builds in future that are just about the size of the O class. 

[Paulchili]

O class ships have 4 specialty restaurants vs 2 on the R ships. They also have Privee and La Reserve (both for fee) and a larger selection at the Terrace. Their bathrooms are larger.

R ships get to some ports that O ships cannot - Bankgok and Saigon are just 2 examples where it makes a huge difference. The atmosphere on the R ships is generally "warmer" as a smaller number of passengers and staff get to know each other faster and better, making it a more personal experience. We also prefer the library and the theater on the R ships.

Ultimately, the itinerary decides for us.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Paulchili

[Mura]

It's impossible to know which one YOU would prefer.  Many here have definite preferences for one or the other (such as RJB made clear) and others are like us:  we like all of the ships, they are just different.

 

You won't know until you try one or the other ... or both!

 

Have fun deciding ...

 

Mura

 

 

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, Paulchili said:

R ships get to some ports that O ships cannot - Bankgok and Saigon

Obviously that should have said Bangkok.

St. Petersburg can also be one of those ports at times that R ships can get closer to city center.

[ORV]

Itinerary being equal I would chose the O ship every time. But I've been on all the R ships except Sirena multiple times and always enjoyed them. I do think RJB might be a tad over the top is his assessment, but we all have our opinions. 

[RJB]

51 minutes ago, Mura said:

It's impossible to know which one YOU would prefer.  Many here have definite preferences for one or the other (such as RJB made clear) and others are like us:  we like all of the ships, they are just different.

 

You won't know until you try one or the other ... or both!

 

Have fun deciding ...

 

Mura

 

 

Just answered the question from the OP.  And just our opinion.  Does not go for everyone, just us.  Also when we were in Bangkok on Nautica a few years age were docked at least one hour out of city so the rule does not always apply. 

Edited January 22, 2019 by RJB
spelling

[ilikewhatisgood]

We will either do Caribbean, Mediterranean or Alaska.

 

Being that it’s our first Oceania cruise I’m still not sure which to take. We are basically trying to learn what we are likely to enjoy the most and will likely become a loyalist of 1 or 2 lines. Graduating from Disney with the kids and a brief trial of X

[Mura]

11 minutes ago, RJB said:

Just answered the question from the OP.  And just our opinion.  Does not go for everyone, just us.  Also when we were in Bangkok on Nautica a few years age were docked at least one hour out of city so the rule does not always apply. 

Please don't think I was criticizing you for having an opinion!  You are justified, of course, in having that opinion.  I was just trying to let the OP know that there are many people who prefer the newer ships to the older, and vice versa.  I'm an inbetweener in that there are some things I like better about the "O" ships and some things I like better about the "R" ships.

 

Mura

 

 

[ilikewhatisgood]

2 minutes ago, Mura said:

there are some things I like better about the "O" ships and some things I like better about the "R" ships.

Can you share which please?

[LHT28]

24 minutes ago, ilikewhatisgood said:

We will either do Caribbean, Mediterranean or Alaska.

 

Being that it’s our first Oceania cruise I’m still not sure which to take. We are basically trying to learn what we are likely to enjoy the most and will likely become a loyalist of 1 or 2 lines. Graduating from Disney with the kids and a brief trial of X

I think it may also depend on what size  cabin you can live with

We are fine in the regular cabins  on either class ship except insides  that is  a personal preference though

some cannot live in anything lower than a PH

The R ships  have cozy W/C in the A-G  cabins  the Insignia  ones will be better  now  without the friendly curtain in the shower

The larger O class ships  have tubs in the A to C cabins as well as the stand alone  shower

never been in a PH  so other will comment

Suggest scrolling through the thread here   as many have differing opinions

 

there are photos of the Riviera  (O class)

https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/riviera-607/

 

enjoy

[RJB]

23 minutes ago, ilikewhatisgood said:

We will either do Caribbean, Mediterranean or Alaska.

 

Being that it’s our first Oceania cruise I’m still not sure which to take. We are basically trying to learn what we are likely to enjoy the most and will likely become a loyalist of 1 or 2 lines. Graduating from Disney with the kids and a brief trial of X

Hands down the Med. over the Carib.   So much beauty  and history in Med. And all of Europe.   Have not been to Alaska but from what we hear it would not be my first choice.  The only good thing in my opinion about the Carib. is that you can drive from Orlando to Miami and not have to fly.  If you have not been to Europe than the flights are worth it. 

[ilikewhatisgood]

Exactly! We love being able to drive from Orlando straight to the FL ports. We’ve been to Europe several times, specially Portugal, but never cruised there.

 

When we can, we like to avoid TSA and all the airport inconveniences.

[RJB]

14 minutes ago, ilikewhatisgood said:

Exactly! We love being able to drive from Orlando straight to the FL ports. We’ve been to Europe several times, specially Portugal, but never cruised there.

 

When we can, we like to avoid TSA and all the airport inconveniences.

Only takes us an hour or so to drive to Miami so we are big fans of not flying but cruising in the Med. is wonderful.  Something everyone should do.   But you can't go wrong either way.  Good choices to have.   

[Noxequifans]

Thought we liked the Os above the Rs but last trip was on an R. Actually like both.

[Mura]

1 hour ago, ilikewhatisgood said:

Can you share which please?

Happy to do so.  But they have been voiced by others before.  I don't have any special insight here.

 

We like the intimacy of the "R" ships.  We usually are in a suite so the size of the cabins is fine for us. 

 

On the plus side for the "O" ships is the greater choice of specialty restaurants (plus the two fee-based options), more spacious cabins, more venues for extra activities.

 

Either way, we're happy on an Oceania ship.

 

Mura

 

 

[Classiccruiser777]

Love both, you can’t go wrong, but I prefer the R ships with roughly half the passengers. It just seems easier to get to know staff and other passengers with less people on the ship. Also, when going to more intimate ports, less crowds in which to contend.

[sammiedawg]

IMO, you cannot go wrong on either class of ships.  We started on the R ship and were immediately hooked on Oceania.  Our second trip was on an O ship and the extra dining venues blew us away.  Since then we’ve been on both quite a few times and have not found much to complain about.  

If I thought I would only do one Oceania I would choose Marina or Riviera for the extra dining choices.  

[sunlover12]

There are advantages and disadvantages of each.  People are going to have different responses as to what is important to them.  For me the biggest disadvantage of the R ships is the size of the bathrooms, especially if you're on a long cruise.  I was on a 16-day cruise on the Regatta and towards the end I couldn't stand the tiny bathroom anymore. One big advantage of the R ships, as some have already mentioned, is that the berthing location in the port can be much better than with a larger ship. I don't put too much importance on 2 additional specialty restaurants on the O ships, but that's just me. 

[azam71209]

Also consider your itinerary. Regatta, an R ship, is the only Oceania ship that goes to Alaska. Really nice for smaller ports that the bigger ships can't get into. Bangkok, right in town, where the larger ships are two hours away. Haven't been on the larger O ships yet.

 

Mary

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, azam71209 said:

Bangkok, right in town, where the larger ships are two hours away. Haven't been on the larger O ships yet.

Ditto for Saigon. We have done it on a Princess with a very long ride to Saigon and back and twice on Nautica docked right in Saigon - a huge difference.

[RJB]

14 hours ago, Mura said:

Happy to do so.  But they have been voiced by others before.  I don't have any special insight here.

 

We like the intimacy of the "R" ships.  We usually are in a suite so the size of the cabins is fine for us. 

 

On the plus side for the "O" ships is the greater choice of specialty restaurants (plus the two fee-based options), more spacious cabins, more venues for extra activities.

 

Either way, we're happy on an Oceania ship.

 

Mura

 

 

we like the bigger cabins and additional dining options on O ships but that said we love Oceania and will sail on the R ships if they go here we want to go.  As an example 4 days in Cuba in Oct.  on Sirena.   Ship O.K. ports great. 

[bitob]

We have always preferred the R ships.  For us, smaller is better.  We do not care about the extra restaurant choices.

BUT if we were to decide based on cabin choice, the O ships have better options.  On a R ship we always choose a PH.  The smaller cabins are not an option for us.  On an O ship we prefer the Oceania Suite (or the PH) but we would sail even in a smaller cabin on the O class ships if that were the only option.  The standard cabins on the O ships are larger with nicer bathrooms than those on the R ships.  Even the Ocean View cabins are nice on the O class ships.

 

Look at photos on line to see how you fell about cabin choices.

[Classiccruiser777]

12 hours ago, azam71209 said:

 Really nice for smaller ports that the bigger ships can't get into.

 

Ditto regarding Bermuda. The R ships dock on Front Street in Hamilton and in St. George, large ships dock at the Royal Dockyards.