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Thinking of going to Oceania from Celebrity


rollie
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We have cruised over 20 times on Celebrity, the last few times in a suite.  We really loved to suite perks and would continue cruising Celebrity but their suite prices have gone through the roof.  We are thinking about trying out Oceania.  The cruise we're looking at is the 7 day out of San Juan on the Sirena.  We're looking at an inside cabin to keep the price down.  We really enjoyed the suite life, but the cabin itself is not that important.  What we really enjoyed was the food in their suite only restaurant, and the services provided.  With all that being said, I think we may like to try out Oceania.  What are your thoughts?

 

Rollie

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Food is subjective of course but we quite liked the food on O. Good meals to be had everywhere, even in the MDR.

If you drink wine, try the La Reserve nights as an extra treat.

I've heard that the food in X's roped-off resto is really good but I've never been myself.

 

Where I think you'll find more "culture shock" is the difference in ship size/pax count.

And that's subjective too. For me, I never want to cruise anything much larger than the O-class (1250-ish pax) again. 

Sirena is half that.

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We're Elite+ on Celebrity and, except for our first cruise, always had an Aqua-class cabin. 

 

We switched to Oceania three years ago and would never go back to Celebrity. Why? Oceania has outstanding food, specialty restaurants are included in the price, ambiance, no art auction, smaller ships that don't "feel" smaller, no crowds or long lines, no photographers, fabulous service, country club casual. I could go on-and-on. Oceania knows their target demographic. Celebrity seems to have lost their way. I'm not sure if they know what demographic they are trying to attract/retain but it isn't us.

 

We sailed on Sirena earlier this year and loved it. 

Edited by Rob the Cruiser
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1 hour ago, rollie said:

We have cruised over 20 times on Celebrity, the last few times in a suite.  We really loved to suite perks and would continue cruising Celebrity but their suite prices have gone through the roof.  We are thinking about trying out Oceania.  The cruise we're looking at is the 7 day out of San Juan on the Sirena.  We're looking at an inside cabin to keep the price down.  We really enjoyed the suite life, but the cabin itself is not that important.  What we really enjoyed was the food in their suite only restaurant, and the services provided.  With all that being said, I think we may like to try out Oceania.  What are your thoughts?

 

Rollie

Quite frankly (as many former Celebrity passengers have found), you'll find that Oceania is a far better experience - particularly when it comes to food and service. 

Perhaps the best example is the food quality. Specialty restaurants on Oceania don't need to be "better" than the GDR or Terrace (casual dining). The venue difference on Oceania is the focus of the menu and the ambiance.

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I agree that Celebrity has gone down hill.  The food quality is not the same as it was and their prices are thru the roof.  We are cruising on the Riviera in December and paying less in a balcony cabin then we would in a balcony on Celebrity.  
We are 1 cruise away from being Elite plus on Celebrity and won't be going back.  They have lost the appeal and are now a typical mass market line.

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Thanks everyone for the replies.  We are Elite Plus on Celebrity and find it hard to try another line, but as said, Celebrity has gotten out of hand with their suite prices.  We still have 2 booked cruises left to go on Celebrity, then we will try Oceania.  Thanks again.

 

Rolle

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We've made a similar move, as Celebrity prices have shot through the roof, particularly in Aqua Class and thereabout.

 

Two things you should bear in mind: the smaller Oceania rooms are smaller than normal Celebrity cabins, you might note this particularly in the bathrooms. However, this is more than compensated, in my opinion, by the total space available on a Oceania vessel. On a Celebrity cruise you might feel the need to have a stateroom with balcony to escape the swimming-pool crowds, but, in our experience, on Oceania space abounds, even round the swimming-pool.

 

An inside cabin? That's certainly a big change, as many people need to see the horizon. 

 

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2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Quite frankly (as many former Celebrity passengers have found), you'll find that Oceania is a far better experience - particularly when it comes to food and service. 

Perhaps the best example is the food quality. Specialty restaurants on Oceania don't need to be "better" than the GDR or Terrace (casual dining). The venue difference on Oceania is the focus of the menu and the ambiance.

 Agree.... no class system and faux elite special this and that,  Not sharing the giant ship with not hundreds  but thousands .  No nickel dime,       

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30 minutes ago, elbowroom said:

We've made a similar move, as Celebrity prices have shot through the roof, particularly in Aqua Class and thereabout.

 

Two things you should bear in mind: the smaller Oceania rooms are smaller than normal Celebrity cabins, you might note this particularly in the bathrooms. However, this is more than compensated, in my opinion, by the total space available on a Oceania vessel. On a Celebrity cruise you might feel the need to have a stateroom with balcony to escape the swimming-pool crowds, but, in our experience, on Oceania space abounds, even round the swimming-pool.

 

An inside cabin? That's certainly a big change, as many people need to see the horizon. 

 

I went from Regent penthouse to Oceaina  insides.... no problem.  Want a view   turn on the TV.  Get out side  ....  Good choice.    I have found that  everyone on O gets treated pretty much equal out side the cabin.

Insides are just fine sailed over 21 days in one  !   No complaints

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Yes, an inside cabin on O is small, but a balcony on the Riviera or Marina (only ones I've been on) is much bigger than a balcony on X.  We also usually book Aqua class on X because I like the food better in Blu, but I Hate the huge buffet.  By the time you walk around, get your food and a drink and find a table, your food is cold.  

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I would never go from a Suite to an Inside no matter what cruise line.  Dark, and cramped.   It is not for me.   Did it on first of 30+ cruises.   It was my first and last cruise in an Inside.   Never again.  

However, you probably will enjoy the excellent food (IMO) and quiet ambiance on Sirena    coming from a mass market cruise line like Celebrity.   I sail on   Princess, Celebrity and Oceania depending on itinerary.   But always balcony or higher category.   For me,  I would be too claustrophobic in an Inside.  YMMV.

Good luck, and enjoy.

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The difference in service, the difference in food and the general ambience of a smaller ship all mean I don’t think we will be going back to X. 

 

We never really bothered with shows and the like on X, but if entertainment is a show stopper (scuse the pun) for you then you may want to get some opinions on that. There is entertainment but not on the scale of a large X ship. 

 

If I had the choice between a suite on X and an inside on O - I’d still go for O!

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15 minutes ago, ToxM said:

There is entertainment but not on the scale of a large X ship. 

It's not the quantity but the quality that counts for me. They don't have to have ostrich feathers, boas and scant costumes with 20+ performers on stage for it to be a good show ☺️

Large productions can be poor and small production can be very good - it all depends on the performers.

Edited by Paulchili
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Just now, Paulchili said:

It's not the quantity but the quality that counts for me. They don't have to have ostrich feathers, boas and scant costumes with 20+ performers on stage for it to be a good show ☺️

True...the only entertainment we take part in on any ship is a bit of bingo a few quizzes and any poker tourneys, so I can’t comment on X or O musical talent/shows really.

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There's a bit of a difference between an inside on the O Ship's vs the R.  On the O ship's they are 174 sq ft with no real difference in size between F & G. They are 160 SQ ft on the R ships. Smallest room is the E Oceanview at 143 sq ft, while the D Oceanview is 165. 

 

Best deal is the Oceanview on the O ships at 242 sq ft. While I've booked them a time or two we've never actually stayed in one. 

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8 hours ago, rollie said:

What are your thoughts?

 

 

What attributes are most important to you?

 

We switched to O because of the:

  • Superior food
  • No extra charges for specialty restaurants, coffees, soft drinks, bottled water
  • Availability of lobster every lunch and dinner
  • Anytime dining
  • No crowds, no photographers, no art auctions, nice ambiance
  • Much smaller ships, 684 to about 1,200 passengers max
  • Interesting itineraries
  • First rate service

On the R ships be prepared for small bathrooms and very tight showers in the lower category cabins.

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If you are a wine drinker, you will appreciate Oceania's 'adult' approach to bringing wine on board without it being 'confiscated' (unless X has changed in recent years).

Edited by CanEcosse
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Feeling close to the water is one of the many things we love about O. Gave up on X when Solstice emerged. The size and the masses of people made me feel as though I were in a 15 story Nordstrom with a Thanksgiving Day parade going on inside.

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We too have moved from Celebrity to Oceana, we have two future cruises on Celebrity and May well do the Hawaii to Vancouver in 2021 or we may just swap them for shorter cruises and upgrade to a suite. We have sailed on Azamara and we liked the smaller ship but because of cost cutting the service onboard was not as good as our previous experience. 

We are looking forward to sailing on Oceana and the  Regatta will have had a full refurbishment before we sail in April 2020.  

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20 hours ago, Petoonya said:

Feeling close to the water is one of the many things we love about O. Gave up on X when Solstice emerged. The size and the masses of people made me feel as though I were in a 15 story Nordstrom with a Thanksgiving Day parade going on inside.

tied up next to one in Greece... looked like an ant farm..... and the topper was it had a lawn planted on top... of a ship !!!   A lawn?    I remember Mr Roberts and the palm tree.    A lawn !!!     A ship designed for people who wanted a cruise vacation but did not want to be on a ship...

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1 minute ago, Hawaiidan said:

tied up next to one in Greece... looked like an ant farm..... and the topper was it had a lawn planted on top... of a ship !!!   A lawn?    I remember Mr Roberts and the palm tree.    A lawn !!!     A ship designed for people who wanted a cruise vacation but did not want to be on a ship...

We were O and X cruisers for years when X still had ships like Century and the Millenium class. And then Solstice came along , and X "Solsticized" the Millenium class, and the ships suddenly had no soul. Icebergs. And where's the ocean?

Love the ambiance of O but LOVE the wind in my face and being so close to the water. It's the way cruising was meant to be.

 

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6 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

We were O and X cruisers for years when X still had ships like Century and the Millenium class. And then Solstice came along , and X "Solsticized" the Millenium class, and the ships suddenly had no soul. Icebergs. And where's the ocean?

Love the ambiance of O but LOVE the wind in my face and being so close to the water. It's the way cruising was meant to be.

 

There is an inherent , almost romantic, value to sailing on the sea..  A primordial connection to life and disconnect from all the strife and turmoil found on the land......    Melville  knew it well.  Sounds like you too

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