Never sailed Oceania

[zumbagold]

Hello

We have sailed many times on other lines. We are thinking about trying Oceania for a Caribbean cruise next year. What should a first time guest know? Which class ship would be a good choice? We have traveled on larger ships and book veranda rooms. Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

[ORV]

Tell us your expectations of a cruise. 

[LHT28]

If you are used to larger ships  then I would suggest  trying Riviera or Marina 

 

But we love the R ships also  so choose by itinerary

JMO

[alcpa1]

There are two "larger" ships which may be small to you. They carry 1250 passengers. The "smaller" ships carry 690 passengers.

The cabins on the two larger ships, Riviera and Marina, are spacious with nicely appointed bathrooms. The baths on the smaller ships are not large in every class below the Penthouse Suite category. If you have sailed Azamara's R class ships you will be familiar with the baths.

In the Caribbean, for the most part, you dock so the advantages of the smaller ships are not important - port wise. But, there are some rarely visited islands that are another plus.

Oceania is styled as country club casual even in the specialty restaurants. These are gratis with no extra fees unless you opt for two venues on the larger ships.

Booking can be a little confusing. You can book with or without the O Life features. You can take the air or receive an air credit. There are extra fees for air changes like flights offered and pre/post air. Business class is not often the best option when using Oceania air.

While free internet is almost always included it is one device at a time.

You can upgrade the alcoholic beverage packages, for a fee, of course. The gratis wines change with each meal and are not the world's worst. My niece, the master sommelier, might disagree but......

Children are permitted onboard. You won't find crowds of kids except for holiday sailings but you may catch a glimpse of a young one or two. There are also smaller numbers of children on longer sailings.

Oceania is most often compared to Celebrity. We sail for itineraries but think Oceania is a step up in cuisine which is subjective but important to us.

Hope this helps....

 

 

 

 

 

[zumbagold]

Thank you all for your helpful replies! We are thinking of a December cruise in 2021. I so miss planning and looking forward to cruising again. By then we hope all will be well.  No special itinerary this time. We see very little sun in Pennsylvania in December, so sunshine, reading and a relaxing getaway is all we need. Maybe a beach : )  Although we enjoy an occasional cocktail or glass of wine, we are not big drinkers and we prefer to arrange our own air.  We have always wanted to try Oceania and are currently looking at Riviera veranda suite. Any advise is welcome!

[Jay23]

I suggest you organise your own air and buy the alcohol as you drink it!.   You can decide if drinks packages are for you after your first cruise.   You can take wine on board yourself and pay 25% corkage in the restaurant or drink it in your stateroom for no extra cost.  You must not take a glass of your own wine from your stateroom to the bars or lounges.   You will be found out as the glasses in your accommodation are different from the glasses in the bars and restaurants.   All being well and we can cruise again, I am sure one cruise will not be enough on Oceania's O ships.  The R ships are a bit small for someone who has sailed with the larger companies.   Bathrooms are teeny below PH class, and so are wardrobes.  J

[Paulchili]

Sounds like you should get "cruise only" fare = no air, no O Life

[pinotlover]

One hopefully short term correction to alcpa1’s reply above. In that the OP specifically stated the desire to sail the Carribe next year, it must be understood that capacity limits will be in effect.

 

One of the Oceania sponsored Webinars I watched, the Executive specifically spoke of a 400 passenger limit for R ships. Someone else posted hearing the number 440 in a different Webinar. So that will be 440/440 actual passengers on a ship with a total capacity of 690. One would reason that similar percentage reductions would be in place for the “ O” Class ships likewise. Therefore, in a sense, small is now smaller. How that will affect staffing decisions is tbd. Decisions such as how they will staff the entertainment production teams, with overall reduced revenues, will be interesting to learn. This will go hand in hand with defining the caliber of contract entertainment brought aboard on a reduced budget.

 

Probably most importantly for regular Oceania customers is dining. Waste is loss. With reduced passenger capacity, it 

will be extremely difficult to maintain the past level of food choice without increasing waste, especially on the small(er) R ships. 
 

All things to consider when evaluating ships and itineraries.

[clo]

1 hour ago, Jay23 said:

You can take wine on board yourself

Plus beer and spirits.

[CintiPam]

2 hours ago, zumbagold said:

...sunshine, reading and a relaxing getaway is all we need. Maybe a beach : )  Although we enjoy an occasional cocktail or glass of wine, we are not big drinkers and we prefer to arrange our own air.  We have always wanted to try Oceania and are currently looking at Riviera veranda suite. Any advise is welcome!

Riviera is my very favorite ship, and we enjoyed our late February- early March 14-night Southern Caribbean cruise on Riviera immensely.  Our veranda cabin near the aft elevators on Deck 8 was very conveniently located.  We thought the ship’s shore excursions that offered a variety of catamaran sailing and snorkeling experiences to some of the top beaches in the Caribbean were excellent and well- organized.  We enjoyed good weather, great ports, and both good food and good service in all of the specialty restaurants as well as the Grand Dining Room.  Give it a try.  

[zumbagold]

Thank you for all your replies. I really appreciate these boards and the people who take the time to reply!  We will be sailing on the Riviera next year!!

[tfred]

Food is excellent on the ship - really good, even the main dining room.  If you are a  foodie this is the place to be.

 

evenings evolve around inner as the entertainment is lacking.  Yes, there are musical numbers, but if you are looking for glitz you are in the wrong place.  

 

crowd is sedate and generally older than Celebrity.  This is above Celebrity, but not at the Crystal level.

 

Overall it was enjoyable when we did ex Miami a few years ago.  For the right price I would sail them again.

[Paulchili]

55 minutes ago, tfred said:

Yes, there are musical numbers, but if you are looking for glitz you are in the wrong place.  

If you need glitz for entertainment I suggest you go to a gentlemen's club.

It's not the number or the outfits of entertainers that makes for a good show - it's the quality of performers..