Regent vs Oceania

[Clutj]

Apologies, but I couldn’t find a prior thread on this and searching only turned up scattershot comparisons.  Reply if you want, please ignore if you are annoyed.

 

I am choosing between these two lines on a Northern Europe 10-11 day cruise.  Trying to get down to apples v apples on economics, Regent is maybe 25% more with a larger/nicer Penthouse than Oceania and Regent is using the brand new, attractive Splendor ship.  Argue my economics if you want, but it isn’t a deciding factor for me.

 

For those who’ve cruised both lines, what would you say puts Regent on top (or not) for you?

What I believe: 

The Regent included wines by the glass are significantly better than Oceania but not mind-blowing.
Regent entertainment is slightly better.

 

Questions:

Are there sample restaurant menus online anywhere?

Is there room service from specialty restaurants?

 

Thanks in advance!

[NCCruzQueen]

36 minutes ago, Clutj said:

 

Questions:

Are there sample restaurant menus online anywhere?

Is there room service from specialty restaurants?

 

I have cruised on both lines.  Twice on Oceania and been cruising on Regent since 1992 with 366 nights.

 

The Regent sample online menus can be found here.  You can find the different speciality restaurant menus plus the wine lists and room service.  I have never found that the speciality restaurants are included on room service.  Wine lists are subject to change as what is available in different areas of the world.  I think Regent is a step above O.  

 

The "always included" dinner menu in Compass Rose is a very special menu with so many included items that I never get tired of the menu and I have been on a Grand Voyage of 89 nights.  

 

Hope this helps.

[spindrift]

If included excursions, business class air, pre-cruise hotel night and concierge and above, free liquor, etc. then Regent wins the vote. But Oceana I’ve been on quite a bit, and I love her dearly.

[NCCruzQueen]

3 minutes ago, spindrift said:

If included excursions, business class air, pre-cruise hotel night and concierge and above, free liquor, etc. then Regent wins the vote. But Oceana I’ve been on quite a bit, and I love her dearly.

 

Agree with you, @spindrift.  The included extras make Regent a leap above Oceania.

[RJ2002]

1 hour ago, NCCruzQueen said:

...The "always included" dinner menu in Compass Rose is a very special menu with so many included items that I never get tired of the menu... 

 

This is the way we feel as well.  The food on both lines is very good, but the variety in the MDR (Compass Rose) on Regent wins hands-down IMO.  However, I will say that one of my favorites is the 'always available' rotisserie chicken on O.  Simple but delicious.

[RetiredandTravel]

I haven't cruised on Oceania but have done quite a bit of analysis.  The Oceania "premium package"  wines people have shown me are equivalent (some better) to the Regent complimentary wines.

 

The rates vary by region but if you compare apples to apples (biz class air, transfers, excursions, drink package etc) Oceania is a decent amount cheaper.  Often you can get a penthouse room on Oceania vs Veranda for less but you do have to coordinate your own air, pre hotel and some transfers.  You can buy the biz class on Oceania but its usually cheaper to do it on your own and then you can dictate the schedule..

[alidor]

I have to comment here…. We have been on Oceania 3 time and 3 times on Regent and hands down, Regent is best.  I had a legitimate problem with Oceania on our last trip and they ended up basically called me a liar.  I am also a travel agent and occasionally people on Oceania had problems and Oceania was horrible in dealing with them.  They just are very uncooperative and In one passenger’s case, we’re threatening.  Never had any such problems with Regent.  Cruising on Oceania is fine and you will enjoy it, but if you have a problem, watch out!  They are horrible to deal with…

[FengShui@Sea]

1 hour ago, alidor said:

 Cruising on Oceania is fine and you will enjoy it, but if you have a problem, watch out!  They are horrible to deal with…

 

I have been following this thread and your comments are some of the most useful I have seen.  When it comes to comparing food and wine it can be very subjective.  But service is a whole other thing.

 

In answer to the OP's question I would put Regent on top, hands down.  There is no comparison between Regent's penthouse, and the penthouse on Oceania, which is not even as nice as the Concierge cabins on Regent.  Our experience on Regent has been that the dining and service is impeccable.  It doesn't get any better than that.  When it comes to price difference I think at the end of the day you get what you pay for.

[ronrick1943]

One of the best things is to don’t have to show your card every time you get a drink, etc.  I’ve cruise both “O’ about 10 cruises and “R” 4, I like Regent so much better all around.  But the larger suites are far better on “O”.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

We've been frequent Regent cruisers in the past, but did one Oceania TA, when Riviera was a brand-new ship.  For us, it comes down to intangibles, like ambience.  Did not like the way things worked on Oceania.  Bars flooded during happy hour, empty at other times (although this was before the common booze packages were available I guess.)  And yes, the service was not nearly as good, nor delivered with unerring good-will as it always has been on Regent. We had a butler (in a PH that was a similar size to a normal balcony suite on, say, Voyager) who fawned over us and made us feel comfortable, practically begging us to give him a good review as if his job depended on it.  He also did things we didn't want done, frankly.

 

I no longer drink, but consider the availability of good-quality alcohol on Regent to be part of this.  You never need to wave a card around, which I find quite distasteful.  I would prefer that we book our own excursions, but the included ones are generally good, and varied.   And we generally love the included Business Air--it just makes getting a variety of places easier, and gives you options, even if you choose to book your own.

 

We just like the atmosphere on a Regent ship, plain and simple. Feels like coming home.

 

BTW, we are booked on Splendor next July to Norway/Baltic.  No PH, a mere F1 suite.

[TPAtravelfan]

Regent is like flying international First Class on a good airline compared to Oceania which is more like a nice Business Class flight.

[RachelG]

2 hours ago, TPAtravelfan said:

Regent is like flying international First Class on a good airline compared to Oceania which is more like a nice Business Class flight.

Good comparison.  Oceania is like Regent Light.  Food on both lines is very good, though the MDR on Regent has a lot more options than on Oceania.  Don’t ever have to show your keycard on Regent.  Basic cabins are larger and nicer on Regent.

 

we like both but prefer Regent.  When we cruise on Oceania, we have to move several categories up to get a comparable cabin, plus we buy the drinks package, etc etc, so at the end, price is about the same.

[forgap]

We have sailed Regent many times and have been on Oceania once.  This was a trip around Spain which may have skewed my impression.  The lounges on the Oceania cruise were completely empty every day, every night.  This was partly due to the fact that there was a 20% surcharge put on all alcohol if the ship was in Spanish waters which it was most of the time.  They would have happy hour specials but a glass of wine with tip could easily cost $20.   One is able to bring alcohol on board and we enjoy Spanish wine, so buying a bottle and sipping on our balcony became our pattern.    

 

We were in a regular suite which was just OK.  Our friends had a better suite on the back of the ship which had a huge balcony which was a lovely place to hang out.  We had a new acquaintance in the owners suite which was palatial!  They had a cocktail party which was memorable and over the top!  

 

Food in the MDR was not very good on our trip if I remember accurately.  The French restaurant was better although some older woman dining alone “mean mugged” me for the entire meal which left a bad taste in my mouth! 

 

In addition, I stressed about getting back in time from excursions which we booked privately.    It was hard to turn off the cash register in my brain.  For me, paying up front, even large sums is preferable.  I prefer the all inclusive. plan with Regent.  

[pingpong1]

I "held off" posting for a while on this thread in order to get a "sense" of other posters thoughts/experiences.  Back in 2019, we actually booked an October "Riviera" transatlantic cruise.  It was simply going to be a "let's give it a try cruise" for us.  Fortunately (for us) the cruise was cancelled (Covid) and we instead used those saved funds to enthusiastically throw into our next (upcoming) Regent Holiday Cruise.  Whew!  What was I thinking!😵

 

In the "run up" to booking that 2019 Oceania cruise, I did all the requisite cost comparisons (including the obligatory "spreadsheet drill").  I "added in" all the extras (including airfares, pre-cruise hotel, full drink packages for the two of us, excursion costs in every port, etc.), and my TA gave us the "complimentary tips  & gratuities".  After adding in all those "extras" needed to make the Oceania cruise "look more like a Regent cruise"  (Oh, I also upgraded to a PH on Riviera in order to get approximately the same square footage as I would have had in a "regular veranda/concierge suite" on Voyager or Navigator).  After applying all those "additional costs" to the Oceania cruise fare, I was "so close" to the overall price of a typical "all inclusive" Regent cruise, I was asking myself, "Why the heck" didn't I just book a Regent cruise in the first place!! ((Duh - Hand smack to forehead))

 

And even after paying for all those extra "add-on's" on Oceania (in order to somewhat replicate a Regent cruise)...I knew beforehand that It STILL wasn't going to be a real/actual Regent Cruise!  All of the "intangibles" that come with a Regent cruise...the service, the food, the "small ship experience", our wonderful fellow passengers, the attentive staff, the suites, and the pleasure of simply being on a Regent cruise... just weren't going to be there on that Oceania cruise! (Can't find an emoji for "self-loathing").  Most likely, If I had never been on a Regent cruise in the first place, I wouldn't have had the feeling that I was "settling for less".

 

So fortunately for us, circumstances (the Covid cancellation) solved my conflicted self-doubt (buyer's remorse) problem.  My brief "flirtation" with even considering an Oceania cruise passed quickly, and I've never given another thought to ever booking another Oceania cruise.  For others, Oceania may be a good fit and may suit them perfectly.  But DW and I are not cruising in order to "simply save money".  If that was the main goal (saving money), we'd stay home, instead!  Given a choice between less-frequent Regent cruises, or more-frequent "other cruises"...  Regent is the "winner" at our house!  Regards to all. 

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

9 minutes ago, pingpong1 said:

My brief "flirtation" with even considering an Oceania cruise passed quickly, and I've never given another thought to ever booking another Oceania cruise.

Pingpong, that's exactly what we did with our one Oceania Riviera transatlantic trip, except it didn't get cancelled.  It was nice, but we did not want to repeat it.  Having been on one of the Azamara ships (old R ship like the smaller Oceania ships), I might think about one of those, if the itinerary was right, but frankly, if I was going to do that, I'd probably choose Azamara, which had a nicer ambience overall.

[RetiredandTravel]

The Oceania comparisons are much appreciated.  We have looked at Oceania several times.  Its billed as having great food which is important to us.  The issue isn't if its cheaper but does it offer premium products in areas that are important to us at a more reasonable price.    Oceania does have very interesting itineraries.  Oceania price advantage seems to vary by region.  South America looks very reasonable (apples to apples) vs ultra luxury lines (not expedition) but Australia is no value at all.

 

The Oceania forum has many who love the product, which is encouraging.  Honestly I've always a little leery, "you get what you pay for".

 

The comments here have been very helpful and have made Oceania less likely for us.

 

 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

As for food, when we did Riviera back in 2013 (admittedly a long time ago now), Oceania was ballyhooed as having the best cuisine at sea.  We did not find that to be true.  On the upside their afternoon tea was spectacular, and the room where it was held on Riviera is spectacular as well.  But in general, we found the specialty restos to be mediocre and ersatz, and the main dining room distinctly inferior to Regent.  Getting lunch in the MDR was an exercise in extreme patience.  Our one wonderful dining experience was the wine-paired paid experience (La Reserve?)  

 

Of course, that's just a single data point, obsolete now I'm sure.  Cuisine at sea can be quite up and down (like the seas), but I've rarely been disappointed by Regent in this regard.

[RJ2002]

To follow on my previous comment about Oceania food in the GDR, not only is the selection not as varied as Compass Rose, but we found on our most recent O cruises that there was a noticeable repetitiveness in the offered selections.  We did find the quality of GDR food to be pretty much on par with Regent, just not nearly the variety as what is available on Regent.

[ChucktownSteve]

Until reading some of the previous posts I had forgotten about an Oceania incident in a specialty restaurant.  So I thought I would share.

 

I happen to enjoy caviar. There was a dish in one of the specialty restaurants that had caviar as a garnish.  So I requested the caviar as a side instead of ordering the whole dish.  The server abruptly told me it would be an additional charge.  I declined. I was offended by his attitude and the way he rebutted the request.

 

So as I was passing the concierge I causally mentioned my disappointment with the server's experience.  Then moved along.  I wasn't looking for anything, just giving feedback.

 

I received a special message from the Restaurant manager who wanted to know when I would next be in the Main dining.  They seated me at the aft window.  Then I was offered a caviar boat. It was so good, I inquired if they'd mind if I ordered a second one.  No problem.  Then without asking, the server brought a third boat saying the Chef though I would enjoy this one too.

 

They did an excellent job of turning a sour taste moment into a wonderful experience without me insisting they do anything!

 

BTW this is not a comparison to Regent since we haven't sailed our three bookings yet. However I expect service to be nothing less. I hope I'm not over expecting.

 

 

[daetchief]

7 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

They did an excellent job of turning a sour taste moment into a wonderful experience...

It's as refreshing as it is humorous how most all of the Premium / Luxury lines try to make up for any errors or oversights. 

On Explorer I was served my dinner salad but our server failed to bring / offer ground pepper.  I waited a time with patience to have him return to check on us, but when he didn't appear I asked the CR captain to have some pepper sent over.   Not only did our server appear with the grinder,  but he and every other server we had that cruise always had a pepper grinder in hand / close by.  "Pepper on your cornflakes, Sir?"🤣

[Silver Sweethearts]

14 hours ago, forgap said:

We were in a regular suite which was just OK.  Our friends had a better suite on the back of the ship which had a huge balcony which was a lovely place to hang out.  We had a new acquaintance in the owners suite which was palatial!  They had a cocktail party which was memorable and over the top!  

 

We'd be curious to know if this was on the Riviera or Marina or one of the smaller ships?  We're reserved in an Owner's Suite on the Regatta but wonder if we should rethink Oceania?  What impressed you about the Suite?   

[ToxM]

Oceania cruiser here who has just made a booking for Voyager in the far flung future. 

 

I have three cruises booked with Oceania before my Regent cruise in both their O and R class ships and in a strikingly different set of cabins (Penthouse to inside!) so I think I will be able to give a good Oceania to Regent eye’s view by the time my long awaited Regent TA comes up in 2024.

 

I will say that on price terms the choice between spending £4K+ each on a base cabin on their new ship Vista (you should however check out their new Juliet balcony cabins, very clever) on a Soton - NY TA or the amount I paid for cruise only in a H cat plus a land based tour free for Cape Town to Rio plus a stop in St Helena (top of my bucket list)…..well there is no comparison. Oceania could well be pricing themselves out of the level of the market they are in. The stop in St Helena is what made me consider the itinerary, the maths is what made me stay. 

 

So now I am soaking up all the Regent information I can. I enjoy Oceania a lot, and am really looking forward to cruising again (on a coracle at this point would be great!). It’s certainly going to be a nice first world problem to ponder when I can finally do the comparison! 

 

 

[forgap]

6 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

 

We'd be curious to know if this was on the Riviera or Marina or one of the smaller ships?  We're reserved in an Owner's Suite on the Regatta but wonder if we should rethink Oceania?  What impressed you about the Suite?   

It was elegant and huge with a deck the entire width of the ship.  Beautiful living room, dining room, grand piano, bar, and bedroom.  In contrast we were in a room with a larger than normal balcony but it sort of gave us a Birdseye view into the adjoining cabin with a smaller balcony.  We were on Marina and if you look at the deck plans you can see the cabins that have that type of configuration.  

[TPAtravelfan]

I'll add one more thing regarding the food on Regent versus Oceania:  Regent has a larger mise en place.  Probably 30% or more ingredients in storage with which to cook a more varied menu.  Certain ingredients that were common on Regent were non-existent or only in a specialty restaurant on Oceania.  

 

You can't beat the menu in Regent's Compass Rose (MDR).  If you can't find (or create!) something that will satisfy your hunger there, you'll never be happy.  And that's assuming you haven't had a bite of you first Salt Stick (please stop offering these delicious, but carb laden breadsticks after two as I am powerless!)

[NCCruzQueen]

On 9/13/2021 at 4:37 PM, TPAtravelfan said:

 And that's assuming you haven't had a bite of you first Salt Stick (please stop offering these delicious, but carb laden breadsticks after two as I am powerless!)

As one who is prone to booking Grand Voyages, I must limit my salt stick intake to only one on Sundays!