Oceania on-ship activities and entertainment

[wildcats40]

We have been on Princess, Norwegian, Crystal, and Celebrity before but are considering Oceania.  We like the smaller passenger size but wonder how the activities and entertainment compare with larger ships.  We enjoy trivia, game shows, classes, comedians, magicians, movies, singers, and so on.  No need for water parks, rock climbing and that type activity.  Thanks for your input.

[shepherd really]

35 minutes ago, wildcats40 said:

We have been on Princess, Norwegian, Crystal, and Celebrity before but are considering Oceania.  We like the smaller passenger size but wonder how the activities and entertainment compare with larger ships.  We enjoy trivia, game shows, classes, comedians, magicians, movies, singers, and so on.  No need for water parks, rock climbing and that type activity.  Thanks for your input.

As I have said before, there is a very good reason that the Oceania slogan is "Finest cuisine at sea" and not "finest entertainment at sea".   It's lacking but since that isn't why I cruise, for me, it works.   

[AMHuntFerry]

Looking through the daily schedules is a good way to see what is available; the problem is that they are hard to find online. There is a set from 2014 for the Regatta (smaller R-class ship) on the Preismans' blog https://www.thepreismans.com/bermuda_regatta_dailies.htm . Someone posted a full set this year on this forum so I'll see if I can locate them. The larger ships also have art classes and cooking classes, plus some additional sport deck options.

[AMHuntFerry]

Not what I was looking for, but post 13 has a port day schedule for the Riviera (larger ship).

 

Edited July 19, 2022 by AMHuntFerry

[AMHuntFerry]

Found it! I think there is a Currents for every day. Enjoy!

 

[Nymich]

16 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Found it! I think there is a Currents for every day. Enjoy!

 

A blast from the not so distant past 🙂

[pinotlover]

There is an extreme divergent of opinion of the evening entertainment level on Oceania. Personally we don’t find it nearly as lacking as some. We find many that retire to their cabins by 21:00 like to comment on the quality of ship shows, casino activities,  and late night entertainment of which they haven’t a clue.

 

My advice is to go to ship’s evening shows at 21:30; hit Horizons for late Happy Hour, and slide by the Casino in the late evening and judge for yourself. Draw your own conclusion.

[bradpole]

18 hours ago, wildcats40 said:

We have been on Princess, Norwegian, Crystal, and Celebrity before but are considering Oceania.  We like the smaller passenger size but wonder how the activities and entertainment compare with larger ships.  We enjoy trivia, game shows, classes, comedians, magicians, movies, singers, and so on.  No need for water parks, rock climbing and that type activity.  Thanks for your input.

 

We just returned yesterday from Insignia's second Bermuda sailing of the year and I scanned some of the "Currents" for you.  There are a couple of sea days as well as a port day there for you.  Overall I think they give a pretty good representation of what is offered onboard.  One thing that was different this cruise from our prior cruises is there was no pre-dinner live piano music in Martini's.  I'm not sure if this is something new or just a recent temporary change.  

 

 

 

18 hours ago, shepherd really said:

As I have said before, there is a very good reason that the Oceania slogan is "Finest cuisine at sea" and not "finest entertainment at sea".   It's lacking but since that isn't why I cruise, for me, it works.   

 

I agree!   Oceania isn't for everyone, but we really enjoy the product they offer, and have several future cruises booked to allow us to continue to enjoy it!

7.12.22 Insignia Bermuda.pdf

[Cruisedreamer1]

We enjoyed the evening entertainment. No giant production shows but some good acts. I only wish the evening show started at 8 instead of 8:30. In spite of the hour we are almost always there.

[LHT28]

Just now, Cruisedreamer1 said:

We enjoyed the evening entertainment. No giant production shows but some good acts. I only wish the evening show started at 8 instead of 8:30. In spite of the hour we are almost always there.

What cruise line are you talking about??

 Oceania main show is at 9:30pm

[edgee]

1 hour ago, Cruisedreamer1 said:

We enjoyed the evening entertainment. No giant production shows but some good acts. I only wish the evening show started at 8 instead of 8:30. In spite of the hour we are almost always there.

The show in the evening starts at 9:30. Logically it really cannot start any earlier because it is a smaller dining oriented ship..need to have the show after everyone has had a chance to dine. Larger ships on mass market cruise lines need to have two main show performances because main show room cannot hold everyone and that offers more timing options..early or late.

[Poly Grad Sweethearts]

On 7/19/2022 at 11:32 AM, wildcats40 said:

We have been on Princess, Norwegian, Crystal, and Celebrity before but are considering Oceania.  We like the smaller passenger size but wonder how the activities and entertainment compare with larger ships.  We enjoy trivia, game shows, classes, comedians, magicians, movies, singers, and so on.  No need for water parks, rock climbing and that type activity.  Thanks for your input.

 

[Poly Grad Sweethearts]

Not big scale but usually enjoyable, ships more oriented to ports and specialty dinning

[DENIE]

We had recently sailed Celebrity (mostly). Just completed our first Oceania Mediterranean cruise (on the Riviera) in June. We had no issues at all with the evening offerings.  Often went from  the 9:30 p.m. show to Martini's lounge to hear the pianist/singer.  Was perfect for us.  Didn't need any really big production shows.

Edited July 21, 2022 by DENIE

[Rosroz]

There have been several posts on here about entertainment ,I enjoy Oceania but I for one find the evenings sooh boring on Oceania , but you can’t please everyone.

There is one show at 9.30 I’m usually still eating my dinner at that time , there should be an early and a late show , some lively music in the bar would a nice change not just the pianist and the classical music trio, and why start trivia while people are enjoying a drink before their dinner and chatting with fellow guests .

My evening is usually enjoyed with fellow guests we’ve met on board , but a little more “life” would be greatly appreciated .

[pinotlover]

If memory serves me, in 2017 or 18, Oceania experimented on several cruises with a 7:30 show. Attendance was abysmal. Experiment died. Hard to energize the staff or outside talent for two shows in a night when they’re mostly talking or singing to themselves for one of the shows. It’s a big enough problem with only one show per evening.

[jonthomas]

Love all the activities on O just the way they are. Dont need production shows.  Best activity  is the ability to be on a small enough ship to make meaningful connections. People are generally friendly and amiable. 

 

 

[MEFIowa]

On 7/19/2022 at 1:32 PM, wildcats40 said:

... We enjoy trivia, game shows, classes, comedians, magicians, movies, singers, and so on.  No need for water parks, rock climbing and that type activity.

From Riviera 12/13-23/21: 

 

Yes: trivia, classes, comedian, movies, singers, name that tune w/piano player 

No: water parks/slides, rock climbing

[TBfrPH]

Wife and I have been Princess cruisers of late, mainly because of our proximity to one of its home ports on the west coast.  We're really tempted by Oceania's promise of better food and the smaller-ship experience, but we love the live music in the lounges and variety of dancing opportunities on Princess  (Not pop nightclub wiggle-in-place dancing, but couples social dancing).  Scanning the Currents that I can find on CC, it appears that most of what we'll find on Oceania will be classical music.  Is that a fair statement? 

 

How much dancing can we realistically expect to enjoy? 

 

I see a sizable dance floor in pictures of the main showroom on the R ships.  Is that ever used for dancing?  Or is dancing limited to the Horizon Lounge?

 

Thanks in advance to Oceania veterans who might be willing to chime in with their experience.

[pinotlover]

7 hours ago, TBfrPH said:

Wife and I have been Princess cruisers of late, mainly because of our proximity to one of its home ports on the west coast.  We're really tempted by Oceania's promise of better food and the smaller-ship experience, but we love the live music in the lounges and variety of dancing opportunities on Princess  (Not pop nightclub wiggle-in-place dancing, but couples social dancing).  Scanning the Currents that I can find on CC, it appears that most of what we'll find on Oceania will be classical music.  Is that a fair statement? 

 

How much dancing can we realistically expect to enjoy? 

 

I see a sizable dance floor in pictures of the main showroom on the R ships.  Is that ever used for dancing?  Or is dancing limited to the Horizon Lounge?

 

Thanks in advance to Oceania veterans who might be willing to chime in with their experience.

We’ll it depends! 
 

As a routine the ship’s band often plays for 30-45 minutes pre show in the Lounge. The music varies. However, I have been on cruises were individuals talked to the CD, and the band played music for ballroom dancing. Some nights a rather large group would be participating. I think the secret is to talk to the CD.

[Guppy99]

I do hope that it is not just classical and ballroom music. I'm old, but I'm not so old that I don't enjoy some good old rock and roll.  

[LHT28]

4 minutes ago, Guppy99 said:

I do hope that it is not just classical and ballroom music. I'm old, but I'm not so old that I don't enjoy some good old rock and roll.  

Depends on the band  but we have had some good rock n roll  even one string quartet  did a good job with some Beatles & other tunes 🙂

 

[bob brown]

I believe that the small 'O' ships deliver an adequate level of entertainment on board.  The main focus for most on 'O' is the fantastic destination's they serve on great itineraries.   They are excellent at this. 

And because of the smaller size of the ship, they cannot offer the level of entertainment that mainstream cruise lines offer, like sibling NCL, which offers superb variety, including full Broadway shows.   As a destination focused cruise line, most passenger's retire early, to wake up early for a full day of shore excursions.  The ship is indeed quiet on most late nights.   But as the dailies posted above show, they do still have a variety of different entertainment, with the ship's own cast, as well as various 'guest' entertainers that are on for a show or two.  And lot's of 'Big O Point' earning activities, that can be traded in for much better 'prizes' than offered on the mainstream cruise lines.   

[Mura]

Since we are classical music people, that's what we like.  But we're also open to jazz, Broadway tunes, etc.  Definitely won't attend a rock performance, but they do need to please everyone at some time.

 

However, I don't think it's accurate to say that classical music is supreme on the ship.  Yes, there's the string quartet for pre-dinner music but there always were (not sure if it's true) the band performing outside of Waves at meal times. And from our experience the string quartet tends to do their own arrangements of more popular music.  We never found a Mozart string quartet on the program!  That's not to say they don't play classical music ... but they do NOT play ONLY classical music.

 

It seems to me that everyone can find music to their taste at some time during the day.  Yes, these are smaller ships so they cannot compete with the mega-ships in terms of entertainment.

 

MUra

[PhD-iva]

On 7/22/2022 at 12:38 AM, TBfrPH said:

Scanning the Currents that I can find on CC, it appears that most of what we'll find on Oceania will be classical music.  Is that a fair statement? 

 

How much dancing can we realistically expect to enjoy? 

I was on a transatlantic cruise from Rome to Miami on the Riviera last November. After the evening performance show ends, a really good small group of musicians play music in horizons. I’m guessing it starts around 1030 or so, which is just about when the second happy hour starts. The music is definitely not classical, they’ll do various themes on different evenings. The group that performed on my itinerary was really good, especially the singer. Lots of people were dancing, including four or five staff. The associate social Director along with several others (perhaps they were performers, I’m not sure) were up on the dance floor. This encourages others to also dance. Both couples and singles were dancing.

Enjoy your cruise!