How does Celebrity compare to Oceania for a special cruise?

[Presto2]

We are researching a number of cruises for a 'special' birthday and possibly retirement cruise.

We normally sail with P&O or Celebrity (last cruise spoiled us on EDGE in August 2019)

Just wondering how Celebrity compares with Oceania as we have seen some great itineraries that we would love to do.

[Ken the cruiser]

Which Oceania ship(s) and itineraries are you looking at? There is a significant difference between Oceania's older R-Class 660 passenger ships and their newer O-Class 1200 passenger ships.

 

As far as comparing O and X, what type of cabin(s) are you looking at, as that also makes a difference, especially if you're comparing O cabins and services with an Aqua or Suite cabin on X?

 

As far as entertainment goes, there is a lot more to do on an X ship. But then there are a lot more people on an X ship to entertain. On an O ship, they usually just have trivia and one evening show around 9:30. On the O-Class ships, they also offer a free art class as well as a culinary class for a fee.

 

At least that's been our experience up until about 3 years ago.

[Izzywiz]

Ayup Presto! We have sailed regularly with P&O and Celebrity but only once with Oceania on a fabulous transAtlantic cruise from Montreal to Southampton on Marina just before Covid. IMHO Oceania is a big step up from the other 2 cruise lines but I love the smaller ships. I found the accommodation and the food to be excellent . Oceania also do some really unusual itineraries and there are many 'extras' included in the fare. 
I wouldn’t hesitate to cruise with Oceania again and will start looking again  after we have done our catch up cruises on other lines for the next couple of years.

[ChampagneandFanfare]

IMO Oceania is more upscale than Celebrity but there are pro/cons. Celebrity has better cocktails but Oceania is quieter. Food is better overall on Oceania, especially the pastries. We aren't into the shows and always have premium drink packages. We usually stay in concierge rooms with real balconies but with the new Celebrity ships we are not fans of the virtual "window" balcony - we won't stay in one again so we either have to now book a suite, go on older ships or go on competitive ships so we expect to go on Oceania more often. We haven't been on Oceania since COVID but on our last Celebrity cruise in April there were a lot of supply shortages and service was slow - probably because they were re-training so many new people. 

[Presto2]

20 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Which Oceania ship(s) and itineraries are you looking at? There is a significant difference between Oceania's older R-Class 660 passenger ships and their newer O-Class 1200 passenger ships.

We would probably look for a cruise that covers Israel so it looks like Vista or Marina

We haven't done that much research yet to be honest so are not on top of the detailed questions 🙂

You have given us food for thought now

20 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

As far as comparing O and X, what type of cabin(s) are you looking at, as that also makes a difference, especially if you're comparing O cabins and services with an Aqua or Suite cabin on X?

We always got for an aft balcony cabin on our cruises - including EDGE as we didn't fancy the infinite cabins and moved before we sailed due to the reviews. Not Aqua, Concierge or Suite most times

20 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

As far as entertainment goes, there is a lot more to do on an X ship. But then there are a lot more people on an X ship to entertain. On an O ship, they usually just have trivia and one evening show around 9:30. On the O-Class ships, they also offer a free art class as well as a culinary class for a fee.

We don't tend to do the shows etc but prefer a nice quiet bar with a piano tinkling or the Sunset Bar just looking out onto the wake of the ship. We don't usually 'do' the entertainment

20 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

At least that's been our experience up until about 3 years ago.

Many thanks for any ideas you can pass on 🙂

[Presto2]

18 minutes ago, ChampagneandFanfare said:

IMO Oceania is more upscale than Celebrity but there are pro/cons. Celebrity has better cocktails but Oceania is quieter. Food is better overall on Oceania, especially the pastries. We aren't into the shows and always have premium drink packages. We usually stay in concierge rooms with real balconies but with the new Celebrity ships we are not fans of the virtual "window" balcony - we won't stay in one again so we either have to now book a suite, go on older ships or go on competitive ships so we expect to go on Oceania more often. We haven't been on Oceania since COVID but on our last Celebrity cruise in April there were a lot of supply shortages and service was slow - probably because they were re-training so many new people. 

You sound very much like us to be honest 🙂

[Presto2]

23 minutes ago, Izzywiz said:

Ayup Presto! We have sailed regularly with P&O and Celebrity but only once with Oceania on a fabulous transAtlantic cruise from Montreal to Southampton on Marina just before Covid. IMHO Oceania is a big step up from the other 2 cruise lines but I love the smaller ships. I found the accommodation and the food to be excellent . Oceania also do some really unusual itineraries and there are many 'extras' included in the fare. 
I wouldn’t hesitate to cruise with Oceania again and will start looking again  after we have done our catch up cruises on other lines for the next couple of years.

Ay Up Duck !!! 🙂 What you describe sounds perfect for us. All we need to do now is retire and find one we can afford .. working on it though !!!!

[TrulyBlonde]

Upon reading your posts, I think Oceania is a perfect fit for you. I like Celebrity too, but if had to choose between the 2, Oceania always wins for me. I also prefer the O ships (larger ones on Oceania vs the R smaller ships. 

[Ken the cruiser]

17 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

We would probably look for a cruise that covers Israel so it looks like Vista or Marina

We haven't done that much research yet to be honest so are not on top of the detailed questions 🙂

You have given us food for thought now

 

When we cruised on the Riviera, another O-class ship, we would stay in a concierge balcony cabin, mainly because we could book the "free" specialty restaurants before the regular balcony guests AND we got 3 bags of free laundry! 

 

17 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

We always got for an aft balcony cabin on our cruises - including EDGE as we didn't fancy the infinite cabins and moved before we sailed due to the reviews. Not Aqua, Concierge or Suite most times

 

Unfortunately, on the O-class ships there are no aft-facing balcony cabins, only large suites. But there are on the smaller R-class ships. When we cruised on one of those, we would always book early and get one of them. Love those aft-facing views!!!

 

17 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

We don't tend to do the shows etc but prefer a nice quiet bar with a piano tinkling or the Sunset Bar just looking out onto the wake of the ship. We don't usually 'do' the entertainment

Many thanks for any ideas you can pass on 🙂

 

Then Oceania would be a perfect fit for you. We loved eating dinner up at the Terrace Cafe under their covered balcony when we weren't eating in a specialty restaurant. Very quiet as most folks are eating inside, especially when the weather was a little off.

 

[LB_NJ]

Personally, I prefer Oceania.  Smaller ships, better food.  However, Oceania tends to be more expensive.

[Redtravel]

I like Celebrity and Oceania.  Special trip deserves special service. While Celebrity is good, Oceania is superb.   I prefer the larger O ships, Marina and Riviera.  They are beautiful.  Cabins are huge.  When I booked my first cruise on Marina, my TA said Oceania standard veranda is like suite on many lines.  He was right.   Oceania claims that it has the best food at sea.  Oceania has multiple dining venues that are different.  It provides a great variety.  Food is excellent wherever you dine. Everyone has the opportunity to dine at least once in all the specialty restaurants.  No extra charge to dine in Jacques, Red Ginger, Toscana, or Polo.  They are amazing.  the Grand Dining room and Terrace Cafe also have excellent food.  The best part of sailing on Oceania is that everybody gets to enjoy everything.  While there are larger suites,  all guests are treated as one class.  
Best feature is Oceania ships never feel crowded.  No chair hogs. No long waits for anything.  There are many activities offered.  There is an evening performance nightly.  Afternoon tea daily is a real treat.  
my choice for a special occasion is Oceania.  It’s also nice for any occasion.  

[Orator]

I was thinking of booking a TA on Oceania since the reviews  of the line were quite good. I asked on the Oceania page about speakers and entertainment which are important to me. The feedback on the Oceania board convinced me that I wouldn't like TA as Oceania is really designed for port intensive cruises. I ultimately booked the Silhouette TA and the Viking TA. I hope to try Oceania in the future.

[oceanbill457]

We have sailed on 5 Oceania cruises and three Celebrity. No comparison, Oceania by far. 4 specialty restaurants on Marina And Riviera included in the cost. Very port intensive. Great service.

[CNPGOLF]

The cost of Oceania will be more but the food is so much better.

[LB_NJ]

On 10/7/2022 at 12:28 PM, Orator said:

I was thinking of booking a TA on Oceania since the reviews  of the line were quite good. I asked on the Oceania page about speakers and entertainment which are important to me. The feedback on the Oceania board convinced me that I wouldn't like TA as Oceania is really designed for port intensive cruises. I ultimately booked the Silhouette TA and the Viking TA. I hope to try Oceania in the future.

 

I understand you have already booked however, the QM2 is really the ship for a TA cruise.

[sammyboots]

21 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

 

I understand you have already booked however, the QM2 is really the ship for a TA cruise.

The QM2 is indeed a wonderful ship to do a TA crossing on and I loved the experience I had when we sailed on her. The crossing takes only seven nights though ( it used to be six back in the day when I did my first TA on the QE11) and many of us, myself included, prefer a TA that takes in a few ports on the way and over a longer period. A transpacific was probably one of my favourites from LA to Sydney, love the at sea days interspaced with a few ports of call over 17 nights, bliss!😊 Going back to the discussion on Celebrity vs Oceania, we took a couple of TAs on Oceania, one from Rio to Barcelona and the other from Miami to Barcelona and absolutely loved it. We take more Celebrity cruises than any other cruiseline but given the choice,  as much as I love Celebrity, I’d choose Oceania every time. I prefer the smaller ships and the “can do” attitude of the staff. The food was very good although I’d personally dispute the best at sea that they claim, more Luminae ( which we love) than main dining room Celebrity. It’s made me think I need to check out their future itineraries again!😆

Edited October 9, 2022 by sammyboots

[PSU]

Look at Regent. All-inclusive including business class air fare. I didn't care for Oceania. 

[sammyboots]

4 minutes ago, PSU said:

Look at Regent. All-inclusive including business class air fare. I didn't care for Oceania. 

I also love Regent, I think Oceania is a notch above Celebrity and Regent is a notch above Oceania. 

[CruseKrazy]

O is our favourite cruise line followed by X.  If you want peace and quiet, choose O.  If you want excitement, choose X.  Our favourite ship is the Marina.  Going on Beyond soon so we shall see if things change.  Both lines are superb!

Edited October 9, 2022 by CruseKrazy

[maggie.1008]

Another vote for Oceania Riviera or Marina. Oceania has the best food at sea imho. 
Celebrity is the best mass cruise line but Oceania is a step up.

[Lastdance]

I would love to try other ships, but their gyms are very small.  For some reason that is just not a priority with smaller ships, so that is why I have not personally tried a smaller ship. TBH, I would love to try one!  My DH and just have a quality gum as a high priority: however, one cruise might be nice.  This is the same reason we haven't done a river cruise, but we are open to that too.  These discussions do open my mind to various smaller ships than Celebrity.

 

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by Lastdance