What do you like about Oceania?

[Vineyard View]

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

From Oceania "Zen Desk" FAQs:

 

So if you buy or have the drinks package, is there a 20% added to each of your drinks, or is that covered in the package?  What about drinks not on the package, such as mixed drinks, Bloody Mary, etc? 20%?

[AMHuntFerry]

39 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

So if you buy or have the drinks package, is there a 20% added to each of your drinks, or is that covered in the package?  What about drinks not on the package, such as mixed drinks, Bloody Mary, etc? 20%?

There used to be info on O's website with the package info, but it's not there anymore as far as I can tell. In the past, gratuities were part of the package (i.e., no additional money needed if you drank within the package's constraints), and I have no reason to believe this has changed.

Drinks that are not part of the package will have 20% added.

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

Viking fanatic here! I like to occasionally check the boards of other lines just to read what people are saying. This post caught my attention. As much as I absolutely love Viking, Vista is calling me.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, AMHuntFerry said:

There used to be info on O's website with the package info, but it's not there anymore as far as I can tell. In the past, gratuities were part of the package (i.e., no additional money needed if you drank within the package's constraints), and I have no reason to believe this has changed.

Drinks that are not part of the package will have 20% added.

scroll down to Beverage Packages

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/value

[AMHuntFerry]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

scroll down to Beverage Packages

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/value

The gratuity info is missing though.
For @Vineyard View, here's the info I received onboard last week (sorry for the poor quality):
 

[Elbig]

11 hours ago, snorkle lover said:

We love Regent and have sailed on her three times ( Explorer and Splendor). We are thinking about trying Oceania in the PH 1 category on a Panama cruise. Not sure if it might be a good fit or might we be disappointed.We would love your thoughts since you have done both Regent and Oceania.

We have been on both. We love Regent as well. The experience is very similar with the exception things are prepaid on Regent. Even all in we find O to be a better value. In many ways, I would let the itinerary be a deciding factor. We are very much looking forward to checking out Vista. 

[edgee]

Have done 7 Oceania cruises and agree with nearly all of the positives others have mentioned compared to Celebrity or other large ship lines. After two cruises on the smaller "R" ships, we now confine ourselves to the larger O and Allura class ones. We have 3 cruises booked on Oceania in the next 13 months for a total of 55 nights...two of these cruises are on Vista. Very excited. Only drawbacks to Oceania for us are very high prices for alcoholic drinks and excursions and the tendency of some cruise directors to yak on and on about activities which cheapens the overall experience a bit. That being said...so many positives like great food and service, beautiful ships. Love especially the spa deck in front of the ship for warm weather cruises and generally quiet, elegant, but not too stuffy atmosphere. 

[LHT28]

5 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said:

The gratuity info is missing though.
 

Yes  I noticed that

Maybe more changes coming  or bad proof reading???🤔

[ak1004]

3 hours ago, Elbig said:

We have been on both. We love Regent as well. The experience is very similar with the exception things are prepaid on Regent. Even all in we find O to be a better value. In many ways, I would let the itinerary be a deciding factor. We are very much looking forward to checking out Vista. 

 

I would love to try Regent, but every time we check Regent, the price is at least 30-40% higher even after adding all the inclusions. 

 

So in your opinion, they provide comparable experience in terms of service, food, entertainment etc?

[PhD-iva]

12 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

I would love to try Regent, but every time we check Regent, the price is at least 30-40% higher even after adding all the inclusions. 

 

So in your opinion, they provide comparable experience in terms of service, food, entertainment etc?

I have sailed on one Regent cruise, 16 days from Los Angeles to Lima Peru, and I have sailed on three Oceania cruises: Marina, Riviera, and Sirena. Lowest stateroom category on Regent and PH2/Concierge on O.
While Oceania is my favorite cruise line, because its pricing is a la carte, I find that Regent’s pricing is comparable to O, because I like to travel in business class air, which is included in Regent’s fare (some exceptions apply.).

I will admit though, that my one cruise on Regent Mariner was superior to any of my Oceania cruises. I love Oceania, but Regent was just over the top more splendid. But pricing definitely is an issue (for both lines) going forward.
I am starting to consider moving more towards land tours in future. I still have three or four more cruises booked over the next two years, including Regent South America in February.

BTW, I am also a Celebrity refugee. Not going back there. Unimpressed with my one Holland America, and one princess cruise.

[EJL2023]

33 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Yes  I noticed that

Maybe more changes coming  or bad proof reading???🤔

We were just on a cruise and had purchased the House Select package and we were not charged any gratuities.  Also have a couple of booked cruises. When you go into account and click on Purchase Beverage Package, with both choices it states that the gratuities are included.  So most likely just another little blip on their site.  I think most of us can agree that their website and in some cases their reps are NOT the reasons we like Oceania so much!! That probably shows even how much more we actually enjoy the sailing experiences as we are willing to accept these other deficiencies.

[ak1004]

13 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

I have sailed on one Regent cruise, 16 days from Los Angeles to Lima Peru, and I have sailed on three Oceania cruises: Marina, Riviera, and Sirena. Lowest stateroom category on Regent and PH2/Concierge on O.
While Oceania is my favorite cruise line, because its pricing is a la carte, I find that Regent’s pricing is comparable to O, because I like to travel in business class air, which is included in Regent’s fare (some exceptions apply.).

I will admit though, that my one cruise on Regent Mariner was superior to any of my Oceania cruises. I love Oceania, but Regent was just over the top more splendid. But pricing definitely is an issue (for both lines) going forward.
I am starting to consider moving more towards land tours in future. I still have three or four more cruises booked over the next two years, including Regent South America in February.

BTW, I am also a Celebrity refugee. Not going back there. Unimpressed with my one Holland America, and one princess cruise.

 

Maybe pricing was comparable because you stayed in PH?

 

We found that regular veranda (or even OV) on Riviera/Marina is more than enough for us. Typical veranda to Europe for 10 nights is around $5,000-5,500 CAD. Add beverage package, gratuities and excursions brings you to around $7,500 CAD top. Regent typical 10 night to Europe is around $13-14k CAD. If you remove the air credit, it's around $10k CAD.

 

For us the difference is even more because we don't drink and take mix of private and ship excursions, and also take OV most of the time. 

[DrKoob]

On 6/20/2023 at 4:49 PM, CHEZMARYLOU said:

I never, after 25 Celebrity cruises, though I would be posting this.  What do you like about Oceania? What sets it apart? Can you compare it to other lines, especially Celebrity. If you were jumping ship why would it be to Oceania? Anything else you can share for someone very disappointed in her favorite cruise line?

 

We are with you. Out there, trying new lines after 20+ cruises with X. They are nothing like the cruise line we started with in 2004. I totally understand that they need new and younger cruisers but now it's too the detriment of their long-time customers. 

 

We tried Viking Ocean first (we had too high expectations) and are booked on Vista in September. We have a friend who we met on X who says Oceania is his favorite cruise line. We are sailing with him and can't wait to try it. Someplace there is a cruise line that we will love and shower with $$$. We are very loyal. X lost out.

[travelingJimmy]

As someone who has done 3 Celebrity and 8 Oceania cruises I can give you our experiences on a few things and hopefully it will help you.  These are our experience only.  All 3 of my Celebrity cruises have been on Solstice class ships and on Oceania we have done 2 cruises on R class ships and 6 on O class (Marina and Riviera) :

Ship size: Celebrity (at least the Celebrity ships we have been on) are quite a bit larger that O which and can be good or bad.   Bigger ship, more options, but more people.  Also, you can get into smaller ports of call with the smaller ships. I do like the covered pool on Celebrity but otherwise we way prefer the size of the O ships.

Food:  Food on O is much better than Celebrity especially in the main dining room.  That said Luminae on Celebrity is awesome and every bit as good as O and the service is fantastic.  Overall, Oceania wins hands down.

The Buffett:  All I can say is that the buffet on Celebrity is a zoo.  Food, so-so. people everywhere and chaos.  Oceania wins hands down.

Shore excursions:  I think both have essentially the same excursions since they are all sub'd out local.  The biggest issue is cost.  The same excursion is going to cost you more on O. We always book our own private tours when on O.  Cheaper and we see more.  From a cost standpoint, Celebrity wins hands down.

Nickel and Dimeing: its one thing that drives me crazy on Celebrity is the big bill at the end.  Oceania wins.

Crew and staff:  Both are awesome. Oceania ships are smaller so there is probably a bit better service cuz you do get to know the people better, but we have had a great experience on both.  One thing and I don't know if it is a pro or con on either but I would say that the senior staff like captain etc on Celebrity are VERY visible and out front, way more than Oceania. I do like the ships tours on Celebrity.  Always fun to see the bridge and the behind the scenes on Celebrity.  Oceania does not offer that.

Cooking classes: Those are awesome and I would recommend them on Oceania.  Celebrity does not offer hands on.  They have done cooking demonstrations on sea days which are fun, but the hands on classes in O wins the day.

 

Hope that helps.  Again, these are just our experiences and others may have had other experiences.

 

[Vineyard View]

7 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said:

The gratuity info is missing though.
For @Vineyard View, here's the info I received onboard last week (sorry for the poor quality):
 

Thank you for posting this. I appreciate you doing this. 
So it sounds like the 20% is included in the package, but maybe not in the purchases separate from lunch/dinner, or beverages not on the package?  I noticed a comment about the high prices of cocktails. Does anyone have an example?  

[LHT28]

4 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you for posting this. I appreciate you doing this. 
So it sounds like the 20% is included in the package, but maybe not in the purchases separate from lunch/dinner, or beverages not on the package?  I noticed a comment about the high prices of cocktails. Does anyone have an example?  

Individual drink purchases incur the 20% 

so far  included in the packages

 Menus posted  in this thread  from January

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2904150-riviera-new-bar-drinks-menus-and-prices/

 

[Vineyard View]

Thank you. I really appreciate this. 
I looked at only one red wine. The Pinot. Wasn’t familiar with it. It sells for $10/bottle. 
Mixed drinks seem reasonable. 
I am just surprised that the charge the 20% gratuity instead of building it in. As I have researched Oceania further, there are a couple of add on costs that I was surprised at. This is one. 

[LHT28]

18 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you. I really appreciate this. 
I looked at only one red wine. The Pinot. Wasn’t familiar with it. It sells for $10/bottle. 
Mixed drinks seem reasonable. 
I am just surprised that the charge the 20% gratuity instead of building it in. As I have researched Oceania further, there are a couple of add on costs that I was surprised at. This is one. 

Most wine onboard  is a lot cheaper  to buy off the ship

 Take your own  if you can get it for $10 a bottle then pay the $25 corkage fee  if you take it to a dining venue  or just drink it in your cabin  for no extra cost

 

I have no idea what other lines charge  but  it seems the norm to add  a % gratuity on cruise lines unless  all inclusive  line

If you are used to those  lines Oceania may be a shock to your  account  at the end of the cruise

YMMV

[Vineyard View]

6 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Most wine onboard  is a lot cheaper  to buy off the ship

 Take your own  if you can get it for $10 a bottle then pay the $25 corkage fee  if you take it to a dining venue  or just drink it in your cabin  for no extra cost

 

I have no idea what other lines charge  but  it seems the norm to add  a % gratuity on cruises lines unless  all inclusive  line

If you are used to those  lines Oceania may be a shock to your  account  at the end of the cruise

YMMV

Thank you. 
 

I honestly could not drink $10/btl of wine so I was just noticing what to expect. No offense meant to anyone. We’ve always purchased drink packages on Various lines and the gratuities were included.

I am comparing three lines for next year and gathering total costs when comparing similar cabins that we would sail in and costs we would incur. So far, Viking is most expensive. Hands down. They are out for a few reasons. We used to be cheerleaders for them and very familiar with expectations.
What is surprising me is how very close Oceania and Seabourn are penciling out. Again, comparing similar size cabins and amenities, time of year, length of travel. Different parts of the Mediterranean which I know can contribute due to port fees. I am happy to post those findings later if there is any interest. 
Clearly what is important to us, is not necessarily to others  

[LHT28]

I have not found  $10 bottles of wine  where  we live  in a while  maybe just not my tastes 🤔

 

[Elbig]

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

I would love to try Regent, but every time we check Regent, the price is at least 30-40% higher even after adding all the inclusions. 

 

So in your opinion, they provide comparable experience in terms of service, food, entertainment etc?

Absolutely. I think the cabins/suites are a little larger and nicer with Regent. We stay in PH.  I haven’t been on Vista yet. As I said , O is a better value but Regent is a wonderful experience. It’s very nice to not have to show your card or give your room number to get a drink and know that almost everything is prepaid. It’s hard to explain but there is a sense of freedom in all that. Is it worth it? Not sure. But it’s definitely worth checking out. We will consider either in the future. Right now we have two cruises booked on Vista because it really seems nice. Hope this helps. 

[PhD-iva]

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

Maybe pricing was comparable because you stayed in PH?

Yes, good point. Although I booked the two penthouse cruises a long time ago, even when cruising was still shut down. Prices were fabulous so I grabbed the penthouse. Going forward, no more penthouses for this girl. 😩 Prices are starting to climb.

[julia]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

We’ve always purchased drink packages on Various lines and the gratuities were included.

 

Just so you are clear on this point, the 20% IS INCLUDED in the drink package.  It is only ADDED to drinks purchased individually.

[AMHuntFerry]

3 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

What is surprising me is how very close Oceania and Seabourn are penciling out. Again, comparing similar size cabins and amenities, time of year, length of travel. Different parts of the Mediterranean which I know can contribute due to port fees. I am happy to post those findings later if there is any interest.

When comparing O to Seabourn, you may want to use O's Prestige Drink (all day) package pricing. Currently it is $70/day/person. After SimplyMore replaces OLife, it may be $30 to upgrade but we won't know until July 1st.

[Straughn]

@CHEZMARYLOU I have been reading your posts on the Celebrity board for years. I have 22 Celebrity cruises in the rear view mirror and one booked.  Like you, I preferred to cruise in a suite for Michael’s Club/The Retreat and Luminae. As a solo cruiser, the prices for suites have skyrocketed so much that they are no longer affordable for me. Even Aqua is a stretch.
 

I am friends with a couple who were also Celebrity loyalists until they did their first O cruise. They never looked back. They have convinced me to try Oceania and I am.
 

I have two cruises booked in  a Concierge level cabin-one is a solo cabin and I am wait listed for a solo on the other.  I like the O style where once you leave your cabin, everyone is basically equal. All the specialty restaurants are  included and other than the Executive  Lounge for suite guests and the Concierge Lounge for those sailing in those cabins, there is no place on the ship that is restricted. While I gather that those lounges are good, they are not the same as Michael’s Club. Plus, I love that there are laundry and ironing facilities available. My friends, as many do, rave about the food and the service. They also like that there is no formal/Evening Chic dress code; smart/country club casual is the standard.

 

My first cruise is this December and I am eagerly looking forward to it.