What do you like about Oceania?

[MEFIowa]

Though at first glance I thought, "Cool, they met Jessica Chastain on board!" 😉

[Tr1v1alCru1ser]

Coming up to our 20th O cruise, which is ‘free’.  Did our first O cruise in 2008, when we got an amazing deal on a PH1 at short notice.  I’d resisted cruising for a long time because of an awful experience on the now defunct Air Tours (cheap and cheerful, well cheap!). Then did 2 P&O Cruises, first one great, second one awful.  We were thinking of trying Regent, and had been invited to a ship tour, when we said yes, they said, sorry, no space.  Anyway, went on Insignia, loved everything about it, great itinerary, great food, great staff and nice cabin.  

 

DH wanted to try Seabourn, so we went on Odyssey when it was first launched.  Didn’t like it at all, surly staff, didn’t think the food was as good, cabin was nice, but that was about it.  DH also wanted to try Europa 2, touted as the best cruise ship in the world.  Good itinerary, nice cabin, but food was awful, got served almost raw lobster 3 times on the trot, and then walked out of the restaurant.   So we went back to Oceania.  We now prefer Marina and Riviera, and looking forward to trying Vista.  Do we think things are different post covid?  Yes, seemed to be less staff in the GDR, so the food sometime arrived not as hot as we’d like, but the staff were, as usual, great (apart from our butler, who couldn’t have cared less and outright lied to us).

 

For us, we chose cruises based on itinerary, but wouldn’t go on the small ships again, and have always found one of the best things about the cruise, was the people we’ve met along the way.  Many of whom we keep in touch with. 

[Sabbycat]

Former Celebrity cruisers here who LOVE Oceania. It is a relaxed subtle elegance. Food is amazing. The fellow cruisers well travelled and enjoyable. The ships beautiful. While we also cruise several other similar lines, (not Celebrity, especially now after all the recent cuts, and changes to market towards younger cruisers and families), we do love Oceania. Small ships with lots to do. We are on our count down to our upcoming TA cruise where we will spend a lovely 20 days aboard! Oceania is just a much better quality product.

 

We sailed in SS on Celebrity. I find the PH suite cheaper per night than Celebrity's SS. I am sick of Celebrity's nickle and diming. Something you will not experience on Oceania.

 

We sail Oceania and Azamara. We will no longer pay the exorbitant cost of Celebrity for a highly decreased product. They seem to think their product is worth a lot more than it is. Very arrogant mgmt over there. Especially the way they are communicating. They do not tell the truth to TAs, and their cruisers.

Edited September 1, 2023 by Sabbycat

[Redtravel]

Celebrity has changed. When I first sailed on the Zenith, it was delightful.  Loved it. It had good food, great service, beautiful decor, and good service. Sadly, as time passed and RCL took over, modern luxury was the theme. It meant cutbacks, crowds, and mediocre service. Food selections were boring.  Each time that I sailed on Celebrity, there seemed to be less amenities.  Sailed on Celebrity until nothing could persuade me to do it again.  
Tried Azamara. While not perfect, it was better than Celebrity. We enjoyed the smaller ships with no crowds.  When Azamara was cruise only, we were there. When they restructured and included beverages, we looked for other options. We seldom drink. Oceania and Windstar were a good fit.  Have sailed both lines and enjoyed them. Both have great food, excellent service, spacious cabins( on Marina and Riviera), include several dining options with no surcharge, and didn’t include beverages in the fare.  That was until Simply more.  I like taking excursions in new ports. However, on Caribbean cruises, I prefer lounging by the pool, going to a beach, or leisurely walking through town.  While I am booked on 2 future cruises, I am hesitant about Oceania.  On European cruises, I usually book excursions.  I prefer Olife options. Since Olife is gone, I am undecided if I will continue sailing on Oceania. I may only book if an itinerary has excursions that interest me.  For sailing in the Caribbean to escape cold winter weather, I am thinking Windstar. 

[RJB]

On 6/20/2023 at 7:49 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 like everything about Oceania  

[tropicalkerry2002]

Momnipotent:

 

I enjoyed my cruise very much, despite going to Nassau rather than Bermuda. Everything I ate was delicious, my medium filet mignon in Polo was perfect as all my previous cruises. I noticed a couple of things I love in Toscana were no longer on the menu, and the Carpaccio serving was much smaller than before. I found service in all restaurants started to bog down at 8PMish, as they filled, but wasn't bothered by it...I'm finished the main part of the meal by then. Ship looked great, housekeeping was perfect. So happy, that I booked the Bermuda cruise for Sept of 2024, and hope misfortune won't strike twice!

[tropicalkerry2002]

On 8/20/2023 at 11:12 AM, Momnipotent said:

I'd be curious to hear your assessment of O after your next cruise. We are currently on our first cruise back since 2019. Our 15th O cruise. I used to sing their praises as best bang for your buck. I loved the food, the artist Loft, the Culinary Center, alcohol not included, no art auctions or photographer, no formal nights or specific meal times, etc. 

This time, we see a big change in the food. Not much change in the menus, lots of repetition and running out of things we like. The worst is all the coughing passengers, elevators and tenders are covid filled. We ended up sick after about two weeks and the Medical Center fees are exorbitant. No wonder the sick people don't go to the Medical Center, it's SO expensive. We've missed several ports to keep us "safe" but what about keeping us"healthy "?

I would say that the crew is still generally terrific. The Simply More program holds no benefit for us. 

We've decided to cancel a 2024 cruise we had booked. Just not interested anymore. It's a shame. 

 

[QuestionEverything]

13 hours ago, tropicalkerry2002 said:

 

I agree with your assessment. Off the Insignia Aug 30. Much grumbling about Simply More. I have 1 more O cruise booked for Jan 2025. If Simply More is not Simply Gone!, we will cancel our booking.

We drink very little and use private tours much, so I am not interested in paying for product I will not use.

Further, the drinks available at lunch are worthless when on excursions, which often occur over lunch. I only have the odd drink at happy hour, so the included drinks are mostly useless unless I can get the included drink at 2pm when back.

O had a great pricing niche with OLife, or cruise only. Much customization that works for each guest.

They have frankly destroyed their niche.

While I like the O product, I will not be taken advantage of, period.

[ak1004]

I guess O will do what they believe is best for them and we will do what's best for us.

 

While we are not happy for the new pricing model, if I stopped cruising every time a line does something I don't like, I would be running out of lines very quickly.

 

Besides, for non drinkers like us, there are not many alternatives (only Windstar comes to mind, everyone else includes drinks).

[ORV]

28 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

I guess O will do what they believe is best for them and we will do what's best for us.

 

While we are not happy for the new pricing model, if I stopped cruising every time a line does something I don't like, I would be running out of lines very quickly.

 

Besides, for non drinkers like us, there are not many alternatives (only Windstar comes to mind, everyone else includes drinks).

I like the way you think. 

[1985rz1]

3 hours ago, QuestionEverything said:

I agree with your assessment. Off the Insignia Aug 30. Much grumbling about Simply More. I have 1 more O cruise booked for Jan 2025. If Simply More is not Simply Gone!, we will cancel our booking.

We drink very little and use private tours much, so I am not interested in paying for product I will not use.

Further, the drinks available at lunch are worthless when on excursions, which often occur over lunch. I only have the odd drink at happy hour, so the included drinks are mostly useless unless I can get the included drink at 2pm when back.

O had a great pricing niche with OLife, or cruise only. Much customization that works for each guest.

They have frankly destroyed their niche.

While I like the O product, I will not be taken advantage of, period.

We're also not happy with the new SimplyMore pricing, but I think you'll have a hard time finding a small ship, upscale line that doesn't build  alcohol at some level and/or excursions at some level into its cruise price.  There are one or two, but itineraies are limited.

[osandomir]

4 hours ago, QuestionEverything said:

I agree with your assessment. Off the Insignia Aug 30. Much grumbling about Simply More. I have 1 more O cruise booked for Jan 2025. If Simply More is not Simply Gone!, we will cancel our booking.

We drink very little and use private tours much, so I am not interested in paying for product I will not use.

Further, the drinks available at lunch are worthless when on excursions, which often occur over lunch. I only have the odd drink at happy hour, so the included drinks are mostly useless unless I can get the included drink at 2pm when back.

O had a great pricing niche with OLife, or cruise only. Much customization that works for each guest.

They have frankly destroyed their niche.

While I like the O product, I will not be taken advantage of, period.

I’d look at the total price of the cruise and compare it to the other line’s offerings. If Oceania cruise is priced favorably I would not think much about inclusions.