If you are New to Oceania.

[Ray4Fun]

We are new to Oceania. What should we know. Please, and Thank you.

[oskidunker]

Its better than Princess, ncl, Holland and celebrity. 

[LHT28]

What do you want to know?

 

 Read some of the threads here  on CC

 

read the FAQ's on the Oceania website

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/

[1985rz1]

56 minutes ago, Ray4Fun said:

We are new to Oceania. What should we know. Please, and Thank you.

What do you want to know?  What experiences are you looking for, and what is important to you on a cruise?

[AMHuntFerry]

I lurked on the O forum for a year before posting. One thing I learned was not to pay attention to the topic's title. O posters tend to wander and there is a lot of excellent info buried in old posts.

[hamrag]

9 hours ago, Ray4Fun said:

We are new to Oceania. What should we know. Please, and Thank you.

It is not OK to wander outside your cabin with wine (or any other alcohol) you brought on board! 😉

[shepherd really]

4 hours ago, hamrag said:

It is not OK to wander outside your cabin with wine (or any other alcohol) you brought on board! 😉

unless it is in your blood.

Edited August 31, 2023 by shepherd really

[MEFIowa]

14 hours ago, Ray4Fun said:

We are new to Oceania. What should we know. Please, and Thank you.

We did our very first cruise on Riviera (12/2021) and kept our expectations reasonable. 10 nights in an A4 Concierge. We were in our mid-50s. Loved it so much we booked a cruise on Sirena while on board, for 11/2022, another 10 nights but in a B2 non-Concierge cabin. Again loved it. We've got 20 more nights booked on Riviera 10-11/2023 [A3 & B3] and another 20 nights on Sirena 9/2024.

 

Loved the ships. Loved the limited "segregation". We ALL eat the same very good food in the 2 or 4 specialty restaurants! And in the Terrace Cafe & Waves. Love to eat breakfast in Waves looking out over the starboard side. Loved how I could bring alcohol on board at embarkation and in ports. Was so glad there were FEW children and few teenagers. A smattering of 20somethings and 30s somethings. Meet tons of wonderful people 60 and up. And the crew is very friendly with outstanding customer service. (Even the boutique and sales staff!)

 

We cruise for excursions, not entertainment. So we're in bed by 10 PM and up early to eat and leave the ship to come back at the last minute.

 

The pool on the smaller R-class ships is tiny, more for walking than any real swimming. The pool on the larger O-class ships is bigger, but still not that big for serious swimming. Short laps at best. Salt water. Unheated both times for us (W. & then E. Caribbean cruises).

 

Make sure to STUDY the Currents, the daily "newspaper" each evening to KNOW what ALL will be happening on board each day.

[terrydtx]

We recently booked our first O cruise on the Marina in 2025 after Celebrity canceled their 2024-25 South America cruises.  Booked an A3 concierge class cabin and are saving money over what the canceled X cruise was going to cost and picked up an extra 4 days too. We are also looking at a couple of 2024 0r 25 longer 21+ day cruises in Northern Europe and the UK.

 

Celebrity has in the last month made some very IMO dumb changes to their product and many CC members like me are jumping ship too.  This forum may be seeing an influx of ship jumpers in the very near future.

Edited August 31, 2023 by terrydtx

[zteamtwo]

1.  Best "bang for your buck" is a Concierge cabin. You get an early time to book speciality restaurants (60 days) and access to the Aquamar Terrace at the front of the ship.

2. Right now, you can get free beer and wine at lunch and dinner. Simply More offer.

3.  Right now, get about $800 in credits for excursions.

4. Right now get free gratuities

5. The Concierge lounge (deck 9) is a great addition to your cruise experience.

6. The ability to bring onboard anytime, wine, liquor or other alcohol is very unique to other cruise lines. Only drink this in your cabin.

I'll think of other.  Lets see what the masses say. 

[LHT28]

4 minutes ago, zteamtwo said:

3.  Right now, get about $800 in credits for excursions.

4. Right now get free gratuities

 

#3  depends on the length of sailing

#4  may depend on TA

 

[terrydtx]

5 minutes ago, zteamtwo said:

1.  Best "bang for your buck" is a Concierge cabin. You get an early time to book speciality restaurants (60 days) and access to the Aquamar Terrace at the front of the ship.

2. Right now, you can get free beer and wine at lunch and dinner. Simply More offer.

3.  Right now, get about $800 in credits for excursions.

4. Right now get free gratuities

5. The Concierge lounge (deck 9) is a great addition to your cruise experience.

6. The ability to bring onboard anytime, wine, liquor or other alcohol is very unique to other cruise lines. Only drink this in your cabin.

I'll think of other.  Lets see what the masses say. 

We are booked in a Concierge cabin in 2025, how do we get the free gratuities? Our cruise we get $1000 for shore excursions with the SM.

[LHT28]

Just now, terrydtx said:

We are booked in a Concierge cabin in 2025, how do we get the free gratuities? Our cruise we get $1000 for shore excursions with the SM.

Call your TA  & ask

[MEFIowa]

16 minutes ago, zteamtwo said:

1.  Best "bang for your buck" is a Concierge cabin. You get an early time to book speciality restaurants (60 days) and access to the Aquamar Terrace at the front of the ship.

2. Right now, you can get free beer and wine at lunch and dinner. Simply More offer.

3. Right now, get about $800 in credits for excursions.

4. Right now get free gratuities

5. The Concierge lounge (deck 9) is a great addition to your cruise experience....

There is NO Concierge lounge on the smaller R-class ships. Unlike on the larger O-class ships. Having been in an A4 Riviera and in a B2 Sirena, and going to cruise B2B on Riviera later this year in first and A3 and then a B3, we think "YMMV" depending upon the price. Was just "worth" it off the Extraordinary Savings Sale (cruise only) to do it on the first 10 nights, but we didn't see the need to spend the extra money to do it for the 2nd 10 nights. (And unless there is a great sale in the future, our 20 nights B2B on Sirena in the Baltic in later 2024 will NOT be Concierge.)

 

Concierge lounge on the O-class ship has someone there with limited hours. A place to get some finger food, check out a travel book, get something to drink. I wouldn't say it's overly unique, but I did enjoy it on Riviera more than my wife.

 

And ONLY Riviera has the larger therapy pool on the spa deck. Not on Marina. And not on the smaller R-class ships.

 

Though "free" has its own meaning. See the "cruise only" fares. Then compare prices to see what is "free". Given how the cruise prices seem to have significantly increased with the "SM" program, I'm NOT seeing anything I'd consider "free". The prices in the new brochure for the Labor Day Sale were horrible compared to earlier sales, which I could book "cruise only".

Edited August 31, 2023 by MEFIowa
Typo

[terrydtx]

6 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

Concierge lounge on the O-class ship has someone there with limited hours. A place to get some finger food, check out a travel book, get something to drink. I wouldn't say it's overly unique, but I did enjoy it on Riviera more than my wife.

It sounds like the lounge is more like the Neptune lounge which is included with booking a Neptune or Pinnacle suite on Holland America. Having looked at the older R class ships I doubt we would ever book one because of the smaller cabin and bathroom sizes. Same reason we do not book with Azamara. 

Edited August 31, 2023 by terrydtx

[1985rz1]

25 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We are booked in a Concierge cabin in 2025, how do we get the free gratuities? Our cruise we get $1000 for shore excursions with the SM.

Free gratuities are usually given as a perk from the TA, most likely through the TA's consortium.  Call your TA and ask.  Oceania connected TAs (not Oceania reps, if you book direct) typically give this.

Edited August 31, 2023 by 1985rz1

[zalusky]

FYI,

 

R class ships do not have bathrooms outside of the Horizoin lounge.  The main theater lounge only has a single person bathroom.  IE The two largest people places on the ship.

 

You have to walk to the rear of the ship either on an outside deck or go down flights.  Not fun if you have any ADA issues.

 

The second nuisance factor for R class ships is there is only one room with self service laundry facilities.  The O class ships have self service laundry on all passenger floors.

Edited August 31, 2023 by zalusky

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, zalusky said:

You have to walk to the rear of the ship either on an outside deck or go down flights.  Not fun if you have any ADA issues.

 

Or you could take the elevator  outside Horizons down 1 deck

[zalusky]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Or you could take the elevator  outside Horizons down 1 deck

Waiting for an elevator when you have to go and you can’t take the stairs is not really acceptable.  I cannot for the life of me understand how this design passed any sort of approval.

[ORV]

4 hours ago, zalusky said:

he O class ships have self service laundry on all passenger floors.

Not on 12, only 7-11, but still that's much better than the R class. 

[Vineyard View]

22 hours ago, zteamtwo said:

 

4. Right now get free gratuities

 

6. The ability to bring onboard anytime, wine, liquor or other alcohol is very unique to other cruise lines. Only drink this in your cabin.

 

Not sure about free gratuities. We do not have this from SM or summer sale. 
 

Years back HAL allowed unlimited wine etc brought on board. Viking always has allowed. Both with corkage fees if brought to restaurant - well worth it for a good bottle. Seabourn allows. 

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

Not sure about free gratuities. We do not have this from SM or summer sale. 
 

They are getting the  PPG from their TA   via a Consortium  not as part of the  SM deal

 

[elmsliebev]

22 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

Free gratuities are usually given as a perk from the TA, most likely through the TA's consortium.  Call your TA and ask.  Oceania connected TAs (not Oceania reps, if you book direct) typically give this.

sadly in the UK we generally don't get free gratuities. Still looking forward to next October though. Only a year+ to wait!

[Vineyard View]

41 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

They are getting the  PPG from their TA   via a Consortium  not as part of the  SM deal

 

I understand after reading that a few times, but it is not available to all as in the ability to bring alcohol on board facts. 

[MEFIowa]

4 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

I understand after reading that a few times, but it is not available to all as in the ability to bring alcohol on board facts. 

Though I do chuckle at "free gratuities". At least as opposed to "PPG". As I learned a long time ago, TANSTAAFL.

 

So, with "TAs" you tend to get what you paid for. Someone over the past 24 hours mentioned on one of the O threads something about saving $7500 on a single O cruise. That's what my wife and I paid in total for our upcoming 2 10-night cruises (actually a bit more than our $7296)! Spend tens of thousands of dollars and they'll treat you like royalty. Not unlike a casino. But tell a TA, "I'd like a sale fare, cruise only, no excursions, no airfare" and you'll hear...crickets. At least I did, the one time I tried. Doubt you'd hear anything about "free gratuities"?