Why Folks Consider New Brands when Cruising?

[Sthrngary]

13 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

One logistical error was the “one pre-cruise reservation per specialty restaurant.” Not only does it depend on your cabin level, it also depends on the cruise length.

@Flatbush Flyer You are correct on both.  The point of the comment was it is included.  Where with my experience in the past on Mainstream Cruise lines, it was extra.  

 

13 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The other major disagreement I have regards your statement “it is all relative to what you have experienced in the past.”

The comment was made based on my personal approach, not everyone.  I rate Luxury based on better luxury then I have had before.  If I had a butler and they were average to below average.  Then I have a butler that is more attentive.  That to me is an enhancement and luxury.  However only based on my personal experiences.  Everyone is different.

 

13 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

There are “reviewers” whose findings I trust enough to have them weigh somewhat on my own opinions. Thus, my decisions about a cruise meeting my expectations is often tempered by what knowledgeable experts have to say perhaps even more so than “Uncle Bob” or someone else here on CC.

I agree with your basic statement however, with all the reviews I have read, video's i have watched and folks that are more credible then others providing that information; I temper it all as relative to the person.  Years ago I would day dream about a cruise or new brand.  Dreams are perfect Cruises are not.  Now I temper everything I see and here to manage expectations.  Expect less and hopefully you receive more. 

 

11 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

With respect to Oceania, the itinerary attracted us,  as well as total cost per day. Again, for what is important to us. Also, the reputation and our TA, who knows us well, suggesting we would like. 

Same, I looked at all the brands before I made the decision.  The cost per day got even better when a few sales happened during the process.

 

Thanks for such a thoughtful and clear response.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[MEFIowa]

21 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

... The cost per day got even better when a few sales happened during the process....

The cost per day cratered nicely with the Extraordinary Saving Sale earlier this year! Sadly, it then reverses upward badly under the new Simply More program. Those "perks" are worth mere pennies on the dollar for us. Without something like an ESS under SM, doubt we'll be booking anything in 2025.

[Vineyard View]

1 hour ago, FeliciaLee said:

We were on Seabourn last December and the activities weren't so great. 11 nights, but they only had trivia five days. Sometimes the sports didn't go at all.

 

As far as the ship, the food, the buffet and the overall experience, we had a wonderful time on Seabourn. But if you are one of those people who enjoy activities and saving up points for the end of the cruise, Oceania is awesome. Just like the old days of HAL.

Our itinerary only had one sea day. We made our own on a second day. We never looked to see what activities they offered, as that is not a nugget for us in our traveling. I respect that it is important to people, but it is never on our radar. Thank you for the feedback for those who do enjoy activities. 

[Hlitner]

Some of us enjoy variety when it comes to cruise lines, itineraries, etc.   We are currently cruising on our 17th cruise line (Explora Journeys), “O” will be our 18 th line and Silverseas #19.  Our current favorite remains Seabourn although Explora 1 has the most amazing food we have ever experienced on any ship.  
 

Hank

[Vineyard View]

5 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

The cost per day cratered nicely with the Extraordinary Saving Sale earlier this year! Sadly, it then reverses upward badly under the new Simply More program. Those "perks" are worth mere pennies on the dollar for us. Without something like an ESS under SM, doubt we'll be booking anything in 2025.

I  think this gets back to what is important to various travelers. We managed to snag a sale on O, then SM came along which provided (again for us) additional savings on top of the summer sale.
 Each line has ‘perks’, some of which are important to many, and not to many others. With all the changes, these perks will attract and repel, but if one wants to sail on upscale lines, then a lot of the SM perks may be difficult to avoid moving forward. For instance, we don’t care about the ‘perk’ of included excursions. That narrows down where we look. Others find that attractive. We paid for that perk in the past because we liked the product. I hope you can find a line that works for you moving forward. 

[Vineyard View]

2 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Some of us enjoy variety when it comes to cruise lines, itineraries, etc.   We are currently cruising on our 17th cruise line (Explora Journeys), “O” will be our 18 th line and Silverseas #19.  Our current favorite remains Seabourn although Explora 1 has the most amazing food we have ever experienced on any ship.  
 

Hank

Good to know Hank. They are in my sites as well, but their sailing dates don’t fit with ours. When they launch additional ships that could change! 

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, Vineyard View said:

Good to know Hank. They are in my sites as well, but their sailing dates don’t fit with ours. When they launch additional ships that could change! 

The 2nd ship will launch later this year with 4 more to be built over the next 3-5 years.  The product is different from any other cruise line and some will love it while others might long for the more traditional cruise experience.  But we are enjoying being on a 65000 ton luxury ship with fewer than 340 passengers.  A once in a lifetime kind of experience since the ship holds 930 when at capacity.  Fun choosing from the 5 restaurants with no reservation issues due to the small number of cruisers.

 

Hank

[ak1004]

32 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

The 2nd ship will launch later this year with 4 more to be built over the next 3-5 years.  The product is different from any other cruise line and some will love it while others might long for the more traditional cruise experience.  But we are enjoying being on a 65000 ton luxury ship with fewer than 340 passengers.  A once in a lifetime kind of experience since the ship holds 930 when at capacity.  Fun choosing from the 5 restaurants with no reservation issues due to the small number of cruisers.

 

Hank

 

This sounds fun!

 

We looked at Explora, but all their European sailings start around $700 USD per night. Cannot justify paying that kind of money when I can book SB under $500.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

This sounds fun!

 

We looked at Explora, but all their European sailings start around $700 USD per night. Cannot justify paying that kind of money when I can book SB under $500.

I agree.  But when we booked this particular cruise the price was in line with SB.  While we still prefer SB, the food here is generally superior to SB.  
 

Hank

[ak1004]

6 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I agree.  But when we booked this particular cruise the price was in line with SB.  While we still prefer SB, the food here is generally superior to SB.  
 

Hank

Yes, I remember you told me. This is Canada/NE, right? How are the ports in Canada? We are doing a similar itinerary next year on SB.

[piper28]

We finally got a chance to try O this summer for Alaska, and I'd have to say the experience had it's plusses and minuses.  As someone that had spent a lot of time on R class ships with Princess, I really liked the idea of doing the oceania trip to Alaska on one.  

 

Pluses:

- food alergies: I thought O did a great job of handling this for my wife.  Menu delivered to our stateroom the night before, we just had to turn it in by 10am the next morning with her selections.  And they caught the nights we were doing specialty restaurants.  Other than a couple of nights where they changed the menu between when they delivered it to us and dining time, and then kinda randomly assigned a dish to her.  That has handled easily enough at dinner, but was a bit weird.

- I'm one of those in the categories of people that does personally like it when a cruise ship includes coke as part of the cost.  Having a couple of cans in the stateroom fridge is particularly convenient for me.  I'm not a coffee drinker, but I don't feel that's unreasonable to have included too

- smaller ships, that's definitely a plus for us

- staff: I'd be remiss if I didn't compliment the staff on the ship.  As I've generally found on small ships especially, these crewmembers truly do a great job of making your cruise go well

Minuses:

- I think the OP mentioned a lack of classism as a reason to try O.  Unfortunately, for me, I found that right after getting on the ship you kinda got slapped in the face with classism.  The availability of your cabin was based on what category you booked.  As someone in the cheap cabins, they weren't available until 3:30pm on boarding day.  Sorry, but that's just plain absurd on a ship that size.  (And quite frankly, the exactitude of them announcing it at 3:30 tells me that the cabins were almost certainly ready well before that.)  While I recognize that even Princess I think has moved away from cabins being ready immediately, that was something I always liked about them - the ability to drop my junk off and not have to deal with it for hours after boarding.  3:30 is the latest I've ever seen barring some other factor involved.  (I'll note, from doing some reading, it looks like Regent is similar in being exceedingly late available for their cheap cabins)

- specialty dining reservations:  sure, specialty dining is included.  But expect very limited availability on when you can book it.  Even booking the minute that it was available for us, looking for a table for 2, all we could get were like 8 and 8:30 times.  I don't tend to like to eat that late.  I think people with status might be able to book earlier?  So all the good spots are already taken.

- entertainment: on our cruise at least, shows were once a night, at 9:30pm.  Thankfully I don't necessarily care that much about shows, because I just don't find that schedule works well.  While I'm up quite late on shore every night, for whatever reason on a cruise ship I tend to get to sleep a lot earlier.  Part of that is sometimes there's some pretty early mornings that need to be made for excursions.  

- showers:  Ugh.  As I noted, I've been on R class ships a bunch, something like 140 days  with Princess.  For whatever reason, Oceania decided to literally cut the corners on the showers in at least the cheaper staterooms.  Princess had these as more of a round footprint.  Oceania takes a chunk off the side of the circle.  The old joke of soaping the sides of the shower and just turning around to clean yourself?  Well, that wasn't much of a joke anymore.  Looking at the floorplans, it looked like you had to go pretty far up in category before you got around it.  I never thought I'd say this type of thing, but to me, it's almost a dealbreaker to have to deal with that shower to cruise those ships.

Neutral:

- food:  Obviously, this is one of the most subjective things on a cruise.  Oceania bills itself as the finest cuisine at sea.  I'll fully admit, I really probably don't have the sophisticated palate to judge that.  And I recognize that in general, food quality is something that everyone has complained across all lines that it's gone downhill in recent years.  But honestly, to me, the food wasn't anything to write home about.  It was decent, but I wouldn't call it great.  Quite frankly,  a couple of nights where I had steak, the cuts I had were about as bad as I've ever had on a cruise ship.  Other nights were fine.  There were some good deserts.  I personally thought Windstar's food was better though.

 

At the end of the line, I'd probably book Oceania again, if the itinerary was a good fit.  While I doubt I'll ever get a chance to do one, I've always thought O's world cruises were some of the most interesting looking ones.  Although I don't think I could do 180 days with that shower.

 

That said, for me, the biggest question I was left with was the value one.  Oceania is a significant step up in cost over the mass market lines.  And I'll be honest, I was left kinda questioning whether I thought that the experience was really worth the extra cost or not.  

 

That's the great thing though, there's still enough different cruise lines out there that something will git some people better than others.  We recently did Windstar also, and quite honestly, I thought that was a better experience than the Oceania trip, and look forward to going back on them soon.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, ak1004 said:

Yes, I remember you told me. This is Canada/NE, right? How are the ports in Canada? We are doing a similar itinerary next year on SB.

We have done most of these ports multiple times.   Quebec City, Charlottetown PEI, and Halifax have a lot of good options for most visitors.  Smaller ports like La Baie (Santanay) have limited options for independent travelers, and we think many benefit for excursions that get you away from the ports.  Cruisers might want to look for the itineraries that go as far as Montreal (many cruises only go as far as Quebec City).  As to Boston (if it is one of your ports) we cannot imagine being in Boston without having a good Lobster Roll.  Yankee Lobster or J. Hook are both relatively close to the port and have some of the best lobster rolls on earth.

 

I will add that we really enjoy visiting Canada and will soon be driving to Ontario for an annual wine tasting/eating trip :).  There is a lot to like about Canada including the strong US dollar.

 

Hank

[ak1004]

5 hours ago, piper28 said:

 

- I think the OP mentioned a lack of classism as a reason to try O.  Unfortunately, for me, I found that right after getting on the ship you kinda got slapped in the face with classism.  The availability of your cabin was based on what category you booked.  As someone in the cheap cabins, they weren't available until 3:30pm on boarding day.  Sorry, but that's just plain absurd on a ship that size.  (And quite frankly, the exactitude of them announcing it at 3:30 tells me that the cabins were almost certainly ready well before that.)  While I recognize that even Princess I think has moved away from cabins being ready immediately, that was something I always liked about them - the ability to drop my junk off and not have to deal with it for hours after boarding.  3:30 is the latest I've ever seen barring some other factor involved.  (I'll note, from doing some reading, it looks like Regent is similar in being exceedingly late available for their cheap cabins)

- specialty dining reservations:  sure, specialty dining is included.  But expect very limited availability on when you can book it.  Even booking the minute that it was available for us, looking for a table for 2, all we could get were like 8 and 8:30 times.  I don't tend to like to eat that late.  I think people with status might be able to book earlier?  So all the good spots are already taken.

- entertainment: on our cruise at least, shows were once a night, at 9:30pm.  Thankfully I don't necessarily care that much about shows, because I just don't find that schedule works well.  While I'm up quite late on shore every night, for whatever reason on a cruise ship I tend to get to sleep a lot earlier.  Part of that is sometimes there's some pretty early mornings that need to be made for excursions.  

- showers:  Ugh.  As I noted, I've been on R class ships a bunch, something like 140 days  with Princess.  For whatever reason, Oceania decided to literally cut the corners on the showers in at least the cheaper staterooms.  Princess had these as more of a round footprint.  Oceania takes a chunk off the side of the circle.  The old joke of soaping the sides of the shower and just turning around to clean yourself?  Well, that wasn't much of a joke anymore.  Looking at the floorplans, it looked like you had to go pretty far up in category before you got around it.  I never thought I'd say this type of thing, but to me, it's almost a dealbreaker to have to deal with that shower to cruise those ships.

Neutral:

- food:  Obviously, this is one of the most subjective things on a cruise.  Oceania bills itself as the finest cuisine at sea.  I'll fully admit, I really probably don't have the sophisticated palate to judge that.  And I recognize that in general, food quality is something that everyone has complained across all lines that it's gone downhill in recent years.  But honestly, to me, the food wasn't anything to write home about.  It was decent, but I wouldn't call it great.  Quite frankly,  a couple of nights where I had steak, the cuts I had were about as bad as I've ever had on a cruise ship.  Other nights were fine.  There were some good deserts.  I personally thought Windstar's food was better though.

 

At the end of the line, I'd probably book Oceania again, if the itinerary was a good fit.  While I doubt I'll ever get a chance to do one, I've always thought O's world cruises were some of the most interesting looking ones.  Although I don't think I could do 180 days with that shower.

 

That said, for me, the biggest question I was left with was the value one.  Oceania is a significant step up in cost over the mass market lines.  And I'll be honest, I was left kinda questioning whether I thought that the experience was really worth the extra cost or not.  

 

That's the great thing though, there's still enough different cruise lines out there that something will git some people better than others.  We recently did Windstar also, and quite honestly, I thought that was a better experience than the Oceania trip, and look forward to going back on them soon.

 

I think it depends on your definition of classism. To me classism is when suites have a separate area on the ship which other guests cannot access. Or separate restaurant or pool. Being able to board or access the rooms 1-2 hours earlier is not classism to me. And FYI, on Silversea which is considered much more luxury than O you can board at 2pm and rooms are ready around 4pm.

 

Sadly, I agree with you about the showers. This is why we prefer the O class ships, that also offer more dining options.

 

As for value - this is also kind of subjective, but I tried to price an itinerary on Celebrity similar to what we recently booked on Vista. Starting prices look attractive, that those prices exclude port charges, internet, drinks and excursions, and are for non refundable deposit. When you add all the extras, the price becomes very similar to O (higher in some cases). So to me, O offers a pretty good value.

[pinotlover]

My brother in law goes to the exact few restaurants repeatedly ordering the exact same meals from menus that never change. That’s him and he’s happy. Our favorite restaurant change menus regularly, plus we eat at new locations. We’re a bit bored with the Polo Grill and Toscana, plus quality there can swing significantly.
 

We eat a lot of fabulous meals ashore to get variety, but different lines can help provide that likewise. An example is Paul Gauguin! You’re in the FP, PG provides tasty food with a local flair. We don’t fly halfway around the world to eat Merican. We realize that’s all some people want, simple Merican. The Polo Grill and Toscana is actually a turn off for us when foreign local options are available.

 

Did I say we love Champagne and caviar? That Champagne definitely isn’t Germain!!!

Edited October 9, 2023 by pinotlover

[Sthrngary]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

I think it depends on your definition of classism. To me classism is when suites have a separate area on the ship which other guests cannot access.

I am the OP and you got me exactly correct, thank you.  I am new to Oceania however not new to cruising nor NCL as a company.  I wrote for years extensively on the NCL Blog focused on the "Secrets of the NCL Haven VIP Luxury Experience".  It was a "Ship-Within-A-Ship" and I loved it then and now.  Best of both worlds but not the best for ALL cruise vacations.

 

The Haven and Celebrity Retreat blogs/threads or anything else folk want to call them always talk about how friends not in these VIP areas, really cannot dine with their guest joining them unless the guest is also in the area.  As a Frequent Haven Guest, the negative comments by the other guest about the Haven Area, Restaurant, Bars, private sundecks and pools were both rude and sometimes hateful.  The premium for these VIP area was three to four times the fare the other passengers were paying but that seem not to matter.  That was the "Classes" I was talking about and I was looking to be on a brand where it was not that way. My OP-ED focused on the benefit to me, my guest and family that once you left your stateroom on Oceania, everyone was treated the same.  I like that concept and it was one of the reason's I choose Oceania. One of many.

 

Now onto some other comments I read not by you but by others.  The more you pay for your stateroom on Oceania, the more amenities you receive.  That is absolutely true.  Those amenities are "Mostly" while in your stateroom.  I say "Mostly" because if I did not, my response would be picked apart instead of understanding my point which was a complement to Oceania. A few exceptions like early boarding or your stateroom being ready first.  Also for Oceania, Vista and Owners Suites, you can have on a ten day cruise like I am soon to be on, two nights per specialty restaurant for a total of 8 out of 10 nights while on the Riviera. For Penthouse and above you can order Suite service from those same specialty restaurants.  Does that establish a "Class" system, only in your suite "Mostly".  

 

My point was in making this a topic was, "Here are some reason's I choose to move from NCL Haven to Oceania Cruises. Here are the differences that I see, read about and saw on video's".  Moving from your favorite brand is not always easy.  It takes a leap of faith sometimes.  

 

Now do I expect some of area's I disliked on other brands on Oceania, yes.  My understanding is even on Oceania Cruises, "Chair Hogs" are alive and well.  Even on Oceania, every meal is not the "Finest Cuisine at Sea". Even on Oceania, crew team members have a bad day from time to time.  Even on Oceania ports are missed for reasons that no once can justify or determine.  When we choose a brand change, it does not mean the world will be a better place.  It means we are stepping out for a different and hopefully enhanced cruising experience.  It is my opinion, that is why there are so many new folks booked and cruising on Oceania recently.  Just my guess.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

 

Edited October 9, 2023 by Sthrngary

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

Viking guy here, who likes to read other boards & get a feel for whats happening aboard other upper premium & luxury lines. Disclaimer: I've never sailed with Oceania so I'm not in a position to say how wonderful they may/may not be. 

 

Over the years I've grown increasingly disappointed with my previous "home at sea lines", Princess, Holland America, Cunard. From my perspective, as the ships have gotten bigger, the focus on food, service, crew, ext. had become watered down.  Hotel department operations becoming hit or miss. I've seen this also on other lines that I've sailed less frequently, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian. A 2021 Discovery Princess cruise to Mexico confirmed that the mass market lines with increasingly larger ships that lack wrap around promenade decks, forward observation lounge, quiet nook & cranny seating public rooms, no longer offer the type of cruise product I'm willing to pay for. Not that these are bad products, just no longer a maritime match for me. I'm willing to pay more upfront for an elevated(in my perspective) shipboard experience.

 

Enter Viking Ocean. My first Viking in 2019. Seven VO's in, with an eighth coming up in a few months. It's as if Torstein Hagen saw my personal wish list for a cruise line then went to work. The ship design alone, out of the ballpark home run! Then there's the dining, crew, service, & general Zen palace at sea onboard atmosphere. That being said, there were a few things off aboard my Neptune trans-Atlantic last December. Enough for me face the reality that no cruise company can reach perfection all the time. Some days & cruises can have their off moments, even on the best(subjective!) ships.

 

As Oceania being in my mind the closest competitor to Viking, I was excited about Vista......until I saw the photos of her first cruise.  Somehow the ship doesn't appeal to me. The lack of a promenade deck & what appears to be limited lounge space are part of it. Aside from the MDR, none of the public spaces look inviting. Again, so I don't get flamed for stating my opinion, this is all based on my perspective as a person who's never been aboard Oceania. 

 

Now I've got an eye on Silversea Silver Nova & Silver Ray. Pricing a solo occupancy trans-Atlantic for only about $1000 more than Viking......

Edited October 9, 2023 by Myrtle Ave. Mayhem

[PhD-iva]

2 hours ago, Myrtle Ave. Mayhem said:

Viking guy here, who likes to read other boards & get a feel for whats happening aboard other upper premium & luxury lines. Disclaimer: I've never sailed with Oceania so I'm not in a position to say how wonderful they may/may not be. 

 

Over the years I've grown increasingly disappointed with my previous "home at sea lines", Princess, Holland America, Cunard. From my perspective, as the ships have gotten bigger, the focus on food, service, crew, ext. had become watered down.  Hotel department operations becoming hit or miss. I've seen this also on other lines that I've sailed less frequently, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian. A 2021 Discovery Princess cruise to Mexico confirmed that the mass market lines with increasingly larger ships that lack wrap around promenade decks, forward observation lounge, quiet nook & cranny seating public rooms, no longer offer the type of cruise product I'm willing to pay for. Not that these are bad products, just no longer a maritime match for me. I'm willing to pay more upfront for an elevated(in my perspective) shipboard experience.

 

Enter Viking Ocean. My first Viking in 2019. Seven VO's in, with an eighth coming up in a few months. It's as if Torstein Hagen saw my personal wish list for a cruise line then went to work. The ship design alone, out of the ballpark home run! Then there's the dining, crew, service, & general Zen palace at sea onboard atmosphere. That being said, there were a few things off aboard my Neptune trans-Atlantic last December. Enough for me face the reality that no cruise company can reach perfection all the time. Some days & cruises can have their off moments, even on the best(subjective!) ships.

 

As Oceania being in my mind the closest competitor to Viking, I was excited about Vista......until I saw the photos of her first cruise.  Somehow the ship doesn't appeal to me. The lack of a promenade deck & what appears to be limited lounge space are part of it. Aside from the MDR, none of the public spaces look inviting. Again, so I don't get flamed for stating my opinion, this is all based on my perspective as a person who's never been aboard Oceania. 

 

Now I've got an eye on Silversea Silver Nova & Silver Ray. Pricing a solo occupancy trans-Atlantic for only about $1000 more than Viking......

Also look at sisterline Regent. They have some 0% single supplement TA and repositioning cruises. Pricey, but pricing includes everything, bizclass international flights, drinks, butlers, excursions. Fabulous food and service.. Is everything perfect?, no. But close. Take a look!

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

40 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Also look at sisterline Regent. They have some 0% single supplement TA and repositioning cruises. Pricey, but pricing includes everything, bizclass international flights, drinks, butlers, excursions. Fabulous food and service.. Is everything perfect?, no. But close. Take a look!

@PhD-iva Will do! Regent Regent is also on my radar! Thanks!

[taiwan_girl]

We (as a family) had been on a couple of "mass market" cruises in the past, but wanted a smaller shop, so last summer booked with Oceania on an Alaska cruise.  Have to admit that I had never heard of them, but got an unsolicited brochure in the mail, expressed an interest after looking on line, and literally within minutes, got a phone call.

 

(So, I guess this was one case where the hard copy brochures actually lead to a sale).

 

For some background, the cruises we have been on typically are three generations - 4 kids (late teen to early 20's), two middle age adults, and two seniors.

 

Went in with relatively low expectation, but to a person, we absolutely 100% loved the Oceania cruise on Regatta.  So much of an upgrade from our previous cruises.  Loved the food, loved the size of the ship, loved the coffee shop, loved the staff, loved the lack of crowds, etc.  It helped that the weather was perfect the whole time.  I guess there was one complaint.  We were in the non-balcony window rooms, and the showers were quite small.  I know the two seniors in the group had a few problems.  

 

We liked it so much, that we decided to try and find an Oceania cruise over this coming Xmas holiday.  Unfortunately, we pretty late in starting our search, and their only availability was Caribbean, which we weren't really interested in. So, we ended up booking a Mediterranean cruise with Viking.  Same 3 generation family, so it will be interesting to see how the two lines compare. We hope that it will be at least equivalent to our Oceania cruise and are keeping our fingers crossed.

 

[CruisingWalter]

Personally I just love exploring cruise ships and other cruise lines It's near impossible to compare apples to apples because not everyone needs everything. Beer and Wine with dinner is nice, but nothing something I'm going to take advantage of for example, but specialty coffee all day, absolutely!

 

So far we've sailed 9 cruise lines, O will be our 10th when we board Sirena for Christmas and we've already booked into an Alaska Group Cruise on Riviera in 2025. For us it's about experiencing all that cruising has to offer vs. staying loyal to one brand. Virgin Voyages has become a favorite of ours due to the nearly all-inclusive nature of that line along with the amazing crews on their ships. 

 

When we sail any cruise line, we go in knowing what the 'monetary value' is. But the enjoyment level for us is not just 'what's included vs. what else do I have to pay for?' It's the enjoyment of everything the ship has to offer. We sailed Symphony OTS last December during the Christmas holiday with a 110% full ship and had an absolute blast. The entertainment onboard is second to none and something you can't experience unless you're on an Oasis class ship. We'll be sailing Icon in January. It's going to be big, it's going to be loud and it should be a lot of fun.

 

So while all of those things you listed at the top are certainly worthy points from strictly a dollar standpoint. When you put O up against the mainstream brands, O generally comes out even or ahead once you add in everything you would have to pay for on another line. But I choose different cruise ships and cruise lines for different experiences. I'm very excited to try O in December and man the Alaska itinerary in 2025 with the group is going to be amazeballs.

 

But I just like cruise ships and if it was possible to explore all 300+ of them (and the 70+ coming in the next 5 years) in my remaining lifetime I would. And that doesn't even count the river ships... 🙂

 

 

[ak1004]

39 minutes ago, CruisingWalter said:

Personally I just love exploring cruise ships and other cruise lines It's near impossible to compare apples to apples because not everyone needs everything. Beer and Wine with dinner is nice, but nothing something I'm going to take advantage of for example, but specialty coffee all day, absolutely!

 

So far we've sailed 9 cruise lines, O will be our 10th when we board Sirena for Christmas and we've already booked into an Alaska Group Cruise on Riviera in 2025. For us it's about experiencing all that cruising has to offer vs. staying loyal to one brand. Virgin Voyages has become a favorite of ours due to the nearly all-inclusive nature of that line along with the amazing crews on their ships. 

 

When we sail any cruise line, we go in knowing what the 'monetary value' is. But the enjoyment level for us is not just 'what's included vs. what else do I have to pay for?' It's the enjoyment of everything the ship has to offer. We sailed Symphony OTS last December during the Christmas holiday with a 110% full ship and had an absolute blast. The entertainment onboard is second to none and something you can't experience unless you're on an Oasis class ship. We'll be sailing Icon in January. It's going to be big, it's going to be loud and it should be a lot of fun.

 

So while all of those things you listed at the top are certainly worthy points from strictly a dollar standpoint. When you put O up against the mainstream brands, O generally comes out even or ahead once you add in everything you would have to pay for on another line. But I choose different cruise ships and cruise lines for different experiences. I'm very excited to try O in December and man the Alaska itinerary in 2025 with the group is going to be amazeballs.

 

But I just like cruise ships and if it was possible to explore all 300+ of them (and the 70+ coming in the next 5 years) in my remaining lifetime I would. And that doesn't even count the river ships... 🙂

 

 

 

I couldn't say it better. Not everything can be put into a spreadsheet..

[pinotlover]

This is the way I view the Original Question of this thread. I have friends that bought condos in FL or AZ. They go to those condos every winter, meeting up with the same Snowbirds, eating at the same restaurants, doing the same activities year after year. It’s what they want to do.

 

I have other friends that rent seasonal condos in AZ one year, FL, CA, CO, HI, a Carribean island, New Zealand, Bali, plus/and/or get on a cruise ship part of the season in another year. They never go to the same places year after year. It’s what the want to do.

 

People are different and so are their comfort levels.

[halfapair]

On 10/8/2023 at 5:43 PM, PhD-iva said:

ToxM, Oceania is my favorite cruiseline; I have been on 3 O cruises and have 3 more booked. Last November I went on my first Regent cruise on Mariner. WOW! Over the top FABULOUS! So, better than O, but also more expensive (you get what you pay for).

You’ll love Regent! I still prefer O’s pricing model…….but my next cruise is on Regent’s Voyager….

My one concern about Regent is the dress code. My husband really enjoys the casual attire on Oceania. He is very comfortable in khakis & a polo shirt at dinner. Wearing a jacket will make him uncomfortable. I think he would do it to make me happy, or if the cruise itinerary were something we really wanted and it wasn't available on any other cruise line. But I don't want him feeling irritated at dinner.🪰🧴

[halfapair]

23 hours ago, taiwan_girl said:

We (as a family) had been on a couple of "mass market" cruises in the past, but wanted a smaller shop, so last summer booked with Oceania on an Alaska cruise.  Have to admit that I had never heard of them, but got an unsolicited brochure in the mail, expressed an interest after looking on line, and literally within minutes, got a phone call.

 

(So, I guess this was one case where the hard copy brochures actually lead to a sale).

 

For some background, the cruises we have been on typically are three generations - 4 kids (late teen to early 20's), two middle age adults, and two seniors.

 

Went in with relatively low expectation, but to a person, we absolutely 100% loved the Oceania cruise on Regatta.  So much of an upgrade from our previous cruises.  Loved the food, loved the size of the ship, loved the coffee shop, loved the staff, loved the lack of crowds, etc.  It helped that the weather was perfect the whole time.  I guess there was one complaint.  We were in the non-balcony window rooms, and the showers were quite small.  I know the two seniors in the group had a few problems.  

 

We liked it so much, that we decided to try and find an Oceania cruise over this coming Xmas holiday.  Unfortunately, we pretty late in starting our search, and their only availability was Caribbean, which we weren't really interested in. So, we ended up booking a Mediterranean cruise with Viking.  Same 3 generation family, so it will be interesting to see how the two lines compare. We hope that it will be at least equivalent to our Oceania cruise and are keeping our fingers crossed.

 

Note about small showers: they are small even in balcony rooms. If you cruise on the Marina, Riviera, Vista, or Allura, the bathrooms & showers will be a bit bigger. But on the other O ships, the showers are small. Unless you get a suite. Those will be bigger.🚿

[Hlitner]

7 minutes ago, halfapair said:

Note about small showers: they are small even in balcony rooms. If you cruise on the Marina, Riviera, Vista, or Allura, the bathrooms & showers will be a bit bigger. But on the other O ships, the showers are small. Unless you get a suite. Those will be bigger.🚿

We are talking about the 8 originally Renaissance ships (called R1 - R8).  O and Azamara currently operate these older vessels that all suffer from small cabin bathrooms/showers when compared to most newer vessels.  Since we believe that part of the Premium-Luxury experience includes a comfortable cabin, we have never accepted the “premium” label attached to those vessels by some on CC.  Folks can choose to ignore various shortcomings on their favorite lines, but the facts are simply the facts.

 

Hank