Regent vs Oceania

[pappy1022]

Sorry, I missed that in your original post. 

[Harters]

No worries, pappy

[pappy1022]

I did go and read the Oceania thread on the same topic. I walked away with the sense that there were more people on the Oceania thread that gave the slight edge on food to Regent and in particular the Compass Rose. It’s hard for me to compare the 2 because things have changed everywhere since COVID and Regent has been the only cruise line that I have cruised with post COVID. Ironically my wife did get COVID on the ship in the waning days of the September 2023 cruise, so I guess we aren’t in the post COVID era yet. The 2023 cruise in Regent restaurants was a mixed bag as far as the food and service. I would say that 50% were excellent, 25% very good and 25% unacceptable and had to be returned and/or the service was poor. My pre COVID cruise on Regent were 90% excellent and 10% very good. At least from my perspective, Regent has changed a bit in the food and service arena. I know I am beating the same message to death on several of my posts but it’s the inconsistency on Regent is what feels different to me. They can be great one day in one venue and then less than stellar the next day.   

[jeb_bud]

55 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

I did go and read the Oceania thread on the same topic. I walked away with the sense that there were more people on the Oceania thread that gave the slight edge on food to Regent and in particular the Compass Rose. It’s hard for me to compare the 2 because things have changed everywhere since COVID and Regent has been the only cruise line that I have cruised with post COVID. Ironically my wife did get COVID on the ship in the waning days of the September 2023 cruise, so I guess we aren’t in the post COVID era yet. The 2023 cruise in Regent restaurants was a mixed bag as far as the food and service. I would say that 50% were excellent, 25% very good and 25% unacceptable and had to be returned and/or the service was poor. My pre COVID cruise on Regent were 90% excellent and 10% very good. At least from my perspective, Regent has changed a bit in the food and service arena. I know I am beating the same message to death on several of my posts but it’s the inconsistency on Regent is what feels different to me. They can be great one day in one venue and then less than stellar the next day.   

@pappy1022From this post I infer that you have done two Regent cruises, one pre and one post pandemic. Am I getting that right?

[UUNetBill]

59 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

I know I am beating the same message to death on several of my posts but it’s the inconsistency on Regent is what feels different to me. They can be great one day in one venue and then less than stellar the next day.   

That was going to be my post.  I've had some fabulous meals on Regent...and some that didn't make the grade.  And I can't even blame the crew, as even on the same voyage you can have an amazing meal one night and 'meh' the next.  Not common, of course, but it happens.

 

Having never sailed Oceania, I can't make a direct comparison between O and R, but from reading CC for years I'd say they're pretty close overall.

[Dolebludger]

6 hours ago, Pies4u said:

Dolebludger: I’m intrigued how you booked P7 twice in advance on a 7 night, single segment cruise. I didn’t think that was possible.

My wife does the booking on this cruise and I was in error. We only booked P7 for one night. Sorry. But on our Explorer,Alaska cruise last summer, we found that on some nights it is possible to eat there without a reservation.

[pappy1022]

1 hour ago, jeb_bud said:

@pappy1022From this post I infer that you have done two Regent cruises, one pre and one post pandemic. Am I getting that right?

Sorry I did say cruise and not cruises. I have been on multiple pre covid cruises and only one post covid cruise on Regent. I found that all of the pre covid Regent cruises’ food and service were exemplary. A rare miss here or there but nothing major. Can’t say the same about the September 2023 cruise on Regent. Maybe I got spoiled and it set my expectations from the earlier cruises.

[Mahogany]

3 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

I did go and read the Oceania thread on the same topic. I walked away with the sense that there were more people on the Oceania thread that gave the slight edge on food to Regent and in particular the Compass Rose. It’s hard for me to compare the 2 because things have changed everywhere since COVID and Regent has been the only cruise line that I have cruised with post COVID. Ironically my wife did get COVID on the ship in the waning days of the September 2023 cruise, so I guess we aren’t in the post COVID era yet. The 2023 cruise in Regent restaurants was a mixed bag as far as the food and service. I would say that 50% were excellent, 25% very good and 25% unacceptable and had to be returned and/or the service was poor. My pre COVID cruise on Regent were 90% excellent and 10% very good. At least from my perspective, Regent has changed a bit in the food and service arena. I know I am beating the same message to death on several of my posts but it’s the inconsistency on Regent is what feels different to me. They can be great one day in one venue and then less than stellar the next day.   

Better than "consistently" bad 😁!

[ysolde]

9 hours ago, Pies4u said:

Thanks for the prompt response. It sounds strange- as you can only make 1 advance booking per specialty restaurant/segment.

 

Plus, on a 7 night cruise you’d be lucky to get a second night anywhere too. Even on longer cruises the trend, in our experience on Explorer,  seems to be not to fill the restaurants and not to take many bookings post 8.00 pm. I’m guessing that may be related to staffing issues & other logistical constraints.

We were able to make a second booking at Prime7 once on board, giving up our booking at Pacific Rim, whose menu we did not much care for.  The other thing we are noticing is that this cruise (a 7-day Caribbean cruise on Splendor) is opening Prime7 and Chartreuse for lunch on a regular basis.  On our cruise last spring (a TA on Voyager) lunch was in the Pool Grill, La Veranda, or Compass Rose.  Compass Rose has, AFAICT, been closed for lunch on this cruise.

[DaveFr]

1 hour ago, ysolde said:

We were able to make a second booking at Prime7 once on board, giving up our booking at Pacific Rim, whose menu we did not much care for.  The other thing we are noticing is that this cruise (a 7-day Caribbean cruise on Splendor) is opening Prime7 and Chartreuse for lunch on a regular basis.  On our cruise last spring (a TA on Voyager) lunch was in the Pool Grill, La Veranda, or Compass Rose.  Compass Rose has, AFAICT, been closed for lunch on this cruise.

Prime 7 and Chartreuse are used for lunch on Explorer, Splendor and Grandeur. The usual practice is to alternate the restaurants on port days and have both of them open on sea days. Compass Rose is not used for lunch. On Mariner, Voyager and Navigator, the specialty restaurants are not open for lunch. On those ships, Compass Rose is used for lunch.

 

Dave

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, ysolde said:

Compass Rose has, AFAICT, been closed for lunch on this cruise.

Compass Rose is only open for lunch on Mariner, Navigator & Voyager; not on the newer ships, where a speciality restaurant is available instead (Chartreuse and/or Prime 7)

 

[Dolebludger]

On our Explorer Alaska cruise last  summer, CR was open for lunch on some days and some not. Never figured out the pattern. CR always seemed to have breakfast open hours.

[Ladys Mom]

Thought I would put in my two cents worth since we have sailed both Oceania and Regent pre- and post-Covid.  Prior to Regent our favorite line was Oceania.  We have only sailed Riviera and Marina so I don’t know about the older or newer ships.  We found the service and food excellent pre-covid, especially in the Specialty restaurants.  We switched to Regent because when my husband did an apples to apples comparison for the same itinerary and found that Regent was about the same price but with more included.  Once we were on Regent we were hooked.  We took one more Oceania cruise to the Amazon post Covid.  The quality of the food and service had dropped precipitously.  The main dining room was so bad that it was always empty because people gave up on waiting for poorly prepared food.  We have taken several Regent cruises post Covid and all were wonderful.  I am booked on the Mariner on the Sydney to Abu Dhabi segment this March.  I cannot wait.

[edgee]

On 2/12/2024 at 4:52 PM, Dolebludger said:

And further, along these lines, O suites seem to be smaller than Regent’s — in the same category. Also, I can’t find anything about included access to mini fridge contents on O. All levels on Regent have this. Upper O suites include 3 bags of laundry per suite per cruise. All suite levels on Regent have daily valet laundry service (except on the day before disembarkation, when there isn’t time to get the finished laundry back). 

Regular cabins at Concierge level on Oceania and all suites get 3 bags of laundry, but it is advertised as 3 day service. May come back faster but no guarantees. 

[Ladys Mom]

That is three bags of laundry per cruise.  Regent is unlimited washed and pressed laundry at all levels.

[ChucktownSteve]

We did three Regent cruises within one year. Started with the Voyager, then Mariner and finished with a 16 day on Splendor in January 2023.  I found the food on Regent a much better option than on any of the cruise lines we've sailed previously.  While I enjoyed the food on all Regent's ships, I was actually more impressed with Compass Rose as the MDR. 

I found the key to be which server we had. We were fortunate that we had a hostess on Mariner who took care of us after a disappointing experience. We wound up with one of the best servers we've ever experienced the rest of the cruise.

We sailed Oceania once before the pandemic.  While the food was better than the other cruise lines we've sailed, it did not compare to Regent's cuisine and choices even in the MDR let alone the specialty restaurants.

The daily free laundry returned the same night if out prior to 9am was an incredible bonus.

I give the win to Regent presuming the itinerary and price/value evaluation works for you.

Edited February 15 by ChucktownSteve

[eroller]

44 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

  While I enjoyed the food on all Regent's ships, I was actually more impressed with Compass Rose as the MDR. 

 

 

I completely agree.  The Compass Rose is exceptional.  What impresses me the most is the menu.  So extensive.  It’s even dated which is unheard of anymore.  Back in the day (30-40 years ago) menus were dated on all the cruise lines.  No more.  Everything is standardized.  
 

Beyond the menu, pretty much every meal in CR was fantastic.  Very impressive.  For me it’s one aspect that propelled Regent beyond Oceania in the cuisine department.  
 

[pappy1022]

Agree, CR has lots of options and we found it to be as good as the specialty restaurants. Service was slow at times but we weren’t in a hurry.

[Harters]

Thanks to all. Lots of helpful comments. 

[bitob]

My 2 cents

15 cruises on Oceania and I will never go back,

 

Once I switched to the Old Crystal (never going back there either) I will now only sail Regent, silversea and Seabourn.  I witnessed the food on O deteriorate over the years.  The main dining roomon O is to be avoided at all costs.  Compass Rose is better than the specialties on Regent.  IMO there is no comparison at all.  I just spent 30+ days on Grandeur.  Divine.

[H2O Polo Willie]

Sailed on Oceania in January of 2023 to Antarctica.  I have to say that being presented with a 3/4 inch thick ribeye in the steakhouse was more that a bit disappointing.  It was prime rib the next time in the steakhouse which was good but they were still serving 3/4 inch rib eyes.  You learn what to avoid and I could have gotten the same steak in the dining room so nothing special about the steakhouse on that item.

[SellaVee]

22 hours ago, bitob said:

My 2 cents

15 cruises on Oceania and I will never go back,

 

Once I switched to the Old Crystal (never going back there either) I will now only sail Regent, silversea and Seabourn.  I witnessed the food on O deteriorate over the years.  The main dining roomon O is to be avoided at all costs.  Compass Rose is better than the specialties on Regent.  IMO there is no comparison at all.  I just spent 30+ days on Grandeur.  Divine.

BIB, I have to disagree with this.  We spent 15 days on Marina last July/August and apart from one entrée, the food in the MDR was superb.  I'm hoping Regent will be just as good this summer, as this will be our first cruise with them.  They are certainly promoting their food offering in the UK.

[bitob]

4 minutes ago, SellaVee said:

BIB, I have to disagree with this.  We spent 15 days on Marina last July/August and apart from one entrée, the food in the MDR was superb.  I'm hoping Regent will be just as good this summer, as this will be our first cruise with them.  They are certainly promoting their food offering in the UK.

You are of course entitled to your view.  Great minds can differ, especially when it comes to food. LOL.

IMO Compass Rose is the best main dining room at sea. If I never ate in a specialty restaurant on Regent I would not care.  On Oceania I only ate in the specialties, or the Terrace buffet or room service -- never in the main dining room.

[Pcardad]

The only thing consistent among these opinions is their inconsistency. 🤪

[eroller]

44 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

The only thing consistent among these opinions is their inconsistency. 🤪

 

Food is always subjective.  Rarely will two people agree on the exact same meal.