Just finished Alaska Cruise on Oceania Regatta

[Lmsundaze]

   Just finished a 10 day cruise on Regatta from Seward, Alaska to Vancouver, Canada.  I am not a frequent cruiser (nor do I plan to be) and this was my first time on Oceania.  I went with my cousin - we are both women over 60) and we shared a concierge Veranda cabin.  I would just like to share my thoughts and impressions or people can ask me anything.

   I thought the ship itself was just beautiful.  Our stateroom and bed was comfortable, the bathroom was adequate for us, we enjoyed the hot tubs by the pool and the hot tub and steam bath in the pool.  Embarkation and Debarkation were easy, we never had to wait at any time for anything actually.  We enjoyed the library -- found a lot of books we felt like reading.  We found the wines that were included in our Simply More package to be very good, we were were satisfied with the excursions we bought with the $800 for Simply More, and booked excursions at thee last minute in the other ports.  No problems there.

    The entertainment didn't really interest us.  We are early risers, ate dinner early, and did not miss having entertainment.  We did this cruise to see Alaska, but if we wanted entertainment I would not have been interested in the offerings.  It seemed to us that the age of the passengers varied from old to very old.  There were no children, and really a lot of very old people.  This was not a problem to me, there was absolutely no noise and we had an enjoyable time.

    People dressed very casually.  We travelled (as almost always) carry-on only and had everything we need and yes we dressed appropriately.  I would not have wanted to get more dressed up.

    The food was about what I expected.  Not wonderful, but good.  We ate twice at Polo, twice at Toscana, twice in Grand Dining Room, and the rest of the time at Terrace Cafe and Waves.  I especially liked the Wagyu burgers at Waves and the ice cream.  At every meal I was able to find something I liked to eat.  I really like the croissants at breakfast, would have liked the grill more at dinner with fewer people crowding around. A person would have to be very picky not to find something to eat.  NO, the quality was not that of a good restaurant in my city, but considering it was institutional food I thought it was very good.  I had plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, salads, and really I thought it was healthy and delicious.  I didn't gain weight.

   Overall, Alaska is beautiful, the Regatta was a lovely ship that exceeded our expectations, and it was a wonderful trip.  I am not a convert to cruising as a preferred way to travel, but for Alaska it was just perfect.

[WESTEAST]

Glad that you enjoyed your cruise overall. Food is always subjective however, 'institutional' description is a bit harsh IMO. With respect to the age of the passengers, we have also observed in the past two years, that most passengers are in the upper senior age and this is probably due to the many repeaters. Oceania has many loyal passengers and if they started cruising when in their late 50-60's, they are now in 70's to 80+ age group.  It is not unusual to have more than 50% of repeaters on recent cruises we have taken. Many posters have complained about how casual the 'country casual attire' has become as well (including us!).  That said, we continue to sail Oceania for the itineraries, service and yes, food.

[ronrick1943]

Happy you had a nice cruise and enjoyed the trip.  If you cruise again isn't important, it's always the moment you're in-but if the opportunity comes up again, I'd bet you'll cruise again.

[mauibabes]

@Lmsundaze

Nice to see your write up and positive opinions about your first cruise and of course first on Oceania.  We have done a couple Alaska cruises on Regatta and they were great. Next year, Riviera will take over the Alaskan itineraries and we are looking forward to sailing to all the Alaskan ports of call again because of its natural beauty. The O Class ships are really beautiful and offer even more amenities so if you do get the desire to try cruising again without flying halfway around the world, give Riviera a try. 
Welcome to the Oceania family. 
Mauibabes

[jonthomas]

We return to Alaska this September. 

 

Thank you for your post and comments.

[Vallesan]

You will find that during the school ‘holidays’ there are quite a number of children on the Alaska cruise although they are still few and far between on the other itineraries!

[jonthomas]

5 hours ago, Vallesan said:

You will find that during the school ‘holidays’ there are quite a number of children on the Alaska cruise although they are still few and far between on the other itineraries!

Hoping there won't be any in September.

[osandomir]

We found that the kids we met on O ships were very nice and well behaved. They don’t bother us in any way.

[jonthomas]

We got so fed up with kids on Celebrity that now even one is too many. One of the reasons we now only cruise with O, unless with our grandkids.

[pinotlover]

On 6/3/2024 at 1:12 PM, jonthomas said:

We got so fed up with kids on Celebrity that now even one is too many. One of the reasons we now only cruise with O, unless with our grandkids.

I’ve met other O cruisers with those feelings. Thing is, they mostly consider anyone under 60 a kid. 😂

[MEFIowa]

44 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

... Thing is, they mostly consider anyone under 60 a kid. 😂

Still remember our very first cruise which was on Riviera 12/2021, ending right before Christmas. Only 719 passengers with 790 crew. Treated like royalty. Nary a kid in sight. I was 58 and my wife 55. We felt YOUNG. Guessing the average age was 75ish. Met some great people. Didn't have to worry about any children. Not sure anyone was under 25 on that cruise. Maybe early 30s. Thinking two sisters were around 30, with their parents.

[DrHemlock]

49 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Thing is, they mostly consider anyone under 60 a kid.

Well, some of us were kids until we were 60.  And beyond!  (If somewhat pathetically....)

[jonthomas]

Off topic of course, the kids we have endured were in prams, parked in front of cabins, running and knocking on doors at all hours, jumping into pools, pushing all the elevator buttons,  babies in hot tubs in diapers and that's just the tip of the iceberg. All on celeb. 

On O only small kids screaming in pool or in other areas.

Nope don't want to see a single kid. Viking has a no one under 18 policy, but it is not our line of choice. 

[osandomir]

For me it will be more unpleasant to be on the ship around adults who are constantly complaining about everything like here on CC.

[ronrick1943]

On 6/2/2024 at 6:45 PM, mauibabes said:

@Lmsundaze

Nice to see your write up and positive opinions about your first cruise and of course first on Oceania.  We have done a couple Alaska cruises on Regatta and they were great. Next year, Riviera will take over the Alaskan itineraries and we are looking forward to sailing to all the Alaskan ports of call again because of its natural beauty. The O Class ships are really beautiful and offer even more amenities so if you do get the desire to try cruising again without flying halfway around the world, give Riviera a try. 
Welcome to the Oceania family. 
Mauibabes

Agree, the "O" class are really nice ships and having them in Alaska should be a nice addition to cruising,  We booked the Seattle/Alaska and on to Tokyo for 2025..  For us what's great is we'll have 5 sea days from Alaska before arriving the ports in Japan.

[ronrick1943]

On 6/3/2024 at 11:12 AM, jonthomas said:

We got so fed up with kids on Celebrity that now even one is too many. One of the reasons we now only cruise with O, unless with our grandkids.

It's not the kids, it's the parents that need training (to take care of their children and disciplined them when needed. 

[Kay S]

5 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

It's not the kids, it's the parents that need training (to take care of their children and disciplined them when needed. 

Yes.  This is true.  And it should be said that not every child on a cruise is a little demon.  

[ronrick1943]

4 minutes ago, Kay S said:

Yes.  This is true.  And it should be said that not every child on a cruise is a little demon.  

You're right, not all kids are demon's.  Plus kids are kids, little shouldn't matter--it's just when the parents think they are on their own vacation and let the older kids run wild.  A well behaved one is perfectly OK with us on a ship.  But let them have fun, a splash here, a few wow moments -who cares.  Actually I've been on a few cruises - I wish some of the adults were not on the ship.