Pre-Cruise comparison of Oceania Regatta - Vista Suite to Celebrity Millennium Royal Suite

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, sunlover12 said:

The number of specialty restaurant reservations are not unlimited. It varies by category of cabin and length of cruise. When you board the ship, go to the dining reservation desk to request additional reservations. According to Oceania's website:

 

Insignia, Nautica, Regatta and Sirena 
Concierge Level Veranda and above 
Cruises 7 days or less: 1 reservation at each restaurant 
Cruises 8-17 days: 2 reservations at each restaurant 
Cruises 18 days or more: 3 reservations at each restaurant 
 

Also to clarify the complimentary bags of laundry will be 3.  20 items in each bag. 

 

Interesting.    I was of the opinion that the use of specialty was unlimited but you were limited to the number of reservations you indicated per-cruise.   

 

So question is--- is it unlimited if you can get additional reservations or agree to share tables?

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, kpark895 said:

I've been looking forward to another Jim and Iain review!  I used to hope that one day I might meet both of you on a Celebrity cruise, but that possibility is becoming slimmer and slimmer (and there is no way I can afford to cruise on the new lines you are venturing on to). But I still love your reviews!

 

Never know.    We have two TransAtlatic on Celebrity booked.. November 2025 and 2026.  

 

You should check on some of the prices.    I was actually surprised that many of the room rates were very competitive with Celebrity.    One problem with the Premium lines is that they sell out fast, especially the less expensive rooms.     Also many like them because they have Single Rooms without double fare.

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, mhdesno2 said:

Regarding laundry, an advantage that Oceania has over Celebrity is the availability of complimentary washers/dryers/Ocean safe detergent as well as ironing boards/irons in the launderettes that every passenger can use for free.

 

I have seen that for sure.     I just have a feeling we would not be doing laundry while on board.    That may of course change when we take the 38 day cruise on Regent SS in 2026. 

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, JDPCruisers said:

Yes, understand, thanks. I'm interested in his opinion of Oceania as we are long time RC and X cruisers moving over to try it, as well. 

It is incredible how many RC and X are looking elsewhere.   We have not sworn off Celebrity, we are now booking according to itinerary and destination.

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Traveling Fools said:

Differences between the 2 suites we noticed were:

 

1.  On Celebrity, you have a hot tub on your veranda....On Oceania you have to go to the spa where you have unlimited access to the hot tub.

 

2. On X there is a door to the bedroom....On O there is a Curtin or drape 

 

3.  I found the table in the Vista suite to be smaller than X's RS.

 

4.  In Vista you get 6 bottles of adult beverages...IN RS only 2 bottles

 

5.  Depending on which deck you are on with O, the forward facing suites will get very noisey  when docking.

 

6. When underway, the veranda on forward facing Vista suites get a lot of wind,  RS on X are mid ship and more usable when underway.

 

A couple of favorable factors Regatta has over Millennium Are:

 

1. There are there are 1,992 fewer passengers on board

 

2.  Regatta, being a smaller ship than Millie, is able to visit ports that are too small for Millie.  This is something to take into consideration when booking a South Pacific cruise.

 

Thanks for all the great information.   

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, durberville said:

Our cruise is 25 nights. We only get 2 reservations in each specialty. I guess because we are in a lowly ocean view cabin? Haha! I do love reading about the suites, though….do carry on! 👍🏻

 

If I recall correctly we were able to book 2 reservations at each of the specialties.   I was able to book them immediately after making Final Payment so was able to book table for two at all of them.    

[Jim_Iain]

Today our cruise documents and luggage tags arrived. 
 

Very professionally prepared and impressive compared to Celebrity self service download, print and tape. 
 

 

[njhorseman]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Interesting.    I was of the opinion that the use of specialty was unlimited but you were limited to the number of reservations you indicated per-cruise.

That is correct.

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

So question is--- is it unlimited if you can get additional reservations or agree to share tables?

In theory you can eat at the specialty restaurants every night if seating is available. In practice that's not going to happen, but one night that you are very likely to find space available is the first night of the cruise.

[sunlover12]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Interesting.    I was of the opinion that the use of specialty was unlimited but you were limited to the number of reservations you indicated per-cruise.   

 

So question is--- is it unlimited if you can get additional reservations or agree to share tables?

It's what @njhorseman has already replied to.  When requesting at the dining reservation desk, you'll have a better chance if you're willing to share a table. You are limited but remember that an advantage to being in a Suite is that you can order from the Specialty restaurants and have it delivered to your cabin by your butler.  Just let him know that morning. 

[Cruzin Terri]

Considering that you are in a Vista Suite you would probably be able to get Specialy Restaurant reservations almost any night you want.  While it is a first come first serve basis, the first question asked is what is your room number and I do think there is a pecking order.

Terri

[iowananny]

I think Terri is right but just remember the menu is the same every night in all the specialties.  The dining room menu changes and we've had some really good meals there.  Just check your TV every day and check the menu.  Just because it's exclusive doesn't always mean that it's better.  

[ORV]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Today our cruise documents and luggage tags arrived. 
 

Very professionally prepared and impressive compared to Celebrity self service download, print and tape. 
 

 

Yet I've seen some people recently still complain about it. 

[Vallesan]

4 hours ago, ORV said:

Yet I've seen some people recently still complain about it. 

 The ‘blue’ package is  definitely better than ‘nothing’ which is what we had for a couple of years. BUT, if you hark back to the ‘olden days’, and I don’t, then the ‘blue’ package lacks the personalisation. Personally, I still get a little thrill whatever ‘package’ arrives because it means my cruise is just around the corner …. in fact I’m expecting a ‘blue’ package any day soon!

[MEFIowa]

All the "Welcome Aboard" is now is a generic guide to your ship, with NO personalization and NO specificity for your cruise & its itinerary. Unlike the old ones, that we're being sent out quite recently (e.g., 11/2023). With much of the previous information stripped away and what remains with minimal text and lots of white space.

 

And nothing quite says "waste" like being on a 2nd cruise, the B2B, and receiving a 2nd IDENTICAL generic package! I shudder to think that if someone has a 3rd leg, they'd get a 3rd IDENTICAL generic package. And so on. A cold pile of 4 or 5 identical generic packages.

[ORV]

3 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

All the "Welcome Aboard" is now is a generic guide to your ship, with NO personalization and NO specificity for your cruise & its itinerary. Unlike the old ones, that we're being sent out quite recently (e.g., 11/2023). With much of the previous information stripped away and what remains with minimal text and lots of white space.

 

And nothing quite says "waste" like being on a 2nd cruise, the B2B, and receiving a 2nd IDENTICAL generic package! I shudder to think that if someone has a 3rd leg, they'd get a 3rd IDENTICAL generic package. And so on. A cold pile of 4 or 5 identical generic packages.

Yet I don't think you ever saw the original Blue Package that it gets it name from as it was before you cruised Oceania. Perhaps if you ever cruised a line where you had to print your own tags and purchase some type of holder then you might just appreciate what Oceania does instead of complaining about it. I'm just happy to be going, so I don't take time to pick apart what they do send me, I just toss the stuff I don't need and keep the things that I do, like the luggage tag inserts. 

 

Just an FYI, those packages you received post covid were nowhere as near personalized as the older original blue ones. When I moved last year I tossed a whole filing cabinet drawer full of them along with my personal folders for each cruise. One of those things you have to ask yourself, why am I keeping this?

[Jim_Iain]

16 hours ago, Cruzin Terri said:

Considering that you are in a Vista Suite you would probably be able to get Specialy Restaurant reservations almost any night you want.  While it is a first come first serve basis, the first question asked is what is your room number and I do think there is a pecking order.

Terri

I think we will be happy with about 50% of the nights in specialty.     I have heard some really good things about the MDR. 

 

We are not really big eaters and often ask for meals to be downsized vs any up-sizing.

 

What's your favorite Specialty?

 

[Jim_Iain]

16 hours ago, sunlover12 said:

It's what @njhorseman has already replied to.  When requesting at the dining reservation desk, you'll have a better chance if you're willing to share a table. You are limited but remember that an advantage to being in a Suite is that you can order from the Specialty restaurants and have it delivered to your cabin by your butler.  Just let him know that morning. 

 

Interesting....  With the exception of having a Pizza Movie night we have never had dinner in our suite.   Now when we have the Owners' Suite on Vista,  I'm not sure I will want to leave the room.   

[Cruzin Terri]

1 minute ago, Jim_Iain said:

I think we will be happy with about 50% of the nights in specialty.     I have heard some really good things about the MDR. 

 

We are not really big eaters and often ask for meals to be downsized vs any up-sizing.

 

What's your favorite Specialty?

 

My favorite is Toscana.  i do not eat much red meat so the nights we go to Polo i usually choose a seafood entree.  I am not a fan of spicy so on the ships that have Red Ginger we tend to skip that.  I like Jacques and on Vista i do like Ember.  There a good number of choices there.  i wish there was a way to tone down the noise level though.

Terri

[Jim_Iain]

16 hours ago, iowananny said:

I think Terri is right but just remember the menu is the same every night in all the specialties.  The dining room menu changes and we've had some really good meals there.  Just check your TV every day and check the menu.  Just because it's exclusive doesn't always mean that it's better.  

 

Thanks for the advise.     I guess i never thought about the fact that the specialties menu is the same nightly.     After all it is the same on Celebrity.    The good thing is we usually find something of interest.

[Jim_Iain]

16 hours ago, ORV said:

Yet I've seen some people recently still complain about it. 

 

Things are changing through the whole cruise industry.   I'm sure those that had become accustomed to more elaborate documentation.    As a newbie,  I'm impressed...

 

Maybe it doesn't take much to impress me.   LOL 

 

Unfortunately I can see a lot of waste as they sent us both a packet.    Is this normal?    As a male couple we often get 2x that of some passengers.   We have dined at Chef B's dinner a number of times and they will send 2 (10 pound) cook books to our room.  

[Jim_Iain]

11 hours ago, Vallesan said:

 The ‘blue’ package is  definitely better than ‘nothing’ which is what we had for a couple of years. BUT, if you hark back to the ‘olden days’, and I don’t, then the ‘blue’ package lacks the personalisation. Personally, I still get a little thrill whatever ‘package’ arrives because it means my cruise is just around the corner …. in fact I’m expecting a ‘blue’ package any day soon!

 

I remember back.... LOL....  Geezer I think I'm becoming my parents.

 

Back in the Good Old Days Celebrity use to mail your cruise document package to you.   CC members would always say they were doing the Cruise Document Dance when they arrived.   It sure makes the upcoming cruise more REAL.   Just 1 month from today.

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

All the "Welcome Aboard" is now is a generic guide to your ship, with NO personalization and NO specificity for your cruise & its itinerary. Unlike the old ones, that we're being sent out quite recently (e.g., 11/2023). With much of the previous information stripped away and what remains with minimal text and lots of white space.

 

And nothing quite says "waste" like being on a 2nd cruise, the B2B, and receiving a 2nd IDENTICAL generic package! I shudder to think that if someone has a 3rd leg, they'd get a 3rd IDENTICAL generic package. And so on. A cold pile of 4 or 5 identical generic packages.

 

Yikes... you mean we will get another one shortly.     I guess we are officially on a B2B but sold as a single cruise.

[Jim_Iain]

11 minutes ago, Cruzin Terri said:

My favorite is Toscana.  i do not eat much red meat so the nights we go to Polo i usually choose a seafood entree.  I am not a fan of spicy so on the ships that have Red Ginger we tend to skip that.  I like Jacques and on Vista i do like Ember.  There a good number of choices there.  i wish there was a way to tone down the noise level though.

Terri

Thanks Terri,

 

Like you we are not big Red Meat eaters and I really enjoy fish when properly cooked.    I was wondering about Red Ginger -  we are also not big into spicy and really not big fans of Indian.    I've read numerous recommendation of the Watermelon and Duck.   Any thoughts on it? 

 

My taste run more to French and Continental so somewhat disappointed we will not have Jacques.   

[Jim_Iain]

Here's a quick video of the Itinerary -  

 

 

[flviking]

29 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks for the advise.     I guess i never thought about the fact that the specialties menu is the same nightly.     After all it is the same on Celebrity.    The good thing is we usually find something of interest.

We had done a TA on one of the older Royal ships some years ago.  As we really didn't care for the MDR and the was no Coastal Kitchen we booked the unlimited specialty dining.  Maybe 15 nights between three restaurants.  We got pretty tired of the same sides.  They were really good about finding us "non-menu" vegetables for variety.  We just let them know where we were dining the day before. Steamed broccoli every night was a bit much.