Oceania and trans atlantics

[Skippyyyy]

My wife and I particularly like going on ships that do what they are supposed to do - which is sail the seas. We really do not like 'a port a day' type cruises.

 

Therefore we've so far chosen Cunard, where QE2 would do some nice 5 day segments followed by a day in port and another few days to the next port, or even 6 days between the UK and New York.

 

Recently, we've found that Cunard has:-

 

a) Exhausted us in so far as we've been to the ports that we wanted to see and don't want to go to for a third time. (We've ended up just staying on board when we dock).

 

b) Built an ittiniery that is rather too packed with ports or sailing to somewhere cold like Iceland.

 

We *do* like the excellent style of Cunard and I've therefore been looking for another Line that is comparable. And I found Oceania.

 

The re-positioning cruises between North/South America and Europe where you have up to 11 days at sea are very tempting to us.

 

I have a few questions (which I 've not been able to find answered before here).

 

1. Is the on board service on a trans atlantic the same as the other cruises? ie. Is there a full compliment of crew?

 

2. The fares are very attractive. Does anybody know if this is because people 'do not like to go on trans atlantics therefore Oceania have to sell them at give away prices' or 'because there are no ports - it's cheaper to run - (in which case fuel must be negligible price...)'

 

3. Are the ships full on transatlantics?

 

4. I've read that the dress style is 'country club'. Are there formal evenings?

 

5. Have you done a trans atlantic on Oceania, and if so what was the best/worst about it?

 

My wife and I are 33 and 46 years old - and mix well with all age groups. We'd not be taking our two children with as it would probably not be suitable for them - and they can have a better holiday with family elsewhere.

 

Many thanks for any help you can give...

 

Pete

[john2003]

1. We did a transatlantic on Insignia a year ago. As far as we could tell it had a normal crew complement.

2. I think that a lot of people don't like transatlantic. Too many sea days and perhaps a hidden concern about being that far from land!

3. Our ship was not full. One day they had a cabin open house so we could look at cabins and there seemed to be at least one of each category empty.

4.There are no formal evenings.

5. Best was definitely that it was very relaxing and we enjoyed the library. No queuing for shore excursions and very cost effective! I didn't mention the food. We had very good weather as well. No worst of it.

 

Hope this helps.

[cruznut1111]

My hubby and I were on the Regatta for a 10 day westbound transatlantic in December 2004. It was our first time back on REN ships since Tahiti in 2000 & 2001, so we were eager to compare and happy to find all the things we loved were still present. Great food, terrific library, never crowded.

 

These are such lovely small ships. These lovely ships are VERY small. From the lovely side- the crew, activities and surroundings were terrific. Now to the small side - they rode a whole lot better in Tahiti.

 

With 205 nights at sea (204 accident free) I would have said we were really good sailors, but I was hitting the candied ginger pretty hard after day 5 or 6. That one day with an accident was midway across, when a mean wave slapped the side of the ship just as I was going out the computer room door on Deck 10. I’m happy to report that the nurse was pretty efficient on the basics (bacitracin) if not on comfort treatment (ice). Also that fingernails can grow back in @ seven months.

 

This was our third transatlantic and one was during Hurricane Mitch, so I wasn’t expecting a smooth trip. We love the movement of the ships riding the waves, but I have to admit to wanting a bit more size to the ship or depth to the hull. If you go, I would say select a stateroom low and central. We stopped to look at one of the front suites one night and couldn’t stay on our feet. The occupants had been moved to a mid-ships room after a night or two.

 

I doubt I would do 10 straight seadays again in a ship this size. There were just too many things we didn’t do because of the ships movement. Of course, we never missed a meal and did spend lots of time on the outside decks, but really had to adjust some of our activities. Now, if there were a port in there somewhere I'd probably chance it.

[Skippyyyy]

Thanks for the replies. Interesting, indeed. Everything's ship shape until it gets rough. Then it seems to become hard work.

 

Which is fine for me - but my wife finds it hard work when she chooses to wear high heels in the evening. :)

 

Thanks again..

 

Pete

[HBINDC]

I've been on two Oceania transatlantic trips, and am hoping to go on a thrid next year. As far as the weather goes..it's the luck of the draw. One thing though, since Oceania trips are on a southerly route (either South America to southern Europe or Carb./Fla. to Southern Europe, you can expect fairly warm days for the most part, so that precluding rough seas and rain, much time can be spent on deck.

 

As far as your questions:

 

1., 2., and 4. John was right on

 

3. On my two trips, there were 500 and then 300 passengers. The first had more ports, thus I think was more attractive to more people. I think there will be a fairl good chance that future trips will not be full.

 

5. Best things about the transatlantic, compared to other cruises, were the chance to really relax, get full use of the ships facilities, and get to know fellow passengers. On sea days there is a lot more time for these three things as opposed to days when touring a port.