Has Anyone Here Sailed w/Oceania?

[JuneauWhatIMean]

I've been checking out the European specials Oceania is running right now and they seem pretty impressive. Two for One pricing and free air to/from Europe. I'm thinking about doing the 10 day Barcelona to Athens next April. Cat C1 OV Stateroom would be $2,999 each, including air. The only problem I see is that the staterooms are pretty small at 165 sq. ft. But the linens look fabulous and open dining might be nice for a change.

 

So has anyone had any experience with them? Would you consider a balcony ($400 more per) a necessity on a Mediterranean cruise? Would another cruise line (X perhaps) be a better choice?

 

Thanks!

Alison

[esther e]

Alison

Hard question. We've sailed with them twice: once in the Caribbean and recently on a 25 day from Miami to the Amazon back to Miami.

 

We've had the Owner's Suite once and a Penthouse the other time. Our friend had a C cabin and it was not large. And the patio is not large, but I don't think they are on X, either unless you have a suite. The PH was good size, but not as big as the OS, but also not as pricey.

 

The food on O is the best on the seas. No formal nights, so no tux. No charge for either of the 2 specialty restaurants.

 

We always choose a patio; having said that, we're going on the Constellation next week without a balcony because we're going to be in Northern Europe and the Norwegian fjords. As far as the Med, we've always had a balcony. I would definitely opt for one, depending on the itinerary. April in the Med is nice, so you might want one.

 

We love the one seating, when and with whomever you choose. The ship is smaller and that's definitely a plus.

 

I guess you need to get a piece of paper and make a "pro" and "con" list and go from there.:) Please let me know what you decide. I'd really be interested. Good luck and happy planning.

Esther

[JuneauWhatIMean]

Thank you so much for the reply, Esther. I found the Oceania board (and saw you there!) when that mini-scandal broke out concerning the "bumped" family. I was extremely impressed that the CEO posts on the board and was so very generous in his response to the problem.

 

Your suggestion of a "pros" and "cons" list is an excellent idea. I've never been to the Mediterranean so I've got a lot of homework to do. Shoot, I've been doing my homework for my Mercury to Alsaka cruise in September since January. :o

 

Thanks Again,

Alison

[wongri]

Our group of 12 returned from Oceania Insignia and had a wonderful cruise from Rome to Athens this May. It was out first time on Oceania. We have sailed previously on Crystal, Celebrity, RCCL, Cunard and Princess.

 

We were all in Concierge cabins and my parents were in the Penthouse.

Cabins are much smaller than on Celebrity but the cuisine onboard made up for it. All of us enjoyed the balcony - especially cruising into the Amalfi coast area. We had our afternoon tea/snack in the balcony after returning from a full day of touring. . very relaxing.

 

Best food on the seas . . even better than Crystal whom we have sailed with 10 times. But, we still enjoy traditional dining with the same servers each day.

No need to tell them each day what we preferred drink wise, etc. Some evenings in the main dining room everyone serving seemed to be in such a hurry running back and forth.

The specialty restaurants are amazing. Great attentive service and food to die for!

 

The only drawback we found was after dinner there was very little entertainment. There ar no production shows and what was performed was not very good so we did not go after trying to sit through it on 2 occasions.

We found ourselves most nights in the small casino for a bit then onto the Martini lounge to listen to the pianist.

 

If you have any questions I would be happy to answer.

Happy cruising

Rita

[Andy]

Thank you so much for the reply, Esther. I found the Oceania board (and saw you there!) when that mini-scandal broke out concerning the "bumped" family. I was extremely impressed that the CEO posts on the board and was so very generous in his response to the problem.

 

Alison

 

Hi Alison !

 

I visit the Oceania board frequently. I have not sailed with Oceania yet. I am very aware of the bumped family thread.

 

The manner in which the CEO of Oceania (Mr. Frank DelRio) handled that problem, has made me want to consider Oceania for 2007. Mr. DelRio has my vote for the best CEO in the Cruise industry. I was very impressed with how Mr. DelRio heard about this problem (which we all agree was a huge snafu) and did the right thing, and took care of the passengers. That said a great deal about Oceania to me.

 

I hope I get a chance to sail with them in 2007. Enjoy your Cruise !

[Not@Home]

We were on the inaugural voyage of Insignia Barcelona-Athens April 2004 and it was great. We had a standard veranda cabin which was well worth the extra money. The casual dinining, linens, and etc. were all nice extras. However, we found that Oceania's two-for-one plus air promotion had some substantial taxes added on, so get a quote before ruling out options. It is a quiet ship compared to the Mercury.

[JoePDX]

We sailed on Nautica in February from Hong Kong to Bangkok. A super cruise. Excellent service, food and I just love those smaller ships. I also very much like the elegance of the ships - the dark woods, oriental carpets and rich fabrics.

 

We had previously sailed on Nautica when she was the R5 and she is just as beautiful today (if not more so) than when we sailed her in 2001 in the Med. We very much like the open seating and the lack of crowds. I liken the ammenties on the Oceania ships to a mini M-Class ship - there really is nothing missing IMHO, save the production shows. Which we rarely attend anyway. There are lots of places to escape to and getting on/off the ship is so easy. It also seems much easier to me to meet and get to know fellow cruisers. It's also nice not to haul all the fancy clothes (but then again I like dressing up on Celebrity too...) I also think Oceania has some of the greatest itineraries available today - I just need more time off!!

 

Other things to consider - no extra charges for the specialty restaurants plus specialty coffees (espresso, latte, etc.) are complimentary at dinner.

 

Will we sail Oceania again - absolutely. Will we sail Celebrity - yep. They both offer great cruise experiences. You just need to know what to expect.

 

Joe :)

[JuneauWhatIMean]

Thank you kindly for the infomative replies. I really appreciate it. I'll call my TA and see what she comes up with. :) And I'll definitely be looking at getting a balcony. We've got a Sky Suite on the Sky Deck booked for Alaska and I'm pretty sure that's going to spoil me for the rest of my cruising days. :rolleyes: