How does Oceania compare with Wind Surf and/or Paul Gauguin?

[K.C.]

We have sailed on the Wind Surf and the Paul Gauguin and loved them both. In looking for a European cruise that does not have "formal" nights, I came across Oceania. Can anyone comare the Oceania experience with that of the Wind Surf and/or Paul Gauguin? Thanks for any advice!

[douganswerphone]

KC:

We've been on 18 cruises, including one on Wind Song in Tahiti 2 years ago.It was a wonderfully casual and intimate cruise, with perhaps the best dining room service and food we'd enjoyed up to that time. Unfortunately, Windstar ships have no balconies, and Tahiti is a destination that practically demands their use. Also, entertainment options on this cruise were the slimmest we've ever seen. There were several days of bad weather where the ship couldn't moor/dock, and there was little to do except huddle in the cabin and watch movies. The ship was simply TOO small for our taste.

It's worth noting that Windstar ships have a low cruising speed, which was not a problem in Tahiti, but makes for extra sea days compared with the European itineraries of other cruise ships.

We were on Tahitian Princess the following year, and enjoyed the cruise more simply because of the balcony cabin and the "R" class ship, which are our favorite ships. Princess did a fair job overall with their cruise product, but they are not in the same class as the other lines you name.

Never been on RSSC, much less PG, but those we've spoken too generally rate it very highly. Of course, they also charge a very upscale price.

We've been on 4 OCeania cruises, including Insignia's first 2 cruises in April. These guys are going to make it. Dining room service varied somewhat depending upon our individual servers and how busy the dining room was at the moment, but still ranged from good to outstanding. The food, overall, is the best we've had on a cruise, where our experiences include Windstar, HAL, Princess, Celebrity, NCL and Carnival. I'd say overall service on Oceania was about equal to Windstar, and the food noticeably better, largely because of the huge number of menu choices offered by four evening restaurants.

Oceania is attempting, successfully I think, to position themselve above premium lines such as HAL and Celebrity, and below lux lines such as RSSC, Seaborne, Silverseas and Crystal.

Those we've spoken with that have sailed both RSSC and Oceania seem to think that RSSC is still the "better" line, but they should be, as they charge 50% to 100% more for comparable accomodations on most cruises (and yes I'm aware that RSSC sometimes has some incredibly low sale prices on select cruises.)

As far as value for money goes, we think Oceania compares very well with both Windstar and RSSC. We love Oceania and predict you will, too.

Doug n Sherry