Tell me about Oceania and how it is differant from celebrity

[Rob & Beckys mom]

On the other hand, Celebrity's Xpedition doesn't even have passenger accounts, as we found out when the TA offered a travel credit. There is nothing to charge -- open bars, excursions free, tips included in the fare -- so there is no way to receive a travel credit.

 

Bill

 

Is this something new? We sailed on Celebrity in 2005 & we sure had an account! LOL, a rather large one:eek: Please tell me more & how to get on board.

 

Jan

[LHT28]

Is this something new? We sailed on Celebrity in 2005 & we sure had an account! LOL, a rather large one:eek: Please tell me more & how to get on board.

 

Jan

The Xpedition ship is a totally different than the mass market ships of Celebrity

http://www.celebritycruises.com/search/vacationShip.do;jsessionid=0000IOoKtGEuSxyUEJPcLoaWjw_:12hdebcnj?packageCode=XP07GBB2&shipCode=XP&search_tab=SHIP&backPageName=Itinerary+Search+Results

[Riverroad]

You can only get on board Xpedition if you want to go to the Galapagos Islands. We just returned from the 10-day trip and it was fabulous. Celebrity did a first rate job. They take care of you from the minute you land at the Quito airport to the minute they deposit you back there 10 days later. The ship is indeed all-inclusive, the only extras being laundry, internet time and anything you might buy in the shop. I have never taken a "regular" Celebrity cruise, nor do I plan to, but if you want to go to the Galapagos, the Xpedition is the way to do it.

[Rob & Beckys mom]

If you want to sail on Oceania I would book early ...the prices do NOT go down as you get closer to sailing like the mass market lines & they get booked up so fast

 

 

lyn

 

 

We booked in July 2006 & got the last ph3 for November 2007, and the prices for the few remaining cabins are much more than we paid for a lower catagory. Can't wait!!

 

Jan

[Rob & Beckys mom]

You can only get on board Xpedition if you want to go to the Galapagos Islands. We just returned from the 10-day trip and it was fabulous. Celebrity did a first rate job. They take care of you from the minute you land at the Quito airport to the minute they deposit you back there 10 days later. The ship is indeed all-inclusive, the only extras being laundry, internet time and anything you might buy in the shop. I have never taken a "regular" Celebrity cruise, nor do I plan to, but if you want to go to the Galapagos, the Xpedition is the way to do it.

 

 

sounds great! I went to the website & all veranda's are sold out through April 2009! Looks like I'm waaaay behind!:o I do appreciate your reply. How is the flight there? Maybe someday...

 

Jan

[momofmeg]

If you want to sail on Oceania I would book early ...the prices do NOT go down as you get closer to sailing like the mass market lines & they get booked up so fast

 

 

lyn

 

Oh I don't expect it to go down- it is just hubby is not ready to commit yet!

[lostqeba]

On the other hand, Celebrity's Xpedition doesn't even have passenger accounts, as we found out when the TA offered a travel credit. There is nothing to charge -- open bars, excursions free, tips included in the fare -- so there is no way to receive a travel credit.

 

Bill

 

Yes there is, Laundry on Xpedition

[momofmeg]

Oh I don't expect it to go down- it is just hubby is not ready to commit yet!

 

Let me explain a little more, Hubby wants to do a tour of Europe in summer 2009, now the tour he wants to do would be about double what this cruise costs-and ofcourse not so many meals are included as would be on the cruise. Until he decides whether we can do that financially-as we are just regular folks-not wealthy-we could only do one or the other-I guess this has to stay on the back burner-but if he decides we can't do Europe-this would be the next best thing as far as I am concerned-and he would decide in time for us to do this cruise, if we can't go back to Europe.

 

That is why I came here and posted this thread, asking questions about Oceania-the more pluses I know-the more I can tell him and convince him this would be just as fun for us-if the other does not work out. I asked-comparing it to Celebrity because we just got off Celebrity last month.

 

And no, an Oceania cruise in Europe is out-he wants to spend more time there-we just did a TA on the Connie-and what we found about our time in France and Ireland was just enough to give us a "taste" and make us want more-so if we go back to Europe it will be a land tour. Unless we do a land tour before another transatlantic that is. Now I would go for that!

[barante]

momofmeg -- I am originally from Europe, have resided in the U.S. since 1987, with an eight year break during which I lived in South Africa and the Soviet Union. The only way for my wife and I to have an enjoyable vacation in Europe these days is if we take a cruise where lodgings/meals/transportation are covered. Otherwise we would go bankrupt. And I'm afraid the value of the dollar won't be going up any time soon.

We are taking a 18-day westbound trans-Atlantic next October that will cost us $2,000 pp for a balcony cabin on the Emerald Princess. Plus one-way air to Venice.

What do we get for this? We can board the ship in Venice the day before departure, saving us a bundle right there in room and board. We'll then visit Naples, Rome, Florence, Cannes, Barcelona, Cadiz, Lisbon, the Azores before reaching Fort Lauderdale. Since we can navigate in Europe on our own, we can do our own tours and can control our spending.

To repeat that cruising is the only way to go these days, here is Exhibit B:

We are about to book a 15-day trans-Atlantic from Rio de Janeiro to Barcelona in March, 2009. We'll get the cheapest outside (with a porthole) on Oceania Insignia.Itinerary is Rio, Salvador de Bahia, Recife, Porto Grande in the Cape Verdes, Agadir in Morocco, Barcelona. In theory you could get a cabin like ours for $1,600, but that would be without air. However, for a total of $2,700 a person we can get that cabin with Oceania air included from Washington D.C. to Rio and from Barcelona to D.C. There isn't any way you could find a package like this cheaper.

The exchange rate is so miserly now that an European tour is going to cost an arm and a leg. The only way to get a first-class itinerary and all the creature comforts is cruising.