Comparing Oceania and Vista suites on Riviera

I am in the early stages of planning a cruise on Riviera. We enjoy larger suites when we travel and from the brochures and website I've narrowed the choice to the oceana suite and the vista suite. I would love any feedback from CC members who have been in either of these suites. In particular on the Vista suite can anyone describe what is in the personal workout room in the suite and whether the vista suite deck being on the front of the ship is usuable while at sea or is it too windy. On the Oceania suite what was the media room like? Any feedback would be appreciated.

We are "hooked" on the Oceania suites on the Rivera. For us it is about location. Not the stern ... 2 of the 12 Oceaniia suites are located at the stern of the ship.

The media room proved terrific when we watched a movie on a rainy afternoon. Also, a good place to relax and watch the available news channels.

I am sure the Vistas are appealing to some who enjoy the bow.

We only book Oceania suites Aft for the greatest views. They are the same size as the Owners Suites on the R ships which are perfect for us.

The vista on the O ships are a few hundred feet larger but the motion on the front of the ship is a big turn off for us. Many folks do, however, love them.

I'm sure you'll be happy with any of the real suites (not PH) on Riveria.

I think that the Oceania suites are much more uniform in size and layout, that said, there are slight differences between the ones located near the bow and those in the aft of the ship. The Vista suites seem to vary more depending on what floor they are located on in regard to veranda size and privacy and variance in interior space as well.

They are both very nice and a great values in comparison to similar suites on other upscale lines.

If you like spending time on the verandah the Vista suites can be problematic as the wind at the bow of the ship can sometimes be ferocious making the verandah unusable.

On our recent Transatlantic on Riviera one of our trivia team members had a Vista Suite on the front of the ship and we went there for drinks one day. While the ship was moving apparently all of the furniture(maybe not all, but I know the loungers were) on the deck was tied down to keep it from blowing away. I'm sure it would be fine in port. Frankly I wouldn't like that.

I'd be curious if those that have actually stayed in these suites have not been able to use their deck while underway.

The Vista does have a TV in the living area, while the Oceania has them in the bedroom & the Media room. I'm pretty sure the Vista suite has a larger bedroom layout than the Oceania, they both have nice baths and closets, as well as a nice dining area and bar area.

In the one Vista that we visited I think it had a treadmill in the workout room, there was some clothing hanging off it, just like people do when they have them in their home. ;) I think I've read they were going to do something else with those areas, but I'm not sure on that.

Our Oceania suite on deck 12 had 2 full baths, I believe the ones on deck 11 do not...the second bath does not have the shower ours had.

We liked the media room and didn't mind not having a TV in the living room. We didn't use the ones in the bedroom or the veranda.

We didn't want to be at the end of the ship...we were right next to the culinary center, more towards the center of the ship.

We will be in this suite for the third time next month...getting excited!

Thank you so much for all the feedback. It has helped me decide for certain to go with the Oceania suite. I was able to find some older threads with additional photos. I believe I have decided to go with the suites near the culinary center and not Aft as my wife and I have have found after 30 years of marriage and raising 4 children that an extra shower when getting ready for dinner or under the gun to get an early start for an excursion has worked wonders in our relationship lol. Thanks again for all the helpful information

We loved our Oceania suite but not the Media room. We found it too small - you are too close to the TV to watch it comfortably. We don't watch TV in the bedroom and would have liked one in the sitting room... But this wasn't a huge deal. The balcony is somewhat narrow - at least the ones on 12 are. I think the two on 11 are deeper.

I asked our butler about the Vista suite and he said that often when the ship is underway there is so much wind the terrace is not useable. Something to take into account.

We were lucky to have a Vista Suite- deck 12 on our last Transatlantic and it was beyond fantastic! The verandah is huge and includes a side balcony with 2 chairs- this area was always usable as it was protected from the wind. The table and chairs are tied down and are "released" upon request. All of the deck furniture is secured at night. It is quite windy but the views are breathtakingly beautiful!

The exercise room held the cushions for the outdoor furniture at night- otherwise we did not use the room.

The service was impeccable . It was a truly amazing experience. Our next cruise in May is booked in an Oceania Suite so I will be able to compare. I'm sure you will have a wonderful experience! Cathy

You probably have enough answers, but ...

We've sailed in an aft OC on Marina (11080) and a Deck 10 Vista, also on Marina 10001). We'll be in 9001 on our upcoming cruise in May.

Both categories are extremely comfortable. The two aft OC suites have a larger deck but a little less cabin room than the deck 12 OCs. We didn't mind only having a half bath (no shower in the second bathroom) but if you would want the shower, you should either go to Deck 12 OCs or Vistas. We visited one Deck 12 OC on our last cruise and I liked the layout better than the OC we were in -- the caveat being that we didn't really tour the suite; we were going by the living room space. As I said, their deck was smaller than ours, since ours was wrap-around.

We visited a Deck 8 Vista on our last cruise (8003) and disliked the layout there. Okay, "dislike" is too strong but we definitely preferred 10001 to 8003.

We thought 10001 was much more spacious and comfortable. (You enter 10001 from the front -- as if you were going to walk out to the poop deck, or whatever you call that space at the front. But 8003 was entered from the side and didn't seem as spacious. It may have had a larger deck.

When we were in 10001 it was a port intensive cruise in the Med so we didn't use the deck much -- therefore I can't speak to the wind issue. But if someone here loved the space on a TA, how bad could it be?

We used our deck a lot on the November TA when we were in the aft OC. Also, we had great views of ships docking in back of us ... notably the Seven Seas Mariner! Parallel parking a ship like that is fascinating. One of the behemoth ships would have been even more exciting ...

Mura

See post #15 on this link http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1784636 . As you can see, deck 10 Vista suites are the smallest overall.

Travelcat,

I looked at that post and yes, according to the figures entered there the 10th floor VS is smaller.

But I have to say that the perception on entering the deck 8 suite is that it is a lot smaller than the deck 10 suite. Basically I'm going by the living room space although I did go into the bedroom (which to me seemed about the same as the deck 10 suite). I didn't check the bathroom there.

I'll have to see what I think about the deck 9 suite when we occupy it.

Personally, from what I saw of 8003 I would opt for an OC ... but the likelihood of our being in these elite suites in the future is very minimal. We're booked on the April 2015 Lima-NYC cruise in a PH. We aren't usually up in the top suites although are most recent cruises were there. (And that first one was courtesy of Oceania because we accepted an offer to switch cruises.)

Mura