Considering our first Oceania cruise

We've previously sailed Azamara (3), Celebrity (3), Seabourn (1 boy were we spoiled), Princess (1), Windstar (1) and Royal Caribbean (3, back in the day). I'm getting the feeling that Oceania will be more like Azamara but not sure.

First challenge: picking a cabin on Marina. Is the upgrade to Concierge Class worth it (vs a regular verandah cabin)? What does it get you?

What are the pluses and minuses of a 1250 person ship vs. the 670 or so that we've liked a lot?

What other factors should we consider on making "the big leap"? We like the itinerary which is good because we have only 2 choices for the timeframe we're looking at. (The other option is a Seadream which is a little, itty, bitty ship. Leaning against it but the itinerary is more interesting.)

Anything else anyone can suggest to look at for a prospective newbie like me?

Edit: There are also promos available: a choice of OBC, 3 excursions, or a beverage package. Thoughts on this? Thanks.

Best food at sea (IMHO). General O offer includes:

• AIRFARE included with Olife Choice*
  
• FREE Internet*
  
• FREE dining at all specialty restaurants
  
• FREE and unlimited soft drinks, bottled water, cappuccino, espresso, teas and juices (O coffee is excellent)
  
• FREE shuttle service from ship to city center in many ports of call – a daily value of up to $50 per guest
  
• FREE and unlimited access to Canyon Ranch SpaClub® private Spa Terrace+
  
• FREE room service dining 24 hours a day
  
• FREE Artist Loft enrichment center++
  

Concierge Level Privileges

In addition to Suite & Stateroom Amenities

• Priority Noon ship embarkation with priority luggage delivery
  
• Exclusive card-only access to private Concierge Lounge staffed by a dedicated Concierge, featuring complimentary soft drinks, coffees and snacks throughout the day
  
• Complimentary welcome bottle of Champagne
  
• Priority online specialty restaurant reservations
  
• Unlimited access to Canyon Ranch SpaClub® private Spa Terrace
  
• Laptop computer with wireless Internet access
  
• FREE Internet Package beginning with Winter 2015-16 voyages
  
• iPad® upon request+
  
• Exclusive discounts on Internet usage plans
  
• Variety of Bulgari amenities
  
• Complimentary Oceania Cruises logo tote bag
  
• Cashmere lap blankets, perfect for relaxing on your veranda
  
• Complimentary shoe shine service
  
• Complimentary pressing of garments upon embarkation++
  

 

Anything else anyone can suggest to look at for a prospective newbie like me?

 

The best suggestion I could make would be to spend some time reading the threads here. Most of what you're asking about has been discussed extensively here. Just type in some of the keywords from your post in search and you'll find enough to keep you busy for awhile.

In the end, we choose between the big and smaller ships based on itinerary, and love both sizes. Smaller ships provide a nicer, smaller ship experience, but when I first cruised on Marina, I found it wasn't bad. It wasn't all that much more people-populated or different from the smaller ships I was used to (Regatta, etc.) Of course, the smaller ships have fewer restaurants, so if you're going on a long cruise (more than two weeks), you might want to go with the larger ships - IF you have a choice, which isn't always the case. I did like the Artist Loft on Marina quite a bit, but perhaps others could care less about that.

We were once upgraded (free) to a concierge room, and I decided I wouldn't pay for one in the future. However, I don't spend a lot of time in the room, and don't really care all that much about extra amenities, so perhaps I'm not the one to ask about whether concierge is worth the extra money. Besides, it sounds like they've added some things since I was in concierge. About the only thing on that list that really sounds the least bit important to me is priority restaurant reservations. It would be nice to (hopefully) have a much wider choice in what night, what time, and with whom (sharing or non) I'd be dining. When you have to wait until 45 days out, there are fewer choices, although so far I've never felt I've gotten "the dregs" by being in the last group to book. (It does help to be flexible and book right when your window opens up, though.)

I haven't cruised on Azamara, but would guess the experience would be somewhat similar to that of Oceania. I HAVE cruised on Celebrity (Summit twice) and a small Princess ship once and found Oceania superior to Princess and especially Celebrity, especially when it came to food and space/attention per person (Celebrity was way too crowded) speed of room cleaning by cabin attendants, and overall cleanliness. Celebrity had better entertainment and cheaper excursions, though.

In the end if I were you, I'd go with whichever itinerary and ship combination suits you better, unless you plan to spend a lot of time on the ship. I'd go with regular veranda room, preferably mid-ship just because that will minimize walking and rolling/pitching, if any should occur.

For the O Life choice, I'd probably go with the OBC, since that gives you a bit more flexibility than the other choices. Obviously, though, your choice will depend upon what's important to you.

The differences in the ship sizes is more specialty restaurants 4 instead of 2

A wine paring restaurant (fee based)

Culinary centre (fee based)

artist loft

yes there are more passengers but the ship is laid out so it still feels less crowded the main stream line

bathroom in the standard cabin are larger

You can check thread on Azamara VS Oceania to see what other are saying

it all depends on what is important to

Enjoy whatever cruise you choose