NCL Cruisers Tried Oceania?

Have any NCL cruisers tried Oceania? If so, what did you think? Thanks.

Have any NCL cruisers tried Oceania? If so, what did you think? Thanks.

We started on NCL, moved to Celebrity, then on to Oceania. It is the best fit for us. Smaller ships, upscale so that the entire ship would seem like a Haven. Very few children.

Entertainment is not its strong suit, but there is enough to keep us happy...we are most likely to just listen to piano player or string quartets while having drinks before dinner. We generally make dinner our evening activity.

The food is generally very good...but you can get a miss here and there. Lobster is available just about everywhere ...even the pool grill. They have fresh berries in the buffet in the morning along will killer croissants (they bring in special flour and butter). Nice padded loungers around the pool. No photographers and very little “selling” around the ship. Excursions are ghastly expensive..but we usually DIY. DH doesn’t drink, so the O life OBC option works well for us as it pays for my drinks and some of the gratuities. Free internet is included with O life.

All soft drinks, water and coffee are included in the fare, as is one turn at each specialty dining venue. More specialty dining reservations are possible once you are on board if you can be flexible. Lower cabin categories might have difficulty scoring a table for two at a specialty during prime dining time, but we dine late so we’ve never had a problem ( higher categories can reserve first).

The buffet (Terrace Cafe ) has sushi, all the MDR options, a cooked to order grill, pasta and Asian station at night.

We seem to have a knack of choosing cruises that are not selling as well, so a about a week before sailing our TA has called with upgrade offers. Probably just luck, but we’ve never sailed below Concierge level and have started with an inside.

We have both an NCL and an Oceania cruise booked. The NCL is SA around the horn in a Penthouse. But, to tell you the truth, I keep looking at the O sailing that is a bit later and thinking I might rather do that in an inside...but it is a BA to Lima...just a bit too long for us. If it had been a BA to Santiago just a bit earlier when I knew the penguins would still be around...I would have chosen to sail O in a lesser cabin then I have booked on NCL.

Oceania pricing can be confusing, if you have questions I can answer.

We started on NCL, moved to Celebrity, then on to Oceania. It is the best fit for us. Smaller ships, upscale so that the entire ship would seem like a Haven. Very few children.

 

Entertainment is not its strong suit, but there is enough to keep us happy...we are most likely to just listen to piano player or string quartets while having drinks before dinner. We generally make dinner our evening activity.

 

The food is generally very good...but you can get a miss here and there. Lobster is available just about everywhere ...even the pool grill. They have fresh berries in the buffet in the morning along will killer croissants (they bring in special flour and butter). Nice padded loungers around the pool. No photographers and very little “selling” around the ship. Excursions are ghastly expensive..but we usually DIY. DH doesn’t drink, so the O life OBC option works well for us as it pays for my drinks and some of the gratuities. Free internet is included with O life.

 

All soft drinks, water and coffee are included in the fare, as is one turn at each specialty dining venue. More specialty dining reservations are possible once you are on board if you can be flexible. Lower cabin categories might have difficulty scoring a table for two at a specialty during prime dining time, but we dine late so we’ve never had a problem ( higher categories can reserve first).

 

The buffet (Terrace Cafe ) has sushi, all the MDR options, a cooked to order grill, pasta and Asian station at night.

 

We seem to have a knack of choosing cruises that are not selling as well, so a about a week before sailing our TA has called with upgrade offers. Probably just luck, but we’ve never sailed below Concierge level and have started with an inside.

 

We have both an NCL and an Oceania cruise booked. The NCL is SA around the horn in a Penthouse. But, to tell you the truth, I keep looking at the O sailing that is a bit later and thinking I might rather do that in an inside...but it is a BA to Lima...just a bit too long for us. If it had been a BA to Santiago just a bit earlier when I knew the penguins would still be around...I would have chosen to sail O in a lesser cabin then I have booked on NCL.

 

Oceania pricing can be confusing, if you have questions I can answer.

We did O on a 12 day SA. Our dd wasn't with us and she would have been bored, but if you're ok without a lot of big entertainment at night, it's awesome. Loved the size, included dining venues, low key atmosphere. Completely different than a large NCL ship. Love both, but at different times and places.

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Have any NCL cruisers tried Oceania? If so, what did you think? Thanks.

We have done two transatlantic cruises on Oceania. Even though we like NCL and are Platinum cruisers with two more cruises booked, If we could afford it we would do all our cruises on Oceania.

Like NCL the attire is casual, no formal nights, no assigned dining. Unlike NCL though there is no charge for the Oceania specialty restaurants although reservations are required and limited. Personally we feel that the food and presentation is better on Oceania.

The entertainment has more selections on NCL but we've enjoyed what is available on Oceania.