Oceania is overrated! After two Oceania cruises I'm happy to go back to Celebrity

I would only compare Celebrity Suite Class with upscale lines like Oceania or Crystal. And based on my cruises last year Celebrity Suite Class can be compared to them -- both for food/service and on price. But I recently looked into a new cruise in a "Celebrity Suite" and was shocked to see that the included package has been downgraded to Classic Beverage -- meaning I would still be nickel-and-dimed even in a Suite! So I guess we'll be moving on up...

If price is your main attraction, Celebrity is usually less expensive than Oceania. If you like great food, fabulous service, gorgeous cabins, and luxurious amenities, Oceania is a better choice. It often costs more and for me is worth it. Having sailed on both lines and liking both, there are a lot of differences. I also have sailed many times on Azamara. Azamara is like Celebrity with some nice amenities. Azamara includes most beverages, has an included evening event, and excellent service. Azamara and Oceania are the 2 lines that are often compared. They both sail on the old R ships which hold about 700 passengers. Smaller is nice if you want to avoid crowds. When I just compare the cruise experience, I prefer Oceania's 1200 passenger ships like Marina and Riviera. They are more luxurious than the R ships. Marina's regular ov and veranda cabins are huge, have large marble bathrooms, and furnishings that are fantastic. Marina's beds are heavenly. Every cabin gets large fluffy towels, flowers, and fruit. The food on Oceania is superb. All venues serving food are good. I even like their buffet. The specialty restaurants are excellent....and no surcharge. The daily tea service is as good as the finest in London. The cost on Oceania is more than most Celebrity cruises. Is it worth it? Only you can answer that. Everyone has different needs. In picking a cruise, I have many options. For me, the location, time of year, length of cruise are important. I also like to visit new places. I also have my set of acceptable cruise lines and ships. If I am traveling with family or friends, we have to agree on a trip. Sometimes that makes choosing a cruise an interesting experience. I do have my list of places that I will Not go and ships that I will not even consider. Given all that, I would sail on Celebrity or Oceania if they were going where I want to go, fit my time restraints, and fit my budget.

If price is your main attraction, Celebrity is usually less expensive than Oceania. If you like great food, fabulous service, gorgeous cabins, and luxurious amenities, Oceania is a better choice. It often costs more and for me is worth it. Having sailed on both lines and liking both, there are a lot of differences. I also have sailed many times on Azamara. Azamara is like Celebrity with some nice amenities. Azamara includes most beverages, has an included evening event, and excellent service. Azamara and Oceania are the 2 lines that are often compared. They both sail on the old R ships which hold about 700 passengers. Smaller is nice if you want to avoid crowds. When I just compare the cruise experience, I prefer Oceania's 1200 passenger ships like Marina and Riviera. They are more luxurious than the R ships. Marina's regular ov and veranda cabins are huge, have large marble bathrooms, and furnishings that are fantastic. Marina's beds are heavenly. Every cabin gets large fluffy towels, flowers, and fruit. The food on Oceania is superb. All venues serving food are good. I even like their buffet. The specialty restaurants are excellent....and no surcharge. The daily tea service is as good as the finest in London. The cost on Oceania is more than most Celebrity cruises. Is it worth it? Only you can answer that. Everyone has different needs. In picking a cruise, I have many options. For me, the location, time of year, length of cruise are important. I also like to visit new places. I also have my set of acceptable cruise lines and ships. If I am traveling with family or friends, we have to agree on a trip. Sometimes that makes choosing a cruise an interesting experience. I do have my list of places that I will Not go and ships that I will not even consider. Given all that, I would sail on Celebrity or Oceania if they were going where I want to go, fit my time restraints, and fit my budget.

I agree with everything you just stated. I enjoy both X and O and timing and itinerary is 1st and foremost. I am also willing to pay more for O because you do get what you pay for.

I did some research on O, but the itineraries I was looking at were only for the older ships.

I did get the impression that it was sometimes difficult to get a table for two. That's what we like. Whenever I mentioned that on the O board the response was "we're a very friendly group."

We like casinos and on those smaller ships that's pretty lacking as is the entertainment .... nothing like the fabulous entertainment on Celebrity.:rolleyes: Kidding here, folks, but perhaps if not worse then certainly more limited.

Unless you purchase the drink package, the drinks are very small and very expensive. People were stating that to get a normal-size drink you have to order a double, which comes to about $25.

The specialty restaurants are free on O (I think. I get what's included on O vs. what's included on AZ mixed up). However, I don't think it's first come, first reserved on O. The suites get first dibs on the reservations, if I recall.

So not for us, for now anyway.

We took our first Oceania last January and were more pleased than we ever expected. The service was outstanding and the food was great. Even the buffet was excellent.

We have never sailed with a friendlier group of people. We spent almost all of our evenings in conversation with people we met. Over all a very well traveled group with lots of stories to tell. Sadly we are not so well traveled and had little to share:D.

It is more expensive but not vastly so. Our standard balcony on the Riviera was maybe 15% more than concierge on Celebrity.

We like Celebrity and will be sailing them but if funds allow we will be on Oceania.

Is Oceania over-rated? Yes and No. It is a cruiseline geared for travelers and not really for the traditional cruiser. They currently have the most exotic itineraries on the high seas for a non-luxury line. They are certainly not cheap. Their excursions are overpriced as well as their drinks. Happy hour is very popular as you may guess with the 2 for 1 drinks or a heavily discounted special. If your itinerary takes you to the same places as other mass market lines, you will feel like they are a bit over-priced, i.e. Alaska, Panama Canal, or Caribbean. Entertainment is poor compared to the mass market lines. My last Oceania cruise was from Papeete to Lima while my next one is from Bangkok to Mumbai. No mass market lines are doing these itineraries. They are actually decent values if you compared them to how much it would cost you if you had to replicate a similiar itinerary. Are you going to wait for your Celebrity or your favorite cruiseline to do these exotic itineraries? My experience is that you have to grab it when it is available (provided you can afford it, whether you think it is a good value is another matter). Oceania seems to offer it more times than not. Comparing Celebrity to Oceania is like comparing apples to oranges.