Regatta vs. Island Princess

[Lrob]

Hi All:

 

I have two choices for a Christmas Panama Canal Cruise: Regatta or Princess, Island Princess.

 

Room will be PH on Regatta ; Vista Suite on IP. So both suites.

 

Price is a bit better on Princess. Ports are slightly better on Princess. Regatta goes to Guatamala while IP goes to Nicaragua (I prefer Nica). Regatta goes to Key West and IP goes to Aruba (I prefer Aruba).

 

Pool time is important. Princess has more pools, but the ship is a lot larger (1900 pass.). Don't know about the pools on Regatta. There are 8 sea days and two pools. Main one and the one at the spa. Will chair space be a problem.

 

Does the Oceania experience on the Regatta make up enought difference for the two lesser ports and slightly higher price?

 

Never sailed Oceania.

 

Doing Siversea this summer. Have sailed Celebrity alot and Regeant a couple of times.

 

Thanks for any insight.

[Oceans&Rivers]

It has been years since I cruised on Princess, but I have been told the Island and Coral Princess ships are very nice for the Panama Canal, and you have pointed out some port preferences with the Princess itinerary.

 

However, there is a very big difference in suites between Princess and Oceania. Princess, if I am not mistaken, discontinued butler service in suites years ago. So, while you will get more space and amenities, you won't get better service.

If you want to dine on your balcony, you'll probably pay an extra fee.

 

For that reason alone, I would choose Oceania. Our butler, and having the ability to dine in our suite from the restaurant menus, really made our trip on Regatta very special.

[LHT28]

Regatta has 1 pool but 1/3 of the passenger the IP has so no fighting for water space ;)

 

It really is what is important to you that counts

 

If you like formal nights ..go Princess

If you like to line up for most things ...go Princess

If you like to pay for specialty restaurants ...go princess

 

If you drink sodas, bottled water, milkshakes, espresso, cappuccino with No extra charges ...go Oceania

If you like open dining ...go Oceania

 

I do not know the size of the Vista suites on Princess so you will have to decide which has the space you require

 

I am sure whatever cruise you choose will be fine

 

We have done 1 Princess cruise & several Oceania cruises so my preference is with O ....YMMV

 

Lyn

[Floridiana]

After three Princess cruises and one Oceania, guess what we booked next. Of course, Oceania. The Regatta was better maintained than all three Princess ships were, and Regatta's food was MUCH better prepared ... also berries for breakfast, wonderful icecream etc.

 

There were good things on the Princess ships, and itinerary and price were right.

[lewes]

Hi All:

 

I have two choices for a Christmas Panama Canal Cruise: Regatta or Princess, Island Princess.

 

Room will be PH on Regatta ; Vista Suite on IP. So both suites.

 

Price is a bit better on Princess. Ports are slightly better on Princess. Regatta goes to Guatamala while IP goes to Nicaragua (I prefer Nica). Regatta goes to Key West and IP goes to Aruba (I prefer Aruba).

 

Pool time is important. Princess has more pools, but the ship is a lot larger (1900 pass.). Don't know about the pools on Regatta. There are 8 sea days and two pools. Main one and the one at the spa. Will chair space be a problem.

 

 

Does the Oceania experience on the Regatta make up enought difference for the two lesser ports and slightly higher price?

 

Never sailed Oceania.

 

Doing Siversea this summer. Have sailed Celebrity alot and Regeant a couple of times.

 

Thanks for any insight.

 

We sailed on The IP last summer in Alaska. We did not stay in a suite but in a balcony cabin. We felt the service was fair not great in all areas of the ship.

The food was OK but nothing stood out in term of taste or quality.

[karonius]

We sailed on The IP last summer in Alaska. We did not stay in a suite but in a balcony cabin. We felt the service was fair not great in all areas of the ship.

The food was OK but nothing stood out in term of taste or quality.

 

I'll second this comment. We just got off the IP in August. The cruise, food, and service were fine. It just wasn't Oceania. We felt the food to be ok but very ordinary. Also, found it interesting that there was no sommelier, or at least we didn't see one.

 

I could go on and on....and don't get me started on the ship photographer!

 

Bottom line..we will book our next cruise on Oceania (thinking about Regent but afraid to leave a (known) good thing.

 

Good luck and happy travels.

[capecodder2]

I don't know the size of the IP pool, but Regatta's is very small, should that be important to you. Oceania's is good to cool off in.

[LuAnn]

a little like an apple and an orange. We have sailed both ships...and would sail O in a heart beat over Princess. We have sailed Princess in the past..but we believe the food has really gone down hill...and the Island is one of their older ships which is vey dated. As you may agree..a day at sea is great on ANY ship...but a choice between these two would be aA"no contest" for us. Enjoy the PC...it is amazing! LuAnn

[Lrob]

Thank you all for such wonderful insights. It looks like it is going to be O. Now I have to wait over a year. Planning will be fun.

[spindrift]

Please understand that I LOVE Oceania, and I also am Elite on Princess (no, I am not a travel agent), but I have done the Panama Canal 7 times on various ships. Regatta has "cabanas" forward topside, and they block views, in my opinion; therefore, Island Princess would be my choice.I will never do an O ship when I am on a trip that a forward view is significant simply because of the cabanas.

 

We love Island Princess--not a behemouth ship, but lovely. You can see forward. The last time we went thru the Canal, we were in the aft jut out stateroom with our kids having the 3 staterooms behind us. We all gathered in our room looking forward. They loved it.

 

Which ever you choose, enjoy the Canal, and be sure to be up early to experience the whole transit. Wear head gear. It gets really, really hot.

 

Let me add that I just looked back over some of the answers. I'm not sure if you were asking about pools or food. No doubt O has fabulous food, but if you want to experience the Canal, the IP would be the best choice. O has the fabulous crew, don't care about the pools but do love the food.

[Mura]

Spindrift,

 

I happen to agree with you about the cabanas on the "R" ships. I was extremely frustrated on our Norway cruise two years ago -- the weather was too cold for anyone to use the cabanas, but the screens to keep out the sun also kept out the view so even with the cabanas empty you couldn't go up and get a front-facing photo.

 

I suppose the solution is to have a Vista suite ... :D

 

I won't compare the two lines because I haven't been on Princess in very many years.

 

I also agree about getting up EARLY to see the whole approach. For us, that was 6am. I'm not a morning person but it was well worth it. We stayed "up top" for several hours, then retreated to our balcony for the remainder of the crossing.

 

This is a never-to-be-forgotten trip. You won't regret doing it no matter which line you choose.

 

Mura

[Love.II.Cruise]

Hi All:

 

I have two choices for a Christmas Panama Canal Cruise: Regatta or Princess, Island Princess.

 

Room will be PH on Regatta ; Vista Suite on IP. So both suites.

 

Price is a bit better on Princess. Ports are slightly better on Princess. Regatta goes to Guatamala while IP goes to Nicaragua (I prefer Nica). Regatta goes to Key West and IP goes to Aruba (I prefer Aruba).

 

Pool time is important. Princess has more pools, but the ship is a lot larger (1900 pass.). Don't know about the pools on Regatta. There are 8 sea days and two pools. Main one and the one at the spa. Will chair space be a problem.

 

Does the Oceania experience on the Regatta make up enought difference for the two lesser ports and slightly higher price?

 

Never sailed Oceania.

 

Doing Siversea this summer. Have sailed Celebrity alot and Regeant a couple of times.

 

Thanks for any insight.

 

We are going on our first O cruise in Nov. so take this with a grain of salt. We married on Island Princess and sailed for an anniversary last Dec/Jan. We are Platinum members on Princess and we were the first to board after back to back cruisers on Princess last Dec/Jan. We went straight to the Sanctuary to book it for the cruise and barely got two loungers for the cruise. This is a private area of the aft area of the ship with a private pool for those in the Sanctuary.

 

We stayed in a Mini-Suite on Princess and there are no butlers, only extra space. The food was good, but I expect the food on Oceania to be much much better.

 

I will say that the Island Princess has great bow and aft public areas that are great for entering and exiting the canal! They are discussed on the Princess thread as hidden doors to the bow and aft areas. They are awesome for pictures. I wrote a thorough review with pictures of our trip. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1586027

 

I wish you a great cruise in whatever you decide!

[Lrob]

Thank you for the additional insights. We are booked on O and have purchased a cabana for the entire cruise. Our cruising companions have also purchased one so we will have double the space.

 

Does this alleviate the concerns with regard to no forward view? Or do you both think IP is still

better for the canal?

 

I think we will be at the locks in the afternoon as we are coming from the Pacific side, but could be wrong about that.

[spindrift]

If you are doing the complete transit, you will have locks both in the morning and in the afternoon. Arriving from the Pacific, you must be up early to see the Bridge of the Americas.

 

Still, choice is IP. Cabanas hot. BUT, I'm sure you will enjoy them. Do enjoy. Also, make sure you have a cabana that is on the side of the canal you are transiting or you have wasted your $$$ and will have to leave the cabana to look down at the mules and other activities. Nice thing about the cabana, you will have your own steward and can ask for drinks, food, etc. etc. O is a great line--not the best for the canal.

[Oceans&Rivers]

I wrote a thorough review with pictures of our trip. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1586027

 

 

Very enjoyable, thank you. One of the pictures caught my eye:

 

 

It shows my favorite piece of workout equipment in the foreground.

Love that rower!