Celebrity Suite vs. Oceania Balcony?

[mafig]

We had a cruise booked on Edge in a S2 which was cancelled.  Looking at the same cruise next year the pricing is much more.

Just found a cruise for 10 days on Riviera in a balcony which is cheaper than Edge 7 day suite.

We've never been on Oceania (although we do get a lot of their brochures .... LOL).

 

May I have your thoughts?  Perhaps from someone who has done both?

 

With Celebrity's suite we were getting the 4 perks, and with Oceania we'd have to pay.  We'd probably only go for the beverage package.

 

Also pricing the brand new Enchanted Princess....also more reasonable than Edge for a suite.....can't help but feel Celebrity will have to rethink their pricing.  

[Ken the cruiser]

41 minutes ago, mafig said:

We had a cruise booked on Edge in a S2 which was cancelled.  Looking at the same cruise next year the pricing is much more.

Just found a cruise for 10 days on Riviera in a balcony which is cheaper than Edge 7 day suite.

We've never been on Oceania (although we do get a lot of their brochures .... LOL).

 

May I have your thoughts?  Perhaps from someone who has done both?

 

With Celebrity's suite we were getting the 4 perks, and with Oceania we'd have to pay.  We'd probably only go for the beverage package.

 

Also pricing the brand new Enchanted Princess....also more reasonable than Edge for a suite.....can't help but feel Celebrity will have to rethink their pricing.  

We had a lot of fun on our first Oceania cruise, which was on the Riviera, and highly recommend you give them a try if you find an itinerary that interests you. Just know they are a more "relaxing" cruise line when compared to X or Princess. But they do offer free specialty restaurant dining whereas X and Princess charge for theirs. But then on X when you get to eat in the Luminae, who needs to go to a specialty restaurant. 

 

As far as prices go on Celebrity, we have always found if we book one of their cruises when they first get released, we usually can get the cabin we want at a very afforable rate. However, if you wait until 12-18 months out to book, the prices for the more popular cruises have gone up quite significantly. 

 

We also enjoy booking mini-suites on Princess itineraries and with the optional all-inclusive fares they're offering now, you can usually get a pretty good deal when compared to similar Oceania and X cabins on like itineraries. We also, on occasion, have found some pretty good suite deals with Princess on some of the longer 3-5 week itineraries. 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2020 by Ken the cruiser

[maggie.1008]

I enjoy both Celebrity and Oceania not  big fan of Princess. If you have never been on Oceania I would do that. The Riviera is my favorite ship, of all the cruise lines. 

Oceania comes with one perk. We choose the OBC and use that for drinks and wine. They also have a happy hour every night , 2 for the price of 1. 

Other than the show Oceania doesn`t have much life night if that`s important to you. 

[39august]

Do Oceania ships have casinos  please? And how large are the balcony cabins? I have a friend who recently sailed Oceania for the first time and she said the food was absolutely the best she'd had on any cruise: she normally cruises either Princess, river cruises, or Seaborne.

[mafig]

48 minutes ago, maggie.1008 said:

I enjoy both Celebrity and Oceania not  big fan of Princess. If you have never been on Oceania I would do that. The Riviera is my favorite ship, of all the cruise lines. 

Oceania comes with one perk. We choose the OBC and use that for drinks and wine. They also have a happy hour every night , 2 for the price of 1. 

Other than the show Oceania doesn`t have much life night if that`s important to you. 

 

Night life isn't that important, although we sometimes enjoy an hour or so after dinner at the casino.  I assume the casino on O is on the small side?

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

20 minutes ago, 39august said:

Do Oceania ships have casinos  please? And how large are the balcony cabins? I have a friend who recently sailed Oceania for the first time and she said the food was absolutely the best she'd had on any cruise: she normally cruises either Princess, river cruises, or Seaborne.

Yes, each of their ships have a casino. The O class ships, Riviera and Marina, have enough cabin space for 2 people to be comfortable with a nice size bathroom. Their R class ships, Nautica, Regatta, insignia and Sirena, also have enough space for 2 people to be comfortable, but the bathrooms which come only with a small shower are much smaller. 

 

They do have tasty food. There is no doubt about that and their specialty restaurants are free!

[marieps]

We very much enjoyed our first O cruise last November.  On Regatta, and yes the bathroom (especially the shower) was tiny.  As was the casino...so small only 4 staff.   The staff was wonderful and the food was good, although as I've said on other boards I didn't find it that much better than Blu.  I loved the fact that the entertainment cast double dipped as the cruise director's staff.  Great kids and they got to know all 550 passengers.   A very enjoyable experience.

 

Been on Edge once but not in a suite, so really can't comment on what they may be like.  We did not enjoy the layout of the ship and the IV in our cabin was a negative.  The bridge took control of the window nearly everyday.   

[molemaui]

We sailed on Oceania's Riviera (concierge veranda) in July and the Edge (Sky Suite) this past February. 

 

Here are my observations: Oceania - food outstanding+++ as are the free specialty restaurants.  Much better than Silversea and Regent. Nice laid back atmosphere-non suite verandas were larger than basic Celebrity verandas. Liked the laundry rooms on each floor. You can pack a lot less on a 14 day cruise if you can do laundry. Just cancelled a September Oceania cruise. Whether it ends up going or not-too soon for me. Got my refund in 7 days. 

 

Celebrity-when booking a Sky Suite or higher on the Edge, you are in "Retreat" class and have access to a private dining room (Luminea) pool/sun deck and lounge. I won't say the food was better than Oceania but if Oceania was a "10", Luminea on Celebrity was a "9.75". Really liked the small ship feel access to Retreat offered. When you wanted other bars or entertainment, you simply got in the elevator. As an aside, we talked to people in "Infinity Verandas" who did not have access to Luminea. They liked the choice of restaurants but hated the crowds and felt the food was very good but not great. 

 

I like the 4 perks Celebrity gives you and am annoyed that Oceania only gives you one internet access. You have to buy an additional one if you want more. Their "O-Life" benefits are confusing regarding the drink package. If you choose the drink package as your O-Benefit, that just includes drinks during meals. You have to upgrade it if you want to drink whenever you want. It's only $20/PP/day but unless you ask a lot of questions beforehand, you may be disappointed in what you choose. We always tour privately so the tour options weren't a choice for us. 

 

Bottom line-LOVED both cruises and if and when I ocean cruise again, I will l sail both Oceania and Celebrity. For the near future, I'm returning my focus to river cruising. I somehow think (perhaps incorrectly) this may be a safer option plus we've had outstanding experiences on Uniworld. 

 

 

[mafig]

Thank you all, especially Molemaui....you've been on both the ships and both the  categories I am considering.  Having a hard time getting information about Oceania on their board.  While Celebrity is more expensive (NOW), I think the 4 perks helps even it out.  I am still considering a suite on the new Princes ship (Enchantment) also.  

[Nachosdelux]

I would book Oceania because is it 3 days longer.  

 

Oceania balcony versus Celebrity Suite are comparable in many regards.  

 

The Riviera is a beautiful ship and the food excellent.  If you factor in the (included) specialty restaurants, I prefer Oceania over Celebrity Suite/Luminae.

 

 

Edited May 3, 2020 by Nachosdelux

[maggie.1008]

I also loved my Edge cruise. We had a large Sunset Balcony and spent a lot of time on it. 

In the future I think we will go back to smaller ships with less people. 

The Riviera has 1250 passengers and that would be the max. I would want. 

We have  a Apex cruise booked in Nov. 2021 and will wait and see if we feel safe at that time. 

I am afraid the new restrictions will make cruising less enjoyable than in the "Olden Days "

[whitbob]

Based upon the price and length, I would Go with Oceania.  We have sailed on 7 Celebrity ships in the past 5 years, but all in Aqua, so I can't assess Retreat/Suite benefits and compare.  We sailed Oceania Marina in a Penthouse Suite which was nicely appointed, with a walk in closet and good size bathroom.  There was a lounge, but I think it was limited to snacks, concierge services and non-alcoholic drinks.  The food was overall better, and the (price included) specialty restaurants were all very good.  I can't remember what we did on the drinks package, but recall drinking nice wines.

 

Oceania entertainment is not big Broadway or production shows as Celebrity, but the enrichment activities were superior.  They had guest speakers, food/wine tastings, Cooking Classes (not just a demo), bridge groups, art classes, and a really nice Afternoon Tea service.  The itinerary was very port intensive, but we booked tours independently, so I can't comment on their excursions.

 

We have really enjoyed Celebrity, but we cruise them because of price. It is typically far less for a similar cruise on Celebrity, than Oceania, Silversea, etc...  When it comes to tendering, touring smaller ports, finding a chair at the pool in warmer climates the smaller cruise lines are a luxury experience.  Good luck making your decision, and planning your trip.

[Gracie115]

On 5/2/2020 at 3:05 PM, mafig said:

 

 

Also pricing the brand new Enchanted Princess....also more reasonable than Edge for a suite.....can't help but feel Celebrity will have to rethink their pricing.  

 

Can't comment on Oceania but have been in FULL suites on the Royal class of Princess which is what Enchanted is.  The suites are great, the balconies horribly small unless you get a corner aft.  However as nice as the rooms are Princess offers almost no perks with it's suites outside of specialty restaurant breakfast.  If we were choosing between the two we would pick Celebrity, even at a higher cost. 

[mafig]

1 hour ago, Gracie115 said:

 

Can't comment on Oceania but have been in FULL suites on the Royal class of Princess which is what Enchanted is.  The suites are great, the balconies horribly small unless you get a corner aft.  However as nice as the rooms are Princess offers almost no perks with it's suites outside of specialty restaurant breakfast.  If we were choosing between the two we would pick Celebrity, even at a higher cost. 

hi, Gracie,

I know about their lack of suite benefits.

However, they are offering "Princess Plus" which gives premium drinks package, free grats, and wifi.  

What I always hated about Princess was how they did their personal choice dining, but with Club Class (even though it's still a section of the dr roped off), we can come at any time and get a table for two.

Their cheapest full  suite is a tad less than $2200 p/p.😀 

I'm just not going to pay $1,000 more per person for Edge than what I had booked before they cancelled.

 

Since we''re not booking anything yet, we shall see if Celebrity brings their price down.  

[Gracie115]

1 hour ago, mafig said:

hi, Gracie,

I know about their lack of suite benefits.

However, they are offering "Princess Plus" which gives premium drinks package, free grats, and wifi.  

What I always hated about Princess was how they did their personal choice dining, but with Club Class (even though it's still a section of the dr roped off), we can come at any time and get a table for two.

Their cheapest full  suite is a tad less than $2200 p/p.😀 

I'm just not going to pay $1,000 more per person for Edge than what I had booked before they cancelled.

 

Since we''re not booking anything yet, we shall see if Celebrity brings their price down.  

 

We haven't sailed on the Edge and no plans to but I probably wouldn't pay that much extra either.  Club Class is better than their anytime that's for sure, our 1st experience was very good, our 2nd, on the same ship was very mediocre, frankly.  Princess does do a wonderful Balcony dinner that Celebrity can't match anywhere, really outstanding and well worth the $$. ($50 per person).

 

Oh, and Princess WIFI is leaps and bounds better than X!!  Even when not free it is very affordable.  Our 10 night on the Regal was $69.95 for one device. 

 

But between the less than stellar Club Class  on our last cruise and the lousy way they have kept people "informed" (or should I say NOT informed) about refund status on cancelled cruises we aren't looking at Princess for future cruises at this time.