Which Would You Choose?

[Aloha 1]

Two South America cruises that venture down to Antarctic waters. One on Oceania Marina, the other on Regent Voyager. Ports and number of nights essentially the same. Oceania cabin is a Penthouse Cat 2, Regent cabin is a Cat F Veranda. O cost without air is $9,400 per person. Regent cost again without air is $15,150 PP.

At first glance it appears the choice should be a no-brainer but does the Regent ship get any closer to Antarctic land than the O ship??  If not, why the big discrepancy in cost? Both cruises embark within 10 days of each other. Thoughts?

[tripperva]

Regent is mostly inclusive and Oceania charges for all sorts of stuff not included. Both are very good but Regent is more upscale.

[TomTN]

You might want to look at National Geographic if visiting Antarctica is important to you.

[Gcto]

as tripperva already mentioned, Regent is all inclusive, excursions etc, specialty dining, drinks etc all included. Plus their normal fare includes Biz class flights to and from international destinations. They will deduct 3700 if you get your own (hence the 15599), but if you price it out you might be surprised on what a biz class trip can cost. 

You can price it out and add the price for excursions and outings to the O price, add the biz class flight and then a drink package per person, plus incidentals (tips etc) which as already included.  You might find that a) the price is not that different or b) you might save a little bit. But... I find the piece of mind, not to worry about this or that worth something as well. It's like Ron Popeil...you set it (book it) and forget it 🙂

 

[kjbacon]

We are Regent cruisers with an upcoming reservation on O Riviera, sister ship to Marina. Mind you, I haven’t been on O yet but so far my experience is telling me that the price on O is not lower than Regent and the aggravation level is high. My interest in O comes from what I’ve read about the food being so good and my desire to dine in Jacques. I should add at this point though that the food on Regent is fabulous! My husband (not known for his patience lol but is known for his enjoyment of a good Bordeaux) has already asked me to stick with Regent moving forward). The cost of shore excursions on O is high so plan for $100-150 per person per excursion. The cost for the supposedly comparable drink package is $59 per person, per day and mandatory for both parties (not an option for only one of the two guests). If you like good wine like we do, the issue gets far more complicated because it seems that the quality of wine included in the O $59pp per day package is not good like the regularly included wine on Regent. We are also learning that you cannot get a bottle of wine delivered to your cabin on O, only one glass of wine at a time and we know from experience that Regent is happy to send a bottle of wine or two to your cabin whenever you want. This issue, along with the fewer and lower quality of wine choices has my husband staring at me blank and asking me to reconsider)! There’s also tips that you have to calculate, included on Regent and not on O. So, add in the cost of tips, excursions, and drinks to get a more accurate price comparison.

[forgap]

Keep in mind that neither cruise is an expedition cruise where you actually land via zodiac and interact with animal life.  These cruises are “drivebys”  and, depending on the weather can be just fine.  The lighting and atmosphere in Antarctica is stunning.  
 

we have mostly sailed a regent but we were on O Marina once.  I did not think the food was great, the bars were dead, the booze package was a non starter as we sailed around Spain and O allowed us to bring wine on board.  They would charge a corkage fee in the dining room.  I prefer Regent.  I felt nickel and dime on O.  

[HotRoot]

Have you looked at Seabourn?  Our Antarctica cruise was fantastic.  We did zodiac landings for three days.  My rule is, I have to walk on land to say I have been there.  I walked on a lot of penguin poop.

 

I believe SilverSeas also does landings.     

[flossie009]

2 hours ago, forgap said:

Keep in mind that neither cruise is an expedition cruise where you actually land via zodiac and interact with animal life.  These cruises are “drivebys”

I agree. If we were considering an itinerary to the Antarctic we would choose lines with true Expedition ships, to allow the full ‘experience’.

 

If, however, you just want a luxury cruise to that part of the world then go for Regent.

[briar14]

Definitely Regent for the reasons others have mentioned. But, if you want to put “boots on the ground” in Antarctica take an expedition cruise. We used Silver Sea in early 2020, South Georgia Island and Antarctica. It was fabulous. We lucked out with the weather, ocean conditions, and superb expedition staff. National Geographic, Seaborne, and Ponant also do expedition cruising.

[pingpong1]

16 hours ago, Aloha 1 said:

Two South America cruises that venture down to Antarctic waters. One on Oceania Marina, the other on Regent Voyager. Ports and number of nights essentially the same. Oceania cabin is a Penthouse Cat 2, Regent cabin is a Cat F Veranda. O cost without air is $9,400 per person. Regent cost again without air is $15,150 PP.

At first glance it appears the choice should be a no-brainer but does the Regent ship get any closer to Antarctic land than the O ship??  If not, why the big discrepancy in cost? Both cruises embark within 10 days of each other. Thoughts?

Hello Aloha - As other's have already said, you seem to be (erroneously) assuming that Regent and Oceania are essentially "the same" product, and that the only difference is in the Fares.  The comparison is not between "2 apples" but rather, between just an apple and...a warm apple cobbler topped with French vanilla ice cream!  🤣  It is not the fare that is the differentiator, but all the "included extras" that you receive for the (higher) fare on Regent (and have to pay extra for on Oceania).  Regards

[Aloha 1]

Ok, looks like we need some clarification here. First, I'd love to take a zodiac tour but DW nixes that so this is a compromise. Second, we've sailed twice on Regent and 5 times on O so very familiar with both. Third, both parties do NOT have to purchase a drink package if you want one. Fourth, the prices I referenced were without air for both cruises hence the Regent cruise comes in at $5750 PP higher.

 

Now a premium drink package on O costs $1392 for the 20 day cruise. The O fare also includes 8 shore excursions (4 each). Both cruises are "sea day" intensive ( Drake Passage, Chile Fjords, Atlantic, Antarctic waters) so additional shore excursions won't add much. Those two items are the only "add ons" between O and R. What I was really asking had more to do with how close to land does Regent get as compared to O. So if anyone has taken this trip before on Regent, I'd like to know their thoughts on that.

[Pcardad]

Distance to land depends on ice flow conditions which can change in 15 minutes. Neither has an ice-breaker rated hull and I would want that. Silversea is probably the leader in Antarctica cruises/expeditions.

[wcsdkqh]

Last time I checked, O does not include gratuities in base fare, so that would be another add-on. Obviously, not a huge amount, but still should be part of someone’s calculation.

[kjbacon]

Drink packages have to be purchased for each member of the party.

[Aloha 1]

1 hour ago, wcsdkqh said:

Last time I checked, O does not include gratuities in base fare, so that would be another add-on. Obviously, not a huge amount, but still should be part of someone’s calculation.

Already covered by our TA.

[Aloha 1]

1 hour ago, kjbacon said:

Drink packages have to be purchased for each member of the party.

Not true. I know from experience.

[aventureux]

Ponant Cruise line is my recommendation for expeditions   Website: Us.ponant.com.        It is a French company that has staff that is fluent in English for all customer services.  

 

Otherwise, I am totally loyal to RSSC for “standard” cruising.

[docmark]

7 minutes ago, Aloha 1 said:

Not true. I know from experience.

You have not been on Oceania for several years. Current policy is you have to buy drink packages as a couple

[forgap]

Ponant was absolutely wonderful in Antarctica!   First landing and this is what awaited us.  Don’t you just love the French?

[rallydave]

We've done Antarctica on Seabourn and set foot on land 6 days in a row.  Not sure there would be much if any difference in location to land on O or R.  The bigger ships like O and R have to stay further away from land due to their draft.

 

And, don't see much if any land while there mostly snow covered and most of the beauty is the scenery and mountains which pretty sure you would be seeing from the approx. same distance  Many people have compared O and R price wise and depending on drinks and excursions and/or size of suite the differences in the end are comparable.

 

Have you removed the air credit from Regent as basic fares do include Business Air as others have stated so really surprised and the $5750 difference.so subtracting the air credit would get them closer but, unless you are using air miles you won't be able to get Business Air for the credit R provides.

 

Best to do Seabourn and DW could just stay onboard while you take the Zodiacs.  The Seabourn ships get extremely close to the land/snow.  Close enough that some zodiac rides are less than 10 minuts. 

[TrulyBlonde]

21 minutes ago, forgap said:

Ponant was absolutely wonderful in Antarctica!   First landing and this is what awaited us.  Don’t you just love the French?

Ditto! We also loved our Ponant Antarctica cruise. Let me state this differently, everything but the waves 😞

[wcsdkqh]

Docmark is correct regarding drink package. Feel free to check the O website for up to date rules.

[Nunagoras]

4 hours ago, Pcardad said:

Distance to land depends on ice flow conditions which can change in 15 minutes. Neither has an ice-breaker rated hull and I would want that. Silversea is probably the leader in Antarctica cruises/expeditions.

That's it, exactly! R and O ships simply weren't made for expedition sailings. They'll provide you a "fly by" at appropriate distance that is far away from a touch point. Surely you'll see the mountains and the snow, but that's not the same as touching the place. With due respect, I concur with pretty much everyone else on recommending you such a purposed expedition cruise company if you really think that a "fly by" doesn't suffix. Silversea, Seabourn or Ponant are the big ones on the luxury market for that these days. And your wife is not mandated to go on the zodiacs.

 

Have a nice day!...

[moogwan]

We were on a Regent cruise that did a two day  “drive by” of Antarctica about 12 years ago. Supposedly we would be able to enter a sheltered bay to see some scenery (which is no longer allowed for anything other than expedition ships). Unfortunately the weather was horrible and all we did was bounce around in 40 foot seas for the two days. All we saw was icebergs. Our expedition cruise on Silver Sea 2 years ago was awesome. Weather in Antarctica is always iffy.

[mj_holiday]

I couldn't find the two cruises to have a look to see if I saw anything that is the reason for the price difference.  When I compare a couple different cruises I add in all the extra costs and then get a cost per day which seems to level the playing field.

 

Now for Antarctica - We did an expedition ship (Ponant) in 2014 to Antarctica.  I was really leery about getting into a zodiac but the crew made it very easy.  What I had looked for was a cruise, where after whatever you did as an excursion you come back to a great luxurious ship with a great meal. (I had seen some  trips with bunk beds.)  There were several spouses that didn't go out on the zodiac and they got to see some great sights also.  I would recommend putting Ponant as a choice as you look for this great cruise.