A Comparison Of Oceania And Celebrity Today

[Aloha 1]

A final note about disembarkation and airports. We had asked for first off at 7-7:30 AM in Lisbon as we had a 11AM flight on British Air to Heathrow.

 

Things were fine until we left the ship and saw a crowd of fellow disembarkers standing around blocked from getting their bags by moveable metal barriers. The port staff told us that no bags could be taken until ALL of the luggage was off. What??? After about 20 minutes of arguing, I went over to where all the early off bags were, ready to move the gate. A fellow in from of me suddenly hollered ‘Basta!” in Italian

( enough), moved the gate and it was jail break time. You never saw so many 60-70 year olds move so fast!  Grabbed bags and never looked back.

 

Lisbon airport was chaotic. Directional signage is non existent but we finally found our check in spot and the flight was fine. We had a 1 1/2 hour layover before our connector to Chicago. We barely got to the gate on time. Crowds were massive and security was way backed up. Don’t let anyone tell you no one is traveling because of covid - not true.

[WESTEAST]

3 hours ago, Aloha 1 said:

A final note about disembarkation and airports. We had asked for first off at 7-7:30 AM in Lisbon as we had a 11AM flight on British Air to Heathrow.

 

Things were fine until we left the ship and saw a crowd of fellow disembarkers standing around blocked from getting their bags by moveable metal barriers. The port staff told us that no bags could be taken until ALL of the luggage was off. What??? After about 20 minutes of arguing, I went over to where all the early off bags were, ready to move the gate. A fellow in from of me suddenly hollered ‘Basta!” in Italian

( enough), moved the gate and it was jail break time. You never saw so many 60-70 year olds move so fast!  Grabbed bags and never looked back.

 

Lisbon airport was chaotic. Directional signage is non existent but we finally found our check in spot and the flight was fine. We had a 1 1/2 hour layover before our connector to Chicago. We barely got to the gate on time. Crowds were massive and security was way backed up. Don’t let anyone tell you no one is traveling because of covid - not true.

For future reference, instead of having your luggage picked up the night before, you can walk off the ship with your luggage the morning of disembarking. We have done so when having an early flight. We indicated this on the disembarking sheet and Reception told us what deck to line up at (with our luggage on wheels). There were approximately three other couples doing the same.  Of course, if you have many pieces of luggage, it wouldn't be possible.

Edited August 6, 2022 by WESTEAST

[babysteps]

17 hours ago, Aloha 1 said:

I did but nothing came of it. Not sure if it was a result of the remodel but turning it up to what should have been hot air did nothing.

A few years ago one of the crew explained that the system is either "cool" or "hot". At least at the time, your in-room thermostat couldn't change the system mode. That meant if the system was on cool you wouldn't ever get warm or hot air no matter what setting you chose. 

[Aloha 1]

22 hours ago, WESTEAST said:

For future reference, instead of having your luggage picked up the night before, you can walk off the ship with your luggage the morning of disembarking. We have done so when having an early flight. We indicated this on the disembarking sheet and Reception told us what deck to line up at (with our luggage on wheels). There were approximately three other couples doing the same.  Of course, if you have many pieces of luggage, it wouldn't be possible.

I know. There was no indication from O that this would happen at Lisbon and they told us the bags would be off by 7AM. And they were.

[Aloha 1]

7 hours ago, babysteps said:

A few years ago one of the crew explained that the system is either "cool" or "hot". At least at the time, your in-room thermostat couldn't change the system mode. That meant if the system was on cool you wouldn't ever get warm or hot air no matter what setting you chose. 

So the T stat is just kabuki theatre?

[jonthomas]

On 8/6/2022 at 2:30 PM, Aloha 1 said:

A final note about disembarkation and airports. We had asked for first off at 7-7:30 AM in Lisbon as we had a 11AM flight on British Air to Heathrow.

 

Things were fine until we left the ship and saw a crowd of fellow disembarkers standing around blocked from getting their bags by moveable metal barriers. The port staff told us that no bags could be taken until ALL of the luggage was off. What??? After about 20 minutes of arguing, I went over to where all the early off bags were, ready to move the gate. A fellow in from of me suddenly hollered ‘Basta!” in Italian

( enough), moved the gate and it was jail break time. You never saw so many 60-70 year olds move so fast!  Grabbed bags and never looked back.

 

Lisbon airport was chaotic. Directional signage is non existent but we finally found our check in spot and the flight was fine. We had a 1 1/2 hour layover before our connector to Chicago. We barely got to the gate on time. Crowds were massive and security was way backed up. Don’t let anyone tell you no one is traveling because of covid - not true.

 

and dont let anyone tell you that is all a figment of your imagination or overblown by the press.....

[babysteps]

2 hours ago, Aloha 1 said:

So the T stat is just kabuki theatre?

Not quite. If you want cool air and the system mode is cool, you can control how cool.

And if you want warm air and the system mode is heat, you can control how warm.

Otherwise, theater may indeed be a good way to describe it.

 

@Aloha 1 you probably already know this, so for other folks reading this thread - don't forget your cabin steward can swap out bedding for a lighter or heavier duvet as you wish, which could help.

 

Or you could nap on your balcony lol!

[hollyberry1]

On 8/2/2022 at 12:20 PM, Aloha 1 said:

And so concludes this long report. I do hope I haven’t bored everyone to death. I started out comparing Nautica to Celebrity Edge and I’ll try to end the same way.

 

Nautica Pros:

The remodel is very nice. The common areas and suites have a nice new look about them. We found the Vista Suite very comfortable with the exception of being right above the bow thrusters. The redo of the PH Suites is a home run. Working with such a small space, the room seems larger. Removing the tub was a good move. The shower space is much better and the fall risk eliminated.

 

Staff were unfailingly friendly and polite as expected from O. Martini’s as usual was a great before dinner spot. Good piano players and great bartender. Shore excursion staff very professional and efficient. Food in POLO and TOSCANA plus the one meal we had in the GDR were up to O standards.

 

Nautica Cons:

Definitely short of staff all around. TV reception was non existent with maybe 3 exceptions. we’ve sailed this area of the Med many times and never have we had so few days of being able to get the news, etc. I used my cell phone a couple times to connect to my DISH receiver in the States and had excellent reception so it has to be the ship. You cannot get any large suitcase under the bed in the PH as there is a low bar that blocks it. The Vista bed goes all the way to the floor so no luggage under there either.

 

The Terrace menus and food prep were NOT up to O standards and in no way compared to the excellent food we’ve in The Terrace on  Riviera and Marina. The GDR menus were by and large not appetizing. I’ve seen better menus pre covid than this trip. Passenger load for both segments was around 600 so about 88% of capacity.

Celebrity Pros:

 

Beautiful almost new ship with a totally re worked dining experience. The Retreat was, as expected, very good and our Celebrity Suite was quite roomy with a separate sitting area from the bedroom. The idea of each restaurant having it’s own kitchen is brilliant. Wherever we dined the food came out promptly and quickly and was excellent. Menus were more varied than O. We frankly were very surprised at how much X has improved in this area.

 

The Martini Bar was not the focal point it has been on the Solstice Class ships but I understand that the next Edge class ship will fix that. Regardless, it was still very good. Music is ever present on X but in a subdued way other than when the live groups are playing. Excursions were well managed and staff were very polite.

 

Celebrity Cons:

It’s a big ship. Although we sailed with only 1700, capacity is 3000. Not sure how things would be fully loaded. No towel hangers in the bathroom and still a tub/shower combo.

 

So, concluding, we ARE fans of Oceania, just not the R ships. The lack of additional dining venues really became an issue for us. Our next 4 cruises are all on Riviera and Marina but I doubt we will ever sail on an R ship again. We will also sail on Celebrity again if the itinerary interests us. They have convinced us to come back at some future date.

 

Most happy to answer any questions from anyone. Ciao, for now.

 

[hollyberry1]

I want to thank you so much Aloha1 for taking the time to do a comparison. I have been wondering same things. We are taking our inaugural Oceania Cruise in 2024 on the new VISTA out of Miami for 25 days,  having been loyalists of RCCL and Celebrity. The new RETREAT on Celebrity seemed nice with less suite room for the price. We decided that Oceania might be our next "go-to" cruise line for various reasons. 

Much Appreciated!

[Aloha 1]

23 hours ago, hollyberry1 said:

I want to thank you so much Aloha1 for taking the time to do a comparison. I have been wondering same things. We are taking our inaugural Oceania Cruise in 2024 on the new VISTA out of Miami for 25 days,  having been loyalists of RCCL and Celebrity. The new RETREAT on Celebrity seemed nice with less suite room for the price. We decided that Oceania might be our next "go-to" cruise line for various reasons. 

Much Appreciated!

You are most welcome. Enjoy the Vista!