New to Oceania next week - a couple of onboarding questions for experts!

[bob brown]

On 11/9/2022 at 10:25 AM, Sun Queen II said:

Also what about Barista and the lounges/bars?  Are they open till the wee hours, or do things close relatively early?

My experience on the Insignia on the 2019 ATW cruise, was that the ship “goes to bed early”.  Since Oceania cruises are all about the itinerary and touring, you will not find the “party hardy” experience found on mainstream lines such as NCL with late night revelers, and 24 hour eateries.  
On the Insignia, there were usually only a dozen or so patrons at the Horizon lounge most evenings after the main show was over, and some of those were off duty staff…

[Robjame]

15 hours ago, Ladys Mom said:

Gaming the system on Oceania is just an indication that people want luxury, but are not always willing to pay for it.  I can understand if you rarely drink, but it you are a regular drinker just pay the price.  When we calculated what Regent offers us, over Oceania, there was no difference.  We are taking an Oceania cruise to use a FCC, but I am not feeling comfortable about what will be our experience.

Norma - you have my sympathy -  it sounds like you are going to have an absolutely miserable time this Christmas. I would like to help you out by going in your place and putting up with these cheap Oceania gamers.

[shepherd really]

5 hours ago, Robjame said:

Norma - you have my sympathy -  it sounds like you are going to have an absolutely miserable time this Christmas. I would like to help you out by going in your place and putting up with these cheap Oceania gamers.

So, what they say about how nice Canadians are is true.  That is incredibly kindhearted.

[Ladys Mom]

10 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

So, what they say about how nice Canadians are is true.  That is incredibly kindhearted.

We will try to make the best of it.  The ports and the great passengers we already have corresponded with, will make up for the bad apples.

[ChadnKate]

We pack a half dozen bottles in one side of a suitcase. Nothing truly irreplaceable in the other half. Never have had an issue though. We use some very nice triple sealed wine keeping bubble wrap type bags from Amazon. About $30 for the 6. After the bottles are done with we have excess room for purchases etc to bring home. Bring them back to reuse on next cruise. 

[judi666]

On 11/12/2022 at 5:26 PM, Ladys Mom said:

And you wonder why my husband and I like Regent better than Oceania.  On  Regent you can have all the wine and liquor you want, whether a little or a lot.  If you want liquor in your suite, they bring you a bottle not a glass.  If you want to bring the bottle,, or several bottles, home at the end of the cruise no-one says anything.  In fact, one night when we ordered room service for dinner and we asked for wine.  The person taking the order asked which wine we wanted.  I gave them a choice of two.  The server brought us both.  Gaming the system on Oceania is just an indication that people want luxury, but are not always willing to pay for it.  I can understand if you rarely drink, but it you are a regular drinker just pay the price.  When we calculated what Regent offers us, over Oceania, there was no difference.  We are taking an Oceania cruise to use a FCC, but I am not feeling comfortable about what will be our experience.

Don't get mad.  This is just our opinion.

Their alcohol policy is very nice. Yes you do get bottles in your cabin and once they know what you like to drink, it is offered the minute you sit down.  There is a limit to how much I can personally drink on vacation, so not that big of a perk for me.  Service is good on both lines and in my opinion the food is better than Regent.

The included excursions vary from awful to ok. I felt like I needed to take them as had “paid” for them. I canceled several as were more distressing than fun or imparting knowledge.

 
I like the general vibe more on Oceania, once again  my opinion. All the posts about gaming the system on Oceania seem ridiculous. I don’t understand when paying many thousands for a cruise, many people seem intent on saving a few hundred $.  
 

Both lines have their pros and cons.  I’m sure you will have a wonderful time on either one.