First impressions of our first Oceania cruise

[MEFIowa]

5 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Oceania has a one-way 7-nighter in the Mediterranean starting at $3500. That's vastly more expensive for a shorter cruise and inferior cabin.

I try to book O off cabin-upgrade sales. The Extraordinary Savings Sale means our 20-night B2B in the Med (Trieste to Athens, Athens to Barcelona) on Riviera will be just $3648 PP total (cruise only), and that's for A3 then B3 Verandas. When you cruise and off what sale can make all the difference in the world on price.

[DCGuy64]

5 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

I try to book O off cabin-upgrade sales. The Extraordinary Savings Sale means our 20-night B2B in the Med (Trieste to Athens, Athens to Barcelona) on Riviera will be just $3648 PP total (cruise only), and that's for A3 then B3 Verandas. When you cruise and off what sale can make all the difference in the world on price.

We typically book based on time of year, itinerary and price. IOW we won't book a boring itinerary just because that's the lowest price. We also won't book an itinerary that doesn't work with our schedules. That being said, we will of course keep Oceania on our radar for the future. But I had some issues with the general vibe on board which, if consistent across the line, would be enough for us to say "no." Last night, we celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday at her country club. Oceania reminded me a bit of that: very clubby and exclusive, but not much fun. Maybe once we're retired and we want to dial back the vibe a bit. 😀

[MEFIowa]

9 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

We typically book based on time of year, itinerary and price. IOW we won't book a boring itinerary just because that's the lowest price. We also won't book an itinerary that doesn't work with our schedules. That being said, we will of course keep Oceania on our radar for the future. But I had some issues with the general vibe on board which, if consistent across the line, would be enough for us to say "no." Last night, we celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday at her country club. Oceania reminded me a bit of that: very clubby and exclusive, but not much fun. Maybe once we're retired and we want to dial back the vibe a bit. 😀

We only book port-intensive cruises, because we cruise to see places & do excursions. So, on our 20-night B2B we've got one sea day each segment, total of 2 sea days.

 

Our 10-night Baltic cruise on Sirena (9/2024) has ZERO sea days. That started as a $2499 PP G and has since changed to a $2899 PP C1 (the big one deck 7, 7006).

 

I was 58 on our first cruise and my wife was 55, 12/2021. We had a great time on Riviera and then the next year on Sirena (11/2022). But we're not staying up late and we don't party. We look forward to the ports & excursions. We enjoy the food. We bring our own alcohol. We enjoy the comedians. And we've met a ton of nice people all over the ships.

Edited May 8, 2023 by MEFIowa
Added a clarifying comment

[DCGuy64]

9 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

We only book port-intensive cruises, because we cruise to see places & do excursions. So, on our 20-night B2B we've got one sea day each segment, total of 2 sea days.

 

Our 10-night Baltic cruise on Sirena (9/2024) has ZERO sea days. That started as a $2499 PP G and has since changed to a $2899 PP C1 (the big one deck 7, 7006).

 

I was 58 on our first cruise and my wife was 55, 12/2021. We had a great time on Riviera and then the next year on Sirena (11/2022). But we're not staying up late and we don't party. We look forward to the ports & excursions. We enjoy the food. We bring our own alcohol. We enjoy the comedians. And we've met a ton of nice people all over the ships.

Sounds great! Our NCL cruise this fall is also port intensive. 10 days and only 1 sea day. We are looking forward to getting back to Italy, as well as seeing Greece again. 20 nights sounds great. I wish we could do that, but not yet. I get a rather generous 6 weeks of vacation a year, so I'm not complaining. But out of that 6 weeks, we typically have a family vacation in the summer, some time with relatives at either Thanksgiving or Christmas, miscellaneous other things (I am a professional singer and sometimes have to take off for gigs), issues with our rental properties, and the odd wedding or funeral, and we simply wouldn't have time for a 3-week cruise. Doing B2B's and multiple cruises per year is something I'm hoping to do come retirement, along with lots of other vacation options. I'm hoping to do the Camino in Spain again and that takes about a month. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to travel as much as we do.

[Nashna]

On 5/6/2023 at 9:56 AM, ak1004 said:

 

I talked to enough people who experienced NCL Haven or MSC Yacht, and I sailed on enough big ships to know the facts. Nothing that I said was inaccurate. What was inaccurate was your interpretation. I'm well aware that suite passengers get priority embarkation - my comment was about getting off and on the ship in ports of call as I mentioned in my previous comment. 

 

What else was inaccurate? The fact that outside your little paradise, you are still on a big ship, with lots of children, and completely different demographics compared to lines like Oceania or Silversea? The fact that typical size of O excursion is 25-30 people while big lines fill buses to capacity?

 

My main point was that there are areas that it simply doesn't matter that you are in a suite. We will just need to agree to disagree..

My experience in debarking ports and returning to the ship in the Yacht Club was outstanding.  Our butler approached us the night before the port call to offer his assistance getting to our excursion.  When we told him we knew our meeting point, he told us we did not need to go to the meeting place. Instead, we could have an extra 30 minutes having coffee in the lounge. Then, he would take us directly to the bus.  We arrived at the bus, where the group lined up to board.  Our butler introduced us to the tour guide, who invited us to board the bus.  While we did feel awkward boarding at first, we enjoyed the special treatment.  Every time we returned to the ship, there was a special boarding area for Yacht Club passengers.   At MSC's private island, we disembarked in a special section, then boarded a special shuttle to the YC Beach.  There is a reason why so many of us enjoy sailing MSC's Yacht Club.  

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

That is true. Our cruise was a port-intensive one to Japan and South Korea. However, we had 2 prior cruises booked to Japan which were cancelled due to Covid, one on Princess and the other on NCL. Both were cheaper than O and in a higher class of cabin, however. We have an upcoming NCL European cruise in a Club Balcony suite for $2000 pp (which includes the FAS options), and it's for 10 days. Oceania has a one-way 7-nighter in the Mediterranean starting at $3500. That's vastly more expensive for a shorter cruise and inferior cabin.

@DCGuy64 I cannot comment on the price you paid for the Japan cruise because I don't know how many nights it was. But $3,500 for 7 nights Mediterranean in inside cabin sounds expensive and not typical. We typically pays around $300/night for OV cabin. For example, our upcoming 10 day cruise in May was $4,150 CAD (around $3,100 USD or $310/night). Our cruise from Barcelona next November was around $220/night for OV.

 

In my opinion, OV on the Riviera/Marina offers the best value for money if you don't care about veranda. It's only slightly more expensive than inside, but you get significantly more space and much larger bathroom. PH is nice of course, but the price is not justified (for me). OV is 240 sqft which for me is more than enough, and suites on O don't provide too many perks (except for butler which we don't really use), so you are paying mostly for the extra space.

[DCGuy64]

5 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 I cannot comment on the price you paid for the Japan cruise because I don't know how many nights it was.

It was 10 days. We paid $5500 per person but had the $1300 air portion removed so effectively paid $420 per person, per day, for an inside cabin. Contrast that with our upcoming NCL sailing, $2002 per person for 10 days for a Club Balcony suite. That's $202 per person, per day in a larger cabin with a balcony, so less than 1/2 the price for more space. Of course, there are important distinctions between NCL and Oceania, I won't deny that, and the itineraries are different (Japan vs Mediterranean). But for instance, the NCL fare includes unlimited drinks any time, whereas Oceania only offered beer/wine at mealtimes only, and only in the restaurants. Can O offer free drinks anytime and a balcony for $202 a night? I don't know.

[ak1004]

5 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

It was 10 days. We paid $5500 per person but had the $1300 air portion removed so effectively paid $420 per person, per day, for an inside cabin. Contrast that with our upcoming NCL sailing, $2002 per person for 10 days for a Club Balcony suite. That's $202 per person, per day in a larger cabin with a balcony, so less than 1/2 the price for more space. Of course, there are important distinctions between NCL and Oceania, I won't deny that, and the itineraries are different (Japan vs Mediterranean). But for instance, the NCL fare includes unlimited drinks any time, whereas Oceania only offered beer/wine at mealtimes only, and only in the restaurants. Can O offer free drinks anytime and a balcony for $202 a night? I don't know.

 

I didn't look at Japan itineraries, so maybe Japan is more expensive. I think it's important to compare apples to apples. For example, Europe would be typically more expensive that Caribbean. So comparing Europe on O with Europe on NCL would be a more fair comparison?

 

As I mentioned, OV on European cruises is typically around $300 per person, which of course is still more expensive than NCL, but this is to be expected. No, O cannot offer $202 per night - in the same way that nobody expects a Mercedes to cost like a Honda.

 

If you want to compare O and NCL in terms of service/food and the overall experience, NCL Haven would be a better comparison. But NCL Haven starts around $500/night, significantly more expensive than O. Some people are willing to pay it. To me, it doesn't make sense.

[DCGuy64]

2 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

I didn't look at Japan itineraries, so maybe Japan is more expensive. I think it's important to compare apples to apples. For example, Europe would be typically more expensive that Caribbean. So comparing Europe on O with Europe on NCL would be a more fair comparison?

 

As I mentioned, OV on European cruises is typically around $300 per person, which of course is still more expensive than NCL, but this is to be expected. No, O cannot offer $202 per night - in the same way that nobody expects a Mercedes to cost like a Honda.

 

If you want to compare O and NCL in terms of service/food and the overall experience, NCL Haven would be a better comparison. But NCL Haven starts around $500/night, significantly more expensive than O. Some people are willing to pay it. To me, it doesn't make sense.

Just for kicks, I also looked at Princess. They have a 10-day Japan cruise with fares starting at $799 per person. Even their mini suite is less than $2000 per person. So an apples-to-apples comparison based on itinerary alone means it's more than 2x as expensive on O as compared to Princess. I also looked at an O cruise to the Mediterranean that is substantially similar to ours on NCL. The cheapest cruise-only price for a Verandah is $3,000 per person. On NCL? $2000 including unlimited drinks. To include the drinks on Oceania (and make it truly a fair comparison) would be an additional $600 per person. You bring up a good point about comparing a Mercedes to a Honda. (I used to own a Mercedes and then a Honda, so I know what you mean) The question you have to ask yourself is: am I willing to pay for that extra level of service? Maybe, but not 2x as much. There's a big difference in saying "I'm willing to pay more to get a nicer ship" vs "I'm willing to pay DOUBLE." The extras aren't worth it FOR US. They might be worth it for you, but I'm not you. 😉 And in fact, we found the food in the Grand Dining room to be a little too fancy for our tastes. Not that it wasn't good, but not being mushroom or seafood eaters, we found it was a little too highfalutin for us. That doesn't mean we only eat cheeseburgers and fries. But rather than oysters Rockefeller and lobster thermidor, maybe a canneloni appetizer and Osso buco as an entree. Not 5-star, but not fast food, either. Why would I want to pay double and have fewer choices? That doesn't make sense.

[DCGuy64]

17 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

If you want to compare O and NCL in terms of service/food and the overall experience, NCL Haven would be a better comparison. But NCL Haven starts around $500/night, significantly more expensive than O. Some people are willing to pay it. To me, it doesn't make sense.

Yes, that's probably a better comparison, but the Haven's prices are outrageous. We'd never fork over that much coin for the Haven. People on CC who've done both the Haven and MSC's Yacht Club have said MSC offers a comparable experience for much less $, and that's why we've done 2 YC cruises and have another booked for next January.

[Vineyard View]

Comparing Princess or general areas in any mass market ship to Oceania, Viking, etc is apples to oranges. On all levels. In my opinion. But we do not like all the kids, water toys, drinking games, amusement park type of atmosphere. That is how it felt to us. We don’t need big production shows. We travel to see places off the ship for the majority of port days, and then to enjoy good food, service, wine, and again, the less frenetic feel of large ships. When we first started sailing, we weren’t real crazy about all that either. I needed downtime and recharging my batteries with my career. 
 

I agree. One does need to pay more to sail on these lines. It just depends if the product differences are worth it to you….because there are big product differences. 
We were loyal to Viking for a number of years. Their itineraries are repeats of all those years for the most part so I now look at them, but also Oceania, Regent, and Seabourn. The right sales, as mentioned, can truly make a difference in price per day. I am keeping track of an itinerary on O next April in the Mediterranean that has ports we have not yet sailed to on Vista. I will watch the price until after our upcoming trip this month of Seabourn, but it is attractive. 
 

I would be interested to know from experienced O cruisers how often  the sales are particularly attractive as this most recent one was. 

Edited May 8, 2023 by Vineyard View

[ak1004]

20 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Just for kicks, I also looked at Princess. They have a 10-day Japan cruise with fares starting at $799 per person. Even their mini suite is less than $2000 per person. So an apples-to-apples comparison based on itinerary alone means it's more than 2x as expensive on O as compared to Princess. I also looked at an O cruise to the Mediterranean that is substantially similar to ours on NCL. The cheapest cruise-only price for a Verandah is $3,000 per person. On NCL? $2000 including unlimited drinks. To include the drinks on Oceania (and make it truly a fair comparison) would be an additional $600 per person. You bring up a good point about comparing a Mercedes to a Honda. (I used to own a Mercedes and then a Honda, so I know what you mean) The question you have to ask yourself is: am I willing to pay for that extra level of service? Maybe, but not 2x as much. There's a big difference in saying "I'm willing to pay more to get a nicer ship" vs "I'm willing to pay DOUBLE." The extras aren't worth it FOR US. They might be worth it for you, but I'm not you. 😉 And in fact, we found the food in the Grand Dining room to be a little too fancy for our tastes. Not that it wasn't good, but not being mushroom or seafood eaters, we found it was a little too highfalutin for us. That doesn't mean we only eat cheeseburgers and fries. But rather than oysters Rockefeller and lobster thermidor, maybe a canneloni appetizer and Osso buco as an entree. Not 5-star, but not fast food, either. Why would I want to pay double and have fewer choices? That doesn't make sense.

 

100% agree about paying double. Mercedes is better than Honda, but probably not twice as better.

 

We have friends who sailed on Celebrity for years. Last year I finally convinced them to try O, after they found out that the price difference between O and C was about 10%, and when you account for all inclusions, O was actually cheaper. So maybe C became too expensive, I'm not sure, but the difference is definitely not double. Not even 50%. In fact, most cruises I priced, the difference between O and C was around 20%.

 

You also have to compare apples to apples in terms of ships. C and Princess have some very old ships that are not very well maintained, so those will be cheaper. Prices on the newer ships like Edge and Beyond are insane, in some cases more expensive than O.

 

NCL is one level below Celebrity and Princess, so their prices would naturally be cheaper. Personally I would not go again on a 6,000 ship even for a half price (maybe might consider doing it in a suite if the price is reasonable) - but that's just me.

[DCGuy64]

Agreed, Oceania is different from the mass market lines. The question, again, is "do I care that much about the differences and if I do, do I care enough to pay extra?"  A LOT extra. When we did a cruise from Trieste, Italy in 2021, we arrived a day early and stayed in a nice little hotel that cost us less than $100. We walked from our hotel to the dock and it took us about 20 minutes. Contrast that with a lady who was on CC doing the same cruise, but she wanted to stay right across from the dock and in a 5-star hotel that cost $500/night. It was worth it for her to stay in a fancy hotel and have a short walk, but not for us. People's needs, priorities and budget aren't the same. It's true that you have to try and make comparisons that are realistic, but there's a limit to that. The Oceania Nautica was refurbished in 2022, I believe, and it looks magnificent. The Diamond Princess was, I believe, last refurbished in 2019. I don't think Princess can help the fact that its ship is older. If you have the money and it's worth it to spend more to get a more exclusive, fancy experience, go for it. But never, ever assume that others' priorities are the same as yours.

[MEFIowa]

55 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

... As I mentioned, OV on European cruises is typically around $300 per person, which of course is still more expensive than NCL, but this is to be expected. No, O cannot offer $202 per night - in the same way that nobody expects a Mercedes to cost like a Honda....

Though I do wish more specificity were provided.

 

Thus "OV"=Ocean View is a C cabin (242 sq ft) on Riviera which is rather different than a C1 or C2 (165 sq ft) on any of the smaller R-class ships.

 

And what is "per night"? The sum of the two per persons (PPs)? (Total cabin cost per night.)

 

BUT O's pricing can vary widely based on sales! So, our 10-night Riviera B3 in the Med in Nov 2023 is $1749 PP or $175 PP per night. Extraordinary Savings Sale price. Which then becomes $3498 total cabin or $350 per night total cabin, for 282 sq ft w/veranda.

[DCGuy64]

29 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

Comparing Princess or general areas in any mass market ship to Oceania, Viking, etc is apples to oranges. On all levels. In my opinion. But we do not like all the kids, water toys, drinking games, amusement park type of atmosphere.

You're exactly right about that. And one of the things we found by being on Oceania was that we missed the bigger ship, crowds, and generally livelier atmosphere on NCL. It was definitely a learning experience. For one thing, it taught us we could sail on NCL twice for what it cost for one cruise on Oceania. 😁

[ak1004]

11 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

Though I do wish more specificity were provided.

 

Thus "OV"=Ocean View is a C cabin (242 sq ft) on Riviera which is rather different than a C1 or C2 (165 sq ft) on any of the smaller R-class ships.

 

And what is "per night"? The sum of the two per persons (PPs)? (Total cabin cost per night.)

 

BUT O's pricing can vary widely based on sales! So, our 10-night Riviera B3 in the Med in Nov 2023 is $1749 PP or $175 PP per night. Extraordinary Savings Sale price. Which then becomes $3498 total cabin or $350 per night total cabin, for 282 sq ft w/veranda.

 

Yes, on the Riviera - this is why I mentioned in my other post that in my opinion, OV on Riviera/Marina provides the best value. And yes, per night per person - again, I believe I mentioned it. All prices we discussed were per night per person.

 

P.S. the prices you mentioned - are they reflected on the website? There are two Riviera cruises in Nov.2023, both show around $4,200 CAD for B3 per person (over $3k USD)

[DCGuy64]

Another, slightly smaller issue, is the perceived benefit of paying a higher price and one's expectations. One naturally expects more since one is paying more. For example, when I ordered a dirty martini and it was served a) warm and b) lacking any olive flavor, that's something I shouldn't have happen when I'm paying more. Same thing with ordering a steak rare and having it served medium. I might let it slide on a mass market line, but I expected more due to the higher price. The bar gets set higher due to the perception of a superior experience, and when that doesn't happen, it can be disappointing.

[Rainbow3fe]

2 hours ago, Nashna said:

My experience in debarking ports and returning to the ship in the Yacht Club was outstanding.  Our butler approached us the night before the port call to offer his assistance getting to our excursion.  When we told him we knew our meeting point, he told us we did not need to go to the meeting place. Instead, we could have an extra 30 minutes having coffee in the lounge. Then, he would take us directly to the bus.  We arrived at the bus, where the group lined up to board.  Our butler introduced us to the tour guide, who invited us to board the bus.  While we did feel awkward boarding at first, we enjoyed the special treatment.  Every time we returned to the ship, there was a special boarding area for Yacht Club passengers.   At MSC's private island, we disembarked in a special section, then boarded a special shuttle to the YC Beach.  There is a reason why so many of us enjoy sailing MSC's Yacht Club.  

  What does MSC Yacht Club have to do with Oceania?  Oceania treats every passenger equally. No special treatment for those who pay more.

    The Vibes on Oceania are quite different from those large ships with lots of noise.

[MEFIowa]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

...P.S. the prices you mentioned - are they reflected on the website? There are two Riviera cruises in Nov.2023, both show around $4,200 CAD for B3 per person (over $3k USD)

Those are the prices from the Extraordinary Savings Sale (ESS). Which O sent out a brochure and for which you can call O direct to inquire or go thru your TA (if you have a TA). I used the sale on both segments. Went from an F to an A3 and a B4 to a B3.

[Nashna]

2 hours ago, Rainbow3fe said:

  What does MSC Yacht Club have to do with Oceania?  Oceania treats every passenger equally. No special treatment for those who pay more.

    The Vibes on Oceania are quite different from those large ships with lots of noise.

I only replied to a post that had given incorrect information regarding MSC YC's service.  I enjoy many different experiences while cruising.  

[Sthrngary]

4 hours ago, Nashna said:

I only replied to a post that had given incorrect information regarding MSC YC's service.  I enjoy many different experiences while cruising.  

@Nashna All of your posts have been kind, thoughtful and well written in my opinion.  I especially liked you topic about how truly nice folks are on this board and how that will hopefully find its way to your cruise on the brand.  I feel very much the same way.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[rbtan]

On 4/26/2023 at 5:11 PM, njhorseman said:

You're wrong about the corporate structure of each of the three cruise line holding companies. In none of those cases is the "foundation" cruise line for which the holding company is named the actual corporate parent of all the subsidiaries.

For example Royal Caribbean Cruise Line isn't the parent of Celebrity, the Royal Caribbean Group is the parent of both Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Celebrity. FYI the sale of Azamara By the Royal Caribbean Group was completed in March 2021, more than two years ago. In July 2020 the Royal Caribbean Group (not Royal Caribbean Cruise Line) assumed 100% ownership of Silversea Cruises after having acquired 67% of Silversea in July 2018.

 

Please think about this: The presidents of NCL, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas each report to the President and CEO of NCLH (Currently FDR and on July 1 with FDR's retirement Harry Sommer, who was president of NCL, and will succeed FDR as President and CEO of NCLH, with David Herrera having succeeded Harry Sommer as President of NCL.) The fact that the presidents of each of the three cruise lines in the group report to a fourth person, the president and CEO of the holding company NCLH, clearly shows that Oceania is not a subsidiary of NCL but rather of NCLH.

 

I'm not going to spend any more of my time nor waste any more of the time of other readers of this board by arguing any further with you about simple well-known facts about the corporate structures of NCLH and the other major cruise line holding companies. You can easily educate yourself if you make an attempt to do so.

You certainly could also be a bit more polite if you chose to educate yourself.Yes, I'm aware it's a holding company. I don't need your high entitled opinion to debase me. I find you at times to be quite nasty to others on this site. I will give you credit however exposing that one person who tried to use other posters actual experiences as his own.Do try to be a little nicer, though.

[MEFIowa]

25 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

...I especially liked your topic about how truly nice folks are on this board and how that will hopefully find its way to your cruise on the brand.  I feel very much the same way....

I do hope to meet you on our upcoming cruise. If you're a veteran, be on the lookout for a V's meet & greet. Either by the CD or self-hosted. (If not, if you see a man with a goatee & glasses wearing a Paraguayan t-shirt, that will be me.)

[Rainbow3fe]

11 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

That is true. Our cruise was a port-intensive one to Japan and South Korea. However, we had 2 prior cruises booked to Japan which were cancelled due to Covid, one on Princess and the other on NCL. Both were cheaper than O and in a higher class of cabin, however. We have an upcoming NCL European cruise in a Club Balcony suite for $2000 pp (which includes the FAS options), and it's for 10 days. Oceania has a one-way 7-nighter in the Mediterranean starting at $3500. That's vastly more expensive for a shorter cruise and inferior cabin.

      Cheaper prices but you aren't getting the same kind of experience that you would on Oceania.  There is something special about the ambience on Oceania. Some people don't care but we do. High Tea in Horizons, comfortable pool deck, quality food, String Quartet and Baristas, to name a few differences. 

     I am not judging your choices but an pointing out that for me Oceania is a better way to cruise. 

 

[Sthrngary]

3 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

I do hope to meet you on our upcoming cruise. If you're a veteran, be on the lookout for a V's meet & greet. Either by the CD or self-hosted. (If not, if you see a man with a goatee & glasses wearing a Paraguayan t-shirt, that will be me.)

@MEFIowa I have every intention to find you.  I know the November 9 cruise will be your second half of your B2B.  There is an adult beverage waiting for us both.  Meeting new people is a joy of cruising.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.