Quick Review of Nov 19-29 Barcelona to Istanbul Cruise on Oceania Riviera

[Psoque]

8 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

The term mass market applies to large ships cruise lines like Celebrity, Princess, RCI, Norvegian etc. 

 

Small ships lines like Silversea, Crystal, Oceania, Viking, Azamara etc belong to luxury or premium segment. This separation is pretty much acceptable by the cruise industry. 

 

But the truth is it doesn't really matter. What matters to you is your experience and your opinion. If your experience was that the extra price is not worth it for you, this is the only thing that matters.

The funny thing is that different people define "mass market" and "premium" cruise lines differently.  I have done a quick internet search and found that, depending on where I look, Princess/HAL/Celebrity are categorized as "premium," or they are categorized as "mass market."  And for Oceania, I have seen it categorized as "mass market," "premium," and "luxury." depending on who is making that classification.  By reading what I see, "mass market" is frequently used as a derogatory term.

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, Psoque said:

The funny thing is that different people define "mass market" and "premium" cruise lines differently.  I have done a quick internet search and found that, depending on where I look, Princess/HAL/Celebrity are categorized as "premium," or they are categorized as "mass market."  And for Oceania, I have seen it categorized as "mass market," "premium," and "luxury." depending on who is making that classification.  By reading what I see, "mass market" is frequently used as a derogatory term.

 

I guess it's all relative. Celebrity might be premium compared to RCI or MSC, but they are definitely not premium. Oceania is not considered luxury by most people - maybe "light luxury" or "near luxury". 

 

But then again, the exact definition doesn't really matter. Overall, there are 4 categories, more or less:

 

1. Carnival, RCI, Norwegian, MSC

2. Princess, HAL, Celebrity

3. Oceania, Azamara, Viking, Windstar

4. Silversea, Seabourn, Regent, Crystal.

 

Those are the main players, I'm sure I forgot a few. 

 

Is it worth to pay more and "upgrade" to higher category? It really depends who you ask and what's important to you.

 

I recently posted comparison between Oceania and Silversea, and my conclusion was that with typical premium of 40-50%, it's not worth for me to pay the premium and sail on SS compared to O. You might reach the same conclusion when comparing O and Celebrity. Some people might say that even O newer ships are too big for them. In fact, many SS fans prefer their older ships with ~300 guests and consider the newer ships of 600 guests too big. 

 

For me, I will never go back to 3,000-4,000 guests no matter how much I will have to pay for the smaller ships, but that's just me.

[sunlover12]

19 hours ago, Psoque said:

 

3.  The age range and “able-bodied-ness” of the crowd was profoundly “advanced” than in our previous port-intensive Mediterranean cruises around Thanksgiving on Crystal and all other lines we have tried.  Believe us…we have done quite a few port-intensive Mediterranean cruises during Thanksgiving.  Is this typical for Oceania?  We don’t know and only Oceania has the actual data.  We have no idea if this is more of a norm these days on all cruises itineraries like this.  We don’t know.

 

I was on a port-intensive, 7day Mediterranean cruise on Nautica last August. It was a younger crowd with many in their 40’s and early 50’s who were in the prime of their careers. I am in my late 60’s, retired, and usually feel in the median age range but on this particular cruise I was definitely one of the older ones.  The 7 day itinerary had a lot to do with the demographics. 
 

As you said, only Oceania has the actual data but I do feel like they are marketing more to younger age groups, as they should. 

[Psoque]

11 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

I guess it's all relative. Celebrity might be premium compared to RCI or MSC, but they are definitely not premium. Oceania is not considered luxury by most people - maybe "light luxury" or "near luxury". 

 

But then again, the exact definition doesn't really matter. Overall, there are 4 categories, more or less:

 

1. Carnival, RCI, Norwegian, MSC

2. Princess, HAL, Celebrity

3. Oceania, Azamara, Viking, Windstar

4. Silversea, Seabourn, Regent, Crystal.

 

Those are the main players, I'm sure I forgot a few. 

 

Is it worth to pay more and "upgrade" to higher category? It really depends who you ask and what's important to you.

 

I recently posted comparison between Oceania and Silversea, and my conclusion was that with typical premium of 40-50%, it's not worth for me to pay the premium and sail on SS compared to O. You might reach the same conclusion when comparing O and Celebrity. Some people might say that even O newer ships are too big for them. In fact, many SS fans prefer their older ships with ~300 guests and consider the newer ships of 600 guests too big. 

 

For me, I will never go back to 3,000-4,000 guests no matter how much I will have to pay for the smaller ships, but that's just me.

I’m highly aware of different cruise lines and how they can be categorized in the way you described.  My point is the common USAGE of the term “mass-market.”. I’ve heard people onboard Celebrity, HAL, and Princess ships refer to Carnival and NCL as “mass-market.”. I have repeatedly read people here refer to all cruise lines in your categories 1 and 2 as “mass market.”. I have heard people onboard Crystal and Windstar refer to cruise lines in your categories 1, 2, and 3 as “mass market.”. I have also heard those who only do mega-yacht charters or own their own vessel refer to all categories above as “mass market.”

 

My point is that I’m starting to suspect that the term “mass market” is (maybe unconsciously?) is used by some of us to say “cruise lines patronized by people whose tastes are not as refined as mine.”  And because of it I choose not to use that term.  And when people ask me what are “mass-market” cruise lines, my answer is “any cruise line that we can afford to do business with.”

[ak1004]

4 minutes ago, Psoque said:

And when people ask me what are “mass-market” cruise lines, my answer is “any cruise line that we can afford to do business with.”

 

But then it means Crystal is also mass market.. 

 

People can use whatever they want terms, but there are things that are agreed by most industry experts and insiders. All big ships = mass market. All small ships = NOT mass market. Pretty simple. And it makes sense if you consider that lines like MSC or Carnival carry millions of guests every year while lines like Viking or Oceania carry maybe 100,000-200,000 per year. 

[Lastdance]

On 12/3/2023 at 1:25 AM, Hambagahle said:

Apples to apples in fact.  I would be horrified to find myself on a ship with 2000+ guests.  My "ideal" size is 750-1200 I suppose.  And I do not think you can compare life on a 2000+ ship to that on a smaller one.

Cruising in the Retreat on Celebrity is a really nice experience, but also very costly too.  I booked my first Oceania cruise because of a new ship, along with an itinerary to where I wanted to go, in order to, spend time in Algarve, Portugal.  The cost was actually much less than Celebrity for Retreat.  Purposely, I booked PH class, so it will be a good comparison, IMHO.  Also, I really wanted to try a smaller ship’s experience too.  TBD...but I look forward to the experience!  Change is always a bit of a risk, but my glass is always half full!  I will see if a smaller ship makes a big difference, but it has been on my radar for quite some time!  

 

Edited January 10 by Lastdance