Why I Enjoyed My First Oceania Cruise as a 66 Year Old

[Sthrngary]

I am writing this because of so many first time Oceania Cruisers with so many questions.  I also had lots of questions before, during and after my bookings.  My past is NCL (Haven), Celebrity (Retreat), MSC (Yacht Club) and HAL (Suites).  For the longest time I was sold on big mega ships.  Mostly the Caribbean and Mexico. I have had inside cabins to the Nicest Suites onboard.  My enjoyment was much more about the people I met and the friends/family that joined, then the stateroom.  Then I went on Oceania Cruises and it was different in positive ways I did not expect.

 

I did not choose Oceana Cruise, it kind of choose me. Our best friends wanted to do a "Once in a Lifetime Mediterranean Cruise".  There Travel Agent suggested Regent Seven Seas.  When they heard the price, they had major sticker shock.  I personally was willing to bite the bullet but they just could not make it work.  So, that left Oceania Cruises.  I am so very happy I made that decision.  It kind of changed my likes/dislikes on cruising after over 30+ Cruises. If you are new to Oceania Cruises, here are some of my reasons for my change of heart from past choices.

 

Caribbean and Mexico Cruises:  Always was great weather but went to those same place lots of time.  I never really felt comfortable with the destinations.  Simply felt like shopping and a OK beach.  Still great memories but wanted something different.

 

Mediterranean: I had been to Europe and the Mediterranean many times on business.  Never for pleasure until my November 2023 10 day Riviera Cruise. It was immediately clear my experience would be much more enjoyable then those business trips.  Each port was different, interesting and never boring.  I learned about Hop On/Hop Off buses, and local tour guides.  

 

Smaller Ship:  The smallest ship I had ever gone on held 1250 guest and that was the Riviera.  I thought it would be to small.  Instead I found the size perfect and it never seemed to be crowded. That really surprised me.  Did I miss the Water Slides, Go Cart Tracks or Broadway Shows; NO.  Been there and done that many times. Sold me on a smaller ship concept.

 

Guest On Board: I was expecting everyone to be on oxygen, in wheel chairs and with knee braces. Instead I found some middle age to older guest but every single person I came in contact with had a zest for life which made age a non-issue.  A very pleasant surprise. Very few children as one might expect. 

 

Dining and Food: Before someone else comments, yes food is relative.  I never believed the hype on best food at sea.  My only hope was a click better then what I was used to in past cruises.  That was achieved especially at the Specialty Restaurants. The buffet was better but just like other buffets, it was all about your choices.  The grille by the buffet had great burgers which for me suits me.  At night the same place had nice pizza but we were in Italy so our lunch pizza at the ports were obviously better. Breakfast at the Main Dining Room was one of my highlights of every morning.  

 

Coffee: The Barista Coffee, the quality and the snacks were great and complementary on Oceana.  That was different from other ships I have been on so it was nice to have that available to everyone. The quality of the coffee was excellent. 

 

Bars and Drinking: The crowd was not huge drinkers.  More like social drinkers. The four of us had the Prestige Unlimited Drink Package.  That decision was based on past experience and for our group was a good experience.  However, if you want to make a bar in your stateroom, you can bring wine and spirit onboard and save that cost.  We will do it again knowing that it is kind of a waste of money but I personally like the convivence when I am on vacation.  I still learned from a fellow guest to buy local wine and spirts at the ports which was extremely fun.  The bottom line is, you don't have to get the unlimited drink package to have a GREAT Time. I will say, an evening highlight was going the Martini Bar which was rarely crowded and had a nice piano player.  Suited me and was special compared to my normal life.

 

Entertainment: Hit or miss.  The guest performer was outstanding.  One of the production shows was ok, the other one was well, not so good.  It did not matter at all.  We were tired after our day in the ports anyway.  We always sit in the last row by the exit so we can leave if the show does not suit us.  The Karaoke was enjoyable but very few people ever came.  It was usually at 10 PM so I fully understood. Still fun. 

 

Casino: Small, never crowded and for a small ship nice place.  But I am not a huge gambler so take that into consideration.  

 

Staterooms:  All were nice.  As the price went up, obviously so did the size of the stateroom.  Oceania for the most part treats everyone the same when they leave their stateroom.  However there are subtle difference when you go to the higher priced suites.  Earlier time to make Specialty Restaurants reservations, Penthouse and higher has a butler, Concierge Level and higher have assess to the Outside front of the ship spa complementary.  The debate is if you had a more expensive stateroom, did you gain other priorities due to your stateroom.  Probably so but rather then debate it, let say I would be quite happy with almost any stateroom as long as it had a balcony.  On port intensive cruises, the stateroom is to sleep in mostly.  Full disclosure, I had one of the top suites called a Vista Suite.  Lovely huge and I won't book it again because it was a lot of wasted space.  I also got a deal on it so I could not turn it down.  I will say, the beds in all the staterooms were excellent. 

 

Staff and Crew:  Another area of debate.  I found everyone to be attentive, kind and caring.  Please know, I had no issues on our cruise.  For folks that have had issues, they were less impressed then I was but that was my impression.  Folks got to know you even by name quickly and for the most part, treated us very nicely. Your experience may vary. My general rule is be engaging and folks will engage with you.  

 

Value: I got lucky and hit two sales that both worked together.  I booked another Oceania Cruise for October 2025 on the Vista and kind of feel those sales won't happen this time. We will see but always look for sales.  Some are better then others. 

 

Airfare:  We booked our own and controlled everything from selecting seating well in advance to purchasing early to save money.  Again, your experience may vary.  What I found out for myself was not to be afraid of transfers in Europe.  A simple Google search or YouTube video is worth its weight in gold.

 

Area's of Concern:  All though we were quite happy with the dining, some meals were much better than others.  We never got hungry.  The laundry room was crowded at the end of the cruise so I learned to do the laundry earlier next time.  We also had some laundry that was complementary to the stateroom.  I missed the cut off but learned to ask next time. Our deck in the Vista Suite was huge but worthless at night when the ship was moving. It was in the front of the ship and due to wind when cruising, they tied down the furniture every night. One of the Specialty Restaurants was horrible due to a lack of staff.  Yet, the general consensus is that was not the case most of the time. The weather in November was great but not perfect for pool swimming.  Yes there were a few guest that hogged the best lounge chairs.  Far less then I was used to on Main Stream Mega Ships. 

 

Since I wrote this post for first time Oceania Guest, attached is a very long detailed FAQ document I posted in the past.  Some things have changed but I wish it was available when I was first considering Oceania.  Oceania_Cruises_FAQ.pdf

 

No cruise is perfect.  No cruise brand is perfect.  Taste change of the years and everyone has different expectations.  The one rule I have is always have realistic expectations.  When something goes wrong like missing your favorite port, you have to recover quickly and shake it off.  We missed Florence, Italy which was a port I really want to go to.  I knew that Oceania missed ports frequently when it happened, we all got over it quickly. All in all, a great experience which again somewhat surprised me. Hope this helps and if you have any questions, post them.  I assure you, the folks here on Cruise Critic will help you as they did me.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Kay S]

Thanks for this 

[DENIE]

Gary, always love your writing style and your comments!  

[durberville]

First time Oceania cruiser (booker) here. Thank you so much for this!
 

One note…I’ve read so much about Oceania’s tendency to skip ports, I start every conversation with my husband by saying “We’ll probably miss that port but…” I am fully expecting a 25 night cruise locked up on the Regatta so I will NOT be disappointed… surely we’ll make one or two ports!  😉🤣

[QuestionEverything]

OP thank you for the time to post your analysis.

I love the size of O ships, the graciousness of the passengers, the good food but "best at sea", TBD. The staff are welcoming and smiling and they love it when you smile at them. Love the "classless" approach of O and the other premium and luxury lines (albeit with a few perks for the higher level, but no ship within a ship bull) - which is why I exclusively patronize this level of cruise lines.

Totally agree with the often lack of value for $ for the size of rooms, especially on port intensive voyages, we are rarely in our room other than to sleep.

My concern in the many recent NCL company Oceania, Regent, NCL posts regarding cancelled ports. I cruise only for the ports, no other reason.

The O decision in 2023, to reduce the time at ports by 1 hr across the portfolio for "environmental" reasons is total bull to me.

Way too many posts over many years about O cancelling ports using "operational reasons" "weather" versus other cruise lines.

Other posts will no doubt disagree, that is fine.

But this issue has to be remediated before I will book another O cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

[Sthrngary]

1 hour ago, durberville said:

First time Oceania cruiser (booker) here. Thank you so much for this!
 

One note…I’ve read so much about Oceania’s tendency to skip ports, I start every conversation with my husband by saying “We’ll probably miss that port but…” I am fully expecting a 25 night cruise locked up on the Regatta so I will NOT be disappointed… surely we’ll make one or two ports!  😉🤣

@durberville Here is my strategy.  Many make claims on social media.  For the most part, I don't pay attention.  Until it becomes a trend or pattern.  This happens on all brands on social media.  When I realize this might be a thing, I prepare myself and my guest that it might happen.  This lesson's the blow.  

 

The example used was missed ports.  I told my group, we will most likely miss a port or two.  If we do, it will either be a sea day or another port.  We missed Florence, and another port was provided. Because we anticipated it, it was no big deal.  

 

The key is having realistic expectations.  Then manage those expectations.  The bottom line is we the guest have no control of things like this but we do control our attitude and expectations. It is a floating hotel on the sea.  Stuff happens outside or my control so you just have to let it go.  

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment.

[Sthrngary]

23 minutes ago, QuestionEverything said:

OP thank you for the time to post your analysis.

I love the size of O ships, the graciousness of the passengers, the good food but "best at sea", TBD. The staff are welcoming and smiling and they love it when you smile at them. Love the "classless" approach of O and the other premium and luxury lines (albeit with a few perks for the higher level, but no ship within a ship bull) - which is why I exclusively patronize this level of cruise lines.

Totally agree with the often lack of value for $ for the size of rooms, especially on port intensive voyages, we are rarely in our room other than to sleep.

My concern in the many recent NCL company Oceania, Regent, NCL posts regarding cancelled ports. I cruise only for the ports, no other reason.

The O decision in 2023, to reduce the time at ports by 1 hr across the portfolio for "environmental" reasons is total bull to me.

Way too many posts over many years about O cancelling ports using "operational reasons" "weather" versus other cruise lines.

Other posts will no doubt disagree, that is fine.

But this issue has to be remediated before I will book another O cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

@QuestionEverything Understood and respected.  This is why we as consumers have options.  Our decision, our money and we can do what we want.  Regardless, enjoy your next cruise.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[LuAnn]

Thanks so much for your review and I'm so glad you had such a great time on O. I've been following your posts and happy it all worked out!!! 

[MEFIowa]

2 hours ago, durberville said:

First time Oceania cruiser (booker) here. ... One note…I’ve read so much about Oceania’s tendency to skip ports, I start every conversation with my husband by saying “We’ll probably miss that port but…” I am fully expecting a 25 night cruise locked up on the Regatta so I will NOT be disappointed… surely we’ll make one or two ports!  😉🤣

I was on Riviera on Southern Gary's leg of what was our 20-nigh B2B on Riviera. We did Triest to Athens and then Athens to Barcelons. Very port intensive. Thinking we had just 2 sea days total. And we MISSED just one port due to high seas, Livorno, from which we diverted to La Spezia. One port exchanged for another So, we did hit port after port.

 

We missed the private island in the Bahamas in 12/2021 off Riviera due to high seas, but made all the other ports. (Had to stop briefly off Key West to allow an elderly man to be medically evaucated from the ship to a small USCG patrol boat.)

 

We missed St. Kitts off Sirena 11/2021 due to having to stop in the Dominican Republic on the way down for a passenger medical emergency. Had to stop and use our tender. Took them too long.

[Sthrngary]

Glad so many people like this topic. Full disclosure. A topic like this in different levels of detail are on every Cruise Critic Brand Blog. The best I had ever scene or read was the one on the old Crystal Cruises.  The author really helped me back then to select Crystal for a "Luxury Cruise Test Drive". As my hobby of cruise continues in my twilight years, it is so enjoyable to try new things, brands, accommodations, foods and itineraries. The scary part is reading some guest love something and other guest equally dislike the same things. 

 

Instead of being upset with something you read, watch or hear about with regards to a brand; consider the brand in it's entirety.  80% favorable and 20% not.  On the items that don't suit you, see if there is a way to avoid them and therefore not be effected by them.  That raises the favorable rating.  Example, I heard the coffee was not great outside of the Barista on Oceania.  This community said, "Get your coffee from the Barista and take it to breakfast."  Brilliant advice. By doing so, I never had bad coffee because I avoided it.  Simple solution to a complicated problem. Avoid what others teach you and if it is unavoidable, simply set your expectations accordingly.

 

I am no guru on cruises.  I do know myself and what destroys a vacation for me. If I can't avoid those things, I simply choose another vacation. Life is to short to mess around. All we need is enough information to evaluate from what is important to each of us.  Take the time, have the right attitude and learn from others. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

 

 

 

[Vallesan]

Gary I enjoy your posts as they appear to be so well reasoned.

 

I think one of the biggest problems with CC reviews/critiques in general is that this forum only hears from a tiny handful of passengers. Oceania have a capacity of around 6400 passengers per day over all the ships, with more capacity due in the near future. This forum might host 50, 60 ? of those passengers.
 

The other pertinent point is that those with a problem are far more likely to ‘vent’ than those who had a great cruise are to ‘praise’!

 

In essence, apart from posts by people like Gary, I would tend to take most posts here with ‘a pinch of salt’.