Oceania versus Regent. Your thoughts, please

[Harters]

My TA is almost as prolific as O in sending out sales brochures. But they never have mention of cruises with any of the three NCLH lines. That is , until this morning. When I received a brochure exclusively dealing with Regent offers. And there's some very keen pricing on a handful of Regent's European cruises. Keen enough to put them into consideration for us (which they previously havn't been).

 

So, I'd appreciate your views on a comparison between Regent and O. What would I gain, in  terms of the shipboard experience? What would I lose? Anything else for me to consider in deciding whether I'm going to enjoy the Regent ambiance, as much as I enjoy O's , or better?

 

TIA  

 

John

[Vallesan]

6 hours ago, Harters said:

My TA is almost as prolific as O in sending out sales brochures. But they never have mention of cruises with any of the three NCLH lines. That is , until this morning. When I received a brochure exclusively dealing with Regent offers. And there's some very keen pricing on a handful of Regent's European cruises. Keen enough to put them into consideration for us (which they previously havn't been).

 

So, I'd appreciate your views on a comparison between Regent and O. What would I gain, in  terms of the shipboard experience? What would I lose? Anything else for me to consider in deciding whether I'm going to enjoy the Regent ambiance, as much as I enjoy O's , or better?

 

TIA  

 

John

We have only taken one RSSC and that was booked on a ‘promotion’. We didn’t enjoy the atmosphere on Regent. It’s a different experience to that on Oceania. But it may suit you. I’ve posted elsewhere that we cruise for a  ‘floating hotel’ rather than a ‘must see every site’ type of holiday so maybe my view isn’t representative. In saying that with SM and more people taking trips in has been a lot quieter onboard in some ports.

 

I just didn't find the service in general as good. The staff were a bit surly. It could very well have been just that cruise. We met Regent fans who’d sailed Oceania and preferred Regent.

 

I would say if the itinerary suits and the price is right give it a shot. Our trip certainly wasn’t horrendous just not as good as our previous Oceania trips. Oh and we’d sailed Seabourn for the first time that year as well so maybe our expectations were unrealistic!

 

Edited May 23 by Vallesan

[lorimay]

I would say there are more similarities than differences between the two. If you go on RSSC, it will feel very familiar.

 

We had a completely different experience than the other poster. We found the service on Regent to be every bit as good, and we actually preferred the passengers on Regent. Definitely fewer very drunk people than we have encountered on Oceania on our Caribbean cruise. 

 

Food was very similar, but we thought Regent had a little edge in quality of ingredients. The main dining room had a much better menu than GDR on Oceania, but we had major service issues in the Compass Rose on Regent. Specialty restaurants are very similar, although the French restaurant on Regent is more classic French than Jacques. Terrace buffet wins hands down over the Regent buffet because of the evening casual service and the grill. The pool cafe on Regent had a much bigger menu (and a buffet area) than Waves.

 

Entertainment and activities are about the same, although Regent has a very nice "Krew Kapers" show at the end of each cruise where the crew performs. Very heartwarming. They also have cocktail party in the halls once per journey (can't remember what it's called) where they serve drinks and canapes and you can meet your neighbors.

 

Shore excursions are similar, but I think group sizes on Regent may be smaller. We encountered a lot of people on Regent who don't take all the excursions. 

 

The smallest staterooms on the newer Regent ships are about the size of the a PH on Oceania, so they are larger than the normal staterooms on Oceania. We found the layout was better. Overall, there seems to be more public space per passenger. 

 

All of this depends on which ships you are comparing, so take it with a grain of salt. 

 

 

[CVA34]

kinda like cadillac vs chevrolet

[Hanoj]

1 hour ago, CVA34 said:

kinda like cadillac vs chevrolet

With SM, O is analogous to Pontiac 🤓

[MomC]

Regent is my favorite because of the number of passengers and the gorgeous ships they have.  I was on their new ship in March and the art was incredible—they even had a Faberge egg!  I would say it’s like comparing Hyatt Regency to the Four Seasons.  You can’t go wrong on either.  Drinks and excursions and gratuities are included with Regent.

[Joywrk]

Regent has drinks, gratuities, excursions and laundry included. Service was fantastic and we enjoyed the entertainment. Passengers were lovely and we had absolutely no complaints. Thought food was comparable if not a bit better. 

[Harters]

13 hours ago, CVA34 said:

kinda like cadillac vs chevrolet

Sorry, but that analogy means nothing to this Briton. Is one better than the other and, if so, which is which, please? 

[AC2]

cadillac and chevrolet both manufactured by general motors cadillac is the higher end of automobiles

[ronrick1943]

We've cruised both about the same amount of cruises.  Both are good, what I don't like about Regent is everything is included which is nice in away because you don't have to keep showing your card.  But we don't drink or take many tours, so we're paying for a service we don't use.

I really think the food is maybe a point higher on Regent, but I like the Terrace Grill on Oceania.

What I really think where Oceania stands out it the named suites they have--much better than Regent.  The staff one both are very good, just depends on your experience during your cruise.

 

That said I really hope they are serious about merging their loyalty program, because I enjoy both lines.

[zalusky]

Are the chefs more flexible on Regent?  On Oceania they can only purchase food through corporate and they have to follow corporate recipes.

Edited May 24 by zalusky

[Hanoj]

12 minutes ago, zalusky said:

Are the chefs more flexible on Regent?  On Oceania they can only purchase food through corporate and they have to follow corporate recipes.

Are the cookies better on one line? Price be damned (thanks Admiral Farragut), cookies quality is my new litmus for cruise selection 🙃.

[Hanoj]

 

6 hours ago, Harters said:

Sorry, but that analogy means nothing to this Briton. Is one better than the other and, if so, which is which, please? 

Think Aston Martin vs. Jaguar.

[vlthom]

8 minutes ago, Hanoj said:

Are the cookies better on one line? Price be damned (thanks Admiral Farragut), cookies quality is my new litmus for cruise selection 🙃.

 

We have sailed quite a number of times on Oceania compared with just one time on Regent.  We've had excellent experiences on both lines.  I will say though, that I find the cookies inedible on Oceania but they were good on Regent.  So, if that's your litmus test, then Regent is the hands down winner!

[ronrick1943]

1 hour ago, zalusky said:

Are the chefs more flexible on Regent?  On Oceania they can only purchase food through corporate and they have to follow corporate recipes.

I think that would be a yes, corporate makes the decision.  On Silversea we run out of a few things during the cruise--do you think the when outside to replace some pretty important items.  The answer was no because a sister ship was going to be inn the same Port in 3 days.  They waited an got some supplies from the sister ship.  Think Regent and Oceania would only purchase from corporate OK'ed purchases.

[edgee]

1 hour ago, zalusky said:

Are the chefs more flexible on Regent?  On Oceania they can only purchase food through corporate and they have to follow corporate recipes.

Regent has a very very large list of always available items in their main dining room, called Compass Rose. I believe it is much higher quality and better service than Grand Dining  Room on Oceania. Lack of an informal dining option in the evenings is a downside to Regent, although in their yet to come newbuilds they are rectifying that.

[vlthom]

As I stated previously, we've only had one experience aboard Regent compared with many on Oceania but I was impressed with Compass Rose in comparison to Oceania's Grand Dining Room.  I felt that I could customize my meal much more readily.  There were set dishes for each course, if one preferred to order in that way, or you could customize your meal, choosing a protein with or without a sauce, along with preparation, and individual sides.  It felt like there were more options particularly compared with the GDR's rotating menu that repeats frequently.  

[Harters]

1 hour ago, Hanoj said:

Think Aston Martin vs. Jaguar.

Thanks. Fully understood now. One of my unfulfilled ambitions in life was to have owned a Jag. Could never afford one. Although I suppose, we might have not gone on an O cruise. 

[tarhoosier]

Aston Martin and Vauxhall

[Hanoj]

1 hour ago, tarhoosier said:

Aston Martin and Vauxhall

This comparison may be more apropos. I suggested Jaguar for its appearance of luxury but needing inordinate shop time, at least that was the impression many years ago when friends of ours operated a foreign car specialist repair and service shop in Seattle. Seems Bill Russell always had a Jag in the shop when I visited. Perhaps analogous to O’s inexplicable (as indicated by dubious communications, or lack of reason) port cancellations and itinerary changes (shortened stays).

 

 

 

[curmudgeon98]

There is quite a bit of variation in the Regent ships (but then, R-class to Vista on Oceania also are quite different).  No tiny showers on Regent, but some of the bathtubs on the older ships are pretty awkward for showering.  I thought the included wines on Regent were decent.  I wasn't really impressed with service or food on our Regent cruise, but that was somewhat of an odd case, starting right after the ship completed a world cruise and had a large staff turnover; I suspect things would get better when the large block of new staff settled in.  Group size on the included excursions was 20-25.  Quality of excursions was mixed; some were quite good, others just so-so. 

 

We wouldn't hesitate to do either again for the right itinerary and value proposition (though we lean towards Azamara generally).  

[Harters]

20 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

Aston Martin and Vauxhall

Am I right in assuming Oceania is your Vauxhall analogy - or is it the other way round.

 

By the by, I used to happily drive a Vauxhall over many years. I've since changed to Skoda which some may think as a downgrade. I wonder where that may come in the cruise line analogies. 

[Clutj]

Been on 5 Oceania and 1 Regent in recent years. Food was equal, in my view, but I did like the large number of standard proteins available each night in Regent’s GDR, paired with your pick of six sauces. O’s GDR can sometimes fail to make me happy.  Regent seemed to have larger bar areas, and 1-2 more than O on the newest R ship.  Also, the Regent ship band broke into smaller jazz groups and played in a couple venues; more music and variety than O.  Slightly better wines included with Regent package.  R is more expensive, even when I tried to make sure I was adjusting to make it close to an apples to apples comparison.  I agree with the earlier comment that the PH rooms on O seem equal to R’s one-level below PH rooms.   Laundry with 1 day turn around was very nice.  Staff seemed equally good.  

[Redtravel]

On 5/24/2024 at 3:21 PM, Hanoj said:

Are the cookies better on one line? Price be damned (thanks Admiral Farragut), cookies quality is my new litmus for cruise selection 🙃.

I used to hate Oceania cookies.  Just off Marina, the cookies were much better.  For really nice cookies or small cakes, visit Baristas. Baristas has excellent coffee. On Vista, the bakery is very good.

[WESTEAST]

Read that Regent is changing their fare structure. Starting July 1, 2024 there are two fare choices: Ultimate All Inclusive includes air (with choice of First, Business or PE - you pay more for Business or First) and then All Inclusive Cruise fare only (no air). This is looking more like the Oceania fare structure. Regent's marketing as "The Most Inclusive Luxury Experience™ is now a bit of a stretch IMO or, as they state just offering more flexibility (good if you have airline points though believe previously, you could always remove air and obtain an air credit). Probably won't change loyal Regent passengers from cruising as believe there are many loyal just as with Oceania. Our personal opinion is that with new Oceania SM program, the difference is closing except that all Regent's Staterooms are larger than most Oceania staterooms (except PH and above) and we never used butlers to justify spending extra for their services. As well, Regent includes a shore excursion in each port though each time we have considered a Regent itinerary, the included excursions were mostly panoramic (didn't interest us) and one must pay extra for the others which changes the price comparison. Plus, we like to take a combination of cruise excursions and independent tours.

https://www.rssc.com/ultimate-all-inclusive-luxury