Jim_Iain - Live - comparison of Oceania Regatta - Vista Suite to Celebrity Millennium Royal Suite

[canderson]

22 hours ago, goldsmip115 said:

So looking forward to your review and comparison and post’s, Jim.  This is the first time that I can remember in almost 10 years that we do not have a Celebrity PS booked. I have searched for a PS on Celebrity right after our Olivia HAL Pinnacle suite cruise.  I did find, some weeks ago, a 7 night cruise in the PS out of Tampa on the Constellation to the western Caribbean (it would mean getting from FLL to Tampa with an overnight in Tampa). We don’t even get off the ship on Western Caribbean sailings.  UGH!  The cost was $23,000 last I priced it.  Thanks but no thanks.

Suites in general seem to be becoming scarce.  Have recently looked at several X itineraries only to find no RS+ cabins.  As noted elsewhere, looking at more cruises on Silversea's newer ships.

[chemmo]

One of my friends cruised on Oceania last year. When they met their room attendant they were just putting in the bin the unopened pack of four crunchie bars that had clearly melted beyond redemption on the journey (she is a chocoholic)….

 

On returning from dinner that evening there was a  little plate of chocolate covered honeycomb pieces waiting for them. What a nice touch! 
 

Jim, I do hope this is the sort of ‘attention to detail’ that a smaller ship can offer you. As my next cruises are with the next generation I can’t see me cruising Oceania any time soon but perhaps I could be persuaded…or more importantly they could…

 

Would it be possible for you to comment at some stage on your trip about rooms suitable for three adults (our minimum on X has been RS with some PH)? Also if the ambiance may suit a 40ish couple as well as Mum?

[C 2 C]

20 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks --- will definitely do.     I told Iain that if we pack for a Summer in San Francisco and add rain gear we should be ok.  

 

Supposedly Mark Twain said: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

 

Here in central/southern Canada the temperature now is 83 degrees.  Enjoy the wet coast.

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/10/2024 at 8:13 PM, RichYak said:

We've all heard of Must See TV. This is Must See CC. Looking forward to your comments. Bon Voyage!

That's really nice of you Rich.   Thanks for joining in.

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/10/2024 at 8:20 PM, swigso said:

Hi Jim

looking forward to your review, this ship is the same as all the Azamara ships. We loved most things about Az but prefer the suite life on X. 
Have a great cruise p, stay safe.

 

Thanks for making note.   I was just discussing that with a friend of ours (Sue).   I never sailed Azamara and when I pulled up the deck plans was amazed they are almost identical.

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/10/2024 at 9:30 PM, realnice46 said:

Looking forward to the comparisons. Have missed you guys and your adventures. Looks like some interesting ports. Safe travels.

 

That is one of the reason's for selecting the cruise.   The number 1 reason was of course that it was Oceania and the second was that it was departing from the West Coast.  

 

Many don't realize it but we can fly to London in about the same time it takes to get to FLL with connections.

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/10/2024 at 9:30 PM, realnice46 said:

Looking forward to the comparisons. Have missed you guys and your adventures. Looks like some interesting ports. Safe travels.

 

Thanks for joining in.

 

On 9/10/2024 at 10:41 PM, chemmo said:

So looking forward to your review…

Thanks

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/10/2024 at 11:21 PM, Norwaylady said:

Looking forward to follow😁

The itinerary is a good itinerary in my perspective. (specially if I needed to fly all the way from Oslo;) 

Will be fun to see what you think about the ship and service onboard. (we have seen some itineraries that are tempting for us.....)

 

Happy packing🥰

 

Alexandra -   I'm sure the flight would be long but Alaska is amazing if you have never been.    What is incredible is when you visit the area of Alaska that cruise ships go to you realize it is only the very small tip of Alaska.     It is such an amazing state.

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/11/2024 at 1:25 AM, Alcairns said:

Looking forward  to following your great trip. Can you advise what software you use for mapping your itinerary? Thanks 

 

I use Travel Animation Pro.    It's a pay sight buy you can subscribe to create 5 Maps for $7.49.     It has a lot of features I don't use, but is fun to animate our trips. 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/11/2024 at 3:12 AM, LouChamp said:

Aloha. Always enjoy your reports and pictures especially food lol.  Have been blessed to sail R class ships for years and enjoy the small ships of yesteryear. I value your opinions because I believe we enjoy similar experiences.  We have a few long cruises scheduled for later next year and thereafter but have placed our living in Hawaii part time because we are now grandparents so staying at our New York abode for a bit. Thus we are living vicariously through you! Enjoy.

 

 

I am really looking forward to the R-Class ships.  

 

One warning for those that plan on booking something with Oceania.    They just changed their Perk System effective with booking after October 1 with Sailings after January 1, 2025.

 

The have eliminated Simply More -  

 

 

This is being replaced with Free Gratuities.    Many are very upset in having Free Wine and Beer included with meals, $600 Shore Excursion Credit, Free WiFi (basic). 

 

So if you want to get these benefits you should book before the end of the month.

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/11/2024 at 3:53 AM, Ipeeinthepools said:

Hi Jim,

 

I’m looking forward to your review.  It will be interesting to see your comparison of Celebrity’s suite class vs a true luxury ship.

 

Enjoy

Thanks

 

On 9/11/2024 at 4:37 AM, bluwes said:

Looking forward to following along as usual. Its an interesting itinerary, having just come back from a Norwegian Fjords sailing, its one that we would be looking to do in the future

 

Thanks.     I've been to Alaska a number of times and have to say I've not seen any Fjords that can compare to Norwegian, Greenland and Icelandic Fjords.    I think possible if you went really far north they may be as spectacular.

 

 

On 9/11/2024 at 4:50 AM, Altamar said:

Looking forward to your comparison, safe travels.

Thanks for joining the fun

 

On 9/11/2024 at 6:46 AM, boxkite said:

Jim, excited to finally be able to following along from near the very beginning.

 

Will also be following your adventure from the Oceania board, both for the commentary and the pictures!

 

Both of you have a safe and outstanding cruise!

Thanks for inspiring me.

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/11/2024 at 5:55 AM, billc23 said:

Jim, I am excited to be following along! I have already followed your comparison on the Oceania board  with enjoyment. Thanks for the great reviews!

 

Yes, It is a little scary stepping out of a many year comfort zone. I did so in 2022 with Silversea and this year with MSC. It is not just the new ship/onboard unknown experience that is scary - each different cruise line I want to try has a web site I need to learn how to navigate, various promotions that I need to understand, figuring out what is actually included/extra, what's the dress code... do I need a different travel agent for the new cruise line?? and on and on...

So much easier to stick to what I know and enjoy but I am finding it very enjoyable to venture out of my comfort zone and your review will go a long way in helping me decide if I should add Oceania to my must try list.

 

Thanks for all your contributions to CC.

 

Thanks for the encouragement.    I can't imagine we won't have a fantastic time.  I'm excited for the change as for us Celebrity has become almost boring.    I'm sure it has to do with all of our cruising, but sometimes we have even resorted to the Kids menu with grilled cheese sandwiches as Luminae menus are so old and boring.

 

As a result of many complaints about the menu they recently updated their menus.   Unfortunately most of our favorites were removed and replaced some disappointing substitutions.    Also their desert menus are now so overly loaded with chocolate items.

 

The best desert they had -- Chef B's Raspberry Vacherin (my personal favorite) with what many call the Chocolate Dog Poop. 

[cluso]

Arrived Vancouver yesterday, 9/11, after 3 hops from Florida.  Long day since we have to fly east first to Atlanta.

Yesterday and today were beautiful, high 60's in the day, mid 50's at night.  Maybe some rain Friday and Saturday.

We are ready for our Regatta adventure.  Did a Renaissance Med cruise, Tahitian Princess, and Azamara cruises all on R ships.  This is our first O cruise.

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/11/2024 at 6:46 AM, boxkite said:

Jim, excited to finally be able to following along from near the very beginning.

 

Will also be following your adventure from the Oceania board, both for the commentary and the pictures!

 

Both of you have a safe and outstanding cruise!

 

I just hope I can get enough bandwidth without Starlink.   

 

On 9/11/2024 at 6:51 AM, Stem to Stern said:

Hi Jim,

Looking forward to reading along as you venture out of your comfort zone.

Your comparison with X’s Millennium class will be interesting.

This will be about as close of a comparison you can get on X.

Tim and I sailed on our first R-class vessel with Azamara in 2022.

The R-class design is traditional, cozy, and intimate like a boutique hotel.

A nice environment to get your bearings on a new line.

Little chance of sensory overload unlike larger vessels.

We have another much-anticipated Azamara sailing to Iceland next year.

We are currently on our first Edge-class cruise and our verdict is still out.

Oceania has been on my radar for a long time.

Could likely wallpaper an entire room with all the mail they used to send me.😂

Safe travels to you and Iain.😃

 

 

I'm looking forward to the cozy feeling.     We have pretty much already decided after 2 1/2 months on E-Class this year that we will never sail another E-Class.    I know many enjoy it but to us probably our sweet spot is the S-Class.

 

On 9/11/2024 at 6:55 AM, wrk2cruise said:

 

So true.  I have my third Windstar cruise booked this year.  I booked in June with an All Included booking perk.  I was in the process of making final payment with my TA this week and forgot to give him the 3 digit code for my credit card.  I was reading a post on Cruise Critic Windstar page which just happened to mention the promo and how it included double the 5% loyalty discount.  What??!!  

 

The short blurb on the itinerary page mentioned nothing about it.  When you looked at the detail of the promo under the Specials page it mentioned the double discount.  Called the TA and got repriced.  The Taxes/Fees had also decreased by $80 pp (which Celebrity doesn't change after original booking) so my savings were over $700!

 

That is incredible.    CC members are so good at helping us know about special deals and discounts.  

 

 

On 9/11/2024 at 7:00 AM, MikeMary4449 said:

Good Morning, Jim!  Really looking forward to following along on your latest adventure.  We are very interested in your comparison of Oceania to Celebrity.  Love the itinerary you have chosen, which includes some new ports for us.  We hope you and Iain have a safe trip.  Bon Voyage!

Mike and Mary

 

Thanks Mike and Mary -  Some of the ports really excite us.   It will be different for sure.  
Some will be interesting like Ketchikan.     Oceania doesn't dock in town and will be docking in Ward's Cove which is about 12 miles north of town and will require a fee shuttle.

 

On 9/11/2024 at 7:45 AM, helen haywood said:

We’re “cheating” as well on Azamara Onward!

 

I think we would be traveling with Azamara if we had sailed with them before the spin off from Celebrity.   Since we never sailed with them they dropped our status.

 

On 9/11/2024 at 8:35 AM, tcmagnum said:

Looks like a great itinerary!!

Looking forward to your trip report!

 

Thanks much

 

On 9/11/2024 at 9:02 AM, George C said:

Add me to list of people very interested in your review, we have done M class several times in royal suite and have it booked again in March . I am guessing Regatta is a ex renaissance ship? Our first European cruise in 2001 was a renaissance ship , fantastic cruise .

 

Always good see you join in George.

 

On 9/11/2024 at 9:07 AM, jbcallender said:

We were in a Celebrity Suite on Millie a year ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Try and get Umesa for your server in Luminae.  He was excellent.  We did the  glacier helicopter tour in Skagway and loved it.

 

This trip we will not be on Celebrity.   We will be on Oceania so unless Umesa defects will have to miss his fantastic service.

 

On 9/11/2024 at 9:17 AM, di T said:

So looking forward to following again! Love your posts, we too have been trying a few different type of cruises.Last year we did Oceania for the first time on one of their R class, had a lovely cruise but the ship was a bit too small for us. Have been fortunate to of sailed most S class and M class,will try the Ascent in 10 days first edge class.then follow it with  our first experience of MSC. In the Yacht club so 3 weeks in the Med. Have a great trip both of you. Dianne

 

Size is definitely a consideration.   After sailing on Ponant (even small yacht size ships) we found that we enjoy a bit more intimate experience.   

 

 

On 9/11/2024 at 10:35 AM, Ciaranaman said:

Following too!  Looking forward to the pics that I know you'll be sharing.  What doors will you discover on this trip?

~Bernadette

 

Thanks Bernadette -    Maybe  will have to find an igloo with an Ice Door.... that would be new

 

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/11/2024 at 10:47 AM, maggie.1008 said:

looking forward to Jim`s review as we board the Regatta on the 26th when he debarks. 

This will be my 5th O cruise. I do like the O class ships better than the R class, but we enjoy driving to the port with no air involved. 

 

Just came off the Edge Alaska cruise a few weeks ago. Although I have enjoyed the E class ships in the past, I did not enjoy this time. It seemed way too crowded and very loud music noise throughout the ship. 

 

Looking forward to a quieter ship. Cheers, Heather

Heather -

 

Oh boy... Hope you find Regatta as exciting as we do. 

 

I think your experience on E-Class is similar to our.   It is really hard to find a quiet intimate place especially on a cold weather cruise.   Last cruise it took us a long time to find a quiet place where we could have a drink with some friends that have a hearing problem.    We finally found that Cellar Masters was empty and very insulated from blaring music. 

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/11/2024 at 10:48 AM, Sharkette76 said:

Thanks for posting. We're trying Seabourn in November - also moving out of our comfort zone.  Hope you enjoy Oceania.

Hope you post about your experience on Seabourn.    Seabourn is on our short list.   Currently we are booked out through 2025   Oceania 2x, Cunard 2x, Celebrity 2x, Silver Sea 1x and Regent 1x.

[Jim_Iain]

On 9/11/2024 at 11:23 AM, dcbiker97 said:

Looking forward to seeing how they compare.  We’ve been pretty much with Celebrity since 2006.  
 

There’s lots of experienced folks here looking around and I have been looking around at various other cruise lines. One deciding factor will be dress code (eye roll) and whether it’s the same casual affair as Celebrity is today (which is what I’d want)

 

You are correct.   I was surprised how many familiar people we have joined the Oceania Forum.    They have definitely made us fill at home and really helpful in answering our stupid questions.

[Jim_Iain]

 

Wow.... I'm getting caught up and finally got through page 2.

 

 

[Lena11033]

8 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Wow.... I'm getting caught up and finally got through page 2.

 

 

 

lol I was on page one, got sick so didn't come online for a day and a bit now we're on page 4 😅

[haynesra]

Jim can't wait to follow along for your comparison. Interesting that you mentioned no app for Ocenia. So I guess that means you have no menus available for pre-cruise planning. But to clarify, do you mean no app available at all or just no pre-cruise app availability? Seems really odd that there is no app at all in 2024. I know I would be lost without one 😁

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Lena11033 said:

 

lol I was on page one, got sick so didn't come online for a day and a bit now we're on page 4 😅

Hope you are feeling better.   I was off line for a day to visit my daughter and came back to a bunch of messages.  

 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Lena11033 said:

 

lol I was on page one, got sick so didn't come online for a day and a bit now we're on page 4 😅

Hope you are feeling better.   I was off line for a day to visit my daughter and came back to a bunch of messages.  

 

[Oville]

Have a GREAT cruise. We didn’t love Oceania but everyone has their own opinion.  Our biggest beef was our butler but not everyone is perfect.

Loved the speciality restaurants and ate there most nights.

Edited September 13 by Oville

[FetaCheese]

31 minutes ago, haynesra said:

Jim can't wait to follow along for your comparison. Interesting that you mentioned no app for Ocenia. So I guess that means you have no menus available for pre-cruise planning. But to clarify, do you mean no app available at all or just no pre-cruise app availability? Seems really odd that there is no app at all in 2024. I know I would be lost without one 😁

O has no app.  Would be nice, but I do not think it is a priority right now.

[helen haywood]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We have pretty much already decided after 2 1/2 months on E-Class this year that we will never sail another E-Class.    I know many enjoy it but to us probably our sweet spot is the S-Class.

Our last E Class sailing was Beyond in a Sunset Veranda…after IVs on Edge, Beyond and Apex.  I figured we’d see if a true balcony could help us enjoy E Class…but we decided that class just isn’t for us.  Much prefer S Class!