Oceania Experiences?

[stomsf]

We are contemplating one of the newly released Asian itineraries on Oceania in 2006 (the new Nautica, another refurbished Rennaisance ship) and wanted to see what experiences others may have had on Oceania -- The Regatta or Insignia? We are mostly Celebrity cruisers who are branching out as Celebrity's prices have taken such an upswing and that we are running out of interesting places to go (they only sail to a few markets).

 

Thanks!!

[HowardB]

My partner and I are booked on the Insignia sailing of March 15 from Barbados to Barcelona. If you can wait until then, I can provide some feedback. HBINDC@aol.com

 

 

Howard

[shaq]

My partner and I have booked the Nautica for the Jan. 6,2006 cruise. We are also interested in hearing about any comments or experiences anyone has had on Oceana ships.

[stebul]

We just got back from a 12 day Caribbean cruise on Regatta. The food and service are OUTSTANDING. Several fellow passengers said both were as good or better than on Silversea and Seabourn (I haven't been on either, and keep in mind food and service are pretty subjective). Everyone agreed that Oceania was a step above Celebrity, HAL, and Princess. Oceania is not all-inclusive like Silversea (you have to pay extra for alcohol, sodas, bottled water, laundry, etc.). Most of the waiters and stewards are from Eastern Europe, and would happily spend a few minutes chatting with passengers at meals or when you see them on the ship. Oceania generally hires staff who have worked on other cruise lines. The food in the Grand Dining Room was delicious and presented well, as was the food at Toscana (the Italian specialty restaurant). Soups, ice cream, and desserts are all prepared on the ship (don't miss the pistacio ice cream). I personally didn't care for Polo Grill, but many other passengers liked their steaks and seafood. Dinner at Tapas on the Terrace features spicer, ethnic cuisine, and is worth trying as an alternative when you don't want to spend 2 hours eating a 4 or 5 course dinner at one of the other restaurants. We appreciated the country club casual dress code throughout the cruise. We wore sweaters and slacks every night, although there were enough men wearing jackets that they were not out of place. Some men wore sport coats. Fellow passengers are mostly over 50, although on the Caribbean itinerary there were plenty of passengers who aren't yet collecting Social Security benefits. There were several other gay men onboard (easy to find on a ship with less than 700 passengers). Onboard entertainment is conservative, consisting on our cruise of a magician, a Barbara Striesand impersonator, a lounge pianist, and a 50's/60's variety show. They have a talented string quartet playing during the afternoon tea (although again lots of conservative Mozart). There is an extensive library on board, and many passengers spent sea days on deck reading between dips in the pool/jacuzzi. Bottom Line: If you want lots of structured activitites beyond bingo, trivia, and art auctions, if you want a lively nightlife, or if you can't make conversation with a 70 yo straight couple at dinner, I recommend you pick another cruise line! Otherwise, I think you'll have a great time on Oceania. Let me know if you have any specific questions. We are contemplating an Oceania Med cruise in 2006.

[bepsf]

...Onboard entertainment is conservative, consisting on our cruise of - a Barbara Striesand impersonator...

MmmmHmmm - and was Babs impersonated by a woman or a man?

;)

[stomsf]

Thanks Stebul -- exactly what we were wondering. We will be traveling with a large group of friends (both straight and gay) so don't care if the rest of the ship is older. We are most concerned about service and food. What type of cabin were you staying in? Did you find it adequate? How are the gym facilities/spa? How expensive were spa treatments compared to Celebrity, etc.?

 

We still have one more Celebrity cruise on the books (Constellation, Baltics 6/4/05) but are definitely looking forward with great anticipation to our cruise on Oceania in a little over a year. :D

[stebul]

stomsf, different people have different expectations for service. In keeping with the country club casual dress code, the emphasis seems to be on congenial and personable service rather than traditional, structured service. We were very happy with the service, and did not need to make a lot of special requests. Staff was empowered to solve problems when they arose. Silversea is better set up to handle special requests than Oceania, but I think you will get more friendly service on Oceania. Most dining room staff are in their 20's from Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria -- they really made dining a fun experience, and their English is great. We saw many fellow passengers hugging their favorite crew memebers goodbye before disembarkation. Keep in mind that staff memebers who are mentioned by name on the mid and post cruise evaluation forms can be rewarded with priority time away from the ship by their department heads. The food was very good. We ate all breakfasts and most lunches at the Terrace Cafe. It is a buffet, but the quality of food and service is very high. I preferred Toscana over Polo Grill. The service in both restaurants was great, but the steaks were not as good as you can get in the best steakhouses ashore. Pastries, soups, salads, pastas, pizzas, and ice creams were all wonderfully hand made with very fresh ingredients. All of the passengers were raving about the food and service. We were in a penthouse suite. The balcony has two comfortable nylon mesh chairs with two footrests, and easily accomodates two people. There was plenty of storage space. The bathroom was a little small, but efficient. We did not use the butler service. The ship is so small that in the time it would take to page the butler you could be one deck up getting whatever you wanted yourself. The evening canapes provided in the suites are a nice touch, but by the end of the cruise we were not eating them. The sandwiches and sweets at the afternoon tea were MUCH better than the canapes, anyways! We decided to look at the regular cabins to see if we could "get by" on the next cruise. The bathrooms are smaller (only a shower) and the balcony has 2 chairs but no footrests. There is a little less storage space. Bottom line is that we decided next time we go on Oceania we would book a regular veranda cabin instead of the suite, especially with the new concierge accomodations on Deck 7 coming up this spring. By the time you cruise, the concierge rooms should have DVD players. One of the drawbacks of a smaller ship is that the ride can be rough even on moderate seas. Bring dramamine. The gym had treadmills, x-training machines, and upright/recumbant bikes plus some cybex equipment and dumbells. They offered yoga and aerobics several times each day for $10 each session. The cardio equipment was busy at peak hours. The spa is outsourced to Mandara, and we thought it was too expensive. Spa treatments ranged from $100-150 plus a 18% gratuity. You could get a 3 treatment package that lowered the cost per treatment to $99 plus gratuity. You can use the steam room for free, but the thalasotherapy whirlpool is $15 per day unless you are using it just before or after a spa appointment. You should have a great time. Just remember you will have to self-entertain on sea days unless you really like trivia, bingo, bridge, and art auctions. There is a large on-ship library. We each read several novels on our trip.

[stebul]

bepsf, all woman. She did a decent show.

[stomsf]

Stebul --

 

Thanks for the info!