Oceania viewpoint from a seasoned Regent Cruiser
Istanbul – Athens
Sail date: June 20, 2007

First, for those that don’t know, we won this cruise via a Charity Raffle and we were the one and only prize winner. My husband is a member of our local Rotary International Club and they decided to purchase passage in on this cruise and each member was responsible for selling a quantity of tickets. He decided to buy his quota of tickets and we won a Concierge level cabin including airfare, visas, and port charges. We had a choice of a nominal cash prize or the cruise for this date and we being avid cruisers, chose the cruise. It was our intention to try a cruise on Oceania and so for us we were more than thrilled. We paid for an upgrade to Penthouse level since were told that would make it more comparable to the lowest (H category) on Regent. We wanted to keep an open mind and tried hard not to compare – I got on not wanting to like O. We recently sailed on Holland America’s flagship Amsterdam and so we would judge between that and Regent’s three ships.

I am going to start with the bottom line – will we cruise O again ? Absolutely.

The itinerary was wonderful. Two days in Istanbul, Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Corfu, Kusadasi, Delos, Katakolon, Dubrovnik. And Athens. Overnight in port in both Istanbul and Athens. Late night departure from Mykonos and Istanbul to maximize time in port.

The Nautica: We loved the ships décor. Absolutely reminded us a very upscale country club with beautiful fabrics, dark woods comfortable seating in a traditional motif. The layout of the public rooms on the ship we felt made the ship feel very intimate and very inviting. Martini’s lounge with the piano and the bar were a great meeting place. Another bar at the entrance to the Grand Dining Room was well placed. The rooms were frequently filled and never felt crowded. Easy to get most places and the small size of the ship was perfect for us.

Fellow Passengers: Over all, they were terrific, fun loving, well traveled and frequent cruisers. We met passengers from all over – although a bulk were Californians, New Yorkers and Floridians. We met a number of people from Down Under and from South Africa as well. A number of people we met and talked with had sailed at least 3-4 times and some had sailed on Regent, Seabourne, Crystal and Silverseas. The demographic was slightly younger. More passengers in their 30’s and 40’s and more families. Most I would say were mid-50’s. Very sociable.

Activities: All the ship activities were directed at this demographic. Very active shore excursions with lots of walking, hiking and active – few available just bus tours Very little that were just get on the bus and get talked at. I did not recall seeing more than one walker and one wheelchair. While children were discouraged, there was no program for them, there were a handful of well behaved and well traveled kids on board. Even the two year old charmer who attended many adult oriented activities was beyond the norm. I think that the parents, knowing that this line is not geared for kids really did more than expect someone else to entertain them and I want to commend those parents because the kids were really well mannered beyond what I have seen of late.

Limited Smoking! As one of those former smokers who quit years ago, I have become allergic to cigarette smoke. As a “gambler” I was in heaven in the casino and the other areas of the ship being mostly smoke free was a huge plus. Having spent time with smokers in adjacent cabins on Regent, we really relished the bars and other venues on this ship.

Room Service Breakfast – The days we had early excursions we had room service breakfast. We as suite passengers were entitled to full breakfast, but, we prefer eating lighter and the express menu was fine for us. Fresh berries daily! (Frozen on Regent) but the winning thing was that before the breakfast was delivered the butler (that was mostly what he did for us) would call us to let us know he was coming to bring breakfast. A small thing done well. Oh – and the coffee was a strong European blend – much to our liking..

Excursions: We bought a package of excursions that fit in with the cruise’s theme of “Crossroads of History” which included one full day excursion and some half day excursions in each of the ports. The guides were all excellent, patient and spoke English fluently. The excursions all had some free time to explore the areas visited. The buses were comfortable, clean and modern. Each morning you would meet in Nautica Lounge (the theater) and would turn in your ticket for your bus assignment. It was so well done and timing was pefect so you never felt crowded. The groups were relatively small. On the walking tours you never had to strain to hear the guides. The prices were very reasonable. We felt we had good value. The largest group for any of our tours was about 24 people. Lots of room to spread out on the bus. We did skip one tour and had we gone earlier to the excursion desk to let them know, they would have sold the ticket for us and credited our money back for the cost of that tour. We only cancelled that day because of the heat, but, they had modified that tour to accommodate the heat and keep the guests comfortable. At the end of the tour at Ephesus, they had staff waiting at the exit with a picnic cooler full of cold wash cloths with lemon scent to them to wash up and cool down! A really nice touch.

Food: While the food was excellent (we felt the beef and lamb were actually better quality and in some cases better prepared) Presentation was wonderful. The Jacques Pepin menu was a static menu of choice of a steak, a chicken and a salmon prepared to his standard. Other dishes were comparable to Regent offerings including a perfectly prepared Foie Gras, a Mushroom Risotto starter, fruit soups, salads, caviar topped potato. (I loved the Versace china). Much of the food on Regent is prepared to order just like any fine restaurant. Food on O – some is prepped to order but not all. The executive chef, Rolando (?) is French, Cordon Bleu trained and formerly with RSSC having worked for Tobias. Food was still done well. Some of the side dishes were just not what we’d have ordered – not bad, just not to our taste. We had perfect Wienerschnitzel the last night. The Polo Grill and Toscana were both very good. Just barely notch below Signatures and comparable with Portofino and Latitudes. Whole Maine Lobsters and great prime rib and steaks in Polo and food in Toscana just as good as any fine Italian. Waves, the pool grill made better hamburgers and side dishes. Pizza in the Terrace Café was excellent. Less choices in the buffet at lunch. We did not try Tapas on the Terrace. Food on Regent is just slightly better but not by very much.

Beverage Service: Well, nothing can top all inclusive. Signing for drinks was just not that terrible. The liberal alcohol policy helped transition us – we could bring aboard beverages for in cabin consumption. We missed being handed a glass of champagne upon boarding, but, the bottle of Perrier Jouet waiting in our cabin helped us get over that experience. Some one gifted us a bottle of Mumm’s Napa cuvee as well. During the wine tasting, passengers were offered a wine package of some great vintage choices and we purchased a package. Wines are priced comparable to a restaurant and the prices were fair. To compare with Holland America, the markup on HAL was 4 times what we’d have paid in the local wine store and 3 times store price on O with a $12 - $15.00 bottle in store being $40 on O – vs $50 on HAL. Mixed Drinks ranged from $4.25 for Drinks of the Day (5 or six kinds) to $9.00 for Grey Goose Martini’s. Good wines available by the glass for $6-10 each. Soft drinks were $2.00 per can and no package available. The cruise director told us that the head office is looking at some changes to this. Our total bar bill for a 12 day cruise was $60.00 per day for two of us. We definitely drank less wine at dinner then the never empty Regent Glass but we have been drinking less overall at home and we were up early every day for our chosen intense early daily touring.

Service: Several staff members we spoke to came from Crystal, Seabourne, Silverseas, and Regent. All were very experienced. About 50/50 European and Asian/Filipino. All with smiles on their faces and genuinely happy. One employee told us that working for O was the best for him because they had more time off and the contracts were shorter so they saw family more often. We frequently saw the staff in the various ports – having fun and laughing. Something small that we liked – when you finished your meal and were leaving the restaurants, all the staff you passed by on the way out thanked you for dining there. I felt very welcomed. Service was always spot on. One day, when I commented to our Butler, we were not sure “what to do with him” he took all of Frank’s shoes and polished them. We only ordered evening canapés one time and when we failed to return our order form, he started coming by to remind us to please order food. We still declined to have more food than we wanted to consume.

Entertainment: We went to several shows – most of the entertainment consisted of music. One comedian, Sarge, had us laughing for a full hour. He will be in a one man show in New York and if we go to NYC, we will make a point to see him. There were no glitter and glitz Las Vegas revues, but there were four staff entertainers who sang as an ensemble and the shows were contemporary and enjoyable. One entertainer we saw on a Regent Cruise – top notch violinist, Hanna Starscova (?) and one entertainer was a singer with major stage credits in Broadway plays in London’s West End who we would happily have paid admission to hear. She was standing room only in the showroom both nights and was above and beyond what we ever expected (short of hearing the Platters one cruise – but that was on Royal Caribbean way back before we found Regent). The Nautica Orchestra and the resident String Quartet were all top end, They did a daily performance near the main dining room for three sets during pre-dinner which was lovely as well as during tea service. The lounge pianist, held court before and after dinner and kept Martini’s full. Several nights he played a Name that Tune Musical Team Trivia just after the show that filled the room and was something that all the passengers we spoke with enjoyed. Several times we were at Sail away parties and one evening – from Mykonos, the party was 60’s and 70’s dance party that topped any sail away party we’ve attended. Two hours of really fun, heavily participated in party – comparable to a good Wedding party, complete with conga line and more foot movement for those sitting on the pool lounges. The final show was the four entertainment staff doing a tribute to Hollywood and it was terrific fun. The show lounge full and at the end the crew came out and sang Auld Lang Syne and We are Family – breaking into dance party including crew and passengers. Only one show fell short according to other passengers – a flautist, and we did not attend that show – we were busy closing the dining room with some other guests.

Embarkation and Disembarkation: We boarded in Istanbul. We booked a tour on arrival with Oceania who offered tours to the overnight hotel guests on the way to the hotel. We took the morning of embarkation to visit the Spice Market, The Underground Cistern and take a cruise on the Bosphous. The tour ended at 12:30 at the ship, We had a private guide lined up for 1:30 and we were able to board the ship, drop our hand luggage in our room with assistance from a crew member who showed us to our cabin, which was ready at 1:00, peek in the closets and at the room, go up to the Terrace and have a fast lunch and meet our guide on time. There was a bottle of Perrier Jouet waiting as well as a gift from friends of some Mumm’s Napa Cuvee. Very smooth. What really impressed me was the disembarkation process. No announcements from the ship. You were given a check in time, went to the Nautica Lounge. Checked in at the desk and were whisked off to your transportation right on the clock – no waiting – no lines. About 25 passengers at a time and mostly arranged by the flights that were booked. Full breakfast in the main dining room. Luggage was trucked to the airport and waiting for you at the curb. Staff was there with carts to load it so you could walk inside and check in at the desk for your flight. Maybe it was because we overnighted in port that made it easier for them to do that. But it was a perfect end to a great cruise.

Things we missed: No fruit bowls in the rooms, although we never eat from them! No fresh flowers in the rooms, but they were in the public rooms. I missed the dressing table but the desk worked fine. Free internet and telephone as a Silver SSS member. No SSS party – but there is a party for repeaters which we will have next time. I love those Salt Sticks in the RSSC breadbaskets, but, I am supposed to be on a salt free diet.

Conclusion: We’re booking our 2008 Baltics Cruise on O. We really enjoyed the cruise. The flavor is different than Regent. More people were out and about on the ship. Maybe because there were fewer suites to hide in. They were out and about in the lounges. People were down to earth – no pretense. All Country Club casual. We took one whole less bag! Frank brought a jacket but could have left it home. Port intensive meant that there was less relaxing – if we wanted it, it was there. Daily Trivia, Tea and Bingo. Good Casino. Nice Gym. Pool was beautiful. Excursions were well done. Nice touches we liked. Loved the Balinese Beds. We think Regent has it all, but, this was also pretty perfect for us. YMMV. I will be calling Ngaire to book the Baltics next week.

Kathy,

I'm very glad you and Frank had such an enjoyable cruise! Do I understand correctly, that if you are not booked in a suite on Oceania, you can not get room service breakfast or only limited breakfast?
Looking forward to your pix.

Hi Kathy,


I am so glad that you had a great experience. I am seriously considering Oceania for the not too distant future.

Do you think that going in one of their smaller cabins would severely hamper the enjoyment of the cruise? Did you by any chance see one of the standard cabins? Is the bathroom bigger in the Penthouse cabin?

Thanks for your report!

The Suite Passengers are entitled to full cooked to order breakfast. I think concierge level also gets room service. Otherwise, I don't know what the breakfast is for standard cabins. I would not go with less than a concierge cabin.

We met a couple in a concierge cabin. The room was very much like the PG cabin but shower without a tub. We had a full bath with the shower over the tub. Our room was 322 sq ft while their room wasa bout 200 sq ft with veranda. They got room service but a slightly more limited menu.

Kathy - thanks for the review!

Masaki

Kathy, very good review!

Nice review...thanks Kathy! :app:

Oh - I added some more pix - I took over 2000 and there are many more to finish...

http://www.pbase.com/chatkat/travel_2007

Very nice photos, Kathy!!!!! Thanks!!

So Kathy, you tried a balinese bed I presume? Just for a day?

The bar bill of $60 per day, did that include water and soft drinks?

Great review, you should probably book your cruise asap, last time I checked many of the good cabins were already gone for summer 2008.

They weren't all taken, but there were also some by the pool - just not private

Thanks Kathy! When you have time, could you post about the ports you were in? We are looking at a similar cruise in JUne 2008 and have not been to Istanbul or Greek Isles exc for Corfu. Anxious to hear how you liked each.
-------------------
Helen

Okay - I will try to do that this week. Back to work (ugh!)

Kathy,
Thanks for the review. One clarification. You have the same choices from room service for any cabin category. While concierge level and above receive early embarkation privileges, priority dinner reservations, and several other nice features all services on the ship such as room service are the same for all.

Thanks, Susan for the info - and for snagging that last Concierge cabin for us on the Regatta! Baltic, here we come!

Wendy - we did not take advantage of the private beds, but, at the Sailaway party they were open and I went to see them. If you booked a non-balcony cabin, I think it would be worthwhile to book them for the full cruise but for me, I would be perfectly happy on the pool deck.

For 12 days our whole bill was $720.00 including water, soft drinks, wine at dinner, tips and internet.

Kathy, thanks for the great report...due to your
experience, Claudia's rave reveiws, Susan Walsh's
positive review; If Oceania's South American itinerary in Jan 09 includes the Cape, and Chilean Fjords, we will switch our 08 Mariner GAP booking to O....wes

Kathy,
Thanks for the detailed review. O has good port intensive itineraries but I had been afraid to try them since we usually go with all inclusive lines. You have convinced me to give them a try.
Merril

Merril,

I thought that I would not be able to cruise them on the Concierge level, so we did Penthouse for the Istanbul/Athens cruise. It's comparable to a regular suite on RSSC. The Concierge cabins, after seeing them, are comparable to the cabins on the PG - totally tolerable for such port intensive sailings. If there were more than one or two sea days, a Penthouse would be a definite requirement for me. Amenities, except for butler, are the same. We're doing concierge level for the Baltics since I don't expect to be in our room all that much.

So the total bill sounds pretty reasonable, all things considered I guess.

So have you booked your Baltic cruise yet? Glad to have my suspicions confirmed about the Concierge-level balconies; I had suspected they would be entirely adequate for a port-intensive trip.

Such beautiful photos, Kathy! You have an incredible eye for composition & color. What camera did you use?

Maryann,

Thank you for the kind words! I use a Canon 5D and all "L" (Pro) Lenses. Since you don't know me, you would not know that I became a Professional Photographer this last year. And I just started negotiations to have some of my work diplayed in a gallery for sale! I've been working on portraits and weddings now. I've been really studying the art very seriously now for about 6 years.

Well, congrats, then! If your portraits are as beautiful as your travel photos, you have most certainly found your ideal career.

My Powershot is no competition for the 5D, but you've inspired me to choose better subjects (locals, ordinary objects, markets) with an eye to color & arrangement...

In the Penthouse and above..you can order dinner from any or all the of restaurants on board course by course..for instance Shrimp cocktail from Polo Grill, Caprese salad from Toscana, main course from Grand Dining Room and desert from Tapas..you cannot do this in concierge level or below..when Stuart and I were on the 35 day cruise in March and came in exhausted..we loved to pop in a DVD and have that dinner in our Penthouse..
Jan

Kathy, Thanks for your thorough review. I think you have caused us to reconsider Oceania for some itineraries, for example, the Baltics. I have always felt that to compare apples and apples, one needed to book a PH on Oceania. However, even doing that seems to involve a notable per diem savings for the Baltics, given Oceania's much longer itinerary and Regent's relatively high Baltic fares. In addition, we don't drink that much, and CCC sure makes packing easier. I'm sure we could live with signing for water and soft drinks.

-----------

Eugene

Kathy, I FINALLY had enough uninterrupted time to read your trip report and view your pictures...they are just excellent! I'm so glad you enjoyed your experience on "O"! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!

Thank you all for reading my review and viewing my photos. This was a very special trip for us. I hope that you enjoyed the vicarious cruise with us.

Kathy great review..so glad you had a great trip!! Also LOVED your pictures..
Jan

Thank you, Jan.

Kathy

We appreciate your reassuring comments re your experience on "O". We are Regent "Junkies", but are booked on Insignia on a B2B from Valparaiso to Rio in February. We could not get away early enough to consider Regent and we're picky about suite selection, so segments didn't seem workable. Susan managed to confirm us in the same OS for both legs of the cruise, so we went for "O". Passenger reaction seems generally positive, but your assessment as a Regent regular is particularly meaningful. However, one consistent negative is access to laundry facilities - we'll be on the boat for 28 days - will we have to send out laundry all the time?

Ted

Ted, look forward to your O review on your return, as we will be taking the BA--Valparaiso (19) day,Dec 20, 08...guess you are not doing any diving?

wes

Wes
No diving on this one - we are definitely warm water divers! Last bubble blowing was in Bonaire in May. We're really getting curious about O - Expectations tend to be elevated after Regent.

Ted

Ted,
Didn't I tell you my alias is "washer woman?" With 4 children I do several loads of wash a day. I can tell you on my Oceania cruises I had no difficulty with wash and each cruise I have washed a number of times as my husband works out daily and his workout clothes need washing often. It is all about timing. If you pick a sea day midday you will definitely find it crowded. I usually went early morning or even better around dinner. We are late diners and it appears the majority like to go eat about 7:30. So I would pop a load in at 7:00. It would be finished about 7:30. I would toss it in the dryer and try to pick it up by 8:20 and then head out to dinner. If it wasn't quite dry, I would try to order dinner and then wander back to laundry and throw it back in the room. If I miscalculated someone would take it out of the dryer and put it on the table and I would retrieve it after dinner.

Susan, we need to nickname you WONDER WOMAN! I don't know how you do it all!!! Maybe a better name would be Major Multitask Maven! ;)

OK, true confession time. I have no idea how a washing machine works. What I do know is that Joan gets frustrated by the laundry process on cruises (especially when clothes are removed by others before they are finished)and when Mama's not happy, nobody's happy! Susan plans this effort with greater thought than Eisenhower planned D Day!

Thanks for the advice! BTW, we planned to wash everything on the day between the B2Bs - does this work or do all the B2Bers have the same idea?

Ted

Ted, how are u doing excursions on your cruise--via "O" or on you own...am interested in what
u/bride enjoy most--so we can consider for
BA-Valparaiso..thanks Wes

Ted,
Since I haven't had the luxury of a B2B because I am always rushing home to make sure my children survived and haven't burned down the house while we were gone, I cannot tell you if those staying on rush to the laundry. But it sounds reasonable to me that this would be a relatively easy time. It is always amazing to me how many men are doing laundry and even more amazing those doing the ironing. I have more than once invited one of these men to train my husband of 27 years how to do the laundry and ironing but no one has taken up the challenge.

"It is always amazing to me how many men are doing laundry and even more amazing those doing the ironing." Yes I know Susan :D :D :D :D Joanna

Somehow, laundry must seem like a fun activity on the cruises. My husband did our laundry during the Norway cruise, even folded the clothing and mine was nicely laid on the bed. :app:
Cheers, Pam

Alan does our laundry on a cruise, too, but he draws the line at ironing. The arrangement works for me, I spend plenty of time planning the trip and packing. It only seems fair that he does the laundry onboard. I also use the excuse that I don't know how to work the machines <img border="0" alt="[vhappy]" title="" src="graemlins/icon_vhappy.gif" /> .

While I've done our laundry while cruising, Larry does his own laundry at home! However, he'll never be able to iron and my ironing skills are marginal!!!

Nancy