I am a well seasoned cruiser (25 cruises) but have not been on a more upscale line than Celebrity. Is oceania considered more upscale than Celebrity, and if so in what way? Also, are Oceania and Regent similar in their ratings? Has anyone sailed on both Regent and Oceania and able to make a comparison. Thank you Karen G

I've sailed on all three. Oceania is a step below Regent in luxury - food is comparable in most cases between O and R but R can do more in the way of special requests. Service is wonderful on both. The Regent ships are all suite and mostly all balcony. Oceania's penthouse suites are comparable to all the lowest cabins. Both offer ships of 700 passengers approx. Regent is all inclusive of beverages and Oceania is like Celebrity - sign and order for drinks. Entertainment is better on Regent. I posted a detailed review in the Oceania forum here last year. We really like Oceania but if all were equal, we'd sail Regent as it's our favorite. Fares because it's not all inclusive on Oceania are slightly less per diem if you choose penthouse on O vs. G or H category on Regent.

Here is a link to the review I did last year:
http://www.luxurycruisetalk.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=000090

We have since done a 16 day Baltic Itinerary and the cruise was perfect.

I,too have sailed on all three. Fixed seating at dinner is a dealbreaker for me, but Celebrity was doing an 11 day cruise out of and returning to Charleston SC, so I cared not about anything except the convenience of driving to and from the pier. Would I sail Celebrity again? No. Too big and fixed seating. My expectations, however, were exceeded and it did represent great value.

My review of our 28 days on Insignia are attached.

www.luxurycruisetalk.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=000097#000000

Does this mean that you prefer Oceania to Regent?

No. As I indicated in my assessment with the above link, if Oceania fares were adjusted to be all inclusive, and if larger suites were more available, it would be a dead heat or maybe O by a whisker. I also prefer O's less formal dress code. But, O does not meet those requirements so R is my first choice. Will I continue to check O itineraries and go with them if it looks good? You bet!

Ted

I would travel on either depending on itinery, cost and timing. We did Oceania's Baltic because in a Concierge Cabin A the price for 15 days was equal to the 7 day Regent. But at the end of the cruise we did have to add in the additional costs of tips, alcohol and soft drinks. We loved the itinerary but we went with the expectation that we were not getting the luxury product of Regent - but pretty darn close. Service was excellent, our room was lovely - but much smaller and on a very port intensive cruise, we were content. You have to look at what expectations you might have and know what you expect.