Oceania vs. Crystal
 

We have sailed on Crystal through the Panama Canal and had the best time. Everything was perfect..the food, the service, the entertainment were all top notch. We are now considering a Mediterranean cruise and wonder if we will be happy with Oceania? It is a bit less expensive that Crystal. We recently cruised to the Carribean with Celebrity and thought it was horrible. It was on one of their older ships and had a million kids and drunk twenty-somethings. I'll never make that mistake again.
Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

I haven't sailed on Crystal, and had a good experience on Celebrity--but our favorite line, by far, is Oceania.

We love the size of the ships, the excellent food, the open seating dining, no charge specialty restaurants, no formal nights, Tourist Office reps on board at every port, wonderful staff.

Crystal is luxury and Oceania is a step below but offers great value and has many fans.

If you enjoyed the formal atmosphere and traditional aspects of cruising, you might be better suited to Crystal. Crystal also will have better entertainment as the ships are built for this and less nickel and diming.

Oceania charges for the little things that Crystal does not (bottled water, etc).

These are different experiences so the personality of the the ships and line should match what you are looking for.

You may want to look at Regent itineraries as well. They're better than either Crystal or Oceania IMO and the cabins are wonderful.

I love Regent as well but, from a price perspective, it is definitely higher.

Not having to reach into your pocket is a great change, the cabins are superb and I really love their open dining.

It is my first choice for cruising and I leave in 10 days for my Regent cruise : )