SheilaOB

Need help deciding on cruise line - Regent or Oceania. Also flight options.Itinerary: Late spring or early fall 2008 12-14 day Athens - Istanbul cruise.

1) Regent has much larger cabins (> 300sq’) and even lowest category have picture windows. There is no tipping and cruise is wine/liquor inclusive.

2) Oceania has small cabins (165sq’) and lowest category cabin - "Ocean View” has a Porthole! Oceania has tip % and drinks as add ons.

Looks like a higher level cabin on O may actually push costs over R when tips, etc are figured in.

2) Regent is offering air inclusive on some of their cruises. I usually book our flights myself to keep control of times and connections, however these itineraries are open jaw and there are no deals to those cities that I can find. It seems like this time R's flight included fare may be lower than what I can do.

Anyone sailed with both lines have opinion on cabins or any one with recent experience flying with Regent making the flight arrangements? Or Oceania’s if they offer that option?

Thanks.
S

expert4travel

Regent hands up! It is the way to go! Here's why All ocean-view suites/staterooms • Single open-seating dining and a choice of restaurants • 24-Hour room service & in suite dining • Complimentary wines with dinner • Complimentary in suite bar set-up • Service and space ratios among the highest in cruising • Gratuities included in cruise fare. Also consider October if you are price concious and look at Silversea and Seadream Yachts.

I found Regent staff better but I think it was my personality with the staff was what turned me most to Regent.

If you are looking at Oceania I must say I just booked a couple Aegean Adventures 12-Night Cruise on the Nautica, Sept 5, from Istanbul to Athens. Visit Istanbul & Kusadasi, Turkey;
Rhodes, Delos, Mykonos, Santorini, Katakolon, Corfu & Athens, Greece; Sarande, Albania & Dubrovnik, Croatia. From east coast
$3,499 including FREE AIR from Washington/Dulles, but drinks anf grats were not important date was.

kfusto

I have not yet cruised Oceania but have cruised Regent. One is premium and one is luxury and there is a difference.

At one point, Oceania tied cabin categories with access to frequency of specialty dining and other perks; not sure if it has changed.

What I love about RSSC and does not appeal about O is cabin size. We want a nice cabin and 165 sq ft does not cut it for us. Also, it is a true pleasure to have all drinks (water, coffees) fully included as well as tips. There are many incidentals that people do not factor in when evaluating lines.

Maybe one day Iw ill try O but for now RSSC is my favorite line. We book under promos and often choose guarantees.

SheilaOB

Expert - Thanks for info. I took a chance and Emailed you for info on booking that Aegean cruise - that is one I am looking at, but price you mentioned is better that any quotes I've gotten. Would you share your booking agent's site info?

patsy120

I have been on both and they're both wonderful. Regent, of course is in a higher class as it really is a luxury line. Oceania though has beautiful interiors and nice accommodations though much smaller cabins. When it comes to cruising, I think you get what you pay for. Not sure if you're aware of this but now they both have the same parent company.

One thing I will add that is seldom mentioned....you didn't say whether you're a smoker or not. Both lines are very smoker un-friendly. If you smoke (I don't) I would probably opt for a different line all together. Oceania is the worst of the two and if I were a smoker, I wouldn't consider it. I understand that Regent has lost a tremendous amount of revenue since adopting a similar smoking policy as Oceania. They apparently were trying to fix something that wasn't broken.

Anyway, good luck in your choice. IMO, both are good options though Regent gets an edge.

SheilaOB

Ended up with Oceania and veranda cabin - added time on Istanbul and Athens with savings not booking on Regent. Thanks to all.
S

LuxuryCruiseBible

Sheila,

I'll be interested to hear how you like O when you return. We love Regent but there are a lot of very nice looking itineraries on Oceania. We're tempted to give it a go.

Have a great trip!

Andrea

patsy120

IMO it may be best to go on Oceania first, before trying Regent. Both are nice but Regent is in a different class so if you're on Regent first, you may be spoiled and not find Oceania to your liking.

patandhank

My husband and I have done Oceania and have looked at Regent. For us, like SheilaOB, we opted to use the difference in the money saved to off-set expenses such as a private guides in port which would have been an expense irregardless of which line we took. As much as we would love a bigger cabin, by the time we totalled up the cost of Regent v Oceania(and yes we did the math on the incidentals) Regent turned out more. In fact in hindsight, even though we paid for alcohol the total bill on Oceania was still less than what we would have had to pay for a comparable cabin on Regent. Having said all that, I would still give Regent a try if the itinerary was right and special offers were enough of an incentive.

mel1

I also looked at O for our first Med cruise late October 2008, but ended up with Regent due to cabin size, alcohol inclusive (we are wine makers!) and R all round seems to offer a more upmarket experience.
Really looking forward to it, I must say.

charli

We love Oceania and have thought many times of trying Regent. Like patandhank we checked out the cost difference between the 2 on our last 2 bookings on Oceania. The difference was between $2000 and $3000. I could never drink or tip that much on either possibility. I have no problem with the size of Oceania's balcony or suite cabins so more room isn't that important in the overall plan.

crys

I like the inclusiveness of Regent not because of the money, or even the "trouble" of signing chits. It makes a difference in the social setting. I cruise alone about half the time, and the ship being inclusive avoids all awkwardness about sharing a bottle of wine at dinner, or feeling like I'm sponging if a couple pays for a drink for me in the lounge (or the couple feeling that way about me). No one has to worry about "whose turn" it is to buy. The inclusive ship means that I can just go to a lounge and invite someone to join me, or invite myself to join someone, with utterly no awkwardness.

Interestingly, since Regent went all-inclusive (until 2007, it only was inclusive of wines at dinner), socializing in the lounges has picked up considerably. And it's not that it's a ship full of drunks--you rarely see anyone drunk. Instead, I think, the open bar makes it feel more like a house party, and people socialize on that basis.

carolbookaholic

Latest offer I have from Regent says if we book by 31st March, shore excursions are included. Has anyone any information on that? Also, for the 1st time we are considering using cruise line for air because it's included "free" for both Oceania and Regent.
We also are looking at Oceania vs. Regent for Med cruising including Turkey and Greek Islands. I think the inclusion of shore excursions(which often add $1,000 or more to our cruising costs) would make the choice easy even though Regent is more costly initially.
On a recent Windstar cruise ( 7 night Puerto Caldera- Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica) we spent about $1500 on 5 shore excursions, drinks and tips! We are not "big drinkers" but do like a drink before dinner and wine with dinner.
Would love to hear from you after your Oceania cruise as to how much the "extras" added to your costs and a final comparison between Regent and Oceania. I do what patandhank did and REALLY compare the costs closely, but I think the free shore excursions and tips included might make Regent the better deal at the moment.
It will be a wonderful cruise no matter which you take, I'm sure! Enjoy...
Carol

Dreps

If you check the Regent Web site, it indicates which cruises have free shore excursion and free air (or air credit). Regent has just come out with some extremely good deals; our TA is adjusting hundreds of invoices. Some fares of dropped thousands of dollars per person since original bookings. Therefore, I suggest you checks the latest fares before making any decision. There is no comparison between the standard suites on the the Regent ships (excluding the PG) and the Oceania ships (unless you go to a PH on Oceania).