Welcome to Cruise Talk the Internet's most popular discussion forum dedicated to cruising. Stop by Cruise Talk anytime to post a message or find out what your fellow passengers and industry insiders are saying about a particular ship, cruise line or destination.
>>> Reader Reviews >>> CruisePage.com Photo Gallery >>> Join Our Cruise Club.
Latest News...Cunard's iconic Queen Mary 2 today completed her historic first transit through the Panama Canal, marking a major milestone in her 2026 World Voyage. Guests traveling aboard the 108-night journey around the world were treated to a rare moment as Queen Mary 2 began her historic passage through the canal's new set of locks on Saturday, January 24. Following an overnight stay at the Cocoli Mooring Station...
Latest News...Today in Venice, Oceania celebrated a defining milestone in the creation of Oceania Cruises’ Sonata with her keel-laying ceremony—an exciting moment when vision officially becomes reality. The newbuild is part of a series of new ships for Oceania, with the Sonata followed by the Arietta in 2029 and unnamed newbuilds in 2032 and 2025. All four ships are 1,390 guests....
Latest News...A new iconic adventure has officially begun. Royal Caribbean celebrated a major moment with the first cut of steel for the fifth ship in the record-breaking Icon Class, marking the start of construction on the new vacation experience set to debut in 2028. The milestone was celebrated with a time-honored steel-cutting ceremony at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland..
The main restaurant is open seating. The specialty restaurants need reservations and no extra charge.
The buffet is quite spectacular with china settings and a steward to carry a large plate. No trays here.
Casual dining in the courtyard has comfort food for a quick bite if you like.
You are allotted 2 times in each specialty restaurant. Concierge level has 3.
The food and service is outstanding.
Regatta Crossing- review Lisbon to Miami
[ 11-12-2006: Message edited by: desirod7 ]
I did not prepare a formal review, but my complimentary comments on a similar repositioning crossing are somewhere hereabouts. Joe?
[ 11-12-2006: Message edited by: Cambodge ]
We leave next week for our 5th Oceania cruise, Istanbul to Singapore, 25 days, and, we have two b-2-b's scheduled with them next year!
They do a fantastic job in all respects!!
[ 11-12-2006: Message edited by: annnthony ]
We have some experience of Celebrity (on board Galaxy), and we particularly enjoyed the traditional dining experience - having the same table companions the whole cruise. Perhaps we were lucky with our table, but dinner became one of the highlights of the day as much for the conversation as the food.
Oceania does things rather differently, of course, with 'open seating' in the main restaurant. How easy is it to strike up conversation & to share meals with other people? - I would be worried that an Oceania cruise could be a rather islated experience.
quote:Originally posted by Tom Burke: - I would be worried that an Oceania cruise could be a rather islated experience.
Not necessarily: The Maitre-D will ask if you want to dine alone or with others. I normally asked for a table of 8. All times I met wonderful people.
Oceania has from the LoveBoat era Princess: trained social hosts who always make the wallflowers and single passengers feel welcome and included. I never even met the CD on the Cunard Queens or the SSNorway.
The great advantage of open seating is you can go when you wish, not just at assignned times. Most people think 6:15-30 is too early and 8:15-30 is too late. On Oceania, more than 80% of the seating is done between 7 and 8!
quote:Originally posted by Pascal:However I really dislike the decoration of the R ships, much too "Titanic" like for me.
Pascal, onboard it is different than the photos. The wood and brass are real. The furnishings are not garish so it looks legitimate. Only the Horizons Lounge does the Edwardian not quite work.
I am a diehard modernist who could live in the Jetson's house.
The decor is classic, first class, understated. It was as if you were a guest in a mansion.
I, and others, did some black and white printing of the interiors, and you would swear they were from a great ocean liner of the Pre-WWII era.
Parallels to places I have been at one time or another in my misspent life, would be the Union League Club of Chicago, the Cosmos Club of Washington DC, and the Harvard Club of Boston. Frankly, I am just enough of a snob to love it!
When they were Renaisance ships did they have Anytime or set dining?
Ultimate Bulletin BoardTM 6.1.0.3
More Vacation & Cruise Specials...