Originally Posted by
david55
Cool.....We were looking at a 10 day Oceania cruise to Alaska.....Vancouver-Seattle ( my home port). I like the idea of not having to get on a plane to fly to the cruise...and especially at the end.... just wheeling our bags along the water front in Seattle to the ferry dock where we catch a 30 minute ferry ride home. we are foodies and I hear the food is decent on the Regatta.
First, do see the Oceania section of CruiseCritic.com -
https://boards.cruisecritic.com/foru...eania-cruises/
You'll get a lot of information from several posters who are very active and have a LOT of experience with Oceania.
On cruises, we like to RELAX.
Oceania has been PERFECT for us. We do *not* enjoy all of the "action" described above... bands, dancing, loud shows.
Oceania does have some shows, but they don't tend to get top reviews among "cruise line shows". That's fine with us. We prefer to head back to our suite after dinner, read for a while, look over the future ports (again!), and then go to sleep early.
Unlike you, we also like to get up late
We also enjoy a nice breakfast en suite (full breakfast is available in suites, so if you are not at least Penthouse Suite, check carefully about the room service choices).
One concern about the dining time: Reservations open on different dates, with top suites first, and insides last (by number of days before the cruise). There is almost no "class system" on Oceania that affect how one is treated during the cruise, which is very nice. (There are a very few minor things, and the main one is access to the Spa deck on the two larger ships; not sure about on the smaller ships).
But given how many people love the Specialties, this tends to limit the available reservations times as the approaching cruise gets closer. We've found that the earlier times tend to be "left", so that should help you, but each cruise is different.
One can stop by
Also note that the two larger ships (Riviera & Marina) have more Specialty restaurants, and that *does* make a difference to us.
One other perk of a suite is that one can dine en suite from the Specialties any evening, as many times as one wishes.
But otherwise, after one has had the allowed "pre-cruise reservations", one can stop by and see if there are spaces available, checking early in the day, or just stopping by when the restaurant opens.
On our most recent O cruise (last Nov/Dec), we found the main dining room food choice so good, that we actually changed some plans to eat at a Specialty because of the regular choices!
There are plenty of peaceful places to sit, even if one doesn't have a balcony.
We have been totally spoiled by Oceania.
Note: One thing we like is that all of the options are not bundled. We don't drink a lot, and our preference is fine wine, which is never included in the "drinks included" plans. And we prefer private excursions. So we don't like paying a higher total cruise cost for a cruise that has supposedly "free" drinks or excursions. They aren't "free". They are, instead, "included" in the full fare.
But one *can* purchase a regular or premium drinks package, and also a package that includes some excursions at a discounted average price (depending upon the original price of the excursions).
As for seasickness, that's the one possible flag I see in what you wrote.
If you get a cabin that is mid-ship and low, you'll have the least movement.
When we took an Alaska cruise (not Oceania) a few years ago, the Inside Passage was almost like glass (but this is not guaranteed). The only slightly rough seas were across the northern, final part of the cruise, as we approached the Seward/Whittier area, after Hubbell Glacier (which was by far the highlight of our trip).
OTOH, we've heard that IF one sails on the Ocean side of Vancouver Island, that can get a bit chippy. But each trip is different.
One last thing. If this is a medical situation, then contact O's special needs department, and they might be able to help with the dining times. They do try to please!
Enjoy!
GC