First Oceania Cruises Vista Experience

Things We Learned On Our First Oceania Cruises Vista Experience

We learned a lot on our first Oceania Cruises Vista experience. We had Platinum status with with OceaniaCruises which meant we had achieved 20 cruise credits. For us, this meant we sailed over 365 days with Oceania. 

The Vista ship launched in 2023 but we had not sailed on this newer class of ships yet. So we booked an Eastern Caribbean Cruise escape with Tully Luxury Travel and enjoyed a hot weather vacation while we tried out the new ship class.

Introducing The Allura Class With Oceania Cruises Vista

Oceania Cruises has 3 classes of ships. The original Oceania ships were retrofitted Renaissance class ships that held under 700 passengers. We did many cruises on these smaller, intimate ships. One of our longest cruises for 54 days through the Middle East, India and Africa was on the smaller ships.

In 2010 Oceania launched the newly designed Marina serving about 1,250 passengers and her sister ship Riviera in 2012. We sailed on both Marina and Riviera. This included our very long 60+ day cruise around South America.

The next Allura class of ships launched with the Vista in 2023. Her sister ship Allura was scheduled to launch in 2025.

Oceania Cruises Vista holds about 1,200 passengers. The all-veranda ship was designed to provide more space per passenger. The ship staffing ratio provided two crew members for every three guests. We were excited when we finally booked our first Oceania Cruises Vista experience to check it out for ourselves.

Platinum Status Was Always A Nice Perk

Our Platinum status with Oceania Cruises rewarded us for the many trips we took with this cruise line. There were many great benefits with Platinum status that drew us back.

We arrived at the cruise dock at the time for all Concierge class guests. But were happy when we moved quickly through the Platinum check-in line. Platinum status gave us onboard cruise credits. And for this Caribbean cruise, we used the credits and booked a number of excursions. We also got a credit for the Spa which we welcomed to cover part of the cost of our massages.

While not a Platinum status perk, a Concierge cabin gave us unlimited access to the Spa deck with 3 different hot tubs on the upper level. This was a nice quiet spot to escape when the ship was full.  But we sure wished Oceania adopted the Nordic Spa amenities we loved on our Viking cruise in Norway for Northern Lights.

Having sailed so much with Oceania, we loved meeting staff we knew from other trips. On this trip, we met only a few staff members we even recognized. We sadly missed that feeling of “coming home” that we associated with Oceania Cruises. Platinum status did not seem to mean any special status onboard.  In fact, we got more extra special treatment when we paid for a Penthouse suite and had a great butler! 

The extra perks of Platinum status saved us money and got us some extra services on our first Oceania Cruises Vista experience. 

Elegant And Artistic Interior Design

We immediately noticed and liked the new elegant design and light colour palette of the ship in all areas. Everywhere we wandered we found lots of areas to sit around the ship. And areas were separated enough to allow for quiet spaces to relax or to work.

As we typically found onboard Oceania ships, colourful and interesting art decorated the entire ship. We loved the different art we found on the corridors and stairwells. Walking the stairs became an entertaining adventure. We did the “Art Walk” challenge and managed to find all the art chosen for the challenge.

Our first Oceania Cruises Vista experience surrounded us with beauty and art.

We Liked The Open Ship Spaces On Our First Oceania Cruises Vista Experience

We liked the decor in the dining rooms. And the addition of dividers that separated the areas a little. While we lost the wide open views in these rooms, it quieted the large spaces and made them feel a bit more intimate. None felt like cafeteria spaces.

The one surprising area we found was the Horizon Lounge at the top front area of the ship. The small stage area was off to one side with the bar area quite expanded. And the room was split into many different areas with eye-level dividers. While this split the room up into smaller conversation areas, we felt the room really did not work anymore for large gatherings. At the Captain’s Reception, only a small number of people really saw the Captain and his team onstage.

We enjoyed several spots outside for the great Caribbean sunshine. There was never an issue with getting a chair by the pool deck. And lots of spots provided cover from the sun.

We found the inside spaces quite lovely on our first Oceania Cruises Vista experience.

Checking Out The “Finest Cuisine At Sea”

Oceania Cruises was advertised as the “finest cuisine at sea”. We always loved the many great food venues Oceania offered. Virtually all were included in the cruise fare. Some of the changes and new dining venues added in the Vista class ships were very welcome.  

The Barista stations in the Oceania Cruises ships were a favourite stop for us. So we enjoyed the bigger space on Vista with lots of seating. The addition of The Bakery provided a second set of food choices to go with coffee.  Or as a mid-day snack. 

When we tried the Aquamar Cafe, we found a tasty selection of healthy foods for breakfast and lunch. We were delighted when we learned that Waves opened in the evening as a pizza restaurant.  This added another light and quick dinner option for us.

The iconic Jacques French restaurant was replaced on the Allura class ships with the new Ember restaurant. Many people hated losing Jacques and were not impressed with the “inventive American creations” that Ember offered. We liked Jacques but found the Ember menu to be just fine for us. The Chilean sea bass and chips hit the spot one night for dinner. And the lobster mac and cheese tempted us.

As soon as bookings were open for our Concierge cabin, we booked our specialty restaurants online.  We ate well at the Italian restaurant Toscana. Had a good steak and seafood dinner at Polo Grill.  And found some Asian favourites at Red Ginger.

Even being prompt, we did not get all the restaurant choices we wanted. We wished that Oceania moved dinner service to start at 6pm like we found with Viking Cruises when we cruised in Norway for Northern Lights.  And for many days we could not get a table for 6:30. As non-night owl Canadians, we could not eat late in the evening and really needed the early seatings.  

Dining in our cabin was always a great treat. This option was included free on Oceania. It was great to have breakfast in our room when we had early excursions. And once we took a night off and had room service dinner. Although we did miss the course-by-course service we got with Penthouse butler service.

We found tasty meals and a variety of dining options on our first Oceania Cruises Vista experience.  

Great Sweet Treats On Our First Oceania Cruises Vista Experience

As an avowed chocoholic, David was always searching for great dark chocolate treats. And Oceania Cruises never disappointed. We found lots of different chocolate treats every day of the cruise. 

When we travelled, we loved when we found great Afternoon Tea experiences. On Vista the tea service was at 4pm every day. It was a great time for a snack with a view in the Horizon Lounge. Service was great and there was always a good selection of sweet and savoury treats.

It was always fun when we travelled around a holiday season. We loved when the ships were decorated for the season.  This Caribbean cruise was just before the Easter holiday break. And while we missed the full Easter decor and food treats, we did get a preview of the tasty chocolate Easter display.

For us, sweet treats were always a great reason to indulge on our first Oceania Cruises Vista experience.  

A Culinary Class Onboard

All of the larger Oceania Cruises ships offered a full selection of culinary cooking experiences. On our previous cruises, we never managed to book an onboard culinary cooking class. So we were quite excited when we found space at the “Old Man and the Sea” session. A culinary class focused on seafood was perfect for us.

The culinary centre had a great setup onboard Vista. Stations we set up in rows around the centre area where Chef Erin led the class. Each station had a full prep station and small cooking area.

Chef Erin took us through a great variety of ways to prepare and cook seafood. We cooked miso glazed sea bass, poached salmon, Pesce Provencal, Sole Meunière and even a deep fried battered sea bass.  An appetizer salmon spread and ceviche rounded out the different seafood methods.  

We got an ample supply of seafood for each different dish. It quite ruined the dinner we planned for that night! And we enjoyed the different wines paired with the seafood dishes.  

It was so much fun to do a culinary cooking class at sea on our first Oceania Cruises Vista experience.  

Computer Services Were Surprisingly Good

Internet at sea was always a challenge on most cruises. We bought a Saily ESIM for connectivity in Miami before and after the cruise.  We considered purchasing a Caribbean island ESIM for our cruise port days but ultimately we found we did not need the extra Internet capability.

Like most cruises lines, Oceania upgraded the internet service with the installation of Starlink satellite connectivity. In the past, Oceania Cruises provided only one log-in at a time per cabin. This meant one of us had to log off a specific device before the next person or device connected. We were happy when we found that Oceania matched other competitors with free internet connectivity for each guest in the cabin. 

The basic free internet service provided all the connectivity we needed for the trip. We even used the internet successfully for phone calls and to sign documents needed for our move to Western Canada. On this cruise, we never felt the need to upgrade the internet package.

We were happy that Oceania Cruises was doing better with internet connectivity. And liked hearing about the digital media classes they offered on this cruise. We read these were very popular sessions.  So we booked the classes we wanted as soon as we boarded the ship.

We are pretty experienced with digital photography and videography. But found the courses interesting and we picked up a tip or two. So the improved computer capabilities on our first Oceania Cruises Vista experience was a pleasant surprise. 

Cabin Storage Would Be An Issue On Longer Cruises

On this first experience on the Oceania Cruises Vista we booked a Concierge class cabin. For most of our Oceania Cruises trips we booked a larger Penthouse class cabin. As a hard over introvert, I needed  space in our cabin to escape. For this relatively short 11 day Caribbean cruise, we saved a little money and figured the Concierge cabin would be ok.

On initial entry, the Concierge cabin looked to have a decent amount of space. There was a small love seat which provided a spot to sit off the bed. And we had a balcony too!

As soon as we tried to unpack we found several issues with storage. The closet had a good supply of hangers. But none of the hangers had non-slip ends or ways to keep ladies clothes from slipping off. I finally clipped several of my tops and dresses to pant clips.

We were surprised how little drawer space for clothes we found. But we loved that the safe was large. Finally our laptops fit with other valuables.  

The small drawers beside the bed and in the bathroom really were not for clothes storage. This left 2 larger drawers in the desk and two very high shelves above the safe. In the end, I hung as many of my clothes as I could. We left some stuff in our suitcase under the bed.  

Cabin clothes storage space in the Concierge cabin was manageable for a short cruise. More than once we cruised with Oceania for about 60 days. And that might really cause issues with the greater amount of clothing a longer trip required.

Bigger Bathrooms Were Very Nice

The bathrooms and showers in Concierge class on some of the older Oceania Cruises ships were very small. When we cruised on newer ships with other cruise lines, the large walk-in showers spoiled us. So we were delighted with the large walk-in shower on the Vista ship. Although we still would have given up some shower space for a bathtub!

The vanity only had one sink but the counters beside were big enough to share the space when we needed to. There was a good amount of storage space in the bathroom. But generally the small drawers really did not make up for the lack of storage in the main cabin.  

We loved the bigger bathrooms in the Concierge cabin on our first Oceania Cruises Vista experience. But would have sacrificed a little space to add more room for real clothes storage.

Glad We Had Our First Oceania Cruises Vista Experience

We had not sailed with Oceania Cruises in awhile. So we were happy with many of the things we found on our first Oceania Cruises Vista experience. The new ship layout and decor offered us the open and quiet spaces we loved on cruise ships. The cuisine was always a big draw when we cruised with Oceania. We liked the traditional food venues and loved some of the new options. And we were happy we finally got to try the onboard culinary cooking class.  

Our cabin had pros and cons but was more than adequate for this shorter Caribbean cruise. For some bizarre reason, the ship only had very small or very large slippers available. Oceania still had no app like most other cruise lines had.  So it meant I kept far more paper. And we constantly worried about missing something – much more than we did for other cruises that provided the full itinerary online. But these were minor issues.

It was good to return to Oceania Cruises and experience the new Vista cruise ship. This year we had the chance to compare Oceania’s new Vista ship to new ships with other similar cruise lines this year. We started the year with a Viking Cruises trip on the Viking Vela in Norway for Northern Lights. And in the Fall a Mediterranean cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona with on Silver Ray with Silversea Cruises will provide another adventure. We will see how the different cruises lines compare!

Did you learn something from our first Oceania Cruises Vista experience? Was there something you were looking for on this new class of ship?

Copyright Notice: All material on this travel blog site is the sole property of RetiredAndTravelling.  This includes blog posts, pages, design and all photos (whether watermarked or not). Any use of materials from this site without express written consent will be considered copyright infringement.