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Oceania Cruises

MV Regatta

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: John D'Amico
Date of Trip: January 18, 2005
# previous cruises: 9
Itinerary: Transcanal

This cruise line is geared for the mature traveler, not the yuppie group...no loud music, no children, and no formal wear. The meals are Open Seating for all meals in the Grand Dining Room. We never had to wait for a table.

The reception hall, concierge and guest accommodation desks are located on the 4th deck. There is a quiet and lovely seating area to meet friends. From this deck, there is a grand staircase to deck 5. Located on this deck are the Regatta Lounge, Casino, Martinis Lounge, the Grand Bar and Grand Dining Room. In addition the two Boutiques and the Cruise Consultant desk are located on this deck.

Deck 9 has the wonderful Oceania Spa. The facials are great! And there is a Thalassotherapy Whirlpool located forward. This whirlpool has a fee, but is worth it. There were special priced spa treatments throughout the cruise. Next to the Spa is a well equipped fitness center. There are some tv's located above the stationary bikes and treadmills, but bring your own headsets, as none are provided.

The pool and two whirlpool spas are midship with a bar nearby and a bandstand for luncheon entertainment. There is pool side dining at the Waves, or a wonderful Terrace Cafe (which becomes the Tapas On The Terrace in the evening). Aft is the card room and the Oceania @ Sea computer room. Computer classes at sea are offered.

Deck 10 has a fantastic library, which resembles an English sitting room, with painted, barrel ceiling, and two specialty restaurants: The Toscana (Italian cuisine) and the Pollo Grill for steaks and chops. Forward is the Horizons Lounge for early morning coffee, juice and breakfast rolls and danish.

The daily Oceania Currents newsletter is delivered nightly to your room during dinner. It lists all daily activities, port information and specials.

Dining in the Grand Dining Room was wonderful. The open-seating plan seems to work well. You can get a table for 2,4,6 or 8 depending upon your mood. We opted for the larger tables and have met some great people. Then at times we would have a table for 2 or 4.

The food was excellent since the 5-star menus are under Jacques Pepin, the Executive Culinary Director. The waiters and assistants are wonderfuly trained. Romeo and Cristian recognizd us from previous cruises, and were charming and thoughful.

We enjoyed the Pollo Grill very much. Although guests are limited to two visits each to each restauran, we often found an invitation tucked in the door for another reservation. There is no charge for either of these fine restaurantts, unlike David's on Carnival.

My wife looks forward to the High Tea in the Horizons each afternoon. She eyes the teapot which is beautifully designed.

We had a veranda cabin on the starboard side, which offered a quite refuge to read and have a drink. It also served as a meeting place with friends for a pre-dinner cocktail.

However, we discovered the veranda cabins aft had a larger deck, and veiwing the Panama Canal from this vantaage point was much appreciated.

Our cabin was extremely quiet. We had sufficient closet space and a private safe. The t.v. screen could have been larger but we really did not spend much time viewing it. There is storage under the bed for luggage.

The bathroom is compact, room for only one person at a time. The shower is small, but there is a nice sized lip which keeps the water in the shower are. The shower curtain can get "friendly" at times. I wonder how a large sized guest can comfortably use the shower.

The entertainment was varied and well done. There is something for everyone. The show is early, around 9:45. The cruise director, Leslie Jon was funny and entertaining. His show group of Shani Reay, Dan Stone, Amanda Cason and Rick Dean were very talented. Shani can do a mean "All That Jazz" routine.

The magic show with Rory and Catherine Johnston was a lot of fun. It was entertaining and funny, and the hour slipped by too quickly.

Music was provided by the Regatta Orchestra, who also played at noon on the pool deck. In addition there was a gypsy violinist who was fantastic as well as a entertaining pianist, both of whose names I forgot to list.

I enjoyed the Oceania @ Sea classes, learning Adobe Photo Digital class. The cost is minimal. Also, one is provided with an internet address so that you can email friends and relatives and they can email you. The cost is around $2 a message.

The cruise left out of Los Angeles with our first stop in Cabo San Lucas. We did not opt for any of the tours as there is much to see within town and the walk is not too bad. Found a neat bar with 2-for-1 Margaritas.

Puerto Quetazal, Guatamala has a wonderful passenger dock. There are straw huts located on one side for great crafts. Warning...if they accept your credit card, it is a Cash Advance done through the local bank. The service charge by the bank takes away any bargaining power you may have made. There was a trip to Tikal by plane for $499. It was a four hour trip, bus, plane and bus), 2 hours at the site and four hours back. I suggested to Oceania to dock on the Atlantic side of Guatamala, which is much closer to Tikal than the Pacific side.

San Andreas, Columbia is a small island, hardly worth the effort to dock. The dock was under repair, the bus for the tour never showed up and we were herded into local taxis. At least ours had A/C and did not break down. Since it was Sunday, and we docked late, all the shops were closed with the exception of one souvenir place and 4 jewelry stores. There are no real "sights" to see worth the time and effort.

Since Oceania does not cater to children there is nothing for them to do. The two teens on board were bored to tears. When Renaissance operated the Regatta (it was the R3), they did not offer cruises to anyone under 18. They also had a rigid No Smoking rule which they enforced. Oceania does permit smoking on one corner of the pool deck and one corner in the Horizons.

We have met many wonderful couples on previous Renaissance and now Oceania cruises. Most all are retired or one year away from it. There is a couple of retired teachers from Boise, whom we met during a Mediterranean Cruise that we see, and who are joining us on a cruise to the Amazon in November. Other couples we have met, who live in other states, keep in touch via email.

The majority of the passengers, are a great group of people, who are there to have fun, enjoy other cultures, share wonderful meals, and talk. As with everything else there are the very, very few who are obnoxious pains-in-the-aft. But that is what the makes the world go around.