Regatta Review
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Oceania was new to my wife and I. This was to be our 8th cruise but first with Oceania, having sailed mostly on Celebrity and Princess. We flew down to Miami from winter temperatures in Montreal.
There was little to do prior to boarding time in Miami at 3:00pm. Having stayed two nights at the Sonata Beach Hotel in Coconut Beach, we awoke and did our final packing. By noon we were required to check out so we decided to take our chances and grab a taxi to the cruise terminal. We arrived about thirty minutes after noon hoping we wouldn't have to wait more than an hour or two. To our surprise we were told that we would be permitted to board at 1:00 pm even though we were not booked in concierge class or a penthouse suite. The entire process of registering took no more than 10 minutes. Carrying several bottles of wine and a bottle of liquor in our carry ons we were not challenged by the security people and we were welcomed on board and told that our cabin would be accessible at 3:00 pm. Indeed this was the case and upon boarding we went to deck 9 and had lunch on the aft deck at the Terrace Grill. We also lined up at Toscana to make reservations at the two specialty restaurants. Even though we were quick to get there, we had to wait in line for several minutes more than we expected, so keep this in mind as the other passengers are savvy enough to reserve as quickly as they arrive on board.
Our cabin (6064) was perfectly acceptable. We had experienced a penthouse class cabin on one of Regatta's sister ships several years before, which was larger to be sure but still this cabin was roomy enough, similar in size to a outside Celebrity balcony cabin on Constellation. Although the bathroom was tight, it was more than acceptable in size and we had no complaints on the shower layout. Our cabin was aft of amidships on the port side and we were not at all affected by seasickness. The ship, contrary to some reports rides as well in the water as ships we have cruised on which were three times her tonnages. Storage space was more than adequate with all our luggage stowable under the bed. We found the cabin to be comfortable and homey. The bed as advertised was exceptional. Our balcony was in constant use and was, as is always the case a very important part of our cruise enjoyment.