Just as background, I'm 53, and this was our third cruise. Last year we did a Viking River cruise in the Netherlands (loved it!) and the year before that cruised to New England and Canada on a now-defunct cruise line.

We loved Oceania. We booked it because we were attracted to the port-intensive itinerary and the fact that the ship only held 684 passengers. We thought the food and service were excellent, and liked the variety in dining venues. We liked open seating, never had to wait to be seated, and found the service and food consistently great. Toscanna was a feast (and beautiful decor) and Polo could be depended upon to have great steaks and good seafood. Tapas was nice for a more casual meal, although I'm not crazy about buffet. While the food was pretty good, it still was a little less appealing because it was buffet. However, I did learn to seek out the made-to-order pasta. We only did the tea once, but it was fun. We ordered room service once and it came promptly. We ordered box lunches once -pretty good. Most of the time we just ate the breakfast buffet, but had eggs benedict once in the Grand Dining Room. Lunch we were out in port most days, but when we were on the ship, we went for casual (grill by the pool, or buffet, seated on the terrace).

Our cabin was the smallest available (180 sq. feet), and inside, but it was attractive and functional. Bathrooms on the Regatta are small but we didn't spend much time in there, so it didn't matter much! Our stewardess (Katarzyna) was fabulous - very personable, always around, always willing to help out if we wanted her to. The cabin was kept spotless. Yes, the beds were quite comfy, although to really enjoy that quilt you had to crank up the A/C, which I'm not crazy about. Read more