Judging from the reviews and boards of Cruise Critic at least, It’s not been a good year so far for Oceania with all of the norovirus on RIVIERA and continued worry or real experiences that “things aren’t the same” under new NCL ownership. For us, it was returning to REGATTA for our sixth cruise in her and our first since 2011 having sailing in the meantime once in MARINA and three times in RIVIERA. My wife prefers “the big ships” (especially the cabin bathrooms with tubs!) but I still prefer “the little ships”. This cruise in REGATTA reinforced that for me and reassured me that Oceania remains largely “as is” and a superb cruise product across the board.

REGATTA was just the right size for this 12-day itinerary, a new one for us, from Miami to Nassau, Bermuda (and yes with that preferred Hamilton Front Street berth), Charleston (delightful!) and Port Canaveral. Our call at Norfolk was sadly cancelled owing to bad weather in the Atlantic and the captain wisely deciding to spend an additional (and idyllic) day in Bermuda instead. April in the Atlantic is a crap-shoot weather-wise but was was pretty good with only first evening and morning out of Bermuda rough although it was quite windy and cloudy in Bermuda one day.

This was our first return to REGATTA since her extensive refurbishment in 2013. Happy to see that Oceania retains the original Edwardian décor of the original “R” ships which I prefer to the flashier style of the RIVIERA/MARINA. The Grand Dining Room, Hall and staircase remain among the most handsome spaces afloat. Sadly, I think they ruined the Terrace Café, replacing the charming murals and light pastel colors with institutional fake wood laminate and plastic covered chairs right out of a nursing home. Oddly, the lovely colorful mosaics on the lido deck have also been replaced with the most harsh and dreary grey rough stone. A lot of the charm and character of these areas have been spoilt and for no good reason it seems. Read more