OCEANIA REGATTA CRUISE OR MILLENIUM CRUISE OF THE MED

[AUSCHI]

We are first time cruisers ( from Australia ) and we are having trouble deciding between the Regatta and the Millenium cruise ships.
Both cruises are for 14 days and from Barcelona to Venice. The Millenium cruise includes Istanbul, Santorini, whilst the Regatta includes Portofino and Dubrovnic. Otherwise they both include the same ports. The Regatta is from Venice to Barcelona (incls one night in Venice ) and the Millenium goes from Barcelona to Venice. Both cruises are in first week of October.
Any helpful advice would be appreciated.

[Raoul Fiebig]

AUSCHI,

first of all welcome to Cruise-Chat.com!

Both ships offer a very good product and it's a rather close call. The major difference lies with the size of the two ships and the range of activities they offer. The "Regatta" is a smaller ship by today's standards which doesn't want to offer constant entertainment, making the product a more relaxed one. The "Millennium" on the other hand is a large ship with lots of organized activities.

One thing one has to take into account IMHO is that "Millennium" has been plagued with propulsion problems recently. The four "Millennium"-class vessels feature a so-called podded propulsion system which tends to cause trouble fairly regularly. While this isn't a safety issue one must know that there is a somewhat higher chance for cruises on this class of ships to be cancelled for technical reasons than with other ships. We're talking about a very small percentage of all these ships' sailings, however, and personally I wouldn't mind booking them despite of that. Actually my parents will be disembarking the "Millennium" on the day you might be embarking in Barcelona.

Yet, if you ask for my personal, very subjective opinion, I would would prefer the "Regatta", simply for the more personal size, the excellent service and the second-to-none food. Of course there are others who wouldn't want to be onboard such a tiny [sic] ship.

[AUSCHI]

Thank you so much for your reply.

Your comments certainly are going to help us make our decision.

Kind regards,

Originally posted by Raoul Fiebig:
AUSCHI,

first of all welcome to Cruise-Chat.com!

Both ships offer a very good product and it's a rather close call. The major difference lies with the size of the two ships and the range of activities they offer. The "Regatta" is a smaller ship by today's standards which doesn't want to offer constant entertainment, making the product a more relaxed one. The "Millennium" on the other hand is a large ship with lots of organized activities.

One thing one has to take into account IMHO is that "Millennium" has been plagued with propulsion problems recently. The four "Millennium"-class vessels feature a so-called podded propulsion system which tends to cause trouble fairly regularly. While this isn't a safety issue one must know that there is a somewhat higher chance for cruises on this class of ships to be cancelled for technical reasons than with other ships. We're talking about a very small percentage of all these ships' sailings, however, and personally I wouldn't mind booking them despite of that. Actually my parents will be disembarking the "Millennium" on the day you might be embarking in Barcelona.

Yet, if you ask for my personal, very subjective opinion, I would would prefer the "Regatta", simply for the more personal size, the excellent service and the second-to-none food. Of course there are others who wouldn't want to be onboard such a tiny [sic] ship.

[LHT28]

We just got off the Regatta and we prefer the smaller ships.
After 32 days onboard I could have stayed longer but they made us get off ;(

The open seating, no formal nights, and lack of smoking areas is a a big plus for us.

They do have some form of entertainment nightly and several venues to choose from but we only went to a few of the shows. Food was good but that is always subjective.
Staff is very friendly and always helpful.
Enjoy what ever cruise you choose.