Oceania Cruises

ABOVE: An Oceania Regatta-class ship. INSET BELOW: A stern view of Regatta, an outside balcony stateroom, and the Library with its English country-house decor.

Oceania Cruises is the brainchild of Joe Watters and Frank Del Rio, two former top executives from Crystal Cruises and the late Renaissance Cruises. Their idea was to create a boutique or "upper premium" cruise line with midsize ships that would offer outstanding cuisine and service at fares below those of the luxury lines.

Oceania's first ship, Regatta, entered service in 2002; its sister ship, Insignia, followed in 2003. (In 2012, Insignia was chartered to Hapag-Lloyd for two years.)

A third Regatta-class vessel, Nautica, was added in 2005. All three ships are relatively intimate by today's megaship standards, carrying a maximum of 684 passengers and a crew of 400 each. Accomodations range from inside cabins to one-bedroom owner's suites, and 73 percent of the outside cabins have private balconies.

In 2011, Oceania introduced Marina, which was was built at a cost of US $600 million. The new ship has berths for 1,238 passengers, or nearly double the capacity of Oceania's first generation of vessels but still mid-size by the standards of today's 3,000- and 4,000-passenger megaships. A sister ship, Riviera, joined the fleet in April, 2012.

Oceania's 2013 European season runs from April to September, with three ships--Riviera, Marina, and Nautica--offering cruises that range from seven to 18 days in length.