This ship’s claim to offer the best dining at sea is no idle boast

The ship: Oceania Cruises’ Regatta

• The cruise Sydney to Papeete (22 days)
• The ship Built 1999, refurbished 2019
• Passengers 670
• Crew 400
• Decks 11
• Length 593.7 feet (180.9 metres)

Oceania’s Regatta.

The ship

Regatta (like Nautica, Insignia and Sirena) is a Regatta-class ship, more intimate than the company’s Oceania-class ships, with fewer restaurant venues, but capable of docking in smaller ports. The company occupies a premium niche just below luxury lines, but often matches them in dining, and is favoured by those looking for a destination focus rather than shipboard razzmatazz.

Boarding

My familiarity with Sydney’s White Bay Cruise Terminal means I can direct my Uber driver around its unholy tangle of confusing approach roads, so I judge my arrival for 3.30pm, the very last boarding time. I avoid any check-in queue and am affably processed onto Regatta in no time, ready for the superb sail away down Sydney Harbour.

The design

Understated with artsy flourishes… Toscana restaurant.

Regatta doesn’t have the expensive finishes and furnishings of a luxury ship, but cleverly creates a luxury air. It eschews glitz for an understated colour palette and abundant artworks that are well worth a pause. The atrium off reception sets the tone: a lovely presentation of green and cream seating, inlaid floors, and stylish rugs of abstract design. A split staircase rises around a huge mirror etched with magnolia blossoms. Overhead, glass icicles spear from a gigantic contemporary chandelier.

The spaces

The Library – a favourite bolthole.

In the Observation Lounge the floor tilts gently, the horizon is a blue-on-blue line, and Pacific islands are an explosion of light compared to the dark decor, which is no doubt the point: why distract from the outlook? This could be one of my favourite spots, especially when a white-gloved waiter passes with patisseries.

There are lots of other soothing spaces, each different. Martinis Bar is scattered with intimate groups of armchairs, and hung with terrific black-and-white photography of jazz musicians in action. Cliches are avoided. The Italian restaurant is all cream and cappuccino colours and modern art; the only lapse is a Roman emperor’s bust at the entrance.

The place I enjoy most is the tranquil library, surprisingly seldom used by guests. It’s uncharacteristically old-school, like somewhere Colonel Mustard might get clobbered with a candlestick. Dark wooden bookshelves line the walls, leather armchairs come with footstools, posh side tables display open atlases. The wonderful ceiling erupts in painted birds among ferns and palm trees.

The stateroom

Luxe 1000-thread-count linens in our Verandah stateroom.

I’m in a Veranda Stateroom which, at 20 square metres, is spacious enough for a sitting area with desk and two-seat sofa. A deep balcony has two comfortable rattan armchairs and a table. There’s a lot to like, from the understated grey-blue palette to the turndown Belgian chocolates. The excellent bed’s 1000-thread-count linens are snuggle-worthy, and I sleep like a dormouse. The bathroom is however cramped – a feature of older cruise ships generally – and the shower cubicle has the dimensions of a broom cupboard.

The food

The Grand Dining Room.

Oceania’s slogan claims the cruise line offers the finest cuisine at sea and, while that’s a big claim to live up to multiple times a day across numerous dining venues, it’s no idle boast. The quality extends not just to the main Grand Dining Room but to buffet venue Terrace Cafe too. Even Waves Cafe pool grill has superior treats, such as wagyu burgers with black truffle sauce, and a surf-and-turf dish featuring black Angus fillet mignon and lobster medallions.

Speciality dining is inclusive. Toscana has me tucking into eggplant involtini, terrific minestrone, and the likes of sea bass and scallopini. The pasta is excellent: my top pick is tortelloni alla Genovese (roasted veal, parmesan fondue, Marsala sauce). Polo Grill serves top-quality meats and seafood and also delicious alternatives, such as French onion soup, and mushrooms in shortcrust pastry with port-wine reduction.

Wellness

There’s a well-equipped gym with complimentary fitness classes, and restaurant menus feature selected plant-based wellness dishes. Waves Grill has a raw juice and smoothie bar. Aquamar Spa and Vitality Centre promises to rid guests of tension, impurities and knotted muscles with the judicious use of bamboo rollers, hot stones, coconut poultices or Thai herbs. It also has a range of rejuvenating therapies I’ve never heard of, which perhaps explains my wrinkles. At sunset, brisk walks around the fitness track prep me for dinner as the ocean turns pink, then silvery.

Entertainment

Sun show over the pool deck.

To be honest, evening theatre productions on small ships aren’t for me, although plenty of other guests appear vastly entertained by cheerfully cheesy singers, dancers and magicians. I make an exception in Bora Bora, when Here Ori Folkloric Group comes on board to perform traditional Polynesian dance and drumming that rightly gets a standing ovation.

This cruise has many days at sea, but there’s no shortage of ways to pass the time, from indoor golf-putting with the entertainment team to social bridge, trivia competitions, wine tastings and blackjack tournaments. Pianists and string quartets play in lounges and bars. Meanwhile enrichment lectures add depth to the destinations we pass through, with experts discussing topics such as New Zealand history, Polynesian navigation, and the mutiny on the Bounty.

The crew

My stateroom attendants Michael and Maria work tirelessly, and always with a smile, to keep my cabin spotless and tidy. They quickly learn my preferred dining times and adjust their twice-daily rounds accordingly. This is one of the great delights of cruising: to return to your stateroom and find it spick and span.

Restaurant staff are more efficient than friendly: hats off to the likes of Gleshell, Jordan and Mark who manage both. Service levels falter in Terrace Cafe, although those guests unsteady on their feet get attentive help at the buffet, and assistance to return to their seats.

The verdict

The Terrace Cafe features on all seven Oceania cruise ships.

Oceania Cruises is a popular move up from bigger budget ships for many cruisers with grown-up children now looking for a more upmarket, sophisticated and adult cruise experience. Regatta delivers, nowhere more so than in its excellent restaurants. Terrace Cafe proves buffets can be interesting and upmarket.

The details

A 14-day Auckland to Sydney voyage departing December 8, 2024 from $8500 a guest. A 12-day sailing from Tokyo to Hong Kong departing May 22, 2025 from $6730 a guest. Includes pre-cruise hotel stay, dining and wine, Wi-Fi, gratuities and shore-excursion credit. Regatta has three staterooms with disabled access.

The rating out of five

★★★★

Swell

Particularly outstanding are the ship’s breads, pastries and ice-cream. Bring pants with an elasticated waistline.

Not so swell

I know I’m into the realm of First World problems when I feel I have to quibble about the low-brow book selection in the Library.

The writer was a guest of Oceania Cruises.