A scenic Vista: 5 things to love about Oceania’s new cruise ship

Oceania Cruises unveiled Vista, its first new ship in over a decade, last Monday, and the vessel is the perfect evolution of the upscale, food-and-beverage-focused brand. I just spent a week exploring the ship's new and returning dining experiences, trying out all the cozy seating nooks and sampling the new craft cocktail menus, and I was duly impressed.

The 1,200-passenger ship is the first new-build for the cruise line in a decade. Oceania's fleet is split between four 684-passenger R-class ships built in the late 1990s and two 1,238-passenger O-class vessels built specifically for the line in 2011 and 2012.

Vista, which debuts the line's Allura class, is a reimagining of the previous two ships rather than a major departure. Its luxurious elements and thoughtful, no-detail-left-ignored design put the ship in competition with the high-end vessels of sister brand Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and had guests asking, "Is Vista a luxury cruise ship?"

Vista will split its time between the Mediterranean in the spring and summer and the Caribbean in the winter. This fall, the ship will take some time to visit Canada and New England and do two Panama Canal transits.

Here are five things I loved about Vista and think you will, too.

Design and public spaces

Step inside Vista, and I guarantee you will be wowed by the ship's gorgeous look. The atrium has a stunning floor-to-ceiling sculpture with a changing light display, and everywhere you turn, there are carefully crafted spaces with many textural elements. I spent my first day on board touching everything, from the raised pattern on the elevator walls to the soft velvets on couches in the various lounges.

The white Grand Dining Room stands out with gold paintings of willow trees on the far walls and a center archway that draws the eye and divides the space, so it feels more intimate. The private Privee dining room has a bold ceiling design that is as noteworthy as the wine-pairing meal you'll enjoy there. Each specialty restaurant has a look befitting its theme, from the brick oven-inspired ceilings of Ember to the pagoda-style floor lamps in Red Ginger.

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Atrium on Oceania's Vista. ERICA SILVERSTEIN/THE POINTS GUY

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One of my favorite spaces is the Grand Lounge outside the Grand Dining Room, with its geometric chandeliers and glass shelves of vases and glass sculptures. Another is the pool deck where the design team used faux wood paneling to create a stylish look unlike any cruise ship pool deck I've ever seen. Lighted nooks with circular sunbeds are cozy for two at any hour and give the area a resort feel.

Cabins and suites

Oceania has stepped up its cabin game with the staterooms on Vista. Not only are they lovely to look at, but they were thoughtfully designed.

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The smallest cabins are 240-square-foot rooms with French balconies (you can open doors to the fresh air, but you can't step outside), and my balcony room was 291 square feet, including the balcony. So there's plenty of space to move about.

The first thing I always look for is storage, and Oceania comes through. Vista's rooms don't have walk-in closets like ultra-luxury ships, but they feature a good-size closet plus two large drawers by the desk, and nightstands with three drawers each. The bathrooms – possibly some of the best en suites at sea — are incredibly spacious. They offer multiple drawers and shelves and an enormous shower with two shelves for toiletries.

Related: The ultimate guide to choosing a cabin on a cruise ship

Thoughtful cabin touches include plenty of plugs for electronics on both sides of the bed and at the desk. Quiet-closing drawers don't rattle in rough seas, and wooden hangers give an upscale touch to your wardrobe. Cabins are stocked with bottles of drinking water, throw blankets for chilly days on the balcony, and minifridges filled with soda. The cushioned balcony furniture is actually comfortable to sit on.

I also loved Vista's six new dedicated solo cabins. They are narrower than standard rooms and contain only a single bed. These rooms may have a smaller bathroom but still have a sitting area with a love seat and an extra-large balcony. The cozy suites are perfect for solo travelers who like to spend more time outdoors than in.

Cocktails and mixology program

The new mixology program on Vista is one of its standout features – and I say that only having been exposed to half of it. (Many of its immersive mixology offerings will begin on the cruise after mine.)

The Founders Bar is a new craft cocktail bar tucked away behind the casino, but you can be sure everyone knows where it is. That's because it's the venue for innovative drinks using all the latest trends: smoke, herbs and dried fruit, flavor bubble guns, frozen fruit balls and perfume spritzers spraying extra scent and flavor.

The drinks are creative and like nothing I've ordered before. They're also amazingly photogenic and taste delicious. If Oceania's typical guests like them as much as my ship full of media and travel agents, I predict the line will need to put the Founders Bar in a bigger venue on its next ship to debut, Allura.

Vista also carries a line of nonalcoholic "liquors" to make zero-proof cocktails that taste like real cocktails, not fruit smoothies or juices. The "dark and spicy" mocktail tasted like an alcoholic "dark and stormy." Unfortunately, not all bars carry the nonalcoholic cocktails. They're on the menu at the new Aquamar restaurant and Horizons observation lounge, and the folks at Founders can make them, but you have to ask.

Aquamar

I'm a huge fan of Vista's new lighter dining venue, Aquamar, open for breakfast and lunch. I'm told it's the brainchild of the line's senior vice president of sales, who felt the line lacked a dining venue for when you want a smaller, less heavy meal.

The breakfast menu is rife with lattes, smoothies, eggs, banana pancakes, energy bowls with chia seeds and acai berries, and avocado toast. Lunch mixes poke bowls and salads with falafel wraps, crunchy chicken burgers and tuna tacos. Wash it all down with fresh fruit and vegetable juices infused with turmeric and ginger, or your choice of nonalcoholic cocktails that taste like the real deal.

A sit-down meal here isn't as quick as the buffet, but the seating area is light and airy with floor-to-ceiling windows. I've heard it can get crowded at peak lunch hours, but I never had trouble finding a table at breakfast or lunch.

Ember

The other new dining venue on Vista is also a hit. Ember is an upscale American restaurant where a sit-down meal isn't quite as lengthy or as formal feeling as in the Polo Grill steakhouse.

The venue is decorated to evoke a brick oven, with a brick design on the ceiling, faux wood tables and a fake fireplace made from colored water vapor. (I still flinched when someone put her hand in the flames.)

Everyone raved about the spinach-artichoke dip starter, and the sashimi tuna starter was perfectly pan seared. The starring entree is the lobster macaroni and cheese, with an actual hunk of shell-on lobster meat in the center. My herb-crusted chicken was a sleeper hit – easily overlooked but beautifully cooked. Other diners were satisfied with the French dip sandwich and the steak, but my tablemate's cheeseburger fell apart on his plate. He said it tasted good even if he had to eat it with a fork and knife.

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Appetizers at Ember restaurant on Oceania's Vista. ERICA SILVERSTEIN/THE POINTS GUY

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You might want to skip lunch before a meal at Ember because the must-have dessert is the triple chocolate brownie sundae.

Ember replaces Jacques, Oceania's French restaurant that is popular on the line's Marina and Riviera ships. Fans will be relieved to hear that some of Jacques Pépin's dishes are featured on the Grand Dining Room menu, so they can still get their French foodie fix. But Ember brings a nice balance to the restaurant mix on Vista (pan-Asian Red Ginger, Italian Toscana and steakhouse Polo Grill round out the options) and a taste of home to Americans, especially on longer sailings.

Bottom line

Vista is clearly an evolution of Oceania's previous two ships, Marina and Riviera. The layout is incredibly similar and past guests will quickly find their way around. But it's clear that the Oceania team put a lot of thought into how to improve on the previous model without blowing up the entire concept, and it works. The new touches – cabin design, mixology program, new restaurants – are wonderful additions to the Oceania experience.

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