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Oceania Cruises is officially adults only.
Introduction
Effective January 7, 2026 new Oceania Cruises bookings cannot include guests under 18 years of age. The new policy took effect earlier this month.
This marks a transition to an adults-only cruise line, although we will continue to see small numbers of children on board well into 2027 as existing reservations that include minors made before that date will still be honored.
Why is Oceania Cruises is Going Adults Only?
Oceania Cruises said that guest feedback and market positioning were the reasons for the switch. They cited comments from repeat passengers, travel agents, and first time guests showed that travelers valued “the serene, sophisticated, tranquil atmosphere.” But I think that the real reason is to go head-to-head with Viking Ocean Cruises and Virgin Voyages that while very, VERY different cruise lines both stick to an adults only formula and have been thriving doing so while also benefitting from a much newer fleet; though Oceania Cruises is working on that too.
Specifically, Oceania Cruises’ “Your World Included” that replaced their “simplyMORE” program allows guests on new bookings to choose one “key amenity” in addition to standard inclusions like specialty restaurant dining, unlimited Wi-Fi, and shipboard gratuities (already included in the cruise fare). Guests can now select either complimentary wine and beer by the glass during lunch and dinner or shore excursion credit. While Oceania Cruises has long offered excursion credits of various amounts based on length of sailing, only in the past few years have they begun to offer various wine and beer packages in the fares. If the current wine and beer at lunch and dinner sounds familiar it’s because it’s long been the standard in river cruising where Viking River Cruises dominates and it’s something that Viking Ocean Cruises carried over to their ocean fleet.
Gratuities have also started to become part of the base fare as part of the standard amenities. This seems to be taking up where Virgin Voyages left off. Let me explain. Originally Virgin Voyages included gratuities in the cruise fare beginning with its first ship, Scarlet Lady, in 2021, which boasted a no-tipping culture onboard and was part of the brand’s “Always Included” promise where guests didn’t have to worry about added service charges for crew service on board. However, effective for new bookings made on or after October 7, 2025, Virgin Voyages no longer bundled gratuities into the base cruise fare and instead they now appear as a separate line item. However, guests can pre-pay at a discounted rate ($20 per person, per night) or pay onboard at a slightly higher rate ($22 per person, per night). When Virgin Voyages announced the change as part of their “VoyageFair Choices” program the explanation was that by un-bundling the gratuities in provided “greater pricing transparency and flexibility.” I believe that by including gratuities Oceania Cruises is looking to be “more inclusive” than both Viking Ocean Cruises and Virgin Voyages.
Will Oceania Cruises Going Adults Only Really Change the Vibe Onboard?
Having sailed 88 nights over 9 cruises on Oceania Cruises in various regions we haven’t ever been on a sailing with more than a handful of children and only once had more than a handful of teenagers on board. With longer sailings and no amenities for younger passengers on board Oceania Cruises never really attracted families with kids. The families on board with kids have generally fallen into two categories – travelling as part of a multi-generational group or travelling as part of an alumni sailing arranged by Go Next and marketed through university alumni associations. Oceania Cruises has a strong relationship with Go Next and we’ve had a number of alumni groups on our cruises typically in groups ranging from 20-something to as many as one hundred or more passengers. In both the multi-generational and the Alumni Go Next organized groups they generally don’t interact all that much with the other passengers on board as they tend to book their own excursions, dine in their own groups, etc. This means that if you’re sharing a table at a restaurant your odds of being seated with children was sub 1% and on excursions we very rarely have had children in the mix.
Final Approach
Oceania Cruises going adults only doesn’t really matter all that much to us. As mentioned, kids on board have never been a problem even when we’ve sailed on shorter cruises during school holiday breaks. What we are more interested to see is if Oceania Cruises will be forced to offer better value to their guests as their competition continues to grow and as they bring on new and larger ships to fill as Viking and Virgin continue to do the same. Share your thoughts, would you be more or less likely to book on an adults-only cruise line? – Michael
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While we’re talking about Oceania, I’d like to hear from someone who has lower level NCL status (I am silver) and hear how the new status match has upgraded/didn’t matter for their cruise experience on the sister line. The folks in the Haven or who are (fill in the blank super metal status) will already have higher perks. Anyone know what it looks like for newer/more economy sailors?
@BookGirl305 – I haven’t had a chance to use my Oceania Cruises status on either NCL or Regent since they added the status match. I’m anxious to try it with NCL where I have only newbie (Bronze) status. Matching to Gold I should receive a 10% discount on Shore Excursions, 25% discount on Spa Treatments, 50% discount on one bag of laundry, and invitation to the Latitudes cocktail party. Not sure how meaningful the priority tender and priority disembarkation benefits are at the Gold level.
@BookGirl305 – I can tell you that elite status with NCL (or even the match) is nothing to die for. Unless you make Sapphire or better there is not much point. The latitudes “party” is dull and we normally skip it (just free drinks and snacks). Priority boarding day one is nice otherwise other than getting priority tenders is worthless. The higher levels get 2 free specialty and that is valuable as well as free laundry (a huge perk as both in cabin if both match or have status get a free bag). Discounts on shore excursions is nice but forget about contact with the Concierge. They will be nice-ish to you but they hate dealing with elites as they have hands full with Haven and suite guests.