pamela17

4 hours ago, babs135 said:

Maybe a freighter is the answer? Here is a link to the forum

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/378-freighter-and-other-non-traditional-cruise-travel/

That's fascinating.....I didn't that site existed...thanks so much!

10 hours ago, paul929207 said:

You seem to be rejecting all of the available  alternatives. Sounds like you need to make other plans or learn to live with what is available 

Thats a bit harsh Paul......

Thanks very much indeed ......I have been looking at that trip but Marco Polo has no cabins with balconies and I need to have access to fresh air when I am on a month long trip.  There is absolutely nothing in Jan or Feb 2020.  I am quite disappointed. There is QE2 or QM but I find those ships too 'posh' for us and also the itinerary is fairly basic.

That's helpful ! I just thought someone might have already booked on one and could give me details. P x

1. Thanks for your reply.  No I haven't!   the agent I have used for the past 2 trips is hopeless.  Not interested in doing any research whatsoever. Only interested in selling me an expensive cabin when I find the cruise.

I am looking for a cruise leaving any port in the UK and travelling down the west coast of Africa to South Africa.  We must leave UK port in either Jan/Feb 2020.  It should take several weeks and we would fly back.  I saw one like this a few years ago on the Princess Line but I can't find anything at all now.  Any help gratefully received.

Thanks I appreciate that!  I read it that way at first, then on re-reading it I read it differently

Service Reward Programme 

'New, from May 2019, no discretionary daily Service Charge.

We take huge pride in giving you a holiday that's truly memorable and our team on board is committed to providing exceptional service. From May 2019 (cruises A911, B912, E911/A, J903, N910, R907, X907 and all thereafter), the discretionary daily Service Charge on board will be removed so you can relax knowing it’s all taken care of. Changes like this do take a little bit of time to put in place, and so for holidays which depart before May, a discretionary daily Service Charge amount of £7 will continue to be added for guests aged 12 and over'.. So is it being removed or permanently added?

There are absolutely NO extras in a Mini-suite I was really shocked as a first time cruiser. You even have to pay for bottled water,(the tap water is foul) also you pay for internet and there is no special dining area. I paid £13,000+ for mini-suite for 30 days to the Caribbean, I got exactly the same as someone who paid £5,000. The food is diabolical, frozen mush. The fresh fruit was inedible The same tasteless mushy apples, pears and tough oranges were served for the whole 30 day trip. For goodness sake we were in the beautiful Caribbean Islands and for 'Health and Safety'?? reasons (as I was told by the F&B Manager) they not could bring the lovely fresh fruit on board. It would be nice to support the locals in those islands. The chef cannot make soup, just out of a packet. Meat was tough and tasteless. Vegetables... frozen peas were the norm! Worst food I have ever tasted. Fried stuff from the freezer the same as you get in these cheap fast food restaurants and supermarkets. The woman chef in the Buffet was extremely arrogant when I asked for some simply cooked fish. Canteen food would be better! I don't eat this low quality food in my own home. A total rip off if you pay for an expensive cabin.

I can echo what davecttr said. I don't do the whole dress up thing either and Oceana has alot of options seeing as it is only the main dining rooms and a tiny bar "Magnums" that have dress codes. For the rest of the ship there is no dress code. In terms of places to eat you can eat in Buffet or Cafe Jardin or Horizon Grill / Beachhouse. Lots of options :). The theatre and showlounge also have no dress code.

 

Oceana is a great ship, my favourite and I think it is infact the most relaxed.

 

A vast majority of people will be dressing formally though. As long as you don't mind not doing it, its fine.

Thanks so much!

Thank you very much. That's helpful. I am new to cruising and I have already learnt quite a bit about what happens on this little thread!!. Unless you have a lot of free time which I don't it, is quite difficult to get unbiased info. But I appreciate your response you are obviously well travelled.

Goodness me this 'peacock' thing is getting out of hand. If you read my OP you will see that I said 'WE have to dress up like peacocks'. I was not insinuating that OTHERS were peacocks. Get a grip!

Being middle of the road has nothing to do with the dress code. I think you have misunderstood. Some of the much more expensive lines have a more informal dress code.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

You will have no problem with dressing casual on Oceana, I have cruised on her several times and she is indeed the most casual P&O ship. On formal nights the black tie dress code is enforced in the two main dining rooms, the Adriatic and Ligurian plus Magnums bar. the rest of the ship has an evening casual code including the main bar Yacht & Compass which the P&O site claims is formal, it isn't.

 

On formal nights you have four options for eating. The Plaza buffet which is comfortable, not overcrowded and does not look anything like a canteen!. The Beach House and Café Jardin have cover charges and like the buffet the dress code is evening casual. finally there is room service and you pay for that.

 

I took my suit on my recent xmas cruise because I had club dining and wanted to eat xmas dinner in the restaurant, only to discover that the Plaza was offering xmas dinner as well. On my next cruise on Oceana I will leave my formal gear at home.

Thanks so much for your comments indeed ....just what I needed to hear from someone who has had several experiences of the ship. I think it is going to work our perfectly for us. Best wishes.

Thank you Florry the most interesting and helpful response to date understanding the issues and respecting our concerns! We are going purely to see the Caribbean and the Azores. Looking forward to it very much.

I would also be interested as to why you thought this was a casual ship. Anyway, your husband can wear a dark suit and tie and you a cocktail dress. Otherwise eat in the buffet. Bit sad though?

Because according to various websites it is a very middle of road ship.

Thanks everybody. From what I have researched P& O is not one of the 'exclusive' companies like Cunard in which we have no interest but a middle of the range family oriented Company. The main reason we booked the cruise was because it sailed and arrived back into Southampton and it sailed to a part of the world that we had never seen...the Caribbean. The ship looks friendly and relaxed and getting dressed up continually is not something that we do on a day to day basis ...so why pretend that you are something that you are not. Just hope that our cabin wont be too pretentious.........

We are going on our first sea cruise for 28 days on board the Oceana in February. We thought this was a 'casual' ship......that's why we chose it and are mortified to find out that we have to participate in '7 Formal nights' where we have to dress up like peacocks. We have spent our whole working life doing this and we have no interest in doing this now. My husband is NOT going to take his Dinner jacket. What are the options on board for us??? Booo hoo!

I can say that the aft minis on C deck definitely do not have a walk in shower, it's over the bath. However, we feel that the advantage of having a much larger sleeping and sitting area - much larger than the midship minis - and a hugely larger balcony more than makes up for not having a separate shower. The bathroom itself is quite large too, so is the walk in wardrobe which also has a trouser press, the safe and, last time we were in there an iron and ironing board - don't know if that's still the case.

Yes I am having the same thought! We have booked an aft mini suite (B748 I think from memory) for the Arabian Gulf in March 2019! We also hate scrambling over a bath ledge!! Actually I just looked on the virtual tour part of the ship on the website and it says the mini suites do have a separate shower....

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

It always seems odd to me that the aft mini suites on Oceana are priced lower than the midship ones. The aft minisuites are our favourite mini suites out of all P&O's fleet, particularly the ones on C deck. (The suites at the aft are wonderful!) The aft minis are very different from the midship ones. The midship ones are like two balcony cabins joined together so the balcony is very narrow and long. Internally the mini has a sitting area with an adjoining bath, shower, toilet etc. and then the bedroom area. The only real advantage, as far as I can see is that the midship minis have a separate shower which the aft ones don't. If you look at the plan of the minisuite on the P&O website that is the layout of a midship mini - it's not the layout of those at the aft.

 

The aft minis, and I speak really of those on C deck as that's the ones we've always had, are as follows - you walk in to a sort of hallway and on your left there is a door into the toilet (this is the layout of C747, the one on the other side, C744, is the other way round) then you continue on down and the cabin opens out. Turning to the left is the sleeping area with a dressing table and TV above. There is also the door to the bathroom and the door to the walk in wardrobe. In the bathroom, which is large, is a jacuzzi bath with shower over, large basin area with cubpboards and a door into the toilet - so the toilet can be accessed from the bathroom or from the hallway.

 

Back in the cabin if you turn to the right is the sitting area. There is a three seater settee and two chairs with coffee table. On the right hand wall is a large unit with a sink, a cupboard with lots of glasses and the fridge. The balcony, although it is cut out of the hull is very deep and large, we've had 10 people out there. There is a chair with, I think 4 chairs (not sure about that) two lounger chairs and two steamer chairs, plus a small table.

 

The midship minis are charged more, I assume, because they are midship and midship cabins are usually more expensive than aft ones. We love the aft minis on Oceana and are in C747 again next September. You do often have to book early to get one but it's worth it. Sometimes though they do become vacant so always worth checking. We wouldn't go in a midship mini and pay more for the privilege though some people obviously do like them. Hope this helps.

I hope my midships B deck mini suite has a separate shower. I cannot abide scrambling over a bath to have a shower....awful

Have you thought about the mini suites at the aft of the ship. The one on C deck was the same size as our suite without the dividing cupboards between the living area and the bedroom. It looked very spacious.

There is no physical difference between port and starboard cabins. However, if you a doing a Panama transit, depending in which direction you are going, one side will be more shaded than the other.

That's helpful thanks so much!

There are 3 grades of mini suites on the Oceana. Could someone please tell me why and what are the differences. Which is the best 'side' of the ship to sail? Port or starboard? Thanks so much

Thank you so MUch!!!!