Thoughts on Oriana for 28 day cruise in November

Hi cruisers. We are tempted with this cruise from Southampton to Caribbean and back. The reviews of Oriana on here are poles apart so wondered if anyone similar to us had any thoughts for/against.

In mid 70s. I'm not able to do lot of walking. Hubby A1 in that dept. We like good food and also good theatre shows. Not too worried bout daytime activities. From our last P&O cruise I remember drinks were more reasonable than the American lines. Still applies?

Also have looked but not sure if I can see some steps into one of the pools not just ladders. Anyone answer that plse?

Thanks in advance.

There are steps in at least one of the pools on Oriana.

Don't do it.

The vibrations in the MDR will put you off your food.

Most cabins only have showers over bath. The bathrooms are small and cramped.

No automatic doors or other concessions to limited mobility. The ship was built before wheelchair access and such like was considered.

Plus the frequent engine problems causing loss of power, air conditioning etc.

Yes drinks are cheaper than American lines, but that applies to all P & O ships, not just Oriana.

Don't do it.

The vibrations in the MDR will put you off your food.

Most cabins only have showers over bath. The bathrooms are small and cramped.

No automatic doors or other concessions to limited mobility. The ship was built before wheelchair access and such like was considered.

Plus the frequent engine problems causing loss of power, air conditioning etc.

Yes drinks are cheaper than American lines, but that applies to all P & O ships, not just Oriana.

On Oriana the freedom dining MDR is midships not at the aft where the vibrations are, we had no movement at all in that restaurant and we were on Oriana in November. The club dining room is the one at the aft of the ship. Just a short Western Europe cruise but we loved it.

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On Oriana the freedom dining MDR is midships not at the aft where the vibrations are, we had no movement at all in that restaurant and we were on Oriana in November. The club dining room is the one at the aft of the ship. Just a short Western Europe cruise but we loved it.

 

 

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We were in club dining in May. Did not notice any problem with vibration. Lovely ship, I would go on this 28 night Cruise. Only we are on a 19 night Cruise the month before.

Oh on Oriana.

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On Oriana the freedom dining MDR is midships not at the aft where the vibrations are, we had no movement at all in that restaurant and we were on Oriana in November. The club dining room is the one at the aft of the ship. Just a short Western Europe cruise but we loved it.

 

 

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I would agree with the above we had a very enjoyable cruise on her last August and had no problems.

Enjoy your cruise.

We have cruised on Oriana several times, including earlier this year when we had an adapted/accessible cabin.

Even without the accessible cabin, we have always had a stand-alone shower, never a bath.

The doors of the accessible cabins are automatic opening, just put your card in the slot from the outside (or push the button from the inside).

Cabins are generally small, we found we had no room to store my manual wheelchair without falling over it in non-accessible cabins, but enough room to hold a dance in an accessible one!

I would cruise on her again in a heartbeat :)

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply folks. Down to us now to make up our minds.

Four of us booked on Nov Caribbean cruise.....we haven’t been on here for a few years but liked the itinerary....

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Thanks for taking the trouble to reply folks. Down to us now to make up our minds.

Make your own minds up - some people are overwhelmingly negative! I think you’ll love it if you go with a positive mindset.

We were in club dining in May. Did not notice any problem with vibration. Lovely ship, I would go on this 28 night Cruise. Only we are on a 19 night Cruise the month before.

 

Oh on Oriana.

 

 

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We didn’t either I was just going on many people’s reports about vibration in the aft area. In fact we spoke to people on our cruise who said the vibration was terrible in the Club dining restaurant.

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We did 50 nights on Oriana in Jan/Feb 2017 although we were Freedom dining. There was some vibration at the stern but nothing too much. Doing a back to back (51 nights in total) in December on her, so couldn't have been too bad.

We did a 35 night trip on Oriana which included two TAs and I don't recollect any issues or at least not anything out of the ordinary. We had a great time and we especially like the design of the Oriana with a dedicated cinema, varied entertainment spaces and nice lounges - and a Crow's Nest and lovely tiered stern. We never had a problem finding somewhere to settle down. We're booked for Spring next year and are looking forward to our last trip on her.

We were on her in April this year. Enjoyed all of it. We have an inside cabin on D deck between midships and forward. No vibration there. Bathrooms are totally adequate with shower only. We had vibration in the MDR on one night when they had a problem. Apart from that it was absolutely fine. I would definitely do a 28 night cruise on her if I could.

We were on her in April this year. Enjoyed all of it. We have an inside cabin on D deck between midships and forward. No vibration there. Bathrooms are totally adequate with shower only. We had vibration in the MDR on one night when they had a problem. Apart from that it was absolutely fine. I would definitely do a 28 night cruise on her if I could.

Those cabins on D deck are new ones that were put in the space vacated by the children's club when Oriana became adult only. Being newer they are shower only. I was allocated one but was then 'upgraded'. Learnt my lesson, always tick 'no upgrade' from then on.

However, midway through the cruise a lot of those cabins were flooded due to a 'plumbing problem', including my original allocation, so it worked out for me in the end.

I have sailed in those cabins on D deck for a number of years and have never been flooded yet. I think one cabin not far from us had a plumbing problem. We have also been on C deck similar area and cabins were exactly the same, shower only, bathrooms the same.

Don't do it.

The vibrations in the MDR will put you off your food.

Most cabins only have showers over bath. The bathrooms are small and cramped.

No automatic doors or other concessions to limited mobility. The ship was built before wheelchair access and such like was considered.

Plus the frequent engine problems causing loss of power, air conditioning etc.

Yes drinks are cheaper than American lines, but that applies to all P & O ships, not just Oriana.

Actually most cabins have walk-in showers. It is Arcadia where most of the showers are over baths.

We did a 35 night trip on Oriana which included two TAs and I don't recollect any issues or at least not anything out of the ordinary. We had a great time and we especially like the design of the Oriana with a dedicated cinema, varied entertainment spaces and nice lounges - and a Crow's Nest and lovely tiered stern. We never had a problem finding somewhere to settle down. We're booked for Spring next year and are looking forward to our last trip on her.

You've listed everything that made Oriana our favourite ship and we have many happy memories of sitting out on the tiered decks aft relaxing, the cinema, Andersons, the Crows Nest etc. We used to love having breakfast in al Fresco too. Another advantage is that her size makes the cruise far more sociable, i.e. you meet people then you actually see them again to catch up with (which is much rarer on the bigger ships with 3k+ passengers). We'd definitely go on her if only she wasn't adult only but for now we're stuck with school holiday cruises on the floating monoliths that Carnival loves for their cost efficiency.

All the best

Damian

I thought most Oriana cabins were shower over bath?

It's one of the reasons we like Oriana, especially on the long cruises.

We have no mobility problems (yet) and I can't imagine doing 28 nights or more without a bath.

All our cruises on Oriana have been outside cabins on A or C deck, all with bath.

A lot of very positive opinions on the ship. As always what I would like cabin wise is just out if reach. The outside cabins on D deck look a little small, though do have the needed stand alone shower. I'm getting little more swayed that she may suit us. The engine failures? Are they problems that rarely or often occur? Sailing the Atlantic in the winter, you would need reliable engines. Thanks again for replying.

A lot of very positive opinions on the ship. As always what I would like cabin wise is just out if reach. The outside cabins on D deck look a little small, though do have the needed stand alone shower. I'm getting little more swayed that she may suit us. The engine failures? Are they problems that rarely or often occur? Sailing the Atlantic in the winter, you would need reliable engines. Thanks again for replying.

They failed three times on my 14 day cruise.

They did cancel a long transatlantic cruise at the beginning of the year so she could go into an extended dry dock for treatment. They seemed happy to continue with the shorter cruises but were not happy to risk the scheduled transatlantic.

We booked one of the replacement Canaries cruises in February after she came out of dry dock and we didn't experience any problems or breakdowns.

Back on her in just over 3 weeks. Happy to report back if any problems encountered.

You haven't just got one engine. I was on a very old ship the Athena over to the Caribbean and we broke down on theway home. We were only stopped for about an hour. I certainly wouldn't worry about that.

A lot of very positive opinions on the ship. As always what I would like cabin wise is just out if reach. The outside cabins on D deck look a little small, though do have the needed stand alone shower. I'm getting little more swayed that she may suit us. The engine failures? Are they problems that rarely or often occur? Sailing the Atlantic in the winter, you would need reliable engines. Thanks again for replying.

We always used to choose an FB grade cabin, in particular C260 was a favourite. Lovely big cabin, picture window, midships but easy to walk down the corridor aft to sit out. We usually prefer a balcony but never missed it as we liked the seating area aft so much.

cheers

Damian

They did cancel a long transatlantic cruise at the beginning of the year so she could go into an extended dry dock for treatment. They seemed happy to continue with the shorter cruises but were not happy to risk the scheduled transatlantic.

 

We booked one of the replacement Canaries cruises in February after she came out of dry dock and we didn't experience any problems or breakdowns.

 

Back on her in just over 3 weeks. Happy to report back if any problems encountered.

Thanks very much. I will look out for your report.