My Cruise on Oceana by a P&O Regular.

[tartanexile81]

Oceana E602 8th Feb – 14th March

 

As the title says, we're regular P&O cruisers so I thought I'd share this review which I hope is balanced and is based on comparisons of the similar cruises on the sae ship at the same time of year. We're lucky enough to have done this exact itinerary before but as we enjoyed it so much we decided to repeat it, four years on. It's a 35-dayer visiting the Caribbean, New Orleans and Florida and there are quite a few sea days obviously on the Atlantic crossings. Therefore this cruise is not for everybody and I did hear people say there were too many sea days (although they knew this before they went).

 

EMBARKATION

I was keen to try out the new embarkation process having read so many comments, both positive and negative about it. We had priority embarkation and arrived around 12 for a 1.00 p.m. check-in. These winter cruises are always popular with regulars and dare I say more mature cruisers who can spare the time to be away for so long so a lot of people had priority. The ship was also full and this meant many people arriving early, but the main problem was that the people 'in charge' at the Mayflower Terminal didn't do enough to move people away from the top of the stairs so there was absolute chaos. Because we were cruising to the USA we had extra documentation to complete and people were just stopping to fill in these forms which meant there was a pile-up behind them. Complete mayhem!! We were therefore delighted when we were called to check -in at 12:50 and in our cabin 25 minutes later. Yeehaa!!

 

THE SHIP

We're regular P&O cruisers and have spent many nights on Oceana. Although there is a lot we like about her, she is really showing her age now. We were however pleased with our cabin on the whole – a port side balcony on B deck Our steward was lovely and the cabin itself was in good condition with air-con, wifi and plumbing all working well. The same can't be said for the balcony which had lots of rust patches, patio doors with holes in them and a hand-rail which obviously hadn't been varnished for a very long time. We chose freedom dining and we really enjoyed this but we were lucky enough to meet-up with friends from previous cruises so we didn't' have to go through the rigmarole every night of “how many cruises have you done” etc.

 

We don't tend to go to shows in the theatre but we did go to see Mike Doyle and the MacDonald Brothers and they were both excellent and The Octaves were great. They were the stand-outs. In Starlights we saw The Sixties Experience and The Beatles Experience. We didn't think that the Tina Turner Tribute act was any good and when we went to hear her alter ego Justine we left after 3 songs. I can't remember who else we saw. We loved the deck parties (although Ents staff were conspicuous by their absence unlike any other time in the Caribbean). In fact, the Entertainment Manager was The Invisible Man and the other Ents Officer were less approachable than other times on P&O. In fact one of them went AWOL in New Orleans, apparently because of all the flak she was getting after people had to wait hours in the theatre for their immigration interview in New Orleans. We were really disappointed that the choir which used to be big part of our cruise has now been handed over to the Headliners who were at best helpless and at worst hopeless. and we also spend many enjoyable evenings listening to Glenn and Jean AKA Protocol in Winners or the Yacht and Compass. We liked Catch22 too but they need to interact MUCH more with the audience and not looked so bored.

 

My main complaint was the food, both in the MDR and in the Plaza which was SIGNIFICANTLY worse than food on previous cruises. The quality of the ingredients was the main issue for us, and the fact that they were also unable to cook meat anything other than well done. The selection in The Plaza especially showed the effect of cut-backs. I've cruised with P&O for quite a few years now and have always enjoyed the food, so we were very disappointed by this. We therefore ate in the Beach House and Cafe Jardin several times and we thought these were well worth the £5 supplement.

 

THE PORTS

Well this cruise was all about the itinerary so here's what we did in each port.

 

MADEIRA

We took a local bus to Ribeira Brave. Outward we went along the motorway but on the way back we had stunning views as the bus climbed up through the hills visiting small villages. This cost Euros 6.80

 

ST LUCIA

We shared a taxi with four of our friends to Reduit Beach and rented chairs and parasol just by Spinnakers beach bar. Loved the beach, loved the bar. $4 per person each way

 

ST KITTS

I have family in St Kitts so we took a taxi to Romney Manor and Wingfield Estate just in the morning then we had lunch and the afternoon with my relatives. We also bought some souvenirs at the craft market. Disappointingly we could not dock in town and were in a grotty area at the commercial port. Taxi for 3 hours $80

 

TORTOLA

I love Tortola and we shared a taxi with more friends to Brewer's Bay. There is a small, very pricey bar there, but nothing else. When we got back to town we had a late lunch at Pussers then took a wander to the supermarket to stock up on 'supplies' $8 each way per person

 

MONTEGO BAY

Never our favourite port but this time we booked a day pass at Secrets Wild Orchid Resort which was amazing. For $90, we had full use of this luxury resort with a taxi each way included and as much to eat and drink as we wanted.

 

GRAND CAYMAN

We jumped on a mini-van to the public beach at Calico Jack's . It was very busy and this was made even worse when people from one of the Disney ships arrived with hundreds of children. I really do like children but not sure now about American children in their hundreds! $5 each way. Beware in GC that prices are quoted in local dollars and when you get the bill in a bar or restaurant, it is MUCH higher than you expect.

 

COZUMEL

We'd recommend taking the local ferry across to the mainland. (Playa del Carmen) We've been to Cozumel several times now and it's too Americanised for us. This time we were in the new terminal and although we were concerned about being so far from town we were impressed by the facilities at the terminal. The taxi to the port cost $8 total and the ferry $10 each way.

 

NEW ORLEANS

We were lucky enough to be up and about at 8.00 a.m., when we heard an announcement on Channel 21 saying if you were ready you could go straight to your immigration interview so we were ashore by 8.30. Our friends were not so lucky and it was 2:00 p.m,before they left this ship. This is something you need to be aware of if sailing into the US because a face-to-face interview is required shore-side for every passenger. However this is an amazing city. No tour needed and we explored the city on foot. The tour presenter (Sam) was exceptional and we followed his advice too for our overnight stay loving the New Orleans nightlife

 

 

KEY WEST

This is a really quirky seaside resort and we loved just wandering around, particularly the marina area. This is another port where tours are completely unnecessary. Everything offered by P&O is easily do-able and much cheaper on your own,

 

PORT EVERGLADES

We arranged an AMAZING private airboat ride. There was only the two of us on a smaller boat and we saw alligators and amazing birds at close quarters. It was pricey but worth every cent. We used an Uber car one way and despite all the bad press they'd, it cost us $35 against $110 in a taxi, the driver was delightful and his car a brand new Ford Explorer. In the afternoon we went to Fort Lauderdale beach. There was a shuttle to a nearby mall from the port as the town is about 15-20 minutes away

 

PORT CANAVERAL

The day I liked least. All I say is Universal Studios is not for me. The only P&O tour we did all cruise and cost £109

 

CHARLESTON

This was our controversial port as we should have had an overnight here but it was changed to one day shortly before the cruise. We did a private walking tour (OK) visited the craft market (brill) and had dinner at Slightly North of Broad (lovely). The worst thing about it was that this shortened stay meant we had an extra sea day – 6 instead of 5.

 

PONTA DELGADA

I was ill so didn't get off the ship but we probably would have done the usual – walk round, visit the gardens, buy some jewellery at Bijou Brigitte then have a couple of drinks.

 

 

WEATHER

We had pretty bad weather (force 11) when we set off from Southampton and this lasted for nearly three days including a freak wave which broke windows in the Adriatic restaurant. It steadily got better towards the Caribbean where it was mainly as expected though we did have several overcast days. Around the USA the weather was generally warm though not always sunny. Our homeward crossing was long and marred by poor weather. It was pretty windy (force 11 again), cool and overcast so we were not allowed on deck some days. In addition there was a lot of maintenance going on which also put areas of the decks out of use.

 

OVERALL

We had just the best time. The poor food was a let down but we met lots of old and new friends and we loved the itinerary with New Orleans being our favourite port. We had some lovely waiters, our stewardess Amalia was exceptional and we had great fun with the bar staff and wine waiters. The prices onboard remain very reasonable in our opinion and the atrium and public areas around it still have the wow factor. P&O couldn't be blamed for the weather but it wasn't quite as good as previous years. Andy Willard the permanent captain rejoined the ship in St Kitts after illness but we must compliment his stand-in, Simon Love who was very visible around the ship and an excellent communicator. We've noticed Ventura will be doing the same itinerary in 2018. We're on Ventura next year and if the food issue has been sorted out,we're considering doing this itinerary again as there is just so much left to see and do.

[Presto2]

Thanks for a really balanced review - glad you had a great time. The food seems to be an issue at the minute, so it will be interesting to see how our cruise goes in August. :)

[Mysticalmother]

Now that, IMHO, is how a review should be written. Balanced, and just factual observations. Useful comments about the food....I will see what it is like on my next cruise...heard a lot of complaints recently so will be interesting to see whether P & O have taken any notice - i have always enjoyed the food in the past. And A bit of rust on the balcony shouldnt spoil anyone's cruise albeit it would be better if it wasnt there.

Thank you Tartan Exile.:)

 

And glad you enjoyed your cruise despite the disappointing weather.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Mysticalmother

[pisces14]

I was interested to read your report as we were on the same cruise. I remember you saying that you had booked an airboat privately this time as the P&O excursion which we had booked was in a Safari Park. You were right it was, although we nevertheless enjoyed it. I did wonder at the time if yours turned out to be better. It seems it did and I would have much preferred yours I think. I was amazed that you didn't like the food in the MDR as it was a vast improvement on the food we were served on the Aurora World cruise last year. We were congratulating ourselves and the staff on how wonderful the food was in comparison.

It was our first time on the Oceana and will be the last as we didn't like the ship.

[kruzseeka]

Thank you tartanexile for a very comprehensive and informative review. Pleased to hear you had such a good time although a little disappointed in the change in food standards. Important though to flag up such issues which allows the reader, in the light of their personal priorities, to develop an over-view for their future decision making. This kind of feedback from regular customers will hopefully also give P&O pause for thought.

 

I am especially interested in your description of the ports of call, some of which figure in our cruise which leaves next week. That has been very helpful. Thanks!

I'm hoping you will be able to answer a few questions which come to mind from reading your review.

Were there any classical musicians or lecturers on board? Also were there films scheduled each day?

At Port Canavarel did you notice if there were any tours which you could pick up dockside? The tour we'd thought of doing is wait listed so we're a bit undecided now.

Were you given any reason why your Charleston stop was reduced from 2 to 1 day? We are supposed to be having an overnight there too.

 

Thanks again for such a good, balanced review.

[P&O SUE]

Good review, thanks for posting.

 

PISCES14 - can you explain what you didn't like about Oceana? (just curious!)

[Eglesbrech]

Interesting review, thanks for taking the time to post it.

 

There do appear to be a lot of adverse comments about food at the moment. Hopefully P&O take note.

 

I do like the sound of the itinery, may try it some day.

[frenchmartiniplease]

A great review and very interesting. The cruise that includes New Orleans is the one that we have our eye on for when husband retires in 3 years time. We've always wanted to visit NO and return to Key West, a place we stayed at years ago, right next to the pier. It was informative to read about the other places you stopped at.

 

Thank you for taking the time to post it.

[davecttr]

Nice to read that Protocol are back aboard. I actually like 'star trekkin' :o

 

My last cruise on her had disappointing musicians. Protocol were replaced by a young man singing what i call american suicide music. Very depressing and not suitable for winners bar. There was also a trio? which i did not hear much which replaced Safrajazz which I enjoyed, and not just because of the lovely russian band leader ;) They still had Power Supply? who have the ability to empty the Rotten Compost (Yacht & Compass) The vocals are so out of tune you think your fillings are going to fall out :eek:

 

I think of Oceana as a nice comfortable pair of slippers and might try a fly cruise next year as she will be homeporting in Malta.

[janieb1962]

Great review, thanks for taking the time to do this.

We are on Oceana again in May this year, she was looking a bit tired last year so hoping it's not too much worse now.

 

We are also doing the Caribbean at Christmas, flying into New Orleans on December 23rd and in port overnight.

 

Do you know if we will do the face to face interviews when we first land or will it be the next day. We were hoping to spend the day in New Orleans so feeling a bit nervous of possibly spending it queuing up on Dec 24th!

[jenny wren]

Thank you Tartan exile for an excellent review we did the same itinerary a few years ago and, like Kruzeeka, are doing a similar itinerary on Oriana next week.....our 'difficult' port is Canaveral as theme parks don't appeal and we did the Space Centre (which we enjoyed) last time.....we are considering staying on board as we have ports the day before and after.....and I can catch up on the laundry?....unless anyone has other suggestions?:)

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[mickey89]

Oceana E602 8th Feb – 14th March

 

ST LUCIA

We shared a taxi with four of our friends to Reduit Beach and rented chairs and parasol just by Spinnakers beach bar. Loved the beach, loved the bar. $4 per person each way

 

A good tip is to avoid the TAXI Office within the terminal building as they charge $7pp each way to Reduit Beach / Rodney Bay. Go outside the Terminal Entrance for a better deal.

[Scriv]

Hi Tex

 

I really enjoyed reading your review. It was one of those reviews where I felt that I was alongside you experiencing it all and seeing it all. It was also interesting to read your very balanced view as a P&O regular.

 

I know exactly what you mean about when you describe people congregating at the top of those stairs in Mayflower filling in their forms - surely it would not be difficult to move them on? As long as they had somewhere to move on to of course.

 

Delighted that you had a great time and it was very interesting reading about the different ports.

 

It is rather worrying to hear yet again about the condition of Oceana on the outside. Our balcony was also in a state of disrepair and the obvious rust and marks on the outside led to an impression of neglect on her. I do hope they do give her some TLC soon, it's such a shame to hear bad things about her.

 

It's interesting to hear your food experiences too - ours have so far always been very good, but maybe we have chosen different dishes. However, as we also like our meat medium to rare and definitely not well done, I am hoping this is not a trend.

 

Welcome back Tex - we missed you!

Edited March 31, 2016 by Scriv

[frenchmartiniplease]

When I've been in the terminals pax are constantly being asked to move along and to find seats. People tend to get preoccupied when travelling and get overloaded with info and either don't hear or just stop moving to figure out what to do next or get everyone in their group together.

[tartanexile81]

I'm hoping you will be able to answer a few questions which come to mind from reading your review.

Were there any classical musicians or lecturers on board? Also were there films scheduled each day?

At Port Canavarel did you notice if there were any tours which you could pick up dockside? The tour we'd thought of doing is wait listed so we're a bit undecided now.

Were you given any reason why your Charleston stop was reduced from 2 to 1 day? We are supposed to be having an overnight there too.

 

Thanks again for such a good, balanced review.

 

yes sorry forgot to mention that. There were classical musicians in the theatre quite a few afternoons and there was also a music speaker but he spoke mainly about jazz and 'crooners'. The change in the Charleston stop was blamed on the port authorities there mucking up the booking. People who didn't do a tour complained about Port Canaveral. Two friends could find nothing to do so went back to the ship and two other friends walked to the beach. We never do theme parks but just felt because it was so close we should have a look but I thought it was awful but others enjoyed it. Having said we don't do theme parks we have been to Epcot (you can do that if you do the transfer to Disney.) It was nothing like I thought Disney would be and it was a great day out.

 

Nice to read that Protocol are back aboard. I actually like 'star trekkin' :o

 

My last cruise on her had disappointing musicians. Protocol were replaced by a young man singing what i call american suicide music. Very depressing and not suitable for winners bar. There was also a trio? which i did not hear much which replaced Safrajazz which I enjoyed, and not just because of the lovely russian band leader ;) They still had Power Supply? who have the ability to empty the Rotten Compost (Yacht & Compass) The vocals are so out of tune you think your fillings are going to fall out :eek:

 

I think of Oceana as a nice comfortable pair of slippers and might try a fly cruise next year as she will be homeporting in Malta.

 

Protocol are just great. Jean would stand there during her 'break' talking to people and taking requests and they learned to play some that people requested but wasn't on their playlist. Star-Trekking certainly is memorable :D Winners was by far the busiest bar. Safrajazz were there as well as was the pianist Jerzy C who almost regularly plays the wrong notes or has done for the past 5 years! Power Supply have been replaced by Catch 22. They may be better singer / musicians but they had no interaction with passengers

[tartanexile81]

Great review, thanks for taking the time to do this.

We are on Oceana again in May this year, she was looking a bit tired last year so hoping it's not too much worse now.

 

We are also doing the Caribbean at Christmas, flying into New Orleans on December 23rd and in port overnight.

 

Do you know if we will do the face to face interviews when we first land or will it be the next day. We were hoping to spend the day in New Orleans so feeling a bit nervous of possibly spending it queuing up on Dec 24th!

 

You have to have a face-to-face interview before you get let loose on NO. We had to gather in the theatre at our allotted time and we were escorted in groups through the terminal building. We then had to wait in line in front of one of 10 immigration desks. When we got to the desk we had our finger-prints taken and irises scanned. He then just chatted to us but asking questions about what we'd be doing. It won't be as bad in the airport because you won't have 2000 people arriving at the same time.

 

I was interested to read your report as we were on the same cruise. I remember you saying that you had booked an airboat privately this time as the P&O excursion which we had booked was in a Safari Park. You were right it was, although we nevertheless enjoyed it. I did wonder at the time if yours turned out to be better. It seems it did and I would have much preferred yours I think. I was amazed that you didn't like the food in the MDR as it was a vast improvement on the food we were served on the Aurora World cruise last year. We were congratulating ourselves and the staff on how wonderful the food was in comparison.

It was our first time on the Oceana and will be the last as we didn't like the ship.

 

Shame we didn't meet. We ate with a group of friends who'd all been on Oceana before and have sailed a lot with P&O and we all thought the food was pretty bad. I shudder to think what it was like on Aurora. Apart from my meat we wouldn't say it was that badly cooked so it was down to poor quality ingredients.

 

Don't want to hog this board but if anybody's got questions about any of my review I'm happy to answer and hope I didn't miss anybody out this time

Edited March 31, 2016 by tartanexile81

[Keith1010]

I enjoyed your review.

 

Keith

[kruzseeka]

Thanks very much tartanexile for your responses. Very reassuring and helpful. Will certainly give a bit more thought to Cape Canaveral - it's clearly the stop for the theme parks. We've never been wait-listed before as I'm usually a bit more decisive and prompt about pre-booking trips so I'm not sure what our chances are with that trip - if I thought it was likely we'd get on it, I'd be happy to go with that. But...........if that doesn't come good it seems as though we'll have to find something else - not keen on just kicking around if there's nothing too interesting in the vicinity.

 

Thanks again for your help.

[pisces14]

Tartanexile81{Quote}

 

 

 

Shame we didn't meet. We ate with a group of friends who'd all been on Oceana before and have sailed a lot with P&O and we all thought the food was pretty bad. I shudder to think what it was like on Aurora. Apart from my meat we wouldn't say it was that badly cooked so it was down to poor quality ingredients.

 

Don't want to hog this board but if anybody's got questions about any of my review I'm happy to answer and hope I didn't miss anybody out this time

 

Who knows maybe we did;)

Anyway yes the food was pretty awful on the Aurora in comparison. I really thought the food was very good on this cruise when you think how many people they cater for. I mostly eat fish so perhaps that was the difference. The only time I had meat was to try the liver (because it's supposed to be good for you) and it was awful.:)

Edited March 31, 2016 by pisces14

[pisces14]

Good review, thanks for posting.

 

PISCES14 - can you explain what you didn't like about Oceana? (just curious!)

Hello

If I can explain, I simply didn't like the design of the ship. Yes, the atrium is very nice but everything seemed to revolve around it. There seemed nowhere quiet to go. I really missed having a nice quiet Crow's nest to sit in. Everywhere was noisy with quizzes, bingo, talks or loud music. That might suit some people but not me I'm afraid. I'm sure a lot of people like it or dislike it for their own reasons. It's all subjective.:)

[annieuk]

I think all the different views expressed about Oceana just goes to show that some people love one ship and some really dislike it. Next to Adonia, Oceana is our favourite and we've been on her 4 times and are on again in just over a month. We love the atrium - it certainly has the wow factor for us. I like sitting in Tiffany's round the atrium watching the life of the ship going on and having the occasional coffee. If somewhere quiet is wanted then there is a very large library - huge compared to Azura/Ventura whose libraries are more like big cupboards!

 

We like the fact that one venue passes into another - as opposed to say Oriana where there is a side corridor and venues open off it. We haven't been on Britannia so can't comment about her. It's very difficult to advise someone which ship to go on as we all like different things. All one can do is to say how they found a particular ship, what they liked and disliked about it.

[P&O SUE]

Hello

If I can explain, I simply didn't like the design of the ship. Yes, the atrium is very nice but everything seemed to revolve around it. There seemed nowhere quiet to go. I really missed having a nice quiet Crow's nest to sit in. Everywhere was noisy with quizzes, bingo, talks or loud music. That might suit some people but not me I'm afraid. I'm sure a lot of people like it or dislike it for their own reasons. It's all subjective.:)

 

Thank you for replying. I haven't been on Oceana I'm just interested to gain as much info as I can for future use :D

I like to have some quiet places to go to at times and it's why I rarely sit by the pool as there's nearly always loud music near the main pools.

Edited April 1, 2016 by P&O SUE

[funfan]

Great review Rhona . Hope we have a better choir next year . Will be up bright and early when we arrive in New Orleans . 👍

[tartanexile81]

I miss the Crow's Nest too Pisces 14.

 

How was C&M funfan? Always interesting itineraries so we've been tempted too. It looks like the choirs are now being run by Headliners & they're nice enough people but they seem out of their depth. The rehearsals weren't nearly as regular as previous cruises