Review of our cruise on Oceana last week

[postcardswansea]

Warning - long post! :o Hope it might be helpful to someone!

 

This was a first cruise for my husband, and my second. We chose this cruise because the ports of call interested us; P&O's Oceana just happened to be the ship. I'd started reading these forums only after we'd pretty much decided to book, so was somewhat apprehensive about the negative reviews I read for Oceana, However, I needn't have worried as we really enjoyed the whole experience!

 

Ours was a fly cruise, and we were really impressed with P&O's organisation from the moment we checked in at Cardiff airport, right through until we arrived back a week later. The only slight disappointment, which was completely outside of P&O's control, was that a flight delay (due to very foggy conditions at Cardiff) meant our later-than-anticipated embarkation in Venice left no time for us to explore the city before sail away. As we'd both visited Venice on previous occasions, this wasn't a disaster, but was still disappointing.

 

Our balcony cabin (C712) was beautifully clean, and well maintained. The shower-room was very compact, and we found we had to spill out into the bedroom for space to dry off after a shower! Not so much of a problem for us, as a couple, but it could have been a challenge for anyone not on such intimate terms with their travelling companion! Our steward was friendly, welcoming, and available if/when we needed him.

 

The suitcases (which we hadn't seen since we checked them in at Cardiff) took a while to arrive in our cabin, but it gave us time, while we were waiting, to explore the ship and attend the muster drill. They arrived just in time for us to change before going to eat.

 

We had Freedom dining, but ate almost all meals in the Plaza buffet. There was always a good choice of food here, and the outlook was spectacular. We tried the main dining room for breakfast one day and didn't feel the service or food was as good as the buffet, and certainly didn't tempt us to eat there in the evening. We had a table for two, but the table for four next to us was no more than six inches away!

 

We celebrated our wedding anniversary on the cruise, so booked a meal in the Cafe Jardin. Service was slow, the food was good, but not outstanding, and it was disappointing not to have a view.

 

I don't eat meat (but do eat fish) and my husband is a big meat eater. We always found plenty to satisfy both of us in the Plaza. I'd read the comment on here about the lack of vegetable variety, but was looking forward to a glut of green beans as they're one of my favourites; however, they didn't make an appearance until day four! Generally, we found the choice and quality of the food to be very good. One or two fish dishes were a little dry, but there were so many other options, this didn't spoil the meal for us. Breakfasts were especially good. All of the staff here were friendly and efficient.

 

Staff throughout the ship were generally very friendly (the only places we encountered anything less so were in Cafe Jardin and Ligurian restaurants), and we found the service was excellent.

 

We went to four evening entertainments. These are our thoughts, but others may have very different opinions:

The Blue Jays - fabulous! Real crowd-pleasers, and hugely entertaining

Analiza Ching - entertaining and enjoyable

Roy Locke - obviously talented, but not 'our cup of tea', and painfully loud!

Headliners - I wanted to be generous, as I appreciate they are mainly young and probably starting out on their entertainment careers, but ... we thought they were pretty awful, and not for us, I'm afraid! I'm ashamed to admit we did something I would never contemplate at home, and sneaked out after the first ten minutes :-(

 

We joined a wine-tasting class on one of the at-sea days, and had a wonderful afternoon which, maybe unsurprisingly, improved with each glass! On another day, my husband used some of our OBC on a massage in the spa and was very impressed.

 

We went to the casino most evenings, (and managed to end the week very slightly up - a good result in my books!) where the croupiers were unfailingly friendly and helpful to anyone seeming at all unsure.

 

Our ports of call:

Venice (embarkation) - no time to see any of Venice before sail away, but sailing along the canal at dusk, within a stone's throw of the city, was truly magical.

 

Kotor - a wonderful sail-in through the craggy landscape, finally arriving a short walk from the quaint walled city (we had been due to anchor in the bay and be tendered ashore, but were able to berth and walk ashore - a bonus!). Lots of narrow mediaeval streets to explore, and a multitude of cats everywhere! We visited the Maritime Museum, which was interesting, but I wouldn't say it's a must-do. There were plenty of places to stop for a meal or a drink, with prices generally not too expensive. We found a small supermarket where we were able to buy wine, beer and some chocolates and biscuits to take home. We didn't climb the steep path to the fort, although the Captain did!

 

Corfu - a short shuttle from the ship to the port building, and then another short P&O shuttle to the city. Generally an elegant city, with plenty of eating and drinking places, as well as an area of touristy souvenir shops in narrow alleyways. We climbed to the top of the fort, and enjoyed the spectacular views over the coastline.

 

Straits of Messina - not a port, but spectacular to sail through, especially the puff of smoke from Stromboli as we passed!

 

Civitavecchia - although tempted to do our own thing, we had booked an excursion into Rome (3 of the best) and were so pleased we did! Our guide was excellent, and we had a wonderful day. We hadn't been to Rome before, and it has long been on our wish list. Having been on this tour, we now feel that we have had enough of an overview that we don't feel the need to rush back. Although we know we can't possibly have 'done' Rome in such a short time, we are happy that we managed to see main sites which interested us, and still have free time to wander through the streets on our own.

 

Ajaccio - a short walk from the ship took us into this pretty town and harbour. Maybe we were just unlucky, but we found the people unfriendly and prices steep, which left a bit of a sour taste on an otherwise enjoyable visit.

 

Genoa - our disembarkation port. Our flight was not until the afternoon, so we had time in the morning to walk into to old town and wander the mediaeval streets and enjoy a leisurely coffee before heading back to ship for our transfer to the airport. Disembarkation and transfer were well organised and efficient, and it was wonderful to have the cases already taken care of, and not to have to think about them until we arrived back in Cardiff.

 

So to the all-important question of 'would we go again?' Well, we've already started looking at next year's itineraries and, if the price is right, I think we'll definitely be booking on another Mediterranean / Adriatic cruise to some interesting ports :-)

 

If you're still reading this - thank you for sticking with me, and apologies if this is a bit long-winded!

Edited April 23, 2016 by postcardswansea

[Scriv]

Great review, postcardswansea. I really enjoyed reading it and I could imagine being there. Really delighted you had a lovely time, especially as it was a first time for your husband - and even came back in pocket from the casino!!!! :)

[daiB]

Glad you enjoyed the experience, we like Oceana and have her booked for Christmas. We find most of France to be on the expensive side although we only buy a beer or coffee and sometimes a meal.

 

 

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[Presto2]

Thanks for this fabulous review. Glad you had a great time. We are off on Oceana soon so it was good to read that things aren't as bad as some people indicate in some reviews. :D:D

PS Just wondering who the Captain was on your cruise.

Edited April 23, 2016 by Presto2

[postcardswansea]

Thank you for your kind comments :o

We are off on Oceana soon so it was good to read that things aren't as bad as some people indicate in some reviews. :D:D

PS Just wondering who the Captain was on your cruise.

I readily accept that not everyone has the same tastes or opinions, and I certainly wouldn't want to imply that those who have criticized Oceana had any less valid opinions than mine. However, I can only speak from our experience, and we found few faults; but maybe our expectations were lower? Whatever the reason, we were happy! :)

 

Our Captain was Captain Bourne

[Presto2]

Thank you for your kind comments :o

 

I readily accept that not everyone has the same tastes or opinions, and I certainly wouldn't want to imply that those who have criticized Oceana had any less valid opinions than mine. However, I can only speak from our experience, and we found few faults; but maybe our expectations were lower? Whatever the reason, we were happy! :)

 

Our Captain was Captain Bourne

 

Don't apologise --- it was nice to hear that you had a great time :):)

Never apologise for having a great holiday ;)

 

I am sure that for every one person who goes on a cruise / a holiday and has a fab time that there is someone who doesn't.

[Josy1953]

So pleased that you enjoyed your cruise, Oceana is a lovely ship and IMO it is a great size, not too small but not too large either.

[TotallyAngelic]

Thank you so much for your review ... we are sailing on Oceana in just over 3 weeks now but doing the Genoa to Venice itinerary. I must admit I have been slighly apprehensive after reading some of the reviews, and it was reassuring to read yours ( although appreciate that reviews will always be subjective and we will need to make our own minds up ).

 

Thanks again for taking the time to write this as reading it has left me feeling very excited about my cruise this morning. :D:D:D

[annieuk]

A great review thank you. We are on Oceana in just over a week, she's one of our favourite ships and really looking forward to being on her again. I can't believe some of the negative reviews I've read lately; we were on her just over a year ago and she had little resemblance to some of the horror stories I've read recently. So pleased you had a great cruise - I'm sure we will too!

[TotallyAngelic]

A great review thank you. We are on Oceana in just over a week, she's one of our favourite ships and really looking forward to being on her again. I can't believe some of the negative reviews I've read lately; we were on her just over a year ago and she had little resemblance to some of the horror stories I've read recently. So pleased you had a great cruise - I'm sure we will too!

 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise ... and tell us about it when you get back ... please :D:D

[choc56uk]

yes we were on the cruise before u x

 

We had mixed feelings as u will see the review I have done near yours on the thread

 

But we have booked again

Mainly for the itinerary and the fact that your luggage is taken care of and after really thinking about it when we got home .... We decided she's worth a 2nd try xx