oceana or artemis

[essexscribe]

hello i have a cruise booked in 2010 on oceana,(to the carribean) is artemis nicer? we have only been on oriana before.

[lostinvegas]

Oceana is very nice. I have only been on 2 cruises but I prefured Oceana to Carnival Splendor which is the other ship I have been on.

 

I am sure people on here will give you a better reply but I gather from reading these forums Artemis is a more traditional and much smaller ship that Oceana which is aiming more at the family market.

 

Chris

[Pontius Navigator]

Artemis is getting a little tired now. Some refurb has been done with bathrooms but one of the engines periodically chucks out black oily soot. They work hard but it is tired.

 

Now I had heard that she is due a major refit in 2010 including an engine change. Depending on when you are due to go it may be better or worse.

 

Oceana, OTOH, was our first cruise and we liked here. We did a second cruise in August but her pools are too small for the number of passengers and we found the casual dining room forrad meant we didn't have the Horizon lounge that the others had.

 

IMHO overall however both are on a parr.

[CASPALL]

Just off the Artemis after a 2 week cruise.

My first impression after walking around was "Oh no! Why did we book a cruise on this old ship!!!" She seemed so unloved and uncared for with her rusty rails and unvarnished decks. There was no Andersons or Crows Nest bar. They had Horizons instead which was full of TV screens showing sports or CNN news. Our old friend Norovirus was onboard as well!

Dinner on that first night was free seating in the Coral dining room (conservatory was closed) and it was absolute chaos. Salt and pepper sachets on the tables - no cruet sets (this changed after the 2nd or 3rd day). We were nearly finished dinner before we got our wine as the waiters were rushed off their feet.

By the time we got back to our cabin with double bed pushed up along the wall (my side unfortunately) I was ready to fly back to Gatwick again!

A big over reaction really. We had a great trip out on Thomson (premium well worth the £99 each way) getting good service and nice meals. There had been so many films to watch that I hadn't even had time for a nap so I suppose this was 3am UK time and well past my bedtime.

The next morning things all seemed much better. Norovirus disappeared after 3 or 4 days, the food was of a good standard, the theatre company were the best since Arcadia, the staff were very friendly and the weather made for a perfect cruise. The ship still seemed very shabby though - she badly needs that refit. The pool was disappointing and it was impossible to get a sunbed after 10am seadays (yes the same old story!) Bobby Crush was on (again!) with exactly the same show.

I wish I was still there - though there's a weight issue to be dealt with now that I am home. I never went to the "small" gym once as they didn't have the machine I normally use! (Great excuse!)

 

Oceana next!

 

Caryl