Oceana - Pool and Dress Code

Ok, so despite my better half having been in the Merchant Navy for over 30 years we are close to booking our first cruise (a.k.a. Busman's Holiday) 7 nights Mediterranean Genoa - Venice

Reason for choosing a cruise is that I *thought* I could please our 18 year old son who loves to travel but NOT sitting around a pool or on a beach AND please our 11 year old daughter who basically only wants a pool.

Is our daughter going to be bitterly disappointed at the pool on board? They look fairly small and basic?

My concern is dress code. Am I looking at purchasing a whole new 'cruise wardrobe' of sparkly, glittery dresses that I am NEVER going to wear again? Would my husband need dress suit?

All the above is stopping me hitting the BUY button as the price is really not too bad.

Many thanks for any advice.

Ok, so despite my better half having been in the Merchant Navy for over 30 years we are close to booking our first cruise (a.k.a. Busman's Holiday) 7 nights Mediterranean Genoa - Venice

 

Reason for choosing a cruise is that I *thought* I could please our 18 year old son who loves to travel but NOT sitting around a pool or on a beach AND please our 11 year old daughter who basically only wants a pool.

 

Is our daughter going to be bitterly disappointed at the pool on board? They look fairly small and basic?

 

My concern is dress code. Am I looking at purchasing a whole new 'cruise wardrobe' of sparkly, glittery dresses that I am NEVER going to wear again? Would my husband need dress suit?

 

All the above is stopping me hitting the BUY button as the price is really not too bad.

 

Many thanks for any advice.

Hi we are confirmed P & O cruisers now and are going with them again twice in the next 12 months.

Oceania is a lovely ship with friendly staff, the Atrium is the best there is and will amaze you. We are on a 24 night all round the med cruise in October. It will have 7 formal nights, these are longish dresses for the ladies and dark suit or tux for men. We will be going to 1 maybe 2 at the most.

Other than those I would just say smart dress, jacket etc if using the main dining room (MDR). Not everyone will adhere to that but we like to look smart if using the MDR.

Other than that we use the buffets a lot and find the food to be excellent, only stipulation is no swimwear or shorts really.

Don't pack lots of fancy clothes you won't wear, just one or two posh bits if you want to go to the formal nights. You should have at least 1 formal night on a 7 day cruise. They are good for nice photos.

Pools, you will find there are more than one on the ship some smaller than others, with loungers around them. We always go for a balcony so can sunbathe on there. But if using the pool area to sunbathe then your daughter will need to get their early or she won't get a lounger.... But then again there are areas away from pools than you can sunbathe as well.

You will really enjoy the ship.

We are on it from October 14th.

If you need anything else PM and you could call us.

There are a lot of ports to visit so your son should be entertained. Your daughter can also use the facilities at the Reef Club where there will be other children of her age and lots to do. My daughter when she was a similar age loved all pools big and small. You will probably only have 2 formal nights on a 7 day cruise which are dressy, but don't require sparkles, I have some cocktail type dresses for these nights. Your husband can get away with a dark suit and tie. Your son is an adult so would also need suit and tie. Your daughter might enjoy dressing up, or may prefer an early kids dinner and to use the Reef Club whilst you eat. However this is optional since you can eat in the buffet if you don't want to dress up. The remaining nights are classed smart casual where chinos or dark jeans and polo type shirts are fine for the men and smart separates or dresses for the ladies, no trainers though.

I am also doing this cruise back to back with the 7 day Venice to Genoa and the itinerary is what attracted me, particularly visiting Dubrovnik on the part you are doing.

Thank you Carter, I see you are from the Wirral too.

The plan was to book a Balcony Cabin for myself and husband but just an Oceanview for the children, as I can see me worrying about my daughter and the balcony and I don't want my son to have to discipline her.

Right so formal nights are optional as you can choose where to dine. Gotch'a ;)

We are looking at July/August as we are tied to school holidays and exam results :(

Thank you Carter, I see you are from the Wirral too.

 

The plan was to book a Balcony Cabin for myself and husband but just an Oceanview for the children, as I can see me worrying about my daughter and the balcony and I don't want my son to have to discipline her.

 

Right so formal nights are optional as you can choose where to dine. Gotch'a ;)

 

We are looking at July/August as we are tied to school holidays and exam results :(

We did something similar when we took our sons on a cruise. They actually went into an inside cabin which they found okay. There is no natural light but they said that didn't matter as they were out all day doing things or with us, so they just used it to sleep and get ready.

You might be able to save a few hundred pounds doing that and may get an upgrade to an ocean view.

Just a thought.

If you do go on the cruise we could do with a view from yourselves on the ports and suitability for disabled and wheelchairs as my wife is in a wheelchair on long trips.

Thanks