Oceana review

I'll add the review to the main section, but thought it might be helpful on the p&o forum also...

Having just returned from Oceana, Genoa to Venice, all I can say is we loved every minute.

We travelled as a couple with our teenager, we had a C deck balcony and he had a c deck inside cabin. The balcony room was a perfectly adequate size for the two of us, I would imagine it being a bit cosy if there were 4 sharing it though. Beds very comfy and no noise from other cabins etc. The balcony was small with 2 chairs and a small table, fine for 2 people but not for 3.

The flights and luggage were exceptionally well organised by p&o, we were on board by midday, our cabin was ready around 2.30, our luggage arrived by 4 and our sons at 5, muster was then at 5.30.

Hygiene was very good with antibacterial gel at all the food places /back onto the ship and it and being used by the people we saw.

Plenty of loungers available on port days, on sea days, we had leisurely mornings so didn't go looking for sun till gone 11, needless to say no loungers were available but we always found chairs we could move to sun/shade, the reclining chairs were just as comfy as the loungers!

We had freedom dining and got a table just for us straight away. Service was fine and even though the portion size looked small we always left full.

We ate in cafe jardin and had excellent service and very good food, the beach house was also nice food, especially the steak cooked on rock. Definately worth pre booking both of these either beforehand or on arrival day as people were being turned away. The buffet was fine for breakfast and lunch but was a bit disappointing for choice and quality in an evening, this could be personal choice. We had breakfast room service on one of the sea days, this was brought promptly at the requested time and was a lovely change and relaxing start to the day, and of course without any extra cost.

Drinks prices were pub prices and waiting staff were always "around" to get drinks but not intrusive if you don't want a drink.

We didn't want to dress up for formal night so ate in the speciality restaurants on these nights, lots of people did dress up but we didn't feel "out of place" not doing. There were some gents in shorts (tailored not swim wear) in the buffet and at the shows on non formal nights, they didn't look out of place though.

The other guests were friendly and a lovely atmosphere on board. There were lots of families on our flight over yet we didn't see a lot of children on the ship so the kids club must have been good!

The speaker was an historian and Egyptologist, something we are quite interested in so went to her talks on the sea days. The singing duo were out and about a lot and good to listen to, they always seemed to be working! We saw the comedian twice, for a show that needed to be aimed at all ages we thought he was good, the theatre crew also were good in the other shows. We normally managed just one show a night as we were still eating when the earlier one started.

There was plenty of maintenance going on keeping the ship looking good, but nothing intrusive.

The staff were all friendly and non intrusive.

We used the gym for an hour on the sea days, it's quite small and they could have set the air conditioning to be a bit cooler in there, but it was fine for an hours work out to try and reduce the impact of the amount of calories consumed [emoji4]

The ports were our main reason for choosing this cruise and we were not disappointed. We mainly did p&o excursions, Florence and Pisa- a long day but absolutely worth it, Pompeii - a good guide and very informative, Dubrovnik- a beautiful place, the guided tour was a bit boring though so would recommend getting the shuttle bus and just wandering around on your own, Venice- the sail in is not to be missed, getting a spot to view it half an hour before is recommended as it did get very busy, we booked the water shuttle on board and then we found a gondola point (there are loads), had to wait around 20 mins and got a gondola for 3 of us for half an hour for 80euros (it's 80 euros regardless of how many people in it) We did pass the P&O gondola ride point and it was 6 people per gondola which I think would have been a bit cosy and overall more expensive.

In summary, a wonderful week on board oceana and now to book the next cruise!

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Thank you so much for this positive review. We are going on Oceana on the 31st - booked also for the itinerary. Hopefully as enjoyable. We were considering booking the Beach house and you have just made that decision easier.

Hi - here is ours as well. It is a bit long, sorry, but like the other review it is good news :-)

Well, just got back from our latest cruise on P&O’s Oceana and couldn’t wait to write a review. As 2 50 yrs + cruisers we tend to pick our cruise based on the itinerary as well as the ship, and have to travel in school holidays. We don’t tend to bother with the shows or entertainment, so can’t comment on this aspect of the cruise. This was our 10th cruise, having sailed on Oceana 3 times in the past, Britannia once, the Celebrity Silhouette 3 times, RCI once and the Ocean Village 2.

The organisation of this fly cruise was excellent. Both embarkation and disembarkation were handled like a military operation. Once checked in we didn’t see our luggage until it appeared outside our cabin at 3pm. On the way home we left our luggage outside our cabin at 11 pm and were reacquainted with it at Manchester Airport. The organisation was impressive and the flight times excellent – e.g. we left the cabin at 8.30am, the ship at 9.40 am, flew at 11.40am and were home by 2.30pm.

Yes, the ship is showing her age, but we still loved every moment aboard. The atrium is still stunning and has a wonderful atmosphere throughout the day and evening – something that her big sister Britannia did not manage. We did notice some rust on the platform used for crew to clean the high windows, but over the 2 weeks we saw staff removing this and painting. OK, there was some knocking on days when the overwhelming majority of people had got off the ship, but it was easy to avoid this and repairs have got to be done at some point. We reckon that in another 2 weeks those areas of rust noticed on our arrival will all be repaired. The inside of the ship was beautiful and staff were constantly cleaning and polishing her. For those worried about norovirus, we had no issue whatsoever and did not hear of any problems. Everyone we met seemed to use the hand gels and were sensible with the food ‘handling’ in the buffet, so we have no idea how some people can say that everyone is not careful enough! That certainly was not our experience and staff positioned by the buffet doors ensured that you cleaned your hands. The buffet area was very busy on some mornings, but that tended to be on sea days when people had had a lie in!

Our fellow passengers were brilliant and credit goes to everyone for making our cruise special. Everyone we met was friendly, polite and obviously having a great time. If this is ‘Butlin’s at Sea’ then I’ll book up to go to Butlin’s (on land) any day!! The joy of a cruise like this is that you can make what you want of it. The formal nights were well attended and the over whelming majority of people chose to dress in formal gear (something that surprised us on a fly cruise).

Our cabin was smaller than we remembered, but once we had got used to it we were more than happy. We had a balcony cabin on A deck. The beds are just the most comfortable ever and with the blackout curtains and rocking of the ship we slept like logs for the whole 2 weeks. Our cabin steward, Joe, was wonderfully attentive without being intrusive. He kept the cabin spotlessly clean and always seemed to know what we needed before we asked. OK, the T.V. is rather small and is not interactive, but it was ok for us and did not detract from the enjoyment of our cruise.

That brings us to the crew. We often read that P&O crew are not friendly. Well, if this is the case then they must have been on a different cruise line. We found the crew on Oceana to be genuinely lovely people and we left feeling like we had made some great friends. We tend to find that, if you treat the crew with respect, are happy to chat with them and treat them like human beings then they will respond in kind. Every one of them that we met, or walked past, always greeted us with a ‘hello’ or a smile. The staff in the Ligurian Restaurant were exceptionally good - thanks go to Bernard, Yashdeep, Edward and Sunny around tables 12 and 14 . The Captain, Andrew Willard, is a real gem – he was forever present around the ship, chatting to passengers and every crew member we met had nothing but good things to say about him. We had met him briefly in April 2014 and were amazed that he remembered us as soon as he saw us. We also had a few crew members say hello as they had met us before – one on another ship. We aren’t sure if this was a good or bad thing, but it was impressive and did make for a lovely, friendly atmosphere.

The food quality was much as it had been the previous 2 cruises, and though there was a new menu we were still able to order a starter and soup if we so wished. On reflection I would say that the food was not as impressive as it had been on our first cruise in 2010, but we preferred the menu to those found on American cruise lines. The food in the buffet seemed to have improved, though Oceana does not have as big a choice as some of the larger ships we have been on. Having said that, we enjoyed what we had and there was plenty of choice for breakfast and afternoon snacks. We ate in the Buffet Restaurant on our first evening and the food was ‘ok’.

The select dining options were a real treat. The new Beach House is excellent and in a lovely outdoor location by the pool. The food and service was excellent. Similarly, we loved our formal night in the Café Jardin, with a lovely atmosphere above the atrium as the sound of a tinkling piano drifted up to us. Again the service and food was super. At a supplement of just £5 we found the value for money 2nd to none.

On a similar note, we still appreciated P&O’s alcohol policy and were able to take on a box of wine to enjoy in our cabin. A bottle of wine was about £15 and bottle water about £1.50. Anyone who has been on an American cruise line will know just how reasonable that was! The bar service around the ship – i.e. on the open decks during the day – was very good. We enjoyed many cocktails and agree with anyone who says that they are not as strong as on American cruise lines. This may be to do with the fact that an American measure is double one of ours.

We found the ports of call for this cruise to be excellent and we have come home with happy memories of perfect days. We tend to do the ship’s excursions and had booked them in advance. Annoyingly, we had 2 of the ones for Venice cancelled, but in the end it did us a favour as we did our own thing and had a great 2 days. The ports were as follows:

Livorno

We did a wine tasting tour which was very enjoyable and as it was an afternoon tour it gave us the chance to catch up on some sleep on our first real day.

Naples

We have stayed in this area in the past so chose to visit Herculaneum. It was an excellent afternoon tour and the guide was very knowledgeable.

Dubrovnik

We did a half day excursion which covered the cable car, with the most amazing views of Dubrovnik and a short stay in a local port Cavtat. It was a lovely way to see the local scenery and it gave us plenty of time to see the old town in the afternoon. We walked the walls and had the chance for a meal in the old harbour area. A fabulous day.

Venice

As stunning as ever. After a lovely sail-in we stayed on the ship to relax and then went in to the town using the ship’s water shuttle for about 5pm. We went up the old Bell Tower in St Mark’s Square, which is well worth the 9 euros entrance fee and the queues weren't too bad at all. The views were incredible. We then enjoyed a meal just off St Mark’s Square that cost us just 70 euros. We then had the evening strolling around. Simply magical!

The next morning we decided to go back in to the town to visit the Doge’s Palace. Again, this was spectacular and we were able to spend most of our time strolling around and getting lost! Again the queue wasn't too bad.

Lots of time for real pizza and ice-cream afterwards.

The sail-away was a little disappointing – the music played just dire! Apparently, there is a restriction regarding the noise that can be made by ships, but silence would have been better than the music we had to endure going out of port. Whoever chose those tracks must have been the same person responsible for playing the British Classics at breakfast that included the Last Post and Abide with Me (I joke not!)

Kotor

Words can not describe how beautiful this place is. The mountains take your breath away and despite being a little edgy about it, we managed to complete the 90 minutes hike up the mountain to the fort. Well worth the effort – especially at 3 euros each! The old town is beautiful and we had a massive, beautiful salad and beer each for just 14 euros in the Harbour Pub – a lovely ‘eatery’ in a small square in the old town. The sailaway that evening was stunning and something never to be forgotten.

Corfu

We had done this port last April and decided to do something different. We booked a Cruise and Swim excursion which was excellent. We had a 90 minutes sail to a small harbour town of Kassiopi before an hour’s swim in the crystal clear water of a small, quiet beach nearby. We then had a meal out to sea by a small island before another chance to have a swim before returning to the port. It was an incredible day, made even more enjoyable by the fact the Aurora was docked up by the side of us. The sailaway was brilliant, with a super ‘horn battle’ between the two ships. Again, a day to remember.

We chose to stay on the ship in Civitavecchia as we had visited Rome recently, so enjoyed the peace and quiet lacking on a normal sea day. (More of that later). Ventura was docked by us here which gave us the chance to check her out.

Ajaccio

Probably our least favourite port out of all – it really didn’t do much for us at all and we wished that we had booked an excursion as this was our last day. We went for a walk for about 2 hours along the promenade and noticed that a lot of cruisers were on the lovely sandy beach. We also took the small train for a short tour – good value at 8 euros for 45 minutes. Having said that, we would have preferred Monte Carlo.

Looking back on our cruise the only thing that we found frustrating was the sunbed situation. It seems that this problem never seems to go away! Unless you were up at the crack of dawn it was almost impossible to find a sunbed and on all 4 sea days we saw people having to sit on the deck while other beds sat with their blue towels (but no people). I do wish that P&O would have a system where the crew noted the sunbeds not being used with some marker and then removing possessions if people do not return. There were regular messages in the Horizon News and announcements, but they fell on deaf ears and were a waste of time. Thankfully, we had a balcony cabin and could retreat there at times, but the whole situation did cause ill feeling.

As a result, we chose to spend some of our time enjoying the ship when she was quiet – and it gave us the chance to enjoy a swim in the pool/s.

Finally, 2 things that we loved were the chance to just sit on our balcony at sailaway, glass in hand, watching the sea go by. Similarly, sitting on there at the end of an evening watching the moon shine across the sea. We also enjoyed our evening strolls around the Promenade Deck. Simple things I know, but it was magical.

Finally, to sum up our last 14 days on Oceana. The words fabulous, fantastic and wonderful come to mind. It has been one of the best cruises we have ever done and we are very sad to be home. We did not speak to anyone who had anything other than good things to say about their cruise. We would return to those stunning locations, on this beautiful ship, with its super crew and same great fellow cruisers in a heartbeat.

Lovely to read both of your posts and that you enjoyed your cruise. We are now looking forward to our cruise on Oceana in December. We were last on Oceana at Easter 2014 and really enjoyed the cruise but I was starting to become a little concerned because on a post earlier this week a few posters were advising the OP to go with Aurora rather than Oceana for various reasons. I hope that Andy Willard is the captain when we go because we have had him on several ship's and find him very personable.

Thank you to winewith view and Presto2 for taking the time to write such positive and encouraging reviews of recent cruise of Oceana. We will be boarding in 3 weeks time, and recently have not seen very good comments on This ship. We know she is one of the most elderly in the fleet, and feel a lot of the mention of rust is not surprising. Will listen out for more "inappropriate music" whilst we are on board! Many thanks to you both.

Welcome back Presto and I am so pleased you had a wonderful time. As you know, my very hard to please M-i-L was also on the cruise and the only criticism she had to make ( but why oh why do old people always tell you first what went wrong before all the things that went right lol???) was that it was 'full' of children. Well, this was not surprising as it was August and high summer, school holidays both in the UK and in the ports of call and she had forgotten she had been warned of this before travel....... Anyway other than that, praise indeed - for the cabin ( balcony near front, portside on A deck), the service and all the crew and most of the food and the weather too. Mind you, praise comes in the description 'quite nice', just like an Ofsted report lol. S-i-L must have been greatly relieved, though she did say she wished M-i-L would smile more!!! PS You may have seen S-i-L training for a marathon - ran 12 miles round the deck one day - but it was very early in the morning. Now I am planning to go on Oceana soon and wondered if you had any recommendations for cabin location? Welcome back :)

Welcome back Presto and I am so pleased you had a wonderful time. As you know, my very hard to please M-i-L was also on the cruise and the only criticism she had to make ( but why oh why do old people always tell you first what went wrong before all the things that went right lol???) was that it was 'full' of children. Well, this was not surprising as it was August and high summer, school holidays both in the UK and in the ports of call and she had forgotten she had been warned of this before travel....... Anyway other than that, praise indeed - for the cabin ( balcony near front, portside on A deck), the service and all the crew and most of the food and the weather too. Mind you, praise comes in the description 'quite nice', just like an Ofsted report lol. S-i-L must have been greatly relieved, though she did say she wished M-i-L would smile more!!! PS You may have seen S-i-L training for a marathon - ran 12 miles round the deck one day - but it was very early in the morning. Now I am planning to go on Oceana soon and wondered if you had any recommendations for cabin location? Welcome back :)

Sorry we didn't manage to meet up with them -- honest. We did make friends with a Mother and Daughter and were wondering if it was them, but they had a young son alongside them. To make you smile - we must have been very close to your MIL and SIL. We were A deck cabin 321, 6 balconies from the front on the starboard side. In the past we have had A318 which is directly opposite on port side. We loved both cabins and they had a good view of the Bridge. They are very quiet and quite close to the lifts. Having said that, as we have been on an aft cabin on 2 large ships a number of times everything seemed close to us on the much smaller Oceana. We kept walking past the cabin! The balconies on A and B deck are larger than on C deck so becareful. Re the Ofsted reference - we always use the 'That was fine' comment as high praise here ;)

Lovely to read both of your posts and that you enjoyed your cruise. We are now looking forward to our cruise on Oceana in December. We were last on Oceana at Easter 2014 and really enjoyed the cruise but I was starting to become a little concerned because on a post earlier this week a few posters were advising the OP to go with Aurora rather than Oceana for various reasons. I hope that Andy Willard is the captain when we go because we have had him on several ship's and find him very personable.

We were on Oceana Easter 2014 as well. That is when we met the Captain :D

I read the post about Aurora and, as I said there, everyone is different so try not to worry. You'll have a lovely time. A happy ship, with a happy crew.

Thank you to winewith view and Presto2 for taking the time to write such positive and encouraging reviews of recent cruise of Oceana. We will be boarding in 3 weeks time, and recently have not seen very good comments on This ship. We know she is one of the most elderly in the fleet, and feel a lot of the mention of rust is not surprising. Will listen out for more "inappropriate music" whilst we are on board! Many thanks to you both.

The music is a stunner. I imagine some will complain, but it tickled us. On the Celebrity threads they are complaining about the loud DJ music. What do we get on P&O? Land of Hope and Glory, the Dam Busters and a number of hymns. Now I like hymns, but wasn't expecting to hear them in the Buffet area...... and it wasn't even a Sunday! :D:D:D

Re her age - I think she came in to service in 2000 with Princess and moved to P&O in 2003 I think. Still the best atrium in the fleet apparently.