TotallyAngelic

Fantastic review ... the islands you visited look amazing. We are hopefully going on Getaway for a transatlantic in Oct 2017. Looks a great ship. Loved all your photos - thanks for sharing :D:D:D:D

HI

Does anyone know if B6 category ( large balcony ) staterooms gave sunloungers on the balcony. I know the M6 ( mini suites ) do, but not sure about the B6. Thank you :D

I would hide your toothbrushes when you leave the cabin !!

Indeed ... have actually known stewards who would take revenge on non-tippers in this way when I worked for Princess Cruises :eek:

One thing the waiters used to do to non-tippers was laxatives in the coffee on the morning of disembarkation.

If guests had been particularly demanding non-tippers, cabin stewards have been known to swap over luggage tags after collecting suitcases so that they ended up at a different airport. I knew of one incident when a steward was so fed up after a particular cruise with some horrible guests, that one of their cases took a running jump off the aft end.

I am sure that this is no longer the case - we were a bit more rebellious back in the 1980s when most of the crew were British.

This discussion about tipping is very interesting. I personally like the auto tipping, it is one less thing I have to worry about and I don't need to faff about with cash to the restaurants every meal. The P&O auto tip is a lot less than other lines recommended tipping guidelines, so I like to top up any above and beyond expected levels of service with extra cash. Our room steward on Oceana last week was excellent, always smiling, and seemingly always working. I often asked her if she was getting off in the port we were visiting, and mostly she wasn't able to due to training, drills, visa restrictions. Yet she constantly was smiling, upbeat and friendly. She deserved more than the auto tip amount.

We encountered disappointing service in the main dining room. We only went twice as had been allocated first seating which wasn't convenient, but we weren't able to change to freedom, so we ate mainly in Cafe Jardin and Beach House, but on the twice we went to Adriatic, the waiters made no effort to interact more than ask your menu choice, and were very keen to rush us out if the restaurant to set up for the next seating. When tablemate jokingly said, "are you trying to rush us out ? ", the assistant said in quite a surly tone " yes ... we have to set up in 5 minutes" - there was no smiling, no friendliness, nothing. Yet we chose to leave the auto tip on for these guys, as they still served us food, took away the plates and were efficient at doing it. But they didn't get or deserve any extra.

Incidentally I worked for Princess Cruises on the late 1980s, both in bars and as a cabin steward. When I worked as a cabin steward, I was on the highest weekly income - salary and tips ( all tax-free ) I have ever received. I now work in NHS ( Nursing ) and my weekly salary is less than it was in 1989 working for Princess Cruises as a cabin steward. I'm sure it has changed now, but it was good while it lasted.

Thank you for your review ... we disembarked this past week after a wonderful cruise on Oceana. Definitely hope to return.

I am on this cruise next week ... not too worried about the portion sizes as I don't want to regain all the weight I have lost prior to the cruise, plus with all those Italian ports I will be maxing out on gelato so not too worried about having just one scoop of ice cream on board. Husband however does appreciate a decent portion size so he will likely be one of those going up to the buffet after dinner.

Do they have a midnight buffet on the Oceana .. just in case a top up is needed :D

HI

We are visiting Florence on Oceana in 2 weeks and have booked a "Florence on your Own" tour ( basically transport to and from Venice )

I am thinking about visiting either the Duomo Museum or the Palazzo Vecchio as we probably won't have time to do both.

Which of the two options would you recommend to first time visitors to Florence.

Thank you :D:D

Would the muster drill be at the same time for the departure from Genoa, we thought we might have a look around Genoa in the afternoon but not sure if that is possible. We arrive in Genoa at 10:40 but not sure what time the ship sails. Thanks

I know it wasn't intentionally funny but this made my husband and I laugh. I then had to google the origin of the word flannel, apparently it's the sort of fabric they were once made from. I work with American colleagues and we have had many laughs borne out of things like this!

 

It is strange how many different words we have for the same thing in USA and UK :D The one that always makes me giggle is "thong" - same word used for 2 very different items of clothing :D:D

We really like Cafe Jardin for breakfast but please don't tell everyone about it! It's so much nicer than the buffet - I hate buffets - and not as formal as the restaurant. I'll probably have to put up with the buffet a couple of times as my husband likes the hot choice but I wish they would serve decent coffee! The last time I was on Oceana the coffee in Cafe Jardin was really good.

What we plan to do ( if we can ) is buy a coffee in Costa and take it to where we plan to have breakfast. We ended up doing that on Disney and Royal Caribbean ( not Costa actually but they both had a specialty coffee establishment ) and it was fine. I really don't like filter coffee so hopefully I can grab a latte and be a happy bunny :D:D

Do ask for Fizz if you like it - they don't always offer it but they will get it. Not sure it's proper Champagne but it's nice even if it's Prosecco it's still good.

I prefer Prosecco to Champagne actually so that's all good - I will ask for it :D Thank you.

Cafe Jardin won't suit your husband TotallyAngelic. We never eat breakfast there because they don't do much in the way of cooked food in the morning, certainly nothing resembling what my husband would call a full English :(.

 

The main dining room (Ligurian when we were on Oceana recently) is usually open till 9.30 on sea days and around 9:00 on port days. You can still get a cooked breakfast in the buffet after the dining room closes

Thank you ... good to know ( I wont tell him ;) )

Do you know what they serve in Cafe Jardin for brekky ?

Don't tell anyone but cafe Jardin is very good for breakfast if you want an alternative to the normal buffet or MDR.

 

But keep it quiet.

 

 

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Thank you ...that is good to know. My hubby and I clash with our breakfast requirements - I prefer fruit and danish / croissants whereas he is a traditional full English addict. I also need a decent latte ... so I imagine we will be giving all venues a try at some point.

Do you know what Cafe Jardin has to offer on breakfast menu ?

They do have the Captain's Welcome on Board Party. They do have complimentary drinks like G&T and wine and if you place yourself strategically you can get more than one. On the P&O ships we have been on it took place in the Atrium and there were two to reflect the dinner sittings. If you are in Freedom Dining you will be invited to one of them.

 

The Captain gives a speech and introduces his Senior Officers. It usually takes place on the first Black Tie night. This normally the first full day.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Eddi

Thank you. We don't know our dining allocation yet but are hoping for freedom.

Will try and get strategically placed ;);)

Delighted you now have your cabin, TotallyAngelic. Having cabins above and below is always a good sign!

 

Unfortunately it is now the way of the airlines that we have to pay extra to guarantee sitting together. We don't usually bother and just take what comes even if we are split up, but I appreciate it is different if you have children.

 

Not long now, :)

It is indeed .. for some reason I assumed as this was all in the cruise fare it would be included, we didn't have to pay extra for our bags as you often do. If it were just my husband and I we would take the chance, but we have my Mum travelling with us and she likes to sit together so we really did it to keep her happy, as you do. No biggie really, just had the impression it would be included in the price.

Do they have a Captain's Cocktail party on P&O ships? We have always had this on the 2 other lines we have cruised with, both offering complementary drinks. On DCL it was watered down not very nice cocktails, and on RCI it was glasses of delicious Prosecco. Just wondering if they do this on P&O and what drinks do they offer. Thank you.

Thank you for your review .... we are cruising on Oceana in just over 3 weeks now. Will definitely be dining in the Beach House as menu looks great, will also try the Cafe Jardin. Really looking forward to it now. :D:D

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

Thank you everyone. I probably will take my hairdryer as have thick unruly hair which freaks out in warmer climates so great to get that feedback. :D

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

Just had our cabin allocations .... 3 and a half weeks before travel so not too bad. Situated aft of ship on Decks B and C so hopefully good as only other cabins above and below. Not cruised Oceana before so hoping those are good allocations.

Bit miffed at having to pay £10 pp per flight for seats on plane though to ensure we get to sit together. Thought that would be included.

HI

Can anyone tell me what ( if any ) free toiletries are in your cabin on P&O ( not suite or anything ) - just so I know what I can omit from my packing.

Also is the hairdryer a decent one.

Finally do they provide flannels.

Thank you :D:D:D

HI

You can catch the alilaguna blu line from the cruise terminal and that will take you to St Marks Square. This is the water bus service that covers the Venice area.

http://www.alilaguna.it/en

On the fares page it looks like a round trip to St Marks will be 15 euros pp or 13 euros if you buy on line in advance.

If you want to explore Venice you can just walk to St Marks .... about 40 minutes from the cruise terminal - getting there and absorbing the atmosphere of this incredible city is worth the walk.

We have always chosen freedom dining.

 

I simply can't imagine eating at the same time at the same table every day..with the same people.

 

We just decide on the day when to start getting ready and what time to eat.

Sometimes we are late back on the ship and by the time we have chilled out a bit then we are later going down to dinner.

 

Sometimes we are hungry early or we want to watch a show and then we go for dinner earlier.

 

Sometimes we go for a drink first and get talking and then just eat when we feel like it.

 

Who wants to watch the clock and be set by routine on holiday?

I can't imagine anything worse but, as they say, each to their own.

I totally agree ... the flexibility to eat when it suits is what is important to me. We eat around what else is going on that we want to do. After fixed dining for all our Disney cruises ( no other MDR options ), when we tried early sitting. late sitting, and none really worked for us without either rushing or missing things, we opted for mytime dining on Royal Caribbean and I would now hate to go back to fixed time dining.

I've said it before but allocating someone their preferred choice of dining when they book costs the cruise line nothing and yet P&O/Cunard get away with inflating their prices to do just that.

I totally agree ... on other lines cabins can be booked as guarantee for a lower cost and you get allocated near the time of departure, as with the saver fares, but I have never encountered choice of dining being allocated on other lines - just a way to make money out of folks prepared to pay for the choice I guess. I had a word with the P&O agent at a cruise fair and she said I would easily be able to change my dining allocation once on board if it wasn't the one I wanted.