ocean countess

[bonniecharlie]

I am starting to read a lot about the Ocean Countess what company does it belong to , is it a new ship, has anyone sailed on her. It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has

[CruiserBruce]

From an internet search:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Countess

[ZCDW9]

Ocean Countess is an ex-Cunarder, very small by cruise ship standards but I hear she is quite well appointed.

[jocap]

Yes, I've read several reviews on a UK forum, and my neighbours travelled on her last year from Liverpool. They found her very different to their previous cruise on the massive Ventura, but knew that she wouldn't be up to that standard. It was the itinerary which suited, and the convenient port for departure.

The early reviews were not good, but this was because she sailed for the first time in the ash cloud time, and many of the staff hadn't flown in. The reviews are better now, but you have to remember she's an old ship, without all the activities of the modern cruise ships.

Neighbours enjoyed her, but knew what to expect.

I believe the other ship in this cruise line is the Marco Polo, which again is an older ship, but has her fans.

Jo.

[Kattylinks]

I am just back from a mini-cruise from Hull to Amsterdam and Hamburg on the Ocean Countess. I am not a fan of the huge superliners so this ship is delightfully small. We were full with 800 passengers but there was always room in the bars and on deck to sit down. The service is excellent, but it does not have a lot of glitz, or many of the fancy facilities on big ships. If you like the simpler way to travel this ship is nice. The food is fine but does not 'overdo' anything. The coffee isn't great but then most ships have terrible coffee.

The cabins are noisy when at sea (another reviewer mentions this) with a lot of movement of the plates making banging and cracking noises - we got used to it and liked the old fashioned-ness of the ship. I got fit climbing the stairs each day (there are lifts) because the ship being small meant one could get anywhere on foot. I recommend the piano bar as a quiet spot to drink cocktails at night (£3-£5 each), the pool deck is sheltered to sit on during the day, and we dressed up a little for the Saturday night Gala dinner to add a bit of romantic splash to the trip.