Oceana beer

[ace of swords]

Hello,

Can anyone tell me,

what beers are available on the Oceana, ?

are the shore excursions value for money ?

why do you have to book a table for dinner ?

 

Thank you.

[feebee_71]

Hello,

Can anyone tell me,

what beers are available on the Oceana, ?

are the shore excursions value for money ?

why do you have to book a table for dinner ?

 

Thank you.

 

Ace of Swords,

 

Let me answer in reverse....

 

You don't 'have' to book a table for dinner - if you are on Club Dining your table is booked for either first or second sitting in the Adriatic Restaurant (though some Club Dining tables are in the Ligurian Restaurant) If you are on Freedom Dining you have to book a table for the time and number of passengers you want for a maximum of 2 nights (though on embarkation day you can only book for that day). Be warned though, if you want to eat at 8pm or 8:30pm in Freedom Dining you have to get on the phone very earaly in the morning or risk missing your chance!! You can also turn up at the Ligurian Restaurant at a time of your choosing and the restaurant manager will do their best to accommodate you at a table though you may be asked to wait a short time while a table is made ready - if that is the case then you might be given a pager to take away with you or you may siomply be asked to return x time leter.

 

The only places you really do need to book are for Horizon Grill - an outside restaurant on deck 14 overlooking the pools, and Plaza Bistro - a section of the buffet restaurant that is set aside for Select Dining in the evenings. These two venues get booked up very quickly and also attract a suppliment to dine in them (I think it is about £7:50pp).

 

Some of the excursions can be value for money though in many of the ports you can access things independently without trouble - so long as you are not docked too far from the places of interest. Barcelona and Lisbon are examples of places you can easily manage without tours and will probably save money doing so. If, however, you are visiting somewhere like Rome or Florence then I would recommend taking one of the tours, even if it is only the D-I-Y option to get you from the ship to your destination. At least then you can guarantee that the ship will wait for you if your return is dalayed whereas if you go independently this is not the case.

 

As for beer available onboard Oceana I know for a fact you could get Stella on draught in the summer as well as Boddingtons. You could also get bottles of Budweiser, Becks & Corona in bottles (cost about £2:25 each). I also think you are able to get Guinness onboard too.

 

I hope this information is helpful to you,

 

Feebee_71 :)

[Pontius Navigator]

FeeBee, I think Ace double posted by mistake and you have answered the echo :)

[ace of swords]

Hello.

Thank you very much for the info on the dinning. Your reply explains every thing. We are going to the Carribean in March and chose Freedom Dinning.

 

Are there any more tips you may have for the first timers ?

[Pontius Navigator]

Hello.

Thank you very much for the info on the dinning. Your reply explains every thing. We are going to the Carribean in March and chose Freedom Dinning.

 

Are there any more tips you may have for the first timers ?

 

Pack two suitcases.

 

Put one in the spare bedroom. Empty it.

 

Repack the remaining suitcase in the empty one.

 

The tours we really appreciated were the catamaran and snorkel ones. If one of you is a swimmer and the other is scared worry not.

 

We were a party of 6. One woman refused point blank. Another, after missing 2 opportunities, eventually got her head underwater.

 

My wife, hydrophobic, practised in our little pool at home with googles. On the cruise she came with me. She did not dive but followed me holding on to a lifejacket strap.

 

From time to time I ensured she was OK, said I was going down, dived, and then when back to her.

 

She thought it was the highlight of her holiday. Last day, in Barbados, we had a free trip to a public beach. There was an atificial reef and the best snorkelling. It would have been better if she had had her own, small, mask.

 

These were tours we could not have set up on our own.

[donny-cruiser]

Hi Ace of swords,

My wife and I are going on Oceana 13th March and we are also first time cruisers. We are celebrating her 50th birthday!! Looking forward to it greatly.

[cricket50]

Hello donny-cruiser, my wife and I will be on this cruise. It is also my wifes 50th birthday.

 

Look forward to meeting you.

 

 

Regards

 

 

Peter Jowett

[Pontius Navigator]

Donny and Cricket,

 

Make sure P&O know. They should do from the pax info and I believe anniversaries can be catered for at cost, but you never know, you might strike lucky with upgrades etc.

 

Not a cruise but hotel.

 

For our 25th we booked a hotel and asked for an upgrade - got it no problems.

 

In Oct we went to another hotel, also in Guernsey. As we checked in we overheard another couple being upgraded to a suite as a birthday surprise. He had mentioned the birthday and his expectation was met.

 

We then said it was my wife's birthday a fortnight before. They had no more suites but sent a compliementary bottle of Champers to the room :) Very welcome.