Oriana Review
Rating by category
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We have travelled on this ship before so we were quite pleased to see that she is now adult-only and that a three-week itinerary was available in the school holidays. We were a little concerned that standards would have dropped, as we had noticed this each time we sailed with P&O. We weren't wrong. P&O are no longer the luxury line they would like you to believe they are. Oriana was rusty, battered and well overdue the refit scheduled for November this year. She is showing all of her 21 years.
The furniture and fittings on board were tatty. Wood was scuffed and dented. Fabrics were grubby and in some cases worn into holes (notably the chairs in the little reading room off the library. Carpets were marked and patched. There was a problem with leaks and blowers were being used to dry out the carpets where this occurred. They were constantly painting and varnishing, even replacing handrails in places. The cabins look dated and although comfortable enough, ours wasn't kept clean. The bathroom floor was only mopped once and there was something brown and nasty all over the plinth below the drawers. Used glasses were not replaced with clean ones unless they were emptied out by us.
The service on board had gone way downhill. We were on a table overlooking the stern in the aft restaurant and we were almost always the last served. As we were on the second sitting, this often meant that it was almost 9.30 before our main course arrived. They have too few staff serving too many tables. The food was usually only warm and the quality and variety was poor. Gone are the lovely seafood and chocaholic spreads which used to be served in the restaurant. Their poor relations are now served in the Conservatory buffet, where quality and choice was again poor. The "regional dish" on the menu each night had nothing to do with the region we were in. There used to be a wide variety of fresh fruit available but now it is apples, oranges, pears and bananas. The variety of cheeses served was poor- very few farmhouse ones or regional ones. There is no longer silver service in the main restaurants; food comes ready plated and you have to ask if you want different veg, then take pot luck with what arrives. Everything seemed to come with aubergines and courgettes.
Cabin Review
Outside Stateroom with Balcony
Comfortable enough with a sofa. Fabrics grubby, furniture scuffed and dirty. Bathroom dated and the floor was only mopped once in 21 days.
Port Reviews
Seville
Cadiz is a pleasant enough city to wander about in. There is an interesting market and lots of churches.
Corfu
Unfortunately P&O saw fit to come here on a Sunday when some of the shops are shut. You can buy nice jewellery here and the local kumquat liqueur is interesting. Things are a lot more expensive than they used to be.
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is beautiful but often crowded, as it was on the day we visited. There are lots of good restaurants and you can walk round the walls ( dont pay P&O's silly money price for this- just turn up and buy your ticket). The harbour is a pleasant spot to sit and watch the world go by.
Southampton
Boarding was slow due to having to wait for a specific time rather than the old turn up and check in system. We were kept waiting well over an hour.
Venice
Venice was as beautiful and crowded as ever. You now have to go to Piazzale Roma by monorail ( 3 Euros return) but it is still quite a hike to the ship. Buy a vaporetto pass if you are there for more than a day. It takes you everywhere, not just to San Marco, which the P&O launch does. Visit Murano for beautiful glass and jewellery or Burano for lace. It is an expensive city and you'll pay way over the odds for a coffee in St Mark's square - check prices before you order. Gondolas cost €80 for a half-hour trip. Very long queues for the basilica and doge's palace, which are worth seeing.
Katakolon (Olympia)
A charming little place which has recently been developed. There is now a pleasant sea front with shops and cafes and quite a few nice shops along here and the two main streets. Look out for "local" cotton dresses and tops, most of which seem to be made in China! Nice jewellery shops here. P&O use it as a stopping off place for Olympia but it is worth spending an hour or so in the town.
Sardinia
Cagliari is quite interesting. You are now dropped at the port gate instead of being taken up to the top of the town where the palace is. It is a steep climb. Lots of shops and churches and reputedly a fantastic fish market but we didn't see it. It is incredibly noisy with constant sirens and traffic and they are digging up the town centre to create pedestrian areas which makes walking awkward in places.
Gibraltar
Gibraltar has seen a great deal of development since our last visit. It has lost a bit of its old colonial charm. There are lots of shops selling cheap drink, perfume, etc and some will give discount on production of a cruise card. A minibus trip up to the top of the Rock is worth it if you haven't done it before, but the ships usually only stay half a day so there isn't much time to fit in everything. Look out for the funny little alcohol-free pub in the Methodist church!