Sirena Activities

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Entertainment
Carolyn Spencer Brown
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Entertainment & Activities

Shore Excursions

On Sirena, Oceania's shore excursion menu ranges from fairly traditional highlights tours, aimed primarily at more sedentary travelers, to more specialized experiences via its Oceania Choice series. In the latter, opportunities could include a 4 x 4 expedition trip up to Mount Etna, in Sicily, or tea with a countess in Venice. Passengers have the option to pre-book tours before leaving home, via the cruise line's website, and packages that offer savings on multiple booked excursions are available. Look for booking promotions that offer free tours in select ports.

Because Sirena lacks the Culinary Center cooking-with-chefs facility that's found on Marina and Riviera, the line's Culinary Discovery Tour program, which often concludes with an element of cooking onboard, is not offered. However, there are opportunities for food- and wine-related tastings.

Daytime and Evening Entertainment

Oceania Sirena operates port-intensive itineraries, so during the day, when ships are usually in port, ship staff offer just a handful of activities. These include scarf-tying workshops, needlepoint and coffee get togethers and wellness seminars at the Canyon Ranch SpaClub. Passengers can also partake in entertainment team-sponsored Ping-Pong and shuffleboard competitions. In the late afternoon, timed so that passengers returning from shore excursions can participate, team trivia is always a huge hit.

Evenings are fairly laid-back and entertainment is centered on dining. Beforehand, you'll find the Sirena Show Band for dancing in Horizons, a string quartet in the upper hall and a pianist who plays in Martinis.

In the Sirena Lounge, the ship's main theater venue, Oceania's troupe of singers and dancers perform Broadway revue-style shows some nights. On other evenings, Oceania hosts entertainers from the region in which the ship is cruising. On our cruise, one especially beautiful performance was from a Spanish flutist, and on another night there was a Latin guitarist.

Late night is pretty sleepy onboard, though Horizons does its best to lure folks for Lady Marmalade-themed dancing evenings and karaoke. (The two-for-one "late-night happy hour" promotion probably helps to bring in the crowds.)

Enrichment

There isn't a huge focus on destination enrichment onboard Oceania Sirena (unlike siblings Marina and Riviera, which have dedicated space for art workshops and culinary kitchens) since the ship has so few sea days.


Sirena Bars and Lounges

There are just a handful of lounges onboard, and most couple entertainment with cocktails.

Baristas (Deck 5): Essentially a coffee bar by day and a cocktail bar by night (though the crew is pretty flexible about serving what you want when you want it), Baristas opens early and then transitions into the Grand Bar at dinnertime and remains open throughout the evening. It sits just outside the entrance to the Grand Dining Room and is a lovely and cozy pre-dining meet-up spot.

Martinis (Deck 5): Open from 3 p.m. until late, Martinis is truly one of the most gorgeous lounges at sea with its very English country house-style salon, featuring a grand piano, sink-into armchairs and cozy loveseats. It's home to a pianist most nights, and is the sight of the ever-popular daily trivia. You can often find happy hour bargains here before and after dinner. The casino is adjacent, and orders are served to those playing table games and slots.

Waves Bar (Deck 9): This bar, right by the pool and sun deck, serves as the ship's only alfresco drinking spot. It also serves those dining at the ultra-casual Waves Grill. It opens at 10 a.m.

Horizons (Deck 10): Open from 3 p.m. to last call, Horizons, the ship's top deck observation lounge, is the perfect respite for a quiet conversation during the day and for frivolity after dinner. Small snacks and tapas are served throughout, and afternoon tea is held here. After dinner, Horizons becomes the ship's disco, with dancing and karaoke being popular activities.


Sirena Outside Recreation

The pool area on Sirena is gorgeous with new teak flooring and, in the pool itself, pretty sea-themed mosaic tiles. Flanking the pool and its pair of whirlpools are lots of sun loungers with thick, comfortable cushions clothed in a splashy blue and white striped design. The area can get busy in the late afternoon on a sunny day, after passengers return from tours, but never feels crowded.

Forward on Deck 11, there's a well-kept nine-hole putting green. To the side of it, there's a shuffleboard court.

Near the pool area on Deck 10 is a Ping-Pong table.


Sirena Services

The ship's Guest Services desk on Deck 4 is open around the clock. Beyond the stairwell is Destination Services, Sirena's shore excursion desk. Opening hours vary, depending on when the ship is in port. (See the daily Cruise Currents for exact times.)

As with Oceania's Regatta, Insignia and Nautica, its nearly identical siblings, Sirena's library is one of the most beautiful at sea. Located on Deck 10 between Tuscan Steak and Red Ginger, it's in an out-of-the-way place and is almost always serene and quiet, with comfy armchairs and loveseats, a gorgeously detailed pastoral ceiling mural and a faux fireplace. The book selection was refreshed in April 2016 when Oceania acquired and refurbished the ship.

Oceania@Sea, a dedicated computer room, is near the spa and has tabletop computers and a printer. While most passengers bring their own devices and use the ship's decent Wi-Fi, staff assistance on any kind of connectivity or computer issue is available here.

Oceania now offers a package for unlimited Wi-Fi at $27.99 per day. You can also access the internet for 99 cents per minute or take advantage of a 200-minute package for $160. Travelers booked in Concierge level staterooms and above get complimentary Wi-Fi.

Next door, a card room with six felt-topped tables has the same clubby wood-paneled decor as the computer room, with double windows.

Two shopping boutiques face each other midship on Deck 5. They offer perfumes, bargain costume jewelry sets, fine jewelry (including a special assortment of pieces with opals), watches, sunglasses, sundries and a surprising amount of clothing -- with some creative women's outfits by designer Joseph Ribkoff. There's also a small section of Oceania-branded swag.

A self-service laundry room is located on Deck 7. It includes four washers, four dryers, two irons and ironing boards, and laundry soap. The machines use American quarters (exchange pounds or euros at the purser's desk). Laundry room hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Sirena has a medical center onboard, staffed with a doctor and nurse.

Spa & Fitness

The ship's spa on Deck 9 is compact but well-organized. Operated in partnership with Canyon Ranch SpaClub, it's got a beauty salon that offers nail treatments (such as gel and gentleman's manicures and an age-defying pedicure) and hair styling, from cut to color. Four treatment rooms offer numerous options for facials (vitamin-infused and sun repairing are among them). Body treatments include scrubs, wraps and massage; our Abhyanga massage, an Ayurveda (or Indian ancient healing tradition) treatment, was superb. Shiatsu, Thai Massage and reflexology are also available.

The ship's gym is well-equipped with a full range of new TechnoGym equipment. Exercise classes are offered; some are complimentary, such as "walk a mile" and Morning Stretch. Others, like yoga, incur a nominal fee.

One of the most delightful outdoor spaces on Sirena is limited to a very few passengers. Tucked away on the aft, and accessible via the spa, is a glass-enclosed sun deck. It's got a huge thalassotherapy pool, gorgeously decorated with colorful mosaic tiles, and a handful of loungers (we saw just three), plushly covered. It seemed odd that there weren't more loungers as the space was lavish. Access is available only to passengers in top suite categories.

For Kids

While Oceania accepts kids who are at least 1 year of age, the line does not market cruises to families and there are no child-friendly facilities onboard. Children under the age of 18 must occupy the same stateroom as their parents or guardians. Pregnant women who will reach their 24th week of pregnancy before or during the cruise are not allowed to sail.

Activities & Entertainment

  • Afternoon Tea
  • Canyon Ranch SpaClub*
  • Casino*
  • Coffee Chats
  • Cooking Demonstrations
  • Enrichment Lectures
  • Fitness Center
  • Fitness Track
  • Games and Activities
  • Golf Putting Greens
  • Hot Tubs (2)
  • Late Night Disco
  • Library
  • Live Music
  • Lounge
  • Oceania@Sea
  • Pools
  • Scotch and Spirits Tastings*
  • Shuffleboard
  • Spa Seminars
  • * May require additional fees

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