Too big, too many people and badly organized. From the moment you have your cruise card in the terminal you are pestered to buy this package and that package. The ship is stunning but the staff need more training in all areas. The cabin was very nice with a balcony, when we arrived at 1pm there was no toilet rolls, no TV remote and a smell from the bathroom. They do not supply tissues or any other nice things in the toilet.The steward was useless, he asked at 6pm was everything ok. At 9pm we were still waiting for our suitcases. I happened to look along the corridor and seen a guy pushing his own case along into his room. We went along to the lift area and the cases were in metal cages with only 2 guys to sort them out. We managed to retrieve our cases, my god on holiday and having to look for your own cases. We missed the restaurant as we didn't feel it appropriate to go with shorts on. Ate in the cattle market (sorry the Marketplace) what a disaster this place is a complete rabble and impossible to hear yourself speak. Hard pushed to get a table. The meals in the Light house restaurant very mediocre, no glass of water here you have to buy a bottle. No tea or coffee after your meal. The week didn't get any better we will not cruise again with MSC they are very unorganized and some of the staff quite rude. Read Less

After all previous cruises we sailed, we select this one since it had an appropriate itinerary for us. Our cabin was well kept throughout the cruise. Excursion Destination Staff did a good job. Reception desk staff were friendly and helpful. Medical clinic staff was professional and excellent. Food and beverage staff service was ok but management for this service must learn what to improved from Regent Seven Sea Cruise Management. On board Nautica, we had one and only one free Captain cocktail during the 31 day cruise. Cheap. For Christmas Day at sea and New Year, nothing from cheap Nautica Oceania. Even their cheap wines were expensive. Oceania Nautica has to improve on their "fine cuisine". Food was ok for the money we paid for. Toscana has a large menu but food is only good Italian food. I had to return my plate and the Chief Cook visited me. Polo Grill was fine. The Grand Dining Room was as just great and we appreciated the food there. The Staff was very friendly and provided an excellent service. (Vijay and Mady) What a chaotic experience during disembarking Nautica on the wharf in Cape Town. No Nautica staff to help.They had our money already...who cares! We and other passengers had to carry our luggages about 1500 feet from the terminal building to outside the terminal. No real taxi available at the terminal building for disembarking passengers, and they were many of us. Outside taxis were scum people. 50usd for a 15usd trip to a local Cape Town hotel.(total rip-off) Oceania staff let me suggest to you: "First impression is important but the last one is just as important". So we speak now to our friends about this rip-off rather the overall cruise. We would NOt recommend Oceania Cruises to any of our friends and have all ready informed our travel agent accordingly. Selecting an itinerary first with Oceania was a mistake for us and value for money was not there. Read Less

The Gulf has been on our bucket list for quite a while. We have frequently stopped over at DXB but never before been outside the airport. It was certainly worth while! Service aboard was typically Azamara, laid back, friendly and efficient, sort of feels like home without the work. Dubai is spectacular, all the world's biggest, tallest, busiest things they say and didn't disappoint. Try using the Metro to explore. Boarding and Disembark very smooth. Oman is great but the Azamazing evening didn't live up to usual standard, The Cultural centre was spectacular but a pretty ordinary Brass band disappointed. Then previous trips have set a very high standard. The other ports were also interesting with the Grande Mosque in Abu Dhabi being a highlight and the compact, beautifully lit skyline of Qatar also living in memory. Premium dining is only just better than Discovery or Windows foodwise and having to fit with the times available makes it a dubious extra charge. Service certainly isn't better. Only complaint is WiFi speed and login hassles. Great trip Quest. We will be back. Read Less

I did choose because of the itinerary as not many cruises have port of calls in India. I have cruised on Ovation of the seas before , same Quantum class , and i like the Spectrum of the seas choice of colours and furniture a lot more. The one Big Restaurant choice instead of four is a great idea , a lot less waiting time at dinner . The decision of creating a Silver Lounge for Silver Suites guests is a great idea , even if when I booked it 8 months ago it was advertised that they were going to allow all suites guests to go in the Gold Lounge and Gold Restaurant on decks 15th and 16th forward , but looks like they changed their minds and restricted the access to those decks only to Gold Suites and Gold Balcony Staterooms and they created on deck 14th forward a Silver Lounge . Nice a spacious, with excellent service , but that closes at 8:30 pm so it is not possible to have dinner there . So Silver suites guests must use the Main dining Room. The only terrible think of the Ship is the gym facility. I understand that Chinese customers are not using gyms very often, but the space that has been designed on this Ship for Gym and changing rooms is totally inadequate . I guess no more than 600 square feet with very little equipment , and waiting times to use an equipment are incredibly long , so people just decide not to use the facilities. And the changing rooms are even worse , in the men one there are just 6 lockers so you have to wait to have a locker key . There is no physical space to undress or dress unless you choose to do it near the entrance door where people can see you naked from outside when the door opens. But the worst part is that there is only one shower , so you have to queue to get one. And what i don't understand is that on the contrary the Reception area of the SPA is huge: a lot of that space could have been used to make the changing areas and the gym bigger. So avoid this Ship if you are a frequent Gym user. As already mentioned by other guests , the entertainment is poor in terms of variety. The few shows are outstanding but limited in quantity. And the Lectures as well, not enough. First excursion in Muscat was nice . But today in Mumbai a real rip off. The Guide was really bad, and the bus old and filthy . I Hope next ports of call its going to be better. Read Less

This was my 1st cruise and probably last. Entertainment and lectures uninspiring. Woman who gave lecture of forensics looks like just fell out of bed. 1 night had singer in Schooner bar competing with Spectrum big band because lack of theatre space as shows were practising. Food from Winjammer plentiful, repetative but constantly cold. Breakfast line for cooked eggs 6 deep every day. Drink prices not too bad. All cost on board charged by American dollars. I noticed when in port a lot of people racing for free wi-fi, why do you need to charge $23.00 per day for this service. NOW for the CASINO WHAT A FOUL SMELLING AREA THIS IS WITH PEOPLE SMOKING IN THE SO CALLED SMOKING AREA!! Really Royal Carribean where is you non smoking policy in the Casino. Seems you have limited areas outside for smokers but in the Casino it is allowed. We can see where this ship is heading. Went to so called Gym bit of a joke, I asked why it is so small and was told Chinese people did not exercise much. The restaurants where the same old same old very limited and why can they not advertise prices. One good thing was Silk Road performance 3/4 hour so limited. Beatles show according to my partner fantastic but they bolted at the next prot. Jamacian band near pool same music different day. I am sorry Royal Carribean but this ship was definately built for a certain market and we are not part of that market and to assume people would be impressed by the size of this floating casino if a bit of a joke. You asked you got. A no so happy 1st time cruiser. Read Less

My friend and I booked this cruise last year while on MSC Seaside. I had been to most of the Far East ports, but my travel friend, Judy, had not seen them. We flew from Tampa to Toronto and on to Dubai enjoying business class all the way. One night was spent at the Dubai Marriott, and the following morning we taxied to the port. And there the problems began! There was a "time to board" listed on your information, but most of the 3500 passengers were already in the very crowded check-in area. Those in Yacht Club were given a place to sit and wait - we commoners just stood in line for nearly two hours. Not a good impression!. Once on board, we found our adjoining balcony cabins to be nicely furnished. I requested my duvet be replaced by a light blanket, and it was quickly done. My "bath tube" as noted on the reservation was a lovely large tub with shower - and all the really hot water one could ask for. Storage space was wonderful, and would have been fine for two guests in the room. The TV was mounted at ceiling height and quite small. We were out of range for English speaking stations much of the time, so it didn't matter too much. We had requested early dining, and found ourselves seated with folks who had limited English. We asked for a change, and were assigned to another dining room where we shared a table for six with an English couple and a couple from Australia. We had a grand time comparing countries and cruises for the entire 28-day cruise. Entertainment was based on opera most evenings. A soloist or duo or quartet sang with piano and flute or violin. There were a few song and dance shows, but due to the passengers' many languages we had no comedians or acts that required a good understanding of English. Food in the dining room tended to be about average rather than great. Always sufficient for any normal appetite, and enough selection to suit almost all passengers. The beverage package that included cocktails, wine, specialty coffee, water and soda in unlimited quantity was a true bargain at $28 per day. We had prepaid for excursions in all ports, and found many were not worth the price paid. Passengers with excursion vouchers had to congregate in the theater, and the staff sent out four or five busses (speaking various languages) at the same time to the same destination. We were late arriving at many sights, and waited in lines for up to an hour to board an elevator in some buildings. There was a library that had about 500 books in German, a hundred or so in French, Spanish, Italian and Chinese, and NONE in English - although there was a shelf with a sign that said English. There was almost no TV, and no daily news sheet was every printed. We had little idea of what was happening in the world during our cruise. Read Less

The cruise line P&O Cruises is a British cruise line, a constituent of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. P&O Cruises claim to be the oldest cruise line in the world. Its predecessor company operated pleasure trips since 1844, and the world's first dedicated cruise ship in 1881. It is the sister company of, and retains strong links with, P&O Cruises Australia. P&O Cruises was de-merged from the P&O group in 2000, becoming a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises plc, which subsequently merged with Carnival Corporation in 2003, to form Carnival Corporation & plc. P&O Cruises currently operate seven cruise ships and tailor their cruises to the British market. Why we chose P&O We have sailed with P&O on a number of occasions as they sail from Southampton. They offer much more of a British feel and use pound Stirling for currency. Having 3 pin plugs in all cabins is always good as it saves carrying all those extra travel adapters for those essential electronics. We chose this cruise primarily for the itinerary as it stopped in Israel, and the fact that Arcadia is an adult only ship. We boarded the ship in Dubai and sailed home via the Suez Canal to Southampton on the ship as part of her 2019 world cruise. The ship Arcadia was ordered by Holland America Line in 2000 as their fifth Vista class vessel. In 2003 she was allocated to the Cunard Line to become their Queen Victoria. Shortly before her launch the decision was made to transfer the ship to the P&O Cruises fleet. As a result, Arcadia has a Cunard style mast similar to those found on the RMS Queen Mary 2. She also sports a modified QE2 style funnel, with cowling removed instead of the traditional P&O style funnel found on the other purpose built ships. Arcadia has a gross tonnage of 84,000tones with a passenger capacity of just over 2000 and is an adult only ship. Arcadia’s biggest disappointment is her lack of a usable atrium in the centre of the ship, although P&O have tried to lighten the space with coloured lighting etc in her last refit in 2017. Arcadia has been plagued with problems with her cabin waste system with blockages and leaks again something P&O have been working to resolve all of her working life. Arcadia’s signature features are her midship glass lifts and the retracting roof over the main swimming pool both of which are features from her being built for Holland America Line. She also boasts over 3000 pieces of art through the ship creating a sophisticated feel on board. Dining Options on Board Dining on Arcadia is as you would expect very well taken care of, from buffet dinning to several specialty restaurants. The main dining room is on 2 levels at the rear of the ship, on the lower level it is set dining times 18:30 and 21:00. The upper level is freedom dining where you can turn up for a table any time fro 18:00 to 21:30. This option has to be pre booked when booking the cruise as there are only a certain amount of spaces. Even then at peak times you will have to wait for a table for 2 or get to the restaurant when it opens. We had freedom dining on our cruise and would certainly have this style of dining again. The buffet restaurant ( The Lido) is open from 06:00 to 01:00 serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon Tea, dinner and evening light meals. The food is of good quality, complementary fruit juices are only available at breakfast in the buffet area. The 2 specialty restaurants, Sindhu and Ocean Grill both have an additional cover charge. They are both very good and they change menus several times during the voyages. While we were on Arcadia P&O were trailing a glass house style menu in intermezzo outside of ocean grill, this worked well and we hope that it becomes a permanent feature on board Arcadia. Eric lanyards afternoon tea is another specialty offer, it is served in ocean grill on selected sea days and is worth trying. During the day by the midship pool (Neptune’s) there is a grill serving burgers, fish and chips ,jacket potatoes etc there is also a small sandwich bar just to the side of this grill. This area can get busy during the day, especially when the sliding roof is open in warm climates. The Cabins Arcadia’s cabins come is 5 basic categories with a number of sub categories. The categories are inside, ocean view, balcony, mini suite and suite. There are also a number of single occupancy cabins both inside and ocean view. Most of the mini suites are midships. All cabins are well appointed as you would expect with all the normal cabin features. All cabins have UK 3 pin plugs as standard, also tea/coffee making facilities replenished throughout your stay. The cabins have a mini bar(chargeable to your on board account ) and fridge. Most of the mini suites and suites have a bath and shower. A few of the Balcony and Ocean View cabins have combined showers and baths. All grades of cabins have complementary shower gel, shampoo and body lotion. There is plenty of wardrobe space in all cabins. This is a feature on all Vista Class ships that make them great for longer cruises or round the world trips. All of the cabins following the refit in 2017 now have flat screen TVs with pay for view films but as yet, like other ships in the P&O fleet, you can not view your cabin bill or order room service / interactive services via the tv. Things to do on Board As with any UK main stream cruise company the daily entertainment is varied from guest speakers to deck quoits. There is always something going, and the good thing about the ship is that you can always find a quiet spot to read the book you have taken from the library onboard. On this cruise because it was the last leg of the world cruise there was daily art classes in one of the meeting rooms. There is a small onboard cinema seating around 30 in leather recliner chairs, they show current films that are on at the cinema at home, due to space restrictions it’s always best to book a seat. The gym also has a full daily program of both free and chargeable fitness classes all of which are good quality and the instructors know what they’re doing Swimming pools, sun decks and Spa There are 3 pools on board, the main one being in the centre of the ship. It is known as Neptune’s pool, this is where the sliding roof covers the pool in less favourable conditions. There are sun loungers around the pool. The pool has a bar area and a take way food place serving burgers and chips etc The second pool is on the aft deck behind the lido buffet, again there is a lot of space for loungers and has a large bar, this area is fully open to the elements all the time The 3rd pool in located in the spa area and is a pay for use pool, it is always heated to around 34’ and has whirlpool jets that can be turned on and off. You can pay a one off fee for the entire cruise or choose to pay daily providing there is space available, they only have 30 spaces per cruise for this area The sun decks through the ship are spacious even at peak times so you are always able to get a bed with space round it. The large well appointed gym and spa are right at the top and front of the ship above the navigation bridge. It has it’s own sauna in each changing room . If you want to use the steam room hot bed or sensual sauna then again they are chargeable with the use of the thermal suite. The gym offer daily fitness classes and talks. The spa has a full list of wellbeing and wellness courses / treatments again all as additional costs. Would we Recommend P&O We have sailed with P&O on a number of their ships, this is what lead us to book this cruise. If you are looking for a cruise that looks after the UK cruiser then P&O is definitely for you. Would we book another leg of a world cruise, definitely yes but there are a number of things to consider with this type of cruise. • Large amounts of sea days back to back, we had a 6 and 5 day run of sea days • Average age of the customers is generally higher than on normal cruises • Entertainment tailored to type of cruise and age of customers • Customer familiarity with the crew most noticeable in the buffet and main restaurants as they have been together for the last 3 months or so, it can make you feel left out. • Numerous special event for world cruisers only, so parts of the ship often restricted (bars and restaurants etc) This aside we did enjoy the trip home from Dubai especially sailing through the Suez canal and the trips in Israel ( the reason for booking the trip) We like the smaller ships ( around 2000 passengers) as they are usually more friendly. Our biggest dislike is P&Os Great British Sail Away, complete with Union Jack waving, but majority of the ship joins in so we go with the flow with it. So if you live in the UK and want a great British cruise with a main stream cruise line then P&O certainly deliver no matter what ship you travel on. Read Less

This was our 50th wedding anniversary and wanted to see Dubrovnik, the excursion was 49eu pp and was advertised for 4 hrs duration was only 3 hrs and at night only saw the main street in the old town. Excursions were expensive one was 145eupp for 10hrs, and was just walking everywhere. Did have a nice lunch though. On arrival we were welcomed into a huge shed with 4/5000people all arriving at the same time, what a joke, it took 3hrs to load all the passengers. Why did we all arrive at the same time? ever heard of allocating times for arrivals. Also there was no water during this waiting period. The service from wait staff initially was appalling, the Indian and the Chinese were not well cordinated, didnt seem to know their duties, felt sorry for them. The restaurants decore were what you would expect from a brand new ship, very elegant, also the food was good, but always cold! this pattern ran thru all food outlets in the ship. Some of the behavior of a lot of the passengers left a lot to be desired, at the buffet piled their plates with food like it was the last supper. There was a masked gala advertised on their original website which never happened, just a few staff wearing masks. We expected a formal dinner dance like other cruise ships have. The nightly entertainment was not as expected and in some cases was amateur. Read Less

We read the negative reviews prior to booking. I really don't take much notice of them. How wrong we were. We booked because of the itinerary, lots of places we wanted to visit.Not much to add to many other negative reviews. The overall on board experience was dreadful. Frustrating to miss 2 of our desired ports Sir bani yas & Piraeus (Athens). Of course MSC did not refund port charges even though they substituted a port for the 2 missed..We travelled as a group of 3 couples. Have to agree with others about food, endless announcements in 6 languages. Staff seemed disengaged except for bar staff & coffee shop. Positives..... Embarkation exceptional. MSC gives you status match which was good. Loved the music played when we left ports. Coffee (if you had the beverage package or paid for it) was great. Guest relations desk well manned 24 hrs a day. WOW that's not much. Negatives to add.... Guest relations desk apart from about 2 people who were brilliant, the rest seemed clueless. We were charged for drinks which should have been included in our beverage package. We had signed for 0 charge but they still charged us. Luckily we had the receipt. When we went to challenge this we were told it was our mistake. Eventually resolved but took a lot of discussion. Poor drainage in bathroom shower, eventually resolved. Daily program often not delivered to our cabin until 10pm or 11pm. European travellers were farewelled by the captain with a handshake while the non-Europeans exited through a different area in Venice. No water in dining rooms.....they want you to buy water!!! B2B in Venice....couldn't get off the ship for hours, no communication, huge levels of frustration from all of us. My list goes on but that's enough to add. We have an excellent Travel Manager who organised for us to meet with the local MSC state manager which we did. She seemed horrified about our experience & will give MSC our feedback. Still waiting. MSC has a good product will airfares & hotels bundled. Their itineraries are amazing. I think their bigger ships would be totally different from the small ships. MSC would need to come back to us with very good compensation for us to travel with them again. Read Less

If you are a regular browser of this site then you would have known what to expect with Oceana so there is no need to whinge. SHIP-It is ageing but most of the public areas are in tip top condition. CRUISE-This was a new venture for us in this part of the world but you have to have your wits about you finding your way through Dubai airport as we did landing at terminal 3 with emirates.Keep your wits about you and follow the instructions form the airport staff because it was a real trek to baggage collection.Overall the cruise was interesting and the excursions were well organised.The free shuttles at ports was a real bonus and whether that continues next year is not known. FOOD-This is always a big talking point.We were in the Adriatic MDR 8.30pm sitting.On the menu are 5 starters,10 mains and 5 desserts each day plus ice cream and cheese and if you cannot find something that suits you then you must be really fussy or from a different planet.We did not use the Plaza buffet as to us the atmosphere is like a works canteen. SEADAYS-There was only one sea day and of course you had what I call benidorm cruisers.Out at 7.30am reserving their favourite sunbed even with high winds across the decks no doubt going through the same ritual as when they used to go to benidorm. ENTERTAINMENT-Gary Barlow show,excellent-the 4 tunes very good-headliners-I do not know how much of this singing is live apart from the lead.If they are singing and dancing then they are doing a good job.Steve Day,comedian dire. PORTS-The only port we did not enjoy was Khasab which really was a waste of time unless you were doing a dhow cruise.It is a small town with a few shops a few goats wandering around. SUMMARY-Enjoyed the cruise and all the lovely people we dined with.Would we do it again-no. Read Less

Chosen this cruise line because of the itinerary offered and being an Italian passport holder I did believe to be proud of the italian hospitality offered and convinced friends to join on the Costa Mediterranea. A total catastrophy to say the least!!! Never again will look or put a foot on a Costa vessel regardless on what they offer. A catalogue of mistakes, rudeness, could not care and bother attitude from all, especially from management, supervisors and officers as a whole. Informations as from the so called Head Offce never reached the vessel, comunication failure all round. Billing instructions even worst. Costa liner has become a 'bums on seat' category styled business, they attitude has totally gone astray and into deep waters. No customer skill or customer care in force. All what they want is: come on board, pay the bills and get out!!!!! Arrived in Dubai with BA flight at 08.00, presumably you could check in at 13.00, never advertise differently, the earliest they allowed you to, was 16.30, without a drink, snack or whatsoever. Had a special need individual with us, requested a wheelchair for at least 4 times, never arrived untill 17.20. By this time we were already stressed up. Taken luggages at 11.00am, yet never arrived in the cabins untill 20.45, just before dinner time. We were planning to visit Dubai, we hand up going nowhere expect on board. Lost the visit of Dubai sights!! Next day went to one of the bar for informations on non-alcoholic cocktails, prices and choices, was manned very rudly by an individual in the most abrat way. Complained to Head barman (Umberto) and had no confidence in him simply he was not responding enthusiastically and responsive to guest need. Blant as a tree trunk. Ordered via Costa website, water packages (3), never materialised even dough I had receipt from Costa on my mobile emails. Had to argue my way around. Restaurant food was very mediocre on majority of nights, very small or miniscule portions, mostly was cold or just about warm. Felt sorry for our waiter, because he was getting the hard times from the company failures. Gluten free diet was the worst ever experienced in 11 cruise taken in the past with other companies. Bread roll was like a chewing gum, soups were very watery, offered fish finger as main course, offered mini burgers or pizzas as glutel free mains. These dishes I dont even offer them to my granchildren which are 4 years and a 6 years old!! When decided to by a water package, reception decide to cancel it making my stressful time even harder. Every night in the main bar had discussion and disagreements with catering staff in respect to the totals showing on receipt, and being told the computer has made mistakes. How many naive guest have not checked and lost their drinks? Buffet food was always cold even dough they had proper utensils and not used fully! in numerous occasions had to ask chefs to change the food on offer and ensuring food was hot when it need to be hot!! A Russian originated receptionist and a night Italian male extremely rude in occasions. By the time we arrived in Muscat, I wanted to check out and return to UK, if I had the facilities of internet connection for flight search. Paid a wifi connection for the whole cruise, (48 euros) yet only used 30 minutes a day because it was not working properly, excuse was 'the satellite was not in good condition'. English breakfast tea, not available most of the days, had to beg waiters and given one bag at the time. Same goes to the decaffeinated coffee, you had to beg for getting a sachet. Public toilets closed most day at buffet time, when lunch session started. No facilities of hand washing, hence the contamination of dirty hand on board, not enough liquid jel for guest to use. A broken chair found in the casino and reported was never fixed for a least 4 days, very cleverly the chair was moved to another fruit machine. Lots of inconvenience for guest but very conveniently for the staff. Of course they are there to work but they are there to please and ensuring the guest needs are met. Worst of all, the service charge is a compulsary and very expensive item. £180.00 for the cruise each. The only saving grace was the entertainement team lead by Ariel, was very helpful, friendly, enthusiast, and above all very funny to all guest. Read Less

Great theater shows not advertised on daily planner!?. Reasonable food. Over 40 nationalities but all pleasant if not a bit excitable! Watch your account! Service charges 10 Euros a day but cancelled immediately after questioning customer services by phone. Ship docks at Port Rashid. Dubai Mall must sees : aquarium near main entrance, waterfall, water fountains to music at opposite end of main entrance. Burj Khalifa next to water fountains, best seen lit up in the evening. Excursion for lunch at Burj Al Arab is good as it includes Burj Khalifa 124th floor, souq and museum. Going it alone, a bill for taxi from Dubai Mall back to ship cost us 31 AED (£6.50) after street guy tried to get us in a private taxi for 120 AED (£24). At the Dubai Mall, taxi meter is set at 5 AED then pay by time taken for journey. Waiting time 10 mins when we did it at 9:15pm. Don't worry about a queue, they wait for about 10 taxis then let the queue out to get in the taxis all at once. Ground floor near main entrance. About 20 min journey back to Port Rashid. QE2 now a hotel at port Rashid. Abu Dhabi, capital of the Emirates and voted for the second time as the safest city on Earth. Sheik Zayed responsible for the city's growth and formation of the 7 Emirates into The United Arab Emirates. The Grand Mosque (Sheik Zayed mosque where he's buried) now very commercial with high airport type security. Strict route now to follow as carpets were being spoilt from children spilling food and drink etc. Le Louvre, amazing museum but looks better online. Ferrari World worth a visit for those inclined. Sir Bani Yas Island good beach with MSC drinks and food on shore. Excursions to see the animals on the island that Sheik Zayed introduced and cared for. About 6 tenders continuously deliver and return passengers to and fro. Long queue on the beach is about 10 to 15 min wait to get back to the ship. No charge for the beach visit. Cabin clean and good with well kept balcony. UK TV in cabin limited to BBC World News. Welcome on board by the captain arranged half way through the cruise at 6pm. By 6:35 he hadn't showed up so we left for dinner. Notification of meeting time for excursion to Qatar given at 9:05pm the evening before the excursion meaning setting our alarm at 6am the next morning if we wanted breakfast. Far too early. Food in the buffet restaurant fairly good but very crowded. After letting the crowds die down and going in about 30 mins later the food wasn't kept hot. Luke warm at best. Staff very friendly and helpful. Although we had a drinks package the drinks in the mini bar were extra, even water. Beware! Trip to the desert a little disappointing because of the amount of rubbish left behind by tourists. In summary, the ship itself is quite good, but the passengers from over 40 nationalities made the experience poor. Total lack of feeling great. Ladies dressed up well on a few evenings but most men didn't bother. Bit like a 'Butlins' cruise. Read Less

I chose this cruise because it had an itinerary that appealed to me.I have been on at least 15 cruises and I can honestly say that this particular cruise was one of the better cruises that I have been on. The food was much better overall than any other cruise that i have been on. The facilities and variety of bars and lounges to choose from was also much better as compared to other cruises. The itinerary was particularly of interest to me because I have been to India before and it gave me the opportunity to revisit some of the places that I had been to before.It also gave me the opportunity to visit Oman and Dubai - places that I have never visited before. I would have no hesitation to recommend this cruise to friends and relatives. It is a cruise that I would gladly repeat if I have the opportunity again anytime in the future. Read Less

Chose this cruise because of destination, (Arabian Gulf) and the warm weather. The guests were mostly retired, and talking to many of them, only sailed with P & O, never anyone else, "because P & O are the best". Nonesense. The Oceana is a tired, smallish vessel, and P & O expects their clients to want to go to bed early, and indeed many do. By 11 p.m. the ship was quite deserted. We were (eventually) given first sitting and we had a nice table for 8. The service was good, but the quality of the food left a lot to be desired. I do believe they had a glut of squash, asparagus and mushrooms, because that was on the menu all the time. The buffet is small, but never much of a queue, except when the tours returned. However the food was poor and repetitive. The onboard Headlines were awful! Two of the lady singers couldn't "sing". One struggled to find a tune and the other just screamed down the microphone. The dancing looked more like an old-school PE session, with lots of jumping about with lots of energy, but no finesse. The visiting acts were mediocre, the comedians were telling jokes from the 60's. Again all past their sell by date. The magician was good but dragged out his performances. There was a pianist in the atrium, and without actually checking, he either had 6 fingers on each hand, or only 2. He was dreadful. However people sat in rows, like an old folks home, listening to him. Can't for the life of me think why. The seating in the show lounges was poor. In the Starlight theatre there were bucket seats crammed together and behind them were a sofa seating. The buckets seats were higher than the softas, and the distance between them was so tiny, that people were climbing over the backs of the sofas to get to their seats. The Footlights theatre seating was all sloping forwards, so not very comfortable. We had an inside guarantee cabin which was perfectly adequate, B624. No complaints there. However there were sequins on the floor when we arrived, and still there when we left. Obviously never vacuumed. The price of alcohol is expensive. A 250ml glass of house red/white wine was £5.65. A Peroni on draft was £4.80 a pint. Can't comment on any other drinks. The ship was always cold, from the air conditioning. Read Less

Had the pleasure of travelling in the Arabian Gulf on MV Horizon, it was outstanding even though the ship is 30 years old it is still a good ship and the service is exceptional, food very good , service great and the advantage of free drinks was a nice touch. The shows were great, everything is done in Spanish and English, majority of crew are Pilipino so no problem, compared to the opposition MSC who I have travelled with out of Durban several times, always a disaster and terrible food, there is no comparison, Pullmantur really goes the extra mile. I thought the food quality was only because of the ship going out of Durban but after hearing the horrendous stories from passengers from two MSC ships in the Arabian Gulf they all complained about the bad food on their MSC ships and this stunned me. Seeing a certain South African travel agency loves to run Pullmantur down and I have now had first class experience to it not being true. I now throw out a challenge to the CEO of MSC if the comments made by several of your passengers is not being true show me that this is not the case. You want a great cruise try Pullmantur you won’t be sorry we met several UK passengers who were on their 3 trip on Pullmantur so that’s good enough to hear the positives, Read Less

* Our cabin attendant Mathew Lobo was always very happy and friendly and a great asset to the ship. * Our dining room waiters Inyoman Udiana Yasa & Andyson Anthony Manaji were always friendly & helpful with the menu and also both are a great asset to the ship * The meals in the dining room were average, a bit small in size and tasteless * The food in the buffet was a bit ordinary * We found it hard to speak to the Front Desk staff we are Australian, and they had trouble understanding us and we sure had trouble understanding them, not very helpful. * The entertainment at night time were very good. * The staff in the casino Florin & Danial were always very friendly, both are a great asset to the ship. ** We have been on MSC and found the Lirica a let down compared to our last cruise with MSC would not travel with MSC again. Been on 9 other cruise ships and Lirica would have to be the most disappointing Read Less

We had only just come home from a Christmas cruise on Sinfonia and had a great time, by chance I was browsing the MSC site and found this cruise from Dubai flying out from the UK on Emirates at a price for a balcony cabin for what you would expect to pay for the flights. The flight was very good and we were transferred to the ship by about 8:30 in the morning, we expected to have to wait until after lunch to board but were shown through to check in and were on board by 9am and offered breakfast in the dining room. Our luggage arrived quite soon and we were able to get changed and freshen up before lunch. It was nice to see some familiar faces from other ships among the staff, and they went out of there way to make us welcome. We have sailed on Splendida previously so knew what to expect, but there were some changes that had been made presumably to suit Arabic tastes, One change in particular was a bar only playing Arabic type music, the bar seemed quite empty most nights; and this bar had always been full and buzzing on previous cruises. We did find the dinner service to be very slow, we were on first sitting (6:30) and we only just completed our meal by 8:30 when the second sitting were waiting to come in. On one evening we were served our starter and the dirty plates were still on the table half an hour after we had finished. I cleared the table myself and gave the plates to the waiter, as you can imagine that caused quite a fuss and service improved the following night but then slipped again. There was another issue with a sharp foreign body in my wife's soup, we are still waiting for a good explanation why it was there. We used the restaurant for most of our meals though when we did use the buffet it was fine. The cabin was very good and a good size though fittings are looking a bit shabby and a bit more attention need to be taken regarding cleaning in the corners, but with too many cabins to service it must be hard for the staff. Mentioning the staff, everyone we met was always willing to serve you with a smile and a chat, we never had to wait long in the bars, if you just sit there and expect them to find you then you may have a wait. If you see the waiter/waitress then just stand up and wave your cruise card and they will acknowledge you, it always worked for me. Disembarking was a breeze though it was early in the morning (3:30) we were transferred to the airport at Dubai, it's very large and flashy but there was enough going on to keep you amused until the flight. Read Less

We chose this cruise due to the amount of new boxes we were able to tick ✅ Although we’ve spent time in Dubai before this offered overnight stays in Oman and other unusual destinations. The ship has had a fairly recent refurb and the cabins were very compact but very well planned and practical. This is our tenth cruise and we rated it in our top three. We had a couple of slight problems on checking in to the cruise terminal when a staff member caused queue chaos by lifting a barrier and our key card didn’t have a code for the Drinks package we had pre paid but after I had raised our concerns with the Guest Relations Manager we all felt he had addressed our complaints appropriately and it didn’t spoil our trip. Although mostly French and Italians on board there was a great atmosphere and I have to say the animation team worked very hard to achieve the fun atmosphere on board. Plenty of bars with a great variety of drink options and it was good to see branded soft drinks available in cans as opposed to watered down pump alternatives, this was a big bonus for us. There was a great choice of quality wines too and I can highly recommend the drinks package. Bar staff in the Lord Nelson worked really hard and Helda from Indonesia kept our drink orders coming smoothly and speedily, she was great. Food was good in the buffet with lots of choices and great in the restaurant for evening meals although we only went 3 times. All in all I would recommend this ship as a good all rounder but we (a party of 4) especially rated the size of the ship as it wasn’t too big (we were on the Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas earlier this year and it’s too big and too commercial) wasn’t too small but just right and we’ve all decided to do the same trip again the same time of year if it’s on offer which is something we’ve never done before so that in itself is high praise indeed, well done MSC! Read Less

We joined Discovery at Dubai and left from Langkawi. We did not experience the long stay in Dubai and problems experienced by the passengers already on board - we did have an extra day at sea and missed out Mumbai for which we have already received 1/3 back of the cruise cost. We had a great time on the Discovery some excellent shore trips and a couple of poor ones but these were not Marella Excursions so not at all down to the cruise company. I am surprised by some negative comments I read on these reviews because having reaserched into what to expect from this ship we got pretty much what we expected and really enjoyed it. We found the food very good and at times exceptional. Our experiences in the Surf and Turf and Aisian fusion resteraunts were both excellent. The entertainment was plentiful and I believe should pretty much have covered all tastes. Opera singer - outstanding and brilliant entertainer. Piano player - same again as was the Boogie Woogie Piano player who joined in the second week. Punjabi Drum Troop - great touch and very entertaining (took their Drum class - brilliant). Two pairs of professional dancers (took a couple of their classes - Excellent). Two very good comedians. The onboard entertainment team carried out lots of shows and acts throughout the trip - things to suit all tastes and we enjoyed the ones we chose to go to. On sea days, hard to get a sun lounger unless you are pretty early but as with what we expected, 1800 folk on one ship, bound to have to queue at some stage, disembarking etc. The staff on board worked their socks off and should be commended. I read here someone saying shorter measures of drinks - we didn't find that - if so, just ask for a stronger one - we did'nt have to. All Inclusive package was excellent and no need to add to it unless you like specific Malts or coffees or cans of fizzy - but still very reasonably priced I believe. Two nights of "Dress to impress" to wear your Tux etc - some did, some didn't. We dressed reasonably smartly each night, some did, some didn't. This is not Cunard tho - so if you want Cunard dress regs then book with them. We had a very enjoyable time on the ship, met lots of interesting people and found the staff and crew very hard working, polite, helpful and informative. There were no children on this cruise - Would book again with Marella. Read Less

Go on this cruise for the ports, not for the cruise ship experience. This should not be anyone’s first cruise. This is a cruise for adventurous, experienced cruisers. Let me explain what I mean. This is not the cruise to take if you are looking for the ultimate cruise ship experience. One of the topics that united everyone I spoke to on the ship was that the ship was, "adequate/competent" at best and to be honest, I heard a few "utilitarian" comments, It is not an over the top ship experience by any means and if that is your expectation take another ship. What makes this trip really nice however is the ports and the travelers who are attracted to this trip. The vast majority of people on the ship were confident, experienced travelers who knew how to, "Roll with the punches". You could always find a group of people who had decided to walk around the port rather than take the scheduled tour. Many of the passengers were familiar with the area and contributed information that made the trip memorable. You could typically find a group of people who had identified a museum that they really wanted to go to. People had done their research and came prepared knowing what was here to see. This is very much a "learning" cruise. There is only 1 day at sea and with the exception of Dubai and Muscat, each day is a different port. If you tire easily, take this into consideration. I like a smaller ship so the size and "vintage" experience didn't bother me. There were 3 formal nights although often people just came as they chose. The dining room seems confused in some ways. I couldn't understand some the choices that were made. For example, the after dinner coffee was eliminated from the MDR and put as part of a drink package. Why would one do this in a European market? Additionally, the traditional "Surf and turf" was cut out and made available only for an additional charge, as was a, "Steak and a glass of Barolo". Again, I wondered why? Additionally, I was kind of disappointed at the limited offering of Italian wine on a ship with Italian heritage. I was looking forward to a wider selection. Overall, I found the food to be simple, straight-forward and satisfying. I was pretty surprised at the lackadaisical attitude towards to hand sanitizers. On other ships I can remember being forbidden to enter the buffet unless I used the sanitizers. On this ship the sanitizer machines were there, but no one enforced their usage. I saw a lot of bad behavior at the buffet during breakfast, people cutting in front of the queue, it wasn't really necessary, in my opinion. Embarkation/Disembarkation was really smooth, when I arrived there was no one there and I just walked on. One thing that really bothered me was the mis-information I received about the visas. My travel agent very clearly stated that I needed visas as an american citizen and it was my responsibility to acquire them. Additionally, she indicated that the potential to be denied boarding existed if I did not have them. When I arrived at the check in desk, they just started laughing and assured me that I needed NO visas to take the cruise. I received additional confirmation of this from the Immigration officer once I got on board. This needs to be clarified. Towards the end, I became somewhat annoyed at the daily "shuttle fee" for what was a short walk. It just seemed to be necessary nickel and dimeing of the passengers. The ship spends time in Dubai. There is a free shuttle from the cruise port to the Dubai Mall in the center of the city. It stops right in front of the ship and is usually right next to the big bus location. It is marked. It is supposed to come every hour on the hour but sometimes that does not happen. The alternative is the big bus hop on hop off, but that is not free. It is very comprehensive however and you can get a nice overview of the city in the first pass. You can then hop on and hop off on the second pass. You can purchase multiple cities, (I purchased hop on/hop off for Dubai, Muscat, and Abu Dhabi together). Multiple cities will give you a discounted fare. If you are OK with the subway, I would strongly suggest using the subway instead of the big bus. If walking is not an issue the subway is cheap, fast and will give you a truly birds eye view of the city and its residents. The Dubai subway is new, clean and fast. You can get everywhere the big bus takes you on the subway; you just have to walk more. There is flea market in El-Zabeel Park on the first Saturday of every month. If you can make it, go. Dubai residents are big shoppers and the prices can get out of hand. The flea market brings you back to reality. It costs 5 dirhams to enter; either cash or you can use your subway card. If you plan to travel to the Burg Khalifa observation Deck, know that there is a sunrise viewing that includes breakfast on the weekend for the same amount of money that just the observation deck costs. You can reserve online in advance. The ship spends an overnight in Muscat. Its a good choice, although I found prices in Oman to be higher than in any other port for the same merchandise. Do not miss the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. It is a gem and has its own library dedicated to the museum which should not be missed. The one thing that became arduous is that you navigate 3 different currencies. Make sure that you know what $20.00 equals in the currency that you are dealing with before you leave the ship. Additionally, if you plan to buy silver/gold, stop at the reception desk and find out the price of the day. Everything is weighed. I would take this cruise again. Even with the warts, it was an amazing, relaxing time at a reasonable price. We were welcomed everywhere we went. I learned a great deal about a different part of the world. I met like-minded travelers who don't get ruffled at the least little thing not going as planned. I met confident travelers who have seen a lot of the world and gave really interesting perspectives. It’s not for everyone, but it’s my type of travel and I enjoyed it. Pros • small ship • experienced travelers • easy embarkation • relaxed attitude • enthusiastic crew • interesting view of a different part of the world Cons • Unanticipated shuttle expenses towards the end of the trip • Mis-information regarding visas • Confusing choices in the Main Dining room • Lack of variety of Italian wine on ship Read Less

My girlfriend and I chose this cruise because of the destination. We usually don't cruise large ships, but decided to give it a try. We booked the Fantastica package, which included 12 drink vouchers per person per week. Since coffee, tea and water are free all day long (juice only in morning), we used them for cocktails, beer and wine in the evening. Embarkation was quick and efficient. We were able to embark three hours before the designated time. Disembarkation was also easy. I asked the Service Desk to check me out early, which was no problem. My flight to Frankfurt left at 1:50 am from Dubai Airport and I left the ship at 10 pm. Was approached by a man trying to sell me a taxi ride to the airport for 125 AED (Dirhams). I rejected his insistent sales pitches and took a taxi parked in front of the cruise terminal for 60 AED. Food: Buffet food was good though not overwhelming. Restaurant food was below average. Especially "Mediterranean Night" was a great disappointment. Paella was a sad risotto, hummus was worst I have ever tasted, Moussaka needed salt and spices, the fish was tough, the shrimp mushy and the stew dreadful. During the week, we had a few dishes that were good, like the octopus carpaccio, the mussels and the prime rib. The wait staff was efficient, friendly and helpful. Actually, most of the staff was great. The Service Desk personnel especially is doing their best, sometimes under stressful circumstances. It never fails to amaze me how rude passengers can be to people who are obviously bending over backwards to help. Sea Day is a zoo. Not enough chairs for all those sun worshipers. One has to get up before 7 am to secure a lounge chair. The daily bulletin notes that if a chair is abandoned for more than 30 minutes, it is up for grabs. I wish they would actually enforce this. Many chairs were claimed early in the morning and than left unused for breakfast, lunch, bar visits, etc. Since there are only a limited amount of chairs available, it would be nice to share. I vacated mine after 4 hours to a very happy young woman. Excursions: We took the "Big Bus" in Abu Dhabi and loved it. A dhow harbour cruise is included. First one is at 10:30 am. Stop #4 is the Ettihad Museum of Antiques. It is adjacent to a modern art gallery and definitely worth visiting. Conveniently, right next door is the "Art World Cafe", a lovely restaurant with a shady courtyard and delicious food. Also not to be missed is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which is a stunning building at the outskirts of town. The Jeep Desert Safari and Arabian Nights Dinner Excursion was our favorite. The food was the best we had during the trip and racing up and down dunes was quite an experience. In Khasab, we took the Jeep Safari into the interior and were a bit disappointed. Coming back to port, we had enough time left to hire a private boat. Captain Mohammed showed us the fjords of Oman for 4 hours, made us coffee and offered some very delicious dates. He was friendly, informative, passionate about his country and the ocean environment, and a pleasure to be with. He made this boat tour memorable. We had an engineer from the cruise ship join us for this trip and Mohammed charged us Euro 25 each, which was just over 90 dollars for the three of us. This was much cheaper than an excursion booked through MSC. Because this cruise was not expensive, our expectations were not that high. Considering what we paid, we were satisfied with what we received - except the restaurant food. Read Less

Myself and wife booked this cruise because we wanted to cruise the Gulf..this would be our 3rd MSC cruise...but this one was totally insane.As Canadians we behave civilly and show respect to others....unfortunately the passenger make up of this ship are from various countries...and some are just pushy , uncivil rude obnoxiuos and unfriendly ...maybe they are just being gun shy(LOL)..I hope all are not like this...they do not smile and always pushing,speaking loudly,not queing,finger picking foods and the list goes on and on.........when you pay to cruise you expect that fellow passengers to be mannerly....maybe there should be a standard set. MSC did not deliver on this cruise....the food was very substandard..maybe others liked it...the shows were stupid and put you asleep,again catering to a small segment of the passengers,the band music,etc not too good too..oh well. MSC missed out on this cruise and things just did not go right..I will give them another chance but this one left a lot to be desired...The ship itself was nice and clean..and I had no issues with cabin except for the first night. ..They messed up at check in,they did not change the sheets(I had to complain and then they did),I complained to the restaurant manager about the food and suggested that the chefs and all cooks be replaced...lol ha..ha.. The initial life drill was a disaster...no one to show you or guide you to muster station..I have never seen anything like this...this is my 21st cruise..we did eventually find a man dressed in white who indicated that he is safety officer and crews would be coming soon...this man was reeking of liquor..totally wasted ..unbelievable...this was 10.40 pm and drill was for 10.30pm. I cant tell MSC how to run their business but a lot of senior officers need replacing. The cruise itself was not bad... For breakfast one should go to the sit down restaurant where you get real food...lunch and dinner in buffet is the only way to go..you can always find a piece of bread and cheese to eat.The restaurant at dinner is more flair than substance..we went once and ran away. So much dfor the ship....too bad MSC has failed miserably. Now for the cruise... Dubai can be navigated cheaply..there is a shuttle bus that takes you to Dubai mall for free,you can then buy a pss at the metro station and go by bus and trains to your desired choice of visit.. In Abu dhabi the same goes,a shuttle bue takes you to World centre mall,you can then hop a taxi to your destination..very good value...stay with metered taxis that have the cameras..just ask...their are scrupilous people wanting to take you but they are not metered nor part of the taxi system. The island of yas nasir was ok,but very cold the dat we went. In muscat this was dream...just go outside port and ask a taxi driver for private taxi..2or 3 peopl..I dont think 4 people can fit in car...just tell taxi driver you will pay #) Omani Ryals thats about 65Euros for a tour..he will take 3 hour tour. He will take you to Qaboos mosque(a must see),opera house,sultan palace,museum a few other places and drop you back to ship.THe key is to spend no more than 45 minutes at mosque,and other places just spend a few minutes We got our taxi at 8.50 and the man dropped us off at 12 pm...this was a bargain...they are fair people,do not tack on extra time unless you negotiate ahead of time...meaning you can tell taxi driver for every additional hour after 3 you will pay x amount..you can determine that amount but i was told it is less than 10 Omani Ryals...3 hours is alot of time. In all ports there is something called BIG BUs..hop on and Hop off..thats people's choice but you can navigate things on your own. In Kasabh port just walk to the town..its not far,you pass by a fort you pay 1ryal go see it then walk to town another 10 minutes..total walk time 20 minutes...you have all day. And please hold your breath..the italian cxrowds will push and shove ...just shout at them.. Have fun Read Less

I wanted a cruise our of Dubai. My hobby is traveling and I travel every month-plus. I have been on about 140 cruises. My first cruise in 1973 was with Costa and I cruised on the Carla C out of San Juan years later. These cruises were great, but Costa has changed. They charge extra for every thing. I booked cruise, air, hotel and excursions with Expedia. Everything worked out fine, except the cruise and the last two excursions. I had to be out of the hotel by noon. So I got to the terminal at 1130. There the Costa people told me check in was at 8:30 PM, which was new to me. They said it is on your documents, not mine. So the first day of the cruise was spent sitting in the terminal. So it became a six day cruise, even the gratuities were for seven days on a six day cruise. If you had a complaint, they would say what is your cabin number and that was the end of that. Most cruise ships post menus, not this ship. On the plus side best room safes I have seen and most of the crew were friendly. Read Less

The itinerary from Dubai to Capetown along with an opportunity for the excursions to Taj Mal and a safari in Africa was unique, The food on this ship was of an exceptional, quality, service and restaurants, were without a match with any other cruise ships that we have sailed on and this is no exaggeration. Although, not a reflection on the ship’s crew or staff, there were excursion experiences that did not measure up to our expectation. We would suggest that the cruise line staff place more attention on the planning and quality of the excursions to ensure they reflect the passenger expectations of a luxury cruise. Overall experiences on this vacation cruise, including add on three day excursions before and after the actual 30 day cruise were with a few exceptions first class. While there are probably parts of this itinerary we would not repeat, certainly there are others we would very much like to visit again. Read Less

This is our second cruise on the Encore this year and the most disappointing. The crew was missing the usual spark and coordination that we associate with past Seabourn cruises. This was our 6th cruise with Seabourn and we found the food was lacking in variety and below the usual standard expected with this line. Rather than raising the bar I think senior management are cost cutting and lowering the standards . There are many cruise lines in the same category as Seabourn offering the expected service that is associated with a five star rating. The Encore has one more deck housing 150 additional people more than the three previous ships. The Thomas Keller grill is much larger and a small Sushi cafe has been added as well. While taking that into consideration you have 150 more people occupying the same passenger areas. We feel this ship and the yet to be launched Oviation are not up to the standards of the 3 smaller ships.The officers usually mix with the passengers, we found them very aloof with the exception of two restaurant officers. The entertainment was lacking in variety and quality. We feel Seabourn is heading in the wrong direction. Read Less