This was our 8th cruise and 1st time on Oceana for many years. Embarkation was quick, efficient and the bags were delivered to the cabin within 2 hours. The ship is about 20 years old but has recently had a refit. The public areas are all spotless. Food was excellent especially in the evening. It was not unusual to be offered "extra" with your evening meal. Buffet lunches always had a wide variety. I notice other reviews have "complained" about having to queue well, it is a buffet. The one complaint would be there were never enough waiters to take a drink order at lunch, meaning the meal was often nearly finished before drinks arrived. The ship was not full. This meant that be it finding sun beds during the day or seats in one of the many lounges in the evening was never a problem. Also, travelling in september, meant there were very few children. Drinks really were reasonable e.g. bottle of wine £20 vodka & coke £4 cocktail £6. Entertainment was varied though you could rarely go more than an hour without a quiz popping up. Personally, we preferred the entertainment in the lounges as opposed to the theatres (Jonny Youle & North by northeast deserve a mention). Overall service on board was good. The cabin steward, waiters at evening meal & waiters in the lounges were all first class. At the captains reception he said Oceana was the friendliest sip at sea- not sure I would go that far, but certainly had no cause for complaint. As mentioned in another review there seems to be a plumbing issue on board. The vacuum system in the toilet broke 3 times in a 7 day cruise. Admittedly it was fixed within an hour but this should not be happening. Disembarkation was excellent. Cases were left outside cabin at midnight and next time we saw them, we were lifting them off the carousel at our home airport. Overall thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. It has been many years since we were on P&O, would we cruise with them again- YES. Read Less

We wanted a cruise from Malta and we were very pleasantly surprised with P &O. We had an issue with lost luggage .nothing to do with P &O.They went above and beyond in their quest to recover our luggage. Even giving us an additional £75 to spend. I certainly would recommend the ship. We have travelled on Viking and Silverstar which are truly luxury small ships but this was not so far behind in standard. Thank you P&O. Tours were good and well organised. We never felt crowded at any of the venues. We saw 2 shows and they were an excellent standard. The additional restaurants were excellent and the prices fair. Embarkaion and disembarkation were seamless and extremely well organised. We were always able to find a Sun lounge eventually in a place we wanted even though it seemed to be very busy. The prices for drinks was very fair. We will certainly recommend P &O to other Australians who do not tend to travel on P and O in Europe unless it's the Princess line. Read Less

We choose this cruise as we wanted to see Greece & Croatia as not been before. We loved every port we visited, Mykonos was my favourite and the wife’s was Venice & Dubrovnik. The ships food was amazing. So much to choose from every night. The waiters looked after us with extra chips and veg & Ice cream every night. The headliners were the best I’ve seen on any cruise, we loved the killer queen & musical shows. Also north by northeast singers were really good. Around the pool was really busy on sun days but as I’d get the pool at 8.45 it was easy to get beds. After 9 it was hard to get one in front of the pool. Service for drinks was great and not long to wait. My favourites bar was winners with football on and the casino was great and wasn’t busy so always a seat. Le club was great for a dance and was in there most nights. Stayed open till 2 but you could get a drink in and stay till 3am. Peroni on draught was good and they had doom bar in big bottles which I like. Our kids 11 & 13 girls loved the kids clubs and soon made friends. The only tours we Done was In Dubrovnik the game of thrones walking tour. That was amazing but hard going as very hot and a lot of steps. But me and my wife enjoyed seeing all the locations and the views. Also in split we went on the KrKa waterfalls tour which we didn’t enjoy that much as it was a long day on the coach and very rushed so didn’t get to enjoy the walk in the park and not much time to have a swim. I love this ship as it’s a smaller one so not hard to get seats for shows and space in bars and casino. Would definitely cruise again on oceana as staff are friendly and like the less busy areas. Read Less

First cruise. Pleased with the look of the ship. Very clean and sparkly. Pleased with cabin, it was compact but had lots of little drawers and shelves so all our stuff had a home. Buffet was like being at school! You were presented with a tray with napkin and cutlery and you queued round the counters, Horrible! You made your own coffee/ tea and then found a table. Staff in bars, atrium, shops and restaurants were generally uncommunicative, at times surly and curt and NEVER friendly or smiley. We ate in the Ligurian each night. Good, tasty, well cooked and well presented food with lots of choice but again, service very poor. Slow, careless and frustrating on the whole. We had to ask repeatedly for things like sugar, milk etc. We had the Champagne breakfast in our cabin which was lovely. Way too much food for two people and we had to leave an almost full basket of rolls etc which was a shame. Such a waste of food. We had a meal in Cafe Jardin which was very good and worth doing. The Formal nights were good and it was lovely to see most people dressed to the nines. Cabin steward was the exception. She was happy, friendly and did a great job. Went to Pilates session. The instructor was miserable as sin. He failed to ask if we had done Pilates before and more importantly, if we had any injuries or weaknesses he should be aware of. Appalling practice! He spoke as though he despised us both (there were only two of us) and didn’t want to be there! It was like a gym workout and when I asked him to explain a position again for me he just pointed to the other person as he was in the required position! How rude!! He was however, much more friendly when he led a seminar on improving your metabolism but that turned out to be nothing more than a sales pitch!! No wonder he was friendly! Entertainment was good and in fact was better than we expected. We went to the theatre group’s shows, the magic shows and enjoyed all of them. The public spaces were nicely kept and always very clean. Our big problem was that there were way too many people, big noisy groups in the bars which were always packed. The main pool area awful!! We nicknamed it Benidorm! The sun beds were so close they seemed welded together! Adult only area was quiet but soooo windy and had no shade. We did not take any of the excursions on offer so I can’t comment on them. Nor did we take part in other activities such as ballroom dancing, but people seemed to be enjoying them. So all in all, I’m sorry but this was nothing more than an all inclusive family holiday on water. Glad we did it but really don’t see why people get hooked on cruising and can’t wait to boast about how many they have done! Lol. There are lots of nicer, quieter ways to spend your hols. Maybe P and O aren’t a luxury cruise line, I don’t know. We won’t be repeating the experience. Read Less

We chose this cruise as it stopped at nine destinations, six of which we had not visited before on previous cruises. Journey from Valetta airport to ship was fine, registration efficient. As always you are met with friendly faces and a beautiful atrium, we immediately bought the non alcoholics package which included soft drinks as well as costa coffees/hot chocolate. We didn’t use the gym, hair or beauty facilities so cannot comment. The main pool area is compact with lots of sun beds squashed very closely together, however, there are some areas, particularly around the front of the ship where you can spread out a bit. Pool towels are easily accessible and can be refreshed daily, we left ours in the bathroom and they were replaced no problem Food - had better. The breakfast buffet had very little choice, the fried eggs looked like they had been sitting there for hours, the porridge had a weird taste. The plastic glasses used for juice were always warm and wet as if they had just been dragged out of the dishwasher so not ideal when you want a cold drink. The lunch buffet wasn’t great, not much choice and very repetitive. (Depends what you are comparing it to I suppose) The plates were sometimes in shortage and often warm (once again straight out of the dishwasher) and not ideal putting salad on it. We had our evening meal at the 6.30 sitting and the staff were great. We shared a table with six others which worked out well. The first week the food seemed fine, we looked forward to seeing the menu. There was always some items on every single night. For example prawn cocktail, tomato soup and steak. By the second week, the food became very repetitive and some nights we were struggling to choose the best. For better quality food and service I would recommend you eat breakfast and lunch in the main restaurant or Cafe Jardin. (You do have to pay extra in the Cafe Jardin in the evenings but not for breakfast and lunch. Entertainment- plenty to do, you get a news sheet left in your cabin for the following day which is full of information and you can plan your day. Talks, demonstrations, films, singalongs, quiz, dance classes etc are ongoing then in the evening there is two theatres, each have a show at 8.30 and 10.30. Some nights it is by the in house entertainers and also each week three entertainers are brought on the ship, some from “Britain’s got talent” tribute acts etc and like everything some are better than others. If this is not your thing then there are several bar/coffee places to sit. Some quiet, some with background music, some a bit more lively. Overall, the ship is fine, if you want to pick faults you will find some, but overall it’s clean and well organised and all staff were great, except the girl who was supposed to look after our cabin. More about that below. There was a mixed age group from young to old. I watched the younger generation and as long as they were in the pool they were fine, but soon started to wander back and forth in groups, almost looking a bit of a loss of what to do with themselves. I twice came across a group of lads about 14ish being a nuisance with the lifts, going up and down pressing the buttons for every deck whilst their mates raced down the stairs to try and beat the lift. This at times was annoying. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this ship for children as their is not enough to keep them going and as it was blazing hot they were being dragged around sightseeing. Excursions- quite expensive. We only did one. Half day to Pisa and it chucked it down in rain. £55 each. The tour guide chatted non stop all the way there, the coach took us to a car park outside the main area and we transferred to a little train which took us around Pisa streets. We had free time then returned. However, we talked to some who had shared a taxi and it cost them £22 each so can be done a lot cheaper as it’s not too far away. Read Less

Transfer from airport to cruise terminal very quick. Fast, efficient check in and luggage delivered quickly. Lots of other delayed flights so we left Valetta 4-5 hours later than scheduled. Oceana is showing its age now, especially in the cabins. Our balcony cabin (C409) , felt very cramped. Few stains on the carpet. Wall panels grubby and dull. Bathroom is very very small and very dated. Parts of the tap were missing ( but still worked though). Shower curtain - which I hate ( but it did look very clean and fresh). Toilet when flushed always had a sooty residue in the water. Balcony was tiny, glass sliding doors had seen better days and there is a lot of wear and tear. I was glad we had only booked a week because the cabin was very disappointing. Staff were lovely. Very hard working, polite and cheerful. Captain's 'thought for the day' were funny in a cringeworthy way but we all listened every day to see what he had to say. He came across as very nice. We attended a few pool side music quizzes which were fun - especially when Craig was hosting. We also attended a few quizzes in the compass pub before dinner which again were great fun. Poolside live music was good for the most part (we don't like Jazz so didn't enjoy that performance but the others were very good). Didn't see any shows - which is usual for us but our fellow guests at our dining table gave mixed reviews throughout the week - some good, some disappointing for them. On the whole, we had a nice week - nothing special. Felt like P&O are cutting corners any and every way they can. We had the second sitting in the Adriatic restaurant. The staff was very friendly and very hard working but we found the food to be bland -very often dry, as it was probably sitting around too long and the portions were a lot smaller than we remember on our previous cruises on this ship. The ship is definitely showing it's age which is a real shame as it has a nice friendly atmosphere with lovely staff. We were glad that we had only booked a week though. This was our third and very possibly our last time on Oceana. Read Less

It was our 24 Th wedding anniversary. So wanted to do a beautiful cruise in the Med as you can almost ensure perfect weather. We have been with P&O Many times brilliant ships. ENGLISH sterling and English plugs. Fantastic. The staff are so friendly and the cabins are clean and tidy. But a little on the small side but that's no problem really. We love the evening shows and Entertainment. The staff are all helpful And the good has a good choice and really nice. We prefer to eat at the buffets as it's so much nicer to pick what we wish. The only thing that rubies our holiday was the pool side singer called Frankie. She was awful, she had one of them voices which drones on and on and on the sound system was way too loud. She played guitar but only knew a few chords so it was like she strumned away the same rythem and sand different songs over it. It was so loud you could not read. Relax or talk to each other at all I walked around the deck and saw no less than 5 people with fingers in ears or hands over ears . this is surely not right. How come the volume was so loud when you are trying to relax. She played everyday and sometimes 3 or 4 half hour sets straight after each other playing the same songs.. So so boring. I had to get up and walk away each time she came in. Terrible like torture almost after a while. Read Less

This was our fourth time on Oceana and the itinerary was Croatia,Italy and France.Our previous cruise was on Oceana in March this year on the Dubai cruise.Sadly there seems to be an issue with the vacuum on the toilets as our toilet would not flush properly on six occasions in 14 days and the bathrooms really need a makeover.Anyone who put a review on cruise critic and did not mention the toilet problem were either lucky they did not have a problem or did have a problem and did not wish to mention it but the truth is what is needed in reviews.Our steward Rose was brilliant and her appearance daily was impeccable. DINING- We were club dining eating at 8.30pm which suited us and we had some lovely people on the table.The waiters alternate these days between the Adriatic and the Ligurian.The food was good with a good selection but we thought the food on March cruise was better.We did not bother with lunch and had afternoon tea in the main dining room instead. ENTERTAINMENT-This was varied but the outstanding act were the Flyrights a motown group where there was standing room only if you did not get in early.Jon Clegg runner-up to collabro on BGT 2014 was good on his first show but not so good on the second.Richard Hadfield who used to be with Collabro,he is a brilliant singer more of the classical type of singer.Another show worth watching was Astonishing devised by Stephen Mulhearn of catchphrase.That is all that needs mentioning about it so as not to spoil it but well presented by the headliners. PORTS-dubrovnik-enjoyed it but we were there in the hot spell of weather-£25 to walk the walls,hard work in hot weather.ROME-You really need to be quite fit for the walk and river cruise as you will cover about 6 miles and not a lot of photo opportunity as you do not get off the coach by the colliseum-rather disappointing. Venice-Also a bit disappointing as we did Doge's Palace and the gondola ride was one of the most uncomfortable means of transport I have ever been on in fact a camel ride some years ago was more comfortable.The winery visit at Toulon was well worth doing as you go to a medieval village in the hills first. The service on all parts of the ship were excellent and do not miss the Captains gala party if you want a free drink.Do not think we are whingers we are just giving you the facts as we experienced it.Would we go on Oceana again probably not as it will probably disappear before we get chance unless it gets a reprieve doing the Dubai cruise but if the right itinerary came along yes we would. Read Less

The overall ship was fine perhaps a little tired food was great could have had a bit better entertainment on the pool but over all the ship was ok The entertainment wasn’t to great but ok Staff as usual on a cruise very attentive no complaints with them at all The cabin was a different matter no paying passenger should endure the noise from the cabin every time we came into port or left the noise was terrible grinding noise and vibration there was no sleeping through it .the cabin was situated between a broom cupboard which was used at six in the morning and a crew staircase . and one morning in Athens we docked before four in the morning the first time it happened we thought we had run aground it was so bad, We were offered another cabin two days before we left the ship after Athens but at that point it wasn’t worth it as we are both in our seventies the upheaval would have been awful The receptionist said most people were up and about before eight so it would be ok They were selling off cabins at last minute cheaper then We both paid five months earlier Shame on you P&O in you won’t use them again Read Less

I need to preference the review by saying this is for the Yacht Club. I can't speak to other cabins or dinning. Firstly, Yacht Club is the only way I'd do this ship. The service is insanely good. We existed the cab in Barcelona and before I could determine where I needed to be, someone from MSC spotted my yacht club tag and escorted us immediately to a private area with drinks and food ready. Within 30 minutes we were on the ship in the private Yacht Club lounge and had our wristbands and in the Cabin. Our bags were shortly behind. The Yacht Club has a private lounge with breakfast, afternoon snack, and music nightly. The private restaurant is overlooking that, and the private pool area has breakfast and lunch too with a pool and hot tubs. In this area, you're never asked for you room number or asked swipe a card for a drink, simply ask and it comes. The food is excellent in all the areas and the whole time I didn't have a single thing that I did not like. For lunch I opted for the pool area and had anything from fish to steak. The breakfast was cooked to order along with hot and cold selections. The attention is on details here. You must remember that the company picks the brightest employees to work on this part of the ship. The Yacht Club has a dedicated elevator, so you rarely wait to get to other parts of the ship. The Butler service is fantastic, and they bring you anything day or night. Feel like another drink, but already in PJs, not a problem, just pick up the phone and it appears. You have special robes, towels, private concierge, etc. You truly have a private part of the ship. For your excursions, your butler meets you in the lounge and walks you directly off the ship. When we returned to the ship after the excursion, our butler was waiting at the bottom of the gangway to bring us back to the room. so are the other parts of the ship crowded? Sometimes, yes, I mean the ship is huge so sometimes certain parts may seem crowded. My kids sometimes enjoyed the buffet while at kid’s club and never had a bad thing to say, the main buffet always looked good and clean. The water parks and slides are fun and zip-line is included with Yacht Club as is the gelato. You can get a drink anywhere, just show them your band and they scan it. We did try the thermals, again included with Yacht club, but they were often crowded, and yes sometimes wet towels were left around. I wish they were a bit larger, but I bet it depend on the sailing because they are expensive to access with Yacht Club, I think $50 per day. The ship speaks many languages, so yes, many non-Americans. Look, you’re on a Mediterranean cruise and you mustn’t expect everyone to be American and yes you might find some other cultures rude, but perhaps it’s you and not them. If you want the USA experience stick carnival cruise or Disney. I enjoy being around people of other cultures. We also loved the shows. Read Less

My wife and I have cruised 1/2 dozen times. P&O, RCI, Princess, and Celebrity. We booked this cruise a couple of months back as an extra holiday this year. There were some poor reviews, negative comments like, old ship, bad smells, poor food, miserable staff. What a load of old rubbish people come out with. I’ve even read stuff about flight delayed. As if that’s P&Os fault. Or bad weather. (Our captain even diverted the ship to find us sun) I say to most of those people “Get a life” our flight was delayed 2 hours due to fog. I’d much would rather sit on an aircraft and wait than take a chance and take off. In fact an announcement was given on the aircraft saying not to worry the ship wouldn’t leave without us. The food was lovely with lots of choice. Did I like everything all of the time? Of course not. But it was well presented and most of the time suited my own taste buds perfectly. The staff in ALL of the restaurants were immaculately dressed. The tables were always clean and very quickly cleared away too. There was rightly, maintenance being carried out constantly to keep the standards high. I read reviews about Rule Britannia and such like being constantly played. I could hear it in the background occasionally but I certainly didn’t find it overpowering. There was differing music being played throughout the ship for everyone's taste. Once on a sail away union flags were given out and I can honestly say that everyone around the pool deck thoroughly enjoyed singing along to English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh songs waving their flags, as did other nationalities. The headliners shows didn’t do it for me but they worked really hard. I just felt that their singing skills were poor. Nevertheless I watched and sang along. The other entertainers I enjoyed. If you don’t do excursions as we don’t, do some research and do your own thing. Some ports in the U.K. are not very nice but, move away a little and there is often so much to enjoy. I’m sure that there are some genuine complaints, there are bound to be,,,,,,,do things ever go right at home all of the time, is your gutter and facia sparkling clean on your house? Nothing ever broken down? Blocked up? I dropped my luggage at Gatwick and it arrived outside my cabin door and on the way back, I left it outside my cabin and next saw it at Gatwick on the conveyor reclaim belt. So, to everyone I say, Ignor the moaners, chill, and do what I firmly believe P&O want you to do and will help you to,,,,,relax and have a lovely cruise. My wife and I sure did. Our cruise was a 7 Day on 4/10/18 From/To Valetta. Read Less

We ended up on Oceana because the cruise fitted in with our available time slot and we couldn't be more pleased. It didn't start well, with a 2 and a half hour delay at Gatwick due to fog so did not get to ship until around 10:30pm. Check in was well organised and quick - they dealt with 200+ tired and stressed people very quickly and efficiently. After some food and liquid refreshment in the Buffet while watching the ship leave Valletta we went and found our cabin. We were a bit worried as it was opposite the lifts but we heard no noise all cruise. Very pleased with cabin, decent size with a very private balcony, comfortable bed, shower worked, loo flushed, no problems at all. The next day we met our Cabin Steward, Kathy, and knew all would be good - she's marvellous. Most days we were out on trips but on Sea Days we joined in with as many activities as we could fit in....even played Bingo for the first time ever and won £45, which was nice! Enjoyed the quizzes, especially the pre-dinner quiz in the pub where we always met new people. We were also a bit concerned that we had set Dining on a table of 8 at 8:30. We were lucky though because we couldn't have wished for nicer table companions and our Waiters were friendly and efficient. Food was far better than I expected, even my husband, who is a very fussy eater, had only one complaint - not enough salt in his soup, which was easily remedied! If you are a fish lover like me you'll be very happy. Thoroughly enjoyed every meal. I must mention the Great British Sail Away. I don't like the flag waving, jingoistic type of thing and refused to go but my husband (who is of West Indian heritage and definitely not a flag waver) went to have a look and came back to get me. I was completely wrong, it was great fun! Yes, everyone waves a flag and yes, there was Jerusalem, Rule Britannia and the National Anthem, but there was also 'Rockin All Over the World', 'We Will Rock You' and 'One Step Beyond'. There were Welsh songs (which I, half Welsh, missed by being stubborn!), Scottish, Irish and English songs. The Entertainment is what it is, you're on a Cruise Ship not in the West End. We went to a show every night and enjoyed them all for what they were. I must put in a word here for Angela Grace Brown who sang and played guitar by the pool every day, she was excellent and I made a point of listening to her on the days that we were on board at that time. We had no issues with Service at all. Everyone we came into contact with was friendly and efficient. We felt comfortable and well looked after by everyone on board. Oceana is a lovely ship. Yes, she's 'old' in cruise ship terms but she has an elegance and charm that many newer vessels lack. When you get back to a port and you see her moored up between 2 'blocks of flats' you can't help but feel a bit proud that she's 'yours'. I can easily overlook a bit of rust on the balcony for the sheer joy of being there. She's a ship with a 'soul' and I hope it didn't hurt when she took an almighty hit of lightning (that was 'exciting'!). The only grumble I would have would be with a small minority of our fellow passengers. Some people seem to have forgotten that it's not still the 1920s and that you don't speak to 'Staff' as if they're the dirt under your foot. Also, if you want West End standard entertainment then pay West End prices every night! - don't go to a 'Headliners' show and then tell one of the young performers on the way out that they 'weren't up to scratch', that's unnecessary and rude. Finally, go with an open mind and the intent to enjoy. Don't go intending to find fault with everything and you'll have a much happier time. We arrived home very late Thursday night and by Friday evening we'd booked our next one, see you on 21st November, Oceana xx Read Less

our holiday was way beyond all expectations we saved hard for this holiday and we were not disappointed in anyway, we had a fabulous time so much so that we have booked another, holiday with you we are going on the Oceana again in 2020 flying to Dubai for 15 nights on board. our head waiter was Sohall solenky he was very attentive at all times and a pleasure to talk to. the bar waiter Chris Aclan was also very pleasant and attentive. Daryl Estevan looked after me with great care he met me every morning and assisted me with breakfast and lunch. also evening dinning Aleno and Antonio were very attentive. the staff when we were boarding and going off to spend a few hours of ship the staff were also really good I cannot praise everyone enough . all the saving was well worth the trip. thanking all the team oh I nearly forgot our cabin man Kevin brilliant Read Less

Probably our last tip with P&O. It used to be the small details that made the difference with them, now they seem to be disappearing. The little dish of sweets in the cabin have gone, the nice biscuits have been replaced with cheap rubbish, buffet food has gone downhill badly and the new alcohol policy just smacks of penny pinching. Oceana herself is a lovely old ship but she is old and clearly cutbacks are being made on the maintenance side of things as well, despite the recent refit she does look shabby. Fortunately most of the crew are still excellent, bar, waiting and cabin staff, you always get the odd one but generally very good. Apparently next year P&O are scrapping the service charge so you as they are giving all their staff a pay rise, so expect prices to go up pretty soon to reflect this! I expected more from P&O but every year we travel with them the standards seem to slip even further, how a couple of the feature acts got gigs on there is beyond me. With prices constantly increasing, as much fun as it is to cruise, I think we will think long and hard about another one and will certainly be looking beyond P&O Read Less

We were celebrating our wedding anniversary, originally we wanted to sail on Queen Elizabeth to Venice, but that was full ! The only alternative on our dates was the Oceana, a ship we have never sailed in before, to say we were 'disappointed' with this 20 year old ship (previously owned by Princess cruises) would be a gross over statement. If you like paying over £5 grand for a broom cupboard for two weeks, then, the Oceana should be YOUR first choice!!!. We appreciate the fact that Oceana had a £30 million refit last December in Germany but that money was spent on the general public areas, NOT in the TINY cabins (the smallest we have ever experienced in 18 years cruising).Our cabin was supposed to be an 'upgrade'!!!! we had asked for a double bed instead of two singles, when we opened the door for the first time we were greeted with a TINY cabin 'full' of a standard 5' double bed with another single bed hanging from the wall!!!!!!!!!!!!! This made access to one side of the bed impossible, the mattresses were very soft, old & in need of urgent replacement, we survived by me turning over the mattresses to find the firmer base side to lay on From day one our trip was constantly interrupted by the ships workmen who were conducting repairs all over the ship with resultant closures of walkways & awful paint smells. Due to 'some bad weather for one day', our intended port of call in Dubrovnik was cancelled & replaced with a lesser port in Zadar!!!!!!!!! (anyone heard of this place???) then, Ravenna & Mykonos were replaced with another obscure location in Katokolon! (anyone heard of this place,????) All have cheaper port charges to those advertised & for what we paid a huge The food served in Adriatic restaurant was constantly returned by fellow travellers as either tough/tasteless or had very hard undercooked vegetables. (Tomato soup smelt of burning gearbox oil). The Plaza buffet was the usual 'bunfight' at mealtimes, nothing changes with certain peoples disgusting eating habits. Entertainment, apart from Dean Stainsbury & Tucker, was way below previous expectations & in need of some serious investment. From our perspective & that of other guests, & in the light of P&O's latest creation Iona being launched shortly, Oceana is being tarted up for imminent disposal. In summary, I would certainly NOT invest my money buying accomodation in such a decrepid old ship, but, as I said at the beginning it was all that was available to me at that time for the ports we wished to sail into. Our cruise finally ended with a 3 hour departure delay at Malta airport, when we got back to Gatwick we found that our cases & their contents were ALL SOAKED through (ongoing claims) caused by the baggage handlers dumping our cases on the tarmac during heavy rain & walking away leaving them to get wet!!!!!!!!!! Bad experience, NEVER AGAIN.! Read Less

We could not disagree more with the reviewer Kimbaxter below, had she bothered to look at the deck plan she would have known that there was a lifeboat outside of the window. This was our first cruise. My wife had resisted it for years, as she had imagined it would be populated by crusty old fossils rattling their jewellery (we are aged 72/68 ourselves but younger in outlook). She could not have been more wrong. We chose a midship mini suite which was everything we had hoped it would be, very comfortable beds, lots of storage space and a good size balcony. Among the clientele there was a full range of ages, tastes and backgrounds but everyone blended in. We were on freedom dining and chose to share tables in the Ligurian restaurant when we dined there; we were easily the oldest in the groups. We also like quizzes and joined much younger couples and met some lovely people. As to bars, The Yacht and Compass certainly is still busy at midnight, and several times there was live music and a disco up at the pool. But if major nightlife is what you want then Oceana is not for you. We thought the prices in the bars and the restaurants were just as you would expect. There is a range of bars/lounges to suit most tastes, with quick and amiable service. We found all staff, with only one minor exception, to be very friendly and helpful, especially our steward – and we were particularly impressed with our waiting staff in the Café Jardin. All staff work very hard and deserve praise. And so to the food – we found the standard in Café Jardin to be very high, (we went twice – ideal for us on Black Tie nights), and in no part of the ship did we encounter any problems with the quality of the food itself, from the English Breakfast, through afternoon tea to the evening meals. After being on an excursion or exploring on your own, the Afternoon snacks in the Plaza restaurant take a lot of beating. Another food highlight was the Room Service one afternoon - excellent quality. We did have a snack once after 10.30 –food is available up to 3.30 am some nights, but you need to check the Horizon newsletter daily for any timings. Entertainment-wise, I am afraid we did not rate the Headliners act at all – if you are used to West End standards you will be very disappointed, the rendition of “The Rhythm of Life” from Sweet Charity was so bad as to be laughable. The 4Tunes by contrast were excellent – but they work on more than one ship, not always on the Oceana. The two regular bands who perform in the Yacht and Compass and on the Lido deck were also both very good. We also enjoyed a fun Voice Workshop led by Andy Jones from the entertainment team, who was also a natural quizmaster. Like so many others we hated the continuous playing of patriotic/military music in the Plaza restaurant, we were totally sick of hearing Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Britannia, Jerusalem, Nimrod etc. etc. at all hours of the day. This was compounded by the flag waving sail away party from Rhodes which we considered to be an insult to the people of Greece. Needless to say we did not attend. Overall, we found that the cruise experience far exceeded our expectations and we are sure to give P & O more of our custom. Read Less

I cannot agree with kimbaxters review of Oceana, and the recent cruise we were both clearly on. We have cruised several times with P&O, and with a number of other lines. The food on bord was good - yes there were some dishes that were not to my taste, but the waiters would immediately offer and fetch an alternative if they noticed I was not eating. The pool area was cleaned thoroughly every morning - I was generally up in deck early and can confirm that this was the case. All staff I came in contact with were friendly and would go out of their way to be helpful. I was however disappointed with the general behaviour of some passengers. Leaving food strewn trays and rubbish over the deck area round the pool ; speaking rudely to deck stewards; pushing in front of other guests in the buffet - I could go on! Clearly, cruising is now at a price point that appears to attract a different clientele to a few years ago. However, we had a great time. The ports were beautiful, the organised trips ( we did two) were well organised and good value. Our cabin was clean, looked after well by our steward and we loved the balcony. The entertainment was varied, and we could always find something to our taste. The highlight being Ukebox, who were fantastic, and received standing ovations. All in all, perhaps cruising has changed over the years, but I would recommend trying it to anyone! Read Less

My husband and I have cruised before. He has not cruised p&o however I have back in 2007 on the Auroa which was good. To say the Oceania is a ship from hell is an understatement. Firstly, dirty pool area not cleaned at all for the 7 days of our cruise, 90% of staff horrible and everything was too much trouble for them and didn’t care, food well, I could write paragraphs on this, we actually lost over a half a stone due to how bad it was. Entertainment what entertainment..... We also had an outside cabin, guess what, had a lifeboat outside the window!! Also please note, anyone considering a p&o ship do your homework as this ships average age 70+ therefore due to age demographics bars will close and the nightclub empty. Plus no late night food only in your cabin. Only saving grace we meet some great people on our table and without them we would have considered getting off ship and staying in one of the cities. Everything was so expensive, we are happy to pay for quality and have been on some expensive holidays that said, p&o are charging the same prices for an awful ship, staff, food and entertainment. WE WILL NEVER GO ON P&O AGAIN..... ps Management must be held responsible. Read Less

We chose this cruise as it fitted in with our schedule. We have done 16 cruises with 6 different cruise lines. On this cruise we were just a couple on our own. SHIP Overall we had a very good time and we would go back on this ship again without any hesitation. The ship is well laid out with most entertainment venues along the entire length of deck 7. The three storey attrium is beautiful and has wonderful stairways over 3 decks. The open decks have lots of loungers squashed very tightly together. There are two central pools and a smaller plunge pool at stern, which we used quite a lot. The stern is quieter and does not get the music and games played at main pools. On sea days most loungers get reserved by 9am and are occupied most of the day. The deck has a lot of gree "astroturf" style covering which is good for not burning your feet, however there were two areas towarss stern where this had lifted badly and was a trip hazard, covered by warning tape. Lifts very, very slow. Compounded by one aft lift being out of action all cruise. On the last port day they had a sailway party, called "Great British sailaway" - this made me cringe with "Land of Hope and Glory", "Jerusalem" and "Rule, Britannia" played as Union Jacks were given out to guests. They still played Land of Hope and Glory at breakfast! DINING We dined using Freedom Dining in MDR every night, asking for a table for 2. On 4 occasions we got in straight away, one a 10 min wait and twice 30 minutes wait. Food always very good and staff pleasant and polite. One thing I would note is that staff are much less "chatty" than on other ships, where i am used to waiters talking me through the menu and asking about my day etc. The buffet on deck 14 was fine for breakfast and lunch but is a bit crampt around the food areas. Breakfast in MDR is also good, as is Cafe Jardin but with a limited menu. ENTERTAINMENT Lots of varied stuff on offer, more options in evenings than we experienced recently on Royal Carribean and Celebrity. However, the Ents Team are not a patch on those on other ships. We are used to enthusiastic staff joining in and encouraging people to attend things, walking round ship and chatting to guests, but little of this on display. For examples: Black Tie Ball left to 2 dance hosts to play recorded music, no ents team to start or encourage dancing. Exactly same for Masked Dance on deck. The entertainment was good but the Ents team could be a lot more enthusiastic. One bad experience to note. The We3 singing act, ended a show with a song about the size of one of the trio's "manhood" and how it would injure a woman! Totally, totally unacceptable. PORTS We did not use any ship excursions but did our own thing at each port. Malta - great, walk to the lift then explore the town. Corfu - courtesy bus to old town. Walked to Old Fortress, Esplanade and wandered narrow streets. A pleasant day. Sibenik - conned. Tender to another village, walk into village to be bussed to town. Sunday morning in a very small town with lots of steep climbs. No need to go back. Venice - superb. Fifth time here so walked to Ca'Rezzenico for a visit then had lunch and crossed every bridge on Grand Canal. Zadar - beautiful. Superb prom to walk along, then walled city, pedestrianised streets, old churchs, Roman ruins, would return Read Less

Family cruise of 14 nights - two adults and our sons (ages 11 and 13) in adjoining cabins. Dividing panel between balconies opened permanently by cabin steward immediately upon request making communication/access between the cabins easy. Eastern Med (inc Venice and Athens) chosen at elder son's request. We were very impressed by the ship - which despite what some say - has been substantially refurbished at vast expense. The restaurants and other 'public areas' are beautifully presented and impressive. Our cabins were very comfortable and better than they appeared in photographs - dated in style, but recently renewed wall coverings, carpeting and curtains - plus quality beds and linen. I agree the cabin balconies and their furniture are scruffy. Our cabin towels were aged (why - having spent £Ms on a refurbishment is a reasonable question?) - one even having a hole in it. Otherwise first class care of our cabins by our highly professional and friendly cabin steward. On our last day we paid £70 for late check-out and were allocated a different cabin of the same standard for the day. That presented to virtually the same standard as our previous ones - but a careless previous guest had stained the new carpet unfortunately. The w.c./shower rooms are compact - but perfectly adequate, with useful shelving and efficient showers. Water pressure to hand basins poor. Oceana IS a ship and looks like one - but those with experience of the ever larger floating blocks of flats the cruise lines are now building may not like it. Shopping is indeed quite limited - but we were not on board with shopping in mind. I had left my dress shirts at home and the shop offered a choice of styles in my collar size. Selection of books very limited in the shop - and ignore P & O's advice not to bring guidebooks from the UK if you intend to make trips ashore independently, as we did. The food was excellent in terms of quality and variety, whilst the standard of service in the restaurants and bars was superb overall. There were very occasional lapses - but to base overall comments on those few occasions out of so many would be unreasonable. On the two/three occasions we made complaint - we were listened to, apologised to and never suffered the same problem again. Without exception we found Oceana's crew flawlessly professional and virtually all, courteous and helpful too. We enjoyed a number of shows - always choosing carefully with our sons in mind. We tended to go to the pool area late afternoon on sea days - because it is very crowded from early morning until about 3.00 p.m. and it IS difficult to find sunbeds in the various pool areas. Later in the day - followed by a late dinner worked very well for us. The prices of drinks/wines are reasonable and I have no complaints on that score. We opted to pay a fixed daily service charge (per cabin) as part of our fare - and that was a mistake in our case, because it came to virtually half our total on board spending. We drank a bottle of wine each evening, a minimum couple of cocktails each day and endless soft drinks - but I suspect we could have rewarded the crew adequately by adding 15% to what we were charged each time. We paid a supplement one night to dine in 'The Beach Hut' but did not consider it a worthwhile experience in comparison to our regular dinners in the 'Ligurian Restaurant'. Paying £10 per head for the 'Indian Lunch' on a sea day was well worth it, as was our tour of the galley which cost the same. We opted for 'freedom dining' which meant we could in principle dine when we wished. This was not quite true - because on only two occasions out of 14 was a table immediately available when we presented ourselves. We enjoyed waiting and drinking cocktails - but the unpredictability of the length of our wait could be irksome. In future, I suspect we would opt for a definite 8.30 p.m. or 9.00 p.m. dining time. Those who are fit, capable and used to travelling independently will not need to pay for shore excursions - nor endure the misery of walking round in file with a number stuck on one's shirt. We met several such 'chain-gangs' from the ship during our independent travels and were glad we had opted out. P & O's services for those wishing to explore the cruise destinations independently are excellent - they made it very easy for us to do it at every port of call. Continuous shuttles from/to the ship etc. Hop on/hop off buses in Athens really useful - with tickets sold on board. Sea shuttle in Venice delivered us from the ship the quayside near St Mark's. Got a taxi to take us to a beach in Crete and to collect us at fixed fare - having found a good beach in one of the guide books. We found the 'meet and greet' at the airport and the transfer arrangements excellent - both when we joined Oceana and when travelling to the airport for our return flight from Malta. Disposal of the heavy luggage at midnight the night before departure - without seeing it again until baggage reclaim at Gatwick was bliss. Overall - we enjoyed ourselves enormously and found the cruise thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable. On reflection we might be inclined to a smaller ship on another occasion - but would certainly consider another P & O cruise and most certainly Oceana. Read Less

We choose this as our first P&O Cruise, having cruised previously with another company many times. We had high expectations due to the cost and advertising sent before we travelled. We choose the cruise based mainly on the itinerary which was very good, the ports all being excellent. The negative elements: The ship is fairly old and although some of the public places have been refurbished it is really showing it's age. We had two cabins. These were both balconies and midship. One had an issue with the toliet 3 times during a week. Each time they were fairly prompt to rectify the problem but late at night this was an issue. The other cabin had flaked paint on the balcony and a rotting door frame with a hole at the bottom. Sitting outside on the balcony you can appreciate the newly ship design with the glass fronted balcony fronts and and more spacious areas. The inside of the cabins and the en-suites are of a dated design, although were both spotlessly clean. The lifts are a real issue and need to be addressed asap. There is always at least one not working and disabled people were waiting for long periods for a lift to arrive. These were a constant discussion point either whilst waiting or in a lift amoungst passengers. The food is ok, but nothing better than we have experienced previously.. The speciality resturant, Cafe Jardin is odd.we ate there with the weirdest italian food I've ever tasted (having spent many years on holiday in Tuscany and Umbria). It seemed to have all been dretched in cream and cheese and therefore so rich it couldn;t be finished. The main issue we had with the food was a niggling suspicion that it had caused minor food poisioning. My husband having returned home 3 kilos lighter, and myself a kilo (neither of us are obese). The water from the resturant some days having a distinct clorine smell and some people being less than scrupulous about hand cleaning around the buffet etc. Our other main gripe were the children. We travelled with out own, but other people thought it acceptable to let theirs run around the decks all day unsupervised, around the pool etc. This was a real pain and meant we opted to try and sit as far away from the main pool as we could. Embarkation, we had the inclusive flight which meant we arrived at 7:30pm, as we boarded no-one was there to greet or direct us. We are used to staff waiting to help normally. so having a P&O flight you would think they would also arrange to have people to at least greet you when you board! That was simply poor. The possitives: The entertainment was good. We didn;t see every show or music act but those we did were of a good quality. The bars are priced reasonably and the service prompt and polite. The information received from the bridge was good, although it did prompt my husband to say 'hidehi' regularly as it had a little bit of that vibe. So all in all we won;t be choosing to come back on this boat, we may try P&O again, maybe NOT for our next cruise. Read Less

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This was my first cruise and I wanted it to be in the Mediterranean which is usually fairly smooth. The facilities on this ship were really excellent. The cabins are well kept and the staff could not be more helpful. Both embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly. Numerous staff were on hand at London Gatwick to assist and the flights and times were part of the cruise package. I was with two friends, and we went on shore to Monte Carlo (by tender) and also Corsica and Florence. All these trips were very easy although quite expensive. The single supplement meant we all paid almost double for the cabin but we had no interest in sharing. Dining was in a most attractive room with excellent staff. The entertainment was reasonable although usually of quite short duration. There were many activities during the day. We travelled as a group of three, and we had a table to ourselves for meals. In addition to the main dining room, there is an extensive buffet on the 14th floor, where one could get snacks, tea and coffee at all times. We will definitely be arranging a trip in the near future. Read Less

Chose this cruise as had been in a cruise on the Ventura before and thought this would be similar, we found that the food was not as good as our previous cruise, in fact often the description of what the course would be was nothing like what arrived.and on several occasions even though we chose freedom dining and agreed to share a table, we had to wait at least half an hour to get into the restaurant. The excursions were very expensive and one particular one was very disorganised. If you went ashore on the shuttle bus when alighting there were many excursions to be had at at least half the cost of the ones organised by the ship. Non smokers who use an e-cigarettes had to use these where the smokers were therefore having to breath in smoke that they were trying to avoid. as these cigarettes only give off vapour they should have a special place to use them away from smokers. My friend who no longer smokes had to be with the smokers which l felt sorry for her after now being a non smoker had to subject herself to smoke. The entertainment was ok but on a couple of times the show only lasted a half hour.The staff were very good, friendly and helpful, especially the cabin steward. We enjoyed the quizzes the line dancing classes, and the general musical entertainment , and found the library very useful. The cabins were well appointed, there was tea making facilities, a safe, hair dryer, plenty of bath sheets , shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and mini bar. Also a laundry service available . The cabins were serviced both morning and evening and a chocolate left on your bed in the evening. The prices in the on board shops were about twice the cost of those at home. Being single it is a bit annoying having to pay for a double cabin, as there are lots of single people it may be a good idea to have some single cabins, Read Less

Great P&O cruises until Oceana two years ago - then poor food and badly over crowded. Last year we sailed on Brittania. Brittania was not much better, too big, food no better and not enough amenity space for nearly 4,000 passengers Meals very disappointing. Excusrisions over priced and boring. Definitely our last P&O cruise unless things change for the better! (After 14 cruises!) We travelled with a disabled friend, there were so many disabled, it took ages to get lifts and access to the needed spaces. Not a problem if the ship had eneough lifts etc but sadly Brittania did not. the extra price paid for the special meal dining was a worthwhile effort, sadly such meals were standard not too long ago. We booked a nice balcony cabin whic, unfortunately, our disabled friend could not visit since the doors were too narrow for his ir. He could only an inside cabin in the stern. P & O needs to try harder! O What happened,... price competition? Please bring back the old P (& O! Read Less