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

We choose this for the itinerary not the ship as we have been on it 3 times before. Flights with Virgin we're acceptable and embarkation not as slick as before but we put this mainly down to UAE customs regulations. Cabin was ready by 12 so that was good, cabin steward was polite and friendly. The ship is unchanged really still old , tired but functional, can't say anything was ever out of action but as others state its seriously showing age related wear, in the whole thought kept clean and tidy i thought. Food is also the same, buffet is small and old school and seems to suffer curry as ever most days but on the whole the food tastes fine and is restocked quickly. Drinks service as ever is very slow in the buffet and invariably arrives after you've eaten ! MDR is a pleasant space, menus varied and again on the occasions we used it food was hot and tasty with a good choice. Entertainment is a bit hit and miss, poorer this time we thought but we still enjoyed some good shows, a/c in Starlight's is fierce ! and the tub chairs too close for comfort. We used predominately organised tours due to never having been to these countries, as expected overpriced but delivered as advertised. On the whole for the price and itinerary a good solid cruise but dont expect any frills or glamour , budget cruise for a budget price, shame about the cabin noise. Read Less

We have been cruising with smaller ships for the last few years - Viking and Oceania - but really liked the itinerary on this cruise and felt it was very good value for money. We really enjoyed our experience and loved Dubai and the UAE so much that we are going again next year. We were busy on this cruise with an excursion every port day and had booked most activities via P&O. Two, in particular, were very memorable - the Bahraini food trail in Manama and the day at Al Ain from Abu Dhabi. I had a very funny close encounter with a camel which was caught on camera and amuses me every time I look at it. We also loved the fjord dhow cruise to see dolphins and The Frame in Dubai is incredible. For those like us who had pre-booked excursions, the whole process was very organised. We wanted to go up the Burj Khalifa but didn’t want to queue so we booked high tea at the Atmosphere Lounge on Floor 123 in the Armani Hotel. Whisked straight up and had a window table all to ourselves with amazing views. Pricey of course but a unique experience. We were on second sitting so after dinner and a nightcap, we were usually ready for bed by 11 pm and therefore didn’t see many shows or talks but what we did see was very good. There was good music around the ship. For us, the food in the MDR for breakfast, lunch and dinner was consistently good with lots of choice and excellent service. We are not so keen on buffet eating but, when we did, it was again a wide choice and food was generally good. I can understand the choices wouldn’t be to everybody’s taste but it suited us as we like to eat a diverse range of foods. Oceana is one of P&O’s smaller ships and her atrium is beautiful. We found the officers and crew very efficient and friendly. The sun deck was very crowded as so many people had chosen this cruise for winter sun and sunbathed for long periods. As we don’t sunbathe, this didn’t bother us. We did hear some people moaning or just being generally negative but really couldn’t find fault with anything ourselves. It would be nice to have lobster on offer every day as Oceania Cruises do but then we would have to pay a lot more. All in all, we feel that we had an amazing time in an area we hadn’t visited before and met some lovely people whose company we enjoyed. 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

We arrived in Dubai after an overnight flight. transfers were smooth and arrived at cruise port by 10.30am Cabins were ready by 11.15am- Great start to the holiday. Day 1 First port of call was Bahrain - a very enjoyable excursion to the F1 Track. Second Stop was 2 days in Abu Dhabi - first day Shuttle bus took us to a newly finished Mall on the outskirts of town, quite disappointing as there was no way of walking to the main part of town, bit of a wasted day really. Second day we went on a cruise excursion to Grand Mosque- a visit to a traditional handmadecrafts village, great opportunity to buy local crafts - trade in Diram, Euro's and Dollars. Very friendly and look out for the man that does weaving really worth a visit.A drive around the sites of Abu Dhabi and then a final visit was to a Fort .. this was a superb tour and I would really recommend it as we saw lots and it was good value at £40 each. A day at sea followed . Our next visit was to Muscat , here the shuttle bus took us to a market and we explored the town and the harbour. It was a little confusing at the port we had to get off the bus and go through a security check before re-boarding the bus to get to the town. If you are feeling a bit more adventurous there is a beautiful beach a short taxi ride from the port. We then visited Kushab, a lovely little town where goats roamed the streets and there was a wealth of electronic shops selling allsorts... My daughters bought a pair of airpods that work great for £20, from a shop in the square where the shuttle bus dropped us off. We also found a beautiful beach just next to the port and the sea was really warm, there is no pavement to get there so you need to bear right out of the port and follow the track ..walk behind the crash barrier to the beach , it's less than 1/2 a mile walk. We then enjoyed a fun day on the beach at Sir Ban Yas Island- The ship provided a great packed lunch and drinks on the beach. Our final stop was a return to Dubai, where we arranged our own excursion through Arabian Nights Tours, we had a great great time our guide was called Ramzan and he took us camel riding ( just a quick walk around a pen but good photo opportunities), Sand boarding and Dune Bashing these were both brilliant. He also told us loads about Dubai and its culture. We then took a taxi to the Miracle Gardens, this is a must see for anyone visiting Dubai. The shuttle bus took us to the Dubai Mall where we walked to the burj khalifa and the dancing fountains - we also saw the amazing huge fish tank in the Mall with sharks, stingrays and dozens of amazing fish. Our final day a thick cloud descended on the whole area so it scuppered our plans to visit the palm as we would not have been able to see anything- but we feel this is a good excuse to visit again. Great holiday, excellent value with P&O , having sailed with Princess, Celebrity, Cunard and Royal Caribbean in the past, I would have no hesitation in sailing with P&O again , the Oceana was very friendly and offered really good food. We traveled as a family of 6 with 2 teenage girls, we felt extremely safe throughout our holiday and everyone was very friendly. Read Less

Wanted to give P&O another try after a really bad experience on Britannia. Oceana used to be Ocean Princess so, as our first ever cruise was on her sister, Sea Princess, we were familiar with the ship, layout and facilities. Embarkation in Dubai was simple and stress free with the usual pre authoristation on my credit card (more of that later). Yet again we found the food to be very average and actually quite boring; perks of being aimed at the older British market I suppose but I don't go to hot parts of the world to have things like shepherds pie for lunch! The staff were okay but again, being predominantly from the Indian sub continent, they tend to be very straight laced to the point of appearing uninterested. We only used the main restaurant twice as the meals did not excite us, thankfully the themed buffets were generally very good. The entertainment was, on the whole pretty good with guest entertainers of a Gary Barlow tribute and a Soul / Mowtown act that was that good we saw on all of their shows. The house entertainment was okay, the Killer Queen theatre show was entertaining without being spectacular. House bands / musicians kept people entertained around the ship The UAE is a strange place to visit, blatant oppulance tempered by a very low paid workforce, a wide chasm of have and have nots which makes for a fascinating visit. Sir Bin Yassi Island was the only place we were disappointed with as there is nothing there so why bother. You take your chances with all ships excursions and these were no different really, not exactly exciting but something different to do. Post cruise is where it all went wrong and highlighted the poor service from the company. On every other cruise I have done, I have received my post cruise email with questionnaire before I have got to the airport or home, here I am three weeks later still waiting for it! Also, the pre authorisation of my credit card is still showing on my account and all I get from them is a standard reply, it's as if they don't even read the original message properly. Can't say I'll be rushing back to P&O Read Less

I had looked at a few reviews prior to our middle east cruise which looked a bit negative. However I shouldn't have worried as we enjoyed a really good 10 day cruise. Boarding was straightforward and quick and we were on the ship by 11am having had an overnight flight from Glasgow and the cabins were released at 12pm. Our cabin was L343 on deck 12. The cabin was a wee bit dated but clean and tidy and always tidied up very quickly in the morning. Because we had a corner cabin the shower was quite big, i was initially a bit concerned when i noticed that we had a service corridor backing on to our cabin but you only heard a bit of noise just after 8am apart from that it was great. We ate in the main dining room the food was excellent and always piping hot, I found the buffet for breakfast and lunch very good and had no problem getting a table at any time. Ports were good and trips from the ship were of a reasonable price and standard, the free shuttle buses at the ports were a real plus. Found that if you were going to the starlights theatre you had to get there really early to get a seat as people were reluctant to move along the rows which was quite annoying. The comedians were good as were the musicians and dancers although i felt that some of the singers voices werent strong enough for some of the songs that they sung. All in all a first cruise with P+O and found it really good. Read Less

Refit has improved Oceana, a ship we like. CRUISE SPOILT BY NOISE AT NIGHT If you want a good nights sleep and the ability to get to sleep before midnight DO NOT BOOK CABIN C510. For whatever reason the noise from from lower deck venues comes up through 2 decks into the cabin, this carries on until midnight and beyond. Loud cheers of guests watching sporting events, entertainers singing and shouting etc. NEVER BOOK C510. 2 days in Dubai, 2 days in Abu Dhabi and visits to other UAE states and the Oman. Free shuttle buses in all ports of call were very good. Overall Oceana has benefited from her 2017/18 refit and does not look as tired as she did before. We dined in the Beach House twice and found the food and service excellent, food in the self service was adequate but nothing special although the staff were friendly and helpful, only blip was the very poor omelette station at breakfast. The entertainment by the Headliners Theatre Company was outstanding, good singers and excellent dancers made their shows well worth seeing. Overall a good cruise spoilt by a Noisy Cabin. Read Less

We were going to Dubai anyway so tagged on the cruise. We have done this with other cruise lines and have actually done the same cruise 4 times before. We usually book a balcony cabin as we like to sit on the balcony in the evening with a drink but we know from visiting this part of the world many times that it can be chilly in the evenings. So we booked a large outside cabin and were not disappointed. It was very large with a window not a port hole. Lots of storage space, drawers, shelves etc but the safe was tiny, likewise the bathroom. But it was clean and everything worked so we were well happy. The hairdryer was pretty efficient but in entirely the wrong position if you are right handed, We were freedom dining. The food was fine but the service rather slow. We also ate in Cafe Jardin which was surprisingly good and portions huge. We also ate in the Beach House which was up to the same standard as the Beach Houss on other P&O ships. The Plaza buffet has the most awful layout, similar to the Ventura and Azura buffets. A very stressful experience going to the Plaza. Food was OK but not the variety that you get on Britannia. The ship has lots of small bars but we went to Winners on deck 8 and struck up a friendly association with the staff there. We sat at the front of the ship which was OK even on the one sea day we had. If you wanted to sit around the pool then you had to be content to be a sardine as there was no space between the beds. Sunbeds were large and sturdy but were roped down every night and not released until nearly 9am the next morning. We managed to release a couple for ourselves before this but otherwise I thought the general release time was ridiculously late. The crew swilled down the sun deck most nights which meant that the deck surface was very slippery. The ship felt cramped, the atrium very small and a lot of the floors were uneven which can catch you out especially in the Plaza buffet. Likewise the gangways to get on and off the ship were basic and not very sturdy which was a bit disconcerting. Could not fault the staff and even the reception desk was efficient!! We met some nice people, the weather (apart from one day in Abu Dhabi) was near perfect. We were not on a fly cruise but were travelling independently so we were not subjected to the overnight flight to and from Dubai. I would not advocate doing the fly cruise. Make your own arrangements and use Emirates. All in all a good trip. Don't think I will be going back on Oceana again as I prefer the bigger ships where I don't feel hemmed in so much. Read Less

The smoothest cruise I’ve ever had according to our captain, and he was right there was hardly a ripple from start to finish. We boarded Oceana in Southampton on a cold January morning at the “Queens terminal” which was not very royal, and we embarked in no time at all for our 20 night journey to Dubai. The whole of the cruise was a flat as a pancake, with excellent smooth seas all the way. For economic reasons we had an inside cabin this time, C525, which was al little compact but comfortable & kept clean and tidy by Bruno our steward. We were allocated 1st sitting on a table for four which was ideal for us. Food was up to the usual excellent standards with first class service from our waiters in the dining room. With plenty of other dining options available, we enjoyed using the Cafe Jardin for lunch. I’ve forgotten just how comfortable and easy to get around Oceana is, a lovely intimate ship, and one I would certainly travel on again. We had seen most of the guest speakers before so did not attend their sessions, Entertainment was very good, with actor Robert Daws hosting a series of talks and question and answer sessions, which were very good indeed. We are not great Headliner fans, but saw a couple of their shows. We stopped at Cadiz, Malta, transit of the Suez Canal, Salalah & Muscat in Oman, then onto Dubai. We did our own thing in Cadiz and Malta, but opted for P&O organised trips in Salalah and Muscat, as these were new destinations for us. In our only day in Dubai we went on the BBQ under the stars trip, which I can highly recommend, we had a fantastic time. The whole experience was very enjoyable, and a great way to escape the January weather. Read Less