Our second cruise on Oceana, and we were not disappointed. However, there were some inconsistencies by comparison with 2018. Firstly, a positive - the Headliners last year were beyond terrible, this year? It was difficult to believe that these performers carried the same name, well-rehearsed, well danced and well sung routines in great costumes. The show “Astonishing” was exceptional, perhaps not so astonishing illusions performed with song and dance in an exceptional mix. The Stephen Mulhern video card trick had most people gaping in amazement. Top marks!! In 2018 we attended a singing workshop with entertainment host Andy Jones. Andy whipped up his audience with an excellent warm up followed by some good singing, the sound of this small group ending the session singing “Can you hear the people sing” from Les Miserables was memorable. This year the workshop was hosted by “Taff” (the onboard musical director). Taff clearly wanted to be somewhere else directing professional singers. We walked out as it was too dreary for words. There were a couple of problems. Having returned from a shore excursion in Olbia there was a huge queue for the scanners only half of which were in operation, this was made even worse by the port officials instructing the passengers from the Marella Explorer II to walk past the queue to the front! No explanation was given and a lot of people including me were very angry. When the Captain made the sailing announcement later that afternoon, he apologised for this and explained that as soon as the ship was made aware the port was requested to open more lanes. Excellent public relations! We had cause to complain regarding the service in Café Jardin and we were not the only ones who were unhappy. However, when my wife complained on the following morning she received a fulsome apology and we were offered the opportunity to dine at Café Jardin that evening without the usual surcharge and would be served by a waitress who has served us so well on three previous occasions. Once again excellent public relations! We noted that the ridiculous flag waving sing song party “Land of Hope and Glory” “Jerusalem” etc was at the end of the final sea day and not within earshot of a country which had been our host which we felt more appropriate than as we sailed out of Rhodes last year. However, we stayed on our balcony! We had booked the ferry from Naples to Sorrento in advance. We found it difficult to believe that Sorrento has not changed at all since we last visited 28 years ago! We travelled by Circumvesuviana train to Torre Annunziata to visit the Villa Poppea (Oplontis) which was virtually deserted. These remains are totally astonishing given that they are nearer to Vesuvius than Pompei. We also travelled independently in Rome where we visited Ostia Antica. We went by taxi which was expensive but returned by train. Ostia Antica is huge, and we will be returning to take in more of this exceptional site. In Corsica we took the Mountains and Maquis coach tour which given the narrow and precarious roads is not for the faint hearted! What we saw of Corsica was nothing less than fabulous. In Sardinia we took the Ancient and Modern tour. The Ancient Nuraghe were very interesting, and the architecture of the 1960’s Porto Cervo was striking in its’s use of Historic Sardinian style. However, unless you are interested in very expensive shops Dior, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Bulgari etc etc. many of which had already closed for the season and looking at the outside of five-star hotels also closed for the season, this is one to avoid. All in all an excellent cruise and doubtless we will return to Oceana in the future. Read Less

The itinerary interested us. Malta,Naples,Rome,Corsica,Sardinia,Athens, Crete and Rhodes. Embarkation and disembarkation were very smooth and professional. The Oceana is a medium sized very friendly ship. This is our 3rd time on this ship. Dining staff excellent and cannot fault. Lots of menu variety and beautifully presented.Food very good. The restaurant manager went out of his way to ensure we were happy with our seating arrangements. . Entertainment variety is great and Headliners in particular are very professional and high standard. Elias Hendricks sang Classical Soul and was excellent. Cabin steward attentive and kept our cabin spotless.. The excursions we chose were led by very knowledgable agents, we did five organized by the cruise line, the rest of the destinations we did our own thing. We were in Crete twice and Malta on first day, middle of the cruise and the last day. A very good talk by a marine conservationist Alexander Sanchez Jones. Read Less

This was our first cruise and we chose this one for seven days as we are great Game of Thrones fans and booked excursions for Split and Dubrovnik. From start to finish everything was fantastic from check in to check out. We had flown in with Thomas Cook and P and O could not have done more to return us smoothly to the UK. Food was amazing especially in The Plaza and we were polite for choice. Our inside cabin was far better than we expected, and a special mention for Roy our room steward who was a gem. The entertainment was brilliant and nothing disappointed...the shows were all packed and standing ovations every night. Our excursions were excellent value for money and the guides were very knowledgable and good fun. What more can I say...great friendly helpful staff that Captain Bourne should be very proud of. Thank you Oceana for the holiday of a life time. Read Less

Chose this cruise for the Greek islands. We only did 1 week. Excellent cruise very easy and quick embarkation and getting off was quick also. . Staff were all lovely very friendly. Clean ship amazing food noble problems there drinks a bit on the expensive side but as tips have been taken of we expected that. Inside cabin was OK clean lovely guy looking after us. Irons on our deck did not work very well. Had room service breakfast 3 mornings it was OK. Did not pay for any excursions found them to be expensive. Did our own thing. Entertainment was excellent. Food was also very good. Nice atmosphere a round the ship. Shops a bit expensive but had some good sales on. Captain very good kept us all informed had to change itinery due to a force 10 gale during the night on the Friday that was Scarry but captain was very reassuring Read Less

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

Could not fault anything from this cruise - size of ship, all staff and crew, food, excursions (and the guides). It was a very smooth embarkation and disembarkation, staff were very helpful. Cabin was kept very clean thanks to our excellent cabin steward Agostinho. Really enjoyed the food (in the dining room and buffet) and the entertainment. The ship was ideal for us as it is mid size. Liked the shaded adult pool at the back of the ship. We found the drinks to be pub prices so no need for a package for us. The fee for the speciality dining we found was reasonable (but chose to eat in the dining room) . Loved the entertainment in the theatres, also the afternoon quizzes. We like to dress for the formal evenings and found that most people did as well. We booked 3 shore excursions and found these to be good value, the guides were very knowledgeable. We were happy with the food served in the Adriatic restaurant and the variety, the staff were very accommodating. In the Plaza buffet, again, the food was of a good quality and staff accommodating. We like the theme night at the buffet, one night was Indian - delicious. Our cabin was kept very clean, the steward vert helpful and friendly. Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our time on Oceana. We hope to sail on this ship again. Thank you to all crew and staff for a very enjoyable cruise. Read Less

The Oceana was recommended to us be relatives who had sailed on her many times. We stayed in cabin B405 (mini suite), the cabin was excellent and our cabin steward was outstanding however the balcony was slightly narrow. Our cabin steward could not do enough for us and she was very friendly. The ship was very clean and the staff were extremely friendly. There was an extensive range of entertainment however I feel that the entertainment was a bit lacking. I also thought that the music on the Lido Deck was a bit too loud so I preferred to stay towards the front of the ship on deck 14 as this was very quiet and relaxed. The dining was outstanding I tried the Ligurian, Cafe Jardin and The Plaza. The food was exceptional in all areas and the staff were very attentive. The ports of call were extremely convenient and the excursions arranged through P&O were excellent. 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

Rooms are like prison cells. Bathroom is tiny you literally can’t move in it. For a ship of this capacity the swimming pool is the size of a bath. The outdated rules of no shorts gets boring especially when men are allowed to dinner in scruffy Adidas trainers. Not only are you woken up early with the annoying, pointless announcements but the ship is a dictatorship. Never cruised before and because we booked through a 3rd party we weren’t informed of the dinner attire rules, we was reprimanded for not booking direct with p&o but p&o still accepted the booking and happily took our money via 3rd party. Avoid this ship. It’s tired and lacking any character or luxury. You can hear every noise the cabin next door/ above makes also. Drawers constantly being pulled in and out. Entertainment was dated and not much for children in fact the only child’s disco that was organised what set at the same time of the black tie event so nobody showed up. When eating at the buffet you practically had to beg the waiters to take your drinks order otherwise they just avoid you. I went and asked one to order a drink and he told me to go to the bar. Many of the wait staff are arrogant and unhelpful. Would never cruise again and would advise anyone considering it to avoid the Oceana. Ports were efficient and no problems going through just don’t forget crew card. Upon disembarking you have to provide your crew card of which this was taken off of us when we checked out at reception. As stated before we have never cruised and as no information was given to us as they assume every passenger has done many cruises it caused a confusion and delayed us getting off the boat as we no longer had our cards. Then the man started shouting over me aggressively when I was pointing out that reception staff should not have taken my card if I needed it to disembark and leave the cruise. Read Less

We chose this cruise as we were Interested in all the ports that it was going to, particularly that it left and returned to Malta. We did all our own city tours using local buses, which was very easy and very cost effective. Saved ourselves time and money, and would happily do it again. Was great having a duty free shop at the port in Malta and were able to buy 2 litres of spirits, a bottle of liqueur and as much mixers as we wanted for our cabin. We were able to stock up on our mixers when we stopped in at Malta at the end of the 7 day cruise before we carried on for the next 7 days. The entertainment onboard was excellent, at least two shows a night, all different, the best being a comedian from Cuba, a jazz player and the tribute to Queen on the last night. As we didn’t do any shore excursions due to the cost, I rated this poor. Would recommend this cruise 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

Last year cruised on this ship and everything was first class. However, this year I felt something was missing!! The drinks package had changed and was very expensive and if you are only an occasional drinker , well too much. The entertainment was not very good compared with last year. Shows only 1/2 an hour long. However, enjoyed the lectures on forensic science - CSI on board ship. Cannot complain about the food and service they were of a very high standard. The prices of goods in the shops were too high and the market tables at night could have had a better selection of goods. The excursion was very good to Athens and I certainly had my monies worth as the courier never stopped talking. I had already booked another cruise on this ship to Dubai in November before going on this cruise so will write after to see if anything has changed. Read Less

My wife and I have cruised about seven times from the Caribbean through the Med: 5 with Thomson on various vessels and latterly on Britannia with P&O. The cruise on board OCEANA on 11th July to the Greek islands was the latest and the most disappointing. What we liked: The Atrium, reception area and the Costa coffee section was second to none. The shops were brilliant and my wife has no complaint there. The sun deck was good although crowded (not unusual for a day at sea etc). The cabin was spacious and wardrobe space more than adequate. What was wrong: the general points . . . 1. The ship decor was drab throughout 2. The lifts were unpredictable and extremely slow 3. We found the buffet food monotonous. Often we found there were no tea spoons available and we had to ask one of the officers in white to provide some. Once a female crew member who was responsible for providing a tray with cutlery repeatedly provided two forks without a knife or two knives without a fork etc. Twice during the voyage this happened to us. We found the crew to be rather sullen and didnt seem to want to interact with passengers. One actually made an inappropriate comment when the wife and I were making a decision on any pudding/sweet: I just joked with my wife saying they were fattening and this male commented: "Too late Sir". He then asked my wife and I had a twin brother (for what reason I do not know). The next time I saw him he rotated his eyes in different directions independently and he thought it was funny. I was not sure what his objective was. This occurred in the buffet by the way on two separate days. Specifically to us: 1. The bathroom was antiquated and particularly the toilet bowl had a black ring around it when we embarked which remained there throughout the voyage. The television was small and the programmes repetitive. There was only one three-pin socket to the entire cabin and that was used for tea making. The lack of sockets was very inconvenient. 2. I unfortunately cut my ankle slightly on the first day which bled overnight and which stained the lower sheet. That sheet remained on the bed and was not changed throughout the voyage. The cabin steward on a few occasions failed to replenish the coffee/tea making facilities and once failed to provide cups/mugs and we had to ask reception to get him to bring them along. 3. We were freedom dining: We often had to wait up to 45 minutes to get a table and this seemed to be case whenever we attended the Ligurian to dine. The service in the Ligurian was slow and often we had to attract attention that we were waiting another course. Again the waiting staff did not seem that interested in providing a good service. A factor which irritated us in particular was black tie nights. This was the first time I decided not to take a dinner suit or black tie. We were denied access during the two black tie nights in both the Ligurian and the Adriatic restaurants (on a 7 night cruise) and we had to eat in the buffet. This was not what we expected from P&O and has completely shattered our confidence. Frankly we were glad when we arrived at Malta so we could get off the ship. We are not going P&O again: Having written to them expressing our disappointment and pointing out our points we eventually received a wholly dismissive letter which implied either we were exaggerating or just a pair of natural complainers. that in itself was enough to put us off going with them again - this is the first time we have complained on any holiday (land or cruise) Read Less

We last sailed on Oceana in May 2018 and enjoyed it so much, we booked for a 7 night Adriatic trip from 27th to 4th July 2019. Oceana is just a beautiful, elegant ship. She may be classed as mid-sized but as you gaze up at her from the Malta cruise terminal, she ought to be big enough for anyone! We were so fortunate with the weather - we had wall to wall sunshine from beginning to end with calm, flat seas which was just perfect. Our route took us from Malta to Dubrovnik, Hvar, Venice and Split. Croatia was a revelation to us and we realized that the best way to visit this beautiful country is surely by ship. We were met with stunning landscapes at every port call. Venice was amazing and the early morning approach into this amazing city was unbelievable - sights that will stay in our memories forever. Oceana for us, is perfect. From the first step onboard looking up into her fabulous atrium, you’d have to be a cynic not to be impressed. The restaurants are all varied and serve delicious food. We had a slight problem finding a table for two in The Ligurian freedom dining restaurant (last year there were four of us and it was easier) but we had drinks while we waited for our handset to buzz! The food in the MDR (Ligurian) was perfect - lots of choice with P and O favorites (prawn cocktail and sirloin steaks) if you didn’t want to be more adventurous. The Beach House and Cafe Jardin (fee paying restaurants) were delicious, although I think they ought to rethink the Trio of Desserts in Cafe Jardin - not good. The sunbed situation needs sorting. So many people go out early and reserve their sun beds with towels and personal belongings. We thought this needs to be “policed’ as the area around the beautiful sun deck and pools is a no go area if you can’t sit anywhere. The promenade deck is good to sit on, but even this area gets crowded later on. There is an aft adult only area with its own plunge pool, but we had parents pushing buggies around eyeing up any available sun beds, so unfortunately rules and regulations don’t seem to matter onboard a ship! We had a balcony queen bed cabin. These aren’t massive, but most of our time was spent out and about but it was great to go back and sit on the balcony with a drink and a book! The room steward (Rose) was wonderful - in fact all the hard working staff on the ship need medals. They play a great part in enhancing the cruise and always with a smile. P and O are so meticulous in providing an amazing service for their customers - nothing is left out, even to the signage to the best viewing points for the early morning arrival into Venice that magically appeared overnight. Security is so tight when arriving at ports. Would we go again? Yes, yes and YES! In fact we have three more cruises booked with P and O. We really didn’t want to book with anyone else as this company get it so right. Oceana is a perfect, elegant ocean liner and it was a joy to sail on her again. 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

7 day fly cruise around the Greek Islands with two restful sea days. Perfect itenary for us and although we have sailed many many times with P&O we had never been on Oceana. Firstly , we were aware of her size and age, so expectations were not high. However it has to be said the staff are excellent, friendly and provide excellent service. Nothing is too much trouble. The food was also of a very high standard, with an extremely wide choice and very accommodating waiters. The ships function rooms have been upgraded and create a very relaxed and inviting atmosphere. What really lets this ship down are her cabins. Not only are they very small , that also includes the balcony , but they are in great need of attention . Air conditioning is extremely loud througout the night, the bathroom is so small when using the toilet you can touch the door, the shower cubicle is minuscule and shower heads falling apart, drains do not seem to drain away properly and despite the cabin being cleaned extremely well each day, the cabin looks well worn. Despite this the itenary of the cruise around Greece did exceed expectations. Beautiful ports with easy access to sights. SoundaBay whilst remote, you can take a public bus from the port to Chania - 20 minutes away and what a gem. Santorini is wonderful. Pre hotel stay in Malta at the Excelsior was perfect. Read Less

In general myself and my husband were pleased with the cruise . We wanted a medium sized ship with good entertainment facilities and a variety of ports. This was our third cruise but first time on Oceana. Our main criticism was the subbed situation. We liked to have a fairly relaxing breakfast on sea days but once we got up to top decks, sun beds were very scarce! People had draped towels over them and gone off, and it took a few treks round the decks to find any free ones! Well, there were plenty free but all had towels left in them, books and bags etc left beside them! We felt that staff should be stopping this from happening somehow! I must admit that, had I known this would be that difficult I would never have booked this shop for a med cruise!!! Even down on deck 7 where you could sit in the open air without a pool, it was crazily busy and towels again draped in all seats! I used the pool one day out of the 14, and would have loved to have used it more, but was just not quick enough to get a subbed. Even when I did use it we had to sit on upright seats by a table! The food was consistently very good & we were able to easily get a table for two. Ports were lovely but very very busy! All staff were excellent! Our cabin was ok but not as roomy as the one we had last time on Oriana, and could have done with updating, plus only one socket which was a pain! Entertainment was good, and places to have a drink were fab! We found people in this ship very dressy, lots of sparky evening dresses which I wasn’t really prepared for, but would be next time! This was an enjoyable cruise around Greece and Croatia & we have booked to go with P & O again (on a different ship) as we found them very efficient! I personally would think twice before booking a med cruise on Oceana again unless I knew the subbed situation was better though unfortunately! Read Less

Food in the MDR was good. So was le Jardin and the Beach House. Also sampled the Asian lunch taster. The Headliners provided excellent entertainment as per usual. The room was clean however there was a constant odour from the toilet even after it had been evidently cleaned. (Suspect old piping etc) Travelled with a child who constantly used the small sports area with goals, a net for tennis and a basketball hoop. The weather was excellent throughout the cruise. The cabin was an outside cabin as no balconies available for families when I booked. The room was bigger than we had feared however there was no private area to get changed outside the bathroom, which was definitely to small to do so. All the crew were nice and friendly. The public areas were in good condition. Used the kids club once and the lad enjoyed. We would travel on the Oceana again. Read Less

Could not get a shore excursion as both my choices on wait list. So I put my name down for both. Rang up just before leaving and told no change so asked to come off wait list to book private. Told that not possible and it did not matter as I would be emailed and have 72 hours to reply if I did not reply it would just be dropped. Got on ship to find a ticket for one of the excursions, suddenly found seats only 36 hours after that call. But too late, I had booked privately. Went and stood in line, wasting my time, to give them their ticket back and they had to consult about cancelling it AND repaying the money to my onboard account. They then told me that I had another confirmed booking and been charged for the other wait list I had gone on the excursion was at the same time as the other one. They had to consult again to take me off and return my money and they had not even checked to see if we could do it. If you want this hassle then go on wait lists, but personally I was very cross that they had not told me anything a few hours before whilst on shore, that they refused to take me off the wait list, that they then booked me on both excursions WITHOUT asking me and took the money from my account and for all this gave me stress at the start of my holiday. Overshadowed and marred the whole experience., Dining was OK but I had to eat twice from the always menu rather than the daily one and two days of steak does not spell good food to me. Cabin was fine but we did have a mini-suite. Looked after well by Rosie. But all balconies are narrow in width and this was no exception, just that we had double the length. Just managed a chair. Entertainment was Ok but nothing outstanding. Thought the magician would be good, but whilst he got some very right he did a couple of tricks in such a way that gave them away. Did not do any day time activities and only one shore excursion, which was good, the issue was tendering, but that always can be a problem. Read Less

We chose this ship/cruise because it was stopping over at the Monaco Grand Prix (although more of that later). The trip was out of Malta - a 1st for us - and arrival embarkation was faultless and well staffed. The ship is a bit 'tired' in parts but the cabins are of a good size (we were on C deck) and clean/tidy. So why only 2 points:- Drinks Package Unless you want to engage in a constant battle with staff my advise is stay well clear of the 'Ultimate Drinks Package'. Way too many rules and regulations. Diet Coke is not included but Diet Pepsi is (who makes these rules?). You can order a small bottle of water but not a large one. Don't try the "OK so can I have 2 small bottles then" because that will be met with "sorry I can provide one small bottle but you have to have drunk that one before I can supply another small bottle" (I guess that I should not blame the staff someone told them that this was a rule). You cannot order a large Pina Colada but you can get a small one and then order another when you have drunk that one........Really! Internet To be fair this is true on most cruises but only 2 words adequately describe the Internet access packages (there are 3 levels) and they are the words "rip off" Staff and Service Sorry P&O but your staff have to be amongst the most grumpy that we have ever encountered. Some exceptions of course but mostly in need of retraining in customer service and simply how to smile Activities Generally good. We went on some sort of adventure pretty much every day that we were not at sea. The only day that gave cause for complaint was ironically the day that mattered most. On the day of the Monaco GP the ship was docked in VilleFranche and therefore access to/from the port was via tender. The day before the daily newsletter announced that last tender back to ship would be at 5.30pm. Keep in mind that the GP didn't start until 3.15pm. There was very little chance that we could watch the entire race and get back to the tender for 5.30pm. I will acknowledge that we spoke to a number of officers and they all did the nod and wink thing and said don't worry I am sure that it will be OK; but no-one offered any sort of certainty. The only comfort that we drew was that the 'official P&O' trip to the GP was by coach (we were travelling by train) so we convinced ourselves that we would beat that trip. As it transpires the last tender was around 7pm; but really P&O; you promoted this cruise as one that offered an opportunity to attend the GP and then set the last tender return at 5.30pm and promptly gave rise to a worry (all day) that took the edge off the whole experience. Food I would rank the food as OK but the selection offered to casual diners at the restaurant on top deck (The Plaza) was pretty poor. I would include breakfast in this observation. Breakfast at Cafe Jarden on Deck 8 was waiter served, options limited but the poached eggs were excellent. We were 'free diners' for an evening so we were allocated a restaurant called the Liguarian. Wait times on a table for 4 was always around '1 hour' so we ended up sharing. I know lot's of people love sharing a table with strangers (my wife is one of them) but I would rather pull my teeth out with a pair of pliers. Hey ho. We spent most of the time at one of the extra fee paying restaurants which were fine (my personal favourite being the Beach House). Entertainment Good Disembarkation Was very good - probably the best we have encountered - they didn't insist upon you leaving cases outside of the cabin until mid-night - nice touch which meant that you could don your glad rags for one last evening of merriment and the whole trip to the airport - bags checked directly on to flight - staff at airport to point the way - was excellent - sadly in my case it did mean that I ended up sitting across the isle from my wife - who is not a good flyer - but this might have happened anyway. Smokers To be fair to P&O this is an issue that I could make of most cruises we have been on over the past few years - but do you have to make us smokers feel like 2nd class citizens. No smoking on balconies, few enough 'smoking areas' and those areas also had the crappy plastic garden furniture. Maybe the cruise we attended was the exception to the rule but of an evening the crappy furniture smoking permitted area was rammed and its sister area across the other side of the ship, an area with excellent furnishings was empty. Why make smokers feel so unwelcome and if that is the point then at least be honest and ban smoking altogether. Overall Not great and not sure that we will hold the provisional booking we have made on another P&O ship for next year 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