We are in our early 60's and have been on the Marina last January for 12 days in the Caribbean along with 40 other cruises on 9 different cruise lines. This is an overview of our 16 day adventure to a wonderful place in the world where the people are kind and friendly and the scenery is spectacular.

The embarkation was so easy because the ship overnight-ed in Auckland. Beware of the hotel Oceania offers, it is 4 times the cost per night of booking it yourself and the transfers are far worse than the shuttle bus offered by the airport at 6 times the cost. With the jet lag, it is wise to show up a few days early.

The ship is as clean as it was last January, well decorated with no wear to speak of. It has library second only to the Queen Mary II but a few things fall short. There are only 2 elevators aft compared with 4 in the front. With 1200 passengers and almost all the dining areas aft expect long waits during mealtimes. The casino is barely used because it is terribly small with limited staff and a silly miniature golf course takes up prime real estate high on the bow. Although this cruise was cooler than expected, the pool is far too small for a ship this size. We really noticed this last January. Read more