We chose this itinerary because we were in port every day (hate those 'days at sea!'), sailing from Barcelona to Venice.

Oceania are impressively efficient: if they said we would be berthed in Marseille/Livorno/Naples at 8am, then we were berthed at 8am, with port clearance and the gangway down. By the time we had finished breakfast and put our walking shoes on, the shuttle buses would be waiting to take us into the city centre. Although the ship caries 1200 passengers, we never found ourselves queueing for anything except the tender in Taormina bay. Sea conditions meant that we could not be at anchor in Antibes or Sorrento so we went into port at Monte Carlo and Naples instead ( a huge improvement, to my mind) and everything was swiftly re-arranged to cope with this.

The food was mostly excellent, with the Italian restaurant, Toscana, perhaps stealing #1 slot. Not always so great in the buffet, despite serving the same menu from the same kitchen as the Grand Dining Room, but it did have the benefit of the open-air terrace. A special treat was afternoon tea in Horizons with a panoramic view out front. Read more