Marina Review
Great itinerary and room, though lacking in other areas relative to price.
Rating by category
Additional details
I did so much research in preparation for this cruise so wanted to add detail to help others who are considering Oceana Marina. Overall, I think the trick is to work around the weaknesses of this cruise to get the best experience but for the very high price tag you should not have to do that.
Pros:
-- Excellent itinerary with no sea days, longer days in port, a mix of exotic and sure winner stops. This was our primary consideration when choosing a cruise and Oceana delivered on this. We loved every stop and were delighted to discover new favorites like Malta. It is worth a premium to us to arrive at a new and worthwhile destination every day and to not have to rush back to the ship.
Cabin Review
Penthouse Suite
The penthouse was a comfortable size, though not huge or particularly luxurious and the balcony was a bit bigger than the standard balcony rooms. Note that when they give you square footage online they are including balcony size. The built in make up mirror they tout must have been designed by a man because it is completely unusable since it does not angle up and you would need to get on your knees on the floor to use it. Fix this! Bathroom size and walk in closet make things comfortable,though not a fan of waterfall showers, had to use the hand held like a regular shower. Liked stocked mini fridge though mine had an opened bottle of wine in it from the last passenger and no one ever asked me how I wanted it stocked as they claim online they do. Our room was on the 11th floor right under the overhang which we liked because it mostly kept the balcony shady though if you like direct sun you might not like this, and we did not have any trouble with hearing deck chairs scraping overhead as others have said. Cleaned very well other than the opened wine left in the room and always plenty of bottled water. One thing that surprised us on our first Mediterranean cruise was that in half the ports the place you docked was down right ugly with oil tanks and machinery, etc. so not as much enjoyment as usual sitting on the balcony and there did not seem to be a good side to the ship in terms of views, we got the ugliness about equally. Most comfortable bed of any cruise or hotel.
Port Reviews
Marseille
we enjoyed a wine tour with provence wine tours though it did not compare at all to our wine tours in Italy and we wished they had given us more options or information about lunch and what to do in Cassis, we had so little time there we didn't really get to see it. Very easy to book this tour on your own and they have a van that goes right to the ship.
Monaco (Monte Carlo)
loved that the ship docked walking distance to princess grace gardens and the palace. after a tour we organized ourselves to the french rivera we had time to walk to the palace just before closing and basically had the place to ourselves.
La Spezia (Cinque Terre)
much busier than the last time we went, be careful trying to take ferrys or train. the ferry was out that day which happens a lot and the trains were insane. we had booked a tour with Italy shore drivers ourselves which drove us, got us to see much more than ship tours and made us a lunch reservation at the most amazing place.
Florence (Livorno)
Think about visiting Pisa and Lucca, they are fairly close to the port and you won't have to be in a van all day. There was much more to Pisa than I thought and riding bikes atop the walls of Lucca was priceless, be sure to stop at the Villa/gardens on the bike path and try the chickpea pizza. Tour with Italy shore drivers was amazing with a wine lunch that my husband describes as one of the best days of his life.
Malta (Valletta)
Amazing tour with My Maltese guide which we booked ourselves-- ask for Ingrid who is really intelligent and fun and is with you all day. Such a beautiful and fascinating place with ancient and Medieval ruins (Medina), a beautiful sea port. We saw so much in one day and loved the stop at the local dive for fresh cheese or pea filled pastries.
Sorrento
another excellent tour with Sorrento drivers which we booked ourselves. we saw Herculaneum which we liked better than pompeii because it was less crowded and better preserved plus an ancient villa for Nero's mistress and a wine lunch, though Cantina el Vesuvio is not the best place for a wine lunch.