This was truly a memorable cruise for DH and I, as we were celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. This was our first cruise without the kids or friends -- just the two of us. It was also the first time DH agreed to take off from work for two weeks at one time. Our previous cruises on RCCI, NCL and Celebrity had all been for no more than 7 nights. We chose this cruise (12 night Windmills & Wonders) on Oceania Marina mainly for the port-intensive itinerary and Oceania's cruise style. We really don't care much for sea days and formal nights.

Our vacation began with a flight from JFK which was due to leave at 9:30 p.m. on August 20, getting us into Stockholm at 11:45 a.m. on the day of embarkation (8/21). Since we usually take shorter cruises, it was our custom to arrive a day before and stay a day later, but since DH was already stretching his time away from the office, we decided to take the chance and arrive on the day of embarkation. As fate would have it, our flight was delayed for over 3 hours in JFK and did not arrive in Stockholm until about 3:00 p.m. We breezed through customs, got a taxi, and got to the ship b 4:30 with only an hour to spare before sail away at 5:30. The other cruise lines that we had been on in the past required that everyone be on board at least 2 hours prior to sail away, but Oceania only required 30 minutes. Thank goodness, because I feared we would have to board the ship the next day in Helsinki.

Embarkation turned out to be wonderful, as, at that late hour, absolutely no one was in line when we arrived. Our luggage arrived within minutes after we got to our room. Muster drill was held at 5:30 and was efficient. Read more