Oceana Review
Shadow Puppets at 10.30pm? That's entertainment folks!
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this cruise because we have cruised Northern Europe in the last couple of years and my husband wanted some Sun. We had read some reviews of the Oceana before we left but as with anything you take these only as peoples opinnions and so set off excited to join our ship and explore new destinations.
The check in at Manchester and embarkation onto the ship at Venice was excellent, we didn't see our bags until they arrived at our cabins which made it much more convenient than when travelling with Cunard a couple of years earlier and having to claim baggage at the carousel at the airport. This was the same on our return journey as is a credit to P and O.
We had looked on cruise personaliser and the time of departure for the ship was given as the afternoon with no possibility of booking trips, so we assumed that we would get on the ship have the drills and soon be departing for Kotor. Unfortunately, this turned out to be inaccurate and we felt like we wasted the afternoon upon arrival as the ship didn't leave Venice until 10pm which would have left ample time to explore Venice had we not been called back for lifeboat drills at 5.30pm. Please don't misunderstand me, I absolutely appreciate the importance of these drills, but this is meant as an indication of the lack of clarity of instructions that we were to face for the rest of the trip.
Cabin Review
Inside Twin with Shower
Contains all the things you need for a cruise. They could do with installing more plug sockets, but quite narrow and therefore according to P and O cannot contain a double bed as the beds are fixed. They're not, we pulled them together and put the bedside table in the wardrobe.
Port Reviews
Venice
We just got the Shuttle Boat and Walked around Venice, if visiting in Summer expect big queues at Doges Palace and the Cathedral in St Marks Square
Kotor
The Port is directly outside the walls of the town, my husband walked up the 1000 steps to the monastery overlooking the bay.
Corfu
We walked into Corfu and went swimming in the sea by the Old Town. Do not take the P and O shuttle bus, it's only a 15 minute walk into town, so not worth the £5 each way if you are on a saver fare.
Rome (Civitavecchia)
We took the Port Shuttle to the outskirts of Civitavecchia and then a bus to Tarquinia as we have both been to Rome before. Tarquinia has a Eutruscian Burial Site and is a UNESCO Heritage Site, it's about 3 Euro's return if you buy your ticket from the Tabac shops. It's 25 minutes each way, when you get there there is a Tourist Information Shop who will give you bus times for the return trip
Corsica (Ajaccio)
We just walked around and then went on the beach. The roads are very busy on this little island, so bear that in mind if you want to hire a bike.
Genoa
Genoa is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we walked into the city from the port and bought a one day multi pass for the museums. This includes Christopher Colombus' house and various palatial mansions. The tickets are 12 euro's each and can be purchased at the Tourist Information Shops
Florence (Livorno)
We booked a Low Cost Transfer from Livorno to Florence and Pisa. It was 32 euro's each and picked us up in town and dropped us off at the ship. We spent 3.5 hours in Florence and 1 hour in Pisa. Florence is very busy in the summer so this is not long enough to see Michealangelo's David or the Da Vinci Museum, but is long enough to get a good feel of the city. Likewise 1 hour is not long enough to go up the Leaning Tower in Pisa.
Naples
We booked a tour from Viatours, which took us on a guided tour of Pompeii in the morning and up Mt Vesuvius so that we could walk up and see the crater in the afternoon. The tour was very informative, lunch was provided and there was a guarantee that we would make it back to the ship on time.