Oceana Review

4.0 / 5.0
0 reviews

Would return in a heartbeat.

Review for the Mediterranean Cruise on Oceana
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Presto2
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Aug 2016
Cabin: Balcony Stateroom with Shower

Well, just got back from our latest cruise on P&O’s Oceana and couldn’t wait to write a review. As 2 50 yrs + cruisers we tend to pick our cruise based on the itinerary as well as the ship, and have to travel in school holidays. We don’t tend to bother with the shows or entertainment, so can’t comment on this aspect of the cruise. This was our 10th cruise, having sailed on Oceana 3 times in the past, Britannia once, the Celebrity Silhouette 3 times, RCI once and the Ocean Village 2.

The organisation of this fly cruise was excellent. Both embarkation and disembarkation were handled like a military operation. Once checked in we didn’t see our luggage until it appeared outside our cabin at 3pm, having boarded the ship at 11.30am. On the way home we left our luggage outside our cabin at 11 pm and were reacquainted with it at Manchester Airport. The organisation was impressive and the flight times excellent – e.g. we left the cabin at 8.30am, the ship at 9.40 am, flew at 11.40am and were home by 2.30pm.

Yes, the ship is showing her age, but we still loved every moment aboard. The atrium is still stunning and has a wonderful atmosphere throughout the day and evening – something that her big sister Britannia did not manage. We did notice some rust on the platform used for crew to clean the high windows, but over the 2 weeks we saw staff removing this and painting. OK, there was some knocking on days when the overwhelming majority of people had got off the ship, but it was easy to avoid this and repairs have got to be done at some point. We reckon that in another 2 weeks those areas of rust noticed on our arrival will all be repaired. The inside of the ship was beautiful and staff were constantly cleaning and polishing her. For those worried about norovirus, we had no issue whatsoever and did not hear of any problems. Everyone we met seemed to use the hand gels and were sensible with the food ‘handling’ in the buffet, so we have no idea how some people can say that everyone is not careful enough! That certainly was not our experience and staff positioned by the buffet doors ensured that you cleaned your hands. The buffet area was very busy on some mornings, but that tended to be on sea days when people had had a lie in!

Cabin Review

Balcony Stateroom with Shower

Cabin JB

Our cabin was smaller than we remembered, but once we had got used to it we were more than happy. We had a balcony cabin on A deck. (6th balcony in on the starboard side)The beds are just the most comfortable ever and with the blackout curtains and rocking of the ship we slept like logs for the whole 2 weeks. Our cabin steward, Joe, was wonderfully attentive without being intrusive. He kept the cabin spotlessly clean and always seemed to know what we needed before we asked. OK, the T.V. is rather small and is not interactive, but it was ok for us and did not detract from the enjoyment of our cruise. The balcony is larger than those on C deck.

Port Reviews

Genoa

Only used to embark and disembark so can't comment. Sad to see what's left of Costa Concordia in the docks ...

Venice

As stunning as ever. After a lovely sail-in we stayed on the ship to relax and then went in to the town using the ship’s water shuttle for about 5pm. We went up the old Bell Tower in St Mark’s Square, which is well worth the 9 euros entrance fee. The views were incredible. We then enjoyed a meal just off St Mark’s Square that cost us just 70 euros. We then had the evening strolling around. Simply magical!

The next morning we decided to go back in to the town to visit the Doge’s Palace. Again, this was spectacular and we were able to spend most of our time strolling around and getting lost!

Lots of time for real pizza and ice-cream

Kotor

Words can not describe how beautiful this place is. The mountains take your breath away and despite being a little edgy about it, we managed to complete the 90 minutes hike up the mountain to the fort. Well worth the effort – especially at 3 euros each! The old town is beautiful and we had a massive, beautiful salad and beer each for just 14 euros in the Harbour Pub – a lovely ‘eatery’ in a small square in the old town.

Corsica (Ajaccio)

Probably our least favourite port out of all – it really didn’t do much for us at all and we wished that we had booked an excursion as this was our last day. We went for a walk for about 2 hours along the promenade and noticed that a lot of cruisers were on the lovely sandy beach. We also took the small train for a short tour – good value at 8 euros for 45 minutes. Having said that, we would have preferred Monte Carlo. Perhaps we would have been better going inland to see those lovely mountains.

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