Oriana Review
Oriana X720 (The One with the Delayed Departure)
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Booked this cruise about 54 weeks, yes over a year before embarkation! The appeal of this cruise was the overnight stay in Amsterdam. Always wanted to visit Amsterdam, always wanted to cruise. This seemed like the perfect combination at an affordable price.
As this was my first cruise, I had spent many of my lunchtimes researching the ship and ports of call. Not necessary at all as even without prior knowledge and going in cold we would have managed to have sussed out how to go on with all things cruising.
The closer we got the excitement was building, and then we received a message from P & O that The Oriana had broken down, boiler problems whilst leaving Gibralter en route back to Southampton. This resulted in a delayed start for us, absolutely gutted. The knock-on to this was that the itinerary was changed, still a full day in Bruges but only between 5 & 6 hours in Amsterdam; in Amsterdam actually disembarked at 8.20am and back just after 1pm. Not enough time to explore but a taster never the less.
Cabin Review
Inside Twin Cabin
We only had an inside cabin, but it was more than fit for purpose for the number of days and ports of call/itinerary. We only slept and changed in our cabin, should we have been in sunnier climbs would have possibly gone for a balcony. Room was well kept by our Cabin Steward, loved that the bed was turned down at night with a couple of small chocolates awaiting.