My husband and I wanted to take this cruise because we wanted to see Australia and the itinerary was good - although it did not turn out that way. I had sailed on Oceania before —years ago before Norwegian purchased them and we enjoyed it. Since being bought by a public company with a lot of debt the quality has gone downhill. There was one issue after another. I think this particular ship needs to be gutted there were too many issues. The cabins are very worn . The couch was so disgusting we had to put a sheet over it to feel comfortable to sit on it. We booked a cabin facing the back of the ship we could not use the balcony as it was covered with black soot everyday. It was impossible to sit outside with the smell of exhaust from the smoke stack( very toxic) The smoke smell was also in the cabin despite keeping the door to the terrace locked. This was acknowledged by the Workmen that were sent to check the situation but nothing was done to rectify it as we are at sea. They said it has to be looked out when in port for an extended period. The cabin also had a moldy smell. Upon returning home we had to wash everything we brought whether it was used or not because of that.

In the past the food was excellent , Oceania now uses predominantly frozen fish and meats. I didn’t ask about the vegetables ( being frozen) but they were the same everyday- carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and zucchini. This was a huge disappointment.

Unfortunately we missed 4 ports ( which added 25 percent more sea days) 1 was due to a broken PA system on the ship that took 13 days to fix. For 13 days there was no music in any of the common rooms, the restaurants ,the fitness center, the spa etc. . The entertainment in the main lounge was also limited. This was all very disappointing as it was Christmas - New Years Time. This greatly hampered the enjoyment of the cruise. Read more