This was our first Oceania Cruise, and we chose it because of one destination - Bermuda. When we arrived at the port in Miami, we were told that we were not going to Bermuda due to high seas and strong currents. Since we had been to the other ports on the itinerary, we were disappointed, but what can you do? After a stop in Nassau (which was not worth even getting off the ship), we set sail for an alternate destination - Great Stirrup Cay - Nowegian's private island. We arrived and then were told the tenders could not operate due to strong currents! So we began our third consecutive sea day with no destination - the captain's announcement actually said we were on the cruise to nowhere. The "head office" finally decided that we would go to Jacksonville, FL - and stay there for 2 days. We were parked in a cargo port so nothing nearby. Oceania did run a shuttle to downtown Jacksonville - but there is NOTHING there - no people, no shopping (we did find a used bookstore), no nothing! Then off to Charleston, SC for 2 days - this was part of the original itinerary - but 2 days is way too long for this port. And the last stop was Cape Canaveral. Since we had lived in Florida for many years, we had visited the Kennedy Space Center and an hour plus drive to Disney Springs (where again we had been many times) left us with few alternatives. So we took the shuttle Oceania set up to Cocoa Beach - where we dropped at Ron Jon's. We didn't even get off the shuttle - and unfortunately had to sit on the bus with several other couples for over half an hour before we could get. back on the ship.

Now for the good things. Oceania's food was excellent - in all of the venues we used. We visited 3 of the 4 specialty restaurants - Toscana, Polo, and Jacques - and the service and the food were excellent. The Grand Dining Room also had good food, but the service there was generally very slow. The Terrace Cafe - we ate lunch there every day and dinner a few times - was relatively small so crowded around serving stations - but again very, very good. Our favorite was grilled lobster for dinner - which was available every night!! The staff was also very good - friendly, well-groomed, and helpful when needed. And the ship itself was nice - plenty of places to read, relax, etc. The staterooms had apparently been updated a couple of years back (heard this from another guest) and were quite adequate.

Then there was the booking process. I receive frequent (if not daily) emails from Oceania which led us to book this cruise. The "OLife" fare included air fare and 1 of three amenities - shore excursions, a beverage package or a $600 shipboard credit. The cruise only fare was $900 less. But when we went to book, the difference was only $600! The explanation was that we got a $300 shipboard credit. So much for a perk - we had to pay for the shipboard credit as far as we were concerned. Oh, and because we were not in one of their selected air cities, we had to pay an additional $200 per person (so wound up booking our own which was significantly cheaper than Oceania). Read more