The Ship: Well maintained and operated. The crew was very helpful and pleasant. After dealing with a nasty private porter in New York (we ignored him, not sure why Oceania allows this) once we got to deal with the Oceania we had nothing but positive experiences for the rest of our trip. Embarkation was easy. Crossing the Atlantic in the spring can be a little rough. I give great credit to the captain for his wisdom and experience. We bypassed two stops due to bad weather. I appreciated that he put the comfort and the safety of all those on his ship above that of any schedule. Food: The best I have had on any cruise line. One of our party was celiac and gluten free. They handled this very well and they prepared excellent gluten free food that looked and tasted like what everyone else was eating. The bread in particular was great. We tried all of the restaurants – the Italian one stood out with the best food and the best service. I highly recommend the Baristas on the 14th deck. Great coffee (better than most expensive coffee bars), quick and pleasant service and you are right next to the library and computer center. Laundry: A small free laundromat on each floor made laundry a breeze. Everything was clean and worked and there was an ironing board there as well. Being able to have clean clothes was a treat. Entertainment: The ship’s singers and dancers stood out for their enthusiasm and energy. They were also used to help out on the ships functions giving them much more exposure to the passengers than most of the crew. Internet: Satellite sourced, I do not think any ship internet is very good. Oceania Marina was no exception. Getting on the system in the middle of the day is almost impossible. Only at night or very early in the morning is the speed good enough to check emails. Library: I love libraries, lots of books and good comfortable chairs to while away a few hours of reading. Wood trimmed, and located next to the coffee bar, this library was very good. The only problem I had was that a number of passengers seem to feel that it was ok to take over a chair and ottoman and have a long winter’s nap, not the purpose for a small ship board library where room can be tight. The Passengers: The average age of the passengers on this trip seemed to be somewhat older than I would have expected, in their mid 70s and many had mobility and medical issues. There were a few younger passengers but very few. Most of the passengers were professionals – doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. I did hear that the subsequent trip had a younger crowd. Gym and Exercise: Great running/walking track on top of the ship. The gym had good equipment for a smaller ship and it was much appreciated. There is a separate room where there were classes, particularly yoga Medical: There is a full medical center on board with a doctor, nurse and a two bed ward. All seemed very competent. This ship had just experienced an outbreak of Norovirus. They were extremely good at washing everything down and constantly disinfecting. At the buffets, you are served – you do not serve yourself. This really reduces the chance of contamination. Despite this, I picked up a respiratory infection and pink eye which required a hospital visit after the cruise and a course of antibiotics to get me back healthy again. Read Less

We choose this cruise for the ports. Unfortunately due to the seas we missed St. John’s and Dublin. Weather cannot be helped and everyone’s safety is most important. That is the risk whenever you cruise, you may not get to all the ports. I had cruised Oceania before years ago. The difference today, entertainment was horrible, especially doing a transatlantic you are waiting for it. You can also feel a change in the level of food in the terrace cafe. The cooking classes are probably the best on those cruises. Art classes were enjoyable too. But really not much more to do on board. The ships also need an indoor whirlpool. The spa was very nice and Florence gave excellent massages. Very professional! Overall, when doing transatlantic cruises be weary of weather and lots of sea action that is not fun. The onboard specialty restaurants were enjoyable and gave options. Know that you need to book early! Read Less

I had been researching around the world cruises for the last four years, in preparation for giving myself one as a retirement gift. After comparing many, I selected this one for its outstanding itinerary, which no other ship came even close to. The ship was just refurbished weeks before we embarked, and was like new. The crew was excellent, with superb service. The entertainment was very good, considering the smaller size of this ship. Both Cruise Director's, first half, Leslie, second half Ray, were wonderful, each in his own way. As were the ship's entertainment staff. The enrichment lecturer's were wonderful. The guest entertainer's were mostly very good. I really love the layout and public room's on this ship. It is the perfect size for a port-intensive world cruise, and can get into many ports that the larger ships can not. Yet it is large enough to handle the weather really well, although we had for the most part, excellent weather. I am not a 'foodie', so the fancy menu's were 'wasted' on me...I am satisfied with plain 'meat and potatoes'. Which I certainly did enjoy in all of the food venues. The special events held for the ATW guests were very well received, but I don't feel like those on segments were neglected, at all. My friends I made from the 'solo' group welcomed all to our nightly dinner's, and we made good friends with many doing just segments. The ship held Captain's cocktail parties, and Oceania Club parites, for ALL passenger's on each and every segment. We also mixed well with segment passenger's who attended all of the "Big O Points" games and triviia ....half my team was made from segment passenger's. We also had a Cruise Critic M&G party, on the first sea day of each segment for all the newbies joining the cruise. There was some poor behavior at the needlepoint kit distribution by some, but the staff quickly changed procedures to solve that problem. The crew was simply amazing...friendly, competent, and seemed to know everyone by name. This cruise was life-changing for me in more ways than one.... First, Dr. Boris, and his 2 nurses literally saved my life when I suffered a heart attack on board, and saw to it that I received immediate care in a Bordeaux hospital. I recovered enough a couple of weeks later, that I was able to reboard the ship in Halifax, and complete the voyage to Miami. But the best part, was meeting the love of my life, Betsy on the second day on board, and in front of about 250 of my shipmates, marrying her right on board, with two days to go to the end. It just doesn't get any better than that....:) Read Less