Oceana Cruise Ship

2 readers found this review helpful

Our only cruise experience has been on the P & O ship Arcadia, a ship we really love. Would Oceana come up to our expectations? Yes,she is a really beautiful ship and well maintained.The cabin,though, is small and did not like having a bunk bed as we had three in the cabin. The bathroom is much too small as has been mentioned before. Our steward was brilliant and kept our room tidy and clean. We had second sitting in the Adriatic restaurant. The food was fantastic served by our two wonderful waiters and the wine waiter was smashing person who multi-tasked all over the ship. Now the downside. The Plaza self service restaurant was awful. One almighty scrum and not enough seats. The restaurant always closed before time and the selection was often poor. The people working in reception were often hostile, especially if you lose something on the ship. We enjoyed the ports we went to and the trips we went on were well organised. The entertainment is singing and dancing with the occasional magician or comedian. But the lectures were brilliant.We also enjoy the quizzes what other people may dislike. Our problem was with the bars. We love the Crows Nest bar on Arcadia, there is nothing similar on the Oceana. All the bars seemed to be in corridors or around the stairs in the atrium a very congested area. The weather let us down as we could not stop at Oporto our last port of call which captain aborted.We had three sea days on our way back to Southampton, which was not the best. I agree safety is paramount but could we had a safe haven away from the storm. Judging from the empty tables at dinner there must have been a lot of people suffering from sea sickness. On the whole a great cruise with many highs and some lows

1 reader found this review helpful

Just done a short 2 night cruise on Oceana - my first with P&O since the 1990's (pre Carnival) and although the brand name has been kept, the standards, style and sophistication just aren't the same, and certainly not the five star experience that brochures would have you believe. Sure, the Oceana central atrium has bling, but at 10 in the evening when I came out from the Adriatic silver service dining room (service rushed & fomulaic) the atrium looked like one big hen & stag do with booming noise, gyrating girls and leering sweaty blokes getting out of their evening wear as quick as they could.
Food was plentiful, varied, and generally good quality, but the dining "experience" lacked empathy and could not be compared to genuine top-notch restaurants. Staff throughout the ship were generally helpful, but in some cases, out of their depth in terms of knowledge, initiative and cultural empathy.
For a ship of this size, there were too many passengers to make for a relaxing experience and facilities like pools/spa/whirlpools seemed stretched. (and this was out of season!). The ship's design doesn't provide for many private little corners away from the crowds. Even the champagne bar has a constant walk-through.
Cabins (sorry, Staterooms, in keeping with todays over-egging of almost everything)!) were adequate and well-serviced, but lets not kid ourselevs they are of anything other then 3 star hotel room standard. On a long cruise you wouldn't want to spend too much of your time in their limited space - balconies not withstanding.
No escaping the pain that is security these days with lengthy queues on claustrophobic gangways when reboarding after shore excursions. And certainly no meet and greet faces, once you've struggled through!
The Ocean terminal at Southampton cannot handle the 2000+ numbers at check-in without it seeming like a bun fight - not the best way to start a break. Can understand the tight turnarounds, but they need to think this through from the passengers' perspective. Particuarly with these short cruises, I think their marketing could be be more explicit about what the experience is likely to be. Overall, I got the impression that Carnival have compromised P&O's established brand name in an attempt to chase the dollar.

2 readers found this review helpful

We have just returned from a 7 day csuise in Norway.As it was our first trip on any ship we had no idea what to expect and were very pleasantly surprised. The food was truly amazing and how they produce beautifully cooked and presented meals for so many without any of that "tired hotel food"problem I just do not know.The staff were helpfull friendly the facilities and entertainment good ,we particularly enjoyed the U.S Halfpipe group playing modern rock rather than the expected"tribute" stuff.Apart from a force 9 gale which P&O can hardly be held responsible for we had a thoroughly good time.

2 readers found this review helpful

Hi,
Went on the Fjords cruise in August 2011. Everything went smoothly getting there. Got on the ship ok. First time on the ship and all looked very nice inside the reception / atrium area. Walked up to our cabin which was a little odd as we walked through a lot of things to get to it, including a resturant & casino!! Strange!!
Got to the cabin and was amazed how small it was!! Shower room was very small also!! Could not swing a cat in there! Seating area was not a patch on the Oriana. There was one chair for 4 people to share. Everyone else had to use the bed, that was made. Television was out the arch!! Channels were poor quality. As there was 4 of us in 1 cabin there was not much room to put things and you would not want to go on a long cruise with more than what we had for a week. Could do with a divider curtain like the Oriana so at least some in your party can wake up and stay in one bit while others still in bed. ( Not be woken by lights going on in toilet also ) The Cabin Steward was BRILLIANT!!
Had a walk around and literally through pretty much everything. It was a little tricky keeping track of where everything was even after a week. Strange layout of the ship. People walking out the Footlights Theatre would exit out & walk right through the pub ( Yacht and Compass ) right in the middle of a quiz of all times!! Drinks prices where pritty good for saying you are on a posh cruise.
Food area's were good depending on time and what kind of experience you wanted. Just be up early if you go to the Plaza ( deck 14 ) if you want to avoid the cattle market experience !! Cafe Jardin would be very good if it was not stuck on the stair area right in the middle of the ship. Poor design setup!! Staff were excellent though !! Couldn't do enough for us all. Evening Restaurant was very good also and staff worked very hard to please us.
As for Le Club ( the late night dance bar ) forget it!! The DJ is hopeless and no clue of what people like!! All he asks is for you to tell him what to play. Anyone can do that!! If you ask for Rock Music of any type he puts a 60 second rule on it. If your into 60's n 70's repeated music then it's your bag. Be worned it's pritty empty after 11pm.
Theatre musicals were poor and Butlins would do a better job. They need to improve or get rid of the theatre company as very dated and far to Americanised. Just a bunch of kids running round singing crappy American songs & all a bit camp for our liking. Comedian was very good though!!
Films shown in made up theatre's in the day are poor also unless you're a kid. Nothing much for adults.
Fjords was FANTASTIC though 

5 readers found this review helpful

Just returned from my first cruise and I can definately say it won't be my last.
Cannot fault anything, food was great, staff were extremely friendly and helpful.

6 readers found this review helpful

Overall we were very happy with our holiday. The food was superb always freshly cooked with an interesting menu and choice. We were in the Adriatic Restaurant 2nd sitting. The only problem with this is that we often missed the beginning of shows at 10:30 p.m. and could in most cases not get a seat.
We had a mixed experience with staff, some were friendly and helpful, others were not.
We were disappointed with the quality of the entertainment, just not what we had expected. Too many quizzes. It just seemed to lack a wow factor at times.
The Captains daily announcements were more entertaining that the entertainment!
The only exception a great comedian who's insights into cruise life were hilarious.
Room was clean and adequate for our needs, great private balcony.

1 reader found this review helpful

1st cruise on oceana food exellent plenty of choice and places to eat. Waiters friendly exellent service cabin staff efficient and friendly. entertainment programme a bit dissapointing which lots of fellow passengers agreed excusions very good.overall everything ran smoothly would book again with p and o

25 readers found this review helpful

We 9 family members have just returned from a 7 night cruise on the Oceana. To Vigo, Lisbon, Bilbao, and Brest. This cruise was the first for 5 of us. The remaining 4 have cruised before.
We all have had the most amazing time. I have been reading these reviews for a number of months now and I am amazed how the reviews vary. So this is what we have to say about our cruise on the Oceana.
There were no problems with embarking or disembarking on and off the ship. We actually all arrived earlier than we should have and were all on the ship in just over 20 minutes. Disembarking we were off early too. It was all very straightforward.
Our cabins were available as soon as we arrived on ship. Some of us had mini suites, balconies and outside cabins. All of the cabins were comfortable, and immacuately clean. We felt that the higher the cabin grade the more comfortable and more space you have. But I do believe that you get what you pay for. The cabin stewards work very hard. And all of them were very helpful, polite and always happy.
The food was outstanding in the main restaurant. The portions were plentiful, the food was really delicious, and always hot when brought to the table. We did all opt for Freedom Dinning. And we had no problems with this at all. We were given pager to let us know when the table was ready. We never waited longer than 30 minutes. Most of the time we were at the table within 10 minutes. The waiters were wonderful, particlarly Sameer and Bertie. They were so happy always smiling and nothing was ever too much trouble. The wine was very reasonable and as with all the drinks.
We ate in the bufffet restaurant for breakfast and some lunch/late afternoon. There was plenty of choice and the food lovely. We also ate in the Horizon Grill. They do wonderful fish & chips, along with burgers, chicken, hot dogs etc. Our teenagers enjoyed the food from the Horizon Grill.
We had afternoon tea once. This was a real experience. The cakes were amazing, but once was enough for all of us. It sort of reminded me of the Mad Hatters Tea Party.
There were plenty of bars to have drink in the evening too. We all really enjoyed the formal nights, particularly the ladies. We all loved dressing up and never once felt out of place. It was realy lovely to see everyone make an effort.
The entertainment was good in the Starlights and Footlights. Especially the the Comedian on the first night. He really made us all laugh.
We found that there was more than enough sunbeds. Unforunately, you are not always able to sunbathe around by the pools. But there is ample sunbathing space all around the ship. We were lucky to be able to all sit near one another whilst sunbathing. Yes, there were a few people who saved their sunbeds, but this happens everywhere.
The sailaways were fun too. P&O try very hard to keep everyone entertained.
We did not actually pay for any excursions. But P&O arranged a shuttle bus for you at every port, free of charge. We used this service and found it great.
We found the information on our Horizon booklet which was given to us the night before extremely useful. This had a lot of information in which was very knowlegable and interesting for the following day.
We did however, have most unpleasant experience crossing the Bay of Biscay on the way home. But this by far has not put any of us of.
We are already planning our next cruise.
So all I have to say is thank you P&O and all of the staff on the Oceana who made it possible for all us to have the most wonderful holiday.

10 readers found this review helpful

Have just returned from a cruise today. We have used P&O a few times & this was our 2nd holiday on the Oceana, the 1st being 4 years ago but we quickly noticed there had been a drop in the overall standards since our previous trip. That's not saying we didn't have a good time but it was still a shame. The key things were:
1) Reduction in the choices on offer in the buffet resturant. I had been so impressed the last time around by what they offered & the quailty, while still good, wasn't 1st class as before.
2) Lack of effort made / choices for the children's tea. (They used to have themed teas, visits by Noddy etc but just the very basics this time & lemon jelly every time!)
3) SOME of the staff were rude & didn't make you feel welcome - Others were great.
4) Extreme lack of tables for 2 in the main resturant meant waiting an average of 45mins. (Freedom Dining)
5)Seemed to be a shortage of wine waiters which sometimes meant we were halfway through our main course before the wine arrived.
6) This will sound very snobbish but the 'quality/attitude' of some of our fellow passengers was somewhat disapointing. By this I mean letting their teenage kids run wild, leaving rubbish inc. soiled nappies around the pool, being loud & doing the old 'reserving' the sunbed trick with towels but not appearing till late in the day. (P&O asks that people don't do this but don't do anything to enforce it). It's the sort of attitude expected in Benidorm not on a luxury criuse liner.
I think the problem is that rather than increase prices, P&O are cutting back in other areas which is a great shame. If it keeps going down that route, it will simply become a floating Butlins. I have enjoyed holidays at Butins by the way & got the experiance then I expected which is my whole point.

12 readers found this review helpful

My elderly mother and I take a cruise every year and normally travel with Princess - very much a "can do" line. For various reasons we decided to give P&O a chance this year and booked into the Oceana for a voyage to Spain. Almost the entire experience was a disaster; the few good points being that our cabins were clean and fairly comfortable and the "wrap around" view from the Plaza lounge was excellent. All ships should have something similar. Sadly these are about the only good things I can say about our week on board.
My mother requires a wheelchair for the transfer from port to ship and normally we expect to be in our cabins less than 30 minutes after stepping from our taxi at Southampton port. Our train arrived at Southampton station at 13.05, our taxi at the port terminal around 13.25 but we were not in our cabins until nearly 16.00. We were nearly late for the lifeboat drill. When we finally did get away we only got as far as Spithead where we stayed for several hours; we later were told that this was because of engine failure but can not confirm since it was from a passenger. The crew said nothing.
The Captain's address was poor, even saying we were heading to St. Petersburg when in fact it should have been St Peter Port! An easy mistake to make, perhaps, but did not show a professional image.
We chose Freedom Dining but the Plaza was very badly run. Even simple requests, for example a crew member to fetch a spoon, were met with a "Sorry, this is self service, get it yourself" and is not the sort of reply one expects; in a Princess ship it is unthinkable even in a self service cafe! Two days later you were not even allowed to get a glass of water yourself. This was due to illness on board. Indeed poorly cooked food almost certainly led to my mother being sick for 24 hours and "room service" were not helpful. "Should have ordered breakfast last night" they said; my mother had not been ill the night before. Then they brought the wrong food to her. We know this was not "seasickness" as we, as a family, have sailed regularly since 1966 and not had a single case between us.
Eventually we moved to a waiter service dining room, and the staff slightly more friendly, but the food more often than not nearly cold. When it comes to nominations for the "crew member who had done most to impress you" in other ships we have both give "unit citations" but this time we struggled to find one who had even smiled or been the least approachable.
I will not begin to elaborate over the difficulty in getting a simple cup of coffee during the Captain's cocktail party, even at a cafe!
The entertainment was not "top draw" and one evening consisted of a vet telling us about some of his experiences. The ship's dancers were excellent in fairness. Mainly the "entertainment" seemed to consist of quizzes.
I did not go on all the tours but one in particular was badly planned. Three tours from the ship all turning up at the same cafe for a break at the same time can only be poor planning - yet that is exactly what happened at Guernsey on our tour. It resulted in the cafe staff being swamped and some passengers having to leave their refreshments, which had been included in the cost of the tour.
Things were so bad that I sent a letter to P&O from France during the cruise. Complaints on board were pointless and ignored.
Never, repeat never, have we been so pleased to leave a ship. Even the port crew at Southampton were saying it was badly organised - a shambles throughout in short!
You never get a second chance to make a first impression and my first impression of P&O will most likely be my last.