We first cruised on the Oceana in 2004 and did notice a marked difference in the entertainment this year.
The acts we seen were poor and on the second week of the cruise instead of having a show timed so that both dinner sittings could see it,there was only one show,which meant that if you were on the second sitting (as we were)you would miss it or would not get a seat as the people from the first dinner sittings would be there first.This was most disappointing as the bars were also full.
We were also dismayed when we put 2 films into the ships processing lab 3 days before our holiday ended only to find on collection that they had been caught in the processing machine all our cruise pictures were ruined.We complained but the compensation we were offered was so laughable I refuse to repeat it. After saying that,we had a great holiday met a lot of nice people and we would give the Oceana another chance.

Oceana Cruise Dec 9 - 23, 2005.

I should qualify this review by saying that, based on a previous cruise with MyTravel (Uggh!) 4 years ago, I was half-hearted about this trip. I was talked into it by my wife. Did I enjoy it ? Yes, immensely. I would not do it every year (cruising is not my top holiday choice, too confining) but would happily do a similar one in the future. That says volumes about the quality of service provided by P&O. A really great, memorable trip.

Flights.
Arrived at Glasgow airport our usual 2 hours before flying-time to find we were the **very last** passengers on the P&O-chartered ThomsonFly/Britannia flight to check-in. Could not believe it, but it transpired that most people had travelled some distance and had stayed at local hotels, checked-in really early then had breakfast at the airport. End result was that my wife and I were allocated seats 14 rows apart on the 8+ hours flight, she was not pleased. The girl at the desk handing out P&O forms, wearing a P&O badge and purporting to represent P&O merely shrugged and said..."nothing I can do". On boarding we asked the cabin crew to fix this problem but they claimed there were no seats available to seat us together. However, on the flight I was seated next to a couple who had a young child under 2 years, they had been allocated a spare seat between them as a favour by the flight agent Servisair. I was not pleased but let it pass, good start to the holiday I thought.
Onboard ship we were informed by other passengers that you are normally given the same seats for your return flight, unless you intervene. Well we did that and got it fixed. I don't blame P&O for this, rather the agent ServisAir who have a bad reputation for customer service most times. However, P&O should not employ airport staff who behave as the girl at Glasgow did with us.
Knee room on the outward flight was adequate but the return seemed, subjectively, more cramped and was a little uncomfortable. After checking in your luggage in the UK departure airport you don't see it again until it appears in your ship cabin. However, be aware that takes around 4 hours after arrival in Barbados, so be prepared for an evening wearing what you travel in. Similarly when returning, you leave it outside your cabin and see it again at your UK arrival point.
On arrival in Barbados we went from the plane straight to a bus parked on the airstrip and were onboard the ship within an hour. The return from the ship was less comfortable, queued for around 45 mins just to get thru security into Barbados airport.

Cabin.
Ship is very impressive throughout! We had booked an internal cabin which was fairly small but exactly as we had anticipated... bed which can be made up by the steward(ess) as a double or 2 singles, adequate storage for clothes, TV with movie channel, toilet/shower-room, fridge and code-operated safe. Only negative was that the toilet/shower-room always had a slightly stale smell to it when the ship was at rest. Not unpleasant, just always noticeable. When the ship was on the move this disappeared, suggesting that the ventilation system cannot cope when the ship is not running at speed. Otherwise the room was outfitted and finished to 4-star hotel standards. The outside cabins with small balcony, just across the corridor from us, were very nice, more spacious, better equipped and, from discussion, much fresher because of the open balcony. On balance if going again I would book one of them, if you can afford the extra it looked to be worth it.
We were on deck B, mid-ships, which was ideal as you have accommodation decks above and below and are equi-distant from the stair/lift wells, ensuring it's quiet and peaceful.

Restaurants.
First night onboard is an open night for restaurant seating, you go to any one you please. We went to one of the main restaurants and the meal was very ordinary, in fact the fish I had was very slightly undercooked, I was so weary I simply eat it. Not promising we thought. However, subsequently every meal we had (with one exception, the Horizon grill, see below) was superb. Given the huge numbers being catered for I doubt if P&O could improve on the quality or presentation.
For all other nights you are allocated a fixed table in one of the two main restaurants, you will find a pink card in your cabin (inside the leather writing folder) which details your table and first/second sitting. However, any evening you wish you can drop out of this fixed table arrangement and go to any one of three other open restaurants, Plaza, Horizon and Cafe Jardin, some of which apply a cover-charge in the evening. One evening we went to the Horizon grill which has a cover-charge of £6.75 per person. The meal was totally ordinary and I personally did not find it approached within a mile of the quality which was common in the main restaurant. For your cover charge you enjoyed an awe insiring (NOT) view of the swimming pool and could enjoy the cigarette smoke drifting up from the bar below. If that was not enough to set your evening alight there was an overpowering smell of cooking coming from the open grill area. All in all it was enough to send us straight back to the main restaurant the following evening.
One common complaint, with which I agree, was the gross overpricing of the wine at the table. In fact you can expect to pay 4-star prices throughout the ship for every kind of drink. Take a duty-free bottle with you from the UK and buy your soft drinks at the first stop ashore. You can also buy a good bottle of spirits for around £5 at most of the island stops.
You can go to the main restaurants for breaKfast and lunch but we used the other restaurants. The Plaza for buffet breakfast and lunch (both excellent) and the Horizon and Cafe Jardin for snacks.

Formal nights.
There were 4 formal and 10 smart-casual nights. Formal means very formal, if you are happy in a lounge suit then fine but you should expect to stand out in the crowd which was almost exlusively dinner suits and tuxedos, with the ladies in evening dresses. However, P&O tell a little white lie when they say that formal dress is a requirement on these nights. The formal dress requirement applies only in the two main restaurants and one of the bars, in all other restaurants and bars you can go smart-casual, so if you want to drop out of these nights you can.
On Tuesday of the second week there was a great Caribbean deck party for which you should acquire a Caribbean shirt, best place to buy is Isla Margharita on the dock.

Entertainment.
Generally excellent, with special mention for the resident entertainment team who put on many top quality shows. The guest artists were generally very good, but generally little-known and no particular wow factor. On balance, never a bad night.

Currency.
The local currency in all the small islands is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (ECB). In Trinidad and Tobago it is the Trinidad/Tobago Dollar (TTD), in Barbados the Barbados Dollar (BBD) and in Margharita the Bolivar. However, in all the islands the US Dollar (USD) is the common tourist currency. Always ask if the price being quoted is in USD and keep your note values small as often when you pay in USD you will be given change in the local currency, in fact you should ask for change in USD. Also check at ship reception the local exchange rate to USD as you may be quoted a rate which is considerably to your disadvantage. For example, in Tobago the rate is 1 USD = 6.7 TTD and I was quoted an exchange of 40 TTD = 7 USD (approx 1 = 6), which is close enough, but I heard of others being quoted rates of 3, 4 or 5.

Shore Trips.
All of the pre-cruise and in-cruise info supplied by P&O is very helpful and interesting but it is aimed at one thing, getting you to buy expensive trips from P&O. We found, and this was widespread opinion, that the trips were overpriced and poor value and in many cases (not all) you could accomplish the same trip on your own for half the price. Read thru the P&O info, segregate out the things you want to do (cutting out the visit to the rum distillery and shopping mall) and then hire a taxi/mini-bus at the dock. The most economical means of travel is to get into a party of 4 or more, we found this easy, just wait at the taxi/bus stand on the dock and ask others if they are going your way. Negotiate with the taxi/bus drivers, the first price asked for is never the one you can get down to. Always negotiate in USD on the basis of a round-trip and if the driver is dropping you off agree a fixed time for pick-up and never pay anything until the round-trip is completed.
If you are planning a short trip (say 3 hours) then do it late morning or early afternoon when most of the traffic from the ships has been exhausted and prices are more negotiable.
Many of the P&O trips consist largely of trying to fill you with cheap alcohol, perhaps to disguise the inadequacy of the other aspects of the trip. On one occasion as we were returning to the ship, coincident with a trip returning, we saw a 16 year old boy being helped aboard clearly very ill from alcohol poisoning (all of his fellow trippers reported him drinking heavily, hardly P&O's fault as he was in the care of his parents on the trip).
Keep in mind that all of the islands essentially consist of a central spine of mountains surrounded by sugar cane and rain-forest, plus of course lovely beaches. You are not going to see dramatically different scenery on every island, or even, it has to be said, dramatically wonderfull scenery. So one round-island trip is much the same as any other, only the highlights of each are worth it.
On the first day cruising we went to a visual presentation on the P&O trips, some info of which was completely misleading (see below). The daily news-sheet issued for each island is much more informative and accurate.

Weather.
Apart from several rainy mornings it was very clear, bright and sunny throughout. Temps were 27 - 33 C every day.

Cruising and Ashore.

Saturday Dec 10. At sea heading for the first stop, Tortola.
The usual towels-on-sunbeds-at-dawn crowd were active (forget sitting around the pool area unless you're an early riser) but we were able to find a sunbed in a good location onboard. In fact we never throughout the cruise found getting a sunbed or lounger to be a big problem, a walk around usually turned something up, just not near the pool area.

Sunday Dec 11. Tortola.
Arrived in Tortola to find thick cloud, heavy rain and the island mountains shrouded in mist. The rain persisted on and off until early afternoon when the sun came out and the cloud and mist cleared. In the morning we walked around the capital Road Town which does not have anything of particular interest, in fact the only thing to be said for it is that it is the first opportunity to buy soft drinks at sensible prices. Follow the main road to the back of town and you will find a RightWay supermarket where you can buy 2L bottles of Coke.
In the afternoon we teamed up with two others from the ship and together with some Canadians off of the Queen Mary II, also in port, we hired a mini-bus to take us on a 3 hour tour. This included a stop at Cane Garden beach which is supposed to be the best on the island, in fact the beach was fairly ordinary but was a welcome opportunity for a swim. To get the best taxi/bus deal you should walk beyond the dock area into the centre of town to the main taxi/bus stand, we negotiated the tour for 10 USD pp.
Maybe it was the weather that influenced us but we felt that as a first stop Tortola held nothing special and was a poor start. Although, one person on the ship reported meeting the actor Richard E Grant in the supermarket, it must have something going for it.

Monday Dec 12. Antigua.
Bright blue sky and warm sun, Antigua looked lovely. We had booked a morning trip with P&O, the "Tropical Trails" which cost £42 pp (= 70 USD pp). This consisted of 8 people in a Land Rover being taken thru the sugar cane and rain forest over very rough roads (pot holes you could get lost in) and then a run round some of the island sights. There was some fun element in this and we did learn some interesting facts (Pineapples grow in the ground and take 13 months to mature, I always thought they grew on trees), but we did not see some of the better parts of the island as you will find from our next trip.
In the afternoon we teamed up with another couple and hired a mini-bus to take us to Nelson's Dockyard and Shirley Heights. The Georgian era dockyard has been restored and is set in a lovely bay, we had a drink in the rear terrace of the Admirals Inn just inside the entrance. The next stop, Shirley Heights, gives amazing views of the bay and surroundings. Entrance to the dockyard costs 5 USD pp, keep your tickets as you will need them to gain entrance to the Heights. The trip cost us 17.5 USD pp for the mini-bus (we were quoted 80 USD for 4 and negotiated 70) plus 5 USD pp for the entrance fee, contrast that with our morning trip which did not compare well with this. This is an excellent example where DIY pays off.

Tuesday Dec 13. St.Kitts.
Bright blue sky and warm sun, St.Kitts looked lovely. We had booked a morning trip with P&O, the "Railway Tour" which cost £52 pp (= 87 USD pp). There are two times for this trip, the early one you have a 10 min bus journey to the rail terminus followed by a 2&1/2 hours rail journey then a 45 min bus return. The later trip reverses this sequence. On balance we preferred the earlier time as you get to the train and are on the trip within a short time, versus the later where you have a 45 min bus journey then have to wait for the earlier trip to arrive at the terminus.
The train trip was enjoyable, we got free drinks and small cake snacks and were entertained by an onboard choir. It's probably the best way, although expensive, to see the island which is largely undeveloped and has few main roads.
The capital Basseterre is a very pleasant little town, worth having a good look around.

Wednesday Dec 14. At sea heading for St.Lucia.

Thursday Dec 15. St.Lucia.
Bright blue sky and warm sun, St.Lucia looked lovely, the dock area at this location is probably the nicest you will see on any of the stops. We teamed up with two others and hired a mini-bus to take us to Rodney Bay beach which was very nice and excellent for swimming. The trip was quoted as 16 USD pp for 2, we negotiated 10 USD pp for 4.
Although one of the most developed from a tourism aspect, St.Lucia is also one of the most attractive islands.

Friday Dec 16. St.Vincent.
Lots of cloud around with patches of blue sky. 6 of us took a mini-bus to Villa Beach which is very unimpressive but just across the bay is the little known gem of St. Vincent, Young Island. Just stand on the beach and a water-taxi will appear to take you across, as usual negotiate the price and you have to enter by wading into the water and exit onto a wet jetty. This is a private island largely occupied by a single hotel, but visitors are welcome with the restriction that you cannot use the sunbeds and hammocks belonging to the hotel. Just stretch out your beach towel and enjoy a lovely setting with excellent swimming, including a swim-out bar just off the beach. From later discussion we had the best day of anyone we spoke to on the ship. The round-trip cost 10 USD for the mini-bus and 2 USD round-trip for the water-taxi.

Saturday Dec 17. Mayreau, ship cannot dock so went ashore on tenders.
Early rain then bright blue sky and warm sun, Mayreau looked lovely. This is a private island only about 1&1/2 miles long. The tenders drop you at Saline Bay where there is a nice beach, some shops and a bar. The ship crew also set up a bar next to the beach. The hidden gem of this island is Saltwhistle Bay, to get to it you have three choices...(1) Walk over the hill road to the left of the landing point, it is very steep up and the same again down. We walked it, if you are fit it will take around 25 mins. (2) Take a jeep-taxi, although P&O state there is no motor transport on this island this is not true. (3) Take a water-taxi round the headland, we did this on the return leg, it was fast, exciting and not for those with a fear of small boats. One-way it cost 5 USD pp for 4 of us.
The beach at Saltwhistle is a classic Caribbean beach with white sands, overhanging coconut palms and excellent swimming. Not to be missed. There is a small bar/restaurant.
As stated by another poster the ship sets up a BBQ **on the ship** from 12-3, which is entirely the wrong place to have it.
Other passengers reported they had a great day out on the Catamaran trip.

Sunday Dec 18. At sea heading for Isla Margharita.

Monday Dec 19. Isla Margharita.
Early rain and cloud but this soon cleared and was lovely (we were told by a local that it had rained constantly for the past week). The info that P&O give you on this island is completely misleading. They stated in their visual presentation on the first day cruising that...(1) USD would not be accepted, only the Bolivar was OK. In fact USD was accepted everywhere. (2) There was nothing at the docking point and a trip booking was advisable. In fact there was the best craft market of any of our stops (lovely pearl jewelry, bags and Caribbean shirts) and a very nice beach (although beware of stepping on Sea Urchins, they are like golf balls with pins sticking out).
On the basis of the P&O presentation we booked a bus trip, "Rhumba on the Chiva". This is basically an island tour, a one hour stop at a nice beach and lots of free booze and snacks thrown in. It cost £24 pp (= 40 USD pp) and was lots of good, enjoyable fun, but take out the alcohol induced fun element and it was just another island tour with the limitations of that, as explained above. It included the usual stop at a jewelry mall where the pearls etc were not a patch on that available back at the dock. The assistants even admired the necklace my wife had bought at the dock and asked where she got it.

Tuesday Dec 20. Trinidad.
The worst dock area we saw on the entire cruise, and the capital, Port of Spain, was no better. We walked along the main road to the right of the dock, at the 2nd traffic lights turn left into Brian Lara Blvd and about 1/2 mile along left again into Frederick St. These two are the main shopping areas, but, quite frankly, forget it. The shops can be seen in any run-down main street in the world, the city is choked with traffic, seedy, run-down and has an intimidating, threatening atmosphere about it. Apart from the very friendly tourist officials the whole place was unfriendly and unwelcoming, filled with low-life. We have travelled in many places around the world but this was one place I wanted to get out of fast. There were 4 of us together and everyone agreed, as did everyone else we spoke to on the ship.
P&O took on a large supply of fuel oil at this stop and I can't help but feel that is their only reason for calling in there. We learned from a crew member that P&O advise them to only go ashore in groups, not singly. They did not give that advice to their passengers. Next day in Tobago I asked the taxi driver her opinion and she said that people from Tobago did not like Port of Spain, which she said was filled with pick-pockets.
This is one place where if you are interested in a P&O trip then take it.

Wednesday Dec 21. Tobago, ship cannot dock so went ashore on tenders.
Bright blue sky and warm sun, Tobago looked lovely. Everyone heads for Pigeon Point beach but right next door to there is a hidden gem, Store Bay beach. Pigeon Point is private and there is a 3 USD pp entrance fee, Store Bay is public and free.
Everyone reported Pigeon Point as being overcrowded, Store Bay was almost deserted when we arrived around 11am and we got 2 sunbeds and Brolly easily for 7 USD. The beach is fairly small but very nice and excellent for swimming. There are toilets, changing facilities, shops, bars and restaurants. From discussion with other passengers we had the best day out of any of the beach trips. The taxi round-trip cost 10 USD pp for 4 people.

Thursday Dec 22. Barbados, staying overnight till Friday departure back to the UK.
Bright blue sky and warm sun, Barbados looked lovely. The dock area has an excellent duty-free shopping area, the best for price and selection of any we found on the trip. If you are planning a take-home duty-free bottle or a major jewelry purchase then this is the place to buy it. The ship is located some distance from the city, you need to get a taxi or mini-bus into town. The mini-bus cost 2 USD pp one-way, the one-way taxi back cost 5 USD pp for two of us.
In contrast to Trinidad, BridgeTown is a warm, welcoming place with some attractive buildings but for shops you're as well sticking to the duty-free at the dock. We had a drink at the (apparently world-famous) WaterFront Cafe by the river, very nice. We heard very good reports from those that went on the "Swimming with Turtles" trip.

Friday Dec 23. Disembark and bus to the airport.
Most P&O chartered flights leave the ship from 11am onwards. Your hold loggage has gone the night before, there is a secure area for storing your hand luggage. You are expected to vacate your cabin by 9am, we stayed till 10:15 with no problem. You get breakfast/lunch as usual.

Hope this proves valuable to all you future cruisers.

This was our first cruise, our main worry feeling seasick which fortuntely did not happen. When we first went on board we were impressed with the ship's decor, very classy. Our cabin was an outside obstructed view; all we could get with booking late but it was nice to see a bit of sunshine in the mornings, although we would travel inside cabin as you are not in them much. The cabin was well looked after and re-stocked with coffee, tea etc. every day.The food we found was excellent; although not sailing before we are used to five star hotels and if anything the Oceana was better. The entertainment was varied and of good quality; it certainly did not lack enthusiasum. We are hoping to take our son and his family Dec 2007 (cannot get in for 2006) as we were so impressed it has rubbed off on to our son. This is a great ship for a family cruise and would highly recommend it to anyone.There was a good range of age groups although mainly over forty five's. We were told by some people that because the ship is so big you cannot feel it move; we are afraid this is rubbish so if you do suffer from motion sickeness take some pills with you. If you are desperate, you can get an injection from the ship's doctor for £70 approx. Most people settle down after a couple of days and do not have a problem.

Before we went on this holiday I looked at the reviews and thought that I had made a great mistake in booking the Oceana. This was to be our 8th cruise and we had been on the Ocean twice before and once as the Sun Princess which was the same design of ship. Some of the previous reviews were terrible and it was obvious that only first time cruisers thought the ship was good. The other reviews were bad. Let me enlighten you. The ship and itinerary and staff were as good as ever. We have been cruising for the past 10 years and the standard on the Oceana is as good now as it was then. The shows were excellent. We didnt want first sitting but it was given to us and how glad we were. We saw 2 shows a night whereas the second sitting people had to struggle to see one as they came out of dinner by 10.30pm. They also could not get a seat whereas we were sitting pretty. The flight over - thats another story. We luckily cancelled our allocated flight which stopped to refuel and recrew and caught the next flight. The original flight we were told took 13 hours whereas our new flight was 8 hours. Both Thomas Cook Airlines and Monarch Airlines are terrible planes, so cramped but the airline crew were so happy and pleasant it was a pleasure. Free drink and not bad food on plane.

The staff on the ship were all so pleasant. Passengers love to moan, some at breakfast complained about the food, the entertainment and the fact that there was no CINEMA! They said Thomas Cook cruises were the best. What! at £399 a cruise I bet they are!

i just wanted to say this was the first time i had gone on a cruise and i was quite nervous about it but it was amazing, i loved it. i was on the oceana and it was brilliant. The youth staff were amazin spec kat, she was great so much fun! our cabin steward was so great, and so were our restuarant people. the on board entertainment shows wer provided by the stadium theatre company and they wer amazin!!! all the shows that they did wer all as good as the last one. i love TV and what a feeling had to be the best but they were all very good. i owuld definalty go on another cruise after i really enjoyed by last one! thanks p and o!!!

We went on our first ever cruise on the Oceana in October 2005. We did a relocating cruise which meant that we sailed out to the carribean from Southampton, and flew back from barbados.

At first we were a little apprehensive about the 5 sea days crossing the atlantic. However our fears were unfounded, and in fact looking back these were our favourite days, as we had the time to enjoy the ships facilities without the bustle of port days.

The ship was better than our expectations and equalled any 5 star hotel we had ever stayed in before.
We were on C deck and had paid extra for a balcony. I would strongly reccomend this if budget permits...
From the minute we pulled up at Southampton we were impressed by the efficiency shown by all the P&O staff, our luggage was taken off us and the next time we saw it was in our cabin 2 hours later! Brilliant.

after check in we waited for around an hour in a waiting area, and were boarded with little or no queing.

We had time for a quick look around beore the sail away which was accompanied by a brass band and a glass of champagne we got mugged with that we thought it was complimentary but cost a fiver a glass "Special offer price".....
We picked up on this early and realised that although the prices were not bad. Nothing was for free... Exept the captains cocktail party free drinks. The more experienced cruisers knew this and were subsequently well on their way to a happy evening by the time we arrived about 20 minutes before dinner. Having been hiding in the cabin in my new dinner suit and dickie bow thinking i would look out of place. In truth the only people who looked silly were the people who had opted not to dress up. Great fun we liked the formal nights best of all.....
A bit of fun was the head waiter who used to announce dinner he would wish everyone a ......Wait for it Splendiforos or something equally silly with a pause so everyone would wait to see what he said followed by laughing from everyone. Daft I know but memorable.
After 2 days we arrived for a brief stop at maderia tropical storm included. nice to stretch our legs. We made our own way around and everywhere we went we bumped into people who had paid a lot to go on the official tour. My advice would be do not book trips explore on your own it is more fun and a lot quieter and easier on the wallet.
Next the crossing to antigua. Totally and I mean TOTALLY relaxing i have never slept as well as i did on the cruise and as we were heading east we got a lie in every day as the ships clock went back every night.
put that with a gentle rocking motion and off you go.
We read the ships newspaper every day to plan our day, and even went to the Cinema a few times on the cloudier days.
By the time we got to Antigua we were chilled out and ready for action.
We took a private taxi on a tour of the island and again bumped into people who had paid to go on expensive tours, our driver also doubled up as a tour guide and dropped us off at lunchtime at runaway bay where we enjoyed fres lobster and local beer and a few hours sunbathing in virtually total isolation. Fantastic.
After that we went to St Lucia, St Kitts, Tortola and finally Barbados.
I won't bore you with details, but all carribean islands are alike so unless there is something you would like to see in particular just have a wander round the main towns and go back to the ship which you will have mostly to yourself.
We found the last day quite tiring and spent a fair bit of time just hanging around.
We had a trip into Bridgetown and phoned a local taxi who was a close friend of a friend who was coming out the next week. so we had a whistlestop tour of that part of the island. when we were dropped off at the port a little last minute shopping and back on board for lunch and a few farewells.
Again the last we saw of our bags was at midnight when we put them outside our cabin along with the customs seals. the next time we saw them was in manchester airport. So be careful what you leave out of your suitcase as you will be carrying it around with you for most of the next day.
Uneventful flight back home and some fantastic memories.
Would we do it again? Yes. We have booked the identical cruise for October 2007. We may see you then.

If you are worried about getting to Southampton and flying back to your regional airport, what we did was a one way car rental pick up locally and leave in southampton, and get a Taxi to the terminal, or go down the day before like we did and stay in a hotel for the night more relaxing that way. we actually stayed with friends in Poole and had a lovely night out before hand and a relaxing lunch in southampton, so we arrived slightly less bleary eyed than some of the people who had been travelling since daft o clock that morning.

I have cruised with P&O for the last 6 years and have been on Oriana, Aurora and Oceana. Having children the other ships are off limits. This year I got a late booking and went to the Canaries via Portugal and Spain.
My observations are :
P&O have always set their standards extremely high and in all other years have more than reached them. However this year there has been a definate change, some of them slight, some of them more obvious, but a change for the worse all the same.
Dining.
We had evening meals in the Adriatic restaurant. The quality of the meals from previuos years has definatley dropped. Alot of the food looked and was presented more as mass produced rather then hand made. Most passengers we have talked to raved about the Beef Wellington and Souffles which we have always had but these and some meals like them were sadly missing, replaced by more ordinary food. I was on a table of nine with my wife and two children. The waiters were always in a tearing hurry to take your orders to the point of frustration if you were not ready. As we were on second sitting they had not got to get us out for any reason. When the main course was served we had to watch every night as one waiter served the vegetables consisting of two servings to each person. Thats 18 servings before you got to eat what was now getting a cold meal. In past years if you ordered a sweet with a sauce or custard it was brought seperatley and served to your liking. This year it came in the bowl. One of my fellow diners had to send his away as you could turn the bowl upside down and the custard stayed where it was. It had set in the bottom. They used to serve you with chocolates or sweets after your meal and again served you individually but this year all on one plate plonked in the middle of the table. Not eaten in a couple of minutes and they were taken away again. Not one chair was pulled out for any of the lady diners and the atitude from the waiters most of the time was one of frustration that you were there.
Entertainment.
The Theatre Company as always were very good. The rest of the artists can only be described as pub entertainers. All other years they have had named people from the television or artists at the top of their profession.I have never seen so many people walk out of the theatre before. The only packed out night was the talent show. P&O for what ever reason decided to put on two blue comics late in the evening. Warnings were issued that if offended please dont go. The talk on the ship wasnt that they were offended by blue commics but more offended that P&O considered them to be in that social strata that went to see this type of entertainment.
Outside of the two main venues there is not much else to do with children. On Oriana and Aurora you have the Crows Nest and Harlequins as well as other bars to go to. You can find yourself walking the ship trying to find somewhere to go.
Smoking.
This is by far the worse problem on the ship. I have never seen so many people smoking all over the ship and not being requested to stop. They were allowed to smoke outside restaurants, lifts, hallways, all around the pools on the sun deck. If you go to the theatre you have two routes to get there, both are through smoked filled areas. If you have children you have no choice but to take them through. This is unaccetable in a modern society. I understand everyone has the choice to smoke but I also should have the choice to avoid it. P&O need to get their act together and address a situation that is clearly getting out of hand. Specific areas need to be marked for smoking and policed accordingly if only from a safety point of view. The greatest danger on a ship to life is fire. The more areas people smoke in the more likley something is going to happen.
Tours.
The tours over the last few years have got shorter in duration and more expensive. Oceana is a family ship. Most families want to go to the beach when on holiday. Thre are however very few beach tours organised by P&O. The ones that are only allow you 2 to 3 hours on the beach before herding you back on the bus and back to the ship by 1.30pm. If P&O are going to the trouble of arranging the bus to take us to the beach why cant they let us have most of the day there. We are not costing P&O anything by sitting there. However we are not on ship to be spending though. Most of the other tours have you back on the ship by lunctime. This was not the case a few years ago. You would be out most of the day for the same money. Shorter tours cost them less and if they charge the same then its more profit.
In previous years the coaches were all modern and very new. This year most of the coaches were of very poor quality. One coach leaked water and another the air conditioner was not working. It appears again that things are being done more on a budget but to the extent of a noticeable lack in quality.
Art Auction.
P&O do have some very nice art on board and some people do spend quite alot of money. In past years if you purchased a picture for say over £2000.00 you were given a bottle of champagne. Not this year. One passenger purchased quite a number of pictures over this amount a not a hint of a bottle. They used to do a framing service for your pictures all at one price. This has been stopped. They used to do an appraisal service but this again has been stopped. These services were always sold by P&O as enhancing you cruising experiance. Where has the enhancement gone.

I sat with one gentleman for a couple of hours who had been on 62 cruises so his opinion was to be trusted. He had made numerous complaints and as myself had seen a dratic reduction in the high standards that P&O had achieved as a matter of course on previuos years and on other ships. As I, he will not be cruising on Oceana again.

I also had time to talk to some staff members one of which gave me some interesting information. The ship comes out quite highly on the satisfaction survey. However most of the passengers on Oceana are first time cruisers so have nothing to compare it to. Most of the passengers who have cruised before rate it rather lower. Compare it to a land based holiday and it appears great. When you have had the quality P&O can do you will soon see that its not up to the mark.

In conclusion I have two fears:
All P&O ships have gone down the same route of cost cutting in order to maximise profits which would be a real shame as I have had nothing but great things to say about Oriana and Aurora. These have been my best holidays ever. I am already booked on Oriana next year but have to admit on being a bit worried.
The second fear is not mine but was mentioned to me by a fellow passenger who desribed the cruise as very "Benidorm". If this is the type of holiday I was looking for I would go to Benidorm and save a bundle of money.

If you are going to book on Oceana two good cabins are D226 and D228 as they have huge sloping windows about 5 feet sqaure and are at the front of the ship. Dead quiet and great for the views.

My advise though is book one of there other ships if you can.

David Hamman is a complete plonker. His review is a bunch of lies.
I was so nervous about going on the Oceana after reading Hamman's report. I can guarantee you he has been nowhere near this ship.

It is absolutely gorgeous, the food is the best you will find anywhere and the staff and services are outstanding.

The only way someone can be negative about this ship is if they are stupid, lying or an enourmous snob with no mates.


Cheers


Trevor

i had the greatest time ever on-board the oceana. me, my mam and friends travelled around the medittereanean
this year. All you people who think its boring and useless, fink again! all the crew was ever so friendly and helpful, it was luxurious!
the meals were sensational, as every meal was mouth watering.
also, the youth team were fabulous! they were ever so friendly.
i am quite proud on saying that i have travelled no the oceana as it is such a grand ship.
any of you having doubts about the oceana, think again because i would certainly be recommending it and be travelling on it again.

Returned home yesterday from the Iberian Interlude. This was our first ever cruise and will definitely NOT be our last on the Oceana......it was superb.
Having read the reviews on here, especially the recent lengthy one I was wondering what sort of holiday I was going to encounter, but all my worries were put aside from the moment we stepped on board this fabulous ship.
We chose this cruise as it was a day after my hubby celebrated his 40th birthday, so we booked a mini suite. B324 on Deck 10. It was fantastic. Our cabin steward was there every day twice a day for us. The cleanliness of the cabin was outstanding. Our bath and pool towels were changed daily (somtimes twice a day), in the evening we would return to find our bed turned down with a little chocolate on the pillow! The children slept in the sofa bed which again was made up every night and put away each day. They used to love coming back to see what display he had done with their cuddly toys!!!

We had second sitting in the Adriatic restaurant. The 6 course evening dinner could not be faulted. Our waiters were polite, friendly and sometimes a bit scatty which for us was not a problem at all. We had a lovely table seated by the window and on one evening we had a display from the dolphins at sea.

Kids Club...well where shall I start. Our children are 5 and 7 so they were able to attend The Hideout. The club is open from 9.00am - 10.30pm and has a host of activities. On arrival your children get a welcome book giving them details of everything on offer. Each day bought a different theme. There was a magic show, disco, mini olympics, face painiting, arts and crafts, quizzes (the list goes on). The club is open even when you are in port, however if you do have the children signed in at least 1 parent must stay on board. At 8.30pm they setle down to watch a movie on the tv. The staff are fantastic. There is a small soft play area and playstations. The children are perfectly safe, they cannot get out. You have to sign them in and out and list your location. Our children just loved it.

Drink prices are extremely fair, they do not rip you off. The food in other restaurants was just as good. Every time you have a buffet you have to sanitise your hands with the gel that is provided, (and you also do this when you get back on the ship if you have left for the day). The Plaza was always very busy and we tended not to eat there. Our favourite was Cafe Jardin.
They did the most delicious stonebaked pizzas and an array of salads and desserts. Chocoholics buffet was very busy but glad we went!!

We ventured into the casino. You can play 10p 20p and 50p machines or try your luck at roulette, poker, blackjack. No children allowed here.

One thing I do want to stress is that the Oceana IS a family ship, for those who cannot bear children whilst on holiday, there are 4 other ships to choose from from the P&O fleet. There are places on board that do not let the children venture to which is fair enough, however we were fortunate to only come across one child fearing passenger who made a catty remark, but hey!!

There is a library on board, internet room, gym, hair salon, beauty salon, 2 theatres, numerous bars.
We found the ships newspaper very informative.
The entertainment was brilliant. Pre dinner shows and Post dinner shows. Children were again made to feel welcome. All the staff which we had contact with were extemely courteous.

According to other passengers Oceana is quite a relaxed ship, formal nights were lovely. They do come and photograph you or you can choose to have formal portraits done outside in the atrium. They cost £12.95 but make a lovely souvenir. Also on our last night our waiters gave us the menus to keep which was a nice touch.

My only negative was that I imagined the pools to be a bit bigger, but it is not a criticism.

To summarise, this was a truly outstanding ship, wonderful staff, food, and entertainment.
We are hooked, and look forward to another cruise soon on Oceana.