Hi,
Just got back from the cruise Southampton to Vigo,Lisbon,Cadiz,Canary Isles and Madeira and back to Southampton 13 Days. Felt I should give a little feedback.I compare to Thomson Destiny last year and expectation was to be of this cruise being a much upmarket ship
The embarkation went well with good organisation. First impressions of the ship were excellent when arriving from the holding area straight into the antrim,all brass and marble. We had our photos taken for the cruise card and were then left to find our own cabins although we were pointed to the lifts.
We had an inside cabin on A deck and found it to be very adequate and as big as most on other ships we had sailed in, complete with safe, tea/coffee and fridge. May I add this was kept spotless by our cabin steward.
We were on the new freedom dining,(we had tried to get 2nd sitting in the main dining room but that was full) however we found this new dining option worked very well,you needed to book your table daily from 7.30 in the morning for that day,most days it was sold out on the 8pm and 8.30pm sittings due to high demand by about noon,this showed how popular it was. This was a good way to meet different passengers each night and have a varied conversation rather than be with the same people for two weeks.
The food on the whole in the restaurant was quite good and always the option of a steak, salmon, or chicken if nothing took you're fancy.There was always somewhere to get food at any time,Excellent curries in the plaza at lunch, light snaks in the jardine buffet late evenings. Wine was anything from £12 upwards per bottle but you could also get a litre carraf for £14 which was quite allright.Service varied from good to poor some waiters worked well and others useless. The main staff were Indian/Goa and did not appear to be happy in there work like the Philipeano staff on previous ships.
Drinks were pub prices £2 for a can of Boddingtons/bottle of beer or larger and £2.25 for a pint of draught beer £2.50 a pint of draught larger. Most spirits about £2 and 75p for a small can of mixer. However in some of the bars it was sometimes difficult to taste any alcohol and on several occation we sent the drinks back to be replenished.We also found the drinks sevice on most occasions very slow.
The entertainment was available throughout the day with the usual deck games quizzes and bingo, golf driving nets and a simulator,lessons were available and games arranged by the pro at courses near to the ports, cost about £80 all in.
Evening entertainment were put on by a resident team in two impressive show lounges one which was set out like a theatre, they did quite a good job with the stage shows but only did about 5 different shows in 13 days as these were repeated the following day for those who missed.They also had a couple of celebrity act (all Comedians) only one TAFFY was quite good the others were very poor and found it hard to get any response from the audiance. The cruise director and his assistants had very little patter and appeared to straight laced.
Plenty of space on board for sun loungers although the stern got a little crowded when at sea due to the windy condition towards the front.
Children god luv em There were nearly 500 hundred on board (my fault for going during school holidays) the majority were ok but it was a little bit annoying to have many some only about 10-12 years old roaming the ship in groups and unsuppervised in bars/lifts/toilets into the small hours.
SUMMARY
Compared to Thomsons Destiny(Last Year)

1 Ship ..................Oceana 10...Destiny 8
2 Cabin.................Oceana 10...Destiny 8
3 Food...................Oceana 8.....Destiny 8
4 Drink..................Oceana 5.....Destiny 10
5 Entertainment......Oceana 5.....Destiny 9
6 Service...............Oceana 6.....Destiny 9
7 Friendliness.........Oceana 6.....Destiny 9
8 Cleanliness..........Oceana 9.....Destiny 8
9 Organisation........Oceana 9.....Destiny 8
10Value for Money..Oceana 7.....Destiny 9
11 Overall cruise.....Oceana 8.....Destiny 9

I have not commented on itinery as it was completly different from the previous year but it must be said it was a hard three days back from Madeira at sea whith poor weather.Think I might fly to the sun and cruise next year,especially if I can get a good deal again with Thomsons.
Hope this does not put you off P&O but does show that the more budget cruise company can do it just as well and better in some areas.
Kavmick

Thank you for your review Kavmick. It made interesting reading comparing the two ships.

I would be delighted if you would copy and paste your review for posterity into our Cruise Reviews site, link at top of the page.

luci

We're off on the Oceana for 14 nights from the 10th November 06 on the Calypso Isles cruise!

I've cruised for a week on the Thomson Spirit in the Red Sea and we have done a Nile cruise but I'm expecting this to be different again. After reading the reviews and forums I'm going to go (as I always do on an overseas holiday) with an open mind, but I suspect that I will enjoy it!

I'm really looking forward to it and I now need to do my homework as we prefer to do trips indpendently rather than pay over the odds for the organised ones....

Just one question to anyone who has been done this itinery.....how many formal nights are there in 2 weeks?
And as a girlie that likes dressing up, can I dress up on the smart casual nights too, or will I look overdressed and out of place?

Kay

When I cruised the Caribbean on a two week itinerary, we had four formal nights.

I think you will probably have the same, and then a number of informal and smart casual.

Enjoy your cruise, the ship is lovely!

Kath HT Admin

Another question.......

Are there likely to be many Americans doing this particular cruise?

Kay

Kay

Its good to know we are not the only ones that likes the girlie dressing up, think it goes back to the dressing up box as a child!! We were on a P & O cruise in March and have only cruised with P & O previously. As Kath said think you will find there are 4 formal nights during the 2 weeks and almost certainly one of them will be a Black & White night. They do say that the other ten nights on a Caribbean cruise are smart casual but our motto was "we don't do casual". We dressed up every night, but obviously not in full length formal. Trousers and any amount of sparkly tops/ shorter length dresses etc and plenty of bling!! You will definitely not be over dressed especially if you have opted for the formal dining which is an occasion every night so why not make the most of it.

We have found that its virtually all British passengers, think Princess line is where you get the American/British split.

With regard to the trips having looked at your ports of call dont think you will have any problems doing your own thing, there is a travel guide specifically for Caribbean Cruising by Insight Guides and we found it immensly useful, I found a copy in the local libray and just read up before hand and took notes of any relevant advice.

One trip we did book though was on Antiqua, think it would be diffcult to organise on the day and it does very much depend on what you like doing. its called Wet & Wild and you circumnavigate the island on a rib boat. It was exhilarating and great fun and worth every penny. We would consider booking another cruise that includes antiqua just to do it again.

I'm certain you will not be disappointed and will have the most brilliant holiday.
Regards
Helen.

Thanks Helen, that's really useful!

Another question for anyone out there, is about the dining arrangements...

We opted for the second sitting formal but were told we would be put 'on waiting.'
Now if that means that they are booked up for the 2nd sitting, I'm presuming that we will be allocated the early sitting, which will be far to early for us....after all I will need time to dress up!!! If thats what we are offered, can we change over to the freedom dining option instead?

Also does anyone know anything about the flights out of Gatwick (Barbados bound). All we know is that it will a plane and will be flying early in the morning on the Friday!!!!! Just wondered who the carrier was likely to be and then we can work out if we are likely to be cramped or not!!

Oh yes, just one more thing for now...its looks like the best option for money is to use USD on the islands, so is it best to take them with you or exchange sterling for dollars on board? Am I likely to need any of the local currency, eg East Caribb Dollar?

10 weeks on Friday.......still got some stuff to sort so that will make it go qucker!!

Hi Kayshaw, you are right re the waiting list. Your travel agent should be able to find out what number you are in the queue. Or it might even say on your confirmation invoice next to where it says Wait List.

The freedom dining is something that was introduced after I cruised so I am not sure whether you can change over once on board. However, we did eat in the Horizon a couple of times and paid a cover charge, which I considered well worth it. There are usually only about 20/25 people dining (al fresco) and you overlook the pool area. It was excellent for watching the shows as you got to keep your table for the night.
If you can, book it for the tropical night because it got really busy above decks on this night.

With regards to your flight from Gatwick. P&O usually charter their flights from Thomson or Thomas Cook. You can pay for premium upgrade so check it out with P & O, as unfortunately the leg room isnt that good. However, the transition from plane to ship in Barbados is very smooth and a coach is waiting on the tarmac as you dismbark to whisk you to port. Your suitcases will arrive separately at your cabin.

We took US Dollars with us and these were widely accepted in all ports, but if you wish to change to the local currency then it's easy enough to do on board, but be careful of the exchange rates
If you need any further advise just ask.

HTH

Kath HT Admin

Hi Kayshaw.
With regards to dining arragements we tried to get 2nd sitting when we did the canaries cruise on oceana but it was fully allocated.We went for FREEDOM instead of the early sitting.This entailed booking your evening meal each morning from 7.30 am. You could choose 18.00, 18.30 20.00 or 20.30. Or you need not book and just turn up but if no table was available they gave you a pager to let you know when a table was ready.We found that every day by lunch time the 8 pm and 8.30 pm was always fully booked. This arrangement suited us as you could be finished before the 2nd sitting clients and get best seats for the evening entertainment. There were four of us but each morning I booked us on a table for eight so we met mainly different passengers each night,although you saw many familiar faces in that area of the restuarant as they ate at the same time.
Go for the freedom dining you,ll enjoy it.
Keep an eye out for the stilton soaked in port it was excellent,it took us a few nights to cotton on ,we thought they were carrying a cake around.
Regards kavmick.

Hi Luci HT.
Cruise review posted as asked.
kavmick.

Many thanks kavmick.
luci

Kavmick,
Thanks for that.

So did you book for the freedom dining when booking your holiday or sort it out when you got there?

Do your cases take a time to reach your cabin? Just wondering how we sort out our first evening?

Kay

I'm guessing that the guys dress up in very loud beach shirts with their usual formal/informal trousers?? What about the girlies??? What should I aim for wearing??

8 weeks on Friday now.....

Kayshaw,
The embarkation went very smoothly from Southampton,both cases had arrived in our cabins within 90mins of getting on board.
As for the freedom dining that was booked during the purchase of the holiday.
Mind if you want to eat about 8pm or 8.30 pm you need to be at the restaurant first thing each morning to book your table for that evening.
Cheers kavmick.

The cruise starts off at Barbados, but I've yet to find out who we fly with and what time we fly etc. Just hope we get our luggage as smoothly as you did!!

We've booked the freedom dining option and I prepared for the booking ritual in the mornings!!!

Got my clothes more or less sorted although still wondering what to wear for the caribbean evening!

No more questions for now.........although I'm sure I'll think of something!!

Thanks

Kay

I've been looking through the excursions for out itinerary and it looks like Dominica might be a good option to sample a rain forest???

Has anyone had any experience of organised trips here or DIY trips that take in the sights???

Just 5 weeks to go now

Hi, Going on honeymoon November 24th 06 with P&O on the Carabbean Gold cruise visiting the likes of Aruba, Cozemel, Ochos Rios, Trinidad & few others I can't remember, has anyonebeen on this cruise & give me info on places to visit, excursions, beaches, currency used.

many thanks for any info given

There is a review on page 2 of this topic, but I think the ports are different from the ones you will be visiting. You may find some information by reading the reviews of this ship by clicking on Cruise Reviews at the top of the page.

luci

Hi again,

any tips on keeping the little blighters away! I've heard taking garlic capsules or vitamin b6 helps ?

Thanks