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Oceana

4 of 9 P & O ships

A large vessel of superior rating. Built in 2000 and refit in 2002. The Oceana carries a maximum of 2272 passengers in 1008 cabins, 410 of which have balconies with a further 193 having ocean views.19 cabins have wheelchair access and disabled facilities are good.

Cabins are medium in size and come with a fridge and plenty of storage space.

Entertainment on the Oceana is in two show lounges with a library and casino also onboard. Sporting facilities include a fitness centre, sauna, steam room, tennis, football and cricket.

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111 Reviews

Traveller Rating

  • Excellent
    64
  • Very Good
    25
  • Good
    12
  • Average
    6
  • Poor
    4

Review Overview

  • Cleanliness
  • Entertainment
  • Food
  • Service
Bob Dean
14 years 1 month ago
For 2 days thick brown water flowed from our cabin taps which reception reported was because they had flushed out the water tanks. The staff were not interested in offering us alternative arrangements - this was left to a fellow passenger who offered my wife and I use of her cabin facilities. Entertainment on board apart from the ship's entertainment staff was definitely 3rd class. We booked the speciality restaurant for our Ruby Wedding Anniversary celebration but on the day they cancelled the restaurant because the boat sprung a leak and the air conditioning was knocked out. We believe the boat set sail with a valve open and that sea water flooded the engine room and crew weren't prepared to go into the water to try and close the valve fearing electrocution! The food was generally of a good standard but certainly not on a par with Costa, Carnival or Princess lines. If you're looking for a luxury cruise this certainly isn't although the prices may suggest otherwise.
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Travel operator: Thomas Cook

Lewis
14 years 2 months ago
just to add iv been on lots of xmas cruises to the caribbean go on one the atmosphere is magical and grate for the kids and iv done 2 wold cruises with oriana and aroura oh my god no words can explain how grate it was and how nice the trip around the world was and how happy i was to have aroura and oriana as my home or 5 months or so ..just done ventura amazing, HUGE ship beautiful.
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Travel operator: p and o ventura

Recommended
Sue
14 years 2 months ago
Panama Canal
I have sailed with P & O on this ship several years ago and this is why I chose it again. However I was very disappointed with almost everything.
The ship looked tired and needed a thorough cleaning. The food was poor unlike the first time. I have to follow a special diet and this time no effort was put into it unlike the first time. This was so very good the last time I was on Oceana.
I found the cabin staff not to be very friendly unlike the first time also.
Roy Walker was on the first cruise as the comedian.. He was great, nice clean jokes and all very topical.. no I didn't say tropical. Sadly the entertainment also lacked vitality.
I definately wouldn't sail on this ship again.
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Travel operator: Bath Travel

Barbara
14 years 4 months ago
Had the best holiday ever.Ship & excursions were fantastic,staff were so friendly & not only do they remember your name,they also remember your drink.No problems ever with the sunbeds or restaurant seating.My only gripe was at the Cafe Jardin,I ordered Marco's Classic Spaghetti with Lobster,tomato & basil.No mention of cheese,so why was it included,I don't eat cheese,it was sent back.A second spaghetti was served which was floating in tinned plum tomato juice,had 2 basil leaves,overpowered with ginger & unstalked,unseeded,whole plum tomatoes......yuk! My husband ordered Coquille St.Jacques....had no scallops so they gave him 3 mussels instead.Come on Cafe Jardin get your act together,you were the only lapse in what was a near perfect holiday
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Travel operator: P&O Cruises

Recommended
Terry
14 years 6 months ago
Sailed on Oceana 14 nights Med.
The ship is very clean.
I do not recognize the ship from some of the recent comments. We were on Club Dining in the Adriatic Restaurant. The staff were excellent as was the food. I found that quantity was more than sufficient and some nights did not have all the courses as we were full!. The shows were very enjoyable the cast work very hard. We often go to the theatre (London Leeds York & Hull)so do have something to compare them with. All the staff on board were very pleasant and always spoke as they passed. All in all a great holiday. Looking forward to the next which will more than likely be with P&O.
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Travel operator: P&O

Recommended
Shirley
14 years 11 months ago
First timers to P&O, sailed many times on Ocean Village ships. We expected P&O to be superior to the Ocean Village ships, but I'm afraid to say we were extremely disappointed.

This was a 2 night cruise, to encouraged new cruisers to P&O. Thankgoodness it was only 2 nights.

Ship - is beautifully clean.

Cabin - was spotless.

Dining - Breakfast (Plaza) - same as hunt a sun bed on sea days, it's hunt a seat to sit down!! Plenty to choose from to eat though.



Evening Meals - FORGET Freedom Dining (Ligurian), this ship just CANNOT cope with the amount of people that wish this particular option (have noted other reviews say the same). It was like a cattle market at times outside the restuarant. They will supply you with a pager and send you off saying hopefully they can seat you in an HOUR!! and this was 8.45pm. after an hour they still don't have room and send you up to the Adriatic (pre booked restuarant). Waiters weren't impressed we were there late, we were being talked to like naughty kids, (2nd sitting started 9pm and we were sent there at 9.40pm), until we explained we were Freedom Diners. We still didn't feel they wanted us there. The portions are SMALL (but beautifully cooked), we had to ask for extra potatoes and vegtables each night!! Example: Small piece of pork with 2 roast potatoes and 4 extremely small carrots - I kid you not!! The next night was the same, we were sent up late again, 3 tiny rack of lamb, 2 roast potatoes and the same 4 carrots!!! Think you can understand us asking for more potatoes and vegtables!!

The Plaza also does evening meals but are specials - oriental and indian - if you like this type of food. Unfortunately this large restuarant was almost empty in the evenings as not many wanted this type of speciality. What a waste of a large area when the Freedom Dining (Ligurian) can't cope with demand.

Entertainment - Awful!! The 60's Show was diabolical, the singers couldn't hit their high notes, sang out of tune, and looked ridiculous in costumes of the time, wigs out of Just for Fun shops. Not what we expected from P&O. We've been told P&O put on West End type shows, I'm afraid there is no way you can call the 60 Show, West End material. Their saving grace was a young man singing and playing piano, Will Martin. But this lasted for only 45 minutes. No other entertainment except backing group in bars. All there was to do was sit in the bars drinking - which they want you to do - spending money!!

Waiting Staff - (dining and bars) many (not all) found it hard to smile whilst serving you. And many times it seemed to take forever for them to complete your order, we often thought they'd forgotten us. And we go OTT with the smiles and thank you's (typical british).

Shop Staff - Only can review on one lady, she needs to go on a course, to smile and welcome people, especially when asking her questions. We didn't bother to go back as she was so un-welcoming.

We expected to upgrade from Ocean Village to P&O, but I'm afraid to say P&O Oceana is a boring ship, we overheard lots of other cruisers saying the ship's atmosphere was dead. Lots of staff need to smile and be more welcoming, compared to the Ocean Village ships where I cannot say one member of the ships crew wasn't smiling and going out of their way to do everything and anything for you.

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Travel operator: gills travel

Dave Lomas
15 years ago
Having cruised before several times and with several other cruise lines, we decided to try P&O as we had not been with them before, there were six in our party, my wife and I, my sister and brother in law, and our freinds who decided to get married on board the ship, they hadn,t cruised before although the rest of us have.

We flew from Manchester air port,to Barbados, BEWARE ..! if you require any duty free tobbaco products or drinks,on the way out, you will have to get them at the airport, we made the mistake of waiting until we got on the plane, only to be told mid flight, that P&O,s policy does not allow for the purchase of these products on board the flight out.

Dont expect to get your holliday off to a refreshing start with a few drinks during the nine hour flight, as you will only be served one drink per customer per meal/snack service on board (three in total) throughout the flight, and you cannot purchase any extra,not wishing to sound desperate here,but nine hours is a long time, and having worked hard all year in order to pay for this holliday, a few drinks would have been nice, just to help relax and feel like our holliday had started.

The ship it,s self is lovely,cannot fault it, the cabbin was nice with a large double bed, dresser and adiquate storage space, it had a TV with programs on a loop but not that many, with most of the stations just pushing P&O advertising.

Most of the staff were freindly enough, but not all are as freindly as those on past cruises, infact we did encounter a few who were a bit offish.

We opted for freedom dinning, which for us with ours being a party of six was fine, but beware if you are traveling as a couple and require a table for two, you will encounter some frustration, as these tables are limited and you will begiven a pager to let you know when one is available, we met some couples who had got ready for dinner,and gone to eat, only to find that they had to go away and wait over a hour before they were called back.

The food on board was fantastic, and I cannot see why anyone could complain, other than they do not do any midnight, or even a gala buffet throughout the cruise, you can take late night snacks in the Piere Cardin but we found that the staff in there are a bit stand offish, and you just felt like thay diddn,t want you to be there, add to that the slow service even when quite, after the first couple of visits we tended not to bother.

The entertainment was naff..OK if you wanted a quiz every night in the yacht and anchor bar, or wanted to see the same guest artist ( no one really well known ) twice throughout your cruise, or sit in a stuffy theater to whach a show, which were not as good as those that we have seen on board other less expensive ships, where you can sit around a table, if you want daytime entertainment, forget it, it rarely happens, appart from the odd sale away party, then the staff will come around with drinks on trays, don,t think that these are complimentry, because as soon as you pick one up the payment slip comes out.

The drinks on board are about average in price to a normal pub, BUT..! if you drink shorts be prepaired to be ripped off with terrible mesures, my sister and I ordered a brandy on deck one evening, and it hardly touched the bottom of the glass, one waiter brought it and before we had even touched it, another one went to take it away, sounds farcical but it,s true, I thought it was just us until we started talking to other passengers, in the end many were buying a bottle at the first stop, taking it on board and then taking their own out with them in small bottles or flasks, not because they were being tight fisted, but just in order to have a decent measure in their glass.

There is an internet room on board, sounds good, keep in touch, check your Emails etc...Be prepaired to pay up to 30p per minute.

Over all this is the only cruise that we have been on where we felt we were being fleeced all the time, and with nine days at sea out of the fourteen, it soon became noticable, we have never felt this before, we are booking another cruise in the next few weeks but not with P&O ...

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Travel operator: Thompson

Liz
15 years 1 month ago
Hi there all I can say is what an excellent holiday we all had on Oceana and also Ventura and now going back on the Oceana for a 3rd that is how good this cruise company are. Cannot believe some of the comments people have written we could find no fault at all from start to end and will continue to travel in the future..All I can say is GOOD OLD P&O dont ever change
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Travel operator: P & O

Recommended
15 years 2 months ago
SHIP CLEANLINESS.I have to say the ship was kept in good condition on a day to day basis.

SHIP FOOD. we found the food on ship very good.the plaza buffet (major design fault where food is served,way to small for the amount of people,eat breakfast before 8am to beat the rush.)
main restaurant,adriatic was good(club dining 2nd sitting)
cafe jardine,good.

STAFF. staff were recruited from mainly india & pakistan,were ok,on previous cruises we found philippinos more cheerful & entertaining.

ENTERTAINMENT.the onboard entertainment crew looked on the whole very complacement,it was very average.example- two sailaway parties both exactly the same,in format & music.


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Travel operator: p&o

Recommended
15 years 2 months ago
OCEANA.FRI. 9TH JAN. 2009 E901 CARIBBEAN.
FRIDAY.
departed leeds & bradford 45 mins late to manchester to refuel,due to the runway at leeds being to short for the aircraft,if the aircraft had a full payoad it was unable to take off at leeds.1 hour at manchester for topping up on fuel.
arrived on ship around 50-30pm friday.check in was very good no problems.early night.

SAT 10th jan.
sea day,get up early for a sun bed passengers do get up early with their towels & books & lay them on the beds.

SUN. 11th. jan
arrived sun at curacao,my wifes birthday so we pre booked a day at the aquarium & private beach,about 15 mins from port.quite a good day,visitors encouraged to feed sting rays,pick up star fish,sea lion show,dolphin show very good,nice few hours spent.onto the beach.general public are allowed onto the beach at a cost of $3,$5 sunbed.nice beach & swimming.

MON.12th jan.
arrived in aruba,had a walk round town very nice to.went to the bus station,opposite the port over the road,bus to EAGLE BEACH $4.60 return pp.all sunbeds belong to the hotels,take a towel.two beach bars,facilities are in the hotels over the road from the beach.we decided after a while to walk along 1hr to the next complex for a drink.beach quite steep into the water.

TUES.13th JAN SEA DAY.

WED. 14th JAN SEA DAY.
again if you want a sun bed and no hassle breakfast get up early.

THURS. 15th JAN.
costa maya, rain in the morning just went as far as the terminal. a terminal with a difference,it has a swimming pool ,4 bars,loads of shops.

FRI. 16th jan.
cozumel. could not dock due to high winds.

SAT. 17th jan.
grand caymen.went to 7 mile beach opposite the marriot hotel by minibus "geckos bar" $10 pp return (included rum punch drink)sunbeds $5 bottle of water with bed.live reggie music on the beach.beach steep into
sea.

SUN. 18th jan.
ocho rios. dunne river falls for the morning,a must do walk up the water.you have guldes that take you up.1 hr to walk up.
this is what you will be asked to pay if you want it.
$40 for the video.
$8 for a photo.
$7 shoe hire.
you can leave camera with your bus guide.
2 tips for the guides,turn nasty if you dont pay.
onto shaw park botanical gardens.very nice.same format 2 guides with video camera & talk.more tips if you want to pay.
very good day.

MON.19th. jan.
sea day.

TUES. 20th jan.
tortola. went to cane garden bay by taxi bus.$6 pp one way.this was my favourite day.typical carribean day.superb bay,5 star beach,great for young families.
$5 sunbeds.$3 carib lager on the beach.
beach bars. sat there with feet up on the beach bar watching the world go by,reggie music in the back ground.so.so laid back.dont have to get the same bus back,you agree a time back with the driver,he wants a full bus back,you can go back later if you want.

WED. 21st jan.
st.maarten. take some dollars.great for shopping full of americans,gret bars,good beach.catch ferry from port $6 return all day.given wrist band.$2 carib lager.

THURS.22nd jan.
st. lucia. booked on a cattermeran in the morning sailed up to the pitons 4 hrs. and into a bay for a swim. rum punch and a bit of a dance on the way back.superb morning,looked quite funny people staggering up the gangway onto the ship at 1-30pm in the afternoon.

FRI.23rd jan.
leave rooms by 9-0am.




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Travel operator: p&o

Recommended

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