This isn't going to be a great review of the P&O Oceana I'm afraid so let me start my defending P&O a little first.
I'm a huge P&O fan.
I've cruised with many different cruise lines but I've sailed on more P&O ships than I have with any other brand and there's reason for that. They're a solid British brand with Southampton departures, no need for flights, cheap drinks and reasonable gratuities just to mention a few of the positives, (for the record my favourite P&O ships are the Aurora and the Arcadia).
The Oceana just wasn't for me though. Some of the points I'm going to bring up might be excused by the fact that I was only on a mini cruise, (20th Dec to Bruges), although as so many people use mini cruises as 'taster cruises' I've always thought they should be at their best rather than worst . The other things that happened might of just been bad timing and I'm sure there are many people out there who love the Oceana, but as I say, she just wasn't for me.
The P&O Oceana launched in 2000 so by modern cruise ship standards she's quite an old girl but P&O had put her in for a refurbishment on the 05th to the 20th Dec so mine was the first cruise after the refurb. and I was expecting big things..........
If some of these outdoor photos look a bit dull and grey please remember that they were taken in December, I'm sure she'd look better in the summer months.
As you can see in the picture above, (and just see in the pictures above that), there are some kind of disco lights right the way around the top deck. They caught my eye as they seemed so out of place.
What do you think?
Do you like them or would they be more suitable on an American ship? I thought they looked really out of place.
This is the Pennant bar, (which was closed in December), although I'm sure it would be fine in the summer months.
If the gym doesn't look very big it's because it was split over two rooms with this one containing all the running and cycling machines and the other room had all the weight lifting equipment.
This was the hair dressing salon, (as you can imagine they never get much business from me).
This was the gyms second room with all the rest of the equipment.
Now whilst I had several big complaints about the ship I have to say I did quite like the layout of the gym on the Oceana. If you just wanted a quiet run or cycle there's a room for you with fellow gym members whereas if you wanted to do some heavy lifting there's your own area for that as well.
As always the eponymous cruise ship art gallery - Whitewall galleries. I actually quite liked the position and layout of this gallery. Instead of the pictures being in your face it was quite subtle, making them look more like decorations rather than objects the ship wanted you to buy.
The casino was absolutely fine, fairly large and well stocked with both slot machines and gaming tables...............
although what's up with that carpet pattern!
What I thought was a good idea was that during the refurbishment they had combined the Winners bar with the Monte Carlo club casino and just renamed it Winners. It's a much bigger venue now giving you a big sense of space with plenty of seating and loads to see and do.
The main atrium. Considering I said I didn't really like the ship I was actually really impressed with the atrium - It's really clean and vibrant with loads going on, I was really impressed with it. There was also loads of seating spaces on the different decks where you could sit and 'people watch'. Although I've never been a big fan of these areas, (I've always thought the shops look better here), they were always busy with guests just relaxing and enjoying themselves.
Some more photos of the main atrium, this time showing some of the Christmas decorations they had up.
These are some of the public areas around the main atrium.
On the first night I went to Cafe Jardin, (the first time I'd ever really tried a speciality restaurant on P&O), and I have to say the food was great, (if you're a fan of Italian cooking). I really didn't like the location as it was spread out around the stair well in the middle of the ship so it was always quite noisy from underneath.
I can't fault the food though and loved the fact that when I ordered a Caesar salad they brought out a salad bar and tossed it in front of me.
OK, so far I think I've been quite complimentary towards the Oceana, so here's my problem with it - It didn't feel like anyone cared about it. There will be some more examples soon but one of the first things I noticed walking to my cabin, ( I used the stairs as one of the lifts wasn't working!), was that there were three or four leaks over the ship in different places on different decks.
One leak I could understand, but four or five? All in different parts of the ship?
A couple of quick pictures of the card room for the Bridge players out there.
The library was actually a decent size although the range of books wasn't massive, most of them being reference books.
This is Le Club - The main night club onboard. It was an alright size although I did feel that the L-shape of the room did separate people slightly.
These photos were of the Yacht and Compass - One of, if not my favourite bar onboard. It had a very traditional 'pub' feel to it of an evening with a nice atmosphere and friendly staff, it was also right next to the theatre making it easy to get to after a show.
The theatre - again, no real complaints here although some of the chairs were a bit threadbare. Not really a big deal I know but after the ship had just been re-furbished I did expect better.
These photos are of the Adriatic restaurant, one of the main dining restaurants onboard. It looked nice enough when I popped my head in but I can't really comment as I ate in the speciality restaurants on both nights so didn't really get a chance to experience it.
I noticed this broken table on the first day and it was still there two days later.
I know it sounds like I'm being petty with this but if I noticed this then a member of crew must of as well; but they were happy to leave it where it was. Although on the whole the ship seemed nice it did feel tired and a little dirty and it didn't seem like the crew cared about her at all - Just my opinion though, I'm sure a lot of others fell differently.
I realise it wasn't in use in the winter and I know you can't really see from this photo but this pool was filthy when you looked at it in person.
This was the sports court at the back of the ship. I know it probably doesn't get a lot of use in the winter months, especially on a mini cruise but surely the staff could have found somewhere better to store all this equipment?
Again these planks of wood sat there for the whole cruise. some of the problems I'm describing may well be because she'd just come for a refurb. but it would have been so easy for a member of staff to move these rather than leaving them lying about looking a mess.
A few more pictures of Cafe Jardin during the day so you could see what it was like when it wasn't so busy.
So that's the P&O Oceana then! What did you think? Have you sailed on her before?
Before the refurbishment? After it? Would you say my comments about her feeling tired and the staff not really caring are accurate or did you get a different impression from her?
Let me know what you think of her here..............
Happy cruising
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