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Wonderful Cruise on Oceana
Reviewed By: Coleman, Eastleigh on 30th Aug 2008
Cruise Line: P&O Cruises	Times cruised before: 1-2
Cruise Ship: Oceana	Sailed: July, 2008
Destination: Canaries	Age: 46-55

My family have recently returned from a 2 week cruise of the Canaries. There were 7 of us in total varying in age from 14 to 83. We had booked outside cabins on E deck and a balcony cabin on B and found all 3 cabins to be spacious & spotless (and they remained that way throughout the cruise thanks to the cabin stewards (Jocelyn & Edward). We had opted for the Freedom dining and as it suited us to eat early every evening we had no wait time at all, although we did see queues when leaving the restaurant each evening. The food was varied and beautifully presented. and the waiters very attentive. Because we choose to eat early each evening on most occasions we were able to choose the same table. We celebrated my daughter’s birthday whilst at sea and she was delighted by her cake and having all the servers sing to her (she was also very pleased with the birthday card and chocolates from the captain that she found in the cabin later) The entertainment was mixed and there was definitely something for everyone. My niece and daughter had a wonderful time in the teenagers club where they had a very varied programme. The comedienne was good as were the singers and dancers (were do they get there energy). We watched Movies, went to seminars used the Library. Sometimes when I recalled what we had done each day I was amazed at how much we managed to fit in. A couple of weeks before the cruise we had decided to take a wheelchair with us for use on shore excursions for my father and had notified P & O of our intentions. We were pleasantly surprised when we booked excursions which included my father to find that when we boarded the coach seats had automatically been reserved for him at the front. How efficient is that? The 4 excursions we took were well organised and the guides very descriptive and helpful. I can’t thank the staff enough for the consideration they showed in helping my father in his wheelchair on and off the ship. Going it alone in Maderia we found the cable car (fabulous views) and basket ride/taxi and I would definitely agree with previous comments that it is cheaper to do things yourself if you are a group of 4 - In Lanzarote we had left it too late to book an excursion so took a taxi to ‘Fire Mountain’- negotiating a price and duration first which worked out the same as the tour the downside was that driver knew no English and my Spanish such as it is had completely deserted me. He did stop at a vineyard and church so was definitely trying to give us our moneys worth. All in all we had a wonderful time and even my daughter who had been anti cruising before we went enjoyed herself immensely a definite thumb up to P & O. We are already trying to decide which cruise to take next.
Quality of Food
The quality of all the food in the Ligurian restaurant was superb as there were 7 of us I think we can safely say we covered nearly everything. We aslo ate in the Plaza Buffet & Cafe Jardin during the day and couldn't fault anything.
Entertainment
We went to most of the shows and enjoyed all of them
Shore Excursions
Between us we went on 4 excursions Maderia, Tenerife Aqu Park in Praia Da Rocha, Vigo all were well organised, comfy coaches and very informative
Staff
To be honest they all worked so hard at making out holiday special I couldn't pick any one person specificaly. My mum though fell in love with Jo from the entertainments department because she was so funny.
Children's Facilities
14 year old niece and 15 year old daughter loved the teenagers club.
Onboard Activities
Only critisim here is that there were too many things that clashed with each other...... just no pleasing some people is there? :^)
Cabins
Definately
Overall Rating