Cruise Reviews | Oriana World Cruise Sector 2008| Cruises.co.uk

Thursday 21st August 2008

The UK's largest cruise community and information site

Sitemap

Spirit of Adventure Cruises | Holland America Cruises | Yachts of Seaborne Cruises | Voyages of Discovery Cruises | Other Cruise Lines

Oriana World Cruise Sector 2008
Reviewed By: Turner, Stockport on 16th May 2008
Cruise Line: P&O Cruises	Times cruised before: 10+
Cruise Ship: Oriana	Sailed: January, 2008
Destination: World Cruise	Age: 56-65

We arrived at the port of Southampton on a cold, wintery day to join a two hour queue to board Oriana; however, passengers' spirits were generally high and we heard few complaints. After finally embarking, we received little attention from crew - it was very much a matter of finding your own way to your cabin. Having opted for a late offer for the Southampton to Singapore sector, only inside cabins had been available but we felt the variety of ports on the itinerary unmissable and the cabin would suffice for the five week duration. The vast majority of passengers were over 65; many booked a World Cruise annually and were ardent fans of P&O - though many seemed never to have travelled with any other cruise line for comparison. Oriana had undergone a recent re-fit and all the public rooms were well presented. Our cabin was comfortable, with plenty of storage. The biggest disappointment on board Oriana was the food: the buffet served in the Conservatory for both breakfast and lunch was unappetising and poorly presented- there was little effort to replenish empty dishes- I would liken it to a typical works canteen. Breakfast in the main restaurant was however good and we resorted to Tiffany's Bar for a sandwich at lunchtime but on a long cruise the choice there became repetitive and tedious. Evening dinner served in the Oriental Restaurant was unadventurous and typical mass catering standard. The newly introduced Gary Rhodes restaurant at the Curzon Room was our saviour - food and service were superb and well worth the £10-£15 cover charge. Plenty of daytime entertainment was offered on sea days including some interesting lectures and there was a good choice of bands or shows in the evening. The ports of call which included Rome, Dubai, Phuket, Singapore and the Suez Canal transit made the cruise overall very worthwhile but such a pity that P&O does not match the standards of service and cusine offered by its sister company Princess.
Quality of Food
Buffet breakfast and lunches very poor - avoided completely after first few days and ate in main restaurant.
Entertainment
Best show - Tom O'Connor. Best series of lectures - Concorde Captain.
Shore Excursions
Least enjoyable was tour to Pyramids in Cairo - long coach journey - squalid environment
Staff

Children's Facilities	n/a

Onboard Activities
Lots of interesting daytime lectures. Good port talks. Dancing lessons.
Cabins
Yes - good storage capacity/nice bed linen/reasonable bathroom (but no shampoo provided in bathrooms)
Overall Rating

Report this review

ASK A QUESTION

COMMENT ON THIS REVIEW

Opinion: Agree Comment by macro, reading (24 May 08 08:42) about this REVIEW.

The standard of food has gone down dramatically on P & O. I have since tried Sea Princess and have found the food fabulous. Their fish/lobster/king crab/steaks fresh, delicious and superb quality. Real Lobster, not bits with sauce in shell like on P & O. I am surprised there was a problem with Captain Reid he seemed very popular with both crew and passengers when I have sailed with him

ASK A QUESTION

COMMENT

Report this comment

Opinion: Agree Comment by Ayers, Weymouth (19 May 08 12:37) about this REVIEW.

I generally agree but the service on Oriana in the early days was so good that the Gary Rhodes Restaurant was unnecessary and in my opinion is only a con to extract more money from the passengers,it has also desecrated the beautiful Curzon Room. I felt that the entertainment staff were less committed than usual but this was probably the fault of the poor cruise directors. Captain Reid should be pensioned off and sent back to his sheep farm. It is the only time that I have heared a cheer go up when Captain Charlie Carr's voice came over the tannoy when he rejoined the ship in Durban

ASK A QUESTION

COMMENT

Report this comment