My Oceania Marina ship visit, number 1 for cruising foodies?

Last week I made another pilgrimage down to Southampton (all of 5 miles) to look at an Oceania ship, Oceania Marina which is one of Oceania’s newest ships. As a 5 star premium brand I had reasonably high expectations but I wasn’t sure how much everything would be

Arrival hall at QE cruise terminal

to my taste. I think for a customer this would always be the acid test of any cruise experience as everyone is different and wants different things.
I was extremely pleased with what I saw on the ship and generally speaking I think the brand was right up my street in terms of its focus and ship design.
Oceania is very much a foodies experience, all speciality restaurants are included rather than having to pay endless supplements and cover charges (there is just a degustation/wine pairing restaurant La reserve and a private dining room Privee which have extra charges).

Privee private dining room

There is an award winning Asian restaurant, Ginger.  Jacques which is a French bistro which was designed art and all by Jacques Pepin. There is the Grand dining room which I dined at (described below) and Toscana an Italian restaurant, which is more Italian fine dining rather than just pizza and pasta and Polo Grill which is as the name suggests for all things grilled.

I am massively into my food having dabbled in cheffing through my teens and early twenties and would like to think I know good food from great. Quite honestly looking at the menus and food on offer plus trying out a few dishes in the main dining room I have to say the food is on the great side of things. I tried an interesting caviar and lobster starter and a Sea bass in a miso sauce along with a breathtakingly good caramel and chocolate dessert which melted in your mouth. This was topped up with petit-fours which were also delicious, so much so that one of the people on my table requested a doggy bag to take them home….

From a food

Jacques Bistro restaurant

side of things I would recommend it thoroughly and if you are the sort of person who isn’t keen on buffets and likes a la carte menus this would be the cruise line for you.

This is also not a formal experience, the speciality restaurants described above do have to be prebooked but there are no set formal nights and dress code generally is smart casual.

Everything else on the ship, as you would expect of a 5 star cruise line was top notch and the ship itself was intimate but not overcrowded. Top guest capacity of the Marina is around 2000 people but Oceania don’t necessarily aim to fill to capacity. They do this to ensure the right balance of staff to guests and the general ambiance onboard.

Alcoholic drinks are not included on Oceania but soft drinks, coffee and tea and juices are included as standard and drinks packages are available in the current offers they have on where you have a choice of drinks or onboard credit + free wifi and sometimes a cabin upgrade. Cabins and public areas are contemporary and modern in their design but not ultra modern and sterile or old fashioned and traditional.

All in all I would say Oceania is for people looking for a destination oriented, luxury cruise with a bespoke and high end

Main pool onboard Oceania Marina

food experience. It is not mass market in any sense of the world

Frankly the ship is up there with the best I have seen and absolutely somewhere I would feel very comfortable to be in public areas and cabins, it is all very elegant (and probably slightly opulent too) and there are all the touches you would expect of a small five star cruise ship.

Really though the defining thing for me about Oceania is the food and wine experience as it is a long way above mainstream lines.

It is not a six star experience but then price wise it usually reflects this, food wise it is exceptional however and the inclusions that come as standard are amazing

So for a destination and food focused cruise experience at sometimes just over a mainstream price I would highly recommend Oceania.