Oceania Cruises Reviews
Thursday 9th Feb 2012
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Oceania Magic |
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Reviewed By: Waite, Washington on 3rd Nov 2009
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| Cruise Line: Oceania Cruises |
Times cruised before: 0 |
| Cruise Ship: Insignia |
Sailed:
September,
2009 |
| Destination:
Mediterranean
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Age: 56-65 |
| Cabin: Outside |
Occasion: Wedding anniversary |
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This was our first cruise and as it was for our 40th wedding anniversary I researched a number of cruise lines and ships. I opted for Oceania as all the reviews I had read were good ones. I chose a mid sized ship as I hate crowds and queuing and wasn't disappointed.
We arrived at the cruise terminal in Piraeus and our bags were taken from us immediately, no queue in contrast to the other ship docked there with huge queues boarding at the same time as we were. We proceeded into the terminal and were welcomed by friendly Oceania staff and completed a medical questionnaire checking we had no flu or other virus symptoms before going through security and boarding the ship. At check in there was no queue either, filled in the documents and then we were guided straight to the Terrace Restaurant for a delicious lunch.
We had chosen a stateroom (as they call them, I’d call them cabins) with a window so I could see where we were every morning. I didn’t choose a balcony as I didn’t think we’d be spending much time in the room and I was right, we didn’t. The rooms were not large but perfectly adequate for the time we spent in them and they were well designed and very clean. There was sufficient hanging space, drawers and storage space, a safe in one of the cupboards, a 2 seater settee, glass coffee table, LCD TV and DVD player. Nice extra touches were bathrobes, slippers, an Oceania umbrella, bottle opener, second hairdryer and even a shoe horn. There was a huge mirror covering most of one of the walls which created an impression of space and light. The bed was huge and it was so comfortable. Pillows were fabulous too!
The shower area was small but OK for us and the toiletries, shampoo, shower gel, conditioner and body lotion were replaced as you used them. There was a hairdryer and a washing line over the shower if you want to hang up things to dry. The room steward was great, very friendly and efficient.
There was a small laundry room, you paid for tokens and they dispensed washing powder etc. Use of the irons was free. I found it was best to use this room late morning after most people had gone ashore.
The food was fabulous in every restaurant, everything was either cooked to order in the restaurants with waiter service or cooked in very small amounts in the Terrace café, so food was very fresh. Bread, croissants, pizzas, cakes, puddings, ice creams were prepared fresh and there were no pre-packed foods and salads that you apparently get on some cruise ships. As a non meat eater I have to admit I have never had so much choice of food in any restaurant I’ve ever eaten in. Those who ate meat had a massive choice including huge steaks! I appreciated the constant filling of our glasses with iced water and I never once had to go for coffee myself, they were always filling up your cup. One nice touch we found was that the chef in the Terrace café came out every night to chat to guests. One evening very early in the cruise I asked whether they ever had curry on the menu and he said it would be on the next evening for me. It was! There were no additional charges for the speciality restaurants although you did have to book these. The Grand Restaurant (it was very grand) was waiter service, it needed no bookings and you could eat there at every meal if you wished. However I preferred the Terrace café where you could eat outside morning, lunchtime and evening, weather permitting. It was buffet service (I love to sample small selections of different foods and the staff served food to you from the buffet complete with gloves, so it was very hygienic.! There were reduced sugar puddings and biscuits at every meal and the selection of fresh fruit at breakfast was amazing. I developed a serious addiction to dipping fruit pieces into the chocolate fountain available every evening!
Dress was smart casual which in these days of limited baggage allowances makes good sense. There’s also a café out on deck where you can get grills, paninis, burgers, salads, ice cream etc. We went for afternoon tea in the lounge a few times which was a great experience. The cakes and scones were absolutely delicious, all fresh baked. The drinks were expensive as most cruise lines are but as we are not great drinkers we appreciated the free smoothies, (I’d call them slush drinks) iced tea and cappuccino. There were no queues in any restaurants for food or tables, there seems to be more than enough tables for guests at every meal.
We didn’t take any of the organised trips as they were very expensive and we do prefer to do our own thing so we walked into the ports if a bus wasn’t available.
There’s a small casino and entertainment was low key most nights with an excellent string quartet and a piano player in the lounges. There were some shows which were fine, not the West End type but there were a couple of excellent singers and quite a good illusionist. There were discos and parties after the shows which we didn’t bother with.
The gym is a reasonable size for a small ship but the pool is very small. The deck area is huge and there was never a problem getting a sun lounger. These were excellent quality with thick mattresses and lovely white terry towelling covers. There was also a walking track on the top deck which lots of people used.
Getting on and off the ship at the ports was not a problem, we never bothered with the ticket system for tenders, just waited until they opened it up to everyone. As it’s not a huge ship it could dock in many of the ports we visited. Only the smaller Greek islands needed tenders.
One thing I appreciated as a non smoker was that smoking is restricted to limited open places and there is no smoking in cabins, theatre, casino or on balconies.
The majority of guests seem to be American but we met quite a few Canadians, Australians and British people. Everyone was very well mannered and friendly.
Probably the best thing about the ship is its crew. They were fabulous! There were about a hundred different nationalities but every single one without exception was polite and very friendly. Some had a fantastic sense of humour and had you in stitches, they seemed to be having a great time too.
Disembarkation was fine and luggage collection was speedy. We used the Oceania bus to Rome airport which was fine.
It wasn’t a cheap holiday but it was worth every penny.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| | Entertainment |  |
| Hard to choose the most enjoyable as it was all very good. Perhaps the most memorable was Sian the lovely Deputy Cruise Director who was a wonderful singer and pianist. There was nothing we didn't enjoy. | | Shore Excursions | n/a |
| | Staff | |
| They were all excellent so it's hard to single one out. A very nice touch was the chef in The Terrace Restaurant Kosala (apologies if this isn't correct) he came out most nights to talk to guests. A really lovely man. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| Children are allowed on board but there are no facilities. | | Onboard Activities | n/a |
| Didn't get involved in anything. | | Cabins | |
| They were exactly as described. The beds and pillows were fantastic! | | Overall Rating | |
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