Oceania Cruises Reviews
Thursday 9th Feb 2012
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Through the Panama Canal |
4 of 4 people found this review informative
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Reviewed By: Jeffery, Bracknell on 6th Feb 2010
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| Cruise Line: Oceania Cruises |
Times cruised before: 6-10 |
| Cruise Ship: Regatta |
Sailed:
January,
2010 |
| Destination:
Panama Canal
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Age: 56-65 |
| Cabin: Balcony |
Occasion: Annual/regular holiday |
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We have just returned from our second cruise with Oceania, confirming it as the line that suits us best. Their 3 identical ships take 684 passengers, most of which are returnees! Next year sees the launch of their big ship, Marina, for 1200 and although its early cruises are apparently selling well, nearly everyone we spoke to said they would stay with the smaller ships.
After a couple of days in Miami recovering from the UK snow, we boarded and set sail for Key West, so easy to explore, followed by 2 sea days before reaching Cartegena, Colombia and temperatures up in the 40C degrees. We then had a whole day transmitting the Panama Canal, then on to Costa Rica, 4 stops in Mexico including the Baja Peninsula and finally finishing at Long Beach, LA.
I highly recommend these ships to those who prefer quieter luxury. There are no children, no glitzy shows, endless photographers etc. Our fellow passengers were mainly American, over 100 Canadians and a smattering of Europeans. With a crew of 400 from 47 nationalities we were completely spoilt by their ever-cheerful attention to all details.
The food is absolute top quality. In addition to the Grand Dining Room, there are 2 speciality restaurants without any extra charge. The Polo Grill is outstanding, whole lobsters, 32oz steaks etc. We also enjoy eating on the Terrace. This is an open area at the stern, wonderful on warm evenings, with comfortable teak furniture and a first class buffet which is served on to your plates, not 'grab it yourself'.
The dress code for the Grand dining room is 'Country Club Casual'. Unfortunately this year, a few (American) males wore shorts, sandals and sloppy t-shirts which are clearly stated as not acceptable. I mentioned this on our halfway review questionnaire, and immediately received phone calls from the Maitre D aplogising and saying how embarrassing it was to stop people. However, it obviously struck a chord as we all had reminders of the dress code in our cabin and I did not see anyone else go in in shorts. I'm no snob, but with such fabulous food and surroundings I don't want to find myself next to hairy bare legs. Slacks and a polo shirt are surely not too much trouble in the evening.
Our veranda stateroom, though fairly small, was very comfortable, completely soundproof, and the balconies are quite private. 24hour room service is excellent and super efficient.
There are plenty of activities - bridge, talks, low-key nightly entertainment etc, but we don't need any of these. We made use of the library, the excellent walking/jogging deck and fitness centre and listening to the outstanding Polish string quartet.
This time we did 3 official tours. These are always quite expensive, but in small groups and well organised.
All in all, if you want luxury, peaceful surroundings and do not want to be part of a massive crowd, it is worth paying the higher prices for Oceania.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Everything, from room service to the world-class Polo Grill was first class standard. | | Entertainment |  |
| The Polish String Quartet were brilliant. 45 mins of them after dinner was sublime. We didn't bother with the magician, ilusionist etc - not our scene | | Shore Excursions |  |
| Our day excursion to the volcano in Costa Rica was very good value. We also did a mountain biking tour and the bikes were a bit doubtful!! | | Staff | |
| I couldn't begin to name them as all the Wait staff were brilliant. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| Quite a few, but as I said, we don't bother, we like time out on our balcony. | | Cabins | |
| Cabin bit on the small side, fabulously comfortable bed and always spotless. | | Overall Rating |  |
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