Oceania cruises remains one of my favorite cruise lines. We like that the ship isn't massive. While we like kids (and we spotted a few), the cruise line doesn't cater to families. The kids we were around were all very well behaved. The crew is so accommodating and pleasant. The ship is spotless. The food is delicious! I appreciate that Oceania no longer hands out bottled water at each port. Instead, an aluminum water bottle is in each cabin to fill with their filtered water. This is more eco friendly. Dinner portions aren't huge, so there's less food waste. There's a wide variety of foods to satisfy anyone's palate. The spa is lovely-- serene and spotless. The crew that handles the tenders are efficient and pay special attention to passengers with disabilities (I'm one of them). We will definitely return on one of their ships again!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation in Belfast was impressively quick and courteous
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
We ended up preferring the Terrace Cafe over the Main Dining Room. We appreciated the wide variety of dishes, the salad bar and the grill. All the grilled lobster you want! Our favorite specialty restaurant turned out to be Red Ginger. One of our highlights was the daily High Tea at 4:00pm. The scones, sandwiches and petite desserts were lovely, as well as the Chamber Music.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We couldn't avail ourselves of outdoor activities due to the weather on the North Atlantic. We hit some pretty hard gale winds, overcast weather and rain. We were okay with that, as we expected that.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We were surprised at how good the entertain was! The singers/dancers were really talented. Their costumes were beautiful. The magician/comedian was very entertaining. The shows were only 45 minutes long. They started, promptly, at 9:00pm and ended at 9:45pm.
Children's Programs
No children on board! Not what Oceania caters to.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The reason we love Oceania is that the staff members are so friendly. I lost count of how many times I was called "ma'am' in such a respectful way. We made a point of learning their names and they appreciated that.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
This ship is spotless! I have no complaints whatsover.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We decided to downgrade, for this cruise, from a Penthouse Suite to a Concierge Veranda. While smaller, we found the cabin to be really comfortable. Your stewards make all the difference, and ours were absolutely delightful. We had a bathtub and shower. While smaller than a Penthouse, the bathroom was just fine. Our beds were so comfortable! We rarely used the balcony, because of the high winds. We were fairly close to the free laundromat and the concierge lounge.
Ship tip
Find out how many ports require you to tender. The North Atlantic can be rough. We tendered into quite a few of the ports. One of the days, the sea was so rough, that the ride was definitely a white knuckle trip!
We spent two nights in Belfast and loved every bit of it. We took a bus tour to the Giants Causeway (a must) with a stop at Dark Hedges (for Game of throne fans). We ended the tour with a visit to the Titanic Museum. One of the best museums we've every visitd!
The disadvantage of a cruise tour, is that you don't have enough time to truly explore. Most of the tours via Oceania were sold out, so we got a four hour bus tour in the afternoon. Our tour guide was fabulous, but we didn't get time to walk around and explore. We got an overview of the city, which looked nice. The tender ride was something else! The seas were rolling and it was a rough tide back to the ship!
Since the tour we wanted were sold out, we walked around this charming town. The cobblestones streets and shops were lovely. It was cold and raining, so our visit was only a couple of hours.
We took the ships tour to see a Sheep Dog Demonstration. We had a terrific guide and bus driver. The narrow roads took some skills, and the scenery was gorgeous. It rained, of course!
It was cold and rainy, as we tendered ashore. Charming town, but we ended up exploring for a couple of hours and went back to the ship. Again, the ship's tours were sold out.
Oh, whoa, another tender ashore. Cold and rainy, of course. We explored the town, that was charming. We're not shoppers, so we returned back to our warm and dry ship.
I loved Edinburgh. We were happy that we bought a Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour (again, all ship tours were sold out). We got an overview of the city so we could decide where to explore. We got off to explore the Rose District (lots of pubs) where we enjoyed a delicious lunch at a local pub. Yes, my husband tried the Haggis and he loved it.
We got to dock here, as well! A short walk to the train station, we were greeted by friendly people who assisted us in navigating how to buy tickets and where to get off to visit the downtown area. It was a short ride, where we ended up smack dab in the middle of the city. We decide to repeat our good fortunate in Edinburgh, and got a Hop On Hop Off Bus tour. Great decision! We took the one hour bus tour, and then prowled around near where the subway train station is. I was impressed with all the bridges, along the river.
We were so impressed with how efficient disembarkation was. When it was our turn to leave the ship, things went smoothly. Our bags were easily found and we were directed to the bus that would take us to Heathrow Airport.
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