Notes from Oriana British Isles August 2016

[Gill W]

Apologises in advance if some notes are in the present tense and some in the past, as I wrote some on board and others at home

Oriana - Round Britain- 21st August 2016 - 2nd September 2016

I haven't done a full diary for this cruise, but instead made a few comments throughout the voyage

Embarkation

We embarked at the Mayflower terminal. Compared to my experience there in February when we boarded Oceana, this was a complete breeze.

We arrived a little earlier than planned, just after 12.30pm, showed our tickets to the people at the desk, and were directed immediately to check in.


However, after check in, they weren't quite ready to board us, so we were directed to wait for the announcement.

The Ligurians and the suite people behind the gold rope were called at about 12.45pm. Then at just before 1pm the Baltics were called to embark. This was us, our first (and if the goalposts move, maybe our last) as Baltic tier members. Caribbean tier cruisers were shortly behind us

So, from arrival to curly sandwich lunch in 30 minutes. That's pretty good in my book. Back in February the terminal had been heaving with people. This time it was quieter. Maybe people are learning to adhere to their given check in times.


The cabin

Our cabin was one of the smaller outside cabins on C deck, towards the front of the ship.

The bed is situated under the window. In order to maximise floor space we had the beds set up in twin formation. But we were pleased that the cabin had room for a small settee.

The bathroom is bigger than average - it is equipped with a bath with shower over, rather than just a shower cubicle. Wardrobe and drawer space is quite limited. We had cut down our packing quite a lot this time, and only just had enough room for our clothes. Some of the furniture is a bit worn around the edges, and I noticed a rust patch on the metal door frame in the bathroom. But this sort of thing will be sorted out during the refit.

However, the cabin was clean, and our cabin steward had always made up our room by the time we got back from breakfast.

[Gill W]

The ship

The last and only time we had been on Oriana was in 2007. We have avoided Oriana since then, as, at the time, it was the least favourite ship that we'd been on

This Round Britain cruise was an itinerary that we liked the look of, so we thought we'd give Oriana another go, and I'm very pleased that we did.

After experiencing the larger ships that have come into service, it has made me appreciate much more the medium sized, well designed Oriana. The public areas seem to flow, and and are easily assessable without taking wrong turnings or disappearing into dead ends. The three staircases and an atrium staircase also make the ship easy to navigate. I really appreciated the wide teak promenade deck, with plenty of room for both walkers and people who wanted to relax in deck chairs and recliners. The deck games are situated elsewhere, which enhanced even more the feeling of open space.

By modern standards, retail space is limited, but it seemed as if there were more public rooms, so there was always somewhere to sit.

We were in the rear Oriental dining room, as we had opted for Club dining. We were very pleased to have been allocated our choice of a table for two on 1st sitting. We had been in that restaurant on our last Oriana cruise, and I think the 'judder' has got worse since then.

From what I had read, I expected Oriana to be in a poor state of repair. To be honest, I thought she was in a much better state that I had imagined, better than Oceana was in when we sailed in February.

Yes, if you look closely, some things are worn and and there is a bit of rust here and there, but overall, she's in a pretty good state of repair. The upcoming refit will doubtless enhance her even more, and I would definitely choose to sail on her again.

[Gill W]

Food

Compared to our cruise on Oceana in February, I felt that the quality of food was much better. In February, the sirloin steak served in the main dining room was quite tough, but this time it was much more tender.

It was still the same menu, but I was told that the menus will be changing soon, and the always available chicken and salmon will be returning.

We also tried the Beach House and Sindhu, both excellent as ever.

I felt The Conservatory had a more limited choice of food than the other ships, but the serving area is quite small.

We never bothered with Al Fresco. It seemed busy every time we went past, and the day time menu didn’t really appeal either.

With regard to my no salt special diet. On the first evening I ordered the sirloin steak. It was served with plain potatoes and vegetables and a pot of brown coloured generic special diet dipping sauce, rather than chips, tomatoes and mushrooms. This is a bad sign, in my experience, as it means they’ll serve everything really plain.

So, I explained to my head waiter that what I would like is the dish as described on the menu, with all the accompanying vegetables and sauce..... just without the salt.

To be fair, I got some very good meals to my liking, but if I slacked off emphasising what I wanted, then it’d drift back to the plain veg. To be honest, it was quite hard work, and I always felt a bit uncertain about what I was going to end up with.

As food is ordered 24 hours in advance, it gives them time to prepare sauces in advance or make pastry without salt. (I didn’t get the Beef Wellington that I ordered, as the pastry has salt in. I let them off, as they gave me a premium piece of beef instead and it was lovely) Perhaps I expect too much, but they managed it on my first special diet cruise on Arcadia, but I’ve never experienced this since. Perhaps there’s fewer chefs in the kitchen now.

I eat as little salt as possible to control my Meniere’s Disease. But I’ve been completely well for two years and allow myself some latitude now. So I’m seriously thinking of de-registering my dietary requirement, and controlling what I eat myself. I think this will be do-able, especially with the chicken and salmon coming back. If there was nothing on the MDR that was suitable I would go to the buffet. It’ll give me much more freedom to come and go as I please, and I’ll find it less work to do it that way.

But, apart from this, the dining was a good experience.



Passengers

This cruise probably had the highest average age of any cruise that I’ve been on. The average age was probably in the low 70’s. I’ve read before that the British Isles cruise attract a more mature age group due to wanting to stay close to home, and this would appear to be true.

Figures I gleaned –

222 new to P&O
139 Baltic and Ligurians
240 Caribbeans

For those interested in dress codes – the formal nights were almost 100% adhered to. Just noticed 4 (older) people in jeans and trainers in the theatre one formal night.

Generally, everyone seemed happy enough, but they were on a much loved ship, so there was nothing much to moan about !


More to follow

[Kenmo1]

Looking forward to the next part, Gill.

We were on Oriana back at the end of May and came away at the end feeling very surprised at how much we had enjoyed Oriana. She may be one of the oldest ships in the PO fleet but she has a lovely atmosphere.

Maureen.

[barney]

Agree Maureen.

We both like Oriana very much.

Having said that, we quite like them all in their own way.
It's just nice to be on holiday.

Thanks for the review Gill.
Very interesting

[Manoverboard]

We booked a round Britain cruise, on Artemis ( ? ) some years ago but unfortunately we had to cancel it, tis one for us to do therefore and ideally on Adonia.

The itinerary for these cruises varies a great deal so it will be interesting to discover where you, and Oriana, went on yours.

Awaiting the next bit ...

[qbman1]

Really interesting, Gill. Thanks for posting. Your notes on the ship are especially interesting as we are on the old girl at Christmas, just after the re-fit.

We love the Round Britain cruises, having done 3 in the past 4 years (one on Arcadia and 2 on good old Adonia) but I agree with you about the average age. I reckon people think it they have a problem, they can just get off and hop on a train home !! We did once share a table with a couple from Merseyside who lived just 10 miles from the port of Liverpool and they popped home to do some washing the day we docked there !!

[Gill W]

Really interesting, Gill. Thanks for posting. Your notes on the ship are especially interesting as we are on the old girl at Christmas, just after the re-fit.

We love the Round Britain cruises, having done 3 in the past 4 years (one on Arcadia and 2 on good old Adonia) but I agree with you about the average age. I reckon people think it they have a problem, they can just get off and hop on a train home !! We did once share a table with a couple from Merseyside who lived just 10 miles from the port of Liverpool and they popped home to do some washing the day we docked there !!

Some of the smaller cruise ships dock at Greenwich. If I was on one of those, I might be tempted to hop on the train to see if my house was ok, but I'd leave the washing!

We booked a round Britain cruise, on Artemis ( ? ) some years ago but unfortunately we had to cancel it, tis one for us to do therefore and ideally on Adonia.

The itinerary for these cruises varies a great deal so it will be interesting to discover where you, and Oriana, went on yours.

Awaiting the next bit ...

We did our previous Round Britain cruise on Artemis, and this time we had quite a few different ports.

I keep hoping Adonia will return, but there seems to be no sign yet

[Gill W]

Ports

This was a port intensive cruise, with 8 ports over the 12 days. Three were tender ports, which is always a risk, but we were blessed with decent weather, so everything went to plan

St Peter Port.

Our first time here, we were due to visit on Artemis in 2009, but couldn’t tender. We walked from the tender point round to Castle Cornet and looked round this interesting castle

Ringaskiddy

This was a replacement for Cobh. There is nothing much there, so we did an excursion to Blarney Castle. We went up to look at the kissing of the Blarney Stone, but didn’t do it ourselves. What with my husband’s bad back and me at risk from vertigo, we decided against it. The castle grounds were lovely, I would have liked to have spent more time there. We went to the Beach House that evening, and we sailed out past Cobh, and noticed that it was old Artemis on our berth, under her new name of Artania.

Dublin

We’ve been here several times before. We spent time walking in the city, particularly in the Trinity College area. There are massive road works going on at the moment, due to them installing a tram system

Belfast.

This was the main reason for doing the cruise as we wished to visit Titanic Belfast. We decided to do a P & O Excursion, as we also wanted to see a bit more of the city. We were driven down the Falls Road and Shankill Road, which was astonishing to me, having grown up in the late 60s and early 70s, when the troubles were at their height. Also, very sobering to see that many of the big fences are still in place. Titanic Belfast itself is an exceptional attraction, well worth a visit.

Stornoway, Isle of Lewis

This was another tender port. It’s a small town and we had a wander round and then walked over to Lews Castle. We didn’t go into the castle but anyone is free to roam the grounds. We also spent a lot of time watching the seals in the inner harbour

Kirkwall, Orkney Islands

We were berthed just outside the main town, and there was a free bendy bus shuttle into town. It was a 5 minute ride, although it is walk able if you want. We visited the Earls House and the Bishops House. Both are Historic Scotland properties, but as we had our English Heritage cards, we got in for free.

Portree, Isle of Skye.

Another tender port, and Oriana’s maiden call. We did an excursion to the Eilean Donan Castle on the mainland, so went over the Skye Bridge. Eilean Donan is a particularly beautiful castle, approached by an old bridge. It once was a McKenzie stronghold, and as my great grandmother was a McKenzie from the highlands, I was keen to see my ancestral home. I have to say I loved the Highland scenery and felt quite at home

Greenock

We have visited this port before, and this time did a panoramic loch tour. We stopped off at Luss so we were able to stand on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. We saw lots of other lochs and scenery, and although I enjoyed it, another time I’d do a tour which didn’t include so much sitting in the coach.

Overall, I thought the ports were excellent. We have so much in our own country, and someone who lives in the south like me, it’s a great way to see the northern part of our island

Entertainment

As this was such a port intensive cruise, there wasn’t much in the way of day time entertainment. It was probably just as well, as the entertainment team seems to get smaller each cruise.

There was a very good troupe of Headliners on board, but it was the same old shows of course. I preferred their shows in the Theatre. The two shows in the lounge seemed very loud.

There were various cabaret acts, My favourite was Jon Courtenay, a comedy pianist. I thought he was very funny indeed. Tom O’Connor was also onboard. We only saw one of his shows, which was very well received by the older passengers, but for me, his material was quite dated.

We saw a couple of films in the cinema, and I’m pleased to report that the seats in the cinema are just as comfortable as I remember.

There were a couple of local acts brought on. We had an Irish dancing troupe in Ringaskiddy and Scottish dancing in Greenock. I only saw the Irish troupe, but always enjoy seeing local acts to get a real flavour of the local culture.

Summary.

Overall, a big thumbs up from me. I won’t leave it another 9 years before I return to Oriana, and I would like to do another British Isles cruise. I haven’t been to Liverpool yet, so it’s on my wish list.

[oldbluefox]

Thank you for your very interesting review Gill. We had this down as one on our wish list but for one reason or another we didn't manage to do it. However your review made for interesting reading if only to see what we missed, and from what you say we will have to put it back 'to do' at a later date.
We found the judder on Oriana in the Oriental Dining Room quite offputting especially when one night the engines stopped altogether (no judder!!!) and all the emergency lights came on. There were a few anxious looks but the crew seemed calm enough, as if this was a normal occurrence so we chomped on. Best to abandon ship on a full stomach cos you never know when you'll get your next meal!!! After five minutes or so the lights came back on, the engines restarted and normal service, with judder was resumed.

[Manoverboard]

The Ports are certainly OK-ish but we would actually prefer to do a 16 > 19 day round trip, including Falmouth, the Scilly Islands, Cardiff, Holyhead, Liverpool, Barrow, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle plus Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man ... Orkney and Shetland are optional and less interesting as far as we are concerned and Ireland is best experienced from an all Ireland tour / cruise.

Blarney to us was a woolen mill plus a Hotel of some interest but laying backwards snogging a stone that has been kissed by a million others was not on our page at all Cobh or Kinsale is a better choice me thinks.

[oldbluefox]

Barrow? Have you been to Barrow?

[Mervyn and Trish]

I've been to Barrow. It was shut.

[qbman1]

I've been to Barrow. It was shut.

We called at Barrow on Adonia a couple of years ago. Must have been the biggest event in the town for years as everyone seemed to turn out to wave us off!

PS it was shut then too !

[Manoverboard]

Barrow? Have you been to Barrow?

Actually no ... closest so far is, I suspect, Grange-over-Sands.

Anyhowz ... my thinking was along the lines of a mate picking us up in Barrow and then driving us to / through some of the Cumbrian beauty spots before and after a decent pub lunch.

[sunseeker16]

Thanks for your review - very interesting

[david63]

Barrow? Have you been to Barrow?

Yup - only because we had a site there when I was working and I was "told" I had to go - never went back!

[oldbluefox]

Apparently Barrovians never want to leave but we have been there (just once) and have no desire to go back.
I would have thought any cruise ships wanting to access the Lakes would be better off docking in Whitehaven, sadly a depressed little town which has some beautiful Georgian buildings which would improve no end by a lick of paint and a few window boxes about the place. When The World visited they made a big fuss of it and put on a special market selling local crafts and wares. The Lake District is only a short ride away so it's very handy for access.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Barrow? Have you been to Barrow?

Actually no ... closest so far is, I suspect, Grange-over-Sands.

Anyhowz ... my thinking was along the lines of a mate picking us up in Barrow and then driving us to / through some of the Cumbrian beauty spots before and after a decent pub lunch.

Now we went to Grange-over-sands last month and that was open.