Oriana re-fit ?

[Mervyn and Trish]

Ready for your 9.30 boarding?

[qbman1]

I'm leaving now so I'll be first in line !

[Ray B]

The covers have now been removed and the dry dock has been filled, so, soon be on her way back.

[david63]

The covers have now been removed and the dry dock has been filled, so, soon be on her way back.

Scheduled to leave 18:00 today

[qbman1]

Have they made my bed yet ?

[david63]

Have they made my bed yet ?

You mean nobody has told you? - you are in a hammock!

[Mervyn and Trish]

Have they made my bed yet ?

You mean nobody has told you? - you are in a hammock!

Sharing with three others on eight hour shifts....

[qbman1]

That's OK - be cheaper than the bloody balcony cabins !

[Ray B]

It's sort of a balcony cabin, as close as a lifeboat can get.

[Mervyn and Trish]

With great views

[qbman1]

And unrivalled air con !

[colin parry]

Oriana has already sailed and is almost out of the Elbe.

[qbman1]

I hope they don't mess her up on the booze cruise round the IOW !

[Mervyn and Trish]

Someone sleeping in your cabin before you? It's the Ventura Maiden all over again! Compo.......

[qbman1]

It won't be quite as bad as that - I'm not expecting anyone to set fire to a Christmas tree on Oriana !

[david63]

For those in need of an Oriana "fix" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOweG1w ... e=youtu.be

[Mervyn and Trish]

Now sailing into Soton

[Happydays]

For those in need of an Oriana "fix" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOweG1w ... e=youtu.be

Looking good, I do like Oriana:)

[qbman1]

Looks nice and shiny-bright in the video. Lot of hangers-on about the decks - they can't all be crew

Webcam still not back up on the P&O site. Where's she off to today - is it a private cruise ?

[qbman1]

I've partly answered my own question.....

"Moored at the Mayflower Cruise Terminal, will set sail at 4:30pm for Zeebrugge"

[david63]

So now that you are back QB - did they do a good job? Did it meet your exacting standards?

[qbman1]

The refit has made a great improvement, in my opinion. The ship is much lighter and more modern-looking. The majority of work has been cosmetic with new carpets, curtains and furnishings throughout. Apparently they have refurbished the Conservatory but I never use it so I cannot comment whether or not it is better but it always seemed to be heaving with people bearing trays piled high rushing in every direction! All the public lavatories have been re-fitted - all very nice but the sensors on the taps are too high so to get any water out of them you have to have your hands above the level of the marble tops and all the water runs over the back of the basins ! The famed vibration is still there although it seems to be less severe so I don't know whether they have had another fiddle withthe prop shaft ?! Of course, that could be becasue it was a relaitively low-speed cruise and the seas were canal-calm thoughout !

[towny44]

The Oriana refit page on the web site now has some photos, which I assume show the new decor, and it does look good, however there are no You Tube videos as yet.
For us there are limited accessible cabins on Oriana and all of them are on the lowest deck, and of course no balcony ones.
In addition pricing on all Oriana cruises, like Aurora and Arcadia, is generally higher than on Azura/Ventura and even Britannia, this coupled with the greater choice of all types of venues on the bigger ships, is quite a disincentive for us.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Yes that pricing differential for the "smaller" ships is a pain, but an understandable result of the economies of scale the bigger ones offer. And Oriana is the worst in that we always like a balcony cabin these days and they are in short supply and hence more expensive again.