Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

Reports about cruises on Oriana
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Gill W
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#26

Post by Gill W »

We had a major power outage when we were on Oceana - we were moored in Bergen at the time, and ended up sailing several hours late. I was most impressed at how the crew rose to the occasion and did as much as possible to minimise the inconvenience to the passengers.

We had a balcony cabin that time, but it did make us think, and on the next cruise we took a small torch with us. However, these days, we would use the light on our phones if needed.
Gill

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Mervyn and Trish
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#27

Post by Mervyn and Trish »

We always pack a couple of small LED torches whenever we travel in case of any emergency at sea or on land.

As far as this incident is concerned power problems seem to be regular on Oriana and one of the reasons here time is up. Reliability has become a real (and expensive) issue.

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Meg 50
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#28

Post by Meg 50 »

Suekersh wrote: 03 Jan 2019, 06:35
......
When we turned the TV on we noticed that Oriana had speeded up, changed course and was heading towards Lisbon. We presumed a medical emergency.

I went to the early morning exercise classes for the first time for a few days. I will feel the pain tomorrow.

It was another beautiful day which was lucky because just after 8 :15 a.m. the power completely cut out on the ship. I had just ordered breakfast but I made do with melon and croissant as there was no power to make toast or eggs. I managed 2 cups of coffee before that ran out as well.

I set up on the sunny aft deck to wait it out. Lots of passengers with inside cabins were in darkness, at least we had some light coming into our cabin. The air con wasn’t working, no water and no toilets. The cabin stewards were helping out elderly passengers who had no light in their cabins. The power loss was so early on that many passengers were still asleep and hadn’t realised what had happened.

The Captain made regular announcements reminding passengers not to use the lift and not to use the public toilets as they won’t flush without power. Alex the entertainment manager made a humorous announcement about the entertainment changes planned for the morning or until power is restored.

We were very lucky with the weather as the sea was like a lake the weather was perfect. Hot and sunny and not a cloud in sight. As the ship was not moving there was no wind, no engine noise and just the sea lapping against the ship. The only downside was the whinging passengers. Compensation being the most uttered word. One person asked why they weren’t bringing free drinks round. I asked why they should as all the bars were open to buy them, they were giving out water from bottles to anyone who wanted it.

We were supposed to be at the Peninsular luncheon today but we realised early on this would be postponed and as I was quite contented on my bed in the sun I was quite pleased when the announcement came at just after 11 a.m. confirming that it was postponed. A bonus sunny day for me.

A BBQ lunch was arranged for the Rivera deck and the buffet had plenty of cold food for lunch. A cold lunch was also served in the Peninsular restaurant. I felt the ships company were so proactive and everything was handled smoothly and calmly. Captain Alan kept us informed with regular broadcasts even when he had nothing to tell us.

Around 1:30 p.m. the Captains announcement was that power had been restored and the air con, lighting and toilets were back on but the engines still hadn’t started.

.....
I saw something online about this being the cruise from Hell because of this problem! I'll see if I can find it again....
Meg
x

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Meg 50
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#29

Post by Meg 50 »

Meg
x

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oldbluefox
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#30

Post by oldbluefox »

Meg 50 wrote: 03 Jan 2019, 17:04
It doesn't take some people long does it? :roll:
And don't the newspapers love to make it sound worse than it actually is.
On the plus side it would stop the cutlery dancing about in the stern restaurants.


daib GC
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#31

Post by daib GC »

oldbluefox wrote: 03 Jan 2019, 17:23
Meg 50 wrote: 03 Jan 2019, 17:04
It doesn't take some people long does it? :roll:
And don't the newspapers love to make it sound worse than it actually is.
On the plus side it would stop the cutlery dancing about in the stern restaurants.
On FB the “Cruise from Hell” couple are getting hammered mostly from people on the cruise who like Sue say the staff had been excellent. One guy said he was going to find them and explain what he thought.

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Meg 50
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#32

Post by Meg 50 »

:thumbup: :lol: :thumbup: :lol:
Meg
x

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david63
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#33

Post by david63 »

I think it is one of these "why spoil a good story with facts?" articles.

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Kenmo1
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#34

Post by Kenmo1 »

daib GC wrote: 03 Jan 2019, 21:47
On FB the “Cruise from Hell” couple are getting hammered mostly from people on the cruise who like Sue say the staff had been excellent. One guy said he was going to find them and explain what he thought.
The journalist who reported the story has the same surname as the couple. I wonder if they are related.

Maureen

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oldbluefox
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#35

Post by oldbluefox »

Suekersh wrote: 28 Dec 2018, 09:03
For the first time this cruise I met an obnoxious rude man. Nothing was right about the ship or the ports. He treated the waiters appallingly so I was pleased to hear the waiter actually sticking up for himself. I just hope I don’t have the misfortune of meeting him again.
I wonder if this was the same character?

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Suekersh
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#36

Post by Suekersh »

Thursday 3 January 2019 - Lisbon

I went to the early morning exercise class but just stayed for the first class. Our instructor was very obviously not well and didn’t look or sound like he should have been there. I made the decision to get away from the germs.

We had a letter from the Peninsular club regarding the lunch that was postponed yesterday. There should have been another luncheon today but as we are in port that was also postponed. Both lunches are being held together tomorrow but as there are 380 Baltic & Ligurian tier members on board the luncheon will not be hosted by any officers.

Our arrival into Lisbon was a very noisy one with the fog horn going full blast as the Captain manoeuvred between various other vessels in a real Peasouper. A few other ships in port including Black Watch and Queen Victoria.

There were four ambulances waiting at the port to take unwell passengers off for treatment and the gangways didn’t open to passengers until the medivacs had been completed.

By the time we disembarked the sun had burnt off the fog and although still cold the sun was shining and it was a bright crisp day. We caught the shuttle into the city and I started the hunt for shoes. There were lots of shoe shops but as I wanted evening sandals there was limited choice. The shops were mega expensive even with the sales on and not finding what I wanted anyway I gave up the hunt and went for coffee and custard tart instead.

There was a long queue for the shuttle bus back to the ship but they were frequent so not too long to wait. The sun had done its job by this time and I was peeling layers off. However by the time we got back on board the sun had disappeared again and it was chilly. No sitting out on deck today.

It was our final formal night of this cruise and Black & White night.
The Captain announced that the ship was mended and had been certified by a Lloyds surveyor as fit to continue its journey. We were not due to depart until late evening around 11p.m. which left plenty of time to get back to Southampton on time.

After another wonderful dinner followed by port marinated Stilton we went to the the theatre to see The Headliners show Reel to Reel which appeared to have been revamped and was excellent. We had front row sheets which gave me a great close up view when the male singers and dancers performed The Full Monty. I thought the elderly lady sat next to me was about to have a fit she enjoyed it so much.

There was a game show in the Pacific Lounge but Garry decided he would rather watch the football match Man City and Liverpool.

We now have two sea days before we reach Southampton.

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Suekersh
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#37

Post by Suekersh »

oldbluefox wrote: 04 Jan 2019, 16:35
Suekersh wrote: 28 Dec 2018, 09:03
For the first time this cruise I met an obnoxious rude man. Nothing was right about the ship or the ports. He treated the waiters appallingly so I was pleased to hear the waiter actually sticking up for himself. I just hope I don’t have the misfortune of meeting him again.
I wonder if this was the same character?
No it wasn’t. Must be two obnoxious men. Not bad really with over 900 men on board,


cruisin_duo
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#38

Post by cruisin_duo »

Sue, hope you have calm seas as you sail towards Southampton.

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oldbluefox
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#39

Post by oldbluefox »

Thanks for your reviews. Enjoyed reading them.

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Suekersh
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#40

Post by Suekersh »

Friday 4 January 2019 - Sea Day to Southampton

Another bright sunny day and both exercise classes completed.
At breakfast I was told by another passenger that P & O are giving us £100 compensation for the inconvenience caused by the breakdown. I thought this was very generous of them but of course they just can’t please everyone. I had to keep my mouth zipped a few times when the whingers started. Some wanted it in cash as they didn’t want to buy anything on board, others wanted it transferring to another cruise. It went on and on all breakfast.

Later in the morning I got a text from P & O regarding our next cruise saying that Oriana would be arriving late into Southampton and that we were to be given an extra £15 to compensate for this inconvenience. As we will still be on board I can only think this was sent to me in mistake. However the message was completely wrong as Oriana is in fact due to arrive much earlier than planned but the new passengers joining are being asked to delay their arrival for 2 hours due to some testing of equipment.

Oriana was making excellent progress and averaging 20 knots. The sea was very calm and there was no rocking & rolling or vibration.

The Peninsular lunch was as expected extremely busy but we had arranged to meet friends and we had an excellent fun table. Our wine waiter served us drinks, then another couples wine waiter came over to refill and then another one after that so we had 3 wine waiters keeping our glasses filled.

Due to the wine consumption I slept the afternoon away.

The evening entertainment was vocalist Steve V Kings second performance in the Theatre Royal and the best entertainment of the cruise The Runaround Kids in the Pacific Lounge. They were just brilliant so very talented.

Tomorrow is the last Sea day of the cruise and whilst the majority of the passengers will be busy packing we along with over 70 other passengers who are staying onboard will be feeling very smug and looking forward to the next cruise.

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Kenmo1
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#41

Post by Kenmo1 »

Suekersh wrote: 05 Jan 2019, 10:01
At breakfast I was told by another passenger that P & O are giving us £100 compensation for the inconvenience caused by the breakdown.


Wow, £100 to spend. I could happily find things to spend it on - makeup, jewellery, bottles of drink, handbag. There must be something on board they could spend it on. If not, surely it will reduce their outstanding account quite considerably unless they are so miserable and have hardly spent a penny.

Thanks for the blog on this part of the cruise, Sue, and I am looking forward to reading about the next cruise.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday.

Maureen

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Happydays
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#42

Post by Happydays »

Thanks for another interesting read, keep up the good work ;)

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david63
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#43

Post by david63 »

Suekersh wrote: 05 Jan 2019, 10:01
will be feeling very smug
You won't be saying that at the end of the next cruise!!


daib GC
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#44

Post by daib GC »

Kenmo1 wrote: 05 Jan 2019, 13:18
Suekersh wrote: 05 Jan 2019, 10:01
At breakfast I was told by another passenger that P & O are giving us £100 compensation for the inconvenience caused by the breakdown.


Wow, £100 to spend. I could happily find things to spend it on - makeup, jewellery, bottles of drink, handbag. There must be something on board they could spend it on. If not, surely it will reduce their outstanding account quite considerably unless they are so miserable and have hardly spent a penny.

Thanks for the blog on this part of the cruise, Sue, and I am looking forward to reading about the next cruise.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday.

Maureen
If the miserable “**********”have not spent any money on board they should not get the compo. That’s just my ‘Liberal’ self coming out.

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GillD46
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#45

Post by GillD46 »

A very fair offer. I have enjoyed all your reports, thank you x
Gill


rita17
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#46

Post by rita17 »

Thank you for your report. Have enjoyed reading it and look forward to the next one.

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Manoverboard
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#47

Post by Manoverboard »

Many thanks for your report, I read it all in one go rather than in parts … after reading it I felt hungry :lol:

The power cut was nought compared to imposed darkness due to Pirates but the idea of a tuc-tuc ride on a motorway would scare me rigid, would have insisted on sticking to the old coastal road where possible. Your visit to Obidos bought back special memories for us … thanks for that :wave:
Keep smiling, it's good for your well being

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Suekersh
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#48

Post by Suekersh »

Saturday 5 January 2019 - Final Sea day

Another calm day as we speeded up the BOB overtaking both Arcadia and the Queen Elizabeth as the Captain wanted to get Oriana into dock around midnight.

I went to the final battle of the sexes where the ladies lost but we’ll done to the men (said through gritted teeth). It was Alejandro’s birthday and we sang to him. He was very touched.

We hadn’t realised that the £100 onboard was each so a nice surprise.
The shops bars and spa were doing a roaring trade as passengers used it up.

The cruise Panto was in the Theatre. This had been postponed from the day the ship broke down but a great way to finish the cruise. The entertainment staff have all excelled on this cruise. They were determined to make Oriana’s final Christmas cruise memorable and they have certainly succeeded.

Our new cruise cards were delivered to cabin which would save us queuing at reception tomorrow for them, along with a letter explaining that tests would be being carried out on Oriana during the day in port and all passengers were being asked to disembark by 9 a.m. and not to return until 2 p.m. the £15 each they were adding to our onboard account was to pay for lunch in Southampton. A free shuttle into town was being provided.

The evening entertainment was the comedy magician we hadn’t enjoyed a couple of days ago and when we went last the Pacific Lounge I doubt there were even 50 passengers for the early show.
The Headliners were in the Theatre with their We’ll Meet again show which the normal last night performance.

We opted for the Crows Nest to sample the Gin flight again and where the group Nautical were singing.

By the time we returned to the cabin we had picked up the pilot boat and were only a short distance from the port.

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david63
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#49

Post by david63 »

Suekersh wrote: 06 Jan 2019, 12:45
the £15 each they were adding to our onboard account was to pay for lunch in Southampton.
... in the staff canteen restaurant at Carnival House :) :)


Whynd1
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Re: Oriana’s Final Christmas Cruise.

#50

Post by Whynd1 »

Thank you Sue

Enjoy the next one !!

Lindsey

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