P&O Cruises

MV Oceana

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Operator: P&O Cruises
Year Built / Last Refurbished: 2000 / 2001
Length / Tonnage: 856 / 77,000
Number of Cabins / Passengers: 600 / 1,200
Officers / Crew: British / International
Operating Area: Caribbean, Panama Canal, Mexico, and Alaska

She originally entered service as the OCEAN PRINCESS for Princess Cruises in 2000. She was transferred to sister company P&O Cruises in November 2002 when she began sailing as OCEANA.

Forgive me if I seem unenthusiastic over the OCEANA.....as megaliners go, she's all right....but my mind wanders to the other ships in the P&O Princess fleet....and when I compare them with her, she falls short in a couple of ways. Whether one loves the decor or not is such a personal matter.....and while I can appreciate the amount of work the designers put into the OCEANA (formerly OCEAN PRINCESS), most of their efforts leave me cold. More important to me is the comfort level in the cabins. Here, these ships fall short of their older consorts REGAL PRINCESS and CROWN PRINCESS.....squeezing every last inch of space in these two, Princess downsized the cabins.....then they placed the most expensive digs all the way aft, giving new and true meaning to the industry phrase "propeller suite"....and I feel that with OCEANA, the line regressed rather than progressed.

When I plop myself into one of the comfortable chairs in the Atrium Lounge, my mind wanders off to home....how, when out at the local upscale mall with my family, I'll spend hour after hour parked on a bench....watching everyone come, go and come again. Then I scratch my head and wonder why I spent all this money to come on P&O when I could have gotten about the same experience just a short drive away from home! And that's the major problem I've got with the OCEANA....a good chunk of the better public areas are right around the atrium. If I don't hang out around there, I could go to the Wheelhouse Bar....they have great ship models and paintings of old P&O vessels....but I'm not a cigar fan....and the odor in here sends me scurrying every time. The Vista Lounge is another possibility....it's a large, airy room where I can breathe.... but it's set up theater style....after all, it is a show lounge....and I don't much like row upon row of banquette seating.

There are, however, a handful of tables and chairs arranged along the walls, conducive to a restful stay....but with almost 2,000 passengers aboard, on a crummy weather day you'll have to line up to sit here. The nearby card lounge is off limits....I don't want to disturb the bridge players....and the Passages Library is just that....a passageway. So that leaves me with but one alternative....outside....and here, at least, the OCEANA is great! There's plenty of room, lots of deck chairs, a wonderful promenade...and their pools and hot tubs and bars and a paddle tennis court are great....just like most ships. Any other public spaces of note? Yes, indeed, and the famous P&O service figures in here....because they'll all but open your wallet for you....no need for you to lift a finger except to put your "X" on the sales chit.....when you visit the beauty parlor, the Grand Casino, photo gallery, Patisserie, Regatta and Illuminations (ship's shops).

There's a rumor floating around....and it's just that...a rumor....that the passengers housed in the highest grade accommodations are put in one restaurant. The two sitting Neapolitan and Sicilian Dining Rooms are identical, except for color scheme. Don't look at these rooms on the deck plans....all the squiggles and curls will set your stomach 'a churning. You'll find that once on board, it makes more sense....P&O has divided these large rooms into small sections...and the traffic flow works well, although if you had a bird's eye view of the room on night one of your cruise, it would be almost comical watching passengers trying to find their tables....almost like mice in a maze! The meal service is the same as on all P&O ships....affable, efficient and peppered with a bit of showmanship when the chafing dishes come alive with fire and ice. The food is better on the ORIANA and AURORA, but don't worry, you won't go hungry...there's plenty of choice, lots of courses, and you might strike up great friendships here. A bit of applause to P&O is due......tables for two are available....though they are limited....so put your request for one in writing right now.

The Horizon Court, all the way on top and in the front of the OCEANA, is open all the time....you could set a world's record here for the longest non-stop meal on a ship. The food varies in quality....breakfasts and lunches tend to be simple standard foods....and if you're heart's desire is for something more complicated than a salad or sandwich, I'd recommend you head to the dining room. The casual dinners up here are popular for the hate to dress up crowd....but the quality of food just doesn't match what you'll get in the main restaurants. And worse, when I read the dinner menu up here, I though I was in a mediocre hotel coffee shop....only the lack of prices suggested I was at sea.

If you need more food than what you can get in the Horizon Court, you might wander into the pizzeria....or go to your cabin and order room service.

You'll think you'll need a decoder ring to figure out why P&O Cruises created NINETEEN different cabin categories for a new ship.....after all, these vessels of the '90s are supposed to be a little more egalitarian....except for the widening schism between suites and standard grades. Well, ladies and gentlemen, the cruel truth is that most of the categories on the OCEANA are identical in size and fixtures....and there are two reasons why P&O has so many room grades....they're going to hate me for letting the cat out of the bag here. The first reason they did this is simple....they can charge you more money and provide you nothing extra!

So let's unravel cruising's Rosetta Stone of cabin grading.....and we'll find that there is only one kind of inside cabin, two groups of outsides....with or without balcony....minisuites, and suites. All the cabins on these ships are acceptable....they are well designed, but they are not a step up when compared to the older ships in the fleet. We may be talking about a reduction of just a few square feet in each cabin, but trust me....if you've sailed on the Princess' REGAL, CROWN or ARCADIA (ex-STAR PRINCESS), you'll notice the difference straight away. All the cabins not labeled suite or minisuite are equipped with two beds convertible to a queen, a mini bar, television, and shower in the bathroom. The storage space is adequate for a cruise up to two weeks long. All the standard outside cabins have a window, and the only obstructed view rooms are in category "F". The "AC" minisuites are my choice for best location and maximum comfort....each has a queen size bed, a narrow sitting room area, two televisions, minibar, large closet, bathroom with a tub and separate shower, and a delightful balcony. For a very few dollars more, there are six "AB" minisuites, a good bet to book if you want a view aft. These cabins are adjacent to the top dollar cabins....the suites....although my ears always prick with interest when I've been told we're going to reserve a suite for a cruise....on the OCEANA, I'm not as enthusiastic.

The suites here seem almost an afterthought.....as if the designers finished the deck plans and realized they had forgotten to put the suites in. So these six cabins have been shunted all the way aft, two each on D, C and B Decks. They are asymmetrical rooms, with very odd layouts, and even with their fine decorations and furnishings, at the price Princess charges for residence here, I avoid them.

As you might expect for a P&O vessel, she attracts a mostly British crowd. Many of your fellow passengers are likely to be veteran cruisers with the time and money to take advantage of the ship's extended itineraries.

The OCEANA is deployed to two parts of the world.....Europe and the Caribbean. During the summer, she runs extended (7 to 14-day plus) trips from Southampton to the Baltics, Norwegian Fjord and the Mediterranean . During the winter she comes across to the Caribbean where she sails on extended Southern Caribbean itineraries.

As the OCEAN PRINCESS, this ship was never the star of the Princess fleet and her transfer to P&O has done nothing to change her status amongst her new fleet mates. Will you have a good time sailing on this ship? Probably, but be careful when selecting a cabin to make sure you don't pay more than you need to. Study the deck plans. Better yet, if you can book a similar cruise on AURORA or ORIANA, consider doing so.