P&O Cruises

MS Oriana

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Operator: P&O London
Year Built / Last Refurbished: 1995
Length / Tonnage: 850 / 67,000
Number of Cabins / Passengers: 900 / 1,975
Officers / Crew: British / Italian
Operating Area: Worldwide
Telephone / Fax: Tel 145 3403 / Fax 145 3404

Since taking our first cruise in 1995 we find it one of the most addictive forms of vacations available, there is nothing quite like stepping on board, unpacking only once and seeing a host of different countries without the hassle that goes with doing the same on a land trip.

After several fly cruises with Princess/RCI/Celebrity we decided to try sailing from the UK with P&O and being impressed with their new ship Aurora in June, within 4 days of returning we booked to sail on Oriana for our Wedding Anniversary in September.

We also decided to sail on Oriana, when several people we had met whilst on Aurora raved about her, and the atmosphere on board, so she obviously has developed a following whose loyalty is quite exceptional.. It also seems that P&O in general have a very loyal following as you can see below just how many repeat passengers were on board.

I would also like to point out that this report is based on what "I observed" whilst on Oriana, other cruises could vary bearing in mind - different passengers, other itinerary, weather differences and so on, so please keep this in mind whilst reading this review and I appreciate all of you who take the time to read it through to the end.

"Oriana" was built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. She was the first ship designed and built specifically for British style cruising, with a wide range of bars and intimate spaces, huge expanses of teak open deck areas including numerous private and secluded corners. Christened by the Queen in April 1995, she is a ship which maintains the classic traditions of style and service which P&O are justly famous. Itinerary:
· Day 1 Embark Southampton, England
· Day 2 At Sea
· Day 3 Vigo, Spain
· Day 4 Lisbon, Portugal
· Day 5 Lorient, France
· Day 6 Guernsey, Channel Islands
· Day 7 Disembark Southampton, England

Pre-Cruise: Travelling down overnight from Scotland 2 days before departure, once again we decided to stay at the De Vere Grand Harbour Hotel, this 5 star hotel is ideally situated for both the port and exploring Southampton and has a view over Southampton Water. We arrived at 08.15 am and even although the hotel was full we were allowed entry to our room when normal check in time was 2 pm. When we stayed here in June it was the same so this kind of service to happen once is excellent, to happen twice is astonishing.

Our visit also coincided with the BT Global Challenge Round the World Yacht race which would be starting a week later from Ocean Quay, this meant there was a carnival type atmosphere with big bands on stage, street theatre, jugglers, fancy dress competitions etc, and culminated in a spectacular fireworks display in the evening, so this was a nice start to our cruise on Oriana.

We also took the opportunity to see Aurora sail out of port on the Saturday evening, we walked the few minutes from the hotel to the Mayflower Park to watch the spectacle, she was so close we could see the passengers on deck waving as the cars and people were lined up to see her off, it was like poetry in motion as she sounded her horn three times on her way past, I was glad that only the next day we would be on Oriana as that somehow relieved my feeling of homesickness for Aurora.

Embarkation:We used Andrews Shipside Services and details of this service were covered in the Aurora review. Boarding began at 14.30 and being one of the first on board, we were met and escorted to our cabin by a white gloved cabin attendant who carried our hand baggage for us, the rest of our luggage was already at the cabin awaiting our arrival.

Departure time of 6 pm grew near and with the formality of Life Boat Drill over, the crowds gathered along the promenade deck to wave to friends and family on the raised gallery opposite, so we opted to watch the sail away from Lido Deck 12 directly above the open bridge wings where we watched the Captain give a small flick of the little joy stick and Oriana was pushing away from the dock, it was a beautiful sunny afternoon so the atmosphere was set, with the streamers being thrown, and the accompanying band on the quay, someone on the Visitors Gallery appeared dressed in a black and white furry cow costume, much to the amusement of the crowds and to Captain Richard Fenelow as he drew out his handkerchief and began waving it. As Oriana began to move away from the pier one isolated voice from the crowd of spectators could be heard so clearly shouting "I Love you Mum", which was a very poignant moment, I am sure that mother surely had tears in her eyes.

We were soon on our way down Southampton water and on passing Hythe pier on our starboard side people were lined up, many happily giving Oriana a wave. Dropping our pilot off at 20.40 hrs we took a General SW heading down the English Channel towards Vigo 675 nautical miles away at an average cruising speed of 21.7 knots.

Andersons has that country club atmosphere to it, decorated in limed oak wood effect, pastel striped sofas, and Queen Anne type chairs, it turned out to be one of my favourite bars. The situation of the bar like many rooms on Oriana meant that at certain tables you could look through the large glass windows into the hallway and do some serious people watching as the passengers drifted backwards and forwards moving from various lounges and venues.

On formal nights a jacket and tie is required after 6 pm and no children are allowed in this bar. Crows Nest Bar The Crows Nest Bar is on Deck 13, two decks up from the Bridge, it has a clear view out over the bow, and it is decorated in blues and golds, and was a favourite for pre-dinner drinks by a lot of passengers, on each side of this lounge were the smaller more intimate lounges of the Iberia and Medina rooms.

Canadian Suite provided the nightly entertainment here, and there was a small dance floor to trip the light fantastic if you wished.

Curzon Room - This is the most stunning room I have seen on a ship, it is not a large room but is for the sole purpose of listening to the classical concerts performed there, of course you could sit here at any time taking in the peacefulness and grandeur of the room. The walls are adorned with tapestries, in its centre is the most wonderful grand piano, it is decorated in creams and beige's and beautiful wood featured walls, to top it off are large crystal chandeliers, it's a pity there is no equal to this room on Aurora as the classical concerts were performed in the Cinema, and I am sure they would not have the same atmosphere as in this room.

Pools - Oriana has three full sized swimming pools, one aft surrounded by those wonderful teak decked horseshoe tiers, if you were early enough you could settle down in the nook at the end of one of those tiers and have a wonderful view over the stern of the ship.

All lounge chairs are padded and quite comfortable.

There is no covered pool like on Aurora, but as the weather was very kind to us we did not miss this feature on this cruise, however considering Oriana does World Cruises starting in January from Southampton, I think I would prefer Aurora with her covered pool so you do not miss out when the weather is cold.

The two restaurants on Oriana, the Peninsular and Oriental, were both quite stunning rooms, the Oriental situated aft, and the Peninsular midships,

Catering to British tastes we found the food to be good, not haute cuisine but with generous portions during dinner, there were four different vegetables silver served along with your entree. P&O always serve their Lobster as Lobster Thermidor, but I prefer it grilled and served with melted butter, so on speaking with the Head Waiter it was arranged that it would be served as I preferred it, and it was delicious. However if you see "Tarte a l'Oignan (a light Onion Tart with Emmental Cheese) on the menu avoid it, the pastry chef must have had a bad night as you would have needed a pick axe to cut through it, other than that there was nothing we could have complained about.. There were a few deliciously memorable desserts, and generally we were extremely satisfied with the food.

The dinner menus are printed daily with the date on them and some are adorned with artwork of previous P&O ships, they are presented to you on the last evening of the cruise by your Waiter - a nice memento to keep.

The food in the buffet dining area was of a good selection and quality, and hot food was always hot. There were several hot dishes each day at lunch and a wide variety of salads, cold cuts etc, and always one hot sweet of the day, as well as the usual type desserts. The famous P&O curries appeared daily on the menu, and one evening there was an Indian Buffet dinner in the Conservatory dining area.

There was also a separate Pizzeria restaurant serving various type pizza's and a salad buffet.

Several days there were themed buffets on deck as well as all other dining options which made for a very wide variety of food being served.

We were in Cabin B133, classed as a Stateroom with Balcony. It measures approx. 210 square feet in size, and is decorated in light woods, complimented with greys/blues/golds. There was ample drawer space, double wardrobe with two shelves above, small safe, empty refrigerator, a full sofa come bed setee, coffee table, the two twin beds were pushed together to form a king size bed, tea and coffee making facilities, biscuits replenished daily, nice fluffy terry towel bathrobes and slippers, even a set of binoculars were provided.

The bathroom comes with a full size bath with the shower situated over the bath, so there was plenty of room in the shower, and the bathroom was a reasonable size, again there were ample shelves behind mirrored doors. Soap and Sports Wash were provided, and a small toilet bag with amenities like shower cap, sewing kit, cotton balls etc.

The balcony was approximately 9 foot long by 7 foot wide, had two nice lounge chairs and two small tables. The only time we heard our neighbours was when we stood at the rail. Our cabin was well placed to watch the officers on the open bridge wings as we entered and left port. General

Passenger Nationality Breakdown

1440 of these were repeat passengers.

Oriana sails on a world cruise from Southampton in January. Next year's World Voyage will begin on January 5th, and visit the following ports before returning to Southampton on April 6th: Tenerife - Canary Islands, St Vincent - Cape Verde Islands, Walvis Bay - Namibia, Cape Town - South Africa, Durban - South Africa, Port Louis - Mauritius, Singapore - Singapore, Da Nang - Vietnam, Hong Kong - China, Manila - Phillipines, Bitung - Indonesia, Darwin - Australia, Whitsunday Island - Australia, Brisbane - Australia, Sydney - Australia, Wellington - New Zealand, Auckland - New Zealand, Bay of Islands - New Zealand, Pago Pago - American Samoa, Honolulu - Hawaii, San Francisco - USA, Acapulco - Mexico, Transit Panama Canal - Panama, Bonaire - Dutch Antilles, St Lucia - Windward Is', Barbados - Barbados, Madeira - Madeira.

From late April, she will spend the remainder of the year sailing on extended voyages in the Mediterranean, Balitics and Canaries. She will cross the Atlantic again in April and November on 20 and 21 day cruises to the Caribbean.

We enjoyed our cruise on Oriana but for some reason or other we preferred Aurora but I would sail on any of them again in a heartbeat.