Our little chap discovered the burgers at the Horizon grill the day we embarked and had one for lunch almost every day after that (they are very good) so I can finally understand how Romig managed to scoff 38 of them on a 14 day cruise.I think Oceana is a lovely ship but Oriana is still number 1 for me. The Crow's Nest on Oriana was one of my favourite places and there is no equivalent on Oceana sadly. Also, the Yacht and Compass just doesn't have that pubby feel that the Sportsman does and watching the footie in Winner's bar has all the atmosphere of a knitting circle at the WI. That said I did like Oceana a lot and the atrium is stunning with plenty of room for all the tat stalls. The gym looked good too but unfortunately after checking it out on day one I was unable to find it again.
As there were so many sea days on this cruise I decided to join in with some of the deck games. I had a go at the cricket but after a near miss decided to take up something where I'd have a better chance of keeping my front teeth and so joined in the deck quoits. From the first day the old quoiters were a lovely, welcoming bunch and I was actually quite good at it oo so started going twice a day.It was a lot of fun, firstly because there was a lot of banter with the other players and secondly because of 'the walkers'. Now, on Oceana there is no dedicated deck for the quoits and shuffleboard courts and they are located on the promenade deck. Despite a daily announcement in the Horizoon stating the times of these games, along with a request to keep the decks clear there was a hardcore of sternfaced 'I know my rights' types who insisted on marching round and round like bloody clockwork soldiers at the exact times the matches were being played so they could have a good old moan. I apologise profusely to anyone who had a toe accidently trodden on during their march but frankly, you were a pain in the a*se
We also enjoyed the individual quiz held at 5.30 in the Yacht and Compass (especially if Matt was reading out the questions). I've heard a lot about the ENTS on this cruise and the cruise director in particular ( I think I saw him once or twice but it could have been a hologram) but the rest of his team were great. Kerry was a star and it's a shame for future cruisers that she has left to concentrate on her music. The two Donna's were full of fun too and as for Matt, well what a splendid young man. He threw himself wholeheartedly into any task he was given and made a lot of people smile - he's a bit gorgeous too.
By the time Sunday 12th Jan came round we were ready to get off and have a good look at Antigua. We were very much looking forward to visiting Nelson's Dockyard and Shirley Heights and, as usual, decided to DIY. This time we chose badly from the horde of drivers hawking their trips and tours. We explained exactly what we wnated, a leisurely walk around the dockyard, a trip up to Shirley Heights and then a couple of hours at a beach. Price and itinerary agreed we boarded the minibus along with a couple from the ship that wanted to do exactly the same as us. Well, after a lot of stops at tat stalls and 'viewing areas' we did arrive at Nelson's Dockyard. The driver then announced that we had 30 minutes to look around and disappeared. The Dockyard and Harbour are wonderful. It is the sort of place that you need to explore slowly and then sit down and drink in the sights and sounds. We reluctantly returned to the bus after 40 minutes to find the driver and the 3 American tourists with faces like smacked backsides because we'd kept them waiting. Shirley Heights - 5 minutes. The other 2 and a half hours of this unwanted tour were spent driving past shack after shack with the driver pretending he couldn't hear us asking when we would get to the beach. He finally announced that he was dropping the other passengers back at the port, picking up some more fares and then would drop us at a beach of his choice. We got off, 100 dollars poorer and with sore backs from bouncing over potholes for hours. A word of warning - do not use St John's tours. They are the biggest presence at the port which is why I persuaded Paul to pay what we had agreed as there was no way we'd have got past all his mates if we hadn't. It was very disappointing and Paul threw his new Antigua suncap away in protest
