Oriana round Britain cruise June 19

Reports about cruises on Oriana

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Whynd1
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Location: Gower, Swansea

Oriana round Britain cruise June 19

#1

Post by Whynd1 »

This cruise as booked ages ago to celebrate a friend 60th birthday, it then became of the last 5 cruises that Oriana was undertaking before leaving the fleet.

Ports of call were :-
Killybegs
Greenock
Torshaven
Lerwick
Kirkwall
Dublin
Cobh
St Peter Port

I had only visited Dublin and St Peter Port before so lots of new places to see.

Our cruise card said Oriana farewell cruise.

There was heavy traffic the Saturday of embarkation due to 3 large ships and us bit I was onboard before 2pm and in the restaurant having a glass of fizz and free nibbles.

At the Captains reception she mentioned that there would be many other cruise ships in Lerwick a tender port and that we were to expect some suprises on this cruise, the suprise was there wernt hardly any.

Killybegs, we had booked a few shore experiences for this cruise, thats what they are called now and we were on Landscape drive, irish coffee and music, so a drive through lovely countryside with an excellent guide where we ended up at a bar run by the brother of Enya the singer and where the family band of Clannad played.A very strong irish coffee was served with some musicians playing. Then the brother filled us in on the history of the band.Back to ths ship through more lovely countryside, where we learnt that most properties sit on half an acre due to the septic tanks and that the people who lived in these properties really look after their homes.
Booked the beach house for our frin birthday celebration and the staff were marvellous and dint the birthday sprinkls and bought out the suprise cake, although after the large meal we didnt manage much/

Greenock
Booked atour through the trossachs and loch lomand, this tour was a little disappointing as the guie seemed to have a different idea of where he was going than out itinary, we did not see hardly anything of Loch Lomand and we were due to have an hour in Callendar and this turned out to be 35 mins, where we grabbed a coffee. Lovely scenery though.
The ships judder that night at dinner made the cutlery and plates nearly bouce off the table, we had a tabl at the back of the reataurant.

Torshaven
Yesterday evening an announcement was made that due to a seriously ill passenger we may have to turn back and this would impact on our port of call, however it was decided by all concerned including the coastguard that Torshaven would be best for this passenger so full steam ahead.
So for me this was the highlight of the cruise, our experience was scenic Faroes and pancakes, our tour took us through magnificent scenery through the fjords and mountains.Saw waterfalls, running down through the mountains. We stopped for pancakes and coffee at a local guesthouse where lots of other coaches all turned up together so very busy and a massive queue for the facilities which were unisex. Small giftshop where i bought a puffin magnet.
An amble down through the samall village to the coach.Sadly some of the elderly passengers found this a bit too much as it didnt actually say this on the blurb and some found it a bit too much.
The air was so clean and they are very much into green energy in the Faroes.went to bed t 11.30 am and it wa sstill light.

Lerwick
A tender port. A lovely sunny morning, the Captain mentioned the sea state as as good as she had ever nown it to be up here. Got a ticket for the tender after passing the step test and waited for a good 20 mns then queued up but they had to change an oil filter, we were off then for about 15 min ride. Apparently after that one tender was running on only one engine and there was a longer wait.
Just a walk around the town and tried to find the detectives house from the tv series the shetland. Had a coffee in a very busy port with a lot of americans wandering around. One hand made merino scarf 150, dont think so. Purchased local goats soap and some white chocolate with coconut on the outside called puffin poo, this created much amusement for all who saw it. The tender back as very choppy and i felt a bit queasy but managed it get back to the ship without incident.

Dublin
It absolubtly tipped it down here and they have moved the drop off point from Grafton street to merrion square which is where you pick up all the city sightseeing buses. It is now a good 15 to 20 min walk in and then back. Went into the city center to temple bar etc and had a coffee. Wakled up a little of grafton street and were going to see the molly malone statue but due to the weather we debated wether to get a taxi back to the port due to the heavy rain we were already wet through but then it cleared up so we trudged back to the pick up point.

Cobh
Lovely port of call, in the morning we wandered round Cobh and went to see the Lusitania emorial and the white star shipping office then ito the Cobh heritage musuem which was fascinating, nearly all about the emigrants, Titanic and Luisatinia. 10 euros for me anf only 8.50 euros if you are a senior.

Then in the afternoon our tour was to Kinsale, which is actually twinned with Mumbles whch is about 10 mins from my home.
a lovely tour and Kinsale was very prtty with a small harbour and lots of brightly coloured houses and pubs.
The weather really picked up here and was sunny and warm so instead of having a coffee we had an ice cream and sat on a bench in the square. On our way back we came off the motory due to heavy teatime traffic and went through Cork. Arrived bck about 6.20pm. We knew we would be late for dinner so has booked the beach house, if you hadnt you were invited to see if you could get into second sitting, although this message was not in the horizon but relayed by the guide on the coach.
A lovely meal in the beachhouse and we were invited to sit outsdie where we saw dolphins and the sun go down.


St Peter Port
Due to adverse weather conditions we were not able to anchor andtender, but then later in the day there was another medical emergency and we sped back to Southampton and dockedbout 9.30pm.That was a shame for a lot of passengers as the tours were sold out with extras being slotted into the schedule, ll were refunded.

Entertainment
I do not go to the shows, as I find it claustrophobic sitting in the theatren all huddled together, but many said they were very good. Had the usual comediam, mindreader, female singers etc.

Food
This was my main gripe, and others as well. I just dont know where P and O is going with its menus, on the last gala evening the menu was so poor, a lot of what we had before all cobbled together so we and others didnt go into the mdr, we booked Sindhu and had an excellnt meal. A lot of fish on the menus but for me I am allergi to shellfish and many fish dishes come with a shellfish sauce. Unable to get a plain sort of roll in the buffet all had strange mixtures.
We had pre booked the wine package and between booking and sailing they hve introduced 19 new wines and now the price has risen by £24. we were lucky to have pre paid for that.

Staff
Our cabin steward was excllent, she was in as soon as were going out and did a marvellous job, sadly not so the waiters at out table at dinner. He was clearing the starter plates away befor we were all finsihed as rushed us through most evenings. I said one night could I have 5 mins before ordering my dessert he was back in a minute. He was sullen and inattentive to all our tables need, nos teak knives and mustard for the always avaiabe steak. He had a disagreement one night with hisfellow waiter and voices were raise, the restaurant manager came over to see what was going on and went to sorce the mustard, never had such bad service and if i were still giving cash in an envelope his would have been very light.
Service in the bars especially Andersons was excellent.
As i have mentioned before the annoying thing was that prior to this cruise we had received an email from P and O telling us the extra suprises that were to come for one of Orians farewll cruises, only the heritage quiz and I belive a deck party that was moved to another location came about. No officer hosted tables, the cake was outside the restaurant but we were told by an officer that it was iced polysterene. We did have a change of menu for loyalty lucn and did have an officer hosted table of 7 of us on a table meant for 6 so we were all squashed up and free drinks so that was nice.

Dress code, I am sure some of you are wondering abou htis one, well it may have been due to the average age of most of the passengers, but a lot of ladies especially came down to dinner on formal evenings in what I would class as day clothes,some in tunic and leggings, men in hoodies. I was very suprised. We seemed overdressed in our formal dresses and on casual evenings most seemed very underdressed. It was nice to see the dress code being adhered to by the staff in Andersons, with some, mostly men being asked to leave.

Overall a very good cruise for the ports of call which were really lovely.

So on my return my holiday info brochure was waiting for me for the September cruise to the Baltic on Arcadia.

Thanks if you got to end of this, sorry Stephen for such a long report.

Lindsey

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Kenmo1
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Re: Oriana round Britain cruise June 19

#2

Post by Kenmo1 »

Thanks. Lindsey for the useful review as you have given us an idea what to do in Torshaven next month. We wandered around the town last time we were there and feel that we need to do a trip this time. We'll wait till we get on board before we book in order to use some OBC. I'm glad you had previously visited St Peter's Port before so it wasn't quite the disappointment it would have been if it had been your first visit. Funnily enough, before reading your review I was reading a review from a lady who is on the current Oriana cruise and she has said that the food is only average and the waiter is not that special -- perhaps they got the same table you had on your cruise. Hope they improve the meals for the final cruise.
Time now for you to start planning what to take on your September cruise on Arcadia. Its a hard life isn't it ? Maureen x

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Gill W
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Location: Kent

Re: Oriana round Britain cruise June 19

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Post by Gill W »

Thnks for your review, Lindsey. I loved Torshaven and the Faroes. In the morning we walked around the town, then did a tour (or should I say experience) in the afternoon. The highlight of the tour for me was a most beautiful beach in a remote location. There was a holiday cottage to let over looking this beach, and I could have been very happy there for a couple of weeks, looking at the scenery in all weathers.

I've taken to making my own rolls at lunch time. I pick up a couple of rolls, some butter and either some cheese or chicken for a simple filling.
Gill


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Whynd1
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Location: Gower, Swansea

Re: Oriana round Britain cruise June 19

#4

Post by Whynd1 »

Maureen

Book the tour before you go,most were sold out before we sailed. Those looking to use their on board credit were disappointed. We ,et one soup.e who wanted to do our Torshqven tour and mentioned they were on a wait list but never got a ticket. There were always huge queues atvthe tours desk.

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GillD46
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Location: Gower Peninsula, South Wales

Re: Oriana round Britain cruise June 19

#5

Post by GillD46 »

An interesting read. Thank you.
Gill


Topic author
Whynd1
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1832
Joined: February 2013
Location: Gower, Swansea

Re: Oriana round Britain cruise June 19

#6

Post by Whynd1 »

Must edit the last post

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Kenmo1
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Joined: January 2013

Re: Oriana round Britain cruise June 19

#7

Post by Kenmo1 »

Whynd1 wrote: 30 Jun 2019, 17:45
Maureen

Book the tour before you go,most were sold out before we sailed. Those looking to use their on board credit were disappointed. We ,et one soup.e who wanted to do our Torshqven tour and mentioned they were on a wait list but never got a ticket. There were always huge queues atvthe tours desk.
Thanks for the info Lindsey. You are correct as most are already waitlisted and the rest are silly money. I have now booked Scenic Faroes and Pancakes but we are having to do the 12 o'clock one as the morning one is already waitlisted. I had better keep an eye on the other places we visit but I think we will just wander in most of the them. Absolutely staggered at the price of some of the shore excursions --- oops, experiences.

Maureen


Topic author
Whynd1
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1832
Joined: February 2013
Location: Gower, Swansea

Re: Oriana round Britain cruise June 19

#8

Post by Whynd1 »

We thought that they were all expensive, but on that excursion you cover a lot of ground.

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