Oceania, 10 years on

On January 6, 2013, Oceania Cruises marked its 10th anniversary. The line was founded by  Frank Del Rio, Bob Binder and Joe Watters in 2003, with a mission to deliver destination-rich itineraries, “best in class” cuisine, an inviting country club atmosphere, and luxurious accommodations all at an extraordinary value. 

Oceania Riviera

Over the last few weeks I have had a number of discussions with customers about the benefits of the various luxury cruise lines, including the quality of service and food offered by Oceania. Now I have been on Regatta on a visit in Dover and have to say it was the best food I have had on any ship.

 

Oceania has a fleet of 4 ships, with the addition of Marina in 2011 and Riviera in 2012 to the fleet of Regatta (2003) and Nautica (2005), Oceania Cruises has built an entirely new segment of the industry with its elegant, award-winning, mid-size ships and exceptional personalized service.

Have a look at my photo gallery of pictures from my visit.

Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com

 

As a special feature to celebrate the anniversary there are  4 Anniversary sailings with company founders and top executives and they have developed a special 10th Anniversary dessert called ZEN, a Manjari Chocolate Bar with Milky Gianduja-Yuzu and Hazelnut Croquant featured in the Grand Dining Room.

Sound delicious!

Now I'm waiting for the first photo of the dessert, and if I am lucky enough I hope to find a sailing for me later in the year to try out the offering.

Dreaming again.............

What's in a name, part 2. Or would this be better in RED?

If you have read my blog before your will have seen a previous article 'What's in a name', but that made me think about ships names and whether they change.

Would this be better in RED?

Got you thinking now, so read on....

My article was about the way some companies change the name of their products after launch to match their requirements and wondered whether the cruise lines did the same. Well, the easy answer is yes and not always after launch.

So one for the memory, Renaissance Cruises a company which folded some time ago and where are their 8 ships now? Well, 2 are with Azamara Club Cruises and 3 are with Oceania Cruises and have all been renamed, no surprise there you say if a ship moves from one line to another the name will change.

But what about the other 3, well they all went to Princess Cruises and were named Tahitian, Royal and Pacific Princess. However now, Royal Princess is P&O's Adonia and to suit the type of cruise that the ship does Tahitian Princess has become the Ocean Princess; but there was an Ocean Princess now P&O Oceana!

Gets more complicated with Sea Princess, which was launched as this in 1998 but in 2003 transferred to P&O and named Adonia, but transferring back to Princess in 2005 becoming again Sea Princess. All because of movements of ships to Ocean Village and waiting for the delivery of Arcadia in 2005.

What about the strange case of Diamond and Sapphire Princess, or is it Sapphire and Diamond Princess? 

With the Diamond Princess, the ship's hull was originally due to be called the Sapphire Princess, however during construction a huge fire swept through the ships deck during construction. Because the ship's completion would be delayed for some time, her sister ship, Diamond Princess,  which was being constructed at the same time assumed the role of the Sapphire. This name swap helped to keep the delivery date of the Sapphire on time, while delaying the delivery of the Diamond....... Follow that if you can!

So why the picture above, if you have not yet guessed it is P&O Arcadia. When the keel was originally laid she was due to be Queen Victoria but close to launch was transferred to P&O as Arcadia, so she has a funnel which is more Cunard like than P&O like.

So the answer to the question of 'What's in a name', is nothing in reality as ships are transferred or have name changes based on the capacity needs of the cruise lines, so we shouldn't really get attached should we?

And would that funnel look better in Red, having sailed on both ships I do think that Carnival have got it right with both ships now having the correct corporate feel to them.

Which is my favourite, well out of the 2 it has to be Queen Victoria.

Dover. A quintessential english port?

So, thought I'd do another of my Port reviews, but with a different twist. In the UK we are all well aware of the major Ports of departure, so I thought I'd talk about Dover, is it the quintessential English port?

Ships departing from Dover include ones from Fred Olsen, Oceania, Holland America, Crystal Cruises, Seabourn and Princess Cruises at various times during 2012, so there is plenty of choice. But do we just travel down and see the car park then get on ship?

Those of you who have read my blog from the beginning will remember the problems with our Christmas Cruise in 2009, bad snow and a long walk to the ship through snow drifts and dodging cars! Nice picture though, but Dover is not like that really, read on.

Lets start quickly with the car parking, as there is more to see than this. you can park either in the cruise port or use 1 of the out of town parks, either of which you are best to book in advance. Yes I can help if needed.

So what is there to do in Dover, well of course you can see 'The White Cliffs of Dover', a National Trust survey highlighted this as the most popular stretch of coastline in the UK.

Then there is the historic Dover Castle, which sits proudly atop the White Cliffs of Dover and overlooking the port.

The site of Dover Castle has been of vital importance since the Iron Age with the first castle at Dover most likely an Anglo-Saxon fortress until the arrival of William the Conqueror when its existing fortifications were improved.

Of course, you can motor down through the Kent countryside; known as the Garden of England for its rich farming and hop making heritage. Kent stretches from Dover's White Cliffs Country to medieval Canterbury in the east, elegant, Tunbridge Wells to the west and the historic Medway towns to the north.

So perhaps it is worth setting off a little earlier and getting off the drag of the M20 motorway to see some of the countryside or the town before heading to the cruise port.