Day 1 – First Impressions of Oceania Cruises Marina
I love travelling, I’ve visited over 90 countries and whilst working for Cruise Nation, I travel the world with my partner. I’d also been lucky enough to experience three cruise ships in my career so far, but never a luxury cruise. So when Oceania Cruises invited me on board Marina to experience an upper-class cruise, I was excited to tick something new off the bucket list.
Our trip started in the beautiful city of Reykjavik. A one-night pre-cruise stay allowed us time to go whale watching, a bucket list experience indeed.
The next morning, it was finally time to board the ship. We took a free shuttle bus from the city centre to the port, and were whisked onto Oceania Marina in no time, a first of many perks that come with a luxury cruise experience.
My first thoughts were literally “wow” – I couldn’t believe how elegant and impressive the main lobby was with lots of art on show and a beautiful staircase right in front of me.
First things first, straight up to the Terrace Café, where there was so much choice as there often is with cruise buffets. But here, the quality of food was apparent. Freshly cooked fish, meats and lots of Vegan options. I could have just dined here for the week!
When I did manage to leave the buffet to check into my stateroom – which was very nicely sized with a large balcony, king bed, sofa bed and a bathroom with not just a shower but also a bathtub – I headed down to the gym with a complimentary reusable Vero water bottle, which I’m still using to this day. The gym was well equipped with enough machines to burn off the buffet!
It was then time to freshen up and head to the Horizons Bar for a drinks reception. A spacious bar with amazing views complemented by panoramic windows. After a few Proseccos, we headed to Toscana, one of the Italian speciality restaurants that is always included on all Oceania Cruises’ ships, no need to pay extra.
For dinner, I had calamari followed by veal tortellini and finished with breaded pork chops with vegetables and potatoes. It was incredible, and this was a feeling I was going to be getting all week from every single meal. Absolutely faultless food and service in every single restaurant, whether it be the speciality or the buffet/pool grill. It’s no wonder Oceania Cruises is famous for ‘The Finest Cuisine at Sea’.
Following dinner, we headed back to Horizons for some live music from the resident band and a couple of nightcaps before swinging by the casino (just to watch – honest).
Day 2 – Puffins & Perfect Views in Heimaey
In the morning, I woke up realising for the first time in my life I had a Balcony Cabin on a cruise, a luxury within itself. I rushed out to admire the beautiful views of the island of Heimaey, located off the southern coast of Iceland. The scenery was so nice, the sun was shining, and we could see some puffins flying around. Classic Iceland!
A few of our group met at Aquamar which is a new restaurant on Oceania and is only open for breakfast and lunch, serving slightly lighter options. I had a strawberry and banana smoothie and avocado on toast topped with a poached egg, which was the perfect size for a day of hiking on the island.
We took a short five-minute tender to port, another benefit of a luxury experience: smaller ships mean priority access to dock closer to a destination. Heimaey is a lovely island with the historic Eldfell volcano that erupted in 1973, which I decided to hike up. Warning: don’t go the wrong way and rock climb like I ended up doing! There are many viewpoints around the island offering views of the quaint town and opportunities to spot more puffins.
Feeling peckish, I headed back to Marina for a late lunch at the Wave Café for more fresh-cooked food, daily special lamb kebabs, and BBQ ribs hit the spot. I then joined my team ‘The Puffins’ for a quiz – one of the many daily activities onboard.
That evening, we were headed to Jacques, the French speciality restaurant onboard Oceania Cruises ships. After taking full advantage of the free laundry service – a great touch – I was ready to head down to the Captain’s Meet at the Horizons Bar, which was during Happy Hour, meaning 2-4-1 cocktails, hurrah! The speeches from the captain and staff were interesting and humorous, but the highlight of this hour was the joy of seeing breaching whales just off the side of the ship – it was truly amazing.
For many of the group I travelled with, Jacques’ restaurant was their favourite meal of the week. Think classic French onion soup with cheese crust, lobster gnocchi, roasted lamb and a giant sea bass puff pastry for the table to share followed by an enormous cheese board with biscuits, all so good it had to be eaten no matter how full I was!
The service in this restaurant was second to none, and the little details, such as a napkin for your lap was a great touch.
Leaving here with a belly that had grown, we headed back to Horizons Bar to see the band and lo and behold, it was happy hour again.
Day 3 – A Day at Sea Onboard Marina
A day at sea was a great chance to experience the ship, and all the things I hadn’t managed to check out yet.
I started the morning with a seminar about Oceania Cruises – to help me sell you, the reader, your perfect holiday – followed by an Art Scavenger Hunt, a fun way to see the endless art around the ship.
In the afternoon, I went for a run around the running track on Deck 15, played the 18-hole mini-golf, read a book in the library filled with 2,000 books, chilled in the hot tub, swam in the heated pool and then treated myself to a tremendous ice cream called the ‘Elvis Presley The Fat Years’. Who said cruises are boring?
That evening, we headed to Martinis, a cocktail lounge, which once again had a happy hour. We tried a couple of the speciality cocktails, including classic martinis, whilst enjoying a live pianist who created an awesome atmosphere in the bar.
It was our first evening dining in the Grand Dining Room, which was a ‘wow’ factor when you walked in. Elegant, bright, spectacular, and so was the food and service.
We then headed to the theatre for the Headliners show, which was an unforgettable performance of the greatest hits and great dancing – I mean who doesn’t love a live show? We carried on the evening by singing and dancing at the Juke Box evening in the Horizons Bar.
Day 4 – Traditions in Port and Onboard
This morning, we arrived in Torshavn, a small city in the Faroe Islands. We wandered around cool villages with traditional turf-roofed houses, which blended into the green landscape, and explored many of the charming streets and picturesque parks. We also visited a pub to sample some local beer, a must-do in the Faroe Islands.
After a terrific afternoon, we indulged in more tradition back onboard with an afternoon tea filled with all sorts of cakes, scones, biscuits and sandwiches along with tea. A lovely complimentary treat to make you feel taken care of.
Back in my stateroom, I enjoyed watching the sun start to go down – a perk to a Balcony cabin.
I headed to the Polo Grill speciality restaurant for dinner, which is Oceania Cruises’ signature steakhouse. I had slow-roasted pork belly glazed with honey for starters, a giant rare rib-eye steak cooked just the way I like it for main and a chocolate brownie for dessert. Everything tasted so good, even the salad!
Day 5 – The Finest Cuisine Indeed
Our last stop was a special one, the Orkney Islands in Northern Scotland. My Dad is Scottish but I had never visited Orkney, so this was a treat.
Cruising into port through all the islands was great, and once off the ship we took time to explore the beautiful scenery, tasting some local fish and chips washed down by beer – as you do in Scotland. There are also many distilleries to visit on the island, perfect if you’re a whiskey fan. I loved this port so much.
Our final dinner was at Red Ginger, the pan-Asian speciality restaurant, and it was incredible.
It was the best meal of the entire trip and probably my best meal on any cruise I have been on. I have a soft spot for Asian food, but this was an experience. From top-notch service, including choosing which chopsticks you would prefer to use, to the decked out all-red chandeliers, red chairs and red glasses. Perfectly on brand for Cruise Nation!
We ordered so much food. The great thing is that you’re able to share so we opted for several starters, including baby back rib salad, tom kha soup, Vietnamese spring rolls, and satay chicken, complemented by a fresh bowl of sambal (spicy Indonesian sauce) made by the chef. So authentic and exactly as you’d find in Asia.
For mains, I had both the Thai red curry and beef rendang. These are two of my favourite dishes when visiting Southeast Asia and I was amazed at how well they had captured the flavours and authenticity of the dishes.
The finest cuisine at sea indeed. I wish I could go back now!
Making the most of our last night onboard, we got heavily involved with the karaoke at the Horizons Bar. I “sang” a couple of numbers, which I thought went down well.
Day 6 – A Grand Send Off
Packing my bags this morning (a top tip to avoid late night packing), I was ready for another full day at sea with the group.
We treated ourselves to The Grand Dining Room for breakfast and a cheeky mimosa to top off the occasion. I had poached eggs on toast and a side of steak. I was getting the hang of the luxury life!
Our activity-fuelled day started with bingo in the Horizons Bar, where unfortunately I didn’t win, then a spot of mini-golf again, followed by some ping pong.
We went back to the Grand Dining Room for seconds, where we sat at the table right in the middle underneath the large chandelier. A special touch that made us feel very important! For lunch, I had another grilled five-peppercorn beef hanger steak, which was super tasty. This was followed up with a pineapple sorbet, the perfect finish.
Late afternoon, we had an exclusive tour of the galleys to see how the kitchens operate, and once we got to the bakery, I nearly asked for a job; it smelled so good in there. We then continued our activities playing shuffleboard on the top deck before heading to our final quiz.
In the evening, we were invited to a private cocktail party for returning Oceania Cruises guests, a memorable event hosted by the crew and captain.
After a swift visit to the Terrace Café buffet, we dived into the evening entertainment. At Martini’s, we took part in a music quiz where the resident pianist played certain parts of songs and we had to name them. It was harder than you think! Then we watched the performers do their last-ever production of Dancin’ Fool, a fantastic show that you couldn’t take your eyes off.
In true fashion, we headed to the late-night happy hour one last time to relax and discuss our favourite moments of the trip, for which there were many different ones from everyone.
My Final Thoughts on Oceania Cruises
It just goes to show that when nearly everyone had a different favourite moment of the cruise and a mix of favourite restaurants, how well Oceania Cruises caters for all guests, not just one type in particular.
Oceania Cruises was a truly great cruise line where you really felt special and taken care of. It didn’t feel like the crew was going out of their way to help, but made it seem effortless in all they did, from refilling your drink at the table to bringing you a smoothie to your sunbed.
It was a fantastic experience, and I cannot thank Oceania Cruises enough for the opportunity to cruise with them. I really loved every minute of it.
If you would like to find out more about Oceania Cruises, you can call me directly on 0179 200 2507. You can find all of our amazing Oceania Cruises holiday deals here which come with flights and a free hotel stay.
