This was a last minute booking. Too good a deal to miss on P & O Oceana. The aim was to have a week after Christmas and New Year of complete relaxation and we weren't disappointed.
On Thursday 3rd January 2019 we drove to Southampton, which is an easy 2.5 hour drive from Nuneaton. We used off site parking (Penguin Parking) which is very convenient and much cheaper than port parking. We boarded Oceana at 3pm from Elizabeth Terminal, no queues - simply walked straight on board. For us the beauty of cruising is that your holiday starts from the moment you board the ship. Since our last trip, Oceana had had a refit and we were pleasantly surprised. Our balcony cabin (a must for me as I find it helps prevent seasickness (never cruise without Sturgeron just in case) was beautifully clean and although compact (especially the shower room) adequate for our needs with plenty of storage space. We found that Winner's bar in the casino was the perfect spot for pre-dinner drinks. We had the 8.30pm dinner sitting which is perfect for us. In the past we have tried Freedom dining which sounds great in theory, however, in practice you still need to turn up at 6.30 or 8.30 pm, otherwise the restaurant is full and you will be given a buzzer. After a fabulous dinner we headed for the theatre to watch the Headliners Theatre group.
Friday 4th January was a sea day, so we started the day with a leisurely breakfast in bed. I went to an aerobics class to try and burn off some of extra calories I would be consuming. After that I went to a talk on Jack Vettriano and Fabian Perez, two of my favourite artists. Nik went to a talk on spies, but I think I made the better choice as my talk included a glass , of wine! The rest of the day was spent relaxing, reading, eating and drinking, before dinner and the theatre again.
Saturday 5th January our first port - Rotterdam. Rotterdam actually exceeded our expectations. There was a great market, good shopping centre and a fabulous indoor market which had artisan food and drink - lovely place to browse. Quite cold, but we were well wrapped up so enjoyed walking around, so much so that we walked back to the ship rather than catch the shuttle bus. In the evening after dinner we watched an fabulous soul trio The Flyrights, really got the audience going.
Sunday 6th January our 2nd port Zeebrugge. After a lovely breakfast in Le Jardin we caught the shuttle into Blankenburge. From here you can catch a local train into Brugge, but as we have been before, we decided to stay in Blankenburge. Blankenburge is a lovely Belgian seaside resort, so we went for a bracing walk along the sea front. This was followed by Hot Chocolate, Belgian beer and wine in Chopin, a lovely cafe to thaw us out. Back on board, after lunch we went to see The Greatest Showman, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Monday 7th January was our final sea day. Once again we had a leisurely breakfast in bed. I went to Aerobics whilst Nik went to a history talk on the British monarchy. We then went to a wine tasting in Le Club. This proved to be excellent value for money and very informative. We tasted 5 different wines, all available on ship and each was accompanied by different cheeses. At the end the Head Wine waiter asked us to estimate the percentage of water in the average bottle of wine. Nik guessed correctly at 85% and won yet another glass of wine of his choice. After the wine tasting we went back to the cabin for an afternoon nap - daytime drinking does that to you.
Tuesday 8th January our third port Le Harve. This port was rather disappointing, as it was extensively bombed in the war, it lacked French character - Coventry by the sea! We had a good stroll around to burn off some calories before catching the shuttle bus back to the ship. In the evening we were treated to the excellent Flyrights again.
Wednesday 9th January our final port Cherbourg. We had not explored Cherbourg before as on our last cruise we had gone on a trip to see the Bayeux tapestry. Cherbourg is a lovely city, full of french charm. It would be even better in summer, which is a good excuse to come again. Our final night on board was spent as is our habit with pre-dinner drinks, dinner and a final trip to see the fabulous Headliners Theatre group.
Thursday 10th January we disembarked at 7.30pm. We always opt for self-disembarkation as it means we have no waiting around and don't need to put our luggage out the night before. We were sad to say goodbye to Oceana, great food and excellent staff. Minibus waiting to take us back to car park to collect our car and then easy drive home after a great holiday. Weirdly, I'm always happy to be reunited with my washing machine and of course Nancy the cat is always pleased to see us home.
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