On Sunday 2nd June, I was in Southampton to visit the Oceania Marina. I was quite excited as I have previously visited the Regatta, but so many years ago. I was not disappointedly the Marina, she is a beautiful ship.

I would describe the Marina as casually elegant, sophisticated, and stylish. Oceania offer an ambience where the dress code is smart/casual; no cocktail dresses or jacket & tie required, unless you want to.

The Marina is just over 66,000 gross tonnes, accommodates 1,250 guests with 800 members of staff over 16 decks in total. She was built in 2011, refurbished in 2016, and will be upgraded in 2020 with extra enhancements including all-new owners suites.

I found the staterooms on the Marina to be very spacious, more so than a lot of cruise ships I have been on, and also beautifully appointed. There are a few inside, the ever popular verandahs, Concierge level, and suites of various sizes - Penthouse, Oceania, Vista and Owners. Every stateroom has a bathtub and separate shower, plus from the Oceania suite and above, you can enjoy your own hot tub on a large verandah. The Vista suite even had it’s own little private fitness centre. I’m not sure why?

Marina Owners Suite - Entry foyer with large windows and seating area, bedroom, large lounge, bathroom, 2 closets and indoor & outdoor whirlpool spas

Marina Vista suite - Bedroom, lounge area, 2 bathrooms, large walk in closet, gym, indoor whirlpool spa, and large deck with whirlpool spa

Marina Penthouse suite - King size bed, separate seating area, bathroom, walk in closet, and private verandah

The public areas are spacious and distinctly different, with luxurious furnishings and interesting art work. Walking from one public area to another, there are sofas and lounge chairs for people to chill out on while they are waiting for their staterooms to become available on embarkation day, or waiting for their friends to join them for dinner.

There are several restaurants onboard, all open-dining; The buffet, with servers to help you rather than everyone digging in to the food themselves, and the Bistro for family inspired dining by Jacques Pepin.

There are also distinctive specialty dining restaurants with theme inspired decoration, all with no extra charge. Everyone is guaranteed to eat at least once in the restaurants, and, availability withstanding, you are able to book on the ship if you would like a second seating. The specialty restaurants consist of; The Polo Grill - steakhouse, Toscana - Italian, Waves Grill - all American favourites, Jacques - French cuisine, and Red Ginger - Asian inspired dining.

There is also La Reserve where you can enjoy wine seminars, vintage tastings, gourmet dinners, and authentic tapas. This comes at an additional cost of about $100 per person. Enjoy dining in a private room with up to 10 of your friends, fellow guests who you become friends with onboard, or family, for a small reservation surcharge in Privee. You can choose meals from Polo Grill, Toscana, or both.

There are cafe’s, an Al Fresco dining area, Barista coffee bar, Martini bar, and much more. On a cruise line with the best cuisine at sea, you are bound to find something you love.

On Marina and Regatta, you can enjoy culinary classes with hands-on cooking to improve your pasta making skills or become a poached egg making genius. There is also a good size artists loft studio opposite where you can have a go at drawing or painting, maybe some beautiful scenery you have taken a picture of on a shore excursion, or maybe the ship itself?

Up on deck you will find a beautiful pool area with comfortable deck chairs, hot tubs and a sports area. I love the pool design as there is a shallow section surround where you are able to cool off your feet without jumping in. Concierge class and above can enjoy unlimited access to a private spa terrace with extra comfortable lounge chairs and hot tubs.

All entertainment is included, as is a fully equipped gym and fitness classes like yoga and pilates. The Canyon Range spa is additional with pay as you go treatments.

These ship tours are always so torturous (but enjoyable), in the morning you visit a few staterooms before embarkation begins, then the guides take you through all the restaurants where the staff are serving beautiful food and you become more and more hungry until you finally arrive at your restaurant for lunch at 12.30. It is worth the wait though - We were served beautiful warm breads, wine, and a wonderful 4 course meal in the Grand dining room which is the main dining experience on the ship.

Our beautiful meal; sweet potato fritters with caviar and lime cream, lobster ravioli, beef with parmesan crust, and last but not least, a chocolate Charlotte.

It was hard leaving this beautiful ship, I could have stayed on all day, but sadly she was moving on to Northern Europe with her guests.

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