You are never too old to try something new……. or – Olga and Terry’s Great Cruise Adventure!

Well, my parents have finally taken the plunge. They have just returned from their first ever cruise, on P&O Oceana. And the verdict? Fantastic!

My dad can’t imagine how people ever find anything to complain about. he said that you get your cabin serviced twice a day, the food is excellent, the staff cannot do enough for you and the entertainment is superb. From embarkation to disembarkation everything went smoothly.

We chose the Oceana as it is a midsize ship. Dad has had more new knees than anyone I know so he can do without walking miles to get to the restaurant or the theatre. He found the ship just the right size, with plenty of places to ‘take five’ en route from one place to another.

They had a balcony cabin, midship on C Deck which was an ideal location. Not too far from the stairs and lifts, and apparently easy to get back to after late night hot chocolate in The White Room (via the casino!).
Luckily for my parents, being cruise newbies, they had my Uncle and Aunt with them to show them the ropes. They had cruised before and knew all the top tips.

We booked them onto first sitting on a large table and they had a wonderful time with their table companions. They didn’t bother to try any of the speciality restaurants as they were more than happy with the food and service in the main dining room – no one more so than my mother who gaily informed me on the phone one night that she would be bringing all the waiters home with her!! Fortunately I have not spotted anybody looking like a P&O waiter in the locality so far.

My parents chose to do coach excursions at each port of call as this was easiest for them and allowed them to see plenty of each destination, all of which they thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to anybody who is not very mobile.

All in all a huge success and there are plans afoot to book another cruise in the near future so I think we can assume that my parents are now ‘cruise converts’.

Happy days!