Ten years ago on the 9th June 2012 both the authors of this blog boarded ORIANA for a 7 night cruise to the Norwegian fjords, to mark the occasion we roll back the sands of time to once again enjoy the expericnce of sailing on board P&O's mighty flagship.
9th June 2012 :-
After many months of waiting and anticipating finally the time was
almost right to return to ORIANA for what would undoubtedly be another
excellent cruise on board P&O's magnificent masterpiece.
However this day was different form othet cruises as joining me for his first cruise on board the ship he eagerly
had watched since childhood was my good friend and the creator of this
blog João Abreu, such was the allure of ORIANA. it had been because of my
previous cruise on her I had come to know him and despite living far
apart we had become close and valued friends and approaching the
docks with their cranes and container it was almost time to
pay respects to the great lady of the seas who had made it all possible
- ORIANA.
On this day all of Southampton's cruise terminals were occupied with cruise ships
the first to come into view was the mother of the Grand/Crown type ship
GRAND PRINCESS docked in the Mayflower Terminal once the largest ship in
the world she looked impressive until compared to the giant docked in
the City terminal CELEBRITY ECLIPSE beautiful from the inside most
certainly and at the time an impressive sight due to her size the one attribute this
Meyer Werft ship could not boast was fine lines or exterior elegance.
Next in the Ocean Terminal the then last new build for P&O AZURA was
docked ready to embark her 3000+ passengers as such the book ends of the
Grand/Crown class were present GRAND PRINCESS the pioneer of the Grand
Class and AZURA the last member of the derived Crown class ships.
Finally docked by starboard side in the Queen Elizabeth II terminal
almost as though she was welcoming her expectant passengers ORIANA, her
bow facing towards us as we approached and looking as elegant as ever
despite some slight modifications made to her bridge wings, most
prominently the addition of a canvas cover on each ORIANA did not look a
single one of her 17 years indeed it seemed almost as though she was
the youngest the only sign of her age being the fact that ORIANA was the
only ship in port that wasn't from a class of mass produced hulls.
Arriving at the terminal almost as soon as we had stepped from the car
our luggage had been collected by a porter in a scene almost reminiscent
of a embarkation day from the old ocean liners he hurriedly took them
away to be loaded on board.
Parting with the driver and with ORIANA looming beyond the terminal we
joined the queue to check in, thankfully not very long and in no time at
all we were at the desk with passports and tickets at the ready as the
process began the check in assistant amused at our matching ORIANA
Maiden Voyage T-shirts.
With check in complete another important procedure began with the
security screening of course a must and in these days a welcome sight
ensuring that all safety procedures being followed completely.
Once completed all that remained was the customary boarding photograph
which on this occasion showed two expectant fans ready to board their
favorite cruise liner leaving little doubt the excitement the two shared
and then finally a steep gangway leading into ORIANA after swiping the
cruise card to officially sign us on board ORIANA's atrium beckoned.
Although some minor differences were present since her refit these were
very slight and didn't affect the ambiance of the atrium its self
initially the only differences noticeable was the removal of the black
granite panelling around the the Reception desk it being replaced by
lighter textures.
As passengers boarded a member of the entertainment team was welcoming
passengers on board, with the cabins not being ready she was directing
people to one of two areas on board for refreshments, for the passengers
travelling in the Suite and Mini-Suite accommodation the spacious
Harlequins Bar/ dance venue was serving as an more exclusive buffet
complete with champagne and for the remaining passengers a full buffet
being was served in the Conservatory on deck 12.
Unsurprisingly the buffet was full of passengers and
free seats at tables were few and far between although a slight annoyance since
the journey to Southampton often left passengers a little hungry, it
wasn't the fault of the ship's design or company organization more a
unfortunate effect of the target market mindset and attitude at times a
frustrating one.
While the idea of finding a meal at this time quickly disappearing the
business at hand of exploring ORIANA to find what else had changed
during her 2011 refit seemed a good alternative , however on reflection
when passing by the Lord's Tavern bar with a week in front of us do
that the opportunity to at first get into the cruise mood with a drink
of larger seemed quite a good alternative for us and with pleanty of
room avalible the "Tavern" seemed quite an attractive option.
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Seating in The Lord's Tavern
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With its obvious cricket theme eluded to in most every way possible
the room offered an quintessentially English atmosphere in which to
enjoy what was sure to be the first of many relaxing moments on board as
well as getting well acquainted with one of the waiters introducing him
to our fondness of ORIANA and to this blog.
While enjoying our drink the first of many announcements of the day was
made advising that all the passengers cabins were now ready, with no
hurry our first priority was to finish our drinks before heading up to
discover our 'home' for the next week.
For us the journey was up 4 decks to deck 11 or 'A' deck to the starboard side of the midship area and inside cabin A191.
Reaching the cabin our first impression was a good
one despite being an inside the cabin was a generous size in fact the
main space of the cabin was considerably larger than a standard Balcony
Cabin on board fleet mate VENTURA and also in a slightly unusual design
feature for a modern cruise ship the cabin featured a bathroom from
complete with bath and shower.
Having taken a brief time to settle in to the cabin and been introduced
to the Cabin Steward Daniel who ran through the customary the
emergency route plan on the back of the cabin door and a reminder the
location and time the safety drill was being held. in this case our
designated muster station was Station B on Deck 8 Comprising of Chaplins
Cinema, Library an Crichton's games room.
With the first formalities on board out of the way we began our tour of the beautifully refitted ORIANA.
Most logically we began from the top and from ORIANA's most atmospheric
and stunning venue The Crow's Nest, while the room it self had not
undergone any change the area behind the bar did have a surprising
difference instead of the large model of the P&O's R class ship from the 1920's which had
occupied the space since 1995.
The display case now was full of plaques
and other items relating to ORIANA most prominently displayed in the
centre was one of ORIANA's bells and below it a beautiful model of the ship
herself showing her as built while it was not stated as such the high level of
detail made it quite possible that it was a builders or pre-construction
owners model.
One deck below The Crow's Nest the Gymnasium/Spa was the next area of note to be effected by the refit.
Beginning in area which had been the original Gymnasium this area is now
almost completely occupied by a wooden floored aerobic area for
aerobic exercises, fitness class, Zumba etc.
Forward of this area and stretching to the centre of the forward facing
windows the starboard side of what had previously been the spa is now
the Gymnasium instead of the relaxation which had previously taken place
here now it was ready for passengers to be quite the opposite with
exercise equipment ranging from weight lifting machines to exercise
bikes.
Reaching the centre of the room a divider admitted entrance to the spa
area, which despite its reduced size was still fully equipped with Steam
rooms, sauna and whirlpool spa and having been updated during her
recent refit with the installation of two heated ceramic beds along with
a small relaxation area .
Elsewhere on board it was not much of a surprise that there were a
series of reminders of the fact that 2012 was P&O's 175 year heritage
celebrations in the form of an timeline and art deco styled poster on
Deck 8 near the cinema.
While our exploration of ORIANA continued it was obvious that the
combination of her latest refit and excellent upkeep by her crew the
ship was looking as good as the day she entered service nowhere was
there evidence of her being 'dated or tired' as befitting for the
flagship of the most distinguished British cruise line.
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Looking aft from the Anderson's bar
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While it was easy to lose track of the time on board we kept an close on
time and with the time fast approaching for muster a quick detour to
the cabin to collect our lifebelts we made our way slightly earlier than
was required even so there was a few passengers already seated we took
our places to wait the important announcement from the bridge.
With all passengers at their muster stations the stairway guides
relocated from the positions the had taken to assist any passengers who
may need it as the Captain ran through the safety and muster procedure
in place on board ORIANA.
While it was a lot of information to take in but as had been proved with the loss of COSTA CONCORDIA almost 5 months ealier it was vitally important to be aware of what to do in
the unlikely event of an emergency.
Following the announcements passengers were invited to practice the
correct way of putting on a lifebelt before leaving to enjoy ORIANA's
impending sail away.
Leaving the lifebelt in the cabin and avoiding the many passengers
already making their way onto deck we fairly quickly made it on to the
sun deck in time to watch the other ships passing ORIANA.
Firstly CELEBRITY ECLIPSE her huge size silently slipping by her passengers waving enthusiastically.
Next came GRAND PRINCESS and with the ensuring horn battle a memorable
start to the cruise however inevitability ORIANA and her distinctive
horn won out.
Finally taking her leave of the port ORIANA began her own departure from the dockside the
brass band played as the thrusters began edging the ship away from her
berth and then ahead her proud house flag flying on the bow as she
picked up speed.
With Southampton falling astern as ORIANA picked up speed we headed to the cabin to prepare for the first dinner of the cruise, on first sitting we would be dining in The Oriental Resaurant the largest of the main dining rooms on board.