Onboard ORIANA

The Crows Nest.

To begin our tour of ORIANA’s public rooms we are going to start at the very top of the ship with a room with a view, The Crows Nest.

Located in the forward section of Deck 13 , The Crows Nest along with the Cyber Study and Medina Room make up the set of three rooms on the deck. Access to the rooms on this deck is via the forward lifts and stairway. A popular venue among passengers The Crows Nest appeals to a broad range of tastes from those who enjoy a quite place to read during the day to those who are looking for a pre dinner drink in a refined setting in the evenings . Often used as a venue for cocktail parties including being one of the rooms used for the Captains Gala Reception, the room in its design and décor evokes the feel of a sophisticated wine or champagne bar with the added benefit of stunning views. Like ORIANA as a whole the theme of room is a nautical one with many reminders of the fact that the passengers are indeed onboard a ship including a replica of a traditional ships compass. The most noticeable of the rooms features is the large model behind the bar, depicting one of P&O’s R class Liners built in 1925. Passengers with a eye for finer details may also notice on many of the seats around the room the image of the previous ORIANA’s badge which adorned the bow and the name ORIANA The perfect venue day or night the onboard entertainment team often hosts live music in The Crows Nest, often calling it “Music from the room with the view or “Music at the top”. Alternatively on other night the only music to be heard is lounge Music from the pianist with the lights set to a low level and small lamps placed on the tables the room takes on a intimate and sophisticated atmosphere where passengers can enjoy one or two last drinks before retiring to their cabins for the night. Along with its counterpart onboard fleet mate AURORA The Crows Nest is considered by many to be among finest panoramic lounges fitted aboard any ship being rated considerably higher than even QUEEN MARY 2’s Commodore Club which serves a similar purpose on board that vessel. Living up to its namesake from the early liners The Crows Nest also serves from time to time as lookout for the passengers to watch a later approach to a port particularly where the approach is a long or scenic one such as Oslo, Norway often with a description of the area from the local harbour pilot. Although it may vary generally the opening times for The Crows Nest are: 10am to 4pm reopening at 9:15pm until 1 or 2 am on sea days. And on port days 10am to 1:30pm reopening at 4:30pm until 1 or 2 am.

To finish our tour of Deck 13 we will briefly look at the Cyber study and Medina Room. The Medina Room is located on the starboard side of ORIANA and adjoins and forms a small annex to The Crows Nest. Named after P&Os MEDINA of 1911 which came to a premature end 6 years later when it was sank by a German submarine. With its walls adorned by images of the company’s previous ships , ceiling to floor windows and comfortable chairs the room forms a quiet retreat for passengers to read , write post cards home or just to sit and relax with a drink. The room is also used for religious services , meetings, arts and crafts classes and small formal and informal gathering of passengers. At the requests of passengers the room can be used to hold private parties complete with waiter service Cyb@study located just aft of The Crows Nest on the port side is ORIANA’s onboard computer room, allowing access to the Internet while at sea and in port through one of the computer terminals it also features a large flat screen television screen that can be used by the onboard Internet manager or Digital living presenter to host presentations on computers, software and other digital technology. Access to the computers is 24 hours a day with the Internet manager available between 8am to 10 am and 4pm to 10pm on sea days and 9am to 12pm, 2pm to 5pm and 7pm to 10pm on port days. The Internet service offered onboard is based on a so called pay as you go or on one of the prepaid time plans. In Terms of the décor the room continues with more paintings of P&O’s earlier ships including CANBERRA with a small description of each. The room is tastefully decorated with cream and wooden panelled walls. Images © P&O Cruises & Steve Martin