A first evening on board.
As ORIANA left Southampton and the Solent in her wake he passengers began to settle in on board after the excitement of the journey to Southampton, check in and sail away passengers had drifted to various areas of the ship to begin the first evening of their time on board.
For many this was to become better or reacquainted with the excellent range of bars on board or to simply to take a relaxed stroll at their own pace around her generous decks.
For those of us on the First sitting Dinner it gave a brief but welcome time to relax and also prepare for the first evenings Dinner.
While it was for me personally it was hardly a new experience unlike for João whom was enjoying everything for a first time this cruise was to bring some firsts for me beginning with the dining venue, for the first time in 5 cruise on board ORIANA the allocation was for the Oriental Restaurant located in the stern area of the ship and supposedly famed for suffering with vibrations from her propellers.
Being that it was the first evening on board the dress code was a casual giving time for a quick 'freshening up' before making our way down to dinner.
From the cabin the route to the restaurant was fairly easy to remember, head to the aft most staircase and take the lift or stairs 5 decks down to do deck to deck 6 which brought us right out at the dark wood clad entrances, for those still in doubt of their location the addition of the gold letters above each entrance spelling Oriental offered a subtle clue.
Entering a line of smiling smartly attired waiters waited to take escort each passenger to their places taking note of their table number from the place card which had been placed in passengers cabins by the stewards earlier.
Our table 39, for 4 was located on the port side on a raised section near the centre of the room next to a waist height glass division each panel of which featured a simple etched art deco pattern and was lit from the floor up. Although only a small detail it is these small details which sets ORIANA apart from her newer fleet mates the care that went into her design even the smallest detail wasn't overlooked how different to the newer 'generic' generation of cruise ship.
The Oriental Restaurant during a quieter moment not set before being set for dinner.
Having only visited briefly on other occasions it offered the first real chance to feel the ambiance of the room.
The first real thought being that there was a surprising lack of 'constant vibration' certainly as it would turn out on this cruise when ORIANA adjusted speed there would be a slight increase in machinery noise and a slight vibration but this was only temporary and would cease within a minute or so.
Mere moments after being seated we were greeted by our two waiters Santosh and Ranjith, after a brief introduction we were presented with the evening's menus the first thoughts were the same as on every cruise with P&O what to to choose ? From Fan of Melon to Prawn Cocktail for starters and Rolled fillet of Plaice to Grass fed Sirloin steak for mains the were options just too numerous and each dish sounded just as tempting as the previous one.
The cover on the menu although at the time concealed within the menu holder bespoke the commitment P&O has to feeding their passengers and in light of the excellent food on offer is worth sharing here.
While thoughts turned to what to choose we were introduced to the last member of our waiter team Tess our Wine waitress who would be on hand to deal with all drink related request.
While it is often mentioned that dinner service is sometimes slower on the first evening of a cruise this certainly wasn't the case on board ORIANA as our chosen starters arrived fairly quickly and after a quick 'bon appetit' it was time to try the dishes which were excellently presented.
As expected the food was as excellent to taste as it was to look at another triumph for the Galley of ORIANA and her head chef John McMullen as seen in the short paragraph below included with the following evenings menu gives a hint at his dedication to his profession and to providing us as passengers with the highest level of food possible.
While it has been reported recently that standards on cruise ships in general including food quality were slipping as a result companies cutting backs this certainly wasn't the case on ORIANA as the food was as high standard as it always has been both of the authors having nothing but praise for the cuisine on board
Indeed it was topic of conversation over dinner about P&O's star rating, considering the high level of service/attentiveness of the waiters and the excellent standard of food it was difficult to believe that P&O could be bettered P&O and ORIANA in particular we decided still epitomized all that is good about traditional cruising.
Glancing around briefly between courses it seemed that the rest of the passengers in the restaurant seemed also to be getting into the cruise mood on the larger tables passengers who several hours before had been complete strangers to each other were now getting to know each other over dinner in polite conversation while undoubtedly it seemed others were meeting friends they had not seen for some time all within the elegant and beautiful Ocean Liner inspired venue
While dinner on board any cruise ship is without a doubt an excellent and memorable experience for me being back on board ORIANA was the greatest cruising pleasure I could think of this excellent ship whose elegance is virtually unmatched with in the Carnival Group or any other cruise company and on a more personal level a ship that had brought me many happy moments and friends, both directly and indirectly a ship I owed much to.
Inevitably dinner ended and with it the evening in someways began on the promenade deck the multiple venues each were hosting their various entrainment for the night the sounds from the Lord's Tavern befitting a sports bar were of cheering,booing to be heard if it was possible not to know already then you would be left in no doubt that the small matter of Euro 2012 was ongoing.
While just along the corridor in it could have been a world away as keen dancers hit ORIANA's largest dance floor for the 'Welcome on board dance' later to be joined on stage by a musical trio to make the night go with a swing.
Further along ORIANA's refined club like venue Andersons was offering those within a elegant and timeless surroundings to enjoy a conversation as always being the perfect social venue meanwhile the heart of the accommodation the atrium presented a animated scene of passengers ascending and descending the staircase, passing through or watching the scene below while enjoying refreshments from Tiffany's.
Right at the fore end of the promenade deck the Theatre Royal was beginning to fill rapidly for the cruise's first performance by the ship's Headliners theatre group with a show called Stage Door a tribute to the famous stage musicals.
Although the show wasn't due to start for the at least 35 minutes both entrances were being filled quickly by passengers entering to take their preferred seats.
While there was much going on board for this first evening after the day's excursions a more relaxing seemed a better idea but first a walk out on to the promenade revealed that in the last light the sun CELEBRITY ECLIPSE despite having departed before ORIANA had fallen behind and was growing more distant, the new generation of Meyer Werft ship design not keeping pace with the more elegant one!
One last call for the night was to the Crow's Nest for to enjoy the rest of the evening in one of ORIANA's most sophisticated venues.
Fortunately there was some seating free near one of the forward facing windows while there wasn't much of a view in the darkness did none the less offer an interesting perspective on the world as lights of ships appeared and disappeared on the horizon and as we stared with a glass of Guinness in hand trying to make out the strange lights that featured on the horizon the realisation came that it was the coast of France we were looking at as the Piano lounge music gave way to the lively sounds of ORIANA's guest duo Serendipity filled the room and was very fitting for the atmosphere.
The night was coming to an end slowly and what ever may lay ahead on the cruise for the time being didn't really matter, ORIANA kept her course steady and true as two decks below her officers kept her on route to the North Sea and the Norwegian fjords which once again awaited her.
Document: João Abreu Collection
