In the past few posts, I included many photos of other ships seen during those few days. Except one...the one we were travelling on, the lovely Oriana. The reason for that is because I think she deserves a post to herself.
And a few shots from aboard the ship
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| Atrium staircase |
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| Conservatory |
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| Deck 11 starboard, looking forward. Yes that corridor is as long as it looks |
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| Lifering |
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| Terrace bar |
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| Stern terraces |
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| WTF?! I am guessing this is to let people on the bridge know if someone falls over the side. |
Oriana is a lovely ship and now easily my favourite in service. She's beautiful to look at, one of the last of the good-looking passenger ships, and lovely to travel on. The crew are a genuinely nice bunch and, while they did not always get things right, they did try and correct any mistakes. I only really have one complaint and that was the cost of internet access. You can pay 50p a minute (pay as you go) or £10 for thirty minutes, £15 for an hour, etc, which is, in my opinion, a huge rip-off.
Since her most recent refit, Oriana has been 'adults-only' and as someone who doesn't have children I think this is a great thing. It is nice to be able to go somewhere for a few days that isn't permeated with the sound of high pitched screeching voices or small people running about. This has generated complaints from a few quarters but, too bad, there are so many places - including ships - which are 'family friendly' these days so it is nice to be able to escape the ever-present 'young families'. Families have their own things, so why can't the rest of us?
The decor is quite nice, including the carpets which are green, pink or beige, depending on which part of the ship you're in. There are no really hideous garish colours. I didn't get to see everything, of course, but I liked what I saw.
Oriana is now 17 years old and I hope she has many more years ahead of her with P&O.
