Oceania Marina culinary cruising in the Caribbean – The Telegram

Even the mandatory pre-cruise safety drill was gracious and polite. As we gathered with our lifejackets in the main lounge, the British leader asked us to pay careful attention to the upcoming announcements, with a small amount of hush. Sure beats, Be quiet!

Boarding cruise ships, even in a port as efficient as Miami, can be chaotic. Oceania, with its small fleet of medium sized vessels, seems to have perfected the process. Its in keeping with the overall sophistication and professionalism of our ship. Marina, built in 2011 for 1,200 guests, is supported by a well-trained crew of 800 (among the best passenger/staff ratios at sea).

Marina is classed as an upper-premium cruise ship, one step down from luxury. It doesnt offer complementary excursions, free Wi-Fi or wine with lunch and dinner but prices are more moderate than top lines like Regent or Crystal. However, from our 10 days aboard Marina, we can state that weve never had better cuisine on any cruise ship and the level of service was second to none. There are no facilities for children and guests ranged from middle age to senior. Most were veteran cruisers (25 per cent were Canadian) who appreciated the casual Country Club atmosphere and luxury touches.

Marina is small enough to get around easily but big enough to offer a wide variety of culinary and entertainment options. The bright atrium with its glass elevators and the many public rooms all felt like a cozy club with comfortable chairs and great lighting. The library is huge with a wide selection of fiction and non-fiction. The ship was built in Italy and its heritage shows with lots of polished granite on floors and walls and sophisticated art works on staircases and in lounges.

Our standard balcony cabin was large by industry standards (270 sq. feet ) with plenty of storage space, good AC, a very comfortable bed (sheets with 1,000 thread count) and a generous-sized bathroom with Bulgari toiletries. All rooms have a mini-fridge stocked with complimentary bottled water, pop and juice. The high def TV offered movies and several news channels.

The pool deck is very generous in size with scores of well-padded recliners surrounding a salt-water swimming pool. Unfortunately, smoking is still allowed in one corner of the pool deck and, when the wind is right, the smell permeates the entire pool area.

For a relatively small ship, the evening entertainment was first rate. The ship has a troupe of six singers and six dancers, all very talented, complemented by a seven-piece band. During our 10-day cruise, we enjoyed four excellent and highly choreographed production shows. The band plays in other venues as well and a string quartet performs every afternoon (at high tea) and in the evening.

From its beginning in 2003, Oceania has stressed fine dining and Marina excels in providing outstanding cuisine from its 140 chefs in its main dining room and four no-extra-cost specialty restaurants. Celebrity Chef Jacques Pepin is Oceanias Executive Culinary Director and his influence is evident in the quality and presentation of all meals. His namesake restaurant Jacques is like a high-end French bistro with plenty of foie gras, caviar and rotisserie meats. His Dover Sole, prepared tableside, was particularly good.

The other specialty restaurants were Polo Grill (classic steakhouse with crab cakes, massive steaks and Maritime lobster), Toscana (wonderful lasagna, pan-seared sea bass and an extensive olive oil menu) and Red Ginger (Asian fusion specialties including spicy duck, Thai beef and an extraordinary Lobster Pad Thai).

The well-named Grand Dining Room is also open every day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and offers an extensive menu with food and service thats a match for the most luxurious high-end ships. The informal Terrace Caf on the 12th deck (with several outside tables) is a buffet restaurant with a wide choice of freshly prepared dishes (the almond croissants at breakfast were better than any weve had at big city cafs).

Many Caribbean cruises have ho-hum itineraries but Oceania planned this one to hit some fascinating ports. In Cozumel we joined an elaborate Mexican cooking class at Playa Mia where humourous Chef Luis helped us prepare tortilla with shrimp, grilled grouper with tamarind sauce and caramelized plantain with chocolate tequila sauce. We then enjoyed our creations with bottomless margaritas. Cozumel has a great port facility with good, competitive shopping. Even Mexican beer was available at two for $3.00.

Our next stop, Costa Maya, Mexico, offered a wonderful historic tour to the Mayan Ruins of Chacchoben. The remarkable pyramids and sacred temples date back 1,500 years. Costa Maya has a modern port facility but shopping should be avoided. Souvenirs are expensive and the beer that cost $1.50 in Cozumel is $6.00 here.

In Central America, we visited the fascinating countries of Honduras, Guatemala and Belize. The highlight was Guatemala where we boarded a panga boat and headed along the tropical coast to the isolated fishing port of Livingston. We then sailed up the Rio Dulce River and visited a unique vocational boarding school in the jungle with 600 students. In Belize, we enjoyed a beach day on a private island, Harvest Caye, developed just months ago to serve Norwegian and Oceania cruise guests. Its a great facility with free beach chairs and beach umbrellas.

As we reluctantly returned to Miami several well-travelled guests told us why they love cruising with Oceania. One said he appreciated that there were no in-your-face photographers or Baked Alaska parades! Most just commented that fellow guests were informed and interesting and that the food and service were unbelievably good.

We concur.

John and Sandra Nowlan are travel and food writers based in Halifax

Read the rest here:

Oceania Marina culinary cruising in the Caribbean - The Telegram