Writer Matt Hannafin recently joined a world cruise in
Vancouver, British Columbia, for a few days on P&O's Oriana.
His report follows.
ABOARD THE ORIANA -- With an overwhelmingly British passenger
base, cruising on this ship is like being dipped into British
culture without having to bring your umbrella.
P&O, the very British parent company of very American Princess
Cruises, began in 1837 as the Peninsular and Oriental Steam
Navigation Co. and became one of the most legendary names in
British shipping. The line ruled passenger travel between England,
Australia, India and the Far East for the better part of a
century.
Today, the line's three ships, Oriana, Arcadia, and Victoria
(plus the new Aurora, which will enter service in spring 2000),
sail itineraries in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, northern
Europe and the Black Sea, primarily departing from Southampton,
England. Additionally, Arcadia sails a series of Caribbean
itineraries in February and March, either from Southampton or
Barbados, and the Oriana and Victoria each sail a 90- or 92-day
World Cruise.
It was during Oriana's first such circumnavigation that I
stepped aboard in Vancouver, British Columbia, for a few days in
early March. A handsome, 1,810-passenger ship, Oriana bears more
than a passing resemblance to her cousins in the Princess fleet,
especially the Grand Princess, with which she shares a combination
of an airy, modern layout and warm, old fashioned lounges that
evoke the classic steamship era.
Although cabins are absolutely modern, with the same kind of
light wood design and modern fixtures that you find in most premium
megaships, public rooms like Anderson's Lounge and the Monte Carlo
Club have the warm atmosphere of an old London club, with
comfortably soft couches and high-backed chairs, portraits on the
walls, and faux bookcases. All that's missing is the fireplace.
It's absolutely evident that the vessel and its operations were
designed with British passengers in mind. You're more likely to
find kippers on your breakfast plate than pancakes, "Fawlty Towers"
on the TV rather than "Friends," and a droll attitude rather than
the usual cruise ship high-jinks.
For an American, it's like taking two vacations: one
geographical and the other sociological. Shared language and the
leveling effects of modern communications have tended to blur the
differences in many Americans' minds between ourselves and the
British.
We know that the Brits like tea, have accents like the Beatles
and David Niven and give their boy-children names like Evelyn and
Nigel, but other than that, what's the difference? As it turns out,
quite a lot, and that difference is what makes this border-erasing
cruise both enjoyable and enlightening.
These days, it's sometimes difficult to take the phrase
"Britannia rules the waves" seriously, but at one point -- and not
so very long ago -- it was patently true. On Oriana, I met many
passengers who were of an age to remember when the sun never set on
the British Empire, and a small number who were, in fact, from
former colonies such as India and Singapore. These latter
passengers were clearly more at home in the ship's atmosphere than
I was, demonstrating the influence that British culture still holds
across the world.
Certain areas of the ship are like an idealized England in
miniature. In the Lord's Tavern, the ship's plainly dress-down
indoor bar, regulars who had obviously been meeting there daily
throughout their world cruise bellied up to the bar for a few pints
from one of the best draught beer selections I've seen aboard any
ship.
The room itself is themed on cricket, that most British of team
sports, with cricket bats and wickets on the walls, a mural of a
cricket field, cricket-themed photos and paintings hanging here and
there, and carpeting that looks for all the world like grass.
As in many other places on the ship, the bar's smoky air served
as a reminder that the British, like Europeans in general, have not
developed the recent American fixation on nonsmoking areas. There
were very few such areas aboard the Oriana, and passengers seemed
to take it for granted that they could light up wherever they
pleased.
By contrast, I found more passengers than I had expected out
exercising on the encircling promenade deck. Even on some blustery
days heading down the coast of Washington and Oregon toward San
Francisco, guests could be found walking and running determinedly
into the wind, and I even saw one older woman swimming laps in one
of the outdoor pools, even though the temperature had dipped down
into the high 40s. Talk about a stiff upper lip.
The ship's gym also gets a fair amount of business, though
temptation lurks not around the corner, or down the hall, but right
outside the usually open door in the adjoining Al Fresco Pizzeria,
where several different pizzas and delicious garlic bread are
served daily from noon to 7 pm.
Not only is the pizzeria right on a perfect sightline from the
Stairmasters, but through a quirk of ship design, porters bringing
provisions to the pizzeria must pass right through the gym, leaving
everyone on the treadmills and weight machines sniffing after the
lingering aromas.
Food aboard this ship is, as you would expect, extremely
British, something Americans will notice the first thing in the
morning when they spot the kippered herring, smoked haddock in milk
and black pudding on the breakfast menu or buffet.
Lunchtime might mean traditional fish and chips, followed a few
hours later, naturally, by afternoon tea. Dinner offers some
wonderfully prepared dishes served in two low-key, quietly elegant,
single-story dining rooms. In addition to British classics like
beef Wellington; cream of stilton and leek soup, and smoked
scottish salmon, one will also find vegetarian and health-conscious
dishes as well as international entrees popularized during the days
of the Empire. As the line's publicity says, "We've been making and
serving our famous curries since the days of the Raj."
On the entertainment side, production shows present either
recognizable fare such as Broadway show tunes or, conversely,
evenings like "The Best of British" hour-long song-and-dance feast,
where I recognized exactly one number, though everyone else in the
audience smiled and sang along throughout, then waved their little
plastic Union Jacks through a rousing "God Save the Queen."
Although I didn't understand many of the references in the show
(nor the punchlines to a few jokes), I was able to laugh about it
later with some of the other passengers, who were more than happy
to tell this backward Yank the stories behind the songs, and why
they're so beloved.
All in all, I found a cruise on the Oriana both delightful and a
learning experience. It was fun to sit in with this essentially
British group in their own element and hear what they think of
themselves.
Comedians on the ship were forever poking good-natured fun at
stereotypical British stuffiness. One told of an old woman on a
recent Caribbean sailing who walked up to the reception desk one
morning and haughtily inquired as to that day's port call. When
told they would be stopping in beautiful St. Lucia, she replied,
"Saint LOOOO-sha? Dreadful place. When does the library open?"