Other cruise companies may have you pay extra at certain restaurants, or for certain dishes - not Oceania. You could have fresh lobster (or anything else that tickles your fancy on their menus) free of charge, every day at any of their speciality restaurants (with the exception of one particularly extravagant one, La Reserve). You could have room service every day, again free of charge, if you prefer.

Imagine enjoying a sunset dinner at the table above, watching the sky turn yellow and orange as you slowly work your way through your Maine Lobster Baked in Shell with Mushroom Cream Sauce, Served with Crispy Parmesan. To get a better idea of the restaurants aboard their ships, take a look at this page and click through to read the menus... then start saving for your trip. ;)

Each of the many restaurants aboard the Oceania Marina has different decor and serves from a different menu. Many of the dishes in their repertoire were designed by former French president Charles de Gaulle's personal chef, Jacques Pepin... which seems fitting for a fleet that prides itself on the quality of the food they serve.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Oceania Cruises place a great deal of emphasis on food and service. What I found astonishing is that the Marina (and Riviera) have 800 staff members aboard to take care of only 1250 guests! That's a ratio of about one and a half staff members to two guests... pretty hectic hey? Sure, some of those staff are manning the rowing oars, but you'll find most of the others taking care of your needs in the spa, gym, dining rooms, culinary center, and pool area. ;)

Our tour guide aboard the Marina mentioned an interesting fact about Oceania's fleet of mid-sized ships: Because their ships are smaller than other very big liners, they're able to dock in smaller harbours along, say, the Mediterranean coast. Not only are they able to dock inside those harbours (instead of out at sea), but they're able to dock close to the centre of town so that guests don't have to travel far to get to where the action is. Imagine taking a 10 day voyage, starting in Barcelona, and each day disembarking to wander the cities of Marseille, Monte Carlo, Florence, Rome, Sorrento, Sicily, Zakynthos, Santorini, and ending up in Istanbul? Sounds pretty amazing, right?

I really wish I'd get commission for leading you to book a trip, but alas, I won't. So, just go ahead and find a travel agent to book your trip, or visit Cruises International to check what they have on offer. I have to mention though, don't look at the first price you get - Kerry-Anne found a few beautiful deals on the Web. ;)

Space comes at a premium aboard ships. This next next photo is of one of their more expensive rooms. Notice the extra lounge area with room divider next to the bed? In addition to the extra space, and a balcony, this room comes with it's own butler that'll be at your beck and call for whatever you may need. I'm pretty sure he'll even serve you grapes one by one if that's what you desire. :)

On our way to the pool deck I noticed this little lounge area off to the one side, just over the way from where a lone pianist sat softly stroking a set of pearly-white keys. Imagine sitting here for an afternoon, talking with interesting people from far-away lands while enjoying high tea. I have a feeling it wouldn't take much for me to get used to that kind of life!

Leading from the buffet restaurant (I'll tell you about the food in my next post) we came across the library in the next photo. You can't see a great deal of it from this view, but isn't what you can see beautiful? The narrow library stretches along for about 30 or 35 meters and is lined with books. Interspersed are small seating areas, each with three or four comfy chairs like the one in this photo. I'm pretty sure you could imagine sitting in silence, reading a book, while enjoying the freshly-brewed illy coffee from the barista station conveniently located right next to the library. ;)

You can imagine spending 7 or 14 days aboard the Oceania Marina, can't you? Just in case you're in two minds about it - consider this: NO CHILDREN. Well, not "no children", not really. Oceania tends to cater more for sophisticated adults. They try to create a quiet environment, free from loud music, frequent announcements, and screaming-running-playing-crying children. While they don't mind having kids aboard, they don't offer special entertainment or facilities for kids. And given that they don't have many kids as passengers the kids that do find themselves tagging along with their parents are normally the quiet and reserved kinds - you know, like the adorable Evan Taylor that Freddie Highmore played in the 2007 film August Rush. :)