Cruising on Oceania Vista: My Panama Canal Adventure

Part One

The Ship – Oceania Vista 

Top Tips for Cruising with Oceania

There’s something about a cruise that excites me more than any other trip. It could be the fact that you wake up in a different place every day without ever needing to pack and unpack. Perhaps it is the luxurious lifestyle you live onboard or the fabulous food and exotic cocktails. Or the shows, the bars, the pool, the library. Everything I need to keep me so happily entertained. 

Which means I’m beyond excited on embarkation day. I barely sleep the night before and am ready to run onboard screaming with excitement. Which of course I don’t do! Trying to maintain some dignity of course. 

This is my ninth cruise since I fell in love with cruising in 2013. Yes, I haven’t been a cruiser for that long – I never thought I’d like it you see. What do I know?

All Aboard

Today we’re boarding Oceania Vista in Los Angeles and we’re going to be heading down the coast bound for Central America and a transit through the Panama Canal before finishing up in Miami. It’s 16 heavenly cruising days, quite a few of those at sea so it seems like bliss as far as the mind can imagine ahead. And Vista is brand new, having only launched this year so my expectations are high.

That first day onboard is arguably my favourite. Unpacking and settling into your stateroom. Trying to get your bearings and work out where everything is and exploring the sparkle and glitz that is Oceania Vista – this is some spectacular ship. 

Top Tip

When it comes to embarkation day make sure you have filled in all your details online have all your paperwork to hand and, most importantly, that your luggage is labelled with the official labels. If you haven’t received any labels ask for them in good time before you leave for your cruise. This will mean a quick and easy boarding process rather than what can be something of a bunfight and unnecessary queuing. Speaking from experience. 

The Facts About Oceania Vista

Built in 2023, launched in 2024

A length of 791 feet

1,200 guests and 800 crew members from 47 nationalities

Eight restaurants including four speciality restaurants that require bookings

Five bars plus the Vista Lounge where live shows are performed every night

Vista is a relatively small ship (describing herself as a small luxurious cruise ship) compared with some of the monsters out these days. It’s an ideal size with enough facilities yet easy to get around and a good amount of guests yet not so many that getting on and off the ship is unpleasant and time-consuming.

Top Tip

When you’re thinking of booking a cruise, find out the age of the ship you will be sailing on. And the newer the better – or recently refurbed. Things move on very quickly these days and if the decor and facilities haven’t been updated they won’t be as good as they could be. I always take into account the size and amount of guests, too. This is a personal preference but I prefer cruises with a capacity of around 1,000 guests.

Dazzling Interior Decor

Vista is a design marvel and the decor is stunning. So much thought has been put into the design, the attention to detail is incredible and there’s artwork around every corner. The carpets are plush, the chairs super-comfortable, the striking light fittings glitter and banisters gleam. And I really loved the colour schemes. 

Our stateroom is a generous size with a separate seating area and balcony with chairs and table. And the bathroom is fabulous with the largest shower enclosure I’ve ever had on a cruise with an oversized rainforest shower. The incredible bed is dressed with the plumpest of pillows and softest of quality linen and there’s plenty of storage space. 

The interactive television offers a range of movies and television options, and the Cruise Director’s daily programme, all available on demand. There’s even some live sport. The Cricket World Cup was on during our stay and we were happy we could watch some of the games. There’s a fridge but no kettle or coffee machine (health and safety apparently) so we ordered our early morning beverages the night before and they were delivered on time. 

Top Tip

Look at a map to establish the direction your ship will be sailing in and book a stateroom that is on the side facing the land so you have better views. This is the port side (left if you’re facing the front of the ship) for northbound journeys and starboard (right) for southbound. 

Dining in Style

Food is a huge part of any cruise for me and Oceania’s strapline is The Finest Cuisine at Sea. A big statement and one we couldn’t wait to investigate. The Grand Dining Room serves a menu that changes daily with a choice of at least 10 starters, soups and salads and 10 main courses. And there are signature dishes that are always available. We ate a wide range of cuisines and found the standard and service to be excellent. No bookings required, just turn up for dinner between 6.30pm and 9.30pm. 

Top Tip

Get the feel for your ship and the patterns of dining in the Grand Dining Room to avoid unnecessary queuing. On our voyage people starting queuing up about 15 minutes before the doors even opened so if we went at opening time it took ages to get in. We soon learned to rather have a drink at the bar and head in a little later when we were seated pretty much immediately.

Speciality Restaurants

There are four onboard Vista. Each one has a different look and feel, so much so that you don’t feel like you’re on a ship at all but rather in a Michelin-star restaurant. Finest Cuisine at Sea, you see. Just saying. These all have to be booked in advance and you are only allowed to book each of them once before you board.

We dined at Polo Grill, Ember and Red Ginger twice each on the voyage and at Toscana once.

Polo Grill is a fabulous steakhouse-style establishment, I couldn’t resist their foie gras, their steaks were fabulous and I also loved the Iberican Pork. You don’t have to eat meat as there are also seafood options. 

Ember serves classic American dishes cooked over fire and I loved it. I even had exactly the same thing on my two visits – one of which was the best burger I’ve ever eaten. Sometimes simple food done perfectly is the best.

Red Ginger dishes up a spectacular range of Asian cuisine. My favourite dish – the Asian spicy roast duck salad with watermelon, cashew, mint and basil. And the tuna tataki with wasabi cream. Luscious.

And finally Toscana is Italian, with all the usual classics you’d expect including meat, fish and pasta. 

Top Tip

Go ahead and reserve your four speciality restaurants as soon as you can so you’re sure you can sample them all. And book for early on in the cruise so if you particularly love any of them you can go again. I booked for alternate nights in the first week and we went to the Grand Dining Room in between. You can book extra dinners at the customer services desk in the main reception area once you are onboard and I found them to be extremely accommodating. It was easy to get the bookings we wanted as long as we were flexible with our timing.

Buffet Dining at the Terrace 

Of course, as you’d expect on any cruise, there’s the buffet restaurant. The Terrace is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’m not a huge buffet fan but on Vista it was taken to another level. In fact, it was so good that we even ate dinner there a couple of times. As well as constantly changing dishes to choose from there’s also a station where a range of dishes are cooked to order (like lobster and lamb chops). And their sushi and sashimi was world-class.

Top Tip

There’s a fabulous outside area at The Terrace which is at the back of the boat. We loved sitting out there watching where we’d been and the glimmer of the water. Also, remember the nature of a buffet and take your patience with you – it does seem to make some people a little more aggressive than necessary. No need to panic as dishes are constantly refilled as they are finished – you are not going to go hungry. 

Healthy Eating

The stylish Aquamar Kitchen serves a range of tasty wellness-inspired dishes. Well, it’s a long cruise, there needs to be some healthy eating along the way. We loved it for breakfast – avocado on toast in different guises and tasty fresh juices. It also serves an impressive selection of non-alcoholic drinks. There’s something for everyone.

Top Tip

You can order from Aquamar Kitchen and eat at the Terrace and it will be delivered to your table. So no worries if everyone isn’t feeling like a health kick. Oh and their tuna tacos are particularly good.

Poolside Dining

Another al fresco-style dining establishment, Waves Grill is steps from the swimming pool and serves food throughout the day with delicious breakfasts, burgers, seafood and sandwiches and a changing variety of ice creams. 

Get your Coffee Fix

And then there’s Baristas which is both a coffee shop and a bar. Perfect for your speciality coffees any time of day, it also serves pastries, dainty sandwiches and myriad snacks all day long. 

Top Tip

If you don’t feel the need to lie by the pool, grab a sunbed on the top deck. next to Baristas. It’s quieter, the views are better and you can pop into Baristas at any time for a coffee, cocktail or glass of champagne (it’s also a bar) – and a snack of course.

Cocktail O’Clock

Vista has four main bars. My favourite was the Waves Bar just steps from the pool. Perfect for days at sea, you can take the short walk to the bar for service or simply get your chosen tipple delivered to your lounger. We also frequented it for the sailaways – always a highlight of any trip for me as you head out into sea towards your next exciting destination. 

Top tip

When you’re at the pool at Vista you have to try a mango daquiri. The best I’ve ever had with an extra helping of rum drizzled on top. And make a pact at the start of your voyage (as we did) to be on the top deck for every sailaway (with drink in hand of course). It really is something special. 

Founders Bar is the most intimate drinking hole. So small that we often couldn’t get a seat there, no matter what time we tried. This made us even more determined so we persevered and eventually managed to nab a couple of the giant bar seats watching cocktail creations appear in front of us. Well worth the effort.

Martinis is the biggest bar area and where we went most evenings for drinks before dinner. As well as a large selection of delicious classic and inventive martinis (as the name implied), they served anything you could desire. Nice for after-dinner drinks, too. 

And then there’s Horizons on Deck 14 (the top) with its spectacular views. It’s the bar for partying into the night. On our cruise the fabulous live band from the Philippines was called Sync Session and they performed every night from around 10.15. They also performed on some sea days at the pool. 

Top Tip

If you like to enjoy a cocktail or glass of Champagne on holiday (and wine with dinner of course), invest in a drinks package that makes your cruise all-inclusive. This means you can enjoy it to the full and don’t have to stress about potentially large bills at the end of your trip.

Fabulous Onboard Entertainment 

There’s always something to do on Vista whether you’re feeling active or simply want to relax. The pool is magnificent with a beautiful tiled surround that is walled so the water flows out of the pool and over towards the wall. On the corners of this walled area are beautiful round day beds which we soon made our poolside home. 

Top Tip

Okay, this is one of the negatives of cruising, but I’ve got to get it out there. Despite being categorically told that it was not allowed, people booked seats by the pool every sea day, sometimes at the crack of dawn. This obviously has a knock-on effect which means that you all have to book your seats! Luckily we are early risers, so on our way to Baristas for our morning latte we bagged our day beds with towels, books and other poolside necessities. In our favour we did tend to spend the whole day there, unlike some people who simply booked loungers and hardly turned up. No judgement.

For serious readers, there’s a sensational and beautifully decorated library packed with books on every imaginable subject. And most of them were pretty much brand new. The library also has comfy seating areas and a range of board games available. It’s fabulous and I’d recommend factoring in some serious reading time.

Keeping Active

There’s a circular walking track on the top of the ship for a daily constitutional. It’s alongside the padel court, putting green and shuffleboard which hold regular competitions. There’s also a small gym for workouts and a spa for treatments.

When Night Falls

There’s plenty of live entertainment at night. A string quartet plays every night in the Grand Lounge and a piano player in Martinis. There are different performers and shows every night in the Vista Lounge – I particularly loved the Broadway-style shows. And Sync Session performs live every night in Horizons. If you fancy a bit of a gamble, the casino is open when the ship is in international waters.

Top Tip

Read the daily newsletter, Currents which is delivered to your stateroom every night to find out about the day’s (and night’s) activities. There’s always so much going on, and it varies day-by-day and ship-by-ship.  It also handily lists which deck everything is on so put it in your bag for the first few days at least, until you know your way around with confidence.

And Finally

Remember it’s your cruise and you don’t have to do anything. Or you can do everything. There’s no forced joining in. And savour every moment.

Next time

Travel the route with me with lots of tips on what to see and do. Here’s the itinerary to whet your appetite. Watch this space!

Los Angeles, USA

San Diego, USA

Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Puntarenas Costa Rica

Cruising the Pacific Ocean

Panama Canal Daylight Transit

Cartagena Colombia

Cruising the Caribbean Sea

George Town, Cayman Islands

Cruising the Straits of Florida

Miami, USA

www.oceaniacruises.com