Your correspondents were lucky to be invited to participate in two significant milestones for this brand-new ship from Oceania. Lesley and Helen were aboard for the shakedown cruise from Genoa to Trieste in Italy – the first sailing of Allura following its handover post-construction in Genoa’s Fincantieri works – passing the baton to Simon for the first post-shakedown voyage from Trieste to Athens with a full complement of fare-paying guests.

Oceania Allura is the second ship in the Allura class following its sister Oceania Vista. The ship can accommodate 1,200 passengers in its 600 cabins and this, its inaugural season, sees the ship cruising in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and the Canada/New England region of North America.

Oceania Cruises specifically targets travellers who seek immersive experience with a focus on culinary excellence and destination-focused itineraries. The company operates luxurious ships that provide a more intimate and personalised atmosphere compared to larger cruise lines bridging the gap to those operators focused on carrying fewer guests or with even smaller vessels.

Our suites were very well appointed with spacious bathrooms and, as one would expect from a new ship, lustrous and luxurious surfaces throughout. The room staff, butlers and cleaners are, like all their colleagues onboard, a very model in cheeriness and efficiency. The Oceania Suite which Lesley & Helen were lucky enough to be allocated has, in addition to the luxury bedroom; a media room, a dining area (and full bar setup), walk in closet and 2 bathrooms not to mention an absolutely huge balcony totally approximately 1200 square feet. We were spoilt by the sumptuous surroundings that this oasis offered us and we would certainly aim to book this level of suite next time we travel with Oceania.

Cruising is alway a pleasure and once aboard we threw ourselves into the experience that Oceania Allura presented. We are proud to be able to share that not only were we the first to make a purchase in the onboard shop, we were also the first to sample the banoffee crepe. We were not disappointed on either count.

Since the culinary experience is central to Oceania’s offering it seems only right to focus on the quality and range of catering on board. Since this is a first cruise, we took the opportunity when offered of a behind the scenes tour of the Galley. Simply astonishing is the feedback: both in terms of the range of equipment, facilities, technology and team but also in terms of the depth of experience – talking to the Master Chefs 19, 20 or more years with the Company was not unusual: it explains why the output is so good.

We ate in all venues: The Grand Dining Room, Asian-inspired Red Ginger, Jacques with its French haute cuisine roots, the steak-focused Polo Grill, Italian specialisms in Toscana and the Terrace Buffet, Waves Grill (burger bar by day, pizzeria by night) and the two new venues Aquamar Kitchen offering a fabulous health-focused menu and the Terrace Café with its range of crepes and waffles.

Barista’s and the accompanying ‘Bakery’ was our early morning pitstop and while the waffles were hard to leave behind, during the day the Poke Bowl and Tuna Tacos in Aquamar Kitchen were equally hard to ignore. Whichever restaurant we ate in at night the quality was exemplary, portion sizes just right and the presentation perfect.

The ship is amply equipped with bars (such as Martini’s piano bar – with pianist and singer Alexandr in residence – and the Founders Bar with its string quartet) and multiple areas to rest and watch the world go by such as the Horizons lounge at the front of the ship which also played host to daytime lectures and games of bingo as well as evening live musical entertainment and dancing.

The onboard shows in the Lounge on Deck 5 were very well staged and lit and the sound quality was excellent. The auditorium offered seating with plenty of width and legroom. On our trip we were spoilt with a fantastic guest singer, Isabel Commandeur, who herself was joined by a special guest in the form of Cruise Director Paul Baya who revealed his (great) singing talent in front of a full audiences – bravo to him for a performance which was enthusiastically received by all.

The beautiful and tranquil Aquamar Spa, and the library are available for those who do not fancy whiling away the hours on one of the chairs or recliners on deck. All offer an opportunity to better oneself – the latter with the added benefit of extremely difficult jigsaw puzzles!

For those more actively minded, the gym (there is a well euipped one and there is of course the upper deck which offers the space for an early morning walk), the padel and pickleball courts, the putting area and table tennis along with the Lync digital centre (teaching guests how to fully utilise the technology available to them including how to take better photographs) along with the Culinary centre and its cookery lessons and the Artists Loft with its range of artist-led creative sessions provide a fully rounded set of experiences.

At night, when in international waters, the casino comes to life. A range of table games and slot machines provide the entertainment for those so inclined but it is important to note that even when full the casino is so well sound insulated it’s inaudible from even the corridor passing by the entrance.

The pool deck was spacious and easily accommodated those who wanted to spend their days in the Sun or swimming in the pool – big enough to allow for a swim and spacious enough not to feel crowded. In fact, this latter point is worth making for the ship as a whole, at no point on our cruise did we feel that there was too little ‘space’. The public spaces – particularly on sea days – did a great job of accommodating everyone aboard without leaving us feeling hemmed in.

The onboard shopping provides a good mix of classic luxury brands (Rolex, Breitling & Panerai) and beautiful diamond jewellery alongside a good range of handbags and clothing items as well as Oceania-branded products for those who want to take something physically away with them to remind them of their holiday.

For those new to Luxury Cruising or those who seek a more refined and intimate experience than the mass market operators can offer, Oceania offers a fabulous opportunity to dip a toe in the water and try something refined and interesting with a range of both stimulating and relaxing elements on board.

For us however, the food on Oceania’s ships, and in particular onboard Oceania Allura, remains the focus: it’s melt in the mouth and makes ones cruise worth every penny spent, particularly the Waffles and Crepes!