Oceania Cruises' Flagship Marina Sets Off on 13-day Maiden Voyage

Oceania Cruises new ship Marina departed from Barcelona Saturday, Jan. 22 at 6:00 pm on her maiden voyage. The 13-day passage to North America will call at Malaga, Spain; Casablanca and the Canary Islands before crossing the Atlantic.

Seven days at sea will give guests time to explore Marina from stem to stern before she arrives in Miami for christening festivities beginning Feb. 4, 2011.

On Jan. 19, Oceania Cruises' officially took delivery of Marina, the line’s first newly built ship which measures 66,000 tons and accommodates 1,250 guests.

The handover took place at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente shipyard near Genoa, where Marina officially became a part of the Oceania Cruises’ fleet joining Regatta, Insignia and Nautica. Her sister ship, Riviera, is currently being built in the same shipyard and will debut in April 2012.
 
Marina features the Bon Appétit Culinary Center, the first hands-on cooking school at sea, Master Chef Jacques Pépin’s first namesake restaurant at sea, Ralph Lauren Home-furnished Owner’s Suites, luxurious accommodations by designer Dakota Jackson, Wine Spectator wine program, a Lalique grand stairway and Canyon Ranch SpaClub.
Moreover, Marina has been designed for epicureans offering an unprecedented 10 dining venues.
 
The new flagship of the Oceania Cruises fleet will set sail on her maiden voyage from Barcelona, Spain, on January 22. When she arrives in Miami on February 4, she is expected to receive a celebratory welcome that will last through the weekend.

Entertainment Tonight Icon Mary Hart will name Marina at a gala ceremony on February 5, christening her with a 15-liter Nebuchadnezzar of Champagne, custom-made by Armand de Brignac. commemoratively crashing against the hull.

The evening will be capped by an extravagant fireworks display, a gift from Oceania Cruises to the ship’s US home port. 
 
After the christening festivities in Miami, Marina sets sail Feb. 8 on the first of two 18-day Panama Canal transits that visit San Francisco or San Diego, both new ports for Oceania Cruises. Marina then operates a 12-day Caribbean cruise, round-trip from Miami, departing March 16, before sailing along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard and on to Europe to begin her inaugural Mediterranean season.