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On board Riviera now...


Hambagahle

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This is our first Oceania cruise after many years of cruising with Regent. I hope this and subsequent posts will be helpful to those who wonder what the difference(s) might be...

 

We were told we could board at 11am. We are in an Oceania suite. We arrived at the port of Miami at about 10.50. Porters swept away our bags and we went through security. The building, and staff, is much better than anything we experienced in FLL. We were given a card with a boarding number on it -1. We waited about 10 mins and punctually at 11am Group 1 was called. W walked straight to a desk, were checked in and on board 5 mins later. I have neve experienced this with Regent, anywhere. AND our suite was ready. Note however that at 1430 they Re still calling suites for occupancy.

 

The Oeania suite is lovely. So is the ship. We had lunch at the Terrace cafe, and it was very nice. The suitcases were in the suite when we returned...

 

So - so far, so good!

 

More, of course, later.

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This is our first Oceania cruise after many years of cruising with Regent. I hope this and subsequent posts will be helpful to those who wonder what the difference(s) might be...

 

So - so far, so good!

 

More, of course, later.

 

I'm very jealous. Our first Oceania cruise is on March 28th. Have a fabulous trip!!!

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Can't wait to read more! We are avid O cruisers and are looking forward to our first Riviera cruise 3/28. It is the same itinerary as yours and we are also in an Oceania suite. Are you on deck 11 or deck 12?

Enjoy every minute of it!

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We took good care of her for you. This was our first Oceania cruise, too, but far from our last! I'm watching the webcam to see our beautiful ship depart.

 

We loved Oceania ... hope you do, too!!! If you run into Binod ... say hi from us.

 

We booked another cruise for 1/3/14 ... the itinerary you're on. I almost can't wait:)

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I'll be interested in your comparisons, too. We were on a wait list for an Asia trip on Regent departing 4/1/13 to celebrate our umpty-umpth anniversary, but decided to cancel when we booked two Oceania TAs in 2013 and 2014. But we're still interested in Regent!

 

Mura

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Just got off the Riviera today and enjoyed every minute of our cruise. I sailed on the Marina last January and thought that the servive and food were outstanding and could not be beat but the staff of the Riviera proved me wrong.

 

We are booked for next January 3rd on the Riviera and like Heather look forward to another outstanding cruise with Riviera.

 

Have a Great Cruise

 

Fran in Florida

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basically Crystal with Regent next cruises. We have used O once and loved it, except for the price of the drinks. This time we are going in February on the Riviera on Mayan Mystique and are really looking forward to it. We are anxiously awaiting your reports. We are now in the process of cancelling three Crystal cruises, so hope your reports are good!

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Thanks for taking the time to write up about your cruise. We have sailed on Riviera once and have two others booked on her for this year.

 

Will be very interested in your review and what you fell is either better or worse than Regent, having now sailed on both myself.

 

Thank you again.

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We continue to be very impressed - and thus delighted!

 

Last night we ate at Polo. each course was superb. I have never, ever had such tender roast beef. The service was faultless. We have bought the "up market" drinks package. There is a large choice of wines by the glass. No problem there. After dinner we went to Horizons for a Calvados. Did not see it on the bar menu...so asked. "Of course we have it" was the answer and it was included in the package!

 

I cannot help compare the meal in Polo to Prime 7 on our last cruise -TA in March. The sauce for the roast beef was on the plate, and was literally congealed. Last night it was served on the side, was piping hot, and we were offered more...

 

This suite is heaven. Beautiful furnishings compared to the Seven Seas Aft suite and the bathrooms are excellent. In the master bath there is a jacuzzi And shower and the floor is Italian marble and mosaic. I feel I am in a 5 star hotel. Towels and sheets are wonderful as well. OK the ship is new, but the quality is much higher than I am used to!

 

Breakfast this am was in the Terrace, outside. Ken got his Eggs B at the egg station, made in front of him. Here the buffet is served. You can ask for less, or more, but it is served. I like this approach. There are a LOT of waiters and servers too.

 

Being a sea day I am off to the spa, then we will attend a lecture on the Maya's. tonight we eat at Jacques.

 

Wendy - you will think you have died and gone to heaven!!

 

Gerry.

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basically Crystal with Regent next cruises. We have used O once and loved it, except for the price of the drinks. This time we are going in February on the Riviera on Mayan Mystique and are really looking forward to it. We are anxiously awaiting your reports. We are now in the process of cancelling three Crystal cruises, so hope your reports are good!

 

Carol,

We just finished our first O cruise on Riviera after 10 Crystal cruises. First of all, the ship is new and beautiful. You will love the restricted smoking policy. The style of service on O is more restrained than on Crystal, where the deck stewards all learn your name and preferences by the second day. The food on O was excellent and we very much liked the variety of dining options available with four specialty restaurants, La Reserve, and casual dining in the Terrace Cafe and Waves. We missed the Bistro for coffee, it's variety of snacks during the day and because it is such a lovely venue for gathering with friends during the day. Baristas is an out of the way stand up coffee bar with dry cookies and there is no comparison to the wonderful Bistro. We don't watch movies on board, but if you do, Riviera does not have a movie theater as Crystal ships do. With 4 sea days, we only had one all purpose lecturer, who spoke once on each sea day and was average. Our last Crystal crossing had 3 lecturers a day, and on a Panama Canal cruise last year the lecturers included interesting celebrity speakers such as former NY mayor Ed Koch and FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt.

We enjoyed the well attended 9:30 PM performances in the large theater and the 10:30 performances in Horizons. However we missed the Avenue Saloon piano bar on Crystal with its soft music at dinner time, and rollicking sing alongs late at night. On Riviera there is a piano bar, but the piano player was a poor singer and the set up was for quiet conversation in small groups. On O there is no music by the pool during the day, while on Crystal, the Filipino cover band plays soft hits from 1 to 2 PM. I realize that some people love this and some people hate this. Also the service around the pool was much less attentive than on Crystal.

While we enjoyed the casual dress code, some passengers took it too far for my taste, wearing shorts and tee shirts day and night.

So, all in all, we had a lovely cruise and met nice people and our group of 6 would happily sail on O again if we liked the itinerary.

Again, the service is not quite up to Crystal's standards, but is more than adequate and nice in a restrained way. As we drink very little, paying for a few drinks on O works better for us than paying for Crystal's all inclusive drinks that we do not utilize.

Both are good lines with a few differences, some of which favor Crystal and some of which favor Oceania.

I wanted to add that we really enjoyed the funny and talented cruise director, Nolen Dean. He is the best cruise director with whom we have ever sailed.

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We continue to be very impressed - and thus delighted!

 

Last night we ate at Polo. each course was superb. I have never, ever had such tender roast beef. The service was faultless. We have bought the "up market" drinks package. There is a large choice of wines by the glass. No problem there. After dinner we went to Horizons for a Calvados. Did not see it on the bar menu...so asked. "Of course we have it" was the answer and it was included in the package!

 

I cannot help compare the meal in Polo to Prime 7 on our last cruise -TA in March. The sauce for the roast beef was on the plate, and was literally congealed. Last night it was served on the side, was piping hot, and we were offered more...

 

This suite is heaven. Beautiful furnishings compared to the Seven Seas Aft suite and the bathrooms are excellent. In the master bath there is a jacuzzi And shower and the floor is Italian marble and mosaic. I feel I am in a 5 star hotel. Towels and sheets are wonderful as well. OK the ship is new, but the quality is much higher than I am used to!

 

Breakfast this am was in the Terrace, outside. Ken got his Eggs B at the egg station, made in front of him. Here the buffet is served. You can ask for less, or more, but it is served. I like this approach. There are a LOT of waiters and servers too.

 

Being a sea day I am off to the spa, then we will attend a lecture on the Maya's. tonight we eat at Jacques.

 

Wendy - you will think you have died and gone to heaven!!

 

Gerry.

 

Crikey! We'll be leaving Regent in droves.

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just before another during Sandy. On the last cruise I was overwhelmed by the smoke in the atrium area. Liked the Bistro, but couldn't use it--too much smoke...smoke travels, you would think they knew. At the time Avenue Saloon was smoking, so didn't go there, but had some formal pics taken then and couldn't breathe! I found the food service on Crystal unacceptable as dinner was ALWAYS OVER two hours. We just are not accustomed to so many courses. As I hauled in my suitcases from this last formal cruise, I decided definitely that O was going to be for me. I want my two bathrooms, and restricted smoking (although I believe in smokers rights). I am afraid a 565 or whatever it is suite which is the second largest doesn't work for us. My husband paces at times and three steps were the entire livingroom. He likes to do crossword puzzles at night and drapes between rooms don't work here! I watched some of your somments. As I told my friend, if the Riviera and Marina don't do it for me--I am hopeless! LOL. Keep the comments coming.

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I love following along ... as close as I can get to staying on the ship! Binod (our butler) told us about 10 suites with butlers were staying onboard for a B2B. I was SO envious.

 

We are new to Oceania and I think I'm safe in saying there's no going back. We don't drink at all so the extra charges built into Regent makes no sense for us. This is the level of service and the included soft drinks and specialty restaurants just made life easier:). You pay either way, but I liked never signing for anything. I love the lack of certain things like photographers!

 

I felt the level of service was perfectly balanced between efficiency and friendliness. More or less either way wouldn't work as well for me. Whether in Waves, the Terrace, dining room or restaurants there was ALWAYS someone there with what you wanted.

 

I'm still on my Oceania high:) ... simply euphoric.

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Crikey! We'll be leaving Regent in droves.

 

I believe Regent and Oceania are owned by the same company. However, I can see where some people might like Oceania over Regent. For example, Regent is mostly all inclusive and Oceania is not. Also, Regent seems to me to cost more-probably because it is all inclusive.

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We continue to be very impressed - and thus delighted!...

Gerry.

And I continue to be relieved that you are enjoying it so much, even though I'm holding my breath regarding the rest of the cruise. As the resident "Oceania Cheerleader" on the Regent forum :rolleyes:, I constantly worry that I might be "over selling" it. I consider yours to be among the most discerning tastes on Regent, and I'm joyful that you are having a positive experience!

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Carol,

We just finished our first O cruise on Riviera after 10 Crystal cruises. First of all, the ship is new and beautiful. You will love the restricted smoking policy. The style of service on O is more restrained than on Crystal, where the deck stewards all learn your name and preferences by the second day. The food on O was excellent and we very much liked the variety of dining options available with four specialty restaurants, La Reserve, and casual dining in the Terrace Cafe and Waves. We missed the Bistro for coffee, it's variety of snacks during the day and because it is such a lovely venue for gathering with friends during the day. Baristas is an out of the way stand up coffee bar with dry cookies and there is no comparison to the wonderful Bistro. We don't watch movies on board, but if you do, Riviera does not have a movie theater as Crystal ships do. With 4 sea days, we only had one all purpose lecturer, who spoke once on each sea day and was average. Our last Crystal crossing had 3 lecturers a day, and on a Panama Canal cruise last year the lecturers included interesting celebrity speakers such as former NY mayor Ed Koch and FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt.

We enjoyed the well attended 9:30 PM performances in the large theater and the 10:30 performances in Horizons. However we missed the Avenue Saloon piano bar on Crystal with its soft music at dinner time, and rollicking sing alongs late at night. On Riviera there is a piano bar, but the piano player was a poor singer and the set up was for quiet conversation in small groups. On O there is no music by the pool during the day, while on Crystal, the Filipino cover band plays soft hits from 1 to 2 PM. I realize that some people love this and some people hate this. Also the service around the pool was much less attentive than on Crystal.

While we enjoyed the casual dress code, some passengers took it too far for my taste, wearing shorts and tee shirts day and night.

So, all in all, we had a lovely cruise and met nice people and our group of 6 would happily sail on O again if we liked the itinerary.

Again, the service is not quite up to Crystal's standards, but is more than adequate and nice in a restrained way. As we drink very little, paying for a few drinks on O works better for us than paying for Crystal's all inclusive drinks that we do not utilize.

Both are good lines with a few differences, some of which favor Crystal and some of which favor Oceania.

I wanted to add that we really enjoyed the funny and talented cruise director, Nolen Dean. He is the best cruise director with whom we have ever sailed.

 

Excellent comparison of Oceania and Crystal. I too took my first Oceania Rivera cruise, and I have taken four Crystal cruises. I completely agree with your analysis of Oceania Rivera and Crystal. What I especialy liked about the Rivera was that they had lobster every night in the buffet in the evening. Also the speciality restaurants were superb on Rivera.

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And as a newbie to Oceania, but not to lobster, I can safely say that the lobster (even the Caribbean which is not a favorite of ours) was spectacular ... something about the grill whipped magic into it. And the Surf & Turf in Waves was beyond delicious. I confess I didn't love every bite, but it was purely a personal thing. I knew it was excellent ... just not to my taste in some instances. Plus I never eat as much in one sitting so I was full before the main course.

 

I want to write a review of our cruise which I always try to do for CC, but I don't want to sound like I'm drooling so I'm giving it a few days.

 

Continue to enjoy these updates with the taste of Riviera still on my lips :).

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Gerry, I'm so glad you're enjoying Riviera. It's hard not to like a ship that is stunningly gorgeous and has superb food and wonderful service. Compared to Oceania, our cruise on Regent Mariner was a disappointment in many respects.

 

Now a tip for Jacques - don't skip the cheese course! While other dining venues on Riviera have great cheese selections, the most gooey, stinky, creme de la creme are reserved for Jacques. Don't miss it!

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And as a newbie to Oceania, but not to lobster, I can safely say that the lobster (even the Caribbean which is not a favorite of ours) was spectacular ... something about the grill whipped magic into it. And the Surf & Turf in Waves was beyond delicious. I confess I didn't love every bite, but it was purely a personal thing. I knew it was excellent ... just not to my taste in some instances. Plus I never eat as much in one sitting so I was full before the main course.

 

I want to write a review of our cruise which I always try to do for CC, but I don't want to sound like I'm drooling so I'm giving it a few days.

 

Continue to enjoy these updates with the taste of Riviera still on my lips :).

 

I agree with you about that grilled lobster. I remember that on that two week Rivera cruise that I took, every night that I did not eat in one of the speciality restaurants-I ate that grilled lobster. Never got tired of it-loved it!

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We continue to be very impressed - and thus delighted!

 

Last night we ate at Polo. each course was superb. I have never, ever had such tender roast beef. The service was faultless. We have bought the "up market" drinks package. There is a large choice of wines by the glass. No problem there. After dinner we went to Horizons for a Calvados. Did not see it on the bar menu...so asked. "Of course we have it" was the answer and it was included in the package!

 

I cannot help compare the meal in Polo to Prime 7 on our last cruise -TA in March. The sauce for the roast beef was on the plate, and was literally congealed. Last night it was served on the side, was piping hot, and we were offered more...

 

This suite is heaven. Beautiful furnishings compared to the Seven Seas Aft suite and the bathrooms are excellent. In the master bath there is a jacuzzi And shower and the floor is Italian marble and mosaic. I feel I am in a 5 star hotel. Towels and sheets are wonderful as well. OK the ship is new, but the quality is much higher than I am used to!

 

Breakfast this am was in the Terrace, outside. Ken got his Eggs B at the egg station, made in front of him. Here the buffet is served. You can ask for less, or more, but it is served. I like this approach. There are a LOT of waiters and servers too.

 

Being a sea day I am off to the spa, then we will attend a lecture on the Maya's. tonight we eat at Jacques.

 

Wendy - you will think you have died and gone to heaven!!

 

Gerry.

 

When you eat at Red Ginger try to eat with other couples and have dinner served family style..there is a fabulous waitress that was on board when we were from Minsk..try to get her..

Jancruz1

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I agree with you about that grilled lobster. I remember that on that two week Rivera cruise that I took, every night that I did not eat in one of the speciality restaurants-I ate that grilled lobster. Never got tired of it-loved it!

 

 

Wow. With four specialty restaurants and now the lobster :) .So many choices.

 

Rich

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