Description of entertainment and music

Hi! I am hoping that someone could give me an idea of the type of entertainment to expect on Oceania cruises, specifically Rivera and Regetta.

We are younger then the typical Oceania cruiser (43 and 45) but like what we have read about the cruise line. We've sailed several times on Royal Caribbean and would like something different.

I like everything I read about these cruises but very little is said about the entertainment. We don't need a wild time, but something fairly current. What does a typical night on board look like? Does anyone have any copies of the daily bulletin?

Thank you!

It is not like RCL very subdued that is why we like Oceania ;)

You can check out the Preismans website very informative

http://www.thepreismans.com/riviera_mayan.htm

http://www.thepreismans.com/bermuda_regatta_page1.htm

Not much and not good.....but it all depends on what you like. Do hurry dinner to make a show. You can always catch a good movie on the TV.

Rick

A typical night is eating, string music in the grand bar before dinner, a show around 10pm, trivia and music after dinner in the bar and maybe something in Horizons. Its VERY quiet both day and night. This is on the large ship.

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

See the thread on "Oceania beds." The mattresses are very alluring and many of us hit the hay early - especially if it is a port intensive cruise.

Kidding --- sort of. ;-)

Donna

Expect little and you won't be disappointed

No one sails Oceania for the entertainment

Rumor has it that ncl will make some major changes in this area. Long overdue

We just sailed on the Riviera last week. The entertainment went from the sublime to the ridiculous. We did attend all but one or two 9:45 PM shows and enjoyed most. There was an Elton John/Billy Joel show that was entertaining, an Andrew Lloyd Weber show that was pretty good, a 60's show that we skipped, a farewell show that was good, and a couple of singers. We passed on the female singer but attended a performance by the male singer who sang old material that we did not enjoy at all. The best entertainment on the ship was provided by our cruise director, Nolan Dean, who is extremely funny and also a great singer and performer. He did a one man show and then appeared another night with his fiance, Emannuel, who is also a very talented singer and dancer. Emmanuel also appeared one afternoon in Horizons singing Edith Piaf, and was quite good.

So...was it the best entertainment at sea? No. But it was adequate with some of it being excellent and it gave us something to do after dinner each night. As our cruise had an older demographic there was not much dancing or participation in karaoke late night in Horizons. The casino, however, seemed to be rocking most nights.

Hi! I am hoping that someone could give me an idea of the type of entertainment to expect on Oceania cruises, specifically Rivera and Regetta.

We are younger then the typical Oceania cruiser (43 and 45) but like what we have read about the cruise line. We've sailed several times on Royal Caribbean and would like something different.

I like everything I read about these cruises but very little is said about the entertainment. We don't need a wild time, but something fairly current. What does a typical night on board look like? Does anyone have any copies of the daily bulletin?

Thank you!

Rather than answering your question with editorial comments, which would naturally mean nothing to you because you don't know ME, I'm going to try to describe the onboard ambience as follows:

Oceania appears to do best by Passengers who are looking for an über comfortable platform from which they can easily, even luxuriously, travel and experience the World.

A huge majority of Oceania guests are off the ship sightseeing for as much of every Port Day as they can manage.

The onboard experience is therefore geared towards providing a supportive, "Base" from which daily sightseeing is more of a pleasure and less of a chore. To that end, the ships are gorgeous, the Cabins are immaculately maintained, the service is terrific and the food is phenomenal.

It has been demonstrated that to the type of Passenger that this atmosphere attracts, the lure of the next Acropolis, Parthenon, Colosseum, Rock Formation, Waterfall is always going to be stronger than whatever entertainments the ship may produce, but there are nightly shows on the ship.

Specifically, you may expect the entertainment to kick off with some post cocktail hour dancing in the Main Lounge, immediately followed by a Production Show (singers, dancers, specialty performers, glitzy costumes, -all to a full orchestra). Those Shows have a running time of just over an hour.

When the Curtain falls in the Main Showroom, the dancing adjourns upstairs to Horizons (the Observation Lounge); there, music is provided by a combo or pre-recorded, dependent on the nightly theme. The dancing will continue until Passenger interest wanes, but because people have Tours to those Rock formations to get up for in the morning, it is unusual for the nightlife to continue past 12:30AM.

The Martini Bar remains open until about 2AM, although the pianist also finishes at 12:30AM.

As long as the bartender stays I'm fine.

We enjoyed the cabaret singing on R ships like Regatta, four singers all very good, no dancers, they did a dozen or so shows over 23 days. I'm not into production shows. Regatta had a great comedian, Dottie's Tom, who did a few shows. They had a couple magic types, comedy magic not my style. The singers also comprised the cruise staff. Each singer put on their own little show.

The O ships had some small production shows, some good music with a slightly bigger cast.

Excellent pool bands, good orchestras playing in the shows. One day the pool band was outside the ship playing for passengers when they returned from port, it was cute.

String quartets in the upper hall, not my style.

Some nice poolside games on sea days, passengers play golf, ping pong type games against the crew. A county fair was real cute, great participation. Shipbuilding, some Olympic fanfare for pool games. A few social events with free drinks for showing up.

Port intensive itinerary on Marina had no comedian.

Does anyone have one of their daily bulletins they can scan?

What time do they play trivia and is it only once a day?

Leaving in 17 days for my first O cruise - very excited :D

Does anyone have one of their daily bulletins they can scan?

What time do they play trivia and is it only once a day?

 

Leaving in 17 days for my first O cruise - very excited :D

I thought about doing just that as opposed to writing out the long Post above, but reconsidered when I looked at the various Currents (Oceania's name for their Daily Bulletin) that I had saved.

The Daily Routine is wildly different in the Caribbean as opposed to the Baltics, Transatlantic, or Mediterranean, moreover Port Days are VERY VERY different than Sea days, so a "sample" Currents would confuse or misinform more people than it helped.

I can tell you, however, that Trivia is only held once a day at around 4 PM, but if demand is great enough (and the Pianist is able and willing) there may be a musical Trivia game in Martini's (a hybrid of Trivia and Name that Tune) in the evening after the Show lets out.

Does anyone have one of their daily bulletins they can scan?

did you see the links in post #2 or did you not like those :rolleyes:

As Jim said things vary according to destination

Does anyone have one of their daily bulletins they can scan?

What time do they play trivia and is it only once a day?

 

Leaving in 17 days for my first O cruise - very excited :D

Last year in the Baltics on Marina they held Team Trivia at 4:15 PM, Brainteaser Trivia at 8:30 PM and occasionally Name that Tune at 10:30 PM. Enjoy your fabulous, first O trip.

It is not like RCL very subdued that is why we like Oceania ;)

 

You can check out the Preismans website very informative

 

http://www.thepreismans.com/riviera_mayan.htm

http://www.thepreismans.com/bermuda_regatta_page1.htm

Wow! I'd not seen these links before. These are awesome! I'm pouring over the Riviera one right now, as that's the ship I'll be on for my first Oceania cruise. GREAT information in there...thanks!

Wow! I'd not seen these links before. These are awesome! I'm pouring over the Riviera one right now, as that's the ship I'll be on for my first Oceania cruise. GREAT information in there...thanks!

Yes, Mike's a wonder.

String quartets in the upper hall, not my style.

Sammiedawg, I'm not picking on you because string quartets are not your style, really I am not! But I think some things should be said.

My father was a violist who played with two of the top U.S. string quartets in the mid- to late-30s. I grew up hearing "real" chamber music in my home. Think Mozart, Beethoven, Bartok ... definitely classical music. That's what I want to hear and that's what I perform. (But not exclusively!)

What we have encountered on Oceania's cruises is more popular music (show tunes, etc.) arranged for string quartet, which is quite different from "chamber music". So we object because we don't like the arrangements (although we haven't objected to the performers).

Now, I expect you and I come from different directions. I'd LOVE to hear a classical string quartet performed at during cocktail time but I know I'm in the minority! I understand why O has taken the approach they have. More people will enjoy the string quartet playing more "accessible" music than will want to be at Carnegie Hall for a chamber music concert. That's a given.

I'm just wondering if you decided you didn't like the string quartet because you assumed it was a certain type of music OR because you did try it out and didn't like it? No harm, no foul either way ... I'm just curious.

Because even though we come from different directions, we have come to the same conclusion.

At the same time as I say that, it's evident (at least from CC posts if not from the general passenger complement) that many people DO enjoy the string quartet.

I have to confess that I was amused on a cruise maybe 5 years ago where the violist in the quartet didn't know how to play vibrato, which the other performers did. He was clearly a real beginner as a string player! I might not have noticed except that since my father was a star violist in his time, I also pay particular attention to that instrument ...

(On another long-ago cruise I was upset when three members of the quartet played during a special brunch ... one of the arrangements they did was of a favorite trio of mine from Mozart's Magic Flute -- the trio in the opera is with soprano, tenor and bass but the three players were two violins and the viola, and for me it just destroyed the piece. If they'd used violin, viola and cello or two violins and cello, it could have worked. As it was, it was a travesty. I considered saying so to them but then decided, why bother ... Perhaps they would have preferred to have the cellist but that person just wasn't available. So why fuss?)

And there might have been 6 people in the GDR who felt the way I did ...

Mura

Sammiedawg, I'm not picking on you because string quartets are not your style, really I am not! But I think some things should be said.

What we have encountered on Oceania's cruises is more popular music (show tunes, etc.) arranged for string quartet, which is quite different from "chamber music". So we object because we don't like the arrangements (although we haven't objected to the performers).

Now, I expect you and I come from different directions. I'd LOVE to hear a classical string quartet performed at during cocktail time but I know I'm in the minority! I understand why O has taken the approach they have. More people will enjoy the string quartet playing more "accessible" music than will want to be at Carnegie Hall for a chamber music concert. That's a given.

I'm just wondering if you decided you didn't like the string quartet because you assumed it was a certain type of music OR because you did try it out and didn't like it? No harm, no foul either way ... I'm just curious.

Because even though we come from different directions, we have come to the same conclusion.

At the same time as I say that, it's evident (at least from CC posts if not from the general passenger complement) that many people DO enjoy the string quartet.

I have to confess that I was amused on a cruise maybe 5 years ago where the violist in the quartet didn't know how to play vibrato, which the other performers did. He was clearly a real beginner as a string player! I might not have noticed except that since my father was a star violist in his time, I also pay particular attention to that instrument ...

 

 

 

(On another long-ago cruise I was upset when three members of the quartet played during a special brunch ... one of the arrangements they did was of a favorite trio of mine from Mozart's Magic Flute -- the trio in the opera is with soprano, tenor and bass but the three players were two violins and the viola, and for me it just destroyed the piece. If they'd used violin, viola and cello or two violins and cello, it could have worked. As it was, it was a travesty. I considered saying so to them but then decided, why bother ... Perhaps they would have preferred to have the cellist but that person just wasn't available. So why fuss?)

And there might have been 6 people in the GDR who felt the way I did ...

 

Mura

+ 2 the last six cruises we had about the worst string quartets playing the worst arrangements we have ever heard. It's a shame they had to give up on classical

BBB and Mozart. And yes sadly we are in a very small minority.

Mura we like the string quartets also

It is not for everyone

I dislike Country & rap but others prefer it ;)

One cruise they tried playing rocknroll type tunes it was a disaster

Quartets are better sticking to the classical music

JMO

I agree with Lynn and Orchestrapal, but as has been said ... we're in the minority.

The few times we went to the cocktail hour "string quartet" efforts we didn't hate them ... they just weren't want we'd have wanted to hear.

But again, we're in the vast minority here! I wonder how the quartets feel about what they have to do as opposed to "real" music. Still, a job is a job!

When we were on the QE2 10 years ago or so, they had a wonderful string group (maybe not a quartet) but they did much better music ... in MY view!

Mura

We like the string quartets. An O highlight for us.

Pleasant music, lovely atmosphere, nice company. We have made very dear friends from folks we met among the string quartet groupies.

The Quadrivium quartet alternated sets of pops arrangements and classical sets. I cannot pretend to be too good for any of it. It was all a treat.

And we enjoyed chatting with and getting to know the members of the quartets. What a joy!

Lyn and Orv,

Thank you for the nice comments.

Wendy,

I am glad the reviews were helpful.

I also thank you for the kind words about our website. May I add one comment to the conversation. To me, one of the best things about Oceania is the people I have met. No matter the age, I have found the people to be interesting conversationalist, well educated, and widely traveled. The crew is very friendly and the service outstanding. :)

Sammiedawg, I'm not picking on you because string quartets are not your style, really I am not! But I think some things should be said.

 

My father was a violist who played with two of the top U.S. string quartets in the mid- to late-30s. I grew up hearing "real" chamber music in my home. Think Mozart, Beethoven, Bartok ... definitely classical music. That's what I want to hear and that's what I perform. (But not exclusively!)

 

What we have encountered on Oceania's cruises is more popular music (show tunes, etc.) arranged for string quartet, which is quite different from "chamber music". So we object because we don't like the arrangements (although we haven't objected to the performers).

 

Now, I expect you and I come from different directions. I'd LOVE to hear a classical string quartet performed at during cocktail time but I know I'm in the minority! I understand why O has taken the approach they have. More people will enjoy the string quartet playing more "accessible" music than will want to be at Carnegie Hall for a chamber music concert. That's a given.

 

I'm just wondering if you decided you didn't like the string quartet because you assumed it was a certain type of music OR because you did try it out and didn't like it? No harm, no foul either way ... I'm just curious.

 

Because even though we come from different directions, we have come to the same conclusion.

 

At the same time as I say that, it's evident (at least from CC posts if not from the general passenger complement) that many people DO enjoy the string quartet.

 

I have to confess that I was amused on a cruise maybe 5 years ago where the violist in the quartet didn't know how to play vibrato, which the other performers did. He was clearly a real beginner as a string player! I might not have noticed except that since my father was a star violist in his time, I also pay particular attention to that instrument ...

 

(On another long-ago cruise I was upset when three members of the quartet played during a special brunch ... one of the arrangements they did was of a favorite trio of mine from Mozart's Magic Flute -- the trio in the opera is with soprano, tenor and bass but the three players were two violins and the viola, and for me it just destroyed the piece. If they'd used violin, viola and cello or two violins and cello, it could have worked. As it was, it was a travesty. I considered saying so to them but then decided, why bother ... Perhaps they would have preferred to have the cellist but that person just wasn't available. So why fuss?)

 

And there might have been 6 people in the GDR who felt the way I did ...

 

Mura

Hi Mura,

We had a string quartet for my daughter's wedding and I enjoyed their musical selections during the ceremony. But we had a jazz band play for the reception and I loved that. On a cruise ship I have always walked by the quartet for no particular reason. Next time I will make time to sit and listen.

Mike and Carol, I've complimented you many times. I had your web site up last night looking for ideas. I'm really looking forward to your Asia review, we are looking at a similiar trip for next year.

Lyn and Orv,

Thank you for the nice comments.

 

Mike

You & Carol do a great job on documenting the ships when do you find the time to enjoy the cruise :D

Your website is my go to place for the Dailies & menus when people ask

Great job

Lyn