Oceania Riviera

New to cruising and sailing on the Oceania Riviera in 2 weeks. Ports: Venice, Koper, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Palermo, Rome, Florence, Monte Carlo, Provence and Barcelona. We plan to visit ports under our own steam rather than do the cruise excursions. Can anyone help with:

Tips of places to see/what not to miss, how to get around, including directions or anything else you think a novice may need to know.

Should I purchase the premium drinks package on board - is it value for money?.

Does anyone know the current cost of drinks - gin & tonic, pint of beer, glass of champagne, glass of wine etc?

Should I pay my final bill in dollars or sterling?

I have heard the captain does an informal drinks party - anyone know when these are held?

Which of the restaurant is the best (I know I can pre-book the speciality ones), and any MUST HAVES food wise?

What's the best time for dinner?

Any comments on the entertainment and am I right in thinking it's at 9 am nightly?

Is there anything I should not miss while on the ship.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

You can ask questions about Oceania at this link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=51

Roll Call at this link -- scroll down until you find the date of your cruise:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=714

Ports of Call at this link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

Get a copy of Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports. He tells you what there is to see/do in each port and how to do it yourself, from gangway to gangway. Also what it should cost. For Venice, Rome, Florence, on his website there are free audio tours to download for ipod/mp3, and you can print out maps to go with them. For the ports he doesn't cover, he recommends Lonely Planet, and you can purchase the chapters that interest you online and print them out. I hope you are going into Venice a few days early, as you can't see it in just one or two days. EM

Great itin on great ship. Usually one comp cocktail party with all bars open for several hours per cruise.. Its up to you to research ports. Only negative to O is overpriced ship excursions, Google ports by name for unlimited info. Same here. I like both Fodors and Frommers Europe Cruise Ports books better than Rick Steves. Fodors has good port maps. .All also have web sites.You will not get info from Oceania;their job is to sell their tours.

New to cruising and sailing on the Oceania Riviera in 2 weeks. Ports: Venice, Koper, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Palermo, Rome, Florence, Monte Carlo, Provence and Barcelona. We plan to visit ports under our own steam rather than do the cruise excursions. Can anyone help with: go to the ports of call forum

Tips of places to see/what not to miss, how to get around, including directions or anything else you think a novice may need to know.

Should I purchase the premium drinks package on board - is it value for money?. depends on how much you drink

Does anyone know the current cost of drinks - gin & tonic, pint of beer, glass of champagne, glass of wine etc? G & t will run $10-13 with 18% gratuity added $10 for wine etc

Should I pay my final bill in dollars or sterling? USD

I have heard the captain does an informal drinks party - anyone know when these are held? usually 2nd night or 1st sea day

Which of the restaurant is the best (I know I can pre-book the speciality ones), and any MUST HAVES food wise?

Book NOW or you may be out of luck ..food is subjective look at the sample menus on the O website

What's the best time for dinner? anytime between 6:30 & 9pm when you are hungry

Any comments on the entertainment and am I right in thinking it's at 9 am nightly? it is 9:30 or 9:45 PM

Is there anything I should not miss while on the ship.

go to the Oceania forum & have a read lots of good info there

Very helpful, thank you.

Very helpful, thank you.

Here is a link to a blog with menus & bar prices then you can decide if the Package works for you or not

http://www.thepreismans.com/riviera16_menus.htm#main_bar

OP: You could have pre-booked your restaurants quite some time ago (like 45 days before cruise for veranda cabins). By now most of the prime times will be gone (even for sharing). Do those reservations right now.

Pay your bill in Dollars. Also use the right type of credit card with no charges for overseas use.

Halifax Clarity is the one I use. Others are available....

I am not sure if they bill in other currencies on the ship

Our account is always in USD

I have not been asked if we wanted it in CAD or not like on other lines

not to say they do not I just have never had it done other than in USD

In any case I would choose USD & let your credit card do the exchange

Cocktails average about $10. but they have frequent two for one times. They will at 15% tip to the bill. Unless you are a heavy drinker paying each time will probably be cheaper.

The main dining room is open seating with no assigned times. When you enter you tell them what kind of seating you want i.e. table for two or table for 6 to meet others, etc. We always got what we asked for and never had a wait no matter what time we went to dinner. The specialty restaurants do have specific times and you can book in advance via their website.

Many of the ports have the double decker hop on hop off busses which gives you a nice city tour at reasonable prices. If you use them a word of warning: Some of the more popular stops will have very large lines of people waiting to get back on and there are waits of well over an hour in many cases.

The cruise line only accepts US dollars. You will have no choice on payment.

The MonteCarlo casino charges to get in when closed to look around. That ends at noon. They open for gambling after 2 pm and have a dress code. And you still pay an admission fee. It used to be 10 Euro.

If you have Euros and want to exchange them for US dollars go to the casino cashier in the early evening.

Florence and Rome are both a significant distance from the dock. There is a train to Rome-very reasonable and lands you in the center of town. Directly in front of the Rope train station there are many tour buses for all sorts of trips. The ticket sellers all speak English . In Florence you may have no choice but to buy the ship's package or negotiate a price with a cab on the pier. If you split the cab with another couple you will probably save a significant amount of money as Oceana is noted for the high prices on tours.

When paying your bill non US passengers have the option when converting the charges to their home currency.

The conversion can be done by the cruise line at a poor rate, or by your card company at their rate.

The card issuer may apply a conversion fee. Having a good card that does not chargr can save a few % so is worth making the right choice.

Cocktails average about $10. but they have frequent two for one times. They will at 15% tip to the bill. Unless you are a heavy drinker paying each time will probably be cheaper.

 

 

 

The main dining room is open seating with no assigned times. When you enter you tell them what kind of seating you want i.e. table for two or table for 6 to meet others, etc. We always got what we asked for and never had a wait no matter what time we went to dinner. The specialty restaurants do have specific times and you can book in advance via their website.

 

 

 

Many of the ports have the double decker hop on hop off busses which gives you a nice city tour at reasonable prices. If you use them a word of warning: Some of the more popular stops will have very large lines of people waiting to get back on and there are waits of well over an hour in many cases.

 

 

 

The cruise line only accepts US dollars. You will have no choice on payment.

 

 

 

The MonteCarlo casino charges to get in when closed to look around. That ends at noon. They open for gambling after 2 pm and have a dress code. And you still pay an admission fee. It used to be 10 Euro.

 

 

 

If you have Euros and want to exchange them for US dollars go to the casino cashier in the early evening.

 

 

 

Florence and Rome are both a significant distance from the dock. There is a train to Rome-very reasonable and lands you in the center of town. Directly in front of the Rope train station there are many tour buses for all sorts of trips. The ticket sellers all speak English . In Florence you may have no choice but to buy the ship's package or negotiate a price with a cab on the pier. If you split the cab with another couple you will probably save a significant amount of money as Oceana is noted for the high prices on tours.

Cocktails with good spirits (e.g., Bombay Sapphire) are more than $10. That's for a single shot (doubles are really essential). The added gratuity for alcohol is 18%. The prestige package is $60/day and includes the tip. So, bottom line is the package is a great deal if you drink about four better selections per day (single shot and/or wine/beer) or two double cocktails/day.

Thank you for all the useful info. Speciality restaurants now booked. Think I will go for the premium drinks package - I like the odd bombay sapphire and glass of wine.