Live From Riviera - Barcelona to Istanbul, 9/8/14

Aloha1,

Glad that you are enjoying your cruise and thanks for the live updates.

PS I have heard about the root of trivia before (tri + via = 3 roads) :)

Aloha1

The reason there are no blue cheese olives is due to health reasons.

They were eliminated over a year ago.

But if you want them tell your butler to tell Damien your General Manager and I am sure he will have some made to order just for you.

Like you said before the Oceania crew is fantastic.

Your world, your way with their help!

Paco

Who needs to pay for costly spa treatments when you can just use the large sauna or steam room and then the heated tile chaises (free for PH and above)?

Thanks Aloha1!

I am really enjoying your posts and getting excited about our next cruise on the the Marina in August.

My mouth is watering reading of your culinary experiences.:p

We found it very hard to get a table for 2 in the specialty restaurants and only used our Polo Grill and Jaques reservations once in 21days after a rather uncomfortable shared table of 8-10 experience in Red Ginger. We made all reservations online as soon as they were open to PH2 and they were confirmed but the day before many we would receive a note of change. I really hope during the next cruise we will have more luck in reservation lottery.

It sounds like you are on the opposite end of the spectrum from us. We prefer to share ... even when we don't know the other people.

Now, I have to admit that the times when we wanted to share and were shunted to a table for 2 were in the GDR. We never had a problem getting a table in the specialty restaurants that let us share. Sometimes we were with strangers, but usually we were with a pre-set group of 4-6 or even 8. (But NEVER 10!

The recent renovations to the "R" ships apparently made more 2 person tables available in Polo and Toscana but I don't remember hearing anything about that regarding the "O" ships.

Good luck!

Mura

It sounds like you are on the opposite end of the spectrum from us. We prefer to share ... even when we don't know the other people.

 

Now, I have to admit that the times when we wanted to share and were shunted to a table for 2 were in the GDR. We never had a problem getting a table in the specialty restaurants that let us share. Sometimes we were with strangers, but usually we were with a pre-set group of 4-6 or even 8. (But NEVER 10!

 

The recent renovations to the "R" ships apparently made more 2 person tables available in Polo and Toscana but I don't remember hearing anything about that regarding the "O" ships.

 

Good luck!

 

Mura

We also prefer to share. We have met some fabulous people sharing tables in the specialties. We get enough of dining alone when we are home. LOL

Thanks Aloha1!

We found it very hard to get a table for 2 in the specialty restaurants and only used our Polo Grill and Jaques reservations once in 21days after a rather uncomfortable shared table of 8-10 experience in Red Ginger. We made all reservations online as soon as they were open to PH2 and they were confirmed but the day before many we would receive a note of change. I really hope during the next cruise we will have more luck in reservation lottery.

I don't understand the "change in reservations" for 2 unless you had submitted your reservations under "share" vs. "not share" when you made them on line.

We did not have any of our online reservations for 2 changed on our August Marina cruise, but ours stated "not share." When we made additional reservations on board the ship, we asked for shared and had no problem getting additional reservations. Joined parties that had either a table for 4 or 6 that had chosen "share" when making their reservations for 2.

I don't understand the "change in reservations" for 2 unless you had submitted your reservations under "share" vs. "not share" when you made them on line.

 

We did not have any of our online reservations for 2 changed on our August Marina cruise, but ours stated "not share." When we made additional reservations on board the ship, we asked for shared and had no problem getting additional reservations. Joined parties that had either a table for 4 or 6 that had chosen "share" when making their reservations for 2.

Once in a while instead of seating us at a table with others they will give us a table for 2. I think they believe most people prefer a 2 top and that they are doing something nice for us. We don't prefer it, but we accept graciously.

Really enjoying your review and agree with so much of it. Agree 100% about Red Ginger and Jacques. Jacques is so much better than Signatures on Regent and Prime 7 is, IMO, is superior to Polo. We just did not care for Toscana although will try it again on our next Oceania cruise in November. We did not give the main restaurant much of a chance -- tried it once and did not go back. Much prefer Regent. Still, will try it one more time. Looking forward to reading about your experience.

We were able to enjoy Red Ginger with just the two of us. While not totally anti-social (just a bit:-), we prefer dining alone. We have tried sharing tables with strangers but had a couple of unfortunate situations and prefer not to try it again. We do share tables with people that we already know.

I find it a bit strange that blue cheese stuffed olives were discontinued for health reasons but they will make them if you ask. Curious!

Enjoying your live report.

Who needs to pay for costly spa treatments when you can just use the large sauna or steam room and then the heated tile chaises (free for PH and above)?

Not sure what you mean by Free for PH and above, this is for the Spa area outside not the sauna and steam rooms you can also use the heated tile chaises unless they have changed this since May this year.

Am enjoying your cruise vicariously, so thank you! Your post is bringing back fond memories of our time on Riviera last month and has us looking forward to the next one in March. I pretty much agree with your observations so far and comparisons with Regent (based only on 2 cruises - the first with Regent and the second with Oceania). For us, the ship and the food were the stars of the show - and as long as the same standard is maintained, we'll keep coming back...

I believe the Riviera has the best. They are less than we pay in Newport Beach and better. They do rotate staff though.

Thanks to all for your kind comments. Very little, if any, internet the last two days. A notice came in today's Currents that due to the solar storm that hit this weekend, satellite connection had been lost. All appears well this afternoon (Monday). So, on with the commentary:

Antalya, Turkey is a delightful resort city of about 100,000 people. Not much to due ij the city proper but you come here to see the ancient ruins of Perge and Aspendos. We took advantage of O's private car hire for half a day. the cost was about $60 USD more than the ships's tour would have cost for the 3 of us but we had a van, driver, and guide all to ourselves! Perge is still undergoing excavation. The city goes back to the 6th century BCE but it's glory days were during the 2nd century CE. With broad entrance pavilions, baths, markets, and fountains, it struck me as an ancient version of an upscale small resort town. Very modern and wealthy for it's time. You go to Aspendos to see the perfectly intact theatre, the largest in what we used to call Asia Minor. Built by order of Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius in the 2nd century CE, the theatre has survived the ages and only needed a few small reconstructed items. Truly amazing to look at the technology, understand how the acoustics are so perfect that someone sitting in the back row could hear a whisper from the stage, and then ponder how the civilization that created it all fell apart. Makes one pause and consider our world today and the idea of permanence. Returning toward the ship, at our (DW's) request, our guide stopped at what she called the best baklava shop in town. Wow!

For dinner that evening, we first checked the GDR menu then saw that most of what we would order was also available at the Terrace Cafe. Not feeling in the mood to dress, the Terrace it was. So, lamb chops grilled to order, gulf shrimp, King Crab legs, sushi, and pizza. More than enough and a great evening view from the fantail as we did not sail until Midnight.

We dinner at the terrace at least half the time. As you say food and view can not be beat and dress code is best for us.

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"For dinner that evening, we first checked the GDR menu then saw that most of what we would order was also available at the Terrace Cafe."

This was also frequently our modus operandi on the 17 days we recently spent on Riviera. If we weren't eating in a Specialty we were usually in the Terrace. I think we ate twice in the GDR the whole time. It was excellent, but most nights did not want to take the time needed to dine there when we could get the same food + additional choices in the Terrace.

The evening we sailed out of Kotor Montenegro we ate outside at the Terrace and it was magical. Fortunately sailaway frequently coincides with dinner time.

Thanks for taking the time to keep us updated.

This cruise was supposed to spend 3 days in Israel docked at Haifa. That went out the window with the Hamas missile attacks so alternative ports were chosen. Our first of these ports was a mere 45 miles south of Antalya, the vacation spot of Alanya. From the outside sailing in, the port looked promising, Surrounded by a medieval wall from the 13th century, a castle, etc. it was very picturesque. Walking off the ship, we found a little tourist train that ran a half hour route the center of town for 5 TL per person. Our little journey, while fun, showed us that this was the Turkish version of Daytona Beach, Florida and an apparent destination for Russian tourists. Coupled with the near 90 degree heat, we decided to spend the rest of the day back on Riviera.

I participated in my second cooking class at 4 PM, Fish. The cooking classes are absolutely great. As an amateur chef, I picked up quite a few great tips and techniques. If you like to cook or wan to learn more, I highly recommend taking at least one of classes. there is nothing else like them on any other line.

Dinner was back in Jacques. DW repeated the Dover Sole and I opted for the Steak au Poivre. This steak was worthy of any steak house I've been in. Perfectly cooked to my specs with a delicious bordelaise sauce, it put my steak at Polo to shame. Afterword, I wandered to the casino where, surprise, three blackjack tables were in business. Unfortunately, the same pirates were at work from the dealer side of all three and, chips vacated, I beat a hasty retreat to our cabin.

"For dinner that evening, we first checked the GDR menu then saw that most of what we would order was also available at the Terrace Cafe."

 

This was also frequently our modus operandi on the 17 days we recently spent on Riviera. If we weren't eating in a Specialty we were usually in the Terrace. I think we ate twice in the GDR the whole time. It was excellent, but most nights did not want to take the time needed to dine there when we could get the same food + additional choices in the Terrace.

 

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+1

I don't see that changing on out next Riviera cruise unless MDR has one of our favorites from the specialties on menu that night that is not available in the Terrace Café.

Aloha 1 -

We were on the Riviera in the spring, and it sounds like the sale to NCL has not had any negative effect so far! Thanks for your ongoing posts.

We too, enjoyed the culinary classes so much that we took 3 on the last cruise. We will be on the Riviera again next month, and are wondering if Chef Kelly will be on the Barcelona-Istanbul cruise. We have phoned Oceania, but no one could/would answer that question. Is there a way you can find out if Chef Kelly will be on our cruise in October? We had taken a class on a previous cruise on the Marina, and the chef for that class was not as entertaining or knowledgable as Chef Kelly. We will not sign up for a class unless we know that she is the chef! Thanks. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Aloha 1 -

 

We were on the Riviera in the spring, and it sounds like the sale to NCL has not had any negative effect so far! Thanks for your ongoing posts.

 

We too, enjoyed the culinary classes so much that we took 3 on the last cruise. We will be on the Riviera again next month, and are wondering if Chef Kelly will be on the Barcelona-Istanbul cruise. We have phoned Oceania, but no one could/would answer that question. Is there a way you can find out if Chef Kelly will be on our cruise in October? We had taken a class on a previous cruise on the Marina, and the chef for that class was not as entertaining or knowledgable as Chef Kelly. We will not sign up for a class unless we know that she is the chef! Thanks. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Don't limit yourself to Chef Kelly. I admit she is terrific but I had two amazing classes with another "celebrity" chef from Napa Valley (Curtis Di Fede --he co-owned a fabulous restaurant there and wrote books about olive oil) -- he was superb. There may be a few "losers" in the bunch there are also some other chefs who are great.

I usually prefer to be served at dinner over buffets and lines, but we tried the Terrace Cafe for dinner on our two cruises this year on Riviera and were very pleasantly surprised at the wonderful variety and quality of the food. Just loved the grilled seafood and steak and it was not the zoo I expected. A wonderful alternative if the MDR menu does not appeal or you prefer to dine a bit faster.

A wonderful alternative if the MDR menu does not appeal or you prefer to dine a bit faster.

We actually took more time in the Terrace because we would sip some wine after a course and rest before deciding what else we wanted to eat. In the MDR, after you order, the food comes at a quicker pace.

For anyone who thinks the Terrace is like a Lido buffet on other cruise lines, they are in for a very pleasant surprise. We were one of the nay sayers to buffet service before we tried it.

Laraine - Thanks for your response. We will definitely check into taking another culinary class, and hopefully we will have as great an experience as we did with Chef Kelly.

I signed us up for our first culinary class on our January cruise, the pasta class. I could not believe husband agreed to take this class or any cooking class at all :D, so I booked it as soon as he said he would attend.

I signed us up for our first culinary class on our January cruise, the pasta class. I could not believe husband agreed to take this class or any cooking class at all :D, so I booked it as soon as he said he would attend.

You will love it. I have taken more pasta classes than anyone could imagine and I learn something new in every one of them.