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Riviera - Caribbean Hideaways, Mar 28-Apr 7, 2013 - Trip Review and Pictorial


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Riviera - Caribbean Hideaways, Mar 28-Apr 7, 2013 - Trip Review and Pictorial

 

This was our first cruise with Oceania.

My wife and I are pretty seasoned cruisers, with 25+ cruises... but never on an upscale line. As we ran out of options for itineraries on our cruise line of choice (Norwegian), we began to explore other lines.

 

The Oceania experience seemed to be a very good fit for us. Rather than make our first try on a long or exotic voyage, we chose this trip from Miami to see how close we came to finding a good match for us.

 

I'd like to share our personal experience with the ship and the ports through this thread. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and will certainly return for more cruises with Oceania.

 

I have already posted a Photo tour of the ship that covers most of the venues onboard.

 

(it may take a few days to get the whole trip posted... I will do as much as I can in batches... a day or two at a time.)

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Day 1 - Our trip begins.

 

We have been anticipating this cruise for a while... our first voyage with Oceania. Unlike prior cruises, we decided to fly in on departure day, considering the NY to Miami flight a milk run, with little chance for trouble. Plus the rather late 6pm departure gave us a little wiggle room if the flight was delayed. This would have proved to be a bonehead move, if what happened yesterday with AA happened that day. (all flights delayed due to computer glitch). Not going to try this again anytime soon.

 

We got an early start, leaving from LaGuardia on the first flight out...and was walking around Miami by 10 a.m.

 

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Always a nice sight... getting the luggage ready to go. A quick mod to the tags worked, since we had a cabin change after final docs.

 

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The Miami terminal check-in was fairly well organized and only a short wait to get our credentials. A larger crowd, with that system of lines, would have been a bit more chaotic, but it worked at this time of day.

 

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Miami is truly a beautiful city to sail from.

 

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Once onboard...we headed right to the Terrace Cafe for lunch.

 

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...and shortly after boarding and a quick lunch, we were in our cabin, a Concierge level cabin on Deck 9.

 

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We made a quick stop to check our dining reservations for the trip, the hostess had set up shop in La Reserve, and allowed us to verify what we had reserved for the week, getting a printout of dates and times. We also later found the nice touch of an invitation in our cabin each night prior to a specialty reservation.

 

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Next stop was the Waves Bar to officially start the vacation.

 

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This was a much needed trip, with both our hectic schedules taking a toll over the rough Winter months...getting away for 10 days would be a delight.

 

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As newbies, we needed to explore the ship and spent a good part of the afternoon wandering around the ship.

 

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Angela was looking forward to the Culinary Classes... she had booked classes on three of our sea days. The facility is outstanding, and soon would be a lot more busy than this picture indicates.

 

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Angela, the former librarian, always checks out the facility on any ship we travel on... this one was quite nice and well located.

 

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It was now time to go Topside for the Sailaway

 

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Once underway...we unpacked, stowed our suitcases and had a nice dinner at Toscana.

 

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Day 2 - Sea Day

 

We like an early room service for wake-up to greet the day. It serves as a wake-up call and let's us ease into things.

 

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Then, once awake, we head down for breakfast... today in the Grand Dining Room.

 

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First on the agenda after breakfast was Spanish lessions with Assistant CD Roy Perez.

"Professor Roy" has an amazing technique for teaching and we found his sessions a pure delight.

 

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"Enunciation!"

 

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These classes were great...today was Pasta and Sauces. Well run and a super facility. All ingredients were prepped for you by the assistants. The session consisted of watch the Master do the dish...then return to your workstation and try and replicate it. The class ran 2 hours and was a lot of fun...very well worth it if you enjoy cooking (or eating.)

 

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Day 3 - Sea Day

 

After a long run along the coast of Cuba, we are well on our way to Tortola, the first port. Having a few Sea days before the string of ports really helps get into the swing of being away.

 

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The weather was a little overcast, but still relatively smooth seas.

 

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It certainly was nice enough for an outdoor breakfast at the Terrace Cafe.

 

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The morning activity was the Executive Chef giving cooking demonstrations in the theater on the secrets of Red Ginger recipes. He was quite a personality and it was a very enjoyable session... we enjoyed seeing and talking to him throughout the voyage.

 

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After an easy and relaxing afternoon, we prepared for the evening...our La Reserve experience

 

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The dining area was set up with three tables. (scroll horiz for full view)

 

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Jose from Madeira was one of our servers, We had met him on the first day and hit it off tremendously.

He was from Madeira and a mutual fan of our favorite soccer club, Real Madrid.

He was one of many crew members that spotted a team logo on one of our shirts,

and became our friends for the length of the cruise.

 

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Getting there early guarantees some quality socializing time.

...we arrived about a half hour ahead of schedule and got to chat with some friends before the festivities began.

 

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Dessert

 

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The Chef for the evening came out and talked with us for a while.

 

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Our serving crew

 

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We each received a signed menu from the staff. a very nice touch.

 

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We thoroughly enjoyed this meal and the overall experience. The explanations of each course and the corresponding wine were a delight.

 

We both can't recall a better dining experience at sea. Very much worth the price of admission and we will surely do it again.

 

<...more to follow later, as we now have a run of 5 ports...5 days coming up.>

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Day 4 - Tortola

 

Thus begins five consecutive port days in the Caribbean.

We are approaching Tortola, BVI, our first port...it is cloudy and a little rough

 

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We are going to need a good breakfast for the day we planned.

 

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The Riviera docked at Road Town... we were the only ship in each of the ports we docked on this itinerary.

 

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We have been to Tortola many times, and had already been to the Baths at Virgin Gorda, as well as the beaches at Jost Van Dyke.

Hard to choose...both were great. Which to do this time?

So, when Patricia came up with the opportunity to charter a high speed boat to hit both places in one day came up...we jumped on it.

 

The plan would have worked great, if the weather was more accommodating. But, the rough sea conditions made the first leg to the Baths an adventure in itself.

The boat spent a lot of time out of the water, bouncing on the waves.

Angela spent most of the trip tied down on the floor of the boat...we feared she would bounce out on us.

 

The speedboat to Baths and JVD

 

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Our partners in crime for this jaunt.

 

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Nice view of ship as we headed out towards Virgin Gorda.

 

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We approached the Baths, but it really was too rough to try and jump out and swim to shore...

 

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So, with better judgement...we docked at Spanish Town in Virgin Gorda and took a bus up to the National Park area.

 

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By the time we got to the Baths, we needed a drink to recalibrate.

 

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After careful consideration, Angela and I opted to stay up at the restaurant and go back to Tortola via ferry.

The rough boat ride was tough on her sore back... and two more legs to JVD and back didn't seem like an appealing alternative.

We wished our companions a fun day, and headed to the Ferry dock.

 

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Once back in Tortola, we took a walk around Road Town.

 

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Day 5 - Antigua

 

The Riviera approaching Antigua

 

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Always a pretty sight

 

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On our last year's cruise to Antigua, I had rented a car and really toured the whole island.

We visitied a half dozen beaches and most of the sights. This time, we just wanted a beach day with little movement.

We chose a day pass at the Jolly Beach Resort, on the West side of the island. This all-inclusive hotel gave us a nice day of beach and pool, food and refreshments.

 

We booked a cab to take us there, and pick us up at the appointed time.

 

Easter Monday is a day of celebration, and we ran head on into a parade, so we pulled over to let the crowds pass.

 

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The Jolly Beach Resort

 

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Shopping for shirts on the beach

 

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Mid afternoon, it was back to the ship...

 

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The Riviera had an early departure ( 4pm) from Antigua.

 

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This gave us a chance to see Sports Deck and spend some time in the pool.

 

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I burned a bit by being fooled under the cloudy skies...

 

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You are making us miss the Riviera! She is a beautiful ship and the food is wonderful!

 

We each lost weight on our cruise... and I hope that doesn't sound wrong! We shared meals and we were active on our cruise. We also think the meals aren't laden with calories that make you gain weight (I suppose that may depend on what you choose though).

 

Gosh I miss the food... and the easy weight loss! :) We need to cruise again to lose more weight!

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The pictures are great, Ron. Can't wait to see more. Did you ever get the t-shirts after you told us "the fix was in" lol?

 

Catherine

 

Nobody came thru... very disappointed. <kidding>

They are apparently very secure items. I may have to work part-time to qualify.

 

;)

 

(...hopefully, I can post a few more days tonite)

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