The Halftime Report

We're now at our halfway point of our first Oceania cruise, on Riviera, and I'm going to make a few observations.

The ship is immaculate and VERY well maintained. We haven't seen any rust of any kind on our balcony and our cabin staff are fastidious on keeping the balcony clean. They are truly amazing. The public rooms are beautiful and clean with nary a threadbare piece of furniture or carpet. We always see staff cleaning or polishing something.

The food is absolutely spectacular. Now, understand, that we've felt that the Murano and Murano-type restaurants on Celebrity were the end all, be all of specialty restaurants, but not anymore. Riviera's no extra fee specialities are far and away the best specialties we've ever seen, even superior to the specialties on Crystal. Jacques is outstanding with food that's perfectly prepared using the best ingredients and having beautiful presentations. In Murano you have a very limited menu, but in Jacques, the menu is huge and has a variety of delicious items that you'd need to do a B2B2B to experience it all. Red Ginger puts the Asian restaurant on Celebrity to shame, and now, I can compare their restaurant to a Panda Express---well, actually that wasn't my comparison, but the comment made by the husband of a couple we met who also came over from Celebrity. The beef in the Polo Grill is very high quality and the diverse menu would satisfy anyone. We haven't dined at Toscano yet, so I can't write about that just now. Waves is in a class by itself and we love having lunch there. The surf and turf is unbelievable and the seared Ahi Tuna is amazing. The buffet for lunch and dinner is wonderful with a really diverse menu that changes daily.

Now, not all is sunshine and roses and unfortunately the cons have a big impact on me. With regards to accessibility, Riviera fails in one very big aspect----getting the disabled off the ship in the ports of call. In this day and age of rapidly aging Baby Boomers and increasing numbers of wounded Vets, not to have a safe gangway to get the disabled off the ship is, quite honestly, disgraceful. Their idea of an accessible gangway is a very steep ramp with two to four steps at the end, OR an extension of the ramp that goes to a 110 degree angle, which no wheelchair, scooter, power wheelchair or walker can handle. This is NOT acceptable and I'm confined to the ship in all the ports. They offer to carry people off the ship, but in all honesty, that's not a safe option nor is it something that a disabled person wants to have happen---it's downright embarrassing. They really needed to have a hatch on deck 3 where you'd only need a ramp with a small incline, but that's not the case. I really wish they would come up with a solution to this problem, but I don't see that forthcoming.

The other con is the temperature in our suite. I have a clock radio that has a temp gage and the bedroom is 75 degrees, despite having the thermostat set at the lowest setting. Sleeping is difficult and my asthma is acting up because the suite is so warm. We've talked to people about this and the answer is "It is what it is", so nothing will happen to regulate the temp in the suite.

I will post a full review when back home.

Happy you like the food and ship. Thanks for taking the time to write here. I would think the food should be better than X considering the price difference. I am lucky to be mobile however I am very sorry you can not get off at ports. I think O should think about this as I can see it is a very big problem for people like you.

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Darcie, I have seen them bringing disabled people off a lower deck. Perhaps you have not asked the proper people?

As far as the temperature is concerned, I have had to have the Engineer come and adjust it in the hallway. Again, do you have a butler, or perhaps you have not asked the proper person.

Please try to see management about this.

Interesting read...

Food sounds wonderful and ship sounds lovely.

Astounded to hear about the lack of accessibilty . Shameful.

The temperature issue has been mentioned before and it would be an issue for me as I love Artic temperatures to sleep.

I had a cruise booked on Oceania in July with a wonderful itinerary..but ultimately switched to Crystal. I would still very much liked to sail on Oceania to see if it is a good fit. The ships look beautiful.

Looking forward to your full review.

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Thanks for the update too bad you are confined to the ship

What deck do they take the H/C passengers off ?

I always though it was deck 3 but maybe it is deck 4

On Marina in the spring we did go off the crew exit with our luggage & it was not steep but then it depends on the water level & the dock height

I find leaving the drapes closed when the sun is beaming in helps keep the cabin a bit cooler ..we had a hard time getting it cool enough for sleeping & we were in a regular veranda cabin

Glad you are enjoying the food

Hope the rest of the cruise is great

Lyn

Darcie, I have seen them bringing disabled people off a lower deck. Perhaps you have not asked the proper people?

 

As far as the temperature is concerned, I have had to have the Engineer come and adjust it in the hallway. Again, do you have a butler, or perhaps you have not asked the proper person.

 

Please try to see management about this.

Oh believe me, we asked the right people. The regular deck for disembarking is deck 5 and for the disabled it's deck four. I was told by the cruise director that the only way to get people off the ship who can't walk at all is to carry them off. I'm sorry, but that's not acceptable and it's embarrassing to have someone do that in this day and age.

I found the cabins way way to cold...and had to turn up the control 3/4 of its range....

ADA is not always possible in many ports, in south america,south pacific,andAlaska ( due to tides) It would be nice to have everyone on the same standard, however, the reality is many things just will not or ever fit ADA needs...

110 degrees????? thats 20 degrees off of vertical !!!! I found the crew gangway on deck4 to be very gentle....maybe 15 degree.

When booking a cruise, It should be part of the planning process to assume nothing with regard to their ADA needs. You can't just lay blame on just one side.

I found speaking to my room steward as well as the concierge at reception area got my problem with the room temperature solved. It took a couple of tries, but the room steward was really good about getting the problem solved.

Dan,

+1

We have occasionally had problems like this on the "R" and "O" ships and by calling housekeeping I think we just about always had very prompt visits from the maintenance staff to deal with them. At least once we had a temperature problem (don't remember which ship) and that was dealt with promptly.

If you were told nothing could be done, maybe you need to be more persistent. (I am not criticizing you, please don't think that I am.)

We have frequently used the Deck 4 ramp on Marina and I don't recall it as being that much of a pitch ... but I was walking and we generally were returning from a tour, not trying to leave the ship. Even though it is much less of an incline than from Deck 5, I can understand that it might still not be possible with a wheelchair or scooter. And I certainly can understand not wanting to be physically carried off the ship!

Mura

Here on Insignia I've seen only one ramp since the beginning of the cruise, sometimes from deck 3 and sometimes from deck 4, depending on the port. When they use the long ramp from deck 4 it's 32 shallow steps for lower drops and 32 steeper steps for higher drops. I don't know how they handle the wheelchairs; and there are quite a few on board. Have not seen any hoverounds or scooters.

But, on every cruise we've taken on Marina or Riviera, there has always been a lower crew ramp that is also used by physically challenged folks. Can't imagine why there is not on the OP's cruise.

75 is freezing for us; we keep our home AC at 81-82 in the hottest part of Summer, which is the only time we use it, primarily to remove the humidity (and we live in south Florida). We always adjust the cabin thermostats to a warmer setting, then use only a sheet. I do miss our paddle fans when we're cruising. Having said that, we, too, have not always been able to adjust the thermostat to our liking.

The engineer can absolutely do something about the temperature! We were suffering silently on Insignia in the Caribbean when our butler asked why our cabin was so hot! He called the engineer and voila! within 20 minutes we were cool as can be!

And the crew ramp is much less in pitch - usually almost flat from deck 4

Just our experience....

Oh believe me, we asked the right people. The regular deck for disembarking is deck 5 and for the disabled it's deck four. I was told by the cruise director that the only way to get people off the ship who can't walk at all is to carry them off. I'm sorry, but that's not acceptable and it's embarrassing to have someone do that in this day and age.

I sympathize with your disembarkation problem. Unfortunately I have no solution.

However in reference to your temperature problem, we had the opposite problem on the Marina...our room was freezing. The head engineer came several times to our room and made adjustments to the thermostat, which solved the problem. I would insist on having the engineer come and adjust it.

I know there were several other cabins that had the same problem as we did.

Good luck!

75 is freezing for us; we keep our home AC at 81-82 in the hottest part of Summer, which is the only time we use it, primarily to remove the humidity (and we live in south Florida). We always adjust the cabin thermostats to a warmer setting, then use only a sheet. I do miss our paddle fans when we're cruising. Having said that, we, too, have not always been able to adjust the thermostat to our liking.

AC at 81-82 ...that's not air, that's heat! :)

When we cruise in two weeks, we will be coming from a 67 d winter temp in our home. 75 d will be a big adjustment, but we do keep our summer thermostat at 74, so maybe we will adjust. ;) I'd like it cooler in the stateroom, however.

Does anyone know if personal fans are allowed. They have been banned on other cruiselines.

AC at 81-82 ...that's not air, that's heat! :)

 

When we cruise in two weeks, we will be coming from a 67 d winter temp in our home. 75 d will be a big adjustment, but we do keep our summer thermostat at 74, so maybe we will adjust. ;) I'd like it cooler in the stateroom, however.

 

Does anyone know if personal fans are allowed. They have been banned on other cruiselines.

We like it cool in the Stateroom also.

All that you ever need do to keep the room cool is to draw the drapes. Fans are not necessary.

That is something that we have grown accustomed to doing. As soon as the steward is finished in the stateroom, we will sneak back in and close those curtains. ;)

On a recent cruise from England to the Canary Islands and Portugal, we were going to be in a warm weathered port all day. We knew the stateroom would heat up fast if those curtains were not drawn, and that we would be hot upon returning in the afternoon. We left the ship very early and before the steward had come around. We saw the steward in the hallway and expressed our wishes that the curtains remained closed. Sure enough, we returned that afternoon to a brightly, blazing hot stateroom! :(:rolleyes: Next time we will leave a note on the curtains.

Kitty9 - Thank you so much for your reviews! :)

We also either ask the butler and room steward to leave the drapes closed or go back in ourselves and close them in warm weather ports. This makes a huge difference in room temp.

The ramp for wheelchair thing is really puzzling for me as I have definitely seen wheelchairs coming off a ramp on deck four without much of an incline. Yes, it would vary depending on the tides and the port, but I would think at least some of the ports would be accessible. There are certainly lots of people in wheelchairs onboard on most cruises.

Oh believe me, we asked the right people. The regular deck for disembarking is deck 5 and for the disabled it's deck four. I was told by the cruise director that the only way to get people off the ship who can't walk at all is to carry them off. I'm sorry, but that's not acceptable and it's embarrassing to have someone do that in this day and age.

There should be a way. How do other cruise lines do it? Or is it the same all over? :confused::confused::confused:

On the Riviera in December, there were 4 people who were disabled and could not walk without a scooter. We met up with them, as DH is also handicapped. 2 went into ports, and 2 stayed onboard. The two that went into port, were able to use their scooters down the 15%-20% incline on deck 4 (dependent on dock height, and water level), however, it's coming back up the incline that was the problem. The staff carried the person/scooter up at each port. The scooter simply doesn't have the power to go up that level of incline. They all agreed that the large mass market new ships were set up for the handicapped better than the smaller cruise lines such as Oceania. However...they all said that if they had known about the Cruise Critic disabled forum prior to sailing, they would have asked the question there, as to how O handles scooters at the dock, and not booked with O. Unfortunately, all cruise lines are not equal in their ability to handle the handicapped traveler. I will not start the discussion on Viking Ocean, as it has already been beaten to death (no scooters allowed on ship).

On the Riviera in December, there were 4 people who were disabled and could not walk without a scooter. We met up with them, as DH is also handicapped. 2 went into ports, and 2 stayed onboard. The two that went into port, were able to use their scooters down the 15%-20% incline on deck 4 (dependent on dock height, and water level), however, it's coming back up the incline that was the problem. The staff carried the person/scooter up at each port. The scooter simply doesn't have the power to go up that level of incline. They all agreed that the large mass market new ships were set up for the handicapped better than the smaller cruise lines such as Oceania. However...they all said that if they had known about the Cruise Critic disabled forum prior to sailing, they would have asked the question there, as to how O handles scooters at the dock, and not booked with O. Unfortunately, all cruise lines are not equal in their ability to handle the handicapped traveler. I will not start the discussion on Viking Ocean, as it has already been beaten to death (no scooters allowed on ship).

Does not answer the question, Which other cruise lines does it better and how do they do it? Just to say that some are better and not tell us which ones are better is no answer at all.

May well be true, but you are assuming that the poster KNOWS which ones are better.

I sure don't.

Mura

May well be true, but you are assuming that the poster KNOWS which ones are better.

 

I sure don't.

 

Mura

Why would the poster bother to post if he/she did not know. I also sure do not know. Trying to tell us that Oceania does not do it right when maybe that is the best anyone can do.

We were just on a two week cruise in Caribbean on celebrity. There were many wheelchair passengers who were able to get off the ship. They even had tours for the mobility challenged. I know the wheelchair passengers did not exit through the regular gangway so the ship must be set up for it.

I have seen relatively few wheelchairs or scooters on Oceania but perhaps that's because we generally do fairly rigorous cruises with ports in places that may pose difficulty for those with mobility issues.

I will be on the Marina in a month and since your ship is the same could you answer a few questions about a few items in the spa area on the 14th deck?

Is the sauna and steam room available for everyone to use for free or do you have to have a spa day pass?

What is the small pool just forward of the steam room area on the Spa Terrace. Is that the T pool? Is that free also? Is it like the T pool on Celebrity where it is warm water with hydrotherapy jets?

I will be on the Marina in a month and since your ship is the same could you answer a few questions about a few items in the spa area on the 14th deck?

Is the sauna and steam room available for everyone to use for free or do you have to have a spa day pass? FREE for all passengers

What is the small pool just forward of the steam room area on the Spa Terrace. Is that the T pool? YES

Is that free also

The Spa deck with thalassotherapy pool is free for Concierge & above cabin categories

You can also buy a day pass to use the spa deck