Aknayt3393

We just got home after cruising on the Oceania Riviera. We loved the tea at Red Ginger, particularly the basic green tea. Does anyone know what brand of tea they use? It is very different from what is served elsewhere on the ship. I’d love to buy some for home!

A quick additional edit to my comments on the Ravenna to Venice shuttle service. There was some delay going through some construction/ paving project and it ended up taking 2 1/2 hrs - in case some are concerned about the timing of their flight. Oceania did a great job in general and quickly got our luggage from the bus to a shuttle and then to the airport entrance.Those staying on in Venice then collected their bags and found their taxis from there. Our friends had quite a few bags and were somewhat challenged as they also decided it would be quicker to take a water taxi to their hotel. They also felt good about the way it was all handled. We are having to wait 2 hrs before our airline will check our bags, but it’s not terrible and we are people watching and eating snacks.

@Twiga I remembered to ask our butler about the USB ports this morning before we left and he said there were none but there will be when they remodel. We said sad farewells to various friends in the Martini bar last evening. Since we traveled by ourselves this time and didn’t really anticipate mingling too much, I didn’t expect to make such good friends. The nice thing with the ship being half full is we did get to know many of the other passengers and it’s been really meaningful. Maybe the covid isolation over the past couple of years has made me appreciate these connections so much more. We even settled into a nice routine with our butler and he came through in spades, so we made sure to thank him personally along with an extra tip, even though I’ve learned on here this certainly isn’t necessary. Both he and our room steward went above and beyond regularly. We are on the bus/shuttle to the airport and so far everything has gone smoothly. I know some have been concerned. The disembarkation was uncomplicated, although very early, and I’ve been able to sleep for most of the bus ride this time. Even though the driver is playing his Spanish radio news station and then woke everyone up when he answered his phone and had a lengthy loud conversation - oh well there is always going to be something I guess. I was prepared this time with earplugs. Some of our friends are on our bus who are staying on in Venice. Oceania has them still taking the bus to the airport and then they plan to take a taxi to their hotel, an 8 minute ride. Our plane doesn’t leave until mid afternoon but I don’t mind the wait, I would rather that than stressing about time. Besides I can hopefully shop. I will end this for now but if anyone has any questions I will check back and answer if I’m able. Thanks for following, and good luck and safe travels to all of you.

@Twigawe only found the one in the bathroom, the wall lamps by the bed don’t have any USB ports. I’ll ask our butler though to be sure this eve. We are back on the 2 hour bus ride back to port and the same guy is snoring even louder this time. It’s going to be a very long ride. I have very mixed feelings about today’s excursion - I think they tried to pack as much as possible into it for us but it missed the mark in some ways. It was raining so that didn’t help. The boat journey to Murano island was really long with perhaps too much info and most didn’t seem to pay attention which was kind of annoying. Then the Murano glassworks seemed super rushed. The demonstration was really cool but less than 10 minutes, with 20 minutes to shop. It seems like almost every Oceania excursion we’ve chosen hasn’t given enough shopping or free time, but maybe it’s just me. We took a quicker boat ride back over to Venice and were glad to find our gondola rides weren’t cancelled due to the rain and choppy water. But that also meant very wet and rainy gondola rides with umbrellas. We all looked like drowned rats. We went from the gondola through St Marks Square which was incredible, even in the rain. Our lunch was at a great little restaurant off the square and it was really good. It was a large group of us - I’m guessing close to 50? And they handled it well. Some of us found out there was no shopping time built in and were disappointed, so the tour guide took pity on a few of us and allowed us to skip the tiramisu and dash out for 10 minutes of speed shopping. Then back to the 2 hour bus ride back to port. I’m glad we did it but wish we had just added on additional time at the end of the cruise instead of the 2 days in Barcelona. (We didn’t have ability to do both.) Hopefully the Ravenna to Venice shuttles go well tomorrow. It would have been nice to have just stayed in Venice tonight for our departure tomorrow - hopefully Oceania figures out some better options in the future.

We just both got emails that we tested negative!!!!!! Now I can relax and enjoy Venice. Our tour guide said there was more traffic than usual going through Trieste because of the rain - everyone in cars instead of walking or bicycling. I didn’t think it was that bad. So it has taken us just over 2 hours.

The covid tests this morning went smoothly, Oceania had little booths set up in Toscana and we got through it fairly quickly. We don’t get the results until this evening. I didn’t get much sleep last night but figured I could catch a nap on the way to Venice. It’s raining today, kind of fitting for our last day. The bus is super comfortable with the seats reclining more than most of the other buses we’ve been on and more leg room. However there is no sleep for me because we have a couple of people snoring quite aggressively so I finally gave up and decided to catch up on this instead. I think others have also wondered about this new situation with using the Trieste port instead of Venice. So far (fingers crossed) the roads are in great condition and so far we have had no slowing or construction issues. I noticed the driver Googling traffic conditions so hopefully we stay away from any problem areas. The tour guide is obviously new and reading from a script but that makes sense since these tours were likely recently put together. Fortunately she only spoke while going through town. Tomorrow when we return to Venice I will have earplugs handy.

@LHT28 we were told we weren’t allowed to stay in Venice for that last night, that we are required to return to the ship instead. I think others have discussed that on another thread. And when we booked our trip, one reason we chose this particular cruise was for the Venice component. We added days in Barcelona on the front end and just couldn’t take the time for more days on the end as we need to get back home to responsibilities.

We spent our second to last day in Slovenia. We did the wine tasting tour and it was probably my least favorite. We spent a small amount of time in a charming little town, raced into a few shops then back on the bus for a stop at one winery. A few other new friends ended up on the tour also which made it fun and we did have a good time, but definitely would not repeat this one personally. Tomorrow will be a big day, Covid tests at 7 am followed by the 2 hour drive to Venice, then 2 hrs back, and then (providing we pass the Covid tests) the 2 hour drive back in the morning to catch our plane back to the US. I am already stressing about the Covid tests, hearing how so many asymptomatic people test positive and end up having to quarantine. I’ve been working through all the scenarios in my head as to how we would handle things if one or both of us test positive. Some others we’ve met think it’s not such a big deal if they get hung up for 5 days in Italy, but long story short, I need to return to my elderly parents who depend on me and I don’t have a solid plan B for a Covid delay. I will let those interested in the new Trieste/Venice transfers know tomorrow how that all goes. I’m excited to see Venice for the first time, and am hoping all goes smoothly.

I haven’t had time to post much but wanted to let others know that the excursion yesterday at Montenegro was the best yet. This was the opinion of everyone else I spoke with on the tour. It was an Oceania tour called “Classical performance in prcanj and kotor.” The actual musical performance was only 30 minutes but I think we all would have been happy if it had been at least twice that. The entire cruise was super well done, from beginning to end. Today we did the Game of Thrones excursion in Dubrovnik which was also great - we had anticipated rain but it ended being perfect weather.

@ORVI suppose the seven glasses during the 7 courses might have contributed lol. I was moving a little slower today until we were given grappa on our Montenegro excursion - which was a fantastic tour. I will go into more detail tomorrow after I’ve gotten some sleep.

@JoePDXLa Reserve was a great experience. And for anyone interested, book it well in advance because I’m hearing quite a few people weren’t able to get a reservation. The food was incredible as many have already described. We had the French menu. I would highly recommend going with a major appetite because I simply couldn’t do more than a few bites after awhile. And the food is extremely rich, so I was struggling. The wine pairings were excellent. But it was a lot of wine and a lot of food, and I didn’t feel I did it justice unfortunately. We were at a table of 6 and others were having the same problem. The beef course was absolutely fantastic, so pace yourself so you will still have an appetite when that comes. The people were also fantastic. This was probably my favorite part really. I thought we had absolutely nothing in common with them when we were first assigned to our group, but by the end of the meal (3 hours later) we were all having a fantastic time. I’m not sure I’m articulating this well, but for me at least it wasn’t at all just about the food - it was the ambience and the comraderie as well as the fantastic chefs, and servers we have started to get to know. By the end they finally opened all the doors to give us the hint to leave as no one seemed inclined to do so. One other thing - the cooking class was so worth it. I wasn’t sure about it on our one at sea day but I highly recommend it and do sign up early. I heard many were on waiting lists that never opened up.

@2SeaAll Oceania is handling Covid really well. They are definitely enforcing masks and we honestly haven’t heard of even one case onboard. I have tried to inquire every now and then and no one has heard of any cases. Our friends on the RC who are quarantined said there was no mask policy at all on their ship. Our tender was crowded but every was masked. We have only been on a tender once. The tour groups at first were all small but the Rome tour was much bigger and they combined two of our groups on a large bus. Some on the bus were removing their masks which made me uncomfortable. There have been crowds on land in Florence and Rome in particular. I think my basic message is Oceania is great with safety precautions but there’s only so much you can do when on the excursions. We have been wearing masks if there’s crowds outdoors and quite a few other passengers have done the same, but I think there’s still a significant risk to be honest.

@arima22 Thanks! I didn’t even know that was a plug-in nightlight. And I pulled it out and yes there’s a plug underneath. @TwigaI checked our lamps and there doesn’t seem to be anything. They are up in the wall so maybe there’s another kind in other rooms? We have the penthouse on 11th floor. We really enjoyed the cooking class today - we made the sea bass from Red Ginger and the pad Thai, and my favorite, salad rolls (I think they were called something else).

It’s our first time on Oceania. We scheduled this cruise a couple years ago with three other couples. We are finally cruising only without the other couples due to schedule conflicts. I’ve not posted on this forum before but have been following off and on for a few years so I decided to post a few observations that may help others. I don’t want to post daily reports as we will be too busy - however I can try to answer questions if I’m able. We are late 50’s couple with only a couple cruises under our belt, always with other couples where other more experienced would take the lead in planning. Embarkation I was surprised at how efficient this all went. We showed our negative test results from 72 hours prior along with our vaccine cards and were able to go through easily, no additional test needed. There wasn’t an awful line, and people seemed prepared and efficient, both passengers and staff. We only waited maybe an hour once on the ship to go to our PH room on 11. Super smooth. We asked how many passengers are on and it’s just 600, so it does feel a bit quiet but I don’t really mind. Crew So far we’ve been really impressed, most have been terrific given current conditions. We were a bit uncomfortable with the idea of a “butler” but figured it would be fine. He actually has been a non-event which is fine with us, but kind of funny since I thought a butler would be intrusive but we have seen way more of our room steward who has been a delight. She’s been working hard and has a great attitude. When we met the butler we asked about extra reservations at the specialty restaurants because I read on here to do that, and it was awkward - he basically said no, that he wanted to be sure other guests had an opportunity to get reservations before making second ones for us. He was nice enough about it but we did felt bad for asking and said it was no problem, we were okay without. When we eventually went to the dining room, the hostess asked if we wanted to go to Red Ginger instead and we were quite surprised. And Red Ginger ended up being maybe 1/3 full. Masks We are all wearing masks unless eating or working out if it’s not crowded (and I’m not thinking it will be!). Not a big deal at all and I don’t have a sense of it being a problem for most. When boarding we asked about the policy and got vague and confusing answers from the reception staff, but then the cruise director made an announcement about it and I think finally everyone was on the same page. We can’t take drinks into the shows so everyone can keep their masks on, which makes sense to me. There was still decent attendance to the show given it was the first day and the ship is only half full. But everyone was still able to socially distance in the auditorium and it felt fine. Entertainment I was really wondering what to expect from reports on here but we went to the 930 show this evening and I think Oceania is getting back on track. The Riviera band was awesome, better than I expected with an incredible pianist. There was also a very talented 4 piece string quartet. A new team of 12 dancers and singers were introduced, along with a new assistant cruise director and social director who seems very involved in getting the singles together every day. There’s a guest singer scheduled tomorrow - I think he is supposed to be the voice of Mufasa on lion king on broadway if I’m not mistaken. I had planned to check out the casino but ended up shopping in the boutique instead. (They carry a decent selection of Lauren Ralph Lauren and Joseph Ribkoff in case anyone else is interested :} Food and drink It seems pretty good so far, better than Viking or Royal Caribbean which are my only other points of reference. I wish there was hard seltzer but that’s a pretty minor complaint. They have everything else so it’s all good. Excursions I've been bracing myself for potential cancellations, determined to be flexible and understanding. So when there was an announcement while checking in that the excursion company had cancelled the Monaco excursions due to some conflict with a formula one electric car race, I was really disappointed since I had been looking forward to that one the most. I’d even read a book to study up on it in advance. But then we were able to schedule another tour that involves a hop on hop off bus (which my husband is NOT excited about) but I think will be even better, and we even get to spend time in the casino. That’s all I can think of at the moment. It’s just the first day but I hope this might be helpful for others.