pete_coach

I do not have a photo but my Wife and I were disappointment at the redesign. To us, it took away that French bistro look to just another restaurant anywhere in the world look. It did not seem as bright and light as before. Don't get me wrong, it looks nice and of course the service and food were excellent but, it did not look or feel "French".

Maybe they are anticipating another increase in prices??

You are correct , drop off could be anywhere but I suspect it would be either Victoria Station or Fenchurch near the Tower of London. There are bus stations there. First of all, I love London. Been there many times. One of my favourite, if not my favourite city in the world. London DYI is an overwhelming question. There is so much and it is spread out so far, it would be very difficult to get the most out of a port visit there. As much as I hate to say this but I highly recommend a private escorted tour or even the ship offered excursion. That way you skip some line ups for entry and you get a personal guided tour with explanations and will at least see the major sites. For instance, the Tower of London alone can be a 1 hour line to get in and then to see the place you can easily spend 3 hours.

Clarify what? They made a change. Happens all the time.

We were just on Rivieria. Loved the fact it has been "renewed" as opposed to "re-inspired". Loved the bigger bathrooms. Loved the re-designed cabins, my Wife said must be designed by a Woman as there is more than ample storage LOL. A few points (not complaints). Layout is the same as before. (been on Rivieria prior to refit). Furniture is a bit low for my tastes and difficult to get out of for older folk, which are the primary clientele. Chairs in Terrace are heavy and do not slide well on the carpeted floor when trying to sit at the tables. Tables in Terrace Cafe were very close together and during busy breakfasts and lunches, was difficult to find a path to and from the buffet. Redecorating of Jaques, in our opinion, took away that "French bistro" look. A great ship, a great trip, great service throughout and lived up up all our expectations.

Point was that the Rivieria is a small ship and can fit at the very old Pan American pier. There were 5 ships in port that day and they needed the bigger piers. Rivieria was relegated to the old pier..

Great review. I agree with all your points and comments. I was going to write a review of the same cruise but you have done such an admirable job I could not add any more and will just refer folks to yours. Kudos on the review. Thank you.

We took the last off for disembarking, 9 AM. We were not leaving Miami that day. We got down to the area, found our bag and by 9:45 we were getting a taxi to the hotel.

There is presently only 4 docks in the Old Town area. 2 more are being built. There were 3 big ships in with Wonder of the Sea coming in later. Those 4 big ships would not have been able to dock where Rivieria did. In my opinion, the shuttle to the little square in town was a mess. There were lots of buses from other tours there and it was just full of people and guides and traffic making it a very crowded and confusing area..

Not really 'cabanas". Just loungers with a bit of a shade at the head. Also, you need to be concierge or above to go there.

Azamara ships have less than half the passengers of Oceania (let alone major cruise lines). A walkabout on Azamara take only an hour 🙂

I did and still question your comment of the character of a smoker. BTW, I am not a smoker.

Whaaat?? When does that ever happen? LOL

Hope you got the miracle one day cure and the rest of your cruis(es) are OK.

Sorry to hear. Would over the counter meds have helped? (Tylenol etc) $500 to $20000?? Quite a huge spread. They could not tell you after they saw you what the bill was going to be? Wish we were there too.... see you next week 🙂

Are you insinuating that smokers cannot have "character traits of being fun, easy going, friendly and non-judgmental. "? Your comment is very "judgmental". I do not smoke and have friends that do and I do not disrespect or chastise them for their habit.

I get it. I was asked and just showed my boarding pass information. Of course, I will check on the day of boarding. The taxi or Uber will know (as they have in the past). Things change all the time.

Just showing what is on my boarding pass I just got. If you are wiser and know more, thanks.

On my boarding pass: 1751 N CRUISE BLVD MIAMI, FL, UNITED STATES Terminal Arrival Time: 12:30 Date: JAN 4, 2023 Port: Terminal: PORT MIAMI - TERMINAL B MIAMI, FLORIDA

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCHL) is the parent company of NCL and Oceania and Regent. All I am saying is that NCHL has 3500 employees and are getting rid of 10% and that is not a big deal to lose. As for Terminal B in Miami, the new NCL terminal, we are on Oceania Rivieria on 4 Jan and leaving from that terminal.

Actaully, I think many of the port people work for NCL. The new terminal B in Miami is a huge operation and I suspect NCL employees. Really, 300 people is not many in a big corporation.

Trimming 10% on shore personnel should not be much of a problem. Just by doing online pre boarding can reduce personnel at the check in process at ports a lot.

We got documents with shore excursion booklet and luggage tags last week for our 4 January cruise.

Lots of details. Are you onboard?

What is a "Blue Book"? We got documents and luggage tags for our Jan 4 cruise the other day, nothing else.