DENIE

Sthrngary...I completely agree about missed ports. We missed one in 2019 on Celebrity (Kotor, Montenegro) due to "Adriatic weather conditions" - this was the "system" that swamped Venice, where we had just left 3 days earlier. They weren't compfortable navigating the channel (fjord) into Kotor, and the tendering would not have been safe. Rather than a sea day, the captain gave us Corfu, Greece, where we could dock. Likewise, still loved that cruise. Just have to be prepared for things such as this. ORV, thanks so much for this post...loving it, and the photos of the Riviera. Do enjoy your cruise! 🙂

We always book our own air for the reasons discussed here. Just prefer to have control over everything. For international we book directly with the airline, hoping that if issues happen we will be assisted by that airline and not rely on a 3rd party.

hkilgo - if I can trouble you for one more question?? We both have fair complexions. As much as we love the sun and beach, we do need access to shade. Do these places in Puerto Plata offer that? Trees, umbrella's, etc.? Couldn't tell from the descriptions. Many thanks!

hkilgo - welcome to Cruise Critic. Thanks for your post. We will definitely take a look at these, then. We happen to live in Scottsdale, AZ, which has numerous ResortPass participants. We might have to try a little local "staycation" to get a feel! 🙂

Another vote for SeatGuru.com. They have all the airlines and all models flown, with all of the various configurations. They also have color coded seats based on traveler feedback - red means "avoid", yellow means "caution/be careful", and green means a good location. They provide all seat descriptions, measurements, etc for all locations. They do not provide the airline benefits; for that you have to check the respective airline site.

Thanks so much for your reply. 🙂 I was concerned about them "'overselling" since these are already hotels with paying guests, etc., or the possibility that cruise lines use them for excursions. Sounds like that might not be the case.

We are looking at a couple of all-inclusives that we see on the website ResortPass.com. One is Sunscape Puerto Plata Resort and Spa, and the other is Iberostar Costa Dorada (4.5 stars on TripAdvisor). Does anyone have any experience with either of these? Or ResortPass in general? They both look very nice for the price (which worries me a bit). How far are they from the port? We are traveling in January 2024. Many thanks!

We've made the switch from Celebrity as well, after thinking we found a home. After a couple cruises were cancelled due to Covid, we decided to try Oceania (1st cruise 6/2022 on Riviera), and loved the smaller ship experience. I am 58 and my wife is 63, and we found plenty to do on board. True, many were older than we were, but we enjoy that demographic! We met lots of fascinating, wonderful people. Service and food were just outstanding! For a reality check, some friends booked a HAL cruise to the Mexican Riviera in 12/2022, so there were 12 of us. It wasn't awful, but we couldn't stop comparing to Oceania. The experience just wasn't the same.

Yes, on Riviera in June 2022 - all were at 9:30 p.m. Just one show.

Welcome to Oceania. Still an "O" newbie as we will only be going on our 2nd O cruise in January 2024. Loved our first on in June 2022. Everyone on this forum has been very helpful!

We've had a couple issues over the past couple weeks. Twice our booked 2024 cruise disappeared. Once it let me re-enter the booking number and it repopulated. The other time it dropped and then appeared the next day. We are also able to book cooking classes on the Vista now, however when you hit the button to purchase, nothing happens. Meanwhile, we just booked 2 shore excursions with no problems at all. Go figure! Our TA is looking into the cooking classes as it would not let her book either. 🤔

My wife, her sister, and I have taken several cruises, and even with just the 3 of us we can end up with dinner lasting 2+ hours, and we love it! We talk, laugh, and take things at a relaxed pace. 🙂

Hi Seawatch! We enjoyed them on the Riviera this last June 2022. So you are on the 1/9-1/19 cruise, then? Be sure to go to the roll call.

Yay, just checked our Vista cruise in January 2024 and saw all 4 restaurants now listed! 🙂

We've done that as well. It was perfect, and very easy.

Following...we also will need a hotel here for our January 20242 Vista cruise. 🙂

We are on the 1/9/2024 Vista cruise, and the culinary classes just became available on the website.

Great post! We loved our first Oceania cruise (also on Riviera) last summer and booked Vista to the Caribbean in 2024. This brings back many great memories! 😃

Great review! We also came from Celebrity and sailed our first Oceania (Riviera) cruise this past June and are hooked - booked another on the Vista. I agree with others about the steak - I usually only order a filet mignon in the actual steakhouse. Mine was done to perfection in the Polo Grill. I pretty much agreed with everything you said.

I get that! On HAL, if you don't mind specialty dining every night, you are fine. 🙂 Main Dining on Oceania is far above. We loved it on the Riviera.

The food in the specialty dining was quite good, almost as good as Oceania. But the MDR (food and experience) left a lot to be desired. Example - a shrimp cocktail appetizer was served with warm shrimp, and the sauce was more of a creamy kind, not cocktail. Entrees were just "ok", but not nearly the variety we had on the Riviera. They also charge extra for some entrees. Service-wise, they were understaffed. Our party of 10 one night were seated at a table that had not yet been set from the previous party and waited 30 minutes to have anyone stop by (this even after someone flagged down the maitre de). The the waitstaff fault as they were hustling, but...

We too "jumped ship" from Celebrity. Although we had no gripes with Celebrity, we tried Oceania after speaking with several friends. It just feels right, and we may not look back. As a "test", we travelled with a few friends on a HAL Mexican Rivierea cruise this past December, and really were reminded of everything we loved about Oceania in June 2022 (Riviera).

We bring sea bands with us. I understand there are more expensive options that are battery operated no, but haven't heard any reviews.

The Springhill Suites is a great choice. We did not even need a vehicle to schlep our luggage across the street (just have a bit of patience). The hotel is new, and very nice (we stayed on the Residence Inn side). Gaslamp is fun (go the night before if you can), but you would need a cab or Uber/Lyft to get to the port.

Met people of all ages on our 6/2022 Mediterranean cruise on Riviera. Really enjoyed our fellow passengers. There were actually a couple of small kids, but only saw them in passing. We also mostly sailed with Celebrity previously, but I think we are Oceania converts!