Our Jan.12 Ten day Riviera cruise!

I will post a more "in-depth" review on the review site as well.

"The Ship"

We boarded the Riviera after a short wait(less than 30 min)The rooms became "ready" from the top down: Suites to the lower decks. Our deck(deck 8)wasn't ready until after 2:30. Longer than we've usually seen. I believe the reason was, that most luggage was waiting for you outside your cabin when you got there. This delay gave us lots of time to explore the ship. In La Reserve, we made reservations for "Le Bourgeoisie". This was a wine & food pairing dinner, similar to The Connoisseur dinner, but less costly. The ship as a whole is very elegant, but much smaller than Celebrity/Cunard ships we're used to. We relaxed an hour or so after light dining on the Terrace. The lounge chairs are nicely padded & very comfy.

Once to our room, I opened the door & my spouse, Richard was overjoyed to see we had a Veranda Cabin. We had booked an inside & Oceania contacted me 2 days prior to the cruise for a $200pp upgrade to a Veranda Cabin, which I readily accepted. So glad Richard never caught on as the look of surprise was awesome! We were very impressed with the room. It had plenty of storage,though, you needed to figure out where it all was. The bathroom was a surprise with the tub & separate shower. The tub also has a shower, but the "partial" door allows a lot of water to splash out. The separate shower is rather small, but the "rain" head & hand held separate showerhead were both vey nice. Those with C-PAP machines will be glad to know there is an outlet right behind the nightstand to the right of the bed.

The "muster" drill at 5PM went smoothly & efficiently.

Overall the bars/lounges are very nice. The Riviera Lounge serves as the theater of the ship. It's much smaller than on other ships, but you looking at ships with 2000+ pax & not 1200 pax as on the Riviera.

"PAX"

Overall a mixed bunch. As usual, more Americans than others. Too many obnoxious retired New YAWKERS!!! Lived in Jersey as a kid, lucky to escape! Some Canadians. A lot of Europeans, added a lot more style to the ship.

"FOOD"

Grand Dining Room)The grand dining room(or G/D)was very elegant & classy..like a high-end French restaurant. Light cream coloration was attractive & soothing. Food here was very nice. Similar in quality to Celebrity from about 5 years ago,before all the "dumbing down" that has taken place lately on that line. Portions were adequate & you could ask for extras if you chose to. The staff is very attentive & concerned you're having a great time.

Specialty Restaurants) La Reserve has the finest dining on the ship. We booked Le Bourgeoisie, which was by far the finest meal we had aboard. At $85pp it wasn't cheap. It was a food & wine pairing meal. You did share tables. There's no tables for 2 in La Reserve as in the other specialty rest. We had also signed for the "Connoisseur" wine pairing dinner at $195pp. Many of those who did Le Bourgeoisie, opted out of the pricier Connoisseur dinner, which was a shame. This ultimately resulted in the dinner being cancelled. Only 4 including us wanted to do it.

Red Ginger table for 2) Though the venue nice, my partner Richard is Chinese, so we've been to some truly fine Asian restaurants. The average pax on board should still have a fine dinner.

Toscanna table for 2) Overall really fine Italian dining. I had the Dover sole, which was very good. Richard had the Osso Bucco, which he enjoyed very much.

Polo Grill shared table) This was a bit of a letdown. The couple with us were good ol' Texan & obviously were not comfortable with a gay couple. The wife was ok. The husband really very quiet, but it was obvious. We saw them several times later & were ignored. I guess not all are worldly are they? I had the Filet Mignon, which was Med. rare & perfect. Richard had strip steak which was fine as well.

Jacque's, shared table)We had a large table(6)This group was fun! Being in the food industry, we helped give advice on some of the menu choices & everyone had a great meal.Well, except for Richard. He ordered the Pork chop & it was a little dry. I again had Dover sole & loved it. This time it was traditional in caper butter sauce.

Terrace) Overall a nice lido type buffet. Many of the same items as the G/D except those who can't wear even the most basic decent clothes will dine here nightly.I love how the staff serves you, so no disgusting pax can touch the food! Some do try, but the staff is very quick to politely reprimand those with slovenly manners. There are plenty of those on ALL ships. You wonder why pax get NORO! I have a food service business & it just amazes me how truly disgusting some people can be. It's a real pet peeve, sorry.

Waves)Nice burgers & such can be had here. The burgers are generally made from scratch, though the "standard" ones are straight from Sysco!

Ports

Grand Cayman) Good for shopping. Excursions are decent.

Whitehouse was not as advertised(new to Oceania)& not worth the price. We got about 25% refunded, which was fine.

Cozumel) Great beaches! These are your best bet. Longer Mayan excursions are available, too, but are VERY long. Have a good butt, as you'll be sitting on it awhile! Lots of motor sports available as well.

Costa Maya) Love this place. Still a little undeveloped. We like to ride into town & shop. Do have a Lobster Lunch at "Krazy Lobster". We eaten here on & off for years & love it. Lots of other beach clubs as well. More Mayan ruins & motor sports if you wish.

Rotan, Honduras)Nice beaches & snorkeling. Poor weather ruined those excursions, however. Highlights island tour is pretty decent to get a "feel" for the island.

Santo Tomas, Guatemala)Overall pretty boring. couple of nice beaches nearby & small resorts. Bad weather again, ruined the day.

Harvest Caye, Belize)We did the cabanas. At $500 it wasn't cheap, but it was a great spot on the beach. Again the weather was lousy. Plenty of nice beach areas. The Cabana beach is only reserved for those renting cabañas. The resort is owned by NCL,they bought Oceania/Regent a few years back. Hopefully, the standards will not decline!!!

Key West)We always go to Louie's Backyard for lunch or dinner. Really recommend it, otherwise just drink your way down Duval St. Key West is really getting more trashy as the years go by. A shame!

A more in depth review will get posed on the Oceania review site. Hope this helps a bit.

Thanks for your review!

Overall a mixed bunch. As usual, more Americans than others. Too many obnoxious retired New YAWKERS!!! Lived in Jersey as a kid, lucky to escape! Some Canadians. A lot of Europeans, added a lot more style to the ship..

Love that comment -- also an escapee (1973)

Keith,

Thanks for the review - looking forward to the full version.

It sounds like you enjoyed the cruise overall - that’s good.

Fagetaboutit just jealous of our sophistication and charm

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Keith,

Thanks for the review - looking forward to the full version.

It sounds like you enjoyed the cruise overall - that’s good.

Being a foodie, this cruise was literally a hog heaven! Now I have to start losing all that weight!

Being a foodie, this cruise was literally a hog heaven! Now I have to start losing all that weight!

That is what I think of O’s food (in general).

Will be on Crystal for first time soon - anxious to compare.

So far, I’ll take O’s food overall over Regent’s, Silversea’s and Seabourn’s (TK Grill is the exception).

Of course, food is very subjective.

Fagetaboutit just jealous of our sophistication and charm

 

Sent from my SM-J320V using Forums mobile app

I don't know about sophistication & charm. Must have been covered up by a few feet of rudeness & sarcasm. Always loved how pax would storm the elevators before any of us got a foot out the door. My response to these schlubs was "Take it easy folks, we haven't even hit the iceberg yet! I'm sure a few of you men dressed as ladies will make it onto the lifeboats before the women & children!" Gets good laughs from those of us trying to get out & some red faces on the schlubs trying to get on. By the way, this mob mentality towards elevators, is by no means limited to Oceania.

Thanks for your great review. Sorry to hear about your dining experience in Polo Grill, there is no need for people to be like that. They sounds really rude.

Thanks for your great review. Sorry to hear about your dining experience in Polo Grill, there is no need for people to be like that. They sounds really rude.

Good review. Takes all kinds of people even the rude one's. Without them we would have no one to talk about. As far as New Jersey, lived there for a long tine and it was terrific. Except for the taxes the last few years.

The couple with us were good ol' Texan & obviously were not comfortable with a gay couple. The wife was ok. The husband really very quiet, but it was obvious.

 

 

No need to assume a motive unless he actually said his reason for being quiet....some people just aren't friendly to anyone. I've experienced lots of those kinds of people since I work with the public.

 

Overall a nice lido type buffet. Many of the same items as the G/D except those who can't wear even the most basic decent clothes will dine here nightly.

My friend and I loved eating in the Terrace Cafe....quicker and easier to do on our schedule. We always dressed nicely and so did the others eating around us. Sorry to hear that some people are dressing sloppy.

Thanks for your great review. Sorry to hear about your dining experience in Polo Grill, there is no need for people to be like that. They sounds really rude.

They wren's rude. He was just unfriendly. To "Gobucks": I'm in the food/hospitality industry. You get to be able to "read" people pretty easily. This guy was quite friendly with other pax, as they were also seated nearby in Jacque's with a shared table the following night. They were with other "straight" couples. No hint of unfriendliness at that table. So, your opinion now?

Might it be that the quiet gentleman was simply a retired New Yorker who sensed the intolerance?

It is always a good idea to take a page from the Christian Scientists' book and ask, "What part of this problem was mine ? "

Might it be that the quiet gentleman was simply a retired New Yorker who sensed the intolerance?

It is always a good idea to take a page from the Christian Scientists' book and ask, "What part of this problem was mine ? "

We just got on eating our meal. We were actually going to be seated with them again the next night in Jacques . We asked the Maître D for another table & were seated with a larger table. These folks knew/had gay friends/relatives. It was a very lively table. The couple from Texas were seated with another couple nearby. The Gentleman was certainly not reserved/quiet that night. They were talking up quite a storm. By no means was our dinner ruined by them(the food was too good!)just no real conversation..where you from(the only conversation, really)no what line of work are you in, what do you think of the cruise etc. The wife was more polite, but you could see him look at her & she quieted right down.

They wren's rude. He was just unfriendly. To "Gobucks": I'm in the food/hospitality industry. You get to be able to "read" people pretty easily. This guy was quite friendly with other pax, as they were also seated nearby in Jacque's with a shared table the following night. They were with other "straight" couples. No hint of unfriendliness at that table. So, your opinion now?

That he's probably a jerk, but I still don't think any of us should assume someone's motive unless it's verbalized. You know what can happen when we assume.....;)

That he's probably a jerk, but I still don't think any of us should assume someone's motive unless it's verbalized. You know what can happen when we assume.....;)

Hard to tell, but seeing him as a totally different person the next night kind of gave us a clue.

Hard to tell, but seeing him as a totally different person the next night kind of gave us a clue.

Thank you for the review and spot on wit! Wish I was at your dinner table. It would have been a much more animated time. I am considering my first Oceania cruise and your review is really helpful.

I lived in Manchester, NH for about 10 years .... what part of NH are you in?

This was a great review...thank you for posting!

Were your specialty reservations for a party of two, and you were still seated with others? We're trying Oceania for the first time in September and curious how this works.

This was a great review...thank you for posting!

 

Were your specialty reservations for a party of two, and you were still seated with others? We're trying Oceania for the first time in September and curious how this works.

Not OP, but...

You will be seated at a table you reserved - if you reserved a table for two, then that is what you’ll get; and so on..

Very interesting thank you.