On board Riviera now...

[Rich 1]

[quote name='DOJO466']Isn't Churchill wonderful? He was our first butler on the Regatta. Two years later while waiting in line at the Port of Miami ,he was just embarking also, he spotted us in line, came over and greeted us by name and a warm hug. We felt so special. We have not had him since our first time and on our next sailing we are on wait list for PH but not hopeful for the Mar 4 sailing of Riviera. We hope to see him then. In the meantime, if you would, please tell him the O'Connor's are coming.[/quote]

Just curious -

Is it possible to request a specific Butler.Or are they assigned to specific rooms?

How many rooms does each PH Butler service?

Rich

[DOJO466]

[quote name='Rich 1']Just curious -

Is it possible to request a specific Butler.Or are they assigned to specific rooms?

How many rooms does each PH Butler service?

Rich[/QUOTE]

I think they are assigned. There is your butler who works early am and early pm. The rest of the time there is an assistant. I think they service about 10 suites. Not sure but I remember asking them. I asked Churchill if he could be my butler but he said he was not assigned to us. He did however tell our assigned butler to treat us well.

[Mura]

It would be difficult for the butler to serve his passengers well if he had to go to different cabin locations in various areas on the ship. It has always been my understanding that they serve a block of rooms in a certain area. This would be even more the case on the "O" ships as opposed to the "R" ships given their larger size.

Mura

[hondorner]

[quote name='Hambagahle']...Ken realized that we had both forgotten to bring cash, cc s etc! S all we could do was to wak around and look! How stupid of us! I suppose we are very laid back after Two days of utter pampering![/quote]
I've done that. After a day or so on the ship with nothing but your World Card, and with your wallet and such locked up in the safe, it's really easy to forget there is a real world out there!

[Jancruz]

[quote name='Hambagahle']Tina - basically the unlimited plan is the same for all rooms, suites etc except that in the O suite - probably the Vista and Owners too - you get 10% off the total. I think it is a fair price for a ten day cruise. And it is a good connection. Not nearly as slow as on the Mariner, for example.

Yesterday our butler, Churchill, persuaded us to go ashore in the Caymans. When we got on shore after a very choppy tender Ken realized that we had both forgotten to bring cash, cc s etc! S all we could do was to wak around and look! How stupid of us! I suppose we are very laid back after Two days of utter pampering!

Harry Chiddick gave a talk in the afternoon on the countries we will visit. Since Central America is new to us, we really enjoyed this briefing. I then attended my first cooking class. Magnificent facilities and Noelle, the chef, was a good instructor. The classes all run 2 hours, wh ich is a lot of instruction for 69usd! I enjoyed it, and learnt a lot about Mexican food...

Then as we prepared to leave for Toscana for dinner Churchill appeared with "someone who wants to meet you", or so he said. To my great surprise it was Thierry Tholon, the GM. H said he wanted to be sure we were enjoying ourselves and were being well looked after. Then he kindly invited us for dinner later in the cruise. He is a charming man, and we are looking forward to dining with him soon. I have not had this happen to me on Regent. And needless to say, we were surprised!

Toscana was delightful, and the service excellent. I had a great carpaccio of octopus. ken had the pasta of the day which he said was very nice. I then had the veal chop which was large enough to feed 10 people! Ken was more cautious and had an excellent scallopini. However so far anyway, we prefer Polo and Jcques! Probably because we get so much Italian food in Switzerland it doesn't have the novelty of a steak house, nor of a French county restaurant... I was very good though!

Today is Cozumel. This time we will remember our wallets!
Gerry[/QUOTE]

Please give Terry and Churchill a big hello from Jan and Stu..they are both wonderful people and always help make our trip extra special!!
Jancruz1

[HeatherInFlorida]

[quote name='kimanjo']

We are a party of 2. We would like to do this, what do we have to ask for when we eat at Red Ginger.

Obviously, all parties have to start together, so when we make ressies, ask to be seated with others? How do we know the others want to dine this way?

J.[/quote]

When you make your reservation you say you want to "share". They seat you with people arriving about the same time so you can all order together. In our case everyone wanted their own meal so we couldn't do family style ... but we did sort of pass around tastes which was fine. I would have better off with just a "taste" of the Miso Sea Bass. The first bites were heaven, but I found the taste too strong to finish. Everyone else loved it all the way through!

[quote name='DOJO466']I think they are assigned. There is your butler who works early am and early pm. The rest of the time there is an assistant. I think they service about 10 suites. Not sure but I remember asking them. I asked Churchill if he could be my butler but he said he was not assigned to us. He did however tell our assigned butler to treat us well.[/quote]

Our butler, Binod (who we just loved), serviced 15 suites. That seemed a lot to me particularly since we were on 7 where there were 4 PH suites and the rest we on 10 or 11. He did a lot of running! I would so love to have him again on our next cruise (if he's still on Riviera), but I know that's unlikely.

[Mr Rumor]

Hi Gerry, and greetings again from the Mariner. As I've noted in my Miami-Lima blog, I've been having quite a time with the verrrrrry slow connection (also four posts have gone poof so far), but have a good connection tonight. I couldn't think of a better way to take advantage of it then by catching up on your thread, and am delighted you and Ken are having a great time. You are surely opening some eyes among your Regent friends, including mine, with your reports. Will continue to hang on to every word, as I was already interested in learning more about the Oceania experience.

All best--and a big hi from Ginny!

Rich

[Wendy The Wanderer]

So am I reading correctly that you have to have a table for 8 in Red Ginger to be served "family style"? It wouldn't work with 4, for instance?

[digtexas]

I don't see why family style would not work for 4. We had 6, and although we ordered individually, and for example, fried or brown rice came in individual bowls, we shared a couple or orders of the lobster pad thai family style.

[dlouise]

We had a table for 5 and it worked, so 4 should not be a problem. We loved all the specialty restaurants on the Riviera, and the grill for lobster tails so much we never had dinner in the main dinningroom. We are former Regent cruisers and we really like Oceania better for a lot of reasons.

[LHT28]

[quote name='Wendy The Wanderer']So am I reading correctly that you have to have a table for 8 in Red Ginger to be served "family style"? It wouldn't work with 4, for instance?[/quote]
I do not see why not
Some dishes are made for sharing ..even for 2 ;)
Just ask

[Jancruz]

[quote name='Wendy The Wanderer']So am I reading correctly that you have to have a table for 8 in Red Ginger to be served "family style"? It wouldn't work with 4, for instance?[/QUOTE]

Yes it would work for four probably 2 if you share BUT..but like anything else, the more people you have the more different food dishes you get to try..
Jancruz1

[2SeaAll]

[quote name='HeatherInFlorida']We had breakfast in the GDR one morning only and the eggs benedict were, without question, the BEST I've ever had. Friends told us the baby lamb chops were amazing, but for me just a bit early for lamb.:)

Toscana was my least favorite. I literally didn't eat my dinner, but DH loved his and loved the restaurant. Service as always was superb. My dessert was so delicious, but I can't remember the name. But I know it was chocolate!

I think Polo, overall, was my personal favorite though everyone else we encountered couldn't stop talking about Red Ginger. I think I just made poor choices there and unfortunately our group did not share.[/QUOTE]

Hi Heather,

My wife and I will be doing Caribbean Hideaways on the February 12 sailing. We can't wait to experience the food you described and everything else that you and others have described about Riviera.

If you did the Baths in Tortola I was wondering if you would recommend the purchase of water shoes. We are going to the Baths and also doing the mineral and mud baths at the Volcano in St. Lucia and would rather not purchase and pack two more pairs of shoes unless they are a true necessity. I haven't found a clear yes or no to whether they are.

Also, we recently returned from a holiday vacation in Curacao. While the beaches were wonderful we got many more insect bites than I remember on other Caribbean beaches. Again, it's simply a packing issue - whether or not to add a large aerosol can to our luggage.

Any guidance you or others could provide on these admittedly small details would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.

[Dr. Cocktail]

[quote name='2SeaAll']Hi Heather,



If you did the Baths in Tortola I was wondering if you would recommend the purchase of water shoes. We are going to the Baths and also doing the mineral and mud baths at the Volcano in St. Lucia and would rather not purchase and pack two more pairs of shoes unless they are a true necessity. I haven't found a clear yes or no to whether they are.


Thank you.[/QUOTE]

I thought I would weigh in here - water shoes are not a bad idea (sorry!) but if you have waterproof sandals like Tevas, they will do fine. You basically need something that's waterproof that won't come off your feet.

[HeatherInFlorida]

[quote name='2SeaAll']Hi Heather,

My wife and I will be doing Caribbean Hideaways on the February 12 sailing. We can't wait to experience the food you described and everything else that you and others have described about Riviera.

If you did the Baths in Tortola I was wondering if you would recommend the purchase of water shoes. We are going to the Baths and also doing the mineral and mud baths at the Volcano in St. Lucia and would rather not purchase and pack two more pairs of shoes unless they are a true necessity. I haven't found a clear yes or no to whether they are.

Also, we recently returned from a holiday vacation in Curacao. While the beaches were wonderful we got many more insect bites than I remember on other Caribbean beaches. Again, it's simply a packing issue - whether or not to add a large aerosol can to our luggage.

Any guidance you or others could provide on these admittedly small details would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.[/QUOTE]

Howard, I'm so jealous you have this wonderful cruise to look forward to. I hate thinking our next is a year away, but at my age I don't want to rush time either :).

We did not do The Baths this time, but I agree with Dr. Cocktail that you will need water shoes. You should have them with you anyway unless you have no plans to get of the ship. We took the Lobster & Catamaran Cruise on Antigua and I wore mine. The catamaran pulls up on the beach, but it was stony and the water shoes were good to have.

Enjoy your cruise!!! I know you will.:)

[2SeaAll]

Heather/Dr. Cocktail,

Thanks for the responses. I had one addition response directly to my e-mail and it's now clear that water shoes are necessary and useful baggage.

I'm also planning to take repellant to hedge against insect bites.

We're good to go and can't wait.

[digtexas]

We went to the Baths on our recent cruise on the Riviera, and we both brought water shoes, which were perfect for the walk both on land and water. I did not see any bugs so I doubt that you need repellant.
It was our only O shore excursion on the cruise and we enjoyed it.

[Hambagahle]

Sorry to be so long in continuing this thread, but today was an early start and late arrival back on board!

Red Ginger last night- quite superb!! Not only a visually remarkable restaurant, but amazing food. We do not like to share food - at any time really - so we sat on our own, which is what we normally do, and ordered our own dishes. Each was amazing. And when we arrived, the hostess greeted us by name. I do not know how she figured out who we were, but she did!
IMO Red Ginger is a HUGE success. And not to be missed.

today we were in Belize. We took the Lamanai Mayan ruins and New River cruise excursion. Very l o n g - a tender of 25mins, then an hour in the bus, 90 mins on the river and 90 mins at the site. Then return somewhat quicker on the river. A very late lunch and we were back at the tender at 4.45...on board at 5.30ish. But it was magnificent. The wild life on the river fantastic. The pyramids incredible. And the guide very good.

Tonight, tired and windblown, we tried the Terrace Grill. WOW! Terrific buffet, vast choice of grilled items (we had lobster tails) and good service. Sadly too windy and cool to eat outside... We both think that the la Veranda chefs and staff should see what is on offer - and how it is on offer - at the Terrace. la Veranda at night as we knew it before it morphed into Sette Mare cannot begin to compare. Especially not in the quality of food.

Tomorrow is San Tomas in Guatemala. No tour planned so a late start I hope!

O'Connors and Jan And Stu - I will pass on your greetings to Churchill. He truly is a wonderful butler. We are lucky to have him!
Gerry

[HeatherInFlorida]

I need to mark this thread when I'm looking at excursions for this cruise next January 3!!! I'm loving my virtual stay on board with you. My husband was beyond confused tonight when I said if we'd stayed onboard we'd be half way through the second half of our cruise:). am I hooked or not? LOL.

[LHT28]

[quote name='Hambagahle']
Red Ginger last night- quite superb!! Not only a visually remarkable restaurant, but amazing food. We do not like to share food - at any time really - so we sat on our own, which is what we normally do, and ordered our own dishes.[/quote]
I may be reading your post wrong
Are you saying you do not like to share a table with others or you think you have to share food in red Ginger if you sit with others???

You are under no obligation to share food with others in Red Ginger nor any other venue onboard

Some people like to mix the dishes up & like to try many ...so they share ...it is a personal choice

If you mean you prefer to sit by yourselves then I misinterpreted your post

Some people just enjoy being together

Enjoy the rest of your cruise

Lyn

[orchestrapal]

[quote name='Hambagahle']
Red Ginger last night- quite superb!! Not only a visually remarkable restaurant, but amazing food. We do not like to share food - at any time really - so we sat on our own, which is what we normally do, and ordered our own dishes. Each was amazing.
hope!
/quote]

:) We agree with you so far as sharing food and having a table for two. A big part of any cruise for us is sharing with each other.

[digtexas]

As others suggested, no matter how many are seated at your table in Red Ginger, the wait staff will serve you individual portions unless you specifically request family style serving. So no need to avoid sitting with others unless you want to dine alone.
We did not make it to the Terrace for dinner until a couple of days before the end of the cruise. One couple in our party was resistant because it was a buffet. Then we tried it and everyone loved it and preferred it over the GDR. Not only did they have fresh sushi and lobster tails, but crab claws one night, crab legs on another, grilled shrimp and lamb chops, and even Dover Sole one evening. I had to remove the bones myself, but nothing could have been easier.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I interpreted Gerry's post about "sharing" to mean they didn't like the idea of sharing food, not company, at dinner. I thought they chose a table alone so as not to spoil it for others who might like to share in Red Ginger. But I could have misinterpreted as well.

It's great to have the choice and while we chose a table for two for my husband's birthday dinner in Jacques, one of the joys of cruising (for us) is meeting people from all over the world at dinner. This is why I loved the ability to make reservations in the specialty restaurants to "share".

That may be because we eat dinner together (alone) almost every night of the year:) (no TV, no kids, just an hour alone) .. but in this hurried world not everyone gets to enjoy that.

[LHT28]

[quote name='HeatherInFlorida'] one of the joys of cruising (for us) is meeting people from all over the world at dinner. This is why I loved the ability to make reservations in the specialty restaurants to "share".

That may be because we eat dinner together (alone) almost every night of the year:) (no TV, no kids, just an hour alone) .. but in this hurried world not everyone gets to enjoy that.[/quote]
I agree with you
We eat alone every night so I love to meet new people & have other conversations

we have been together so long we know what each other is thinking without having to discuss it ...scary some days :eek:

Lyn

[Wendy The Wanderer]

[quote name='digtexas']... I had to remove the bones myself, but nothing could have been easier.[/QUOTE]

Deboning my own Dover Sole? Oh, the horror! ;) I'm looking forward to the casual dining at the Terrace. (Actually, I'm assuming that someone would bone it for you if you asked?)

[quote name='LHT28']I agree with you
We eat alone every night so I love to meet new people & have other conversations

we have been together so long we know what each other is thinking without having to discuss it ...scary some days :eek:

Lyn[/QUOTE]

I'm with you on that one too, Lyn. Unless we're tired or feeling particularly romantic, we too like to meet new people while we're dining on cruises.

All these dining options sounds great! Hope their gym is good!