Riveria - Caribbean Hideways Mar 28 - Apr 7

[KruzinKiwi]

We just got back from this cruise and I thought I would post some brief comments.

 

We had a wonderful time! The best cruise we have ever had (out of 7 so far.) I'm afraid we are spoilt and probably won't be trying any other cruise lines again. In fact, we succumbed and booked our next cruises while on-board.

 

Our Favorites:

+ The service - wonderful staff and so friendly. We haven't experienced the service on cruise lines like Crystal but we found the Riveria staff were without exception friendly, responsive and they remembered us after the first day or 2.

+ The food - out of this world

+ Our fellow travellers - in spite of the some of the stories I have seen on the forum we only met one passenger who we would classify as rude/bad tempered. Maybe we were lucky but all the rest of our fellow travellers were friendly, happy and very easy to get along with. Especially important when you dont know who you will be sharing a table with - we never had a problem.

+ Red Ginger. Our best ever dining experience afloat and right up there with our best dining experiences ashore. The sea bass was to die for.

+ Adam on the piano while we had a pre-dinner drink

+ Afternoon tea - amazing!

+ Culinary classes/cooking demos/scarf tying/casino lessons - all great experiences. Drew the line at needle point though.

+ The stateroom, the bed, the bathroom - all excellent quality, finish and well looked after by our two great housekeeping staff (Miriam and Edward.) As always a little bigger would have been nice but we dont spend a lot of time in our room.

 

Not so Favorite:

- Security staff at the port in Miami. I know these are probably not Oceania staff but they are the first people you encounter when you step out of the taxi/car/bus and they create a bad first impression by being unpleasant to point of rudeness. Fortunately this changed dramatically once we got inside and dealt with a real Oceania person for checking in.

- Riveria art work. I know this is subjective but we found the art work very inconsistent - some was nice but a lot was very ordinary abstract painting that you could get anywhere. - Especially in the forward stairwell where there were lots of painting which were just rectangles of solid color. The sculptures and other art were generally much better.

- The carpets - in spite of the newness of the Riveria, it surprised us how stained the carpets were. A little disappointing considered the refined atmosphere of the ship. Maybe it was a poor choice of carpet because the high level of maintenance was evident elsewhere.

- Thumping noises. This might have been related to the weather (which wasnt great but certainly not bad) but especially at night we could loud, very low frequency "thumping noises" while the ship was underway. Every few seconds but not regular. We were on 10078 - it certainly wasn't coming from deck chairs or restaurants, bands etc.

- Room service. Several times we ordered a couple of drinks to have on our veranda late afternoon before changing for supper. Every time we did this it took over half an hour to get them. One time, I called after 30 minutes and they didnt even know where the drinks were. Nothing complicated - just 2 glasses of wine. On the other hand we ordered room service for breakfast when we had an early start. We put the card out the night before and it was delivered on time and served nicely. Great!

- Passengers arriving at the terminal at 9:30am to board for the next cruise. Not Oceania's fault but this was at the peak of people trying to get baggage, taxis etc. Caused unnecessary congestion and frustration for the people disembarking.

 

Beverage Package:

We booked the unlimited beverage packages because we both like a glass of wine before and during supper. I tried to predict costs before the cruise and we decided that although the package might be slightly more it was worth it to save the hassle and "can I afford another drink?" We didnt know about the free drinks one evening and the happy hour every night. Including those - it would have been cheaper to pay-as-you-go. Obviously this depends on your alcohol consumption but in future we will factor in the happy hour next time.

 

I'll post something on the destination forums about our ashore experiences (we only used one Oceania excursion.)

 

All-in-all, the pluses far outweighed the minuses and that is why we will be going with Oceania next time!

[YoPhilly]

We didnt know about the free drinks one evening and the happy hour every night.

 

I don't know about those either. Please say more about this.

[thunderbird56]

I don't know about those either. Please say more about this.

 

Every evening from 5 to 6 in all the bars, there is two for one happy hour. This includes all cocktails and wines. In addition, on our cruise in early March there were two nights (Captains reception and Oceania Club - prior cruisers- when there was open bar for at least an hour before dinner. All drinks were no charge. If you are mainly cocktail hour drinkers like we are and don't drink a lot of wines with dinner and drinks during the day and late evenings, there is no need to use the drink packages.

[KruzinKiwi]

YoPhilly is right - this is exactly what we experienced. Since normally we only have a glass before dinner and a glass or maybe 2 with dinner, we probably won't purchase the beverage package next time. If you do the math you need to be paying for about 5 drinks per day to make the package worthwhile.

[luxurytraveller]

Thumping noises worries me I am booked in 10080 shortly. Was this for the duration of the cruise?

[turnip eater]

Thumping noises worries me I am booked in 10080 shortly. Was this for the duration of the cruise?

 

I think the noise are waves hitting the hull, because the ship does speed up during the night...when we are supposed to be sleeping :p It's normal.

[KruzinKiwi]

I am pretty sure it was related to wave action on the ship but it was hard to be sure. It certainly seemed to be more noticeable at night - maybe because the ship speeds up as mentioned? (I didnt know it went faster at night.)

[KruzinKiwi]

And yes, it was throughout the cruise. We were aware of the noise but it certainly didnt keep us awake or annoy us. Whatever the reason, we found the ship to be very stable and we really liked our location on deck 10 because deck 11 was between us and the pool deck (12) which can be a source of noise. Other than the thumps it was nice and quiet.

 

We had Miriam and Edward looking after our room and they were very friendly and efficient - if they are still on board you will probably have them as well since 10080 is right next door.

[Terryd444]

Hello, my husband and I were on the same cruise - wonderful...!

 

Just to add to the drinks discussion, we did not purchase the packet, though I came close to do so...

 

The happy hour two for one is great - and in addition every day there are three drinks - mixed cocktails for just $5.00. I drank one every day and tried some lovely different things...for example one day was your choice of Rob Roy, Tequila Sunrise, or a Grasshopper...another day was a Cape Cod, Yellow Bird, or Brandy Alexander. These were advertised in each days issue of Currents delivered to your room every evening for the next day. There are also free drinks in all bars at the Captains event from about 5-8pm...think that was day two.

 

 

Also, there are several opportunities for free champagne...I took advantage of the Casino tour and game explanations while imbibing...and there were several venues offering this like the Art Auction preview etc..

 

I also took three bottles of wine onboard as allowed.

Then just ordered wine or Prosecco as desired at dinner...

It worked out perfectly

 

OMG we had such a good time!

Terry

[Terryd444]

Hello, my husband and I were on the same cruise - wonderful...!

 

Just to add to the drinks discussion, we did not purchase the packet, though I came close to do so...

 

The happy hour two for one is great - and in addition every day there are three drinks - mixed cocktails for just $5.00. I drank one every day and tried some lovely different things...for example one day was your choice of Rob Roy, Tequila Sunrise, or a Grasshopper...another day was a Cape Cod, Yellow Bird, or Brandy Alexander. These were advertised in each days issue of Currents delivered to your room every evening for the next day. There are also free drinks in all bars at the Captains event from about 5-8pm...thank that was day two.

 

Also, there are several opportunities for free champagne...I took advantage of the Casino tour and game explanations while imbibing...and there were several venues offering this like the Art Auction preview etc..

 

I also took three bottles of wine onboard as allowed.

Then just ordered wine or Prosecco as desired at dinner...

It worked out perfectly

 

OMG we had such a good time!

Terry

[Benita]

Any suggestions on what to do in the different ports? We are on the same itinerary next March.

[LHT28]

Any suggestions on what to do in the different ports? We are on the same itinerary next March.

I would check the roll calls from this year

The Mar 4th cruise had most of the same ports so check there as well

& of course the PORTS of CALL forum

[Benita]

I would check the roll calls from this year

The Mar 4th cruise had most of the same ports so check there as well

& of course the PORTS of CALL forum

 

The roll calls tell of tours the people are planning, but are before the fact. I would like to know from those that took the tours if they would recommend them.

[oceanbill457]

Highly recommend the 5 hour Calabaza cataraman cruise. Only 12 people on board and a great crew.

[KruzinKiwi]

We took the Baths tour from Tortola. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Usually we don't do ship organized tours because of the cost but because this involved a catamaran ride, shuttle bus ride and then the walk down to the beach we weren't confident about making all the connections ourselves and paying for the boat ride and taxi ride separately would have been close to the ship excursion price.

 

The only other organized tour we did was with Cosol Tours in St Lucia (booked directly via email) - 7 hours. $65 pp. We had Baptiste as our driver - one of the best tours we have ever done!

 

We hired a taxi in Antigua. He took us to English Harbor / Nelson's dockyard and then on to Shirley's Heights. Good value. The entry fee at the dockyard gives you a ticket for access to the Shirley's Heights lookout.

[Caroldoll]

I have a girlfriend who is mainly a Regent person and she figured out that the drink package would be about the same. However, with the free liquor in the Owners Suite and the events that you are invited to and the fact that we basically drink at happy hour, I am now assessing whether or not to take the drink package on the next cruise. You have to wait for someone to bring a check anyway and that is what the problem is. Everyone on board does their own thing and we made friends and they always put their card out. I am on the fence on what to do on the next cruise.

[wripro]

My problem with the happy hour is that it's from 5 to 6PM, way to early for my pre dinner drink. I've either just come from a tout or Tea or trivia and am not ready for libations. And if I do partake it's an extra drink, not a replacement for later so I'm really spending more money, not less.

[YoHoHo]

My problem with the happy hour is that it's from 5 to 6PM, way to early for my pre dinner drink. I've either just come from a tout or Tea or trivia and am not ready for libations. And if I do partake it's an extra drink, not a replacement for later so I'm really spending more money, not less.

That is the purpose of Happy Hour - sell some extras. But you raise a good point. I think it would be much better if there was a Happy Hour DURING Trivia. Plus you'd have to have a drink with each correct answer. Might just level that playing field a little :)

[neepawa]

Some of our afternoon Trivia sessions have lasted past 5:00 PM. It is amazing how much smarter we are after Happy Hour has started.

Cheers,

Don

[Paulchili]

Some of our afternoon Trivia sessions have lasted past 5:00 PM. It is amazing how much smarter we are after Happy Hour has started.

 

Cheers,

 

Don

 

Smarter or just more clever? :D

[wripro]

Or care less????

[Paulchili]

Or care less????

 

That as well :D

[psychrn12]

Highly recommend the 5 hour Calabaza cataraman cruise. Only 12 people on board and a great crew.

 

We were also on the Calabaza tour and it was magnificent! Gina can really cook and everything was delightful. One of the highlights of the trip.

[surus]

We were on this same cruise and had a wonderful time in spite of not ideal weather. We love Oceania and hope to cruise with her again. The staff, ship, service and food are almost perfect. Note the word "almost".

For the first time that I can remember I had to send two dinners back, both of them beef. We ate in Polo the first night and I ordered the Queen's cut prime rib. It was lukewarm, thin and tough. I mean I chewed and chewed and chewed. Tried a bite from the other end, same thing. After 4 tries I gave up and sent it back. They were most gracious and brought out a filet which was delicious but by that time my husband's dinner was cold and the whole experience was thrown off. The second time was in the MDR with the steak au poivre, my favorte. Even the maitre d' had a hard time trying to cut it. I refrained from ordering beef again. Dinner all the other nights was fantastic, especially Jacques which we went to twice.

The other niggling problem was with with the reminder cards they put near your door for specialty restaurants. We did not get one the first night for Polo although our reservation was made 2 months out and confirmed. We called and were told it would be looked into. No card ever came. The next night we had a reservation at La Reserve. Again, no card place by our door. Again made a phone call, transfered around to various people, assured it would be coming but it never came. A small thing to be sure but not what we expect from Oceania.

As far as the drinks package goes, we enjoy a pre dinner cocktail, wine with dinner and maybe a nightcap so we got the premium package. It is definitely worth the price, especially if you have a glass of the $20 champagne with lunch. That being said, we probably wouldn't do it again because we got bored with the wines by the glass selection (we drink mostly reds) and my husband missed the fun of purusing a wine list, having the bottle presented and opened, tasting, etc. By the last few nights we were ordering bottles of wine and skipping the wines by the glass. It just didn't work for us but does for many others.