Live from 12/23 Riviera “Alluring Caribbean”

[kml246]

2 hours ago, ShipShapely said:

Do not agree with your assessment of Terrace Cafe   although of course cannot dispute your individual experiences. Not everything is sugar free by a longshot. I cannot handle lactose and was appreciative of the plant based ice cream. There are loads of fully loaded sugary stuff. I like all of that too. Almost everything we had in terrace cafe was as good as ever. If you had problem with the staff should have asked for the manager. The food is lovely and well presented. Did not eat at Terrace at all for dinner this cruise. I do not like getting up and down at dinner - I have to do that at home. 

The real issue I think is that the dining hours are too narrow. At breakfast the GDR only open 8-9 most days which is ridiculously early and brief. There is no lunch being served at all in GDR!! 12-2 is way too short for lunch on terrace... especially for ppl getting  back from excursions. 

The result is extra stress and pressure being put on the staff preparing all those custom breakfast and lunch orders that you had trouble with. 

 

This is our first Oceania cruise - the Jan 4 to 14 sailing. We're very disappointed with the very limited dining hours, too. Other cruise lines we've sailed have much longer hours. It's also surprising there aren't any venues after 9 or 9:30 at night. 

[Jancruz]

2 hours ago, kml246 said:

 

This is our first Oceania cruise - the Jan 4 to 14 sailing. We're very disappointed with the very limited dining hours, too. Other cruise lines we've sailed have much longer hours. It's also surprising there aren't any venues after 9 or 9:30 at night. 

There is room service

Jancruz1

[ak1004]

4 hours ago, Jancruz said:

There is room service

Jancruz1

 

This is not the point. Room service sometimes takes a long time to arrive. On most other lines there is at least one option to have some snacks, pizza etc. after 9pm. Why Oceania cannot do the same? This is pretty basic..

[ToxM]

5 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

This is not the point. Room service sometimes takes a long time to arrive. On most other lines there is at least one option to have some snacks, pizza etc. after 9pm. Why Oceania cannot do the same? This is pretty basic..

To be fair, the room service options are extensive at this time, and it’s not your basic room service and it’s good. 

[Robjame]

15 hours ago, ShipShapely said:

found out that it stays open a half hour later on days that are in port vs sailing....says so in the Currents....but could not keep it straight to be honest....in any event - not long enough. 

This is our experience as well. We saw guests being turned away promptly at 9:30. Baristas is a nice option now for a continental breakfast and very under utilized - available until the lunch switch at noon.

[kml246]

11 hours ago, Jancruz said:

There is room service

Jancruz1

Understood, and as mentioned by @ToxM, it is an extensive menu. However, in our 30+ cruises, we have never ordered room service. We prefer to eat outside of our cabin.

 

Kevin 

[ToxM]

1 minute ago, kml246 said:

Understood, and as mentioned by @ToxM, it is an extensive menu. However, in our 30+ cruises, we have never ordered room service. We prefer to eat outside of our cabin.

 

Kevin 

Whilst it is called room service, you don’t HAVE to have it in your room 🙂 You can call and have it sent anywhere on the ship - not sure they would deliver it to the steam room, but you can try if you need it there 😉 

[ORV]

I really don’t expect Oceania to keep a food venue open in the later evening for the dozen or so people that might be up that time of night, and how many of them would really want food at that time.  They pretty much know their market, and for the most part it’s not night owls. Just be happy they have free room service, unlike what other lines are going to.  This is not mass market. 

[ak1004]

8 minutes ago, ORV said:

I really don’t expect Oceania to keep a food venue open in the later evening for the dozen or so people that might be up that time of night, and how many of them would really want food at that time.  They pretty much know their market, and for the most part it’s not night owls. Just be happy they have free room service, unlike what other lines are going to.  This is not mass market. 

 

Well, Silversea is not mass market and they have three venues open till 11pm.. I believe it was the same on Crystal and Azamara. 

[MEFIowa]

30 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Well, Silversea is not mass market and they have three venues open till 11pm. I believe it was the same on Crystal and Azamara. 

TANSTAAFL. And you get what you pay for. I like O's price points for B-G cabins. And I've enjoyed my 20 nights on Riviera (12/21) and Sirena (11/22). Never had the urge to eat AGAIN that evening after I've already eaten a nice meal in a specialty restaurant or TC between 1830-2130.

[LHT28]

10 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

This is not the point. Room service sometimes takes a long time to arrive. On most other lines there is at least one option to have some snacks, pizza etc. after 9pm. Why Oceania cannot do the same? This is pretty basic..

maybe they could keep Barristas open 24/7 🤔

[ToxM]

We tried room service for the first time this cruise. Honestly before then we have had so much food the last thing we needed was room service!

 

Hubby was suffering from man flu and stayed in the cabin last day of our Christmas cruise. I was going to the poker tournament and didn’t feel like eating alone before or after, so he ordered himself the red curry and I asked him to get me the club sandwich and I would eat it when I got back to the cabin after the poker. 

 

He said it arrived in a very timely manner and his plate was clean so it was clearly warm and tasty and my club sandwich was more than acceptable. 

 

There is honestly more than enough food at varying times during the day and if you do feel peckish later on (honestly I would be surprised if you did) then the room service is of high quality. if you don’t want it in your room, you could always have it delivered to a lounge 🙂 The buffet area is also open 24/7 for coffee etc, so you could also have it delivered there for that authentic eating experience 🙂

[ak1004]

9 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

TANSTAAFL. And you get what you pay for. I like O's price points for B-G cabins. And I've enjoyed my 20 nights on Riviera (12/21) and Sirena (11/22). Never had the urge to eat AGAIN that evening after I've already eaten a nice meal in a specialty restaurant or TC between 1830-2130.

 

I don't think it's a matter of price. I agree that O offers very good value for money. But Azamara has a similar price range. And our last cruise on SS was actually cheaper than most O cruises..

 

Everyone is different. I have diabetes and I need to have a snack before I go to bed. Yes, I know, there are always solutions. But it was extremely inconvenient not to have anything open after 9pm.  

[MEFIowa]

13 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

... Everyone is different. I have diabetes and I need to have a snack before I go to bed. Yes, I know, there are always solutions. But it was extremely inconvenient not to have anything open after 9pm.

Your room has a refrigerator. I kept all sorts of things in mine on both Riviera and Sirena. Including beer hard liquor and wine I bought in ports and brought back to drink on my veranda after 2100.

 

I forget what either the Concierge or Executive lounges had at odd hours. Did an A4 on Riviera so did have the Concierge Lounge, too, which I accessed many times daily.

[KS&JW]

2 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

Your room has a refrigerator. I kept all sorts of things in mine on both Riviera and Sirena. Including beer hard liquor and wine I bought in ports and brought back to drink on my veranda after 2100.

 

 

The room refrigerator  is really a cooler so does not keep a cool enough temp to keep food cold.  You are asking for a case of food poisoning.

[MEFIowa]

7 minutes ago, KS&JW said:

The room refrigerator is really a cooler so does not keep a cool enough temp to keep food cold.  You are asking for a case of food poisoning.

Guess we'd have to test and see all the food poisoning going on due to the room refrigerators? Haven't seen or heard any such complaints here or while on board. I suspect that if someone puts something in it at say 1800 hours and then eats it at 2200 hours, they'll be fine. Sadly, I can't remember if they have their little freezer compartment or not. Seemed like it could keep food at around 40 deg F or so, as a normal refrigerator does.

[ORV]

2 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

Never had the urge to eat AGAIN that evening after I've already eaten a nice meal in a specialty restaurant or TC between 1830-2130.

Good point, I feel the same. 

[ORV]

52 minutes ago, KS&JW said:

The room refrigerator  is really a cooler so does not keep a cool enough temp to keep food cold.  You are asking for a case of food poisoning.

I'm not sure about all of them. I've seen this statement on this CC for years, but I think they might be different from line to line. But I wouldn't bet on it. I do know it keeps soda or water plenty cool to drink, I'm not sure I'd want to store mayo for a week in one though. 

Edited January 12, 2023 by ORV

[ak1004]

3 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

TANSTAAFL. And you get what you pay for. I like O's price points for B-G cabins. And I've enjoyed my 20 nights on Riviera (12/21) and Sirena (11/22). Never had the urge to eat AGAIN that evening after I've already eaten a nice meal in a specialty restaurant or TC between 1830-2130.

The fact remains that out of 11 lines we sailed with, O is the only line that doesn't have a single dining venue open after 9pm. Maybe some people do feel the urge to have a snack before going to bed?

[MEFIowa]

5 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

... Maybe some people do feel the urge to have a snack before going to bed?

Your room has a refrigerator. There is room service. (I suspect some may have an "urge" to have a snack in the middle of the night, too? Or at 0500. Some might want to snack during their entire waking hours?)

[Ken the cruiser]

If I might ask the following question about internet connectivity within the Riviera veranda cabins. How is it now?

 

When we last cruised on the Riviera back in Oct 2018 for 45 days, the connection to the nearby cabin-area router would continually disconnect every 2-3 minutes, even while my DW was sending emails with attachments. As you can imagine she was quite miffed.

 

Note: Only 4 months early was when Oceania started allowing every stateroom to have one free internet account. Prior to that you had to pay for it. We had no issues with bandwidth, just maintaining a connection to the router in the hallway nearest to our cabin. I'm just curious if they have since resolved that issue and internet service in an A or B veranda cabin is acceptable.

[ak1004]

1 minute ago, MEFIowa said:

Your room has a refrigerator. There is room service. (I suspect some may have an "urge" to have a snack in the middle of the night, too? Or at 0500. Some might want to snack during their entire waking hours?)

Once again, I'm comparing this to our experience on other lines. There are always solutions, but for me it was a major inconvenience. Not to mention people who come late from the shore. On our last SS cruise we came back to the cruise around 9pm at least twice. No problem to have a full dinner in at least two venues.

[MEFIowa]

2 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

... Not to mention people who come late from the shore. On our last SS cruise we came back to the cruise around 9pm at least twice. No problem to have a full dinner in at least two venues.

Exceptions rarely make the rules... Though oddly some people worrying that O is cutting back on port times.

 

Looking at our upcoming 10-night W. Med cruise 10/30-11/9, 2023, the LATEST departure time is 7 pm, so that means arrival back to the ship at 6:30 pm. Three of these are at 3 pm!

 

Then for the 10-night B2B continuation to the W. Med 11/9-19, 2023 there is ONE port with an 8 pm departure and two with a 7 pm departure. So that would be 7:30 and 6:30 return to ship times. One at 3 pm, one at 5 pm and two at 6 pm.

 

(The ship departure times for our 2021 and 2022 Caribbean cruises were 1x 4 pm, 2 x 5 pm, 3 x 6 pm, and 1 x 9 pm and 1 x 4 pm, 1 x 5pm, 3 x 6 pm, and 1 x 8 pm, respectively.)

[ToxM]

if you have a medical need for some food at a specific time outside of dining hours an email to guest services before you board and a standing order for a snack delivered to your stateroom at a set time of your choosing each night would almost certainly something O would do.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

The fact remains that out of 11 lines we sailed with, O is the only line that doesn't have a single dining venue open after 9pm. Maybe some people do feel the urge to have a snack before going to bed?

What type of  snack do you usually have?

 My sister  (a diabetic)  might have some nuts or cheese

I know  not everyone would have the same  needs  but  if Oceania is not going to have places with food open for you   & you know this perhaps  finding another line  that does  would be the answer

I am sue you are not the only person that is diabetic  that sails on Oceania  so they must find options that suit their needs

JMO