Just back from 10 day Riviera. Our first cruise ever. We are hooked.

[Woofa]

I actually have a picture including my new favorite books marks.

[Woofa]

Wanted to add two things.  We did not eat in privee but when we ate in Toscana we asked if we could see it.  As it was empty at the time they were happy to show us.  Beautiful room and bigger in person than it looked in pictures. Plenty big for the maximum ten people.  

Also we did not eat in la reserve but viewed it numerous times including a quick walk by when the door was open during a dinner.  Looked very nice and more intimate than anywhere else.  It is basically a long set of tables like having ten two tops side by side with some spacing.  When there was a dinner they close off the deck outside to stop everyone walking the deck from looking in.

Edited January 17, 2023 by Woofa

[Woofa]

A few pics.

Our room including the extended balcony.

 

Riviera docked next to the RC wonder of the seas.  That boat has about 6700 passengers!!!  As soon as they started getting off we went back to the ship.  It was unbelievable as they walked off in the thousands.  Very happy to get back on board, although they ruined the view, or any sun, from our balcony.

[LGW59]

30 minutes ago, Woofa said:

A few pics.

Our room including the extended balcony.

 

Riviera docked next to the RC wonder of the seas.  That boat has about 6700 passengers!!!  As soon as they started getting off we went back to the ship.  It was unbelievable as they walked off in the thousands.  Very happy to get back on board, although they ruined the view, or any sun, from our balcony.

LOVE that balcony!  And holy moly that ship 6700 passengers, YIKES.  I was just on the Edge and that holds 3000+, thankfully only 1600 on-board, can't wait for the smaller ship.

[Croooser]

Very nice comments. Much appreciated. We get on Riviera in two weeks and it is reassuring that you found the refurb well done. Any comments on food and food service other than baristas?

Edited January 17, 2023 by Croooser

[Oceangoer2]

12 hours ago, LGW59 said:

LOVE that balcony!  And holy moly that ship 6700 passengers, YIKES.  I was just on the Edge and that holds 3000+, thankfully only 1600 on-board, can't wait for the smaller ship.

This balcony is similar in size to some of the Celebrity concierge class hump cabins;  enjoyed them more than once - usually first booked.

[LGW59]

Just now, Oceangoer2 said:

This balcony is similar in size to some of the Celebrity concierge class hump cabins;  enjoyed them more than once - usually first booked.

I tried to snag one for my upcoming Vista cruise, but as you say, they go quickly

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, LGW59 said:

I tried to snag one for my upcoming Vista cruise, but as you say, they go quickly

There  seems to be more of them than on the O class ships 

Just looking at the deck plans  so maybe not

[MEFIowa]

13 hours ago, Woofa said:

...  Very happy to get back on board, although they ruined the view, or any sun, from our balcony.

We loved St. Vincent and Kingstown off Sirena 11/22. But we were the only cruise ship in port that day. We did Fort Charlotte ("Kingstown is overlooked by Fort Charlotte on the north side of town. It is located 190 metres (620 ft) above sea level."), the cathedrals, and the Botanical Gardens. All AFTER we took the ride up to Black Point Tunnel on the eastern side of the island, driving along the coast to get there, but then driving thru the interior on the way back.

[Mariastreby]

Woofa, how was the Wi-Fi? We’d been told by a relative who works for Norwegian Cruise Line in IT that it should have been greatly improved during the dry dock period. But he was only making an educated guess. It certainly needed improving.  We have our first Riviera cruise coming up on March 2, and are used to both having some use of Wi-Fi connectivity at the same time on Viking cruises. Recently got off their first ship, and the Wi-Fi was horrible, but took the maiden voyage on their Mars last May, and it usually worked pretty well. 
 

I know that O has the rule about just one device per cabin using Wi-Fi at a time, which is also a pain now that we can’t do that. Sometimes my husband and I would be in different parts of the ship, and I’d just need a little bit of connectivity to download something, like email. It seems as if all brands of newly built ships are really getting their wifi upgraded, but you’d think it would be a priority during refurbs too. Or do you think I’m asking too much?

[MadChef]

On 1/14/2023 at 9:19 AM, Woofa said:

Waves, terrace and new waves pizzeria very good.

 

Hello there! I've been looking for info on this but information is limited and Oceania hasn't updated the menus on their website (at least that I can find) -- is the "pizzeria" menu with the fresh cheese plates and the pizzas available all day, or only in the evenings? Thanks!

[Woofa]

So to continue.  Unfortunately I have nothing much to add about the wifi.  I literally turned of my phone for almost the entire cruise.  

Smoking areas.  I did not see many people here but there is still no door in horizons.  Honestly, it was not an issue for me and I barely noticed it throughout the cruise.

I wanted to take a minute about service which in our opinion was exceptional.  All staff were friendly and with a smile and there to help.  Truth is we did not ask for much, a little extra ice one day was about all.  But they constantly smiled and said hello in the hallways and I had the impression they would really try to help if something came up.

Covid.  I saw a few staff and cruisers wearing masks but it was minimal.  We took notice of where the medical center was but did not see anyone.

Other than the st barts tender getting on and of the ship at ports was easy.  A quick facial recognition scan each way and if you a bag returning it was xrayed.  

Our boarding time was set for 2 but as we had never done this before and we were using uber for the first time we were about an hour early.  There was a line and probably took us an hour or so but we were so excited we hardly noticed.  We were able to grab a burger and shake at waves to get us through to dinner.

Note on bringing wine, liquor aboard.  We stopped the night before the cruise in Adventure where we were staying with friends and brought on a small box.  Was wasted for us as we are not drinkers and we took most of it off and gave it to the friends we stayed with.  However was no problem bringing it aboard.  Note I tried to get one of those wine cardboard boxes at the total wine and they had no idea what I was talking about.  We ended up with an old liquor box.  No problems getting it on but it was a pain to carry.  We saw people with rolling bags we think were for this and I highly suggest if you plan to bring aboard.  The terminal people would not allow us to check this with our bags for fear of breakage.

As some have said already, disembarkation was a little cluster.  We were in absolutely no rush but for our group which was at the end there was a delay for a good 30 minutes or so.  Luckily There were seats right there so no issues for us.  Grabbing our luggage at that point was quick, just a few dozen bags left and we got in line for a taxi and waited maybe fifteen minutes.

Dress.  I know this is a big topic on the boards so here is what we saw.  During the day shorts and bathing suits for all venues.  Terrace and waves pizza at night also casual for shorts.  Some people did dress for the MDR and specialties but just as many wore rocker type pants and polos it Hawaiian shirts.  I brought a blazer and wore it the first night to red ginger and again when we went to the other specialties. I did not feel out of place but would not feel out of place without it.  I did bring a tie and wore it for dinner at Jacques and while I may have been the only one, we like dressing a bit and the restaurant is fancy enough that we would dress equally at a local place at home of the same level.  I honestly don't think I saw more than a few pair jeans and never in the MDR or a specialty.  But really, I was not looking that close.  We saw a few women wearing sparkly jewelry but I would say most did not.  It kind of felt like, if you had it and this was a special vacation bring it/wear it but it was minimal enough that I noticed it.

Let me take a moment to put peoples minds at ease if you are unsure about moving up to this "premium" or luxury type line.  Don't worry.  This was not, for the most part the type of crowd that screams money.  Plenty of Ralph Lauren, not loro piana, plenty of lily Pulitzer not hermes.  i am not saying none but mostly the minority.  I saw a few rolexes or similar stuff but most were not.  People were nice and accessible.  We even met a nice couple while walking through the shop and they heard us mention it was our first cruise and they came over to talk.  We connected with them and three or four others throughout the cruise and exchanged contact info for the future.  We did not meet any snobby people.  Of course I tend to very outgoing and struck up more than a few conversations while waiting for the elevator.

True the cruise does skew a little older.  We are 45 and 53 and I would guess were in the youngest five or ten percent.  I saw a total of three children on board all I am guessing below 6 and all well behaved.  It would have been easy to miss them completely.  If I had to guess I would say the average was maybe late sixties and most of those were youngish at heart.  True, there were some that were probably in their late eighties or nineties and a few with mobility issues but we never saw this as a problem.  No getting run over by scooters or chairs left to block the hallways.  

Anyway, I will get to the food.  Had to go back to work today so we are keeping busy but I will get there.

[Woofa]

29 minutes ago, MadChef said:

 

Hello there! I've been looking for info on this but information is limited and Oceania hasn't updated the menus on their website (at least that I can find) -- is the "pizzeria" menu with the fresh cheese plates and the pizzas available all day, or only in the evenings? Thanks!

Only in the evenings, when waves closes I think 6:30 to nine.  Pizza was good, we would go back but I don't think many knew about it yet.  The night we went, maybe two other couples.

[loriva]

On 1/16/2023 at 7:24 PM, Woofa said:

I loved the pool.  It is not large but rarely that crowded, most, like me hopped in for five or ten minutes at a time then back out.  The pool itself is uniformly deep except for the stairs.  Listed at 5'11" and that seemed about right as I am about 5'10" and it was slightly above my head.  The water is extremely salty and I found this made you very buoyant. 

 

@Woofa--what would you estimate the temperature of the water in the pool to be?  Did it feel cold or warm?  We'll be on Riviera for the first time next month, so greatly appreciate your review.

 

Many thanks,

 

[jonthomas]

the pool was cold......

[Woofa]

Agreed, pool is cool.  Maybe not so far as cold but lets call it refreshing. Apologies we don't have a pool so hard for me to estimate temperature.  I did notice it warming up a little at the day went on.  On the other hand we found the hot tubs to be quite hot.  

[jonthomas]

yes refreshing.....

 

one fellow, kept diving in, splashing other guests...can do without someone like that...he did other things as well...but too gross to mention....

[Woofa]

Glad I missed that...

[Mariastreby]

@jonthomas You should really like your Viking experience. We’ve taken two cruises with them now, and have a third booked. Their ships are more casual Scandinavian in design,  which is mostly lovely. But I downright dislike the decor in three of their four dining areas. A big part of the reason I’m looking forward to Riviera. And food quality that is way more hit than occasionally miss. 😉
 

The CD, Aveen (a redhead from Ireland) should still be onboard; she started her contract around December 2nd. The service onboard is great, the food can be hit or miss. But in their buffet area is where you will literally find the best food! Including sushi every evening. 

Best thing about every level of Viking cabins is the bathroom! Very roomy shower stalls with a small grab bar and nice sized shelf for shaving legs and lining up your shampoo, conditioner, etc. The floors are heated, which is amazing, and the mirrors never fog up! Lots of shelf and drawer space for both people’s toiletries. 
 

I think you’ll find a lot of parallels with Oceania, which is what I expect to experience on our Riviera cruise in 6 weeks. I really think these two lines, and maybe Azamara, appeal to the same type and demographic of cruiser. So… enjoy!

[ChicagoAlli]

I was also on this cruise (with my elderly parents) so I thought I'd add my opinion on some of the ports of call/excursions. I also was on the ship about a year ago with some overlapping ports so some comments reflect excursions from last year.

 

St Kitts: Did the catamaran followed by the train. Catamaran was nice. The train...  The locals love their train and it seemed like a unique thing to do. The train goes through the perpetually rainy part of the island and lasts close to 2 hours. 45 minutes would have sufficed.  The scenery is just ok. The open air top floor is nice until the rain starts coming in sideways and there is not enough room in the lower enclosed part to fit everyone. They do serve drinks (both alcoholic and non) for a fee. Would not repeat.

 

St Vincent: Kayaking and snorkel. St Vincent is beautiful but you must get out of the port/town. I was looking forward to kayaking through the bat cave but was forced to wait until last because I was in a solo kayak, despite arriving to the cave 3rd out of 12 kayaks. Of course people who had no business being on a kayak overturned in the cave right before my turn and the guides said no one else could go through. Very disappointed. Snorkeling was ok. Would like to do again perhaps not through the ship to ensure I could go through the bat cave.

 

Dominica: Waterfalls and river tubing. Falls were pretty, kind of long drive to the tubing though. Tubing was high comedy. It was sort of like bumper cars and people would occasionally get stuck on rocks or in bushes. Guides were great. I enjoyed it a lot but its not for everyone! Would repeat. Dominica is beautiful but you must get out of port/town area.

 

St. Barts: this trip did not do an excursion, just tendered ashore with dad and walked to Shell beach, had some drinks/lunch and did a little shopping. Gustavia is cute and its nice to just walk around. Tender sucks. Claustrophobic, hot and bumpy. Sea Dream had much nicer tender boats than Oceania. Last year I did the ATV island tour. Loved it and wanted to repeat with dad but the company had an age limit of 70 so be aware. Also remember to have your drivers license for any ATV or buggy tours on any of the islands.

 

San Juan: We docked at the Pan American pier, not the old town pier.  Basically an industrial port. Very disappointing. 20 minute shuttle to the old town-nothing walkable from ship. I don't know if this is where Oceania always docks but there were 4 mega ships in port in the old town so perhaps the smaller Riviera got bumped...I booked a private San Juan tour with my parents so cannot speak to the ship tours. 

 

Puerto Plata DR: By far the nicest port area. The DR was smart here. They built a brand new port area specifically and exclusively for cruise ship passengers. Yes, the shops are all standard souveniers and such, but it is just nice to sit, have a local beer at one of the many watering holes and people watch all the folks off the Wonder of the Seas. Or talk to the parrots and cockatiels that are interspersed throughout. All without any hassle, or really seeing anything authentically DR LOL. There is a beach area and pool club also. Dad and I did a tour of the town: Rum distillery (surprisingly good), umbrella street, pink street, jewelry maker, amber museum and fort. It exceeded my low expectations (generally not a fan of the "tour the town" tours in the Caribbean) but did run over by close to an hour. Last year I rode buggies to a local beach and it was a blast. Would definitely do that again.

 

Random ship comments: pool chair hogging annoying, especially in the shade. Ship pretty dead at night. I'm a fan of wine so I did the three wine seminars (extra cost) as well as all three wine dinners in La Reserve (extra$ obviously). The French themed dinner and the Dom Perignon dinner were great. The Odyssey menu one was a bit uneven on the food. The seminars are nice but wish they weren't in Jacques.

 

I'm happy to answer any questions. Not sure if/when I'm back on Oceania again but overall it was a pleasant experience.

[Riverroad]

Thanks for your review of the ports. We have the same ones in March. Who did you use for your private San Juan tour?

[marne-c]

On 1/16/2023 at 7:58 PM, Woofa said:

 

 

A REALLY great book,  You have good taste indeed.

 

--Marne

[HaveDogWillTravel]

On 1/15/2023 at 3:52 PM, LHT28 said:

well you should not give mis information if you are not sure  then say nothing

 If you are thinking of the sunbeds with the shades  they are NOT by any stretch of the imaginations cabanas

https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/riviera-607/spa-terrace-311100/spa-terrace--v14124136/

JMO

Oooh those are nice! 

[Mariastreby]

@ChicagoAlli Thanks so much for your review of the ports and what you did.  Along with others who have read this, we’re taking that same itinerary 3/02-12, and it gives us some clues about what to expect. Sorry you couldn’t get into that bat cave; the couple who ruined it for you must have been total klutzes. The tubing in Dominica sounded like fun. We were going to do the so-called champagne snorkeling there, but Oceania (or the tour company) cancelled the excursion. I didn’t even find out via an email from Oceania, but through a new and mysteriously changed emailed invoice instead, with no explanation. Had to call our Oceania guy to find out what was going on. 
 

Glad to have the heads up about not getting to dock in the old town port in Puerto Rico. I haven’t been there since 2005, and I’d thought that was the only dock; it probably was back then. Do you remember about how often the shuttles run into the old town area? I guess you can get those schedules from someone the evening before. This is our first O cruise, so I don’t know how things work with their excursion people, or if they give any kind of port talks - NOT just about shopping! Viking actually tells you history and highlights of what to expect in all its ports, followed by the Excursions Director who covers like 6-7 excursions. Viking may offer more tours than that, but it really depends on the itinerary. Many passengers take the free included tours, but 3/4s of the time, they are rather dull panoramic bus tours. 

[MEFIowa]

16 hours ago, ChicagoAlli said:

I was also on this cruise...so I thought I'd add my opinion on some of the ports of call/excursions... St Vincent: Kayaking and snorkel. St Vincent is beautiful but you must get out of the port/town. ... St. Barts: this trip did not do an excursion, just tendered ashore with dad and walked to Shell beach, had some drinks/lunch and did a little shopping. Gustavia is cute and its nice to just walk around. ... Puerto Plata DR: By far the nicest port area. The DR was smart here. They built a brand-new port area specifically and exclusively for cruise ship passengers. Yes, the shops are all standard souvenirs and such ... did a tour of the town: Rum distillery (surprisingly good), umbrella street, pink street, jewelry maker, amber museum and fort. It exceeded my low expectations....

Did these ports in Nov off Sirena. St. Vincent has Fort Charlotte with its magnificent views and the botanical gardens. St. Barts has the ruin of Fort Karl with its magnificent views that is right next to Shell Beach. AND Puerto Plata has the only CABLE CAR in the Caribbean that has the 1/2 replica of the Rio Jesus on the top of the mountain where there is a national park/forest.