Woofa

Stupid spell correct. I went directly to Jacques.

Fyi, I also stopped in to Issues one day as I was passing by and they were open. It was probably after 5pm though.

More comments will follow but from my understanding. Not really limited to six bottles at start. Spirits or beer in addition to wine. Allowed to bring on at port stops.

When I made our reservations for our January cruise on Riviera certain scenarios were already booked. For example there was an opening at 7:30 but only if we shared. Similarly we could choose a two top at a later time. It was pretty straight forward so when you get on you will see. Two things: Try and make your reservations as soon as your time opens. Higher level cabins will have already made their reservations and the earlier times/ two tops disappear quicker. Remember to go and ask if you want more reservations or different days or times. On our cruise I was able to get an additional reservation at Jacques and our preset reservation at Jacques for a shared table (no two tops were remaining) was turned into a two top when we arrived 20 minutes early and asked if it could be done. There's never harm in asking, the worst they can do is say no. I was speaking to a friend we made on day 9 who let me know he and his wife had eaten in a specialty every night so far. He was in a similar cabin categories to us ( also B3) and said the secret is to make sure you reserve the sea days early, make sure to ask multiple times as reservations do open up, be open to eating later and be open to sharing tables. On our next 10 day I may try some of this but to he honest, we enjoyed eating in the Terrace outside (on nights they had the grill,) we enjoyed eating in the main dining room (caviar appetizer with beef Wellington was a great night, Jacques menu items like the chicken allowed you to try a specialty entree in the MDR. The chicken was very good,) and we enjoyed our night at the new pizza place. Not sure I would eat in a specialty every night if we could. We enjoyed the variety and some nights was looking to eat quickly and casually. (Although we still went back to the MDR before they closed some nights for a soufle.)

Only my guess but I think this will only be in the new ships going forward. I also believe (and could well be wrong) that new Vista changes are geared towards bringing in the next generation of Oceania customers. I believe the removal of Jacques and replacement of Embers along with the size of the ship is evidence that O is looking, over the next 20 years, to bring in upper middle class and lower upper class Americans now in the late forties and early fifties who are empty nester, getting ready to retire and have a history of mainline cruising often with their families. This customer, I believe, is quite different than the ones who have made O what it is over its history but who are, for the most part, now getting older. Time will tell.

Just want to point out to everyone that similar to many things in life, each of us feel differently about many things. This was an easy example to give but just a reminder to all of us posting here regularly, what someone feels may be obvious or without question the correct choice is often the opposite of what someone else feels. In this example neither of these are incorrect. Our Oceania board has been in some turmoil of late. Issues popping up and as always plenty of good advice and opinions are shared. Please remember that because someone has a different opinion, they are not necessarily wrong and that we should certainly share these forums with civility and respect. While we would be thrilled for Oceania to answer all our questions and comment on why things happen, this is clearly not going to happen with regularity. So please, lets all try and get along whether we disagree or not. After all, we all bond over our love of cruising and most of us at least want Oceania to be its best. Sorry for the small rant and thank you.

When we were on Riviera in January our sea days had a set bridge and mahjongg time for players. I think 1:30 and we all met in Polo. Cards and sets were available but this was informal. Figure maybe 4 tables of each for 2 or 3 hours. Very pleasant. There was also a game room with other games and I saw people there throughout the cruise. Finally I also saw people playing on the tables in the covered section by the pool. This may have been the smoking section. Right by la reserve.

Artlee, did you send it back/let someone know?

While we enjoyed the food on Riviera we also felt that Terrace would be better served by having the grill open every night. Themed diners are hit and miss for many and on our Caribbean cruise we had two nights which we did one night in the MDR and another with pizza.

Yes so for example I went to the Oceania website and looked at a December 19, 2023 cruise From Dubai to Abu Dhabi on Riviera. Using a B3 veranda the cost for Olive with airfare is $4449 per person. Cruise only is $2849 leaving a difference of $1600 per person. I then subtract out $300 as the olife offer is $600 per cabin leaving me with airfare credit of $1300 per person. So if you took cruise with olife but not the air it should be $3149 per person. Of course you should double check this with your TA and/or Oceania first but I believe that is the way to determine the air credit. Please be aware if this the cruise your looking at they are offering ultimate olife on penthouse b cabins at the moment. Olife ultimate includes all three perks instead of just one and can be a nice deal depending upon how you cruise.

Subtract the cruise only fare from the cruise with olife, airperk. Then subtract half the amount of OBC that would be the olife OBC amount (ie. Half of $600 which is per cabin is $300 per person.). This should be the amount you would be paying O for airfare per person. Edit, sorry I see LHT already answered.

Op I think you might have been asking about overall gratuities, not the ones on liquor. If so the answer is no, they are not included. Charged depending on room level, per person per day. Those with many Oceania cruises (I think 10,) get this included and many of us get this included from our TA. We were in B3 for ten days in January at $18 per day ($360.00) which was kindly paid by our TA along with a five percent refund of base cruise fare received when we got back. In addition, we had to pay a gratuity on each of our drinks (no plan and we only had two for the entire cruise so it was negligible.) Finally we decided to give a few small cash tips in person (our room steward on the first day, Baristas guys at the end,etc.) But that was just our choice and again, not large amounts but just a little something for great service rendered or the hope of great service rendered. (Which was rendered.)

That looks great. We also had a Delicious pizza on Riviera in January. Might have been the only people in the Waves area as I don't think this eatery is yet well known. As you mentioned above I just wanted to remind people that you can mix and match within your meal. We did have dinner one night in the Terrace then went down to the MDR for souffles. I would not think twice about a nice pizza appetizer in Waves, main course lamp chops and lobster tail from the terrace grill and a souffle in the MDR to finish it off (with a great cup of coffee picked up in Baristas on the way.).

Funny you mention this, I remember saying to my wife I found it odd I did not find a good chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookie all cruise. Figured maybe I was not looking in the right places.

It is my impression that embers is also open for lunch. Wonder if that is still the case. Same with aquamar. I wonder also if the MDR will continue to have Jacques items daily. On our Riviera cruise this past January I had the Jacques chicken in the MDR and it was delicious. May not make up for the loss of Jacques but better than nothing.

I was not aware of this. Thank you.

Included. All non alcoholic drinks included. And total agreement with LJT28. Baristas coffee was very good. I often got it there and brought it into Terrace to have with my breakfast. Next cruise I need to try experimenting with the machines. Other than Baristas all the coffee we tried was mediocre at best. heard that if you know the right combination, the machines are pretty good.

Just a quick question as I read about possible port changes. As someone with no real cruising history I can only guess but I feel like if the ship is in the Caribbean there are many port options within a relatively small area all of which are used to getting cruise ships. While I understand and agree that Oceania should be more transparent and make an immediate announcement to the entire ship when determining a port will be missed...and I feel like Oceania should have people onboard who are available to answer questions from cruisers even though many may be upset..and I feel like the cruise director should have some onboard activities ready to substitute in for those looking for something even though in general I feel like Oceania is more a line for people who do not want or need additional activities...I do wonder how many real options they have for changing ports from a place like Bermuda which is basically near nothing. Even if a few other ports exist, I assume such rerouting is difficult at best when having to do this on the fly. I also would assume such immediate changes in docking may be very expensive (and in a post civic world we understand cruise lines may not always have good options.) Just wondering what more experienced others feel. Please do not take this as I saying those with complaints should not be. We have seen multiple complaints on multiple cruises from experienced cruisers and experienced CC posters whom I believe do not fly off the handle. I am just trying to understand how things work so I can temper my expectations when making future cruise choices. Thank you.

Thanks for posting. Have a great cruise.

I actually did the same with our box of wine. Luckily after a few minutes one of the nice ladies came over and asked if she could hold it until we got our keys. Much easier after that. While we may not ever bring wine aboard again (we barely touched it as we are not big drinkers but as this was our first cruise and we were in Miami with time to spare we figured we would try,) we do believe a rolling bag of some kind was a great idea.

But look. Skinny fries with the fish and chips. Maybe they read the thread where so many pressed a desire for smaller French fries... In all seriousness, seeing this menu for the first time leads me to believe that it was created, as was the restaurant, to start bringing in a younger, monied crowd on the new ships for the future. Its just my opinion but this reminds me of a certain type of modern restaurant which tries (not always successfully,) to please everyone. Of course this is only a first view and time will often bring changes and updates. Already missing is the swordfish I had heard would be served. Certainly those of us who enjoyed a restaurant like Jacques will not enjoy this as a substitution but I would like to think Oceania will do this well. Time will tell but I think we can all be happy the O ships will have all four specialties. Choices are great things to have!

Don't forget that you can wear "dressy" shorts in the terrace for dinner and I am guessing in the new pizza area by waves for dinner as well. Assuming I eat five nights with pants (four specialty plus MDR) I will most likely be able wear shorts at least three or four nights on a Caribbean cruise. My wife and I each took a full suitcase plus maximum sized carry on bag and a backpack type bag, I think we can reasonably get away without the two carryon sized bags next time and that's all I can reasonably hope for. Now if this were an Alaskan or cold weather cruise...

I basically agree with this. We way over packed for our Riviera cruise in January but then, it our first cruise ever and we figured better safe than sorry. We agreed to bare down quite a bit for our next one. Easier to pack, schlep and unpack/store in the room. We also did laundry on something like day 8. Did not have to but was easier to pack clean clothes going home. Laundry was quick and easy.

While we like sushi here and there we did not sample it onboard. I am not surprised that Terrace is nothing special as part of a buffet but I would have thought Red Ginger would be closer to the real deal. I wonder if there is some reason if they use plain rice? Fyi, I assume most of the supermarket lunch type sushi we get here is also plain. I am not even close to an expert on sushi but generally prefer sashimi.

From what I have read Oceania does a great job compared to other buffets by serving you. We found the servers happy to help but sometimes it took a few moments if they were all helping someone. I was really in no rush but I did see people grabbing. I think this is also a result of learned behavior when at a buffet. Agree completely that adding full wraparound glass would be better to block this out completely. Much healthier for all involved. We don't cruise again for some time but if this is still the same I will remember to mention it when we go.