Woofa

Well, I can only give you our experience on Riviera in January they had two nights without the grill in Terrace. Or at least two nights without the main Grill station offering steak, lamb chops, shrimp, lobster tails, etc. These were the special Caribbean themed nights.

I am no expert like some on these threads but I think Oceania knows very well that once they start the slippery slope of affecting "the best cuisine at sea." It will only be a question of time until their regulars stop rebooking. On the other hand, I don't doubt overall prices will continue to rise on all cruise lines as they get more comfortable that cruising is back and we continue to see the longer term affects of covid. While I know not all agree, I think Oceania is doing a good job of keeping its niche. That's not to say everything will always be perfect but as long as they refurbish their ships and keep making new ones, I think they feel confident their model will stay mostly as is and keep their heads above water financially. At least this is what we are hoping as new Oceania cruisers.

Hello Insguy3, Just wanted to throw out a few ideas, we do not disagree that while on a cruise for more than a week it is nice to have some less heavy meals. 1. As far as I know the main dining room has Aquamarine healthy options every night. True they are more limited. 2. While not available every night, terrace has the fresh cooked grill station including multiple proteins and grilled veggies. To be honest, we loved this and felt nights it was not available the buffet was not that special. 3. Don't hesitate to ask your server for small menu changes. Or even larger ones. I can be a little picky and I learned long ago the worst thing they can do is say no. But often the answer is yes if they make it happen. 4. The new pizza restaurant by waves at night had fresh and basically healthy salads and pizzas although limited. Overall, you may be right that quite a bit of what's available is slightly heavy or fatty but I think with a bit of planning and willingness to find what you really want Oceania will try its best to make it happen.

Not knowing how difficult something like this is for the crew doing the shows I also think its a great idea to have more options. Perhaps on sea days specifically when everyone is on the boat all day. Hate to admit when we went in January all we saw was the comedian one night. Not that we did not want to go but things just kept getting in the way. We also tended to eat later as my wife loved going to tea in the afternoons and we felt there was less of a rush after 7:30 or 8:00.

Sorry to come in in the middle but as far as I understand it, a September, 2024 cruise is not eligible anyway. Only thru april, 2024.

I don't know if I would call it a fail. I also tried a few and it was not for me but truth be told, I rarely go beyond chocolate and vanilla. My wife loved the Meyer lemon flavor so much she had two servings. I felt like the quality was good but the flavors did not do much for me. Of course others seem to love it so as long as I could get my daily chocolate shake with a whole banana blended in by the pool I was pretty happy.

Thank you @AMHuntFerry

As much as I hate to enter this conversation... @AMHuntFerry Please clarify your statement in regards to the 40% website listed sales via your TA. While we have only taken one cruise, and that recently, I have been following these boards for quite some time and have no recollection of anyone ever having gotten such deals before. Now, to be clear, lets only start with the cruise only fare listed as that is the only true price, as far as I know, for a cruise. In addition, let's be clear that some TA's normally give out up 5% (maybe closer to 10% under certain circumstances,) and pay for gratuities and sometimes add in additional OBC. To be clear, our TA, whom we had never used before, gave us 5% cash back and free gratuities on first cruise in January and we only booked a B3 cabin with no history or promises of additional cruises. As far as I have read, this is STANDARD if you manage to find an experienced and preferred Oceania TA. In addition, we understand that deals are not standard worldwide and what I get in the US will not necessarily be what someone from England or Australia will get. We also understand that a current Oceania sale of any kind will not necessarily be given at the same cruise price when someone booked a cruise. So, if I booked a cruise at $2500 per person but current cruise price is $2900 person on the website and a sale comes along, I would have to determine if it made sense for me to rebook at current prices (and pay an additional $400 per person,) to then get the sale. Let me know what you think as there is much confusion on these issues but I thought what I listed above was basically correct and all there is. Thank you

Just a few notes on the Spa for newbies. We were just on Riviera for our first cruise last month and when we got on we walked around and asked for a tour of the Spa which they were happy to give. The Spa deck with Therapy pool/hot tub is really the only area where all cruisers cannot go. The showers, saunas, etc. Are available for everyone free of charge. As we were in a B3 we would have had to pay for daily use of the Spa deck but never did so. Most importantly for us we had an extended balcony already for sunny lounging and the Spa deck really does not have much shade. No doubt a little quieter than the main pool but really, nothing is all that noisy on Oceania. Shaded lounge chairs are only available around the pool deck and a few on 13 as well. These were sometimes hard to get but if you could handle the sun, even sea days you could always find sonething.

Ak1004. I think you may have summed it up better than anything I have read on these forums previously. Thank you. And lets all remember that choices are a wonderful thing. We are lucky to have multiple lines available to allow us to pick and choose which best fit our needs, wants, desires and budget.

Thank you for your review. Was on Riviera last month and we agree about the steak. However, Polo was the one place we thought it was superior. Definitely try there next time. I ended up ordering the lamb chops in terrace grill instead of steak and was pretty happy.

We ended up in a window seat in Toscana in the back. It was our first time and it was already dark out. While we liked having a large table for just the two of us, I would prefer another location. You sit facing the window at the start of the window angled downward and out. So between us and the window was a small triangle of space and if we looked upwards, the window became like a mirror showing us the other tables. Just felt odd. Now if it was light, this might be pleasant but in general, we felt the window seats in all the restaurants were wasted at night. Even the beautiful two top in the corner in Jacque you could see nothing but a dark window. Now during the daylight, we loved lunch in a window seat in the MDR. And of course sitting outside in the Terrace in good weather was very pleasant.

We noticed that same thing last month on riviera. Now we only ordered up a few appetizers but it seemed clear this would not be optimum for a meal. We made it work by turning around the desk chair to sit mostly opposite the coach. Of course from what I understand, hot breakfast is fairly new to Oceania in the veranda rooms.

Played last month on Riviera. Showed up at 1:30 on the first sea day at Polo and they had equipment for bridge and Mah-jong. Nobody ran this, we just arrived and sat down with others. Friendly and casual, our group of four ended up playing about 2 1/2 hours then we met again on each of the two remaining sea days. I would consider myself a beginner and the people I played with were friendly, easy going and happy just to play. We enjoyed seeing them throughout our voyage elsewhere on the ship and even ended up having dessert one night in the MDR with one. Our group changed partners each time and we enjoyed playing to the point where we barely even kept score. Of course I am sure other tables were more competitive. These were small groups, maybe three tables each bridge and Mah-jong. I had learned to play in college and gone thirty years until last month.

This is only a guess but wondering if they are thinking better to use the newest ship on the routes more likely to be taken by newer (and younger) Oceania cruises.

Beautiful room. Have a great cruise.

Sorry you will not get to meet Mr. Pepin. That would be a fun food adventure. We were just on Riviera and took one of the culinary classes. I am sure others will chime in if their experiences were different but in our class you had no opportunity to cut yourself since we never had access to a knife. Even the burners were turned off and on by assistants. We did enjoy it but would think hard before spending the money for another. Ours was really not a class for people with decent cooking skills to get right in there and be challenged. Most of the hands on stuff which could have an element of danger was taken out. We also did not find it to be forcefully social as other classes we have taken at places like Sur Le Table or Central Market could be at least prior to covid. However our teacher was great and had been an assistant to Julia Child for many years so we felt it was fun and nice but maybe not having a "wow" factor. Hope others let us know of their experiences and that you have fun.

I brought my Americano fresh from Baristas 20 feet away into the library on Riviera last month. Did not see anything prohibiting it. At least on the Riviera, it is a nice space with comfortable chairs but not overly huge. If people are sitting it makes it difficult, if not impossible to look for books in those sections. Of course I found it empty more than I found it filled. I did not go up when we first got on the ship but I would next cruise. On the last day I saw the return table filled with books that had not been there when I went on the second day. One other note. At least from my experience the library is not filled with best selling fiction or what I would consider resort reading. This is a real library with a variety of subjects. If you are looking for dozens of Grisham, Patterson, etc. Best to bring your own.

From our cruise on Riviera last month.

We will certainly try but as we both still work, we push even for ten day out of a US port right now. In a few years we are hoping for sure. I knew my wife was hooked when she turned to me around day four and said "you know I can imagine a world cruise." Keeping our flights shorter also lets us keep our costs down. Since we really do not drink and did not pay for any shore excursions we were able to do our entire ten day trip, in an extended balcony including air and insurance for about $6500 and our next one should be about the same. (Our end of cruise bill was $33 for two Martini's my wife had throughout the cruise.) It helps that we have friends in Miami to stay with and give us rides. Honestly, I had been looking at an Alaskan one way for our next cruise and while my wife wanted to basically do the same again, I think that over the next few years we will do that one and a new England to Bermuda cruise. Loved the O size ships but would like to try an R and Vista as well. Hoping to work our way up to a European cruise and to be honest I think we would also like a TA. While our kids are now out of the house (most of the time,) we have still not been able together them off the payroll. When that happens we may be able to jump up to the next level.

I ordered both books off of ebay. Just put in Oceania cruises and a bunch of stuff came up. These were of course used but both in great condition and I got both for way less than even one would cost new. Fyi plenty of luggage tags available available and some other cool things. They were selling Jacques cookbooks on Riviera last month in the gift store but not this one.

Received the second book. This one is real nice And heavy with plenty of recipes. Plan to take a good look through this and maybe make some stuff. Also to plan some meals for our next cruise on Marina.

Earlier this month on Riviera we had asked our TA and gotten coke zero in our fridge. However, not all venues had easy access to this. As I can substitute diet coke if needed it was no big deal for me. I am pretty sure I also saw sprite zero at least once.

These guys beat me to it but here are some additional:

This just arrived. When we got home I found this on ebay. They have the same book in the Riviera library. I ordered one more Book as well, will post when I get it.