mexicobob

Three weeks ago on The Riviera the Champagne in our Penthouse suite was OK. Did not recognize the name and do not remember. Was a Brut and not too sweet. We are semi-picky but drank and enjoyed the bottle. They provide a stopper which worked well for us as we finished the bottle on the second night. Did an OK job of keeping the wine fresh. Do not expect a high end wine......but OK, at least by my standards. The refrigerator in the cabin will accommodate several bottles of wine. I had to take out some of the soft drinks and the middle shelf. Enjoyed some outstanding Italian white wine we brought from some of the ports.

Two weeks ago we got off The Riviera. About a month earlier I had applied for, and received, my shareholder credit. I had booked our cruise about 16 months prior and thought it was a good price. Not sure if it was "special"...... but I had no trouble receiving shareholder credit.

On our recent cruise on The Riviera in a PH2 there was not a difference between the wine glasses in our suite and the ones in all restaurants and bars. We were drinking white wine. I wear glasses but......if there was a difference, it was minor. We enjoyed some excellent Italian and Greek wine we brought from shore on our balcony or cabin. So as not to incur the wrath of folks like Flatbush Flyer we never took it out of our cabin.

I completely agree with everything you have said, particularly about nice jeans. That is also what I usually wear when dining in fine restaurants from New Orleans to wherever. Jeans seem to be a South thing though. In other parts of the country and the world, jeans seem to be looked down on as low class. Is what it is. Think the tide may be changing though.

We got off The Riviera about ten days ago. Some nights we had a partially consumed bottle of wine left over. We never had a problem getting it retrieved either in Terrace Cafe or the specialty restaurants the next night. Took only a few minutes at best. Maybe we, and other diners, were lucky????? Never ate at Waves but at night appeared the Pizza place was doing a booming business. Packed to the gills.

On the Riviera a little over a week ago I heard a rumor that any man that brought a tie on board would be hung with it. In any event never saw a tie on a guest. On our cruise folks were dressed as LHT28 recommends in the post above. Except in The Terrace Cafe (my favorite) where half were dressed smart casual and the other half were just "kinda nice" casual.

We were requested to watch a safety video at home before we boarded. After stepping on the ship we were escorted by a crew member to our muster station. The person there scanned our boarding passes, and I think, pointed to a life jacket and that was it. We were the only passengers present. Took 20 seconds. After arriving to our cabin we had to watch a 6 minute safety video on the TV (or at least have it on) before the TV would do anything else. No way to bypass this.

We were on the April 7 to April 14 cruise on The Riviera from Civitavecchia to Trieste. Our 8th cruise but first on Oceania. We were in cabin 10022, a PH2. Had a great cruise and were totally blown away by the quality of food and service. Outstanding. The Terrace Grill was the most surprising as was not expecting such great food and service in the "buffet" area. Never made it to the main dining room. The specialty restaurants were all good. Room service breakfast was always good and delivered exactly to the minute when requested. Thought the ship was in great shape and saw no problems from the recent dry dock. We had no complaints about anything. Had a great time. Appreciate the advice and questions answered on this board. Helped make the cruise more enjoyable. Will be glad to try and answer any questions. A warning about the port in Trieste...........very small. After you collect your luggage with few porters, you are literally put out on the street. In our case a cold, windy, rainy street. We had arranged a private transfer to Venice but had to wait over an hour for them to arrive at the requested time. Assumed there would be a place for us to wait if we got off the ship early. WRONG. There is no place to go. Make sure when you get off the ship your mode of transportation is waiting. There were plenty of taxis waiting but we had already prepaid for the private transfer. Again, a sincere thanks to all that have answered questions and provided advice over the past year while I planned this cruise.

Just got off the Riviera. We were in a PH2. Had breakfast delivered every morning except one to our cabin. Arrived exactly at the time requested. We ordered the night before. Omelets, croissants and everything else were great. Tried the the Terrace Cafe one morning and was not too crowded but............nothing beats the fantastic room service we received.

Thanks for the info but what are Ts and Cs?

We are on The Riviera for the April 7 sailing from Civitavecchia to Trieste. Seven nights. About a month ago we received an offer to exchange our cruise for a similar one in South America. Today we received an offer to exchange our cruise for a 14 day cruise on The Vista on June 23 (I think). We are in a PH2 and they did not specify whether the cabins would be the same on the new cruise. We have already made plans so will turn it down. Sounds like a good deal, maybe. First time on Oceania, so wondering if they have oversold the ship?? Never had this kind of offer on another cruise line. This seems to be a legit offer as it also is forwarded by our travel agent.

The lounge sounds nice...........but can you order room service coffee to be brought to your cabin? Will be on The Riviera in 14 days.

Couple months ago noticed that the price for one of our Oceania excursions had dropped by $50 per person. Called O and the problem was corrected and my account was credited immediately. No problem. However..........if I had not caught the price reduction do not think I would have received credit.

On another cruise line I submitted my shareholder benefit form about 6 weeks prior to sailing. Was almost immediately credited for $100 OBC. Have not sailed yet but it shows credited to my account. Probably the easiest $100 I have ever made.

Excellent words. Hope to dine with you, or someone like you, on future cruises. I find it sad to see couples in restaurants sit down to eat....... with their phones....and never speak to each other, or anyone else. Wonder what they are they seeing?

Thank you for your reassuring words.

We are planning a stay in Venice mid April. Pictures posted recently showing dry or very low water in the canals do not look good. Will be our first visit. Should we be concerned? Hopefully, the tide will rise, it will come a good rain.

You never have to worry about any of the ZZ Top band ruining your cruise. They will be in the $100 million dollar yacht parked next to your ship.

Plus 2

I also would like to know.

I do not cruise without a balcony. Period. Cove balconies (in the right location) are fantastic. But just a regular balcony makes the cruise more enjoyable. You can cruise for about the same price on one of the luxury cruise lines for about the same price as a cabin in the 1st class section of Carnival and other main stream cruise lines.

We will be on our first Oceania cruise in April on the Riviera. For anyone that has cruised on this ship since she was upgraded in December........do they still issue a card for purchases, room key, etc? Other cruise lines do not do that any more and assume one day Oceania will do the same. If cards are still used.........do the shops on board sell lanyards? Thank you.

I do LTTF (last to the fun). Last couple of cruises we were in suites so FTTF did not matter. Enjoy being one of the last to board the ship. No lines. No crowds. Straight to your cabin. Have a great lunch on shore which is better than anything served on the ship and then enjoy a leisurely and stress free boarding of the ship. The days of trying to find a table/seat on the Lido deck on embarcation day are over for me.

Have not been fortunate enough to be able to book an aft cabin on Oceania. Hard to find one available. But.... on other cruise lines, especially an aft wrap that we were able to book, are the best at sea. Vibration was so bad at times that I thought glasses would fall off the table. Totally worth it for the view though. Depends on what would be important to you.

Did FTTF once many years ago. Had a hard time getting it. Not worth it and would never do it again. Guess it depends on how much an extra hour or so on the ship means to you.