Questions---New to Oceania (Riviera)

Hello...my parents do not cruise a lot but they have experienced Seabourn many times, Regent and Crystal. They want to escape the cold and I am looking into last minute cruise for them on Riviera. The have a hold on a Vista Suite but are hesitant to try Oceania. Can someone pleas tell me what I can relay to them as to what to expect? What is the daily dress on the ship, evenings? They are most likely Specialty Restaurant diners unless the MDR is really good. Thank you in advance for your input.

Hello...my parents do not cruise a lot but they have experienced Seabourn many times, Regent and Crystal. They want to escape the cold and I am looking into last minute cruise for them on Riviera. The have a hold on a Vista Suite but are hesitant to try Oceania. Can someone pleas tell me what I can relay to them as to what to expect? What is the daily dress on the ship, evenings? They are most likely Specialty Restaurant diners unless the MDR is really good. Thank you in advance for your input.

We spoke with many experienced cruisers on Rivieria in Dec that had also been on Reagent and Crystal. In most conversations they said Rivera and Oceania in general were better. Better in terms of food quality and overall service.

Dress is casual. Some wear jackets, more so in speciality restaurants.

I would not hesitate at all.

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Having recently done a Crystal and now currently on Regatta IMO they would likely enjoy Oceania especially since the are in a Vista.

Oceania is a lot less formal. No formal nights. Very casual in evening in the Terrace. For us it is an advantage.

Being in a vista they can generally get a reservation in any specialty whenever they like

Food quality is subjective. Oceania is good. But Crystal food quality is better especially in the MDR and specialties. With O on Riveria you do have a greater variety.

They would likely like the Specialties and certainly they can dine exclusively there if they wish or order Room Service from any menu.

Service on O is on par with the Luxury lines. That is a big strength of O.

Riveria is a good ship for a warm weather cruise. More to do on sea days than R class ships

Ship size is is bigger than Crystal but not too big.

FWIW - we have cruise on Regent and Seabourn but prefer Oceania,

I think they should try Riviera for themselves - only they can tell for sure what they prefer.

I've cruised Crystal many times along with Seabourn, Silversea and Regent and I can tell you that Oceania is VERY comparable to those lines. In many respects, I like Oceania much better. Just got off Riviera on Saturday and it was a fantastic cruise with the food being the highlight.

Have stayed in a Vista Suite on the Riviera. Huge!!! Butler service is exceptional. You can have meals served in your suite from specialty restaurants, course by course, if you wish. They will probably love Oceania.

I'm glad they are considering a Vista suite so they can get into the specialty restaurants as of ten as they wish because, imo, the GDR looks like a fancy catering hall. They'll certainly enjoy the four specialty restaurants though as the food is excellent, as is the service.

I'm glad they are considering a Vista suite so they can get into the specialty restaurants as of ten as they wish because, imo, the GDR looks like a fancy catering hall. They'll certainly enjoy the four specialty restaurants though as the food is excellent, as is the service.

GDR reminds us of a retirement home dining room. We didn’t eat there much.

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GDR reminds us of a retirement home dining room. We didn’t eat there much.

 

 

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Another good comparison.

GDR reminds us of a retirement home dining room. We didn’t eat there much.

 

 

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While I am not a big fan of the MDR (for various reasons) and we take most of our meals elsewhere, I can only hope that I wind up in a nursing home that has a dinning room just like the one on the Riviera with food to match :D

BTW, I wish no worse for the Eloquence :)

Paulchili..Agree, we should all be so lucky to end up with such a MDR in the Home. We don't eat there much either.

Francie

While I am not a big fan of the MDR (for various reasons) and we take most of our meals elsewhere, I can only hope that I wind up in a nursing home that has a dinning room just like the one on the Riviera with food to match :D

 

BTW, I wish no worse for the Eloquence :)

Ha, ha! True!

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We spoke with many experienced cruisers on Rivieria in Dec that had also been on Reagent and Crystal. In most conversations they said Rivera and Oceania in general were better. Better in terms of food quality and overall service.

 

Dress is casual. Some wear jackets, more so in speciality restaurants.

 

I would not hesitate at all.

 

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Food is subjective but we find the food on Oceania (specifically the Riviera since that is the ship we have sailed on twice) to be inferior to Regent - especially the MDR and Terrace Cafe (equivalent to La Veranda on Regent). Having said that, the TS can dine in a specialty restaurant every night if they wish (we were also in a Vista Suite) and the food there is wonderful. While the steak and Italian restaurant is no better or worse than Regent, there is nothing on Regent that can equal or surpass Jacques!

Not sure if drinking is an issue. For people that drink alcoholic beverages, I do recommend the Premium Alcohol package. OTOH, they will receive several bottles of alcohol for their suite but, speaking for myself, we don't care to drink in our suite by ourselves and still had the Premium Alcohol package.

Service on Oceania is great - the ship is beautiful (better than any Regent ship - except Explorer - and likely better than Crystal's ships).

The bottom line for us is that we strongly prefer Regent (and even Silversea) to Oceania but would not hesitate to do a Oceania sailing - just to get out of the cold weather!