Live on Board the Riviera 6/6/2013

[MakeItCount]

That depends. If you're the only person at the bar (or the only person not served) and the bartender isnt currently making drink orders it should not take 4 minutes to get a beer or wine, or even a good martini.

 

I believe Mjflowers was being facetious concerning the wait times....as in they weren't long enough to complain about.

 

Just a hunch.

 

Could be wrong...wouldn't be the first time.

[durante]

Yes, I thought that too.

[surfyachtie]

Hi All

I thought I would pick up this thread again after arriving back to Australia on Monday night and getting over the jet lag from our 48hr transit from Lisbon. I would like to share some other observations for your information (and perhaps against my better judgement).

Overall we found our first cruise first class and anything I have to say is truly nit picking in the wider scheme of things. We disembarked in Barcelona on the 16th so excuse me if my memory fails me somewhat as we have been constantly travelling since then.

A quick breakdown…

Embarkation was a breeze. We arrived at 10.55 and were sitting in the Terrace Café 20 mins later and the same when we disembarked at Barcelona with 20mins from our cabin to hotel room. Really well organized.

We arrived in our room and the only fault I will comment on was the used stationery (someone’s retirement budget for next year) and the discarded luggage under the bed which was a surprise. Other than that Miriam and Danny did a perfect job in making sure we were looked after and according to form I didn’t mention to them these issues. I would guess that because of the tight time frames between pax disembarking and embarking these things can happen.

I have commented previously on some of the service issues and they were a constant theme for this cruise. There was one employee in particular though who went against the trend and that was Eduardo the Head Bar Manager when he was in the Pool Bar. He was sensational. The service here was average at best that is until he came on at 2pm each day and then what a difference. He directed traffic beautifully and made each and every passenger he had contact with feel that they were the only person that mattered, what a skill. One other of the wait staff deserves a mention and that was Fitzroy who wasn’t afraid to take his cues from Eduardo and give the same good service. Another crew member worth mentioning and would be often unheralded is Zin who looked after the cleaning of the toilet area on the pool deck. She would honestly do this 30 times a day and you could tell that she took a lot of pride in her endeavours. I made sure I caught up with her at the end of the cruise and thanked her personally for the fantastic job she did.

As far as restaurants go we tried them all. Our favourite was Red Ginger but could get only one booking which indicates how popular it is. Least favourite was Jacques but for no particular reason than perhaps the food didn’t appeal to us as much or we were there towards the end of the cruise and by then we were up to our eyeballs in good food and wine that it was becoming the norm. Special mention here to La Reserve. If you have the chance to do this do it as it was nothing short of stupendous. My only criticism was that we were pushed hard between courses so that we had barely finished one and the next was arriving. We drank (by my calculation) 11 glasses of delicious wine each, which may account for our fogginess the next day. What a superb night!

We had an incident one night when my wife and I copped a bottle of red wine and 2 glasses over us by no less than the Terrace Café’s head bar manager (?) Brandon. Unfortunately the said wine slipped off the tray and caused quite a scene! To his defence his recovery was magnificent when he offered to have my DW’s dress to be immediately dry cleaned and returned to her forthwith. We laughed the incident off however but from the looks of his staff he would have been buying in the crew bar that night. He caught up with us again the next morning on the pool deck and again apologised and made the offer again. He explained that in all his years that this had never happened to him before poor bugger.

We had booked two classes at the culinary centre prior to the cruise but unfortunately the first one was cancelled. We were left with a note in our cabin to say the class had been cancelled and a refund made to our account. The disappointment here was that we were given no explanation and or no alternative date. I took it up with the concierge but she had no idea why other than to suggest that maybe not enough people had booked. I will say however that the class we did on our last day (sea day) was so much fun and we had a blast. This is such an innovation for this cruise line and I hope if you have a chance have a go.

We attended the High Tea in Horizons twice and thoroughly enjoyed it though we would have preferred tea in a pot rather than teabags. I know this has been mentioned on the boards before but it is so obviously out of place against the rest of the ambience.

We did not attend any of the shows so no comment there. We used Barista’s and the Concierge Lounge every morning for coffee depending on what time we were up and found both to be very handy. DW attended the Canyon Ranch and made sure she extinguished her shipboard credit but she loved it. She did mention that she was given the “hard sell” for products but ignored it.

Art auctions were out in force but again we ignored those. David Sherman did a great job of keeping the “flow” happening and communicating various activities but I was quite unsure what role Natalie the Social Hostess played on the ship. The only place we ran into her was on the TV explaining how to ward fly’s off and the best way to get rid of rust- rather strange.

This particular itinerary was port intensive with 10 ports in 10 days and 5 of those were tender ports. I take my hat off to the crew who manned the tenders as some days they were backwards and forwards from 8am till midnight which must have been challenging. At all times we felt safe and looked after as well as kept refreshed when coming from shore.

I bought some steak knives in a market in a town somewhere out of Marseilles. These knives were very similar to the ones in Jacques which I had admired. Unfortunately when we boarded Riviera I had these confiscated and was asked to pick them up the night prior to disembarkation. I understand I may be a security risk? But with about 15,000 other knives on the ship were my steak knives? When I went down to reception to get Security to return the items I was escorted back to my room and watched as I placed them in my suitcase and placed the said case out in the hallway for collection for the next morning. I then watched as the Security Officer walked off. What was to stop me picking up my case returning to my room retrieving the offending weapons and wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting ship? What nonsense.

So hey everybody we had a wonderful cruise never to be forgotten. We had the company of many fine people, great food, wine and in most cases service and more importantly a spectacular introduction to the vast delights of the Western Mediterranean. Feel free to keep me entertained with your comments once again. :)

[fairbourne]

Morning Surfyachtie - thanks for your honest review. :D We just love you Aussies, there were quite a few of your "mates" ;):) on board with us recently on the Regatta, and we had such great fun with them!

 

Your last comment made me Laugh Out Loud! ;)

[oceangirlkate]

Thank you for your review! We will cruise from Barcelona to Athens in September. Would love to hear your assessment of the ports as well.

 

Interesting how small comments and assessments can morph out of control on this board! (seems one has to watch their p's and q's when it comes to Oceania!:p)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Surprised about the art auctions--thought they didn't have then on Oceania.

 

Thank you for your review--good to have the good, bad and ugly. Our first O trip is coming up in November so I'm trying to moderate my expectations.

 

I will definitely have a look under the bed when I board! Those kind of housekeeping lapses are kind of disturbing to me--if someone failed to vacuum under the bed, where else did they fail to clean properly?

[JimandStan]

"Moderate your expectations"?

 

Honestly, Wendy,it sometimes seems as if you are hoping to be disappointed in Oceania so that you can justify going back to Regent.

[hypercafe]

I think if you must moderate you expectations then this is not the line for you. I feel Oceania gives a excellent product for the price point. It is not tayored to fit the goal of each guest but rather the goal of the general guest in there target group. If I wanted a trip tailored just for me I would rent a yacht. As for the art auctions, we like going to them as much as some like bingo. I was taken aback that Oceania had both.

[pacheco18]

When we were on the smaller ship (Nautica) in May it was easy to avoid the art auctions and the awful art.

 

The only thing that brought any attention to them was Nolan Dean (whom you all know by now I think is an awful CD - my opinion ) making endless announcements about them and including the art auctioneer as his co host several times on his daily TV show. They both just raved about the wonderful art and the fabulous deals. Made me gag.

 

We complained about the unnecessary frequent announcements to no avail. Mr. Dean does not believe that cruisers are capable of reading Currents and watching his daily TV show and then finding bingo if we want to (UGH). I feel cursed having had to sail with him twice. This is the first time I avoided trivia (so as to minimize contact with him). I have so enjoyed the two Davids and Leslie -- they so enhanced my cruise experiences -- and I have raved about them in my comments. Nolan Dean is a major detractor for me.

 

I fear he will be my CD next July as well. Those of you who think he's terrific should probably book a cruise I am on. LOL

[calvin81]

We were on the June 6 cruise with Surfyachtie -- and had a wonderful time with them on a private tour on the Amalfi Coast! Hoping to see some of your photos of that day, Mark, some of mine were less than I'd hoped for. A few of my rambling impressions of the cruise: Yes, sometimes service was uneven. Couldn't get a plate cleared in the Terrace Cafe one day and the next they were grabbing dishes before we were done. Often the grill seemed overwhelmed and could have used an extra pair of hands, but that's because the grilled lobster and shrimp were so good! Had an underdone filet in Polo and the most perfectly cooked filet in Toscana, maybe the best meal of the cruise. Hard to review Red Ginger as we had a sharing table with only one other couple (had shared tables on other cruises that were always tables of 8) and they were two of the most obnoxious people we've ever met. The miso glazed sea bass was fabulous, but the majority of the meal we were trying to think how we could graciously escape :o. By and large the service was fantastic and the staff always tried hard. The only time the service was "bad" enough to complain about was a service I had in the spa, and I mentioned it to the appropriate people. This was our first time on an O class ship and we loved it. I never felt crowded and the two extra restaurants were wonderful, although we are Italian food lovers so ate at Toscana 3 times. We had many late days in port and I think many people ate dinner ashore. Jacques was fine, just nothing special in our opinion. Polo, despite the underdone filet, was very good. The library isn't as good for browsing with the chairs in front of many book sections, but not a big deal -- I didn't spend that much time there. My daughter loved Baristas, so that was a wonderful addition. The bigger bathrooms are so much nicer that the R class ship's. One small thing we didn't like was the clocks -- no lighted digital clock any more. I don't like to fumble with my phone in the middle of the night. The tendering was pretty painless -- I was concerned as our past cruises were docked the majority of days. The ship's excursions seemed to go off first thing and after that it was pretty open. We never waited more than 10 minutes I think. Yes, kudos to the tendering staff -- very well organized. Both embarkation and disembarkation were quick and easy. Would I sail Oceania again? -- I certainly hope to!

[calvin81]

Oops -- forgot to mention the art auctions. I guess I heard an announcement about them, but not often and certainly not enough to annoy us. One of the things I like about Oceania is there aren't a lot of announcements, period. We only went to one show, so can't speak to the entertainment much. It was the 60's show and was OK, nothing great. But no one goes on Oceania if they want big shows. The 5 movie channels and the large DVD library were enough for us. After a long day ashore and a nice dinner all we needed was a movie (or part of one!).

[Caroldoll]

There were art auctions, but they didn't "shove them down your throat". I didn't like seeing that art in the long hallway, because it was not as good as the stuff FDR picked out for the rest of the ship.

 

Only had trouble once with slow wine service, but spoke to the manager and all was well thereafter.

 

Nothing in the world is perfect, but O is as close as it gets.

 

I guess I think it is better to weigh all the good things, and not focus on the few little problems that seem to get worse if you focus on them.

 

Love Oceania.

[wripro]

O in an owner's suite is as close to perfect as it gets. O in an inside cabin, not so much! Still great for the money but not so close to perfect!

[ronrick1943]

Well nothing is perfect, but I think "O" does a really good job at giving you a great cruise. The only thing I wish they would change---move Trivia away from the cocktail area so you can enjoy a nice evening drink without all the loud Trivia players. Yes Trivia player have a right, but can't they have a room to play in. That's my only wish!!!!!!

Rick

[Caroldoll]

the trivia was in the theatre and it was an awful place for it. I wondered why they did not do it in Horizons. I do love Trivia!

[ronrick1943]

On the "O" ship they had it in the Bar area of the ship, that was my last cruise. If they moved it great.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

"Moderate your expectations"?

 

Honestly, Wendy,it sometimes seems as if you are hoping to be disappointed in Oceania so that you can justify going back to Regent.

 

Not true. I am very much expecting to be very happy with Oceania. It's doubtful we would ever go back to Regent--as much as we have enjoyed it, the honeymoon is over. I don't need perfection, just good value, and for us Regent does not provide that any more. I'm fairly confident that I will get good value on O, but when I read about poor housekeeping, I just realize that I should not be a Polyanna about this trip.

 

I'm the kind of person who tends to get overboard with enthusiasm about something new--if I can rein in my expectations a bit, it usually works out better.

 

I think if you must moderate you expectations then this is not the line for you. I feel Oceania gives a excellent product for the price point. It is not tayored to fit the goal of each guest but rather the goal of the general guest in there target group. If I wanted a trip tailored just for me I would rent a yacht. As for the art auctions, we like going to them as much as some like bingo. I was taken aback that Oceania had both.

 

Huh? First time anyone has said "rent a yacht" to me on these boards. I am no prima donna, believe me--but I'm not a cheerleader either, and wouldn't "sweep things under the rug", so to speak, if my room was not properly cleaned.

 

I asked about the art auctions only because it was such a kerfuffle over on the Regent board last year, and I had thought that O got rid of them. No big deal--they don't bother me much really.

[LHT28]

I asked about the art auctions only because it was such a kerfuffle over on the Regent board last year, and I had thought that O got rid of them. No big deal--they don't bother me much really.

They did get rid of the auctions but unfortunately they are back for whatever reason ($$)

 

We dislike the constant announcements about the auction & the art work placed in areas where you almost trip over the stuff

 

From what I have read here the announcements are not as intrusive like they were before ..so maybe it will not be as bad & we can always avoid the auctions

 

Now if they were auctioning some of the Murano glass objects I may be tempted ;)

 

Lyn

[Noxequifans]

We don't attend the art auctions as they don't appeal to us. This can also be said about some other onboard activities. But, O would not have reintroduced the auctions unless there is a demand for them. The result ... some cruisers are pleased with them and O makes some revenue.

 

The auction announcements have been toned down a bit ... no doubt due to some past complaints.

[Paulchili]

But, O would not have reintroduced the auctions unless there is a demand for them. The result ... some cruisers are pleased with them and O makes some revenue.

 

While I am not privy to this type of information, I rather doubt that too many (or enough) people asked to have them back.

It's much more likely that there is some financial reward to Oceania from the auction company ( and whatever sales do take place) and that is why they are back - not because of demand from passengers.

Of course, this is just IMO :)

[hypercafe]

Space is a problem for any line regardless of the size of the ship. There is a constant pull should it be used to product revenu or as common space for the pass to hang out. If it is used for revenue what percent of pass will use it. An example is the art auctions, the art takes up space and the auction takes up space that people that do not like the auction can not use, thus they feel more crowded. As a person that does not use the casino I was happy and taken aback that Viking ocean cruise has no casino on there new ship, I wonder if they will have the art auction?

[wripro]

Paul is absolutely right. There was no demand for the auctions other than from the bean counters in Miami.

[hypercafe]

I really do not understand the big problem with the art auctions. I have to say that we enjoy them sometimes and I have gotten some stuff from them that we enjoy. However, yes, the line does have them to make money but what about the gift shop, ever see the prices there?. My wife got chased around for the whole of my last trip to buy a 17K watch because she said she liked it the first night. What about the watch and custom jewels seminar, are they not run to make money? Then take the spa, have a very very overpriced thing done and they want you to buy a 100$ jar of cream. Then there are the port talks just an add for stores that paid for the press. And do not forget the nice book that comes with you luggage tags, 95% an add for the very overpriced shore ex. And then there is the 6$ can of Budweiser. All this is just part of the game, every dollar the line makes onboard is a dollar less you will pay in ticket price. I like Oceania and would hate to see them go out of business like the original owner of the R ships or price the tickets so high I can not afford to go.

[Tarpeian Rock]

I really do not understand the big problem with the art auctions. I have to say that we enjoy them sometimes and I have gotten some stuff from them that we enjoy. However, yes, the line does have them to make money but what about the gift shop, ever see the prices there?. My wife got chased around for the whole of my last trip to buy a 17K watch because she said she liked it the first night. What about the watch and custom jewels seminar, are they not run to make money? Then take the spa, have a very very overpriced thing done and they want you to buy a 100$ jar of cream. Then there are the port talks just an add for stores that paid for the press. And do not forget the nice book that comes with you luggage tags, 95% an add for the very overpriced shore ex. And then there is the 6$ can of Budweiser. All this is just part of the game, every dollar the line makes onboard is a dollar less you will pay in ticket price. I like Oceania and would hate to see them go out of business like the original owner of the R ships or price the tickets so high I can not afford to go.

 

 

 

Perhaps it is a question of both degree and reputation. If you pay $6 for a $3 beer, you're out $3. Reasonably intelligent people can see the spa price list and decide if they want to "overpay" by $30 or $40 as a vacation treat. On the other hand, I have never seen an objective article about shipboard art auctions that didn't warn of risks ranging from valuations from 100% to 500% over fair market value, to outright fraud. This is NOT to say that I think the O art concession is necessarily like that, but just to point out that there is this "aura" that in the minds of many, I believe, hangs over the shipboard art business, and which may contribute to the thought that such may not be consistent, in the minds of some, with O's image.

[pacheco18]

I agree

 

There is a certain sleaze factor associated with these shipboard art auctions -- and it is made worse when the CD promotes them and tells you what "wonderful buys" are available.