Live from the Riviera -- January 13th

[What A Market]

Boarding the Riviera today for a ten day Caribbean cruise in and out of Miami. I plan to post daily, figuring that unlike a European cruise I should have plenty of relaxation time while floating around the islands. Heidi does not understand how I see the relaxation in postings, and after hanging out with me for 32 years I guess she isn't going to get it. :) Oh yeah, this trip is a celebration trip for our anniversary.

 

This will be our second time on the Riviera. We were on the Riviera's maiden voyage with our daughter and her SO. We've also sailed on the Marina and the Regatta. I am an O ship fan, slightly over the the R ships, but like many of you I chose itinerary first. We did an around Italy cruise with Azamara (another R ship), which I rate as my favorite cruise.

 

This trip is a bit unique for me in that I booked it about 75 days prior to embarkation. Normally I'm planning trips more than a year out. Heidi was astonished at my ability to just "wing it" for this trip.

 

Feel free to ask any questions, otherwise I hope you enjoy the postings.

Edited January 13, 2014 by What A Market

[alexandra cruiser]

I ll be on R in Dec.for first cruise on that ship.Also,going to Carib(but southern).So any info re ship,excursions,islands will be appreciated.

Booked a concierge suite.

Looking forward to blog:)

[pthjudy]

Boarding the Riviera today for a ten day Caribbean cruise in and out of Miami. I plan to post daily, figuring that unlike a European cruise I should have plenty of relaxation time while floating around the islands. Heidi does not understand how I see the relaxation in postings, and after hanging out with me for 32 years I guess she isn't going to get it. :) Oh yeah, this trip is a celebration trip for our anniversary.

 

This will be our second time on the Riviera. We were on the Riviera's maiden voyage with our daughter and her SO. We've also sailed on the Marina and the Regatta. I am an O ship fan, slightly over the the R ships, but like many of you I chose itinerary first. We did an around Italy cruise with Azamara (another R ship), which I rate as my favorite cruise.

 

This trip is a bit unique for me in that I booked it about 75 days prior to embarkation. Normally I'm planning trips more than a year out. Heidi was astonished at my ability to just "wing it" for this trip.

 

Feel free to ask any questions, otherwise I hope you enjoy the postings.

Is your cruise Mayan Mystique? If so, we are on the February 2 sailing. I am very interested in your posts!

[I&J Cruisers]

We are also boarding Riviera today. We are also celebrating an anniversary. We are ready and waiting to a car to take us to Miami. See you soon. If not today then at the meet & greet tomorrow.

Irene

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk HD

[hondorner]

Hi, Tom,

 

Looking forward to your reports; we did Mayan Mystique on Riviera this past April and enjoyed the ship (our favorite) and the Winter break; but didn't bother much with the ports -- we were back on board in time for lunch at every stop. :cool:

 

We'll see you in May on Marina...

[RachelG]

Looking forward to your reports. We board when you get off. And Happy Anniversary.

[rheasue38]

Hi!

Michael and I met you both on a British Isles Marina Cruise. I organized the CC Party.

Hope you have a fantastic cruise! We were just on the Riviera in Jan. and will be back onboard in March.

Rhea

[Offroad911]

Looking forward to your reports. We board when you get off. And Happy Anniversary.

 

I don't see you listed on our Jan 23 Meet & Greet ( http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1822140 ). Would love to have your experience in the group. See you in a week!

[RachelG]

I don't see you listed on our Jan 23 Meet & Greet ( http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1822140 ). Would love to have your experience in the group. See you in a week!

 

I am indeed listed. Will definitely attend. Look for the petite lady with short dark hair and a husband who is the stereotypical Oklahoma rancher, complete with boots and cowboy hat.

[Offroad911]

I am indeed listed. Will definitely attend. Look for the petite lady with short dark hair and a husband who is the stereotypical Oklahoma rancher, complete with boots and cowboy hat.

 

That's AWESOME! I will look for the "Lil Lady and the Cowboy Hat (Rancher)". I will have a white Tommy Bahama "Relax" cap on (got to cover the chemo hair) with an attractive woman (wife) who makes sure I am looked after with my larger than life friend from South Dakota with his Lil wife.. More than ready to be outta here and some where (anywhere) warm.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Offroad911

[RachelG]

Great! See you then.

[What A Market]

Sitting at the pool trying to cut and paste some blogging into this thread. Every Cruise Critic page takes forever to load. Thank goodness I have an unlimited internet package. Interesting because my office email pages load and refresh super fast. Maybe the wisdom of the great Hondorner can comment on this.

 

Speaking of which, Hi Don! Hope all is well with you and Betsy.

 

Also, Hey to Rhea. Great to hear from you.

[What A Market]

Ok, so I'm in Baristas for my morning ritual of consuming too many espressos. I LOVE this place. I've read other postings where people think the space isn't inviting or seems awkward as a thoroughfare between the library and the Internet cafe. For me, it's perch overlooking the pool and with 270 degrees of sea views is exactly what I'm looking for when I'm on a cruise. (Observing the fauna pursuing their own ritual of morning track walking provides other amusements.)

 

So kind readers, on with the daily postings, which by the way, may not follow any logical chronological order. This will be more of a steam of consciousness blog. I purchased an unlimited internet package, so I will have time to answer any questions or engage in lively banter over any less than positive comments I make concerning all things Oceania.

 

One very personal note before moving on. We were on the Riviera for the maiden voyage in May 2012. I had the extreme joy of bringing along my daughter and her SO to celebrate both her graduation from university and her third anniversary of being cancer free. (Side note: She absolutely loved everything about being on the Riviera.) Unbeknownst to all of us, her body was already undertaking another battle with a new cancer, which was diagnosed two months after we returned from the cruise. As such, being back on the Riviera is bittersweet. Shannon has already beat the bitch back again, and I am planning a trip on the Riviera with her this coming summer. Both of us are counting down days, weeks, and months until this cruise. Shannon sends her regards to Jim and Stan; Don and Betsy; and Cenia and Glen; et al.

 

Traveling now with my adult children is without a doubt the greatest joy in my life. Bringing along the DW isn't too shabby either. :)

Edited January 14, 2014 by What A Market

[What A Market]

Embarkation Day

Boarding was a snap. The whole process from beginning to end was maybe thirty minutes. There were four stages to the boarding process here at the Port of Miami.

Stage one: Cab was met by porters waiting to take luggage. I think I moved all of three feet from the door of the cab before a porter was standing at my side to grab the bags. Cab drivers are not necessarily inclined to hump extra large bags out of the trunk of their cab. When I started to "assist" the driver the porter politely asked what the hell I thought I was doing. He proceeded to tell me I was on vacation I shouldn't be working. I was happy to allocate some of what I was going to over tip the cab driver to over tipping the porter.

 

Stage two: Stand in line to clear the port's passport control. There were two lines to handle everyone. I was happy we had early embarkation as this part was the only log jam in the boarding process. This stage took maybe 15 minutes.

 

Stage three: baggage screening. One minute.

 

Stage four: Check in for the ship. Fill out simple health form indicating you haven't been coughing or some such thing, hand over credit for imprint for all ship board charges, and get key card for room. This stage took less than ten minutes.

 

I'm sure arriving early and being in a suite accelerates this whole process, but I'm guessing the boarding process was fairly painless for everyone.

[keelykat]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

 

We just spent the past 10 days on the Riviera and as usual had a great cruise. We did Mayan Mystique and have been to these islands many times and like Don did not spend much time off the ship. The weather was not as good as it has been in the past but I enjoy being on the ship so the weather did not bother me since I live in Florida where I get lots of sunshine.

 

This was my third Oceania cruise but the first time I did a cooking class with Annie Copps and will certainly do more on my future cruises. Annie is a delight and the class was very informative and enjoyable.

 

This is the first time we had Roy Perez as CD. He is a very upbeat person who is always smiling and is sure to brighten your day.

 

Enjoy your cruise.............

 

Fran from University Park, Fl.

[What A Market]

Interesting. I read all the comments on Roy Perez before the cruise. Guess what? He's not the Cruise Director on this cruise. I think it's someone by the name of David Peterson. I don't think I've ever seen a comment mentioning him. Has anyone had him as their CD?

 

The weather is crazy nice. The seas are very calm. Mostly sunny. Almost no motion at all on our journey southeast out of Miami. Maybe this is normal, but I was expecting some heavier seas at on the first leg of the trip.

 

From the earlier question, this cruise is called Caribbean Hideaways. Two days at sea followed by five ports, and ending with two more days at sea. Our first stop is Tortola.

[hondorner]

Every Cruise Critic page takes forever to load....Interesting because my office email pages load and refresh super fast. Maybe the wisdom of the great Hondorner can comment on this.

Sometimes it's not the ship 'net, but slowness on the other end. CC often runs slow if in heavy use...

 

sent from Galaxy Note 8

[hondorner]

Tom, David Peterson was the CD on our 1st 3 O cruises, then again on the 10th anniversary cruise in Alaska on Regatta with FDR last year. He may not be as personable as some of the others, but he is an extraordinarily capable and efficient director. He is a great philanthropist.

 

sent from Galaxy Note 8

[hondorner]

Our best wishes to Shannon - we loved cruusing with her. My favorite story was the time we were at the pre-party for La Reserve, on the patio, with crew blocking access on either end. Walking past, Shannon spotted us, ducked past the crew member and ran up to chat. Meanwhile, her SO didn't have the nerve to duck in and stood waiting helplessly. When Shannon noticed his absence, she giggled and ran back out with everyone smiling! She has that effect on people...

 

sent from Galaxy Note 8

[What A Market]

As noted, I'm sitting at the pool enjoying literally doing nothing. People were beginning to save seats probably around 7:00AM this morning. (Yes, I can see you from Baristas! You know who you are!) Heidi and I came out around 9:00 and plenty of lounges were available. So come on people! This isn't Carnival. Chair hogging isn't required. That being said, it is now 11:20 and every seat in the shade is taken. Looks like every spot in the sun is spoken for as well. Growing up in Arizona I've had more than allowance of UV rays, so we only sit in the shade. It will be interesting to see how many "lobsters" will be roaming the ship this evening. :)

 

A word on the poolside music. I understand the main Oceania demographic are cruisers in their 60's and 70's, but the playlist for the piped in music is way too calming, particularly for a Caribbean cruise. Mind you, I'm in my mid-50's and I enjoy a good show tune like anyone else, but some music from a more recent era would be appreciated. What's even more distressing about the music is ever song has been run thru a MUSAK synthesizer. Really horrific. Like being trapped in an elevator.

 

Quick update on my comment to the music. By the time I was ready to post the above, it was noon. At this appointed hour the music changes. Now we are hearing tracks from the 60's, 70's and 80's -- Steely Dan, Cream, the Boss, Hall & Oats. Unadulterated as well. Happy, happy.

[What A Market]

Thanks Don for story about Shannon. She lives life combining fearlessness and joy in friendships, especially new found ones. Oh to live life in such a manner....

Edited January 14, 2014 by What A Market

[ORV]

Sitting at the pool trying to cut and paste some blogging into this thread. Every Cruise Critic page takes forever to load. Thank goodness I have an unlimited internet package. Interesting because my office email pages load and refresh super fast. Maybe the wisdom of the great Hondorner can comment on this.

 

Speaking of which, Hi Don! Hope all is well with you and Betsy.

 

Also, Hey to Rhea. Great to hear from you.

 

Sometimes it's not the ship 'net, but slowness on the other end. CC often runs slow if in heavy use...

 

sent from Galaxy Note 8

 

What I do before our cruises is to go to the User CP and turn off signatures and photos. It helps speed up checking on CC.

[What A Market]

The first night on board and what to do for dinner.... Years ago, like really only a year or so ago, it was easy to pick up a reservation in one of the specialty restaurants for the first night. Now, everyone knows to give this a shot. So much so that the ship now has three designated places to present yourself for one of these reservations. You could also attempt to amend your existing reservations or add other nights. The defined locations for presenting yourself is done by stateroom category. My. God, does this smack of elitism? Sorry, I won't take the bait. Seems like only a smart way to coordinate the the needs of up to 1200 guests. You could look at boarding schedule much the same way.

 

Anyway, I manage to secure a reservation in Toscana at 8:30. Earlier times were available if open to sharing a table.

 

Some side notes at this point. Prior to boarding I had already elected to pass on taking either of the two drink packages offered. On prior cruises I've taken the more limited package, as Heidi and I generally drink a glass of wine prior to dinner and then drink wine at dinner. On our last cruise I ended up ordering a number of special bottles of wine at meal, thus defeating the purpose of paying for the drink package. For this cruise I wanted to go with the bottled wine package. For the uninitiated, here's how that works: there is a pre-defined list of bottles, covering sparkling, white, red, and dessert wines. I think there were something like 20 bottles each of reds and whites. A few bottles each of sparkling and dessert wines. If you purchase two bottles you receive a 20 percent discount, while a purchase of three or more bottles is a 30 percent discount. I found a number of reds it wanted to try and ended up purchasing six bottles. I was told the bottles would be available in any dining area within 24 hours.

[What A Market]

Already falling behind in posting. Two dinners down and two specialty restaurants visited. As noted earlier, the first night was Toscana which was a bit of a bust for me. I started with the beef carpaccio -- really excellent. Topped with very lightly dressed arugula and shavings of Parmesan It was equal to anything I've had on land. I followed this with the minestrone soup. Consistency was great, but way too salty to finish more than a quarter of the bowl. When our waiter asked how I was enjoying the soup, I noted it was too salty for my taste. Cute response on his part -- he looked like I insulted his mother. He noted that the minestrone can be "bitter" and sometimes this can confuse people with seeming too salty. It was hard not to chuckle over how earnest he seemed. The meal then progressed on to the veal scalloppine al limone. Flavor excellent; veal very tough. When I didn't finish half the plate, our waiter elected not to notice, perhaps saving the both of us from another discussion on the merits and culinary standards of Italian cooking. :) Heidi's meal was very, very good. The lobster risotto and rack of lamb were exactly to her liking. She took pity on me and let me chew on the lamb bones. My favorite part actually.

 

Second night: Red Ginger. I think this was the fifth time I've dined in Red Ginger and I relived my first dining experience while cruising on the Marina when I ordered the menu prescribed by JimandStan: First course was the sushi and sashimi combo; Second course was the duck and watermelon salad; Final course was the miso sea bass. I was blown away with my first time in Red Ginger. Last night's experience may have topped the first time.

[What A Market]

Big change in the weather today, which actually started late last night. We are beating into a very stiff headwind. Not a lot of motion on the ship, but it is constantly "shuddering." A lot of people have noted they feel unsettled by this. One brief rain shower chased the pool denizens from their tanning. They are a hardy lot though and were back at it as soon as the outburst cleared.