Short review Riviera Venice-Barcelona

[Winters Gate]

We have just come back from our cruise in the Med and I would like to share our experience. This was our second cruise with Oceania and the first on the Riviera, our first was in the Med. last year on Insignia

We had a terrific experience, unlike many others we go on a cruise to relax and experience the ship and rarely make any excursion and Riviera is perfectly suited for that purpose.

 

The food served is of top quality, we did not have a single bad meal.

In the GDR they serve very good food, we like to eat both breakfast and dinner here, but above all it is a hidden gem for lunch with a very calm and pleasant atmosphere.

We also felt that the sommelier service had improved significantly from last year.

In the Specialty restaurants the food are wonderful, our absolute favorite was Jacques with Red Ginger and Polo are not far behind, Toscana is also good but the menu does not feel quite up to date.

Terrace Cafe has good food with a varied choice and we ate lunch here a couple of times but the buffet-style does not really suits us.

We also had a wonderful evening at La Reserve, with good food, a lot of good wine:) and good company.

 

Our Penthouse Suite aft on deck 9 which was absolutely outstanding, plenty of space and all the amenities we needed, our butler Chandu made our cruise to something special, he had a fine sense of service and was not seen at all intrusive yet always present, he spoiled us with both breakfasts and dinner, everything nicely presented and served.

 

The only thing we did not like was that it was unfortunately quite a few children on board some of which should have been supervised better but it's the parents' fault and not Oceanias.

[LHT28]

Thanks for sharing

We also enjoy the GDR for lunch ;)

Hope the word does not spread too much on that secret

 

Lyn

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review.

[hermioneb]

We were the same cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it. Everything was superb and we would love to sail with Oceania again, but not in the school holiday season. I am happy to see a few children about, but on this cruise I believe there were about 90 on board, which was far too many. I was very suprised at the number, considering that Oceania does not encourage children. I did not swim in the pool after my first attempt, when several smallish children were jumping in and being quite rowdy. There were some large family groups, and it did somewhat alter the usual peaceful atmosphere.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[DaisyUK]

Thank you for posting your review. It sounds as if you had a terrific time, with the exception of the children! We, too, enjoy the peace, tranquility and elegance of the GDR at lunchtime. I know some complain about the slow service, but we enjoy sitting in beautiful surroundings and lingering over a light lunch. We were on an earlier sailing in July, and there were a few children on that too. In our case, they seemed pretty well-behaved but I was surprised to see so many.

[globevest]

Thank you for your review.

[ORV]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

 

We did a B2B on the Riviera in the Med/Adriatic area about this time last year. There were also quite a few children, well at least more than we had seen before, on board. It appeared most of them were from European families. It really didn't impact our enjoyment of the cruise. Apparently the word is not out there that Oceania is not a child oriented cruise, or they don't care.

[Winters Gate]

hermioneb:

I agree with you that some days there were some kids in the pool who behaved badly, but even an evening in the Horizon when the assistant cruise director had a"Dance Party", he did a good job but soon the adults quite dancing when about 10 children took over the dance floor, it all ended with 50-75 adults sat and watched the spectacle, and I think the only adults who liked the situation were the parents of the children who then could have a drink in peace:roll eyes:

When one thinks of Oceanias great product it´s not situations like these that comes to mind, but again it´s not Oceanias fault.

 

DaisyUK:

I believe that if you are in a hurry or used to eat restaurant meals like they sometimes are served in for example the USA then one can for sure think the service is slow, but for me and my girlfriend who just take a walk in the port of call before lunch or maybe just stay on the ship it is just as you say, peaceful elegance at lunch:), thats luxury for me!

[wripro]

90 children onboard is my idea of a sentence, not a vacation.

[orchestrapal]

90 children onboard is my idea of a sentence, not a vacation.

 

Agree but a well known problem if you travel in Europe when schools are on vacation.

[JK300]

90 children onboard is my idea of a sentence, not a vacation.

 

lol :)

[wannaberetired]

Cruised in August last year and will never do it again! Kids everywhere and out of control. Worse though were the group of adults who were even more poorly behaved than the kids! If they had a TA, he/she should have steered them towards a party cruise!

[Caesar]

We were the same cruise and thoroughly enjoyed it. Everything was superb and we would love to sail with Oceania again, but not in the school holiday season. I am happy to see a few children about, but on this cruise I believe there were about 90 on board, which was far too many. I was very suprised at the number, considering that Oceania does not encourage children. I did not swim in the pool after my first attempt, when several smallish children were jumping in and being quite rowdy. There were some large family groups, and it did somewhat alter the usual peaceful atmosphere.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Can you give just a glimpse of some info on ports - are you close to town, is there shuttle service- anything you can think of would be appreciated.

[hermioneb]

The ports were: Koper in Slovenia, which was attractive and not too touristy. You just walk off the ship, cross the road and a lift takes to a street leading to the main square.

The next day we were at Zadar in Croatia, where a shuttle bus dropped us at a place near the sea organ; from there it was a short walk to the main square.

The following day we went to Kotor in Montenegro, which was my favourite port on this cruise. A beautiful approach from the sea along a 17 mile fjord-like sunken river valley and then the ship arrives near the gate to the old town. Energetic people (not us!) walked up to the old fort at the top of the hill/mountain and some stopped at the church half way up.

The following day we were at sea, with glimpses of Italy on our starboard side; we didn't go through the Straits of Messina until about 9.30p.m., by which time it was dark, which was sad.

Next, we stopped at Palermo, which was very hot. No need for a shuttle bus here, either, as you just cross over the road and are in the city. Lots to see; we caught a hop-on hop-off bus.

The following day we were in Civitavecchia; they have changed the shuttle bus system since we were last there, and it now drops you further away from the centre of the town and the railway station, which is a shame. Several people caught the train to Rome.

Next day, Livorno. The ship was alongside in the port, which is quite a way from the centre of town. A shuttle bus was provided and it dropped us in the centre, right by the stop for the hop-on hop-off bus. The tourist office is near there and we bought tickets to go on a boat on the canals. There is a bus stop nearby, where you can catch a bus to the station; from there you can get a train for Florence, Pisa, Lucca etc.

Next day, Monte Carlo. We could walk straight off the ship and walk up to the Oceanographic Museum, old city and the palace.

Following day, Marseille. A shuttle bus took us from the port to the old port, from where you can wander into the old part of town, or the shopping streets. There is a Ho-ho bus stop there, as well as a little train which has two different routes. You could take a ferry to Chateau d'If from the old port, too.

Finally, we arrived in Barcelona the day before we disembarked, so were able to enjoy the beautiful city. A shuttle bus took us to The World Trade centre, which was about a five minute drive away. There are ho-ho buses starting right there, which make seeing the city very easy.

We did not take any ship's excursions. Apart from the first three ports of call, we are lucky enough to have visited all the others before, so were able to enjoy a somewhat relaxed time ashore.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[LHT28]

Maybe the MED is more popular for children

we have done Northern Europe & Norway in July Aug hardly any kids onboard

[Winters Gate]

We are planning our next cruise to the Caribbean in the middle of January, can one can expect far fewer children then?

[LHT28]

We are planning our next cruise to the Caribbean in the middle of January, can one can expect far fewer children then?

We have done cruises in Jan to Mar & rarely see children onboard

We have been lucky so far the most children on 1 cruise have been maybe 8 tops