Relaxing Caribbean Cruise on Riviera

[Seapoint]

Our December Caribbean cruise was our fifth Oceania cruise, but the first on their newer ships. Overall, we were very satisfied with the experience.

THE SHIP.

Like the older R-Class ships, it is homey, spacious, traditional and very comfortable, rather than glitzy. There is little wow factor. Although the ship is only about 5 years old, it seemed dated. For example, it lacked electronic aids such as an app on your phone, or interactive screens with port and event information.

THE CABIN

We had a Penthouse 2. More storage than we could possibly use. Extremely comfortable pillows and bed. High quality bedding. Very well planned layout. Beautiful bathroom with seperate shower. Large walk-in closet. Clean and well maintained. Excellent service as well

SERVICE

Service was beyond excellent and very friendly. Seemed to be a well managed, happy crew.

FOOD

Oceania claims to have the Finest Cuisine at Sea. I have a mixed opinion on that. We ate twice at Polo Grill, Toscana and Jacques. Food, service, decor were excellent. We had three dinners in the MDR which were also good. Each night, essentially the same menu as the MDR is available at the Terrace Cafe (Self Service buffet), and we had a wonderful evening eating on the terrace while docked in San Juan.

So here is the issue...lunch in the Terrace Cafe was very weak, with an extremely limited selection. Even Waves Grill does not offer a chicken sandwich. While the food in MDR was well prepared and presented, the selection was very limited. If you do not eat pork/bacon/pancetta or fish, the choices were absolutely minimal.

Service hours were also an issue. The Terrace Cafe was open from noon till 2pm. The MDR from noon till 1.30. Waves 11.30 till 4pm. So if you spent a day at the beach, and returned late to the ship, your only option was Afternoon tea (4pm to 5pm) or room service.

ENTERTAINMENT

Never a strong point on Oceania. While most of the shows were energetic, they were nothing special, with one exception. On the last day, they had a special pre-dinner show, "World Beat", which was head and shoulders above their other shows...so it can be done. I also want to mention that we greatly enjoyed the classes in the Culinary Center (need to book before you cruise, as space is limited) and we had a wonderful artist-in-residence who ran a series of excellent sessions, which were packed. Also need to mention the outstanding enrichment lecturer, Cloeta Massie, a marine biologist who was one of the most entertaining and knowledgable lecturers I have experienced on land or sea.

CONCLUSION

A relaxing cruise experience on a very comfortable ship. Yes, we would book Oceania again.

[LHT28]

Please tell  me the buffet has not reverted to self serve ?

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Please tell  me the buffet has not reverted to self serve ?

We were recently on Sirena for about a month (November). The Terrace Café is still a plentiful variety of food served by crew along with "a la minute" cooking in the evening. In the evening, they have added one station with a limited number of self serve cold cuts for the less adventurous eaters. Hot dishes, tapas, salads, desserts, et al. remain "DO NOT TOUCH."

 

However, like you (and me), many mid cruise comments focused on "don't even think about an increase in "self-service."

[edgee]

4 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

We were recently on Sirena for about a month (November). The Terrace Café is still a plentiful variety of food served by crew along with "a la minute" cooking in the evening. In the evening, they have added one station with a limited number of self serve cold cuts for the less adventurous eaters. Hot dishes, tapas, salads, desserts, et al. remain "DO NOT TOUCH."

 

However, like you (and me), many mid cruise comments focused on "don't even think about an increase in "self-service."

Although, I prefer being served by crew as they mostly do in Terrace, the crowding created, especially at lunch in the dessert and salad areas, sometimes make me regret the fact that Oceania does not have more of a self service buffet approach. Having experienced self service buffets on both Crystal and Celebrity recently, it can be much more efficient.  While common sense and basic science would indicate it is more sanitary for service directly by crew, in my experience of over 50 cruises, I have experienced necessary noro virus measures in only one cruise and that was on Oceania Marina, so I am not particularly bothered by the concept of self service from a cleanliness point of view.