Riviera refurbish

[pna]

Looking at a cruise on the Riviera in February.   Keep reading how worn it is.   Does anyone know if it is a fact she will be refurbished in April?

[edgee]

7 hours ago, pna said:

Looking at a cruise on the Riviera in February.   Keep reading how worn it is.   Does anyone know if it is a fact she will be refurbished in April?

Yes, the ship is undergoing a refurbishment very shortly. Several public areas will be refurbished as will top suites. "soft goods" will supposedly be replaced in all cabins. Not clear if that will include carpeting. I was on the Riviera last month. IMO there is NOTHING in regard to the ship's current condition that would make me think twice about cruising her. She is a lovely ship in relatively good condition. Will be even better when this upcoming refurbishment is done. I understand that in a couple of years, after the last O class ship is re-imagined as part of the Oceania NEXT program, work will be scheduled to do similar Oceania NEXT more complete refurbishing on the Riviera and Marina. Welcome any corrections/additions to this information.

[warburg]

We were also on Riviera last month, and the public spaces are gorgeous. The Grand Bar looks brand new. Of course, the materials out of which it made are almost indestructible. Our PH had no visible damage, and the carpet was clean. We will sail again on her next year.

Mary

[Ken the cruiser]

Does anyone know if O is going to upgrade the Riviera's internet service during this refurbishment, to include improving the router WiFi connectivity in the cabin areas? We were on the Riviera for 45 days starting last October and it was BAD the whole cruise except for maybe after midnight.

 

The main problem IMHO is not a bandwidth issue, although it is relatively sliw during prime times, but rather a router WiFi connectivity issue ever since O started allowing every cabin one free unlimited internet account which equates to no one logging off anymore and their outdated system simply can't efficiently accommodate the increased workload. Hopefully, an upgrade will be applied to the cabin WiFi router network to accommodate this increased workload requirement.

[kitty9]

The first cruise after refurbishment is May 15.  In addition to upgrading the “soft” features in the cabins, Baristas will be completely redone, upgrading the casino, and making changes to the specialty restaurants.  When we were on board in Feb, there was a group of engineers on board with blueprints for the changes in the various venues. 

[Paulchili]

5 minutes ago, kitty9 said:

making changes to the specialty restaurants.  

Do you know what changes are they planning to the specialties?

[kitty9]

The general manager in Polo told us that not even he knew what was planned, but he did say that they were told that they had to pack everything up in the restaurants and put them into storage.  

[edgee]

1 hour ago, kitty9 said:

The first cruise after refurbishment is May 15.  In addition to upgrading the “soft” features in the cabins, Baristas will be completely redone, upgrading the casino, and making changes to the specialty restaurants.  When we were on board in Feb, there was a group of engineers on board with blueprints for the changes in the various venues. 

Also I was told by one of the Asst,. Head waiters that Grand Dining Room will get all new carpet tables and chairs and draperies but the look will not change.

[pna]

So fun!   Thanks for all your responses.   We are new to Oceania after Princess, Disney, and Celebrity.

[ropomo]

FYI, https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=8812

[edgee]

8 minutes ago, ropomo said:

FYI, https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=8812

This is an old link showing what they are doing to smaller ships but is relevant to Riviera only in concept and will not have any effect for a few years, if at all. Indeed when they make Oceania NEXT changes to Riviera and Marina they could be quite different from what is mentioned in this old link related to smaller R class ships.