Concerns on appalling Riveria reviews

[LP24/08]

I am looking for reassurance from passengers who have sailed recently on  or are at present on Riveria that the dreadful reviews on the bords are not all accurate mainly the poor  quality of food, lack of interest from front desk staff and crew in general. We are sailing on Riveria end October in a penthouse suite for our golden wedding and hoped it would be special, we have not cruised with Oceanaia since Decemeber 2019 pre covid and are now very concerned and considering cancelling 

[Harters]

I think you may do right to consider cancelling, particularly as you are celebrating an unrepeatable event. Covid put a stop to two celebratory cruises for us - my 70th birthday and our golden wedding.

 

Of course, what you may find here are positive subjective reviews from anonymous people to weigh against the negative subjective reviews from anonymous people you've read elsewhere. Good luck with that. 

[Aging Fast]

We are currently on the Riviera in Ronne, Denmark.  I haven’t seen the reviews but after 9 days I have no complaints.  The food has been fantastic.  The professional entertainers have been great.  The in house performers lack a lot.  The in house band is amazing.  All in all it has been a great trip. 

[tigerfan75]

13 minutes ago, Aging Fast said:

We are currently on the Riviera in Ronne, Denmark.  I haven’t seen the reviews but after 9 days I have no complaints.  The food has been fantastic.  The professional entertainers have been great.  The in house performers lack a lot.  The in house band is amazing.  All in all it has been a great trip. 

+1. Was on the Riviera for two weeks in late July.  Also in a PH.  Had a great cruise to Iceland and Greenland.  The only issue was that many guests developed a cough by the end.  Good luck on your decision.

[ToxM]

Happy Anniversary! 

 

I am sure you will have a great time - reviews about food are subjective, people like to complain 🙂 

 

Nothing is perfect, Oceania try very hard, if you have a problem tell someone and they will do their best to get it fixed. 

 

I haven’t cruised on O since January, but it was pretty close to precovid then. Riviera is beautiful after her refit. 

[Croooser]

2 minutes ago, ToxM said:

Happy Anniversary! 

 

I am sure you will have a great time - reviews about food are subjective, people like to complain 🙂 

 

Nothing is perfect, Oceania try very hard, if you have a problem tell someone and they will do their best to get it fixed. 

 

I haven’t cruised on O since January, but it was pretty close to precovid then. Riviera is beautiful after her refit. 

+1 based on our February trip.

[BWV]

We were on in March-granted, this was only our second Oceania cruise-but we loved it. The food was excellent-so much better than on our previous cruise lines. One of the arms on my glasses cracked, and I took them to the front desk to see if I could get a bit of glue. The receptionist sent them to one of their staff who repaired it perfectly and at no charge. Excellent service from our perspective!

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I sailed Riviera (first time on Oceania) in March of this year. DH and I thought the food was outstanding. There were a couple of misses but the overwhelming majority of our meals were incredibly good. We enjoyed the company of more seasoned O cruisers at meals a few times and found they didn’t find the food to be as good as we did. We were eating identical dishes. 
 

Maybe O’s food was better before I wouldn’t know.  What I do know is, at least for us, the food was over the top good and in the rare instance it wasn’t we quickly got something else. 
 

We were in 7119 with the big balcony and newly remodeled bathroom. I found the storage to be awkward and limited. The space between the closet and bed was tight and I had to use the bathroom storage for things I wouldn’t normally store there. 
 

We thought the ship was beautiful and we loved the big thick padded chairs and loungers everywhere and especially the ones on our balcony.  The filtered water refill stations were wonderful as was the included specialty coffees. We also loved that the Captain bought drinks for the whole ship one night.  There was also a 2 for 1 happy hour every night. The bourbon and white wine choices were a little lacking on our cruise but things like that change from sailing to sailing based on what gets delivered. We absolutely loved that we could bring on board the higher quality bourbon and vermouth we needed to make our own cocktails once we realized they weren’t on board. We also had no problem bringing multiple bottles of wine on board.

We were given a mid cruise comment card.  In addition to my positive comments, I wrote that the balcony would be nicer if I had a blanket and I mentioned the lack of quality vermouth and bourbon. The next day a blanket appeared in my room and the F&B manager called to discuss the alcohol.  I was impressed. 
 

We booked 2 more sailings while on board. 

[the more ports the better]

We were last on Riveria in January, sailed her many times prior and this was or our second time post COVID, on her again in three weeks.  The refurb is gorgeous, the food was very good, the service was excellent as always.  We commented that it was the best food we had experienced on Riveria in all our sailings on her.  
 

We did notice that some of the larger steaks were thinner but we just order the filet instead of the ribeye.  We live in Naples where it sometimes seems that there are more five star restaurants than people.  Food on a ship is never going to be at that same elite level but O is very good as a whole.

 

The front desk people are helpful when they can be.  They take a lot of flack so sometimes they seem a bit standoffish but all in all they will happily help when they can.

 

We sailed on Nautica in July and it was lovely and the service was good (except destination services, there was one very surly women there) but Riveria is one step up in food three steps up in hard product.

[basenji56]

I would like to see links to the negative reviews.  I sailed on Riviera 18 months ago and thought it was Fabolous.  

[LP24/08]

I read the reviews in cruise critics under Oceania Riviera  We have previously sailed with Oceania six times and have had wonderful cruises but as I stated we are concerned about these reviews

Thank you everyone for your replies 

[LP24/08]

45 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I sailed Riviera (first time on Oceania) in March of this year. DH and I thought the food was outstanding. There were a couple of misses but the overwhelming majority of our meals were incredibly good. We enjoyed the company of more seasoned O cruisers at meals a few times and found they didn’t find the food to be as good as we did. We were eating identical dishes. 
 

Maybe O’s food was better before I wouldn’t know.  What I do know is, at least for us, the food was over the top good and in the rare instance it wasn’t we quickly got something else. 
 

We were in 7119 with the big balcony and newly remodeled bathroom. I found the storage to be awkward and limited. The space between the closet and bed was tight and I had to use the bathroom storage for things I wouldn’t normally store there. 
 

We thought the ship was beautiful and we loved the big thick padded chairs and loungers everywhere and especially the ones on our balcony.  The filtered water refill stations were wonderful as was the included specialty coffees. We also loved that the Captain bought drinks for the whole ship one night.  There was also a 2 for 1 happy hour every night. The bourbon and white wine choices were a little lacking on our cruise but things like that change from sailing to sailing based on what gets delivered. We absolutely loved that we could bring on board the higher quality bourbon and vermouth we needed to make our own cocktails once we realized they weren’t on board. We also had no problem bringing multiple bottles of wine on board.

We were given a mid cruise comment card.  In addition to my positive comments, I wrote that the balcony would be nicer if I had a blanket and I mentioned the lack of quality vermouth and bourbon. The next day a blanket appeared in my room and the F&B manager called to discuss the alcohol.  I was impressed. 
 

We booked 2 more sailings while on board. 

 

[Sthrngary]

2 hours ago, LP24/08 said:

I am looking for reassurance from passengers who have sailed recently on  or are at present on Riveria that the dreadful reviews on the bords are not all accurate mainly the poor  quality of food, lack of interest from front desk staff and crew in general. We are sailing on Riveria end October in a penthouse suite for our golden wedding and hoped it would be special, we have not cruised with Oceanaia since Decemeber 2019 pre covid and are now very concerned and considering cancelling 

@LP24/08 I have also read Negative comments however also very positive comments. I like you are new to Oceania.  I asked your question on this board a long time ago.  Just like the above responses, they were reassuring.  My cruise is in November and my guest will be celebrating 70th birthday also.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[MEFIowa]

Happiness = Reality - Expectations. You can control your expectations.

 

We had a great time on Riviera 12/2021 and Sirena 11/2022. We've got 20 more nights on Riviera in the Med Oct-Nov 2023 and we can't wait.

 

I chuckle at the subjective complaints by so many. See an entire thread about O COOKIES! I focus on the objective complaints (e.g., missed ports). For what someone likes I may not and vice versa.

 

We love the O experience that means few, if any, children on board, and few teenagers or 20somethings. But lots of interesting people mostly 50 and up. We've had no complaints about the food.

Edited September 12, 2023 by MEFIowa
Typo

[ORV]

I’ve cruised on Riviera twice this year. In April and June. Both were great. Not discounting others experiences but ours were fine. 

[hubofhockey]

8 hours ago, LP24/08 said:

I am looking for reassurance from passengers who have sailed recently on  or are at present on Riveria that the dreadful reviews on the bords are not all accurate mainly the poor  quality of food, lack of interest from front desk staff and crew in general. We are sailing on Riveria end October in a penthouse suite for our golden wedding and hoped it would be special, we have not cruised with Oceanaia since Decemeber 2019 pre covid and are now very concerned and considering cancelling 

 

You are beyond final payment right now, so reassurance or negative input at this point aren't really useful.  You should enjoy your cruise and go in with a positive attitude.

 

You are considering canceling is something I don't understand.  Does travel insurance cover canceling because you just don't want to take the cruise?  I suppose if you have some policy that allows you to cancel for any reason even past final payment, then you're in luck.

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by hubofhockey

[J80crew]

10 hours ago, Aging Fast said:

We are currently on the Riviera in Ronne, Denmark.  I haven’t seen the reviews but after 9 days I have no complaints.  The food has been fantastic.  The professional entertainers have been great.  The in house performers lack a lot.  The in house band is amazing.  All in all it has been a great trip. 

@Aging Fast Is there any way you could post a copy of Currents?  I’m interested particularly in what hours the band plays in Horizons.  They used to do a pre-dinner set from 7-7:45 or thereabouts; is that still the case? Thanks for your help!

[verytalleric]

FWIW, not about Riviera but our upcoming trip on Sirena. I had basically an identical thought on that boat. Most of the "ship" reviews on CruiseCritic slanted negative, but if you read them with critical thinking & reading skills applied - the comment above are all spot on. IMHO many had unrealistic expectations, and unhappy people are more likely to go to the trouble of writing a review. I also thought many of them had a "why did you pick Oceania then" aspect. Different cruise lines have different things they try to differentiate on. Oceania seems to be focused on smaller ships + port intensive itineraries. If that’s not your thing, probably better served to choose another company…

[Harters]

4 minutes ago, verytalleric said:

Oceania seems to be focused on smaller ships + port intensive itineraries. If that’s not your thing, probably better served to choose another company…

Although if you pick a transatlantic, for instance, you can avoid the port intensive. I'm looking forward to ours. Or, you can just treat some ports like sea days (as we did earlier this year). Best of both worlds - the enjoyment of O, without all the ports. 

[grmmybtty]

I hope that you don’t cancel your cruise. We are frequent Oceania cruisers and have given up on the mass market ships after very unsatisfactory cruises on Celebrity and RCI. We have sailed on all the Oceania ships, most recently on the beautifully refurbished Riviera. We found most crew helpful and friendly, willing to do their best to keep everyone happy. Some people cannot be happy as evidence by some of the petty complaints. I understand that sometimes a piece of meat is chewy or not cooked as ordered, but that can be easily rectify. For most crew, English is not their first language and they are trying their best. Their entertainment is not Broadway caliber, but it is a small ship with a small entertainment budget. I would still rather be on an O ship than have the evening shows at RCI or other big ships. Everything’s not perfect, but you’re on vacation and the small stuff is not worth the bother.

[britfan]

I rarely post but this topic compelled me to weigh in. We were on Riviera in July also and had a fabulous time. We had been upgraded to a PH cabin - very nice, plenty of space & storage, very comfortable. The very few cabin-related issues that came up were dealt with the same day, to include finding me one of the older desk clocks they used to have b/c none of us, including our butler and cabin steward, could figure out how to set my new travel alarm clock that I had brought. We had never had a butler before and weren't sure how that was going to work but he was great. We didn't utilize him as much as others did but he checked on us usually twice a day and each evening brought our nightly glass of wine/scotch. The food was overall very good and the very few times I was underwhelmed, I attributed it more to a poor choice on my part and not the execution of the dish (can't even remember those now). The grill chefs at the Terrace get particularly high marks. The desserts are exquisite! We enjoyed each of the specialties and had good company sharing a table each time. We didn't partake of the on-board entertainment much (did enjoy the string quartet)  but we don't sail on Oceania for the entertainment. Really the only thing I was mildly disappointed with were the lectures (pretty dry and very basic powerpoint visuals). I don't think we ever encountered a staff member who wasn't friendly, eager to please, and professional at their job with two exceptions: one at destination services, who seemed peeved that we cancelled one of our pre-booked excursions, and one person at the dining reservation desk who just wasn't very personable. My husband had a good experience with the Spa (even though the prices are outrageous - helped, however, by him winning a discount voucher in their first day raffle). We missed one port, Pammiut, but totally justifiable: fog and icebergs. The fog was 'pea soup' thick; more disappointing was the fog persisted such that if we cruised through Prince Christian Sound, we couldn't see any of it. Anyway, we're booked for a Canada/New England cruise in late Oct and we'll be back in an ocean-view cabin on Insignia and very much looking forward to it!

[RD64]

Ask 1000 people and you will get 2000 different answers. I would never allow someone’s opinion / interpretation - either positive or negative - affect my opinion. Go with an open mind and judge for yourself.

[Redtravel]

Relax and enjoy your cruise. There are some people who like to complain about everything.  Ignore them. While I haven’t been on Riviera recently, I have been on Marina twice in the last year. Both cruises were amazing.  We have 2 more future Oceania cruises booked.  As far as comparing Oceania before the pandemic and now, there are some changes.  We noticed chaises are more spaced out. Chaises are arranged in groups of 2 separated by a table.  Buffet has more areas that are only accessible by the servers. Baristas is open later.  These changes are good.  While nothing is perfect, Oceania comes close.  
 

[MarkWiltonM]

We were on Riviera in March and enjoyed the ship. The food was pretty good for the most part, and we're very critical when it comes to food. The service in the dining room was excellent (but we've noticed that some servers and sections of the dining room always have better service than others; if you're getting poor service in one section or from one service team repeatedly, don't let them seat you there again). The redesigned bathrooms in the veranda staterooms were fantastic--very roomy. This was a cruise to Bermuda and we never got to Bermuda (weather, apparently, but other cruise lines went there without issue), but we enjoyed ourselves nevertheless. 

Edited September 14, 2023 by MarkWiltonM

[JDPCruisers]

On 9/12/2023 at 7:30 AM, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I sailed Riviera (first time on Oceania) in March of this year. DH and I thought the food was outstanding. There were a couple of misses but the overwhelming majority of our meals were incredibly good. We enjoyed the company of more seasoned O cruisers at meals a few times and found they didn’t find the food to be as good as we did. We were eating identical dishes. 
 

Maybe O’s food was better before I wouldn’t know.  What I do know is, at least for us, the food was over the top good and in the rare instance it wasn’t we quickly got something else. 
 

We were in 7119 with the big balcony and newly remodeled bathroom. I found the storage to be awkward and limited. The space between the closet and bed was tight and I had to use the bathroom storage for things I wouldn’t normally store there. 
 

We thought the ship was beautiful and we loved the big thick padded chairs and loungers everywhere and especially the ones on our balcony.  The filtered water refill stations were wonderful as was the included specialty coffees. We also loved that the Captain bought drinks for the whole ship one night.  There was also a 2 for 1 happy hour every night. The bourbon and white wine choices were a little lacking on our cruise but things like that change from sailing to sailing based on what gets delivered. We absolutely loved that we could bring on board the higher quality bourbon and vermouth we needed to make our own cocktails once we realized they weren’t on board. We also had no problem bringing multiple bottles of wine on board.

We were given a mid cruise comment card.  In addition to my positive comments, I wrote that the balcony would be nicer if I had a blanket and I mentioned the lack of quality vermouth and bourbon. The next day a blanket appeared in my room and the F&B manager called to discuss the alcohol.  I was impressed. 
 

We booked 2 more sailings while on board. 

Curious about the beverage package on Oceania, does it include cocktails at the bars and lounges? Can't see to get that clarification on their website. Thanks in advance.