Live from Riviera

[MnDAL]

On 10/22/2023 at 7:10 PM, iaae22 said:

Hello, we’ll be boarding in Trieste. I hope you wouldn’t mind answering a question for me. How is the temperature on board and a specially in the dining venues. Would long sleeve dress shirt for men will be fine without jacket/sweater? What about silk blouse for women or I’ll need something else to keep me comfortable? Thanks!

 

I am on Riviera also. Have been very comfortable in short sleeves since we arrived in Rome on the 17th. That could change by the time you get here. 

[holmium]

HI

 

The Riviera has Jaques and Vista / Allura has replaced it with Ember. Can someone find out if there is a plan to replace with future drydocks?

 

We have a 35 day B2B2B in March 2025 Singapore 2 Tokyo. 

[pinotlover]

16 hours ago, holmium said:

HI

 

The Riviera has Jaques and Vista / Allura has replaced it with Ember. Can someone find out if there is a plan to replace with future drydocks?

 

We have a 35 day B2B2B in March 2025 Singapore 2 Tokyo. 

1. Marina is going through dry dock and updating next May. No such change has been announced.

 

2. Riveria has had a recent major update, therefore another one shouldn’t be expected for 4-5 years. No crystal ball for that far in advance.

[Mkdvmz]

We were in Katakolon today. The only reason to visit this very small port is the opportunity to visit the ancient site of Olympia, where the Olympics began. We went on a ships tour, 33 people were on our bus. The guide gave some history of the area and the Peloponnesus prior to our arrival. It was about a 40 minute drive. We were issued “whisperers” audio devices to listen to him as we walked about the sight. We walked all about for over 60 minutes. It is truly fascinating site. A word of caution: the ground is very uneven with multiple small rock outcroppings. Wear comfortable shoes, and a hat is highly recommended 

[Visigoth]

We're pleased to hear that the internet connections are working well.  Do you have any idea if the ship is using StarLink yet.

[cruisingxpert]

On 10/24/2023 at 7:13 AM, Mkdvmz said:

decided to just return to the ship, lesson learned, ask many questions.

What a shame.  Malta was one of the most interesting ports I have ever been to.  Mdina, St John's Cathedral with paintings by Caravaggio and Marsaxlokk fishing port are all must sees in my opinion.

[Mkdvmz]

20 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

What a shame.  Malta was one of the most interesting ports I have ever been to.  Mdina, St John's Cathedral with paintings by Caravaggio and Marsaxlokk fishing port are all must sees in my opinion.

I was so looking forward to seeing the Caravaggio. Must plan a return trip

[Mkdvmz]

20 hours ago, Visigoth said:

We're pleased to hear that the internet connections are working well.  Do you have any idea if the ship is using StarLink yet.

It does not appear so. Our day at sea, the internet was quite slow. As soon as we were near land, a huge improvement 

[Sthrngary]

I will be on the Riviera in two weeks.  This information is SO welcomed.  On the topic of Internet.  I remember when the best part of cruising was not phone calls, cell phone or internet.  It allowed you to decompress, relax and forget about the world.  Then, the internet was per minute and VERY bad and VERY expensive.  You had to be a "Minute Plan" like a "Wine Plan".  

 

Now, our cruising internet is spotty, and somewhat inconsistant yet we all get at least one device with unlimited access.  Soon, we will have internet that is more consistent.  Yesterday my cell phone company sent me a instruction to turn on my "WiFi" calling feature which allows in/out calls and text as long as your phone has a wifi source.  The evolution is amazing. 

 

Boy, the world of cruising sure has changed over the years.  Our needs and dependency on the internet has also changed.  A true mixed blessing.  My expectations on our upcoming cruise is kind of simple.  If my mobile phone, with WiFi calls enabled will allow me to "Text" my wife onboard, I am a very happy camper.  On other ships, they system they have for this is the true definition of spotty.  

 

Thanks to the author again.  Very valuable stuff.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[MnDAL]

21 hours ago, Visigoth said:

We're pleased to hear that the internet connections are working well.  Do you have any idea if the ship is using StarLink yet.

StarLink is not on Riviera now. Scheduled “by end of the year”.  I find current internet to be pretty slow on this Med cruise. I would suspect the additional logins via SimplyMore had not helped. 
 

[Mkdvmz]

Yes, being able to text my husband and our traveling partners is very helpful! 

[Mkdvmz]

We were in Corfu today. I arranged to rent a car using Union car rentals. I had tried Avis and Hertz two months ago but everything was booked! When we arrived in port I quickly knew why. RCL Explorer was in port as well as Costa Bellissima and Viking Sea. Nonetheless, nothing seemed overcrowded. 
Union texted me the day before to confirm our rental and stated to text him when we were off the ship. I did so and we were picked up at the cruise terminal, driven to their office near the airport and I completed the paperwork, showing my drivers license and a photocopy of my passport. 
my husband and I had previously been to Corfu. We drove with my cousins to Paleokastritsas  and visited the monastery, we were apparently in between ship tours at 11:30 AM and it was not crowded. It is just a beautiful setting . We enjoyed the drive there, enjoying the beautiful scenery and seeing the Ionian Sea, gorgeous . We then drove to a local taverna and had a lovely lunch of fresh grilled fish and tomato and cucumber salad.

There was little traffic driving back (google maps provided excellent directions) and we returned the car about 2:30. The agency drove us back to the cruise terminal and by 3 PM we were resting in the sun around the pool. 

[Mkdvmz]

Throughout the cruise, the food has really been excellent! The service overall, terrific as well. At times, they seem to be short staffed, tonight we needed to flag down a server several times to have our plates cleared. Wine servers are often quite busy and again, one needs to flag someone. We have spoken to dining room managers and discussed our thoughts. They are extremely responsive but I said, I believe with Simply More, additional wine servers are needed. The poor men (I have yet to se a woman wine server on Riviera) are working nonstop. But many people ordering a glass of wine or drink, I think they are busier than in the past, although I have nothing to compare.

[Mkdvmz]

2 minutes ago, Mkdvmz said:

Throughout the cruise, the food has really been excellent! The service overall, terrific as well. At times, they seem to be short staffed, tonight we needed to flag down a server several times to have our plates cleared. Wine servers are often quite busy and again, one needs to flag someone. We have spoken to dining room managers and discussed our thoughts. They are extremely responsive but I said, I believe with Simply More, additional wine servers are needed. The poor men (I have yet to se a woman wine server on Riviera) are working nonstop. But many people ordering a glass of wine or drink, I think they are busier than in the past, although I have nothing to compare.

[Tranquility Base]

7 hours ago, Mkdvmz said:

We have spoken to dining room managers and discussed our thoughts. They are extremely responsive but I said, I believe with Simply More, additional wine servers are needed. The poor men (I have yet to se a woman wine server on Riviera) are working nonstop. But many people ordering a glass of wine or drink, I think they are busier than in the past, although I have nothing to compare.

I wonder if, as SM slowly becomes more prevalent onboard, they may simply (pun intended) ask if you would care to have the bottle left during the meal.

[Jockocruiser]

8 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

I wonder if, as SM slowly becomes more prevalent onboard, they may simply (pun intended) ask if you would care to have the bottle left during the meal.

One can hope!

[pinotlover]

10 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

I wonder if, as SM slowly becomes more prevalent onboard, they may simply (pun intended) ask if you would care to have the bottle left during the meal.

Far too much waste. If they left a bottle on your table and it wasn’t finished, they wouldn’t be able to move it around to another table. Now the wine stewards can pour them dry!

[pinotlover]

On 10/25/2023 at 10:22 AM, Mkdvmz said:

We were in Katakolon today. The only reason to visit this very small port is the opportunity to visit the ancient site of Olympia, where the Olympics began. We went on a ships tour, 33 people were on our bus. The guide gave some history of the area and the Peloponnesus prior to our arrival. It was about a 40 minute drive. We were issued “whisperers” audio devices to listen to him as we walked about the sight. We walked all about for over 60 minutes. It is truly fascinating site. A word of caution: the ground is very uneven with multiple small rock outcroppings. Wear comfortable shoes, and a hat is highly recommended 

Actually there are some very lovely wineries in the area, producing a host of good quality wines. Several of those wineries have delightful restaurants with great views over the Greek countryside.

 

Lots of things to do at that port stop.

[Tranquility Base]

5 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Far too much waste. If they left a bottle on your table and it wasn’t finished, they wouldn’t be able to move it around to another table. Now the wine stewards can pour them dry!

Not necessarily.

They simply (pun intended once again) store it with your cabin number for future use by you.

 

[shepherd really]

3 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

Not necessarily.

They simply (pun intended once again) store it with your cabin number for future use by you.

 

You either pay for a bottle or pay the corkage fee for that service.  They won't just give that service away for free.  Not to mention the increased storage issues and the added use of employees to fetch bottles all over the ship.  I am willing to bet against that happening without a fare increase to offset the added costs to O. 

[chloemonkey]

On 10/26/2023 at 11:57 AM, Mkdvmz said:

Throughout the cruise, the food has really been excellent! The service overall, terrific as well. At times, they seem to be short staffed, tonight we needed to flag down a server several times to have our plates cleared. Wine servers are often quite busy and again, one needs to flag someone. We have spoken to dining room managers and discussed our thoughts. They are extremely responsive but I said, I believe with Simply More, additional wine servers are needed. The poor men (I have yet to se a woman wine server on Riviera) are working nonstop. But many people ordering a glass of wine or drink, I think they are busier than in the past, although I have nothing to compare.

Just off a month on the Riviera a week ago and we had a few female wine servers.  

[Mkdvmz]

Yesterday 27/10 we were in Dubrovnik. The ship provided a shuttle bus from the ship to the Pile Gate into old walled part of the city. What a difference 20 years makes since our last visit! The number of tourist themed stores and Game of Thrones merchandise is overwhelming. Nonetheless, it is a stunning setting.We walked all about the city and the outer sea wall. It was truly lovely.  If one wants to climb all around the outer wall, one must buy a 35 euro ticket. We climbed up into the upper streets and ate a seafood lunch at a small cafe. We had dinner at Red Ginger and it was very good. The did have the sea bass 

[Mkdvmz]

Today we are arrived in Split, another beautiful port. Split is quite a vibrant city now. We walked from the ship along the waterfront into the old part of the cityBeing that it was Saturday morning, the local farmers market was set up with many people buying vegetables, sausages and cheese. We had been previously to Split but thoroughly enjoyed walking about the old part of the city admiring the old walls and bell towers. 
My cousin took the ships tour,medieval Split and ancient Salina and really enjoyed it

[Mkdvmz]

We have really enjoyed our morning cappuccino in Barrista’s. The coffee in Waves, i don’t enjoy but the brewed ice tea by the pool deck is delicious. I enjoy that there are three varieties, black tea, herbal tea and green tea to choose from throughout the day. Coming back to ship, relaxing by the pool, enjoying the jacuzzi has made a very port intensive cruise, very enjoyable and relaxing.

We always sit outside on the port side because the small smoking area on the starboard side really makes that side disagreeable. The cigar and cigarette smoke invariably wafts down and is awful

[ORV]

3 hours ago, Mkdvmz said:

We have really enjoyed our morning cappuccino in Barrista’s. The coffee in Waves, i don’t enjoy but the brewed ice tea by the pool deck is delicious. I enjoy that there are three varieties, black tea, herbal tea and green tea to choose from throughout the day. Coming back to ship, relaxing by the pool, enjoying the jacuzzi has made a very port intensive cruise, very enjoyable and relaxing.

We always sit outside on the port side because the small smoking area on the starboard side really makes that side disagreeable. The cigar and cigarette smoke invariably wafts down and is awful

Brewed ice tea? This sounds new. We’ve always had to make our own.