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We have cruised 6 times before, mainly with Celebrity and having now been on Riviera we have definately been VERY spoilt and will certainly not be sailing on any ship other than Riviera (or equivalent). We were away with friends who felt the same way.
The ship itself is fabulous - it's a perfect size . We had a concierge cabin which had with a lovely marble bathroom with a bath and separate shower and a decent size balcony. Very comfortable bed! We loved the use of the concierge lounge with coffee/tea available 24/7 and nibbles all day too - such as mini pastries and bagels in the morning, mini filled rolls from lunch onwards and always delicious cookies. Also, the concierge herself was so nice and very helpful,giving plenty of information on stops etc.
The food and service on the ship was fantastic. We could not fault any staff, they were always there to help you and it was lovely to sit down at breakfast(even at the buffet) and have coffee and pots of tea brought to you or what ever you drink you wanted. We liked having soft drinks included and really enjoyed the milk shakes, smoothies or daiquiris they served as part of this.
In the evening, you have to pre-book their speciality restaurants and we especially enjoyed Red Ginger and Toscana. The Grand Dining room excelled itself with fantastic service and food. As we always ate about 9pm we were able to sit in the same place therefore having the same waiting staff who were so good. In all the restaurants, all the different dining rooms were so lovely, each being very different and the china was so beautiful with no expense spared.
We did not go to any shows as we preferred to make the most of the early evening sunshine and go to dinner later. However, we did enjoy the magician who would be around the martini bar late evenings and do close up magic - he was brilliant.
On deck, all the sunbathing areas were so comfortable with double and single beds available and always plenty of towels. We loved being able to sit round the edge of the pool in about 6" of water to just cool of but still be able to read a book.
It was a very interesting itinerary and very easy getting on and off the ship. We did our own thing when off the ship. (ship's tours seemed expensive)
We absolutely loved Riviera - she is going to be very hard to beat and are looking to book for next year and can't wait to sail with her again.
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