Riviera Review

4.5 / 5.0
782 reviews

Falling in Love With Oceania

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Riviera
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HeatherInFlorida
10+ Cruises • Age 80s

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Sail Date: Jan 2013

You know you're in love with a ship when you log on to the Port of Miami webcam because the ship is preparing for yet another journey and you just want to see her off.

In September I booked the Caribbean Hideaways January 3rd Riviera cruise to celebrate a milestone event in my husband's life and it was a great excuse to throw caution to the wind and spend more than we ever had before on a Caribbean cruise.

And then Oceania offered prepaid gratuities if you booked a cruise by 12/31 so unbeknownst to my husband I booked another cruise on the Riviera for January 2014. Usually this wouldn't be odd, but we hadn't even embarked on our first Oceania cruise. So on the first day of our cruise he said "This is an amazing ship; we have to do this again!" and I was able to reply with a smile ... "Good news!" In our entire time on the Riviera he couldn't find anything to complain about which made this wife a very happy woman.

Cabin Review

Cabin PH

We were in PH3 Suite 7128. I chose this for the deeper balcony and location. We had quick access to everything except the Riviera Lounge located forward. Everything else is aft and it was an easy run down to the Grand Dining Room, Reception or to get off in the ports. The extra large balcony was wonderful, but for us unnecessary. I loved looking straight down to the sea with no decks or lifeboats in the way. There was nothing more relaxing than pulling our wonderfully comfy reclining 'wicker' deck chairs over to the railing, putting our feet up and just gazing out to sea or surrounding islands while in port.

The PH3 suite is a very generous 420 sq. ft. with a large walk in closet. I could give up the space before the closet that made me virtually euphoric the entire trip. Any 'girl' out there can relate! I hung everything simply because I could yet there was also tons of drawer and cabinet space. My only complaint (if I have one at all) is the space taken from the shower in order to offer a bathtub. You can't shower in the tub without water everywhere and the shower was very tight. But other than that it was a splendiferous bathroom; granite and marble with a huge sink. I love the Bulgari products most especially the green tea body lotion ... to die for. The dead sea salt crystals worked magic on my hands ... simply luxurious. The entire cabin and balcony was spotless throughout the cruise and our cabin stewardesses were always smiling and so terribly sweet.

And the bed. The "tranquility" bed, so aptly named, is Euro-top, custom made in France I believe (but who cares), topped with a decadent layer of memory foam with gel and fibers with chamomile to soothe you. All this is wrapped in 1000 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets along with a down comforter.

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