Riviera Review

Wonderful First Cruise

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on Riviera
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Moose26
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: May 2013

When we were booking our first cruise we knew we wanted a more upscale cruise line. We had been planning a trip to the Greek islands for many years and wanted to do it right. We were fortunate enough to plan and save, so we were able to at the last minute upgrade to a Vista Suite, which made the cruise even more enjoyable.

Having the Vista suite gave us the privilege to board early and have our stateroom ready. Within minutes of being in the room, our butler (Anthony) arrived to introduce himself, give us a tour of the suite, and let us know he was available for our needs. Anthony was absolutely wonderful, he made our trip even better! Soon after our stewards (Miriam and Danny) arrived and again we were very impressed, they were also both wonderful through the entire trip. The suite was amazing. No need to go into details here, you can see them on the Oceania website. We loved everything about it. Our favorite part was having the amazing deck to enjoy as you are heading in and out of the ports. The views are unbelievable. We had the luxury of having breakfast delivered each morning as we enjoyed the beautiful views of each port. Because of the distance the food is being brought, it was never very hot, but it was still very good.

We had all of our dinners at the specialty restaurants and the Grand Dining Room. We were very pleased with all of our meals, with Red Ginger being our favorite. The wine list is excellent. We did buy several bottles of wine, at a discount when boarding. They leave the bottles in the wine cellar under your room number. Each restaurant will retrieve which bottle you would like for the evening. They will also re-cork and put back for future evenings. Entertainment in the evening was good, basically what we were expecting . You are made aware going into Oceania that it will not blow you away. We opted to only attend a few of the shows.My husband did use the gym, it had all the equipment you would expect. We did walk through the spa, which is lovely but pricey. We have a Canon Ranch near home so we were expecting that. We did not use the services.We did a few private tours that we planned prior to arriving. We also did a few of the ship tours. While they are on the pricey side, we did enjoy them. The guides were all very knowledgeable. Mykonos, Rhodes, and Marmaris we wandered on our own and loved every bit of it. My husbands favorite stop was Santorini and mine was Mykonos. The captain had to make the tough decision that we could not go into the Crete port. Winds were too high and he felt it dangerous. While we were disappointed, we were glad he made a smart decision.We met many people that had cruised other lines, but once on Oceania they stated they will only sail with Oceania again. While this is only our first cruise, I do not see us needing to try any other line.

Cabin Review

Generous walk in closet, amazing balcony and views, large master bathroom, second 3/4 bath, comfortable bed, quiet location.

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