You would think that after eleven cruises with Oceania, we would be unimpressed and complacent about our twelfth cruise. But you would be wrong! This was our first exposure to one of the larger ships or “O” class ships, as they are often referred to, and we were blown away by the beauty and design of the Riviera. We have always loved the size and feel of the smaller “R” class ships, and had concerns that the double capacity of passengers would impact negatively on the cruise. This proved not to be the case. Actually, we felt that there were less passengers on board this ship as compared to that on the smaller “R” class ships. We attributed this to the design and abundance of open space on the ship. All in all, we had a wonderful cruise.

This cruise was a repositioning cruise from Miami to Barcelona with three ports of call, and nine sea days. We flew to Miami on the day of departure, something we have never done before, as we usually arrive at least one day prior to departure. But we thought that it would be safe to travel to Miami on the day departure because of the number of flights from Atlanta to Miami. We had no trouble and our plane arrived at 8:00 a.m. on that morning. We took a taxi to the Intercontinental Hotel and had a lovely breakfast there, before taking a taxi to the ship terminal. Our embarkation time was 1:00 p.m., but we arrived at the terminal at 11:05 and were welcomed and processed on board immediately. We had a leisurely lunch in the Terrace Cafe, met some Cruise Critic friends, and enjoyed the sail-away.

Initially, we had some concern about crossing the Atlantic in April, but were pleasantly surprised with smooth sailing the entire time. Our cabin was located on deck 7 aft, and it was quiet for the entire voyage. We liked being in the aft portion of the ship because it was a quick staircase down to the Grand Dining Room, and five staircases up to the Terrace Café. Of course, there are elevators for those who want them, but I was trying to minimize the weight gain by climbing the stairs. As one Cruise Critic friend said, “Fun in the front of the ship, food in the back”. And was there ever food!! Read more