Riviera, Miami-Barcelona, April 1-15, 2015
We have been looking for a cruise “home” for much of the past decade, and we think we have found it with Oceania. It is an elusive mix of ambience and personality (staff and guests)—an easy sophistication and charming manners all round.
The ship is remarkably congenial. It’s twice the size of most we’ve sailed on (around 1,300 versus 680 or so) but still feels intimate and uncrowded—lots of inviting spaces. And unlike every other ship we’ve sailed on (from Regent to Azamara to Princess) there’s a welcome lack of hard sell: to get where you want to go you don’t have to slog through the art shop display, or past walls of photos of you and your fellow passengers getting on and off the ship.
Immaculate, spacious, a welcoming retreat.