This was our first Oceania cruise and the Riviera certainly met our expectations. Embarkation was smooth and quick. Our cabin was ready shortly after we boarded and the luggage appeared right afterwards.
Dining was superb. The Terrace Cafe buffet bettered other ships' main dining room. We tried each of the specialty restaurants and the Grand Dining Room (twice). Every offering was excellent. We especially enjoyed Toscana, which some have denigrated -- sorry we couldn't get a return visit the last night but the only available time was a little late for a last night with packing. Afternoon tea was amazing!
We took only five ship excursions. A sixth was cancelled because the G7 summit closed Taorima. Four were excellent; the other just good. We toured on our own in Messina, Rome and Amalfi with Italian operators. Every one of those worked out perfectly. They were definitely cheaper than ship excursions.
The cabin was fantastic. We had our daughter with us, so we opted for the PH suite and were very happy. Plenty of room. The closet was huge and the bathroom much nicer than on any previous cruise.
Fantastic guide for the five of us in Pompeii then the chance to see the coast in a small group.
Exhausting day but we had outstanding guides for our small group at both the Borghese Gallery and the Vatican
Had a great day exploring the city by foot and taxi. Saw what we wanted to see and returned a bit early to the ship.
Ship diverted to Ville-Franche because of the Grand Prix. We took the train to Monte Carlo and spent time walking around the city.