I chose this cruise because of the ports and food but I was very disappointed in the addition of an additional tender at Sydney and Sydney in general! It is a port that should be taken out! Instead add a day to Quebec City as the time spent there was way too short. It was also hard since the time spent there was cut short. I also think the beverage package is over priced. You should be able to get wine at the bars too especially since most days, we are not there for lunch! The spa is nice but you need more than one bathroom in the changing room. We did have wonderful staff that cleaned our room(Leadie). The food was very good especially in the specialty restaurants. The excursions were very expensive and the ones that I would have been interested in were moderate and were filled. Thank you Read Less

Told this USED TO BE a great cruise line. Times have changed tremendously!! Definitely a 3rd rate ship in need of professional leadership at the corporate level. The ship is run as though they going broke!! You pay for two fares for you and your partner, then are told the so called free internet can only be used by one of you at a time??? Or you can pay an additional $270 for the other person. They allow one bar of shower soap for two people to last 2 weeks. The same with the small bottles of lotion and shampoo ! Of course, you can purchase more.... Food quality has definitely declined significantly!!!! And the portions are meager as you almost beg for more. Waiters have been ordered not to ask would you like another drink, unless it is one you are buying. We would never cruise with Oceania again. Caveat emptor.. Read Less

Just returned from three week cruise on Riviera. Have cruised with them before but I think they have gone downhill. Many small problems. Late for several excursion because of management issues. Three tours was cut short because of problems but we were offered no compensation. Twice we had serious tender issues and once had to be towed back to ship. Crew was good but I think there are management issues. Most disappointing was the excursions.Descriptions did not match reality. They over-hype the excursions. leading to a disappointing experience. Management unresponsive to our issues.Disembarkation was an issue. We were told breakfast a 5:30 but when we got there they said it was a mistake and had to wait until 6:30, another in a series of management miscommunications. Leave the ship was 30 min.later than we were told. Special restaurants were all excellent. The manager of Red Ginger was very impressive and ran a top notch operation. Read Less

I've never been on such a disappointing cruise. And the shame is that since I was in a concierge floor veranda stateroom and didn't want to share a room, I paid almost $20,000 for two weeks of over-the-top mediocrity. The best things were the steward on my floor, the mostly prompt room service and the organization at meals which is a good thing because on Riviera you eat from the buffet for all meals unless you make a reservation at one of the restaurants or go to the Grand Dining Room which isn't anything to write home about. After a week the buffet food was very boring although I have to say that I don't have a very sophisticated palate and I don't like a lot of different foods so other people might have felt differently. However, I did eat an awful lot of beef on this trip. I recommend the hamburgers. Otherwise, three times a day you have to serve yourself. And on sea days if you're a little bit late to meals you might not find any place to sit. The tours were also rather disappointing. For one thing they were very crowded - usually a full busload of people. And in general there was quite a bit of disorganization. There was so much waiting around. Disembarking was sometimes a problem. One day the platform had to be transferred to the other side of the boat. On another day a few of the tenders weren't working and had to be repaired. On another day there was ice on the platform. We spent considerable amounts of time waiting in the lounge to disembark while these problems were resolved. And on top of all that I lost an expensive sweater which was not turned in to Reception. The reason I mention this is that in my opinion it reflects on the the caliber of the other passengers or on the character of the crew. Read Less

We loved Oceania so we booked a trip from Iceland, through Greenland, Canada, and the coast, to New York. Plenty of headaches leaving and returning to the ship because of the tenders. Lots of ineptness by the staff. Plenty of "hurry up and wait." We arrived in Reykjavik at 6:30 a.m. and were taken to a hotel but first, we waited for an hour at the airport as the staff tried to find our names and cross them off separate lists. Sounds simple but each staff person (3) had to cross our name off of their own lists and thus caused a delay. Then, instead of waiting in the warmth of the airport, they sent us outside, temps in 40's, and made us wait for busses that arrived 30 minutes later. Next, we went to a hotel and waited in a conference room for four hours until they brought us to the ship. It would have been nice to drop us off in a shopping district but we all sat around waiting. When we got to the ship, we all waited outside in the rain in one long line. No cover. Poor start. We signed up for six excursions. They have you arrive in the Riviera lounge 15 minutes before the star of your tour. Twice we waited because of tender trouble. All four tenders were not operating. We sat in our seats for two hours. Those with private tours were screwed. When you stay in a port for 7-8 hours, such delays are inexcusable. In St. John, we arrived for our tour 90 minutes late. The highlight was returning to the ship in a heavy downpour. Lightning, hail, an inch of rainfall. The bus stopped and our tour guide said, "Please stay on the bus, the weather is bad but it will usually clear up in ten minutes." OK. I'll sit. An Oceania representative showed up and said we had to leave immediately because the tenders are waiting for us. All 40 of us, some with walkers and canes, made their way to the dock some 75 yards away, sloshing in an inch of water as lightning flashed above us. When we got to the dock, there were no tenders. NO TENDERS! She lied to us to get us off the bus so we could hurry up and wait. We all waited outside, under a roof, cold, wet and pissed, for a half hour until the tender arrived. It stopped raining in ten minutes. Thank god no one was struck by lightning. This was inexcusable and showed that Oceania had no concern for people's safety. The other thing we noticed is that, unlike other cruises, the wait staff didn't return and ask if you wanted refills of your beverages if you didn't have the alcoholic beverage package. I'm a water and iced tea drinker. The experience with the tenders has soured our view of returning to an Oceania cruise. It is one of the most expensive cruise lines and you shouldn't have mistakes like this. Read Less

This was our second cruise on the Riviera. The food quality and service quality have fallen significantly over the past year. We went on our first Oceania cruise in 2014 on the sister ship, Marina, for a Baltic cruise. We could not believe how wonderful and attentive the staff was. The shore excursions were great and fairly priced. The food and drink service was outstanding. Last year we took Riviera for the Greek Island cruise. The food quality in the main dining room had dropped. The service had lessened. The shore excursions were much more crowded and over priced. The entertainment offerings were poor at best. This year we decided to try the ship again with some friends we met on the last cruise. Had it not been for the passengers we engaged with and a few outstanding staff members, the cruise would have been a disaster. This was the Northern Allure cruise from Southampton to Reykjavik. The first night we found shards of a broken glass on the bathroom floor. We brought this to the attention of the staff and insisted they re clean the bathroom floor. After that the cabin attendants never acknowledged us. Never greeted us and made an effort to turn away as we passed by. Our bathrobes were taken, but not replaced. Our bath mat was taken, but not replaced. These incidents required us the call the supervisor. The cabin had dust on the glass shelves - never cleaned in 2 weeks. The bathroom vanity handles were loose. The in room safe had a taped on piece of paper for a door handle, the plastic on the buttons was worn off and several numbers would not work, and the inside battery cover was held in place with a band aide. One evening in Toscana, the Italian specialty restaurant, my desert glass was cracked through 2 sides. I spoke with the restaurant manager. I never received a formal apology, and offer to return to try them again - you could only book the 4 specialty restaurants once each on a 14 day cruise, or a free bottle of wine as an apology. In another specialty restaurant, the Polo Grill - the cocktail I ordered was not good. Instead of offering me another or something else, I was still charged for this. At the Waves outdoor grill, I asked for a simple smoothie of yogurt with milk and fruit. The staff informed me that they could only make the 3 combinations that were posted on the board. None of these were to my liking. One evening my wife requested pasta with only olive oil and cheese. She was told she could only have pasta with the sauces listed. How easy is this to make, especially since the pasta was in front of her and did not have sauce on it yet. The evening entertainment was hit or miss. Other less expensive cruise had far better shows, such as the Greek Crystal cruise from Montego Bay around Cuba. This time we booked our own shore excursions, except for the free included ones. They were less than half price and much less frenetic. Since NCL has taken over there appears to have been a precipitous decline in the care and attention to details. For over $7500.00/person for the cruise portion only, this is not inexpensive. At this price there are numerous other cruise lines. All of the above was written on the on line end of cruise review. We were informed that every review was to be read and considered for future enhancements?????? I seriously doubt we will every cruise with Oceania again. I would advise those reading this review to carefully consider other options before booking. Read Less

I've done three cruises with Oceania before this one and had pretty good times - in those instances there seemed to be some fun folks interested in mingling with the solo travelers and the smaller ships were more cozy and open to mixing people - there were always plenty of shared tables and lots of inclusion. For some reason, this cruise had a different vibe - perhaps because it was the time and place if nothing else. Most of the people were elderly and coupled. You had to be careful of your remarks so as not to start a row over the situation in England or the US or elsewhere. The ship's crew was OK but not as friendly as on the past few trips where I'd been - they seemed to get friendly with a few folks from previous segments and ignored the newer passengers other than to say hello. I felt that they could have done more to facilitate mixing at night by having a standing shared table with a couple of crew members or entertainers on hand to encourage participation. Instead, you had to be in with the crew to get an invite to a fun table other than two scheduled events that were pretty dull. Other cruise lines are doing a more sophisticated job of courting the next generation of traveler - but I didn't see that here. We were an afterthought. On Silversea, they have cocktails scheduled nightly for solo travelers with a couple of crew members who then offer to take them to dinner; on Seabourn they put an invitation in your door ever single night if you ask for that service and you are always at an interesting and eclectic table. The layout of my room was wasted space. The huge tub was ridiculous and while I was fine as a solo, I kept thinking this would be way better if the space was used for a walk in closet. I found the concierge staff to be well below par of the staff I'd dealt with previously - normally when they know you are solo, they work to get you in at night at a shared table - that only happened after I raised a complaint - which I hate to do. I paid twice what other folks paid and got about half the service. I've always tipped on top of the scheduled gratuities but not this time - I never had any sort of personal interaction with the crew to make it worthwhile. The atmosphere was more sterile - the upstairs coffee area is almost too big and impersonal. Also, the timing for the Internet cafe is off - if I grabbed a coffee and sat at a screen, inevitably an elderly person would approach me for help because the guy staffing it had bass akwards hours to assist people. There were a few of us who spent plenty of time assisting other passengers. I will say this - the entertainers with the ship's crew were very outstanding. Much better than any other ship and that young woman from the Netherlands was astoundingly good - but then they were focused just on entertaining at the shows - where on the smaller ships the entertainers did a lot more to intermingle with the passengers - maybe they didn't sing as well but they were more fun to be around.. So here, better entertainers but not as much fun. Here's a hint - don't just dance on the dance floor at night - look for people who need a dance partner and ask them to dance with you. Every single night. Also, I had a bizarre and nasty fitness room experience - mostly because for some reason this ship has but two regular eliptical trainers and pretty much every single person wants to use them. I had started an hour long workout in the middle of the afternoon when most people were off the ship and another gentleman was next to me doing the same thing. We were two of five people in the whole place. A woman walked up and demanded that we get off and give her our machines. She relentlessly harassed us for the next 40 minutes and then returned with a rough looking attendant who had taken her at her word that we were the wrong-doers. When I let the attendant know that I wasn't happy with the situation, she accused me of being unpleasant. The man got off his machine and the lady insisted that it was too dirty for her to use. Did the attendant step in and get someone to clean the machine? Nope - stood by hands on hips whilst the mathematics professor cleaned up the machine top to bottom. Hey - he was on vacation and paying. Finally here's a hint with outside entertainers - please ask them not to use the solo women travelers as the butt of their comedy routines - just saying. It was a bit unnerving having to sink down in my chair for fear that I would be called out. Don't get me wrong - I managed to have a good time, met some folks I'm still in touch with, and there were some good people and plenty of fun - but when I'm on vacation, I don't want to have to work for my fun. Read Less

Just returned from our second cruise this year and once again we had a fantastic trip. The ship is beautiful , the crew and serving staff are all positive and helpful and eager to make your cruise special. Any issue is quickly resolved as was the case in Bordeaux when we were unable to get to the city centre due to protesters on a bridge. Dining is always a highlight and again all the venues hit the mark, our only poor experience being in the Polo Grill where our fillet steaks were really poorly cooked. One of the best things about Riviera in my opinion are the fellow guests who always make a big difference in the cruising experience, the American and Australian guests were a delight to engage with. The "Grey Matter" quiz team were fantastic, thanks for your company and for providing great banter every afternoon. Two weeks of great ports, great new friends and of course great food are now a memory but we will make next years booking a priority. Read Less

This was our second Oceania cruise. We took one about three years ago on the Marina in the Mediterranean. While we enjoyed Oceania the first time, we were disappointed this time. One of the main things that was bothersome was the terrible internet service onboard. We experienced this last cruise, but thought that with time, they might improve it. Alas, they did not. Think of old school dial up. That is how bad it is to connect. And, if you are traveling with another person in the same room, you both can't use the internet at the same time. It's not like I want to surf the web all day, but we would like to stay connected with our family at home and our businesses. For this cruise, we had 2 days at sea (1 scheduled, 1 unscheduled) and just could not even get emails, text our friends or family or upload our photos. My phone got full and I was unable to take pictures the last day of the cruise! We weren't the only ones complaining, either. Almost every other passenger we talked to was irked by this issue. Also, we felt like the Marina was in dire need of a refresh. We do understand that it is coming by the end of the year, but we were shocked that the overall appearance of the ship and our room was not of the standard we have come to expect from Oceania. Third, if you are tempted to go on an Oceania cruise for the speciality restaurants, be prepared to have a hard time getting into them at a reasonable time. Within hours the reservation desk was open to reserve online (45 days prior to sail date), almost every 6:30 and 7:30pm seating was gone for 3 people. That means we ate very late in the specialty restaurants which is not desirable. Forget getting help with this onboard, either. If the computer didn't have the spot free, you were SOL. The reason, we were told, was that the reservations open to elite customers first. Hence, they take all the good spots. This is not very fair... Another pet peeve was that Oceania seems behind the times with excursions. Ex - the guides do NOT offer ear pieces. We are not hard of hearing, but it is great to have the tour guide speaking directly in your ear so that you are not on top of one another and can walk away to take pictures at your leisure. Plus, many of the guides have thick accents and it is difficult to understand them to begin with. Additionally, if you did not book an Oceania excursion, the staff is not helpful at all with information about the ports. Nobody at the excursions desk knew anything and were unwilling to give advice about the stops we were about to go to. For ex - I did my research online first, but we decided to try to lunch at one of the ports. Without internet access to vet choices, we had to rely on advice from Oceania folks. The only thing they did offer was a local person sitting at a desk near the door in the mornings after docking. But, it was so competitive to talk to these people. Many of us were in the same boat and yearning for information and maps about the port if we did not have a plan. To be fair, Oceania had a pre-recorded video on the tvs for the ports the next day, but they were so boring and not a live person to speak to, which is what would make sense. Finally, disembarking Marina at the end of the cruise was a nightmare and so competitive, many of us were stressed out. This shouldn't happen at the end of our vacation. Apparently, we got in late to port and they got behind in letting groups out. The entire lobby was filled with wayward people trying to understand what was happening, where we should go to wait and if we were going to make our scheduled pickups to the airport. My mother-in-law also is elderly and incontinent. With the delay and the crowd of people, she was unable to sit and had trouble finding a restroom... The things I will compliment Oceania about is the food and service. The main dining room was consistently good and the people who work the dining rooms and stewards who clean our rooms were also very friendly, humble and great people. We enjoyed speaking with them on a daily basis. But, it is not enough for us to overcome the other problems. We won't be sailing with Oceania again anytime soon. Read Less

We enjoyed Oceania on past cruises, especially the specialty restaurants, the smaller ship sizes and the service. Other cruise lines are cheaper, but the crowds are larger and the food is not as good as Oceania. Our cruise was 19 days and covered a number of ports we had previously been to, but we wished to visit Turkey, Israel and Cyprus. Embarkation at Port Piraeus, Athens ran smoothly. It took less than 30 minutes and we were on the ship. We find the ship is always clean in the public areas, the staff are extremely helpful and pleasant and enjoy a bit of banter. We found this time there were a number of passengers travelling with children. Sadly they are unsupervised around the dining areas and like to run up and down the halls during the day. I realise it is not the staffs responsibility to control them, but this can ruin it for others. We used the ship's excursions a couple of times which were quite good. I think next time we will organise our own excursions. It is most frustrating when people wonder off and forget the time, whilst everyone else is waiting at the bus. The onboard entertainment is not something we go to see. The band at the pool were playing a couple of times, and I thought they were pretty useless. Would have been better with just come music playing rather than a band. Disembarkation at Barcelona, Spain was super easy. We walked off the ship and all the bag were waiting downstairs. Plenty of taxis waiting to take departing passengers to hotels, airports etc. Read Less

Easily the worst cruise company there is on a dated ship with untrained staff who don’t actually understand English but do “speak it.” Spent over $70k and food was meh, service was bad and no one seemed to care. Try Seaborne if you can afford or Windstar before ever considering this line or this ship. We have cruised for years and this was the largest and most messed up ship ever and it is relatively small at 1200 passengers. Sad. Utter disappointment. Canyon Ranch Spa is NOT. Just branding. 5 restaurants. Not really. Just a mix of the same poor ingredients prepared differently. Staff dedicated — yes but constant language barrier makes any requests impossible. I don’t need to work to help paid staff on a cruise I am paying to enjoy. I was speechless to recognize that senior staff and management honestly don’t care. In fact one manager said they could not address the problem because they were in the middle of their own personal spa appointment in the middle of the work day. That’s choice! Read Less

This is my fourth cruise with Oceania. I have been on both the Riviera and the marina. Well both ships are lovely, I have to say that I enjoyed the Riviera the most. I find the ship to be simply beautiful. This service is always so helpful and cheerful. We had a penthouse suite as I was traveling with my father and aunt. The room was clean, well appointed, and had plenty of room. We all had enough space to put away all her clothes. The suitcases fit comfortably under the bed. They would unfold a sofa bed every evening that my dad slept in. I wanted to sleep in it but he insisted that it was more comfortable. The walking closet was large enough to act as a changing room. I am usually out all day on a tour or exploring on my own. I have no real interest in on board activities or entertainment. I found the chamber music group that played in front of the grand dining room and martinis bar to be absolutely delightful. I enjoyed the afternoon tea. However, I notice that they no longer have the pastries and sandwiches set up as self serve. You had to wait to be served with the little cart that goes around. There are some ways I see that the line is cutting back since they have been acquired by Norwegian line. I hope this doesn’t continue. The tea was still delightful. We had our transfers from the airport to our ship and from the ship to our hotel handled through Oceania. This was very efficient and made embarkation and Disembarkation pretty easy. The only trouble was is that there were so many people who had booked the room at the grand Brittania hotel in Athens that they were somewhat overwhelme. Oceania did their best to accommodate us while we waited to be checked in. The only problem I encountered during the cruise was with regard to their policy on booking on board. They provided numerous handouts stating that you could save $600-$1200 if you booked on board depending on the length of the cruise you chose. However that so-called discount only brought the cost down to what was their published prices less $100, you also got 100 on board credit. This is not the $600 to $1200 that The handouts indicated. Also the onboard Oceania ambassador I found to be Unhelpful and disingenuous. It seem that she was more concerned on her commission then in booking us in an appropriate room. Oceania is a great product they do not have to rely on this shady kind of marketing. I find the food to be generally of high-quality on the ship. I do agree that the offerings in the grand dining room tend to be very boring. Also if you expect your steak in the polar grill to be very rare, you have to order it “blue“. If you say rare you will get something like medium rare. I have already booked a Caribbean cruise and a cruise that goes to southeast Asia next year. I feel Oceania is kind of on the cusp here, it is still a very high-quality product, I just hope corporate doesn’t ruin a good thing. Read Less

This was our 4th cruise with Oceania and we were just on the Riviera in February for a Caribbean cruise. Oceania is our cruiseline of choice because we like the size of the ship and the excellent food and service. Pre-Cruise: We flew into Venice a day early and stayed at a hotel near the Piazza Roma and enjoyed the sights of Venice. We had a private tour of Venice the morning of boarding so we did not get to the ship until mid-afternoon so there was no line for checkin and the Terrace Cafe was empty when we went for a quick lunch. Cabin: We were in a PH2 on deck 10 (#10035) which was right next to the elevators but there was no problem with noise and we really liked the convenience of being close to the elevators. The cabin was big enough for us and had plenty of storage space. I especially like the walkin closet and all the drawers.Our butler was great and whenever we called for extra ice or sparkling water it was delivered quickly. We only did 1 breakfast in the room and it came on time and was hot. Dining: We found the dining and food on the Riviera to be just as good as on previous cruises. We had most of our breakfasts in the main dining room and the staff were always very pleasant and the food was good, We usually had lunches ashore. Dinners were mainly in the specialty restaurants and we were fortunate to get an extra reservation in both Red Ginger and Jacques (our 2 favourites). We enjoyed all the food and the only time we had an issue was when we brought a bottle of wine we had bought onshore to the Terrace Cafe for dinner and they could not locate it. They did eventually find it but then the wine steward was not around very often so we had to ask for service to get our glasses refilled. Service was good in all the other restaurants. Shipboard Activities: This was a port intensive cruise so we did not get to many of the shipboard activities.We did enjoy the pool and spa deck, the string quartet before dinner and afternoon tea. The pool was very busy most days since it was very hot out. The spa deck was really hot so we didn't stay up there for very long. We noticed the demographics were very different on this cruise with a lot more families and children and generally a livelier crowd. The bars were very busy! We didn't go to any of the evening shows but noticed that the musical productions were the same as what we saw in February. Excursions: We did mostly private excursions not through Oceania and they were very good. We did 2 excursions with Oceania. The first was to Murano & Burano and we enjoyed the boat ride to the islands and the tour guides gave a good description of the lagoon and the islands. The glass blowing demonstration in Murano was interesting and there was enough free time to walk around afterwards. In Burano we skipped the lace demonstration and had a nice lunch instead. The second excursion was in Corfu to the Acheillion Palace. This was an OE excursion so it was quite a bit more expensive but with a smaller group(12 people) in a van. However, we went to the same places as the large group so it was just as crowded. The tour guide was good and we had the earpieces so we could hear her, but I did not think it was worth the extra dollars. Ports: We enjoyed all the ports but found them to be very crowded with tourists and it was very hot while we were there. This took away from our enjoyment , especially in Santorini, but this is not a fault of Oceania. We usually found a nice cafe or restaurant near the water and spent a few hours there eating and people watching! Disembarkation: This was the easiest and fastest disembarkation I have ever experienced. They made the announcement, we walked off, got our luggage and were off on our tour of Athens in about 5 minutes. Fantastic! Overall, we enjoyed this cruise and are happy with Oceania and the Riviera. We are looking forward to our two future cruises! Read Less

Chose this cruise because of the itinerary (Grecian Glory--Greece, Turkey, Italy) and also because we were traveling with a single adult daughter and wanted something fun for her--hopefully some young people on board. Pros: Clean, nice ship. Food in specialty restaurants good, but main dining areas the food was just average. Staterooms are a good size, with plenty of storage, walk in closets, and great bathroom for a ship. We booked too late to get two rooms so we shared a penthouse with our daughter. I was concerned it would be too small but with all the storage we had plenty of room. I was really impressed with the bathroom which had a full size tub and a separate stand up shower. The main pool seemed to be deck chairs available, but we had our own private sun deck so that was never a concern. Embarkation was a breeze. We had our own time schedule since we had a penthouse. The check in was literally empty and we walked right onto the ship. Our luggage arrived in an hour. Cons: The entertainment is terrible on this ship. The Riviera lounge acts are geared to the 70+ crowd. Martini's piano lounge had a quiet, low-key atmosphere and was very boring. The Horizons bar had a band that I wouldn't have hired myself. Very cheezy. Other than entertainment, this cruise line really fell short on helping with information on destinations. We wanted to go to a beach on the far side of Mykonos and our concierge didn't even know that there are only 25 taxis on the whole island. She had NO information on how to get where and admitted she had never been on the island. We asked her to get us a private driver and she isn't allowed to do that. On another island we asked if she could book us a private charter boat--can't do that either. Hmmm. Not sure what the point of the concierge is. Many of the passengers got off at Mykonos not knowing that we had to take two shuttles to get to the town because there was poor communication from the ship. There were numerous other examples but you get the idea. We only did a few of the excursions and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how much we liked them. We ended on a bad note in Turkey, however, when our tour guide tried to "force" us to sit through a 30 minute Turkish rug demonstration. We walked out because we've done it before and it's all a scam. I was disappointed that Oceania approved something like that. We took full advantage of the spa and I was shocked to see such an antiquated booking system. It's all done on paper (welcome to the 1990's) and takes forever to get appointments and to confirm them. They also had few fitness classes even though they advertise that they have several daily. The stationary machines looked fine, but that's not my preferred workout so I didn't use them. Not sure i would sail with them again. Maybe in 10 years. Read Less

I had chosen Oceania because of their highly rated cuisine. This cruise did not disappoint. We are first time cruisers with this line and this itinerary. From start to finish...the room, the wait staff, the cuisine, the excursions, the overall atmosphere of understated elegance. So many places to sit and enjoy the cruise life and even dealing with the nitty gritty (laundrettes on each floor were very popular). We dined in each specialty restaurant...Red Ginger, Polo Grill, Toscana and Jacques. Each offered interesting choices and were true to the cuisine of the culture. And as always, you felt like royalty. A sweet bonus (and veddy proper) was tea at 4pm. Choices of teas, sandwiches and scrumptious desserts kept you sated until dinner. The show was very entertaining combining actual entertainers and on screen clips of Broadway shows and stars. I even noticed the artwork on each floor was beautifully done. Excursions were just the right length of time, with great tour guides. The longest day was Florence and Pisa and you do need more time to cover those areas. Embarkation and Disembarking was efficient and quick.It was wonderful and I am looking forward to another Oceania cruise. Read Less

We selected this cruise, because other friends were going. There were very few children in this cruise. It is more for mature adults and senior citizens The Riviera is an excellent ship. Embarkation and disembarkation went smoothly. The kitchen took a long time to serve at night and it was very difficult to be on time for entertainment and other activities. As a general rule, the experience was very good, but some of the tours offered by Oceania were below standards. Ex: we had selected SCENIC CADIZ AND FLAMENCO. The brochure promised at the end of the tour (approximately 12 Noon) to take us to a "Tablao Flamenco La Cava", but the tour guide was instructed to take us at the beginning of the tour (9 AM). Obviously they had included ham, cheese, bread and sangria, but everyone had breakfast at 8 AM; therefore, we couldn't eat or drink anything. Read Less

It covered 9 ports in Spain alone. And had a terrific small as well as larger ports. We did not use the cruise line’s tours but booked thru Spain Day Tours which were really terrific and we’re less costly than the ships’. The food was excellent and except for Red Ginger (where the service and food was not great) all the other venues were top notch. Embarkation and disembarkation were very smooth and fast. The shops cleanlines was exemplary. The crew always had a smile and always greeted you. They were all wonderful. We visited Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Cadiz (Seville), Almeria, Cartagena, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca and Palamós. The specialty restaurants: Polo grill was very good, Jacques was also very good, Toscana was also excellent. The buffet grill was out of this world with its tremendous variety of selections. Room service was very quick and superb. The concierge lounge on the 9th floor was a disappointment as the snack selection was pitiful. Overall the cruise was excellent and good value for its cost. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we had not been to several of the the port stops before. We were disappointed in the food. We live in Houston, dine out frequently, and expected the food to be better. My steak in the Polo was over cooked, not impressed at all. The Red Ginger was a real disappointment. Did not care for it at all. Much better Asian in Houston. We really liked Jacques and Toscana. As for the main dining room, it just wasn’t as good as we expected. We stayed in a concierge level cabin. We were impressed with the room, bathroom and the cabin steward. Probably the best in our 20 cruises. Loved the linens, towels, toiletries and room layout. We did not take the ships excursions. I thought they were really expensive. Our group of 4 hired a private guide in ports for the same per person price as the least expensive tour offered by the boat. We also heard several people say they were disappointed in the tours. We loved every excursion but we arranged it ourselves. The staff was excellent. The Gym was great. Did not use the spa. We only had one sea day. We bought the drink package and the bar service was very good. Venice. We took the large water taxi to Piazza San Marco. Bought ticket for round trip right outside the cruise ship. Venice was very crowded. We walked around and took a gondola ride through canals and rode by the Rialto bridge. Back to ship. Watched as we sailed away from Venice listening to Andrea Bocelli. Dinner at Polo Restaurant. - Dubrovnik, Croatia. Arrived at 1:30 pm. Found taxi driver outside the port who drove us around the outskirts of town and up the mountain for a panoramic view of Dubrovnik. Then to visit Fort Imperial which houses a museum of the Croatian war of Independence in and a short film about the war. I hope hunk it was 50 euros. Then he dropped us at the town of Dubrovnik where many scenes of Game of Thrones were filmed. Walked around town and took a taxi Back to the ship. Drinks in the piano bar and dinner in Grande dining room. - Kotor, Montenegro. Met at the port by Nikolai with Mont Travelers at 8:30. He drove us for an overview of Boka Bay where our ship was docked and took a boat ride to see the Our Lady of the Rocks. Then we went to see the town of Perast which is on the water with beautiful sea views. We drove back to Kotor and visited a fish market to see all the different seafood from Kotor. Followed by a drive to view Jaz Beach and a walking tour of the old town of Budva. Drove back to Kotor for a walking tour. The tour was awesome. 280 euros for 4 people. Nikolai was fabulous and a very safe driver. Dinner in Grande dining room. cruised around Italy - Malta. Did a Small group tour Simply Malta with 12 people from the ship we arranged through cruise critic roll call. A drive to the south of the island of Malta to see the Blue Grotto. The grotto and neighboring system of sea caves are home to brilliant phosphorescent marine life. The boat ride showed us the incredible beauty of this natural wonder. It was wonderful. Then we traveled through the Girgenti valley and on to the west coast seeing the Dingli cliffs. We drove to Rabat for a walking tour of Rabat and the old town Mdina, once the capital of Malta until Valleta was built. Mdina was where scenes from season one of Game of Thrones was filmed. Back to Valletta, Malta. We got back on board and Dinner in Toscana - Italian. - Sicily where we could see Mt Etna in distance. We got a taxi at the port to drive us to Taormina. I think it was 25 euros. Our driver told us it looked like fireworks coming out of it at night. We walked around town. Then we found a taxi driver in town named Vincenzo Franco (+39 338 850 1413) who drove us to scenic view points around the outskirts of Taormina and back to the ship. He was awesome and I would call him and arrange for him to drive me if I go again. Dinner in Grande dining room. - Amalfi. Picked up at the port by for a full day tour of the Amalfi coast by Sorrento Top Driver, Di Coppola Antonino +39 3392207065. He drove us along the Amalfi Coast stopping for pictures and on to Positano. Parked while we shopped and walked around the town. Then drove us back to Amalfi and on to Ravello for lunch overlooking the sea. Back to ship. Really great day with Tonino. Dinner in Jacques - French. -Rome. Picked up at the dock at by Enrico with Rome in limo. A full day of seeing the sights of Rome. First stop for coffee and pastries then to a hill with a great view overlooking Rome. Next a walk through Trastevere where we went into a church during a Sunday service. On to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Piazza Navona (where the Italian Air Force flew over leaving a trail of red, white and green smoke because it was a national holiday, saw the Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps, Pantheon. Enrico stopped to let us out, wait for us and drive to the next stop. Giving us lots of info as we went. Dropped us off at a small restaurant for great lunch. Toured the Catacombe Di San Callisto of and dropped us back at ship about 5. We had spent a few days in Rome on another trip so we didn’t plan on going to the Vatican. Seafood extravaganza in the Waves. -Tuscany. Picked up at the port of Livorno by Alessandro Cammilli. www.alessandrocammilli.com Drove for about an hour to San Gimignano where we toured the town and had gelato and coffee at outside cafe. Drove to Castelllina in Chianti, Greve in Chianti and the Chianti countryside of Tuscany. Stopped for lunch in Lamole at a restaurant on an outdoor terrace on the top of a hill with wonderful views of wine country. We stopped by a WWII memorial and cemetery where 4400 American soldiers were buried. Then drove to see the leaning tower of Pisa and back to the ship about 5. Dinner in Toscana - Italian. - Monte Carlo. Took a small train around town to see the sights. Then took the bus along the Mediterranean Sea to Nice and back by train to Monaco. This was the only thing we wish we had done differently. We would get off the bus at the stop BEFORE Nice it was too big and not very appealing. The town before nice looked beautiful and easy to navigate. Can’t remember the name. Dinner in Grande dining room. -Toulon, France. Took a small train from the port around Toulon. Got off in town. Took the bus to Mt Faron and a cable car to the top of the mountain. Dinner in Red Ginger - Asian. Stayed three nights in Barcelona. Read Less

We initially chose this Cruise and ship because of the itinerary. I have always wanted to see these Mediterranean cities, towns and historic sites we have read so much about. We chose Oceania's Promenades and Palaces on the Riviera because it included a visit to Valletta in Malta, which had a family connection. Also it was at a great time of year and the weather certainly justified our choice. Well we had a marvellous time, the experience of a life time.The excursions ashore were great because they were so well-organised. But the life on-board the Riviera was just as enjoyable. The Riviera is a beautiful ship with all the facilities one could need, but a highlight for us was the amazing service everyone received from every single staff member who simply couldn't do enough for you. The ship's reputation as having the best cuisine on the seas is undisputed after our trip. The atmosphere on the ship allowed us to make many new friends from a range of countries. I would recommend the Riviera to anyone. Peter McCudden (Australia) Read Less

This was our first Oceania cruise after having travelled with Carnival, Princess and Royal Caribbean previously. We had been to a couple of Oceania events where they spoke highly about their food and said it was the best at sea. The food on our cruise was not as good as they claimed. Some cuts of meat were very fatty, almost inedible (even at Jaques and the Polo grill) . A pad-thai in the main dining room was horrible and some ice creams had so little flavour, we couldn't tell what they were supposed to be. On the other hand, some food was really good and we loved the Illy Crema at Baristas. There is a well equipped gym, a free sauna and steam room and a jogging track. Art classes and craft sessions were very enjoyable. There is a well stocked library and there are free self-serve laundries with washing, drying and ironing facilities. As we found with other first time Oceania cruisers, we all overpacked formal clothing and didn't bring enough casual clothes. Except for dining rooms at dinner time, t-shirts (or polo shirts) and shorts or jeans were all that were required. Some entertainment was really good. The ships' singers and dancers were good and the magician was very entertaining. The service on the ship was great, there were staff everywhere and they were very helpful and friendly. Most of our shore excursions were fine. They were all Oceania tours. The only problem was that not enough time was allocated to look around museums or visit other attractions. We may go on another Oceania cruise in the future. Maybe we will wait to see what their new Allura class ships will be like. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the luxurious rooms and service, and the smaller number of people on board. We were very pleased with the service and accommodations, the food was superb in every restaurant, and the amenities such as spa, exercise room, butler service, etc was exceptional. We couldn’t ask for a better ship and crew. Our butler was extremely knowledgeable and helpful to us. All of the staff on the ship were very accommodating and pleasant at all times. We really felt like they were genuine in their actions. We took a cooking class and had a lot of fun learning how to cook Mediterranean food. The restaurants were exceptional and all gave a top class experience from the wait staff, food, wine, etc. the travel overnight to the next port was a great way to move from port to port each day. The embarking to port was easy and usually close to town for walking or catching a taxi. The tours were well planned and easy to access. A few shorter tours at each port (2-3 hours) would have been helpful to add to the tour options. Overall the cruise was exceptional and I will consider other cruises on Oceania! Read Less

In summary: - mainly cold og luke warm food in most restaurants - totally un-usable internet, and only one user at the time per stateroom - not acceptable in 2019 - Insulting missing invitation to captains coctail . although I have sailed with this ship twice before -they have no clue about former guests . a lot of errors in pour group booking, ended up in costing us over 600 USD extra - no will to sort this either from the ship og from the cruise line - arrogant reception crew - totally unsocial captain - Furniture too big for dining room - lest no room for walking in between Ship came from dock, and the cleanliness in the cabins was way below par - also a lot of noncense with the extra drink package that our group were promised - this cruise line are not keeping to their word. We were 44 people in our group - we will not travel with this cruise line again! Read Less

As repeat Regent users we thought we’d give a try to its sister company, understanding that given the larger size of Oceania vessels we would have a somewhat different experience. We had heard that the food and beverage in particular was considered superior to Regent’s. Most emphatically that is not the case. Oceania’s larger variety does not mean better quality offerings and definitely not better service. With the exception of Toscana and Jacques, meals throughout were average. With the exception of the Illy Baristas coffee bar, the quality of coffee elsewhere is remarkably uneven and poor. Overall, the sincere, uniform warmth and attentiveness ever present in Regent’s staff is glaringly absent here. And while this is not to say that Riviera’s service is poor, it can best be described as 4-star vs the Regent’s consistent 5 stars. The experience for independent cruisers is diminished by the proliferation of groups on board Riviera. Will stay with Regent or Crystal after this failed experiment with Oceania. Read Less

This is my second cruise, aboard the same ship Riviera. However it was my first time as a solo traveler. The ship itself and everything included in it was wonderful! However, the service was very poor. As a solo traveler, I was virtually ignored when it came to service. So badly so, that after the first two reservations in the specialty restaurants, I cancelled my future reservations since I did not want to go through such treatment again. If you are seated by yourself, you will be waited on, eventually. But only after you say something to the Manager. Even after that the service will be slow, the wine steward will not wait on you, and forget having your water refilled or even asking you if you would like dessert. They make it obvious that Oceania simply does not want you there as a solo. In the buffet it was not much better. You serve yourself and always have to get your own drinks. For several days I would get my own water and coffee and then a head waiter saw me doing this .and asked if he could help. I explained to him that I knew if I wanted anything I would have to get it myself. He was apologetic, but full of excuses as to why I was ignored. After that, I did notice a small improvement in the service. I can only assume he must have said something to the staff. This treatment was everywhere on the ship. Everywhere!! If you were seated by yourself, you were ignored. I did find a bartender that was the complete opposite and treated me like everyone else, so there were exceptions. But if you are a solo, do not travel on Oceania. Read Less

We booked this cruise as it included four countries we previously hadn't visited: Cuba, Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala. The timing worked well to have some family join us on this 7-night cruise. I would note that we are Oceania loyalists based on the cuisine, quality of the ships and their excellent crews, as well as the vast assortment of 7-12 day cruises on offer work for our busy lifestyle (in our early 40s and both working full-time). We're always being asked about being the youngest passengers on the ship (we are both fit and look like we're in our 30s), and our response is always "what's not to like, great vacations with interesting fellow passengers". One more disclosure - I'm Gluten Free (GF) and LOVE the way that Oceania tends to my dietary restrictions. Taking the stress out of eating all over the world is a game changer for me knowing that I can always have a safe breakfast and dinner in every port. This was our second time on Riviera and we really love this ship. The size works for us with the additional restaurants, cooking school, larger Baristas with great views, and larger cabins across all categories. We've previously sailed on Insignia and enjoyed the intimacy of the smaller ship but the PH cabins on these R-class ships are the size of standard veranda cabins on Riviera/Marina. The PH cabins on Riviera are as nice as our PH on a previous Regent SS Voyager cruise. On this cruise we took a cooking class "If it Swims" and really loved the class and the instructor - Stephanie Hersh. Stephanie was the long-time assistant of Julia Child and had great stories and a depth of knowledge that was greatly appreciated by everyone on the ship who interacted with her. We enjoyed the "La Cuisine Bourgeois" in La Reserve with wine pairings. We love the La Reserve team and the effort they put into these dinners. We also stopped in for a wine flight and they had excellent nibbles to go with that made it worth the supplement. The one thing we would do differently on the next Riviera/Marina cruise would be to go back to a PH on Deck 11. Being one of only 4 PHs on Deck 7 (all aft with huge balconies which is why we chose our cabin for this warm weather cruise) we felt a bit neglected as we rarely saw our butler. We also note that while it's not a written policy, passengers in suites tend to be seated at better tables in the restaurants. We noticed that unlike our previous cruises we found ourselves with less prime tables when giving a cabin number starting with '7' than '11' at the host stands. When I read Oceania reviews it seems like a lot of folks complain about NCL's ownership economizing on-board. I would note that it does seem like there's a bit less staffing in the MDR and around the pool, but we haven't noticed any other negative changes. We haven't noticed any cost-cutting in the food or prices for the wines by the bottle which are the key for us. I do wonder if Oceania will feel the need to match the included beer/wine with meals offered by Azamara and Viking as these main competitors have Oceania beat in this category. Read Less