We have had excellent trips on Oceania and were on the Riviera three years ago. We had particularly enjoyed the food and the very excellent service from a dedicated and well trained staff so we eagerly chose Oceania/Riviera again. Unfortunately, Oceania had been bought over by NCL recently and the change in management was very evident. The food was still very good to excellent, the cabin category we chose, penthouse 1 was still very well appointed, clean and comfortable. What was really different was the quality of the service. We had always been impressed by the helpfulness, kindness, speed and efficiency of the Oceania service. The NCL management seems to be saving on staff. Everywhere, the staff was rushed, harassed and seemingly uncomfortable. In the Terrace and Grand dining room, the service was seriously understaffed leading not only to longer wait times for food delivery but also to less personal attention. On earlier trips, Terrace staff immediately would see me, an older person, and rush to carry my plates. On this last trip, that happened only occasionally - perhaps not because of the service staff but because they were all rushed off their feet most of the time. Friendly chats with staff which we had enjoyed on earlier trips were really not possible. The housekeeping staff did their jobs very well but it took longer for cabins to be cleaned in mornings because there didn't seem to be enough of them to do the job. And, finally it seemed to us that many of the staff no longer had happy, smiling faces but seemed to be unhappy, going through the motions of service while counting the days to their next home leave. NCL has a different philosophy of cruise ship management catering to a different and younger clientele but applying the same criteria to Oceania has led to a downgraded service. We are not sure if we will choose Oceania again Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. All of the cities were places of interest to us and we had not visited them before. We took advantage of the pre cruise add on. Our hotel, Le Germaine, in Montreal had just re-opened after an update. The update is quite modern, think chairs hanging on chain from the ceiling. The hotel is in an ideal location for walking to downtown. The bed was comfortable, shower large and wonderful, and the staff could not have been any better. The pre cruise itinerary enabled us to tour not only Montreal but also Ottawa. Oceania had quick embarkation and fast delivery of our luggage. The Riviera cabin with a veranda was perfect for us. The furnishings were standard but the linens and towels were pristine and new. Our cabin attendants, Suresh and Wilmer, kept our room cleaned and the refrigerator stocked at times when we were out, so we never knew they were even around. Our short conversations with Wilmer were pleasant and his smile and friendliness made him a standout in our mind. This was a very casual cruise with no formal night. Most of the female cruisers dressed in slacks and nice tops for dinners. A very few wore a dress. Men don't need to pack even a sports jacket. Laundry use of washers and dryers was free and detergent was supplied. Had I known, I would have packed less. Dining at the specialty restaurants was excellent, as was the service. We especially loved the Red Ginger and were lucky to get 2 nights there. The watermelon and crispy duck salad and the Sea Bass entree were outstanding. Check with restaurant reservations to see if there is room to add extra to your 4. Thanks to Oceania for including the specialty restaurants without an uncharge. Loved lunching at the Waves Grill. A main Dining Room tip: orders at shared tables will not be taken until the table is full. Entertainment was mostly very good. There was one magician that we didn't like due to the shrill yelling kind of delivery he had. He might have been a great magician but his delivery made the magic go away. One comedian was great the first night but a following night had too many "fart" jokes to be funny. Yes, our crowd was old-er but come on. Boutique options were limited. I was interested in the perfumes etc. at one shop. I observed that the clerk was quite friendly with the 2 customers in front of me. However, when I stepped up and asked questions, I felt that I was treated almost rudely by said clerk and not a valued customer. Perhaps I didn't have the look of $$ ? We loved all the ports that we visited but think the ship excursions were over priced. EX: 2 hour walking tour at 119.00 per person! Book from a local or go on your own at most places and you will do so much better than the Oceania excursions. The only exception was the 2 day hop on in NYC. I thought that one was reasonable. On tender days the wait to get off was terribly long. One day we didn't get off until noon. There must be a more efficient way for this. Disembarking was swift, our luggage was gone from in front of our cabin the night before to claim before boarding our bus to the airport. We did so enjoy our trip but would caution that this was a ship of elderly persons. This is not a cruise for children. I would not recommend it for those who are looking for lots of shipboard fun. There were daily Mensa quizzes, trivia, bean bag toss, golf, an art scavenger hunt, and a few other activities. Perhaps this was in part to the ports and time of year. I don't know about Caribbean experiences on Oceania. Enjoy your trip! PS. Points were given for joining in on the quizzes, trivia, etc. At the end of the trip there was a point redemption for awesome items. I scored a fleece lined windbreaker, t shirt, and purse holder! Read Less

Food was great, excellent maid service and friendly professional wait staff. Lousy wifi connectivity; we had to go to computer area to complete this review. On shore excursions were less than adequate. Cliff Walk and Breakers in Newport was good and allowed for time on your own in Breakers mansion. PEI tour of Coastal Charms was too long -- stopping for 45 minutes at souvenir shop not desirable. Travel lectures were extremely disappointing, Information presented in a rambling, disorganized fashion providing very little real guidance or background history. Ship is beautiful and has a variety of areas for eating and enjoying the time traveling. Dining was great and food exceeded expectations. Entertainment also exceeded expectations: the string quartet was fabulous, professional and very enjoyable. The Riviera Show team was fantastic, extremely talented and delightful. Comedienne was very good both evenings and also in the afternoon session. Comedian was good but use of bathroom humor was overdone and in poor taste. Major credit to Oceania captain and crew for change in itinerary because of bad weather in Bar Harbor. Change allowed us a beautiful fall day in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly even when port required use of tenders. Read Less

We chose this cruise because it was stopping at Bordeaux for 2 nights. We were in a Concierge cabin and enjoyed our cruise apart from a few concerns. In the pas we have always had bottled mineral water which we prefer.but now they are offering their own bottled Filtered water (Vero). Not quite the same! We decided to take advantage of the free laundry service. This was a disaster as the items were returned with yellow stains! They offered to reimburse us with onboard spend for one of the badly stained items. This we felt was unacceptable so they refunded on the last day via our final bill.This was a 14 day cruise and we were only offered 4 Speciality Dining reservations which is the same as for a 7 day cruise. We found at these restaurants that unless you agreed to share a table you had to accept a later booking and often missed the shows which were mainly good. Most of the excursions were good apart from the Wine tasting in a vineyard at St Emillion. We were only offered two small amounts of the same wine from different years! Our cabin attendant kept our cabin very clean and looked after us well. Also, the ship docked very near the centre of Bordeaux which was great. We still like the ship but were disappointed with some of the things mentioned above 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

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

Caribbean snorkeling cruise. Great space in the penthouse suite. Chose for the itinerary but wish they stayed longer in Bonaire. Did not like that we had to wear a life preserver is when taking the cruises excursion to snorkel. Food was quite good but wish there was more variety as 12 days I would’ve liked to seen different choices. Overall Oceania did a great job with organization embarkation disembarkation and meeting my requests. Pre-ordered particular juices ahead of time and we did indeed get them. Privee was very good. It was our third time booking Privee and it’s a fun evening. Jaques is way too creamy and rich. How could somebody possibly ruin escargot? By smothering cheese all over it. The easiest muster we ever did...thanks for that, luggage arrived by the time we entered suite... Crew friendly and helpful. Bingo run well until too many people ....had to stand in line for 30 min to purchase cards...unacceptable...Should have had several stations or areas to purchase cards to avoid long lines. Read Less

My wife and I were underwhelmed the first few days,,,inconsistent service ,food and entertainment.not much effort into celebrating xmas,,,but much improvement in the second week,,,New Years eve celebrations were great,,entertainment went to the next level,,,food improved,,except for the tough meat in Polo restaurant,,strange mix of very old and infirm passengers ,Europeans,wealthy Americans,Brits and Australians,,,generally an interesting and fun crowd .we intend to give Oceania another chance to impress,but not over Xmas and new year.We found the staff to be gracious,well mannered,well dressed and happy to assist in any way,,,sometimes in the face of some very rude passengers (unfortunately).Disembakation was a mess,because the ship was two hours late on arrival,not the ship’s fault .Reservation system for the specialty restaurants seem to work fine,,so long as you got the the reservation desk early on any particular day.we both thought Toscanna was far and away the best restaurant,,the lobster pasta was to die for! Read Less

We chose this cruise because we haven’t been to the Canary Is., and were looking forward to visiting. As explained earlier, we still haven’t visited them.. The Captain Did the right thing by avoiding the 70ft waves that hit Tenerife. The Company did the wrong thing by not crediting our accounts or offering some compensation for the missed ports and fuel savings. it was also wrong to not totally reimburse passengers for the price of booked tours. Embarkation and disembarkation were handled efficiently. We will not let Oceania book our airfare again. this was their second chance. this time we travelled for 21 hours joining the ship in Barcelona from Phoenix. we actually enjoyed the 8 sea days with no schedules to keep or ABC tours to take. did a bus tour on our own in Malaga, a very lovely town. entertainment on board was to our liking. Yes, the production company is young. But, unlike some, the singers can indeed dance, and the dancers also can sing. a few flat notes here and there. If you want Broadway caliber, those BIG ships or Broadway are the Place for you. all on board staff, except one front desk guy seems to be happy doing their jobs and were very kind. We did meet two women who enjoyed soaking In their tubs. Most of us wish the showers had taken the place of those tubs which just took up valuable space. How small? well, If you dropped your soap you had to open the door to be able to bend down and retrieve it. Hubby says this is the best food at sea, Regent is right there in the running too.we enjoyed all the specialty restaurants. Food at Jacques, as you may guess, is very rich. the main dining room offers a fine selection each meal as well as the waves grill and the big buffet. the special brunch buffet featured all the ice carvings and specialty desserts, and beautiful fruit and.vegie displays. Read Less

We chose this cruise primarily by the ports of call and the reviews re the onboard food. We struggled after booking with understanding the extra costs-primarily alcohol, very expensive, and gratuity on the alcohol (18%) The “extras” on our room were $16 per day each which we were told we could change without problem by visiting reception; I had researched about this beforehand. We had decided to reduce this and pay at the end to the staff in cash whom we had had excellent service from. Well we were looked at at reception like we were dirt on someone’s shoe to say the least. Maybe cruise lines need to understand that some people do a “once in a lifetime” trip and save up exhaustively and that they should be respected as much as their (in this case American) counterparts. On a positive, (perhaps I should have written this first but am still a bit sore) excellent, friendly staff who can’t do enough for you. You can also tell that they all have a good relationship too. Amazing food but difficult to get into their specialty restaurants . Pool a bit too small and just had passengers sitting around the edge drinking. Very good gym but some equipment out of order for whole trip. Smooth embarkation and disembarkation. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary and the amenities. The passenger age definitely skews to the over 60 crowd. The food was among the best we have ever had on a cruise ship. The specialty restaurants offered a good variety of dishes. The Italian and French restaurants were the better of the 4. As New Yorkers, we have no shortage of good steakhouses or Asian restaurants so the bar is high. Food at the buffet was very good. Our only complaint was that they served the same entree (suckling pig) 3 nights in a row at the end of the cruise. The Oceania special excursions are very good. The other excursions are no different from any other cruise line. The cruise director is useless. The entertainment (or lack thereof) is limited to the stock "tributes to" variety. A comedian would have been nice. The WIFI was HORRIBLE. Do not pay for the enhanced WIFI, it is no better. Service was excellent. The staff was cheery and accommodating. Our butler Francis was a true gentleman. The buffet is not self service which is a good thing as you don't have to worry about passengers touching the food. Read Less

This was the first time going on Oceania. It was a Travelzoo deal and I thought it was a good price. I found out later that maybe it wasn't as good of a deal as I thought. Some people got upgrades and it was also their first time on the cruise. My travel agent (based in Vancouver) was pleasant. Sometimes, it takes a few days for her to reply. Sometimes she would request that I contact Oceania directly. When I tried that, I was told he cannot help me because the travel agent booked that. That kind of irked me a bit. I don't like being shuttled back and forth. You have to book your excursions, cooking courses, and speciality restaurants online. I found it quite annoying. Firstly, they don't tell you that there is no cost to the speciality restaurant bookings. I had to call them to find this out. There are four speciality restaurants and you are only allowed to book each restaurant ONCE. however, you may be lucky and be able to walk-in and get a seat. Most of the seating is groups which is kind of annoying. They need more two seating tables. The speciality restaurants are okay. I cannot say the food was anything to write home about. My favourite was Toscana. I didn't really care too much for Jacques. I was reading reviews after my trip. It said that "seasoned Oceania passengers know not to book excursions". Well, live and learn. They have three different pricing online and there is NO explanation to the pricing. All you get is "your pricing will be determined at the end". I found out later that if you accept the "free six excursions", it really is 3 excursions each and it only applies to the CHEAP excursions that are not necessarily "Oceania Select (OS)" or "Oceania Exclusive (OE)". you get the picture. If I knew that (because it was not explained whatsoever), I would have taken the $600 shipboard credit instead! Nevertheless, I found oceania was a bit sneaky about the pricing on excursions. The flat rate of $879 for 8 tours or more only applies to non-OE and non-OS and has other exclusions. It was also not listed on the website that you don't need to book excursions to get in the cities. Some ports are so close to the city and provide free shuttles. The free shuttles were not mentioned as an option on their website booking. Again, Oceania does not tell you how far you are from the city to make an informed decision of going with a tour or venture on your own. And the tours are not necessarily of an excellent calibre. We visited: Valencia - do NOT join a tour. go venture on your own Palma de Mallorca - we actually were out of the city and in a neighbouring town - tour wasn't bad. we did "valldemosa and soller" tour Messina, Italy - we did "Taormina and greek theatre tour". Again, tour was ok. more of a shopping trip than anything Sorrento/Capri - we went to see Pompeii. enjoyed that. Tour guide was good Rome - the port was an hour away from city, so you have no choice to pay for the ride there. If I had to do it again, I would rather they drop me in the city and go venture on your own Florence/pisa - again, port is 1.5 hours away so you have no choice but to pay for the ride there. Again, I would rather have been dropped in the city than doing a tour. Monte Carlo - we did the tour "jewels Cote D'azur". We visited three areas and enjoyed this long day. Marseilles - I would not take a tour and just take the free shuttle into the city. Staff in general are smiling, polite and nice. There were a few staff members who were sarcastic that I did not care for. It's a small boat. The passengers we met during the dinners were in general nice. However, just like everywhere you still meet some nasty personalities. The Terrace Cafe and Grill close after 2 pm to prepare for dinner. So, there's a mad rush for those individuals on a half day excursion to get back to eat. I wish they would be open longer. You can get room service, but it's hit or miss (also free). My petit filet and sushi was the most tasteless dishes I have ever had. Beware of buying alcohol. They don't tell you the prices of your drinks. My husband got a double whiskey. We were shocked to see a $48 US bill for this. The bottle itself purchased in Canada would have been 80$. Our deal was free water/softdrinks/juices - so that was good. The boat does something called "Big O Points". You have a choice. You either go on the excursions or stay on the boat the whole day to try and wrack up O points. you either get 1, 2, 3 points playing games or trivia. Let's say it is very hard trying to get these points and balancing with the excursions. to redeem, depends on the boat. Ours needed at least 20 points to get anything. And if you had a few points leftover, they don't offer you a small freebie. They just say keep for next time or give to a friend. And these O points are NOT transferable to other boats. You would have to travel on another Riveria cruise to use it, which is ridiculous. You would think they would want you to travel more on their different boats. Canyon Ranch. Do not be like me and book in advance or immediately upon boarding. I was annoyed that later on to drum up business, they started giving discounts on facials and massages. There are also no package deals. Everything was a la carte. They also didn't tell you about the free amenities - steam room, sauna, etc. Beware of the VAT. Even though it's an American boat, if you buy on the boat in Europe, you will be charged the VAT. and if you want to try and get the VAT at the Barcelona airport, you better go ONE hour ahead of your normal time. You line up to get a stamp and if you want your cash, you line up again to get the cash after you pass security. Tv shows and movies are better than celebrity, but they do a lot of re-runs and the pickings are slim by the end of the cruise. The cabins are beautiful. They are much better than Celebrity. They are also bigger. I didn't care too much for the Bulvia products. Other than the name, it's not better than any no-name brand. Read Less

This was our first cruise on Riviera, our second on Oceania. Our previous Oceania was the Nautica, and our cabin had been a disappointment. Our apprehensions were dismissed the moment we entered our cabin on Riviera. It was a very good size, and most importantly, the bathroom was much much better than the airplane-size bathroom on Nautica. No 'Psycho' shower but a full bathtub and separate shower. Yay! The ship is beautiful, I spent some time going through the ship to view all the beautiful artwork. Most amazing is how quiet the ship is; our cabin was on deck 8 midship and we never heard a sound ; we had to look out to check if we had docked or sailed away. The only reason I didn't give full marks is the entertainment and sound system in the cabins. I had the same complaint on Nautica and I was given the same lame excuse that Oceania buys its entertainment system from a provider and this is what they provide (!). The TV is old non-hd technology. The sound is terrible and the picture is so blurred you can't read the credits at the end of a film. There is no docking station for your phone, or bluetooth that would allow you to listen to your music. Unlike in most hotels nowadays, you can't access your account information. There was a Grand Slam tennis tournament going on, but no station to view it. There are only 3 news channels: MSNBC and FOX, and, thankfully, BBC World, a welcome relief from 24-hour US-centered news. It is time Oceania followed the competition into the 21st century, all the rest of the cruise is such a wonderful experience. Read Less

My wife and I generally travel on the luxury lines and decided to try Oceania for the first time in 9 years. We booked well in advance and chose the 100 square foot Oceania suite which was on the stern of the ship on deck 11. In over 20 cruises in the past 10 years, this was far and away the best cabin that we have had. Service by the butler and stewardess was excellent. Booking the large suite came with lots of perks such as double the number of specialty restaurants, meaning that we only ate dinner in the main dining room 2 or 3 times. We did eat many breakfast and lunches there and found that the staff quickly knew us by name and gave us excellent service. Oceania provides guests with a key card indicating the room category and we felt that much of the service was recognizing us from the suite listed on the gold key card. Bar service was excellent as well and the specialty restaurants would have been enjoyed much more if I hadn't gotten sick ...... On the 2nd day I developed a chest cough accompanied by some minor gastric problems. In all my time cruising I had never darkened the door of the medical center and did not know what to expect. I went to the medical center and was honest about my symptoms, indicating that I was sick but not deathly sick. I did sign the release for treatment so from here on I should have no complaint, but I'll relate so others might be warned. I was given tests for everything from the flue to mono. The doctor decided I needed an IV and I was given multiple IVs over the course of the next 3 hours. I received urine and blood tests as well. The process took about 4 hours and I never inquired as to cost. My fault. I was informed to return at 6 PM for a follow up. All this made me feel better and I asked to have the IV needle removed which they had left inserted in my hand. The doctor said to leave it in in case I needed another IV - this was my warning sign that I did not heed. The next morning I returned to the medical center saying I was feeling even better. The doctor prescribed more IVs. After these, they took the IV needle out and told me to drink Gatorade, giving me 3 packs to mix. The bill was presented at the final follow up and I almost fainted. Charges for day 1 were around $3500 and day 2 was over $1400 making the charges come in just a hair under $5000. All this for a 57 year old male with slight discomfort. Medical insurance won't pay and we have never taken trip insurance which might have paid some or all of the cost. (with all our cruises we have never taken insurance and even with this bill I'm still money ahead over having taken insurance and not made claims). Lesson learned - I'll be very sick before I ever again go to the medical center. If I do have to go I'll get out my cell phone and call my personal doctor in the United States for consultation with the on board doctor. From the next trip forward we'll have a medical kit including a thermometer, some basic antibiotics, Pepto-Bismal, and perhaps some Imodium. I jokingly told my wife that I would want to take my own AED as well. In 4 or 5 days I was back to normal. The rest of the cruise brought lots of rain and bad weather, which is just bad luck. The only great day we had was the last port of Key West, perfect weather and we had returned to full health. We'll be on Oceania again, due to great service, food and room, but we'll be prepared to treat our own minor ailments. Read Less

Chose the Riviera January 2018 cruise because of its 10 day cruise. Embarkation was a disaster, taking 1 1/2 hours to get on board. Our embarkation staff was not well trained as I asked him whether he needed a credit card imprint and was told ,no. After a few days on board, we received a letter to attend at reception desk to provide credit card. What a waste of time. Very disappointing, as our May 2017 Marina cruise from Barcelona literally took minutes to embark with no hiccups. Once onboard, the staff as usual, was excellent always greeting guests with a smile. Dining in the specialty restaurants was outstanding , the Grand Dining Room also disappointed many nights with inconsistency of the entrees, with two people ordering the same item, one had tender meat the other un chewable. The staterooms are in need of refurbishment. Overall had a wonderful vacation and would return to Oceania. Read Less

My wife and I enjoy well prepared and presented food and we had heard wonderful things about Oceania's offerings so we decided to try them out for a holiday getaway. Embarkation in Miami was quick and efficient. The ship is tastefully understated and was nicely decorated for the season. Our cabin stewardess Charissa and her assistant were terrific. They seemed representative of all the staff who by and large were very friendly, attentive and provided excellent service. Oceania did provide some extra niceties for Christmas. Santa Claus and his helpers made an appearance Christmas morning to offer a small gift to every child aboard, and there were 50 on this sailing. They also left a small gift for each couple in every cabin. Overall the food was quite good. The selections in the main dining room were broad with enough variety for most any palate and the dishes were generally well prepared and nicely presented. My wife does have several dietary restrictions and on two evenings she was unable to find anything that both wet her appetite and met her dietary needs so she ordered a steak and on both occasions the meat was actually a bit chewy and really disappointing. We did of course dine in all the specialty venues and enjoyed them all immensely and we both agreed the miso glazed Sea Bass in Red Ginger was absolutely fabulous. There are two other issues we had with the food. We love salads and were both disappointed in the lack of variety of vegetables for making a really great garden salad in the buffet. Also after the Terrace Cafe closes for lunch at 2:30 there is nothing available other than sandwiches at the Wave Grill until 4:00 and then dinner isn't served until 6:30. Entertainment is the other weak link. There was one show each evening at 9:00 and while most of the performances were quiet good you had to have an early dinner or eat at the buffet to be able to make the show. We are not big drinkers; we usually have a drink before dinner and then share a bottle of wine with our food so one thing Oceania does that we quite appreciated is all the soft drinks, juices, water and specialty coffees are included. The ship is lovely, the staff is attentive, the food is mostly wonderful but the entertainment is lacking. We found our fellow cruisers pleasant but we didn't really bond with anyone like we have on other ships (Carnival, RCL, NCL, Princess, VTA & Celebrity). Did we enjoy it - yes we did. Will we sail Oceania again - probably; but not until we're less interested in evening entertainment venues. Read Less

This was our 13th cruise and thankfully proved to be not that unlucky. We had sailed on the sister ship, Marina, on a transatlantic the previous year so knew what to expect regarding the layout of the ship and the facilities. Like last time we booked a concierge stateroom, this time on deck 9, which came with a few added extras. We flew from Glasgow via Heathrow to Miami with BA on the large A380 the day before and had a trouble free flight. Meals on board were better than expected as was the room to stretch out. In flight entertainment was about average but no where near the likes of Emirates. I think the main bonus was that our luggage arrived safely because several fellow passengers were not so lucky and were still waiting on their's several days into the cruise. We had an overnight in the Marriott at Biscayne Bay, near to the cruise terminal. Large clean room with comfortable bed. Not much else around the area though but fine for 1 night. Got a groupon deal before we left for the power boat ride that leaves next to the hotel for a 30 min ride around the bay. Enjoyable but not worth the full cost. The breakfast was expensive so went to the mall next door and found a deli which sold just about everything, including my wife's favourite wine, so happy wife!! Now, as many of you will know, Oceania do a staggered embarkation according to the class of accommodation,status etc. which on our previous cruise in Manhattan went extremely well. However a few days before leaving we all got an email letting us know that the ship was being inspected by the Coastguard in the morning. Unfortunately the letter was wrongly worded and gave the impression everyone had to arrive at a certain time. Needless to say this caused mayhem and, without labouring the point, was not Oceania's finest hour. {or in this case several hours!}. Anyway, once onboard, the ship was immaculate. I really love this size of ship compared to the large floating tower blocks that are becoming the norm. The fixtures and fittings are high end and the ship oozes class! We ate in the Grand dining room on 6 occasions and once each in the 4 speciality restaurants. My favourite was Polo Grill because they got my filet mignon just the way I like it. My wife preferred Red Ginger, but to be honest all the dining was very good and no complaints with the quality of the food. We did not do any Oceania shore excursions as, apart from the excessive price, we didn’t see many we liked. We booked with local tour operators in most and did car hire in St Barts. The entertainment on the ship was mixed. The string quartet were excellent musicians but the production shows were only average at best. The comedian lost her way on several occasions and had many people up and leave I believe principally because too much of her reference material made no sense to non American’s. The daily entertainment programme was fair but the best part was the Artists Loft which my wife loved from our time on the Marina and made full use of again. Gave me time to catch up with some reading and chill! Stateroom was excellent with plenty of storage space and a separate bath and shower. My wife really enjoys a bath and with the premium salts provided it was hard to get her back out in time for dinner. The bed is the best ever and we are seriously thinking of buying it for home as have never slept so well! Due to the sea swells we never made it to the Dominican Republic but we enjoyed our time at the other ports of call. Had an easy disembarkation and then 2 nights at Miami Beach, which was way better than expected, to relax before the overnight flight home to winter! Overall, had a very good cruise experience and will be booking with Oceania again in the future. Read Less

Cruised on Riviera previously. Onboard is fantastic. Cabins service food all 5 star plus. Relaxed atmosphere and no dressing up required. Public areas are luxurious. Lots of activities appropriate to the demographic of the clientele. (The majority of passengers were clearly retired). Staff could not be more accommodating. Ports of call were uninspiring. I don't know about the excursions offered by Oceania - they are too expensive for my budget. The one we took independently on St Kitts was ok and no more. We took the cruise for the ship the food the service and the weather and we would do so again. However - embarkation in Miami was an absolute disaster. First time Oceania customers will have been put off for ever. There was no effective organisation or leadership shown at all. The elderly and disabled of whom there were many were (as far as I could see) left to fend for themselves. Quite shameful in fact. They had to stand in line for an unacceptable amount of time. I was fine - I'm a young 67 year old. I heard that it was the fault of Miami port services but I didn't pay big bucks to that body. I paid 5 grand plus to Oceania for our cruise and was expecting better. You can cruise more cheaply and you can cruise more expensively. Why would you? This is the best money can buy as far as I have experienced. Read Less

I would have rated the cruise and Oceana as a 5 if it wasn't for the cheap flight arranged with the olife option. 2 stops each way totally unacceptable. Rest of cruise wad fabulous with incredible food and excellant shows. Around the World with the singers and dancers might have been one of the best shows we have seen. Not being continually hounded to buy photos -priceless. Embarkation was a nightmare, but that was not the fault of the cruise line. Disembarkation was one of the smoothest ever. Dinners at the specialty restaurants were over the top. The Horizon lounge was warm, friendly and very comfortable. Shops are very low key with no pressure selling, although selection was limited. Our cabin was very well appointed and the bed was one of the most comfortable we have ever experienced at sea. Overall, the cruise was very memorable and we would not hesitate to recommend Oceana. Read Less

We chose this cruise on Oceania Riviera because we had read so many excellent reports regarding food etc. and we saw it at a good price for a very early booking. The cruise started from Monte Carlo so we flew out a day early and booked into a airport hotel in Nice and booked a transfer for the next day to the ship.The transfer was excellent and arranged via Get transfer..com.We were collected from our hotel and transferred arriving at the terminal at 12.30.Bag security was done on the quayside then check in was done on the ship in the concert lounge very quickly. We then were allowed to go and dine in the terrace restaurant until our cabin was ready at about 2.45pm. The cabin we reserved was a ocean view which has floor to ceiling windows ,A very nice good sized cabin ,it also had a full size bath and a shower and could not be faulted in any way.Our cabin steward was excellent all of the time. The ship is beautifully maintained and seemed to be being painted every day keeping looking perfect. Riviera is a medium sized ship but as it only carries 1200 passengers it never feels crowded,it was always easy to find sun beds on deck or seats in restaurants. The sun beds were lined with comfortable towels and in immaculate condition. As we were first timers on Oceania we were allowed 1 visit to each of the speciality restaurants which on Oceania do not carry any surcharge. Our favourite was Polo followed closely by Jacques,the food and service was excellent. We ate in the Grand dining room for breakfasts and some evening meals.here we found service varied from day to day sometimes excellant other times staff needed a bit more training . With regard to excursions this is what let's Oceania down.We have been on many cruises and we were astounded by the high prices this line charges. A seat on the coach to visit Florence and do your own thing was priced at 179US dollars per person,this is extortionate and is a influence as to whether we would travel with Oceania again as we normally go on excursions with Celebrity or P &O and they are never anything near Oceania's prices We new Oceania were not noted for entertainment and we see why. One of the problems is unless you dine before 19.30 you have very little chance of seeing the shows as there is only one show at 21.30 Disemarkcation was very well organised in Barcelona All in all we enjoyed the experience sailing on Oceania Riviera and would say several aspects we prefer Oceania to Celebrity but as we like to visit cities on excursions this will have to be considered with Oceania's sky high excursion prices. Read Less

This was our second cruise on Oceania after sailing the much smaller Insignia a year earlier. We wanted to try out all the things that the 'O Class' Ships can offer that aren't on the more intimate 'R Class' Ships including: The Culinary Center, La Reserve by Wine Spectator, Jacques, and Red Ginger. As with the smaller ship Embarkation (and Disembarkation) were a breeze. Only the Terrace Cafe is open on embarkation day for lunch, but with a noon boarding (PH and up) we found plenty of seating which was an improvement over the smaller Insignia experience where it was quite crowded and seemed understaffed. So how did we find the 'O Class' only amenities: We found the cooking lesson in The Culinary Center quite fun, though our excellent instructor struggled a bit dealing with two late comers who seemed to have had a bit too much to drink prior to class. The "Greek Cuisine" menu was inspired by our Mediterranean itinerary and included items sourced on the cruise like local olive oil from Sicily, Feta from Corfu, etc. It was definitely worth the time and money. Dinner at La Reserve with the "Connoisseur Menu w/ Wine Pairings" was an additional $389.40 for two of us. The food, wine, presentation, and dining company made for an excellent evening. This is not for everyone: picky eaters, light drinkers, and those who like to dine at a table of two should probably steer clear. Red Ginger lived up to its reputation as one of the best specialty dining options at sea with decor and service to match the excellent food. As many others have noted, Jacques just didn't wow us. Everything was well prepared, if a bit bland. With a stop every day and generally an early tour we didn't go to any shows nor did we miss them. Our cabin attendant and butler were both wonderful and kept our room clutter free and sparkling from start to finish. We hadn't anticipated using the Executive Lounge much, but found it to be a convenient place to grab a self-serve espresso in the afternoons rather than heading to the sometimes busy Barristas on Deck 14 and even used an attendant to print a few items for our trip back home. One special note is that I'm Gluten Free which is one reason why I love cruising. Oceania does an excellent job accommodating dietary requirements and provides menus for your restaurant for the following evening each day for you note what you would like and then drop it off at the MDR each morning. The system works beautifully and my wife likes getting a sneak peak at what's for dinner the next day. Read Less

Oceania lives up to its reputation for being one of the best. As a new cruise ship passenger, I would suggest more instruction on the initial embarkation. I am new to cruising and some of the people I interacted with assumed that I should know how to board they ship. Overall the experience was great. The crew onboard takes good care of you and the cabins are most comfortable. Even better than some hotel stays. The water got rough at times, but the captain gave us warnings. At the port of Sorrento, we were delayed but not notified until the time to disembark which caused confusion. Hopefully this can be avoided in the future with advance notice. Dining and entertainment on the ship was pleasing. There are dinner shows with crew members participating I hope to be on another Oceania cruise in the future. They have set the bar high. Read Less

Wanted to do a cruise going to Italy. Fabulous food, ship and crew. They couldn't have been more helpful and courteous. So easy boarding, Nice cabin, only thing is they should have made the tub a walk in shower. Shower VERY small. How many people sit in a tub on a cruise? Entertainment could have been better. Liked the fact that some of the bars had happy hours, and bartenders where quite friendly. As I said, the food was excellent. Everything I ordered was fantastic and I think they would have made anything I wanted. I went to two art classes and really appreciated the Artist in Residence, Bill Sloan. He made everyone feel like an artist and I know I am not. Very easy to understand and personable. Hate to say I never even made it to the gym, and I am a walker and gym attendee. We did so much walking on the excursions that was my exercise. Ports where great, enjoyed every one of them. Read Less

Food is still great and the strong suit of Oceania. Service was overall-great, however, the destination services people need to be reminded that cruisers paid premium prices to go on excursions and should be treated a bit nicer. Smile and be courteous- it doesn't take any extra time! We stayed in Oceania suite and our butler Binoy was outstanding. Everybody on the ship's staff was friendly ( beside the above mentioned and one pool bar manager). The real reason I even decided to post this was to mention the large increase of families who brought young ( infants through 9/10 year olds) on this trip. When reading Oceania brochures and materials, I believe you'd have to be daft to not realize this is a cruise line that caters to adults. Sorry to those who think that I'm "anti kids", I'm not, at all. However if I spend thousands of dollars to go on an adult themed cruise I don't want your children splashing me while I read quietly by the pool or running around the pool deck with dripping ice cream. I also don't need to hear them screeching and howling in Polo Grill while my wife and I try to enjoy a special dinner. All in all a lovely time but as all too frequently in our world today people think , " not our kids" or "my money my way". Read Less

On the whole, the cruise was very very good and the itinerary (which I credit Oceania with putting together) was excellent. However, for a line and ship that bill themselves as a luxury line, I just don't think they lived up to it. Our most recent cruises prior to this were with Celebrity on Solstice class ships and I found the ship experience on those better, and not necessarily because of the size. We were in a concierge veranda cabin. It was well appointed with a wide variety of storage locations to accommodate even long cruises. The double tub setup of the bathroom leaves me scratching my head a bit. It would seem that for most a larger singular shower might be more appropriate for a cabin of this size. This didn't create a negative experience, but it seems...redundant. As we were sailing next door to my parents, they requested the balconies be opened to each other which you could tell can physically be done. However, Oceania apparently has a policy preventing this. It wasn't a huge deal (though my father ran it up the chain), but is this something that only Oceania does? We have (admittedly a long time ago) had balconies opened together. Oceania bills itself as a food line, and for the most part they're correct. We ate at Toscana, Polo Grill, Jacuqes, and La Reserve. With the exception of Polo, they were great. Polo wasn't bad, but for a steak place, the steak was the poorest part of the meal which just shouldn't happen. Their buffet is also very well done and the quality (including made to order items) was fine there. Though food does blend itself into drink. We had booked the standard drink package as our perk and upgraded on day 1. For the most part this was great. It even lets you sample things that might be $25+ on the menu for "free". However, where it got a little odd was with wine by the glass. For the most part at the buffet (and at Toscana) it worked well. However, on the first day we visited the grand dining room. There, when greeted by the sommelier he tried to sell us on the value of bottles wine that "follows you around the ship". When we told him we were just going to drink by the glass, you might as well have thought we shot his dog. Now to be fair, that gentleman did fill our glasses reasonably well a few times, but (and I'm speculating here) the compensation for wine by the glass must not be anything to write home about. Some servers wouldn't even bother to swipe our card and they certainly wouldn't per-glass. This one guy though earned the nickname of "mean wine guy". It wasn't a huge thing, but because we saw him day 1 it left a bit of a bad taste in our mouths (so to speak). Other sommeliers who we talked to seemed to know exactly who we meant when we brought it up in conversation later. As far as ports go, Oceania got us there, and then we did it all ourselves. Shore excursions are overpriced from the line, so get yourself private tours instead. There were a few tender ports early in the cruise and when done port-side (as in Santorini) it worked well. When the ship was in charge, they ran out of water at the waiting line in 95 degree heat and waited 5-10 minutes for more people as we baked within the tender. They could look into a little more customer service. Related to excursions, the destination services folks were a chore to deal with. When I first talked with them about our post-cruise Oceania-booked hotel they said they didn't have anything listed for us, but that more information was "in the back". This caused us to contact our TA who called Oceania who said all was fine and that the desk people have "bad data". Sure, maybe...but isn't it their job not to have bad data? And hey, guess what, when we got to the hotel post-cruise, they couldn't find our reservations. It got sorted out (name spelling issues), but...come on. A separate issue was related to canceling an excursion after a port change. It was eventually handled by a supervisor, but the desk was less than helpful. And then later when actually getting refunds for the cancellation, the desk was abandoned during hours they were open. There was also the minor issue where they credited a refund to 2 different accounts, but again it got sorted out. Now, with all that said, everything above was a nitpick. The vacation was fun. The cruise was a great experience. I would go again. I might or might not sail Oceania again. I don't really feel the price premium is worth it (even after factoring in the food bonuses). All I'm saying is careful consider what you're looking for before you assume that the word luxury means better. Read Less