Honest Updates on Riviera

We've only done 3 cruises and two of them were on Riviera in 2013 & 2014 - Mediterranean. Absolutely loved it and we have just booked again to do the Caribbean on the 8th March 2018 for 10 days. We have friends who have cruised Oceania (no word of a lie) 50 times. Apparently since Oceania have been brought out "they are really bad .. toilets are filthy bad food service under staffed... we're never going back ..." I read through a lot of forums today and food was discussed a lot saying how average it was. When we were on her in 2013/14 the food was sensational. So am I asking peoples reviews over the last few months what the Riviera is like now.

What do your friends with 50 cruises say? Since you know them, I would trust their opinion over that of strangers you never met.

JMO

We were just on Marina. It was spotless. The food was exceptional. (Try preparing truly superb food for 1100 guests 3 X per day.). Not many can do it. I don't imagine Riviera is much different.

We were just on Marina. It was spotless. The food was exceptional. (Try preparing truly superb food for 1100 guests 3 X per day.). Not many can do it. I don't imagine Riviera is much different.

Good point!

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We were just on Marina. It was spotless. The food was exceptional. (Try preparing truly superb food for 1100 guests 3 X per day.). Not many can do it. I don't imagine Riviera is much different.

As I said cruised Riviera twice and as I said the food was sensational, just wanting to inquire on this site if the standard is still as high as I experienced it. By the reviews I read it sounded like the quality isn't as good. I thank you for your feedback. That's reassuring.

What do your friends with 50 cruises say? Since you know them, I would trust their opinion over that of strangers you never met.

JMO

Yes I do value their opinion but I also like to listen to hear what other people have to say. Thank you for yours.

Yes it is my first post as I don't normally asks questions I just research and make my own judgement. However, our friends mentioned it and I was taken back because I have already booked and paid for our cruise so I wanted to hear other peoples opinions - which is what I thought the site was for. I also read the reviews on this site about the food. I didn't even look at another cruise line to do the Caribbean as I loved the Riviera but when you are told that it is terrible (and they are on there right at this moment) I got worried. So this is why I am here asking.

We have just been on Riviera in the Med and had a wonderful cruise. Food was great. Service was great. We have done 13 Oceania cruises and find their attention to hygiene is very very high. Even tissues in public toilets to use to open the exit door! No one allowed to serve themselves at the buffets. Sounds like a different ship that your friends were on. If you have a grievance on board, they will rectify it immediately if at all possible. No good wingeing afterwards. We have been on most of the top lines and keep returning to Oceania. Their only difference is it is not all inclusive but packages can be bought. Be interested to hear other comments.

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We have just been on Riviera in the Med and had a wonderful cruise. Food was great. Service was great. We have done 13 Oceania cruises and find their attention to hygiene is very very high. Even tissues in public toilets to use to open the exit door! No one allowed to serve themselves at the buffets. Sounds like a different ship that your friends were on. If you have a grievance on board, they will rectify it immediately if at all possible. No good wingeing afterwards. We have been on most of the top lines and keep returning to Oceania. Their only difference is it is not all inclusive but packages can be bought. Be interested to hear other comments.

 

 

 

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Thank you for your feedback. As I mentioned we're not experienced cruisers and cruised Oceania twice out of our 3. You have just re-assured me of the experience that we had. I was just asking if there may have been any other issues. Our friends are currently on the Riveria where they encounted their issues. Thank you.

Yes, there are reviews for Riviera over on the Reviews board that mention going downhill since NCL merge. Nautica and Sirens have some very negative ones. Interesting that in general O is getting 4.5 stars on their reviews - The same as alot of the mass market lines. I'm thinking maybe the good reviewers don't feel the need to post?

We just disembarked the Riviera and that was our 10th cruise on Oceania and we have another booked on Marina for next year. The food has gone downhill from previous cruises but is still very good. I found a noticeable difference at Waves and the Terrace Cafe (buffet). Someone who has never sailed with Oceania wouldn't even detect a change. On our port intensive cruise they closed the Grand Dining Room 4 out of 7 days for lunch which is something they rarely did in the past. They did not extend the Terrace Cafe hours so the buffet was very crowded and so was Waves. Perhaps your friends can comment on this aspect since it did effect service. The cabin service as always was excellent and our minor problems with the AC and toilet was taken care of immediately. The bathrooms were clean as was the rest of the ship.

We were on the Riviera in the Med two weeks ago and found everything to be wonderful. This was our sixth trip on the Riviera and saw no change in service. We had dinner in all the restaurants except the GDR, and the food was as fabulous as ever. Yes, the GDR was closed for lunch on this port intensive trip, but the Terrace handled the lunch hour beautifully. There are no complaints from us and we did book again for next June.

We had several bad experiences with food on Riviera in 2014 long before NCL took over

I blame the cooks not the food itself

Maybe some long time cruisers see the same menus on all the cruises so this is downhill in their eyes

we have sailed other ships of Oceania & see no difference if it was going downhill we did not see it

On a port day where there are tours to far away places from the ship the GDR does close ..no point in having staff stand around for a dozen people left onboard that want to dine there

YMMV

Terrier1,

You say:

"The food has gone downhill from previous cruises but is still very good. I found a noticeable difference at Waves and the Terrace Cafe (buffet). "

Can you be more specific? I don't understand what has gone 'downhill' about the food.

Terrier1,

 

You say:

"The food has gone downhill from previous cruises but is still very good. I found a noticeable difference at Waves and the Terrace Cafe (buffet). "

 

 

Can you be more specific? I don't understand what has gone 'downhill' about the food.

Basically cost cutting measures but the food was still good. At Waves there use to be a selection of different mixed salads (ie corn, rice, etc) that changed daily in addition to the green salad. This time there was lettuces and a few bowls of items like peppers etc that you could add to the lettuce. Much like a salad bar in a chain restaurant. The hamburgers were much much thinner and not juicy like they use to be. My Reuben was very thin and not on the thick marbled bread. The Reubens used to be so thick you needed a fork and knife. The panini was thin and the prosciutto wasn't the good parma kind and only one slice. The eggs benedict used to be the best around and now they are tasteless.This sounds picky and weird but add them all together and there is definitely a change from when we sailed in the past.

Our tours would end just as the Terrace Cafe was about to close so it was very crowded and we ended up eating mostly at Waves since the GDR was closed. I had the veal cutlet (that's what the little place card said it was) at the Terrace Cafe and it was like a leather shoe sole - very dry and difficult to cut. The specialty restaurants are the same as always - very good.

The desserts and bread are the best around anywhere. Oceania really excels in these areas. They use high quality ingredients. Their gnocchi are the best anywhere.

Unrelated to food we noticed cost cutting when we decided to take the ship shuttle into Valencia. We had been there twice before with Oceania and the shuttles were always available. This time there was huge lines even though we took our time and got off the ship after the mad dash. Many people were very frustrated and got off the line and took cabs since the wait was so long and the buses only held about 40 people. It turns out that Oceania only hire 2 buses.

We like Oceania a lot and are sailing again with the line in 2018. However, in my opinion things have changed since the NCL merger.

 

On a port day where there are tours to far away places from the ship the GDR does close ..no point in having staff stand around for a dozen people left onboard that want to dine there

 

YMMV

Not to mention to have all that food ready for the MDR and then throw it away (it's not the same menu as the Terrace) :(

Basically cost cutting measures but the food was still good. At Waves there use to be a selection of different mixed salads (ie corn, rice, etc) that changed daily in addition to the green salad. This time there was lettuces and a few bowls of items like peppers etc that you could add to the lettuce. Much like a salad bar in a chain restaurant. The hamburgers were much much thinner and not juicy like they use to be. My Reuben was very thin and not on the thick marbled bread. The Reubens used to be so thick you needed a fork and knife. The panini was thin and the prosciutto wasn't the good parma kind and only one slice. The eggs benedict used to be the best around and now they are tasteless.This sounds picky and weird but add them all together and there is definitely a change from when we sailed in the past.

 

 

Our tours would end just as the Terrace Cafe was about to close so it was very crowded and we ended up eating mostly at Waves since the GDR was closed. I had the veal cutlet (that's what the little place card said it was) at the Terrace Cafe and it was like a leather shoe sole - very dry and difficult to cut. The specialty restaurants are the same as always - very good.

 

 

The desserts and bread are the best around anywhere. Oceania really excels in these areas. They use high quality ingredients. Their gnocchi are the best anywhere.

 

Unrelated to food we noticed cost cutting when we decided to take the ship shuttle into Valencia. We had been there twice before with Oceania and the shuttles were always available. This time there was huge lines even though we took our time and got off the ship after the mad dash. Many people were very frustrated and got off the line and took cabs since the wait was so long and the buses only held about 40 people. It turns out that Oceania only hire 2 buses.

 

We like Oceania a lot and are sailing again with the line in 2018. However, in my opinion things have changed since the NCL merger.

Thanks; it is specifics like these that are helpful; they are neither picky or weird but establish that you are a discriminating eater and your opinion is worth taking seriously.

We completed our 10th cruise on Oceania (on the Riveria) in March and it was excellent as usual. We booked our 11th next year. Our assessment is that O keeps improving.

Basically cost cutting measures but the food was still good. At Waves there use to be a selection of different mixed salads (ie corn, rice, etc) that changed daily in addition to the green salad. This time there was lettuces and a few bowls of items like peppers etc that you could add to the lettuce. Much like a salad bar in a chain restaurant. The hamburgers were much much thinner and not juicy like they use to be. My Reuben was very thin and not on the thick marbled bread. The Reubens used to be so thick you needed a fork and knife. The panini was thin and the prosciutto wasn't the good parma kind and only one slice. The eggs benedict used to be the best around and now they are tasteless.This sounds picky and weird but add them all together and there is definitely a change from when we sailed in the past.

 

.

Things that I have noticed as far as food goes is that the steaks in Polo are not as consistently good as they used to be. I really miss the lobster salad that was frequently served in the Terrace - I haven't seen it in some time. I think there may be some cutting back on staff - most noticeable in the Terrace.

I don't know if any of this is related in any way to NCL merger or just cutting back a bit with the cost of everything going up. I suspect it is true to some extent on all cruise lines.

That said, O is still our cruise line of choice by far and the food overall is still very good to excellent. Until I find a line that we like better or until things really go downhill, we are sticking with O :)

ETA - we do cruise occasionally on other lines for itinerary.

Not to mention to have all that food ready for the MDR and then throw it away (it's not the same menu as the Terrace) :(

Most of the excursions on this Med cruise were morning half days since several of the sail times were at 4 pm. The Terrace Cafe was mobbed when all the tours arrived back at the ship around the same time. Same with Waves.

Thanks; it is specifics like these that are helpful; they are neither picky or weird but establish that you are a discriminating eater and your opinion is worth taking seriously.

Thanks. Just another item that came to mind. Drinks are very expensive and keep going up every year. There are two happy hours a day where you can can get two drinks for the price of one. There is one Captain's night per cruise where the drinks are free and if you are a repeater there is a get together for those with free drinks. Note that the cheapest beer is Budweiser and costs $7.50 plus 18% gratuity. Cheapest bottle of red or white wine was $44.54 (included the 18%). We had a large OBC so it covered our drinking on this relatively short 7 day cruise. Normally we purchase a good bottle of local wine and pay the $25 corkage fee. You get a quality wine and costs less than Oceania's "house" bottle. Enjoy your cruise.

Terrier1,

Thanks. Very helpful to understand your context.

Thanks. Just another item that came to mind. Drinks are very expensive and keep going up every year. There are two happy hours a day where you can can get two drinks for the price of one. There is one Captain's night per cruise where the drinks are free and if you are a repeater there is a get together for those with free drinks. Note that the cheapest beer is Budweiser and costs $7.50 plus 18% gratuity.

That is quite a jump for BUD it was only $5.50 in 2016 :eek:

DH drinks Newcastle I wonder how much that is now

That is quite a jump for BUD it was only $5.50 in 2016 :eek:

 

DH drinks Newcastle I wonder how much that is now

I was quite surprised at the increase. A Guiness was $9.50 if memory serves me correct.

I was quite surprised at the increase. A Guiness was $9.50 if memory serves me correct.

Maybe it is so people that buy 1 or 2 drinks subsidized the packages :)