lj77346

We used the premium economy option on our Riviera cruise in late June and it was well worth the cost. We flew from the USA to Europe on Lufthansa and from Europe back to the USA on Air Canada. On both airlines, premium economy was in a separate section of the plane from regular economy. The seats were much wider, lots more leg room, earlier boarding, slightly better food (but airline food is still airline food), and what we considered a big plus - premium economy had its own bathrooms so you didn't have to compete with 100's of passengers to use the toilet, thus they were much cleaner. If memory serves me correctly, on Lufthansa there were 3 bathrooms for about 40 passengers and on Air Canada 2 bathrooms for 24 passengers. Another benefit was that these seats were close to the exit so when the plane arrived you can get off the plane quickly, which was a big help with a tight connection on our return flight.

jody75 - There was a 20% VAT on all on board purchases.

Travelcat2 - I did not notice any iris scanners.

After you get off your flight from Europe, follow the signs for transfer to US flights. Since you are "in transit" you never go through Canadian immigration. Prior to getting to US immigration/customs, you go through security. There was a separate Global Entry/NEXUS line, but make sure you have your card because when we were going through they checked before they let us into that line. By using the Global Entry line we avoided a big backup in the regular security line.

Then you get to the US immigration area where there are kiosks to get your passport information. If you have Global Entry you do your fingerprints on the scanner in the kiosk and if there are no problems, a receipt prints. Next you go to a machine that scans your boarding pass and if you have just carry on luggage and are in Global Entry, you are directed to line 3 that goes through the US customs area, hand the receipt to the agent and you're good to go to head to the gate for your connecting flight. With Global Entry and just carry on luggage we were through security, immigration, and customs in about 10 minutes. After you go through US customs, as long as you do not leave the secure area you are considered to be in the US.

The bottleneck in US customs is if you have checked luggage. In that case, after you get your immigration form you are directed to a holding area until your name comes up and your luggage is there. Then a US customs agent clears you and your luggage is transferred to your connecting flight. I'm not sure, but in that area I think there were separate lines for those in Global Entry and those not in the program. The number of people coming through at any time determines how long your wait in this area will be.

When you get off your flight from Europe, make sure you have the boarding pass for your connecting flight and passport handy. There were Canadian immigration officials waiting at the end of the jetway and you had to show your passport before they let you into the terminal. Your boarding pass gets scanned before you get into the security line. Also expect to do a lot of walking because it is unlikely that your European flight will come into a gate anywhere near your connecting flight.

Hi 'globevest" - thanks for providing info about bread pudding. It was nice speaking with you at the airport. We were happy that we were sitting in the front of the plane when we landed in Toronto. We had 45 minutes to get through immigration and customs and get to the gate (which of course was at the far end of the airport) for our connecting flight. Thanks to having only carry-on luggage and being in the Global Entry program, we were able to zip through the airport and get to the gate as the flight was boarding. We were the only ones from the Barcelona flight to make it - 10 others missed the flight. We were extremely happy as missing the flight would have meant about 5 hours hanging around the airport until the next Air Canada flight to Houston.

In response to the question that someone asked about shuttles - In Cagliari, Sardinia the port ran a shuttle to get passengers out of the port area to near the city center. In Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, and Valencia Oceania ran a free shuttle.

In response to the questions from "deus" - We had very nice weather during the cruise and the seas were pretty smooth and we never noticed much motion. The most vibration I felt was when the ship was using thrusters while docking. We never noticed bread pudding, but it wasn't something we were looking for. The wide variety of ice cream and sorbets got my attention and the creme brulee as well as key lime pie were tasty.

My wife and I, both in our mid-60's over a number of years have taken 50+ cruises mostly on Holland America, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean. We wanted to give Oceania a try and found an offer on the Riviera that even for frugal people like us seemed like a very good price. Here are some observations that might help others trying to decide on Oceania. Just keep in mind that opinions are subjective and others on the same cruise may not have the same experience.

We cruised on the Riviera on June 26, 2016 from Monte Carlo to Barcelona. We used Oceania's air and took the premium economy upgrade that was well worth the additional cost. We flew in the day of the cruise, which was not a problem because sail away time was 11 p.m. We arrived at the ship at around 3:45 p.m. and were able to check in immediately - easiest check in ever.

We were in a penthouse and the room was excellent, what we would expect from high quality hotel. We enjoyed having a butler and took advantage of having dinner from the Polo Grill served in our room on two nights. Our butler, Lokesh, was excellent. I mentioned that before bed I liked a cookie and milk and each night he had it waiting for me. In this category of room it was nice to be able to get hot breakfasts served in the room and this was especially convenient on disembarkation day.

During the cruise we never ate dinner in the main dining room - 4 dinners in the specialty restaurants, 2 in our room, and one at the grill/buffet. We ate dinner at the grill/buffet the night of the captain's welcome aboard party because we were having drinks and chatting and it seemed like an easy alternative. Needless to say, the grill/buffet was unlike the buffet on any other ship that we sailed. Each night you can have lobster, shrimp, steak, and/or a variety of fish. Each of the specialty restaurants was tasty and exceeded the quality of specialty restaurants that we ate in on other ships. A great feature of Oceania is that regardless of your room category you can reserve one time in each of the specialty restaurants prior to the cruise. (The only food that I found to be worse than other cruise lines were the cookies - tasted like Oceania used the same sugar cookie dough for all their cookies even chocolate chip cookies and tended to bake them soft rather than crispy.)

We were amazed at the amount of space in the lounges - never a problem to find a place to sit. On some of the days it looked a little crowded around the pool. We used the spa terrace that usually was pretty empty. The 1/2 price cocktail hours each day in the Horizon, Martini, and Grand bars were very good. Drink prices and prices for bottles of wine was similar to other cruise lines. We're not soda drinkers, but for those that are the included non-alcoholic beverages are a nice perk. It was nice to have specialty coffees included in the fare - the coffees were good as was the biscotti in Baristas. When working out it's great to be able to go in the cooler and grab a Gatorade or vitamin water without the cash register ringing and of course when you're heading ashore you just get handed a bottle of water to take with you.

We cruised the Mediterranean often, so we definitely took this cruise for the ship and not the ports and we were not disappointed. In each of the ports where the ship did not dock right in town, free shuttles were provided - we had no problem with them, but depending on the time, others found the shuttles not to be convenient.

The entertainment was low key - 2 of the 3 production shows were good and the cast performed well in all of them. The problem with the first show, I think it was called something like "That's Entertainment" was that it was very disjointed - the silent film opening went on for too long and did not fit with "Fever" that was the first song and it didn't get better. The other shows with featured performers reminded us of "retro" shows on cruise ships before big showrooms. So if having flashy shows is a big part of a cruise experience for you, you probably would find entertainment on the Riviera disappointing. Likewise, if you like rock climbing walls, flow riders, etc. - you won't find them on Oceania. Television programming was much better than most other cruise lines - a few news and sports channels and 4 movie channels plus DVD's that you can get from the guest services desk.

We enjoyed playing trivia - make sure you have a mix of nationalities on your team because not all questions are American culture centered. There also were mini-golf, croquet, etc. games during the cruise. "O points" are awarded for the various activities and at the end of the cruise you can trade them for prizes (hats, long sleeved t-shirts, duo-dry athletic shirts, etc.) that were better than those offered on other cruise lines.

It was nice being on a cruise without photographers and art auctions. My wife used some spa services and said it was nice not to get a hard sell to buy products while you were getting a facial or massage. We got free internet with our cruise - didn't use it much, but it was adequate and I had no problem sending and receiving email and reading news articles. I was able to check in for my return flight and print boarding passes without problems.

We don't you the ship's shore excursions or transfers and thought that they were extremely over priced on the Riviera. Looks like the best thing to do is hook up with others on your cruise's roll call to arrange independent shore excursions or research the ports and look at the potential to use public transit to see the sights.

The cruise ended in Barcelona at the Trade Center dock near the Columbus monument that made it easy to get to Placa de Catalunya to catch the airport bus. This was the easier disembarkation we even had - finished breakfast and walked off the ship with no lines.

Sorry that I rambled so much. If anyone has questions, I'll try to answer them from a newbies perspective. Would I cruise Oceania again? Certainly if I thought the price and itinerary were right. I probably will look seriously at Oceania for European, Asian, or South America cruises in the future where air from Oceania is a big plus. I think Oceania provides a great product and can see why many become Oceania regulars.

The shoehorns are in the top drawer of the cabinet below the safe in the penthouses.

I'm on the Riviera now and the speed and ability to connect seems to be influenced by the ship's location. Yesterday in La Seyne sur Mer (because of sea conditions the ship could not go to Bandol because tendering would be a problem) the connection was S-L-O-W. Today in Ajaccio, Corsica the connection and speed is much better, but slower than a high speed connection at home. However, I have not had problems reading or sending email. Today I used Facebook with no problems. I would imagine that trying to stream anything would be frustrating.

I boarded in Monte Carlo on Sunday - the weather has been warm (around 80), sunny and windy at times. I'm having a great time - service is wonderful as is the food. For those obsessed with noro, there are no signs that anything is amiss this cruise. I'm looking forward to Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza later this week. If time permits, I'll try to post again later in the cruise to update with my experience with computer connectivity. Cheers!

In August it would be unusual to be cold. To get an idea of average temperatures just do an internet search - for each port search for average temperatures in August.

Thanks for the answers - I feel much better about the cruise now!

I think threads like this one are great because of the entertainment value they provide (even though the results are kind of predictable). (1) The OP asks a question about something they are uncertain about. (2) The first few respondents answer the question based on their experience or from what they find on RCL's website. (3) After awhile someone figures that somehow a plot is brewing to perpetrate crimes against humanity. (4) The question from the OP is forgotten and respondents begin sniping at each other. That's what makes Cruise Critic fun - a place to attempt to get useful information and a social media reality show all in one!

By the way, what will the weather be like on a trans-Atlantic cruise in 2018 and will I need to dress for formal night? (Just kidding) Cheers and play nicely together.

"cshellz" - If someone in your party has mobility issues, I would recommend taking a cab to the main entrance of the park. The metro stations are about 1 km. from the park and it's a long uphill walk. In addition, except for the monumental section of the part (the part with a fee to enter) the park is hilly as well. However, the park is exceptionally unique and well worth seeing.

You can take luggage on the port shuttle, but you have to take it on the bus with you. There is space for luggage, but unless you're traveling light, a cab is probably a better option. The shuttle stop is not near any hotels so to get there you need to ride the metro, take a cab, or walk. If you just have carry on luggage and are fairly mobile, the shuttle can work - I've used it. However, if you have a lot of luggage and can't move it easily, a cab is worth the extra Euros.

In response to a question from Welland, Infinity's captain for the cruise was Ioannis Berdos.

We were on the Infinity's April 11 - 26 sailing and we never were in a "Code Red" condition. However, it seemed that a lot of effort was put in by the staff in wiping down handrails, door handles and table tops in the buffet. The salt and pepper shakers were always on the the tables and the buffet was self-service throughout the cruise. There must have been some, but not wide spread, noro onboard because during the last few days of the cruise during the daily update at 10 a.m. the captain kept reminding passengers to wash their hands and report to the medical center if they were having gastro-intestinal problems.

Thank you for the review. We've cruised quite a bit on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and HAL and will be taking our first Oceania cruise in the Mediterranean this June. We enjoyed your well-balanced observations of your time on the Riviera.

For U.S. citizens, the reciprocity fee with Argentina was eliminated. This will decrease the out of pocket expense for South American cruises from Buenos Aires. According to the Embassy of Argentina website:

Reciprocity fee for US citizens

In order to strengthen the relationship between Argentina and the United States of America, the Argentine Government has resolved to suspend the collection of the reciprocity fee from US passport holders who visit our country for less than 90 days, for tourist or business purposes.

Buenos Aires, March 24 2016

This morning Liberty is off the coast of FL just east of Miami on the way to Galveston. Looking forward to sailing on the ship on Feb. 21!

The Caribbean Princess arrived at the dock at about 10:30 p.m.

On the roll call someone posted that the current captain of the Caribbean Princess is leaving and a different captain will be on board for the 1/24 cruise. Perhaps the reason the ship is getting in tonight rather than tomorrow morning is because the captain wants to make sure he doesn't miss his flight home. As I'm on the 1/24 cruise, I'm happy it will be back early.

I'll be sailing on the Liberty in February and was on the NCL Jade in December. I had an enjoyable time on the Jade, but the range of activities for children appeared to be limited on the Jade. With the age of your children, I'm sure that they would have much more to fun on the Liberty with the rock climbing wall, ice skating, flowrider, and the new slides. It's probably a trade-off between a newly refurbished ship with lots to do v. going for the lower priced cruise with fewer activities, but still enough for a fun vacation. Only you know what's important to you family. Hope you find a decision that works for you.

I'm on the 1/24 cruise and received an email indicating that Neil Roberts would be the CD.

Jennyyl - Whoever gave you the information about the $10 charge did not interpret the rules correctly. In all the specialty restaurants, the first main course comes with the package. I was on the Jade in December and was told that you only pay the $10 charge if you order a second main course.

I've sailed on both the Serenade and the Sunshine and had enjoyable cruises on both. However, I would favor the Serenade because it seems to have much more room in the public spaces, especially around the pool. The only area that I feel the Sunshine is superior to the Serenade is the food. Also with the Serenade leaving out of Fort Lauderdale, you likely will have warm weather as soon as you board the ship and not have long sea days returning to port at the end of the cruise.