CruiseAficionado

Go meet Randall Abrhams, Concierge. He is very helpful and fun.

Have met him already. Currently we are supposed to change PH cabins between our B2B and Randall is trying to get us our same cabin for our entire trip. Very nice person.

A Dark ‘n’ Stormy!

Yep, that is what it is called. Quite nice drink.

Thanks! Not planning on a booze cruise, but I do like a taste of something nice of an evening.

 

Drinking single malts in a shipboard bar seems like a pleasant fast track to bankruptcy!

 

Keep up the good work; I'm reading your reports with keen interest.

We are sailing a b2b so will be on board 24 days and the single malts are great nightcaps.

Bermuda

Docked in beautiful Bermuda with its gorgeous crystal clear aqua blue water. Weather was slightly cloudy but quickly turned to sunny skies. Had a wonderful breakfast before departing the ship. As we were the only ship in port we had the whole dock area to ourselves. Since I had forgot to pack my b-12 vitamins we began our search for a pharmacy and found a good one. DW found a pair of sandals, a bracelet for our cabin attendant, and a bottle of Gosling Black Seal rum which is made in Bermuda. While standing in line she met a local customs official who told her to also get a bottle of ginger beer to go with it for an excellent drink. We later walked around the local shopping area and glass factory. Found an interesting accent lamp from Turkey and DW found a beautiful and colorful poncho from Thailand that could be worn in various ways. Also found a teal color men’s bathing suit for only $275. I knew things were expensive in BDA but that IMO was a little extravagant and I passed.

We returned to the ship and had a great Greek lunch and went back out again and met some fellow passengers who had just returned from the ferry to Hamilton and said there was really not much to see there. We then made our way to the prison on the hill which was closed tighter than a drum but had a local art show in the former barracks area. Having achieved our 10,000 steps we climbed back aboard to get ready for trivia.

This day’s contest was one that could go either way and ranged from: true or false - the only bone in the body NOT attached to another bone is located under the tongue to who was Snow White’s sister to what is the only female animal to have antlers? The trivia gods were with us as Roger, Pauline, Mike, Cheryl, Penny, Dave combined with yours truly and DW to win the top prize of 3 points! Mike even knew the name of the bone under the tongue (hyoid) and Roger knew what is the name of a tree, shoe, capital city and recipe (Wellington). But everyone contributed and I think Cheryl and Pauline do an excellent job of sifting through all our potential answers and selecting the right ones. BTW Official answer for female antlers was reindeer and Snow White’s sister was Red Rose.

Dinner in Toscana was a gastronomic delight and the best so far. Soon after being seated we were introduced to the various olive oils and balsamic vinegars which went nicely with the spectacular array of breads in our bread basket. We then started with the freshly hand made pasta bow ties in a lovely red pepper sauce. Next we had an asparagus salad with a light dressing and then shared the Veal Scallopini followed by a Dover Sole that was deboned table side and very moist.

That's quite a lot!

 

We'll be boarding in Barcelona (21 Apr) and I'm wondering how much we can bring aboard.

 

Just out of idle curiosity, but what single malts?

We brought 4 bottles of wine and 4 bottles of spirits. Single malts were Dalwhinne 15 yr and Balvenie double wood 12 yr . O does not seem to have a limit as long as you drink it in your room.

The breakfast choices have been varied with just about anything you could want including lemon cream waffles. Also a custom egg (hard/soft boiled, fried, poached, omelets) station, assorted fruits, breads and pastries. While DW was at a stretch class followed by a deep tissue massage I went to the terrace for breakfast. She later joined me at waves and ordered an omelet with her choice of fillings. While there by the pool a competition was going on between the officers and the guests. Very well attended with about 20 guests in line at each of the competitions. With Corey describing the action and some classic “oldies” playing in the background the pool area was filled with raucous laughter.

Our trivia team managed a third place finish as one team almost managed a perfect score. Sample question: what religion were the Vedas associated with? Hindu. I now know popcorn must be available because our trivia followed a first run movie “The Post” in the Riviera lounge. Odd that our butler said it was not available for the cabin.

Dined at the GDR and had an excellent iceberg salad with granny apple, walnuts, raisins and blue cheese dressing followed by something called a chicken purse. However, when asking the waiter for his entree recommendation, which I have learned in the past to trust, he recommended the Alaskan Halibut. Turns out I should have taken his advice but I saw Beijing Duck and figured it was like Peking Duck. Boy was I wrong. Instead of the crispy delicacy I last had on a business trip to London 20 years ago it was not crispy or served in the traditional way and instead had a rubbery skin that had to be carefully cut off or I might still be chewing. Lol

Retired for the night with a DVD of the sci-fi movie Passengers. There is a slot in the TV to insert the DVD along with controls for play, stop, etc. Unfortunately we were unable to get it to play either by using the buttons on the back of the TV or the remote receiving the ominous message “prohibited ”. Called our butler, he tried and failed, took the remote and said he would be right back. When he returns he points the remote at the TV and voila the movie starts. Mystery solved as it was a bad remote. Next DW was able to circumvent our butler to order some popcorn. He arrived a few minutes later with popcorn in hand. BTW everything said about the beds is true as they are very, very comfortable.

Understand if it is too early in the cruise to answer this question, but wondered if you have any enrichment/educational lectures during the day, and if so how many speakers are on the ship and what are the subjects. We are considering booking Riviera's Transatlantic back to Florida in November, but are concerned about the many sea days lacking interesting programming. Would appreciate your thoughts.

So far we have only seen 2 lectures about Bermuda. Sandy Cares has a B.A. in history from The U of Michigan and is the lecturer. Will keep you posted.

This is my first attempt at writing a CC review ‘live’ from a ship and all comments are, of course from my own personal observations and experience. Hope this post proves to be entertaining and informative.

Day 1

Getting to Miami (Rating: 10)

We chose the Olife air option ATL-MIA and BCN-ATL with an U/G to business class on the return leg as it was cheaper than anything we could get ourselves. Instead of $5000+ it was $1799 with an added deviation fee of $175 per person to go to MIA a day early. Interesting enough we got our airline reservations shortly after booking our cruise and making our full payment. We were then able to go to both airlines websites and secure our seat assignments as well. DL to MIA was on time, uneventful and incidentally the 737-900 was a very new airplane and the seats were some of the most comfortable I have ever had. We arrived on time in Miami right around 4:00pm, picked up our 2 checked bags (which we had to pay a fee of $25 per bag) and quickly called an Uber car to whisk us to our hotel for the night.

Our Overnight Hotel (Rating:10)

We choose the Marriott Biscayne Bay which turned out to be a great location. Upon checking in the front desk agent told us she had given us a complimentary upgrade to a room on the 17th floor with a view of the bay and the cruise port in the distance. The hotel was just two blocks from a Publix which enabled us to stock up on some of our favorite alcoholic beverages. We ended up with 2 single malts, a grey goose, buffalo trace bourbon and 4 wines. We had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant next door called Casablanca’s (very appropriate as one of our ports is in Morocco) which also had an outside deck overlooking the water. They had a 1/2 price happy hour going on and also presented you with a complimentary seafood dip and chips which was amazingly tasty.

Boarding the Ship (Rating:10)

My wife usually likes to get to the port early because ... well, she just can’t wait to get on the ship, her excitement level is over the top. LOL I however, detest leaving the comfort of our hotel just to wait outside or in the lounge to board, so she compromised this time. We planned to check out of the hotel before noon and get to the ship shortly after as it was only a 5-10 minute ride to the port. However due to a transportation mix up we arrived at the port at 12:35 missing our 12 noon Penthouse boarding time. We left our 2 big bags with a porter. Upon entering the building we saw there were no lines, thus, we were immediately checked in, photo taken and ushered to the boarding ramp.

Our First Meal Experience (Rating: 6)

Once on board (12:48) we were told to go to the terrace for lunch. I might add that this may not be the optimum time to board as it was almost impossible to find an open inside table. This may have been due to a rather strong wind on the patio that prevented many folks including us from dining outside. Also it appeared that many guests were having a leisurely lunch awaiting the room ready announcement and not leaving anytime soon. We circled the restaurant twice without locating an empty table when a couple very kindly pointed out a just vacated one which we gladly snagged. It did take about 5 minutes for a staff member to come over to clear and reset the table. Next we went looking for the much anticipated carved turkey. Unfortunately the “bird” was pretty much picked over and white meat was in short supply. Oh well, the small portion was probably a blessing in disguise as I have decided to watch my caloric intake in order to manage my weight on this trip. lol As compared to our first day buffet on Seabourn, we rated the O buffet a distant second and more in line with what was offered on Azamara.

The Penthouse Suite (Rating: 10)

At about 1pm we heard the announcement that the penthouse suites were ready so we hurriedly made our way to our forward cabin. I must say O’s PH’s are impressive, roomy and very “livable”. The closet can handle two people in them at a time and so can the bathroom. The shower didn’t seem as small as some suggested but we will see when I try it out. One thing of note was no ice in the ice bucket and no iced champagne in the champagne bucket like on our other cruises. Instead we found the champagne in the mini fridge. Might be how they got the cabin ready so fast. Luggage arrived with a knock on the door at about 2pm.

Shortly after 3pm we received a knock on the door from of all things an electrician. Wow, we thought maybe something had been reported on the last cruise and was going to get fixed. This was not the case as he was just checking to see if my CPAP machine was hooked up properly with a converter. It was but he advised if I had needed DC he could apply a quick solution.

Our Butler and Stewardess (Rating: 10)

Quite soon after he left we heard someone calling out my wife’s name in the hallway. We then met our lovely cabin attendant Nadezhda who was a charming woman from Russia. We chatted for a bit and then DW gave her a little Easter Basket she had prepared for her before we left home. She especially liked the small, fluffy stuffed rabbit. Nadezhda was very efficient and immediately noted my CPAP machine needed distilled water and said she would bring it. On previous cruises on other lines my CPAP machine did not seem to be as high a priority as on O. She also had us sign an acknowledgement for each of our four OBC’s of which 2 were refundable (from our TA) and two were non-refundable from Olife.

Next we met our butler Sydney who when asked said he was from India. My wife gave him a list of things we needed like a martini shaker, limes, diet tonic water, wine glasses, more rock glasses, Speciality dinner menus and advised him we would be taking advantage on numerous occasions of the in suite dining option. His reply was “no problem”. I also asked how many cabins he had and his reply was 16. Out of curiosity I had to ask how many passengers usually require his unpacking services and he said there were 4-5 who were, as expected, quite elderly.

Muster Drill (Rating: 9)

At 5:15pm the time came for the mandatory safety drill with life jackets. It seems that one of the only premium ships not requiring you to bring your life jacket with you is Seabourn. We managed to get a seat in the back of the Riviera theater and as soon as it was completed we popped out and up the stairs back to our cabin. Walking up to 11 from 5 was quite a workout and hopefully proof I’m still in pretty good shape with no chest pains. We try to always use the stairs on our cruises in an attempt to fight the inevitable dreaded weight gain. Lol After stowing our life jackets we went exploring the ship.

The Ship and Staff (Rating: 10)

In one word, STUNNING. From top to bottom, the design elements and color schemes were beautiful and absolutely spotless. Our first stop was at the Speciality desk to ask whether or not there were any reservations left for that evening and she asked for our cabin number followed by “I see you like early dining”? Ok, so how did she know that ... by virtue of noting our previous reservations. Since only table sharing was available we passed. Next we went to the spa to see the thalassotherapy pool and spa deck, which looked so inviting with its bubbly warm water. As we were leaving the spa we met Prim, one of the massage therapists. He gave each of us a complimentary “trial run” massage and intuitively found some sore spots we each must have incurred lugging our 50 lb bags. He was so good we decided to go ahead and schedule 2 massages in the next few days with him.

Wandering the ship we met and spoke with the GM, various bartenders, and a charming entertainer named Emily who was still manning the gangplank entrance. We noticed the GM was speaking with two men in suits and were advised they were “corporate” and always come on board when the ship docks in MIA. She also said she was on Regent before O and on the same ship we were on which was the Navigator. We laughed about how it had a reputation for “vibrating”. After talking with her for about 30 minutes she asked if we would be interested in having dinner with her and another entertainer some night and we accepted.

Our First Dinner (Rating: 10+)

Then, because I was wearing shorts and noticing many of the GDM selections were also available in the Terrace, we decided to go there for dinner. OMG, the selection of seafood was amazing. My wife opted for the sea bass, lobster Mac and cheese, pork roast and seafood salad. I, on the other hand, love seafood and selected crab claws, single prawns in a corn mix, seafood salad and topped it off with some lobster Mac and two grilled lobster tails, which were succulent. Everything was hot and cooked to perfection. Going to the dessert station I was advised to try the strawberry cheesecake which was simply divine and my wife opted for a pistachio mouse with a crunchy ring of toffee and dark chocolate on top which she said was so delicious. Our first dinner on O was a winner, a real home run!!!

Not being late night owls, we skipped the welcome show production, and returned to our suite for a night cap from our brought aboard bar before drifting off to a sound sleep in our super comfortable tranquility bed. Ahhhhhhhh, life is good!!

So there you have it, a blow by blow description of 2 Oceania newbies initial experience on the Riviera. I will be glad to address any questions or comments.

The trouble with reviews on CC

I have been a member on CC since 2009 and have read my share of both objective, semi-objective and non-objective cruise reviews on these boards and managed to resist getting into the fray. Suffice to say I have not yet experienced some of the things stated in the most scathing reviews. It seems to me that some “bad” reviews are rooted in some sort of argument or misunderstanding which leads the the reviewer who has an ax to grind to just get it out of their system or they just had a “bad” cruise such as the infamous Carnival one. Next are the somewhat arrogant and condescending ones who appear to have been written by a gourmet chef or someone that has the taste buds of one whose steak must be of the proper finite temp and color. Finally, there are the ones that must have been written by someone living in a different universe so out of touch than the rest of us and in need of a reality check. Of course there are also the ones written by well grounded individuals that cherish their time on board.

My background is that of a second generation hard working immigrant who has been fortunate to have worked hard enough to afford to cruise at my leisure on almost any cruise line I choose. Starting in the 1970’s with my first cruise on a Cunard Countess ship retrofitted after the Falklands War I have progressed to Princess, Costa, NCL, RCCL, Celebrity, Regent, Seabourn, Azamara and finally my first on Oceania. No I do not have the taste buds of a Michelin chef nor do I expect the staff to kiss my b—- while on board. Instead I find it quite charming to interact with the various multinational crew members and try to thank them for their efforts in making my voyage enjoyable. Consequently, I have never had a “bad” cruise.

I lied, as I just now remember a “noro” cruise where upon entering our room we discovered not a scrap of paper and ceiling to floor mirrors covered in a foggy substance. The library was devoid of any books. The ship had had noro since South America and we boarded in San Francisco. The Princess ship along side had already been boarded by people in hazmat suits and our boarding had been delayed almost 3 hours. Later in the cruise we experienced our first “code red” situation which was a bit unsettling to say the least. Was this in any way the fault of the crew ... I don’t think so . I had never seen a crew go through the burden of so much extra work and still keep serving their customers with smiling faces. Was this a “bad” cruise because of the crew? No it was a bad cruise because of the unmanageable circumstances that totally engulfed the crew.

Getting back to the validity of online cruise reviews. Why do people even write them and more importantly should anyone base their cruise choices on them? IMHO most are an attempt to “help others” in choosing a cruise or cruise line. Speaking from experience it is a considerable exercise in futility because a cruise in an ocean view, balcony, suite, and deluxe suite are as varied as the ships they are found on and ports visited. Add to that the social status (or perceived status lol) of the reviewer and you have a pot luck supper of sometimes volatile opinions. BTW One of my best cruises was on NCL in a Family Suite with beverage package and free Speciality restaurants. At embarkation a butler escorted us to our suite and we were the first to disembark which was a first.

The most amusing and entertaining thing about this board is the myriad POV’s expressed and the often overreactions they garner. Just my very humble opinion as someone who greatly appreciates each and every day onboard or not. To all the newbies out there taking their first cruise take each and every negative cruise review with a grain of salt so to speak as that cruise or cruise line may not be as bad as the reviewer states.

Selah

PS I hope to do a review on my upcoming March 28 cruise on Oceania Riviera and compare it to my previous cruise on Azamara like Post It did.

It might be that Oceania staff is trained to respond to their guests but not to push themselves upon them and Azamara staff is trained to open conversations much like some restaurant wait staff.(Hi, my name is Sally. I will be your waitress today and how is your day going?) Neither is necessarily bad - just different.

 

Robbie

You described it better than I did - thank you.

Yes they did.

I agree that the Oceania staff doesn't have extra time in their schedule to talk with passengers - Azamara staff does and actively engages in passengers.

Wow! Been on Azamara but am on my first O cruise (mar 28) and can’t wait to see this type of behavior for myself.

Before my comments I will add the disclaimer that Oceania is my cruise line of choice.

 

One difference is on the "O" ships (Riviera and Marina). Both offer a variety of deck games. There are scheduled competitions with points awarded to be exchanged for Oceania advertising apparel. They are also generally hosted by members of the show personnel. These are usually not crowded, so most passengers probably could not care less.

 

Food - When I order meat I specify and describe; ie. "medium rare steak", "just a little pink in the middle" and "OK to cut it and look inside". Also at the Terrace grill, the same, but you can order under cooked a little then ask to put it back on the grill for a little longer while you watch.

 

Lobster and many fish servings. I always ask if it is warm water sourced or cold. For lobster ask, is it from the coast of New England or the east coast of Canada.

 

Regarding, friendly talk with servers, I look to see how busy they are. Your friendly short talk may be someone else's "slow or inattentive service". Also, use their first names. I once had one server at the Terrace that didn't smile a me, or most others, for several days. Then, I said "Hello ________ and she definitely knew how to smile.

 

All the ship's staff will appreciate if you can make their jobs a little easier. Tell the room attendant that you plan to be on an all day shore excursion. Tell the Terrace helper that you can carry your own plate if there are others much more in need of this. Most important, mention them by name on your cruise comment surveys. I helped one nice server on a long cruise go from serving food, to waiting tables, to specialty restaurant waiter assistant.

 

Choices and preferences are individual, so try different cruise lines and remember "Whatever floats your boat."

+1 Excellent post

I've cruised Crystal, Regent, and Azamara in suites with butlers. My Azamara butlers have been excellent - on the same level as Crystal. On the other hand, the Regent butlers have been dismal.

I'm a foodie and was quite happy with both the food in Aqualina and Prime C and the specialty buffets in Windows Cafe. The Indian buffet in Windows is quite authentic.

Wholehearted agree as our butler on Azamara was the absolute best we have ever had. We gave him a present upon boarding and he returned the favor by giving DW an eagle eye pendant from his country of origin.

Having already sailed on Azamara I can’t wait to board Riviera on the 28th! Bring on the well done lobster and burgers. Lol

A simple and inexpensive alternative for Mac Users is to purchase an External DVD Drive (cost about $29) and plug it in your Mac Laptop. Insert your DVD into the external drive and presto, the movie comes right up.

Thanks for your reply but the tv already has a built in dvd. I was just trying to see movies stored on my iPad on a bigger screen like the one in the cabin.

Oops .. was checking my Apple digital AV adapter on my homeTV and got an ominous message. Called Comcast and was advised when downloading from their Stream service a “block” is encrypted to prevent viewing on other devices. The following msg pops up. Oh well back to the dvd’s. License Issue :: 3338. "This video stream is not playable under the current device conditions. Please disconnect any external devices and try again".

Looking at some of the dining room menus ... are the suggested wine pairings shown covered under any of the beverage packages?

Speaking of butlers, does anyone know what ship Churchill is on now. We will be on the Riviera this summer and would love to see him again.

Also has anyone had Sydney as their butler?

Then you didn't read there post...For some people it no, but once you work with your Butler you'd see how valuable he/she is in making your trip a great, relaxing cruise. Most people don't use them for packing, it's all the other things they help you with.

Yes I know they are invaluable with other things we just wanted to see if the packing aspect would be one of them. In all our years of cruising we have never asked a butler to deal with packing and it appears most on this board feel likewise. This post is about packing/unpacking by a butler not whether a butler is useful.

We've had the assistance of butlers several times. Once we asked him to pack a suitcase before we departed. He insisted that one of us be present while he did his work. Not an unreasonable request given the standard security question at the airport as to whether anybody else packs our luggage. But it also seemed as though the cruise line had a policy to avoid questions about theft. Anyway, in the end, his assistance did not amount to much, and we have not asked a butler to do this again.

The reason for this post was to see if we were missing something by not taking advantage of the packing/unpacking butler service. From your post it seems we would not be missing much.

this may help or not ;)

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2387485&highlight=hdmi

Thanks, found the Apple digital AV adapter which requires a separate HDMI cord to attach to TV.

yes could be a problem if you want to see the latest movies

someone had posted a photo of the input on the TV for the O class ship someplace here

I cannot recall what was on the R ship TV

Thanks, do you think a search for tv input Wow found this:

We used the HDMI port to successfully connect an iPad to watch movies when we sailed with Marina and Riviera. Don't know about Insignia, but would like to know. We booked a cruise on Insignia in August. Would also like to know of we can play Blu-ray discs? We could on Riviera and Marina. We are in a PH.

maybe just borrow a movie from reception they have a list with 700 titles

Not the same as downloading & fussing with connections but an option

Yes that would seem to be the logical thing to do, However, from what I have read on this board, the DVD selection is pretty bad as far as current movies. DW and I like an occasional dinner and a movie in the cabin and feel a first run movie via Ipad would be worth the effort. Seabourn, our favorite cruise line, has the most up to date movies and we thoroughly enjoyed them with room service. It is sad that Oceania has such an outdated system that requires DVD borrowing. So trying to get a work around if we can. Nonetheless we are very much looking forward to our first Oceania cruise and hope our experience leaves us wanting more. Besides, it is really not big a deal hooking up a TV to an Ipad.

Uhoh ... may be a moot point if you are unable to do the following.

Connect your iPhone or iPad and TV with the cable, and switch the TV's input to the port with the cable.

Found this so just need to know if PH TV has HDMI port? Therefore grateful if anyone that is on board now can advise?

By far, the simplest way to connect your iPhone or iPad to your TV is to use a cable like Apple's Digital AV Adapter, which connects your Apple device to your TV's HDMI port.