PY33

We've nearly always found someone to play bridge with on Oceania. It's always been in the Polo Grill at 2pm. Obviously fewer people will turn up when the ship is in port and there are day-long excursions going on.

This is a treat and available every day. It does fill up quickly as the pastries are to die for. Usually the string quartet plays during teatime. I wish Oceania would either vary or eliminate the Twinings brand, though. There are other vendors whose teas are much more interesting and tasty.

Couldn't agree more about the Twinings tea. It doesn't taste of anything.

We were on Regatta last week in Alaska, finishing in Vancouver on May 20th, and the captain seemed to take pride in getting to port early! I seem to remember we reached at least 2 of the ports an hour or so before the scheduled arrival time. No guarantees of this on your cruise, of course.

You'll be fine. We're in our sixties taking our 3rd trip to Alaska in 2016 on Regatta. We're still "young" enough to take our hiking boots and get out on the trails when the ship is in port.

We crossed from Miami to Barcelona via Bermuda and Madeira on Riviera in early May this year. Weather was largely fine and the sea wasn't rough. However, because the ship has to maintain a reasonably high speed to make the crossing it was always very windy on the balcony. You'll be further south than we were but I suspect that you will still find it a little cool outside when you're on the open ocean.

We did the reverse cruise from Miami to Barcelona in April (and we also live in North Wales). Enjoy the cruise - especially the food which is top notch. Look for the daily special half-price cocktails in the bar.

I'm in North Wales right now and the weather is fine, but this is the current weather forecast from the BBC....

Isle of Anglesey

Yellow warning of wind

From: 1400 on Mon 1 JuneTo: 1800 on Tue 2 June

Updated 3 hours ago

An unseasonably windy spell is likely across many parts of the UK later on Monday, overnight and well into Tuesday, as active frontal systems sweep across the UK. An initial swathe of southerly gales accompanied by heavy rain will move east across many parts later on Monday, giving gusts of 40-50 mph widely but 60-70 mph across exposed Irish Sea and perhaps some English Channel coasts. Winds will become west or southwesterly on Tuesday, with further gusts to 40-50 mph more locally, before gradually easing later. Large waves will affect some coasts in the west and south at times.

Given the unseasonable nature of the winds, the public should be aware of the potential for disruption to transport and outdoor activities. Damage to some trees seems likely. This is an update to the warning to bring forward the start time, cover the rest of England in the yellow area and also to increase gust speeds through the Irish Sea.

We disembarked from Riviera after the transatlantic cruise in Barcelona last week. From ship to taxi took less than 5 minutes. Loads of taxis available. Fixed price to airport was 39 euros - a fraction of what Oceania will charge you for a transfer.

You're starting your journey early so you'll no doubt have a relaxing few days in Miami. We fly out from LHR on Tuesday, overnight at the Marriott Biscayne Bay before joining the cruise.

My experience with Oceania was very different. And I shall be sailing on Oceania again in April, trans-Atlantic. I do hope that the food standards have not gone down because my recollections are that the food in all restaurants (except Toscana) was far superior to any meals I had had on Regent. And I was not at all unhappy with Regent's food... in fact I thought it was very good and sometimes excellent. If the food on Oceania is as forevertravel indicates I shall not be happy at all... But then TravelCat2 was on Riviera in December (I think) and she reported the food to be just great. So I live in hope!

 

So - more news later.

I agree with you. My experience is that the food on Oceania is far superior to that on Regent, and we too are sailing trans-atlantic on Riviera in April. It will be interesting to see whether the standards have slipped after the takeover by NCL.

In 2013 we took the transport from Riviera to Livorno town centre and just jumped in a taxi. He took us to Pisa, waited for around 2 hours whilst we visited the Leaning Tower and the other buildings in the Field of Miracles, then took us back to the ship. Cost was 120 Euros.

We did this last year to join Riviera in Venice. Walked out of the airport, waited 2 minutes for a taxi and were taken straight to the ship. Cost 46€.

We got off the Emerald Princess yesterday after an 11 day cruise to the Canaries & Madeira. If you're thinking of an inside cabin you're likely to want to spend most of your time out of your cabin; beware that we found the ship to be awfully crowded. Hard to find seats in the Piazza; many of the loungers on the desk had towels draped over them even from early in the morning; queues for anytime dining if you want to eat at around 7 pm; queues to get on the ship and queues to get off; slow service in the bars.

You'll be taken by shuttle from the port area to the centre of town - you can't walk through the port area itself. There's a very pleasant walk around the canal area in Livorno which you can start from where the bus drops you off. Look at this link....

http://livornonow.com/a_walk_in_livorno039s_old_venezia_district

Just got back from the Sydney to Auckland cruise on Seven Seas Voyager and found the experience disappointing. After 2 excellent recent cruises on Oceania's Riviera we expected Regent to be a step up - in fact it was a large step down.

Food was OK but nothing like the terrific cuisine on Oceania. Food preparation was sloppy - lots of bones left in a Dover Sole, an olive stone in mashed potato, fruit not very well trimmed at breakfast.

Service was haphazard to say the least. The wrong items were brought on several occasions. Wine was forgotten. Coffee was forgotten.

Simple things like eggs ordered over easy appeared rock hard, and on one occasion the waiter apologised for the chef, saying "He can't cook"!

Not the experience we expected and we won't be cruising with them again.

Getting worried by some of these messages because we are joining the ship in Sydney for the leg to Auckland. After 2 terrific cruises with Oceania recently we are expecting high standards from Regent.

As far as the computer room is concerned, since I work in the IT industry the last thing I want to see on holiday is a computer!

Enjoy.

We were there on Riviera in May and the process was very smooth and speedy. Go to the Riviera Lounge on Deck 5, collect a ticket and wait to be called. As a result there is no scrum to get on to the tender boats.