Unrealistic Expectations

[Floridiana]

I was reading the member reviews of my last cruise 'Mayan Mystique' and 'Island Holiday' and I am amazed what kind of over the top expectations some people have. "The butler did not get us tender tickets".

 

Here is my review

 

Review of Oceania’s cruises Mayan Mystique and Island Holiday, Dec 10, 2012 – Jan 3, 2013 on MS Riviera

To give you a bit of our background: We are a couple in our sixties and have previously cruised with the freighter/passenger ship Aranui, Azamara, HAL, NCL, Princess, and Oceania’s MS Regatta. We choose the itinerary first and the ship second. So far, our shortest cruise was 7 days and our longest 28 days.

The brand-new MS Riviera is a gorgeous ship with stylish decor, splendid art, a very caring and friendly crew and outstanding restaurants. Her country club casual atmosphere suited us well because it made for manageable luggage and a relaxing cruise.

Our stateroom (8020) was nicely appointed with good storage, sufficient electrical outlets, excellent reading lights at the very comfortable bed, and a truly beautiful bathroom with a separate shower -two shower heads -, a glass door, and a bathtub with another shower. Our two attendants IWayan and Dwi quickly adapted to our schedule and made up the room right after we left for breakfast and dinner. We always came back to a spotless room. There is only one thing I would change: The safe is too high up in the cupboard for my 5’2’’.

Not only the stateroom attendants but also the staff in the various venues was wonderful. All the waiters were very attentive. I was particularly impressed that the supervisors pitched in whenever necessary. They directed staff, but also bussed tables and helped out in any which way needed.

The taste of food is subjective; however, the MS Riviera’s cuisine got rave reviews not only from us but from every passenger with whom we ever shared a table. There was daily lobster and seafood of all kinds, escargot, caviar, turkey, ham, goose, duck, and a long list of deliciously prepared French, Asian fusion, Italian and American dishes plus an extensive and sumptuous breakfast buffet - don’t forget the berries and the genuine baguette. We could discuss whether Jacques’ boeuf bourguignon or Red Ginger’s crisp duck on water melon salad was more delicious. I could not decide whether I liked the Terrace Café or the Grand Dining room better. With such great selections, I avoided the burgers and fries in The Waves which is an enormously popular casual restaurant near the pool.

We found the entertainment to be surprisingly enjoyable although we did not attend many of the shows which started too late for us at 9:30 pm. The four young singers of the Jean Ann Ryan group hit the right notes, Lawrence has a powerful voice with amazing range, and the Ukrainian dance couple gave exceptional performances as well. Cruise Director Nolan Dean is a great entertainer with a sometimes wicked sense of humor. However, he dropped the ball on the initial arrangements for Bridge - as in card game. My husband decided instead to avail himself of the fine selection of books in the small library. I liked social hostess Natalie’s embroidery group and especially the free classes offered by Zana and Anita, two delightful and talented Australian artists from Sydney. By the way, the cooking classes across the hallway from the studio were always fully booked and I heard only good things about them.

As I said above, our main reason for cruising are the itineraries. I booked the Mayan Mystique cruise specifically for the option to go to Tikal and other Mayan ruins through the ship’s excursion desk. Tikal was absolutely fantastic and the Guatemalan company used by Oceania did a great job. This excursion was well worth its high price. In Belize, we went to the Lamanai ruins, another Mayan highlight in a jungle inhabited by howler monkeys. I will never forget their outraged howling from high up in the trees because humans invaded their territory. However, and now comes the downside, in the future, I expect Oceania to strongly impress on the local operator to put their busses in safe driving order before they head out. We were shocked that the driver basically drove blind with broken windshield wipers through two tropical downpours. Luckily, all our other excursions were fine with very informative guides – including the ones in Belize.

I am sorry to add more criticism to excursion desk management. We had delays in some port arrivals and I really did not mind those. After all, weather and local authorities do not always cooperate. However, is it too much to ask from an excursion desk staff member to show up in the Riviera Lounge at the time printed on our tour tickets? A timely update was called for, but not always provided.

Overall, this cruise experience was very enjoyable. I will definitely continue to recommend Oceania ships to my friends and neighbors

[BabySis]

Personally.... if I'm not cookin' or makin' the bed.... my expectations have been met!!!

 

Yee Haw!!! Only thing more fun than a cruise is a grand baby!!

[spook1]

I was reading the member reviews of my last cruise 'Mayan Mystique' and 'Island Holiday' and I am amazed what kind of over the top expectations some people have. "The butler did not get us tender tickets".

 

Here is my review

 

Review of Oceania’s cruises Mayan Mystique and Island Holiday, Dec 10, 2012 – Jan 3, 2013 on MS Riviera

To give you a bit of our background: We are a couple in our sixties and have previously cruised with the freighter/passenger ship Aranui, Azamara, HAL, NCL, Princess, and Oceania’s MS Regatta. We choose the itinerary first and the ship second. So far, our shortest cruise was 7 days and our longest 28 days.

The brand-new MS Riviera is a gorgeous ship with stylish decor, splendid art, a very caring and friendly crew and outstanding restaurants. Her country club casual atmosphere suited us well because it made for manageable luggage and a relaxing cruise.

Our stateroom (8020) was nicely appointed with good storage, sufficient electrical outlets, excellent reading lights at the very comfortable bed, and a truly beautiful bathroom with a separate shower -two shower heads -, a glass door, and a bathtub with another shower. Our two attendants IWayan and Dwi quickly adapted to our schedule and made up the room right after we left for breakfast and dinner. We always came back to a spotless room. There is only one thing I would change: The safe is too high up in the cupboard for my 5’2’’.

Not only the stateroom attendants but also the staff in the various venues was wonderful. All the waiters were very attentive. I was particularly impressed that the supervisors pitched in whenever necessary. They directed staff, but also bussed tables and helped out in any which way needed.

The taste of food is subjective; however, the MS Riviera’s cuisine got rave reviews not only from us but from every passenger with whom we ever shared a table. There was daily lobster and seafood of all kinds, escargot, caviar, turkey, ham, goose, duck, and a long list of deliciously prepared French, Asian fusion, Italian and American dishes plus an extensive and sumptuous breakfast buffet - don’t forget the berries and the genuine baguette. We could discuss whether Jacques’ boeuf bourguignon or Red Ginger’s crisp duck on water melon salad was more delicious. I could not decide whether I liked the Terrace Café or the Grand Dining room better. With such great selections, I avoided the burgers and fries in The Waves which is an enormously popular casual restaurant near the pool.

We found the entertainment to be surprisingly enjoyable although we did not attend many of the shows which started too late for us at 9:30 pm. The four young singers of the Jean Ann Ryan group hit the right notes, Lawrence has a powerful voice with amazing range, and the Ukrainian dance couple gave exceptional performances as well. Cruise Director Nolan Dean is a great entertainer with a sometimes wicked sense of humor. However, he dropped the ball on the initial arrangements for Bridge - as in card game. My husband decided instead to avail himself of the fine selection of books in the small library. I liked social hostess Natalie’s embroidery group and especially the free classes offered by Zana and Anita, two delightful and talented Australian artists from Sydney. By the way, the cooking classes across the hallway from the studio were always fully booked and I heard only good things about them.

As I said above, our main reason for cruising are the itineraries. I booked the Mayan Mystique cruise specifically for the option to go to Tikal and other Mayan ruins through the ship’s excursion desk. Tikal was absolutely fantastic and the Guatemalan company used by Oceania did a great job. This excursion was well worth its high price. In Belize, we went to the Lamanai ruins, another Mayan highlight in a jungle inhabited by howler monkeys. I will never forget their outraged howling from high up in the trees because humans invaded their territory. However, and now comes the downside, in the future, I expect Oceania to strongly impress on the local operator to put their busses in safe driving order before they head out. We were shocked that the driver basically drove blind with broken windshield wipers through two tropical downpours. Luckily, all our other excursions were fine with very informative guides – including the ones in Belize.

I am sorry to add more criticism to excursion desk management. We had delays in some port arrivals and I really did not mind those. After all, weather and local authorities do not always cooperate. However, is it too much to ask from an excursion desk staff member to show up in the Riviera Lounge at the time printed on our tour tickets? A timely update was called for, but not always provided.

Overall, this cruise experience was very enjoyable. I will definitely continue to recommend Oceania ships to my friends and neighbors

 

One of the best ship reviews I have read in recent memory. Highlighting the ship for most of the review held my attention throughout. Itineraries vary but not the voyage experience. Liked your positive spin and spirit. You obviously disembarked with a big lists of "likes" in your memory bank. Life is too short to do otherwise.:)

[Hawaiidan]

Review...was to the point, objective in that it included a lot of others interactions.

I agree with Spook... and others. There is in reality one person and one person alone who makes you happy, sad, joyful or upset....you.;)

 

You choose as to how things will be in most all cases with the exception of a airplane crash, a bomb explosion or getting shot.

 

I have a litmus test for how this or that, him or her will cause me to react " How is this going to affect the rest of my life"

 

Seems to put things in perspective for me, how about you?

[hondorner]

...I have a litmus test for how this or that, him or her will cause me to react " How is this going to affect the rest of my life"

That's the reason my reaction (mostly private) to trivial matters ruining an entire cruise is "Get a life..."

[Floridiana]

I am glad you found the review useful.

 

Overall the passengers on the Riviera were a really nice and well travelled bunch, but I also met a few discontent souls who complained about the food on this ship filled with delicacies: "The desserts are no good. I want an eclair!" - No, she was NOT two years old!

 

Another woman badgered the executive chef in the foyer: "I sent 15 e-mails and was assured you would have the xyz brand of 0 fat Greek yoghurt on board. It's not xyz, it's a different brand, but I was assured ..."

 

If the two passengers described above happen to read this: Rest assured I will be gentle when retelling your story.

[BabySis]

My youngest son says...if no one died, it's no big deal

[Mura]

O man ... I guess these are not travelers who can make lemonade out of lemons... A skill often needed by travelers.

 

I'm thinking especially of our land trip to Europe in the fall of 1998 when the last two weeks of our trip disappeared when our hostess in Denmark had to cancel! We had to scramble, but we did just fine. The lemonade part was the past visit to Paris we ever had ...

 

Mura