Just off Riviera - Musings, Ramblings and Notes

[hctkbt]

I forgot to second Dr cocktail's comments regarding chair hogs. What a breath of fresh sea-air to see pool and lounge chair rules finally being adhered to! I too saw a couple of fights between PAX and either pool staff or even between PAX when chairs kept empty for HOURS were cleared for use by others. What's happening to us? Can't we all just get along, to coin a phrase.

[surfyachtie]

hctkbc I have to agree with your sentiments about the way staff MUST be treated. Unfortunately if you notice this is perhaps an age thing. At the risk of being flamed here you may have noticed that people as they get older become less tolerant of society. You often see this in nursing homes or the like. My mother in law worked in such an establishment and we were horrified at some of the stories we heard. I'm not trying to group everyone in this basket but certainly there will be some that belong there.

[edgee]

Excellent observations. For the most part now, there's Oceania and perhaps Azamara, and the rest Including, Celebrity, HAL, Princess. Carnival doesn't count in my books and RCI is 'OK'. The true outliers are the real high end lines but we haven't experienced those yet (we are nowhere near the Doctor's number of cruises, but we have cruised extensively over the past 20 years with 1-3 cruises per year). Oceania has a magnificent overall product whilst Celebrity, which had been our absolute favourite for years barely distinguishes itself anymore amongst the lines mentioned in this category anymore.

 

Having said this the one facet that is truly still obviously different is that that the PAX on Celebrity tended to still be of a more respectable type, say in comparison to Carnival, Costa, or even RCI, with generally nice manners etc. while those on Oceania had an overall manner of excessive entitlement! We always go out of our way to engage staff. It's much more satisfying, but unfortunately you also hear how they're treated by PAX as clearly noted by Doctor Cocktail (love the moniker).

 

Having returned recently from Marina, and then Solstice, we could readily do this comparison. So we agree. As for overall product, Oceania is in a class by itself. Celebrity is still good but also, don't bother with the main DR which was once one of the best in the mass market business (remember Zenith, Century et al... I am not comparing to Crystal type lines). BUT PLEASE, PAX, REMEMBER YOUR MANNERS! You're dealing with hard working staff who will generally go significantly out of their way to assist you when you at least show appreciation!

 

Generally agree with your points re: comparison between Oceania and other cruise lines. Oceania is at the absolute top of the "non all-inclusive" group. However we believe Celebrity is a class above the other mainstram lines especially with opportunity to travel in Aqua Class with assigned open dining in Blu and generally speaking, the types of passengers who choose Celebrity. Also the coffee bar area of Celebrity ships, Cafe El Baccio(sp?) is significantly more elegant with warmer atmosphere and much better drink options than Baristas on Oceania.

[pacheco18]

Generally agree with your points re: comparison between Oceania and other cruise lines. Oceania is at the absolute top of the "non all-inclusive" group. However we believe Celebrity is a class above the other mainstram lines especially with opportunity to travel in Aqua Class with assigned open dining in Blu and generally speaking, the types of passengers who choose Celebrity. Also the coffee bar area of Celebrity ships, Cafe El Baccio(sp?) is significantly more elegant with warmer atmosphere and much better drink options than Baristas on Oceania.

 

Agree 100%. We really enjoy Celebrity -- best value at sea IMO. But our first choice is always an R ship.

[Dr. Cocktail]

Hello pacheco18, edgee and hctkbt:

 

It's funny - I have sailed with Celebrity 35 times and will return again this year but my loyalty is long gone. While their ships are indeed beautiful, the poor food in the main dining room and the once superb but now "meh" specialty dining rooms don't make up for the loyalty "perks". While we loved the physical setting of Blu, we were shocked at the salt content of the dishes - not particularly healthy eating. What drove us crazy (crazier?) in the specialty restaurants on our last sailing on Equinox was how each server would "talk up" the menu and the courses. As in: "here's your beautiful fillet, here's the crisp salad, welcome to our wonderful dining room" - the script had obviously been well rehearsed.

 

Even Oceania's specialty restaurants don't compare to Horizon, Zenith or Century's main dining room (remember the orchestras?!) in the mid 90's. Oh well, nostalgia must just be a sign of getting older!

[pacheco18]

Hello pacheco18, edgee and hctkbt:

 

It's funny - I have sailed with Celebrity 35 times and will return again this year but my loyalty is long gone. While their ships are indeed beautiful, the poor food in the main dining room and the once superb but now "meh" specialty dining rooms don't make up for the loyalty "perks". While we loved the physical setting of Blu, we were shocked at the salt content of the dishes - not particularly healthy eating. What drove us crazy (crazier?) in the specialty restaurants on our last sailing on Equinox was how each server would "talk up" the menu and the courses. As in: "here's your beautiful fillet, here's the crisp salad, welcome to our wonderful dining room" - the script had obviously been well rehearsed.

 

Even Oceania's specialty restaurants don't compare to Horizon, Zenith or Century's main dining room (remember the orchestras?!) in the mid 90's. Oh well, nostalgia must just be a sign of getting older!

 

We are just off Solstice and had the best MDR experience we have ever had. We have never had a good MDR experience on O -- we generally eat in the buffet or the specialty restaurants. I love the specialties on Celebrity (especially Qsine for fun and United States on Infinity), but thankfully I have not had the "talk up" experience. LOL

[Dr. Cocktail]

We are just off Solstice and had the best MDR experience we have ever had. We have never had a good MDR experience on O -- we generally eat in the buffet or the specialty restaurants. I love the specialties on Celebrity (especially Qsine for fun and United States on Infinity), but thankfully I have not had the "talk up" experience. LOL

 

I'm happy to hear this! I always go in with a good attitude (and a little trepidation!)

 

This is so subjective as to be ridiculous but in spite of the "serious" decor in the specialties on Marina and Riviera, they were far more relaxed in tone than the frequently self important ones on Celebrity. We have frequently wanted to tell the staff: "Oh, get over yourselves!!!"

[Fighterone]

Dr. Cocktail, we were on the Carnival Paradise headed towards Cozumel last Saturday, March 2, 2013 and we saw the beautiful Riviera going the other way from our cabin. We later heard that a couple of ships had not docked in Cozumel that day. I presume one of them was Riviera. Can you tell me what port you were supposed to dock at, how this was announced, was there a mechanical problem and if there was great disappointment? :confused:

I am curious because we along with Carnival Victory, Elation and Celebrity Constellation made it in that day.

Looking forward to sailing on Riviera someday, hopefully for my 65th birthday!:D She looks beautiful.

[Benita]

I was on the ship. The captain announced that the seas were too rough to dock in Cozumel on March 2- the announcement was made around 8am. We were supposed to be at the pier downtown - I think the other ships dock at different piers, so maybe the water was too rough at one and more sheltered at the others. Either that, or Oceania wanted to save the port charges - LOL. It was quite windy and loads of people felt under the weather that day. I know that, because our butler called us and said there were so many cancellations for the specialty restaurants, that he was offering us another at Red Ginger, an offer we jumped upon.

[Dr. Cocktail]

I was on the ship. The captain announced that the seas were too rough to dock in Cozumel on March 2- the announcement was made around 8am. We were supposed to be at the pier downtown - I think the other ships dock at different piers, so maybe the water was too rough at one and more sheltered at the others. Either that, or Oceania wanted to save the port charges - LOL. It was quite windy and loads of people felt under the weather that day. I know that, because our butler called us and said there were so many cancellations for the specialty restaurants, that he was offering us another at Red Ginger, an offer we jumped upon.

 

Thanks for answering - I must say I'm a little peeved that the other ships made it in. Having said that Fighterone, how was the weather once you were ashore?

 

Benita: Please - I was planning on retiring on that port charge refund - funny how that was forgotten! Oh well, I drank about 30 port charges worth at the Captain's Cocktail and Repeaters party!

[Fighterone]

I was on the ship. The captain announced that the seas were too rough to dock in Cozumel on March 2- the announcement was made around 8am. We were supposed to be at the pier downtown - I think the other ships dock at different piers, so maybe the water was too rough at one and more sheltered at the others. Either that, or Oceania wanted to save the port charges - LOL. It was quite windy and loads of people felt under the weather that day. I know that, because our butler called us and said there were so many cancellations for the specialty restaurants, that he was offering us another at Red Ginger, an offer we jumped upon.

 

Thank you! Yes, the entire 4 fay sailing was pretty choppy but it didn't bother us. Oceania saving on port charges...I'd say that would be more likely one for Carnival to pull, LOL. As a matter of fact, I seem to remember that they were way behind on paying that bil in Mexico l a few years ago.

 

Thanks for answering - I must say I'm a little peeved that the other ships made it in. Having said that Fighterone, how was the weather once you were ashore?

 

Benita: Please - I was planning on retiring on that port charge refund - funny how that was forgotten! Oh well, I drank about 30 port charges worth at the Captain's Cocktail and Repeaters party!

 

 

It was very windy and chilly when we docked at 0900. It took a while too. The waves hit the pier pretty hard. We docked at the TSS International pier along with Celebrity Constellation. Victory was at Punta Maya and Elation was at Punta Langosta, the pier downtown. If you had an excursion planned for the beach, it definitely was a bit to windy and chilly for that. We had some shopping to do and were glad we hadn't booked any excursion.

Oh well! you had a great time on board, honoring your name which I should borrow as I love those cocktails too.

Cheers!

[mikesms]

I have to say - i would hate for this thread to be the basis for which some folks make a decision whether or not to sail on the Riviera. We were on the Feb 2nd Caribbean Hideaways cruise and did not encounter any of the rudeness you mention here. Our experience was very positive - the fellow passengers were personable, the crew was great and the overall experience was very positive - and frankly we can't wait to go back! You may have drawn a bad hand in terms of who you wound up sailing with - that happens, you have no control over that -- but i wouldn't paint the ship or the staff or the cruise line in a negative light because of it. And i will say - if you don't want to deal with or watch the goings-on on around the pool - there is a simple solution - book a cabin with a big enough veranda so that you don't need to hang around the pool! Personally, I think the brush you painted this picture with was way too broad and unfair.

[oceanbill457]

Having been to Cozumel twice and enjoyed the beach at Nochi Cocom, I can't imagine it would have been pleasant to have five ships in port on a calm day. The folks on Oceania had the best of it.

[Paulchili]

Dr. Cocktail,

Thank you for your insightful notes from your recent cruise.

We did 3 cruises on Oceania from November '12 to Feb '13 (Nautica, Marina and Regatta).

I have to agree that we have noticed a difference in the general atmosphere and clientele on Oceania - especially on the last cruise on the Regatta. At times I felt I was on a Princess cruise rather than an Oceania cruise. I am not sure what to attribute these changes to but we too were bothered by the rudeness of some of the passengers - much more pervasive than in the past; and yes, sadly it was mostly by Americans but also by some South Americans. It is hard to watch when the very hard working crew (and sometimes also fellow passengers) are not treated with the respect they deserve.

Hopefully it was an exception and not a trend.

[Fighterone]

Having been to Cozumel twice and enjoyed the beach at Nochi Cocom, I can't imagine it would have been pleasant to have five ships in port on a calm day. The folks on Oceania had the best of it.

 

Nachi Cocom is the only beach that I know of in Cozumel who only accepts reservations and will not allow more than 100 people a day so the fact that there might be 5 ships in that port will certainly affect other beaches but not Nachi.

[Dr. Cocktail]

I have to say - i would hate for this thread to be the basis for which some folks make a decision whether or not to sail on the Riviera. We were on the Feb 2nd Caribbean Hideaways cruise and did not encounter any of the rudeness you mention here. Our experience was very positive - the fellow passengers were personable, the crew was great and the overall experience was very positive - and frankly we can't wait to go back! You may have drawn a bad hand in terms of who you wound up sailing with - that happens, you have no control over that -- but i wouldn't paint the ship or the staff or the cruise line in a negative light because of it. And i will say - if you don't want to deal with or watch the goings-on on around the pool - there is a simple solution - book a cabin with a big enough veranda so that you don't need to hang around the pool! Personally, I think the brush you painted this picture with was way too broad and unfair.

 

Dear mikesms:

 

Thank you for taking the time to read 7 lines of my review. My commenting on the rudeness of fellow passengers made up a small portion of my review.

Perhaps you can advise me on what to do when people seated next to me in Polo are making racist comments towards the black maitre'd.

Also, perhaps you would like to comment on the many other posters who shared my opinions.

 

Again, had you carefully read the review, you would have noted that I indeed was in an extended veranda. Again, please advise on what the proper protocol is when your fellow passengers have held chairs for hours and the hard-working crew are forced to deal with the ramifications.

 

My review was astonishingly positive towards the overall product and was for the sailing of February 22nd, not the sailing that you were on.

 

Ordinarily, I welcome criticism - that should be what Cruise Critic is about but when the comments are based on a lazy assessment, I will no longer let them slide.

[Emperor Norton]

Dear mikesms:

 

Thank you for taking the time to read 7 lines of my review. My commenting on the rudeness of fellow passengers made up a small portion of my review.

Perhaps you can advise me on what to do when people seated next to me in Polo are making racist comments towards the black maitre'd.

Also, perhaps you would like to comment on the many other posters who shared my opinions.

 

Again, had you carefully read the review, you would have noted that I indeed was in an extended veranda. Again, please advise on what the proper protocol is when your fellow passengers have held chairs for hours and the hard-working crew are forced to deal with the ramifications.

 

My review was astonishingly positive towards the overall product and was for the sailing of February 22nd, not the sailing that you were on.

 

Ordinarily, I welcome criticism - that should be what Cruise Critic is about but when the comments are based on a lazy assessment, I will no longer let them slide.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

...

Perhaps you can advise me on what to do when people seated next to me in Polo are making racist comments towards the black maitre'd.

 

Wow. That's a tough one. Many of us would shrink from making a scene in this case, I'm sure. Others would take the direct approach and cut those people to the quick. Which camp I fall into would depend on the circumstances. I know what my husband would do! It's tempting to get physical at a time like that, but that just gets you kicked off the ship!

 

Reminds me of the time our dinner companions at a table for 6 on the PG started making slurs about gays, not realizing that our friend and fellow traveller was in fact gay. We all let that one slide after looking appalled (our friend went red as a beet), because we didn't want to embarrass him, and we just made our excuses and left as soon as we could.

 

Also reminds of a bozo we met on the PG. He was young, on his honeymoon, and was already abusing his wife terribly, in public. I believe some of the men on board took him aside and had a word with him. I sure hope she left him pronto!

[pacheco18]

I would not hesitate to open my mouth.

 

On a less offensive note, on our recent cruise (and in the Executive lounge of the hotel we were at -- same thing occurred in both places) we were seated at a table for 4 (just two of us) and a couple was at the adjacent table for 2. The tables were right along side one another. The food was buffet style and when our neighbors were done with their dirty plates, they just piled them on our table, rather than wait for the server to take them away. Their logic? We were not using the entire table. LOL

 

Trust me, these folks will NEVER do it again.

 

If no one tells people they have bad manners, they will never know they do.

[canuck.qc]

I come away far more informed after reading reviews like Dr Cocktail's for example. It helps to make us aware of certain pax behaviors and how to deal with them. Discussions about the size of the shower, depth of chairs, brand of toiletries are IMO useless..plus there is nothing much we can do about it. I am always pleased to read good reviews that cover all aspects of the cruise, including the behavior of fellow pax. In my experience, the people we meet during the cruise have a bigger impact on my overall positive/negative experience than whether my soup was served tepid or the steak was a bit dry.... Maybe those of us reading posts about certain instances of bad behavior might see a reflection of themselves:eek:

[ellasabe]

...cruised but once round trip from Florida, but I recall even then there was a huge crowd of folks onboard that did seem to be significantly older and to be pushy. It was the most miserable group of passengers we ever encountered on any cruise....

 

Thank you for saying this!

 

I live in Florida, moved to a very white, affluent small city 30 years and I have watched as the number of elderly, cranky, selfish, condescending seniors here has skyrocketed.

 

What I do not understand is their pushy, demanding, complaining behavior. I see it all around me, every day--when they drive, in the grocery stores, at the library. Even when confronted by my meek husband--no youngster himself at age 66--one woman age 80 plus cut in front of him at the library and pushed him aside said nastily, snarled at the rest of us in line""I don't want to wait, and I'm not going to."

 

My husband is a retired attorney and not long ago he was helping set up a video recorder, so a local (elderly) businessman could be interviewed for the community newsletter. The businessman, just a few years older than my husband, thought hubby was a peon technical worker and treated him like dirt. It was only after the taping, when the businessman somehow discovered my husband was a prominent attorney, that his whole attitude changed and he became Mr. Congeniality with hubby. It was a disgusting personality flip.

 

We don't understand this. My parents are in their 70's and they aren't like this....but so many other seniors are. Where is it coming from? Why the bad attitudes?

 

It makes me sad. Cruising is supposed to be a civilized experience.

[Suite Travels]

I was born and raised in the good old USA. My husband and I are very polite, always say please & thank you, so do our children and grandchildren. My youngest started saying thank you when he was just one year old. He is now 3 and is still very polite. I am a flight attendant, have observed behavior of my PAX. Yes, some are self evolved. Most are very kind and respectful of me. We are looking forward to our next cruise on the Riviera in March. A Btb. If I am surrounded by rude obnoxious people I will be forced to say something. So happy about the attendants removing personal belongings from the lounge chairs, I have been known to do it myself at resorts! On the Riviera, I will point it out to the attendant. Hopefully the pax on our cruise are wonderful and gracious!! We just feel fortunate to be able to spend 24 days on another wonderful Oceania cruise. Jeanine

 

Hi Jeanine, I am a retired AA/TWA f/a with 27 years. I certainly know what you are saying. Over the years after deregulation the pax's became ruder and non-compliant. When you tell them to turn off all electronic devices you must police that and then try to ignore you....well I just pick up the inter phone and call the flight deck and off they go.

 

I invested well so we can cruise and we love Crystal and looking forward to trying the R line thanks to Gerry's wonderful review.

[Mura]

To the flight attendants --

 

I'm sure you know that not all passengers ignore the rules! I am meticulous about turning off my Kindle when I'm told to do so, even if it means I have nothing to read for 20 minutes or so!

 

And I have never snarled at a FA even if deserved ... except, quite frankly, I don't think a snarl has ever been deserved. Not from me anyway!

 

Thanks for your hard work with many difficult passengers. (I have seen more obstreperous passengers than I have difficult flight attendants, that's for sure.)

 

Mura

[Benita]

Dr. Cocktail - you said you took one of the cabins with the extended balcony. We originally took one, but was able to upgrade to a PH on deck 11 for a reasonable sum, but due to the overhang, had practically no sun there. For our next O cruise - March 2014, we again booked a B-3 cabin - 7108, which is the first one towards the stern. We like to avoid the crowds near the pool, so are hoping to have 2 loungers put on the balcony and get our sun there. Is that a reasonable expectation (assuming that it is a sunny day?)

[vaitape]

What's up with the lack of loungers around the pool on the bigger ships?? We are thinking about a repositioning cruise to PPT with many sea days. Not sure we'll remain interested if every day is a challenge to find and retain a chair by the pool. Wondering why the seating supply doesn't meet the demand on these new ships.

 

BTW, we were on a 48 day South America cruise recently and were surprised (at times shocked) by the behavior of some passengers...not all of course but enough. One day, there was a shoving incident in Brazil when a tour bus unloaded dissatisfied folks at the gathering place for the shuttle return to the ship. Shuttle bus capacity fell woefully short in most ports where it was offered but that day, those who had been waiting for quite a time were less than happy when the tour passengers made their way to the front of line. There were no O reps present to control the waiting pax and some very unpleasant behavior ensued.

 

We've witnessed verbal abuse of wait staff in Terrace and the GDR as well as shoving in the food lines and tender lines. Not sure why this is happening but it is. For goodness sake people, you're on a cruise...relax and remember your manners!