Please join us - Spain to the New World on a new ship - LIVE from Oceania Riviera

[kazu]

Happy Birthday Jose!!

 

 

 

Thank you, Jacqui, for the great photos of your Penthouse. As we consider trying "O", this is the cabin we are looking at. It looks very close to an SS or NS although it's hard to tell exactly how big. We love the "booth" seating. Can you get dinner delivered course by course?

 

 

 

I should NEVER look at food porn before dinner!!!:eek:

 

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

The cabin is between the size of an SS and a Neptune Suite - about 400 square feet. There is plenty of room.

 

Yes, you can get dinner served in your room and course by course if you like. We haven't done it yet, but we might do in room dining one night. PH category can order from any specialty restaurant for in room dining as well as the in room dining menu.

 

I will probably skip the course by course avenue though.

[kazu]

I usually wait -- it doesn't take long for the steak to cook, especially if you like it rare as I do. But they WILL bring it to you, as far as I can recall. If Waves staff is willing to bring your burger into Terrace, I don't see why Terrace staff wouldn't bring it to you in Terrace.

 

 

I haven't seen anyone bringing it Mura, nor offer to you, but I also haven't asked. Everyone seems to wait in the Terrace Grill and no one seems to mind.

[kazu]

Thanks everyone for the kind wishes for Jose.

 

I tried posting last night but CC/Internet burped and didn't want to co-operate.

 

OK, there is definitely noro/gasto whatever on the ship. When we first boarded and until yesterday - there were lots of hand sanitizers around but no one was making you use them. They were just "there". Much different than what we were used to in the past but it was fine by me. Jose and I are adults and know to take care of our hygiene.

 

Yesterday, by the pool, it all changed. All of a sudden, there was a staff member with a hand sanitizers squirting everyone. People at the Grand Dining Room asking you to use the sanitizer.

 

People at the entrance of the dining room to use the sanitizer.

 

A complete turnaround which made my sixth sense go off. Talking to someone who was at Trivia I found out that there are at least 10 cases according to Ray Michaels so they want to make sure that everyone stays healthy. Free medical care has been offered if you are feeling unwell.

 

And now, for the *** moment.

 

I looked at our Currents for today and there is ANOTHER life boat drill. ***???? We just did one 7 days ago. They only repeat life boat drills every 14 days on a Transatlantic. ***???

 

I talked to another O regular and he is stymied as well. He has never seen this before either. Ughh, what a way to wreck a morning.

 

Lugging the lifejacket again, putting the thing on again and lugging back upstairs.

 

What a complainer I am, eh? Don't they know they are ruining my morning plans? LOL

[kazu]

Happy Birthday Jose. I see you guys are enjoying your self. Love the pictures of Funchal, brings back memories. Do a ships tour so we can see what the rest of the public places on board look like.

 

Allan & Marlane

 

 

oh the pressure :)

 

Once I get my food porn caught up, I will give you a tad of a tour.

 

We went to Jacques last night - YUM.

 

Between that, Polo, La Reserve, I have some food porn to post so as long as you can stomach more food pics, stay tuned and I will share, but right now.....my laundry calls;)

[copvet]

Thank you so much for sharing your Riveria sailing experience with all of us. We look forward to boarding her a week from today in Miami.

Wayne & Debbie

[AZNative2000]

The cabin is between the size of an SS and a Neptune Suite - about 400 square feet. There is plenty of room.

 

We might do in room dining one night. PH category can order from any specialty restaurant for in room dining as well as the in room dining menu.

 

Thanks, Jacqui! Cabin sounds perfect ... and certainly looks it!:)

 

It might be difficult to choose with all those menu choices.;)

 

A great problem to have.:D

 

Cheers!

Edited November 25, 2015 by AZNative2000

[Bentley5700]

Your blog is great! Gets us excited as we board on the 12th in Miami. Hurry.;)

[LHT28]

Do you need to take the life jackets now ??

 

In the past you just showed up to the muster station

One good thing is we did not have to stand outside in the heat/cold ;)

[1of4]

Another Happy Birthday wish from all 4of4 to Jose. Sorry to be late to the party but it is a bit of a bad day on this side of the Atlantic (nothing other than my head). The food looks so good I am not hungry...I hope it tastes as good! I agree with Vict0riann the catch of the day caught my eye.

 

I love the cabin. Thanks for sharing the photos and taking the time on such a busy day. Hope the new hygiene measures are short lived.

[kazu]

Do you need to take the life jackets now ??

 

In the past you just showed up to the muster station

One good thing is we did not have to stand outside in the heat/cold ;)

 

 

For both of our drills we had to take our life jackets. They have you put them onin the meeting place (Rivierar Lounge for us) and ask you to leave them on until you get back to your room so that no one trips over the straps.

[cat shepard]

Interesting about the second drill. Perhaps a result of the travel alert issued recently. One of the few preparations a cruise line can take that includes passengers. If not this, then I have Jo clue.

[LHT28]

For both of our drills we had to take our life jackets. They have you put them onin the meeting place (Rivierar Lounge for us) and ask you to leave them on until you get back to your room so that no one trips over the straps.

Thanks must be something new then

 

I would trip over my feet if I leave the jacket on going back to the cabin :D

[kazu]

OK, so a bit of back tracking. ON the first night we ate at the Terrace Grill and you have seen a sampling of what is offered there.

 

On the second night we headed to Red Ginger. Red Ginger is a favourite of many people on O. I ordered their sea bass (which they are well known for) & DH an Asian dish.

 

Both of us were disappointed. I couldn't eat my appetizer (and neither could CC friends of ours when we compared notes).

 

My sea bass had been doused too long in the sauce and overcooked at the ends (probably because of too much sauce). The middle portion was very good though.

 

DH and I did not give it high marks but their teas are lovely here. It's the one place you can find a really nice herbal tea.

 

When I compared with CC friends who were also there the same night, their sea bass was lovely.

 

I was to find that the restaurants can be inconsistent in service and quality. For example one person can have a great experience and the other may not.

 

Red Ginger does have some nice touches to it though so anyone sailing on O should give it a try and not go by our experience as many have enjoyed the sea bass there.

 

I didn't take food porn pics here, sorry - guess that tells you something, doesn't it? LOL

 

The next night we decided to try the Grand Dining Room (main dining room) for dinner.

 

Met a lovely French couple in the two top next to us (some of the two tops are very close together) and had a lovely evening. The service was really nice and the Grand Dining Room is a very nice venue.

 

 

 

 

 

isn't the bread basket pretty?

 

 

[kazu]

the shrimps were quite good!

 

 

 

the place settings were really pretty.

 

 

Leaving the dining room the Grand Staircase awaits you....

 

 

[kazu]

The next night we went to Polo (the steakhouse). Since the two couple had two different experiences in Red Ginger we ate together so we could confirm "subjective" findings - LOL - and for the fun of each other's company of course.

 

The taste testers are all set to go to work!!!

 

 

my escargots - and they got thumbs up - no tasting required by anyone.

 

 

 

the shrimp that gigianne's DH got. He said they were tough, so we tested. Tough is an understatement. Strike 1 sadly for him

 

 

so all of the first set of appetizers were very good, except for the shrimp.

 

Our next set of appetizers arrived...

 

 

 

all of the other appetizers were good except for gigianne's DH chowder (again???). So I and gigianne tasted it and I immediately told him not to eat it. They added something to it but it nearly tasted like it had turned.

[kazu]

then we came to the main course.

 

 

removing the cover from my lobster

 

 

 

 

 

steak, lobster everything was delicious except for the rotisserie chicken. And yes, <sigh> it was gigianne's DH AGAIN that had the chicken. And yes, we tasted it. So tough and overcooked it was indescribable.

[kazu]

 

And our dessert - a lovely tasting - very, very good.

 

So, what I have best figured out is that there can be inconsistencies in the restaurants. Perhaps they offer too many choices ? Perhaps too many people at a time? Not sure but how can three meals be cooked so well and one meal be a complete strike out? DH loved the food there and wants more and although they were slow to remove plates at the end (painfully slow with a full chicken sitting there), we will happily eat their food again. Sadly our dining companion had the exact opposite experience (and justifiably so).

 

The Maitre D' did apologize and offered us another chance to dine there. Since we are doing Privee anyways, we will have the opportunity to have more Polo food.

 

DH and I definitely will

[PirateShark]

Red Ginger wasn't our favorite either Kazu. I chalk that up to being a spoiled NorCal girl and getting fabulous Asian fare in SFO :). I will also avoid the chicken in Polo ( probably wouldn't have thought to order it because STEAK!).

 

Enjoying the blog and again, thanks for doing this.

[kazu]

Red Ginger wasn't our favorite either Kazu. I chalk that up to being a spoiled NorCal girl and getting fabulous Asian fare in SFO :). I will also avoid the chicken in Polo ( probably wouldn't have thought to order it because STEAK!).

 

 

 

Enjoying the blog and again, thanks for doing this.

 

 

I didn't even think to order chicken in Polo Pirate Shark! I make enough chicken at home ;)

[kazu]

So, yesterday I went to Bingo AGAIN. LOL - Kazu only plays Bingo on the ships. I really like the way O does Bingo. Not too silly and a bit of character at the same time. In Horizons - such a nice spot for Bingo (they really put Horizons to use on the ship) . Instead of the silly $10,000 prize that I have seen offered that has to be won in an impossible number of calls, this is a simple "share the pot" bingo. The pot for the black out starts with a small amount of numbers and each day they add one number so that the chances are better to win. The pot is simply an accumulation of what has been played so right now it is around $1,200. At the end of the cruise if no one wins it in the numbers called then whoever winds the black out wins the pot.

 

They also have this modern gizmo so that they just call out the number on the card and the bingo shows on the board - so no wasting time. I will try to remember to take a pic today to show you.

 

Bingo was especially good yesterday since kazu won one of the small games. Ok, it's only $100+ but it sure helps with the cost of having fun playing bingo :)

 

I joked with DH that I hadn't played the casino yet so maybe I should go and will be lucky. Oh my heavens, the casino on this ship is SMALL and I mean SMALL. The casino on the Prinsendam (a HAL ship with about 840 passengers) is bigger than this and more modern. Unlike other casinos, you don't put your card in. You put in money. If you win something, you have to cash out and get a slip. You then have to take the slip to the cashier to get your money. So, if you are moving from slot to slot and decide to cash out you can end up with a few of these suckers.

 

Now, you can put the slips in the machine, but I don't like the machines to know I have won money (or lost and just cashed out) so I don't like to do it. I know, I'm silly.

 

Anyways, long story short, I walked out with $100!!!! I decided it was time to leave as it is too easy to let it all slip through your fingers.;)

 

So, that makes two things in a row. Could there be a third due to happen today? Fingers crossed!

[kazu]

Our next specialty dining was at La Reserve. DH and I had booked the Connoisseur Menu (the really, really expensive one).

 

We headed to La Reserve for 6:45 p.m. and there was an area outside sectioned off. We were greeted by name and brought to the outside table to share with 4 others and offered some of the Brut Champagne and an amuse bouche while we waited for everyone to arrive.

 

At 7:00 p.m. we were all promptly escorted into La Reserve.

 

I have to say that O does La Reserve very well. Even the plates were timed so that three plates were put down simultaneously.

 

 

 

 

 

La reserve....

 

 

Our menu from a couple of angles.... hope you can read it....

 

 

[kazu]

then it was time for our Perlita Caviar d'Aquitaine with Cream of Sea Urchin...

 

 

our Holsin Sauteed Cuck Foie Gras with Pecan & Cucumber Salad over Riesling Infused Watermelon.

 

 

Our sommelier gave great, short talks on the different wines and why they were being paired.

 

 

Our Culatello Gran Riserva & Smoked Ricotta in Tricorne Ravioli with Pumpkin Veloute

 

 

Our Butter Poached Brittany Blue Lobster with Vegetable Nage & Beetroot Cress .......the chef said that Brittany Blue Lobster was the best in the world - better even than Maritime Lobster - this Maritimer is not arguing with him.

 

 

Our Seared Kobe Beef Sus Vide with Valrhona Sauce, Franck's mashed potates with edamame beans...

 

This was the only semi let down for me. Kobe beef should be able to cut with anything and this did take a knife but it was still good.

 

[kazu]

our Roasted Vacherin Mont d'Or with Grape & Truffle Salad..

 

 

Our Berry Consmme with Lime Ginger Mascarpone Ice Cream & Sesame Crisp

 

 

La Reserve is set up very nicely and the chefs work in the same area. There were lots of chefs - they are not fooling around here...

 

 

 

La Reserve is a very pretty spot...

 

 

[kazu]

some more of la Reserve

 

Our table of 6. La Reserve holds up to 24 I believe. There were 18 at this one - 3 tables of 6

 

 

 

 

Here are the different La Reserve menus...

 

 

All in all a lovely night and I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes good food and doesn't mind to spend a bit of money for it.

[kazu]

We had another time change last night and as much as I needed sleep, I just couldn't sleep in so I am up very early watching the sun rise.

 

Red sky at night sailor's delight, red sky in the morning, sailor's take warning - right? It's a red sky this morning.

 

But the internet is faster (much) so I will keep trying to post the pics for you all while it is working. I suspect I am the only one on right now - LOL.

 

The next morning there was a Grand Brunch in the dining room. It was served from 9 to 1 pm so no matter how early or how late you rose you couldn't miss it. They even had a man carving serrano ham!!

 

A very pretty buffet.

 

 

 

The only negative is that the buffet was not well explained and you had to order your eggs. So we had to get the waiter back.

 

But it was nice. There were mimosas and bloody mary's also offered at the bargain price of $5.50 for the occasion.