Riviera service spotty and a little cheap

[lais]

I have cruised on Oceania six times in less than three years. All our cruises with Oceania have been excellent until this cruise on the Riviera. Though I do not confess to be a "cheerleader", I have been trying to let my fellow friends on HAL where I am five star, know how wonderful an experience my prior Oceania cruises have been. This cruise was a disappointment !

 

The purpose of the CC is to express your opinions whether good or bad whether they occur over the Holidays or not!

I totally agree. I had disappointments with our room stewardess. The assistant (the one who cleans the bathrooms) was awesome and a hard worker but the room stewardess couldn't care less. Rooms were never cleaned before 1pm. She usually showed up right about the time we wanted to take a nap. I always got my own ice.

The Terrace Café was a problem for me too. The girls serving the Eggs Benedict were bullys and after an incident with them I was afraid to be served anything by them. And it wasn't just me they were mean to. Maybe I was just paranoid but I didn't want them tampering with my food so I never did get to enjoy the eggs benedict or oatmeal or anything else served at that side of the room. The feeling I got from those girls and their friends was "here she comes, spit in her food" lol

I hadn't even complained to them about anything. They just taunted me and It was reported. It changed my entire perspective of being served on this particular cruise.

Everyone else in the Café seemed to be doing a good job.

 

We did not get to enjoy the little goodies served in the Concierge lounge until the last day.

Overall we had a nice vacation but I've never experienced being taunted or having bad room stewards ever before.

 

I will sail Oceania again but not on the Riviera.

[LHT28]

LAIS

Can you explain how they bullied & taunted you ??

That is not very good of the staff to be like that

 

Did you ever try the GDR for breakfast ?

 

Where did you get your own ice ?

[Pet Nit Noy]

... The girls serving the Eggs Benedict were bullys and after an incident with them I was afraid to be served anything by them. And it wasn't just me they were mean to. Maybe I was just paranoid but I didn't want them tampering with my food so I never did get to enjoy the eggs benedict or oatmeal or anything else served at that side of the room. The feeling I got from those girls and their friends was "here she comes, spit in her food" lol

I hadn't even complained to them about anything. They just taunted me and It was reported....

 

Was the incident reported on the spot? To the manager on duty? In a written commentary after the fact? To the staff at Customer Service?

 

And what happened?

 

As atypical as this incident seems, BLEEP happens. People are people and sometimes do some pretty awful/stupid things. I'm less interested in what was said than in how Oceania followed up. Your post (#55) is silent on management's response.

Edited December 26, 2015 by Pet Nit Noy

[Mura]

Lais,

 

I certainly understand why you (and others who were unhappy with Riviera's recent outings) would say "I'll sail again on Oceania but not on Riviera". BUT, and it's a big but, staff changes frequently. Sometimes they go from one ship to another. It certainly appears that training has slipped at least as far as Riviera is concerned, but I would be reluctant to think the problem can be solved simply by avoiding one ship.

 

I, too, am curious about the details of the bullying.

 

Mura

[rrunner]

I am reading these forums cause I am sailing with O on the Riviera january 23th for the first time, we are in our early 40's, I sincerely hope after reading these posts that we are not on a cruise packed with grumpy old people complaining about salt and pepper shakers...bath robes and removed glasses or whatever.

 

To all those grumpy ones....get an 'O life' and keep those complaints for in the elderly home.

 

Happy cruising! I know I will!

 

We are about to sail on Riviera for the first time in 2 weeks. I am also shocked at all the negative posts - very disappointed actually - I was looking forward to this cruise - now I am expecting a ship full of negative low tolerance passengers - hope I am wrong. We usually sail with Cunard and while everything is not perfect on that line - most of the passengers are very loyal and look for the positives. Can we please have a few upbeat posts.

[rheasue38]

Hi!

We have sailed with Oceania 22 times and have enjoyed each and every cruise. Rrunner, you should be excited about your upcoming cruise! Oceania is a wonderful cruiseline and we are excited about our upcoming 6 cruises on Oceania. Our next cruise is on the Riviera in Jan. and we look forward to the wonderful staff and dining experiences.

You will love the food at all the specialty restaurants. Don't forget to try the burgers at Waves! Also go to tea time each afternoon at 4 P.M. in Horizons. I's a wonderful experience and very relaxing!

Rhea

[rrunner]

Hi!

We have sailed with Oceania 22 times and have enjoyed each and every cruise. Rrunner, you should be excited about your upcoming cruise! Oceania is a wonderful cruiseline and we are excited about our upcoming 6 cruises on Oceania. Our next cruise is on the Riviera in Jan. and we look forward to the wonderful staff and dining experiences.

You will love the food at all the specialty restaurants. Don't forget to try the burgers at Waves! Also go to tea time each afternoon at 4 P.M. in Horizons. I's a wonderful experience and very relaxing!

Rhea

 

Thank you - I appreciate your post.

[wally_bushy]

We are about to sail on Riviera for the first time in 2 weeks. I am also shocked at all the negative posts - very disappointed actually - I was looking forward to this cruise - now I am expecting a ship full of negative low tolerance passengers - hope I am wrong. We usually sail with Cunard and while everything is not perfect on that line - most of the passengers are very loyal and look for the positives. Can we please have a few upbeat posts.

 

The more you cruise the more you wonder about human nature. I have heard negatives from cruises we have absolutely enjoyed.

Nothing is perfect but most things are great and we focus on those.

I have not felt the desire to base my cruise selection on tote bags or robes.

Overall Oceania is what we consider the best value in cruising. (and yes things have not always been perfect)

[hypercafe]

We are about to sail on Riviera for the first time in 2 weeks. I am also shocked at all the negative posts - very disappointed actually - I was looking forward to this cruise - now I am expecting a ship full of negative low tolerance passengers - hope I am wrong. We usually sail with Cunard and while everything is not perfect on that line - most of the passengers are very loyal and look for the positives. Can we please have a few upbeat posts.

 

I am sure you will have a nice time. If you are used to Cunard you will see a major difference in the casual atmosphere of the ship. I think the Riviera is their best ship, the R class are too small for me. The Riviera is a refined version of the first in class Marina. By the time you go it will be in the grove of its RT Miami Caribbean season and I am sure management has been onboard. I ran into FDR onboard once in Miami and at that time he said they try to use it for meetings etc when it is in port. Enjoy your trip!

[GeezerCouple]

We are about to sail on Riviera for the first time in 2 weeks. I am also shocked at all the negative posts - very disappointed actually - I was looking forward to this cruise - now I am expecting a ship full of negative low tolerance passengers - hope I am wrong. We usually sail with Cunard and while everything is not perfect on that line - most of the passengers are very loyal and look for the positives. Can we please have a few upbeat posts.

 

Here you go :)

 

Okay... we are onboard this holiday cruise, on our long-awaited first Oceania experience, and as we posted in a few places, we were getting worried (and then very worried) from the reports of the previous 3 cruises.

 

So far, ALL IS GOOD.

 

And at least up until now, there is no evidence of any noro. No special precautions appear to be taken (now, perhaps it would be better if they did continue to "take precautions"... "just in case").

But so far, all appears "well" in the health front (but we may just be out of the loop in terms of information?).

 

... but "all" is not excellent, although much definitely is.

 

We ate in Jacques last night, and it was superb (and if we can't get additional reservations there, we will order in from Jacques).

 

And we had a great meal in Polo. The prime rib was really good (very tender and flavorful, cooked just right), and DH reported that his lamb was excellent too.

However, two other people dining that same night later reported that their lamb was very tough.

 

We ate at La Reserve (and will again, tonight), and it was very good.

Some of the food there was exquisite.

However, the slow braised short ribs were a bit of a disappointment.

The verbal description as that course was served included the fact that the meat was cooked sous vide, which hadn't been listed anywhere (or we missed that).

And we had read so many rave comments about this particular dish.

So it is no surprise that the meat was extremely tender... but it was a bit of a surprise that there didn't seem to be much flavor to it. The sauce was very rich (yummy), but that couldn't entirely make up for the lack of flavor in the meat itself.

(We've had sous vide before, and never noticed any lack of flavor to accompany the extreme tenderness.)

 

Unfortunately, the wines served as part of the wine pairings were disappointing. For a special meal that is advertised as placing some emphasis on the wines... not what we were expecting (and no, we weren't expecting first growths or such, but we didn't expect relatively middling wines - not "bad', but not really special enough for a meal like this).

And obviously, this was nothing specific to the Riviera or anything that had recently been occurring on board.

 

The few meals we had in the main Dining Room were disappointing, a view shared by those dining with us each time.

The service was a bit spotty, and the under-staffing was quite obvious.

But that wasn't the only problem. The food just wasn't up to par.

 

The Christmas goose? Very little meat on the portion, and what meat was there was not particularly tender (except for one juicy bite), and it was room temperature when it arrived.

The sole? None of us have ever seen a plate served with food when *everything* was so visually boring: ALL white. Not even a hint of garnish anywhere on any of those plates.

On the other hand, the buche de Noel was amazing. The buttery frosting (including some inside) just melted right in one's mouth almost instantly.

It was with *great* restraint that we didn't have several!

 

On to the Terrace Cafe:

As reported elsewhere, this place is *severely* understaffed.

We didn't experience anything other than very pleasant service, but there was just no way they could keep up.

It was sometimes difficult to find a clean table to sit at.

 

Surprisingly, some of the food in the Terrace Cafe has been among the best. Some of the meats have been amazingly tender *and* tasty.

And a few of the desserts were special.

 

One pet peeve there: When they did clear dishes mid-meal (between courses or between a main dish, while we were getting dessert), they took the flatware, and... then we were left with no fork...

It sometimes took more than one request to get replacement flatware.

(Or to get *any* flatware if we sat at a freshly cleaned table, but one that wasn't yet set up again... because there just weren't any other clean tables...)

 

Another note about the dining service: We did *not* experience any "attitude" problems. It truly seems to be an understaffing problem.

In the main DR, we notice several times when waitstaff were literally running. Yes, a few seemed "rushed" (apparently because they were!), but not rude/etc.

 

We were looking forward to experiencing the layout of the PH suites, and yes, it does "work" as well as we had heard.

Given that it is a relatively small amount of space for a suite, and it's really a single room, it really seems larger.

The bed is very comfy.

Note: We've had high waves/heavy seas (categorized on the TV, listed at 11.5 ft), and we've heard a number of other passengers comment (as in "complain") about all the movement.

We've had no complaint; we are, after all, on a ship, and the seas aren't "calm" (although obviously not stormy, either).

And we both feel like we've been rocked to sleep in a cradle, and we've slept like babies.

Yes, there have been some loud clanks, and some noticeable ship "shuddering" (quite different from the "cradle rocking"), but that hasn't bothered us after the first hour or two.

(We are on Deck 11, so we'd expect more movement, of course. At Jacques, on Deck 5, there was less.)

 

A special treat: The Insignia pulled up across the pier a short time after we did. Fun to see them!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR (a bit early) to all!

[LHT28]

Thanks Geezer for the update

Glad there is not sign of noro

 

Yes even in the Caribbean the seas can be rocky ;)

 

Enjoy the rest of the cruise

[GeezerCouple]

Thanks Geezer for the update

Glad there is not sign of noro

 

Yes even in the Caribbean the seas can be rocky ;)

 

Enjoy the rest of the cruise

 

Yup, and last year (similar itineray, different line/ship), we both thought it was "too calm" ;)

Yes - I know: "Be careful what you ask for."

So we've enjoyed the motion. We don't get sea sick, but I definitely could get scared in truly "high seas", so someday, somewhere...

 

... I'm not really looking forward to that eventual "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Sea" :(

 

We've been watching for any signs of "trouble", and so far, nothing, and we haven't heard any complaints from others about illness.

We are keeping our fingers crossed.

[GeezerCouple]

A few more comments:

 

DH pointed out that I had not commented on the general staff on this ship/cruise.

 

Thus far, everyone we have encountered has been very cheerful, welcoming and friendly.

 

Our Butler (Xavier) is truly wonderful, and we really hope we are able to meet up with him again on another cruise.

 

Everyone in Horizons, at tea time, has been very pleasant and efficient.

(The smoked salmon, there and elsewhere, is extremely tender. Delicious. But the chocolate cake that looked really appealing turned out to be a bit dry. Okay, quite dry. Where is that buche de Noel now?! That really was memorable.)

 

The service in the specialties (thus far, Polo and Jacques) has been without fault, and the waitstaff are friendly.

 

We've had some nice humorous give-and-takes with some of the waitstaff, and it's nice to enjoy that side of a few of them.

 

Basically, we are more than satisfied, at not quite the half way point.

If things continue as is, this is the ship for us (and probably Marina as well).

We like the overall ambiance.

We are thoroughly enjoying this trip :) - and hope it all continues this way.

We'll probably try the R ships, to see how the size works for us.

 

By the way, the Captain's family is here with him (for the holidays?).

We've seen them in the Terrace Cafe a few times.

[Mura]

When we did our first Panama Canal cruise -- also our first cruise with Oceania, on Regatta -- we had an incredibly rough ride going into Aruba (we had two sea days after the Canal because we weren't able to tender at San Blas). The captain took the ship further out to sea where it was calmer.

 

Mura

[lais]

Lais,

 

I certainly understand why you (and others who were unhappy with Riviera's recent outings) would say "I'll sail again on Oceania but not on Riviera". BUT, and it's a big but, staff changes frequently. Sometimes they go from one ship to another. It certainly appears that training has slipped at least as far as Riviera is concerned, but I would be reluctant to think the problem can be solved simply by avoiding one ship.

 

I, too, am curious about the details of the bullying.

 

Mura

Mura this is a story that is too difficult to relay in writing. It's one of those "you had to be there" stories but believe me when I say it was uncomfortable for me and at least one other woman that I know of. It was not just one incident but incidents over 3 different occasions.

I will sail Oceania and after thinking about it I would cruise Riviera again. Hopefully these bully girls will be retrained or released They were very childish and in my opinion not a good choice for a customer oriented position.

I am an Oceania cheerleader so maybe I should not have even mentioned it but I needed to vent and cruise critic seemed like a good place to do it at the time.

Edited December 28, 2015 by lais

[Mura]

I certainly understand if you don't want to say more than you have. I think the questions your comments brought up to some of us were simply because we've never seen anything like "bullying" behavior by staff and couldn't imagine what was involved.

 

But if you haven't addressed this issue to management, I definitely think that you should! At the very least it sounds like these two servers need retraining.

 

Mura

[Paulchili]

A few more comments:

 

DH pointed out that I had not commented on the general staff on this ship/cruise.

 

Thus far, everyone we have encountered has been very cheerful, welcoming and friendly.

 

Our Butler (Xavier) is truly wonderful, and we really hope we are able to meet up with him again on another cruise.

 

Everyone in Horizons, at tea time, has been very pleasant and efficient.

(The smoked salmon, there and elsewhere, is extremely tender. Delicious. But the chocolate cake that looked really appealing turned out to be a bit dry. Okay, quite dry. Where is that buche de Noel now?! That really was memorable.)

 

The service in the specialties (thus far, Polo and Jacques) has been without fault, and the waitstaff are friendly.

 

We've had some nice humorous give-and-takes with some of the waitstaff, and it's nice to enjoy that side of a few of them.

 

Basically, we are more than satisfied, at not quite the half way point.

If things continue as is, this is the ship for us (and probably Marina as well).

We like the overall ambiance.

We are thoroughly enjoying this trip :) - and hope it all continues this way.

We'll probably try the R ships, to see how the size works for us.

 

By the way, the Captain's family is here with him (for the holidays?).

We've seen them in the Terrace Cafe a few times.

 

Glad that you are enjoying your cruise (for most part) and that the rest of it will be to your satisfaction as well :)

[Flatbush Flyer]

It's only "bullying" if you let it be. An "al dente" (firm but tender) series of complaints up the reporting line should quickly correct the issue.

[Silver Sweethearts]

It's only "bullying" if you let it be. An "al dente" (firm but tender) series of complaints up the reporting line should quickly correct the issue.

 

Agreed and perhaps so, but that series of complaints could well lead to a desire for retribution or revenge by the "bullys" if their actions were reported to their superiors. We understand where she was afraid of what they might do. Hardly a feeling to have when trying to enjoy a cruise.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Agreed and perhaps so, but that series of complaints could well lead to a desire for retribution or revenge by the "bullys" if their actions were reported to their superiors. We understand where she was afraid of what they might do. Hardly a feeling to have when trying to enjoy a cruise.

 

 

I guess the missing element here is what constitutes the OP's perception of "bullying" and what is/was her immediate reaction and any necessary follow-up steps.

 

IMO, when your nicest and most agreeable demeanor doesn't work, a firm "excuse me?" works wonders (as does an honest "thank you" once you've been treated correctly).

 

If it is a clearly repetitive surly look or continuously nasty "slam-food-on-a-served-plate" gestures, all it may take to correct the situation is asking the question: "are you having a problem with which I, or perhaps the hotel director (inserting his/her name here helps) can help?" In that way, you have not yet complained to anyone but the errant staffer. But, also, you will have established that you know where (and intend) to go, if the behavior continues.

 

Anyone working in the cruise industry who values his/her job knows enough that "getting even" most likely means "getting fired."

Edited December 28, 2015 by Flatbush Flyer

[lais]

Agreed and perhaps so, but that series of complaints could well lead to a desire for retribution or revenge by the "bullys" if their actions were reported to their superiors. We understand where she was afraid of what they might do. Hardly a feeling to have when trying to enjoy a cruise.

That is exactly how I felt and why I didn't relay the situation to management until the last day.

[lais]

 

 

If it is a clearly repetitive surly look or continuously nasty "slam-food-on-a-served-plate" gestures, all it may take to correct the situation is asking the question: "are you having a problem with which I, or perhaps the hotel director (inserting his/her name here helps) can help?" In that way, you have not yet complained to anyone but the errant staffer. But, also, you will have established that you know where (and intend) to go, if the behavior."

 

I did go back and take their pictures so that I had the correct employees when I complained. I'm not a confrontational person in fact I'm a down right wimp in those situations. One of the girls seemed to be the leader of the pack and had her little side kicks who when they saw me one morning snickered, pointed, laughed and then waved. I never saw one of these girls smile when serving anyone and their actions were more on the lines of "huff, I have to serve another passenger, grunt".

[ORV]

I did go back and take their pictures so that I had the correct employees when I complained. I'm not a confrontational person in fact I'm a down right wimp in those situations. One of the girls seemed to be the leader of the pack and had her little side kicks who when they saw me one morning snickered, pointed, laughed and then waved. I never saw one of these girls smile when serving anyone and their actions were more on the lines of "huff, I have to serve another passenger, grunt".

 

Oh, here I thought when those girls were giggling and waving when I walked by that they were being friendly with me, I didn't realize they were making fun of me. Go figure, I thought I had a good rapport with them.

[Trudyrand]

We are booked on the Riviera Feb. 22, 2016. We have sailed on Regent many times and Oceania twice. I find the comments to be dismaying but I do hope those of you who found the service below par are notifying the Oceania president of the problems. The corporate hotshots need to know that they are, in all likelihood, losing customers.

[lais]

Oh, here I thought when those girls were giggling and waving when I walked by that they were being friendly with me, I didn't realize they were making fun of me. Go figure, I thought I had a good rapport with them.

Different situation

Edited December 28, 2015 by lais