Riviera service spotty and a little cheap

[RJB]

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.

I think by reading the most recent posts that thing are getting better and returning to normal. Don't know what went wrong (with the staff) on the TA and first cruise out of Miami but that in not normal for Oceania.

[luvtravel]

Our first Oceania cruise is coming up in June ... on the Riviera and its been interesting reading about everyone's experiences. I do like to know the good and the bad and realize that things happen, but some things I'm surprised at....like the bullying which only once many years ago on one of our first Carnival cruises...we experienced from some very unhappy staff. I hope that situation has been corrected.

 

We have had excellent service and overall experiences on many other lines like Azamara, Princess and most recently in Aqua class on Celebrity. We have been looking forward to seeing what Oceania is like since we found an itinerary that looks great. Love that its casual and have to say that being linked to the Jacques Pepin name has us thinking that the food and service should be excellent...hope that's what we find.

 

Thanks again for sharing!

[harryw]

We disembarked the Riviera yesterday and being our fourth time around, I'm happy to say that the great service and food continues to be awesome. We had a wonderful time! So will you!

 

Harry and Carol

[Leejnd4]

We disembarked the Riviera yesterday and being our fourth time around, I'm happy to say that the great service and food continues to be awesome. We had a wonderful time! So will you!

 

Harry and Carol

 

I was on the same cruise with Harry and Carol. Service was impeccable in every way...with one exception: one of my cabin-mates had problems twice in Waves. I'll have to get the details from her - the incidents were bothersome enough that she complained.

 

Fortunately I wasn't with her for that, although I did eat twice in Waves, and wasn't particularly impressed. Other than that, my experience was darn near perfect, with only a couple of VERY trivial exceptions. I'll provide a more detailed review soon, but for now let me just say that it would seem that Oceania management must have been paying attention to the complaints from the last few cruises. In my experience, the service was seamless. Even in Terrace - drinks brought quickly, plates cleared quickly, flatware replaced quickly, no lines, food served with a smile, questions about the food answered with a smile.

 

In particular, La Reserve was just astonishing. I had the Connoisseur menu, and the wines were truly spectacular. I did research them beforehand, because I didn't want to pay that much money for middling wines, and they were definitely high-end selections (one of them retails over $100). I was happily surprised at how perfectly they matched with each course. And the food...good lord! On a ship in which I had so many memorable meals, this one trumped them all.

 

I will write up a more detailed review of this experience later, but I just wanted to add to this thread that it would appear the service issues are resolved. :)

[G8RH8R]

[quote name=G&G;48570593

 

cabin stewards performed poorly. I do not know if it was due to the Noro virus' date=' bring over worked or not properly trained. I reported these issues to Guest Services on Day 3, seem to get better, then worse towards the end of the cruise.[/quote]

 

 

We were also on the 12/12 sailing; our first Oceania cruise. Perhaps because we were in a Vista Suite we did not really notice the "poor" service. The cabin stewards were overworked by the constant cleaning of hallways elevators etc. due to the code red. That being said, we were not overly impressed with Oceania. We're cruising on Riviera again in March, so I'll reserve judgment until the end of that cruise.

[G8RH8R]

I sincerely regret that you weren't able to experience that cruise. You don't know what you missed and I certainly have as much right as anyone to post factual information which I hardly consider "whining." It was an absolutely dreadful mess of a cruise.

 

I was on that cruise and I disagree; we had a lovely cruise. Except for the weather, of course.

[stevec999]

We are thinking about booking the Riviera for our 2017 winter cruise. I do get a bit nervous when I read about problems on the ship. I do know things happen and never let them ruin a trip. It will be our first time on O, the Riviera has an itinerary we really like

 

Probably won't book until after our HAL cruise in February. Will keep watching here and see how the reports go.

 

On the subject of robes. Carnival does not remove the robes from the cabins the last night.

[Leejnd4]

We are thinking about booking the Riviera for our 2017 winter cruise. I do get a bit nervous when I read about problems on the ship. I do know things happen and never let them ruin a trip. It will be our first time on O, the Riviera has an itinerary we really like

 

Probably won't book until after our HAL cruise in February. Will keep watching here and see how the reports go.

 

On the subject of robes. Carnival does not remove the robes from the cabins the last night.

 

I think it's important to keep in mind that the majority of service complaints on this ship recently, happened during or shortly after a major noro outbreak. When there's a noro outbreak on a ship, keep in mind that it doesn't just affect the passengers - the crew often get sick as well. Hence, it's not at all surprising that both the service levels and the overall attitude and demeanor of the crew were impacted. It can't be easy to provide exemplary service with a smile when you are short-staffed, and have many ill and unhappy passengers, and are also worried about falling ill yourself. I feel for EVERYONE on the ship both during and after the outbreak. That could not have been a good time.

 

Fortunately the outbreak appears to be long over, and based on our experiences on the cruise from which we just disembarked, the service levels are back to what I remember reading about this ship. No cruise, or ship, is perfect - we had a few minor issues - but overall this was one of the BEST ships I've ever been on in terms of the service. Perhaps my outlook is colored by the fact that we had the best, not to mention handsomest, butler. :D But even beyond him it was just fabulous.

[no fuss travel]

LeeAnne +1

Edited January 15, 2016 by no fuss travel