Riviera , Venice to Barcelona may/June 2016

[S2000ap1]

Cruise finished today and now home .

 

Best cruise we have had so far lovely

 

A few observations

 

1) there is clearly no dress code that is enforced, wear pretty much what you like where you like . Didn't see shorts in restaurants but would not have been surprised , jeans , hats , trainers , sports wears etc etc all allowed . But hey ho some dress was frankly poor and lacked taste of any description.

2) I would think only about 25% of guests bothered with using the hand GEL

3) palomos was great , not on intinery had to change there to weather preventing safe tendering at the original port

4) Ship stills seems in pretty good condition , would be easy to find it slipping but to date seems generally ok

5) food was really good other than a couple of butter portions that tasted slightly odd ( hate these little packs anyway , bit down market really ) and some lettuce that was brown on cut edges , both reported discretely to senior staff .

 

 

All in all a very,good time was had , to much food to much booze , so diet already started , met some lovely people from all around the world , so now considering maybe another one next year .

 

Back to work tomorrow !

[globevest]

Thank you for your comments.

[Paulchili]

Appreciate your comments.

Glad you had your "best cruise so far".

[Spursgirl]

So glad you had such a good cruise. I am eagerly anticipating my first Oceania experience later in the year.

 

Am a little surprised the crew did not police the hand gel issue more rigorously bearing in mind the ship's recent problems

[S2000ap1]

Spurs girl

 

I can assure you Zero policing , to the point that we had the odd look for doing it

[Jancruz]

So glad you had such a good cruise. I am eagerly anticipating my first Oceania experience later in the year.

 

Am a little surprised the crew did not police the hand gel issue more rigorously bearing in mind the ship's recent problems

 

Actually people have to take responsibility..crew is not there to police them..

Jancruz1

[Spursgirl]

Actually people have to take responsibility..crew is not there to police them..

Jancruz1

 

Having not yet sailed on Oceania I have no idea whether they have hand gel machines strategically sited throughout the ship, whether crew squirt gel on to guests' hands or if there is a combination of the two.

 

If all guests took responsibility for their own personal hygiene no doubt there would be less cases of Noro. Clearly they don't. As Riviera have had some unfortunate Noro incidents recently I would have thought crew would be doing everything to prevent a recurrence of something which makes life so much more difficult for them and is very unpleasant for anyone affected.

[S2000ap1]

Spurs girl,

 

There are gel dispensers all over the ship , no excuse .

 

It is the people and the cruise lines duty to ensure they are used , but some people just don't get it. How often does one see other men having been to the loo at work or other public loos and just walk out with no attempt to wash their hands , don't use the ladies loos often so can't comment .

 

The dress code issue pisses me me of no end , but I am becoming less concerned it's all part of a reduction in standards generally , I have to change with the times and shrug my shoulders , I will not let mine slip though.

 

None of this was of real concern to us we thoroughly enjoyed our cruise I won't let others bad behaviour mess my holiday , keep smiling and carry on. The only time I was really annoyed was the phone incident .

Edited June 3, 2016 by S2000ap1

[john2003]

I would politely disagree that crew has no policing responsibility. Would agree if lack of use only affected the guilty party. Unfortunately it can ruin someone else's experience which is one reason we have not been back on O since a bad 2012 experience. I cant understand that they are so laissez faire after all the problems they have had. Hope our August cruise is ok.

Edited June 3, 2016 by john2003

[Mura]

I don't deny that many people are lax about hygiene. I remember thinking my Mom was nuts to always open the ladies' room door with a paper towel when she was leaving ... but gee, it turns out she was right!

 

Probably people pay more attention when they know there is a problem on board and not so much when no announcements are made.

 

Even so, and even though we haven't heard any recent announcements about Noro or other problems being on board the ships, when we board Nautica in June we will have a fair amount of Chlorox wipes on hand. And we will use them!

 

In 2010 we were amused at the NCL crew's exhortations to "washee washee" when we entered the dining rooms, because we hadn't encountered problems on previous cruises. But it was easy enough to comply. And these days we always use the sanitizers whenever we see them, even though many here on CC have said they really aren't protection against the viruses we worry about. But certainly they are better than nothing!

 

Mura

[LHT28]

If people are so ignorant of the fact you need to wash your hands after using the loo they should not be let out on their own

Do they really need someone following them around reminding them to wash their hands or use the gel stations on the ship?

 

Are people really that stupid ??

 

[Paulchili]

If people are so ignorant of the fact you need to wash your hands after using the loo they should not be let out on their own

Do they really need someone following them around reminding them to wash their hands or use the gel stations on the ship?

 

Are people really that stupid ??

 

 

Unfortunately many are. Either that or ignorant and I don't know which one is worse.:(

[RJB]

If people are so ignorant of the fact you need to wash your hands after using the loo they should not be let out on their own

Do they really need someone following them around reminding them to wash their hands or use the gel stations on the ship?

 

Are people really that stupid ??

 

Yes, some people are really that stupid. They do not care about themselves or anyone else. I guess the ships crew should police this a little better if just in their own self interest. They work much harder if there is an outbreak. And they work hard enough already. We will be on in July and see if anything changes.

[lovetocruise16]

It is easy to blame a ship for any outbreak of gastro problems. And we have been on O ships that have the norovirus and many that have not. The Oceania crew has done its utmost to help contain the problem, and yet provide the best service possible under the conditions. We do not feel it is the ship's responsibility to police passengers who are either too lazy, or thoughtless to use the many available hand sanitizers stationed on the ships. Cruisers in this day and age should be aware of the possibilities of gastro problems onboard, and should take appropriate precautions. The management, crew and staff should police themselves. It is difficult to believe you were looked at oddly by staff because you DID use the sanitizers. They might have been surprised at your thoughtfulness......considering you said so few other passengers did use them.

[marikay1961]

Thanks for posting....we are going on the same cruise in July/Aug. Which port did they Forego? Anything you can recommend for me to see/stay away from? First cruise on Oceania, and Western Med. Thanks in advance!

[Frncie]

Due to high winds, we had to skip Port-Vendres, France, which is very close to the border with Spain. Our shore excursion to Carcassonne had to be cancelled. O gave us a credit, which ended up covering almost all of our drink purchases. So we actually came out ahead, money-wise. We would have liked to have seen Carcassonne, but after 5 straight days of early starts and full-day excursions, we were happy to sleep in for once.

 

Walked around our substitute port of Palamós, Spain, that day, and it was very nice.

 

This was our first voyage with Oceania, and we enjoyed it immensely.

[BBQ Lover]

The simple truth is that hand sanitizers are largely ineffective against stopping the spread of Norovirus. Washing your hands with soap and warm water is the best way to help prevent the disease. I properly wash my hands immediately before going to the dining room, and I refuse to put that sticky gel all over my nice clean hands.

 

The cruise lines know that the hand sanitizers don't protect against Noro, and that's probably why they don't police the use of the gel stations. All the hand sanitizers do is give people a false sense of security against Noro. That is why I believe that the gel stations actually do more harm than good. People often forgo washing their hands because they erroneously believe that the hand sanitizers will do a better job of cleaning their hands. Removing the gel stations would probably result in more people properly washing their hands before going to the dining room, and actually help to reduce the spread of the Norovirus.

 

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Edited June 5, 2016 by BBQ Lover

[S2000ap1]

The change of port really didn't bother us as we rarely take any excursions. We holiday on a cruise for different reasons.

 

 

palomos was really a very pleasant little town

 

 

The point is the gel may or may not be effective against virus type inflections but it's better than nowt and it is effective against bacteriological infections and god knows what is on door handles, hand rails,lift buttons etc etc , between your room and hand washing and the restaurant/bar where you are likely to handle food. It was other guests who I felt gave to odd looks not the staff.

[BBQ Lover]

The change of port really didn't bother us as we rarely take any excursions. We holiday on a cruise for different reasons.

 

 

palomos was really a very pleasant little town

 

 

The point is the gel may or may not be effective against virus type inflections but it's better than nowt and it is effective against bacteriological infections and god knows what is on door handles, hand rails,lift buttons etc etc , between your room and hand washing and the restaurant/bar where you are likely to handle food. It was other guests who I felt gave to odd looks not the staff.

 

I said that I wash my hands immediately before going to the dining room. That means that I use the wash room room right next to the dining room and open the door with a towel. My hands are just as clean or cleaner after that washing than yours are after using the gel station.

 

BTW- what happens when you touch anything between the time that you use the gel and the time that you are actually served your food? Your hands get dirty too. The argument that my hands are dirtier than yours has no logical basis. Neither does the argument that you use the hand gel because it is better than nothing. Using the gel is the equivalent of doing nothing when your hands are already clean.

Edited June 5, 2016 by BBQ Lover

[RJB]

I said that I wash my hands immediately before going to the dining room. That means that I use the wash room room right next to the dining room and open the door with a towel. My hands are just as clean or cleaner after that washing than yours are after using the gel station.

 

BTW- what happens when you touch anything between the time that you use the gel and the time that you are actually served your food? Your hands get dirty too. The argument that my hands are dirtier than yours has no logical basis. Neither does the argument that you use the hand gel because it is better than nothing. Using the gel is the equivalent of doing nothing when your hands are already clean.

Sounds about right. We have been going round and round about this subject for many months and probably will forever. I just make sure to wash my hands all the time and hope everyone else does. It has never been proven where noro actually comes from and and probably won't. The CDC is worthless in my opinion as we saw in Dec. to March on Riviera. They seem to have no clue at to what they are doing.

[S2000ap1]

I think what I was trying say was its all imperfect , I would have showered and washed my hands , but as you say and I said there are lots of other sources of contamination all along the way , now we are presuming as well that every piece of food and process to said food is perfect , and it's not !

 

Anyway was still a great cruise , more concerned my self about poor dress LOL .

 

I would be interested to have some ship tours with an engineering officer and a bridge tour with a nav officer .

[Paulchili]

I said that I wash my hands immediately before going to the dining room. That means that I use the wash room room right next to the dining room and open the door with a towel. My hands are just as clean or cleaner after that washing than yours are after using the gel station.

 

BTW- what happens when you touch anything between the time that you use the gel and the time that you are actually served your food? Your hands get dirty too. The argument that my hands are dirtier than yours has no logical basis. Neither does the argument that you use the hand gel because it is better than nothing. Using the gel is the equivalent of doing nothing when your hands are already clean.

 

You are correct in many ways but not completely.

Whether you wash your hands with soap or gel, you will most likely touch many other things before you eat with your hands - potentially negating both cleaning processes.

These things include pulling back your chair at the table, reading the menu, using the utensils & glasses which were placed on the table by the staff (were their hands clean?), etc.

Probably it is safest, though not necessarily most practical, not to handle any food directly with hands (hard to eat bread without holding it :D).

We should all do the best we can (washing hands, not handling food with hands in the buffet, letting staff serve us, etc) and then let the chips fall where they may :)

Edited June 5, 2016 by Paulchili

[BBQ Lover]

I think what I was trying say was its all imperfect , I would have showered and washed my hands , but as you say and I said there are lots of other sources of contamination all along the way , now we are presuming as well that every piece of food and process to said food is perfect , and it's not !

 

Anyway was still a great cruise , more concerned my self about poor dress LOL .

 

I would be interested to have some ship tours with an engineering officer and a bridge tour with a nav officer .

Right on. I'm glad you had a good time. We are looking to try a very similar itinerary on Riviera next year and hope to have as equally of a good time.

 

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

[RJB]

You are correct in many ways but not completely.

Whether you wash your hands with soap or gel, you will most likely touch many other things before you eat with your hands - potentially negating both cleaning processes.

These things include pulling back your chair at the table, reading the menu, using the utensils & glasses which were placed on the table by the staff (were their hands clean?), etc.

Probably it is safest, though not necessarily most practical, not to handle any food directly with hands (hard to eat bread without holding it :D).

We should all do the best we can (washing hands, not handling food with hands in the buffet, letting staff serve us, etc) and then let the chips fall where they may :)

So tell us what you do in a restaurant at home? Open the door, walk in, touch all types of things including chairs, the table, the bread and no gel in sight. Never. And no one gets sick. ???? :confused::confused::confused:

[Paulchili]

So tell us what you do in a restaurant at home? Open the door, walk in, touch all types of things including chairs, the table, the bread and no gel in sight. Never. And no one gets sick. ???? :confused::confused::confused:

 

It's very easy to have your little bottle of gel in your pocket/purse (if you are so inclined) :D - in fact, it's a very good idea (on the ship as well - saves you from running back to the dispenser after you are done with the menu).

And people do get sick in restaurants all the time.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Paulchili