Honest Updates on Riviera

[njhorseman]

I think you'll find that any cutbacks are in response to the pressures of now being a publicly traded company. Investors expect a certain level of profitability commensurate with other corporations in the industry , which if not obtained will lead to a decrease in the price of the company's stock.

 

When Frank Del Rio took over as CEO of NCLH he made it very clear he wanted to increase the daily revenue generated by the passengers. On NCL this was immediately noticeable based on increased basic cruise fares, service charges and alcoholic beverage prices. Cutbacks in certain services were also instituted including free breakfast room service below the suite level being limited to "continental breakfast" items and the imposition of a service charge for room service at other times of the day, except for suite passengers. Cruise fares for suites skyrocketed under Del Rio. Certain more expensive menu items such as lobster were eliminated from main dining room and specialty restaurant menus.

 

Given the many changes he made to bolster profits from NCL, it should be no surprise that he's also made some similar changes at Oceania.

 

Let's not forget that the CEO came from the Oceania/Regent Seven Seas side of the house, not from NCL, so "blame" for real or perceived cutbacks really can be traced to market pressures for profitability, not because Oceania was suddenly under the thumb of a mass market cruise line. It is just the other way around...NCL is now under the thumb of a CEO from higher level cruise lines

[Buryfan]

I really can't comment on the business side but from a user's perspective we have just been on Riviera and found it just as good as 3 years ago. Apart from the entertainment ( of which we have zero expectations anyway) we had nothing to complain about . Booked again for January without hesitation

 

 

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[wripro]

Thanks. Just another item that came to mind. Drinks are very expensive and keep going up every year. There are two happy hours a day where you can can get two drinks for the price of one. There is one Captain's night per cruise where the drinks are free and if you are a repeater there is a get together for those with free drinks. Note that the cheapest beer is Budweiser and costs $7.50 plus 18% gratuity. Cheapest bottle of red or white wine was $44.54 (included the 18%). We had a large OBC so it covered our drinking on this relatively short 7 day cruise. Normally we purchase a good bottle of local wine and pay the $25 corkage fee. You get a quality wine and costs less than Oceania's "house" bottle. Enjoy your cruise.

Those drinks at Happy Hour are not really two for one as they are half the size of a normal drink and you need to order a double to get a normal drink. So there goes the two for one price. This is just as misleading as the two for one prices for cruises.

[petcoke]

Those drinks at Happy Hour are not really two for one as they are half the size of a normal drink and you need to order a double to get a normal drink. So there goes the two for one price. This is just as misleading as the two for one prices for cruises.

Beer cider wine etc definitely 2 for 1 :)

[hiccups]

Those drinks at Happy Hour are not really two for one as they are half the size of a normal drink and you need to order a double to get a normal drink. So there goes the two for one price. This is just as misleading as the two for one prices for cruises.

 

Last time we were onboard I ordered two Long Island Iced Teas and they were definitely two for one.

[ORV]

Those drinks at Happy Hour are not really two for one as they are half the size of a normal drink and you need to order a double to get a normal drink. So there goes the two for one price. This is just as misleading as the two for one prices for cruises.

 

We'll have to disagree on this point. I see no difference in glassware used during happy hour than any other time. The amount of pour might change, but not the container. I get the drink package most of the time, so not really worried about Happy Hour.

[jo-b]

We'll have to disagree on this point. I see no difference in glassware used during happy hour than any other time. The amount of pour might change, but not the container. I get the drink package most of the time, so not really worried about Happy Hour.

 

 

There are definitely small martini glasses used in Martinis during happy hour, approx half size.

[potterhill]

We have done 9 actual cruises or 11 if you count 2 double credits. On 2 of those, the food was what we considered to be substandard. The first was on Regatta, Barcelona to Miami in 2008. The other was on Nautica, Beijing to Bangkok in 2013.

 

On both occasions there were service issues. Food was poorly cooked. Steaks were inedible. Long wait times for water, coffee etc. It was all just adequate and not what we had previously experienced. No meals were outstanding which was unusual.

 

The Regatta trip was particularly disappointing as we had friends sailing with us. One of the selling features was the food, which most def did not meet the previously set bar. I attributed this to the head chef and restaurant management, rightly or wrongly.

 

We continue to sail on O and currently have 3 bookings, 2 in 2018 and one in 2019.

 

Mo

 

 

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[RJB]

We have done 9 actual cruises or 11 if you count 2 double credits. On 2 of those, the food was what we considered to be substandard. The first was on Regatta, Barcelona to Miami in 2008. The other was on Nautica, Beijing to Bangkok in 2013.

 

On both occasions there were service issues. Food was poorly cooked. Steaks were inedible. Long wait times for water, coffee etc. It was all just adequate and not what we had previously experienced. No meals were outstanding which was unusual.

 

The Regatta trip was particularly disappointing as we had friends sailing with us. One of the selling features was the food, which most def did not meet the previously set bar. I attributed this to the head chef and restaurant management, rightly or wrongly.

 

We continue to sail on O and currently have 3 bookings, 2 in 2018 and one in 2019.

 

Mo

 

 

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We have done 11 and have not had a cruise where the food and service were good to great. Have been of 5 different ships and all wonderful. Not Serina yet. Going next year. I guess they can have a miss once in a while but if we had too many we would find another line to go on. Hope your next cruises turn out as you expect them to be.

[Mura]

Let me chime in that we've been all ships except for Riviera (which will happen next spring) and never had consistent complaints about food. In fact, we generally love the food on the Oceania ships. Yes, sometimes a dish isn't up to the usual standard, but for us that has been VERY occasionally.

 

Maybe we aren't as knowledgable as others but my friends all consider me a gourmet cook (which I admit I do not!) and so I think I can tell good food from average to not passable ... But that's MY opinion!

 

Any chef can have a miss ... I have! As long as it doesn't happen frequently, I can go along ...

 

Mura

[jimdee3636]

My wife (who by the way is a culinary school graduate and former chef at a four-star restaurant) and I took a twelve-night cruise on the Riviera in February of 2017. Our previous three cruises had been on Silversea, a considerably more expensive line. We felt the quality of the food and service on the Riviera was nearly the equal of Silversea, or, in the case of "Jacques," was superior to Silversea. We did not go to the Polo Grill but went at least once to all the other specialty restaurants.

 

As for the drink prices, etc., just do as we did: get the higher-priced drink package and then enjoy what you want, when you want, where you want, and as much (or as little) as you want.

[palamoh]

Suggest you look at the recent "Top. 10 Luxury Cruise Lines" on the Cruise Critic Home Page. You will find the Riviera listed Number 3. This must tell you something. Also keep in mind Food is a subjective item, what one person say's is "Wonderful, the next person will think it's "Average" or "Terrible". Please don't let a negative Posting be your guide to your upcoming Cruise.

'

[srdancer]

We did 10 day Med cruise on Marina in May - Rome to Barcelona. Our 2nd time on the Marina, prior one was in 2013. Everything was as good or better the 2nd time. Food, service, condition of ship and stateroom (B1 veranda both times). Even the entertainment was better! Terrific ports, incredible weather - of course the latter was not under Oceania's control.

 

Have not been on the other ships although booked on Sirena next year for Cuba cruise.

[maggie.1008]

We were on the Riviera in November. Food in all restaurants was smashing. I have 54 cruises with many different lines. The Riviera is my favorite ship.

[happy cruzer]

Reducing the number of shuttles seems very serious to me. If one has planned on taking the shuttle, he could be left with little option. There may not be taxis or other transport handy. Since O advertises "Free shuttles from port to city center in many ports of call", you would expect to be able to use them.

[ORV]

Reducing the number of shuttles seems very serious to me. If one has planned on taking the shuttle, he could be left with little option. There may not be taxis or other transport handy. Since O advertises "Free shuttles from port to city center in many ports of call", you would expect to be able to use them.

 

The caveat is in the word "many". They are not guaranteeing that they will provide a shuttle in every port.

 

In truth many of the shuttles are provided by the local ports or closest town that you're visiting. Most of them want our tourist dollars there.

[JPR]

We only cruise on Riviera or Marina, or Regent Explorer,

Voyager or Mariner. All are excellent. The smaller Oceania and Regent ships are all good, but overall not our cup of tea.

[pinotlover]

On the Nautica now, nearing completion of a 20 day cruise. Will post a more complete review when I get home next week. Lots of problems with the food. Bottom line is, as reported by both a restaurant chef and some of the crew" the recipes have been altered so to make the dishes more approachable for more of our guests." What this means in practical terms is that a lot of the food has been made bland and tasteless to satisfy the geriatrics that are claiming to prefer bland and tasteless. Guess all the ships are encountering this. More details and examples late next week.

[Paulchili]

Interesting. Did chef/staff indicate when these changes were instituted?

We disembarked Insignia in early May (2 months ago) and did not experience what you are describing.

[JVNYC]

On the Nautica now, nearing completion of a 20 day cruise. Will post a more complete review when I get home next week. Lots of problems with the food. Bottom line is, as reported by both a restaurant chef and some of the crew" the recipes have been altered so to make the dishes more approachable for more of our guests." What this means in practical terms is that a lot of the food has been made bland and tasteless to satisfy the geriatrics that are claiming to prefer bland and tasteless. Guess all the ships are encountering this. More details and examples late next week.

 

YIKES! Please tell us more. This has me very nervous. Could Oceania be turning into NCL?

[YoHoHo]

I read an article somewhere, could it have been in one of the many brochures I usually ignore?, that they are re-designing new dishes with heather eating in mind. Hopefully the outcome in general is not as bad as pinotlover has posted. I seriously doubt the objective is to purposefully make the food tasteless as demanded by a group of aged clientele.

 

Oh now I remember. It was at one of the cooking demonstrations on Marina in April where they demonstrated some new techniques.

 

Hopefully the menus will have just a few of these items and leave the tasty unhealthy choices as they are.

[njhorseman]

YIKES! Please tell us more. This has me very nervous. Could Oceania be turning into NCL?

 

No, NCL is turning into Oceania with much higher prices and the attempt to make it appear that it has more inclusions.

 

It's Oceania/Regent Seven Seas former CEO, Frank Del Rio, that is running NCLH, not a former NCL executive.

[TERRIER1]

On the Nautica now, nearing completion of a 20 day cruise. Will post a more complete review when I get home next week. Lots of problems with the food. Bottom line is, as reported by both a restaurant chef and some of the crew" the recipes have been altered so to make the dishes more approachable for more of our guests." What this means in practical terms is that a lot of the food has been made bland and tasteless to satisfy the geriatrics that are claiming to prefer bland and tasteless. Guess all the ships are encountering this. More details and examples late next week.

 

Sorry you are having food issues. I am looking forward to more details and example upon your arrival home. We didn't experience recipes "more approachable to more of our guest" syndrome. The food on Oceania has never been robust in the sense it was heavily spiced. In all fairness, they have to cater to the palates of 1250 guests. My issue was with the quality and quantity - still good but not what it was in 2008 or for that matter even last year.