Just off Riviera today

[Nachosdelux]

3 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Nachosdelux;

 

A question for you that is only one of opinion. We too have found the food in the Terrace to often be bland and as you said “ for the meek”. With the large selection of food available on the Buffet do you believe all dishes should/must be for the meek? Perhaps shouldn’t certain dishes come with authentic herbs and spices with a warning to the meek to avoid? 

 

i agree that Thai food or Indian food (that is normally spicy) should be spicy.  Sure they could put a "warning" sign up.  We found the food at the buffet to be flavorful and high quality.

[china addict]

DH and I disembarked earlier this week from same Caribbean cruise.  Last sailed Riviera in November 2019 and noticed a huge change-over in personnel since then.  New Captain (an improvement!), new GM and new Cruise Director.  Food in all four specialties met our high expectations but there were some misses in the GDR.  Tough steak from the Jacques Pepin menu and very eye-appealing but tasteless filet mignon.  Thankfully, Toscana and Polo still brilliant.  DH hates self-service and fighting for seats in the Terrace so we had most breakfasts and lunches in the GDR.  Fell in love with the halibut Salad Nicoise.  Has replaced Surf and Turf from Waves as my "go to" lunch favorite.  Disappointed in the availability and quality of lobster on board.  Rubbery.  A first world problem, I know!  Room service coffee was worse than ever, but Barristas is sublime and a favorite hang-out with great little snacks too.  Humphry Slocombe ice-cream was new to me and I over-indulged.  Elvis the Fat Years, Secret Breakfast, all kinds of yummy flavors.  Oceania, please keep these treats coming!  Wait staff in all locations were trying their best but seemed over-worked.  Agree with previous poster who said music was outdated.  Fun by the pool deck but dreary in Horizons.  Used to enjoy happy hour there, but this time around it was geriatric music with an off-key crooner.  Thankfully the drinks were 2-for-1 so that eased the suffering.  On past cruises have seldom used the pool deck because preferred to be off exploring.  The goal on this cruise was R&R with my husband so we sought seats in the shade and were introduced to the "chair hog" phenomenon.  It was virtually impossible to find two seats together so we were often separated while many books, bags, sunglasses, etc luxuriated cosily together.  Yes, we asked the pool attendants for help but without much success.  All in all it was a good trip and we are booked on Marina in April, corona virus permitting.  Can't say we noticed any extra hygiene precautions on this trip except for reminders to be vigilant about hand-washing. As always, we met nice and interesting fellow passengers.  That along with the food and interesting itineraries is the reason we often sail with Oceania.

[golfguyhhi]

China addict,

 

Who were the new GM and the new CD you mentioned in your post?

[china addict]

DH and I disembarked earlier this week from same Caribbean cruise.  Last sailed Riviera in November 2019 and noticed a huge change-over in personnel since then.  New Captain (an improvement!), new GM and new Cruise Director.  Food in all four specialties met our high expectations but there were some misses in the GDR.  Tough steak from the Jacques Pepin menu and very eye-appealing but tasteless filet mignon.  Thankfully, Toscana and Polo still brilliant.  DH hates self-service and fighting for seats in the Terrace so we had most breakfasts and lunches in the GDR.  Fell in love with the halibut Salad Nicoise.  Has replaced Surf and Turf from Waves as my "go to" lunch favorite.  Disappointed in the availability and quality of lobster on board.  Rubbery.  A first world problem, I know!  Room service coffee was worse than ever, but Barristas is sublime and a favorite hang-out with great little snacks too.  Humphry Slocombe ice-cream was new to me and I over-indulged.  Elvis the Fat Years, Secret Breakfast, all kinds of yummy flavors.  Oceania, please keep these treats coming!  Wait staff in all locations were trying their best but seemed over-worked.  Agree with previous poster who said music was outdated.  Fun by the pool deck but dreary in Horizons.  Used to enjoy happy hour there, but this time around it was geriatric music with an off-key crooner.  Thankfully the drinks were 2-for-1 so that eased the suffering.  On past cruises have seldom used the pool deck because preferred to be off exploring.  The goal on this cruise was R&R with my husband so we sought seats in the shade and were introduced to the "chair hog" phenomenon.  It was virtually impossible to find two seats together so we were often separated while many books, bags, sunglasses, etc luxuriated cosily together.  Yes, we asked the pool attendants for help but without much success.  All in all it was a good trip and we are booked on Marina in April, corona virus permitting.  Can't say we noticed any extra hygiene precautions on this trip except for reminders to be vigilant about hand-washing. As always, we met nice and interesting fellow passengers.  That along with the food and interesting itineraries is the reason we often sail with Oceania.

[china addict]

Believe new GM's name was August.  Long time with O, just new to me.  Cruise Director was a Brit named John Clelford or Cleland or similar.  Quite good.  Better than Dottie IMO.

 

[Nachosdelux]

23 minutes ago, china addict said:

Believe new GM's name was August.  Long time with O, just new to me.  Cruise Director was a Brit named John Clelford or Cleland or similar.  Quite good.  Better than Dottie IMO.

 

 

agreed. much less chatter

[Cruzin Terri]

We also were on this cruise and I have nothing but praise for the whole 12 days.  Wish it were longer.  The cruise was great in every way.  It was our fifth Oceania cruise and we booked two more while on board.

The food and service was great.  We ate at Toscana four times (thanks to our butler Rahman, who was able to get us three extra reservations) ate at Jacques twice and Polo once.  Red Ginger is not our thing.

Food in GDR was excellent as was the Terrace on most nights.  One thing I did not appreciate was having "Caribbean night" three nights in a row.

Other than that, the ports were great, the weather was good in most ports, Rain in St. Barths and Barbados. Otherwise beautiful sunshine.

We did all private tours arranged through the roll call.  

We really enjoyed this cruise thoroughly.

Good job, Oceania Riviera.

Terri

[clo]

5 hours ago, ORV said:

"the best pizza"?

 

I was with you till then. Just goes to show different tastes for different people. I think it's some of the worst pizza I've ever had. And I love pizza. 

I would no more have pizza on a cruise ship than I would...at Domino's!

[B-2-Bs Best!]

So, China, who was the ''New Captain, an improvement'''?

 

Agree that the Riviera/Marina pizza is pitiful; it's a shame since the pizza on the OLD ships was always very good!

[Mura]

On our first Oceania cruise (Regatta in early 2004 I think) we spoke with the "pizza guy".  He was an Italian who'd worked with pizza professionally -- I forget if he'd been an employee or possibly an owner. His circumstances had changed which led him to working on a cruise ship. But he said that the ships just don't have the proper ovens for REAL pizza.

 

Mura

[china addict]

DH and I disembarked earlier this week from same Caribbean cruise.  Last sailed Riviera in November 2019 and noticed a huge change-over in personnel since then.  New Captain (an improvement!), new GM and new Cruise Director.  Food in all four specialties met our high expectations but there were some misses in the GDR.  Tough steak from the Jacques Pepin menu and very eye-appealing but tasteless filet mignon.  Thankfully, Toscana and Polo still brilliant.  DH hates self-service and fighting for seats in the Terrace so we had most breakfasts and lunches in the GDR.  Fell in love with the halibut Salad Nicoise.  Has replaced Surf and Turf from Waves as my "go to" lunch favorite.  Disappointed in the availability and quality of lobster on board.  Rubbery.  A first world problem, I know!  Room service coffee was worse than ever, but Barristas is sublime and a favorite hang-out with great little snacks too.  Humphry Slocombe ice-cream was new to me and I over-indulged.  Elvis the Fat Years, Secret Breakfast, all kinds of yummy flavors.  Oceania, please keep these treats coming!  Wait staff in all locations were trying their best but seemed over-worked.  Agree with previous poster who said music was outdated.  Fun by the pool deck but dreary in Horizons.  Used to enjoy happy hour there, but this time around it was geriatric music with an off-key crooner.  Thankfully the drinks were 2-for-1 so that eased the suffering.  On past cruises have seldom used the pool deck because preferred to be off exploring.  The goal on this cruise was R&R with my husband so we sought seats in the shade and were introduced to the "chair hog" phenomenon.  It was virtually impossible to find two seats together so we were often separated while many books, bags, sunglasses, etc luxuriated cosily together.  Yes, we asked the pool attendants for help but without much success.  All in all it was a good trip and we are booked on Marina in April, corona virus permitting.  Can't say we noticed any extra hygiene precautions on this trip except for reminders to be vigilant about hand-washing. As always, we met nice and interesting fellow passengers.  That along with the food and interesting itineraries is the reason we often sail with Oceania.

[Nachosdelux]

6 minutes ago, china addict said:

DH and I disembarked earlier this week from same Caribbean cruise.  

 

third time is a charm!

[china addict]

"New Captain" wasn't new at all, an Oceania regular with whom we've sailed before.  He's Norwegian with a name I can't remember, perhaps Gunnar something?  Always makes noontime announcements, is cordial and appears at receptions.  He was an improvement over the phantom captain who was at the Riviera helm in November.  The "Phantom" didn't appear at either of the welcome receptions and never made any announcements until well after the mid-cruise comments had been reviewed.  His only public appearance was a brief one on the penultimate night when all senior staff participated in the farewell in Riviera Lounge.  My usual philosophy is that if a person doesn't want to meet me, I don't want to meet them either.  But during this long period of invisibility and silence from the Captain, I wondered if we were sailing without one.  Was he in quarantine, on life-support or worse?  Certainly a huge contrast to the high visibility and warmth exuded by Azamara captains.  Yes, I realize the captain's prime responsibility is to safely navigate the ship, not be a social butterfly, but for the peace of mind of the passengers I think it's important to know that there is indeed a capable captain on board. Your opinion may vary.

[don731]

Concur with the visibility of the Azamara officers.  Same thing with Cunard.  CD and Capt/EXO were often about.  This guy was friendly when passing in the hallways.  We thought the CD was great!  

[Paulchili]

43 minutes ago, china addict said:

Yes, I realize the captain's prime responsibility is to safely navigate the ship, not be a social butterfly, but for the peace of mind of the passengers I think it's important to know that there is indeed a capable captain on board. Your opinion may vary.

Sociable is not the same as capable. In the most extreme example a captain can be very nice but not necessarily very capable (I wonder how sociable was the captain of that Costa ship); the other extreme is a silent and invisible captain who is superbly capable.

Whom would you choose - a surgeon with excellent bedside manners but poor surgical skills or a surgeon of few words but excellent skills.

I know whom I would choose.

Edited March 1, 2020 by Paulchili

[ORV]

I'm with Paul on this one. 

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, Paulchili said:

Sociable is not the same as capable. In the most extreme example a captain can be very nice but not necessarily very capable (I wonder how sociable was the captain of that Costa ship); the other extreme is a silent and invisible captain who is superbly capable.

Whom would you choose - a surgeon with excellent bedside manners but poor surgical skills or a surgeon of few words but excellent skills.

I know whom I would choose.

Bottom line....what the heck does it matter to your health and well being?     When you visit Disneyland  do you want to see Bob Iger walking around the park ?   he , in reality is the captain  who manages the operation of the ship and had nothing to do with food, hotel, entertainment, shore ex, and could care less about  you and I about him.....  The only thing we have in common is we are on the same ship .    Needing to meet the officers  to me is most funny...

Edited March 1, 2020 by Hawaiidan

[pinotlover]

1 hour ago, Paulchili said:

Sociable is not the same as capable. In the most extreme example a captain can be very nice but not necessarily very capable (I wonder how sociable was the captain of that Costa ship); the other extreme is a silent and invisible captain who is superbly capable.

Whom would you choose - a surgeon with excellent bedside manners but poor surgical skills or a surgeon of few words but excellent skills.

I know whom I would choose.

Why are the extremes the only options. Is there no such thing as a fully capable ship’s captain that can make an appearance? 
 

Just for the record, I could care less if I never meet the Captain or senior crew. On our cruise last February in FP, the Captain never appeared for a single event. The GM normally stood in for him. At the farewell the CD did. Didn’t affect my cruise one iota, as said before “ if he doesn’t want to meet me, then...”. However, I do find it strange when they decide to never appear.

 

Another item to add. I like Captain Max. Nice enough seeming guy, had him probably at least 3 times. However, a large percentage of O cruisers are repeaters, therefore, when he appears at a function and tells the exact same stories and jokes year after year and cruise after cruise, imo, he really doesn’t have to appear anymore!

Edited March 1, 2020 by pinotlover

[ORV]

41 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

Bottom line....what the heck does it matter to your health and well being?     When you visit Disneyland  do you want to see Bob Iger walking around the park ?   he , in reality is the captain  who manages the operation of the ship and had nothing to do with food, hotel, entertainment, shore ex, and could care less about  you and I about him.....  The only thing we have in common is we are on the same ship .    Needing to meet the officers  to me is most funny...

Didn't Bob retire last week? 

[Hawaiidan]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

Didn't Bob retire last week? 

You get my drift.... lets just say CEO.  Bob is still with DIS  but now in charge of creative ventures...which he loves.   ( He is great guy I met him in Chicago and spoke...years ago.  one reason I invested in DIS)

[B-2-Bs Best!]

2 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Why are the extremes the only options. Is there no such thing as a fully capable ship’s captain that can make an appearance? 
 

Just for the record, I could care less if I never meet the Captain or senior crew. On our cruise last February in FP, the Captain never appeared for a single event. The GM normally stood in for him. At the farewell the CD did. Didn’t affect my cruise one iota, as said before “ if he doesn’t want to meet me, then...”. However, I do find it strange when they decide to never appear.

 

Another item to add. I like Captain Max. Nice enough seeming guy, had him probably at least 3 times. However, a large percentage of O cruisers are repeaters, therefore, when he appears at a function and tells the exact same stories and jokes year after year and cruise after cruise, imo, he really doesn’t have to appear anymore!

3 hours ago, china addict said:

DH and I disembarked earlier this week from same Caribbean cruise.  Last sailed Riviera in November 2019 and noticed a huge change-over in personnel since then.  New Captain (an improvement!), new GM and new Cruise Director.  Food in all four specialties met our high expectations but there were some misses in the GDR.  Tough steak from the Jacques Pepin menu and very eye-appealing but tasteless filet mignon.  Thankfully, Toscana and Polo still brilliant.  DH hates self-service and fighting for seats in the Terrace so we had most breakfasts and lunches in the GDR.  Fell in love with the halibut Salad Nicoise.  Has replaced Surf and Turf from Waves as my "go to" lunch favorite.  Disappointed in the availability and quality of lobster on board.  Rubbery.  A first world problem, I know!  Room service coffee was worse than ever, but Barristas is sublime and a favorite hang-out with great little snacks too.  Humphry Slocombe ice-cream was new to me and I over-indulged.  Elvis the Fat Years, Secret Breakfast, all kinds of yummy flavors.  Oceania, please keep these treats coming!  Wait staff in all locations were trying their best but seemed over-worked.  Agree with previous poster who said music was outdated.  Fun by the pool deck but dreary in Horizons.  Used to enjoy happy hour there, but this time around it was geriatric music with an off-key crooner.  Thankfully the drinks were 2-for-1 so that eased the suffering.  On past cruises have seldom used the pool deck because preferred to be off exploring.  The goal on this cruise was R&R with my husband so we sought seats in the shade and were introduced to the "chair hog" phenomenon.  It was virtually impossible to find two seats together so we were often separated while many books, bags, sunglasses, etc luxuriated cosily together.  Yes, we asked the pool attendants for help but without much success.  All in all it was a good trip and we are booked on Marina in April, corona virus permitting.  Can't say we noticed any extra hygiene precautions on this trip except for reminders to be vigilant about hand-washing. As always, we met nice and interesting fellow passengers.  That along with the food and interesting itineraries is the reason we often sail with Oceania.

 

[B-2-Bs Best!]

So, who's Capt. MAX. Never heard of him.

[china addict]

If you read my post carefully you will note that I had no particular desire to meet the captain, and I most certainly value navigational skills above social skills.  Any rational person would.  My point was that by not having one spoken word from the captain, or even one sighting, I had no reassurance that he was on board.  He could have been on life support on Deck 4 for all we knew, with Dottie deputized to run the ship.  Two minutes over the PA system at the start of the voyage to say I'm here and don't plan to leave the bridge would have let us know he was in charge.  Most airline pilots make a brief announcement from the cockpit to introduce themselves.  Is it too much to expect something similar from a ship's captain?  To you business moguls out there, is it enough for an executive to have good technical skills or is it preferable to have someone who combines technical expertise with leadership capabilities?  Over the last couple of years some prominent CEO's have fallen from grace over behavior problems, and I'm not referring to Bob Iger.

[CintiPam]

13 minutes ago, B-2-Bs Best! said:

So, who's Capt. MAX. Never heard of him.

I am on Riviera now and will put the names and countries of the top 3 on my live thread right now.  Sorry I could not get online last night to make any report!

[Hawaiidan]

49 minutes ago, B-2-Bs Best! said:

So, who's Capt. MAX. Never heard of him.

Your even....he has never heard  of you.....