Review of our 1/14-1/28 Riviera cruise.

[rbtan]

We'll do a review on the cruise review section as well. Overall, it was a great cruise with a few snags. We had booked a C-1 cabin. Which minus the veranda, is pretty much the same as the standard cabins. Once we boarded I decided to inquire about any available upgrades. I pretty much asked about Concierge up to a penthouse. We were called early the next day with an A-2 available(cabin (9070) our former cabin was 7070. Pretty much just about 2 floors up & about 20 ft. to the right. We started in Toscana the first night, which was excellent as expected. Keith found the Dover Sole(Keith's fav.) to be better than in Jacques. The fish in Jacques was more covered with sauce. Keith says Dover Sole should be lightly "dusted" & cooked using a brown caper butter.

  Next day we ate in Jacques, which again as in the past, was very good. Keith ordered the Rotisserie Chix. which surprisingly was no better than a Costco rotisserie chix. I had the Dover Sole which was not quite as good the night before. We met up with a smaller "Meet & Greet", due to restrictions. It was nice to see some faces behind the "icon". Out of respect, we will not mention names. We got a kick out of how Jazzbeau looks nothing like his Icon, which we thought was a compliment. We enjoyed NYMich, who we saw frequently throughout the trip. Keith wanted to meet Flatbush Flyer & see the person behind the Icon. He does seem to argue a lot on this site, but we never saw him. Oh well. It was a nice meeting. 

now onto other things.

 We looked forward to being entertained by the singer & dancers, but due to a Covid exposure, they were all locked away till near the end of the cruise. A shame as they were very good. Better than the group from 2019. To cut off Flat Bush's remarks as to how we know it was Covid, we know some staff quite well from past cruises & We were quietly informed this was the case. The real entertainment on Oceania has to be the food. Being in the business this is the main reason we cruise Oceania.

 Puerto Plata: We did the "All inclusive beach Extravaganza" their words, not ours! After a good bone crushing 45 min(NOT the 35 as advertised)terribly bumpy bus ride, we reached the beach. Overall it appeared nice, but there was a lot of seaweed & upon snorkeling, Keith noted some broken bottles in the water. Nice way to ruin a vacation. We informed to tour director & felt she would make sure this would be cleaned up. The lunch was pretty awful overall. We did not ask the destinations staff for compensation, but advised them they should send "plain clothes" staff to always check out an excursion.

 Antigua: Keith changed the excursion from "Lobster Catamaran lunch" to "Blue Shore Resort". It was a 6 hour excursion that was quite costly. Only ourselves & one other couple did this excursion. the driver delivered us to the wrong resort! We then got taken to the right resort. Only problem here, was the resort staff had no idea we were coming. Talk about miscommunication. After about an hour we finally got settled into a fantastic resort. Three beaches/4 pools(which were great)All the drinks & a great lunch were included. Only issue was the promised 6 hours really came out to 3.5 hrs. We did ask for some compensation as the time stated was not he time we had. We got 25% reduction, which we believe was very fair.

 St. Marten: We went ashore on our own & went to Marigot Bay on the French side. Usually we eat lunch there, but were not impressed on the eateries. Rosilees(not sure on spelling)used to be our go to for lunch, but all the eateries haven't fully recovered from the storms form several years ago. We went back to St Marten & had lunch along the board walk. It was ok. For the return visit, we just stayed & relaxed in one of the shaded bistro & had a few drinks. We then went back to the ship for lunch.

 Barbados: Went to Harbor lights & enjoyed the day. Went back the next day & keith snorkeled & as usual came ashore with local wild life to show me as well as a number of others who got a kick out of them. He then brought them back out to sea.

 Tortola: We did a nice beach break & had a Lobster lunch, which was very good. The taxi driver also took us for a nice tour of the island. We highly recommend this tour. Just negotiate with the driver ahead of time & tip them accordingly.

 St Barts: After enough beach days we hired a taxi with another couple & toured the island. Last time we just did "Shell Beach" about 20 min. walk from the ship. Bring good shoes as that beach is like walking on broken China! Most people do not know this is one of the wealthiest islands in the Caribbean. A big off shore banking setup.

 Back to the ship. All the restaurants were excellent, but our fav. is La Reserve. We recommend the Le Bourgeoise above the Odyssey menu. Keith hates Champagne, so is not interested in that tasting menu. Overall this was a very good cruise. We really missed St. Kitts/Grenada & St. Lucia. Great food & great beaches to be had there. Grenada has some nice dining venues. You have to go through the tunnel, go right & walk to the shore road. It can be quite hot, but there a lot of nice shops along with great chocolates to be had. I hope all  had an enjoyable trip. We'll be more in depth with our formal review, when we get a chance to post it in cruise reviews.

 We do have some reservations as to the financial future of NCL holdings. We all saw what happened to Crystal & it's parent co. Genting holdings. We just hope NCL has the finances to survive. They did borrow a lot of money in 2020 to stay afloat. I hope they do. Oceania is too valuable to lose!

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, rbtan said:

We got a kick out of how Jazzbeau looks nothing like his Icon, which we thought was a compliment.

Thank you, I'll take it that way!  Read my signature:  that's a drawing of Al 'Jazzbeaux' Collins, the famous WNEW/KSFO dj.  He packed at least twice my weight!  But he was also twice as hip as any cat.  😁

[Host Jazzbeau]

As far as Crystal vs. NCL in the finance department:  Genting has been under financial distress long before Covid.  NCL meanwhile has one of the newer fleets [except the R-ships, which get a pass because they are truly beloved] and fewer self-competing brands [I'm looking at you, Carnival...]  I think they will do all right.

[Nymich]

It was great meeting both of you as well!  We had some nice chats for sure.  We might have to check out the resort in Antigua it sounds excellent!

[Beagle5]

Great review. Thanks.

[kjbacon]

Thank you for the detailed post. Please know that what I’m about to say is not intended to be argumentative at all. I am struggling with your assessment as great, given the rest of the review. As someone who is one month away from my first Oceania cruise, I’m not encouraged by hearing that the rotisserie chicken at Jacques is no better than the rotisserie chicken at Costco!! Your shore excursions sound disappointing as well. Someone, please tell me that I have a better cruise experience to look forward to!!

[Jayne E]

13 hours ago, rbtan said:

 

 Puerto Plata: We did the "All inclusive beach Extravaganza" their words, not ours! After a good bone crushing 45 min(NOT the 35 as advertised)terribly bumpy bus ride, we reached the beach. Overall it appeared nice, but there was a lot of seaweed & upon snorkeling, Keith noted some broken bottles in the water. Nice way to ruin a vacation. We informed to tour director & felt she would make sure this would be cleaned up. The lunch was pretty awful overall.

 Antigua:Blue Shore Resort". It was a 6 hour excursion that was quite costly. Only ourselves & one other couple did this excursion. the driver delivered us to the wrong resort! We then got taken to the right resort. Only problem here, was the resort staff had no idea we were coming. Talk about miscommunication. After about an hour we finally got settled into a fantastic resort. Three beaches/4 pools(which were great)All the drinks & a great lunch were included. Only issue was the promised 6 hours really came out to 3.5 hrs.

 

 

Puerto Plata has recently been added to O Caribbean cruises, replacing St. Martin on regularly scheduled itineraries. As O describes itself as an upscale line, Puerto Plata should not be a stop at all. 

Blue Waters Resort in Antigua can be booked directly with hotel. $170 pp all inclusive or $85 beach plus cost of taxi and you can stay as long as you like. Oceania is $369 pp. 

We’ve often been at beach areas where O had an excursion group. They are always forced to leave way too early. Maybe a 2 hour stay. 
 
Thanks for review! Glad you enjoyed your cruise. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, kjbacon said:

Thank you for the detailed post. Please know that what I’m about to say is not intended to be argumentative at all. I am struggling with your assessment as great, given the rest of the review. As someone who is one month away from my first Oceania cruise, I’m not encouraged by hearing that the rotisserie chicken at Jacques is no better than the rotisserie chicken at Costco!! Your shore excursions sound disappointing as well. Someone, please tell me that I have a better cruise experience to look forward to!!

 

14 hours ago, rbtan said:

Keith wanted to meet Flatbush Flyer & see the person behind the Icon. He does seem to argue a lot on this site, but we never saw him.

Actually, Keith and I had a nice chat in the water at that awful Puerto Plata beach “resort.”

[Flatbush Flyer]

11 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

As far as Crystal vs. NCL in the finance department:  Genting has been under financial distress long before Covid.  NCL meanwhile has one of the newer fleets [except the R-ships, which get a pass because they are truly beloved] and fewer self-competing brands [I'm looking at you, Carnival...]  I think they will do all right.

While FDR is an ultra-savvy businessman when it comes to the cruise industry, he is also a devoted “family” man. And when it comes to Oceania, let’s not forget that it will always be his “baby.”  I agree that Oceania will emerge A-Ok.

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, kjbacon said:

 I’m not encouraged by hearing that the rotisserie chicken at Jacques is no better than the rotisserie chicken at Costco!!

I have not had Costco chicken but  it is as good as our Swiss Chalet  here in Canada

I order it without the gravy   but I am sure the gravy is good also

Try it for yourself & decide 😉

 

[MEFIowa]

3 hours ago, kjbacon said:

... As someone who is one month away from my first Oceania cruise, I’m not encouraged by hearing that the rotisserie chicken at Jacques is no better than the rotisserie chicken at Costco!! Your shore excursions sound disappointing as well. Someone, please tell me that I have a better cruise experience to look forward to!!

My wife and I were on Riviera 12/13-23/21 (W. Caribbean) and we loved it. Our A4 Concierge Veranda stateroom so quiet and comfortable. The Sea Bass for Two at Jacques was to die for! And I fell in love with Waves for breakfast and the Terrace Cafe outside for dinner.

 

As for EXCURSIONS, my wife booked them all well in advance by herself directly with each one. We ended up at the right places at the right times at all of our ports and we loved every minute of them. But she spent a lot of time and effort looking for the "perfect" excursions (e.g., the Go With Gus Rio Dulce River/Livingston Tour was something we won't ever forget). I'd recommend booking them yourself direct to save money and make sure you get what you paid for. (We kept hearing how few people on our cruise took excursions booked thru Oceania. Either they stayed on the ship or booked direct like us.)

[Mrs f.]

57 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

My wife and I were on Riviera 12/13-23/21 (W. Caribbean) and we loved it. Our A4 Concierge Veranda stateroom so quiet and comfortable. The Sea Bass for Two at Jacques was to die for! And I fell in love with Waves for breakfast and the Terrace Cafe outside for dinner.

 

As for EXCURSIONS, my wife booked them all well in advance by herself directly with each one. We ended up at the right places at the right times at all of our ports and we loved every minute of them. But she spent a lot of time and effort looking for the "perfect" excursions (e.g., the Go With Gus Rio Dulce River/Livingston Tour was something we won't ever forget). I'd recommend booking them yourself direct to save money and make sure you get what you paid for. (We kept hearing how few people on our cruise took excursions booked thru Oceania. Either they stayed on the ship or booked direct like us.)

We never book Oceania  tours. We find our own and post on cruise critic  if we need others  to share.

[jagoffee]

5 hours ago, kjbacon said:

Thank you for the detailed post. Please know that what I’m about to say is not intended to be argumentative at all. I am struggling with your assessment as great, given the rest of the review. As someone who is one month away from my first Oceania cruise, I’m not encouraged by hearing that the rotisserie chicken at Jacques is no better than the rotisserie chicken at Costco!! Your shore excursions sound disappointing as well. Someone, please tell me that I have a better cruise experience to look forward to!!

I did not have the rotisserie chicken at Jacques, but I had a lot of excellent dishes at Jacques, Waves, the other Specialty restaurants, and the Terrance Cafe.  The Oceania food was outstanding.

 

You have an excellent experience cruise experience coming soon.  

[basor]

5 hours ago, kjbacon said:

Thank you for the detailed post. Please know that what I’m about to say is not intended to be argumentative at all. I am struggling with your assessment as great, given the rest of the review. As someone who is one month away from my first Oceania cruise, I’m not encouraged by hearing that the rotisserie chicken at Jacques is no better than the rotisserie chicken at Costco!! Your shore excursions sound disappointing as well. Someone, please tell me that I have a better cruise experience to look forward to!!

Try the Dover Sole and lamb in Jacques...duck and watermelon salad, sea bass and lamb in Red Ginger, I could go on and on - you will not be disappointed in the food on Oceania,     We actually think the rotisserie chicken from COSTCO is excellent so do not find this comment a negative but we would not order rotisserie chicken from Jacques when there are so many other great options that I can not enjoy when home.

 

[kjbacon]

Thank you all, I feel much better now!!

[ORV]

I save the Roast chicken for the MDR when nothing else appeals to me. It's on the always available, and quite good. Never had it in Jacques. 

[CintiPam]

Thank you, rbtan, for taking the time to post your review. I am glad you enjoyed it overall.
 

Spouse had the rotisserie chicken on his very first visit to Jacques. He was quite disappointed and never has ordered it onboard again.

 

I personally really enjoy Costco rotisserie chicken but I try to order entrees onboard that I do not eat at home, such as lobster thermidor, first recommended to me by Oceania board frequent poster and foodie Jim (StanandJIm), now deceased. May his memory always be for a blessing.

Edited February 5, 2022 by CintiPam

[Host Jazzbeau]

We never order things on a ship or in a restaurant that we can make (or get) at home.  Love rotisserie chicken, but would have to be desperate to order it on board.  Similarly, the much touted Wagyu burgers on Oceania aren't as good as what I grill at home, so it was one and done despite the great reviews here.  I'm sure you can find at least one disappointing menu item on even the luxury cruise ships – there's no reason to let it ruin your cruise, just don't order it!

[Flatbush Flyer]

17 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

We never order things on a ship or in a restaurant that we can make (or get) at home.  Love rotisserie chicken, but would have to be desperate to order it on board.  Similarly, the much touted Wagyu burgers on Oceania aren't as good as what I grill at home, so it was one and done despite the great reviews here.  I'm sure you can find at least one disappointing menu item on even the luxury cruise ships – there's no reason to let it ruin your cruise, just don't order it!

Agreed! The Jacque Pepin “standards” on the GDR menu are there solely to address the desires of “less adventurous” eaters. 

[rbtan]

20 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

 

Actually, Keith and I had a nice chat in the water at that awful Puerto Plata beach “resort.”

Keith saw broken glass in the water at the "resort". Not a  nice stop.

[rbtan]

6 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Agreed! The Jacque Pepin “standards” on the GDR menu are there solely to address the desires of “less adventurous” eaters. 

Jacques "favorite" Salmon was excellent. Some of the best we had on land or sea. Love the Foi Gras app. the Seabass in puff pastry is as reported "To die for"!

 

18 hours ago, basor said:

Try the Dover Sole and lamb in Jacques...duck and watermelon salad, sea bass and lamb in Red Ginger, I could go on and on - you will not be disappointed in the food on Oceania,     We actually think the rotisserie chicken from COSTCO is excellent so do not find this comment a negative but we would not order rotisserie chicken from Jacques when there are so many other great options that I can not enjoy when home.

 

We'll cover these restaurants in our main review in the "cruise review section" We both prefer the Dover Sole in Toscana. It's done the more traditional way. It is very good in Jacques, but had too much sauce, which can hide the delicate flavor of the fish itself.

[rbtan]

On 2/3/2022 at 10:20 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

Thank you, I'll take it that way!  Read my signature:  that's a drawing of Al 'Jazzbeaux' Collins, the famous WNEW/KSFO dj.  He packed at least twice my weight!  But he was also twice as hip as any cat.  😁

As a kid Keith's family loved "Milkman's Matinee". What a shame when they went "all news".

[rbtan]

23 hours ago, kjbacon said:

Thank you for the detailed post. Please know that what I’m about to say is not intended to be argumentative at all. I am struggling with your assessment as great, given the rest of the review. As someone who is one month away from my first Oceania cruise, I’m not encouraged by hearing that the rotisserie chicken at Jacques is no better than the rotisserie chicken at Costco!! Your shore excursions sound disappointing as well. Someone, please tell me that I have a better cruise experience to look forward to!!

You will. The food was excellent. The Rotisserie chix just was a tad dry. Only Puerto Plata was a poor excursion. Blue Water resort was excellent, except the screw ups by the tour operator(not Oceania)I like how one responder said how you can book it yourself. This why we frequently do. Cruise based excursions are frequently way over priced. Only if we're not too familiar with the islands or the excursion, do we use the cruiseline(not just on Oceania)

[LHT28]

Food is very subjective

 Not everyone will like the same dishes 

Just try what appeals to your tastes

 

 

 

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, rbtan said:

You will. The food was excellent. The Rotisserie chix just was a tad dry.

You could have sent it back & asked  for something else 🤔

 

Ask for the sauce on the side  or just a small amount of sauce

 

On a luxury line we tried   everything seemed to be smothered in sauce or gravy  YUCK

 probably to cover up the poor quality of the food