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On Riviera Now ~ February 7-19

gbits

By gbits,
in Oceania Cruises

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espmass

espmass

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

Thinking our Concierge Lounge on Deck 9 was open 24/7 on Riviera on 12/13-23/21. I went in at all times, night and day. Including very early in the AM (between 4 and 5 once). The concierge himself had posted hours, but the lounge was seemingly always open if you had your room badge/key.

Our Executive Lounge is open 24/7.  It was listed as open at 8AM in the Currents.  Not sure why but it is open with the room key.

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espmass

espmass

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Nymich said:

To ALL of you onboard!   Have a great cruise!

Thank you.  It was  mostly your posts and information that convinced us to go on the cruise when we were concerned about the various Covid issues. We have found the precautions so good that we feel totally comfortable onboard. 

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Nymich

Nymich

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, espmass said:

 We have found the precautions so good that we feel totally comfortable onboard. 

Nice to hear that.  It is amazing to watch the crew adapt to the "situation on the sea" no matter what!

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gbits

gbits

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12 hours ago, espmass said:

Thank you.  It was  mostly your posts and information that convinced us to go on the cruise when we were concerned about the various Covid issues.

Agree 100%. Posts by NyMich et. al. gave us the encouragement we needed to stay the course. I think many who cancelled jumped the gun when things were at the worst, on land and at sea. We are very happy we did not cancel.

 

Last nights show, Lights, Action, Music was excellent and one of the best I have ever seen on Oceania. Although still not at the level of the big cruise lines, it seems they have stepped up their game in the entertainment department which was a pleasant surprise. We don’t cruise for the entertainment but it’s certainly nice to see an enjoyable show.

 

A few tidbits we picked up: There were several passengers denied entry at embarkation due to testing positive. Not that it matters, but I am curious and will try to find out how many ~ initial reports were that there were supposed to be 700 on board and we are only at 591 - can’t imagine that many people could have tested positive at the pier unless they did not bother to get a pre embarkation test. We also heard there were several that did not make it due to weather and flights being cancelled (and several or barely made it for that reason). That could have been us had the snowstorm that hit NY come a week later (phew…). 
 

It’s been very windy on our sea days, and relatively crowded at the pool. At 10am most chairs are taken. No masks around the pool for those concerned, but once you get up you need to put them back on. It seems they have relaxed enforcement a little on this cruise as we have not heard any announcements and definitely have some less than fully compliant. Also have not seen any of the dreaded people in hazmat suits, so that is a really good sign. 
 

Open bar for 2 hours at Martinis, Grand Bar & Horizons  (only) replaced the Captains reception. No word yet on the Oceania members reception they usually have.

 

Hoping my posts are as helpful to others as the previous posters were to me. Any questions, let me know.  

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dj_crusin

dj_crusin

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I should show these pictures to DW.  She's always worried that a tastings menu will have too much food.  These tiny portions don't seem to post a problem!

The portion are larger than they look, especially since the food is so rich!  Then, there are the 9+ flights of free poured wine and champagne🥂🥂

It was a truly memorable experience and certainly one of the best we have ever had at sea.
Dan and Judy

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azlatina

azlatina

Posted
Posted
44 minutes ago, gbits said:

Agree 100%. Posts by NyMich et. al. gave us the encouragement we needed to stay the course. I think many who cancelled jumped the gun when things were at the worst, on land and at sea. We are very happy we did not cancel.

 

Last nights show, Lights, Action, Music was excellent and one of the best I have ever seen on Oceania. Although still not at the level of the big cruise lines, it seems they have stepped up their game in the entertainment department which was a pleasant surprise. We don’t cruise for the entertainment but it’s certainly nice to see an enjoyable show.

 

A few tidbits we picked up: There were several passengers denied entry at embarkation due to testing positive. Not that it matters, but I am curious and will try to find out how many ~ initial reports were that there were supposed to be 700 on board and we are only at 591 - can’t imagine that many people could have tested positive at the pier unless they did not bother to get a pre embarkation test. We also heard there were several that did not make it due to weather and flights being cancelled (and several or barely made it for that reason). That could have been us had the snowstorm that hit NY come a week later (phew…). 
 

It’s been very windy on our sea days, and relatively crowded at the pool. At 10am most chairs are taken. No masks around the pool for those concerned, but once you get up you need to put them back on. It seems they have relaxed enforcement a little on this cruise as we have not heard any announcements and definitely have some less than fully compliant. Also have not seen any of the dreaded people in hazmat suits, so that is a really good sign. 
 

Open bar for 2 hours at Martinis, Grand Bar & Horizons  (only) replaced the Captains reception. No word yet on the Oceania members reception they usually have.

 

Hoping my posts are as helpful to others as the previous posters were to me. Any questions, let me know.  

I had inquired with a crew member while on last cruise about how many they expected on board for the Feb 7th cruise and he informed me appx 550 not more than 600 passengers. So the number of current passengers is not far off of expectation. 
 

Glad  you are enjoying your cruise. 

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Ella Bella

Ella Bella

Posted
Posted

Also onboard now. So far one of our best cruises ever for us.  Red Ginger two nights in a row  Toscana’s tonight and Jacques tomorrow night. We may never make it to the dining room! Everyone is thrilled to be onboard. I spent the morning on the spa terrace and heading down to happy hour now. I will try to take pictures.

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catgirl411

catgirl411

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, gbits said:

Agree 100%. Posts by NyMich et. al. gave us the encouragement we needed to stay the course. I think many who cancelled jumped the gun when things were at the worst, on land and at sea. We are very happy we did not cancel.

 

Last nights show, Lights, Action, Music was excellent and one of the best I have ever seen on Oceania. Although still not at the level of the big cruise lines, it seems they have stepped up their game in the entertainment department which was a pleasant surprise. We don’t cruise for the entertainment but it’s certainly nice to see an enjoyable show.

 

A few tidbits we picked up: There were several passengers denied entry at embarkation due to testing positive. Not that it matters, but I am curious and will try to find out how many ~ initial reports were that there were supposed to be 700 on board and we are only at 591 - can’t imagine that many people could have tested positive at the pier unless they did not bother to get a pre embarkation test. We also heard there were several that did not make it due to weather and flights being cancelled (and several or barely made it for that reason). That could have been us had the snowstorm that hit NY come a week later (phew…). 
 

It’s been very windy on our sea days, and relatively crowded at the pool. At 10am most chairs are taken. No masks around the pool for those concerned, but once you get up you need to put them back on. It seems they have relaxed enforcement a little on this cruise as we have not heard any announcements and definitely have some less than fully compliant. Also have not seen any of the dreaded people in hazmat suits, so that is a really good sign. 
 

Open bar for 2 hours at Martinis, Grand Bar & Horizons  (only) replaced the Captains reception. No word yet on the Oceania members reception they usually have.

 

Hoping my posts are as helpful to others as the previous posters were to me. Any questions, let me know.  

we were on Riviera last week and I agree the shows were better than I recall from my last cruise on Riviera.  I thought that all four of the major singers were very good.  They did three more shows on our cruise...a Broadway in Concert with just the singers, a Burt Bacharach show and a World Beat show.  I actually liked them all.   It is very special to be able to easily access additional nights at the specialty dining spots, particularly Red Ginger, though we also enjoyed the others and the GDR.

 

 

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Host Jazzbeau Great Review Rare

Host Jazzbeau

Posted
Posted

One thing I noticed on the Jan. 14 cruise:  when the singers came back from quarantine for a singing-only performance they were using handheld mics and sounded really good; when they had time to rehearse and perform one of the fully staged shows they were wearing head mics and the sound was shrill and piercing.  Maybe the 'sound guy' can tweak the EQ to fix that.

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ORV "Live from...." Rare

ORV

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

One thing I noticed on the Jan. 14 cruise:  when the singers came back from quarantine for a singing-only performance they were using handheld mics and sounded really good; when they had time to rehearse and perform one of the fully staged shows they were wearing head mics and the sound was shrill and piercing.  Maybe the 'sound guy' can tweak the EQ to fix that.

Generally as a rule those tape on mics are not as good a quality as a handheld. Opinion from a sound guy from last century. 

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Host Jazzbeau Great Review Rare

Host Jazzbeau

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, ORV said:

Generally as a rule those tape on mics are not as good a quality as a handheld. Opinion from a sound guy from last century. 

Yeah, and nothing is as good as the RCA ribbon mics we used at my college radio station in the '60s!  But of course you can't use a ribbon for live shows because they are too fragile...

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Aloha 1

Aloha 1

Posted
Posted
20 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I should show these pictures to DW.  She's always worried that a tastings menu will have too much food.  These tiny portions don't seem to post a problem!

Trust me, you will be full!

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