My Owner's Suite Review - Riviera

[PinonNoir]

We got off Riviera 5 days ago in Reykjavik, so I felt it was time to give the Owners Suite a review.  First off, I have to say I expected to be blown away, and the view upon first entering the suite was indeed incredible.  However, after a few days, we started to realize how much wasted space there was in the suite, as well as other issues.  Here are my details:

 

1. The central space with the piano and the bar are silly.  There is a table with a huge pot of orchids, and they block a lot of the view.  There are two chairs behind this table that are basically unusable.  Why are they there?  There is a spotlight you can shine on the piano....for some reason.  The piano can play music without a player, but it's not a real player piano....it has speakers under the lid...crappy ones.  This is lame...like really stupidly lame.  They do make real player pianos...just saying.  The bar is super small and the refrigerator is just as small.  This is the Owners Suite!  Make the frig double the size, or add a second one on the right side of the existing one.  You have the space!

2. The lighting system takes a degree from MIT to figure out.  Can you label them so they make sense?  Can we get a nightlight in the bathroom?  Why does it take 9 days into a 12 day cruise to get the jist of it?  Just stop it and make it easier for us.

3. In the lounge area (is that what they call it), the drapes to the deck block out about a third of the window space.  The key to the Owners Suite is the view outside....why block it with shades that won't open all the way?  We ended up using bungee cords we brought along (for luggage) to keep them open.  It was funny that the staff took them off once....but when I put them back on, they stopped.  They looked like crap, but it was better than blocking a third of the outdoor view.

4. We had heard there was a hot tub on the starboard side of the deck.  Nope!

5. When the ship is coming into or out of port the stern thrusters practically knocked the fillings out of my teeth.  If California ever wants to set up an "earthquake research center" I suggest the Owners Suite.

6. It appears you get free beer in the suite, but it's next to impossible to get the beer you want.  I asked for a specific beer they had on the ship, but could never get it in the tiny fridge.  We had the best butler on the ship, but this beer was just unobtainable (Newcastle Brown Ale).  Don't get me wrong, our butler was awesome!  He did great things for us, but snagging a few bottles of a specific beer was just a mountain too high to climb.

7. The toilet in the Master Bathroom is too close to the wall to use appropriately.  I'm not even that tall, but I can't imagine if I were.  Fortunately the guest bathroom toilet is much better situated, so we pretty much used that one exclusively.

8. If the ship has an announcement to make, it never comes into the Owners Suite.  You don't need to know.

9. The deck is laid out as if you are expecting a huge crowd to suddenly appear in your room.  I think there were 10 chairs, 4 tables and 2 chaise lounges.  The chaise lounges were designed to trip you and send you to the ships doctor, which we avoided thankfully.  We moved the lounges aside twice to remove the tripping obstacle, and it took both times for the rearrangement to stick.  Not sure why they put them where they did in the first place....just as stupid as the chairs in the bar area.

 

I know, first world problems personified.....but *****, if you are spending this kind of money, why can't they design something that makes a lot more sense, and works well for the passengers.  We visited an Oceania Suite our friends were staying in, and frankly, thought it was much better.  We won't be doing an Owners Suite again.  Rant mode off...thanks for reading if you made it this far!

 

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by PinonNoir
Spelling

[shepherd really]

I'm so sorry. It sounds like it was just an awful experience.  I hope you recover and are not permanently scarred. 

 

Namaste.  Serenity now. 

[techteach]

The speakers in the piano is just too much. You are correct that Yamaha makes a unit you can install on their grand pianos that will actually play the keys. Speakers are tacky. We have our first Oceania cruise this September, and it would be like me to go for the Owner’s Suite for our next cruise. Thank you very much for your post and I’m sorry the suite was a disappointment.

[PinonNoir]

51 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

I'm so sorry. It sounds like it was just an awful experience.  I hope you recover and are not permanently scarred. 

 

Namaste.  Serenity now. 

We have survived, and continue our journey in Iceland.  I appreciate your concern however!

[PinonNoir]

50 minutes ago, techteach said:

The speakers in the piano is just too much. You are correct that Yamaha makes a unit you can install on their grand pianos that will actually play the keys. Speakers are tacky. We have our first Oceania cruise this September, and it would be like me to go for the Owner’s Suite for our next cruise. Thank you very much for your post and I’m sorry the suite was a disappointment.

I thought I responded to this post, but it appears it disappeared?  I don't want to say our suite experience was a "disappointment"....I just wanted to explain to others that there is a downside to the ultimate suite on the ship.  The positives are obvious...huge suite, great location, etc.  I just haven't seen others state the obvious about how silly some of the layout of the Owners Suite is.

[SATaxman]

12 minutes ago, PinonNoir said:

I thought I responded to this post, but it appears it disappeared?  I don't want to say our suite experience was a "disappointment"....I just wanted to explain to others that there is a downside to the ultimate suite on the ship.  The positives are obvious...huge suite, great location, etc.  I just haven't seen others state the obvious about how silly some of the layout of the Owners Suite is.

Interesting review. We are taking our first Oceania cruise this Fall. We looked at the Owner's Suites. My husband plays the piano, and we have enjoyed suites with pianos on other cruise lines. They did not have any "player piano" gimmicks. The suites were booked. We decided on an Oceania Suite, and look forward to the hot tub on the balcony area, although I have just read that when marina is refurbished, those will probably be removed. It is crazy that there are not suites between the PH and the Oceania/Vista suites. On Regent there are 3 in-between sizes that are lovely. Hope that you enjoyed it.

[LHT28]

Well even in the lower cabins you do not get announcements in the cabin unless it is an emergency

You need to have the TV on the Bridge Cam   or run to the hall to hear the announcements

 

 

Also no problem with the night light in the lower categories  I am surprised your housekeeping staff or the butler could not get one for you

JMO

 

[PinonNoir]

The piano can be played, it's just the the "player piano" is a speaker driven crappy system that sounds like a small Bluetooth speaker...versus a real player piano.  I think you will enjoy the Oceania Suite...we will definitely opt for that if we do Riviera again.

[PinonNoir]

3 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Well even in the lower cabins you do not get announcements in the cabin unless it is an emergency

You need to have the TV on the Bridge Cam   or run to the hall to hear the announcements

 

 

Also no problem with the night light in the lower categories  I am surprised your housekeeping staff or the butler could not get one for you

JMO

 

I was simply surprised one of the dozen or so options for the bathroom lights didn't include "nightlight".  How hard could it be?  If you sat there and manipulated the lights for 5 minutes you could get something approximating a night light, but why does it require so much work?  Just silly little ***** like that becomes irritating.

[PinonNoir]

12 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Well even in the lower cabins you do not get announcements in the cabin unless it is an emergency

You need to have the TV on the Bridge Cam   or run to the hall to hear the announcements

 

There should be a switch in the cabin that allows you to turn announcements on and off. I'd like to know when the ship is cleared for going ashore, and not have to run to the door and open it to find that out. I'm going on a cruise for the itinerary, so this is important info IMO.

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, PinonNoir said:

There should be a switch in the cabin that allows you to turn announcements on and off. I'd like to know when the ship is cleared for going ashore, and not have to run to the door and open it to find that out. I'm going on a cruise for the itinerary, so this is important info IMO.

Do cruise lines  still have that option??

Have not see that in many years

[LHT28]

12 minutes ago, PinonNoir said:

I was simply surprised one of the dozen or so options for the bathroom lights didn't include "nightlight".  How hard could it be?  If you sat there and manipulated the lights for 5 minutes you could get something approximating a night light, but why does it require so much work?  Just silly little ***** like that becomes irritating.

They used to have  small plug in night lights  but maybe  during the refub they tossed them out  & I saw on some post the night light was built into the mirror under it

Just saying I am surprised they could not find  a plug in one

[PinonNoir]

8 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Do cruise lines  still have that option??

Have not see that in many years

I can't say...this was our first cruise in awhile. How hard could that be though?  We have settings for pretty much everything these days!

[PinonNoir]

7 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

They used to have  small plug in night lights  but maybe  during the refub they tossed them out  & I saw on some post the night light was built into the mirror under it

Just saying I am surprised they could not find  a plug in one

I'll be honest, I didn't ask for a nightlight. I just tried to get the best setting of dim lights possible. Once we got north of Scotland it no longer mattered. It just doesn't get dark this far north in the summer. It's 2300 right now and pretty much daylight outside.

[pinotlover]

Thank you to the OP for a thoughtful, informative, and insightful review of the Owners Suite. I believe it’s been years since we’ve seen one. 🍷

[Sthrngary]

3 hours ago, PinonNoir said:

We got off Riviera 5 days ago in Reykjavik, so I felt it was time to give the Owners Suite a review.  First off, I have to say I expected to be blown away, and the view upon first entering the suite was indeed incredible.  However, after a few days, we started to realize how much wasted space there was in the suite, as well as other issues.  Here are my details:

 

1. The central space with the piano and the bar are silly.  There is a table with a huge pot of orchids, and they block a lot of the view.  There are two chairs behind this table that are basically unusable.  Why are they there?  There is a spotlight you can shine on the piano....for some reason.  The piano can play music without a player, but it's not a real player piano....it has speakers under the lid...crappy ones.  This is lame...like really stupidly lame.  They do make real player pianos...just saying.  The bar is super small and the refrigerator is just as small.  This is the Owners Suite!  Make the frig double the size, or add a second one on the right side of the existing one.  You have the space!

2. The lighting system takes a degree from MIT to figure out.  Can you label them so they make sense?  Can we get a nightlight in the bathroom?  Why does it take 9 days into a 12 day cruise to get the jist of it?  Just stop it and make it easier for us.

3. In the lounge area (is that what they call it), the drapes to the deck block out about a third of the window space.  The key to the Owners Suite is the view outside....why block it with shades that won't open all the way?  We ended up using bungee cords we brought along (for luggage) to keep them open.  It was funny that the staff took them off once....but when I put them back on, they stopped.  They looked like crap, but it was better than blocking a third of the outdoor view.

4. We had heard there was a hot tub on the starboard side of the deck.  Nope!

5. When the ship is coming into or out of port the stern thrusters practically knocked the fillings out of my teeth.  If California ever wants to set up an "earthquake research center" I suggest the Owners Suite.

6. It appears you get free beer in the suite, but it's next to impossible to get the beer you want.  I asked for a specific beer they had on the ship, but could never get it in the tiny fridge.  We had the best butler on the ship, but this beer was just unobtainable (Newcastle Brown Ale).  Don't get me wrong, our butler was awesome!  He did great things for us, but snagging a few bottles of a specific beer was just a mountain too high to climb.

7. The toilet in the Master Bathroom is too close to the wall to use appropriately.  I'm not even that tall, but I can't imagine if I were.  Fortunately the guest bathroom toilet is much better situated, so we pretty much used that one exclusively.

8. If the ship has an announcement to make, it never comes into the Owners Suite.  You don't need to know.

9. The deck is laid out as if you are expecting a huge crowd to suddenly appear in your room.  I think there were 10 chairs, 4 tables and 2 chaise lounges.  The chaise lounges were designed to trip you and send you to the ships doctor, which we avoided thankfully.  We moved the lounges aside twice to remove the tripping obstacle, and it took both times for the rearrangement to stick.  Not sure why they put them where they did in the first place....just as stupid as the chairs in the bar area.

 

I know, first world problems personified.....but *****, if you are spending this kind of money, why can't they design something that makes a lot more sense, and works well for the passengers.  We visited an Oceania Suite our friends were staying in, and frankly, thought it was much better.  We won't be doing an Owners Suite again.  Rant mode off...thanks for reading if you made it this far!

 

 

@PinonNoir I read what you wrote twice.  When I book a new ship, I really study all the staterooms especially Penthouse and above.  I go to YouTube and watch every video I can find.  With the Riviera, I get excited when a new travel advisor or influencer does a detailed look at the newly refurbished cabins.  

 

I saw the Owners Suite and the size of it was impressive.  Yet with two people it seemed overkill. That perspective comes from recently cruising the Owners Suite on the NCL Joy.  We had four in the suite and still it was massive.  The way your Oceania Owners Suites decks were distributed also seemed off.  Now I do love the fact it was the back of the ship from a wind standpoint.  With the good comes the thrusters.  

 

All I am trying to really say it I can clearly see why you wrote the review the way you did.  I did learn to ask for a "night light" in the bathroom.  That is no joke, GREAT idea.  Closing, thank you for taking the time and paying the substantial investment.  Much appreciated.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[ORV]

The Horror. 

[julia]

Thank you for this lovely review.  I will say that my biggest pet peeve, in my humble 35 cruises, is WASTED SPACE!  OMG.... I simply hate wasted space.  We do NOT need a suite, when a balcony will suffice.  And since I'm the queen of organization, we are always comfortable... 35 nights most recently onboard the Koningsdam.  Very comfortable, no wasted space.

[Flatbush Flyer]

11 hours ago, ORV said:

The Horror. 

“Huge Space” on any ship (or in any hotel) is such a waste of money for a couple of folks. For that kind of cost, you could do multiple cruises in a more-than-adequate veranda suite.

[Sthrngary]

10 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

“Huge Space” on any ship (or in any hotel) is such a waste of money for a couple of folks. For that kind of cost, you could do multiple cruises in a more-than-adequate veranda suite.

@Flatbush Flyer Your statement is true.  When ever a reference to a more expensive stateroom is posted on this and most other boards, your statement is brought up.  

 

The other side of the coin.  Folks that book Owners Suite in the most cases (exceptions to every rule) don't worry about buying more cruises for the price they pay for an Owners Suite.  Four most of us, this is kind of hard to believe.  We need to keep our stateroom chooses in a category of what is acceptable to you. Whether you purchase an inside cabin or owners suite, you have your own personal reasons.  

 

All reasons for the financial decisions we all make are relative to our situation in our personal and business life.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

6 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

@Flatbush Flyer Your statement is true.  When ever a reference to a more expensive stateroom is posted on this and most other boards, your statement is brought up.  

 

The other side of the coin.  Folks that book Owners Suite in the most cases (exceptions to every rule) don't worry about buying more cruises for the price they pay for an Owners Suite.  Four most of us, this is kind of hard to believe.  We need to keep our stateroom chooses in a category of what is acceptable to you. Whether you purchase an inside cabin or owners suite, you have your own personal reasons.  

 

All reasons for the financial decisions we all make are relative to our situation in our personal and business life.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

 

 

I’m going to disagree with you (slightly) and say “the exception is more likely the rule.” A lot of folks (including many who are new to cruising or even just to foreign travel) extend themselves with a splurge (or three), make novice comparisons to home settings, or buy into upsells. 
My concern is for those newbies for which choosing a lot of very expensive, empty space could’ve been avoided if they had just thought things through.

i have no problem with folks who do the math and place value on a piano they’ll never use. But, I’ll always scratch my head at that decision.

[Sthrngary]

1 minute ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

I’m going to disagree with you (slightly) and say “the exception is more likely the rule.” A lot of folks (including many who are new to cruising or even just to foreign travel) extend themselves with a splurge (or three), make novice comparisons to home settings, or buy into upsells. 
My concern is for those newbies for which choosing a lot of very expensive, empty space could’ve been avoided if they had just thought things through.

i have no problem with folks who do the math and place value on a piano they’ll never use. But, I’ll always scratch my head at that decision.

OK, well put.  No excuse for not doing due diligence.  Thank you.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[davencl]

This hit on my pet peeve on announcements(true for all rooms).   They say to turn on the TV to listen.  By the time the TV boots up the announcement is over. 🙂  

 

[LHT28]

15 minutes ago, davencl said:

This hit on my pet peeve on announcements(true for all rooms).   They say to turn on the TV to listen.  By the time the TV boots up the announcement is over. 🙂  

 

Usually they do not have that many announcement  (certain CD's feel the need to chat )

 

If we are in the cabin  we will put the TV on the bridge cam station  mute the sound   or just listen to the music   if we hear the loud speaker outside then un mute the  tv

 

When ship had the options  to have the sound on  for the announcements some (me) would forget to turn it off   then in the early morning it would scare you awake 😲🛌

 

I guess there is  a reason  they no longer have the  switch to control  the announcements

JMO

 

emergency announcements    will come into the cabin no matter what

 

[YourWorldWithBill]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

If we are in the cabin  we will put the TV on the bridge cam station  mute the sound   or just listen to the music   if we hear the loud speaker outside then un mute the  tv

We also learned to do this, but not until probably our second cruise on HAL. On people's first cruise or two on any cruise line there is so much that they're trying to figure out that this option, which is obvious, doesn't occur to them. I remember being irritated that I thought I was missing stuff until I figured this out. Really, missing the announcements isn't a big deal, anyway.