Vista Review - Roman Rivièra’s July 25th – August 4th.

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Viva La Vista - Roman Rivièra’s 
July 25th – August 4th. 

Background 

This was a special gift for my mother’s birthday. We have been cruising for years. I started cruising with my parents and grandmother many years ago. I also like to cruise with my girlfriend. Our favorite cruise line is Oceania (Insignia, Nautica and 3x Riviera), but we also love Seabourn and did a couple of cruises on Celebrity and Star Clippers. Our last cruise was on Seabourn. My age is 42 so I think I belong in the younger demographic Oceania is aiming for with the new ships Vista and Allura. 

On Oceania we have always been blessed to cruise in Penthouse Suites and for this trip on the beautiful Vista we also had a PH (PH 11012). Sailing on a brand-new ship and with Oceania’s increased pricing also meant this was our most expensive cruise to date. Oceania now places itself in the price range of Seabourn, Explora Journeys, Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection and sister brand Regent. I had very high expectations for this trip and was keen to compare this to our last cruise on Seabourn and previous Oceania Riviera cruises. This review is long. Very long. Too long maybe. I’m fully aware some points are first world problems and that we are privileged to be able to travel and see the world in such luxury. I like reading comprehensive reviews and I’m trying to return the favor. If you prefer a short version there is a conclusion in the end. So you can fast forward to the end. 

Booking
 
We live partly in the US and partly in Europe. We had our US based travel advisor Adam book this cruise and he and his assistant Vanessa were extremely helpful and always available. They arranged flowers for my mother’s birthday and a nice bottle of wine was waiting in our suite upon arrival. Really appreciated. 

Blue Book
 
We never received the pre-cruise booklet with personalized information about our trip and luggage tags. Apparently, Oceania doesn’t send those out anymore, to guest who don’t live in the US permanently. We always got those in the past. Oceania happily sends tons of glossy magazines, brochures, letters with discounts and leaflets to Europe. Those all end up in the trash bin even. We tried to opt out of the mailing list at least 5 times! They keep sending it anyway. 

 

Why Oceania cuts down on sending handy luggage tags and a personalized cruise brochure that you keep as a reminder of a great travel experience is a riddle to me? It’s a bad decision. Sending the pre-cruise booklet is a nice touch, gives a good first impression and I planned on wrapping the booklet as a gift for my mother. Penny-wise pound foolish for an upper premium cruise line.
 

Website 

The Oceania website and guest portal is functional but not the most user friendly. There is no Oceania app for your mobile device and the dated user interface makes for a mediocre online experience. You get multiple emails that show the same messages as in the guest portal. You must do a fair number of clicks to get to the page to select your restaurant reservations or shore excursions. We got the email about the importance of watching the safety video 6 times and that was after clicking the link and watching it. An app could provide guests an easy portal with cruise information, reservations, excursions, ship, and port information et cetera. It’s not a big priority but an ICT overhaul would benefit everyone. 

Flights  

We made our own travel arrangements and flew in with KLM from Amsterdam to Rome on the day of Embarkation.  I had pre-arranged a private transfer to pick us up from the airport. Always tricky to fly in on embarkation day but we had a short early morning flight and felt confident we would make it. Our flight left on time. Last summer it wass chaos at Schiphol Airport but this year it’s back to normal. The flight was good. Our driver was waiting for us when exited the baggage area and drove us right to the terminal in Civitavecchia. 

Embarkation 

On arrival we gave our luggage to a porter who had to first look up our name and stateroom number and then wrote it down on a sticker gave it to us so we could attach it to our suitcases. Those luggage tags from the Blue Book would have been so handy. After that we walked to a second entrance that had different lines for different cabin and stateroom categories. Although we had done the complete online check-in with uploading our passport information and specially took and uploaded photos and CC information, we had to do it all over again at embarkation. So much for the online check-in and Oceania boarding passes in our hands. It seemed that none of the information we provided online was available to the agent checking us in. She wanted to know our nationalities (she had our passport in her hands) and what type of credit card we would be using (the same we provided during the online check in) and she took new pictures of both our passport and our faces before finally handing over our sail and sign cards. There were long lines with people checking in and I understand why. 

Finally, we were ready to board. The ship is gorgeous. Having sailed on Riviera 3 times you feel right at home on Vista, but the new design is impressive and modern. All public spaces are stunning. It’s not a yacht feel but more that of a floating luxury resort. Tiles, fabrics, carpets, leather, lighting, chairs, and tables; everything is tasteful. I appreciate the touchless doors to the restrooms although the controls need some studying. The library is the most beautiful at sea with an enormous selection of books. No need to schlep books with you. I walked past it multiple times a day just to look at the room. The interiors throughout Vista are impressive 

Suite 

The Penthouse Suite is roomy and very elegant. All the colors, fixtures, finishings from wall panels to flooring and furniture are first class. The air-conditioning works perfectly fine and silent. You can even control the direction of the airflow. I like the touchscreen with various options but would have liked to have more options to control the lighting and mood in the suite and to turn announcements on or off. 

I do think the designers could have utilized the space better. We visited a regular Veranda Stateroom, and the Penthouse Suite is essentially a slightly larger version of that room with some extra furniture and different wall panels. I would have loved to be able to close the curtains between the sleeping and living area. Seabourn has this and I think it works well, especially when somebody is awake early in the morning. It makes the room feel bigger and closing of a part is just a great feature. On Riviera and Marina, the Penthouse Suites had a faux curtain between living and sleeping area, that made it look larger. More importantly they had a proper walk-in closet. On Vista the designers choose for two big glossy grey closets with a big empty space in the middle. A lot of wasted space that could have been used so much better. Not a fan of this layout at all. 

The bathroom is beautiful and bright, and I love the tiles, smart lighted mirrors that double as a night light and double sinks, but it felt smallish for a suite. The shower is good and temperature and pressure excellent. I do miss the bathtub. For me with busy work schedules it’s a luxury I don’t get to use at home often. I love to take a relaxing bath on vacation. Seabourn has a fantastic layout for the bathrooms in standard Veranda Staterooms with double sinks, a large shower, and a separate bathtub. I know Riviera already removed most bathtubs because many people prefer a large shower, but such a roomy suite could have had both easily. It also makes for a bigger difference between a standard veranda stateroom and the entry level suite. The closet and drawer spaces take up too much room. You can easily pack for a world cruise. The Penthouse Suite has so many drawers. One could even say a few too many. The suite has a very firm sofa and 4 big chairs. 1 adjacent to the sofa with a very nice mirror and small table in between. There is a nice marble dining table with 2 chairs but due to a useless row of drawers behind the table it partly blocks the door to the balcony. The table itself blocks the row of drawers so you can’t open them without moving the heavy table so it’s a very strange design choice. Maybe nice on paper but not useful at all. I’m curious how many guests use the drawers tucked away behind the dining table. All the chairs and the position of the table make the space look a little cluttered. On the positive side there is enough furniture to sit on. 

I would have chosen a warmer color for the LED-lighting for the room. It’s very cool white/blue and you can’t dim the lights to make it softer. The balcony light is so bright that it doesn’t do anything nice at night. Better keep them off and enjoy the world go by in darkness. The reading lights are so bright you can use them to read and light up the entire ship. Did I mention it would be nice to have dimmers? The beds are very comfortable, and linens are soft and crisp. I want to take them home. Oceania beds and bedding are the best. 

I don’t understand the bar set-up in the room. There is a very nice cabinet with glass doors and lights behind them, but it doesn’t hold anything behind those glass doors. Something like glassware, cutlery, plates, cocktail shaker, napkins, wine opener or anything useful to make a drink or maybe some nice books? Now it’s just empty. I’m curious what the idea behind that lighted cabinet is? The veranda of the Vista Penthouse Suite has very nice and comfortable chairs, but a lounger or at least an ottoman would have been a nice touch for a suite. For such an expensive cabin the difference between the standard veranda stateroom and penthouse suite should be bigger. Should we sail on Oceania Vista again I think I would be just as happy in a standard veranda stateroom with extended balcony. 

WiFi.

The Starlink Wi-Fi is a leap forward but allowing one device online or having to pay a lot extra for a second device is totally outdated. The logging into the system and switching between devices is frustrating and very 2012. Most airlines offer free messaging at 40.000 feet even when flying in economy with multiple devices. Oceania should provide guests with free WIFI.  I know the future Simply More pricing will see a change in the policy but that doesn’t benefit any guests now and we are already simply paying more. 

Food 

Oceania advertises the Finest Cuisine at Sea and on the 0-website they also call its restaurants culinary masterpieces. Those are big promises. Therefore, I will focus this review on those claims. During my past 6 cruises on Oceania, we felt they did offer the finest cuisine at sea. This voyage the food was excellent in some places (Red Ginger and Polo) and hit and miss in others (Toscana, Terrace, Aquamar, Ember and Waves). In general, I found the quality of the food had declined and the variety more limited than before. It’s still good but not as spectacular as in the past. 

I’m all for cutting down on the use of plastics and in theory the Vero water system on Oceania is great. The problem is it’s mostly served lukewarm, getting ice is a hassle and I’m not very fond of the taste. But I know first world problem. 

Toscana 

The new design of Toscana is beautiful. I love what they did with the space. Since Toscana was our favorite in the past, I booked it for our first night. Our table for two at the stern would have been fabulous but there was a problem with one of the floor to ceiling windows and it had protective white sticker/tarp glued on it covering the entire window. We were placed right behind that window. So much for the nice view. Our friendly waiter took our orders, and we asked him to take it very slow. It was our first night and we like to take time with dinner. For us it is the main event of the evening. Our waiter responded that he would take care of it and even joked we didn’t have anywhere else to go that evening. And then we had starter, main course and dessert served within 45 minutes and were out of Toscana in under an hour. We felt rushed. Food itself was a little mixed. The fried calamari were good as was the octopus carpaccio but the Aragosta Fra Diavolo (pasta with lobster) was mediocre. Pasta had been in the water way too long. Soft and with no taste. Lobster was a good size but chewy. Also cooked too long and lacking flavor. My mother had the Linguine Cioppino (pasta with shrimp, clams, and mussels) The dish had lots of bland tomato sauce on it and little seafood. All-in all the food was a little bland. Tiramisu was fine. I think they changed the recipe to less mascarpone and that made it a little less rich and flavorful. 

After my initial complaint we had a second dinner that was much better. Service was fantastic. Food still hit and miss. Artichoke salad bland, carpaccio nothing spectacular. My mother’s beef requested medium rare came out very well done.  On the other hand, my veal was excellent. I looked up pictures from previous cruises and the plating at Toscana from a few years ago looked so much more elegant. The carpaccio was a feast for the eye with a beautiful crispy Parmesan tower filled with arugula. They used to offer a fantastic Vitello Tonnato. Toscana on Vista is a beautiful restaurant but the kitchen needs attention. 

They still offer the best breadbasket at sea with the oven roasted garlic and the olive and balsamic vinegar menu. 

Red Ginger
 
Again a very beautiful restaurant. There is a dark and a light side. I preferred the elegance from the dark side of the restaurant but the brightly lit other area was also pretty. Just put a dimmer on those big chandeliers to give the room a little more atmosphere. I’m not in the dentist office. 

Service was excellent. Our waiter Anthony just got it. Great personality and the time between courses was perfect. The food was also the best we had on the ship. The spicy duck and watermelon, seared salmon and scallop ceviche, veggie spring rolls, caramelized tiger prawns, Bulgogi beef, fried soft-shell crab, noodles and fried rice. Everything tasted delicious with the right amount of spice. 

We loved our dinner at Red Ginger. That was the quality and preparation we remembered.  

Polo Grill

Again Oceania and the design team did great work on Polo Grill on Vista. The spaces, tables, lights, tableware, and design touches are all wonderful. It’s a visual picknick. 

Our servers were knowledgeable, attentive and knew how to not rush. Timing was perfect and the food was exactly as we remembered, maybe even better. We ordered Foie Gras, pork belly, lobster bisque, onion soup and steamed lobster with a side of creamed spinach and a side of lobster Mac and cheese. Everything was delicious. Portions perfect. At the end of the meal the waiters came out with a special cake and sang happy birthday for my mom. They didn’t overdo it. It wasn’t awkward. It truly was a special night. 

Ember 

Although the atmosphere and interior design of Ember is nice, we don’t think it’s a worthy successor to Jacques. I think that a French restaurant is better suited for a cruise line that says it serves ‘the finest cuisine at sea’ and even trademarked this slogan. Ember has a menu reminiscing a simplified menu of a nicely decorated upscale US chain restaurant. It’s just not fine dining. Oceania already has Terrace Cafe and Waves and Aquamar for casual food. I would have not visited Ember a second time and they need to seriously look at the acoustics. It’s loud and not in a fun way. The layout like Red Ginger also has a smaller more intimate side and a larger brighter room. This has the open kitchen in it and due to the design with lots of glass the bright lights from the kitchen shines into the large room of the restaurant. It takes away some of the atmosphere. Service was super friendly and accommodating. We didn’t feel rushed and time between courses very good. 

The food was okay with some good and some not so good. Portion sizes very nice and small so you can try lots of what’s on the menu. 

The warm bread was fantastic.

Spinach and Artichoke dip wasn’t hot, and the dip was pretty tasteless. 

Classic New England Lobster Roll was good. I would load a little more on top just to make it look richer, but taste was good. 

Thai Barbecue Pork Ribs were very good and the pickled veggies excellent. 

Lobster Mac & Cheese looked beautiful with lots of lobster. I missed cheese in the dish and that’s a big part of a Mac & Cheese. The name says it all. This was macaroni in a thick seafood broth with chunks of lobster. 

Tuscan Kale & Rotisserie Chicken Salad wasn’t our taste. Nicely plated but we didn’t like the dressing. Acidity and to much salt. 

Aquamar Kitchen 

The Aquamar Kitchen looks great and has a hip Ibiza vibe with healthy options. But looks can be a little deceiving. The healthy juices aren’t healthy green juices with ingredients like fresh kale, cucumber, celery, lime and ginger. The so-called healthy juices tasted like they use pre-made orange or mango juice from concentrate as a basis. They have the equipment, but don’t serve the healthy juices I would love. Service is spotty.

The tuna tacos were simple but tasty with guacamole and spicy mayonnaise. The Thai Mood salad had little to make it taste Thai. A few pieces of chicken breast with quinoa some fruit and veggies but no Thai flavors.  The pita with chicken was fine, as was the tuna burger. The food is nice but not spectacular. If O seriously wants to attract a younger audience, they must make it look and taste sexy, exotic and healthy. 

Aquamar Kitchen is open for breakfast and lunch, but it would be ideal as an extra Mediterranean restaurant at night. I imagine small tapas dishes maybe a paella night. Okay I’m not part of the O culinary advisory board but it’s such a nice spot they can do more with it. 

Terrace Cafe 

Our favorite is to dine al fresco so you can enjoy being on a ship and hear the sea. The best place with the best view on Vista is the Terrace Café all the way aft. The buffet has something for everyone. The grill serves made to order lobster, lamb, and steaks. The grill masters work so hard and stay friendly even to those fellow guests barking their orders. I felt ashamed for how badly people behave towards the friendly staff. There is a pasta station, carving station, sushi, sashimi, salad bar. It’s very well executed. The outside terrace isn’t very large so O places a lot of tables there so it can get packed and slightly challenging to navigate. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In the evenings they have tablecloths on the tables, and it all looks very pretty. The chairs outside are a little dull compared to the rest of the lovely decor. The food is (almost) the same as in the main dining room. We loved our dinners on the aft deck watching the wake. 

The offerings are however repetitive. It’s summer and we are in the Mediterranean, so you have all sorts of fruits in season. I found the same 3 types of melon offered every single day.

Dinner was very good but repetitieve. The same seafood salad, mussels, sushi, sashimi (not real raw salmon and tuna but that’s probably a health and safety issue?) night after night. The lobster is pre-cooked and sometimes cooked way too long, so it became hard to cut even with a steak knife. Such a shame. With so many good chefs and ingredients the buffet could have been more creative. The grill has the same 4 sauces every night. Go wild with a daily special like mushroom sauce, truffle or red wine sauce?! 

I need to mention the French themed evening. It was a fantastic display of French cuisine. Ratatouille, Steak Tartare, Foie Gras, Bouillabaisse, French cheeses. It was a feast. They even had a Mille-Feuille station (French puff pastry filled with vanilla pastry cream). It was delicious. 

The buffet closes at 9 pm and that is early. 

Waves Grill 

The spot to get your burgers, hotdogs, and ice cream. Burgers are excellent and made to order. The wagyu burger is very good. They have daily specials. It’s a very nice-looking space with beautiful tables. But the number of big chairs and tables make the space in between tight and there is little airflow. Same with Aquamar Kitchen. Both are heavy traffic areas for people walking from the pool to the Terrace Cafe or aft elevators and stairs. On a warm day it gets hot and stuffy sitting under the deck above.

Baristas & The Bakery 

Barista’s is expanded on Vista with a very nice and perfectly executed bakery. Great croissants, chouquette, canelé, madeleines, beignets and other typical French pastries. Excellent all the way. Coffee in Barista’s is also good. I preferred the beautiful coffee machine on Riviera but this one is probably more efficient and the coffee is good. Real strong espresso made with Illy or Lavazza (I prefer Illy) coffee just like being in Italy. The barista’s Paulo and Fabrizio quickly learned our preference and were a joy every morning.   

Grand Dining Room 

The room is magnificent, but we choose to have our dinners at the Terrace Cafe. Same menu but buffet style and you can sit outsides. 

Pool 

The pool deck is nice. I wouldn’t have chosen the green tiles in the pool, but overall, it’s a beautiful area. There is one big problem. It gets crowded and there isn’t enough shade. The new design makes the pool look larger, but it also makes the area for sun beds smaller. Loungers are stacked next to each other. It gets packed. Not enough spots in the shade. The beds in the shade are covered by the deck above and it get hot with little airflow. As mentioned on this cruise chair hogs were very active, and crew didn’t enforce or dare to enforce the policy. People constantly wandering around to find a lounger doesn’t breathe luxury or upper premium.

Pool service was nonexistent on most days. It’s not a big problem to walk to the pool bar to get a drink but with these temperatures keeping guests hydrated should be a priority. I think they were somewhat understaffed.

Aquamar Spa 

I’m repeating myself but again very pretty design. I took a deep tissue massage, and it was fantastic. My therapist Maylin was very good and funny and nice. The pricing however is out of this world. The Spa at the JW Marriott or Ritz are bargains compared to Aquamar Spar on Oceania. The Spa has a circular layout with a relaxation room in the middle and therapy rooms surrounding it. There is sauna, steam room, showers, and a dedicated spa terrace with loungers, jacuzzies and a small pool.

Aquamar Spa Terrace

The spa deck is beautiful and expanded on Vista. Although it’s only accessible to concierge and suite guests they don’t behave accordingly. Guests made a mess of the serene area and that was frustrating to watch. It’s not a place for full plates of food left on loungers and pool towels used as napkins. It’s sad but Oceania should enforce a strict no food and alcohol policy on the Aquamar Spa Terrace. The area itself lacks shade so on a sunny and warm summer cruise you can only go there is you want to slowly roast yourself. There is too little sun protection on the outside decks, and it should be addressed quickly. 

Fellow Guests 

This brings me to my fellow cruisers. We had a very eclectic mix of guests. Many guests were an absolute delight, but a frightening number of people lacked manners. Being rude to the staff, chair hogs, people not having the decency to put used pool towels in one of the 6000 laundry bins around the various decks. Not helping an elderly woman push her husband’s scooter when the battery died a couple of feet from the ship. They just walked past them. Disgraceful. Sitting in the pool on the Aquamar Spa Terrace with wine and then due to way too much alcohol intake letting the half full acrylic glass drop in the pool and laughing and then leaving with the wine glass still in the pool. Yes, I retrieved the glass from the little pool. It wasn’t hard. 

At times it felt like guest from a Carnival Fun Ship had accidentally walked on an Oceania Cruise. Nothing wrong with people sailing on Carnival it’s just not the vibe I’m looking for. Bathing suits and bare feet in the restaurants during lunch and even some people at night at the Terrace Cafe. Leaving soda cans and towels on the ground or in the public showers after showering. Juk! Watching YouTube and TikTok clips with full volume on in the pool area. Keeping multiple loungers occupied and not using them for hours. As an example, I noticed one of the few shaded daybeds on deck 14 reserved by somebody who put a book from the O-library on it and then vanished. After noticing the spot not being occupied for over an hour, I placed my towel and myself on it and enjoyed the lounger. Another hour and a half passed when the lady came back to her now taken daybed. She was angry and demanded her daybed back. She left it unoccupied for 2.5 hours and was mad at me. 

The most distasteful behavior was a young woman smoking a cigarette in the jacuzzi when we sailed out of the bay of St Tropez.

Dress code 

Dress code on O is country club casual but the word casual is taken very loosely. I love not having to wear a suit or tuxedo and I don’t mind dressing casual but on such a beautiful ship with already a very relaxed dress code a lot of fellow guests pushed elegant casual to the very limit. Stained t-shirts, swimwear, cargo shorts and flipflops. It’s just not appropriate for dinner not even in the terrace cafe. Oceania isn’t NCL and let’s keep the brands separated. Elegant casual or country club casual isn’t that hard.

Sea Day 

This cruise had one sea day and that’s when you could clearly see the crew being totally overwhelmed. To many people for the ship to function properly. Crowds everywhere. Pool, Aquamar Terrace, Terrace Cafe, Waves and Aquamar Kitchen packed inside and out. Tables not cleared, waiters confused, not able te get service. It was chaotic especially during lunch time. We felt so sad for the hard-working crew. It was just too much for them.

Vista Lounge 

I can’t comment on the shows. We didn’t see any. The Vista lounge is also the designated room to wait for tenders. This is the only area that didn’t impress me. The purple fabric on the seats is an acquired taste. The carpets grayish. I’m not sure what the intention of the interior designer of the theatre was? It had a wow-factor but not a positive one. Yes, that’s my opinion, other people love purple. 

Tender operations

We had a couple of ports where we tendered into town. I prefer tendering to docking in an industrial port. Oceania had a system in place where guests without Oceania tours first go to the Vista Lounge to get tender tickets. You wait in the lounge until enough guests have gathered. 10/20 minutes on average. You then proceed to the tender platform and inside the tender. Seated you wait for more people to show up. That’s the tricky part. Tenders aren’t the most comfortable boats to wait in and they sometimes let us bounce around for 10 to 15 minutes. People slowly turning a pale color of green. Same on the way back. My free advice is to first gather enough guests than put them in the tender and depart asap. 

Shore Excursions 

We don’t use shore excursions organized by Oceania. Way to expensive and we like to explore on our own schedule. We arranged a private transfer to get us to Taormina and back to the ship. It was cheaper and more comfortable than the Oceania ‘explore Taormina on your own’ tour. Same with airport transfers. 

Naples is fine to explore on your own. St Tropez and Monaco are great to wander around. Livorno was our least favorite port only good for excursions. It’s an industrial port and nothing to see especially on a Sunday when everything is closed.  

Marseille was also an industrial port (smelly) and docked together with other cruise ships and ferries. 

Palma de Mallorca is a nice port with good shuttle buses. The old town is wonderful to explore. 

Butler 

As a guest in Penthouse Suites and above you get a butler. It’s a bit like Downton Abbey at sea. It’s nice but unnecessary for us. Our Oceania butlers have always treated us like VIPS, but we just don’t use their services, the best a butler can do for us is obtaining an extra restaurant reservation or something special in our suite. Our butler on this voyage was very friendly but almost invisible. There was a mix-up when we first arrived in our suite. They had the wrong names on the TV-screen and papers and shore excursion tickets that weren’t ours. The fridge also had all sorts of soda’s we never drink or requested. We told the butler about the mix-up. He apologized but insisted the sodas were on our preference list. They weren’t. We never drink Dr Pepper. The TV-screen was eventually changed to feature our names and papers and tickets removed but the soda’s stayed. We finally took them out as a hint. 

Another example after our first night our butler asked about our night in Toscana. We told him about our less than stellar experience. He told us he would make sure to mentioned it to the Maître d’ and get a new reservation. Never heard anything back. After I filled out the mid cruise questionnaire the executive chef called us the next day to apologized and he made sure we got a second reservation. On my mother’s birthday our room attendants decorated the room with a few balloons after I put up all sorts of decorations, but the butler didn’t show himself. He doesn’t have to sing or get a cake, but a simple congratulations or card would have been nice. T

Our butler promised to look into extra reservations at the restaurants but again we never heard back. He never came to our suite, and we didn’t see him in the hallway often. He didn’t make the trip extra special in any way. On our last evening while packing we found a card with extra reservations, he apparently made but never told us about. It was between the laundry and garment pressing cards. Same size. Never noticed it. What a disappointment. Normally you get a reminder card from each restaurant on the day of your reservation next to your suite door. We got none of those on the days of the extra reservations so we didn’t know we had them. We or other guests could have enjoyed those tables. Very frustrating that we could have had all these wonderful reservations but never knew. Also felt sorry for our butler who put in the effort. 

Our suite attendants Henrietta and especially her assistant were very nice and friendly and kept the room perfectly clean and provided us with enough shower gel, body lotion and shampoo. They were the sweetest and most hard-working people. 

Conclusion 

There is a lot to love about Oceania and the Vista is a stunning ship. She looks modern, the attention to detail is impressive and the variety of restaurants truly unique. The interior, artwork, light fixtures, and deck design with wood panels is stunning. Every time we walked around the ship, we noticed beautiful details. Staff is wonderful and they work so incredibly hard. The long hours they make every day are insane. The great crew throughout the ship is what makes Oceania stand out. I missed Jacques and don’t think Ember is a worthy successor at all. 

Food quality, ingredients, taste, and preparation have declined compared to our previous cruises on O. Service needs improvement. You must look and ask for the wine stewards, or for water with ice. The Vero bottles were mostly lukewarm. The crew is very friendly but needs more training. The wine stewards are overwhelmed and don’t know enough about wines and how to serve them. The ship sailed at full capacity, and it felt crowded almost all the time. Only time it was relaxed was on port days with lots of excursions departing in the early morning. There is a big lack of shaded spots to relax by the pool, spa or on the various decks. Reserving chairs / chair hogging was out of control. Oceania has increased its pricing and places itself in the league of luxury lines and they need to deliver more to keep loyal guests returning. Vista looks luxury but doesn’t provide the little touches that we got on Seabourn. Service was good but it didn’t feel personal. I understand this is difficult with so many people on board but still a little personal note or semi-automated ‘personal’ thank you for sailing with us is a simple nice touch.A little note from the butler. A tiny little surprise gift left on the pillow. The small things tend to make a lasting impression. 

Due to her size Vista docks in larger industrial ports like the big and huge cruise ships. They need to make sure guests get comfortable shuttle buses and take good care of the less mobile guests on board. Tender operations can be more efficient and comfortable. Don’t let guest sit in the tender bouncing around for 15 minutes. 

I so wanted to love Vista but I felt disappointed. This was our most expensive cruise to date but not the best. Seabourn standard veranda cabins offer a better layout than the Penthouse Suites on Vista. I miss the walk-in closet, a living area you can divide with a curtain and a bathroom with double sinks, a tub, and a large separate shower. The Penthouse Suite on Vista is very pretty but somehow felt smaller than the same suite on Riviera. We have a cruise booked and deposit paid for a cruise on Vista in July 2024. I’m seriously considering switching to a different cruise line. The newly introduced obligatory Simply More pricing isn’t for us. We never use organized Oceania tours, and our alcohol intake is very low. I want to spend onboard credit on what I like and not on excursions I don’t need or want. After our sailing on Vista, we know we feel more at home on a cruise with more of a personalized yacht feel and with less crowds, no chair hogs and a higher service level. 

This review may seem overly negative, but we enjoyed every day of our cruise. We feel privileged to be able to take these wonderful voyages. The bar was set high due to the new higher Oceania pricing, being the first new Oceania ship since Riviera launched in 2012 and still promising the finest cuisine at sea. 

Vista is a beautiful ship but didn’t exceed our expectations. There is room for improvement and if the head office in Miami listens to the loyal fan base Vista can become what the marketing materials promise. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this review. 

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Thank you so much for your comprehensive review. Your detail and thoughts made me feel as if I were onboard!  Indeed as also respected your statement that you were blessed to sail. A word I use often because it is true that we are blessed to enjoy that which we have. All the best!

[Vallesan]

Maxamise thank you for a very comprehensive review. Yes it was long but it was really helpful.

Our first Oceania cruise was on the Riviera in a PH which was beautiful but we didn’t use the butler much either. We’re not really butler people! When we sail on the Riviera now we take a veranda which we find ample.
After that cruise we moved to the smaller ships which I enjoy more .. I think. We sailed on the Riviera again last autumn and I did enjoy the extra restaurants but I have  to agree with you that the standard of the food and the menus have  all suffered. We found the choices quite limited some evenings and the quality not always as it should have been.

In fact we have another trip on the Riviera in January but that was chosen purely for the itinerary so we will stay with it.

I can see your dilemma if you have sailed Seabourn. I’m not altogether certain you can compare O’s larger ships, even the brand new Vista, to Seabourn if only  because of the number of passengers. We have sailed Seabourn and are due sail again next month so it will be interesting to see if the experience is as good as it was in 2018.

We sailed with Siversea in June and that was different yet again. I was afraid that it might be ‘stuffy’ with everyone having butlers but we were pleasantly surprised. Our butler, Amit, was amazing without being intrusive. We really enjoyed the experience.

But I guess, overall,  I’m of a similar opinion to you,  and wonder if  O’s pricing is getting to the point where you have to start to wonder if other lines offer a better experience for a similar cost.

 

[Harters]

Excellent review. We're sailing on Vista next year and it's given me a real feel for the ship. Hope they improve the sea day service levels by then - it's a transatlantic with lots of sea days. 

 

Bedankt. 

[pinotlover]

Great review. Thanks!

 

FWIW, many of us have long given up on  lobster aboard Oceania. They do a number of things well, the rubber lobster isn’t one of them.

[GICNJC]

We board for the Transalantic on Aug 30th.  Thanks for the long but very valuable review.  We have sailed with O four times before, from inside to Concerige.

 

Food is such a personal thing, your resturant reviews were exceptionally balanced.  Food quality, new friends and small ship size are the reasons we love O.

 

Looking forward to sharing our trip with everyone as well.

[Queen of DaNile]

Thank you SO much for your comprehensive review. It will definitely help manage expectations when we board Vista later this month.

[Sthrngary]

GREAT balanced and fair review. Many people that are responding are faithful Oceania Guests.  I on the other hand am a member of the soon to be NEW Oceania Guest.  Why is this distinction so important. Maybe I can make my point by sharing my personal definition of Luxury Cruising.

 

"Luxury Cruising is a cruise that is more luxurious that my past experiences?"

 

So if my past cruising experience was Carnival Cruises, luxury would be improved personalized service, dining, staterooms, bars and so on.  The criteria is meet by simply being an improvement to past experience.  That is NOT websters definition, it is mine. So as a new guest, I am not going to compare any aspect of my upcoming Oceania Cruise to anything other than the other cruise lines I have been on.  Now that sets up my comments on this review.

 

When you know that certain dishes in a specific restaurant is not good, we new folks don't order them. When it is not the first time we hear this complaint like with over done steak, when we order we are very specific and want the waiter to standby while we cut our steak.  The same as in any good steak restaurant.   When we hear the bread bowl is lovely, we look forward to it.  When we hear some times folks are messy in the Aquamar Spa Terrace, we are not surprised to see it when and if it happens. 

 

We might even disagree that it is a bad thing that someone is in the Spa Terrace and might have had a few drinks.  Being disrespectful to other guest and leaving a mess is unacceptable.  Having one to many drinks while respecting other is just fine.  Last I heard this is a vacation.  It is disappointing to hear the Chair Hogs are alive and well on Oceania.  

 

The unique thing about cruises is you can be on the same ship, going to the same locations and doing three consecutive week cruises.  Each cruise will be different, each cruise guests will be unique.  That is the best part of cruising, the differences.  

 

To the author, bravo.  You did a lot of work.  Every new guest to Oceania should read your review twice.  Managing Expectations is the key to increased enjoyment from a cruise vacation. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[Vallesan]

52 minutes ago, Sthrngary said:

GREAT balanced and fair review. Many people that are responding are faithful Oceania Guests.  I on the other hand am a member of the soon to be NEW Oceania Guest.  Why is this distinction so important. Maybe I can make my point by sharing my personal definition of Luxury Cruising.

 

"Luxury Cruising is a cruise that is more luxurious that my past experiences?"

 

So if my past cruising experience was Carnival Cruises, luxury would be improved personalized service, dining, staterooms, bars and so on.  The criteria is meet by simply being an improvement to past experience.  That is NOT websters definition, it is mine. So as a new guest, I am not going to compare any aspect of my upcoming Oceania Cruise to anything other than the other cruise lines I have been on.  Now that sets up my comments on this review.

 

When you know that certain dishes in a specific restaurant is not good, we new folks don't order them. When it is not the first time we hear this complaint like with over done steak, when we order we are very specific and want the waiter to standby while we cut our steak.  The same as in any good steak restaurant.   When we hear the bread bowl is lovely, we look forward to it.  When we hear some times folks are messy in the Aquamar Spa Terrace, we are not surprised to see it when and if it happens. 

 

We might even disagree that it is a bad thing that someone is in the Spa Terrace and might have had a few drinks.  Being disrespectful to other guest and leaving a mess is unacceptable.  Having one to many drinks while respecting other is just fine.  Last I heard this is a vacation.  It is disappointing to hear the Chair Hogs are alive and well on Oceania.  

 

The unique thing about cruises is you can be on the same ship, going to the same locations and doing three consecutive week cruises.  Each cruise will be different, each cruise guests will be unique.  That is the best part of cruising, the differences.  

 

To the author, bravo.  You did a lot of work.  Every new guest to Oceania should read your review twice.  Managing Expectations is the key to increased enjoyment from a cruise vacation. 

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

Absolutely!!👍👍

ENJOY!

 

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by Vallesan

[Hanoj]

@maxamize The thoroughness and balanced quality of your review merits conveying in a letter to Oceania. Like @Sthrngary my wife and are too "soon to be NEW Oceania Guests" (though by modifying my expectations it won't be "too soon" 😎 since we sail Vista embarking August 18, 2023) so other CC members may have recommendations where to send a letter and to whom it is best addressed. Views you expressed, particularly in areas where improvement is warranted, concur with my expectations.

 

It appeared your dining experience comments were primarily about evening meals. Do you have comments about breakfasts and lunches? Also, did you order room service?

 

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by Hanoj

[maxamize]

41 minutes ago, Hanoj said:

@maxamize The thoroughness and balanced quality of your review merits conveying in a letter to Oceania. Like @Sthrngary my wife and are too "soon to be NEW Oceania Guests" (though by modifying my expectations it won't be "too soon" 😎 since we sail Vista embarking August 18, 2023) so other CC members may have recommendations where to send a letter and to whom it is best addressed. Views you expressed, particularly in areas where improvement is warranted, concur with my expectations.

 

It appeared your dining experience comments were primarily about evening meals. Do you have comments about breakfasts and lunches? Also, did you order room service?

 

 

Good point. I should have made the review longer. No just kidding. Breakfast is fantastic. Lots of choices, made to order eggs, pancakes and all sorts of breads, croissants, cheeses, smoked salmon and meats. It’s over the top wonderful at the Terrace Cafe (buffet). Room service menu also very good. 
 

We lunched at Aquamar and Waves that was mentioned in my 100 page review. Lol. Terrace Cafe (buffet) is also a very elaborate affair with lots of choices and daily specials for lunch. 
 

You will find lots of great options! 

[redraider1966]

1 hour ago, Hanoj said:

@maxamize The thoroughness and balanced quality of your review merits conveying in a letter to Oceania. 

 

 

Plus 1.  Your review indeed should be sent in a letter to NCLH CEO Summer and Oceania CEO FDR Jr.  Addresses are easy to find on Investor or Corporate section of O's website.  These are much more effective than posting on CC or trying to complete the online cruise-end survey (assuming you're able to do so) and certainly is more effective and has a greater impact than PinonNoir's posting only on this board of their July 2023 cruise on Riviera.  Letters to CEO's prompt substantive responses in my experience.

[rxlowry]

Thanks for the review.  After reading this board lately, I’m not as excited for my first Oceania cruise.  We are foodies and Oceania makes big claims.  It’s not sounding close to Regent, Seabourn or Crystal with this review. But I’ll judge for myself next month.  

[Badin]

Appreciate your review of Vista.  You did not comment on the elevators, are they crowded, are they smooth?  Also I have read another comment a few weeks ago about the touchless bathroom doors not always working.  Was this your experience? 

Looking forward to boarding for our transatlantic cruise in a few weeks.  You have been most helpful.

Thank You. 

[Croooser]

Thanks for the review. It takes a LOT of time and effort. And it was well organized. Have been waiting for some impressions of Vista and there has not been much since the first few from the launch which was probably not typical of what one can expect on an ongoing basis.

 

We were on Riviera in February and would have to concur with the overall sentiments that you expressed. If I can paraphrase - Oceania is still quite a bit better than the mainstream lines, but not up to it's own pre Covid standards. In reviewing the Seabourn section of CC, it appears that their regular clientele also feel this way about Seabourn. I think that it is a function of the damage done during the pandemic. The staffing issues should be about sorted out by now. But the debt load will likely force the cruise lines to raise prices while cutting back here and there.

 

We have two upcoming cruises booked on Vista and one on the post drydock Marina. If we experience something similar to what we had on Riviera, we will be satisfied - expectations tempered and met, but not exceeded. We would still rather be on an O ship than any alternative.

 

Thanks again for the review.

[YourWorldWithBill]

@maxamize, This is another note to thank you for the time and extensive work you did creating such a comprehensive review. We are former Viking and HAL cruisers, and are looking forward to our O cruise on Riviera in November.

 

After choosing O because of its reputation for food, it is good to hear your objective comments. We are confident that we will be happy with our dinners, but are at least aware that the meals might not get a rating of 20 on a scale of 1-10.

 

We have seen similar comments on other threads comparing the new pricing to Seabourn, so that might be a good choice in the future.  I'm still trying to get over what I learned some time ago, and you mentioned: the fact that O doesn't have its own app for mobile devices. In today's world, that just seems too strange. And very sorry to hear the comments about some passengers: as you said, that is not what we would expect on such a line. We haven't seen that on Viking.

[maxamize]

37 minutes ago, Badin said:

Appreciate your review of Vista.  You did not comment on the elevators, are they crowded, are they smooth?  Also I have read another comment a few weeks ago about the touchless bathroom doors not always working.  Was this your experience? 

Looking forward to boarding for our transatlantic cruise in a few weeks.  You have been most helpful.

Thank You. 

Thank you for responding. We did quite a bit of walking and taking the stairs. But also used the elevator especially after a long day ashore. We never found them very busy. Maybe after the show at night but during the day never a problem. 
 

The doors always worked. Really nice not to touch those controls. 

[EJL2023]

42 minutes ago, Badin said:

Appreciate your review of Vista.  You did not comment on the elevators, are they crowded, are they smooth?  Also I have read another comment a few weeks ago about the touchless bathroom doors not always working.  Was this your experience? 

Looking forward to boarding for our transatlantic cruise in a few weeks.  You have been most helpful.

Thank You. 

I think most of the issues you noted were on their earlier cruises and some kinks were being worked out with a new ship. We were on their second cruise on May 20th and experienced some of these issues. And even for us by the end of the cruise they were pretty much non existent.  

[EJL2023]

5 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

I think most of the issues you noted were on their earlier cruises and some kinks were being worked out with a new ship. We were on their second cruise on May 20th and experienced some of these issues. And even for us by the end of the cruise they were pretty much non existent.  

And on ours the biggest issue with the elevators were that that would tell us we were over the weight limit!  Sometime it was just three of us on it! I’d just tell my traveling companion that I told them they shouldn’t have had the desert at dinner! Was usually everyone just having a few laughs. 

[Tsunami74]

I agree a very good review.

On all of the Oceania and Regent ships we have been on, one thing I really felt needed improvement was more shaded areas in pool area.

Since passengers tend to be older side, many of us have already had sun damage if not skin cancer.  Often we have observed many loungers in the sun open while all are taken in the shade.

I had hoped that SOMEONE noticed that, and when ordering new ships would expand covered areas.  Seems from review that this is not so on the new Vista!

We are booked on Vista in a port intensive around Great Britain so will probably not use pool much, but it is disappointing that this problem was not improved.

Why don't they survey us (fairly) frequent cruisers as to what we would want to see in a ship??

[FeliciaLee]

2 hours ago, rxlowry said:

Thanks for the review.  After reading this board lately, I’m not as excited for my first Oceania cruise.  We are foodies and Oceania makes big claims.  It’s not sounding close to Regent, Seabourn or Crystal with this review. But I’ll judge for myself next month.  

Well, Oceania is only 5.5, not 6. So that is to be expected and hopefully the price reflects that difference. We have been on all four lines, but some only once and our food rankings were:  Crystal/Regent/Oceania/Seabourn.  YMMV

[rxlowry]

16 minutes ago, FeliciaLee said:

Well, Oceania is only 5.5, not 6. So that is to be expected and hopefully the price reflects that difference. We have been on all four lines, but some only once and our food rankings were:  Crystal/Regent/Oceania/Seabourn.  YMMV

I wasn’t expecting it to be as good but many comparisons were made in this review plus the statement that pricing was comparable (although this cruise was not for us

 

I would rank food as Crystal, Seabourn then Regent.  It will be interesting to see where O falls.  

[LuAnn]

My thanks as well. So comprehensive!! And some good suggestions as well. I'm on for the Panama Canal cruise in October and excited to try the new ship. Will certainly take your info and advice along with me!! 

[ORV]

4 hours ago, rxlowry said:

But I’ll judge for myself next month.  

And this is what everyone should do. 

 

I enjoyed the review and appreciate all the time and effort put into it. It is concerning that it appears that there seems to be a lot of people "Moving Up" that just don't understand what a classier line is all about. But I've cruised enough to know that this can vary from itinerary to itinerary. 

[Dwtlion]

Today's edition of Cruise Industry News, in an article about NCL's efforts to increase margins, had the following comment:

"Mark Kempa, CEO, said cost reductions in the second quarter were driven by lower food costs and what he said were crew optimization efforts."

I will let readers form their own opinions on the relevance of the above review to Mr. Kempa's comment.