Current Riviera

[Mkdvmz]

We will be embarking on the Riviera on 10/20 in Rome. Our first O cruise, just wondering how current passengers are finding the food and the ship in general. Yes, I am more than certain we will enjoy it but curious for current input

[Guest]

We were on the Riviera in June. Had a Penthouse Suite which we loved!

The bed was so comfortable and the shower was great! We loved going to the Thassotherapy Pool and making kir royals in the afternoon to enjoy on our 

balcony.

Toscana was my favorite specialty restaurant where I really enjoyed a pasta and lobster dish. I think my husband was blown away with the king prime rib in Polo. Although it was a nice rare serving, I found it a bit bland when I tasted it. To each his own. We enjoyed the Main Dining Room as well as the Terrace Cafe where I enjoyed way too much cheese and breads! They also served delicious mussels one night as well as baby lamb chops and lobster tails nightly ( suggest getting 3 of each as they are small!) Once I figured out how to open the Specialty and Main Dining* Room salt shakers, I was happy. I did think extra salt was needed quite a few times but again that’s me. We often ordered several appetizers which is always fun. We would check the menus on the tv each day to decide between the main dining room and the Terrace. You will always find something that appeals to you and if something is a disappointment you can always order something else which we never had to do.

We booked another cruise while onboard so I guess that tells you something!

Have a wonderful time and wear your snugger outfits the first few days as you will gain a few pounds! Have a wonderful time!
 

 

 

 

[mauibabes]

@Mkdvmz

Guest gave you great advice. Here is a bit more.

Toscana, DW says try an appetizer size Lasagna and anything else that looks great. Any Italian Chef special any night will be fantastic   Breads and the Olive Oil and Balsamic cart will add 5 pounds, amazing. Love the Sole too.  Polo, DW loves the Filet Mignon, Med. Rare. Always try the Jumbo Shrinp Cocktail and DW loves the Waldorf Salad. Red Ginger, you have to go for the Watermelon Duck Salad, the Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass and if anyone at your table likes Rack of Lamb, the Crusted “Lolly Pops”  cooked Medium are outstanding and you can cut them up into tasters for everyone at the table. Actually the best lamb on the ship according to a veteran Restaurant Manager but the lamb in Polo, GDR or Terrace Cafe, even for breakfast, are pretty great. Jacques, many great entrees but if you can get another person to join you, you must try the Sea Bass for two, also the Sole as well and Escargot, and the Pumpkin Soup is amazing, etc.  Any restaurant offering a Quartet or Quintet for desert, try it for a wonderful taster.  GDR, delicious specials and standards every night but DW loves Jacques Roasted Chicken and it’s her favorite.
Terrace Cafe, always excellent meals just more casual, create whatever you would like and the sweets are delicious; breakfast, lunch and dinner. Definitely try the Humphrey Slocumb ice cream as it is a new flavor daily. 
Oh yes, Baristas is the #1 place for coffee and sweets, outstanding. 
 

We will call these starters to give you things to consider come 10/20. Enjoy Riviera and we will expect to hear some comments from you after you have made the 4 Specially dining rounds. 

Mauibabes

[jackdeb]

2 hours ago, Mkdvmz said:

We will be embarking on the Riviera on 10/20 in Rome. Our first O cruise, just wondering how current passengers are finding the food and the ship in general. Yes, I am more than certain we will enjoy it but curious for current input

Lots of good ideas from Maui and Guest, I will add one more, the pizzeria in the evening at Waves. The pizzas are so much better than the ones in Terrace Cafe at lunch, quite a few selections for toppings.  The burrata is also worth a try. Enjoy 😊 

 

[KirkNC]

We are currently onboard.  The staff and service have been very good.  We have found the food to be hit or miss, somethings very good, others not so much.  By the way, our trivia mates told us that the Sea Bass is gone from Red Ginger replaced by Black Cod.

[KirkNC]

9 hours ago, jackdeb said:

Lots of good ideas from Maui and Guest, I will add one more, the pizzeria in the evening at Waves. The pizzas are so much better than the ones in Terrace Cafe at lunch, quite a few selections for toppings.  The burrata is also worth a try. Enjoy 😊 

 

I agree with this, it baffles me that there is a difference, must be the oven.

[MEFIowa]

13 hours ago, Mkdvmz said:

We will be embarking on the Riviera on 10/20 in Rome. Our first O cruise....

Study your CURRENTS, the "daily newspaper", each night very, very carefully. Read it line by line to see all that is projected to happen the next day!

[ak1004]

We were on The Riviera in May.

 

Service was exceptional . No request was refused. Very prompt responses at all venues during breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

Excellent food in all venues. The gap between the MDR and the specialty restaurants was very small. Not all meals were perfect, but we never had a bad meal. We especially enjoyed the Polo and Jacques. 

 

Activities still very limited. Entertainment: fair. No surprises here. Not a big deal because we aim to spend most of the time in ports.

 

Internet is still very unstable. I was getting 3-5 MB speed some days and under 1 MB other days. Slight improvement compared to previous sailings, but still not enough.

 

Ship excursions: they used to fill only 25-30 people in buses, now they squeeze around 40. We were not happy. $200 USD for Bordeaux tour which was essentially a bus trip, with almost no explanation and 3 hours on your own. Going forward, we will try to book private tours. 

 

This was our third Oceania cruise after Covid, and we did not notice any significant changes for worse, except for excursions. 

 

Our friends who were Celebrity loyalists for 30 years were very impressed as well.

 

Overall we enjoyed the cruise very much (despite few port cancellations which were beyond Oceania control). We love the relaxed atmosphere, relaxed dress code and excellent service and food.

[Mkdvmz]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

We were on The Riviera in May.

 

Service was exceptional . No request was refused. Very prompt responses at all venues during breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

Excellent food in all venues. The gap between the MDR and the specialty restaurants was very small. Not all meals were perfect, but we never had a bad meal. We especially enjoyed the Polo and Jacques. 

 

Activities still very limited. Entertainment: fair. No surprises here. Not a big deal because we aim to spend most of the time in ports.

 

Internet is still very unstable. I was getting 3-5 MB speed some days and under 1 MB other days. Slight improvement compared to previous sailings, but still not enough.

 

Ship excursions: they used to fill only 25-30 people in buses, now they squeeze around 40. We were not happy. $200 USD for Bordeaux tour which was essentially a bus trip, with almost no explanation and 3 hours on your own. Going forward, we will try to book private tours. 

 

This was our third Oceania cruise after Covid, and we did not notice any significant changes for worse, except for excursions. 

 

Our friends who were Celebrity loyalists for 30 years were very impressed as well.

 

Overall we enjoyed the cruise very much (despite few port cancellations which were beyond Oceania control). We love the relaxed atmosphere, relaxed dress code and excellent service and food.

In the many cruises we have done, we have never done a ship’s tour for exactly those reasons. We have SM and now have two booked in order to use those credits. One to Taormina (dreading a packed bus) and one to Olympia at Katakolon. Looking forward to the cruise

[GeezerCouple]

18 hours ago, KirkNC said:

We are currently onboard.  The staff and service have been very good.  We have found the food to be hit or miss, somethings very good, others not so much.  By the way, our trivia mates told us that the Sea Bass is gone from Red Ginger replaced by Black Cod.

 

Is the Black Cod prepared the same way that the Sea Bass?

And how does it *taste*??

 

Thanks!

 

GC

[WESTEAST]

We were onboard Riviera in Aug-Sept and enjoyed the Miso Sea Bass a few times and it's unfortunate if they have replaced it with Cod.  All dining venues were excellent in food and service and enjoyed the renovated Baristas and adjacent sitting area. We also took a few excursions and never had a bus of 40 more liked 25-30; perhaps the itinerary/popularity of ports required larger passenger capacity. 

[CVA34]

My 2 cents.....we exchanged 3 specialty reservations for Red Ginger (5 Total Red Ginger) and had the Miso Sea Bass every time. Only difference were the appetizers that changed each night. And we had the same table and wait staff. Had something in the Terrace Cafe each day/night. Sorry to hear about Sea Bass replacement.

[KirkNC]

10 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Is the Black Cod prepared the same way that the Sea Bass?

And how does it *taste*??

 

Thanks!

 

GC

Yes, wrapped in banana leaves.  We have not had it but the our friends said it was good but a different consistency.

[CruisingWalter]

Thanks everyone for all this amazing input. We just booked into a Group Cruise on the Riviera for Alaska 2025 and now even more excited to sail on her! 

[macaroni]

Just got off in Barcelona…overall found food and service lacking from our last cruise on the Riviera over a year ago. Food was hit or miss…much of the food came out lukewarm. We were disappointed especially after raving to our newcomer friends how great it was going to be.

 

free shuttles into some towns were disorganized with much pushing and arguing to get on buses and heard that many ship tours were not good….late starts, guides that did not know how to get places…

[Mkdvmz]

Oh dear, hopefully things will improve by the time we board-in Rome. Not surprised about ship tours not being good, fewer operators than in the past and private tours set their own prices. Ones that are good are booked, left overs get picked up by the cruise lines

[rbtan]

On 10/9/2023 at 9:59 PM, Guest said:

We were on the Riviera in June. Had a Penthouse Suite which we loved!

The bed was so comfortable and the shower was great! We loved going to the Thassotherapy Pool and making kir royals in the afternoon to enjoy on our 

balcony.

Toscana was my favorite specialty restaurant where I really enjoyed a pasta and lobster dish. I think my husband was blown away with the king prime rib in Polo. Although it was a nice rare serving, I found it a bit bland when I tasted it. To each his own. We enjoyed the Main Dining Room as well as the Terrace Cafe where I enjoyed way too much cheese and breads! They also served delicious mussels one night as well as baby lamb chops and lobster tails nightly ( suggest getting 3 of each as they are small!) Once I figured out how to open the Specialty and Main Dining* Room salt shakers, I was happy. I did think extra salt was needed quite a few times but again that’s me. We often ordered several appetizers which is always fun. We would check the menus on the tv each day to decide between the main dining room and the Terrace. You will always find something that appeals to you and if something is a disappointment you can always order something else which we never had to do.

We booked another cruise while onboard so I guess that tells you something!

Have a wonderful time and wear your snugger outfits the first few days as you will gain a few pounds! Have a wonderful time!
 

 

 

 

Well, we try to help. Toscana is pretty much our favorite. It has a lot of similar items from other rest. I find the Filet Mignon to be better there than in Polo.Do remember that to take our thoughts on subjects with a grain of salt. Just as you don't rely on your navigation device 100%(we've seen what's happened there) Take O advice the same way. I feel that many pax get TOO biased to their favorite lines & info. can get less reliable. O has been in my opinion quite reliable, but not foolproof. Seeing the growing list on cancelled ports(which we experienced) & some cutbacks shows something is amiss.We're on the Vista next Jan. for 12 days so well see how well it pans out. We do have a Cabana balcony reserve cabin on the new Sun Princess in 2025. We chose this as the food is pretty bad on P overall. We hope this will be a vast improvement as Reserve Class & the suites now will have their own dedicated rest. Every 5 years or so we test the waters with other lines. Cunard & O have been our favorites.