Opinions on Riviera

[EmsMom]

We took a cruise from Cape Town to Singapore before covid on Oceania.  It was amazing!   Now we would like to do it again this year and the ship is the Riviera.  The reviews of the Riviera are mixed by leaning toward the negatives be.  I would love some feedback from those who have either done this cruise in 2023 or have recently cruised on the Riviera.  It’s a long cruise so I’m a little worried about the negative reviews.  Thank you!!

[mauibabes]

@EmsMom

Book it in a heartbeat and forget any CC negatives. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, even those who have never been aboard Oceania but the only opinion that matters is based on your own experience.  We were on Riviera for 46 days coming out of Covid and it was fantastic. We will be on Riviera Rome to Barcelona with family and friends.  One cousin was on O Vista with us in October and were AMAZED with their overall experience. We have  great expectations but then we are not hard to please but after over 25 Oceania cruises, we know what to expect. I spent a little time earlier today looking at the Barcelona to Capetown trip as that looked good too. Your proposed sailing looks Awesome so go and have fun. 
Mauibabes
 

[WESTEAST]

We disembarked Riviera in September 2023 and the renovated ship is beautiful and crew were great (other than the CD was poor). The bathrooms are gorgeous and the overall ship is lovely.  Enjoyed the expanded Barista area where you can relax in comfy chairs with your cappuccino. New Waves Pizza was delicious (and they will bring your pizza to your table if you are dining in the Terrace in the evening).  Not sure why there are negative reviews. We sail her again in a few months and can't wait.

[cruiserchuck]

We were on Riviera last November, and had a great time.  Our only previous O cruise was on Marina about 9 years ago.  We enjoyed our recent cruise more than our first cruise.  We booked the Cape Town to Singapore cruise yesterday.  

[Tranquility Base]

2 hours ago, EmsMom said:

The reviews of the Riviera are mixed by leaning toward the negatives be.

I was onboard Riviera, for the first time, for 2 months late last year.

All other Oceania cruises had previously been on 'R' ships.

What specifically about the reviews concerns you ?

 

PS: I booked another 7 weeks on Riviera.

Edited January 28 by Tranquility Base

[Sthrngary]

@EmsMom My wife, best friends and I were on the Oceania Riviera from November 9-19, 2023.  It was a 10 day cruise in the Mediterranean.  Our friends were in PH2 Penthouse, I was in a Vista Suite.  I did a real time blog on CruiseCritic.com so take a look.  This was my first cruise on Oceania, my usual brand is NCL and we stay in the Haven.  I also read all those same negative reviews and I started to get a little upset at my decision.  Then I started to pay attention to those that were making the negative comments. With a few exceptions, it seem to be all the same folks.  That made me feel better.

 

The key from my perspective is "Realistic Expectations".  The second key is if lots of folks say something is not good, look for a way to avoid it.  Then it does not negatively effect your vacation.  So leverage and embrace the negatives, look for a tread or pattern, then make plans to avoid the issue if possible.  Here is an example which I am sure you have heard.  Folks said that Oceania had a tendency to miss ports.  Enough folks said it to create that trend I was talking about.  So I told everyone in my party, pre-cruise that there was a high likelihood we would miss a port or two. Sure enough, we missed one port which was Florence, Italy.  We were just fine because we knew it could happen.  Were we disappointed, yes.  Did it create a bad cruising experience, no.

 

I personally loved Oceania and the ship the Riviera.  It exceeded my expectations.  Was it perfect, no.  Was it a marked improvement with my past cruises, yes.  The key again was Realistic Expectations.  Here are a few:

• Food/Dining:  I rated it a 8 out of 10 with a couple of misses and a lot of hits.  The best food I have ever had on a cruise was on a Crystal Cruise. 
• Entertainment: I rated it a 6 out of 10.  The production shows did not compare to NCL big productions Broadway shows which I dearly love.  Yet, I knew this prior to boarding so no issues.  The special acts were outstanding.  The piano player in Martini bar was lovely, not great but lovely. 
• Staterooms:  I toured some, visited my friends in their PH2 and loved my Vista Suite with a few exceptions.  The Vista Suite had an exercise room which for me was a waste.  The front deck was huge but in the front of the ship so they locked down the furniture at night.  The rest of the experience was OUTSTANDING.
• Butler: If you have one was one of the best I had ever had.
• Bar Service: Was over the top great.  
• Daily Tea: Was a highlight of our cruise.
• Breakfast: In the Grand Dining room was something I will remember for a while.  Not just the food, the service.  Dinner was ok but breakfast was my favorite. 

Now I am going to stop.  If you want more information, just ask.  Please remember, this is not an all-inclusive ultra-luxury cruise brand.  However for my party and I, it was just enough, not to much and the investment did not bankrupt us.  Hope this helps.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

 

[EmsMom]

34 minutes ago, Tranquility Base said:

I was onboard Riviera, for the first time, for 2 months late last year.

All other Oceania cruises had previously been on 'R' ships.

What specifically about the reviews concerns you ?

 

PS: I booked another 7 weeks on Riviera.

I was concerned more about the customer service issues than anything.   We aren’t big foodies and we are happy with low key entertainment and on our last Africa cruise we missed Madagascar because of a typhoon and Kenya due to terrorism.   A lot of the reviews were 3 stars and lower mainly because they felt that O customer service was lacking in resolving problems.  We really like O but just had some reservations about the Riviera.   I really appreciate everyone’s input and I’m pretty sure we will proceed with the booking.   Thank you!!

[Tranquility Base]

We found day to day customer service very good.

 

EG: items such as small issues with restaurant reservations / shore excursions were handled well.

The Restaurant Manager also approached me whilst at the reservations desk and personally assisted me. 

The OCA ambassadors / future cruise office patiently answered all my queries, and handled new bookings very efficiently.

Room stewards, as always, followed through on any requests or problems.

 

One or two queries I made to staff were either answered or they directed me to the person who was able to help.

 

So, overall, well satisfied with onboard customer service, although I am a person who is willing to do some of the leg work myself.

 

Edited January 28 by Tranquility Base

[gaeltrav]

Currently on Riviera Mumbai to Bangkok No problems with customer service Staff very pleasant and helpful; some issues with changing times in port without explanation. ship in excellent condition

[Benthayer Gonbak]

We were on the Rivera in May 2022. The biggest problem we had was not getting good information about the muster station!  It closed before we could find it as we boarded later due to being on later shuttle buses!  We actually got different answers in part because the name of the restaurant wasn’t clear either.  As I recall our paperwork didn’t match our key or the door, which actually didn’t match either!  When we asked at guest relation they just told us not to worry about it, and I assume checked us off.   We were schedule again this year, for the Rivera as we wanted to do Luxor, Jordan and Israel!!  That was changed just before penalties would have set in.  The ship had been pretty FLL. 
 

 

[Tranquility Base]

......

Edited January 28 by Tranquility Base

[MEFIowa]

We were on Riviera 10/30-11/19, 2023 on a B2B from Trieste to Athens and then Athens to Barcelona. Magnificent ship and crew. We had a wonderful time. We were in an A3 and then moved to a B3. We cruise mainly for excursions and doing things off the ship, so we have pretty reasonable expectations about the lack of night life, the limited entertainment, the small pool, etc. We absolutely love the food, esp. the Terrace Cafe buffet. So much so that in 30 nights on her we've never eaten in the GDR. We don't like slow meals and prefer to serve ourselves. And I am so thankful I can bring all my own beer, hard liquor and wine on board at embarkation and at ports! (We first fell in love with Riviera on a 10-night W Caribbean cruise on her 12/2021, our very first cruise ever.)

[Oceangoer2]

31 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

in an A3 and then moved to a B3.

We're thinking of booking A1 or PH.  Was there a reason you moved to a B3 from A1 concierge?  Reading pros and cons on this forum compared with Celebrity.  Seems the same critiques on both.  We aren't lounge people so bars etc wouldn't influence our booking.  We live a quiet life year round (except for our golf club activities in the summer months) so we look forward to 'people', excursions, and entertainment.  Our cabin and balcony is also quite important.  After viewing many videos, it seems the O balconies accommodate 2 chairs and small table and the PH doesn't seem much larger (maybe on Vista?).  Celebrity has medium size balconies but Suite class has room enough for an additional lounger.   No doubt the O upper suites have larger balconies.  We have friends who are long time O sailors who book the longer cruises/suites and prefer the Terrace cafe on most evenings to specialty or main dining.  They've cautioned us to temper (not lower or raise) our expectations as compared with Celebrity as we're long time (30+ cruises ) with Celebrity and more on most other lines.  Each embodies a different experience for different tastes I suppose.

Edited January 28 by Oceangoer2

[MEFIowa]

I originally booked these as lower-level cabins but used the Extraordinary Savings Sale to upgrade. We did an A4 on Riviera in 12/2021, so I knew the benefits of the concierge cabins. We only paid $1749 PP for the B3 which was a bit less than the $1899 PP for the A3.

[Psoque]

2 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

We're thinking of booking A1 or PH.  Was there a reason you moved to a B3 from A1 concierge?  Reading pros and cons on this forum compared with Celebrity.  Seems the same critiques on both.  We aren't lounge people so bars etc wouldn't influence our booking.  We live a quiet life year round (except for our golf club activities in the summer months) so we look forward to 'people', excursions, and entertainment.  Our cabin and balcony is also quite important.  After viewing many videos, it seems the O balconies accommodate 2 chairs and small table and the PH doesn't seem much larger (maybe on Vista?).  Celebrity has medium size balconies but Suite class has room enough for an additional lounger.   No doubt the O upper suites have larger balconies.  We have friends who are long time O sailors who book the longer cruises/suites and prefer the Terrace cafe on most evenings to specialty or main dining.  They've cautioned us to temper (not lower or raise) our expectations as compared with Celebrity as we're long time (30+ cruises ) with Celebrity and more on most other lines.  Each embodies a different experience for different tastes I suppose.

When we booked a cabin on Riviera last year, we booked an A3 cabin close to midship on Deck 9.  I did not see any reason to book A1 or A2, despite the fact that our TA really pushed us to do an A1.  Is there a good reason to book A1/2 vs A3 on Riviera?

[ORV]

32 minutes ago, Psoque said:

When we booked a cabin on Riviera last year, we booked an A3 cabin close to midship on Deck 9.  I did not see any reason to book A1 or A2, despite the fact that our TA really pushed us to do an A1.  Is there a good reason to book A1/2 vs A3 on Riviera?

It’s all about location. Midship vs stern or bow and deck level. If you liked the A 3 no reason to spend more for others. 

Edited January 28 by ORV

[MEFIowa]

We did an A4 and an A3 on Riviera along with a B3. All 3 cabins essentially identical. Just differing in locations fore & aft or starboard & port. The concierge cabin gets you its perks. Being close to concierge lounge & laundry facility forward on deck 9 is nice, esp. if you do laundry on board a couple times. (We did our laundry 5 times on our 20-night B2B because we had 3 nights prior in Venice and 3 nights after in Barcelona.)

[Mrs f.]

21 hours ago, mauibabes said:

@EmsMom

Book it in a heartbeat and forget any CC negatives. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, even those who have never been aboard Oceania but the only opinion that matters is based on your own experience.  We were on Riviera for 46 days coming out of Covid and it was fantastic. We will be on Riviera Rome to Barcelona with family and friends.  One cousin was on O Vista with us in October and were AMAZED with their overall experience. We have  great expectations but then we are not hard to please but after over 25 Oceania cruises, we know what to expect. I spent a little time earlier today looking at the Barcelona to Capetown trip as that looked good too. Your proposed sailing looks Awesome so go and have fun. 
Mauibabes
 

We are planning on booking the Barcelona to capetown cruise tomorrow. 

[dock]

Hi all, new to O and still waiting to cruise Vista in July. 
 

Looking at Asia on Riviera, A2. Deck 9. Do we need to be worried about the bathroom size and rather go for a PH? Thank you. 
I seem to recall reading somewhere that the older ships have very tiny showers or am I incorrect? Thank you. 

[ak1004]

22 minutes ago, dock said:

Hi all, new to O and still waiting to cruise Vista in July. 
 

Looking at Asia on Riviera, A2. Deck 9. Do we need to be worried about the bathroom size and rather go for a PH? Thank you. 
I seem to recall reading somewhere that the older ships have very tiny showers or am I incorrect? Thank you. 

Not the Riviera. Riviera has very nice bathrooms in veranda cabins. The small bathrooms are on the four R class ships. Riviera and Marina are O class.

[Mrs f.]

On 1/27/2024 at 6:38 PM, mauibabes said:

@EmsMom

Book it in a heartbeat and forget any CC negatives. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, even those who have never been aboard Oceania but the only opinion that matters is based on your own experience.  We were on Riviera for 46 days coming out of Covid and it was fantastic. We will be on Riviera Rome to Barcelona with family and friends.  One cousin was on O Vista with us in October and were AMAZED with their overall experience. We have  great expectations but then we are not hard to please but after over 25 Oceania cruises, we know what to expect. I spent a little time earlier today looking at the Barcelona to Capetown trip as that looked good too. Your proposed sailing looks Awesome so go and have fun. 
Mauibabes
 

We just booked Barcelona to Capetown.     We had done Capetown to Singapore precovid....I think it was on Insignia...fantastic trip.

[johnp271]

We are seriously looking at Barcelona to Cape Town as well. Looks like an amazing itinerary.

 

- John

[JRIH]

Book the trip.  We just got off of the Riviera last week.  She is in great shape, the service and food were excellent.

[johnp271]

We went ahead and booked the Barcelona to Cape Town cruise for this November. 

 

Looking forward to it, John

[Queen of DaNile]

We enjoyed Riviera for the two weeks we were on her in SE Asia a few weeks ago. Ship, service, food were all very good. The remodeled bathrooms are lovely.

As long as you're flexible about the times you are in ports, you should be OK. There were major changes to times in all but one port due to a mechanical issue that was never revealed. Don't count on "upper" management to be transparent about changes to your itinerary. If you're comfortable with that, you'll love your cruise.