Opinions on Riviera

[ssawjo]

2 hours ago, Queen of DaNile said:

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.

We were on the same cruise.  Agree with the statement above.  However, I personally felt that we were not treated as adults regarding O arbitrarily changing port times.  This led to several headaches regarding our private shore excursions.  We were on board for 35 days (Mumbai to Bangkok) and I estimated that we lost about 25 hours of time in port.  Some ports, no big deal.  Losing four hours in Manila was bad (it was actually three) especially for the Filipino crew members.  If the staff had been more forthright about the "mechanical" issues, which they termed "technical" issues, I believe that the passengers would have been more understanding.  The lack of transparency was frustrating. It seemed we either arrived late or left early or both in several ports.  One port, Bintan, was eliminated entirely for "operational" reasons.  Instead we spent an extra day in Port Klang, a 24 hour working container port.  

 

Just a bit of a rant.  Otherwise, great cruise, etc.

[Vallesan]

8 minutes ago, ssawjo said:

We were on the same cruise.  Agree with the statement above.  However, I personally felt that we were not treated as adults regarding O arbitrarily changing port times.  This led to several headaches regarding our private shore excursions.  We were on board for 35 days (Mumbai to Bangkok) and I estimated that we lost about 25 hours of time in port.  Some ports, no big deal.  Losing four hours in Manila was bad (it was actually three) especially for the Filipino crew members.  If the staff had been more forthright about the "mechanical" issues, which they termed "technical" issues, I believe that the passengers would have been more understanding.  The lack of transparency was frustrating. It seemed we either arrived late or left early or both in several ports.  One port, Bintan, was eliminated entirely for "operational" reasons.  Instead we spent an extra day in Port Klang, a 24 hour working container port.  

 

Just a bit of a rant.  Otherwise, great cruise, etc.

We should have been on that cruise but unfortunately had to cancel a week before. 

I’ve read such mixed reports, and having been to all but two of the ports before, I’m almost pleased we were unable to go.

 

As far as Bintan is concerned believe me you missed nothing!

[ssawjo]

31 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

We should have been on that cruise but unfortunately had to cancel a week before. 

I’ve read such mixed reports, and having been to all but two of the ports before, I’m almost pleased we were unable to go.

 

As far as Bintan is concerned believe me you missed nothing!

You are probably right about Bintan.  But the issue was that Oceania required all of us to obtain Indonesian visas and have them in hand before boarding.  They are inexpensive but time consuming to obtain on line.  No apology or offer of compensation.  I would have preferred to have spent the day at Port Klang as a sea day or head to Singapore for another day there.  But the Singapore idea was not considered because the port was full, maybe?

 

Otherwise, the cruise was nice.  We had not been to many of ports before, so there's that.  However, my opinion of O has changed from excellent to ?.  I don't think I can trust them to fulfill their commitment to the passengers.  

[Queen of DaNile]

46 minutes ago, ssawjo said:

Otherwise, the cruise was nice.  We had not been to many of ports before, so there's that.  However, my opinion of O has changed from excellent to ?.  I don't think I can trust them to fulfill their commitment to the passengers.  

I explicitly voiced my feelings about the lack of transparency on both the mid cruise and final cruise comment surveys. Will it make a difference? Probably not. Even though it took a lot of time, made me feel better. I know, know, know not to book a cruise if visiting a particular port is of special interest but this experience made it crystal clear who not to trust. 

End of my rant - LOL

[Vallesan]

14 hours ago, ssawjo said:

You are probably right about Bintan.  But the issue was that Oceania required all of us to obtain Indonesian visas and have them in hand before boarding.  They are inexpensive but time consuming to obtain on line.  No apology or offer of compensation.  I would have preferred to have spent the day at Port Klang as a sea day or head to Singapore for another day there.  But the Singapore idea was not considered because the port was full, maybe?

 

Otherwise, the cruise was nice.  We had not been to many of ports before, so there's that.  However, my opinion of O has changed from excellent to ?.  I don't think I can trust them to fulfill their commitment to the passengers.  

Yes visas can be a nightmare! I’m afraid it’s part of sailing to ‘far flung’ places!

 

We missed Cambodia due to weather the first time we were due to visit and we’d not got visas so no issue as we were going to get them on board. We didn’t get them this time either because we were going to get them onboard, but of course didn’t need them in the end!

 

I’m not sure how many of the “problems” being reported on these boards are either issues arising only with Oceania ships, or that they are always within the companies control. One thing that is for certain is that there are lots of people, on these boards, who are unhappy with the way Oceania handles these ‘situations’.
 

I’m guessing, that unless exactly the same ‘ badly handled issue’ occurs to you  on another line and it’s handled well, it’s difficult to compare one line to another. You just have to go with your own gut feeling. Nothing in life is ‘perfect’.

 

[ak1004]

20 hours ago, ssawjo said:

You are probably right about Bintan.  But the issue was that Oceania required all of us to obtain Indonesian visas and have them in hand before boarding.  They are inexpensive but time consuming to obtain on line.  No apology or offer of compensation.  I would have preferred to have spent the day at Port Klang as a sea day or head to Singapore for another day there.  But the Singapore idea was not considered because the port was full, maybe?

 

Otherwise, the cruise was nice.  We had not been to many of ports before, so there's that.  However, my opinion of O has changed from excellent to ?.  I don't think I can trust them to fulfill their commitment to the passengers.  

 

Sorry, I'm confused. Isn't visa a government requirement? Why Oceania would offer apology or  compensation for something that is required by Indonesian authorities? 

 

As for trust - if I stopped doing business with every company I don't trust, I would probably be sitting on the floor of my house, naked, starving and miserable. Definitely not travelling..

[EJL2023]

2 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Sorry, I'm confused. Isn't visa a government requirement? Why Oceania would offer apology or  compensation for something that is required by Indonesian authorities? 

 

As for trust - if I stopped doing business with every company I don't trust, I would probably be sitting on the floor of my house, naked, starving and miserable. Definitely not travelling..

In fairness I actually do picture a lot of these posters as you indicated. Welll…I block out the naked part, but miserable…..very much so.

[ssawjo]

3 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Sorry, I'm confused. Isn't visa a government requirement? Why Oceania would offer apology or  compensation for something that is required by Indonesian authorities? 

 

As for trust - if I stopped doing business with every company I don't trust, I would probably be sitting on the floor of my house, naked, starving and miserable. Definitely not travelling..

My point was that Oceania, IMO, arbitrarily cancelled the port call to Bintan claiming "operational" reasons and did not explain what those were.  Therefore, they should have at least offered some type of compensation.  It was not a lot of money for the visas.  It was a time consuming process to obtain.  

 

By the sounds of things, you don't trust a lot of companies.

[ak1004]

3 hours ago, EJL2023 said:

In fairness I actually do picture a lot of these posters as you indicated. Welll…I block out the naked part, but miserable…..very much so.

 

The naked part was because I wouldn't buy clothes from companies I don't trust.. 

[ak1004]

3 hours ago, ssawjo said:

My point was that Oceania, IMO, arbitrarily cancelled the port call to Bintan claiming "operational" reasons and did not explain what those were.  Therefore, they should have at least offered some type of compensation.  It was not a lot of money for the visas.  It was a time consuming process to obtain.  

 

By the sounds of things, you don't trust a lot of companies.

 

Well, the fact that you believe they just cancelled the port "arbitrarily" doesn't make it true.. Many people believe they know better than the captain.. doesn't make it true and doesn't mean they have to compensate you.

[ssawjo]

17 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Well, the fact that you believe they just cancelled the port "arbitrarily" doesn't make it true.. Many people believe they know better than the captain.. doesn't make it true and doesn't mean they have to compensate you.

Fine, whatever.

[Tranquility Base]

3 hours ago, ssawjo said:

My point was that Oceania, IMO, arbitrarily cancelled the port call to Bintan claiming "operational" reasons and did not explain what those were. 

 

48 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 Many people believe they know better than the captain.. 

I think an amount of the frustration stems from lack of effective communications as these situations arise.

Something more specific than the overused generic "operational" reason would often be sufficient to ease the grumblings of most.

 

[skinny1]

On 1/27/2024 at 3:15 PM, EmsMom said:

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!!

Have you booked?  We are looking at this cruise, and wondering if we should fly in a day early, book a hotel room and arrange our own transfers.  What do you suggest?

 

[skinny1]

On 1/27/2024 at 4:37 PM, cruiserchuck said:

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.  

Greetings!  I will ask you, as well…do you suggest flying in a day early for this cruise?  I understand that if we do this, the transfers are not included.  Where do people stay pre-cruise?  Thank you!!!

[Tranquility Base]

23 minutes ago, skinny1 said:

I will ask you, as well…do you suggest flying in a day early for this cruise?  I understand that if we do this, the transfers are not included.  Where do people stay pre-cruise?  Thank you!!!

Absolutely.

 

From what I can gather many people seem to be spending between 2 & 4 nights in CPT.

Many staying in or near the V & A Waterfront area.

 

Edited March 2 by Tranquility Base

[1985rz1]

3 hours ago, skinny1 said:

Greetings!  I will ask you, as well…do you suggest flying in a day early for this cruise?  I understand that if we do this, the transfers are not included.  Where do people stay pre-cruise?  Thank you!!!

You didn't direct your post to me, but there are many threads about flying in early.  The general consensus is that you should not trust the airline to be on time, connections being made, or your bags to arrive with you, so for peace of mind most folks recommend flying in at least one day early for any cruise and enjoy the embarkation port while you recover from the flight

[thebsinmiss]

Can anyone that has been on the Riviera recently have information or a list of the on board entertainment?  I know it will be what ever it will be for our upcoming cruise but I was wondering what they typically have for entertainment on a 10 day cruise.  

 

In past cruises I recall pianists in Martinis, a Broadway type production in the Lounge/
theater, a four string quartet in the grand bar (?).

 

I believe I have seen posts about a comedian on one cruise (Cruise directors husband?)

I also have seen posts about "hotly contested" trivia sessions which I assume are held in the lounge either once or twice per day.

 

We would appreciate any insight anyone can provide 

 

 

[mauibabes]

@skinny1

if you are flying from Seattle to CPT, ABSOLUTELY you should fly in early, even more than one day. That is a significant series of flights and lots of opportunities for failure, especially in Europe.  When we were booked on a similar CPT cruise, we were flying in up to a week early to: get some sleep, see some of the Winelands,  insider a Safari or other Pre cruise tour opportunities. Also, on our last trip into Europe in May, the airline dropped our flight and wanted to fly us in hours before we were to sail. NO WAY! We were fortunate to be able to get a flight another day early and it all worked out for the best. 
IMHO, I won’t even chance flying across the US for a same day Embarkation, and that includes Miami. Too much anxiety when Mother Nature teases the airlines 🤪 and trashes all their schedules because you will be the loser. 

 

Hotel options, there are lots in CPT.  You could even consider booking into the Oceania contract hotel and try to get a transfer to the port with the guests that have been on a Pre tour or just an early overnight arrival. Sometimes that can be accomplished with Tour staff at the hotel the day before Embarkation. Smiles and pleading work wonders😇🙏👍

 

Enjoy your trip.

Mauibabes

 

[Tranquility Base]

39 minutes ago, thebsinmiss said:

Can anyone that has been on the Riviera recently have information or a list of the on board entertainment? 

One thing I do specifically recall was on a few occasions, just one of the production Singers did their own choice of songs accompanied by some of the orchestra.

This was in Horizons at 5:30, so perfectly timed around happy hour.

These were popular and well received.

May not be a regular occurrence, I don't know, perhaps due to us having quite a few sea days.

Edited March 3 by Tranquility Base