The cruise was very interesting and the Riviera was excellent. As always, food was superb and accommodations very comfortable. Anywhere you go on Oceania will be a great experience. Be prepared for expensive tours - they were well done but the Shipmate tours were also very good.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
The embarkation was seamless and easy. The only difficulty was trying to eat lunch in the Terrace Cafe with many people with many carryon bags and little space to walk around tables.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food everywhere on the ship was excellent.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We did not participate in these activities
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The shows that we went to were very enjoyable and well done. They were not the best I have ever seen but were worth going to.
Children's Programs
We did not have children with us nor did anyone else on the ship.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The service on the ship was excellent on all levels.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was clean and in excellent condition at least that we could see. The layout and design were well done and easy to get to.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Riviera has quite large cabin compared to other cruise ships. The bathrooms and also larger than most. Not sure the full size tub is necessary but we used the shower in it rather than the smaller shower. There was plenty of storage in the cabin and it was very clean.
Ship tip
Do not try to eat lunch in the Terrace Cafe on embarkation day - it is too difficult to walk around with everyones carry ons and back packs.
We embarked from this port so only saw the part of it we passed through in our cab from Heathrow. It seemed like an interesting place to visit - maybe next time.
We enjoyed Amsterdam. We had been there before so we decided to do a hop on hop off canal cruise which we booked from Shipmate. Next time we will pay more attention to the desk on Deck 5 with information about the port. It took us a few days to realize that desk was there.
We took a bus tour in Copenhagen also booked on Shipmate. It was a very good tour and gave us a good overview. Since my husband has limited mobility, this tour worked out well for us. Copenhagen is a lovely city and well worth a visit.
Goteborg was lovely. We did take a Oceania panoramic tour to the West Islands which was excellent. We visited a lovely fishing village and had time to walk around and enjoy a lovely day.
Oslo is a wonderful city. Although rain was on and off all day, we took an Oceania panoramic tour which was very informative. We barely stopped at Vigeland Sculpture Park which I did not realize was so large and required walking. I had been there 53 years ago but forgot about the walking part - I guess youth allows for more walking!
Bergrn was lovely. We did a fjord boat tour from Shipmate which was began a short walk from the pier. It was a mostly sunny day and the tour was excellent. There was also some interesting shopping there and a wonderful fish market.
Lerwick was an excellent port. We took an Oceania. excursion which was a very interesting bus tour of the area. The scenery is breathtaking and we enjoyed this port very much.
This was our favorite port of the cruise. The Faroe Islands are very interesting and beautiful. We took an Oceania excursion which was mostly a bus tour but the guide we had on the tour was very knowledgeable . Every minute was more beautiful than the previous minute.
We enjoyed Akureyri although we did not do a tour. The port was close to the ship dock and was very pleasant to walk around and do a little Icelandic shopping.
We had two tours planned but unfortunately the ship could not dock as scheduled and by the time we were able to dock, the tours had been cancelled. We saw some of Reykjavik from our cab but did not really get a chance to see any of the sights.
The disembarkation was fine (in Reykjavik) except for the in cabin announcement at 10pm that all non European passport holders had to bring their passports to Deck 5 immediately (some showed up in bathrobes) due to an unexpected requirement from Iceland that they had to be stamped before disembarkation would be allowed the following morning. This involved a long line of at least 500 people. Somehow, Oceania should have known about this. Also, tip for further travelers - be sure to arrange a pick up at the dock if you do not use Oceania's bus to the airport or are going to a hotel independently. The line for almost non-existant cabs was long and it was cold and windy.
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