Somewhat disappointing

Item: Riviera
Rating: 4
Author: badams636

Riviera Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe

badams636

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 15

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

33 Night North Atlantic Explorer (Reykjavik To London)

Sail date: July 21, 2023

Ship: Riviera

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 7082

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 9 months ago

Review summary

It was an interesting experience to visit Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Sweden was a country that we have not visited before, and we believe this aspect enhanced our experience. Overall, Oceania seemed to be a better overall experience prior to the pandemic.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Long and arduous. Oceania put us on an early arrival on Iceland Air. They do not serve complimentary meals. They did feed us breakfast at a hotel upon arrival, but then we had to wait 8 hours on the ship before we could check into our stateroom.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Food is always done well on Oceania

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

None that interested us.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

The entertainment was very good, and perhaps a step up from previous Oceania cruises

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

None that we were aware of.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Exceptional staff.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Our stateroom was very nice, and kept very clean.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

It truly met our needs.

Ship tip

Always take the cooking classes! They are excellent and well thought out. Several of the shore excursions were VERY disappointing. When we formally complained, we did not receive a response, other than "sorry." Supposedly, the complaint was forwarded to management, but we've been back 4 days and still haven't heard anything (we submitted our complaint a few days before the end of the cruise)..

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Reykjavik, Iceland

2 out of 5

Isafjordur, Iceland

4 out of 5

CROSS DENMARK STRAIT

4 out of 5

Cruise Prins Christian Sund, Greenland

4 out of 5

Nuuk, Greenland

3 out of 5

Qaqortoq, Greenland

1 out of 5

The shore excursion was a joke (A Taste of Greenland). It lasted about 20 minutes and included a VERY small taste of 4 items. Afterwards, we were cut loose. Awful experience: we officially complained but received no response.

Thumbs Up 1

Torshavn, Faroe Islands

5 out of 5

Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland

5 out of 5

Haugesund

4 out of 5

Skagen, Denmark

4 out of 5

Goteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden

5 out of 5

This land excursion was a tour of the area by bus and was very enjoyable and informative.