Riviera Cruise Reviews - Reviews

I truly enjoyed the Oceania Riviera.  The Oceania Suite is absolutely amazing as was the Penthouse suite, and then we had the standard balcony that was perfect for us on a more budget friendly basis (had access though to all these cabins with friends we were traveling with).  The food was the best at Sea, not only just the specialty restaurants (Red Ginger being my Fav) but also the Grand Dining room was just as good.   The staff was always available, hardly ever could sit without someone asking you if you needed anything.  Seemed to always be deck chairs available around the pool equipped with clean towels at all times.   This ship was perfect for us, not to big and not to small.  Must mention the upgraded premium economy air promotion was also an absolute plus!!

I enjoyed an amazing 10 night cruise aboard the Oceania Riviera!  The ship exceeded my expectations.  The crew was amazing and did a fantastic job in cleaniness and service.  

The Shore Excursions are well organized and in small groups of less than 20 guests.  We had a history lesson in each port and were able to meet the local people in each country.  Our itinerary kept us quite busy but so much to learn and experience on this itinerary.

Let's talk about the dining... oh my!  Superb!!!  Delicious and service was right on.  The staff knew what you wanted before you asked.  

Entertainment was very good.  One show in particular topped all others.. Kaitlyn Carr.  She is fantastic.  She is from Ireland.  In her show she sings and plays a few instruments with lots of energy!  You come out worn out if you had to perform as Kaitlyn did.  She puts her heart and soul into her show.

I highly recommend Oceania and especially the Riviera!

The Oceania Riviera is a casual yet a beautifully designed and elegant ship. It never felt crowded at 1250 passengers. We used tenders for most of the ports of call but they ran efficiently and frequently. Dining on Oceania ships is meant to be the highlight of your experience onboard. It was evident when you step on board and immediately see a line for guests wishing to make or change reservations at one of their 6 specialty restaurants including a food/wine pairing experience. The food was very good! And there are fantastic cooking classes on board to enhance not only your dining experience but also the destinations you are traveling to. Staterooms are well appointed and spacious when it came to storage. The bathroom in a standard stateroom was a bit small but very nice and again sufficient space for toiletries. The entertainment was adequate but I never rushed in to get a seat. The Horizons Lounge did have a very good duo singer /keyboardist every night. This lounge was The main meeting place in the evenings and where they also had a wonderful afternoon tea time on the day at sea. Overall I would say the service was great and the staff was very attentive. The ship is very clean and food is only handled by the staff on to your plate. I believe that Oceania can be for most travelers as there were couples, singles and families with their adult children. I look forward to another voyage with Oceana cruises!

Favorite was the ports.  Grand Turk was new to us as was Tortola.  Love St. Bart's, too!  Ship was beautiful, food was fantastic and the crew couldn't have been more willing to make our vacation memorable.  

My favorite cruise ship The best cuisine . Our next cruise will be on a OCEANIA ship. I just need to find the right itinerary It will probably be either the South Pacific or the Baltics

This was our first time on Oceana and we will definitely cruise with them again. The ship is small and intimate,the stateroom was very nice and in a great location. The food and the service were outstanding.

Oceania pulled the bait and switch with our cabin choice. We booked the cruise seven months in advance. Oceania did not inform us before we left for Rome that they had overbooked the cruise. After we had traveled to Europe from Texas, we found out that Oceania was not going to honor our cabin assignment, and was downgrading us to a cabin almost half the size. Once we arrived in the port city it was time to start negotiating for the cabin we had paid for by credit card months in advance. The fact that Oceania charges your credit card months in advance does not mean your cabin assignment is a guarantee. This is their policy and they do not apologize for the inconvenience. We threatened and negotiated to keep the cabin we had already paid for. It was too stressful to fight and negotiate for a cabin assignment to ever consider booking another cruise with Oceania. Gregory L Howard,MD Michelle Howard,MD Houston, Texas   

Good itinerary and friendly, very hard working cabin/dining staff offset by: Deteriorating dining service quality (frequent Oceania cruisers blame this on reduced staffing levels as Norwegian cuts costs); and a CHRONIC problem with noro-virus (3rd serious outbreak in 4 months; only cruise ship in CDC's data base showing more than one occurrence of this sickness during past 15 months). As a result of noro-virus, ship denied entry into Aruba and intense, needed focus on cleanliness throughout the ship negatively affected the ambiance of the entire cruise. 

This was my third cruise on Oceania and by far the most disappointing. A virus was detected and approximately 100 people were directly affected - the problem was that it severely hampered availability to services for 12 of the 14 day cruise. We paid for concierge service and didn't receive it. In addition, the library and laundry facilities were closed. We didn't pack personal clothes and expected to be able to wash our own socks and underwear but couldn't... instead ended up paying $50 to have these items washed. During my last cruises, I spent hours in their library and that was a highlight but this time everything was locked down. In addition, the port of Aruba wouldn't let the healthy people visit the island and although our paid excursions were refunded, no further compensation was offered. 

Overall it was not one of my favorite trips. The crew was not communicative for the first days of the outbreak and the rumors aboard the ship were flying... it wasn't until many days later that the captain started giving us facts regarding the viral outbreak. That helped but it was a bit late. The stewards were working non-stop and were helpful and always pleasant. Their staff truly is the best.

First this applies to all future cruises.

First let me say I love cruising with Oceania! Now let me warn you. We are traveling throughout Asia and was offered assistance through Oceania and CIBT to obtain a Chinese visa. Oceania charged us $399 each which I felt was a little high but ok. We then were referred to CIBT and contacted them. I thought all was paid for! They provided a questionnaire and said they would fill out the forms necessary. Toward the end of our transactions they mentioned that they needed a credit card for the visa. Not realizing this was an additional charge of $299 each, I gave it to them and discovered they had signed me up for their concierge package which I thought was  the normal Oceania service. Now we have paid a total of $1396. I feel this is excessive for two Chinese Visas which I could have gotten myself in Houston with just a little effort. I have been to Beijing in 2005 and had no trouble at all getting a Visa in Washington DC. Never again Oceania. First time shame on me.

I just returned from a seven day trip on the Riviera under Captain Mario Sanguineti that I was only able to be on ship for three of the seven days.

My story begins last Saturday the 12th.  I was traveling from Kansas City to Miami with my wife, two girls (11 and 15 years old) and we were meeting my oldest daughter who is a dancer on the ship since October. It was going to be a family reunion and a chance to see my daughter perform on stage.

After a cancelled flight on Saturday in KC, we were re- routed to Chicago for a Sunday morning flight to Miami.  After a series of mishaps with the airlines, my two daughters and wife left on a flight to Miami and arrived in time to board the Riviera; I was not so lucky!  A mechanical failure and then a later flight caused me to arrive in Miami at 5:30 pm on Sunday and it was clear I could not make this ship.  All of this is NOT the fault of the company.

I called Oceania Cruises’ 800 phone number and explained my situation to a gentleman who then said that someone would be calling me to help. About 30 minutes later I spoke to a woman who I explained my situation to.  I advised her that I would fly to Key West and meet the ship the next day. She said she would email the captain and let him know that I would meet the next day and that someone from her office would call me. I never received a phone call back.

I arrived at the ship at 7:30 AM and was greeted by a security guard on shore and he stated, “We have been expecting you”.  I was greeted around 8 AM by one of the ship’s staff and he stated that they were working on my situation. I then sat at security and was eventually greeted by my family from the ship.  Soon after, the representative from the ship said we would work this out because we were “family” since my daughter worked on the ship.  Around 8:30 AM another officer from the ship greeted me and told me that the Captain would not allow me to board because of the Jones Act.  I asked to have the Act explained to me and they, (both representatives from the ship), said I had two choice:  board now and get off in Cozumel or fly to Honduras and meet the ship on Wednesday (2 days later!).  Then, the two representatives, who were standing right next to each other, were now having a difference of opinion. One was saying I could board now and the other was saying I had to go to Honduras.  Two people, standing right next to each other form the same ship had 2 separate opinions!   I said I would choose to board in Key West.  I was then asked to wait while they went back to the ship to talk with the Captain.

After waiting about a total of three hours, I was told that I could not board in Key West now because the Captain, for some reason, would not allow it.  I asked for an explanation and was not given one and then asked to speak directly with the Captain; I was denied that request.

I had a small suit bag that I had brought with me that I wanted to give to my wife so she could store it on the ship for me. I also needed a fresh set of clothes that my wife had in my suite case located on the ship since I had been in the same clothes since Saturday night.  I sat for about another hour at security to get my bag scanned and put on the ship; for some reason nobody was in any hurry to help the situation.  Since I had time to kill while waiting on my bag situation, I called my attorney to see his position who then informed me to contact a Maritime attorney who was located in Key West.  In speaking with a local attorney, he said he had never heard of anyone being treated like this and his research came to the conclusion that a $200 penalty (fee) would have to be paid by me and I would be allowed to enter the ship.  He also was informed by a retired Captain from another cruise line; he was actually the Captain of Captains of this other cruise line and he also had never heard of anyone being denied access to a ship after they had missed the cruise in Miami.  Thirdly, I spoke with the security company on the dock and they stated on numerous occasions that other cruise ships had similar situations of people missing a ship in Miami and they were allowed to board in Key West.  Can you tell me why I was singled out and denied access?

Now, here is where I was completely screwed by the company!!  I left Key West around 5 PM and had to drive to Miami to catch a flight to the capital city of Honduras (rated the 2nd most dangerous airport in the world).  So after driving for three hours, I got a hotel and spent the night at the airport in Miami.  I flew to Honduras on Tuesday and then had to hire a driver and drive nine hours to the port city in Trujillo to meet the ship which also brought a number of other events that I won’t mention at this point.

I arrived at the security check point at the port at 6:30 AM and was greeted by more news; they were not expecting me and I had to wait out in the heat until I was finally allowed to board the ship at 12:30 on Wednesday.

Can anyone from the company explain to me why I was treated this way and ruined the trip for not only myself but also my family?

BTW, I was greeted aboard the ship by a number of the guests whom I had never met who expressed their frustration at the ship and also apologized to me for having to go through this ordeal; I was never apologized to by any of the crew members!  I actually confronted the captain on the final night of the cruise and asked him to explain his position; he just said I needed to contact customer service.  For a cruise ship company who prides itself on being a “family” I must have been the stepchild that nobody wanted around.  Is this how how they run their business????

I sent this letter to President and Chief Executive Officer Frank Del Rio and have not received a response.

We sailed 3/13 for a 7 day Riviera caribbean cruise with some friends. They elected to stay on for the additional 2 week itinerary. We were just received an email from them that the neurovirus is back and they were denied entrance to Aruba.  We never came down with it but did see a door with the dreaded red tape on it. We also made sure we wiped down our cabin the first day with antibacterial wipes and used the antibacterial stations on the ship before and after eating. We saw a lot of people who did not!

Our penthouse and butler Bosco were wonderful and the food was spectacular. We ate at every restaurant including the main dining room and found no complaints...only great food. IMO Honduras is not quite ready for cruise ships but Key West, Belize and Cozumel were delightful. Overall a great cruise!

i don't know what happened.  We had heard such great things about Oceania and we were somewhat disapointed. The food and the service in the specialty restaurants was very good, especially Jacque's.  However, we referred to the dining room as the Mess Hall.  The service was very up and down (mostly down).  The food was inconsistent at best.  The first night some of us had dover sole and it came un-fileted.  I've never had that happen before!

The ship itself is lovely and the cabins were good.  We had penthouse 11027 which was a fabulous location.  Butler and cabin stewardess were just great.  Our butler was able to get us some last minute specialty reservations which helped since as I mentioned before we didn't liike the dining room.  

The pool staff walk around without making eye contact.  Never ask if you want anything, but gladly get it if you ask. Service got a little better as the trip went on, but never great.  Very comfortable sun beds. Great bartenders at the pool, I might add.

We bought the drink package, but found it annoying to constantly hand over our card.  We were told it was for inventory control.  Pain in the butt!

.  We were told Oceania doesn't encourage children and would provide no childrens activities no matter how many kids were onboard. No babysitters, either.  The rep was very rude about it. I get it, but this is Christmas and who leaves their kids at home?  Upon arrival we were told there was a kids orientation at 4:30.  We had a 5 & 8 yr. old with us.

Oceania had a fabulous kids club and our little ones were chomping at the bit before each session. Three sessions a day including 7:30- 10:00.  Sometiimes they were too tired to go to the evening session and in that case we had a babysitter.  I would have been livid had a paid for a nanny plus her cabin as we had considered doing after being told about the lack of child care.

We had 11 people/6 cabins.  We cancelled two previously booked cruises on Oceania consisting of a 35 day and an 18 day.  Just not up to our "Crystal" inspired standard.  No one bothered to contact us to ask why.  Sorry Oceania but we're going back to Crystal.  Expensive yes, but they "get it,"

First cruise on Oceania after many cruises on Holland America, Princess, and Cunard. Oceania is the best—as confirmed by three more cruises—for food and service. Perfectly-sized ships (625 or 1250 passengers)

the ship was clean and laid out very well. the staff was courteous and professional and couldn't do enough for us.  the cabin was fantastic and sometimes hard to leave.  the food was to die for especially the specialty restaurants.  finally the snorkeling excursions were organized and run by very proficient staff.  the underwater experience was very enjoyable.

The prior cruise experienced an outbreak of the norovirus which carried over to our cruise and continued to the next cruise as well. The lack of initial communication as well as the response by the Oceania was shameful. I will say that the crew was outstanding and worked endless extra hours to try to eliminate the germs. The bottom line after all the issues and the services that were eliminated along with the added stress and lost vacation time the only thing Oceania did to compensate its guests was to give a free cocktail party....rediculous!  

We boarded the Riviera which is a magnificent ship Dec. 2nd. In the terminal the staff started announcing pre assigned numbers for boarding. All was going well until suddenly the loud speaker system announced "everyone may board". The terminal was packed still with people and the mass mayhem that resulted as everyone tried to board at the same time was a disaster. People with disabilities suffered. The logic to this cannot be explained.

After a not so pleasant embarkation we went straight to our room which was ready, a nice touch versus having to wait and wait before being able to enter. The balcony cabin 8069 was excellent; the marble bathroom had a full size tub. That came in handy - more about this in a moment. Typical of Oceania, the fridge is stocked with all water and soft drinks included in the cruise price. The bed was the exact one we had purchased after being on another Oceania cruise. For people like us with ailing backs it is a total blessing to sleep on. It is outstanding!

Everything on the Riviera is first class. Service is impeccable and the food - WOW. In the dinner buffet you can custom order grilled steak, lobster, shrimp and so on. It was delightful experiencing dining there. Book the specialty restaurants as early as you can before you ever board or you may never be able to dine in them. You'll enjoy them. For foodies, Oceania is a treat.

There are 2 banks of elevators and if you have any mobility issues do not take a cabin all the way at the front of the ship for you'll be further away from an elevator than if you were aft or mid ship.

The library is elegant and well stocked. For a ship this size it is large. 

How can anyone fault this ship?

Here's how in one word - NOROVIRUS.

We were never informed the previous voyage had infected passengers. Upon boarding we were told of the sanitation program the ship was undertaking. This meant stringent washing of hands before entering any dining facility. That's aok. However in the restaurants the tables and chairs had to washed down and allowed to dry for approx. 10 minutes. If they weren't completely dry, as we found out, your bottoms got wet. Our cabin was sanitized prior to our boarding and my wife had problems with the unpleasant sanitizing odor coming from the sofa throughout our 10 day cruise.

As experienced cruisers we always plan on doing laundry on board thus cutting down our luggage weight. Because of the norovirus the self service laundry rooms never opened even though we were promised they would by mid cruise. We ran out of fresh clothing and had a choice, WASH OUR CLOTHES IN THE BATHTUB or use the ships expensive laundry service.

Because of the disaster of the embarkation along with the norovirus issue, for two nights the captain opened up the bar for free drinks. That was classy but for non drinkers like us this meant not a thing.

Now here is the real rub - we were on the Insignia the previous year when it caught fire and we had to abandon the ship. We were provided on that ship $500 in on board credit which we had not used, free internet service and another perk. Oceania refused to give us any of these when we booked this cruise saying all was lost. On board a tender going to port my wife struck up a conversation with someone she remembered who was on the Insignia. He said he asked Oceania for the perks (same ones we had) on the Insignia and they gave them to him. When we got back on board the ship I visited with the front desk and asked them to provide the same for me. They asked who the passenger was that told me this. Luckily I remembered his name. The desk checked with the Florida office and then offered us free internet and only $300 in on board credit. This was better than nothing but should I have had to ask for this or should Oceania come forward and be upfront? It sure would have made me feel more positive about Oceania than I do. Needless to say I am grateful to get these but not happy to have had to ask. The IT person surprised me with his knowledge & incredible aid he personally provided getting our tablet & laptop up to speed. He was impressive.

Forget about any decent entertainment on board this ship. We were floored by the limited theater entertainment.

Disembarkation was flawless.

Because we have had 2 not so pleasant cruises with Oceania I would be hard pressed to say we would sail with them again. Their strong points were top of the card and flawless but their errors were so egregious for a 5 star line they cannot be excused. 

This was my second cruise with Oceania, and once again I think they did a great job with *almost* everything.  Starting at the top, I must say that our room stewards were the best ever.  Jayzil never forgot a name and was beyond helpful.  When she saw me coming with a basket of laundry, she hurried to the door of my room to open it without my saying anything, all the while giving me her usual friendly greeting.  Our room was always beautifully made up and so clean.  That is a big plus when you are spending long days having fun and return late at night feeling worn out.

We did not take any Oceania excursions.  I prefer small groups and am on a budget so was able to schedule tours on my own that suited me much better.  However, I have heard stories of other cruise lines letting their own tour groups off first while the rest of the guests waited, and waited.  Not so with O.  Their groups met in another room, not the main lobby, and used the crew ramp to disembark, allowing the 'other' guests to use the main lobby and disembark on the guest stairs.  We were never late, never the last ones to go ashore.  Another plus is the smaller ship never had to use tenders to shuttle us to shore.

The floor shows on this boat are not as lavish as others might be; the smaller boat simply cannot accommodate a larger stage.  Nevertheless, the musicians were all wonderful and the other performers mingled with guests at functions and were all so friendly and polite.  It was a joy to meet them.  We also had a wonderful guest lecturer in Dr. Wulf.  She gave excellent lectures on the countries we were visiting and presented her material so clearly and concisely, it made learning fun.

Afternoon tea on the boat was a fun break in the late afternoon.  There was an endless supply of little sandwiches and pastries.  I had to give up going every day though; it was enough to spoil my appetite for dinner and that just wasn't working.  Because the dinners on ship are excellent.  The food is well prepared and fresh.  It was a delight to the eye as well as the taste buds.  We dined in all four specialty restaurants but it's difficult to say which one is the best.  That probably depends on your personal preference for food.  My filet mignon was cooked to perfection (Polo Grill); my curried chicken was the best (Red Ginger); the risotto with a hint of truffle was enough to drool over (Toscana's); and Jacques reminded me that French food is some of the best in the world.  The Grand Dining Room had food as good, just a little less elaborately presented.  The Terrace Café was always delicious and even the Waves Grill where my friend HAD to have hot dogs because she said they were the best she'd ever eaten.  Ah, I am missing all that delicious food already.

Now, our ports.

Venice:  We embarked here and although we showed up at 9:30 p.m. we received a friendly greeting with helpful staff taking our luggage, etc. and when we ordered room service, promptly received our delicious meal.  We sailed the next day, earlier than planned as fog was expected and the captain explained we didn't want to be stuck in port.  My friend and I did our own thing and had a lovely day.

Zadar, Croatia:  This was an interesting town with the quaint narrow streets and old buildings of the old town where we spent our day.  It was damaged in the war so some buildings are newer, but the people were friendly and we enjoyed our stroll.  One note, although our euros were widely accepted, it is not the national currency.  Many places would only accept euro bills and not change.  This meant a 5 euro purchase minimum, so if you go here, be prepared to either obtain local currency or to avoid small purchases.

Kotor, Montenegro:  This was the most delightful medieval village.  I think the village walls are still fully intact; the newer town is all built outside the walls and everything inside the walls (that I saw) was old, old, old.  Leading up the hill/cliff in the back of the town was a trail that led up to the old fortress.  The hike is the equivalent of climbing the Empire state building and to go up and back took me three hours.  It was so worth it.  The view was incredible and it helped to burn off the calories I was consuming.  This is a town where you do not need a tour unless you want to go outside of Kotor.  In the afternoon we hired a taxi to take us to Perast.  The driver was terrific, calling ahead to arrange a boat to take us out to view and explore the islands (5 euro each).  Please note that if your driver waits for you, you are going to pay the meter for the entire time.  A trip of about 2.5 hours cost us around 60-70 euros (sorry, don't recall the exact amount!) but was worth it to us.  If you are dropped off to find your own way back (there are buses, or you could take another taxi), it's about 12-15 euro one way.

Palermo, Sicily, Italy:  A charming town, that reminded me totally of Naples where I had been before.  A little shabby and even the tourist rep that came on board admitted there were parts we would be better off to avoid.  We did not have a tour arranged and were met off the boat by folks with poster boards of photos, offering 'tours' by taxi.  We spoke to a terrific young woman with excellent English but wound up with a driver who only spoke about 20 words.  Our three hour tour was whisked through in 2H 15min and the driver could not understand that we wanted another 45 minutes from him.  When we gave up he couldn't understand that we wanted to be dropped off in town instead of taken back to the boat.  My advice for this port, arrange a tour in advance.  Others who did the same thing we did had better luck but if you wind up with a driver who can't speak English, you can't even argue with him!

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy:  We had arranged a tour and had another couple join us.  Our driver was excellent, with good English and wonderful driving skills.  If you've ever been to Rome you know that drivers have to have nerves of steel.  haha.  The only drawback to this trip is that Rome is some distance from the port so that driving takes up a lot of time.  (You could go by train, but be prepared for strikes which might last half an hour or all day.)  Add to this that rush hour traffic starts around 3:30 so that our driver had to leave ASAP after 3:00 p.m.  He admitted that if he left later the traffic could be so bad that he couldn't guarantee we would make our boat departure which was scheduled for 7:00 p.m.  However, we saw the Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, etc. and had time for a tour of the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel/St. Peter's.  It was a rush job though (certainly no fault of our guides), and if you really want to see Rome, take a trip to spend several days there.

Livona (Florence/Pisa), Italy:  We arranged a tour to Florence and stopped in Pisa on the way.  Our  guide was excellent and even did a detour through the country in Tuscany to let us take some pictures.  Florence is smaller than Rome and we had time to stroll a bit more leisurely through the city.

Monaco:  We originally were scheduled to anchor offshore and tender in, but that changed so we were docked.  This tiny city has a lot to see and I thought it was a wonderful port.  There are 4,000 police in this tiny city-state and I saw them everywhere.  We did a half day tour than struck out on our own.  I wandered all over and felt completely safe at all times, even when it began to get dark.

Marseille, France:  Sadly, the Paris massacre happened just before our arrival here; nevertheless people were friendly and welcoming.  We had a tour scheduled that took us to Aix en Provence then to Cassis on the coast.  I highly recommend both places; in Cassis you simply must either do a boat tour or hike the trails in the national park there.

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain:  We stayed overnight on the boat here, which was great as there is so much to see and do here.  As much as I enjoyed all our other ports this is the one I really want to go back to.  I did three tours in two days and feel that I barely scratched the surface.  Note that Catalonia has a strong separatist movement and in the wake of the Paris tragedy that somehow made me feel uneasy.  But everyone was so friendly, even the taxi driver that picked us up at the boat to take us to our hotel for our post cruise stay warned us of pick pockets and advised us on where to eat (El Nacianol).

Criticisms:  There isn't much to criticize on an Oceania cruise, but the only thing that bugged me repeatedly was the slow dinner service.  It didn't matter what restaurant we ate in, dinner took forever.  My traveling friend scheduled our specialty restaurants at 8pm which meant at 9:45 we were just getting our dessert.  This meant we were late to the show (starts at 9:45) or went to bed with belly bomb stomachs. I don't want a rushed dinner meal, but I don't need two hours either.  Even in the Grand Dining Room service for lunch took forever.  Our last night we ate in the Grand Dining Room and it was slower than ever.  There was no Maitre 'D (sp?) and we finally had to demand our dishes be brought to us.  This slow process was a mystery to me as other diners seemed to be fed much more quickly than us.  Unfortunately, it marred what should have been a relaxing last night aboard ship.

Bottom line though is that I recommend this cruise line, this ship and this tour.  And if you are as lucky as we were, you will have sunny days and mild temperatures every day of your trip, too. 

We almost decided not to cruise again with Oceania, after our disappointment last year with the quality of the food served. Instead of going into details about last year, I would like to report that the dining experience is greatly improved.  The quality of the meat, and its' preparation is greatly improved. The servers in all restaurants except for the Waves Grill, are better prepared and more knowledgeable. 

The Rivera cruise ship is very nice and the overall cruise experience was very good. The cuisine in the specialty restaurants was also very good. The dining in the general dining areas was OK but not quite as good as we had on the Regent line for other cruises. The shore excursions were pretty good except for the Oceania Exclusive (OE) tour that we paid a premium for (A Day in Jerusalem) that was disappointing and not worth the extra money. Although the tour group was smaller in size, it didn't provide any advantage over the standard tour in access to sites, provided the same lunch in the same venue with the other standard tours and most of all had the lowest quality guide we encountered in all our tours. We were not satisfied with the poor value of the OE tour and informed the cruise line of our opinion (to no effect).