Riviera Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Beautiful ship, rooms were great. Based on info from friends and the fare we paid, we had high expectations that were not close to being met. Buffet restaurant was too crowded. Bakery items looked good but tasted mediocre. Service was inconsistent, as were updates from the crew. Food, even in the Specialty restaurants was of uneven quality. Coffee quality was excellent at Barista's and of lesser quality elsewhere. The wine by the glass selection was average in quality. It was nice though to utilize a corkage fee so we could occasionally enjoy good wine for a reasonable price. Excursions run by Oceania are overpriced. The "free WIFI" was a joke. Only one device allowed online at a time and it was painstakingly difficult to "toggle" back and forth between devices (and no instructions were given on how to do this). Get serious and allow TWO DEVICES PER CABIN! We were also promised Oceania-labeled tote bags, but we were told they didn't make it to the cruise on time.

The only thing that was missing was the ability to order appetizers/ tapas with happy hour.

We never got off the ship mostly due to cancelled ports, cold weather. We turned our cruise into an "all inclusive resort" on the water and enjoyed our time no matter the cancelled ports.

Cruise was great relief from the cold north. Weather was gorgeous each day. Ports were not great, if you didnt go to the beach on each island.

This is our second cruise on this ship and with Oceania. Based on what we experienced I would caution folks to lower expectations on food for a while. We hope they get their act together or they will be just like low-mid cruise lines.

We had a nice time on the cruise. It was definitely more low key than previous cruise on other lines. The lack of photographers and waiters selling fancy umbrella drinks was good. There were no belly flop contests in the pool...another plus. The food was terrific. The walk in shower in the cabin was a great feature.

we cruised with Oceania already 14 times and will continue to go with them; they have the best food on board, it's a small ship, nice people. They have drawbacks, like the lounge chair situation and the entertainment, but one cannot get everything. We are there to be pampered and relaxing. And this is what we can do on these ships. Booked already for next year.

the wifi sucks, food not exceptional - Oceana as a culinary experience is a bit of an overstatement - staff indifferent, not proactive - it seemed that the staff were focused on costs reduction and limiting food and drink service, is Oceana in a financial crisis? - you had to basically flag down sommelier in the grand dining room to get a drink, also at the pool and in the martini bar had to flag down the servers to get service - lots a training needed for the staff - some staff were wonderful, but most were more interested in standing around and talking. to each other, rather than providing service to passengers.

Suite staff are excellent. I also had a manicure and it was the best I've ever had. Beware of tender ports - get to the lounge early to get a numbered ticket to get off the boat. Plan to wait. Pick shore excursions carefully and expect to held hostage a bit. It's still a wonderful experience visiting the different ports and countries in 12 days.

Beautiful and smooth. The Crew is always ready and service is immediate. The food seemed a tad less tasteful than I was used to on previous cruises, but still had many excellent dishes. Great Manhattans. Room and Valet service top notch!

I expected to love this cruise. I expected more of an upscale experience. The food was very good, but not outstanding. I thought the "O" points that you could earn by participating in activities, then turn in at the end of the cruise for swag was really tacky. Maybe it's ok for a less upscale cruise, but I would have expected something not so tacky on Oceania. I also thought it was in poor taste for Oceania to take us to various merchants on the excursions. On one excursion, they took us to a rug merchant who was selling $10,000.00+ rugs. It was very uncomfortable. Also, one excursion took us to a ceramics shop. I do not appreciate a hard sell, or even a soft sell for objects I do not need. We figured Oceania was probably getting a commission and it was really tacky. I assumed the higher price of an Oceania cruise would insulate us from things I would expect on less expensive tours, but it didn't. On the ship, they were isolating people who caught covid, but did not notify guests of the number of people aboard with covid. Our next-door neighbor was theoretically isolated with covid. We figured that out when they were washing the walls in the hallway. My husband caught covid from them, but never once did they tell us our neighbors had covid. We had to figure it out based on their cleaning process. We felt that was irresponsible on their part not to have informed other passengers of covid aboard the ship. On the last day of the trip, they had to cancel our visit to Mykonos due to excessive wind and rough seas. They added some shipboard activities to compensate for the lost day on Myconos. One thing they added was Bingo. Then they had the audacity to charge passengers to play. I thought this was despicable and really tacky. For an upscale cruiseline to behave like this is inexcusable. Much of our disappointment with the cruise came from decisions like this. We have a very good time. The ship was lovely and the staff was amazing and outstanding, but for the price, we had expected more. Two months prior to the Oceania cruise, we went on a Viking Ocean cruise, which we felt was so much better, including better food. Also, if you choose not to buy a drink package on Viking, you still get free unlimited beer and wine with dinner. On Oceania, if you want beer and wine with dinner, it will cost you $40/day for the package, and if you want it at any time other than mealtime, which will also include spirits, the drink package will cost you $60/day. On Viking, for spirits and drinks at non-mealtimes, it's only $20/day. As travelers, we resent being "nickeled and dimed" every time we turn around

For the $8000 per person we paid for this cruise (cost of trip plus all the nickel and dime-ing that was done, including paying for drinks because we wanted a drink at happy hour, paying for excursions, etc) it was definitely not worth the price. We expected an up-scale cruise and it was run like a mass-market cruise. Also, we went on a 7-1/2 hour excur.sion that was supposed to include lunch. It didn't, and by the time we got back to the ship, the dining room was closed. Very disappointed with the way the cruise was run, everything was an additional cost. We paid extra for a "Concierge" room but all it gave you was a room you could go to for coffee and pastries. The Concierge was rarely in the room. It was an absurd waste of money. Oceania cancelled 2 ports of call and cancelled one of our excursions at another port, but didn't seem to care. Don't waste your money on their drink package. For $400 for a 9 day cruise, all you'll get is house wine and beer, but ONLY at lunch and dinner. For an additional $200 ($600 total) you will be able to drink at other times during the day. Viking Cruise Lines includes wine and beer at lunch and dinner at no additional cost. We purchased their Spirits package on Viking for a 15-day cruise for $279. I contacted Oceania after the cruise and the impression I got was that they couldn't care less that we were disappointed. They brushed off my all concerns. Because of the way we were treated, I will never go on another Oceania cruise again. They have a lot to learn about treating their customers right. I would have expected that kind of treatment on one of the mass-marketed cruise lines but never on Oceania. Several months before this trip, we cruised on Viking. They issued us a credit for future because they had to change a couple port-of-calls. Even though they gave us credit, they added other ports of call. All Oceania did was traveled slower to the next port of call so they could save fuel. Oceania allowed passengers with Covid to remain in their staterooms instead of moving them to a different section of the ship. The people in the stateroom next to ours (we had a shared alcove theirs) had covid. At first we were curious as to why they were getting room service at every meal, but when we saw staff members with hazmat suits, masks and gloves washing the wall outside their stateroom, we figured it out. Needless to say, my husband caught covid on the 7th day of the trip. Oceania NEVER notified us of the danger, and quite frankly, put our lives at risk. The food, though good, was nothing even close to their advertised "best food at sea." I thought the food on our Viking cruise was far superior. We had one outstanding dinner on the ship, but it was a $100 per person wine dinner. Other than that, the food was good, but not outstanding. Oceania needs to have a policy about unattended & unruly children. They scream in the pool area, do "cannonballs" as they jump in the pool, and splash water all over the place. They also congregate on the pool ladders and you have to constantly ask them to get out of the way so you can use the ladders or the steps to get out of the water. We were extremely disappointed with almost everything about Oceania, and for the price, we felt ripped off. We will never go on an Oceania cruise again.

Overall we were delighted with this cruise. Our only real disappointment was the elimination of Venice as a port -- the logistics to get there for a brief afternoon and back to the airport for our early flight home were a test for all of us. We did get to spend a short afternoon/evening in Venice and a got a little flavor for the city. Had to get our Covid test while there which added to the crazy logistics of the visit.

Oceania has about the best food and service of any cruise line. The Riviera is a wonderful ship that is large enough to not lack important amenities without being too large. We simply won't cruise on ships carrying more than 1,500 passengers to avoid feeling like cattle in a roundup. The itinerary took us to so many islands we might not otherwise be able to visit. The staff, all the way up to the cruise director, were wonderful. One noteworthy exception was the Concierge on Deck 5, who was at best useless and at worst condescending. But don't let that detract from what was otherwise an outstanding cruise.

Overall, loved this cruise. Ports of call were fun - just never enough time to do everything. Very nice having the shuttle buses available to take us into town. A couple of minor points - the safe in the room was too high up and was difficult for short people and at one of the port stops the shuttle bus changed its pickup location but never told anyone - I thought we were going to be stuck in Marseille.

Oceania lived up big time to their 'Finest Cuisine at Sea' slogan. Food everywhere in the ship is a culinary experience. You can have lobster every day if you wish so, at lunch in a Surf and Turf sandwich to dinner at Terrace Cafe and specialty restaurants. Service is like anything we have previously experienced at other cruise lines. After cruising with Oceania you get spoiled with the outstanding service and the superb dining.

great cruise, however my movado watch was taken from the cabin

This was just what our family needed after two years of going nowhere. We love Oceania with the size of their ships, incredible crew and staff and excellent food. Only thing which could be improved is the showroom entertainment.

Really enjoyable trip. Filled with lots of tours, great food AND relaxing! Definitely not ready to leave. Could not have made this happen without the help of Andrea Whitby, our agent with Luxury Only. Thank you Andrea.

COVID greatly impacted the ports visited on this cruise. While the crew and staff did the best they could with a difficult situation, I would have appreciated a more upfront acknowledgement of changes that we knew were coming. Life on board was pleasant, but in two weeks it did become a bit repetitive. Highlights were all the ports we did visit and the wine dinners in La Reserve