OCEANIA CRUISES RIVIERA CRUISE REVIEW

Rachel took a cruise onboard Oceania Cruises ship Riviera sailing from Barcelona to Istanbul. Read her exclusive  Riviera cruise review  to see what she thought about this cruise ship, the food, accommodation and service.

Sister ship to Oceania Cruises Marina, stunning Riviera was designed to be special in many ways and reflects a level of sophistication and elegance with designer touches, upholstery and fabrics throughout.

Learn more about  Oceania Cruises Riviera

Learn more about  Oceania Cruises

On this cruise, the cruise ship visited Barcelona, Valletta, Aghios Nikolaos, Antalya, Alanya, Limassol, Rhodes, Patmos, Santorini, Mykonos, Kusadasi, and Istanbul. One of the reasons we chose this 14-night cruise itinerary was there were only two days at sea. The ports of call are all easy ones, not having to worry about booking tours, which is a pet hate of mine. We like to get off when we want and spend time in places we want to see without having to stick to a tours timetable.

We flew out from our local airport to Barcelona the day before our cruise and stayed at The H10 Port Vell hotel, away from the noise of Las Ramblas but just a ten-minute walk away. Taxi to the port the following day took about ten minutes and cost 18 euros. Our check in was simple and swift with no queues.

We opted for a veranda stateroom, which is well laid out with a sitting area and plenty of wardrobe space. When we unpacked, I thought there wasn’t enough drawer space however many were concealed within the stateroom furniture and turned out there was plenty of drawer space. The only problem I had was remembering where I put what and where!

The bathroom has a bath, separate shower unit and spacious sink area. The bathroom was stocked with Bulgari toiletries, one of my favourites and was constantly replenished. The towels were ultra-soft. The bathroom was all-marble and feels very luxurious.

Don’t worry about packing a hairdryer because they have an excellent one in all staterooms. Power sockets were plentiful, both American & European and unlike some ships I have been on there is enough space to fit the adaptor into the sockets. Two bottles of water were replenished daily or more if required. There is a well-stocked mini bar with soft drinks and room service is available to order alcoholic drinks or food. There is a full in-suite dining service available too if required.

Oceania  offer a wide choice of activities for example , an art class with the resident on board artist, a Magic Workshop with master magician, bridge, golf putting and culinary classes in the onboard culinary centre.

The Spa offers various seminars including top five conditions to treat with Acupuncture and a back and joints pain clinic, all free of charge.

There is also wine tastings with the Head Sommelier presenting old and new wines chargeable at $50. Single Malt Tasting and Martini tasting was just $15.50 per guest.

Evening entertainment around the ship ranges from the Piano in the Martini Bar, String Quartet in the Grand Bar, a special mention has to go to the Siglo Band who play every evening in Horizons, they were excellent. The Casino and Casino Bar also provide great entertainment.

On  Riviera , in the main theatre there were recitals, singers, Virtuoso Pianist, the magician who was brilliant and a great sense of humour to add to his act as well. We don’t tend to go to these because the Riviera Lounge performances start at 9:30pm every evening. However we did make an exception and thoroughly enjoyed the ‘up in flames’ show – a song and dance to the music of Billy Joel and Elton John, and on another occasion the Magician.

If you are a film buff Oceania offer ‘Movies under the Stars’ on many evenings on the pool deck, starting at 9pm.

Dress code on board Oceania Cruises is casual elegance so no dinner jackets or suits required which certainly helps with weight restrictions when flying.

Dining, where to start! Breakfast can be taken in the main dining room or under cover on deck in Waves Grill where everything is cooked to order.

Our favourite was the Terrace Cafe at the back of the ship, where there was a choice of buffet or cook to order. There was so much choice I cannot imagine anyone could ask for something they didn’t have. Lunch again the same vast choices with a varying theme of buffet such as Mexican, seafood, Italian etc. If you still have room, you can enjoy afternoon tea in Horizons, a lovely area at the front of the ship with panoramic views.

Dinner, you can choose the Grand Dining Room or buffet style inside or al fresco at the Terrace Café. I do not like set dining times so another reason we opted for an Oceania cruise. Table for two not a problem, and turn up anytime between 6:30pm and 9:30pm. We do not like ‘timetables’ when on holiday! The menu is very impressive and would suit all tastes, service excellent and not rushed, again makes for a truly relaxing experience.

Alternative speciality dining options include Polo Grill, Red Ginger, Jacques and Toscana and of course, we wanted to sample all four!

Polo Grill was excellent, so much choice and quite honestly portions were large. We managed an appetiser, soup and a steak, which neither of us could finish. Needless to say, we didn’t have room for a dessert!

Red Ginger offers Asian Cuisine at its very best! Our meal was utterly amazing and we would have eaten there every night if we could.

Sadly, my husband was poorly the evening we were due to dine in Jacques the French Restaurant, we did put our names on the waitlist for another evening they didn’t have any cancellations.

Last but not least, we dined in Toscana the Italian restaurant, the menu was very comprehensive and there was even a separate menu offering a wide choice of Olive Oils and Balsamic Vinegars! The meal was excellent and yet again could not manage a dessert.

There is a good mix of passengers, American, Canadian, British, French, Italian and Spanish. The atmosphere on board is relaxed and friendly and it is very apparent the guests on board are really enjoying their cruise. Although this is our holiday as opposed to a cruise for business, I have a terrible habit of listening in to conversations when passengers are talking about their various cruise experiences and comparing the cruise lines they have sailed on. I only heard good comments about Oceania and many passengers have cruised with Oceania many times, in fact, I heard one gentleman say this was his 35th cruise with them!

Riviera has very spacious public areas, all tastefully furnished and very clear so much thought had gone into the design in every aspect.

I have to give a very special mention to the crew, which without exception are fantastic and attentive without ‘hovering’ another one of my pet hates! I believe a crew can make or break a cruise and are the most important asset a cruise company can have. There is a good mix of different nationalities all of course speak very good English and have great sense of humours too. Our waiter on the first evening was Eastern European and we commented on how good his English was and his reply he had learned a lot of his English from ‘Only Fools & Horses’!

Oceania does not charge for their four alternative restaurants and they are very popular. I pre-booked our speciality dining just after we booked as we wanted to dine on evenings we sailed out of port early because we had a few ports of call where we didn’t sail until very late evening and we wanted to have the option of eating ashore for dinner if we so wished.

We also opted to take the Prestige drinks package which can either be pre-booked or booked on board, and gives you unlimited premium spirits, Champagne, wine and beer wherever and whenever you wish from $59.95 (£47.38) per guest, per day. There is also another drinks package called House Select that gives you unlimited Champagne, wine and beer with lunch and dinner from $39.95 (£31.57) per guest, per day.

I find all American ships expensive for drinks compared to British ships. For example, a glass of wine ranges from $9.50 to $12.50 a glass, cocktails are similarly priced and spirits are between $8.50 and $20.50 for an Armagnac. They offer a good selection of beers, including a wide variety of lagers, ciders, Guinness and even Newcastle Brown Ale. They offer a Gluten-free beer, Estrella Damm. Speciality coffees are $7.50 hence why I think the drinks package is good value and includes the gratuity.

Wi-Fi, like all cruise lines tends to be expensive and at times erratic. If you are looking for free Wi-Fi there are often spots around the port areas, just look out for the crew and you will normally find free Wi-Fi. Alternatively, many restaurants and bars offer free Wi-Fi, always worth asking.

Learn more about Riviera