Today the sun is shining as we prepare for the christening of the latest Oceania ship, the Riviera. We embarked in Monte Carlo on Sunday and are now in Barcelona preparing for the christening this afternoon by Cat Cora, the ship's godmother. Great food and good times will come to an end after the christening and we head back to Dallas. Will post my review next week when I return.

I look forward to your review Linda as we are sailing on her in September!
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Helen

So are we-from Barcelona to LIsbon
Donna

Well we boarded the Riviera and went to the pool grill for a burger. We had not even finished ordering when Susan and Linda came by, perfect timing.

The girls had arranged for us to eat in POLO for dinner that night which is very similar to Prime 7. Noticeably missing was the King Crab Legs and my berries for dessert. The crab cake is different and I prefer Polo’s crab cake but it is no where near as expensive as the crab meat used at Prime 7. I guess I like the cheap stuff, can’t take me anywhere. They did have some different things on the menu including rack of lamb. So I ordered lamb and a lobster tail. I do not order lamb in Prime 7 as I think that the Compass Rose herb crusted rack of lamb wins hands down. Still holds true, the rack at Polo was no where near as good as the Compass Rose lamb.

After dinner we wandered the ship and ended up in Horizons. They have a ceiling that changes color and what was interesting is that a piece of art work where we were sitting totally changed with the different colored lighting. Not sure if the art work was picked with this in mind but we were fascinated by this picture. Frank Del Rio hand picks all the art work and if this was done purposely he deserves an award for attention to detail. Ken and I were really tired (the princess had to fly in coach it makes a difference we booked too late for FF miles) so we left the girls in the lounge, handled some emails, and crashed.

Today was the big Christening event. A beautiful sunny day but it was HOT. The event was outside and about 1200 people were there so everyone came down to get seats about an hour early before it began. We thought we were early but it was already packed and we found some seats on the side but we (like everyone else) were just dying from the heat within 10 minutes. They had water and fans but it was really uncomfortable. We noticed some staff on the boarding bridge above the dock in the shade front on to the stage. So we decided to go up there. We were the only guests up there with all the staff members. It was perfect, straight on the stage. They did bring out umbrellas for shade for the VIP’s on the stage. If we had stayed where we were all we could have seen is the back of the butlers holding umbrellas. I did feel a bit guilty slipping out of the heat and joining the staff but the staff did not care. I do not think many people even saw this area as they were looking AT the stage and of course this was up and behind the guests.

They had singers and dancers who were all very good. Then the speeches as always and everyone did a great job. Frank Del Rio is an excellent speaker. Cat Cora, the only female Iron Chef was the God Mother and she also did a great job and the champagne broke beautifully at the appointed time against the ship and then the dock flooded with confetti is was a very magical moment. Ken will be posting some pictures soon.

We had to quickly say goodbye to Linda and Susan as the ship sailed 30 minutes after the ceremony finished so they had to debark immediately. They were off to the airport for the night and will fly home tomorrow. It was so nice to spend a little time with them we are all so busy in the office we really do not get to visit much. Often I say "good morning" to Susan as she walks out the door the door to go home. Become pretty much the standard joke now.

The ship really is basically identical to the Marina though I hear there were 500 + changes most may not be that noticeable. They are beautiful ships, some areas I think are sensational other areas are not my “cup of tea” but that is true on any ship. With more people and a larger ship you get more restaurants and that is probably the highlight of these two sister ships. All the restaurants feature fantastic menus and food. The downside is the ship is so big. From one end to the other it seems so far and the long bowling alley hallways. Of course in relationship to the MEGA ships this is small!

It is time for Regent to get a new ship I sure hope one will be announced in the near future. Always hearing rumors but until it is “announced” I am no longer going to react to rumors.

We are on for four sea days now. There are a few people I recognize from other functions but Ken and I may simply CHILL out on this one and not be as social as we would normally be. No one is like the LCT people to socialize with and we miss you all very much when NONE of you are with us when we travel. I am so looking forward to SHAMROCK!!!

Photos From the Riviera Christening in Barcelona:




The VIP's.


Dancers from Barcelona.


Frank Del Rio at the Podium.


Cat Cora - Riviera's Godmother.


The Christening.


The Grand Finale.

We have sailed O before and I am not really a big Polo fan which seems to be really all about the steaks and for me I think anybody can cook a steak. I hope that you can check out the "new" restaurants Red Ginger and Jacques and let us know what you think about them.

Donna, we are on Lisbon to Rome, Sept 14-24. Never been to Lisbon, Casablanca, Gibralter or Malaga before so really looking forward to those ports.

Enjoy your sea days, Ngaire and Ken!
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Helen

Ken's pictures were almost as good as being there!

Hi Helen

I have been on Marina so I have eaten at Jacques and LOVED it before and have a reservation for that again. I love pumpkin soup and they serve it from a HUGE real pumpkin. Toscana I also really enjoyed last time.

Since it is a short trip they only allow us to eat in two speciality restaurants. My choices were Polo and Jacques.

Polo and Prime 7 I usually dont order steak I love Prime 7 seafood, the king crab and dover sole.

However since we are in a Penthouse we can order from the speciality restaurants for room service. I definitely plan on ordering from Toscana.

RED GINGER not my thing so I have not eaten there and will not be there again. Susan and Linda liked it.

In a penthouse, NICE!! Have a relaxing cruise, I know you travel so much but are usually working the whole time. Take some time to smell the pain du chocolat
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Helen

Ngaire, I hope Ken gets some pix of the penthouse for us!

Bravo Ngaire & Ken,
I hope you have a great time and love that you're reporting back to us including such great photos. I'm glad to hear you may take the time to relax and chill (not sure I believe this though). Have a fantastic time.

Great pictures of the christening Ken. Thanks for posting.

Hope you both get some down time, well deserved! And a PH, nice place to have down time for sure.

Ate at Toscana an Italian restaurant last night. It was a WOW. I ordered Dover Sole and I had NO IDEA that Dover Sole came that large. It was about twice the size of the Dover Sole I have eaten before and absolutely sensational. Ken's main course was a Milk Fed Veal Chop. Again really outstanding. This has been our favorite restaurant so far. These main dishes were far superior to Polo. Tonight we go to Jacques which was my favorite on the Marina.

We asked Enzo if we would we have a similar restaurant to Toscana on a new RSSC ship. He did not commit of course but said he liked this restaurant the best. Of course he is Italian. Some of you may know him he is "the man" who is on all the Oceania and RSSC ships checking quality, service etc. He was years ago on Radisson, went to Silversea and then came back to Regent.

I wish it could be done at La Verandah at night but the kitchen is not large enough to handle a restaurant with all the with such a huge menu.

The Riviera and Marina are very good ships. The key issue really being the restaurant selections on a bigger ship and the quality of the food for this price point. There are things that are different from the RSSC Luxury the most noticeable being the cabins of course. If you go up to a Penthouse you will be very happy with your cabin but then you are at the RSSC price point. The larger suites are also superior to RSSC larger suites the have gone all out on the big suites. Then of course the price point jumps up a lot but you still have a ship with a 1250 guest counts.

If you can handle a smaller cabin, paying for drinks, and do not mind a larger passenger load the ships represent a great value over the standard mass market lines. The inside cabins are an incredible value.

I just recognize the princess part of me and for many others as well a larger more comfortable cabin is an issue. I really cannot stay on a river cruise longer than 7 days as the small cabin does start to get to me. Even though I do not drink much as you all know I still like "all inclusive" simply for the convenience of never worrying about "who paid" and siging all the time. It just changes the ambiance.

What is great is that there are options so everyone can find what suits them best we all see things differently.

To me perfection sounds like a new RSSC ship with the larger cabins no more than 800 guests and more specialty restaurants. I hope this becomes a reality.

Riviera Penthouse:

Ken, that is a beautiful penthouse! I have to say, you two are the neatest people I have even seen, especially in the bathroom!

You should have seen it before we put everything in the drawers and thats also whats nice about this cabin, there are lots of drawers. Ken

Nice, very nice.

The PH is very nice.

What does the standard cabin look like?

Peggy

Link to Oceania's Web site page of balcony suite on the Riviera. Obviously, can't compare with Ken's photos. Quite a bit smaller than a PH.

Verandah suite

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Eugene

Great pics. I agree about the steakhouse though. We can have an awesome steak anytime I decide to go thaw one out of the freezer, so I tend to order other stuff that I can't get at home. But the prime 7 Dover sole and crab legs-- outstanding.

Thanks Eugene.

Quite a difference . . . .

Sailing into Venice:




St. Marks Square.

Looks like a beautiful day.

Remind us what your crazy itinerary is like for the next x days.

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Eugene

How cool are those pix. Thanks Ken.

Probably final time on the internet may a few short bursts in the next few days. Just for you Eugene.

Day One
Debark at 5.00 am - 7.00 am flight with one stop ending in Munich
From Munich - three different trains arriving in Linz about 6.00 pm Onboard Uniworld River Beatrice for two nights

Day Two (only day on board)
Visit a new Viking ship when in port in Melk

Day Three
Debark River Beatrice - I think two or three trains to Vilshofen arrive around 3.00 pm visit new AMA boat -train back to Passau arriving at 10.00 pm. Overnight in hotel.

Day Four
9.00 am Train Passau to Frankfurt - train Frankfurt to Koblenz arriving about 5.00 pm. Visit Uniworld newest ship Marie Antoinette - back on a train at 8.00 pm to Frankfurt overnight at the Frankfurt airport.

Day Five
Early flight Frankfurt to London - then to DFW

LOTS OF TRAIN TIME - never done trains in Europe before going to be an adventure!

Riviera Standard Cabin:

Thank you Ngaire and good luck with your train travels. As you know, European trains do tend to be very reliable and on time. I'm sure you packed lightly for this whirlwind tour. Hope you make all your connections.

You sure will know all about the latest River boats.

Gail and I look forward to hearing about your advernture during SHAMROCK.

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Eugene

Wonderful pictures of the sail in to Venice, reminds me of B2B. I think Venice may be the most spectacular sail in ever, at least it has been for us..

Anxious to hear your thoughts on UniWorld Ngaire. We have a River Cruise on our list and up near the top, just a matter of finding the right ship, itinerary and group of people, or at least the right ship and itinerary.

Am I right in thinking that the standard cabin is about the same size as the standard cabin on Crystal?

Peggy, I think Ngaire said that some of the newer boats have some larger cabins. It will be interesting to hear her report.

Betty,
I hope to post my report by tomorrow. Both the Marina and the Riviera have larger staterooms and larger bathrooms than the 3 original Oceania ships. Still smaller than Regent.

wonderful information as always......thanks Ken and Ngaire

Thanks Susan . . . look forward to your report. And all the information from Ngaire and Ken

I have posted my report under Travelogues, Blogs and Cruise Reviews.

Thank you for all the wonderful information. We board on the 17th of June for my daughters 40th birthday, and a great celebration in honor of her good health after a very trying year and a half.

So happy to hear this Doris - have a great trip and so happy to hear about your daughter

Thanks Joanna, It has been a horrible year and a half that right now seems to be getting better....remission sounds GREAT to all of us.
This trip on "O" will be great fun for all of us. I am not expecting a Regent expierence, but it will be wonderful just to have her with us. Last year at this time we could only dream about something like this.

Have a wonderful, very deserving, cruise Doris.

Have a wonderful time, Doris and come back and tell us what you thought.
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Helen

Thank you all so much. I will certainly report back.....that's part of the fun of LCT!