Melanesian Marvels on the Oceania Riviera
2/16/2026 to 3/18/2026

Click on the above link buttons that will take you directly to a particular page or area of the review; or you can just click through to the next page at the bottom of each page.

Page 1 – Bali Pre-Trip - Days 1-3
Page 2 – Bali Pre-Trip - Days 4-5; Embarkation, Ship; Ports of Call: Komodo, Indonesia
Page 3 – Ports of Call: Kupang, West Timor Indonesia; Darwin, Australia; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; Alotau, Papua New Guinea
Page 4 – Ports of Call: Honiara, Solomon Islands; Luganville, Vanuatu; Port Vila, Vanuatu; Lautoka, Fiji; Suva, Fiji
Page 5 – Ports of Call: Noumea, New Caledonia; Sydney Post-Trip - Day 1
Page 6 – Sydney Post-Trip - Day 2-4

Pre-Trip in Bali, Indonesia – Day 4

When I originally planned our touring days, I wanted to have a relaxing morning to go to the beach, so we planned on just having an afternoon tour. Instead of the beach, we decided to have an easy morning enjoying the hotel and go to a local shopping area. Since I hadn’t been able to take many photos of the exterior of the resort, I went out on my own right after breakfast. It was a sunny morning and everything looked lovely.

The front of the resort is quite a sight!

I went into the lobby and took photos of some of the public areas.

I really liked the multi-colored fish in one of the aquariums.

I only got part of them since I wanted to get back to the room to take Cathy to the Bali Collection shopping center (https://bali-collection.com/). I used the Gojek ride share service, since Uber isn’t in Bali. It works the same way and is a very inexpensive way to get around Bali. In most of the videos we watched about top places to visit in Bali, they always included the Bali Collection shopping center. It is a very nice one with lots of shops and restaurants.

We walked around looking through the shops where Cathy found a gift for a relative. We also ate a delicious lunch at one of the restaurants.

After returning to the hotel, Komang picked us up at 2:00 PM for our tour. We were going to visit Indonesia’s tallest statue at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park (https://www.gwkbali.com). The statue is referred to as GWK. It’s a lot easier to say and type. We could see the statue in the distance from the airport when we first arrived. At 397 feet tall, it is one of the world’s tallest statues. It is also 213 feet wide. The statue depicts the Hindu god Vishnu riding the mythical Garuda bird. As we drove into the parking lot, we were greeted by three statues. We were also amazed at the large blocks of stone around the grounds. Komang told us that the park was cut out of the mountain. Much of the waste stone was used to build roads.

We were blown away when we came to the statue. It was massive! Komang took our photo in front of it, and I proceeded to take many photos from different angles and distance.

The openings on either side of the statue at around shoulder height are windows. There are several around the statue. We would be going inside the statue and looking out those windows soon.

We went inside the building, where we purchased tickets to take an elevator up to the bottom of the statue on the 9th floor where there was info about the statue’s construction. Our group of 10 visitors along with a guide was the maximum they could take up at a time. I believe they only took up groups every 30 minutes, so we were lucky to be able to go. We then took a different elevator to the 23rd floor window level where the windows were located. Our guide walked us around the interior, where he told us more about the construction and explained various displays. It was interesting to touch some of the sample materials that were used. He told us so much about the statue and answered questions.

We enjoyed the view of the area through the various window openings.

In some areas, we could look through glass covered openings in the floors and walls to see the beams used to make the statue.

We needed to get back to the car to head to our main destination for the day. We stayed in the statue longer than planned, so we didn’t have as much time to look at the other features of the park. It was interesting walking through the man-made cliffs of stone.

We walked through a large open area known as the Lotus Pond. It hosts events for 7,000 - 10,000 guests. They have festivals and cultural performances there. The rock group Iron Maiden performed the first rock concert at the Lotus Pond.

At one end of the Lotus Pond is a giant statue of the head of the Garuda. I wish that I had time to have gone to the top to take a photo looking back at the Lotus Pond. But at least we saw the statue.

As we continued walking to the parking lot, Cathy told me to look to the side where we could see the GWK between the cliffs. I had to take more photos since it was a better angle of it than from below when we first arrived.

At the entrance to the park there is a smaller version of the GWK. Everyone wanted a photo of the small and large version together.

I was so glad we were able to visit the GWK and go inside. It was special. Our next destination would be too. We were going to the furthest southern point in Bali, the Uluwatu sunset temple where we would attend a Kecak performance. We arrived at the facility where we would purchase our tickets and obtain our waistbands rather than sarongs. We were happy about that.

The temple grounds are on a cliff above the Indian Ocean. It is a beautiful setting.

The actual temple is even higher up a cliff. It isn’t open for visitation. The monkey photo bombed my shot.

We could see the side of the stadium close by. It looked pretty full already. Komang warned us to stay away from these monkeys because they were not friendly.

When we entered the stadium, we had no idea where we would sit. An attendant motioned to us to go where he was pointing. We would be sitting on the stair path right next to the edge of the stadium about midway up. It was actually a great location, since we had a wall to hold onto as we climbed the stairs and we weren’t in the middle of the masses. All of the red stair paths were eventually filled up with people. This type seating would not meet OSHA standards for safety. We also had a great view of the temple.

We were concerned about how hot it would be watching this show sitting in the hot sun, but it was a cloudy day with a nice breeze coming off the ocean. We were very fortunate. Our British friends who were at this show the previous year told us how dreadfully hot they were during the show. We read the same from other reviewers. We sat in the stands for about 20 minutes before the show started at 6:00 PM. A group of bare-chested men came out chanting “chak ke-chak ke-chak ke-chak". They move their bodies and raise their arms in a coordinated harmony that speeds up and slows down. This is the only music of the performance. There are no instruments. I have included a video so you can hear the sound they make.

Soon other characters come out to perform the Ramayana Hindu epic story. Like the performance we saw the previous day, this one was also quite entertaining. There was a lot going on.

Everyone got a kick out of the monkey character climbing into the stands harassing the audience. It was very funny.

We were worried during the performance that we might get drenched with rain, since heavy clouds were moving in. They looked quite threatening. We hoped that it would hold off until after the show ended. Komang told us that we might be able to see the inside of the temple when it got dark, since there are lights on inside. We could see inside, but I didn’t have a long enough lens to get any detail.

The final part of the show was the fire dance. The monkey character is put in the middle of the circle and small bales of hay are set on fire around him. We were very glad we weren’t on the first row as he broke loose and ran around kicking the fire away. I have included a video since still photos don't do it justice.

When the show ended, we were supposed to look for Komang. We knew it would be a madhouse getting out with so many people fighting for the exits. We were surprised at how quickly Komang found us and took us out a back way where Kiki was waiting in the van close by. We couldn’t believe he found a parking spot so close to the stadium. We were thrilled. We were quickly away from the crowds and on our way to a restaurant Komang was anxious for us to try.
We were going to a popular tourist area with lots of restaurants and shops, Kedonganan Beach. We arrived at the Seaside Café that specializes in fresh seafood. It was a very nice place.

Komang asked if we wanted to sit outside or inside. It was windy outside but we couldn’t resist sitting near the beach.

We then came back to the front of the restaurant where we chose the type of seafood we wanted and how much. The seafood was very fresh just sitting in buckets for us to point to. They pulled some out, put them on the scale and asked if it was OK or we wanted to add or remove some. They then proceeded to cook our selection on the grill.

We went back outside where I took photos of the beach and our table. It’s quite a long beach.

The food came out with vegetables and sauces. Cathy had a lobster; I had prawns and Komang had a very delicious fish. We shared from each other’s meals to try everything out. His was the best dinner of the three, although ours were still good.

We had a great dinner and conversation. We enjoyed being with Komang so much. We didn’t leave the restaurant until around 9:15 PM. We still had to drive back to the hotel. Our half day tour turned out to be a very full day. We were sad to have to say goodbye to Komang and Kiki. They gave us three wonderful touring days and had been such a pleasure to be with. We would miss our new friends.

Pre-Trip in Bali, Indonesia – Day 5

Embarkation

We finished our packing and were ready for our Welcome Pickups driver to meet us at 10:30 AM. We arrived at the cruise terminal around 11:00 AM, our boarding time. There were lots of people sitting in the small waiting area to board.

Our boarding passes were checked for boarding time, and we were told to go to the desk for our key cards. We didn’t have to wait at all. It was a very easy embarkation. We left port at 5:00 PM. We would be cruising for 18 hours before arriving at our first port at 11:00 AM the next day.

Ship

With the Riviera being last being upgraded at the end of 2023 and my doing a review of it for my February 2024 cruise on her, I am not showing the public space in this review. You can see them in the prior review at this LINK.

When we booked this cruise in April 2024, we were very excited about the itinerary and paid a high price for our cabin. In June 2025, the price dropped almost $5,000 pp, so we got it adjusted and were thrilled. The ship wasn’t selling very well and we benefited. By the time we cruised, our cabin PH category had increased by $3,000 pp. So, I was glad it became more popular. The cruise eventually had 1,101 passengers or 88% of capacity.

The Riviera was my favorite ship for many years after I first cruised on her in 2014. With newer Oceania ships coming out and our trying different lines, it isn’t our favorite anymore, but I do still like it. When I first boarded, it felt a bit dated. But after a while, it felt like home again and I quit comparing it to other ships.

Dining (Link to Menus)

I have included copies of the menus for the dining rooms along with photos of some of the food items at the Menus link just above and at the top of each page of the review.

We always enjoy the dining on Oceania, however after cruising on Regent and Explora, I don’t believe it is the best dining at sea as they proclaim. On this cruise, we were able to pre-book two reservations at each of the 4 specialty restaurants, plus our butler got us 4 more reservations. So, of the 21 nights onboard, we were at specialty restaurants 12 nights. Below are my comments on each of the restaurant categories.

Grand Dining Room – We only went to dinner there eight evenings, because we were at specialty restaurants 12 nights and Waves Grill once. As always, the service was very good and friendly by the waiters and sommeliers. With us being at the specialty restaurants so much with their fixed menus, we enjoyed the Grand Dining Room for different menu items. However, we found that over the three weeks, the menus were relatively boring with too many of the same everyday items and not that many unique choices that appealed to me. I did, however, always find something that was good. With cruise lines focusing more on vegetarian items, I really should try more of them, since they can be quite good.

Specialty Restaurants – They have the same wonderful service as in the Grand Dining Room, but with their restaurant’s special touch. We always enjoy their standard menu items in these restaurants and their daily specials are most enjoyable for a change. With us going to them so many times, it gave us a chance to try different items. In the past I haven’t enjoyed Polo Grill as much as we did this time. Their meats were more tender than I remember.

Terrace Café Buffet – We went to all our breakfasts and most lunches at the buffet, as well as one time for dinner. Breakfasts are normally pretty much the same items every day, except for a specialty egg dish. On previous Oceania cruises, the specialty item was displayed on the shelf above the egg area with a sign telling what it was. On this cruise, they just had the sign. I didn’t even see the sign for several days, plus without the displayed item, I passed it by many days without checking to see what it was. The other issue was that there was inconsistency with standard items. They didn’t offer many brands of breakfast cereals. Plus, they didn’t offer all of the few varieties they had every day. Another item that was not always available was capers to have with salmon. When they had them, they disappeared quickly. It seemed like they were running low on certain items and couldn’t put them out every day.

There was always something appealing at lunch, especially the salads. We were surprised at how frequently the ice cream was grainy. Probably the result of refreezing. Also, the cookies on the last several Oceania cruises have not been that great. They don’t even look inviting, which is a good thing when you are trying to resist sweets.

Waves Grill – This is always a great place to eat. They have a good selection of burgers and sandwiches and outstanding regular and sweet potato fries. Cathy found a new favorite with their fish sandwich.

We thoroughly enjoyed dinner one night when it turns into a pizza restaurant with white tablecloths. They have some standard pizzas you can choose that you can customize to your liking. Or you can just tell them everything you want on the pizza. They were really good! In addition, they have their limited salad bar available, or you can just walk into the main buffet and get any salad or anything else to bring back to the table.

Lounges – We enjoy happy hour each evening and usually split our time between the Martini Bar or the Horizons Lounge depending on the entertainment in each. With Oceania recently eliminating their 2 for 1 drinks at the 5:00 PM happy hour, there was plenty of room at each venue. I previously read that people were skipping the bars at that time due to the change but had no idea how few people were in the bars. This meant that it was easy to find seating to watch the wonderful pianist singer, Kelly Read (https://www.kellyread.com). We really enjoyed her voice and song selection.

Later in the cruise, we decided to try out the Casino Bar. It is a smaller intimate bar with a different menu. It includes more expensive specialty drinks only made at that bar. They do the smoked drinks and ones with unique liquors and special items in them. In addition to enjoying their drinks, they had two awesome bartenders that we enjoyed bantering with each evening, James and Sipriano. We hope to see them again on another Oceania cruise.

We had the Prestige Drink Package that includes most top shelf spirits and wines. We were very disappointed that the bars and restaurants ran out of many of the items we were having. We heard from some that their favorite wines were not available midway into the cruise. They also ran out of the two beers that I preferred. We always enjoy a particular champagne they have, but they ran out of it also. These things shouldn’t happen to these many items on a premium cruise line.

Internet – I was very frustrated with the ship’s slow internet. It is the slowest Starlink service I have ever experienced. Additionally, when I wanted to download one of the astronomy apps we were told to use to look at the stars in the southern hemisphere, I found out that I would have to buy the higher price package. I couldn’t upload short videos to Facebook without the higher price package, which I was told was the same slow speed but with more capabilities. It was very disappointing.

Cabin

We were in midship Penthouse Suite 11049 for this cruise. This cabin category is always a pleasure to stay in. In addition to the wonderful Oceania beds, there is plenty of storage space and good seating areas.

There were plenty of plugs on either side of the beds and on the desk. It would have been nice to have USC-C plugs as well as the USB-A for newer electronic devices that use them. I always bring a multi-head electric adapter with USB-C connectors that plugs into the European plugs so that the US plug is still useable.

We enjoyed the nicely stocked refrigerator that included beer added by our butler after this photo was taken.

We love the walk-in closet with plenty of hangar space and drawers.

We appreciated all the counter space and large shower in the bathroom.

With us being on deck 11, we had an extended cover which kept the sun out of our cabin most of the time. It was a nice size balcony with 2 very comfortable reclining lounge chairs. We spent a lot of time out there on this cruise with nine sea days and relatively mild temperatures most of the time.

The views fore, aft and down to the water from the balcony were unobstructed.

We had the best butler we have ever had, Raj. He was regularly bringing us food items and even stocked up our refrigerator with Sapporo beer before the ship ran out of it. He would try to get us reservations for the specialty restaurants when we weren’t already booked without asking us. We did take him up three times but had to turn him down a few nights when we wanted to go to the dining room.

We had two different Cabin Attendants and an assistant. We had Fredi for 4 nights until he left for home in Darwin. Rowel was with us the rest of the trip. I didn’t get a photo of the assistant. They all did a very good job and were able to time their twice a day cleanings when we were gone.

Activities

We were surprised that the daily schedule was pretty much the same one for every day. On sea days they had 3 sessions of enrichment speakers but not much else. Everything was at the same time each day, which meant if there was a conflict with an activity you wanted to do during the scheduled enrichment talks, that conflict would happen every day. The one that bothered us the most was bingo. We aren’t big bingo players, but get a kick out of it sometimes, plus it would have been a different activity for us. Bingo was scheduled at 12:15 PM. With lunch beginning at noon, we never got to go. I guess keeping the same schedule was easier for the Cruise Director. Others also were not pleased with the lack of different activities.

Enrichment Speakers -

We had three very good enrichment speakers for this cruise. With so many sea days, they were appreciated, especially since we don’t normally hang out at the pool on sea days. It was a benefit that if for some reason you missed a lecture you wanted to hear, it would be available on the TV to watch.

Kevin Miller – He is an internationally known traveler, adventurer, speaker, author and consultant. He gave us port lectures along with other topics about the places we were visiting. He was very entertaining and informative. He is a very nice guy. I really enjoyed his talks and learned a lot.

Stephen Cox – He was a NASA Operations Director who shared so many interesting stories with us while showing videos of space missions and NASA operations. He had such a nice variety of subjects to cover over the course of the cruise. In addition to providing us with knowledge about so many things, he kept us entertained with humor.

Dr. Christopher Stoughton – From his bio: “He is an astronomer who explores the universe, from the subtle fabric of space-time to the vast architecture of the cosmos. A builder of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, he helped create the three-dimensional map that transformed modern astronomy.” Needless to say, he is a smart guy. He also presented his material in a way we could understand the subject. In addition to discussing astronomy, he also discussed the seas. A few nights at 10:00 PM he was up at the highest deck pointing out stars and constellations for those who joined him. It was a shame that it wasn’t listed in the Currents daily program.

Shows

Our Cruise Director was John Clelford. He was a nice fellow with a pleasant British accent. We saw very little of him on the ship. He would do a brief summary of the evening activities after each evening show and that was about the only time we saw him. I never saw him walking around the ship. I thought it was unusual that he wasn’t outside the ship as we were leaving for the early tours like so many other CD’s do. His announcements were his reading the activities for the day. He seemed to have a nice personality, I wish he would have shown it during his announcements.

Guest Entertainers –

We had a great selection of entertainers. This is so important to keep the evening shows interesting and provide various types of entertainment.

Don Winsor - He is an award-winning international baritone who has performed all over the world. He had a great voice and did two shows for us. Here is his website: https://www.donwinsor.com

John Thiering - This was a very different type of entertainer. John is a sand artist. He would create art with sand on a projector screen as we watched it happening on the auditorium screen. I put some photos below of him creating. You can see his arm as he moves the sand around. He is a talented guy, but the only thing I enjoyed was the very good music selection that played while he was painting. I left the show early like many others. He had two shows, but I skipped the second one. Here is his website: https://johnthieringart.com

This is what some of his finished sand paintings looked like.

Danny Elliot – This guy was something else! This Australian musician played classical to rock roll music with more than a dozen musical instruments, including bagpipes, didgeradoo, pan flute, piano, banjo, violin, flute, picolo, harmonica and more. He is very talented and put a nice twist on music not normally played with the instruments he used. He was also quite humorous. When he wasn’t playing, we were laughing. He did two shows and a guest appearance with one of the other performers. If he is on your cruise, don’t miss him. Here is his website: https://www.dannyelliott.com

Scot Robin – This Buddy Holly impersonator put on a show called Buddy’s Back. The write up said that Scot played the lead in the original cast of the musical Buddy. When I looked it up, someone else played the lead in the West End and Broadway productions. He was the lead in the Australian production. He sang OK, but he just stood there in one place singing one song after another. It wasn’t very entertaining. I didn’t go to his second show.

Vov Dylan – He is an outstanding violinist who combines classical, jazz, rock and pop music with broad, modern appeal. He has performed to sold out audiences internationally and had the highest selling Australian classical album of the year. He was earning money playing the violin since the age of 6. He showed us a newspaper article that appeared back then. He put on an outstanding show. Near the end of his second show, he played the Devil Comes Back to Georgia with Danny Elliot playing his competing guitar. It was something else. Here is his website: https://www.vovdylan.com

Deryn Trainer – This guy was some piano vocalist! He has been playing the piano since he was four years old. He has played around the world as a soloist and with a variety of bands and theater productions. He put on a great show. The audience loved both of his shows. Here is a link to him on his management company website: https://www.blackburninternational.com/all-artists/deryn-trainer/

Nikki Bennet – Is one of Australia’s finest entertainers as both a singer and actress. She also appears on Australian TV shows. She is currently performing The Helen Reddy show around the country, which has gotten her great acclaim. She performed part of it for us. It was very well done. Her second show included a selection of songs that she did a great job on. She is some performer. Here is her website: https://www.nikkibennett.com

Scott Williams – He is a very funny comedian. He is referred to as the “Laughter Doctor.” He does clean, smart observational comedy. He is quite a character. Both of his shows were packed and well received with much laughter. His YouTube channel is: https://www.youtube.com/@thelaughterdoctor

Production Shows -

We were very impressed with the production shows on this cruise. There was a larger than normal cast for this size ship with four singers and eight dancers. The singers were very good and the dancers outstanding. I also enjoyed the music selections.

Our World – It is described as “A vibrant theatrical celebration of music from around the globe, weaving together melodies, rhythms, and cultures that transcend borders.”

Broadway in Concert – As expected by the title, it was a collection of Broadway musical hits.

Hello Again – This was a tribute to Neil Diamond show.

Motor City Moves – This was a tribute to the music of Motown.

Ports of Call

Komodo, Indonesia

Today we went to a place I have always wanted to visit, Komodo Island with the main attraction being the Komodo dragons. It is a very mountainous island. It reminded me of Kong Island from the movie King Kong.

This was the first of three islands where we would use tenders. I normally prefer private tours, but on this cruise, we took mostly ship tours due to the lack of private options and security concerns I read about. Additionally, with Oceania’s expensive excursions, it makes sense to purchase at least 6 of them on this cruise to receive the World Collection pricing with a 25% discount on all tours purchased. I originally wanted to do a tour of the island that included going to the Pink Beach. Some of the photos made it look amazing. But in reading other reviews, it wasn’t as pink as the marketing people wanted you believe. I’m sure a lot would have to do with the amount of sun and time of day. With us visiting on a cloudier day, I was glad we passed on it. We were there to see the dragons.

It was less than a five-minute ride to the tender dock. The photo shows how close the Riviera was to the dock.

After disembarking the tenders, we passed through the gate to the national park.

Close by was a statue of a Komodo dragon. We were excited.

We were told to go to a waiting area and stand near our guide who had a sign with our tour number on it. Our guide was Marsi. All the guides are national park employees.

We had to wait around for about 20 minutes before others arrived on later tenders. While killing time someone yelled out “dragon”. Sure enough, one was walking toward where we were waiting. Everyone moved toward it to get photos, and the guides told us to stay back. In addition to the guides, each group would have a guard with a stick to push the dragons away. I would have preferred an elephant gun! It didn’t look like much protection, but the dragons seemed to walk away from the guards. I took a video, but with people walking in front of me, it is a very short one. I am putting it in just to show how they walked by us.

We didn’t realize how lucky we were to even see one walking. They are normally more active in the cooler mornings and evenings. They relax most of the day when it is hot. With it being after noon we didn’t expect much movement from them.

Our group began walking the dirt path through the park with Marsi and our guard. It wasn’t long before Marsi pointed to a dragon sleeping on the ground not far away. Not the best location for a photo.

Further along we saw an Uber Eats delivery on the way to a dragon. The deer are a popular menu choice for the dragons.

We continued our walk to an open area where we saw a dragon with his head up.

Marsi told us to move further away from the dragon. While doing that the dragon took off in another direction walking away from us. I was only able to get a short 3 second video, but it gives you an idea of what we experienced. It was the last of the walking dragons we would see.

The reason we were in the open area was that there is a stream of water provided by the park for the wildlife. The dragons and other wildlife come there for a drink. There were a couple dragons lying near the water. They were very cooperative in letting us take photos. In other words, they didn’t move much.

We continued our walk and stopped at a large mound. It was the nesting spot for the orange-footed scrub fowl. We didn’t see the fowl, but the huge mound was hard to miss.

Marsi told us about the fowl and other wildlife in the area, as well as pointing out vegetation along the path. It was a long walk without seeing anymore dragons. But then again, it could have been a problem running into a dragon on the narrow path.

When we came out of the path, we were close to the water, and we could see the Riviera close by. We knew the tour was almost finished. We hadn’t seen a dragon in almost 45 minutes, and we had walked a long way. Marsi told us we had been fortunate to see as many dragons as we did. I have a feeling all the guides tell the tourists the same thing. There was a commotion up ahead as others saw a dragon under a tree. We were finally able to get photos of another one.

After the tour ended, we walked through the shopping area where there were lots of t-shirt and other Komodo dragon souvenirs. I had to get one. The pier to the tender dock was a long one.

As we left the island, we were able to see the small town at the other end. I don’t know that I would want to live on an island with dragons roaming around.

Even though there was a lot of walking without seeing many dragons on the tour, we were pleased to see the ones we did. It is a once in a lifetime experience. We were so glad we were able to visit Komodo island.

Melanesian Marvels on the Oceania Riviera 2/16/2026 to 3/18/2026