Islands to Indochina Cruise on the Oceania Riviera
1/23/2024 to 2/15/2024

Page 1 – Pre-trip in Singapore
Page 2 – Embarkation; Ship
Page 3 - Cabin, Shows, Activities; Ports of Call: Muara, Brunei; Kota Kinabalu (Borneo), Malaysia
Page 4 - Ports of Call: Puerto Princesa, Philippines; Coron, Philippines; Manila, Philippines
Page 5 - Ports of Call: Hue (Chan May), Vietnam; Nha Trang, Vietnam; Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Thailand
Page 6 - Ports of Call: Saigon, Vietnam; Sihanoukville, Cambodia; Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Thailand
Page 7 - Post-trip in Bangkok Thailand Days 1 & 2
Page 8 - Post-trip in Bangkok Thailand Days 3 & 4

Embarkation

The previous night I checked with Welcome Pickups to see how much they would charge to take us to the cruise terminal. Since it was only 5 miles away, I assumed it would be cheaper than the $41 I had spent to get to the hotel from the airport 12 miles away. I couldn’t believe that I was quoted $60 for the short trip. I checked a few different times for the pickup, and it came back the same price. I decided to order a Grab instead. It only cost $14, and the driver had a large SUV.

Our pickup was at 10:30 AM. The check in process was very smooth and fast. We were on the ship at 11:00 AM. I showed Cathy around the ship, which we had been on previously and was similar but a bit different from the new Oceania Vista we had been on in October. We then went to the buffet for our first lunch onboard.

After lunch, as usual, I began taking photos of the public rooms on the ship. While on the outer decks there was a lot to see. The skyscrapers of the city weren’t far away. There was also a cable car system that actually went through a skyscraper to get to Sentosa Island.

The island is the home of Resorts World Sentosa which has a small Universal Studios on the grounds. It is a major tourist attraction. We were able to see some of the buildings and rides on the grounds.

As we were leaving port, I was surprised to see buildings that appeared to be bent. They were the Reflections at Keppel Bay residential towers. They have won architectural awards, but I don’t know that I would want to live in them.

When we got into cabins, there was a letter from the captain telling us that due to technical issues our port times had changed. In some ports, the times were significantly reduced. It was disturbing. The next morning on our sea day, we saw Captain Maksym Melnikov. It was the first time we had a Russian captain. He was very friendly and had entertaining daily talks over the speaker system. After taking photos with him, we asked about the port time changes.

He told us that they had lost an engine. We understood that much better than technical issues. I wish they had said it in the letter so that others would understand the problem. They sent out another adjustment to the port times a few days later that helped out a bunch by giving us more time in a few ports. I guess they were able to move faster than expected.

Someone pointed out to me that in the Currents, the ship’s daily information bulletin, that we needed to obtain an e-arrival card to enter Brunei two days later. I was surprised that they hadn’t told us before the cruise in an email like they had with other entry type info. The Brunei app was quite difficult to use, since it wasn’t mobile phone friendly. While trying to enter info, the format would change, and you couldn’t enter info. We finally got it completed the next day.

Ship

The Riviera is my favorite ship. Even more so than Oceania’s brand-new Vista that we cruised on three months earlier, which is why I was so glad to have this fourth cruise on her. At just over 66,000 tons, and a double capacity of 1,250 passengers, it is an ideal size for me. It is also a most elegant and comfortable ship, with wonderful food and service. I wasn’t at first going to put this section in the review, since I did one for our November 2021 Riviera cruise. But with a minor makeover last year, I decided to show what it now looks like.

The various public rooms are shown below by category.

Restaurants (Link to Menus)–

Grand Dining Room – This is the main dining room for the ship. There are no set seating times, so the passengers can eat whenever they want. It is a truly elegant room with a large circular crystal chandelier in the center. Unfortunately, photos cannot show the beauty created by all the sparkling within the fixture. It just must be seen to be appreciated. I really liked the new carpeting and chairs in the room. It made the room more attractive and provided better looking and more comfortable seating.

As is normally the case on Oceania, the food was very good. Although I must say it was better on the Vista for some reason. They had basically the same menus, but the kitchen crew made the meals even better. My main issue with the restaurants on the ship was that sometimes the menu description had little resemblance to what we received. It had the ingredients, but not the way they were described.

Jacques – This is one of the four specialty dining restaurants on the ship that require reservations to eat there, although there is no extra charge. The Parisian bistro design just feels right for this restaurant. It is a French restaurant; but the design makes it feel less formal and more comfortable to me. Once again, the restaurant received new seating. They also redid the walls and drapes.

Unlike most of the restaurants on the ship, Jacques is a bit difficult to locate. It is down a long hall on deck 5 between the Boutiques and the forward elevator. It is the only public room that is located on that hall. The restaurant is named after well-known chef Jacques Pépin, who served as Oceania’s Executive Culinary Director for many years. We ate there twice and thoroughly enjoyed the meals. I missed not having this restaurant on the Vista.

Red Ginger – One doesn’t have to look at the menu to know that Red Ginger is an Asian restaurant. From the Asian art on the walls and place settings on the tables, to the red upholstered chairs, it provides a definite Asian ambience. It is one of the specialty restaurants requiring reservations. It is also located on Deck 5 but is easily accessed next to the boutique area. I didn’t see any changes in this restaurant, which I was most happy with. We only ate here once this cruise. The Miso Sea Bass is the best seafood on the ship.

Polo Grill – Polo Grill is the steak house specialty restaurant. It is properly appointed with leather chairs and dark woods, as expected for a steak house. The restaurant is a comfortable environment for a fine meal. It is located on the starboard side of the ship at the rear of deck 14. I really liked the new carpeting. It gave the room a more updated and fresher look. The one meal we had at Polo Grill was very good.

Toscana – This is the Italian specialty restaurant. Unlike the other restaurants, it didn’t have the ambiance of the type of food they were serving. But it was still a nicely decorated restaurant. It was also located at the rear of deck 14 on the opposite side from where Polo Grill is located. No changes were made that I could see.

Toscana is becoming our favorite specialty restaurant on the ship. We ate there twice. We are in love with the lasagna, but we like their special touches like the olive oil cart and wonderful breadbasket, plus they have a great menu. We had a main course in Toscana, Agnello Arosto, on the Vista that our friends and Cathy raved about. So, we ordered it on this cruise, and it was not the same thing, although it had the same name and description. You can see for yourself below.

On Vista Oct 2023 Riviera Feb 2024

Terrace Café – Located on the back of deck 12, this buffet is the main dining venue for breakfast and lunch. It is also very popular for dinner, since they have most of the same food items as the main dining room. It is in the shape of a “U” with the middle being the area where the food is located. The long parts of the U are the seating areas.

I normally don’t like buffets that have the food lines rather than individual islands, but on the Riviera it just worked well, especially with the lower capacity. The main hot food line was on one side, and it could be accessed from either end, since the food items were duplicated for whichever way you came in. In the middle were the salads, desserts and other cold foods, plus the ice cream bar. It was in effect a large island.

On the other side was a grill that had various food items including steaks and lobster at night, and a very nice pasta station. They made their own pasta dishes right in front of you.

There was a nice outdoor seating section adjoining the main buffet area at the back of the ship. I did like the new chairs they had with back padding.

Additionally, there was a seating area on the other end of the buffet behind the pool area.

We ate every breakfast, most lunches and a couple dinners in the buffet. The food was very good, but not as good as on the Vista. I don’t know why that would be, but it was noticeable to us. One staff member in the buffet always made us smile. He was so happy and cheerful as he was goiing out of his way to help everyone he could. I'm putting Manny's photo in here so we will remember him. Hopefully we will see him on another Oceania cruise.

One thing that I was very surprised and disappointed with was the cookies. Normally cookies are one thing you can count on that will be irresistible. Not on this cruise. The cookies all looked alike and were more flattened blobs of dry dough. Below are photos of what I am talking about. They were dry and had little taste and the texture was just strange. Other people complained about them to us also, so it wasn’t just our opinion. It did save me some calories, since I couldn’t eat them.

La Reserve – This is an additional charge restaurant that provides up to 24 people a 7-course gourmet dinner with wine pairings. At a cost of $95 per person for the Explorer and Discovery menus; and $295 per person for the Dom Perignon Experience menu, I sure hope it is an outstanding meal. The restaurant is just outside the Terrace Café. The only change was to the chairs. I do think that changing this venue to the Aquamar Kitchen on the new Vista made a lot of sense. It allowed more people to use the venue throughout the whole day.

Privee – This restaurant is hidden at the back of the ship between the Polo Grill and Toscana. It is reserved for groups that want to have a private dinner for up to ten people. Food can be selected from both the Polo Grill and Toscana menus. I believe the cost to use the room is $300 for the group. Since there is no cost for the Riviera specialty restaurants, there is no added food cost, just a charge for the private venue and the service. I thought that the Privee concept was a great idea, since it allows people to have privacy for a special event. The room itself was quite lovely and looked like a perfect place for a private meal. I personally don’t know that I would spend that much money for the privacy; but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is booked every night. The chairs and carpeting were changed in this room too. I thought it looked classier now.

Waves Grill – Everybody loves Waves Grill. It is the fast-food area. In addition to very good hamburgers, hotdogs, and Ruben sandwiches; they even have a surf and turf sandwich with steak and lobster. Unlike most ship grill areas, you give an attendant your order, sit down and a waiter will bring your order to you when it has been prepared. Oceania really does make it too easy to overeat. In the evening, they set it up with a very nice selection of custom pizzas you can order that they bring to your table.

A most popular area of the grill is the ice cream section. They even make milk shakes, sundaes, and smoothies.

Lounges (Link to Menus)–

Martinis – This is a very comfortable and intimate feeling lounge. The two for one drinks during their happy hour make it a very popular place between 5:00 - 6:00. The lounge occupies a large area on deck 6 mid-ship. It is broken into two sections. Below is the port side where the bar itself is located. The only change I noticed was the new carpeting. I liked the older less busy one.

Between the two sides was a very attractive area with probably the most traditional artwork on the ship. There is also a passage between the two sides that provide a view of the grand piano since Martinis is a piano bar.

Each evening starting at 6:00 PM, pianist Mark would play for the patrons. He played a good mixture of songs and is very talented.

Grand Bar – Between Martinis and the Grand Dining Room on the starboard side of the ship is the lovely Grand Bar. I am not sure why it is called a bar, since there is no bar in the Grand Bar. In fact, it probably should have been called the Grand Hallway, since that is what it is mainly used for. There is comfortable seating, and the large expanse of marble flooring makes the area quite beautiful. They didn’t make any changes to this room, which I was pleased about.

Casino Bar – Just across from the Grand Bar on the port side is the Casino Bar. It is located between the two sections of the casino. There is also a pathway between it and the Grand Bar. The Casino Bar is used to provide drinks for those in the casino and Grand Bar. No changes made at this minimally used bar.

Horizons - At the top of the ship on deck 15, is the largest lounge on the ship. There is a large seating area with great views looking out toward the front and sides of the ship. With there being no area on deck’s five or 6 to look out on the ocean, this is a popular place to sit during the day. The room was used for many activities during the cruise including the captain’s reception for returning Oceania guests. The chairs and carpeting were changed out. I liked the chairs. The carpeting had a more current look, but it almost hurt my eyes to look at it.

There is a nice size dance floor and area for musicians to play, which was used nightly.

There is a small food prep/buffet area at the back of the Horizon. It was used during the afternoon tea activity.

At the back of the lounge on the port side is a sitting area for smokers. It is the only inside area on the ship for smokers. They received the same carpet change as Horizons, but they received some very comfortable chairs. It’s kind of a shame this very comfortable room looking out onto the ocean isn’t available for non-smokers.

Waves Bar – This bar is appropriately named Waves, since it is next to the swimming pool area on deck 12.

Baristas – This coffee bar is in a great location on deck 14 looking out over the swimming pool area. Since there is no extra charge for the various non-alcoholic specialty coffees, it was quite popular. In addition to the high-top seats, there was a seating area with snacks adjoining it. No changes were made to this venue. The new Vista made major changes in this venue making it much larger and with a separate kitchen for snacks during the day.

Other

Riviera Lounge – This is the main theater on the ship for shows and other large events.

I was particularly pleased with seat spacing which provided a lot of leg room. In fact, I didn’t even need to stand up if someone wanted to walk in front of me to another seat in our aisle.

Most of the seats had a very good view of the stage; but those people sitting in the very back of the theater did have somewhat of a problem. Although there was stadium seating, it was a very gradual incline. Then it leveled off at the entrance ramp, with another separate section in the very back. The farther back you sat, the harder it was to see over the other people.

There is a small little table between the seats that can be used to place drinks on. Most people didn’t even realize it was there. But even if they had, they might not have used it because it was extremely difficult to pull up. I did see the waiters would pulling it out at times. But if you walked in with a drink, you might not realize it was even there.

Pool Area – I really liked the pool area on the Riviera. It feels like one that you would find at a nicehotel. The pool itself is very pretty with the large shallow area surrounding it. The two hot tubs are also nice.

There was plenty of seating and it was very comfortable with the plush towels on the lounge chairs and beds.

Sanctuary – In front of the sundeck on the port side of deck 14 is a very nice, shaded area called the Sanctuary. It contains quite a few padded lounge chairs and beds.

Patio - In front of the sundeck on the starboard side of deck 14, just across from the Sanctuary, is another shaded area called the Patio. It used to contain several padded lounge chairs and beds, but most of the seating has been removed and it has been turned into the ping pong area.

Sun Deck – The main part of the sun deck on deck 14 above the pool is for those that didn’t want any shading while sunning themselves.

There were also some partially shaded areas when the sun was right with padded couches and chairs.

Fitness Track - There was a small walking/jogging track that went around the smokestack on deck 15. It was short for a jogging track (10 laps are a mile); but it was an area that didn’t have a lot of traffic to get in the way of those that used it.

Also on deck 15 inside the fitness track was a croquet/bocce ball court and a shuffleboard area.

Casino - When you first walk into the casino, it seems rather small for this size ship.

Then you realize that there is another section on the other side of the Casino Bar with more slot machines. It is still a small casino.

Culinary Center – A very popular activity on the Riviera was the cooking classes in the Culinary Center. During the cruise there were several different classes. There was a cost for each class, $89 on this cruise. Reservations needed to be booked as soon as possible, since the classes filled up quickly. The room is set up very nicely so that each person has their own cooking area.

Cathy went to one of the classes and thoroughly enjoyed it. Below is what was prepared.

Artist Loft – This is the area where various classes and presentations are held to teach you how to paint. They also had to be booked as soon as possible.

Golf Putting Green – At the top of the ship on deck 16, which could not be accessed by elevator, was a very nice putting green. A small driving cage adjoined it.

Paddle Tennis – Next to putting green was a pickleball court. It looked like a lot of fun; plus, it takes up a lot less room than a full-sized tennis court.

Boutiques – The shops on the Riviera are all located in one area on deck 5. They had a nice selection of items, and the shops had an attractive upscale appearance. I wish that there had been more Oceania logo items available for sale.

Atrium – As in the smaller Oceania ships, the grand staircase is the focal point. It is such a lovely area to see as you enter the ship for the first time.

There are seating areas around the atruim as well as on either side

Reception – On one side of the atrium was the reception desk. I was most impressed with the friendly attitude and efficient handling of any questions or issues.

Destination Services – This is where ship excursions are booked. It is staffed with very helpful people to help you pick out the best tour for you.

Upper Hall – From deck 6, the view of the staircase and looking down to deck 5 was also quite nice.

Promenade – There is no promenade deck on the Riviera. Which is really a shame, since there is no area on deck 5 and 6 where you can see ocean other than the Grand Dining Room. But that brings up the question of how one would get to the lifeboats if needed. There actually is a very narrow deck just outside deck 6 that provides access to the lifeboats.

Board Room – I thought it was clever to call the card room the Board Room; although when I saw the name on the deck plan, I thought it was a meeting room rather than for gaming.

Oceania@Sea – The Riviera has a very nice sized internet area with lots of terminals. It was very easy to set up our iPhones and iPads within the comfort of our cabin, without any assistance from their help desk.

Our cruise included free internet for both guests or devices in a cabin at a time. It was recently changed from one. We were glad it was changed, but Oceania should be embarrassed at the terrible internet speed. It is the worst I have experienced on any cruise. By doubling the potential users using their internet, they should have upgraded their network to reflect the quality of the Oceania brand. Those that paid for faster internet still thought it was terrible.

Library – Between the internet café and Baristas is a curved hallway. Along that hallway is the library broken down into separate cozy rooms. With the large bookshelves, fireplaces, paintings and comfortable chairs, each room had the feel of a library in a stately manor.

Concierge – The concierge desk is in the atrium. We had no need for these services on the cruise.

Concierge Lounge – Passengers staying in Concierge Class cabins have access to the Concierge Lounge on deck 9 where most of the Concierge Class cabins are located. In addition to a large screen TV, they also have their own coffee machine along with snacks. I was able to get photos using my key card in 2021, but not this time, so I don't know if it changed

Executive Lounge - Passengers staying in suites have access to the Executive Lounge on deck 11 where most of the suites are located. It has a large screen TV, as well as their own coffee machine and snacks. Although we were in a suite, we only used the lounge one morning to get some coffee. With it being at the front of the ship with us at the back, it wasn’t that handy to us. They did change out some of the seating to make it look a bit classier.

Oceania Club Ambassador – This area was primarily used as the future cruise booking center. Two knowledgeable and very helpful staff members were available during most of the day. It was quite popular and had people waiting to get information and/or book every time I went by. The agents get very busy near the end of the cruise when guests realize they don’t have much more time to book at the special onboard rates/promotions. We did a future booking using the form that was left in our cabin. It was easy to just drop it off at one of the agents desks.

Canyon Ranch Spa Club – This is a very lovely area of the ship that is dedicated to pampering the passengers and providing various salon type services. It has a definite upscale feel to it. Since people were in some of the treatment rooms, steam rooms, etc., I didn't take thost photos.

There is also a shop in the spa.

Spa Terrace – Just outside the spa is a terrace that is provided for the Concierge Class and suite guests. With us living in south Florida, laying in the sun isn’t a big deal; but I did want to try out thalassotherapy pool. It was enjoyable as expected. I laid out in the sun for a short time, but it was just too hot. It is a shame the spa terrace doesn’t have any shaded area. I would have used it much more if it had.

Just off the spa terrace is the relaxation room with the heated tile loungers.

Fitness Center – The fitness center located next to the spa is available to all. It is well appointed with lots of well-maintained equipment.

Laundry Rooms - There are laundry rooms decks 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. They are stacked washers and dryers that are free to use. A liquid soap is also available at no cost. Quite a nice benefit. A refrigerator with cold water, a very comfortable couch and a TV are provided if you need them while waiting for a load to finish.