Oceania Riviera in Japan – Discovering a Premium Experience: Part Five (Getting On, The Penthouse Suite Plus Nagoya, Kochi, Kagoshima, Cooking Class & La Reserve!)

After my interesting, delicious, and fun time in Tokyo, Japan I boarded Oceania Riviera for an eleven-day journey around southern Japan.

I set things up to have as close to a luxury experience on an Oceania cruise as possible. I paid for an upgrade to a Penthouse suite, paid for the Premium Beverage Package ($896), paid for the Premium Internet Package ($199), paid for a Cooking Class ($99), and paid for an evening in La Reserve by Wine Spector for the best dining experience on the ship ($180).

My Penthouse suite is comfortable and has all the amenities one wants; save virtually no internet connectivity (which I previously discussed). There is plenty of storage. The sofa is small, more akin to a loveseat, but is comfortable as well as an ottoman for additional seating.

Having a dining table is nice, but because the Penthouse suite isn’t huge, it is tucked into a corner with two smaller chairs. There is a long marble counter and vanity area that doubles as a workspace, but the chair shows its age and is too low to work from, so I swapped one of the dining chairs.

The bathroom is spacious, with tons of storage, but there is only one sink and not a lot of counter space. One quirk is that there is no outlet for the supplied hair dryer, so you have to work around the “office” – for those of us who work onboard. A niggle is that the water pressure from the rainfall showerhead in the large shower isn’t great, but gets the job done.

The balcony is large and has two very comfortable all-weather wicker chairs with cushions. One interesting design note: there is a sliding door out to the balcony, but rather than an all-glass view, there is a window by the sofa.

There is a lounge with keycard access for Penthouse guests that has a concierge on a limited basis and offers newspapers, coffees, and snacks throughout the day.

The main dining venues include the Grand Dining Room, Terrace Café (buffet), and Waves Grill (al fresco casual dining and pizzeria at night).

Reservation-required, but at no additional cost, dining venues include Jacques (French), Red Ginger (pan-Asian), Polo Grill (steakhouse), and Toscana (Italian). You are limited to one reservation in each, but walk-ins if there are last-minute cancelations or no-shows are possible. 

The final dining venue is La Reserve by Wine Spector which requires a $180 per person charge for the claimed finest dining experience on Oceania Riviera…and “at Sea”. I will be dining at each of them.

Settling in, dinner the first night was at the Grand Dining Room. I like the décor, but the space is huge…at least for me. Tables are overall well-spaced.  While I have the Premium Beverage Package, the included wines are limited. There is a solid wine list, which includes a Bin End Wine List. I took advantage of it, selecting a 2020 Louis Jadot Chassagne-Montrachet for $102; essentially a decent retail price. (With the Premium Beverage Package there is a 15% discount, but all bottles have a 20% gratuity added. So, Oceania can give it and take it away.) Service was excellent from both the waitstaff and the sommelier.  Unfortunately, the food didn’t really hit the same standard. Not bad, just not memorable.

Our first morning was in Nagoya, Japan. I wanted to try out some of Oceania’s tours, but that proved incredibly frustrating as almost every tour was booked well in advance of the cruise. I was able to book a Panorama of Nagoya tour for $99. I figured it was short (4 hours), and would give me an overview and time to head back into town on my own afterward. It was horrible.

The tour time of 9:30 a.m. wound up being the time to meet the Riviera Lounge; not the start of the tour. We didn’t depart until close to 10:30 a.m. The bus was fine and not crowded, but the guide could hardly speak English and we were provided with no background on the three sites we were visiting.

Shiratori Garden was pretty, but why was it there? Is it historical in any way? What did it represent? Same questions regarding Nakamura Park and the Shinto Shrine located there.

The last stop was Nagoya Castle, but the castle was under construction and the only real thing to visit was a reconstructed building with Japanese furniture. As we walked in, I saw about 25 food stalls, and I made the executive decision to ditch the tour and eat! (I did have enough time for a quick walk by the castle afterward).

Because of the late start, we didn’t get back to the ship until about 2:30 p.m. and back onboard to the suite by 2:45 p.m. to find that all of the dining venues were closed other than Waves (the al fresco grill), which was closing at 3:00 p.m. Not good, but fortunately I had a great lunch at the Nagoya Castle!

Dinner was at Polo Grill. The space is beautiful, and the service was excellent. Unfortunately, each course was disappointing.

Next up was Kochi, Japan.  Because I couldn’t book an Oceania tour, I tried to book a couple of different ones through Viator. I mean I want to review everything a client of mine might want to try.  It was beyond frustrating and eventually I just canceled the everchanging tour and guide. I think it was more related to Kochi than Viator, as usually there is great success if one is careful booking tours with Viator.

Instead, I just headed out to wander the area including the market area and the famous Harimaya Bridge. I grabbed a taxi and was off. During the about 30-minute drive, I had a great conversation with the most charming elderly taxi driver using his translating app.  I’ll remember him; and it just goes to show: Ya never who you will meet or what will touch you when you travel.

Wandering around, I was waved over by a local tourist board representative. I had a nice chat with this out-of-place red-headed Irishman who now lives in Kochi. Asking him what was worth seeing, other than the food court and Kochi Castle, actually had him stumped. He mentioned the bridge and said it was underwhelming and not particularly important, but that there was an Irish pub just down the street and he had a wild St. Patrick’s Day there. OK?

And with that, I stopped at a Mister Donut and admired one of the better faux dishes that are ubiquitous in Japan.

Not discouraged, but rather encouraged by curiosity, I eventually came to the bridge and a beautiful little park that included it. If you get a chance, it is worth seeing and spending some time enjoying the peaceful water features.

And then it was time to eat! Now the question was which of the dozens of shops should I pick. Yes, that one! Tuna, fried river shrimp, garlic beef soup, fried eel, and fried chicken along with a small bottle of dry sake and a beer.

It was then time to actually visit a castle: Kochi Castle. It was a lovely wander up to, in, and around the castle. (Shoes off, socks on, polished floors, and very steep small stairs up four flights gave a bit of a thrill just waiting for someone to lose it! Fortunately, everyone we saw made it safely.)

During my wander around the grounds, I came across an archery class; a sport that is very popular in Japan. Even in Tokyo, you can see folks walking around with their bows and arrows hidden by colorful covers.

Once again, not exactly enthusiastic about eating (dining) again, it was time to experience Jacques. It was a joy watching the service; especially as I had a mirrored wall so I could see what and who was coming.  My foie gras was quite good, but my duck confit with an orange jus was pretty dry (hard for a confit) and the jus wasn’t very good. I did have a nice cheese plate.

It was pouring rain the next morning and, to be honest, there wasn’t much of anything interesting to me in our next port, Kagoshima, Japan. So, what do you do on a rainy day? Head to the mall!  I wasn’t going to buy anything as my kid’s anime demands were already met, but it was dry and ya never know. It was a mall. There was no American-style food court, but rather about a dozen restaurants. I went with the one that served beer…and mixed meat noodle soup.

I had to get back for my Passport to Asia Cooking Class. The very American chef with an international background was energetic and enthusiastic.

There were a couple of very small whispers of wine and three dishes: Tom Kha Gai soup, duck spring roll, and the only real cooking of sorts was Pad Thai.  Overall, it was fun…and I wish I could have stayed and eaten all the Pad Thai I had made, but I had to get ready for dinner.

Interesting, but disappointing, was that with all the places we have been, plus time in Tokyo, only me and one other person had eaten off the ship!

Tonight was the La Reserve by Wine Spector dinner with the Odyssey menu. I was hoping that this is where Oceania Cruises would show me it has “The Finest Cuisine at Sea”.

I arrived at 6:30 p.m. for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres (actually a glass of champagne and one small canape) and was directed to sit at a table outside La Reserve. After a few minutes, a couple sat down next to me and said, “I guess we are your dinner companions tonight.” No introduction by the staff. Not a word. Baffling and a foreteller of things to come. On the upside, the couple was absolutely lovely, we had much in common, including a love for dining at exceptional restaurants ranging from Michelin star to street food.

We were quickly suspicious when we weren’t provided a souvenir menu or even an upscale one. Rather, a reused menu with the wine vintages written in pencil with plenty of erasures. For $180 per person? C’mon, how about just a little effort?!

Before I get to the cuisine, the wine choices were solid. However, the amount of wine poured was embarrassingly small. Other lines that offer similar events make sure you have wine…lots of wine; freely pouring more wine if your glass nears empty. Not on Oceania. The amount poured was always conservative and in one instance I was obviously short-poured because the decanter was empty. I figured the sommelier would return with a fresh decanter, but I was wrong. I had to flag him down and ask why I was short-poured before he corrected it. Really? Again, at $180 per person? Does anyone care?

And then there was the cuisine. From undercooked foie gras, flavorless and mealy lobster that had clearly been defrosted in water for way too long, to Portobello Mushroom Risotto with Black Truffle that has huge chunks of mushrooms and not a truffle shaving in sight. (Black truffle powder only…and I saw the identical risotto without the truffle powder at the Italian lunch buffet), to seriously undercooked veal Wellington, the meal was close to inedible. 

It was clear the idea was to “get the food out and get out of the galley” rather than to “get it right”. (I saw a consistent approach in the Terrace Cafe with two portions of undercooked fresh pasta instantly turned into three portions because the line was getting too long.)

Not one person at my table enjoyed the food; with not a single plate finished. Yet the waitstaff never asked if there was an issue. Clearly, they knew it and didn’t care!

I never expected the evening to be a Michelin star or a similar experience. What I did expect was an engaged staff putting on “The Show” that kept the wine flowing and the food, if not noteworthy, to be elevated and properly prepared.

I am only a few days into this cruise and am hopeful, but not optimistic, that things will turn around on Oceania Riviera. While the ship was to be my primary focus on the cruise, I unfortunately feel like I should only leave my suite to see Japan…and to find a place where I have a bit of internet. 

Next up: My Japanese Journey continues!