Scenes Seen at Sea on Riviera

Despite several of us coping with colds, we’ve been enjoying a laid-back Caribbean cruise on Oceania’s Riviera, fresh from drydock.

Greg, second from left, enjoyed the Asian cooking class presented by Julia Child’s former long-term executive assistant.

Tom and Ellyn admired the fleet of large yachts nearby when  we anchored off St. Barts.

We watched a late afternoon sky as we sailed away from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

We had the dock at Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, all to ourselves until the largest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas, pulled up alongside us, dwarfing Riviera.

Here they are side by side in a photo taken by another passenger.

It presents quite a contrast to the decrepit vessel dredging off our port balcony.

It was a treat to see our favorite barista, Massimo, again. We’ve sailed with him at least three or four times and savor his double-shot Cappuccinos every morning. What a way to start the day!

And there’s always the food, like this elegantly simple presentation of Carpaccio in Toscana.

As always, despite a few glitches there’s no shortage of excellent cuisine aboard Oceania’s ships.