Oceans Blue

I haven't read anything recently on NCL's seafood restaurant. Initial reviews were not encouraging, and I thought NCL would reduce the price or offer specials. Most reviewers said it was overpriced. Has anyone dined there recently? Thoughts?

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Ate their on thanksgiving on getaway. Food was ok but way over priced and portions small. We always do I do I do but wanted to try ocean blue. Way not worth the discharge. Would not do it again.

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Typo ultimate dining not I do dumb auto correct

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I think if you would like more comments you might want to repost and have a clearer topic/subject. Just saying.

My DH and I went on both the Breakaway and Getaway. We love the food and atmosphere! The price was raised for some time $49 pp but it has been dropped to $39pp. I think it's worth it and I would go again on our next cruise.

I've eaten at Ocean Blue on Breakaway twice & will probably eat there on Getaway in February. The portion sizes are on par with many upscale land-based restaurants (which are smaller than mass market restaurants both on land and at sea) and we thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and level of service. While we did choose to indulge in an appetizer at the Raw Bar, we definitely didn't go hungry! I found the portion sizes just right. It's a nice splurge, but I'm sure not everyone feels the same.

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Thanks! Sorry if my post was unclear, but you've answered my questions.

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I ate on the getaway and thought it was great It is not that more expensive then Cagneys Ocean blue serves aged prime meat cagneys meat is not graded prime A prime steak alone would set you back $50 dollar in a nyc restaurant the fish was definitely better then fish in other place on the ship . Having been to some trendy upscale trendy restaurants in nyc and seeing some entrees consisting of two mouthfuls the portions size was fine. I felt the food was far superior in ocean blue then Cagneys for value le bistro at $20 is the best value but ocean blue is definitely worth the price.

Service in OB is extraordinary, food (and I've eaten there six times) is delicious (although I always find the roasted broccoli side dish extremely salty) and in my opinion worth experiencing.

Tracy

Service in OB is extraordinary, food (and I've eaten there six times) is delicious (although I always find the roasted broccoli side dish extremely salty) and in my opinion worth experiencing.

 

Tracy

Good to know they are now serving sides. We enjoyed OB, but when we dined there (second sailing on the BA), the portions were ridiculous (entree was a piece of fish as big as two fingers with no accompaniments) and there were no veggies or sides or anything but the small protein on the plate. I don't eat sweets, so asked if I could have a small salad instead of dessert and was told no, asked for a vegetable, was told no.. We are used to small portions and fine dining, but all three of us left very hungry that night, and ended up having to eat a big snack a bit later (and I never eat anything after dinner). I'm also lucky that at home we can get fish caught today to cook at home every day, so nothing on the menu was a reach for us.. Food was delicious, service excellent, but portions/flexibility were a turnoff. Glad to hear they've at least added a veggie side.

Robin

Read this...it will make you hungry!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2114249&highlight=ocean+blue

Ok, now that I've decided to give it a try, what's the best menu item?

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Ok, now that I've decided to give it a try, what's the best menu item?

 

 

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On Breakaway, I loved the Jonah Crab Risotto, but I believe Getaway has a different risotto option.

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I'm on the getaway February 14!

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Good to know they are now serving sides. We enjoyed OB, but when we dined there (second sailing on the BA), the portions were ridiculous (entree was a piece of fish as big as two fingers with no accompaniments) and there were no veggies or sides or anything but the small protein on the plate. I don't eat sweets, so asked if I could have a small salad instead of dessert and was told no, asked for a vegetable, was told no.. We are used to small portions and fine dining, but all three of us left very hungry that night, and ended up having to eat a big snack a bit later (and I never eat anything after dinner). I'm also lucky that at home we can get fish caught today to cook at home every day, so nothing on the menu was a reach for us.. Food was delicious, service excellent, but portions/flexibility were a turnoff. Glad to hear they've at least added a veggie side.

 

Robin

Who told you no you could not have a vegetable? The waiter or the restaurant manager? Because I would have requested a meeting with the manager. Were there any vegetables served in the restaurant at all. Did you notice other diners with a vegetable? Your experience was rather strange, don't you think?

Three times $39 or $49 and you all left very hungry. Maybe you should have requested a refund. At the very least, let the manager know. Or maybe even the hotel director. Strange!

Harvey

Who told you no you could not have a vegetable? The waiter or the restaurant manager? Because I would have requested a meeting with the manager. Were there any vegetables served in the restaurant at all. Did you notice other diners with a vegetable? Your experience was rather strange, don't you think?

 

Three times $39 or $49 and you all left very hungry. Maybe you should have requested a refund. At the very least, let the manager know. Or maybe even the hotel director. Strange!

 

Harvey

The waitress informed us when we asked. At the time we sailed (only the second week that the Breakaway sailed with the then brand new restaurant) we were able to pre-book for I think $35pp, the pricing went up while we were sailing to $49pp. There were no real vegetables served with any meal we ordered (two Black Sea Bass (my favorite!) and one Scallops entree) My entree was a tiny fillet of fish, about the size of two, maybe three fingers, with a sauce and, in fairness, a garnish sized helping of something diced (a couple tablespoons at most? more decorative than anything) and with nothing else on the plate. Seriously. I have pictures of it somewhere. It was delicious, but the size of an appetizer at most fine restaurants (unless it's something rich or decadent). We often do tasting menus at fine restaurants (Guy Savoy is the BEST), and these were basically "tasting" portions. My adult daughter was served two scallops, with a delicious tiny piece of pork belly for her entree, with nothing else on the plate (we buy here right from the scallop boats and these weren't even very large scallops). We were permitted to order one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert each. I had a bread salad for app, maybe a half cup total? At one point we even asked for extra bread (the bread was delicious) and we were given an excuse about that as well, although they did end up bringing a bit more bread with dessert. Since I don't eat dessert, I asked about substitution (I wanted a beet salad :)) and was told no to that as well, so I ended up ordering the cheese plate for my husband. It's very rare that we eat a lot, especially my daughter and I - we have done the Chef's Table and couldn't even taste every course, way too much food - but this was seriously very little food.

It was a very strange experience - not terribly awful, just odd. Delicious food, nice ambience, but I was surprised that they raised the price so high that week considering our meal. There were two men dining in the restaurant next to us, and they were asking for more food as well, nobody else there. We wrote it off as being a new restaurant ironing out the wrinkles. The wait staff seemed apologetic but said there was nothing they could do - that it was all chef's policy or something like that.. We had reservations to dine there again later in the week and cancelled. Our hostess there was also working in the Haven and she apologized upon seeing us later in the week, and we hadn't even complained - I think she just knew. It was just early kinks I suppose, and I'm glad to hear they have added some (larger portions of) vegetables (I don't remember what the extra stuff on my plate was, probably vegetable, but really more garnish than a side). I'd try it again now that they've been up and running a while.

Robin

And reading some of these responses is why I first posed the question. Last year on the Getaway in February, the restaurant was empty every time issued by....sounds like they've both dropped the price and made some improvements. It seems silly it's not part of the UDP....

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And reading some of these responses is why I first posed the question. Last year on the Getaway in February, the restaurant was empty every time issued by....sounds like they've both dropped the price and made some improvements. It seems silly it's not part of the UDP....

 

 

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From what I understand, Geoffrey Zakarian pretty much controls every aspect of OB - menu, portions, price, etc. And I'd assume the exclusion from UDP as well. At least that's what we were told on that sailing, that it was a venture he did much more than lend his name to. Makes sense with the quality of the food I guess. The hostess was definitely NCL staff, but I'm not even sure the kitchen staff was. Either way, go, enjoy! It was a tasty meal! :)

Robin

From what I understand, Geoffrey Zakarian pretty much controls every aspect of OB - menu, portions, price, etc. And I'd assume the exclusion from UDP as well. At least that's what we were told on that sailing, that it was a venture he did much more than lend his name to. Makes sense with the quality of the food I guess. The hostess was definitely NCL staff, but I'm not even sure the kitchen staff was. Either way, go, enjoy! It was a tasty meal! :)

 

Robin

You are correct about Geoffrey's control. On one visit, I entered the restaurant with a glass of wine from Maltings. My waitress promptly brought me a new wine glass and told me that Geoffrey only allows his own barware in the restaurant. On another occasion, I was wearing black slacks and requested a black napkin so as not get that linen fuzz on my slacks. Again, was told that only white napkins were allowed per Geoffrey.

P.S. The other side dish now available is chilled green beans with a light mustard vinaigrette -- delicious.

Tracy

I had the scallops and pork belly and was blown away. I think I also only got 2 or 3 scallops, but they were big and melt in your mouth. The there were two chunks of the pork belly. I loved the grilled broccoli as well - I'm a spice-aphobic, and didn't notice the salt.

I have to say, it was one of the best meals I ever ate.....

I haven't read anything recently on NCL's seafood restaurant. Initial reviews were not encouraging, and I thought NCL would reduce the price or offer specials. Most reviewers said it was overpriced. Has anyone dined there recently? Thoughts?

 

 

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We thought it was worth every cent. It was a fantastic dinner!