Oceania Cruises Rolls Out New Lunch Experience to Fleet

My favorite in the dining room for lunch is taste of the world..so much fun to have a little taste of a lot of different foods some new some old..my favorite is the Greek plate....

Jancruz1

I'm confused by the part of the article below that I bolded:

"Offered every day in the Grand Dining Room, The Bistro evokes a French-style bistro with a lunch menu designed by Pepin, the line's culinary director. The menu is broken up into five appetizers, four soups and salads, and eleven entrees -- with options that include salade Nicoise and croque monsieur. French wine and desserts will also be available -- as will the dining room's regular lunch menu."

Is The Bistro in addition to the regular lunch menu, so that at every lunch at the GDR one can now choose the following food:

1. The Bistro menu
   
2. Regular lunch menu
   
3. 14 Taste of the World selections
   

It is weird that talk of the regular lunch menu comes as the final part of a sentence that talks about French wines and desserts, which could be interpreted as it's a bistro and taste of the world menu with wines and desserts from the regular menu.

So I went to this page https://www.oceaniacruises.com/experience/dining/grand-dining-room/ and looked at this sample menu: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Documents/Menus/81604382386/Grand-Dining-Lunch-Menu.pdf/ and it looks like the choices are:

1. The Bistro menu
   
2. The Taste of the World selection of the day (the CC article suggests that diners have a choice of one of the 14 cuisines when in fact, as per usual (and reasonable), only one cuisine is showcased and available that day).
   

Not sure where the "regular lunch menu" fits in?

We loved the Bistro menu on Sirena. The menu choices were extensive and nicely done. The GDR was not open on most port days for lunch. Not sure if this will change with the new rollout.

The regular Terrace lunch entrees were offered as well. I think this is the “regular lunch menu”.

Oceania dining options are so extensive compared to their newest competitor Viking Ocean. We just got off Viking Sea. We liked it but they offer far fewer food options. Smaller dinner menus in their Restaurant which is never open for lunch on port days.

You

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Imo it is a huge disappointment. They tried to bring Jacques to all the ships. We spent 34 nights on sirena and ate in the gdr bistro for lunch once. Menu is boring and uninspired. It is not a substitute for Jacques.

We are not alone in our opinion. The entire restaurant redo on sirena is a step down.

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Sorry, post # 6 in error . Please excuse .

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Do the regular passenger have to pay extra for the new lunch option? If not, is there limit to the number of visit?

I just got off of the Riviera 3 days ago and despite the article saying the Bistro was available, not!

Do the regular passenger have to pay extra for the new lunch option? If not, is there limit to the number of visit?

No extra charge for this or any of the Specialty restaurants.

I just got off of the Riviera 3 days ago and despite the article saying the Bistro was available, not!

Read this first line;

"A new lunch experience featuring dishes from celebrity chef Jacques Pepin will be rolled out to Oceania's fleet by March 2018"

It's not really March yet.

Hi!

We also just got off Riviera this week and did eat items from the Bistro menu in the GDR. The items include Croque Monsieur, Salmon dish, a triple decker sandwich, mushroom soup, etc. On one side of the menu was the Bistro menu and on the other side, the regular lunch entrees were listed. The Bistro menu changes every 5 days.

Rhea

Hi!

 

We also just got off Riviera this week and did eat items from the Bistro menu in the GDR. The items include Croque Monsieur, Salmon dish, a triple decker sandwich, mushroom soup, etc. On one side of the menu was the Bistro menu and on the other side, the regular lunch entrees were listed. The Bistro menu changes every 5 days.

 

Rhea

That is different from sirena

On sirena there is no regular lunch menu and the options do not change although there are daily specials

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Do the regular passenger have to pay extra for the new lunch option? If not, is there limit to the number of visit?

Of course not. It's Oceania. Eat there or in any of the dining venues as often as you like at no extra charge. Specialty restaurants do require onboard reservations beyond what your cabin category allowed pre-cruise. If you're flexible with time and sharing, you can eat dinner in a specialty restaurant most evenings.

Only the occasional LaReserve (Wine Spectator) dinners are an optional extra cost.

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That is different from sirena

On sirena there is no regular lunch menu and the options do not change although there are daily specials

That wasn't the case when we were on Sirena in October 2016. There was indeed a regular lunch menu in the GDR and options DO change, although not all do. There have always been some items that change daily --such as the "taste of the world" options that Jan likes so much. (We do, too, because the platter is large enough to feed two people. We just don't always order it!)

Are you thinking of the GDR when you say there is no regular lunch menu?

Back in 2016 the Bistro options were more limited although they were there. It sounds like these options are being increased as of March.

Mura

Currently on the Nautica. It’s not March and the new menu is not yet available. The GDR has not been open, for lunch, on all port days thus far. Currents has always listed them as closed those days, which is fine with us because we have been enjoying wonderful local Vietnamese cuisine made of fresh produce while ashore at lunchtime. Can’t imagine anyone going back to the ship to eat anything aboard and passing up the great local authentic cuisine found ashore, but I also realize the draw for some of the hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza slices, and Americanized buffet food of the Day at the Terrace for many cruisers.

For those of we travelers, on primarily port extensive cruises, this isn’t a big deal. On my Marina 10 day cruise, in November, we had 1 sea day where the GDR was opened for lunch during the cruise. Currently on a 15 day cruise, with three sea days total where the GDR will be open for lunch. This is more marketing hype than delivery IMO, or a pitch to get people to sign up for TA or TP cruises with lots of sea days.

That wasn't the case when we were on Sirena in October 2016. There was indeed a regular lunch menu in the GDR and options DO change, although not all do. There have always been some items that change daily --such as the "taste of the world" options that Jan likes so much. (We do, too, because the platter is large enough to feed two people. We just don't always order it!)

 

 

 

Are you thinking of the GDR when you say there is no regular lunch menu?

 

 

 

Back in 2016 the Bistro options were more limited although they were there. It sounds like these options are being increased as of March.

 

 

 

Mura

Yes. March 2017

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Interesting!

Mura

Currently on the Nautica. It’s not March and the new menu is not yet available. The GDR has not been open, for lunch, on all port days thus far. Currents has always listed them as closed those days, which is fine with us because we have been enjoying wonderful local Vietnamese cuisine made of fresh produce while ashore at lunchtime. Can’t imagine anyone going back to the ship to eat anything aboard and passing up the great local authentic cuisine found ashore, but I also realize the draw for some of the hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza slices, and Americanized buffet food of the Day at the Terrace for many cruisers.

 

For those of we travelers, on primarily port extensive cruises, this isn’t a big deal. On my Marina 10 day cruise, in November, we had 1 sea day where the GDR was opened for lunch during the cruise. Currently on a 15 day cruise, with three sea days total where the GDR will be open for lunch. This is more marketing hype than delivery IMO, or a pitch to get people to sign up for TA or TP cruises with lots of sea days.

You sure like to ride that hobby horse. How about you take your vacations the way you want and let others take theirs the way they prefer.

We do a mixture of both on port days, many times eating off the ship, and many times on.

We were on Sirena three weeks ago and GDR had only the regular Jaques Bistro menu at lunch, plus a couple of specials.

Imo it is a huge disappointment. They tried to bring Jacques to all the ships. We spent 34 nights on sirena and ate in the gdr bistro for lunch once. Menu is boring and uninspired. It is not a substitute for Jacques.

 

We are not alone in our opinion. The entire restaurant redo on sirena is a step down.

 

 

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You are definitely not alone :D

Once was enough for us even though the “real” Jacques is our favorite of all restaurants.

You sure like to ride that hobby horse. How about you take your vacations the way you want and let others take theirs the way they prefer.

.

How unkind of you.

You are being given priceless advice on what you should do on your vacation and you want to ignore it? :D :D

ORV;

People can enjoy any cruise as they feel like it. We are now on Day 8 of our cruise, with one sea day thus far, and meet a couple last night at Happy Hour that hadn’t yet left the ship. Their cruise and that’s fine, but it doesn’t change the facts. The GDR has only been opened for lunch one day thus far and won’t be for another three days until the next sea day. This new menu change is not a big deal on the vast majority of cruises because the GDR is typically closed at lunch.

For those of us who do what we want on a cruise, Oceania was always a good fit because the GDR was open for lunch every day.....Sad that this has changed. Love that on Crystal there was always an open dinning room for lunch as well as the wonderful Tastes and the buffet for those who like that option.