Oceanview Cafe for Dinner

[joyce&bob]

What kind of food is offered in the Oceanview Cafe for dinner? Types of food etc. Also, is it buffet style? What time is dinner?

[goldencruiser]

There is a sushi bar, pasta bar, salad bar and much more. The sushi bar is actually pretty good.

[cruisestitch]

It is a buffet. Dinner hours will be posted in your daily program. You'll find pasta, pizza, a meat entree, a couple of side dishes, salad, dessert. Not as extensive as the buffet on some cruise lines, but popular with the teenagers and some families on board who don't want to eat in the MDR.

[TravelerThom]

The cafe also offers cooked-to-order stir fry. In addition to a generous assortment of veggies there is chicken, pork and usually shrimp. As spicy or bland as you want it.

 

Thom

[blueboro]

Are there waiters who sit you and wait on you or is it like the buffet at lunch where you serve yourself and sit where you want? We have a 9:30 dinner reservation one evening on the Eclipse and I thought it might be nice to go up and have some sushi early.

[backyardponder]

It's a buffet. You take a tray and wander around finding what you want. You carry your tray to the table you choose. If there is an issue, someone will help you.

 

The staff will clear your table.

[TLCOhio]

All of these posts give you a good idea on the options and availabilities in the Oceanview Cafe for dinner in the evenings. We did this dinner option several times during our Solstice cruise last June. Since our cruise was so "port-intensive", it worked well to have this added, quicker option where we go and make things fit our schedule and needs. As a key tip or "secret", we loved getting our food from this buffet and . . . then going to sit and eat out on the open, back part of the ship overlooking the sea.

 

On some of the evenings, there was a musical performer out there, adding a nice touch for this dinner period. AND, the desserts are very good through this venue. Below are some of my pictures to offer a better idea on the options and variety there. Not all of the stations are open in the evening, but generally it is not that crowded and you have many items from which to pick, including the sushi and pasta/pizza items.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 63,133 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

Here is a sampling of the various buffet options and how things are set-up with the different, independent “stations” in the Oceanview area. It is not like some buffets with one or two long lines. This is one of the fruit bar section. For the more popular food items, they will have two or three places offering those items.:

 

 

At the Oceanview buffet, here are the pizza offerings. Getting the pizza right when it comes out of the oven is usually best and most tasty. In this same area, they also have various pasta options at both lunch and in the evening for dinner. Very good!! They also have sushi and many other options, plus the regular, expected buffet options.:

 

 

 

 

 

From the various buffet options in the Oceanview area, here are two of the “sweet” potentials. First, three of the cakes, etc., dessert options. Second, a carved melon “head" and nearby fruit to put on your plate. No calories in these pictures, only the real thing!:

 

 

 

[helen haywood]

Just keep in mind that the above pictures are from Lunch, not Dinner at the Ocean View. If you want peace and quiet...you'll find it in spades at night there. Very few people.

[TLCOhio]

Just keep in mind that the above pictures are from Lunch, not Dinner at the Ocean View. If you want peace and quiet...you'll find it in spades at night there. Very few people.

 

Some of these pictures were taken at dinner time, including for the sushi that is not offered at lunch. Your key point is 100% correct. Things are not that busy or crowded in the evenings, which can be a nice "plus"!!

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 63,133 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Aunty KK]

We are past the point of formal nights. On several past cruises on different lines we always ate in the Oceanview type venue on formal nights and have always been able to have, with a very few exceptions, what was being served in the MDR.

On our recent Silhouette cruise we went to the Oceanview on the first formal night and were surprised to find very limited offerings, and not very good ones at that. It was later explained to us dinner was always limited in the Oceanview on Celebrity.

 

For our second and third formal nights we tried Qsine, which was fun, and Bistro on 5 which was also very good.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Beach Nut]

It seems it wasn't that long ago that there was no buffet offered at dinnertime on the Celebrity ships, rather a casual sit down service with a set menu (same menu night after night) in a section of the Oceanview Cafe. This was one option - the other being ordering room service -available to those who didn't want to dress up for formal nights to eat in the MDR.

 

Is this now changed so that all Celebrity ships now have a buffet available during the regular dinner hours? Did this change with the advent of the E class ships? What about the Millenium class and the Century class ships or ship? Do they also have a dinner buffet available?

 

I feel a little like Rip Van Winkle on this one. :eek: The price one pays for not reading the boards for several months, I suppose.

 

Thanks for any elucidation anyone can give me on this.

[Lois R]

It seems it wasn't that long ago that there was no buffet offered at dinnertime on the Celebrity ships, rather a casual sit down service with a set menu (same menu night after night) in a section of the Oceanview Cafe. This was one option - the other being ordering room service -available to those who didn't want to dress up for formal nights to eat in the MDR.

 

Is this now changed so that all Celebrity ships now have a buffet available during the regular dinner hours? Did this change with the advent of the E class ships? What about the Millenium class and the Century class ships or ship? Do they also have a dinner buffet available?

 

I feel a little like Rip Van Winkle on this one. :eek: The price one pays for not reading the boards for several months, I suppose.

 

Thanks for any elucidation anyone can give me on this.

 

Hi,:) you mean the S class ships, right?;) E class?

All the ships now offer a buffet for dinner. No, it is not as extensvie

as lunch but there are choices. Sushi, stir fry, pizza, pastas, salads

and there were were regular entree choices too.... well, I should

say there were there when I sailed Millennium last month.

 

There is no longer the "sit down casual dining area" that you are

referring to in your first paragraph. That was eliminated quite a

while ago.

[TLCOhio]

There is no longer the "sit down casual dining area" that you are referring to in your first paragraph. That was eliminated quite a

while ago.

 

There's also the room service option. From the Celebrity website, they note: "Celebrity offers complimentary 24-hour in-stateroom dining. Complimentary Service. Select from zesty soups, fresh salads, gourmet sandwiches, pizzas and desserts on the room-service menu. Should you decide to dine-in during restaurant luncheon and dinner hours, enjoy your selection from the restaurant menu. Simply request the menus of the day from your stateroom attendant."

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 63,133 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Lois R]

There's also the room service option. From the Celebrity website, they note: "Celebrity offers complimentary 24-hour in-stateroom dining. Complimentary Service. Select from zesty soups, fresh salads, gourmet sandwiches, pizzas and desserts on the room-service menu. Should you decide to dine-in during restaurant luncheon and dinner hours, enjoy your selection from the restaurant menu. Simply request the menus of the day from your stateroom attendant."

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 63,133 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

Hi Terry, yes there is room service. I was just replying to

the question of the "Casual Dining Option" that Beach Nut was asking

about. This option was offered for many years and many people

enjoyed it.

[riandei]

We did ovc dinner once on solstice last jan....selections were extremely limited and there were quite a few familys with children

 

The buffet at lunch is much more diverse

[eigig]

We were on the Silhouette in January and ate in the OV cafe three times for dinner.

We ordered room service for breakfast every morning and most times had a burger by the pool, Aqua Cafe fare or small sandwiches from Cafe Bacio (on 5) for lunch.

 

We were in Aqua and assigned to Blu but my husband's feet swelled so much after the first day (no fault of Blu) that we felt more comfortable eating at our leisure in OV.

It was nice there--VERY quiet and mostly staff were dining.

a good option if you are not feeling up to the commotion but not really festive.

We also ordered room service once and it was fine.

 

believe me you will not go hungry :) I have the extra pounds to prove it.

This would not have been my first choice -but given the circumstances it was a viable and enjoyable choice.

Enjoy

[rico]

We were just on the Equinox, and I'm with Aunty KK on this one. We found Oceanview to be quite a disappointment for dinner. Half the serving stations were closed at dinner time. Food was the exact same every night and very limited. Yes, there is sushi, but that's the only thing slightly interesting. One station is the salad bar. One is the pasta/pizza station. One is the stir fry station. One dessert station. And one is hotdogs, hamburgers and tacos. That's about it. Traffic is slow in the OVC for dinner that the pizza was usually dry from sitting under the lamps. Desserts weren't replaced often when they were gone.

 

Stroll through the OVC on the first night of your cruise and take a look. It will be the same every night of your cruise.

[Beach Nut]

Hi,:) you mean the S class ships, right?;) E class?

All the ships now offer a buffet for dinner. No, it is not as extensvie

as lunch but there are choices. Sushi, stir fry, pizza, pastas, salads

and there were were regular entree choices too.... well, I should

say there were there when I sailed Millennium last month.

 

There is no longer the "sit down casual dining area" that you are

referring to in your first paragraph. That was eliminated quite a

while ago.

 

Thanks for the clarification, Lois.

Susan :)

[waggie]

It's a buffet. You take a tray and wander around finding what you want. You carry your tray to the table you choose. If there is an issue, someone will help you.

 

The staff will clear your table.

The Solstice class do not have trays unfortunately - why is that- Celebrity????- but I agree that there is always someone there to help you. We have eaten in the oceanview on several evenings and have always found fish, chicken or pork,grilled to order with baked potatoes or fries available as well as stir fry and all the other things already listed.

There is little atmosphere (but they do turn the lights down!) and few people but sometimes that is just fine if you have had a hectic day ashore and don't fancy changing for dinner!

[twosit]

What kind of food is offered in the Oceanview Cafe for dinner? Types of food etc. Also, is it buffet style? What time is dinner?

On the Equinox last year we were disappointed with the choices available at the Oceanview for dinner.

On the Constellation, last month, they had a really pleasant buffet with cooked to order entrees. It was located at the very back of the ship and we could bring our trays outside to listen to the music while we ate. We didn't find that area until part way through the cruise.

[unixgeek]

On the Equinox last year we were disappointed with the choices available at the Oceanview for dinner.

 

My wife and I had a similar experience on Silhouette in January. Our speculative theory is that with the increase in specialty dining venues on the Solstice class ships, the buffet menu-planners can sandbag it a little, knowing that if you want VARIETY, you can get your food in a number of other places, especially now that specialty restaurants are also Smart-Casual even on formal nights.

 

I'd be curious to hear if the menu continues to vary on Century (where we ate often and enjoyed quite a bit) which we would attribute to its lack of other dining options forcing them to mix it up a bit in the buffet.