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Kitchen/Galley Tours?

corpkid

By corpkid,
in Oceania Cruises

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corpkid

corpkid

Posted
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I'm forever fascinated by the "art" of making cruise ship dining work and the volumes of food, etc.. I'm also a huge foodie. About to embark on Marina shortly (for the 3rd time) and I was wondering if they did any type of "behind the scenes" type tours of the kitchen? I've done this on Azamara and it was awesome - and can't even imagine how Oceania pulls off some of their much better options in large quantity al la minute. And before anyone says "book some culinary classes" - I have SIX booked and two culinary O excursions for our cruise Feb 12 . :) Our first two Marina cruises/O Cruises had only one sea day each so I didn't even bother to read Currents. It was tour-tour-tour! This Australia / NZ cruise is far more laid back with many sea days and was hoping this was an option one of the days. Many thanks.

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YoHoHo

YoHoHo

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No, O does not have this for the general public. It would be interesting to see how they manage their 'to order' cooking.

 

NCL has a behind the scene tour for $90(?) which I thought was a lot for a couple of hours on board 'excursion' but apparently it often sells out. Perhaps now with their NCL affiliation O will reconsider but then with their excursion mark-ups it might be considerably more. Still be popular I'm sure

Edited by YoHoHo
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Mura

Mura

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On our first Renaissance cruise (way back in Oct '99) they offered a ship's tour on the day we boarded. We took the tour, which was not a huge group, and it did include a brief tour through the galley. This was on R2, now Regatta. I think it lasted about 2 hours.

 

But I never saw that tour offered again on Ren, and absolutely never on any of the Oceania ships.

 

It's true that with the merger with NCL, maybe such a thing will be considered for Oceania. Then again, maybe not!

 

Mura

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LHT28 Holiday Sharing Rare

LHT28

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I'm glad that Oceania do not offer Galley tours. I don't think that it's very hygienic.;)

 

+1 I agree

 

The kitchen is operating 24/7 if they had tours they would have to do the scrub down after the tour as well as their regular cleaning

The crew work hard enough as it is

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ricki

ricki

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Crystal offers a galley tour on all of its cruises, prefaced by a short lecture by the Executive Chef. It's truly amazing how efficiently it works.

 

I believe some other cruise lines offer a tour, too.

 

Ricki

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Hambagahle

Hambagahle

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We have had galley tours twice on Regent, associated with a cooking course. Both were fascinating. We visited the storage areas - cold and fresh - and then were taken all around the galley. And the hygiene procedures were described to us. Very impressive. Especially the bit about taking the machines (bread dough making, grinding etc etc) apart, screw by screw and cleaning every piece. Not something I would like to attempt with my Magimix!

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Travelcat2

Travelcat2

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Cannot imagine why talking about a galley tour is a "no no". I wonder if it is another "made up" rule that only Oceania abides by. We asked why there are no espresso makers in the suites on Oceania and was told that it was a fire hazard. This was particularly interesting since Regent has had them in their suites for as long as I can remember (although there are newer ones now).

 

Also do not understand why there would be any hygienic issues. You are taken on a specific route and are not touching the food or the surfaces where they are prepared. In addition to Regent putting galley tours together, American Express offers these tours for their customers that are sailing on Regent.

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ricki

ricki

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Cannot imagine why talking about a galley tour is a "no no". I wonder if it is another "made up" rule that only Oceania abides by. We asked why there are no espresso makers in the suites on Oceania and was told that it was a fire hazard. This was particularly interesting since Regent has had them in their suites for as long as I can remember (although there are newer ones now).

 

Also do not understand why there would be any hygienic issues. You are taken on a specific route and are not touching the food or the surfaces where they are prepared. In addition to Regent putting galley tours together, American Express offers these tours for their customers that are sailing on Regent.

 

The "behind the scenes" tours on Regent for American Express clients were great. Not only was the galley included, but we saw the crew area, carpenter, laundry, etc. Very interesting.

 

I can't understand why it would be forbidden to discuss galley tours on Oceania.

 

Ricki

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Travelcat2

Travelcat2

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Have you ever been in a position where your boss said that you could offer a favor at work to "a few" friends?

 

Certainly - but I think that if galley tours are only done on a "special" basis, the answer to the question should have been "no" rather than leaving it open to speculation. Just my opinion.

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turnip eater

turnip eater

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Posted
.

 

Also do not understand why there would be any hygienic issues. You are taken on a specific route and are not touching the food or the surfaces where they are prepared. In addition to Regent putting galley tours together, American Express offers these tours for their customers that are sailing on Regent.

 

Because some people cannot resist touching items that they should not. Then there's the coughing and sneezing aspect. Yes I know crew can cough and sneeze......but...

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Hambagahle

Hambagahle

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Cannot imagine why talking about a galley tour is a "no no". I wonder if it is another "made up" rule that only Oceania abides by. We asked why there are no espresso makers in the suites on Oceania and was told that it was a fire hazard. This was particularly interesting since Regent has had them in their suites for as long as I can remember (although there are newer ones now).

 

Also do not understand why there would be any hygienic issues. You are taken on a specific route and are not touching the food or the surfaces where they are prepared. In addition to Regent putting galley tours together, American Express offers these tours for their customers that are sailing on Regent.

 

Sorry Jackie but you have a short memory...the Illy Espresso machines were installed in the (higher category) suites on Regent in April 2012. RallyDave and his wife and Ken and I were on the TA that immediately preceded this... and we saw the boxes in the corridors as we disembarked... Before that date there were NO coffee machines on Regent. (And sadly there are still no Nespresso machines but that is another issue!!)

 

Gerry

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Travelcat2

Travelcat2

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Sorry Jackie but you have a short memory...the Illy Espresso machines were installed in the (higher category) suites on Regent in April 2012. RallyDave and his wife and Ken and I were on the TA that immediately preceded this... and we saw the boxes in the corridors as we disembarked... Before that date there were NO coffee machines on Regent. (And sadly there are still no Nespresso machines but that is another issue!!)

 

Gerry

 

Hmmm, I remember when the Illy Espresso machines were installed and I commented that I liked the previous ones more. Just checked with my DH and he said that there definitely were machines in the suites prior to the Illy (but he cannot recall the name). Maybe someone else will chime in on this one. It is certainly possible that both my DH and I are incorrect.

 

In terms of Nespresso machines, I had not even heard of them until I read about them on CC. The brands I see often in stores are Breville, Gaggia and DeLonghi.

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Hambagahle

Hambagahle

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Hmmm, I remember when the Illy Espresso machines were installed and I commented that I liked the previous ones more. Just checked with my DH and he said that there definitely were machines in the suites prior to the Illy (but he cannot recall the name). Maybe someone else will chime in on this one. It is certainly possible that both my DH and I are incorrect.

 

In terms of Nespresso machines, I had not even heard of them until I read about them on CC. The brands I see often in stores are Breville, Gaggia and DeLonghi.

 

Clearly you don't understand/haven't tried ? Nespresso.

 

Nespresso - a subsidiary of Nestlé - makes coffee capsules. At least that is what we call them in Switzerland. I seem to recall an American referring to them as "pods". Various manufacturers are licensed by Nespresso to make the machines to put them in. Mine (naturally bought in Switzerland but that doesn't make a difference) is a König.

 

The end product - the coffee you drink - is quite simply fantastic and always the same. No variation at all. They have a huge range of coffees to choose from. And the nicest thing I can say about Nespresso is that their Customer Service is phenomenal. They are charming, help with everything. If a machine needs repair they send you a replacement via the postman who takes your machine away and brings it back. Recycling - same thing - my new capsules arrive and the postman collects the old ones left in my mailbox. (In a sturdy bag provided by Nespresso.)

 

I happen to play golf with the wife of the CEO of Nestlé and she once told me that it is proving hard for Nespresso to break into the US market because most Americans drink what we call "dishwater" coffee... not really great espresso. Maybe you could do your part to help them!! Try Nespresso and see!!:)

 

But back to the Illy machines. We had a Seven Seas Aft suite on that TA in 2012. And NO coffee machine at all. We saw them outside the suites as we disembarked...

Edited by Hambagahle
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corpkid

corpkid

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We too have a Kitchenaid nespresso machine and love it. They really do make far superior coffee that has an almost "creamy" consistency compared to a Keurig or Tassimo. If you want to try it out in the US almost every Williams Sonoma does demos in their stores. Worth looking into if you are a coffee aficionado. The Linizio Lungo capsules (gold ones) are our favorite - nice and balanced. Sipping a cup right now. :)

 

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/electrics/electrics-nespresso/

 

https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/grands-crus-coffee-range

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