Comparing cruise line dining

[ak1004]

We sailed on the Riviera last September. We haven't sailed on luxury lines like Crystal or Regent, but for us, when comparing Oceania to Celebrity, Princess or HAL, Oceania is in a different league. This applies to dining room and buffet. Selection on Celebrity, Princess and HAL was pretty good, but quality wise, the food was inferior. On our last cruise on Celebrity Reflection, it was the first time when we had most dinners in the buffet - the food in the MDR was just mediocre, and the buffet had much better selection. Oceania was simply outstanding.

[ORV]

Keith, I’m pretty sure celebrity has never had a Moonlight Sonata restaurant. Perhaps you’re thinking of another line?

 

Perhaps that’s the name for the MDR on eclipse. 

Edited August 1, 2019 by ORV

[Guindalf]

Moonlight Sonata IS the MDR on Eclipse.

[Fredalyn]

I always keep in mind, just like restaurants, ships have their specialities, strengths and you may find some disappointments.

A case in point:

My first TA when I was 4 yrs old was NY to Liverpool (and return) on Cunard. A menu item caught my eye- spaghetti. My mom tried to dissuade me by telling me this (at the time) was something they did not prepare well and it wouldn't  be what I was used to. She allowed me to make the mistake- it was barely recognizable and awful. On the other hand, the Children's Tea Party was amazing and this many years later, I still have one of the menus! The birthday party they threw me was also memorable. I am glad I didn't judge my entire experience based on the spaghetti (over cooked mush).

[AtA]

On 7/30/2019 at 3:09 PM, kitty9 said:

Crystal's food used to be good, but since Genting's takeover, I can say I feel their food has declined.  They no longer do the wonderful Grand Gala Buffet (totally outstanding), and their Asian restaurant and sushi bar has really gone downhill.  

They absolutely still do the grand gala buffet on any cruise longer than 10 days. In fact the only cruise I've been on where they didn't do it was my last one, a 7 day Alaskan cruise.

 

Their new Chinese/Asian restaurant I agree is a big miss. However Umi Uma (What used to be Silk), the Japanese restaurant run by Nobu is as good as ever.

[AtA]

Ok my last cruise on O was on Marina and this time we'll be sailing on Serina. Will we be disappointed in the food?

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, AtA said:

Ok my last cruise on O was on Marina and this time we'll be sailing on Serina. Will we be disappointed in the food?

depends on the cooks

SIRENA   & the rest of the ships all have the same  quality of food  but sometimes those in the kitchen can mess it up

 

enjoy

 

[AtA]

19 hours ago, LHT28 said:

depends on the cooks

SIRENA   & the rest of the ships all have the same  quality of food  but sometimes those in the kitchen can mess it up

 

enjoy

 

I'm sure I will enjoy.

[Mura]

21 hours ago, AtA said:

They absolutely still do the grand gala buffet on any cruise longer than 10 days. In fact the only cruise I've been on where they didn't do it was my last one, a 7 day Alaskan cruise.

 

Their new Chinese/Asian restaurant I agree is a big miss. However Umi Uma (What used to be Silk), the Japanese restaurant run by Nobu is as good as ever.

If that's true, it must be a new system.  We've never been on a cruise shorter than 10 days (usually 12-18, sometimes longer) and have only enjoyed that gala buffet on two or three out of 17 cruises.

 

I'm not complaining if they HAVE changed policy!  But we have not experienced it.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Mura said:

If that's true, it must be a new system.  We've never been on a cruise shorter than 10 days (usually 12-18, sometimes longer) and have only enjoyed that gala buffet on two or three out of 17 cruises.

 

I'm not complaining if they HAVE changed policy!  But we have not experienced it.

 

Mura

I think AtA was talking about Crystal

the threads do wander 😁

[Mura]

Ah so!  That COULD explain it!!!  🙂

 

 

[AtA]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I think AtA was talking about Crystal

the threads do wander 😁

Yes I was replying to someone who said they gave up the gala buffet on Crystal. 🙂 And yes, they do wander. LOL (And personally I can do without the ode to gluttony with the gala buffet.)

Edited August 10, 2019 by AtA

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, AtA said:

And personally I can do without the ode to gluttony with the gala buffet.

Is the attendance mandatory and are they force feeding people? 😁

[ORV]

Or perhaps it's just that some people make every thread about Crystal. Good grief. This is the Oceania board. 

[Hawaiidan]

3 hours ago, ORV said:

Or perhaps it's just that some people make every thread about Crystal. Good grief. This is the Oceania board. 

Glad you made that crystal clear....

[victory2020]

On ‎7‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 8:14 AM, Paulchili said:

Do they have lobster tails and jumbo shrimp every night like Oceania does (as well as several other choices at the grill)?

I'll be going on my first Oceana cruise in December......are you telling me they have lobster in the buffet every night??

[LHT28]

13 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

I'll be going on my first Oceana cruise in December......are you telling me they have lobster in the buffet every night??

Yes   just go to the grill area in the Terrace  Cafe

[Hawaiidan]

On 8/8/2019 at 7:58 PM, AtA said:

Ok my last cruise on O was on Marina and this time we'll be sailing on Serina. Will we be disappointed in the food?

Thats  subjective..... However, from my experience    NO.... if you like quality and variety  you will be pleased..  No Jacques  and Toscana and Polo are combined

[Hawaiidan]

4 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Yes   just go to the grill area in the Terrace  Cafe

To add... they have lobster on every menu in ever restaurant, even Waves the pool grill, EVERY DAY

Polo will have whole steamed Maine lobster 

[AtA]

56 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

To add... they have lobster on every menu in ever restaurant, even Waves the pool grill, EVERY DAY

Polo will have whole steamed Maine lobster 

Too bad I have a food sensitivity to shellfish. In fact that was one of my negatives on our last cruise on O. I bit into a teatime egg salad sandwich which the waiter said was egg salad only to discover it was egg salad and shrimp. If I had a true allergy and not just a sensitivity, it could have killed me, but no one on the staff seemed to be the least bit concerned. 

 

Does Serina have Red Ginger on it? That actually was my favorite restaurant on our last O cruise.

[StanandJim]

3 minutes ago, AtA said:

 

Does Serina have Red Ginger on it? That actually was my favorite restaurant on our last O cruise.

The Specialty restaurants on Sirena are  Red Ginger and Tuscan steak, which is supposedly an amalgam of Tuscana and Polo.

 

 

[Hawaiidan]

5 hours ago, StanandJim said:

The Specialty restaurants on Sirena are  Red Ginger and Tuscan steak, which is supposedly an amalgam of Tuscana and Polo.

 

 

Yes...Red ginger  but beware a lot of Asian dishes, even meat  will be made with Oyster  and Fish sauce...  Seafood components figure  into much of all Asian foods... from sauces to ingredients.   You might look up the entrees and dishes and look up recipes. to be safe. 

[ano]

6 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Yes   just go to the grill area in the Terrace  Cafe

On the Reggata it was an option called "Surf and Turf" and it was a sandwich with a piece of steak and a piece of lobster.  It was fine, but I don't think you will confuse this with a lobster diner. Maybe if you ordered 6 of them you could reconstruct the full lobster. 

They sometimes wold have lobster in the buffet, sometimes not. The specialty restaurants always had lobster.

 

I should also add, for us, the Oceania food was just at the right level. Most was pretty special and not what we have at home on a typical day, but also not very over-the-top like it sounds on maybe the very premium lines. I certainly wouldn't compare Oceania food to Royal, Celebrity, Carnival, Norweigian, or Princess, all of which we have been on in the last few years. If anything, Oceania food today compares with food on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean maybe 15 or 20 years ago.  I can tell you, on those lines those days are long gone. 

Edited August 12, 2019 by ano
Addition

[LHT28]

22 minutes ago, ano said:

On the Reggata it was an option called "Surf and Turf" and it was a sandwich with a piece of steak and a piece of lobster.  It was fine, but I don't think you will confuse this with a lobster diner. Maybe if you ordered 6 of them you could reconstruct the full lobster. 

They sometimes wold have lobster in the buffet, sometimes not. The specialty restaurants always had lobster.

 

You are talking about WAVES  sandwich

 

for dinner go to the GRILL at the back of the TERRACE   they have lobster tails every night  plus steak. pork chops & all sort of other things cooked to order

just look for the line up 😉

[Mura]

And lots of people (at Waves) ask for a surf&surf ... or the alternative. It's true that the sandwich is not enormous (the hamburgers are much larger) BUT a little goes a long way for me.  Especially when followed with a smoothie ...

 

Mura