Newbie Question - What To Eat on Odyssey

[ernieb]

On April 28 we will be sailing out of Miami for 21 days on the Odyssey through the Panama Canal to LA.

I have been reading the menus for the various restaurants from the website and must say that I am underwhelmed. I’m sure (or at least I hope) that what I’m reading is not all that is available mainly because of the excellent reviews the food has gotten here on CC.

Please give us an idea of the types of dishes that are not listed on the generic menus posted on the website.

Also, please tell us which dishes, food items, that in your opinion are not to be missed on the Odyssey. We understand that tastes in food are very subjective, but we are very interested in what food experiences  most folks think should not be missed on Odyssey.

TIA - Ernie

[ciaoYacht]

If you use the Seabourn app it should have the current daily menus for your upcoming cruise ship. I’ve been reading the Ovation ones to get a better idea for my upcoming cruise. They update them every day. 

[jdk-atlga]

11 hours ago, ernieb said:

On April 28 we will be sailing out of Miami for 21 days on the Odyssey through the Panama Canal to LA.

I have been reading the menus for the various restaurants from the website and must say that I am underwhelmed. I’m sure (or at least I hope) that what I’m reading is not all that is available mainly because of the excellent reviews the food has gotten here on CC.

Please give us an idea of the types of dishes that are not listed on the generic menus posted on the website.

Also, please tell us which dishes, food items, that in your opinion are not to be missed on the Odyssey. We understand that tastes in food are very subjective, but we are very interested in what food experiences  most folks think should not be missed on Odyssey.

TIA - Ernie

Hi Ernie - and welcome to Seabourn. Given that there are a relatively small variety (compared to the mainstream/premium cruise lines) and that tastes/expectations vary, what is it that you are looking for? On the SB Odyssey, there are:

> The Restaurant (MDR) for Breakfast, Dinner and sometimes lunch - the menus change daily and is the "elegant dining option." For me, being celiac (gluten free), the menus are clearly defined and have great variety in appetizers, main courses and desserts. I do think that each head chef brings their own attention and changes.

> The Colonnade - Buffet, with occasional themed nights (TK fried chicken is a highlight). It has always been good and lots of variety. Really enjoy breakfast and lunch here

> The Grill by TK - the menu is pretty fixed with meat, chicken, seafood. Traditional American steakhouse approach as some of us remember. The bread (even GF) is great, as is the table-side Caesar's Salad.

> Earth & Ocean at the Patio - dine by the Pool. Generally very creative and great ambience. 

> There's also the Grill by the pool (pizza, hamburger, etc.), "in Suite" and I know (without trying yet - I've got to wait until May) that they have added Breakfast at the Pool Grill. 

 

Ernie: During your 3 weeks, you will likely see 2 rotations of location menu options. Theme nights at the Colonnade are typically great and you do need reservations, as you do for TK Grill. As a thought, you can "ask" for the next day's Dining Guide from the MDR and you can plan where/what you want accordingly.

 

Enjoy your trip and I think that you will find food to your taste.

Best, jdk

[jsiegel]

8 hours ago, ciaoYacht said:

If you use the Seabourn app it should have the current daily menus for your upcoming cruise ship. I’ve been reading the Ovation ones to get a better idea for my upcoming cruise. They update them every day. 

Where in the Seabourn app can you see the daily menus?  Do they show up as the cruise gets closer to sail date?  I'm still a few months out but I don't see anywhere that menus can be found.   We'll be sailing with friends and are trying to decide which night for TK Grill.

 

Thanks,  Jackie

[ciaoYacht]

5 hours ago, jsiegel said:

Where in the Seabourn app can you see the daily menus?  Do they show up as the cruise gets closer to sail date?  I'm still a few months out but I don't see anywhere that menus can be found.   We'll be sailing with friends and are trying to decide which night for TK Grill.

 

Thanks,  Jackie

I am not sailing until end of May but I’ve had access for over a month. On the home screen of the app, if you scroll down to “gourmet dining“ and click on any restaurant, when the restaurant page opens up there are links to view the daily menus. You can also Click “view more” next to gourmet dining to see the full list of restaurants on the ship.

[ciaoYacht]

Here is where you click on the menus…

[jsiegel]

24 minutes ago, ciaoYacht said:

I am not sailing until end of May but I’ve had access for over a month. On the home screen of the app, if you scroll down to “gourmet dining“ and click on any restaurant, when the restaurant page opens up there are links to view the daily menus. You can also Click “view more” next to gourmet dining to see the full list of restaurants on the ship.

 

Thanks.  I don't see Today's menu yet.  Guess I have to wait until it's closer to the cruise date.  I'm not going until the fall.  

[SLSD]

We don't cruise to dine, but rather for the total experience.  That being said, we have enjoyed the food we have been served on Seabourn.  My very favorite meal EVER was slow braised lamb shanks in the Main Dining Room.  I also had a VERY fine rib eye steak in the main dining room one particular evening.  

 

Food is so subjective, but I am a fan of the Napa Burger served around the pool.  Others may not like it--everyone has their own idea about burgers, but being a Texan, I've had a few, and this one was great.  

 

Having no idea what your dining preferences are, I am hesitant to recommend things.  I am a very low key diner who enjoys things like tomato basil soup and grilled salmon--both available every evening in the Main Dining Room.  

 

By the way, I did go just now to the Seabourn website to read the menus they offer as representative of their offerings.  And yes, I've had menus like these on various SB ships and have found lots of choices and a great variety.  Perhaps you can further explain how you are underwhelmed.  What would be your ideal menu--or what were you expecting?  I am a bit puzzled about your expectations.  

Edited March 22, 2022 by SLSD

[LMB01]

I agree food is very subjective and while we love Seabourn overall, the food does leave us wanting.  On our 32 day holiday cruise on Ovation, I actually lost weight!  Not something that generally happens on a cruise.  However, like SLSD, we cruise for the overall experience, not just food.  I am a picky eater and we did habpve supply issues due to Covid.  To give you an example of how different it can be by person, we were sailing with a couple from the UK and the gentleman told me he packs 2 sizes of clothes - a larger size for later in the cruise after indulging in the good food.  It is such a personal preference.

[skybluewaters]

4 hours ago, jsiegel said:

Thanks.  I don't see Today's menu yet.  Guess I have to wait until it's closer to the cruise date.  I'm not going until the fall.  

 

I just downloaded the Seabourn Source app and was able to find today's menus onboard Odyssey.  They were exactly where ciaoYacht pointed out they where on his posts above.  My cruise isn't for six more months. 

Btw, the menus looked VERY good!

[SLSD]

45 minutes ago, LMB01 said:

I agree food is very subjective and while we love Seabourn overall, the food does leave us wanting.  On our 32 day holiday cruise on Ovation, I actually lost weight!  Not something that generally happens on a cruise.  However, like SLSD, we cruise for the overall experience. 

LMBO1,  I am curious.  Could you explain how the food leaves you wanting?  While I am not a picky eater at all, I might welcome healthier, lighter options.  

 

[2SailingNomads]

Lose weight on a Seabourn cruise?  I've been sailing with Seabourn for over 11 years and NEVER came home weighing less. (Instead 3-4 weeks of diet..) Yes food is subjective, and sometimes IMO it is very good, sometimes leaves a lot to be desired in our experience on Seabourn, Crystal, and most any land-based restaurant I have been to multiple times (or one and done in some cases).  

We've had some great experiences on Seabourn and luckily only a couple of pretty bad, to be totally honest - mostly due to crew / kitchen mess ups (and I will say we are friends with the corporate head of F&B knowing him for many years and he was on board that time the delivery was so messed up he was appalled when the couple we were dining with told him the next morning what transpired - he promised to have more than a few words with the appropriate on-board people and knowing Michael I'm sure he did).

 

There have been a few more minor issues and we simply brought them to the applicable manager.  Always taken care of the same day we mentioned it.  Considering we've had close to 400 dinners on Seabourn not a bad record if I can recall 6-8 misses..

[ernieb]

Our last 2 cruises were on Regent Explorer. We were very impressed with the variety of the dining venues. This is of course not available on Odyssey. However, the food gets very high reviews. The dining experience is a very significant factor in our luxury cruise enjoyment. We are interested in how Seabourn overcomes the lack of diverse dining venues to maintain an excellent reputation for their presentations.

I understand the reputa

[ernieb]

I tried to edit the above and was unsuccessful.

I was saying that I understand the reputation of Thomas Keller and the TK Grill. However their menu seems very static. Are there normally  specials that are added.

I understand that there are special TK offerings in the Colonnade and various offerings in Earth & Ocean. We would like to know what others think are items that should not be missed in any of the restaurants. We definitely understand that taste in food is very subjective. I’m looking forward to the caviar but my wife is not.

We are southerners. We enjoy fried seafood, Italian, Asian, French and Cajun dishes.

Thank you for your input.

[2SailingNomads]

Usually a special every night in the TK grill.  Main Restaurant menu varies every night, a set of always available selections and daily creations that usually have 5-6 options per course.  Colonnade offers themed, outside of the Keller-specific nights, dinners.  No set menu in the Colonnade, every night different.  Could be Spanish, Italian, Indian, a Keller night, etc.  E&O has about, at least last time we were on-board, I think 3 menus that repeat.  

[frantic36]

23 minutes ago, 2SailingNomads said:

Usually a special every night in the TK grill.  Main Restaurant menu varies every night, a set of always available selections and daily creations that usually have 5-6 options per course.  Colonnade offers themed, outside of the Keller-specific nights, dinners.  No set menu in the Colonnade, every night different.  Could be Spanish, Italian, Indian, a Keller night, etc.  E&O has about, at least last time we were on-board, I think 3 menus that repeat.  

 

Well said.

 

There is also the option of pre-ordering with 24 hours notice a meal. If they have the ingredients they will make it. 

 

I have participated in meals with French, Indian and Filipino theme. I am not so convinced they can do Chinese, Vietnamese or Thai very well.

[2SailingNomads]

1 hour ago, frantic36 said:

 

Well said.

 

There is also the option of pre-ordering with 24 hours notice a meal. If they have the ingredients they will make it. 

 

I have participated in meals with French, Indian and Filipino theme. I am not so convinced they can do Chinese, Vietnamese or Thai very well.

Agree Frantic, Thai was hit or miss.  Chinese from what I recall looking at the menu was not interesting, do not think we ever went.  Indian market is amazing but wonder why they typically do it the last night... Jus sayin...

[margbem]

I love the sweetbreads! The waiter usually has a quiet word in my ear to make sure I know what they are.

 

And, unlike many, many people, I don’t like the sweet soufflés. They taste far too much of egg for me. 
 

Dover sole is usually very good and we love the foie gras. We usually ask the wine waiter for a glass of sauternes to accompany it. I usually ask for a small dish of vegetables on the side, often broccoli and asparagus.

 

Enjoy the Odyssey!

[margbem]

Vegetables to accompany my main course, not the foie gras!

[twodjs]

We got off Odyssey a week ago. They have a new head chef and we found the creative offerings in the Restaurant consistantly excellent throughout our two weeks. We are both vegetarian and tend toward healthier choices. The Indian Market in the Colonnade is a must do - sooooo goood! TK is not for us. We understand taste is subjective - we found TK's dishes grossly over-salted. The afternoon tea in the Observation Bar with live music is quite nice.

[SLSD]

6 minutes ago, twodjs said:

We got off Odyssey a week ago. They have a new head chef and we found the creative offerings in the Restaurant consistantly excellent throughout our two weeks. We are both vegetarian and tend toward healthier choices. The Indian Market in the Colonnade is a must do - sooooo goood! TK is not for us. We understand taste is subjective - we found TK's dishes grossly over-salted. The afternoon tea in the Observation Bar with live music is quite nice.

I totally agree with you about the over salted food in the TK Grill.  We found it inedible when it was over salted.  I love the idea of eating healthy on a cruise.  Years ago, Silversea had a "Spa Menu Entree" every night in the their main dining room.  I ordered it every night, never felt deprived, and had excellent meals. I would love for Seabourn to have dedicated items as part of healthy offerings.  

[frantic36]

6 hours ago, margbem said:

Vegetables to accompany my main course, not the foie gras!

 

I must agree, as someone who enjoys there green vegetables I find it a good idea to order extra as a side dish to accompany my main meal.

[twodjs]

Our one indulgence is those amazing breadsticks in The Restaurant! Best ever! Bet you can't eat just one 😁

[jdk-atlga]

Regarding the breadsticks, they also have them in Gluten Free form as well as the fantastic GF bread (hard to tell the difference) in TK Grill. In addition, there are GF options at Afternoon Tea, for those inclined or required. 

[LMB01]

On 3/22/2022 at 5:09 PM, SLSD said:

LMBO1,  I am curious.  Could you explain how the food leaves you wanting?  While I am not a picky eater at all, I might welcome healthier, lighter options.  

 

Hi SLSD

 

This reply will probably incur some wrath from the cheerleaders but I am used to that!  You mentioned you like lamb shanks, I don’t eat lamb, or veal, or salmon.  We also don’t care for Indian food so those nights are difficult for us as every venue follows the theme.  We also find most of the salad and vegetable offerings more complex than we enjoy with items, again, we don’t care for (such as beets).
 

I know we could eat in our room but anything other than the standard room service menu is not available until the restaurant opens.  Our last cruise was the Ovation holiday cruise with substantial crew and passengers quarantined.  Room service was not only slow due to the sheer number of folks in quarantine with no other food options, but it was at times inedible.  Also, many things were not available due to shortages of not being able to dock and resupply.  I know a unique situation.   
 

Our first cruise on Seabourn was to Alaska in early June 2019, pre-pandemic.  We still had dining issues.  We prefer to eat early which is not an option unless you do room service.  So, we tried to eat at the TK Grill as many times as we could since it opens the earliest.  However, very limited menu of which I won’t eat about half - that gets old quick.  On a side note, we did enjoy the Grill on the smaller ship more than our recent voyage on the larger ship.  I also lost weight on that cruise too!

 

We did learn to enjoy E&O on the larger ships because of their nightly pasta appetizers.  We learned they can be modified and doubled, making for a reasonable dinner.

 

Obviously, we don’t cruise for the food!  Love Seabourn for everything else.

 

Sorry for the long reply.