Earth and Ocean with weather questions

[kjbacon]

Earth and Ocean looks very interesting to me but I don’t see much here on the boards about it. Please share your thoughts and experiences! When the weather is too cold for outdoor dining, what happens? Is room service an option? Thanks so much.

[MWillow]

If it gets chilly they have heaters that get turned on.  They will also distribute warm blankets.  Room service is always an option but you can’t get E&O food delivered.  You have two options for room service - order from the standard menu (steak, Caesar salad, club sandwich, burger, etc) or from the restaurant menu during dinner hours.  The food at E&O is wonderful, it’s our preferred spot for dinner.

[tjcox9]

We have eaten there in our parkas in Antarctica, also when it's raining. It's also our favorite place and are eager to try the new breakfast options in that area as well.

[hoosier74]

I've been wondering about that for our upcoming cruise in Iceland/Greenland.  I remember we ate outside in Alaska, but it was warmer in the daytime. They've even had the heaters/blankets in the Med in spring and fall.   The breakfast options are great!  

[DTtravelers]

Great minds think alike, tjcox9!  We always ate outside in Antarctica, often at the Earth and Ocean.  Best kep secret on the ship.  We had to get there early as others soon caught on.  The staff was excellent, full of enthusiam and energy and always made the meal enjoyable.  And remember, there is neither hot nor cold - only inappropriate clothing. 

 

One night, I was told that  was going to have the Nigerian Prawns.  I mentioned that I was thinking about something else, and our waiter said that was okay, but he would still bring them anyway.  He was right: they were huge and delicious. 

 

Another night, we sailed around a huge tabular iceberg.  We all just got up and watched for half an hour, then came back and finished eating.  Those in the restaurant missed out on this amazing sight.  Note that we took these photos from the 9th deck - the face is over 200 feet high.  If you lock in the foreground of the last picture, you will see adele penguins.

[fdnycruiser]

We always enjoyed the freshly prepared food at E&O.  My wife sometimes gets swollen ankles from too much salt in food. However, we ate at E&O a few days in a row, and the swelling went down.  

[kjbacon]

Wow! Thank you all for these exciting comments and gorgeous pictures. Looks like my hunch was right and that this is going to be our favorite dining venu. Breakfast sounds great too. We don’t usually like to be cold but the thought of bundling up and dining by an outdoor heater in Greenland is very enticing!

[notjaded]

We love E&O, and during our recent 14-day Alaska cruise, dined there many times. It was so cold on some days, I wore six layers of clothes. Adapt and Improvise!

[SLSD]

We also love Earth and Ocean, but on our cruise from Kobe to Vancouver, we sometimes found it TOO cold, even though we had on layers, our parka and were under a heater.  We could only last two courses.  That being said, we LOVE the food and heartily recommend Earth and Ocean.  

[kjbacon]

My feeling is that it’s going to be our favorite dinner spot too. If it’s too cold when we are in Iceland and Greenland, we will go there more often before and after those ports! 
 

Somehow, I feel like I read that the menu is on a one week rotation. How does that work? Is it like every Monday features the same menu?

[Mahogany]

6 hours ago, kjbacon said:

My feeling is that it’s going to be our favorite dinner spot too. If it’s too cold when we are in Iceland and Greenland, we will go there more often before and after those ports! 
 

Somehow, I feel like I read that the menu is on a one week rotation. How does that work? Is it like every Monday features the same menu?

As I recall, there are 3 sections, the last being dessert (one is always baked camembert), The other two sections are a hot and a cold with 3 selections each; you can select as many courses as you wish from the 8-9 choices, some light like a salad, some heavy like a lamb shank.

But, yes, the menu does repeat, not sure if it's exactly weekly. But the menu will be published in the Herald:  printed, online, and on TV.

One of my favorite venues; only negative, no reservations, so it can be a wait for a table.

[lincslady]

Luckily the OP  likes to to eat early, so if they arrive before opening time they should be fine.

[tv24]

Earth and Ocean is our favorite as well.  And we too ate outside on our Antarctica journey, wrapped in parkas and blankies.  Very popular so we learned to come a little late.  The menu does repeat, so on a long cruise, you will not want to go there each night.  We also liked the informal atmosphere.

[Mauzac]

Earth & Ocean is a favourite of ours.  We've sat outside in glorious weather most of the time, but also in cold weather with (supplied) blankets.  We love the menus and the attention to detail.  It's also easier to get to know the SB staff there, they just always seem so happy to see us!

 

I remember one night when they had served us a meal and my husband felt not himself and needed to lie down (no, not the drink nor covid, just a very long day with an excursion!) and they could not have been more nice as we left our main meal and went back to our suite.  

 

It's a favourite of ours. 

[rkacruiser]

Wrapped in blankets is not what I consider to be conducive to an enjoyable dining experience.  Unique?  Yes.  Scenic?  Probably.  But, something that is no where close to "fine dining" ought to be in my opinion

[SLSD]

17 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

Wrapped in blankets is not what I consider to be conducive to an enjoyable dining experience.  Unique?  Yes.  Scenic?  Probably.  But, something that is no where close to "fine dining" ought to be in my opinion

  I hear you.  We did not find dining wrapped in blankets to be comfortable.  The food was great---but it was too cold.  Of course this varies by itinerary!  

 

[Catlover54]

6 hours ago, tv24 said:

Earth and Ocean is our favorite as well.  And we too ate outside on our Antarctica journey, wrapped in parkas and blankies.  Very popular so we learned to come a little late.  The menu does repeat, so on a long cruise, you will not want to go there each night.  We also liked the informal atmosphere.

 

We tried the "come a little late" approach a few times pre-Covid, when on full ships, coming 5-10 minutes early already showed all tables occupied.

Unfortunately many people who came early liked to sit and chat chat chat in the pleasant venue long after they had eaten their last morsels, oblivious to wait lists, thus blocking others from dining.  Also, with long waits, twice,  the staff "forgot" we were waiting and seated other parties who came after us  instead (maybe this is where on-board intra-cruise tipping helps some pax get 'what they want and when they want it').

 

In a ship that is not full, e.g., post Covid, or in inclement weather, luck to get a table may be better, we will see. We love the small and creative plates, when we can get them. 

[Mauzac]

5 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Wrapped in blankets is not what I consider to be conducive to an enjoyable dining experience.  Unique?  Yes.  Scenic?  Probably.  But, something that is no where close to "fine dining" ought to be in my opinion

 

Coming from the UK, we are used to being outside when the weather is not warm and sunny, we've barbecued under umbrellas here!  It's just a blanket across the knees, and a heater above us, whilst looking out over a blue sea and eating delicious food, SB can't help the weather!  

[kjbacon]

Yes, we do prefer dinner before 7pm so we will go early. We should have a variety of weather, given our itinerary so we will go when the weather is not terribly cold. I think it’s going to be our favorite spot for dinner too. How far in advance can you see the menus?

[Tallante]

On 6/30/2022 at 1:40 PM, MWillow said:

If it gets chilly they have heaters that get turned on.  They will also distribute warm blankets.  Room service is always an option but you can’t get E&O food delivered.  You have two options for room service - order from the standard menu (steak, Caesar salad, club sandwich, burger, etc) or from the restaurant menu during dinner hours.  The food at E&O is wonderful, it’s our preferred spot for dinner.

 

7 hours ago, kjbacon said:

Yes, we do prefer dinner before 7pm so we will go early. We should have a variety of weather, given our itinerary so we will go when the weather is not terribly cold. I think it’s going to be our favorite spot for dinner too. How far in advance can you see the menus?

We have had food delivered from Earth and Ocean, Sushi, Thomas Keller and MDR on the Encore.  Course by course as well!