Oceania and Regent cuisine

[jjeffjb]

We've cruised many times on Oceania and one time one Regent, but it was many years back, pre NCL.  In your opinion, is the cuisine on Regent a step up from Oceania?

[edgee]

40 minutes ago, jjeffjb said:

We've cruised many times on Oceania and one time one Regent, but it was many years back, pre NCL.  In your opinion, is the cuisine on Regent a step up from Oceania?

In main dining room Regent is superior in food and service. Other than that, Oceania wins. Specialty restaurants... more than slight edge to Oceania. Terrace Cafe in evening is unique to Oceania and very very good. Regent has nothing like it, as in the evening they turn their buffet type area into Sette Mare, a no reservation Italian specialty restaurant where main course is wait staff served but appetizers and desert are buffet style. We think it is mediocre, although many Regent enthusiasts love it. Also, Oceania's Waves grill (burgers and more) is far superior to equivalent area in Regent, both in terms of efficiency of service and menu options.

 

 

 

[Dwtlion]

Within the last few months I've had the opportunity to do a TA  on both Regent and Oceania. In fact my cruise on Regent Splendor was completed just 2 weeks ago. This was my first Regent Cruise after approximately 8 cruises on O (latest in 9/22); and I was anxious to compare the menus and quality of food.

I, as well as numerous other passengers on my Splendor Cruise, had the same observation- they were disappointed with Splendor's food. Many of those commenting were frequent Regent Cruisers and felt that there was a significant deterioration in the food quality on this transatlantic.

Given our current worldwide economics and supply chain issues I'm not sure whether Regent' issues were caused by these or other factors.  But clearly at least on this current Regent Cruise, Oceania's food won hands downs.

[Redtravel]

Before the pandemic, Oceania had fabulous food.  Unfortunately 3 years later, it isn’t as good as we remembered. Just off Marina yesterday. We were disappointed with food in the grand dining room. Portions varied from overwhelming to tiny.  One night I ordered a cod dish.  Cod was good. Portion was size of a quarter.  Another night I got shrimp and pasta.  3 shrimp, not huge and a tiny ball of pasta.  Waiter brought me a side of pasta that was 4 times as large as the pasta entre. The Serrano ham and artichoke appetizer was huge.  Some things were cold that should’ve been hot. We also thought that the menu offerings in the GDR had too many repetitions.  We enjoyed Jacques, Toscana, and Red Ginger. We used to love Polo. Unfortunately our dinner at Polo was terrible.  Service was bad. Meat was tough.  Lost our bottle of wine. We canceled our 2nd Polo reservation.  We know other guests who also canceled too.  Waves and Terrace Grill were excellent.  In fact, after a few nights of not so great food in GDR, we went to Terrace grill. Terrace grill was packed at dinner.  Terrace grill was a good choice.  

[ORV]

2 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Before the pandemic, Oceania had fabulous food.  Unfortunately 3 years later, it isn’t as good as we remembered. Just off Marina yesterday. We were disappointed with food in the grand dining room. Portions varied from overwhelming to tiny.  One night I ordered a cod dish.  Cod was good. Portion was size of a quarter.  Another night I got shrimp and pasta.  3 shrimp, not huge and a tiny ball of pasta.  Waiter brought me a side of pasta that was 4 times as large as the pasta entre. The Serrano ham and artichoke appetizer was huge.  Some things were cold that should’ve been hot. We also thought that the menu offerings in the GDR had too many repetitions.  We enjoyed Jacques, Toscana, and Red Ginger. We used to love Polo. Unfortunately our dinner at Polo was terrible.  Service was bad. Meat was tough.  Lost our bottle of wine. We canceled our 2nd Polo reservation.  We know other guests who also canceled too.  Waves and Terrace Grill were excellent.  In fact, after a few nights of not so great food in GDR, we went to Terrace grill. Terrace grill was packed at dinner.  Terrace grill was a good choice.  

How would you compare that to what you've had on Regent? 

[Redtravel]

4 hours ago, ORV said:

How would you compare that to what you've had on Regent? 

Pre pandemic, food on Regent was good.  Haven’t been on Regent post pandemic. 
I have been on 3 post pandemic cruises on 3 different lines.  Celebrity, Windstar, and Oceania. I had also sailed on all 3 before the pandemic.  Everything is different now. Celebrity food was very good. Had prime rib twice for dinner in MDR. Buffet is crazy. It was better than anything on Oceania. Celebrity menus haven’t changed much. Overall, while we liked the food on Celebrity, we are tired of seeing the same old menus.  Windstar was outstanding. Menus have changed. Some ships added more specialty dining venues. Bbq is still good, but doesn’t have lobster or lamb chops.  Oceania is still good, but used to be better.  Food is subjective.  

[PaulMCO]

On 12/19/2022 at 4:46 PM, Dwtlion said:

Within the last few months I've had the opportunity to do a TA  on both Regent and Oceania. In fact my cruise on Regent Splendor was completed just 2 weeks ago. This was my first Regent Cruise after approximately 8 cruises on O (latest in 9/22); and I was anxious to compare the menus and quality of food.

I, as well as numerous other passengers on my Splendor Cruise, had the same observation- they were disappointed with Splendor's food. Many of those commenting were frequent Regent Cruisers and felt that there was a significant deterioration in the food quality on this transatlantic.

Given our current worldwide economics and supply chain issues I'm not sure whether Regent' issues were caused by these or other factors.  But clearly at least on this current Regent Cruise, Oceania's food won hands downs.

As is everything food is subjective. 
 

we are currently on Marina and recently off the same TA on Splendor.  Regents food was hands down better than Oceania (so far).  Also service and friendliness of staff was better.  
 

Specifics cold food in GDR day 1.  Last night steak was inedible in Polo, I never leave steak.  This time left half. Tasteless and tough.  Prime 7 much better. 
 

Terrace. Pretty much same in day. We like the O terrace in the evening, as opposed to Sette Mari.  Toscana and Sette Mari on

par with food but Atmosphere is better in Toscana.  I did not like the mixed buffet concept. 
 

Red Ginger versus PAC Rim. We like neither.  Asian fusion not our style. Real Japanese, Malay, Thai or Chinese is great.  Really thought Pacific Rim on Regent was horrible.  We have Red Ginger tonight. 
 

Have not done Jacques yet on Marina.  
We liked the food in Chartreuse. 
 

if you want to talk about ships.  Boy Marina looks dated.  Dark cabin halls and the ship needs to go to dry dock sooner than 2024. 
 

 

Edited December 21, 2022 by PaulMCO

[jonthomas]

"

if you want to talk about ships.  Boy Marina looks dated.  Dark cabin halls and the ship needs to go to dry dock sooner than 2024. "

 

agree...but why so many say it looks great...not sure what they are looking at...of course as long as they say it looks great, O will not waste money refitting it....right now the refit looks like years away....guess many said it looks great on their questionnaires....
 

[Sthrngary]

I am new to Oceania and just want to give a perspective.  My experience is on 24 mainstream cruise brands over 43 years and one luxury brand.  We love high quality food, great service, lovely environment and a wonderful presentation.  There was a significant different between the 24 mainstream cruise food and the one luxury brand.  My wife and I were blown away completely.  

 

Two examples were a fabulous mushroom soup in a bread bowl.  My wife loved it so much she had it three times.  For me it was the veal parm which was HUGE and GREAT.  We also loved the Asian  Restaurant that was the least popular on the ship.  Again, the difference in the food, dining experience even in the Main Dining room was so much better than what we were used too.

 

YET, the frequent loyal cruisers complained openly and loudly in the dining rooms so the world could hear their views.  I would look at my wife and we both were totally confused.  We loved the food and felt it was very rude that these folks had to have an audience during a cruise to complain about the food in public. 

 

I fully expect to have the same positive experience my first time on Oceania.  The key is why.  Because of what we have had in the past which for the most part was average to below average.  For Oceania to survive long term, they have to gain as much conquest business from the Mainstream brands as they possibly can.  Folks that never had a real afternoon tea so the first experience will be amazing.  Folks that are not used to personalized service and when they have it, they will clearly see what they were missing.  Folks that are used to a 20 oz Prime Rib that is big, tough and over cooked compared to a perfectly prepared yet a smaller portion with a lovely Sauce. 

 

Realistic Expectations is the key so when all you really know is Mainstream, you have a higher likely hood of being very pleased when you cruise on a Premium-Plus/Luxury segment. Just my two cents ONLY.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[ORV]

47 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

but why so many say it looks great...not sure what they are looking at...

Perhaps they have a different perception than you do. Dark cabin halls have nothing to do with needing refurbished, that is the design of the ship, and has been that way since it was new. Same as the dark wood in Martinis on the R ships, it's a preference, doesn't make it worn out. Is it outdated? Once again, that's a style preference, some people like that, some people prefer all the greige and blacks that's been the rage for the past few years. Some like the sterile white environment or the pastels that RCl has had for 15 or 20 years. All a matter of taste. 

 

On the other hand, worn out carpet with holes and torn curtains is nothing thing altogether. I'm not saying Marina has that, but those would be reasons for updating. 

Edited December 21, 2022 by ORV

[PhD-iva]

Last month I was on Regent Mariner for a 16 day cruise. One year ago I was on Riviera‘s transatlantic cruise of about the same length.
I thought that the Regent Mariner was superior to Oceania Riviera, and I love Oceania.
The food on regent was better, the ship was in great shape, I really liked the decor. Everything was wonderful. Regent hosted a solo gathering every day, sometimes more than 1 meeting in a day.  Oceania also did a great job hosting solo gatherings, but it was on a more limited basis.

There were so many activities to do during the day on Regent Mariner, multiple opportunities for bridge lessons and bridge Play, multiple lecturers on most days. There was no way to do everything on offer. Oceania also did a several good lectures, but it was much more limited. Oceania did a great job with providing opportunities to play bridge and to take instruction (well, the instructor was not v good, many complaints).

Everything was wonderful on Oceania Riviera, but Regent was just better. More opulent, more polished, more on offer. Also a lot more expensive. Oceania remains my preferred cruise line as it fits better into my budget.

[njhorseman]

24 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Also a lot more expensive.

A significant percentage of the higher fares are attributable to Regent being all-inclusive. 

[basenji56]

25 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

A significant percentage of the higher fares are attributable to Regent being all-inclusive. 

Not a great value if you don’t drink. 

[PaulMCO]

2 hours ago, njhorseman said:

A significant percentage of the higher fares are attributable to Regent being all-inclusive. 

Not really -- it is worth $60 pp per day if you use Oceania standards.

You can add the delta cost of $100 pp per day for the included shore excursions

 

Plus for the same size ship 750 passengers versus 1200 for Oceania plus a better crew to passenger ratio.

Better entertainment - by far

Much better enrichment activities.  Our last Regent cruise had excellent guest speakers.  Our current Oceania cruise has two of the MOST BORING speakers.   Why do ex professors seem to be Oceania's choice for enrichment.  If I wanted a history lecture, I would go back to college.

 

We like Oceania (and may book another onboard), but for some itineraries Regent is best and others Oceania may suit our needs (plus that of Seabourn and Silversea).  But for food Regent is better than O in general.

[edgee]

36 minutes ago, PaulMCO said:

Not really -- it is worth $60 pp per day if you use Oceania standards.

You can add the delta cost of $100 pp per day for the included shore excursions

 

Plus for the same size ship 750 passengers versus 1200 for Oceania plus a better crew to passenger ratio.

Better entertainment - by far

Much better enrichment activities.  Our last Regent cruise had excellent guest speakers.  Our current Oceania cruise has two of the MOST BORING speakers.   Why do ex professors seem to be Oceania's choice for enrichment.  If I wanted a history lecture, I would go back to college.

 

We like Oceania (and may book another onboard), but for some itineraries Regent is best and others Oceania may suit our needs (plus that of Seabourn and Silversea).  But for food Regent is better than O in general.

Enrichment quality must depend on the cruise. On our last Regent cruise we had two retired college professors...boring boring boring....

[njhorseman]

32 minutes ago, PaulMCO said:

Not really -- it is worth $60 pp per day if you use Oceania standards.

You can add the delta cost of $100 pp per day for the included shore excursions

Regent also provides business class air for intercontinental flights. O uses coach.

Regent provides a one night pre cruise hotel stay, O does not. 

Regent provides a pre or post cruise land program on some cruises. Oceania does not.

It all adds up. 

 

You may want to dismiss it, but the all inclusive additions are significant.

 

We consume very little alcohol, nor do we want to take the types of shore excursions that  Regent presumably offers at no additional charge. Hence those inclusions are not something we wish to pay for.

 

43 minutes ago, PaulMCO said:

Plus for the same size ship 750 passengers versus 1200 for Oceania plus a better crew to passenger ratio.

Better entertainment - by far

Much better enrichment activities.  Our last Regent cruise had excellent guest speakers.  Our current Oceania cruise has two of the MOST BORING speakers.   Why do ex professors seem to be Oceania's choice for enrichment.  If I wanted a history lecture, I would go back to college.

None of the above are relevant to my statement about the significant monetary value of Regent's all-inclusive structure. I never said that Regent might not be better in the above and other aspects of their product  that may very well contribute to their higher fares.

 

 

[PaulMCO]

13 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Regent also provides business class air for intercontinental flights. O uses coach.

Regent provides a one night pre cruise hotel stay, O does not. 

Regent provides a pre or post cruise land program on some cruises. Oceania does not.

It all adds up. 

 

You may want to dismiss it, but the all inclusive additions are significant.

 

We consume very little alcohol, nor do we want to take the types of shore excursions that  Regent presumably offers at no additional charge. Hence those inclusions are not something we wish to pay for.

 

None of the above are relevant to my statement about the significant monetary value of Regent's all-inclusive structure. I never said that Regent might not be better in the above and other aspects of their product  that may very well contribute to their higher fares.

 

 

Obviously you have not traveled Regent.

 

Included air can be deleted just like Oceania

 

Included pre cruise hotel can be deleted also.  This "free" hotel is only provided for Concierge and greater cabins

 

Not all cruises have a free pre/post land portion.  These can be deleted also should you wish.

 

The inclusive points are the included are the booze and the excursions.

 

We we do O we do cruise only,  We we do Regent it is cruise only unless their allowance for Biz class Air is a value.  Our next RSSC cruise includes biz air to Japan for $4000.  Currently that is a bargain but just like O you can delete same at final payment.

[njhorseman]

4 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

Obviously you have not traveled Regent.

 

Included air can be deleted just like Oceania

 

Included pre cruise hotel can be deleted also.  This "free" hotel is only provided for Concierge and greater cabins

 

Not all cruises have a free pre/post land portion.  These can be deleted also should you wish.

 

The inclusive points are the included are the booze and the excursions.

 

We we do O we do cruise only,  We we do Regent it is cruise only unless their allowance for Biz class Air is a value.  Our next RSSC cruise includes biz air to Japan for $4000.  Currently that is a bargain but just like O you can delete same at final payment.

I fully understand that alcohol and shore excursions are the major inclusions, but it appears you're suggesting that Regent's allowance for business class air is comparable to O's allowance for coach air. I rather doubt that's the case.

 

It doesn't matter that the free hotel isn't available for all cabin categories. For the categories that it is included it's built into the base fare, as the fact that it can be deleted for a credit proves. Obviously a one night hotel stay doesn't have a value that's in the thousands of dollars but it still has a value.

 

I said that the land package is only on some cruises. Again, for cruises where it is included it has  a value that is built into the fare. 

 

Just because you only want to count certain inclusions doesn't negate the fact that other inclusions have monetary value, and I don't need to have cruised on Regent to understand that. 

 

For a number of years I owned a travel agency that sold a fair amount of cruises, so I'm fairly certain I have a decent understanding of how the business works.

[rbtan]

On 12/19/2022 at 4:08 PM, Redtravel said:

Before the pandemic, Oceania had fabulous food.  Unfortunately 3 years later, it isn’t as good as we remembered. Just off Marina yesterday. We were disappointed with food in the grand dining room. Portions varied from overwhelming to tiny.  One night I ordered a cod dish.  Cod was good. Portion was size of a quarter.  Another night I got shrimp and pasta.  3 shrimp, not huge and a tiny ball of pasta.  Waiter brought me a side of pasta that was 4 times as large as the pasta entre. The Serrano ham and artichoke appetizer was huge.  Some things were cold that should’ve been hot. We also thought that the menu offerings in the GDR had too many repetitions.  We enjoyed Jacques, Toscana, and Red Ginger. We used to love Polo. Unfortunately our dinner at Polo was terrible.  Service was bad. Meat was tough.  Lost our bottle of wine. We canceled our 2nd Polo reservation.  We know other guests who also canceled too.  Waves and Terrace Grill were excellent.  In fact, after a few nights of not so great food in GDR, we went to Terrace grill. Terrace grill was packed at dinner.  Terrace grill was a good choice.  

I'm SURE your Cod portion was not quarter sized. We did 14 days last Jan. The food was excellent overall. The afternoon tea was cut back in choice. This was to be expected as the Riviera was half full. Food overall in the GDR was fine. One night I didn't care for the offerings so I had Jacques "favorite" Salmon. Among the best Salmon dishes I've ever had. I ordered the Rotisserie Chix. in Jacques. This was less quality than a Costco roast  chix. That was the only rather unsatisfactory dish on the whole cruise. Terrace Grill for the "International" cuisine nights is a good choice.Polo is our least favorite rest. That's not to say it's not good. Not at all. Toscana just does everything better. If you like Dover Sole(Keith's fav,)Toscana does it best. In Jacques, we recommend the Foie Gras followed by the Seabass in puff pastry for 2. Just exquisite.

[LGW59]

1 hour ago, rbtan said:

I'm SURE your Cod portion was not quarter sized. We did 14 days last Jan. The food was excellent overall. The afternoon tea was cut back in choice. This was to be expected as the Riviera was half full. Food overall in the GDR was fine. One night I didn't care for the offerings so I had Jacques "favorite" Salmon. Among the best Salmon dishes I've ever had. I ordered the Rotisserie Chix. in Jacques. This was less quality than a Costco roast  chix. That was the only rather unsatisfactory dish on the whole cruise. Terrace Grill for the "International" cuisine nights is a good choice.Polo is our least favorite rest. That's not to say it's not good. Not at all. Toscana just does everything better. If you like Dover Sole(Keith's fav,)Toscana does it best. In Jacques, we recommend the Foie Gras followed by the Seabass in puff pastry for 2. Just exquisite.

The quarter size cod caught my attention too, hard to take a review seriously when there is very clear exageration, negates the entire thing for me.  Still looking forward to our first O cruise in May 2023! 

[pinotlover]

A note on the “ international “ nights in the Terrace. Sometimes they are good, others very Americanized and not international at all.

 

Additionally, they are unannounced until the day off. Therefore, if one has a Specialty reservation or La Reserve, they miss it altogether. One can be on a cruise and never see the “ international “ night.

[basenji56]

1 hour ago, LGW59 said:

The quarter size cod caught my attention too, hard to take a review seriously when there is very clear exageration, negates the entire thing for me.  Still looking forward to our first O cruise in May 2023! 

If they gave a quarter sized piece of anything, I would have asked for ten more of them!  Maybe 20.

[rbtan]

35 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

If they gave a quarter sized piece of anything, I would have asked for ten more of them!  Maybe 20.

LOL!

[rbtan]

On 12/21/2022 at 4:32 PM, PhD-iva said:

Last month I was on Regent Mariner for a 16 day cruise. One year ago I was on Riviera‘s transatlantic cruise of about the same length.
I thought that the Regent Mariner was superior to Oceania Riviera, and I love Oceania.
The food on regent was better, the ship was in great shape, I really liked the decor. Everything was wonderful. Regent hosted a solo gathering every day, sometimes more than 1 meeting in a day.  Oceania also did a great job hosting solo gatherings, but it was on a more limited basis.

There were so many activities to do during the day on Regent Mariner, multiple opportunities for bridge lessons and bridge Play, multiple lecturers on most days. There was no way to do everything on offer. Oceania also did a several good lectures, but it was much more limited. Oceania did a great job with providing opportunities to play bridge and to take instruction (well, the instructor was not v good, many complaints).

Everything was wonderful on Oceania Riviera, but Regent was just better. More opulent, more polished, more on offer. Also a lot more expensive. Oceania remains my preferred cruise line as it fits better into my budget.

You answered your own opinion. "A lot more expensive". The standard adage: You get more when you pay more. Oceania spends more on food per person than any other line. With the pandemic, there are still hiccups along the way to standards before Covid.

[ak1004]

Every time I checked the prices on Regent, it was SIGNIFICANLY more expensive than Oceania even when you account for all inclusions. When I say SIGNIFICANLY, I mean at least 30-50%.

 

I would be happy to be proven wrong, as we really want to try Regent, but their typical 10 European cruise is around $13-14k CAD. We do fly business, but even when adding the flight cost to Oceania, the price is still below $10k CAD.