Live from the Vista - March 27 (Miami) to May 1 (Trieste)

[curmudgeon98]

On 4/21/2024 at 6:53 AM, Hlitner said:

 

Picking up from our last "live from" post, on Thursday evening we returned to Red Ginger (for the third time).   Like our other dinners in Red Ginger, the food was good, but not outstanding.  We think that this venue tries to offer too many Asian cuisines, and many dishes just seem to be lacking in flavor.  DW ordered the Thai Red Chicken Curry and requested medium heat.  What she got was bland (no heat) and disappointing. My beef dish was good, but nothing special.  Our shared starter (which has various offerings) was good, but almost boring.  We will cancel our final Red Ginger reservation since we prefer the GDR.   

 

Several years ago we did some Oceania cruises on Marina and Riviera.  We felt like food in Red Ginger at that time was very bland as well.  Asking for "3 star" or "4 star" spiciness was a waste of time.  I did get a decent lobster pad thai there once, but I was practically pounding on the table to make the point when ordering it.  And more subtle flavoring just didn't seem to be there.  But tastes vary, and lots of people seem to like Red Ginger, so we just moved on. 

 

When the overall cruise experience is good, I can forgive a specialty restaurant not meeting my expectations.  Oceania is still on our short list for looking at cruises.     

[grmmybtty]

I spoke with chef Mario once during a cruise and asked him why the international foods being served was so bland and lacking in the traditional tastes and spices. He replied that it was in response to meet the majority of the passengers’ preferences and that we can add additional spices to taste. I told him that I cook and I know that many spices need to be added in the cooking process, not afterwards and that I was referring to taste, not level of heat aka spiciness. Perhaps we need to note in our comments for the need for more authentic tasting food, i.e. Indian food that tastes like Indian food, but maybe not as hot/spicy, or Mexican food that doesn’t taste like Taco Bell or Asian food from Panda Express. Just a thought.

[Kay S]

20 minutes ago, grmmybtty said:

I spoke with chef Mario once during a cruise and asked him why the international foods being served was so bland and lacking in the traditional tastes and spices. 

In the Los Angeles area (where you and I live) we are spoiled by the authentic international restaurants so abundant around us.  My favorites are all owned and operated by people who immigrated from their various countries.  I think I have a better chance at "authentic" cusine because of it.  It's not better or worse than mass market cruise food, just different. 

[clo]

3 minutes ago, Kay S said:

In the Los Angeles area (where you and I live) we are spoiled by the authentic international restaurants so abundant around us.  My favorites are all owned and operated by people who immigrated from their various countries.  I think I have a better chance at "authentic" cusine because of it.  It's not better or worse than mass market cruise food, just different. 

You said just what I was thinking. And we come to really like the more intense, authentic flavors. But some others never have the opportunity of upping their game. I've read here rave after rave about Red Ginger so.... 🙂 Also I'm not a huge fan of Asian fusion. Although someone mentioned a great place in SoCal.

[Waltershipman]

51 minutes ago, clo said:

You said just what I was thinking. And we come to really like the more intense, authentic flavors. But some others never have the opportunity of upping their game. I've read here rave after rave about Red Ginger so.... 🙂 Also I'm not a huge fan of Asian fusion. Although someone mentioned a great place in SoCal.

It was me who mentioned Chinois on Main in Santa Monica our favorite for 40 plus years fir Asian fusion 

[clo]

1 minute ago, Waltershipman said:

It was me who mentioned Chinois on Main in Santa Monica our favorite for 40 plus years fir Asian fusion 

We don't make it to SoCal very often but when we do we certainly will go there. Thanks.

[ronrick1943]

1 hour ago, grmmybtty said:

I spoke with chef Mario once during a cruise and asked him why the international foods being served was so bland and lacking in the traditional tastes and spices. He replied that it was in response to meet the majority of the passengers’ preferences and that we can add additional spices to taste. I told him that I cook and I know that many spices need to be added in the cooking process, not afterwards and that I was referring to taste, not level of heat aka spiciness. Perhaps we need to note in our comments for the need for more authentic tasting food, i.e. Indian food that tastes like Indian food, but maybe not as hot/spicy, or Mexican food that doesn’t taste like Taco Bell or Asian food from Panda Express. Just a thought.

Nicely stated, one would think taste should come first.  

[Waltershipman]

8 minutes ago, clo said:

We don't make it to SoCal very often but when we do we certainly will go there. Thanks.

You will be happy thanks

[grmmybtty]

1 hour ago, Waltershipman said:

You will be happy thanks

 

1 hour ago, Waltershipman said:

You will be happy thanks

We’ve been to Chinois both in Venice and Beverly Hills. Both are great.

[Waltershipman]

6 minutes ago, grmmybtty said:

 

We’ve been to Chinois both in Venice and Beverly Hills. Both are great.

ABSOLUTELY 

[pinotlover]

5 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

Nicely stated, one would think taste should come first.  

You underestimate the number of NoNos aboard that demand bland. No salt, no pepper, no garlic, no onions, no peppers , no oregano, no basil, no herbs or green things at all, no spices, NoNo! 

Just go ashore any where in Japan and have the miso soup. Then have it aboard ship. Miso has flavor, why not on the ship? NoNos demand bland. 
 

What great steak house have you been to that prepares your main course with zero seasoning, just a cooked piece of meat? 

[ronrick1943]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

You underestimate the number of NoNos aboard that demand bland. No salt, no pepper, no garlic, no onions, no peppers , no oregano, no basil, no herbs or green things at all, no spices, NoNo! 

Just go ashore any where in Japan and have the miso soup. Then have it aboard ship. Miso has flavor, why not on the ship? NoNos demand bland. 
 

What great steak house have you been to that prepares your main course with zero seasoning, just a cooked piece of meat? 

WOW!  I really didn't think they had that many------Thanks for the heads up on this, those are basics.

[Vallesan]

2 hours ago, pinotlover said:

You underestimate the number of NoNos aboard that demand bland. No salt, no pepper, no garlic, no onions, no peppers , no oregano, no basil, no herbs or green things at all, no spices, NoNo! 

Just go ashore any where in Japan and have the miso soup. Then have it aboard ship. Miso has flavor, why not on the ship? NoNos demand bland. 
 

What great steak house have you been to that prepares your main course with zero seasoning, just a cooked piece of meat? 

Why bother eating if the food contains none of the above!! 
I must admit I do like ‘flavour’ and ‘spice’ but I don’t recall the total lack of these in general on Oceania.

Maybe my choices haven’t been foods that demand a high level of NoNos! I don’t expect the food in Red Ginger to be ‘real Asian’ food nor Jaques to be ‘real French’ fare. But I do expect some seasoning.
I can’t  say that I’ve ever found the food as ‘bland’ as you say but then, a little like ‘recollections’,  ‘tastes may vary’!

Edited April 23 by Vallesan

[tine-tine]

I too cook from scratch and know regional dishes. When I make a recipe I normally use that as a guide and adapt to my preference, never straying far from the authentic flavours of that region/country,. When I go to a restaurant and read the ingredients of a dish I mentally make that dish in my head and know what it should taste like and may replicate same dish at home. On Oceania frequently what we are told the dish is being served bears no relation whatsoever to the suggested offering and lacks any identifiable flavours of the region/country indicated.

 

I rarely eat chunks of meat in steak form preferring a roast and limit the amount of meat I consume preferring a mix of meat/fish/plant based dishes that I call 'wet' food, ie in a sauce/caserole which really need to have some flavour backing the dish and I don't just mean salt!

[Techno123]

Oh dear - this is getting a tad concerning 🥹

my memories of Oceania are of great food and small bathrooms - sounds like they have improved the bathrooms at the cost of the food!
 

I don't tend to add a huge amount of salt (because Mr T adds the same amount to his food whatever😁) but no garlic 😱how will we keep the vampires away.

[Hlitner]

And Good Greetings from Souda,

 

Souda is a bay and port on the island of Crete, where we are docked today.  Souda is about 3-4 miles from the much larger Chania, which is how most cruise lines list this port.  Yesterday we had some drama when the Captain increased our ship to top speed and announced that he was going to dock at Souda, several hours early (this turned out to be about 11pm last night) in order to disembark a medical emergency patient.  

 

This morning, we awoke to a warm day (highs in the 80s F) and very gusty winds (probably in the 30-35 MPH range.  The winds are trying to push the Vista away from its pier and this has caused issues.  We are tied-up with double lines and O is using two large tugboats (one forward and the other aft) to hold the ship against the pier.  We are also running our thrusters to help keep the ship docked.  The danger is that without the tugs the lines might snap and lead to all kinds of difficulties.  Around lunch time, it was announced that due to the high winds, passengers would no longer be allowed to go ashore....as using the gangway was dangerous.  I will speculate that if we had arrived this morning, as scheduled, we would not have been able to dock (because of high gusty winds) and ended up with a sea day.  Locals told us that this kind of wind is not normal.  

 

Fortunately, most passengers were able to get off the ship this morning for their excursions and DIY.  DW and I debarked about 10:30, but the free shuttle bus (to town) was full and there was still a queue of over 40 souls.  Since it was going to be at least 30 minutes until the free shuttle returned, the local authorities were able to bring in a city bus (for which we had to pay 1.60 Euros) for those of us who did not want to wait.  Ten minutes later we were in downtown Chania, which does have a large old town shopping district, a cute old harbor (with shops and restaurants, Maritime Museum, etc.).  DW and I spent about 1 1/2 hours walking in the nice part of town and then returned to the Vista for a late lunch in Waves.  I assume that many first-time visitors took excursions to the ruins at Knossos, which is something we recommend to those who have never visited this site.  

 

Talking to other passengers reinforced my thinking that O desperately needs a decent App.  Want to cancel or make a dinner reservation?  You must either queue up on deck 5 to get to the single reservations person or try to reach that person via phone (they seldom answer).  Most lines easily handle this kind of thing via App.  We finally managed to get through, on the phone, and cancel our Red Ginger reservation (mentioned in a previous post).  We decided to keep our Ember reservation (for tonight) since the GDR menu is not one of our favorites.  Perhaps the third time, in Ember, will be the charm.

 

Hank

[Techno123]

Loving your blog @Hlitner

 

My favourite trip when we spent a couple of weeks on Crete was hiking the Samaria gourge down to Agia Roumeli- stunning hike.

https://www.visitgreece.gr/experiences/nature/gorges/samaria-gorge/

[FetaCheese]

@Hlitner

We were in Chania on a cruise stop December 2021.  Downtown, there is a large building -- the Agora -- which is the central market.  It was a nice place to go thru, with all the local vendors, and very enjoyable.  It was to close shortly after for major renovations.  

 

Has it reopened yet?

 

Another terrific part of Chania is what I would call "Leather Goods Row", pedestrians only.  Some really fine shops there.  I regret that I did not purchase a well constructed, fine, heavy leather messenger bag.

 

Really enjoyed the town of Chania, with many architectural influences of the several nations who have inhabited there over several centuries.

 

Will have to return!

 

Enjoying your balanced review, thank you.

Edited April 23 by FetaCheese

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

@Hlitner

We were in Chania on a cruise stop December 2021.  Downtown, there is a large building -- the Agora -- which is the central market.  It was a nice place to go thru, with all the local vendors, and very enjoyable.  It was to close shortly after for major renovations.  

 

Has it reopened yet?

 

Another terrific part of Chania is what I would call "Leather Goods Row", pedestrians only.  Some really fine shops there.  I regret that I did not purchase a well constructed, fine, heavy leather messenger bag.

 

Really enjoyed the town of Chania, with many architectural influences of the several nations who have inhabited there over several centuries.

 

Will have to return!

 

Enjoying your balanced review, thank you.

We did not try to get in the Agora, but it did appear to be closed.  The leather shops are alive and well and waiting for the generous tourists. ☺️

[Carnevale]

@FetaCheese I am sorry to report that the covered market is still under going renovations. From the looks of things it seems it may be some time before it opens again.

[Hambagahle]

The winds sound terrible.  It seems though that the wind is blowing strongly all over Europe right now.  Here in the Alps it has been very very cold - winter temperatures with snow - after a week or so of almost summer weather.   I do hope that the Captain was able to keep Vista docked - or what would happen to those who are in Knossos for the day ?  it is not next door...

 

For the food.  Perhaps Oceania should introduce a small "alternative" menu - "ethnic food without flavour".   But they shouldn't be leveling everything down to a lower common denominator.  If you are going to make a Vindaloo (don't know if they do!) then make one.  Put a "3 peppers" type of icon next to it on the menu.  To warn timid eaters off.

[pinotlover]

5 minutes ago, Hambagahle said:

 

 

For the food.  Perhaps Oceania should introduce a small "alternative" menu - "ethnic food without flavour".   But they shouldn't be leveling everything down to a lower common denominator.  If you are going to make a Vindaloo (don't know if they do!) then make one.  Put a "3 peppers" type of icon next to it on the menu.  To warn timid eaters off.

First, let me say I agree, but then reality sits in. Has putting the three walker symbol beside shore tours even slowed down the number of people that can’t walk 50 yards from signing up and then expecting to be facilitated? Do any of the warnings about cobblestone streets and uneven pathways, and warnings about not being for those with mobility issues have much of an effect? As some believe they should be facilitated on every tour, they likewise believe the same for every dish served. The current situation is a culmination of all the “ can you put the spices on the side, I want that dish without the spices?” Have you ever tasted the disgusting sweet salsa sauce served because of all the people not wanting any spicy period? It would be a great start if Oceania would put out two different salsas. One for the NoNos and another for the rest of us. We only get the NoNo version.

[Hambagahle]

I love that expression "the no nos".  Never heard it before this afternoon.  It makes sense!

I was (luckily for me) taught to cook Indian food by an Indian chef.  he explained you simply don't add the spices.  You "layer" the spices all the time you are making the dish.  There are some you "temper" the oil with.  Others that go in very early.  And yet others that are added at the end.   This produces a dish with a real depth of taste.  It is not necessary to have a lot of chili in a curry if you don't like hot food.  It IS necessary to have various different spices added as you go.  And god forbid you use curry powder!!

Those "walking symbols"... I was looking at a tour to Akrotiri on Santorini.  Had 3 of those on the title.  Yet the excavation at Akrotiri is wheelchair accessible.  (Says so on their website).   All under cover.  Has ramps as well as stairs etc.  Go figure !!

[Hlitner]

Today it is Santorini,

 

We cruised into the anchorage early this morning with heavy fog, mist, overcast, etc.  I have been to Santorini at least a dozen times and this is the first time that the weather was not relatively clear.  A real shame for many since many of the best views were obscured by fog/mist.

 

Today was also a day we took our first excursion on Santorini.  On all of our other visits we simply did our own thing with rental cars, island buses, or taxis.  But we had a lot of Simply More credit (thanks to O cancelling several other excursions) and chose to use it on an 8 hour tour that included Oia, Fira, and a wine tasting/lunch at Boutari winery.  The tour was AWFUL!  We saw quite a few from our tour group (of 40) lined-up at the Destinations counter to file complaints.  Why bother?   The excursion cost $350 per per person, and I could have easily duplicated what they offered for about 1/3 of that price.   Our guide wasted so much time, folks complained they got to see very little.  In Oia, he gave us 16 minutes of free time after which it took over 45 minutes to count the group and get everyone on the bus!  At the winery, the lunch dragged on for about 2 hours (long after most folks were finished).  By the time we were finally dropped in Fira (part of the tour) it was about 3:30 pm (all aboard time 5:30).  Most on the excursion headed directly for the cable car (which had a 45-60 min wait) while DW and I decided to make the long walk down the donkey path (to the tenders).  For those not aware, this walk has over 600 steps (not to mention plenty of donkey poo).

 

Talking to some of the other folks on our tour (who also thought the tour was awful), they mentioned that their excursion yesterday was even worse!  DW and I have been very independent/adventurous travelers for decades and this tour reinforced our love of DIY travel.

 

Last evening we returned to Ember (our third visit) and I finally had a decent meal.  Our waiter told me that the bone-in ribeye was very good, and that was an understatement.  My steak was excellent and perfectly cooked to my requested medium rare.  DW ordered a large portion of the ribs (listed as a starter) and thought the boneless ribs were good, but she was not a fan of the BBQ sauce which she found too sweet.  I liked that BBQ sauce (at a previous visit), so this is the kind of thing where food is subjective.  But consider that with one good dinner out of three tries, this is not a venue we would recommend.  Others may disagree, but O can certainly do a lot better than the current menu in Ember..

 

One final comment about Santorini.  Folks should keep in mind that even when you take excursions, it is very likely that your excursion will end by dropping you in Fira where you will often have some free time and must make your own way to the cable car station (or down the donkey steps).  Even if your excursion does not involve much walking, the drop point used at Fira will leave you with a walk (partially uphill) to get to the cable car station.  Santorini is not wheelchair or scooter friendly and would be a challenge for folks with mobility limitations. 

 

Hank

[Harters]

30 minutes ago, Hambagahle said:

I love that expression "the no nos".  Never heard it before this afternoon.

Me neither - until this thread. Love it. Never realised there was a collective noun for such folk. My late father in law would have been a classic - he cruised with P & O and ate steak for dinner many nights because all the other choices were too fancy/flavoured for him.