Since we’re still at sea, I thought this would give me a perfect opportunity to go into some more detail about the cuisine on this ship, because, let’s face it, after you’ve looked at nothing but ocean for the entire day, dining definitely is the highlight of the day. I’ve already outlined some of our meals, but I have to say that each time we sit down for a meal we are impressed by the variety of choices. Then, when we actually have the meal, our general reaction would be something in the nature of, “Oh, my God, that was fabulous!” If you’re not into fine cuisine, booking Oceania would be a mistake. Dawn & I have questioned how they manage to pull off such consistently wonderful meals and then serve them with aplomb. They certainly have a winning formula!
Generally, we start the day off with a visit to the Terrace Cafe, the ship’s buffet restaurant. If we are starting with an early excursion, or if we just feel lazy like we did this morning, then we get room service. We almost never revisit Terrace Cafe for other meals, but for many aboard the ship, this is where they eat every meal.
For lunch, our choices are generally the Grand Dining Room with it’s impeccable service and changing menu or Waves Grill, if we don’t want to stray too far from the pool.
Dinner could be in any of the specialty restaurants requiring reservations or back in the Grand Dining Room. For us, the greatest advantage of the latter, is that each day offers us a new menu, whereas all specialty restaurants have a fixed menu that never changes, even over the years. Below, is a painting of Executive Chef Jacques Pepin found outside his namesake restaurant, Jacques.
Our favourite of the speciality restaurants on Oceania’s larger ships like this one, is Jacques, with it’s classic and also avant-garde French cuisine. Some of the items that appeal to us are: the artichoke salad over thinly sliced foie gras with Perigord black truffle vinaigrette; sauteed jumbo shrimp with garlic, parsley and tomatoes; encrusted lamb loin with pistachio stuffing and Cabernet Sauvignon sauce; and of course duck a la orange with potato gratin and braised red cabbage.
Our second favourite would be Red Ginger, also only on the larger ships. The cuisine here is Asian/Thai and a few items not to be missed would be: spicy duck and watermelon salad; crispy ginger calamari; assorted sashimi and sushi rolls; miso glazed sea bass; and lobster pad thai.
Toscana, the Italian themed restaurant, is on all ships. They have the typical multi courses found in good Italian restaurants. Favourites here include their oso bucco Milanese of course and their veal Marsala.
Our least favourite of the bunch is Polo which, found on all ships, is basically your steak house, not that you won’t get an excellent steak here. It’s just that we don’t find the cuisine here that unusual.
The final specialty restaurant on the ship is La Reserve, which seats only 20 and offers a multi-course meal with wine pairings by Wine Spectator. Depending on the menu, La Reserve will run you around $100 per person because you’re paying for six or seven different high end wines. We ate here on our Baltic Cruise with Tony and Jackie and found it amazing, but don’t plan to do it this trip.
Most nights we eat in the Grand Dining Room, mainly because of the constantly changing menu choices. It is also, let’s be honest, a gorgeous dining room. To give an example of a typical meal here, last night Dawn started with Oysters Rockerfeller, chicken consommé and fresh Fakarava Mahi-Mahi followed by Samba, a chocolate mousse cake. I had foie gras ravioli in a leek cream sauce followed by a green salad with apples and almonds. Main course was the same as Dawn and my dessert was a banana flambe cake with peanut butter crust. We accompanied the meal with a Castle Rock Chardonnay from California.
Especially on these at sea days, we feel obliged to start the day with some form of exercise, walking or a visit to the gym or both. We would be the absolute minority on this ship.
On at sea days, they typically have loads of programs offered to keep you out of trouble, including art auctions, trivia contests, cultural lectures, cooking classes, wine tasting and of course casino and shopping time, but a dining experience remains the highlight. They also have regular cooking demonstrations like the one shown above in the Marina Lounge.
News Bulletin! We just discovered that Adamstown, Pitcairn Islands won’t be our next port of call. We have a medical emergency on board - that’s all we know - and due to the fact that the Pitcairn Islands have absolutely no services, we are making a beeline for Easter Island with not only a hospital, but also an airport. Since it’s the 25th today and we still won’t arrive at Easter Island until the afternoon of the 28th, we may be fortunate to make it to Easter Island in time. So much for the Pitcairn Islands.
Generally, we start the day off with a visit to the Terrace Cafe, the ship’s buffet restaurant. If we are starting with an early excursion, or if we just feel lazy like we did this morning, then we get room service. We almost never revisit Terrace Cafe for other meals, but for many aboard the ship, this is where they eat every meal.
For lunch, our choices are generally the Grand Dining Room with it’s impeccable service and changing menu or Waves Grill, if we don’t want to stray too far from the pool.
Dinner could be in any of the specialty restaurants requiring reservations or back in the Grand Dining Room. For us, the greatest advantage of the latter, is that each day offers us a new menu, whereas all specialty restaurants have a fixed menu that never changes, even over the years. Below, is a painting of Executive Chef Jacques Pepin found outside his namesake restaurant, Jacques.
Our favourite of the speciality restaurants on Oceania’s larger ships like this one, is Jacques, with it’s classic and also avant-garde French cuisine. Some of the items that appeal to us are: the artichoke salad over thinly sliced foie gras with Perigord black truffle vinaigrette; sauteed jumbo shrimp with garlic, parsley and tomatoes; encrusted lamb loin with pistachio stuffing and Cabernet Sauvignon sauce; and of course duck a la orange with potato gratin and braised red cabbage.
Our second favourite would be Red Ginger, also only on the larger ships. The cuisine here is Asian/Thai and a few items not to be missed would be: spicy duck and watermelon salad; crispy ginger calamari; assorted sashimi and sushi rolls; miso glazed sea bass; and lobster pad thai.
Toscana, the Italian themed restaurant, is on all ships. They have the typical multi courses found in good Italian restaurants. Favourites here include their oso bucco Milanese of course and their veal Marsala.
Our least favourite of the bunch is Polo which, found on all ships, is basically your steak house, not that you won’t get an excellent steak here. It’s just that we don’t find the cuisine here that unusual.
The final specialty restaurant on the ship is La Reserve, which seats only 20 and offers a multi-course meal with wine pairings by Wine Spectator. Depending on the menu, La Reserve will run you around $100 per person because you’re paying for six or seven different high end wines. We ate here on our Baltic Cruise with Tony and Jackie and found it amazing, but don’t plan to do it this trip.
Most nights we eat in the Grand Dining Room, mainly because of the constantly changing menu choices. It is also, let’s be honest, a gorgeous dining room. To give an example of a typical meal here, last night Dawn started with Oysters Rockerfeller, chicken consommé and fresh Fakarava Mahi-Mahi followed by Samba, a chocolate mousse cake. I had foie gras ravioli in a leek cream sauce followed by a green salad with apples and almonds. Main course was the same as Dawn and my dessert was a banana flambe cake with peanut butter crust. We accompanied the meal with a Castle Rock Chardonnay from California.
Especially on these at sea days, we feel obliged to start the day with some form of exercise, walking or a visit to the gym or both. We would be the absolute minority on this ship.
On at sea days, they typically have loads of programs offered to keep you out of trouble, including art auctions, trivia contests, cultural lectures, cooking classes, wine tasting and of course casino and shopping time, but a dining experience remains the highlight. They also have regular cooking demonstrations like the one shown above in the Marina Lounge.
News Bulletin! We just discovered that Adamstown, Pitcairn Islands won’t be our next port of call. We have a medical emergency on board - that’s all we know - and due to the fact that the Pitcairn Islands have absolutely no services, we are making a beeline for Easter Island with not only a hospital, but also an airport. Since it’s the 25th today and we still won’t arrive at Easter Island until the afternoon of the 28th, we may be fortunate to make it to Easter Island in time. So much for the Pitcairn Islands.
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