Sirena - Tuscan Steak

Everyone bar a couple who have experienced Tuscan Steak on Sirena agree that it's a huge downgrading from Toscana and Polo.

The decor is a matter of taste but for us it's reminiscent of a motel diner.

The menu is a very truncated mixture of the Polo and Toscana ones, with the emphasis on "very". There's no olive oil choice or "big cheese". All the ambiance and welcoming atmosphere has gone.

The staff are excellent as usual, but cannot rescue the combined restaurant I'm afraid.

Oceania, in their wisdom, are apparently set on converting all the R ships to this during refits.

Everyone I've talked to says they are planning to make their views known to Miami - please do the same thing if you agree, and post here as well so that I can pass on your views. It might be possible to get them to rethink - and save money into the bargain!

See the rave review by sedonajoel on the roll call for the March circumnavigation of Australia. Who is right?

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We plan on traveling on Sirena next August. Very disappointed to hear this. We love the decor and food in Polo and Toscana. Maybe they will make some modifications before we get there. Motel diner doesn't sound at all appealing and the Asian fare in the other restaurant doesn't seem very appealing either. Our cruise will be port intensive so I am wondering whether they will have the Jaques bistro or just skip it except on our one sea day.

Mary

In our opinion, the major drawback is that two-into-one doesn't work. If you want a large slice of meat, would you go to an Italian restaurant, first and foremost? If you want Italian food would you go to a steakhouse?

The lack of choice is obviously the result of this merger.

There's no "daily special" either, so that's one dish less...

The food was good, but the concept isn't, as the menu is very short indeed.

(Pedants might say that a "bistecca alla fiorentina" is a large cut of meat, which is certainly the case. But the beef here was not served as such, and anyway, it is one item of many on an Italian menu whereas here there are many other meat options and too few genuine Italian ones.)

See the rave review by sedonajoel on the roll call for the March circumnavigation of Australia. Who is right?

 

 

personal preference maybe ???

Not everyone will have the same opinions

DH does not care for Polo but lots of people like it ..maybe O should get rid of it :D

Everyone bar a couple who have experienced Tuscan Steak on Sirena agree that it's a huge downgrading from Toscana and Polo.

 

The decor is a matter of taste but for us it's reminiscent of a motel diner.

 

The menu is a very truncated mixture of the Polo and Toscana ones, with the emphasis on "very". There's no olive oil choice or "big cheese". All the ambiance and welcoming atmosphere has gone.

 

The staff are excellent as usual, but cannot rescue the combined restaurant I'm afraid.

 

Oceania, in their wisdom, are apparently set on converting all the R ships to this during refits.

 

Everyone I've talked to says they are planning to make their views known to Miami - please do the same thing if you agree, and post here as well so that I can pass on your views. It might be possible to get them to rethink - and save money into the bargain!

Totally agree. The merger lost the best aspects of each restaurant. And as Newbie60 stated, "the Jacques Bistro was dismal, in fact it took away from the regularly very nice luncheon menu". We love the R ships but if this is the way that Oceania is going forward with the other sister ships than we will probably keep to Mariana and Riviera unless a very special itinerary interests us.

Well, it's not my job to defend Oceania decisions but I can guarantee you that they have done substantial market research before making this decision. Their decision will have reflected the views of the majority of Oceania cruisers. I fear you are in a small minority.

I know that Red Ginger is very popular with the majority of Oceania passengers. It follows that if RG is to be added something else has to go due to the limited space on the R ships . The combined Polo/Toscana is obviously a compromise - one that you don't like. I have not yet experienced it but I have reviewed the menu. They seem to have included everything I liked in both restaurants. By the way, I and most of my friends, never liked the olive oil cart nor the silly novelty cheese. Asking me to select a specific olive oil to pair with my dinner is like asking me to select a specific Australian wine to go with veal parmesan. :) Sorry, I just have no experience with either.

I read the current review by Joel on the Sirena roll call (March 6). It's very complementary of the combo. I have previously traveled with Joel and I respect his judgment so I am going to go along with Oceania's decisions.

Regards,

Robbie

We plan on traveling on Sirena next August. Very disappointed to hear this. We love the decor and food in Polo and Toscana. Maybe they will make some modifications before we get there. Motel diner doesn't sound at all appealing and the Asian fare in the other restaurant doesn't seem very appealing either. Our cruise will be port intensive so I am wondering whether they will have the Jaques bistro or just skip it except on our one sea day.

 

Mary

Mary, just so you know from all of us that have been on the bigger ships the Asian restaurant Red Ginger is the most popular restaurant.

Carol

Well, it's not my job to defend Oceania decisions but I can guarantee you that they have done substantial market research before making this decision. Their decision will have reflected the views of the majority of Oceania cruisers. I fear you are in a small minority.

 

I know that Red Ginger is very popular with the majority of Oceania passengers. It follows that if RG is to be added something else has to go due to the limited space on the R ships . The combined Polo/Toscana is obviously a compromise - one that you don't like. I have not yet experienced it but I have reviewed the menu. They seem to have included everything I liked in both restaurants. By the way, I and most of my friends, never liked the olive oil cart nor the silly novelty cheese. Asking me to select a specific olive oil to pair with my dinner is like asking me to select a specific Australian wine to go with veal parmesan. :) Sorry, I just have no experience with either.

 

I read the current review by Joel on the Sirena roll call (March 6). It's very complementary of the combo. I have previously traveled with Joel and I respect his judgment so I am going to go along with Oceania's decisions.

 

Regards,

 

Robbie

Agree with Robbie they would have done alot of research before they made the change. However, my Ron does like the cheese in Toscana and is disappointed to hear it is gone! But sure we will be happy with Sirena as Oceania never disappoints us.

Carol

What if there had never been a Polo and Toscana..I bet everyone would be very happy with Tuscan..sometimes you just cant compare..

Jancruz1

Our first O cruise is Oct. 18 on Sirena. We have no point of reference pertaining to dining venues, good, bad or indifferent. With that said, while I appreciate reading thoughts and opinions, the only thoughts and opinions that truly matter to us, personally, are our own. :)

Denise

Don't know, but merger of two just doesn't work most of the time. If they really did market research they would see a Steakhouse would always come higher than Italian. Seems to me they should have kept a "Steakhouse with a few Italian dishes. But you can't please all the people all the time and most people know it's hard to get one thing right-but trying to mix it up with two offers?

What if there had never been a Polo and Toscana..I bet everyone would be very happy with Tuscan..sometimes you just cant compare..

Jancruz1

I agree. Tuscany, particularly Florence, is known for it's steak houses. We have a few restaurants in our area that are Tuscan steak houses in concept...more meat based than restaurants with a more southern Italian cuisine concept.

https://www.discovertuscany.com/eating-and-drinking-in-tuscany/a-tuscan-meal.html

Our first O cruise is Oct. 18 on Sirena. We have no point of reference pertaining to dining venues, good, bad or indifferent. With that said, while I appreciate reading thoughts and opinions, the only thoughts and opinions that truly matter to us, personally, are our own. :)

 

Denise

Agree

We really enjoyed Sirena and had no dining issues. Our one meal in Tuscan steak was delicious and there were lots of of menu choices. I loved the updated decor.

We heard no complaints from others.

We tried four times to get extra reservations but had no luck.

We had three lunches in Jaques Bistro and we enjoyed each one.

RG is not our favorite but the food was nicely prepared and beautifully presented.

The R ships have limited space and there is no way to have four separate specialty restaurants. Naturally opinions will vary on the new lineup.

Just off Sirena two weeks ago. The food at Tuscan Steak was fine. The problem is that the lighting is just too bright. There is nothing romantic about the space. This was the consensus of many couples on our cruise. Some even considered wearing sunglasses in the restaurant at night to make the point. they did dim the lights slightly, but it is still too bright

I agree. Tuscany, particularly Florence, is known for it's steak houses. We have a few restaurants in our area that are Tuscan steak houses in concept...more meat based than restaurants with a more southern Italian cuisine concept.

 

https://www.discovertuscany.com/eating-and-drinking-in-tuscany/a-tuscan-meal.html

Point well taken!

Curious if anyone has a copy of the Tuscan menu?

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Curious if anyone has a copy of the Tuscan menu?

 

 

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Here you go: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Documents/Menus/61698/Tuscan-Steak-Dinner.pdf

Oceania has sample menus of all of their restaurants here: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/experience/dining/

Joe

no French Onion Soup.

no Veal al Limone

no sautéed mushrooms

no onion rings

no ravioli in sage butter sauce

tiramisu?

tiramisu?

Tiramisu is on the dessert menu for Tuscan Steak....

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/Documents/Menus/81604382392/Tuscan-Steak-Dessert-Menu.pdf/

Joe

thank you!

I don't think the choices are so terrible. We won't starve

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I don't think the choices are so terrible. We won't starve

 

 

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Yep! They still have the Kings Cut prime Rib [emoji2] [emoji2] [emoji2]

I am OK with the menu.

The only thing that I am missing is the thinly pounded breaded veal (Wiener Scnitzel a la Toscana :D) but I can live with the items that were kept. The portion was always too big - we usually split it.

I did enjoy the Parmesan wheel though :(