Food on the Explorer (and the other ships)

It has been mentioned many times on this board that while some people find the food to be great, others are not as impressed. True, food can be quite subjective, but it mostly depends what you are accustomed to.

I did not want to hijack Emperor Norton's fantastic thread detailing his experience on the maiden voyage of the Explorer. He made mention that coming from the SF bay area, he had become spoiled to great restaurants and eating experiences. One who has become accustomed to amazing dining experiences will have different expectations that someone who believes that macaroni and cheese comes out of a blue box or that bread comes out of a plastic bag with colored balloons (for the US readers). I have friends who are on the Explorer right now who have met people with expectations quite different from theirs - it all depends what one would consider typical and someone else would regard as outstanding. I live in one of the greatest cities in the world (not just my opinion) and entertain out of town guests all the time - the one comment I hear over and over is how lucky I am to be able to get such great food all the time - I consider this one of the benefits of where I live and would not accept anything less, but too someone who does not have access to fantastic food all the time, they consider anything out of the ordinary to be outstanding.

I believe the same holds true on the ship(s) - that is why when anyone mentions their experience with food on the ship, the opinions vary considerably.

gnomie :)

I think we are from that same, great city! :)

You are right that perceptions vary greatly. What would be considered haute gourmet would be considered pedestrian by others who eat that cuisine day in and day out anyway.

Always take each review for what it is, that own person's perception and experience and where they are coming from. Then think about how that might translate for you.

Food is so subjective that I have read reports of a couple sharing a steak - one loved it and the other didn't like it at all. Having said that, we found the food on the Explorer better than on other Regent ships for the following reasons:

1. The new Compass Rose menu allows a passenger to select every item and sauce that will be on their plate. In the past (and still on other ships unless the Navigator has changed menus recently), there was usually a vegetable or two on the side of your main course with a couple pieces of potato. Usually we did not care for either the vegetable or the potato.

Continuing on with CR, passengers can now get lobster, Filet Mignon, Dover Sole and a few other items every night if they wish -- no more having to order it a day in advance (although you can still make special orders if you would like to).

2. We were not fans of Signatures but, so far are enjoying Chartreuse. While we only had one meal there, we were very satisfied and look forward to dining there more when we are onboard the Explorer for a month in November.

3. P7 seems to be variable. When their steak is good - it is fabulous but we have had steak that wasn't as good. We had a delicious lunch at P7 on the Explorer but did not have dinner there. In the past we have enjoyed their crab legs (appetizer portion rather than entrée) and most of the time the steak.

4. Pacific Rim is new and it will take a while to determine what we think of it. The sashimi was to die for but the sushi left a lot to be desired (as did a few other dishes that were tried at our table). I absolutely loved the Miso Glazed Black Cod (not to be confused with the great Miso Glazed Sea Bass that is served in CR). Their new Saki menu along with their signature cocktail were great. Someone at our table that knows much more about Saki than we do ordered for us -- it was really good. My DH had the signature cocktail that I will be sure to order in November.

For us, we have not had complaints about the menus on the Mariner, Voyager or Navigator but find the choices and preparation of the food on the Explorer was exemplary. Note: We were told by someone that the current chef onboard the Explorer is the best in the fleet. They all follow the same recipes so I don't know how this will translate into when this menu is debuted on other ships or when we return to the Explorer in November.

I made a sesame cucumber salad last night that I loved. George hated it.

Yes food is very subjective. I have always been able to find something I liked on the menus on regent. And if I really didn't like something, they were happy to bring an alternative.

What we want from a good restaurant is the best of ingredients, freshly prepared, well seasoned and served at the right temperature (i.e. hot food should be just that and on hot plates; cold food should not be so cold that it loses all taste)

Generally we find food on Regent to be very good. Being from the UK we nearly choked with laughter when one poster put forward the theory that British travel writers gave Explorer restaurants less than stellar reviews because they were not familiar with North American cuisine; it actually seemed more to do with poor service.

It is true that individual taste, preference and previous experience does influence people's reaction to food on a cruise. In our case one of us loves Sette Mari, the other not so much

Issues we have had too regularly in the past on Voyager and Mariner:

- Steaks not cooked as ordered (oddly, steaks often seem better in CR rather than P7)

- Inability to cook a soft boiled egg for breakfast (I have had them served raw :eek:)

- Breakfast haddock & kippers usually dry

- Soggy onion rings in P7

- Poor seasoning; very glad to hear that salt & pepper grinders are on the table in CR on Explorer rather than the old-fashioned idea of the waiter bringing round the pepper mill before you have tasted the food

- Curries with no spice

- Slow service, including from sommeliers

- La Veranda: cold plates for hot food and hot plates (just out of the dishwasher) for cold dessert & cheese

So nothing too drastic, but annoying none-the-less

Although we have yet to have lunch pool events on the Explorer, we enjoy most of what is served on the Mariner and Voyager. Here are my thoughts:

Indian Buffet - the best of the buffets - spicy shrimp is delicious and if there isn't enough spice for you, Indian spices are put out to add to your food.

Italian Buffet - really well done pasta dishes.

Greek Buffet - we like some items and not others. The hummus and Greek salad are amazingly good (wish we could get feta cheese like that at home).

Seafood Buffet - one of my favorites as I love the sashimi as well as the fresh fish dishes.

Mexican Buffet - the worst of the buffets IMO. If you do not live in California, Arizona, New Mexico or Texas or have not spent time in Mexico, this food may appeal to you. However, this is not close to Mexican or Tex-Mex food as far as we are concerned. The food is fresh and nicely prepared but has the wrong ingredients and seasonings. We like the guacamole but that is about it.

P.S. Rachel, your story about your sesame cucumber salad made me laugh. In our family, Dennis would have loved it and I would have been like George (but I'm not a salad lover).

P.P.S. The worst food we have experienced on Regent was on the Navigator - once in P7 and a few times in CR. In fairness, chefs do move around and recipes can change. It was on the Navigator that I had a piece of Grouper that could not be cut without a steak knife and my DH had to return his salmon three times in P7. I don't think that chef is still with Regent.

Absolutely agree with the the Mexican buffet lacking authenticity. But as you noted, we are from California and travel frequently to Texas so we commonly get excellent Mexican food. Also, we wish there were more upscale Mexican dishes available, not just the type of dishes you get from going to a Mexican chain or fast food establishment.

Also agree that there are a few Indian dishes available that are OK to good but disagree that adding additional spices to the dish remedies the lack of spice in the food. Many spices need to be added in the cooking stage to bring out the flavor and aromatics. I'm not talking of "heat" when I say spice - I'm talking about flavor complexity.

Your review was very similar to our thoughts.

best,

John

On our last Navigator cruise, we were fortunate enough to be invited to dinner with Jamie (CD) and his wife Dana (Asst CD) in Compass Rose. We had a delightful evening of good food and good company. When we mentioned that we had requested an Indian feast (and a feast it was!) for dinner the next evening, Jamie and Dana said how much they enjoyed the Indian food on board - so we invited them to join us the next evening. They accepted, and we had another delightful evening - but what prompted this anecdote was the mention of spice/heat in the dishes. We had requested our dinner to have a bit of 'kick' to it, but nothing too extreme since my in-laws aren't really spicy food eaters. The dishes that arrived with the heat cooked into them were superb, although I ate more of the hotter foods...

But yes, adding spice to already cooked foods is no substitute for spicing it properly during cooking.

And I don't think I've ever had any Mexican food on board a Regent ship (except maybe for chips and salsa) - I'll stick with Mediterranean or Indian or Asian or really anything else...having lived in Colorado for 20 years, I'm a bit spoiled for good Mex, too.

Also agree that there are a few Indian dishes available that are OK to good but disagree that adding additional spices to the dish remedies the lack of spice in the food. Many spices need to be added in the cooking stage to bring out the flavor and aromatics. I'm not talking of "heat" when I say spice - I'm talking about flavor complexity.

John, I agree with you

I have had a number of Regent servers who, when I asked for a tasty spicy curry, thought that bringing a side dish of chopped chillies and/or chilli sauce would do the trick.......................It did not

We love Indian food must be cooked with the spices. On the side they just do not work. On our very last cruise several years ago our Indian butler had his own stash of spices and went to the galley to be sure our meal was prepared exactly as it should and we had it in our suite. I love spicy and he had one dish prepared Vindaloo (shrimp) which had the right heat that I wanted and my partner had Chicken Tika even though it I was not done in a Tandoori oven. It sure was better than what you would get in the CR.

We've found that the only way to be sure of good - great, even - Indian food is to make a special order 24 hours in advance in CR. It's a good opportunity to get a fun table together too. We've never been disappointed by such a feast as Bill describes and you won't *need* to invite a member of the management (unless you want to, that is ;-) Whilst in S America earlier in the year, we had such an amazing evening with delicious SE Asian dishes that just kept on coming...

As is often the case with Regent, "you have only to ask..."

Absolutely agree with the the Mexican buffet lacking authenticity. But as you noted, we are from California and travel frequently to Texas so we commonly get excellent Mexican food. Also, we wish there were more upscale Mexican dishes available, not just the type of dishes you get from going to a Mexican chain or fast food establishment.

 

Also agree that there are a few Indian dishes available that are OK to good but disagree that adding additional spices to the dish remedies the lack of spice in the food. Many spices need to be added in the cooking stage to bring out the flavor and aromatics. I'm not talking of "heat" when I say spice - I'm talking about flavor complexity.

 

Your review was very similar to our thoughts.

 

best,

John

I felt that the Indian dishes at the special lunch buffet (not what is served in CR) does have the flavor complexity as well as "heat". The spices on the side could add a bit more heat or you could put more or less mango salsa, etc. (not dissimilar to building your own taco at a Mexican restaurant on land where the meat is spiced just fine but people want to add their own taco sauce and other accompaniments). BTW, I am comparing Regent Indian food to what we had in India and, although food is subjective, some of the Indian dishes could compete in India IMO).

So for us, the ambience is more important than the food. We had a fabulous meal on Voyager looking out over the skyline of Shanghai from Sette Mare even though the Chinese buffet was (to be generous) average. Similarly, great dinners from outside at La Veranda looking out at departing ports (on Mariner) in the Med and in Central America. Worst experience have been sometimes (very) poor service in P7 and Signatures with delays on later (8pm) table reservations.

Best meal ever, on Navigator watching whales from CR window on an Alaska cruise. No idea what we had to eat!

Best meal ever, on Navigator watching whales from CR window on an Alaska cruise. No idea what we had to eat!

Hahahahahaha! While I was reading your post, I was nodding my head saying, "Yep, it's the ambiance, the atmosphere..." and was thinking fondly of OUR best dinner memory - a window seat in CR, ready to depart Santorini, and the Captain (Capt McNeill) hoisted the anchor and proceeded to slowly cruise in circles inside the caldera as the sun set. It was like being in the world's coolest revolving restaurant, with views to die for. After the sun finally set, we headed out of the caldera toward our next port. 'Spectacular' doesn't even begin to describe it.

And like you, I have no idea WHAT we ate, but I do remember the experience as if it was yesterday.

Bill, great memory. Santorini at night reminds me of diamonds in the sky. I definitely miss Capt. McDreamy (oops - mean Capt. McNeill).

Bill,

OK, you have me very curious and wanting to try the "Indian Feast". I assume it is a special order and at least one day ahead of time. I've never special ordered in advance. What did you ask for? "Indian Feast"? Or just a "special" Indian dinner? Or, did you specify what dishes you wanted?

Thanks for your help. Hopefully it will be as good on the Voyager as it was for you on the Navigator. We have had dinner several times with Jamie and Dana and always have a great time no matter what the food is.

Best,

John

I'm not Bill but if you are not fortunate enough to have a Butler with his own spice box, you should speak to the Maitre d' at least 24hrs ahead and discuss what you'd like. We gathered a table of eight and chose to have the food served 'family style', which resulted in two or three starters, a selection of main courses and a delicious dessert. The sommelier provided us with appropriate and we'll chosen wines.

Bill,

 

OK, you have me very curious and wanting to try the "Indian Feast". I assume it is a special order and at least one day ahead of time. I've never special ordered in advance. What did you ask for? "Indian Feast"? Or just a "special" Indian dinner? Or, did you specify what dishes you wanted?

 

Thanks for your help. Hopefully it will be as good on the Voyager as it was for you on the Navigator. We have had dinner several times with Jamie and Dana and always have a great time no matter what the food is.

 

Best,

John

John, as Gilly stated, you can ping your butler or the Maitre d'. We usually leave it up to the kitchen to select dishes and we give the sommelier a shot at recommending a good wine pairing (surprisingly, a nice German Riesling is often a good choice). I don't often special order dinners, but in this case we had family with us and we wanted to share a nice experience with them.

I've also heard others rave about other cuisine, such as Korean and Filipino, depending on the crew make-up. It's fun to experiment a bit, since we don't get much of a selection of Asian food in South Carolina. :p

The Indian pool deck curry is quite good. Particularly the lamb. I have a fond memory of Orpington (Tom Noon) and Me fighting over the bottom of the pan scrapings from a particularly delicious lamb curry.

As noted above, Regent just needs to give up on Mexican, other than the guacamole, because the rest is just wrong. Totally incorrect spices. Wrong cuts of meat. Salsa is basically tomato sauce with some chile powder in it. Just not good.