reposado

Horizons afternoon tea. Offered daily. The pastries and sandwiches along with the string quartet were superb. However a fine afternoon tea establishment would always offer its customers more than selection of tea in tea bags. Maybe Oceania can improve upon that.

Baba Au Rhum at Jacques. Pastry with Aged French Island Rum. The island rum was too sweet for my taste. I enjoy my desserts creamy/milky/eggy instead of sugary. Its a very subjective thing. In fact I find most restaurants/market desserts in the united states too sweet(I prefer European or Asian desserts). Companies like Starbucks knows this. In fact if you tried the different pastries at Starbucks in the US vs Asia you will be shocked at the level of differences in terms of sugar added. So whats too much for me is probably just fine for you. I do enjoy the strong rum flavor even tho I don't appreciate alcohol much.

Thank you for the fabulous reviews and photos. We are on the same Riviera itinerary in September, and are so looking forward to everything (except the extra pounds we'll be taking home!) But all the way through this wonderful thread, we've been waiting for the most amazing fish dish in Red Ginger. Please...dish on the fish!

 

Thanks!!!

Welcome! I am doing them in chronological order, so even tho I've done Toscana we will cover some more of their dishes later in the cruise. :)

The Prime Rib at Jacques with hand cut fries. One of the many prime rib offerings on Riviera. 4/5 great dish. Comes standard as medium rare(perfectly cooked). Tender and juicy. Comes with the standard Horseradish. The thickened Au Jus(upper right corner, not fully pictured) is meaty flavored and not overly salted. I prefer to dip the Au Jus instead of poured over the meat. The fries were a bit too crunchy for me. Personally I prefer the ones at waves grill.

Note the steak knife. Feels weighted in your hands and well balanced. A note about the silverware use on Riviera... its a quality that is simply not found in most fine restaurants.

Dessert cart at Jacques.

Mille dessert at Jacques. There is something very satisfying textually speaking when biting into layers of thin crispy puff pastry with light cream in between. These taste as good as it looks. Order a cup of decaf/tea/milk with it and Enjoy ladies!

The Ship is our destination. I am dieting in preparation. I am forwarding this to my DH to assist in getting agreement to keep the February Cruise as I am booking a December cruise. Different itinerary but the ship is still the destination as we have been to all of the places on both cruises. He will love the stinky cheese. Thanks again reposado and please keep it coming.

Welcome guys!

Continued...

Pot of Mussels at Jacques. Strong white wine flavor. 3/5 solid dish. Not the best I've had but better than most.

Baked onion soup with cheese crust at Jacques. Flavor is bold and strong. A classic well prepared french onion soup. However I found it a bit too salty for my taste. A very subjective 2/5.

Escargots at Jacques. Cant be a french restaurant without these critters. I found them tasting like how it always does the 5-6 times I've tried them in various venues. Somewhat flavorless and soaked with butter. 3/5 good if you like Escargots. Notice the cool "instruments" that comes with the dish.

I believe this is a new dish. The fried orange duck at Jacques. As someone who has had many different sorts of good roasted ducks in Chinese restaurants I must say this dish was sub par. 1/5. Duck is supposed to be the tender/juicy/fatty cousin to chicken. A bird who is all dark meat. Duck is best roasted/baked/grilled instead of fried IMO. A few pieces were overcooked and dried out. Maybe I had a bad duck night? :confused:

The second new appetizer at Jacques is cubed Lobster with a layer of thin daikon radish as blanket, over that a sweet glaze and topped off with caviar. 5/5. Moist lobster mixed with the oceanic flavor of caviar. The daikon adds a much needed crisp texture while the sweet glaze smooths it all out. A must try.

I usually do the "Foie Gras double" at Jacques - terrine for the appetizer and sautéed for the entree.

I will do so especially now, after the July 1st CA ban on foie gras :mad:

As a fellow Californian dont get me started on the Foie Gras ban. :mad:

Speaking of the Foie Gras...

The Sauteed Foie Gras has been replaced by this in Jacques. 3/5 This dish was overall tasty but disappointing. Taste more strongly of olive oil rather than Foie Gras. Comes with breadsticks to dip in.

Dont be upset however... Jacques added two new appetizers that are both excellent.

First is a crab wrapped with spinach with cream sauce. 5/5 Delicious. Intricate. Creative. A cool refreshing french version of the crab cake. Dont miss this if your a lover of crab like I am.

opened view...

Foie Gras Terrine at Jacques. The only thing I love more than Foie Gras are sweet uni and expertly prepared sushi(no... not the "sushi for beginners" in terrace grill). 5/5. These dont disappoint; a must get for Foie Gras or even liver pate lovers. Add the included jelly and you get a sweet liverly bliss all on crunchy bread. Awesome dish.

Great photos. Please don't be shy about snapping away in Polo Grill. My taste buds perk in anticipation. Luckily I won't gain an ounce viewing photos or during our 18 days voyage on Marina while enjoying Polo rack of lamb, roast beef and pork. And the gravey...!!! And that is only the beginning!:)

If you have not noticed I am a full carnivore... Oh trust me... polo grill is coming....

Cheese trolley at jacques. If you enjoy stinky cheese you'll love this one. If you look closely you'll notices this cheese trolly has different cheese selection than the trolley at main dining room(pictured above).

A fried spinach and cheese dumping dish at Jacques. 1/5. pass unless you really love fried foods. With the sweet sauce reminded me of eggrolls served in unauthentic Chinese restaurants. Only reason we had it was because they were handing it out to everyone.

We all know by now Jacques bread has its named baked on... But, during the trip we sampled a couple of baguettes in french markets in France and it tasted the exact same as these. Nice job Oceania.

The kobe burger at waves grill. Did not try since I only have one stomach. Looks pretty darn good tho.

Typical little sandwiches you find at baristas or executive lounges. Take it with you and enjoy it on your balcony(or poolside). 3/5 decent. There are plenty of varieties and tastes better than it looks.

Our first O cruise isn't till November and we've got another one booked for next year. Been reading the posts here for only about two months now and this might be the best thread I've come across yet.

 

It's the food that lured us to Oceania and reading the menus (over and over every day) can only tell you so much about what the experience will be. These pictures are really better than the proverbial thousand words.

 

Thank you very much for posting!

Your welcome. Compliments motivates me to keep going.

Continuing...

The lamb chops in the grand dining room at breakfast. This is the main reason to head to the dinning room for breakfast. 3/5. Order it with mint jelly and its a great way for carnivores to start a day. This same dish is available nightly in the terrace cafe(but not breakfast).

A fish dish served at breakfast in grand dining room. Did not try the dish so no comment....

Eggs benedict and some mushrooms at grand dining room breakfast. Also available daily at terrace cafe. 3/5. not bad, nothing special either.

The "surf and turf" burger at waves grill. 3/5. Pretty good except not enough meat to bun ratio as you can see in the picture. You can order it with double meat Im sure without problems if you wish. :rolleyes:

4/5 for the fries. Crunchy on the outside and mushy and warm on the inside. Just the right amount of salt and a nice splash of cheese. Yes! go on the diet before the cruise because you'll need it.

I was on that cruise also. Riviera is amazing and the official O photos do not do her justice.

 

I thought the food was really good in all venues and was very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Red Ginger! But extra or changed reservations were very hard to come by.

 

The only issue we had was at disembarkation at Rome. The Rome Port Authority shut down the process twice, the last time for about a hour at 8:15 am. O's President even went ashore to try and work things out. The Port finally allowed the process to restart only after all luggage was off the ship. Why it took over 3 hours to get the luggage off is another matter.

 

Unfortunately, the delay probably caused some folks to miss flights and when the process was restarted, one 'gentleman' shoved his way to the front of the line, yelling and cursing at everyone who had been waiting for over an hour in line. :mad: Others who had tight connections politely asked if they could squeeze in and the line let them.

 

I have to say I really love Oceania and the cruise was extraordinary!

Charlotte

Was that "gentlemen" tall, Caucasian, Mosyly gray haired, not bald, maybe late 50s, and overweight?

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If you are a average american cheese eater like myself and crave for some cheese... ask them to chip off some cheese for you from the wheel in Toscana. Its delicious! Great Parmesan!

I would probably avoid this lady unless you know what your in for. They look awfully similar to the "fine AOE french cheese."

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Jacques "finest selection of AOC french cheese." Woah who cut the cheese! I enjoy cheese; even the slightly more pungent stuff... but I was not prepared for this... at all. Lets just say some smelled like toe jam while others a variety of body odors in a crowded Rome no air conditioning subway in the summer(which we got to experience first hand at the end of cruise). The mold is very visible on some pieces and it tastes very "well aged" to put it nicely. I will not review this plate since it would be like a non-alcohol drinker reviewing fine wine I suppose. However be warned... this dish I consider to be for expert cheese eater only.

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Lobster Tail served over "Tagliolini" pasta in Toscana. All you can taste is garlic, tomato, olive oil, and of course juicy lobster as well as al dente pasta. 4/5 fresh, simple, and delicious.

A pre-dessert snack at Toscana.

Chocolate dumplings at Toscana. Oceania knows their dessert. I really enjoyed the milky sauce and the rubbery(in a very good way) texture of the dumpling. The chocolate on the ship again taste more European than American(ie. More bitter than sweet). Contrast that with the slightly sweeter cream sauce and it was perfect.

Dessert sampler at Toscana.

Olive oil selection. I am no olive oil expert so it was a bit confusing.

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The Dover Sole at Toscana. Served tableside. Buttery, Creamy, soft, and a little bit of fun since they filet it in front of you. However, its nothing amazing and it is dwarfed in a major way by another fish dish served in Red Ginger. 3/5 solid but nothing amazing. In fact.... As a lover of fish I've had fish cooked and raw in many ways and country, from the cheap to pricy, and a fish dish from Red Ginger was so jaw dropping amazing that it will be etched in my memory forever. More on that later. :)

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The Lemon Veal Scallopini from Toscana. A few have raved about this dish on the forums. Personally for me while the sauce is decent, the meat itself was on the dry side(you dont get to pick how well its done for this dish, it comes well done). The meat texture itself reminded me of porkchops. The perfect meat for me would be American snake river wagyu or USDA prime cooked rare to medium-rare, and this veal was distant from the ideal. 3/5 Its decent but I'd recommend you go with the veal rack rare to medium-rare instead.

Thanks for taking the time to post this information. We are booked on our first Oceania cruise next year and looking forward to the food and service.

 

Can you please expand on your comment re the difficulty in getting dinner reservations? Did you attempt to book online in advance? Or did you choose to have your butler handle it once aboard?

 

Since we are booked in a standard cabin, I am now concerned that we will be last on the list for dining in the specialty restaurants. We do prefer to dine later, about 8-8:30, and wondering about the popularity of those times.

 

Thanks.

Everyone will get their 4 guranteed specialty reservations. And yes, definitely go online in advance to book them. Its getting more than one shot at each specialty restaurant(especially on a full and shorter cruise) that was the challenge. The menu is fairly lengthy and with only one go its impossible to try even half of menu(unless you have a butler who can bring the food to your room).

I was on the same cruise and the Beef Capaccio in Red Ginger was unbelievable. Fully of flavour and to say mouth watering is the understatement.

I reviewed the beef cappcio in toscana not the one in red ginger. And yes the cappaccio at Red Ginger is better than the one in Toscana. I have a pic of that as well hopefully will eventually get to it.

The octopus carpaccio at Toscana. A visually beautiful dish. However the taste similar to the beef carpaccio is somewhat none existant. It is again sliced too thin and I am not even sure if its raw(texture suggest that it may be cooked). 2/5.

The Veal rack at Toscana. Possibly the best meat dish in Toscana. Your frist reaction when you see it is soft "wow..." Tastes as impressive as it is visually. Tender with a creamy sweet sauce. Easily a $50+ dish at fine establishments. 5/5 must try if you enjoy Veal.

Going to bed now... I will post more tomorrow only if this thread becomes popular since it is so time consuming.

goodnight!

Continuing on...

Another dish of boarding lunch

Snacks they gave us when we ordered a drink at martini. Not available all the time I believe.

Raw beef capaccio at toscana. Not the wrost beef capaccio but certainly not the best I've had. Fairly bland in flavor. Beef sliced so thin that it sticks to the plate. 2/5 fair dish.

Lobster Risotto at Toscana. Excellently prepared. Risotto cooked perfectly(al dente style). Flavor was rich and creamy with large chunks of lobster. 5/5 a much try if you enjoy risotto.

Stayed in the PH 6/17 10 day cruise on Riviera. I am a foodie thus this review is focused on the food of the ship. Since I cant post pictures in the official review section(that I know of) I will post my review here. I am writing this review when I can so excuse the poor grammer/spelling and it will probably take mult post and a few days to cover all the food. Some general comments/tips before I start:

- Extra dining reservation on this mostly full 10 day cruise was very hard to come by(either that or our butler was not aggressive enough). Luckily we had a butler to bring the food to us in our suite. So for those who dont have a butler the visuals may help them decide the few items they may want to try.

- The thelassotherapy(spelling?) pool by the spa is a great spot and officially its for suite or spa guests only. However, no staff checks(on our cruise) who is entering the area. They serve the usual host of drinks on a cart in the area as well.

- You can order virgin strawberry daiquiri or other virgin blended drinks at the bar by the pool at no charge. Great for none alcoholic drinkers like myself.

- I saw 2 instances of of cruisers mistreating staff. Its something I've never seen on any other vacations before. In both cases they were arrogant and total jerks. There is a word for people who harass another who cant fight back. Its called bullying. Having said that except these two the vast majority of cruisers were pleasant.

On with the food:

This was sitting in our suite when we arrived. A nice touch. Desserts on the ship is generally not too sweet(more European style) which I enjoy.

Drinks at the gym.

Some general items served on the terrace grill lunch on boarding. Generally decent but nothing spectacular either. Dinner is better. All the crab used on board is real crab btw. Not the imitation stuff.