New Dinner Menu in GDR

There was an article posted about the new menus here on CC at the beginning of May and a corresponding thread created. There are three sample menus on the bottom of the article (they take a few seconds to load). There does seem to be repetition in some of the appetizer items. I'm a little disappointed not to see any foie gras, which I thought I recalled seeing in the current menus (it's in the current sample menu on their site). Since these are only a few of the menus, hopefully it's in some of the others. Or maybe it's an example of cheapening of the menu items.

they will probably have different menus once onboard usually they rotate 10-14 days depending on the cruise length

The 3 shown are just a sampling

There is a little footnote at the bottom of each...the first says Day 5, the second Day 9, and the third says Day 12. Desserts are Days 1,2, and 3.

I have no idea if they will follow them in numerical order though.

Lyn;

I believe, from what we saw in February which was prechange, is closer in line to what Mura describes. Historically, as you stated, Oceania did seem to rotate the menu every 11-14 days. On that cruise, the number of overall menu items seemed to decline and specific items would reappear every 3-4 days in the GDR. We eat regularly in the GDR, enjoying the sharing atmosphere of sit down meals while meeting fellow cruisers, plus are not buffet fans for dinner . We were surprised by the new regularity that items reappeared.

No one ever starved aboard ship. I couldn’t image doing a 30+ day cruise with the items spinning/reappearing as fast as they seem to be doing now. This is especially true since O refuses to ever alter its Specialties menus. Just makes those on shore lunches, with fresh local cuisine, that much more special!

Truthfully we usually eat in the GDR & wished on some nights they would repeat dishes from other nights as I choose to eat something different that night do not have room for everything ;)

I sometimes will just settle for the "Always Available " as nothing appeals to me

Hopefully in July the new menus will be rolled out on our cruise

I never really noticed if thing repeat nightly or not

I deal with what is on the menu at the time ;)

On the Oceania Cruises blog where they announce the new Grand Dining Room menus they have a link to the menus and you can print them

Hi, where can I find the Oceania Blog for the new menus? Thanks.

Hi, where can I find the Oceania Blog for the new menus? Thanks.

You’ll find three here...wait for them to load.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=8601

Hi, where can I find the Oceania Blog for the new menus? Thanks.

On O site home page, at the bottom, there is a story of some kind, just click on "read more", and a new window will open, which is the O blog site.

First I have seen that GDR is catering hall. I’ll report in two weeks.

 

 

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So did you hace the new menus on your sailing? Anyone else had them? This was the schedule from the article/press release in May:

The new dinner menus are currently available onboard Riviera, and will be introduced aboard Sirena later this month, Insignia in June, Nautica and Marina in July, and Regatta in August.

We were on Riviera in May and were not at all impressed with the new menus. Too much repetition.

Mura

Personally, I don't care what the menus are in the GDR on Marina/Riviera I avoid it at all costs because I dislike dining in a catering hall atmosphere.

What a condescending post

JMO

Others may have different opinions

What a condescending post

JMO

Others may have different opinions

That's why I said it was jmo. And I stand by it. The whole look of the place reminds me of weddings and bar mitzvahs.

I'm not talking about the food, just the atmosphere.

If you like it good for you. You are getting what you want.

We were on Riviera in May and were not at all impressed with the new menus. Too much repetition.

 

 

Mura

That must have been a disappointment for you, Mura. I know you enjoy the GDR and its variety. We do too. Even with the old menus on odd occasion would have a menu that did not appeal to us both but with more repetition this will not be an improvement. I'd expect this to (eventually) impact longer cruise repeaters

Good grief - just my luck. When I upgrade to a new (for me) cruise line they start major cost cutting :mad:

dont get too wound up....the upgrade to O will still provide you with considerable wow and pleasure over the line you came from... There is much more that will also impress, low key, non nickel-dime, 1/4 the passengers, Ambiance and manners and demeanor of fellow passengers There man be changes but there will be changes too in the line from which you are switching from..... Thats life and dont get all that worked up over something that will be a wonderful new and superior experience

That's why I said it was jmo. And I stand by it. The whole look of the place reminds me of weddings and bar mitzvahs.

 

I'm not talking about the food, just the atmosphere.

 

If you like it good for you. You are getting what you want.

+1 JMO also

That's why I said it was jmo. And I stand by it. The whole look of the place reminds me of weddings and bar mitzvahs.

So what exactly do you expect in a room that has to be large enough to hold several hundred people? What could you possibly expect to have on a cruise ship, other than on a ship that only holds a hundred or so passengers, that is? Lots of catering halls are pretty fancy, so I'm guessing that you don't want glitz. Do you want a room full of tables for 2 and 4 people?

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That's why I said it was jmo. And I stand by it. The whole look of the place reminds me of weddings and bar mitzvahs.

 

I'm not talking about the food, just the atmosphere.

 

If you like it good for you. You are getting what you want.

I am wondering if we might have met It was at Sharrow Bay in the Lake District of UK, back in 87, You were wearing monogrammed slippers and a velvet smoking jacket and complaining that they were cutting the toast wrong.... Was that you???

Just completed first (and highly likely last) cruise on Oceania. Insignia July 1-15. There was quite a bit of repetition in the appetizers. Only two soups, and one was always a consumme. So one actual soup option.

The French Country Pate looked nothing like pate to me, but I gave it a try. Absolutely disgusting, asked the waiter to remove it from the table immediately. I have never done that on any of our 35 prior cruises. Checked online today to see what Jacques Pepin's Country Pate looks like. According to the recipe photo, it looks like regular pate. A smooth, rich brown spread. What I was served was some compressed loaf of mostly beige with a few spots of brown. Interestingly, the same slab was presented as chestnut stuffing with my turkey dinner. Which had sunflower seeds in the gravy. Not the only truly bizarre offerings. My husband ordered Bouillabaisse. It came with an accompaniment of garlic mayonnaise. The offerings were truly weird, like trying to put some different spin on things without regard to whether the combination worked. Filets in Polo were tough. I did have a lovely Dover Sole in lemon butter sauce, and hubby enjoyed the Reuben panini. We love to eat, but the food was so disappointing we both lost weight on this cruise. Preserves put out at breakfast past pull date. Something's going on.

There was a photo gallery, but no photographer.

Never found any trace of Tapas on the Terrace on deck 9.

Most cruise lines offer as "always available" a sirloin, chicken breast, and salmon filet. Nope, not Oceania. The always available was mashed potatoes, a baked potato and pasta with marinara, Bolognese or pesto sauce. By week two that was all I was eating.

Upon disembarkation, our first stop was a restaurant. We were truly HUNGRY.

Flame me all you like. I'm providing specific examples (so many more but I want to be done with this whole experience), not simply expressing an opinion. I noticed early on that there are a few Oceania posters who are downright rude. I should have taken that as my cue to switch my booking.

Oh, met several others for whom this was their first Oceania cruise. Every single one of them we spoke to also said it would be their last. Frequent Oceania cruises said they liked Oceania, but found aspects of this cruise disappointing.

We provided as much of this feedback as the evaluation form provided room for. Limited space doesn't seem designed to elicit a full review.

Oh, forgot to mention we were served spoiled produce TWICE at the Terrace Café.

Oh, forgot to mention we were served spoiled produce TWICE at the Terrace Café.

I am sorry to read about your bad experience - it sounds really awful.The fact that it does not match our food experiences on 25+ Oceania cruises does not mean that what you describe is not true.

We have another 14 day cruise on Marina coming up in Oct/Nov and I am anxious to see what is going on.

Thank you for reporting back.

PS - what was the spoiled produce?

Sorry to hear your experience was so unhappy. Your experience does match with ours. Perhaps yours was an aberration? But I can see why you don't want to give O another chance.

I won't flame you!

I agree with Paul's comments. This sounds like a real anomaly but those of us who love Oceania over many cruises want to know when there are problems as well as when everything was just perfect.

Mura

Just completed first (and highly likely last) cruise on Oceania. Insignia July 1-15. There was quite a bit of repetition in the appetizers. Only two soups, and one was always a consumme. So one actual soup option.

 

Oh, met several others for whom this was their first Oceania cruise. Every single one of them we spoke to also said it would be their last. Frequent Oceania cruises said they liked Oceania, but found aspects of this cruise disappointing.

That's disappointing, although having checked Insignia reviews here today it seems like yours is not an isolated opinion on your cruise. Not to make excuses (and I have never been on Oceania although am sailing on Insignia in one month), but according to the reviews it was the last leg of the World Cruise so maybe something was up. Apparently folks like yourself who were just on this leg were treated as second-class citizens according to the reviews. Still no excuse for spoiled produce or bad food.

J...Not the only truly bizarre offerings. My husband ordered Bouillabaisse. It came with an accompaniment of garlic mayonnaise.

That garlic mayonnaise, rather than being truly bizarre, is an essential ingredient for a classic Bouillabaisse. The mixture is called rouille and ranges in color from red (via the use of roasted red pepper) to a more subtle pale orange (via the use of saffron and cayenne).

A Google search for Bouillabaisse will turn up a considerable number of links including a recipe for rouille or, at least, a link to an optional rouille recipe.

The text that precedes the Epicurious recipe states: "As they say, bouillabaisse without rouille is like Marseille without sunshine. This ruddy, bread-thickened sauce adds an essential garlicky richness and delivers a true burst of Mediterranean flavor."

Just completed first (and highly likely last) cruise on Oceania. Insignia July 1-15. There was quite a bit of repetition in the appetizers. Only two soups, and one was always a consumme. So one actual soup option.

 

The French Country Pate looked nothing like pate to me, but I gave it a try. Absolutely disgusting, asked the waiter to remove it from the table immediately. I have never done that on any of our 35 prior cruises. Checked online today to see what Jacques Pepin's Country Pate looks like. According to the recipe photo, it looks like regular pate. A smooth, rich brown spread. What I was served was some compressed loaf of mostly beige with a few spots of brown. Interestingly, the same slab was presented as chestnut stuffing with my turkey dinner. Which had sunflower seeds in the gravy. Not the only truly bizarre offerings. My husband ordered Bouillabaisse. It came with an accompaniment of garlic mayonnaise. The offerings were truly weird, like trying to put some different spin on things without regard to whether the combination worked. Filets in Polo were tough. I did have a lovely Dover Sole in lemon butter sauce, and hubby enjoyed the Reuben panini. We love to eat, but the food was so disappointing we both lost weight on this cruise. Preserves put out at breakfast past pull date. Something's going on.

 

There was a photo gallery, but no photographer.

 

Never found any trace of Tapas on the Terrace on deck 9.

 

Most cruise lines offer as "always available" a sirloin, chicken breast, and salmon filet. Nope, not Oceania. The always available was mashed potatoes, a baked potato and pasta with marinara, Bolognese or pesto sauce. By week two that was all I was eating.

 

Upon disembarkation, our first stop was a restaurant. We were truly HUNGRY.

 

Flame me all you like. I'm providing specific examples (so many more but I want to be done with this whole experience), not simply expressing an opinion. I noticed early on that there are a few Oceania posters who are downright rude. I should have taken that as my cue to switch my booking.

 

Oh, met several others for whom this was their first Oceania cruise. Every single one of them we spoke to also said it would be their last. Frequent Oceania cruises said they liked Oceania, but found aspects of this cruise disappointing.

 

We provided as much of this feedback as the evaluation form provided room for. Limited space doesn't seem designed to elicit a full review.

Insignia must be run by another cruise line than Marina which I’m currently on. Everyday choices in the GDR are steak, salmon and chicken like it’s always been. I’ve never seen a photo gallery on any Oceania ship, lack of photographers is a plus on O, not a negative.

I checked preserves at breakfast and all of them have good till sometime in 20.

Not doubting your experiences but it doesn’t sound like any I’ve had in 20 Oceania Cruises. I’m in no way a cheerleader, just call it like it is.

very odd there is " Always Available" options on the ships

Chicken, Steak Frites, Salmon

Photographers have not been a part of Oceania for years

curious where the photo gallery was??

That's disappointing, although having checked Insignia reviews here today it seems like yours is not an isolated opinion on your cruise. Not to make excuses (and I have never been on Oceania although am sailing on Insignia in one month), but according to the reviews it was the last leg of the World Cruise so maybe something was up. ...

Technically I think this itinerary was the first post-world-cruise one, not the last leg of a world cruise (I think worldies disembarked July 1st?).

But as you say MisterBill, not an excuse one way or the other.

Cinnamon Seahorse, I can understand why you don't want to return given your experience, including the mal de mer. A more familiar line might be a much better fit :) Happy cruising!

FYI and iirc (always a question lol) there has consistently been only one soup du jour plus one consomme for a dinner time soup selection -- that's not new for O -- but whether it's new or not, if you want lots of soup choices at dinner O may not be a perfect fit.

I think "Tapas on the Terrace" may have been a label on O a *long* time ago, but Terrace is indeed onboard - it's the buffet (and we have sometimes dined tapas style there, with lots of small plates). Agree with LHT28 and ORV, 'everyday choices' in the GDR have been steak frites, roast chicken and salmon since at least 2012. Also you can get plain proteins at the grill in Terrace every day. I have been known to order the Kobe burger at Waves with nothing (no bun, no fries) and then add salads and condiments -- options are there, but may not always be obvious on the first pass.