local cuisine experience on board

since we will be sailing from dubai to capetown with stops in india, will be able offered

a taste of the local cuisine on board dining ?

We have yet to cruise in that "neck of the woods." However, in all sorts of other locations (most recently a TransPacific cruise on Insignia), we've often enjoyed local preparations (e.g., a variety of regional options using fresh Tuna from Nuka Hiva) cooked "a la minute" outdoors at the Terrace Café.

That said, it really depends on who is the executive chef onboard and what does his discretionary budget look like.

since we will be sailing from dubai to capetown with stops in india, will be able offered

 

a taste of the local cuisine on board dining ?

Why not dine off the ship for lunch or dinner if staying in port is late enough? That's the best way to get a taste of the local cuisine.

Why not dine off the ship for lunch or dinner if staying in port is late enough? That's the best way to get a taste of the local cuisine.

Don't you think ANYBODY knows that ? NOT a helpful comment, and NOT addressing the subject brought up by OP

Don't you think ANYBODY knows that ? NOT a helpful comment, and NOT addressing the subject brought up by OP

Snarky much?

Why not dine off the ship for lunch or dinner if staying in port is late enough? That's the best way to get a taste of the local cuisine.

Henry,

I agree with you in most places but not necessarily so in India :)

Yes, they often have dishes based on the area sailed. And in general, the "new" lunchtime Bistro menu:

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/media/2018/OCEANIA+CRUISES+INTRODUCES+NEW+BISTRO+MENUS+FOR+LUNCH+-+Lunch+in+The+Grand+Dining+Room+is+Now+an+Affair+to+Remember/

"Big, Bold Flavors From Around The Globe

Lunchtime at The Bistro also offers 14 new Taste of the World selections from Cuba, Mexico, Scandinavia, Italy, Asia, Greece, France, Lebanon, Spain, Morocco, England, Philippines, the Caribbean, and India. Each Taste of the World dish offers a selection of six different local or regional specialties that have been inspired by our culinary team member’s root and their travels and can be ordered as an entrée or as an appetizer that is perfect for sharing. Some of the more off-the-beaten-path dishes that guests will find include pickled vegetables and roasted lemongrass chicken from the Philippines, lamb kefta from Lebanon, aubergine chickpea salad from Morocco, and marinated herring with polar bread, from Scandinavia."

Why not dine off the ship for lunch or dinner if staying in port is late enough? That's the best way to get a taste of the local cuisine.

+1

All these "Bold Flavors" are planned menu items. The only way to get locally sourced foods on your Dubai - Capetown is to go ashore.

IMO, Oceania does very little local cuisine dishes. Most dishes, even with local names, are often Americanized without most of the local flavors and spices.

The only way to get locally sourced foods on your Dubai - Capetown is to go ashore.

Again - I agree with the principle but eating out in India can be very tricky (as in Delhi belly). Not for inexperienced travelers.

You make a mistake and the rest of your cruise could be down the toilet (so to speak) :)

Consider Oceania tours that include lunch if you are traveling to high risk areas. We did that several times on tours in Vietnam and were glad we did. We did get to try the local cuisine with a reasonable assurance that the food would be safe.

As to food on the ship, they did get locally available fish on a several of our recent cruises, including fresh salmon in Alaska. Most menu items seem to be standard for all cruises.

Mary

Don't you think ANYBODY knows that ? NOT a helpful comment, and NOT addressing the subject brought up by OP

Sounds like I pushed a button of someone who doesn't want to spend money rating off the ship!

Sounds like I pushed a button of someone who doesn't want to spend money rating off the ship!

WAY off!! you pushed the button of someone who doesn't appreciate seeing comments that are insulting to the intelligence of "average" person....don't you really think that everybody knows best way of tasting local food is do it at port? ...but OP ,who also knows this fact, is asking about the ship's participation and providing 'LOCAL" taste.... so,if you want to help,answer THE question asked.

For your info, if we are visiting a new port ,we ALWAYS eat lunch there, and if overnight stay, dinner ...unless it's a repeat location and we were not happy with prior experience

Henry,

I agree with you in most places but not necessarily so in India :)

+2 for that region I would have to say no Not many like real Indian cuisine.... Americanized yes local NO

I have noticed that Indian cooking is often offered on board on Oceania. Since this is not something I am fond of, but in view of the fact that there are a lot of crew from that part of the world, I can't imagine that is it "bad".

On the other hand, my favorite butler often goes off the ship for Indian food, so why not ask the crew where they go.

WAY off!! you pushed the button of someone who doesn't appreciate seeing comments that are insulting to the intelligence of "average" person....don't you really think that everybody knows best way of tasting local food is do it at port? ...but OP ,who also knows this fact, is asking about the ship's participation and providing 'LOCAL" taste.... so,if you want to help,answer THE question asked.

 

For your info, if we are visiting a new port ,we ALWAYS eat lunch there, and if overnight stay, dinner ...unless it's a repeat location and we were not happy with prior experience

I hope you have a cruise booked soon no matter where or what you eat. You need to chill out.

I have noticed that Indian cooking is often offered on board on Oceania. Since this is not something I am fond of, but in view of the fact that there are a lot of crew from that part of the world, I can't imagine that is it "bad".

 

On the other hand, my favorite butler often goes off the ship for Indian food, so why not ask the crew where they go.

Like you Carol, we ask the crew where they go when off the ship and usually they are spot on. We had a magnificent meal in Cambodia and in Mumbai we went to a high end Indian restaurant both were highly recommended. Never got sick at all but we both love spicy food. Our opinion is that Regent does a great special order of Indian food and they always have the special ingredients in the crew mess as they employ a lot of Indian crew.

Singapore is a place nobody needs to worry about as their venues including street food are monitored closely by the government and subject to frequent inspections.

We love to travel and love eating safe local cuisine.

Bon appetite no matter where your travels take you.

I have noticed that Indian cooking is often offered on board on Oceania. Since this is not something I am fond of, but in view of the fact that there are a lot of crew from that part of the world, I can't imagine that is it "bad".

 

On the other hand, my favorite butler often goes off the ship for Indian food, so why not ask the crew where they go.

My least favorite food on Oceania is when they have the Indian night in the Terrace. And I like all kinds of spices, as well as hot spicy. So it's not like I prefer bland food or anything.

We had two overnights in Mumbai to allow trips to Agra, and the tours included meals that were great. I suspect that was the case because the meals were in high end hotels and not from street vendors or local restaurants.

While the chefs might go off ship to purchase local items like seafood, they really don’t change the menus to reflect local cuisine. We did get locally sourced salmon from Alaska, but not much else in other parts of the world.

WAY off!! you pushed the button of someone who doesn't appreciate seeing comments that are insulting to the intelligence of "average" person....don't you really think that everybody knows best way of tasting local food is do it at port? ...but OP ,who also knows this fact, is asking about the ship's participation and providing 'LOCAL" taste.... so,if you want to help,answer THE question asked.

 

For your info, if we are visiting a new port ,we ALWAYS eat lunch there, and if overnight stay, dinner ...unless it's a repeat location and we were not happy with prior experience

Looks like the "doctor" needs to adjust his meds.

Looks like the "doctor" needs to adjust his meds.

Maybe he just ate some bad local food in NYC!

WAY off!! you pushed the button of someone who doesn't appreciate seeing comments that are insulting to the intelligence of "average" person....don't you really think that everybody knows best way of tasting local food is do it at port? ...but OP ,who also knows this fact, is asking about the ship's participation and providing 'LOCAL" taste.... so,if you want to help,answer THE question asked.

 

For your info, if we are visiting a new port ,we ALWAYS eat lunch there, and if overnight stay, dinner ...unless it's a repeat location and we were not happy with prior experience

It would seem that such a broad and blanket suggestion, to the average person, would seem to be a rather risky behavior. I come to O for its cuisine it offers and the ports to tour. Sanitation and meat and produce in many countries can and has seriously impacted visitors.... Thanks I think I will eat on the ship, not wanting to roll the dice.

We did this itinerary last year and can confirm there were no evenings where local cuisine offered onboard.

We did this itinerary last year and can confirm there were no evenings where local cuisine offered onboard.

Very helpful ,and informative post .

Maybe he just ate some bad local food in NYC!

Ha!

It's possible. I had paella last month in Queens that had me in bed for a day.

These kinds of threads nicely demonstrate one major reason why cruises exist.

They are perfect for the timid traveler who doesn't really understand the complexities of a particular country or a region, including its cuisine, and who doesn't really want to know more.

One poster in particular (the one who's afraid of pretty much everything) clearly doesn't understand that India has numerous regions, each with its own food specialties and styles. It's necessary to be careful when choosing, but experiencing those various cuisines is truly one of the delights of travel. But of course, one needs to eat outside the ship dining room to do so.