trvlfan Posted May 9, 2013 #1 Share Posted May 9, 2013 It seems that the first night would be a great time to reserve a specialty restaurant... the larder has been restocked, and many passengers are still getting their bearings. So for all of you experienced O cruisers, where do you dine the first night out, and... what do you like to order (especially if you think certain items may run out)? We are taking the Riviera transatlantic (Miami - Barcelona) spring 2014, and with long days at sea, menu favorites are bound to run out. So, what is your preference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TERRIER1 Posted May 9, 2013 #2 Share Posted May 9, 2013 It seems that the first night would be a great time to reserve a specialty restaurant... the larder has been restocked, and many passengers are still getting their bearings. So for all of you experienced O cruisers, where do you dine the first night out, and... what do you like to order (especially if you think certain items may run out)? We are taking the Riviera transatlantic (Miami - Barcelona) spring 2014, and with long days at sea, menu favorites are bound to run out. So, what is your preference? We try to snag an additional reservation since the specialty restaurants are not always full on the day of embarkation especially if it is a late sail night. Whichever one is free is where we go with Jacques and Red Ginger being our preferred. Nothing ever runs out. The only advantage of the first night is if the chefs went shopping at the port and picked up some very fresh local food such as mussels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacarr Posted May 9, 2013 #3 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Three weeks ago on our first night on Marina, Meg and I ate at Jaques. All the Specialty restaurants are very good, but Jaques is our favorite. One of the reasons is that there are so many things we really like on the menu. On our first night Meg had the Duck Foie Gras Terrine and I had the Molten Goat Cheese Soufflé for starters. We both had the Heart of Boston Lettuce with Shallots and Roquefort Salad. For entrees we both had Five Peppercorn Filet Steak with Light Brandy Sauce. There are many great dishes on the menu and we were back twice to enjoy them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted May 10, 2013 #4 Share Posted May 10, 2013 It seems that the first night would be a great time to reserve a specialty restaurant... the larder has been restocked, and many passengers are still getting their bearings. So for all of you experienced O cruisers, where do you dine the first night out, and... what do you like to order (especially if you think certain items may run out)? We are taking the Riviera transatlantic (Miami - Barcelona) spring 2014, and with long days at sea, menu favorites are bound to run out. So, what is your preference? With exception of rare Prime Rib in Polo, I've never experienced any of the Specialty Restaurant's to run out of anything, and while I'm sure that anything can happen, I don't believe that it is a very common occurance. That said, we almost always prefer the Grand Dining Room on the first night of a cruise. It's relaxed and airy ambience is just what we are looking for after all of the excitement of boarding the ship and getting settled in our cabin. The Lounges are full of old and new friends, after dark, so we are anxious for the games to begin :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted May 10, 2013 #5 Share Posted May 10, 2013 About the only thing that is not always available are fresh mussels in Jacques - for obvious reason. Especially so on a TA with many sea days and few ports. So if they have mussels at Jacques on the first night - that would be my choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jancruz Posted May 10, 2013 #6 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Since we like to unpack and not get dressed on the first night we usually eat in the Terrace so many wonderful choices up there..on the MANY cruises we have been on, I have never seen any restaurant run out with the exception of as Paul said the mussels but they will not run out for a while so not to worry.. Jancruz1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boreus Posted May 10, 2013 #7 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Red Ginger. And then try to get as many additional reservations as we can in Red Ginger during the balance of the cruise. I think Red Ginger is a unique fusion restaurant with menu items I have never eaten anywhere else, e.g., the seafood grill which I understand is no longer on the menu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dundeene Posted May 10, 2013 #8 Share Posted May 10, 2013 For a crowd the Grand Dining room is our choice. If you make a few fast friends in Horizons or in the piano bar you can easily walk in and be seated at a large table together. If it is a special anniversary or birthday (as we have had on-board) we like Red Ginger on the 1st night at a 2 top. Love the chicken, lemon grass, coconut milk soup, duck and watermelon salad, pomelo summer roll, and miso seabass (unless they have the scallops with the miso glaze!!!!) I have just over a month, but an already planning when and where to dine:D We have never experienced any food on the menu being unavailable on an Oceania cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted May 10, 2013 #9 Share Posted May 10, 2013 We go to the GDR Favourite....anything that looks good I can only remember a few things Oceania has ever run out of they were rare occurrences The great berry fiasco in Asia & Sea Bass in Red Ginger on one of the early Marina cruises As others have said they do not usually RUN OUT of anything Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted May 10, 2013 #10 Share Posted May 10, 2013 There's a story that happened several years ago that illustrates why experienced Oceania cruisers are certain nothing runs out. Seems that someone made a casual, not very intensive complaint that the ship ran out of fresh berries at breakfast on their cruise. Oceania founder Frank Del Rio, CEO of Oceania at the time (now Chairan and CEO of Prestige Cruise Holdings, the owner of Oceania and Regent Seven Seas) reads Cruise Critic every day. He saw the complaint and immediately took action. He posted here to the effect that he had contacted every Food and Beverage Manager on all the ships and ordered them to increase inventory and take whatever steps were necessary to never run out of berries again! And, with rare exceptions that involve one specific type or berry or another, as far as I know they never have since. When Oceania was first begun 10 years ago, they started on a true shoestring. They were about to enter a cruise world dominated by giant cruise line chains. They had to do something to set themselves apart and make an immediate imporession. They decided to serve the finest cuisine at sea. Since then, they have spent more per guest on food than any other cruise line, and have the well-deserved reputation of the finest food at sea. "Running out" is just not an option. If this is your first cruise on Riviera, you are in for a fabulous treat. There are no wrong choices. To specifically answer your question, we love the ambiance, service and menu choices of the Grand Dining Room and choose it over all other venues. Among specialty restaurants, my favorite is Polo and Betsy's favorite is Reg Ginger. Breakfast is almost always in the GDR or at Waves if we wake up late; lunch is almost always at Waves. We just spent 14 days aboard Riviera (our 4th voyage on her since launching less than a year ago) and did not go to the Terrace Cafe once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacarr Posted May 10, 2013 #11 Share Posted May 10, 2013 And, with rare exceptions that involve one specific type or berry or another, as far as I know they never have since. We just spent 14 days aboard Riviera (our 4th voyage on her since launching less than a year ago) and did not go to the Terrace Cafe once. On our 18 day Marina cruise that ended a few days ago, the ship did run our of Raspberries and Strawberries towards the end. There were 4 sea days a couple days at Easter Island and then four more sea days. Every port was a tender port so I suppose it was hard to provision the ship mid cruise. We also avoid the Terrace cafe, favoring the dinning room and Waves. One afternoon we had a hankering for a burger, went to waves and found it very crowded with no place to sit and a long line to even order. We took the nearby elevator to the dining room and had the same burger in nice quiet surroundings. No problem finding a table either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted May 10, 2013 #12 Share Posted May 10, 2013 We have never experienced any food on the menu being unavailable on an Oceania cruise. Actually, it is quite common for them not to have mussels in Jacques as obviously these have to be fresh and live. So, they don't necessarily run out of them - rather they either have them or don't have them, depending on the port and the season. I have experienced this more than once. However, there are plenty of other choices :D PS We too ran out of berries on our Santiago to Papeete cruise. With so many sea days and few (or no) suitable places to restock some supplies along the way it is understandable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Caroldoll Posted May 10, 2013 #13 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Miso crusted sea bass! I eat raw fish that most of you probably wouldn't like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted May 10, 2013 #14 Share Posted May 10, 2013 We just spent 14 days aboard Riviera (our 4th voyage on her since launching less than a year ago) and did not go to the Terrace Cafe once. 2 years ago we were on a B2B2B Marina for a total of 49 days and we had dinner in the MDR 3 or 4 times max. The rest was in specialty restaurants and the Terrace. It just goes to show you - to each their own :) There is no BAD place to eat on the O ships. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted May 10, 2013 #15 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Our favorite first dinner on an R ship is our suite either alone or with one other couple. Veal chops with wild mushrooms from Toscana and dover sole. Perfect relaxed way to begin a cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy The Wanderer Posted May 10, 2013 #16 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Is it a valid tactic to book your specialty resto nights early in a cruise in the hopes of further ressies later in the cruise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted May 10, 2013 #17 Share Posted May 10, 2013 About the only thing that is not always available are fresh mussels in Jacques - for obvious reason. Especially so on a TA with many sea days and few ports. So if they have mussels at Jacques on the first night - that would be my choice. Indeed, I had the mussels on our first night on Marina in Oct '11 and they were marvelous. Later in the cruise (probably towards the end), I tried to order them again and they were out. This wasn't a TA but even so, they hadn't been able to get more. :( I can't remember anything else on any cruise that ran out during the cruise. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted May 10, 2013 #18 Share Posted May 10, 2013 It's a valid tactic but I wouldn't say it is necessary. Some cruises have plenty of reservations all the time (or most all the time) because enough of us aren't that "into" all the specialty restaurants. On other cruises, you may just get the one or two you are entitled to and no more. There is no way of predicting. I remember on Renaissance they used to call us towards the end of the cruise when we hadn't used our specialty reservations ... Oceania has never done that! (Not that I expect them to.) Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted May 10, 2013 #19 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I remember on Renaissance they used to call us towards the end of the cruise when we hadn't used our specialty reservations ... Oceania has never done that! (Not that I expect them to.) Mura We have been called when we have not used our allotment Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted May 10, 2013 #20 Share Posted May 10, 2013 It's a valid tactic but I wouldn't say it is necessary. Some cruises have plenty of reservations all the time (or most all the time) because enough of us aren't that "into" all the specialty restaurants. On other cruises, you may just get the one or two you are entitled to and no more.There is no way of predicting. I remember on Renaissance they used to call us towards the end of the cruise when we hadn't used our specialty reservations ... Oceania has never done that! (Not that I expect them to.) Mura We seemed to be called frequently and offered reservations which we rarely used since we enjoy food from the specialty restaurants in our suite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted May 10, 2013 #21 Share Posted May 10, 2013 That's interesting. I don't think we ever have been called and we usually do not use all our allotment... sometimes we do. As I recall when we were booted up to a Vista on Marina (as a result of switching from a heavily booked cruise to one that had lost of availability) our butler took it upon himself to get us reservations for nearly every night of the cruise. We didn't use all of those -- sometimes we were going to have dinner with others or the time was wrong. Two nights we ordered in from the specialty restaurants and dined in our room. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted May 10, 2013 #22 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Is it a valid tactic to book your specialty resto nights early in a cruise in the hopes of further ressies later in the cruise? Wendy, It is a very good idea and we often use this "tactic". It is even more important for you as a first-timer on Riviera/Marina to get to know the specialty restaurants and then decide which one you like best and thus where you want to make your extra reservations for :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted May 10, 2013 #23 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Is it a valid tactic to book your specialty resto nights early in a cruise in the hopes of further ressies later in the cruise? As has been stated already, the success of this tactic depends on the makeup of your Cruise. The Specialty Restaurant Menus are static, so eventually those who have cruised with Oceania multiple times reach a kind of saturation. On a longer cruise, they eventually become more intrigued by the variety and flexibility of the Grand Ding Room and the Terrace, and extra reservations in the Specialties abound. Shorter cruises (less than 12 days) and certain Itineraries (the Caribbean comes to mind) attract more first time cruisers and the demand never slackens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CintiPam Posted May 10, 2013 #24 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I believe that the most effective way to get more specialty restaurant reservations is to be very flexible on the time you will go to eat. If you are willing to eat early, you will find many more opportunities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted May 10, 2013 #25 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I believe that the most effective way to get more specialty restaurant reservations is to be very flexible on the time you will go to eat. If you are willing to eat early, you will find many more opportunities. That, as well as flexibility as to the table size. If you are willing to share a table, your chances are generally better than for a table for 2. That said, we were approached more than once during our lunch in the Terrace Café about availability in a certain specialty restaurant for that night. Either they were not fully booked or they had cancelations. People often do not wish to dine in the specialty restaurant after a very long day in port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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