The best food I had on Riviera... And the worst!

[blackbr]

Just returned from a wonderous cruise starting in Istanbul and concluding in Rome. The only sour note was our inability to stop in Amalfi due to high winds. Disappointing since we'd booked a private tour to Pompeii.

 

The ship was tremendous and we met a lot of quality people!

 

Our first meal was in the Grand Dining room. I had the rotisserie chicken which was good but I get a better one at my corner gas station.

 

The second day we celebrated my birthday at Polo Grill. It started with lobster bisque which quite frankly was not good. The lobster was more squid-like and my waiter poured some form of alcohol into the soup which did not help the flavor. My wife and son were similarly unimpressed with their clam chowder. I then got a salad that featured four slices of romaine lettuce on one side of the plate and very ordinary tomatoes, shredded cheese, and crumbled bacon on the other. Not great. Finally my ribeye steak was adequate at best. At this point I began wondering what all the fuss was about over Oceania's supposedly great food.

 

From this point forward our enthusiasm improved markedly. We had some fantastic meals and here were the most delicious things I ate, in descending order.

 

1. Fois Gras ravioli appetizer in the GDR. There were only three so I would not share.

2. The Oceania special 10th anniversary chocolate bar dessert in the GDR was the single greatest dessert I've EVER eaten. I had TWO of them and wish they'd offered it more than once. It was OMG good!

3. My favorite entree was the beef short rib in Red Ginger. Followed by...

4. My wife's miso glazed sea bass, also in Red Ginger.

5. I accidentally ordered a risotto entree in the GDR without realizing it had black squid ink. It was delicious!

 

We also liked the cheese soufflé appetizers, and the burgers in Waves!

 

We will be back on the Marina next summer to cruise the Baltic. Already can't wait!

 

 

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[tropicalkerry2002]

will that dessert be available NEXT year??????

FDR, please say yes!!!!!

[TERRIER1]

We have uniformly loved the food on Oceania. The only time we really had a problem was with their swordfish. They marinate it and it tastes like rubber. They should just grill it. We have tried it over and over again and have finally given up. We also aren't particularly thrilled with the steaks in Polo. Don't know why but they are better in the dining room. Their pork, however, is excellent and I can't tell you how hard it is to get tender pork these days.

 

I think Oceania's pastry, dessert and bread chefs should be sainted.

 

In the past on the R ships I have asked for a particular dessert recipe and the next morning or that evening it was on my cabin door. It may have been for 40 people in metric and centigrade but I was able to deconstruct it for the holiday table at my house. Last year on the Riviera I asked for a dessert recipe and was told they couldn't give them out. I think it was the first time I noticed a difference in the O versus the R ships and the relative ambiance.

 

I commend the chefs on both ships. My only request is to have more pistachio and rum raisin ice cream. You guys make the best.

[LEESRE]

My main concern and disappointment is the temperature of the food. I have sailed three times in the past twelve months on Riviera and still they cannot get the food HOT. Yes some people like warm food and some people even seem to leave their food till it gets almost cold but I like mine HOT and no matter how many times I requested a HOT plate and HOT food it still came out WARM!!!!!!!!!!:(:(:(:(:(

[LHT28]

I have not been on the Riveira but my favourite food on Oceania next to the ice cream is LAMB

 

I order it every chance I get YUMMM

 

Lyn

[Travelcat2]

Agree about the lobster bisque! Our favorite - miso glazed sea bass.

[potterhill]

Have to agree about the lobster bisque. Didn't like it at all.

 

However I love that salad with the romaine, tomatoes, bacon. I now order a small one. Regular one I find way too large.

 

Agree re the swordfish. Wasn't good when I had it.

 

Fresh grouper on recent Nautica cruise was outstanding. Supposedly it was catch of the day. Delicious! That was in Toscana.

 

Also we had a hard time getting a decent steak on Nautica. After 3 more or less awful ones, I gave up. Tough, flavourless, overlooked.....yes I had them redo it. Everyone else had finished eating and it wasn't much better. I can get better any day at my local steakhouse franchise. Not high end either. DH persisted and had a great steak on the last night, I think.

 

There are certainly some glitches in the food, but overall it's pretty good. Can't compare to other lines as we have only been on O, but we will return. In fact, we are already booked. ;-).

 

Mo

 

Mo

 

 

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[Blaaamo]

I think it was the first time I noticed a difference in the O versus the R ships and the relative ambiance.

 

I've seen this "O vs R" on several posts, but can't seem to figure out what it means. Can someone clue me in?

[TERRIER1]

I've seen this "O vs R" on several posts, but can't seem to figure out what it means. Can someone clue me in?

 

The O ships on Oceania are the larger Marina and Riviera. The R ships are the smaller ships, Nautica, Insignia and Regatta.

[LHT28]

I've seen this "O vs R" on several posts, but can't seem to figure out what it means. Can someone clue me in?

Oceania class ships Marina & Riveira VS the R class ships Regatta & Nautica Insignia

 

The R- class ships are more cozy to me but I like them both for different reasons

[kimanjo]

Recently on the Riviera in May.

 

We were underwhelmed with our experience in Polo. The steaks were just ok. Nothing special.

 

However, we LOVED Toscana. Wish we had eaten there more than once.

 

We also really enjoyed Waves.

 

Everything else was terrific. We actually ate in the Buffet mostly, so we could eat outside.

[aliwanders]

Hi Blackbr,

 

I don't know how to address you directly, so I'll post here: my mom and I are taking the same itinerary as you starting August 16th in Istanbul, and I'd love to have your input on some of the ports you visited. Would you mind emailing me? alimoir@yahoo.com

 

Thanks, Allison

[elbowroom]

We have uniformly loved the food on Oceania. The only time we really had a problem was with their swordfish. They marinate it and it tastes like rubber. They should just grill it. We have tried it over and over again and have finally given up. We also aren't particularly thrilled with the steaks in Polo. Don't know why but they are better in the dining room. Their pork, however, is excellent and I can't tell you how hard it is to get tender pork these days.

 

I think Oceania's pastry, dessert and bread chefs should be sainted.

 

In the past on the R ships I have asked for a particular dessert recipe and the next morning or that evening it was on my cabin door. It may have been for 40 people in metric and centigrade but I was able to deconstruct it for the holiday table at my house. Last year on the Riviera I asked for a dessert recipe and was told they couldn't give them out. I think it was the first time I noticed a difference in the O versus the R ships and the relative ambiance.

 

I commend the chefs on both ships. My only request is to have more pistachio and rum raisin ice cream. You guys make the best.

 

Much swordfish (and tuna) which you buy is frozen, thus, when you bring them home they drip, drip, drip...all over your shopping bag. They also lose their shine and frozen swordfish often goes off-white. Marinating it might hide these defects. Those spectacular huge fillets which you see on sale are usually rubbery or dry or both. Even here in the Med., fresh swordfish is becoming rarer. Perhaps the general aversion to fish with bones has increased demand...