Best place aboard the eclipse for seafood

[Yellowfurbaby]

I'm a big big seafood fan. (Lobster in particular) what is the best place aboard ship to indulge? Also is it possible to get decent seafood (maybe not lobster) from non specialty dining options?

 

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[miched]

If lobster is your primary reason for sailing on Celebrity you will be disappointed.

 

🌴🍸🍻🍺

[20pluscruises]

I'm a big big seafood fan. (Lobster in particular) what is the best place aboard ship to indulge? Also is it possible to get decent seafood (maybe not lobster) from non specialty dining options?

 

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Sushi at 4 or 5 pm in the buffet...hit or miss on some items.

 

Blu has and EXCELLENT soft shell crab appetizer one evening

 

Sea Bass in Blu is also very good...although very very thin

[Turtles06]

If lobster is your primary reason for sailing on Celebrity you will be disappointed.

 

 

Agreed. It's warm water lobster, not all that good imho, certainly nothing to get excited about.

 

We enjoyed the sushi in the Eclipse buffet in the late afternoon.

Edited January 24, 2014 by Turtles06

[Lsimon]

In general I'd say the seafood on the ships ranges from just OK to good but not really great. All of the seafood is frozen and shipped from central locations. None of it is fresh nor sourced from local ports despite the fact that you're on the ocean and stopping at ocean ports which typically have good seafood choices.

 

I found this a little disappointing when we first started cruising because we had always enjoyed fresh seafood when vacationing at land based places next to the sea. But this is a fact of life when cruising - at least on the large mass market ships. I hear things are a little different on smaller ships with hundreds rather than thousands of passengers but I've never sailed one of those.

 

The best seafood you're likely to have on your cruise will be at lunches, or other meals, off the ship at ports of call. We often have lunch off the ship when we're at port just for that reason. Looking at the Eclipse's itinerary, we've often had nice seafood lunches at beachfront restaurants at Aruba, Curacao, Grenada, Barbados, Antigua and St. Martin. There are good places in town for seafood at St. Martin and St. Thomas and at St. Thomas there are a lot of really nice seafood places near the ferry terminal at Red Hook. Red Hook is sort of a social and restaurant center in the evening for that side of St. Thomas and most restaurants are open for lunch. We've also had great fresh Caribbean lobster (no claws) grilled on the beach on excursions at Antigua (Creole Cruises) and Grenada (Shadowfax). I've also found nice private day sail excursions which include fresh seafood lunches at several ports.

Edited January 24, 2014 by Lsimon

[Yellowfurbaby]

No lobster wouldn't be my main reason for sailing eclipse. It would have been nice though. However sushi is great too.

 

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[Shir Hayam]

I agree with Larry. My DH and I are from the Boston area and love seafood. I am consistently disappointed by the fish that's served in the MDR. It seemed slightly better in Blu, but we usually sail in regular verandah cabins and don't have access to Blu. And as far as the lobster is concerned, most New Englanders would think it misleading to even call what they serve lobster. Feh!

 

Sheila

[justcrusn]

Lobster should be served at least one night in the MDR, you can get shrimp cocktail EVERY NIGHT if you want it. There will be many other seafood entrees as well.

As mentioned Sushi is served in the buffet late in the day, and the specialty restaurants are the BEST place to dine.

 

I would say the food is of good to great quality, depending on venue. The Specialty restaurants getting the highest grades, but others with more discriminating tastes will disagree.

 

If you are aqua BLU is in-between the MDR and specialty restaurants in quality but very close to the specialty.

I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE the crab martini appetizer in BLU.

[Maligator]

The Murano Lobster was pretty danged decadent.

[20pluscruises]

Lobster should be served at least one night in the MDR, you can get shrimp cocktail EVERY NIGHT if you want it. There will be many other seafood entrees as well.

As mentioned Sushi is served in the buffet late in the day, and the specialty restaurants are the BEST place to dine.

 

I would say the food is of good to great quality, depending on venue. The Specialty restaurants getting the highest grades, but others with more discriminating tastes will disagree.

 

If you are aqua BLU is in-between the MDR and specialty restaurants in quality but very close to the specialty.

I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE the crab martini appetizer in BLU.

 

The crab martini was replaced with ceviche

[CathyCruises]

The Murano Lobster was pretty danged decadent.

 

The last time we had it, it was tough and tasteless--I don't know what went wrong but it had absolutely no flavor at all. That was also the last time we went to Murano.

[Maligator]

The last time we had it, it was tough and tasteless--I don't know what went wrong but it had absolutely no flavor at all. That was also the last time we went to Murano.

 

We only went to Murano once on Equinox and it was fantastic. But Murano was too formal for our taste and we skipped it on Eclipse, so I can't testify to the quality. You'd think, though, that with a fairly static menu, they'd be pretty good at consistency.

[ghstudio]

We only went to Murano once on Equinox and it was fantastic. But Murano was too formal for our taste and we skipped it on Eclipse, so I can't testify to the quality. You'd think, though, that with a fairly static menu, they'd be pretty good at consistency.

 

The menu is consistent, the raw materials are consistent, it's just the chefs that aren't consistent. This, of course, isn't unique to Murano or even Celebrity.

[wvufan]

Not a direct response to your question, but the fish and chips in the buffet at lunch is great.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[jackdiamond]

The lobster, soft shell crabs, and sea bass in Blu are very good.

[CathyCruises]

The menu is consistent, the raw materials are consistent, it's just the chefs that aren't consistent. This, of course, isn't unique to Murano or even Celebrity.

 

I suspect that was the case, since I have heard so many people rave about the tableside lobster. The ingredients sounded great!

 

But we really don't like the formality of Murano, and love going with a group to Qsine--all about the fun!

[rjrpar]

I agree with Larry. My DH and I are from the Boston area and love seafood. I am consistently disappointed by the fish that's served in the MDR. It seemed slightly better in Blu, but we usually sail in regular verandah cabins and don't have access to Blu. And as far as the lobster is concerned, most New Englanders would think it misleading to even call what they serve lobster. Feh!

 

Sheila

 

I agree that the seafood is only fair. I would think that Blu and the MDR serve the same quality frozen seafood; maybe the preparation is different. The lobster anywhere on the ship is not very appealing except possibly Murano.

As a previous poster noted, try some seafood in port, often it is quite good.

[Lsimon]

Not a direct response to your question, but the fish and chips in the buffet at lunch is great.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

 

I've had fish & chips on the ship that were good and some that were overly greasy and a bit soggy.

 

I suspect that was the case, since I have heard so many people rave about the tableside lobster. The ingredients sounded great!

 

But we really don't like the formality of Murano, and love going with a group to Qsine--all about the fun!

 

The tableside lobster I've had in Muranos a couple times has always been excellent and are one of my favorite dishes there. I'd highly recommend it. But it is largely due to the heavy sauces and preparation. Any adequate frozen lobster tail would be fine cooked in this dish.

 

Oh... We enjoy the atmosphere and ambiance of Muranos (different name on the M class ships). The overall quality of the food and service isn't what it was several years ago there but that is only apparent to those that have enjoyed it over the years. I think most experiencing it for the first time would be very happy there.

 

But if one is after basic seafood that isn't drowned in batter or sauces then I'll stick to my original comment that the seafood itself is just OK to good and that if you want really good fresh seafood your best bet is lunch at ports of call. My favorite seafood overall is a very fresh mahi, snapper or similar fillet that is simply grilled or blackened - just the type of dish you find at casual beachfront and waterfront restaurants at many Caribbean ports.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Lsimon

[jackdiamond]

Larry, vis-a-vis your mahi comments you might wish to try dolphin almandine. Also, all of the fresh fish that you will enjoy at these ports are warm water fish. We live in the world of warm water fish; hence, dolphin, snook, grouper, snapper, shark, spanish mackerel, cobia, blue fish, spotted sea trout, sheepshead and others are our favorites. Sadly, there have been some recent significant restrictions of the taking of most shark species.

[keesar]

There is usually some nicely prepared fish at the lunch buffet.

 

In Murano, the "lobster" is prepared tableside. It is fun to watch the preparation. With all the ingredients they use, even that "lobster" tasted real good. The special sauce is makes it. The lobster bisque is real good in Murano as well.

 

One night in Blu, we had Maine lobster salad. It was delicious! We were pleasantly surprised. The salmon dishes in Blu are usually nicely prepared.

Edited January 25, 2014 by keesar

[jackdiamond]

Blackened redfish is another fine choice when eating on the islands or in Fl. Redfish is another fine warm water fish.

[waterbug123]

None of it is fresh nor sourced from local ports despite the fact that you're on the ocean and stopping at ocean ports which typically have good seafood choices.

 

A couple of years ago on a Royal Carib ship on a Canada/New England itinerary, the ship DID pick up fresh Maine lobsters while in port there, and served them at Chops (specialty restaurant).

[vivi9909]

I agree with Larry. My DH and I are from the Boston area and love seafood. I am consistently disappointed by the fish that's served in the MDR. It seemed slightly better in Blu, but we usually sail in regular verandah cabins and don't have access to Blu. And as far as the lobster is concerned, most New Englanders would think it misleading to even call what they serve lobster. Feh!

 

Sheila

 

It is misleading that the same name is used in English for two different animals. In French, we used "homard" for the Maine lobster and "langouste" for the warm water lobster. Their taste is completely different and even a simply boiled "homard" will taste better than a greatly cooked "langouste". However, at Murano, they prepare the "langouste" table side in a very delicious wine sauce that gives it an acceptable flavor, probably the best you can do with it. The Dover sole, also prepared table side is excellent.

 

The best seafood I had during a cruise was an octopus salad at lunch time in a small Mykonos restaurant!

[X-elite]

Yellowfurbaby, we love the lobster bisque and lobster prepared table-side in Murano (could have a different name on your ship). Sushi in the buffet is decent (neither the best, nor the worst). Shrimp cocktails in the MDR are also decent. We've had a few seafood items from Tuscan Grille that were above average as well. Enjoy! :)

Edited January 25, 2014 by X-elite

[cavok]

agree with other posters, considering you are on a ship and on the ocean, the seafood is not any better or worse than it could be in a restaurant in the middle of a continent. guess it is a lot about consistency and supply chain management.

 

sushi in the buffet is decent.

lava crab in qsine is probably the best overall seafood on ship.

i also remember a chilean sea bass that was good.

warm water lobster tail has been hit or miss on our cruises and is anyway way overrated imho, just like the baked alaska. kind of like tomato juice on flights, just seems to be part of the deal for many.

celebrity's lamb shank, coq-au-vin, spring roll etc... in general outshined seafood.

 

we normally cruise in winter, so out of florida. the hands down best seafood we always enjoy is (alaskan) crab legs at rustic inn in ft.lauderdale in the day(s) before the cruise.