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Red Ginger on Sirena

Paulchili

By Paulchili,
in Oceania Cruises

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Mura

Mura

Posted
Posted
I don't think that anybody could take kids out of school for 19+ days without severe truant problems...

 

Maybe not! I'm going back a very many years but a friend of mine in the sixth grade received papal dispensation to go on a trip to Washington, D.C. with her family. Now, they weren't gone 19 days! Maybe a week or so. She did have to make a report on her experiences on the trip to the class. But she was granted permission to be out for that amount of time.

 

Don't know if that would happen today ...

 

Mura

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DaisyUK Great Review Rare

DaisyUK

Posted
Posted
We never took our kids out of school for vacations, school is their job. I've bitten my tongue a few times on three week vacations and there were school age kids on board. There are cruise critic members who brag about taking their kids out of school with the rationale they learn things while cruising. And they were not in a year round school program where they have non standard vacation periods.

 

I like the idea of combined Polo and Toscano menus as I have favorites in both.

 

But in Europe, school holidays start mid-July and go through to early September, so the kids would not be taken out of school. Is this not the case in the US?

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LHT28 Holiday Sharing Rare

LHT28

Posted
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some children are home schooled so they can travel anytime then there are the Southern Hemisphere people that have school holidays that may be different from the North American schools

 

there is no easy answer ;)

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sammiedawg

sammiedawg

Posted
Posted
But in Europe, school holidays start mid-July and go through to early September, so the kids would not be taken out of school. Is this not the case in the US?

 

In the US different regions have different school calendars, some are off for a summer break in May, some start vacation the end of June. No problem taking kids on vacation during the summer break, whenever it falls.

In our area schools do not excuse absences for vacations. If a parent pulls the child out anyway child protective will follow up for truancy.

I've seen kids recently on three week cruises during the school year and the parents said they pulled them out for the trip.

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Floridiana

Floridiana

Posted
Posted

I am happy that Red Ginger will be on the Sirena. I liked my food there except for the glazed sea bass which I found too sweet. We were told, however, that it is the most popular dish in RG and ordered more often than any other dish in all specialty restaurants.

 

My best meal was in Jacques and it was not on the menu. The waiter asked us whether we would like it, a home style French dish cooked to perfection. Boeuf Bourguignon with red cabbage.

 

DaisyUK,

Even the latest school vacation schedule in the US ends with Labor Day which is the first weekend in September. There are a few schools with rotating schedules throughout the year and then also home schooled kids.

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Mura

Mura

Posted
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As to pulling children out of school for "educational" cruises, it sounds like some parents just do it and explain later. That wasn't the case with my friend -- her parents were very careful to get official permission to do so. The school felt a visit to Washington, D.C. was an educational experience in itself (we were in Los Angeles) which could also be helpful to her classmates. Whether the L.A. school system would react the same way today is something I cannot know.

 

 

As to Red Ginger ... just to further clarify my objection (which I think is the same as some others have) ... we prefer Szechuan food and are not really interested in Asian Fusion. That's not to say that we had awful meals there ... just that they didn't meet our expectations. I asked for my food to be spiced up on our first visit, and it was ... just not enough for my palate. Our dinner companions that night felt the same way. We had a wonderful meal there a year ago with our hosts who invited some others to join us and pre-ordered the meal. We did enjoy that.

 

But on our most recent cruise RG was the one restaurant we did NOT try to go to.

 

That's just us ... but I'm glad we are not alone!

 

Mura

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PirateShark

PirateShark

Posted
Posted
Mura,

 

Do you mean the real stuff with more red peppers and garlic than meat? :eek:

 

Not to speak for Mura, but that IS what I'm talking about! Red Ginger was just too "meh" for someone used to getting Chinese food in San Francisco and to the degree of heat to my liking. Chalk up another passenger that is disappointed it's not Jacques but I will survive - I'm on a cruise afterall :D

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Mura

Mura

Posted
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Well, yes ... It's not that there are more peppers than meat ... it's that the peppers themselves are :eek: HOT.

 

When we were in Beijing about 7 years ago we went to a restaurant by our hotel that was based on cuisine from Mao's home town, which was super hot. One of the dishes was chicken with peppers. What that meant was tiny pieces of chicken still on the bone with equal red and green hot peppers. That one burned us out ... which had never happened before. Fortunately we had double-sized bottles of beer to wash it down.

 

I wouldn't expect anything like that on Oceania! But when I have Chinese/Thai food, I want it spicy. (Japanese is something else. Then again, Korean food can be very spicy as well. Want to try some Kim Chi?)

 

Mura

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potterhill

potterhill

Posted
Posted (edited)

I like French food a lot, and cook it at home occasionally. My worst meals onboard have all been in Jacques. I keep trying as people rave about it, but our experience has not been good.

 

Red Ginger may not be authentic anything but we have had good meals there. However, the duck and watermelon is not to my taste and I love duck! Go figure.

 

Mo

Edited by potterhill
Posted accidentally before finished!
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Floridiana

Floridiana

Posted
Posted
One of the dishes was chicken with peppers. What that meant was tiny pieces of chicken still on the bone with equal red and green hot peppers. Mura

 

That's what they served us in Szechuan when we went to a restaurant for locals. That was too much for us, but I know what you mean by a bland cuisine that is meant to be spicy. It's adjusted to the taste of the majority of passengers.

I love Korean food, too!

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Mura

Mura

Posted
Posted
I like French food a lot, and cook it at home occasionally. My worst meals onboard have all been in Jacques. I keep trying as people rave about it, but our experience has not been good.

 

Red Ginger may not be authentic anything but we have had good meals there. However, the duck and watermelon is not to my taste and I love duck! Go figure.

 

Mo

 

 

I'm not arguing with you about our fave, Jacques, because I have seen others say the same thing. In fact, at our last meal at Jacques (on Marina last April) our dinner companions at complaints about the appetizer and the main course. (She complained about one, he about the other.) We were happy with our choices so maybe we just ordered well.

 

But I have seen complaints from others even though we've been very happy.

 

But it's still our favorite! My only complaint is that the mussels are gone ...

 

Unfortunately for us our next Oceania cruise won't be until October 2016 (at least as of now) on Sirena ... so we won't be seeing Jacques for quite a while. I know some courses are offered in the GDR but I don't count those since I can't choose from the entire menu ...

 

Even so, we will survive!

 

Mura

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LaCroisiereS'amuse

LaCroisiereS'amuse

Posted
Posted

I'm with Mura and Alalaa and am rather disappointed that RG is taking the place of Polo.

 

The decor in RG is pleasant, and dishes such as the sea bass, and the duck salad are nice, but the rest of the dishes don't excite me (even with the heat/spice turned up!)......It's the one O restaurant where I have trouble finding something to order....

 

Like Mura I'm booked on Sirena for her first crossing, but if this goes fleet wide it will steer me away from the R ships towards Marina and Riviera.

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