Oceania food vs Celebrity Luminae

[kitty9]

I'm on Insignia at the moment. It's our fourth Oceania cruise. The staff are great but our feeling is that the food is not as good as it was. The ship itself is generally in a nice condition except that we have no cell phone at sea connection.

 

Earlier this year we were on Silversea and Celebrity. The food on Silver Cloud was on a par with Oceania. On Eclipse in the very comfortable Luminae it was better than Oceania, but as others have said a very limited and repetitive menu (though I now understand you can order anything from the main dining room menu in Luminae). However the huge buffet selection on Celebrity Eclipse beats Insignia's Terrace cafe in every way. More people? Certainly. But more seats, more choice and more serving stations.

 

We've done more than 30 cruises on Celebrity and it's nearly impossible to find a table in the buffet for breakfast and lunch, so much so that we only use the buffet on port days when everyone is off the ship. While their salad and sandwich bars are very good, nothing much changes with the other items. And if you're a dessert fan, forget it. All their desserts, other than the cookies, are tasteless, resembling cardboard rather than a real dessert.

[Balloon Man]

There was a grill station on Celebrity Eclipse and some delicious desserts. However I forgot to say in my earlier comparison that Waves Grill on Oceania offers much better food than its counterpart on Celebrity ... in my experience. And experience is what we share well here.

[nyfeds]

We've been on two Celebrity cruises, both times in Aqua class. We cruised the first time on Silhouette and the dining experiences in Blu as well as the specialty restaurants, and even the buffet, were quite good. However, we cruised on Eclipse a few months ago and Blu was just OK. Murano was OK, but nothing special, as it was on Silhouette, and the buffet was dismal. Silhouette, IMHO, is riddled with dining service and food quality issues and needs immediate attention.

 

We are trying Oceania next year and we're really looking forward to not only a great itinerary, but far superior dining experiences.

Edited November 9, 2015 by nyfeds

[globevest]

There was a grill station on Celebrity Eclipse and some delicious desserts. However I forgot to say in my earlier comparison that Waves Grill on Oceania offers much better food than its counterpart on Celebrity ... in my experience. And experience is what we share well here.

 

We were on Eclipse in July and I guess we missed the grill station.....driven out by crowds and general atmosphere, however that led us to having lunch most days at the Aqua café which IMO is very good and an efficient way to get lunch. Yes we loved the atmosphere in Blu....breakfast and dinner.

[kitty9]

nyfeds, I can also agree with the comments about Silhouette and the problems on that ship. My cousins just returned from a cruise on Silli, and they said the food in the MDR was absolutely awful, and they are veterans of 6 previous Celebrity cruises that they enjoyed. She said the steaks were like shoe leather, and the chicken was so undercooked that it was pink when you cut into it and there was blood on the plate under the chicken.

[UDSpud]

I have sailed on the Oceania Riviera twice in the last three years. Both times they had the same person working the grill at the terrace. He was so good at grilling salmon that I started to call him "magic hands". This usually brought a smile and good service. On the most recent trip, I tipped him directly at the grill and thanked him.

 

PS - if you want great table service, learn how to, and use, "thank you" in their language. Usually works even if you say it wrong.

[maggie.1008]

I have been on 48 cruises. 23 of them on Celebrity. I have been a big fan of Celebrity and the Solstice class ships. We do normally book Aqua Class or Sky Suites to avoid the MDR. Celebrity prices in those class cabins have gone up in the past year. I just booked my first Oceania cruise today on the Riviera. We do enjoy Azamara and hoped to be Wowed on Oceania.

[floatplan]

Keep in mind that where Oceania really stands out is at lunch. The selections at the grill and in the buffet are really outstanding. That won't be duplicated in X.

 

I agree, don't forget Waves by the pool for a lobster and filet sandwich at lunch. Ice cream is made on the ship.

 

One big diff is Luminea is NOT open at lunch on port days and does not open early for breakfast so if you have a morning tour you will have to eat in Ocean view or room service which is poor. When L is open is has shorter hours 7:30-9, 12-1:30, 5:30-?. On O below PH room you cannot get hot room service but Terrance is very good for breakfast.

 

I just got off Silhouette and found Luminea very good, but again the hours it is open tend to benefit the crew and not the guests.

 

I was on Marina in the winter, so my memories are not as fresh, but I do recall a much higher service level and many more little food niceties. I think O really shines at Breakfast especially in GDR. I would take a smaller room in exchange for the better O food and service.

 

You should give O a try. It tends to be an older crowd and quiet ship but the food and service are MUCH better IMO. You will pay more for many things like shorex are 2x to 4x$, and Internet is more.

[neepawa]

Room service hot breakfast is available for those in Concierge class cabins and all suites.

 

Cheers,

 

Don

[Balloon Man]

I'm on Insignia at the moment. It's our fourth Oceania cruise. The staff are great but our feeling is that the food is not as good as it was. The ship itself is generally in a nice condition except that we have no cell phone at sea connection.

 

OK. I've changed my mind. Food the first couple of weeks of this 35 day cruise did disappoint, as I said. However since then it has been back to what we recognise as Oceania standard.

 

I also mentioned we had no cellular at sea connection. Turned out we have, but you now need to pay to be allowed to connect. Don't remember paying a cruise ship for this service previously, just the phone service provider.

[TrulyBlonde]

I'm on Insignia at the moment. It's our fourth Oceania cruise. The staff are great but our feeling is that the food is not as good as it was. The ship itself is generally in a nice condition except that we have no cell phone at sea connection.

 

OK. I've changed my mind. Food the first couple of weeks of this 35 day cruise did disappoint, as I said. However since then it has been back to what we recognise as Oceania standard.

 

I also mentioned we had no cellular at sea connection. Turned out we have, but you now need to pay to be allowed to connect. Don't remember paying a cruise ship for this service previously, just the phone service provider.

 

Nice to hear because we will be on Sirena and Insignia in 2016 for close to 40 days. We do have free internet included in both cruises so should not have that problem.

After just returning a week ago from X Solstice and Luminae, I was overall disappointed with the food (too much sauce,not enough veggies and limited menu). On the other hand, when in NZ the chef prepared the best lamb shanks I have ever had in my life. I think it is hit or miss, and because I typically choose a healthier diet (not the lamb shanks ;) it was frustrating to find those options.

I am on a cruise to see the world and it is really not about eating for us, but having healthy options when on a cruise for 30 days is important. I can always find that on O.

[LHT28]

I also mentioned we had no cellular at sea connection. Turned out we have, but you now need to pay to be allowed to connect. Don't remember paying a cruise ship for this service previously, just the phone service provider.

I believe the cellular at sea was always fee based

 

maybe you are thinking of a different cruise line were it was not