On the Riviera half way through Miami/Miami

[Braveheart11]

"I don’t think you should

I dislike Azamara. Will never go back

 

Nice to have options "

 

 

Indeed!

[wiks]

If nothing else, a wonderful lesson on “how to beat a dead horse”!!!! Wiks

 

 

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[Braveheart11]

"If nothing else, a wonderful lesson on “how to beat a dead horse”!!!! Wiks"

 

 

Careful there, O might put it on the grill at Terrace Cafe as the "finest meat du jour at sea" . Kidding. You are right of course. Lol.

[sandbag7]

A lot depends on your taste and experience. A fellow passenger raved about the Bulgogi and Scallop dishes at Red Ginger. He was convincing. I ordered them. Bad mistake. The Bulgogi suffered in comparison to any Korean restaurant. The scallops, like the foie gras served at Jacques and Polo was just wide of the mark. Red Ginger is still a favorite but you must be judicious in ordering.

I have heard complaints from New Jerseyites (among others) that Toscana is not a match for their favorite joint. Maybe, but I have had consistently good seafood pasta preparations there.

Tables for two can be annoyingly too close to others.

I do agree that Best Food at Sea is likely a foolish claim though my first cruise on Crystal is not until September. The thing is, at least in my opinion cruise food cannot compare in fresh and imaginative preparations to the best restaurants on land. Sea Dream which Berlitz rated very highly as to food (well above Oceania) was a complete disappointment to me in that regard.

I did not have a negative experience at Terrace on boarding on 12/12, but I boarded about 11:30 and Terrace was fully operational. Their breakfasts were excellent unless you wanted pancakes, waffles or French toast (all decidedly questionable). Lunches and dinners were certainly no worse than in this past January. The MDR was a mixed experience; is that a surprise?

I did not notice an issue with under seasoning; on the few dishes which I anticipated an issue in Red Ginger and Toscana I requested in advance and received a spicier dish. This is something I’ve learned to do at most venues serving Americans or the English. Caesar salads were up to snuff. I did notice the pepper grinders were set to grind too small and had to have the grind adjusted every time, but I love the smell and taste of rough ground pepper.

I never order a steak through room service as I believe its quality is reduced on the trip. I can’t answer as to cookies, Scones (We did not go to the tea this trip: it interferes with enjoying dinner) or any meat ordered above medium rare but in our experience Oceania’s food standards have not declined; whether they are the Best at Sea is up for debate.

Our 12/12 cruise had the best service we have ever had in our 20+ cruises and the ship was remarkably quiet at night; hopefully these are important considerations for some.

[LHT28]

 

This could well be true but it is too late now to save our business. Is no one out there besides me bothered by O unabashedly claiming "the finest cuisine at sea"?

It is marketing

If you believe everything you read on every cruiseline, airline or business then you WILL be disappointed

[LHT28]

Oh my, you guys are starting to scare me.

We have sailed with Lyn and Gabelle on previous cruises and consider them to be up front on things. We did the Riviera transatlantic in November of this year and had absolutely no problem with food, service or anything? I am perhaps wondering if there was a major turnover in Miami after we arrived?.....

We go on Riviera in Feb and really hope things are up to snuff.

Deb they did get new crew in Miami but they always do

 

I think some of them were new to Oceania's ways

 

The food was not bad just not up to snuff

I had the Steak Frites one night it was chewy only could eat half ..another night it was great

 

First few days they were discombobulated it seemed ..not as efficient as usual

There were still some that knew what to do & did it without any issues

at least they di not try to poison DH this time :evilsmile:

[LHT28]

Do you know who the Executive Chef was on your sailing?

We had Frederic Godineau on the Dec 2nd to 12th but not sure if he was staying on for the following cruise

[Travelcat2]

Braveheart - our experience on the Riviera (we sailed on her twice) was similar to yours (except that we enjoyed the food in Jacques and Red Ginger). We found the Terrace Cafe very poor (beautiful choices - food subpar). Had we eaten a seafood pasta dish that they tried to serve us, we undoubtedly would have been ill (a young man was trying to pry open a dead clam to put on the plate). The MDR was also a huge disappointment.

 

IMO, trying to compare a luxury cruise line such as Crystal (or Regent - our favorite cruise line) with Oceania can be difficult. While Oceania feels that they have the best food at sea, IMO, it does match up to Regent (or Silversea and likely not Crystal or Seabourn).

[Paulchili]

Here we go again - luxury vs luxury light :D :D

Your opinion of food on Seabourn & Regent vs Oceania doesn’t match with our experience.

To each their own and that way we all can be happy :)

[bitob]

Here we go again - luxury vs luxury light :D :D

 

 

 

Same post, different thread

 

 

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[cruisingxpert]

 

This could well be true but it is too late now to save our business. Is no one out there besides me bothered by O unabashedly claiming "the finest cuisine at sea"?

 

Before my first cruise on Riviera 5 yrs ago I read a thread by “reposado” about the food on O. My mouth was watering. At the end of the cruise, I didn’t’ say never again but I did feel let down and didn’t think I would go again. Like you, I thought the ship was beautiful. Also loved our cabin and the size of the ship. After about 3 months, I started reminiscing about the cruise and decided to go back. Going on cruise #12 with O in Feb.

 

I don’t disagree with almost everything you said about the food but I have learned which foods and venues I prefer and avoid the ones I don’t. I always do at least one La Reserve which I really enjoy.

 

I wonder if you might be remembering what you did like about Riviera a few months from now and start feeling more mellow about their over the top marketing of food. If that happens, please let me know.

 

All the best on whatever cruise you choose.

[Travelcat2]

Here we go again - luxury vs luxury light :D :D

Your opinion of food on Seabourn & Regent vs Oceania doesn’t match with our experience.

To each their own and that way we all can be happy :)

 

Do you prefer "premium plus'? If so, I'll be happy to change how I refer to Oceania. In terms of "Seabourn & Regent vs Oceania", food is subjective. What is not subjective is that NCLH owns three cruise lines. One is mainstream (NCL), one is premium plus or luxury lite (Oceania) and one is luxury (Regent).

 

ronrick (Oceania and Regent customers, after their first Regent cruise), found the food on Regent superior to Oceania. Others do not agree - I do agree. My post was a response to Braveheart that seems to agree to our "take" on Oceania's food.