Jacques restaurant

[roger b]

2 hours ago, ORV said:

I guess we were talking about Jacques going away. So far only one report. 
 

Back to off topic. I’ve been reading reports for months about people being unhappy with the sameness of The GDR menu on multiple ships and multiple itineraries. So no, not isolated To one ship in one area. 

I thought that Jancruz or Stan and Jim would have been able to getting us an informed  report on the demise  of Jacques. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, RJB said:

What is the difference where the cruise goes to? They are not charging me any less. The food in the MDR should be the same.  The menu in the dining room was lousy from start to finish including the one for lunch.  The rest of the restaurants were wonderful as usual  including the terrace. Should be able to get it right. 

Big difference!

 

Cruise on the ATW Insignia cruise (or segments). The exec chef has a significantly larger discretionary budget with far more regional offerings depending on the local market.

 

At the other end of the spectrum is the Caribbean shorties on the big O ships where passengers pay far less per day than most other Oceania cruises (often rivaling the cost of lines like Celebrity). But, even then, those shortie O cruises have the Finest Cuisine At Sea™

 

As for the earlier post about reading complaints over the past few months: Remember that, at any given time, the Oceania fleet is serving about 5,000 people across the fleet with a different 5,000 every so many days.

 

A few handfuls of complainers? Sorry - just not that big a deal.

[Sny]

Guess we are in the minority, with Jacques not being at the top of our list.  When we were fresh out of grad school, dining on corporate dollars, those 5 star French restaurants, with the ever hovering waiters, were a treat.  In our seventies, we find the atmosphere a bit over the top and too formal for our tastes.  No question that the food is delicious though. 

Our tastes have changed and we prefer Red Ginger.

But, anytime I don't have to plan, shop, cook, serve and cleanup, it's a party.  Looking forward to one of those Caribbean "shorties" on the Riviera this winter.

[keithm]

On ‎11‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 2:12 PM, roger b said:

We had dinner with the Staff Captain  last night and were informed  that  Oceania  were doing away  with Jacques  and replacing it with another Grill restaurant ? I don't  know how others  feel about this , but personally  this was my favourite restaurant. 

I've heard rumors here & there from staff on different lines over the years. None were true! I would be hard placed to bet that Jacques is on it's way out. His name is synonymous with the food. Should he pass away(he IS 83)then I'd place more belief in it. Jacques may be his name, but he inspires the menus in ALL the dining Venus except Terrace.

[Jancruz]

On 11/27/2019 at 7:04 AM, roger b said:

I thought that Jancruz or Stan and Jim would have been able to getting us an informed  report on the demise  of Jacques. 

Actually I did check when I saw this question..

 

Not true. Jacques will always be part of our line-up/menus Fdr

 

Above from the boss

Jancruz1

[RJB]

50 minutes ago, Jancruz said:

Actually I did check when I saw this question..

 

Not true. Jacques will always be part of our line-up/menus Fdr

 

Above from the boss

Jancruz1

Good to hear. Would be a big loss for all of us.  Thank you very much for your quick response.  

[roger b]

On 11/29/2019 at 4:08 PM, keithm said:

I've heard rumors here & there from staff on different lines over the years. None were true! I would be hard placed to bet that Jacques is on it's way out. His name is synonymous with the food. Should he pass away(he IS 83)then I'd place more belief in it. Jacques may be his name, but he inspires the menus in ALL the dining Venus except Terrace.

Since my last rant on these posts regarding the downward trend of the offering and quality  of the food , we have had 5 days of perfect offerings and quality not moving to Crystal  just yet !! I must say also the service on this cruise is the best we have ever had.

[Paulchili]

21 minutes ago, roger b said:

Since my last rant on these posts regarding the downward trend of the offering and quality  of the food , we have had 5 days of perfect offerings and quality not moving to Crystal  just yet !! I must say also the service on this cruise is the best we have ever had.

Good to hear 😊

[Jancruz]

10 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Good to hear 😊

and not a bit surprised

Jancruz1

[RJB]

50 minutes ago, roger b said:

Since my last rant on these posts regarding the downward trend of the offering and quality  of the food , we have had 5 days of perfect offerings and quality not moving to Crystal  just yet !! I must say also the service on this cruise is the best we have ever had.

We were on the last cruise on Riviera and the food and service was as good as ever (except for selections in MDR). Not perfect, but nothing ever is.   Wonderful for us. 

[kitty9]

On 11/29/2019 at 2:07 PM, Jancruz said:

Actually I did check when I saw this question..

 

Not true. Jacques will always be part of our line-up/menus Fdr

 

Above from the boss

Jancruz1

But does that mean that the full restaurant will still be there, or does it mean that Jacques will just be a part of their menus, but not be a separate venue?  Sounds like carefully worded double-speak.  
 

I will say something about some of their vegan choices.  We were on Riviera  for 42 days this past year, and many of the vegan choices didn’t seem very popular.  And I can say that the vegan items I tried were bland and had little flavor.  Interestingly, I tried the pistachio vegan ice cream and it was awful.  We sat near the Waves ice cream stand and we saw person after person take one taste and throw the rest away.  This was also a major conversation with a few trivia teams and we all agreed it was really bad.  I guess O doesn’t know good plant based items. 

Edited November 30, 2019 by kitty9

[RJB]

3 minutes ago, kitty9 said:

But does that mean that the full restaurant will still be there, or does it mean that Jacques will just be a part of their menus, but not be a separate venue?  Sounds like carefully worded double-speak.   

I take it to mean just as it says that Jacques will be a  separate venue. I think they learned their lesson with Tuscan/Steak. At least I hope so.   Most people do not like it. 

[njhorseman]

42 minutes ago, kitty9 said:

But does that mean that the full restaurant will still be there, or does it mean that Jacques will just be a part of their menus, but not be a separate venue?  Sounds like carefully worded double-speak.  

I agree that his wording is very carefully crafted and could easily be satisfied just by having some "Jacques" dishes on the menu of the GDR or some other specialty restaurant rather than Jacques. 

Edited November 30, 2019 by njhorseman

[pinotlover]

43 minutes ago, RJB said:

I take it to mean just as it says that Jacques will be a  separate venue. I think they learned their lesson with Tuscan/Steak. At least I hope so.   Most people do not like it. 

Carefully worded statement itself . I have spoken with lots of cruisers that like the addition of RG to the Sirena and find Tuscan Steak a reasonable compromise to get RG aboard. So while that’s not an accolade for TS, it’s still considered a good option. We are booked on our first Sirena Cruise in 2020. I look forward to the new experience. I look forward, on a 20 day cruise, to have something other than T and PG! 

 

Let me add, as a separate issue, I’ve heard several say they like the new “ bistro” menu and concept at lunch.

[RJB]

6 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Carefully worded statement itself . I have spoken with lots of cruisers that like the addition of RG to the Sirena and find Tuscan Steak a reasonable compromise to get RG aboard. So while that’s not an accolade for TS, it’s still considered a good option. We are booked on our first Sirena Cruise in 2020. I look forward to the new experience. I look forward, on a 20 day cruise, to have something other than T and PG! 

 

Let me add, as a separate issue, I’ve heard several say they like the new “ bistro” menu and concept at lunch.

AS they say, different strokes for ....    For us TS is not here nor there.  don't like it. I guess that is one of the reasons we will not sail on the R ships unless there is a special itinery that we need to do.  The O ships offer so much more for us.  Sounds like the new ships will be great.  Can't wait. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, kitty9 said:

But does that mean that the full restaurant will still be there, or does it mean that Jacques will just be a part of their menus, but not be a separate venue?  Sounds like carefully worded double-speak.  
 

I will say something about some of their vegan choices.  We were on Riviera  for 42 days this past year, and many of the vegan choices didn’t seem very popular.  And I can say that the vegan items I tried were bland and had little flavor.  Interestingly, I tried the pistachio vegan ice cream and it was awful.  We sat near the Waves ice cream stand and we saw person after person take one taste and throw the rest away.  This was also a major conversation with a few trivia teams and we all agreed it was really bad.  I guess O doesn’t know good plant based items. 

Read the statement again:

"Lineup" is restaurants; "menus" is the selections always at the GDR for dinner and the Bistro at lunch.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Read the statement again:

"Lineup" is restaurants; "menus" is the selections always at the GDR for dinner and the Bistro at lunch.

You're interpreting "lineup" as meaning restaurants, but the word  "lineup" is not separately stated, it's part of "lineup/menus" so I still think it could be satisfied simply by either dishes on the GDR menu or Jacques being incorporated into a new venue, similar to how Tuscan Steak is a mash up of the separate Polo and Toscana restaurants.

[Flatbush Flyer]

32 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

You're interpreting "lineup" as meaning restaurants, but the word  "lineup" is not separately stated, it's part of "lineup/menus" so I still think it could be satisfied simply by either dishes on the GDR menu or Jacques being incorporated into a new venue, similar to how Tuscan Steak is a mash up of the separate Polo and Toscana restaurants.

FDR dashed a quick one line answer to Jan. That's got to be the reason for the slash.

 

What may happen on the two new ships might  be different. But, I just don't see Marina and Riviera without Jacque's.

 

Folks need to remember that Oceania is FDR's "baby" and the Pepin relationship is part of that formula, which has worked so well.

I am confident that my "interpretation" is spot on. After all, why fix what ain't broke.

[Mura]

And for us, sacrificing Polo and Toscana for Red Ginger is NOT an enticement ... RG has always been our least favorite.  I know we are not alone in feeling that way, although I also know that RG is very popular with many passengers.

 

But we are Szechuan fans and Asian Fusion does NOT do it for us.  We haven't had the terrible meals that a few -- VERY few --  have reported here, but even the good meals in RG were not our favorites.

 

Mura

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

After all, why fix what ain't broke.

Apparently they ignored that advice when they combined Polo and Toscana.

[Jancruz]

5 hours ago, kitty9 said:

But does that mean that the full restaurant will still be there, or does it mean that Jacques will just be a part of their menus, but not be a separate venue?  Sounds like carefully worded double-speak.  
 

I will say something about some of their vegan choices.  We were on Riviera  for 42 days this past year, and many of the vegan choices didn’t seem very popular.  And I can say that the vegan items I tried were bland and had little flavor.  Interestingly, I tried the pistachio vegan ice cream and it was awful.  We sat near the Waves ice cream stand and we saw person after person take one taste and throw the rest away.  This was also a major conversation with a few trivia teams and we all agreed it was really bad.  I guess O doesn’t know good plant based items. 

Hi Kitty,

You and I thought the same thing carefully worded..I did end up trying to verify with another VP but he had't heard anything about it..and I think that is a good thing..

As far as vegan choices I would think speaking to the GM or even writing to him would be better than just watching people throw ice cream away..If a few trivia teams talked about it someone should have gone to an officer and tell them about it..complaining her here truthfully does nothing does nothing..

If you want to writ a comprehensive statement about the Vegan choices I will make sure it gets to the right person

Have a great week  everyone ..I get on Sirena next Saturday..YIPPEE

Jancruz1

[Jancruz]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

FDR dashed a quick one line answer to Jan. That's got to be the reason for the slash.

 

What may happen on the two new ships might  be different. But, I just don't see Marina and Riviera without Jacque's.

 

Folks need to remember that Oceania is FDR's "baby" and the Pepin relationship is part of that formula, which has worked so well.

I am confident that my "interpretation" is spot on. After all, why fix what ain't broke.

Plus 1 (he just loves Oceania)

Jancruz1 

[Paulchili]

16 minutes ago, Jancruz said:

I get on Sirena next Saturday..YIPPEE

Jancruz1

Looking forward to seeing you in the city Jan.

Have a great cruise.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, njhorseman said:

Apparently they ignored that advice when they combined Polo and Toscana.

In one sense, they did not ignore that advice.

 

Sirena was a "new" ship with an opportunity to test the concept of combining the two existing restaurants to make way for Oceania's most popular (by far) O ship restaurant. 

At the same time, they left the other three R ships' restaurant configuration the same. And it has stayed that way. 

 

So, back to my original impression: Don't fix what ain't broke (on the existing R and O ships) and use the new ships (i.e., the two Allura class ships) for any new concepts (trial or otherwise).

 

BTW, I enjoy having Red Ginger on Sirena. At first I was not pleased when I saw the combined Polo/Toscana offerings in Tuscan Steak because some of my favorite dishes were not on the menu. However, a special request for my Aragosta Fra Diavolo has always been accommodated at Tuscan Grill.

[clo]

1 hour ago, Mura said:

And for us, sacrificing Polo and Toscana for Red Ginger is NOT an enticement ... RG has always been our least favorite.  I know we are not alone in feeling that way, although I also know that RG is very popular with many passengers.

 

But we are Szechuan fans and Asian Fusion does NOT do it for us.  We haven't had the terrible meals that a few -- VERY few --  have reported here, but even the good meals in RG were not our favorites.

 

Mura

Our taste in Asian food is like yours. There's really little to nothing of their menu that we find appealing.  xoc