Favorite Specialty Restaurants and Foods

[clo]

1 minute ago, jagoffee said:

Looks really good to me.

 

 

And that's what it's all about. We all like different things. Food and otherwise.

[Paulchili]

59 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Looks really good to me.

 

 

I agree.

I also like the caramelized tiger prawns appetizer.

These are sometimes available at the Terrace Cafe.

Edited April 28, 2021 by Paulchili

[Harters]

12 hours ago, clo said:

Care to share the name of the food forum?

Hungry Onion.

 

Like this forum, HO has mainly American contributors, with a handful of "foreigners" like myself. I enjoy my time there. Come and have a look at us and see if it suits. Bear in mind that Covid consequences means we are not at our best right now (but then neither are travel forums).

 

https://www.hungryonion.org/

 

John

 

 

 

 

[neilrr]

Red Ginger -- Rack of Lamb and Lobster Pad Thai (Medium Spice) - I ordered it the first time and it was bland. The second time (medium spice) was much better.

 

Also, love the lobster and filet mignon sandwiches at the grill with truffle fries.. Yum.. Yum..  

[clo]

2 hours ago, neilrr said:

with truffle fries.

What are truffle fries? Do they actually have truffles on them?

[njhorseman]

32 minutes ago, clo said:

What are truffle fries? Do they actually have truffles on them?

They are fries topped with truffle oil and other seasonings such as herbs and spices. Most truffle oil doesn't have any truffles in it...it's apparently most commonly made with a chemical that mimics a truffle-like aroma. Apparently a fair number of chefs are decidedly not fond of it. The times I've had truffle fries I haven't been the least bit impressed .

[clo]

3 hours ago, njhorseman said:

They are fries topped with truffle oil and other seasonings such as herbs and spices. Most truffle oil doesn't have any truffles in it...it's apparently most commonly made with a chemical that mimics a truffle-like aroma. Apparently a fair number of chefs are decidedly not fond of it. The times I've had truffle fries I haven't been the least bit impressed .

Yeah, I understand many/most chefs seriously don't like it. Nor did I. I think I've had (black) truffles maybe 2x and loved those.

[umtali]

Toscano, or Polo, or GDR, or Terrace oh god I used to be so indecisive, but now I'm just not sure.

Oh, the memories.

[clo]

I forgot the lobster mac n cheese in Polo. If you have a party of four I'd order one for the table. As you can imagine it's really rich...and really good.

[DENIE]

Just booked our first Oceania cruise.....love all the menu selections.  Seriously hungry right now!  Can't wait to order them for ourselves onboard! ☺️ Have also been reading the menu's on O's website!

Edited May 2, 2021 by DENIE

[deadzone1003]

Here are some odds and ends - illy crema at the Baristas, basically a coffee milkshake in a shot glass form - get a big cup of it for a milkshake feel.  Waygu hamburger if you wan to try Waygu at Waves, but the Black Angus burger is much better tasting.  Red Ginger is our favorite specialty restaurant along with 4 others from our party when we were on the Marina, 2 from China and 2 from Hong Kong - they all love the food from the Red Ginger.   We had always love the miso-glazed Chilean Seabass in the R-class GDR when it was available, but were surprised at how good the rest of the menu was at Red Ginger.

[tfred]

never been on MSC, but I understand the ship within a ship concept is attractive.  Upscale, standalone dedicated area.  Big ship activities on the other side of the locked door

 

That said, Oceania food would be very tough to beat from the GDR, Specialties to the "buffet". Service and food are world class

 

That said, O nightlife is a little staid, the ships are in need some modernization, so if you can potentially sacrifice some food experiences, MSC is a choice

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, tfred said:

never been on MSC, but I understand the ship within a ship concept is attractive.  Upscale, standalone dedicated area.  Big ship activities on the other side of the locked door

 

That said, Oceania food would be very tough to beat from the GDR, Specialties to the "buffet". Service and food are world class

 

That said, O nightlife is a little staid, the ships are in need some modernization, so if you can potentially sacrifice some food experiences, MSC is a choice

Don’t know when you were last on an O ship but, O now uses the same talent management as does NCL, albeit with the limitations imposed by smaller ship performance venues.

 

Also, are you not aware that, over the past two years three of the four R ships have received an almost total interior makeover (Nautica has been delayed due to Covid restrictions impact). These “NEXT” makeovers are stunning/functional/ideal.

As for “ship within a ship,” that’s pretty much a concept borrowed from Las Vegas where you can “visit” New York or Paris without actually going to the real thing.

 

[tfred]

2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Don’t know when you were last on an O ship but, O now uses the same talent management as does NCL, albeit with the limitations imposed by smaller ship performance venues.

 

Also, are you not aware that, over the past two years three of the four R ships have received an almost total interior makeover (Nautica has been delayed due to Covid restrictions impact). These “NEXT” makeovers are stunning/functional/ideal.

As for “ship within a ship,” that’s pretty much a concept borrowed from Las Vegas where you can “visit” New York or Paris without actually going to the real thing.

 

I was on Riviera 2 years ago.  Spectacular food, great service.  Decor was oldish and really not my style.  Some stateroom furnishings were rickety or broken.  Plus - bathtubs in the room seem to be out of place on a ship like that with the average age.  I would wonder how many people take baths (icky) and how do they get in and out.  IIRC, the sidewalls were fairly deep.  

 

If I was on a port intensive trip the sedateness (and I mean that in a good way) of O would be a plus - I don't need Broadway shows then.  On a stroll (again) through the Caribbean I might want some activity at night

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

As for “ship within a ship,” that’s pretty much a concept borrowed from Las Vegas where you can “visit” New York or Paris without actually going to the real thing.

As someone who has done a number of cruises on a "ship within a ship" (NCL Haven), not to mention having  spent my fair share of time in Las Vegas I don't agree with that analogy . There's nothing fake, phony or illusory such as you'll find in Las Vegas... Egyptian pyramids... Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, Venetian canals, etc. 

 

You know you're on a larger ship and in order to experience some of what's there...most notably entertainment and restaurants other than the private restaurant you have to leave the "ship within a ship" and join the general passenger population.

 

More appropriate analogies are to a private club floor or section of a hotel or resort or the first class cabin on an aircraft, particularly first class on a high end international airline. 

 

 

[Mcobean]

2 hours ago, njhorseman said:

More appropriate analogies are to a private club floor or section of a hotel or resort or the first class cabin on an aircraft, particularly first class on a high end international airline. 

 

Great comparison, and we found ourselves often wanting to get back into that private club after being out in the rest of the very loud and crowded ship. The msc yacht club was awesome, but the rest of the ship….

 

cheers,

Daryl

[Mura]

On 4/26/2021 at 12:10 PM, LHT28 said:

I am pretty sure if you ask for  the dish to be spicier they will do it

 I must have gotten someone else's order in RG  as it was so spicy I could  not tell that my HOT tea was hot  it felt like luke warm tea

My mouth was numb from the heat of the curry dish

Indeed they have done so when I have asked -- on the few occasions when we've dined at RG.  And I have mentioned somewhere here (not on this specific thread I am sure  ) that when Jan Cruz invited us to join them for a group dinner which they pre-ordered, it was a wonderful meal.

[jeno]

Our three Oceania cruises we currently have booked are about 25 days each. We are booked in a regular balcony cabin.  We get a total of 4 advance reservations per cruise, correct? 

[LHT28]

20 minutes ago, jeno said:

Our three Oceania cruises we currently have booked are about 25 days each. We are booked in a regular balcony cabin.  We get a total of 4 advance reservations per cruise, correct? 

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005477653-How-many-dining-reservations-am-I-allowed-in-each-specialty-restaurant-

 

Once onboard you can ask daily for  extra  seating 

[pinotlover]

It will be interesting to see how things change , in the short term, concerning availability of extra reservations in the Specialties.  On the R ships, on the longer cruises, we have been giving up reservations. If in a PH, we get more than we need since we have tired of the never changing menu. After about day 12 or so, I believe additional Specialty reservations, for all, have been easy to come by. 
 

However, it was just announced that Oceania is now refreshing its restaurant menus, putting in new dishes and new avenues of food exploration. Therefore, there will now be lots of new stuff to try. Not only will we probably not be giving up any reservations, depending upon the new variety, we may be asking our butler to get us more. It will take a couple of years to see how all this shakes out concerning additional reservations. By then, hopefully 🤞, the Vista will be here with a couple of its all new restaurants and something new to experience.

[GIZMO81]

If your having trouble getting a reservation for any restaurant a second time just hav the dishes you want brought to your Penthouse suite. We do this at least twice during our cruises with O. Specially on days we’ve had longer excursions. They will deliver the food by course always warm always great. Just a thought. Riviera in February and Marina in April for us.