Riviera Live! March 8 from a food lover and O newbie

[basor]

1 hour ago, Woofa said:

These pics are a great help, thank you.  We take our first cruise on Riviera in January and as we really don't drink much I was not planning on paying the extra for La Riserve but your pictures are making me think twice.  A little pricey if you really won't be getting the wine though.  Might be worth it just for the experience and who knows, maybe we will try some wines and enjoy them.

I believe you can let them know that you do not drink and they will lower the price and provide non-alcoholic options......it is well worth it!

[ORV]

3 hours ago, kjbacon said:

$95 pp and 20% gratuity. In my opinion, a bargain. We have paid far more than that for wine pairing dinners and this was as good or better than some we’ve been to.

Unless it's the Dom Perignon pairing, then I think it's around $195 each, but I'd have to check to be sure of that price. From the pictures of the one you did it makes me want to try it. It's the only one we haven't done. 

[Woofa]

59 minutes ago, basor said:

I believe you can let them know that you do not drink and they will lower the price and provide non-alcoholic options......it is well worth it!

Had not heard that, I will see what I can find out and let the forums know.  Thank you.

[Jancruz]

4 hours ago, Woofa said:

These pics are a great help, thank you.  We take our first cruise on Riviera in January and as we really don't drink much I was not planning on paying the extra for La Riserve but your pictures are making me think twice.  A little pricey if you really won't be getting the wine though.  Might be worth it just for the experience and who knows, maybe we will try some wines and enjoy them.

My husband does not drink wine and he always asks for his Martini and gets that..I have seen many people thru the years in there but not drinking the wine..

Jancruz1

[reposado]

On 3/9/2022 at 11:15 AM, cruisingxpert said:

 

 

Short story about how I started sailing Oceania almost 10 years ago.  I read a review from a poster "Reposado"  who reviewed all the food he had on Riviera and even gave each dish a score.  I was drooling and booked my first O cruise.  After the cruise ended, I felt that I had hyped myself up too much and was a bit disappointed in the food.  However, within 3 months, I was craving some of the dishes I had had and that was the beginning of my continuing love affair with O.

 

Im still here by the way! Honored to have been your inspiration(tho I do think I overhyped it a bit too much). Happy to say I'll be going back on the Riviera this early august!

[cruisingxpert]

1 hour ago, reposado said:

Im still here by the way! Honored to have been your inspiration(tho I do think I overhyped it a bit too much). Happy to say I'll be going back on the Riviera this early august!

Happy to hear that.  I saved that thread of yours until the pictures wouldn't post anymore.  Will definitely watch for your review.

@kjbacon is one of the few who have posted a food review thread since I read yours and I'm loving it.

[tiptwo2]

On 3/7/2022 at 1:37 PM, kjbacon said:

We must compare notes!! Thank you for the Terrace suggestion. Grilled lobster tails sound delicious!

Terrace has lamb chops, too! Fab

[Qruzon]

I think you can get lamb chops for breakfast in the dining room too.

[Jancruz]

17 minutes ago, Qruzon said:

I think you can get lamb chops for breakfast in the dining room too.

Wonderful baby lamb chops in the am..

Jancruz2

[tiptwo2]

We haven’t been on O since 2019 but are booked on the TO in December. I’m getting so excited after reading your reviews (the good, the bad and the ugly) and seeing those fantastic pictures. Thank you so much❤️💕❤️

Edited March 12, 2022 by tiptwo2

[XBARBSX]

I am normally just a "lurker" enjoying everyone's thoughts but I have to say thank you for such a great review of the food.  I am going on the Transatlantic next week and can't wait!!  

[kjbacon]

Thank you all for having fun along with me! Yesterday, we were not able to go to St Barts but we did sub with St Maarten. St Barts continues to elude me 🤣 no matter how many times I try!! Enjoy these wild goats in the hills of St Maarten.

 

Dinner in Red Ginger was terrific! We loved many of the touches from the open air kitchen area, the lovely dresses on the staff, the gorgeous plates, to getting to choose our chopsticks. We thought that was cool! 

 

 

The menu is very creative and full of so many good choices that it was hard to decide. Our appetizers were Tuna Tataki and Salmon Scallop Ceviche, both excellent.

 

 

We also split the chef’s choice sushi plate and it was outstanding!

 

We had a salad course and both salads were fabulous… Duck with Watermelon and Lobster Avocado.

 

 

 

Our main courses were also delicious! We had the Miso Bass and the Twice Cooked Chicken, extra spicy 🌶 

 

 

Desserts were a split with the Chocolate Lemongrass Crème Brûlée that Jack liked better than I did and the Togarashi Chili Spiced Ice Cream that had wonderful flavor but a chalky texture that was off putting.

 

 

A fine meal!

 

Today, we are in St Kitts instead of Martinique and the weather is still windy and is rainy this morning. 
 

We are hearing about an artwork scavenger hunt and we are on that today! Dinner tonight is Toscana.

[kjbacon]

20 hours ago, Muckyduckway said:

Really enjoying your review.  Our next O cruise is quite some time away but we are now considering including La Reserve in our plans.  Do you know whether there are options for non-meat eaters?  

Yes, you can get a vegetarian meal BUT that requires 48 hours notice.

 

20 hours ago, Woofa said:

These pics are a great help, thank you.  We take our first cruise on Riviera in January and as we really don't drink much I was not planning on paying the extra for La Riserve but your pictures are making me think twice.  A little pricey if you really won't be getting the wine though.  Might be worth it just for the experience and who knows, maybe we will try some wines and enjoy them.

You don’t have to drink the wine but according to the head waiter (aka the wine guy at the dinner), they will not reduce the price.

 

We finally managed to dock in St Kitts despite the difficult conditions. The Viking Sea aborted their attempt to dock and sailed off.

 

We had breakfast in the Grand Dining Room and it was amazing! Talk about spoiling us, look how our grapefruit and banana were served.

 

 

I am an avocado toast lover and it’s fabulous here on O. It’s pure avocado, without filler, and deliciously chunky. Jack loved his Eggs Bennie.

 

 

I had planned to have a nice, big salad for lunch to offset some of the weight I’m gaining and I just read that lunch will be an Asian buffet. 😳 What to do?

[Qruzon]

What to do??

Go to lunch.

On a cruise, abandon all eating restrictions and enjoy.

Deal with weight when you get home.

[susiesan]

Have your husband ask that the eggs benedict be put on the avocado toast. That is my everyday breakfast on Oceania Cruises.

[jonthomas]

Have never tried avocado toast. Will try it in a week. 

[ORV]

4 hours ago, kjbacon said:

We are hearing about an artwork scavenger hunt and we are on that today! Dinner tonight is Toscana.

Here's a hint for you on the scavenger hunt. You will need to go in the Specialty restaurants. I'm pretty sure there's at least one in every Specialty. 

[WESTEAST]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

Here's a hint for you on the scavenger hunt. You will need to go in the Specialty restaurants. I'm pretty sure there's at least one in every Specialty. 

Another vote to check the Speciality restaurants, bar area in Horizons - lots of fun and every now and then, a crew member may give you a discreet clue. Enjoy and thank you for posting photos and your honest reviews. 

[Riverroad]

For the scavenger hunt, be sure to check the spa area as well.

[YoPhilly]

Your posts have my mouth watering!!  Thanks for the great reviews.  Now I just have to wait until September!

[kjbacon]

Good sense prevailed and we had a lovely morning shopping for larger clothes in beautiful St Kitts.

 

 

How’s this for lunch with a view?

 

The Asian lunch buffet was mostly very good. The best bites were the sushi, the dumplings, the Thai Beef Salad with grilled eggplant, fresh mint, and cilantro, and the surprisingly delicious vegan Korean Kimchi Soup with shiitakes and sesame oil.

 

 

 

The Seaweed Salad was also very good but my picture was awful! Our sampler of Green Curry Chicken, Fried Noodles, and Chicken Satay was not as good.

 

Time to find some art!

[CruiseLibra]

No Humphry Slocombe ice cream? It is always the highlight for us! 😀

[CintiPam]

On 3/9/2022 at 8:18 PM, babysteps said:

November 2021 on Marina the art tour was available from reception - laminated list and those museum tour thingies that play a given recording when you type in a give number (thoroughly sanitized between uses).

If Marina still is using shared audio devices, I guess that I can understand why it is no longer available. More bother to sanitize, I presume??

 

i look forward to hearing kjbacon’s report on the results of the art scavenger hunt. Perhaps the audio tour provided what was deemed to be an unfair advantage to those who had taken it! 😉

Edited March 12, 2022 by CintiPam

[kjbacon]

2 hours ago, CruiseLibra said:

No Humphry Slocombe ice cream? It is always the highlight for us! 😀

We have seen it but not tried it yet … sounds like we need to!!

30 minutes ago, CintiPam said:

If Marina still is using shared audio devices, I guess that I can understand why it is no longer available. More bother to sanitize, I presume??

 

i look forward to hearing kjbacon’s report on the results of the art scavenger hunt. Perhaps the audio tour provided what was deemed to be an unfair advantage to those who had taken it! 😉

We were told that some of the art had been rearranged or otherwise changed so the audio tour was no longer accurate. They say they plan to fix it by the end of the year.

 

As it happens, the sun came out and the wind was finally below Dorothy strength so we headed up to the spa deck pool instead of the art hunt. Tomorrow!

 

 

[kjbacon]

Toscana was such a disappointment. Service was haphazard and each dish we had was off. Two of our very favorite dishes were on the menu and both were so poorly done. The Gnocchi was heavy, dense, and tasteless. Veal Chop Milanese had very little flavor and the chop was cooked to death and then cooked some more just in case it wasn’t already cooked to death.

 

I’ve raved about the bread on the ship but somehow, Toscana doesn’t have any crisp Italian bread but only soft rolls and skinny breadsticks without much depth of flavor 😳 I kept looking for a rosemary or sundried tomato or olive focaccia but there was none to be found. The basket also came with a nearly burned roasted garlic.

 

Service was rushed and erratic. We had to ask the server to slow it down a little. No, we weren’t ready to order before we looked at the menu! After we ate the bread that we dipped in the olive oil they poured for us, I saw a cart filled with many small bottles across the room. I asked what it was and was told it was the olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting cart. What? The question back to me was asking if someone hadn’t brought it over to us? Nope! Someone came by earlier with one bottle of olive oil and one bottle of balsamic, the question being how much balsamic do you want in your olive oil?

 

We had two reservations in each specialty restaurant but we won’t keep the second one here.

 

Another early decision:

Italian restaurant - R

 

Today is St Lucia and it seems that you aren’t allowed to disembark unless you are in a group tour. Weather doesn’t look promising. Sounds like the perfect day for an art scavenger hunt.
 

Tonight, our second wine pairing dinner 🥂🍷🍾