Main Dining Room question

[carefree lady]

I am new to Oceania. Does the MDR menu change or is it the same every day?

[LHT28]

It changes daily  they have  a few items that  are "Always Available "

 You can view some menus  at the Preismans blog

https://www.thepreismans.com/riviera_21_menus.htm#canyon

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 minutes ago, carefree lady said:

I am new to Oceania. Does the MDR menu change or is it the same every day?

Grand Dining Room has several repetitive Jacques Pepin meat/fish/vegetarian classics nightly (for the less adventurous[?]) . But the rest of the menu is varied and diverse nightly with something for everyone. Note as well that the only real difference among dining venues on any O ship is the menu focus and ambiance. All the food is top quality as are the ingredients and preparation. 

[DENIE]

1 hour ago, carefree lady said:

I am new to Oceania. Does the MDR menu change or is it the same every day?

Hello Carefree Lady (we are just south of you in Scottsdale, AZ).  Another thing is that the Terrace Cafe (Buffet) may feature some of the same entrees as the MDR.  Welcome to Oceania - we just completed our first cruise on the Riviera and booked another one while onboard.

[emd138]

We were on a 7 day Bermuda cruise on Insignia recently, and they repeated the dinner menu.  There may have been a few slight tweaks, but that was the first I had ever seen that, let alone 2 days in a row!  They said "back by popular demand."  Prior cruises, they changed it up every day with the same always available dishes, and maybe some basis appetizer repeats.

[carefree lady]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

[jondfk]

Having sailed our first on O in April I’ll add a food tip that it took me 7 days to discover.  On the lunch menu, lower right, is an option called “Taste the World” which was basically a regional tasting menu that changed day to day.

 

Taste the World Lebanon was my favorite, hummus, lamb, olives and 4 or 5 other two bite options. Order one to share as a starter or one for yourself as an entree.  Truly unlike anything I’ve had on any other cruise.

 

Yum.  Already salivating for our September sailings.

[ToxM]

A few days Marital Unit and I were very sneaky…

 

Starters from Red Ginger in our penthouse (don’t forget you can order from any speciality/MDR as room service in a PH and above).

 

Main from Terrace so we could have a little of everything

 

Dessert in the MDR … 

 

R class ships are so small the little walk between venues was no problem 🙂

 

I will miss starters from Red Ginger in the cabin in December as we are in a lowly balcony 😉

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

23 minutes ago, ToxM said:

A few days Marital Unit and I were very sneaky…

 

Starters from Red Ginger in our penthouse (don’t forget you can order from any speciality/MDR as room service in a PH and above).

 

Main from Terrace so we could have a little of everything

 

Dessert in the MDR … 

 

R class ships are so small the little walk between venues was no problem 🙂

 

I will miss starters from Red Ginger in the cabin in December as we are in a lowly balcony 😉

 

Check out the new Room Service additions. Not Red Ginger but worth a couple of lunch or dinner eat-in meals.

[ToxM]

16 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Check out the new Room Service additions. Not Red Ginger but worth a couple of lunch or dinner eat-in meals.

Ohh I didn’t realise they had upgraded the room service offerings..!

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, ToxM said:

Ohh I didn’t realise they had upgraded the room service offerings..!

Yes - expanded menu for sure!

 

And then there’s the uncertainty of a possible change to hot breakfast now included in, at least, some cabins below concierge level.

We had that option (B balcony) on Riviera in January/February but not on Insignia in May-July (also B). I had read about the change but don’t know if it was temporary while passenger capacity was low.

[Mura]

Back to the original question, our experience has been that the MDR menus do recycle every 14 days or so.  If you are on a shorter cruise it doesn't matter, but if you are on a longer cruise it might well matter.

 

It never did to us ...

 

Mura

[pinotlover]

My current personal view is, I’m just waiting until October when we’re allowed to sail again. At this point, I don’t believe what they DID pre Covid matters much anymore. I likewise don’t believe what they did ( and are doing) on low capacity sailings matters one iota as to future full capacity sailings.

 

Our October Sirena is completely full and still waitlisted. The ship will have been sailing six months by then. Plenty of time to get any kinks worked out. With a completely full ship and crew, We expect to see the new Oceania product, whatever that may be.

[MEFIowa]

On 8/12/2022 at 8:19 AM, pinotlover said:

Our October Sirena is completely full and still waitlisted. The ship will have been sailing six months by then. Plenty of time to get any kinks worked out. With a completely full ship and crew, We expect to see the new Oceania product, whatever that may be.

Hope it is fantastic for you, since we've got Sirena from 11/18-28/22, and as of today she is fully waitlisted. 

 

I'm going to watch the waitlisting status come Sunday, for Saturday is final payment due day. Will be interesting to see if any classes of rooms go off "waitlist" and on to "available".

[patty1955]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/194384111@N03/sets/72157720135506026/

 

[bob brown]

On 8/10/2022 at 10:55 PM, Mura said:

Back to the original question, our experience has been that the MDR menus do recycle every 14 days or so.  If you are on a shorter cruise it doesn't matter, but if you are on a longer cruise it might well matter.

 

It never did to us ...

 

Mura

I am not a "foodie", so perhaps I should not comment on this subject, but....

how many people when dining at home, don't repeat menu's within 14 days?

I certainly am not one of them...🙂

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, bob brown said:

I am not a "foodie", so perhaps I should not comment on this subject, but....

how many people when dining at home, don't repeat menu's within 14 days?

I certainly am not one of them...🙂

For approx. 75% of a normal year (when we’re not traveling) and with the usual exception of 1-2 nights/week when we might eat out or get pizza delivered (boy- do I still miss DiFara’s in Brooklyn) or make a Mexican/Chinese takeout run (or occasionally have a favorite leftover main course), I’d say we don’t have “repeat” dinners with ANY kind of regularity.

 

Oddly enough, some of our very favorite entreé recipes (which may have somewhat complicated prep - e.g., a la Paul Prudhomme) only get dusted off 1-3 times per year.

 

I don’t know how unusual all that might be for other folks. All I know is that DW loves to cook and her meals rival much of the best restaurant food we’ve had worldwide.
Contributing to that is an extensive collection of cookbooks (see pic) and collected recipes. And I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve as well (including a “spot on” recreation of Ric Orlando’s Thai Bolognese dish and my Sicilian family’s unequalled lasagna). BTW, I’m most often the bartender (see if you can spot the cocktails section in the books pic).

 

FWIW: Though we are condo dwellers, it doesn’t hamper the repertoire. A major (carefully planned) renovation done a decade ago made the very best of our somewhat compact kitchen space and, in compliance with California fire regulations regarding open flames near buildings, a bit of research found the “hands down” best small electric grill for limited outside deck space (check out Kenyon grills!).

 

Finally: Here’s an unusual recommendation for all aspiring Southern Italian cooks wanting that authentic NYC metro area immigrant “Sunday Gravy” dinner: The Sopranos Cookbook (trust me, it’s the real thing for Siciliano-Americano food).

 

As Jacques Pepin always says, “Happy Cooking”

[Mura]

My friends and dinner guests call me a gourmet cook -- but I know that I am not anything like that!  I'm an excellent home cook, and when having guests I plan carefully:  something that looks like I was in the kitchen preparing the meal for many days but which really were far simpler.

 

As to how often I repeat meals:  it depends.  I try to make sure that I don't repeat a dish until at least 7 days have passed.  But even so, I will prepare the main dish in a different way.  I have one email subscription (which I do tend to ignore) where daily meal plans are presented.  Nope, I don't do meal plans.  I probably should, but I don't.

 

As far as Oceania repeating their menus every 14 days, that's fine with me! 

 

Tonight I made a favorite of ours, Banana Shrimp Curry (from an old Gourmet recipe).  The last time I made shrimp was nearly a month ago when I made a pasta primavera (from stuff in the 'fridge) to which I added shrimp.  DH wants fish every week which is usually salmon unless I can find swordfish or halibut -- which is rarely. Most of the time during the week I serve some variation of chicken.

 

About a year ago I started keeping track of what I have served on a daily basis -- something I never did before.  So I do try to vary the menus but I don't go nuts about it.

 

I wouldn't do very well if I were working in Oceania's kitchen, I think ...

 

I've gone on far too long so I will sign off!  No one cares what I serve for dinner or how often ...

 

Mura

[Guppy99]

The menu may be repeated every 14 days, but with many options per menu and numerous venues..you needn't duplicate a meal for months.

[osandomir]

We took many longer cruises 28 - 36 days and enjoyed almost every meal in any of Oceania restaurants. Of cause some were better than others. Guess what I appreciate the most - someone has to cook it and it’s not me.

[techteach]

We are on a 7 day cruise, first time on Oceania, and I sure hope cavier is on the menu within those 7 days. We have done many cooking classes over the years including Guy Savoy 5 sessions.  We have dozens and dozens of cook books, and 4 binders of favorites.  Within 14 days there are no repeat menus. We plan 1 week of meals every Thursday night including a shopping list. We have fish twice each week, Saturday and Monday, because we go to Pike Street Market every Saturday morning and buy fresh fish. We are doing this cruise because we hear that the food is very good. We are sailing on Cunard in 62 days, but who is counting, because their Queens Grill has a good reputation for food. I’m very excited to cruise on Oceania, the Regatta, and hope the food is as good as it looks in all of the beautiful pictures posted here.

[spryder]

How do MDR reservations work on Oceania Marina?  I don't see any option to select a preferred dining time, separate/shared table, etc. on my reservation management dashboard, as we usually see with other cruise lines.  Thanks!

[njhorseman]

Just now, spryder said:

How do MDR reservations work on Oceania Marina?  I don't see any option to select a preferred dining time, separate/shared table, etc. on my reservation management dashboard, as we usually see with other cruise lines.  Thanks!

It's open seating. Arrive whenever you wish during dining hours. You can request an individual table or to share a table with others when you arrive at the dining room.

[spryder]

Cheers -  much appreciated!

[dandee2]

Hi. Any Gluten-Free item on the menu?