Earth & Ocean Dining Option - Quest

[conchyjoe]

Going to be on Quest voyage in a couple of months and see that they have added “Earth & Ocean” as an outdoor dining option. I assume this will be out by the pool.

has anybody experienced this venue yet?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[markham]

Yes and sure.

Enjoy it.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

 

 

[Mauzac]

It's my favourite dining option for outside.  

 

If you add the SeabournSource app, you can see daily menus, that keeps me going until we embark in September!

[Asquare]

We were on the Encore recently and loved Earth & Ocean.  We always ordered different dishes and shared them.  We liked the casual atmosphere and attentive staff.  The presentation was always excellent, the menus were unique and we did not feel rushed.

[shark b8]

Agree with previous posters, we’ve dined @ Earth & Ocean any number of times, and always enjoyed. Tends to be just a bit more “exotic” than the other venues, it seems to me.  We may be going there on Odyssey tonight!   Tonight’s menu jpg below.

 

Many many cruises ago, we noticed, on our first late afternoon/early evening, a grinding, rumbling noise in our suite.  I would have sworn it was anchor going up or down but it occurred every few minutes and we were midships.  As it turned out, what we heard was casters on the bottom of the carts that the Earth/Ocean wait staff used to serve and remove stuff from the tables, we were on the deck directly underneath.  We have since noticed that the casters have been changed to a quieter version…..I have a feeling Seabourn got an earful about it!

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2022 by shark b8

[conchyjoe]

Thank you all, for your replies. This will be our first trip since Covid emerged.

Menu looks different and very interesting, I am sure it will become one of our favorites too.

 

I haven’t downloaded the app yet but seems like a good idea to do (?). I’m slowly getting dragged into the 21st Century !

 

 

[conchyjoe]

Do you have to make reservations in advance?

[SDuckers]

6 minutes ago, conchyjoe said:

Do you have to make reservations in advance?

No, but on nice evenings it can be a popular location and the number of tables are limited, so you may have a wait.

 

[CalmSea]

58 minutes ago, conchyjoe said:

Thank you all, for your replies. This will be our first trip since Covid emerged.

Menu looks different and very interesting, I am sure it will become one of our favorites too.

 

I haven’t downloaded the app yet but seems like a good idea to do (?). I’m slowly getting dragged into the 21st Century !

 

 

I am also going to be on the Quest in a month and a half, and have installed the new app. It is really intersting to be able to see all the menus, especially because there is another "live on the Quest" thread with great pictures of some selected dishes! Seabourn is making it so tempting!

[FlyerTalker]

The menus rotate on a weekly basis.  One thing to note is that the venue is not open on the final night of the cruise.

 

There is a pork-belly skewer appetizer that's worth having as an entree (double the portion).  And know that the pasta appetizers are large portions.

[lincslady]

I hadn't seen a menu for Earth and Ocean before - now I am drooling.  All my favourite sort of food on one menu.  I would make sure I booked a warm weather cruise to benefit from it to the full.

 

 

[Mauzac]

We love E & O. The wonderful waiting staff seem not quite so pressured as in the MDR.  

They do this smoked chicken pre dinner appetiser along with tapenades that we always enjoy.   I would say the portions are larger than the MDR, we rarely make it to dessert, although we have indulged in the baked camembert once.  Delicious indulgence but filling!  

[shark b8]

conchyjoe, will you post here, re your experience, once onboard?  Always fun when someone is new to a particular experience, gets various viewpoints from some regular CC’ers, and then reports back with fresh insight.

[Catlover54]

On 8/5/2022 at 5:24 AM, Asquare said:

We were on the Encore recently and loved Earth & Ocean.  We always ordered different dishes and shared them.  We liked the casual atmosphere and attentive staff.  The presentation was always excellent, the menus were unique and we did not feel rushed.

 

One thing to keep in mind, however, for pax who do "not feel rushed" (not necessarily meaning you):

*When the ship is full*, the small venue fills up almost immediately, and then others have to wait until the early, prior guests clear out.  One cannot ,unfortunately, make reservations.  So if one comes early, as a general courtesy, if others are waiting, I think it would be polite to not just sit around for an hour after the meal chit chatting (one can do that elsewhere, like in the lounges).  That would free the table up for other guests who are waiting, so they can also enjoy the venue.  Staff will of course NEVER tell you to move along. 

 

Given the understandable popularity of this small venue, I think they should move to a reservation system for it.  On luxury Hapag Lloyd, I like the set-up where the smaller dining venues are reservation only, and then the table is yours for the evening, so there is no rush at all when guests are there (guests can come early or later, and can stay the entire evening chit chatting even if not eating).  

But with planning a reservation , everyone could experience it at least once if not more often. 

If people with reservations come early and finish within 2 hours, (typical, including the chatting), then others could still drop in without reservations later on.

 

I say this as someone who, arriving 5 minutes after opening,  has waited in frustration a long, long time, while people are not eating and are just occupying the table . I understand it is currently set up to make people think it is just fine to have a " first come first served and we're not leaving" approach on a luxury ship, because no one tells them otherwise.

 

 

[SLSD]

13 minutes ago, Catlover54 said:

 

 

I say this as someone who, arriving 5 minutes after opening,  has waited in frustration a long, long time, while people are not eating and are just occupying the table . I understand it is currently set up to make people think it is just fine to have a " first come first served and we're not leaving" approach on a luxury ship, because no one tells them otherwise.

 

 

I totally agree with you Catlover.  Being aware of other guests should be something we all think about.  Courtesy counts.  

[Mr Luxury]

19 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

 

One thing to keep in mind, however, for pax who do "not feel rushed" (not necessarily meaning you):

*When the ship is full*, the small venue fills up almost immediately, and then others have to wait until the early, prior guests clear out.  One cannot ,unfortunately, make reservations.  So if one comes early, as a general courtesy, if others are waiting, I think it would be polite to not just sit around for an hour after the meal chit chatting (one can do that elsewhere, like in the lounges).  That would free the table up for other guests who are waiting, so they can also enjoy the venue.  Staff will of course NEVER tell you to move along. 

 

Given the understandable popularity of this small venue, I think they should move to a reservation system for it.  On luxury Hapag Lloyd, I like the set-up where the smaller dining venues are reservation only, and then the table is yours for the evening, so there is no rush at all when guests are there (guests can come early or later, and can stay the entire evening chit chatting even if not eating).  

But with planning a reservation , everyone could experience it at least once if not more often. 

If people with reservations come early and finish within 2 hours, (typical, including the chatting), then others could still drop in without reservations later on.

 

I say this as someone who, arriving 5 minutes after opening,  has waited in frustration a long, long time, while people are not eating and are just occupying the table . I understand it is currently set up to make people think it is just fine to have a " first come first served and we're not leaving" approach on a luxury ship, because no one tells them otherwise.

 

 

So eat up and ship out is what you're really saying 😄

[saminina]

She found out first hand how annoying it is to wait while folks occupy tables without regard to the people staring at them from the bar.    Once you learn the system, you put your butt in the seat early.

And leaving a book on the table will not work this time.

[FlyerTalker]

On 8/6/2022 at 10:35 AM, SLSD said:

I totally agree with you Catlover.  Being aware of other guests should be something we all think about.  Courtesy counts.  

 

At one point, a table of four was sitting there for a long while after desert was over - even ordering another round of cocktails.  I figured that uncouth could meet uncouth, so I walked over and asked "Are you folks planning on staying at this table all night so you can help the staff clean up, or will you be making it available for other guests to enjoy?"

 

After a "harumph" or two, and some muttering about my behavior, they decided to leave.

 

And yes, the staff is never going to ask them to move along so the table can be turned.

[JPH814]

I would love to try this option, but the menu never seems to appeal to my  wife.  Does anyone know if the servers can be flexible -  providing a basic steak or chicken option entre?

[robertmartha]

we tend to eat later...meaning 8-830ish

for those who have dined at E&O - do you typically "see" the tables turn-over over the course of the night? I would think no? since it only opens at 7...can't imagine after an hr/hr and a half people would be finished? Boarding encore in 2 months and hoping the evenings will lend themselves to this dining venue in the med the second week of Oct. 

[sunshineocean13]

On 8/6/2022 at 3:01 AM, FlyerTalker said:

The menus rotate on a weekly basis.  One thing to note is that the venue is not open on the final night of the cruise.

 

There is a pork-belly skewer appetizer that's worth having as an entree (double the portion).  And know that the pasta appetizers are large portions.

 

[sunshineocean13]

Earth and Ocean was available the first night of our cruise (on Quest now), but is not usually available on the last night of the cruise, when they do officers on deck and crew salute. I love Earth and Ocean.

[Isklaar]

37 minutes ago, robertmartha said:

we tend to eat later...meaning 8-830ish

for those who have dined at E&O - do you typically "see" the tables turn-over over the course of the night? I would think no? since it only opens at 7...can't imagine after an hr/hr and a half people would be finished? Boarding encore in 2 months and hoping the evenings will lend themselves to this dining venue in the med the second week of Oct. 

 

We tend to have dinner around 8,30pm. We have always managed to be seated at E&O,  but usually there has been a short wait at the bar. We try to arrive by 8.15 if we're wanting a  table at E&O. 

 

I should add that our experience was on O and E class ships but pre-Covid. Perhaps it has changed recently...

Edited August 8, 2022 by Isklaar

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, JPH814 said:

I would love to try this option, but the menu never seems to appeal to my  wife.  Does anyone know if the servers can be flexible -  providing a basic steak or chicken option entre?

 

Nope.  They are using the patio grill as the kitchen, so they aren't stocked with the "basics" that you would find in the main dining room.

[robertmartha]

Isklaar - thank you - sounds like a plan for us 😆

Menus though limited look really interesting - and luv the fact they indicate dietary restrictions. Really hope the weather is favorable for us to enjoy a few nights there as an option. On our first Seabourn sailing right before covid we sailed with our good friends who did not find the menu's offered enough variety - my wife and I think they sound really interesting. Are the first three items considered "first course" followed by "second course"  or are all 6 items entrees?