How is the food? Any cutbacks?

[NMTraveller]

I just thought that I would ask how the food is in the MDR?  Any recent cutbacks worth mention?

[Flatbush Flyer]

35 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I just thought that I would ask how the food is in the MDR?  Any recent cutbacks worth mention?

On our most recent cruise - Marina mid-October to early December, the only food supply issue that we found to be unacceptable was the continuing use of the name Reuben to describe its namesake sandwich in Waves. With no corned beef (or even pastrami) in sight, the use of plain beef brisket as a replacement was nothing short of a mortal sin.

 

Of course, there’s the other stuff that is often in short supply - even pre-Covid (e.g., Coke Zero or non-existent ethnic hot sauces like Chulula for Mexican food [we bring our own]).

[pinotlover]

We found a total absence of tamarind in the Red Ginger watermelon duck salad. Eradicated much of the flavor. Then , they presented Tamarind Soup, after acknowledging they had no tamarind aboard. Disappointing to say the least.

 

Going bland seems to be accepted alternative.

[ronrick1943]

12 hours ago, pinotlover said:

We found a total absence of tamarind in the Red Ginger watermelon duck salad. Eradicated much of the flavor. Then , they presented Tamarind Soup, after acknowledging they had no tamarind aboard. Disappointing to say the least.

 

Going bland seems to be accepted alternative.

Wow! not so good.

[mexicobob]

13 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

On our most recent cruise - Marina mid-October to early December, the only food supply issue that we found to be unacceptable was the continuing use of the name Reuben to describe its namesake sandwich in Waves. With no corned beef (or even pastrami) in sight, the use of plain beef brisket as a replacement was nothing short of a mortal sin.

 

Of course, there’s the other stuff that is often in short supply - even pre-Covid (e.g., Coke Zero or non-existent ethnic hot sauces like Chulula for Mexican food [we bring our own]).

Are you saying there is no salsa or hot sauce on The Riviera? We like it on our eggs in the morning. For our upcoming cruise do we need to bring our own? Where did you buy the little packets?

[ToxM]

If we are going to macro level, for all the Brits about to travel on O I can sadly report that the HP sauce presented at breakfast (well done for trying O) is a US version relabelled as steak sauce - it’s not and tastes different to the manna from heaven that is our own HP sauce. I don’t remember the HP sauce being an imposter before - even in March on Sirena. 

 

I have never seen Marmite available on O - we take single servings for emergency use. 

 

For tea drinkers - the tea is Twinings (I don’t drink tea at all apart from on cruises so it matters not to me) but if you are particular, you may want to bring some Yorkshire tea or whatever you need in order to function properly - remember to ask for fresh hot water at Afternoon Tea or else you may devolve into a murderous rage. 

 

Scones are available - they keep them in a warmer, ask for them! Clotted cream is available but you have to ask, or else you will get the wrong stuff. 

 

Don’t even ask about the mushy peas that go with the fish and chips in The Terrace - my northerner Marital Unit wept at the state of it. he joked that the pea vichyssoise in Jacques was closer than the offering in The Terrace. 

 

They do however have malt vinegar for the chips.  

 

[LHT28]

3 minutes ago, ToxM said:

If we are going to macro level, for all the Brits about to travel on O I can sadly report that the HP sauce presented at breakfast (well done for trying O) is a US version relabelled as steak sauce - it’s not and tastes different to the manna from heaven that is our own HP sauce. I don’t remember the HP sauce being an imposter before - even in March on Sirena. 

 

I have never seen Marmite available on O - we take single servings for emergency use. 

 

For tea drinkers - the tea is Twinings (I don’t drink tea at all apart from on cruises so it matters not to me) but if you are particular, you may want to bring some Yorkshire tea or whatever you need in order to function properly - remember to ask for fresh hot water at Afternoon Tea or else you may devolve into a murderous rage. 

 

Scones are available - they keep them in a warmer, ask for them! Clotted cream is available but you have to ask, or else you will get the wrong stuff. 

 

Don’t even ask about the mushy peas that go with the fish and chips in The Terrace - my northerner Marital Unit wept at the state of it. he joked that the pea vichyssoise in Jacques was closer than the offering in The Terrace. 

 

They do however have malt vinegar for the chips.  

 

We have seen the real HP   but I think it depends on where they can source their  supplies from 

We have also seen Marmite   not something we would eat   or Vegimite  for that matter

both are an acquired taste  😉

 

Same as the Cuban rum  it is the American version

we can get the real stuff here in Canada 

 

 

[ToxM]

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

We have seen the real HP   but I think it depends on where they can source their  supplies from 

We have also seen Marmite   not something we would eat   or Vegimite  for that matter

both are an acquired taste  😉

 

Same as the Cuban rum  it is the American version

we can get the real stuff here in Canada 

 

 

Yeah I was surprised to see the imposter HP as we definitely had the real deal in March. Marmite I have never actively looked for as we take our own stash, and as you say it is an acquired taste 😉

[LHT28]

8 minutes ago, ToxM said:

Yeah I was surprised to see the imposter HP as we definitely had the real deal in March. Marmite I have never actively looked for as we take our own stash, and as you say it is an acquired taste 😉

Maybe ask  at the Terrace for Marmite  I have seen it there in pre covid  times

 

People seem to take all sorts of the things they love 😉

 

[Redtravel]

Thinking back to December Marina cruise. We ate well.  There were lots of good choices.   No sweet n low, only Splenda. Diet Coke was often unavailable.  No Sprite Zero.  They sometimes offered diet 7 up or Coke Zero.  We were told that diet soda has to be preordered 6 weeks before your cruise.  Never heard this on any previous O cruises.  I prefer fish or poultry. The few times that I ordered beef, it was tough.  Never saw any solid duck offered. I had a duck entre on Jacques that was shredded.  It looked like dog food, but was tasty.  

[ToxM]

I preordered Root Beer for my cabin fridge and that was delivered no problem. I allow myself regular coke on holiday and had no issue getting it. 

 

I heard of issues getting chopped mushrooms for omelettes but pretty much everything else was ok as far as I could tell. 

 

I think they are making do with what they can get. I am not overtly fussy and was happy to be on a cruise. 

 

My one sadness is that the hot buns just don’t seem the same and that goes for my cruise on Sirena in March and the two since. I don’t know what has changed, but they just don’t give the same endorphin rush they used to. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, mexicobob said:

Are you saying there is no salsa or hot sauce on The Riviera? We like it on our eggs in the morning. For our upcoming cruise do we need to bring our own? Where did you buy the little packets?

There’s Tabasco, Sriracha and chili flakes available which, for something like Mexican food, would be far worse than even seeing a Brooklyn kid put ketchup on a hot dog or mayonnaise on a hamburger👀😳

 

Seriously though, O’s onboard authenticity for many attempts at far flung regional ethnic foods has always occasionally fallen short of the mark and not having decent condiments available just makes matters worse. (How an Oceania executive chef can allow his staff to ruin relatively simple items like poutine or aranchini is a real head shaker). That said, some of the best ethnic foods we’ve had on O has been at the Terrace Café when the cooks from a specific world region are allowed to do a special night of their home cooking.

 

As for the Cholula (and a host of other single serving condiment items), we get it online (I think from Amazon).

[jonthomas]

we just came back from the refitted Riviera, food was excellent and I am very picky....

 

I dont eat seafood, but do eat fish...there were many more options of sea food free salads in the terrace café than there were on the Marina in November....

 

in general , food was much better than the Marina....

 

 

[artbcpa]

Since we haven't sailed on Oceania in nearly 5 years, I can't comment on specific food shortages. As for the general quality, it is nowhere near what it was. We just disembarked from the Insignia, and I would say that the food was among the worst we have eaten on any ship. What was most disappointing was how they labeled their dishes inappropriately. "Shrimp scampi" without garlic in a red sauce; "Classic BLT" served mushed like an egg salad, a "Cuban sandwich", that didn't even approach what a cuban sandwich looks or tastes like. Certainly my worst meal was at Polo Grille of all places, where I was served a veal chop that I could not cut with a steak knife. First the waiter and then the manager came over as they could not believe that veal would be that tough, so I offered to let them try. When they could not cut it, I got a new meal.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, Redtravel said:

Thinking back to December Marina cruise. We ate well.  There were lots of good choices.   No sweet n low, only Splenda. Diet Coke was often unavailable.  No Sprite Zero.  They sometimes offered diet 7 up or Coke Zero.  We were told that diet soda has to be preordered 6 weeks before your cruise.  Never heard this on any previous O cruises.  I prefer fish or poultry. The few times that I ordered beef, it was tough.  Never saw any solid duck offered. I had a duck entre on Jacques that was shredded.  It looked like dog food, but was tasty.  

We always preorder Coke Zero and small bottles of Pellegrino for the cabin fridge stocking.

[ssawjo]

28 minutes ago, artbcpa said:

 "Classic BLT" served mushed like an egg salad, 

Totally agree with your comment!  I was disgusted!  Actually complained but the waiter just shrugged his shoulders.  Ordered something else.

[jonthomas]

28 minutes ago, artbcpa said:

Since we haven't sailed on Oceania in nearly 5 years, I can't comment on specific food shortages. As for the general quality, it is nowhere near what it was. We just disembarked from the Insignia, and I would say that the food was among the worst we have eaten on any ship. What was most disappointing was how they labeled their dishes inappropriately. "Shrimp scampi" without garlic in a red sauce; "Classic BLT" served mushed like an egg salad, a "Cuban sandwich", that didn't even approach what a cuban sandwich looks or tastes like. Certainly my worst meal was at Polo Grille of all places, where I was served a veal chop that I could not cut with a steak knife. First the waiter and then the manager came over as they could not believe that veal would be that tough, so I offered to let them try. When they could not cut it, I got a new meal.

 

 

hope that changes and quick....

 

seems there are inconsistencies from ship to ship....that shouldnt be....we dont want to be afraid to sail on a ship that is so different from others....or differences when new staff come on....we had that on the Marina last November...it was a 17 day cruise.....the food was very different for the first 10 days, incredible desserts....then there was a staff change and those that serve in the terrace cafe, admitted there was a staff change...the desserts became inedible....but that can be a good thing...lol....

[jonthomas]

2 minutes ago, ssawjo said:

Totally agree with your comment!  I was disgusted!  Actually complained but the waiter just shrugged his shoulders.  Ordered something else.

 

The Insignia is the ship of choice for World cruise...should be the finest cuisine, rather than the worst....

[pinotlover]

I’ll repeat my comments while in my Sirena cruise. :  I had some great meals and I had some very poor meals.It’s the Inconsistency that’s killing them. 

[amusea]

I totally agree about inconsistency and some poor meals.  Our sailing on Regatta last September was not up to Oceania standards.  Not being able to get some of the usual  supplies should not affect the dishes that are prepared if the chef is clever.  We felt that the food on our Seabourn cruise last month was far superior in creativity and taste.

And the buffet luncheons were among the best we have ever experienced.  The upcoming Vista Panama Canal cruise will help us decide if we continue to look towards Oceania for the best cuisine at sea.

[Robjame]

1 hour ago, amusea said:

Not being able to get some of the usual  supplies should not affect the dishes that are prepared if the chef is clever. 

?

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, jonthomas said:

 

 

hope that changes and quick....

 

seems there are inconsistencies from ship to ship....that shouldnt be....we dont want to be afraid to sail on a ship that is so different from others....or differences when new staff come on....we had that on the Marina last November...it was a 17 day cruise.....the food was very different for the first 10 days, incredible desserts....then there was a staff change and those that serve in the terrace cafe, admitted there was a staff change...the desserts became inedible....but that can be a good thing...lol....

The inconsistency is more from Exec Chef to Exec Chef than it is from ship to ship. Same goes for Cruise Directors. At the top end of that spectrum is Ray Carr (who bounced back from retirement) and at the bottom is John Clelford who we had to endure on Marina throughout this past November.

[halfapair]

2 hours ago, artbcpa said:

Since we haven't sailed on Oceania in nearly 5 years, I can't comment on specific food shortages. As for the general quality, it is nowhere near what it was. We just disembarked from the Insignia, and I would say that the food was among the worst we have eaten on any ship. What was most disappointing was how they labeled their dishes inappropriately. "Shrimp scampi" without garlic in a red sauce; "Classic BLT" served mushed like an egg salad, a "Cuban sandwich", that didn't even approach what a cuban sandwich looks or tastes like. Certainly my worst meal was at Polo Grille of all places, where I was served a veal chop that I could not cut with a steak knife. First the waiter and then the manager came over as they could not believe that veal would be that tough, so I offered to let them try. When they could not cut it, I got a new meal.

We also just disembarked the Insignia where someone else complained about the veal in Polo - theirs was dry.

I had the pancetta wrapped veal chop and it was perfect. I also had veal in the MDR and it was delicious. Husband had veal escalloped in Polo and it was good. So maybe the cooking technique or quality of the meat is uneven.

[halfapair]

My husband and I disembarked the Insignia in San Diego on January 13th after a 16 day cruise. We thought the food was great. I never asked for anything special such as HP sauce, Marmite, etc.

We ate lobster several times in Polo, Toscana, and MDR. Every time it was cooked perfectly and was absolutely great.

We thought the food was excellent in every venue, although they did seem to forget components in Waves (eg. no mustard on a Cuban, etc).

I think that post-pandemic they may have more untrained people on their ships who don't know the system or process for various things such as bringing around the tray of breakfast pastries in the MDR, etc.

 

When the cruise started, each table in the MDR, Polo, or Toscana got its own bread basket on the table. After about 8 days, they started coming around and serving pieces of bread. Not sure what happened there. Of course, we couldn't eat all the bread in the basket, so I can see that there was a lot of waste. But the service was uneven.

 

My husband and I didn't think the meat in Polo was as good as we could get at home - the quality of the cuts, I mean. The cooking was great, but the quality of the meat to begin with was not Prime, I don't think.

[BigCheese1]

4 hours ago, ToxM said:

If we are going to macro level, for all the Brits about to travel on O I can sadly report that the HP sauce presented at breakfast (well done for trying O) is a US version relabelled as steak sauce - it’s not and tastes different to the manna from heaven that is our own HP sauce. I don’t remember the HP sauce being an imposter before - even in March on Sirena. 

 

I have never seen Marmite available on O - we take single servings for emergency use. 

 

For tea drinkers - the tea is Twinings (I don’t drink tea at all apart from on cruises so it matters not to me) but if you are particular, you may want to bring some Yorkshire tea or whatever you need in order to function properly - remember to ask for fresh hot water at Afternoon Tea or else you may devolve into a murderous rage. 

 

Scones are available - they keep them in a warmer, ask for them! Clotted cream is available but you have to ask, or else you will get the wrong stuff. 

 

Don’t even ask about the mushy peas that go with the fish and chips in The Terrace - my northerner Marital Unit wept at the state of it. he joked that the pea vichyssoise in Jacques was closer than the offering in The Terrace. 

 

They do however have malt vinegar for the chips.  

 

Thanks ToxM for the heads up.

I guess they/try ‘A1 steak sauce’ thinking it’ll do as HP?

 

Good to have the tip about the clotted cream rather than any pale (probably literally) substitute. Didn’t really expect proper mushy peas, mind!

looking forward to our March 23 Lima to Miami on Marina.