Cooking classes on Oceania ships: Your opinions?

[GerryL13]

I'm thinking about signing up for a cooking class on my upcoming cruise on Vista. (Some openings are still available.) I'd like to hear from people who've taken a class and whether you were impressed, underwhelmed ... or just whelmed. Do you think it is worth the $$ (I have some OBCs) or a waste of time and money?

[mauibabes]

Do it and enjoy yourself. There is nothing O is going to offer that is going to be a waste, JMHO. DW and friends are going to go drink Champagne and make a Molten Lava Cake. Of course I do get to drop in when it’s done to help eat it so she got my vote.  Word is from friends who have taken many of them is that they are great but don’t plan a Specialty dining reservation that same night, you might “explode”. 
You are on vacation, have fun,

Mauibabes

[LHT28]

In the past  we have taken a few classes

they are just for fun  but we did enjoy the ones we took

We did learn a few things  that we did not know before

Overall it was  fine  for us

YMMV

[lj77346]

I'm not much of a cook and I've taken a few of the culinary classes over the last 2 years and I've enjoyed them, especially the classes about Italian cooking and brunch.  I enjoyed learning how to make pasta so much that I bought a pasta machine when I got home after the cruise and make my own fresh pasta.  The one thing I wish I had at home was a sous chef to get all the ingredients ready for me like the class - go to you station and everything is measured out and ready to go.  For someone with limited cooking experience, I thought the classes were fun and even the food I prepared was good.

[OleMissSamfordMom]

My husband and I loved the class we took on Marina last year! I think it was definitely worth it. Lots of fun…easy to follow and delicious food accompanied by wine throughout. We have made the entire meal about 7 or 8 times at home for friends since returning home because you get all the recipes. We enjoyed it so much that we signed up for 2 on our upcoming cruise on Riviera. 

[Vineyard View]

13 hours ago, mauibabes said:

Do it and enjoy yourself. There is nothing O is going to offer that is going to be a waste, JMHO. DW and friends are going to go drink Champagne and make a Molten Lava Cake. Of course I do get to drop in when it’s done to help eat it so she got my vote.  Word is from friends who have taken many of them is that they are great but don’t plan a Specialty dining reservation that same night, you might “explode”. 
You are on vacation, have fun,

Mauibabes

So if just one in a couple takes the class, the other half can join to eat the results?  The ones offered on our itinerary are just before dinner hour so I hesitated

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, Vineyard View said:

So if just one in a couple takes the class, the other half can join to eat the results?  The ones offered on our itinerary are just before dinner hour so I hesitated

Maybe it depends on the Chef

The door was locked until the class was over & food cleared away

 

You do not have to eat the offering but some  do  & then dinner is a bust  for some

 We might taste some dishes   & some we may eat   like the baby lamb chops I had mine  & DH's 

dinner was in the Terrace 😉

 

 

[Vineyard View]

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

Maybe it depends on the Chef

The door was locked until the class was over & food cleared away

 

You do not have to eat the offering but some  do  & then dinner is a bust  for some

 We might taste some dishes   & some we may eat   like the baby lamb chops I had mine  & DH's 

dinner was in the Terrace 😉

 

 

Thank you. Good to know. Not an ideal time imo just before dinner of you both do not attend,  but if the menu was right it could be tempting. 

[Lane412000]

We have taken eight classes and have enjoyed the last six. The first two were with Chef Kelly and it was hmmmm brutal. The last six classes have been awesome, although taking a class while sailing across the North Sea is not the best if you get seasick. We had five in our class have to leave the class due to illness.  The one concern is the amount of time the food is actually cooking. We have found a few of the dishes to be undercooked due to a lack of time.  We will continue to sign up for the classes in the future.  You should go and enjoy the class.

[mauibabes]

Perhaps my thinking is a bit different about tasting the fruits of my DW’s efforts. My thought is that since it was a “private” class for a group of 24 guests, we might be able to squeeze in for a taste. Her class is at 8:00 p.m. so after dinner.  Mostly the Classes are before dinner and another reason why you might want to temper your dining options when taking a Culinary Class. 
Just Enjoy!

Mauibabes

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Lane412000 said:

We have found a few of the dishes to be undercooked due to a lack of time.  We will continue to sign up for the classes in the future.  You should go and enjoy the class.

Yes  we made cornbread in one class  it was not left in the oven long enough

[GerryL13]

Okay. I went ahead and signed up for the cooking class: TASTE & TECHNIQUE: A CHEF'S SECRET TOOLKIT. The AM time slot. 

My SiL was not interested in joining me. Nor my brother. That's fine since we are not joined at the hip(s). 

Looks like the Culinary Center has windows to the outside, so I won't be spending two hours of precious daylight tucked away in the interior of the ship!

[bbwex]

We have both done it, and enjoyed it a lot.  We are signed up for two classes on our next cruise.

[DOJO466]

We loved taking the class but standing for 2 hours was a bit difficult. Could never do that now. 

[Hambagahle]

I have taken two - both on Riviera - and was underwhelmed.  (As background I have taken Cordon Bleu classes on Regent, and very "high end" Indian cuisine classes at the Mandarin-Oriental in Geneva, plus odds and ends of various classes in NYC and in Switzerland.). I found both classes (same instructor) to be very basic and mostly for people who wanted to eat and not to cook.  One of the classes was to have been about fish.  I know little about choosing fish or preparing it so was eager to learn.  The class was very disappointing in that nothing was said about choosing which fish to have or to cook in which sort of way nor about fileting the fish etc.   I signed up for two other classes for a subsequent cruise and when I found the instructor was the same person I cancelled both.   I would love to take a real class in the great classroom area they have but I don't think that will happen...plus I never eat outside of meal times so eating what I cooked at 1500 instead of dinner won't work for me.   

By contrast the series of classes organised by the Cordon Bleu on Regent were amazing.  (Even without a proper venue!)

Edited August 29, 2023 by Hambagahle