Does Oceania have a particular dining night that is "special"?

[clojacks]

We have typically sailed Celebrity for a number of years, where there typically is a night or 2, depending on the length of the cruise, that is a special dining night where they serve lobster, etc. We are preparing to reserve our dining on our first Oceania cruise and are wondering if Oceania has any particular nights that are not to miss in the main dining room because of menu or experience? I believe we read that Lobster, etc is available in one or more of the dining venues, but is that an every night thing or a rotating thing? Any help on things for us to consider as we prepare to reserve is welcome. I believe we have 4 specialty dining meals at our disposal. 

[SATaxman]

We took our first O cruise in October. never ate in the GDR. Actually, we never looked at their menus. While we were in Greece, the Terrace Cafe had special Greek foods. We ate there 2 nights, it was great. 

 

[Gracie115]

10 minutes ago, SATaxman said:

We took our first O cruise in October. never ate in the GDR. Actually, we never looked at their menus. While we were in Greece, the Terrace Cafe had special Greek foods. We ate there 2 nights, it was great. 

 

 

We just did our first O cruise last month too.  We found that the Terrace Cafe matched the GDR menu each night, with other additional items too.

14 minutes ago, clojacks said:

We have typically sailed Celebrity for a number of years, where there typically is a night or 2, depending on the length of the cruise, that is a special dining night where they serve lobster, etc. We are preparing to reserve our dining on our first Oceania cruise and are wondering if Oceania has any particular nights that are not to miss in the main dining room because of menu or experience? I believe we read that Lobster, etc is available in one or more of the dining venues, but is that an every night thing or a rotating thing? Any help on things for us to consider as we prepare to reserve is welcome. I believe we have 4 specialty dining meals at our disposal. 

 

Don't know ship you are on but depending on that you will either have 2 or 4 Specialty restaurants to choose from.  They all have Toscano & Polo Grill  which we thought were great.  We were on Vista which had Ember (a replacement for Jacque's on Marina & Rivera). We thought Ember was good but not even close to as good as Toscano or Polo Grill.  Red Ginger, the 4th on those ships was good but I think next time we will just tell wait staff to have the chef choose for us as we ordered and ate WAY too much food.    We ate in the GDR the remaining nights which were good but not as good as the Specialties.   The service was great.  I don't remember any nights that were more special than the others.  Lobster, inone form or anther,  was available in at least a couple of the Specialties every night.  

 

We are also "Celebrity refugees"  having been very underwhelmed in our last couple cruises, I'm sure you will enjoy O, we sure did and booked our next cruise with them before debarking.  

[MEFIowa]

You only get 2 specialty restaurants in the smaller R-class ships versus 4 in the larger O- and A-class ships.

 

Grilled lobster is available every night in the Terrace Cafe (TC), the buffet, at the grilling station. There may be a line!

 

We've found on all 4 of our 10-night cruises since 12/2021 that 1 or 2 nights have a "themed" meal in the TC. Could be Caribbean food in the Caribbean or Italian food in Italy or misc. seafood in the Med, etc. Try to show off "local cuisine".

 

We've yet to eat in the GDR, preferring the TC and eating under the stars.

 

And I love Waves for breakfast and late afternoon food (after the TC closes).

[mauibabes]

@clojacks

Every night is SPECIAL. We have found when new friends join us on a cruise, there just isn’t enough meals to be eaten to taste all the delicious presentations and I am not talking just dinners. We have one friend we call”Lobsterman” and he eats Lobster Every Dinner, no matter where they are dining. He says Jacques is his FAVORITE. 

 

if you are on Marina, Riviera or Vista, you will have Red Ginger to dine in and my personal FAVORITE. You must try the Duck and Watermelon Salad, the Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass and if you like Rack of Lamb, the best served on the ship is in RG. I get the Sea Bass, DW gets Teriyaki Beef, aka Filet Mignon, and we order the small rack for the table to share as a taster. So many other favorites there too so everyone has something different. 
Toscana, the Olive Oil and Balsamic cart full of options to supplement the wonderful bread basket is Special too.  Try DW’s favorite, the Lasagne Bolognese, Grandma’s recipe that we have been eating for over 15 years ❤️. 
Bottom line, just go and enjoy. Northern Minnesota huh, we spent 3 years in the service in Duluth.
Mauibabes

[1985rz1]

1 hour ago, Gracie115 said:

They all have Toscano & Polo Grill 

Actually Sirena doesn't have them as separated entities.  They are replaced by Tuscan Grill which takes menu items from each.  The second restaurant is Red Ginger.

[Harters]

On our Nautica cruise earlier in the year, the Terrace Cafe (and possibly the GDR) had a "Taste of Spain"  buffet on two consecutive nights. Seemed appropriate as all but one of our ports were in Spain. 

 

It was fine - the likes of tapas, such as Russian salad, squid, meatballs, ropa vieja (which I can't recall ever seeing on a menu in Spain), Spanish cheeses and desserts such as churros and crema catalana. All nice enough and certainly a bit different but not really "special". And, yes, I was very greedy that evening. 

 

On both of our cruises (Marina & Nautica) with O, I think we've most  enjoyed the dinners in the GDR. It's the ambiance as well as the food. As for the specialities, I apply my usual test to any restaurant away from home. Would it become one of our regular places if it was near home. Toscana would but that's it. That's not to  say we havent enjoyed meals in the other places but the food just isnt at the standard of similar places we go to at home.  

Edited January 6 by Harters

[Gracie115]

21 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Actually Sirena doesn't have them as separated entities.  They are replaced by Tuscan Grill which takes menu items from each.  The second restaurant is Red Ginger.

 

I didn't know that... thanks for correcting.  Still learning a lot about Oceania.

[Waltershipman]

3 hours ago, clojacks said:

We have typically sailed Celebrity for a number of years, where there typically is a night or 2, depending on the length of the cruise, that is a special dining night where they serve lobster, etc. We are preparing to reserve our dining on our first Oceania cruise and are wondering if Oceania has any particular nights that are not to miss in the main dining room because of menu or experience? I believe we read that Lobster, etc is available in one or more of the dining venues, but is that an every night thing or a rotating thing? Any help on things for us to consider as we prepare to reserve is welcome. I believe we have 4 specialty dining meals at our disposal. 

Lobster medallions are also usually available at lunch at Terrace as i recall and last time i sailed i was brought several medallions on a sandwich each day at lunch outside. Lovely 

[ORV]

1. Just an FYI, the lobsters in Terrace and the ones you get on the Surf & Turf in Waves are warm water carribean tails. The one's in Jacques and Polo are Cold water lobster. Not sure about the Fra Diavolo in Toscana. If there is a dish in the GDR that has lobster it probably is the warm water style. 

[Waltershipman]

6 minutes ago, ORV said:

1. Just an FYI, the lobsters in Terrace and the ones you get on the Surf & Turf in Waves are warm water carribean tails. The one's in Jacques and Polo are Cold water lobster. Not sure about the Fra Diavolo in Toscana. If there is a dish in the GDR that has lobster it probably is the warm water style. 

Actually that's quite helpful and informative as I recall the warm water lobster served on the ship while plentiful were not as tasty but yet still enjoyed a lot when we were on Sirena in 2020

 

Thank you

[AMHuntFerry]

At least 1 (of 14-ish) GDR menus has Maine Lobster, but it may not be offered on any particular cruise:

Found another!

Edited January 6 by AMHuntFerry

[FeliciaLee]

If I recall correctly, on the Sirena the penultimate night offered chateaubriand (excellent). Then last month on Insignia the penultimate night offered beef wellington (also excellent, but not quite as excellent as the chateaubriand).

 

So maybe in the main dining room, there will be special offers on not only holidays, but on the penultimate night of the cruise?

[AMHuntFerry]

Unsourced lobster:

and the bisque appears every night:

[Waltershipman]

23 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

At least 1 (of 14-ish) GDR menus has Maine Lobster, but it may not be offered on any particular cruise:

Found another!

Excellent thank you 

[AMHuntFerry]

20 minutes ago, FeliciaLee said:

If I recall correctly, on the Sirena the penultimate night offered chateaubriand (excellent). Then last month on Insignia the penultimate night offered beef wellington (also excellent, but not quite as excellent as the chateaubriand).

 

So maybe in the main dining room, there will be special offers on not only holidays, but on the penultimate night of the cruise?

I don't think there is any one special evening in the GDR as other people might consider the Global Cuisine menu featuring Thailand as their can't-miss dinner. The only dinners that I recall being "advertised" as anything special were the ones mentioned earlier in Terrace (also the wine pairing dinners if applicable). There has been a "Chef's Special" dinner  in Terrace for two consecutive nights (so no one misses out?) that features dishes from the region where the cruise is visiting. The "advertising" is in Currents, and there is even a sign near the GDR posted menu.

Edited January 6 by AMHuntFerry

[FeliciaLee]

1 minute ago, AMHuntFerry said:

I don't think there is any one special evening in the GDR as other people might consider the Global Cuisine menu featuring Thailand as their can't-miss dinner. The only dinners that I recall being "advertised" as anything special were the ones mentioned earlier in Terrace (also the wine pairing dinners if applicable). There has been a "Chef's Special" dinner  in Terrace for two consecutive nights (so no one misses out?) that features dishes from the region where the cruise is visiting. The "advertising" is in Currents, and there is even a sign near the GDR posted menu.

Oooooh yeah! That lobster pad thai!!! Do they get the recipe from Red Ginger? It is super delish.

[SATaxman]

31 minutes ago, FeliciaLee said:

Oooooh yeah! That lobster pad thai!!! Do they get the recipe from Red Ginger? It is super delish.

One dinner at Terrace Cafe we had lobster and lambchops from the grill station. Lots of lobster and lambchops.

[Waltershipman]

26 minutes ago, SATaxman said:

One dinner at Terrace Cafe we had lobster and lambchops from the grill station. Lots of lobster and lambchops.

 

26 minutes ago, SATaxman said:

One dinner at Terrace Cafe we had lobster and lambchops from the grill station. Lots of lobster and lambchops.

Thanks i know i will be eating that as well. On my 1st Oceania cruise in 2002 i enjoyed lamb and lobster at least once per day 

 

Enjoy

[MEFIowa]

2 minutes ago, Waltershipman said:

 

Thanks i know i will be eating that as well. On my 1st Oceania cruise in 2002 i enjoyed lamb and lobster at least once per day

At least for the TC, may depend on your cruise?

 

I did that nightly at the TC on Riviera (12/2021) and Sirena (11/2022), enjoying grilled lobster and lamb and shrimp nightly. BUT on my most recent 20 nights on Riviera (10-11/2023), I only did it TWICE. Why, one had to wait at least 15 minutes in line. Our cruises had an abundance of Asians and they apparently gravitated to the grilling station. ONE time I did do it, I created the line at 6:15 PM one night (being the 1st person at the grilling station). By the time 6:30 rolled around, and the TC "opened", there were dozens behind me. So many that they actually started taking orders early (contra what the manager wanted, but they just did it anyway seeing the line). It became a question, "Was I willing to wait 15 minutes in line for it"? I decided, nope, too much other good food I could access without such a wait, so I'd only do it if there was a minimal line. And that never seemed to happen when we ate there on these cruises (Triest to Athens and Athens to Barcelona).

[Woodrowst]

8 hours ago, clojacks said:

We have typically sailed Celebrity for a number of years, where there typically is a night or 2, depending on the length of the cruise, that is a special dining night where they serve lobster, etc. We are preparing to reserve our dining on our first Oceania cruise and are wondering if Oceania has any particular nights that are not to miss in the main dining room because of menu or experience? I believe we read that Lobster, etc is available in one or more of the dining venues, but is that an every night thing or a rotating thing? Any help on things for us to consider as we prepare to reserve is welcome. I believe we have 4 specialty dining meals at our disposal. 

For some unknown but I am sure interesting reason responses to your question have focused on why people choose not to eat in the main dining room.  So to answer your question directly:  My wife and I have been on (and enjoyed) five Oceania cruises.  None of them had any advertised “special” nights.  Yes, there were evenings that the main dining room might have lobster or chateauhoweveryouspellitbrion or caviar but none were highlighted as occurring on a special night.  I suspect that special dinners vanished when formal nights disappeared.  I am old enough to remember cruise lines that did the baked Alaska parade on the last formal night at the end of a cruise.  At least I am comforted by knowing that I am not old enough to remember throwing streamers from the railing as the ship departed 😊
 

[clojacks]

8 hours ago, mauibabes said:

@clojacks

Every night is SPECIAL. We have found when new friends join us on a cruise, there just isn’t enough meals to be eaten to taste all the delicious presentations and I am not talking just dinners. We have one friend we call”Lobsterman” and he eats Lobster Every Dinner, no matter where they are dining. He says Jacques is his FAVORITE. 

 

if you are on Marina, Riviera or Vista, you will have Red Ginger to dine in and my personal FAVORITE. You must try the Duck and Watermelon Salad, the Miso Glazed Chilean Sea Bass and if you like Rack of Lamb, the best served on the ship is in RG. I get the Sea Bass, DW gets Teriyaki Beef, aka Filet Mignon, and we order the small rack for the table to share as a taster. So many other favorites there too so everyone has something different. 
Toscana, the Olive Oil and Balsamic cart full of options to supplement the wonderful bread basket is Special too.  Try DW’s favorite, the Lasagne Bolognese, Grandma’s recipe that we have been eating for over 15 years ❤️. 
Bottom line, just go and enjoy. Northern Minnesota huh, we spent 3 years in the service in Duluth.
Mauibabes

Welcome to our home. Air Force, I'm assuming? 148th?

[FetaCheese]

2 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said:

I don't think there is any one special evening in the GDR as other people might consider the Global Cuisine menu featuring Thailand as their can't-miss dinner. The only dinners that I recall being "advertised" as anything special were the ones mentioned earlier in Terrace (also the wine pairing dinners if applicable). There has been a "Chef's Special" dinner  in Terrace for two consecutive nights (so no one misses out?) that features dishes from the region where the cruise is visiting. The "advertising" is in Currents, and there is even a sign near the GDR posted menu.

On Regatta, September 2023, 2 special nights in TC featured coho salmon. Cooked several ways, including grilled.  What a beautiful display, with whole fish as the centerpiece of the grilling station.

 

The chefs must of bought a lot locally, because this salmon appeared in restaurants for several days after.  So delicious!

[clo]

2 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

enjoying grilled lobster and lamb and shrimp nightly.

My husband had that exact meal multiple times with a tiny bit of salad 🙂

[mauibabes]

@clojacks

Yes, AF back in 71-74. The ANG unit was there and also a AF Reserve unit in the Twin Cities. 
We know your home area quite well. When we reported in  on July 3, we wondered why the heat was on in the Visitors Quarters. By the morning of the 4th, we fully understood 🤪🙏. But at least it did not snow that night. I recall the A&W along the shore of Lake Superior had a sign that highlighted the arrival of Summer, all one day of it in July. 
 

Enjoy your cruise.

Mauibabes