Finest Cuisine at Sea

[BioInfoLib]

We were on Vista over Christmas - our first Oceania cruise and we thought the food was amazing. We had previously cruised on Paul Gauguin, Celebrity (2X), Celebrity Expedition, Windstar, Disney, and Holland America (2X). While we really enjoyed the food on Paul Gauguin and HAL Rotterdam, we thought the Vista beat them both.

 

We ate in every venue on the Vista. Multiple times in the GDR for dinner, Red Ginger 2X, Waves dinner 2X/lunch X4, Aquamar lunch X4, buffet lunch 2X. Room service breakfast 7X before early shore excursions.

 

About us - we love Asian food of all types, Central and South American cuisine, and Mediterranean/Middle Eastern too. Love spicy hot, but also spices and herbs to create complex, regionally specific flavors with or without heat. Husband prefers fish and chicken, I'm a beef and pork girl.

 

I'll start with the misses:

 

Aquamar Spa - Pita chicken - This was a chicken sandwich in a pita and the chicken didn't have a bit of color on it - looked like it was boiled. Sure it wasn't, and sure it wasn't undercooked, but it was so unappetizing I ordered something else. 

Ember - Roasted apple tart - a soggy mess. Corn ice cream didn't seem to have much flavor so overall disappointing.

In Cabin Dining - Omelets were routinely awful - tried twice for ham and cheese but just a congealed mess.

 

I'm OK with 3 misses on a 12 night cruise!

 

What we really loved:

 

Red Ginger - everything we ate over our 2 visits was very good; standouts were:

• Spicy Duck and watermelon salad - crispy duck, watermelon, cashews, mint, basil, sweet fish sauce - so good I had it twice (it was ducky and smoky and sweet and savory ...)
• Vietnamese chicken salad - shredded chicken, cabbage, carrots, onions, sweet chili sauce - this is something that we frequently get at home at our favorite Vietnamese place it it did not miss.
• Miso glazed sea bass - den miso, hoba leaf - I don't eat fish but my husband loved this.
• Salmon clay pot - bok choy, basmati rice - again, a standout for my husband.
• Steamed ginger cake - Apple-cardamom ice cream - so many interesting flavors going on at once - my favorite dessert of the trip.

 

Polo Grill - food was good but mostly not exceptional, entree (ribeye, I think) was the least memorable of the 4 specialties and not as good as the steak in Toscana and Ember. The highly vaunted Key Lime Pie was good but I live in Florida so was not exceptional to me.

• Cream of Mushroom Soup - creamy and earthy, this made the dinner worth it to me.
• Baked Alaska - vanilla, raspberry, berry compote - my husband's favorite, and he was happy.

 

Toscana - I was surprised at how much I loved this meal - I was expecting it to be in 3rd place in term of specialties but they were really on their game the night we ate there.

• Involtini di Melanzane - eggplant rolls, Prague ham and smoked scarmorza stuffing, tomato sauce, Parmesan - smoky, salty, tomato-y - my favorite appetizer of the trip
• Giada’s Capri-inspired lemon spaghetti - lemon cream, jumbo shrimp, mascarpone, Parmesan, fried capers - delicious but super rich, was happy to have gotten the appetizer portion
• Filetto di Manzo alla Fiorentina - filet mignon, Gorgonzola crust, sautéed spinach, red wine reduction, served on polenta - perfectly cooked, best steak of the trip.

 

Ember - enjoyed everything here (except for the apple tart)

• Grilled Beef Tenderloin - fully loaded baked potato, charred corn on the cob, chimichurri sauce - perfectly cooked and full of flavor - so much better than the steak from Polo. It was quite the surprise.

 

Aquamar Spa

• Gazpacho - tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, sweet onion - so much flavor, I had this all 4 times we ate here.
• Panini - buffalo mozzarella, tomato, basil, grilled ciabatta bread - a really good panini. Well grilled and the basil adds some nice flavor.
• Pita Sabich - Falafel, roasted tahini eggplant, red cabbage, flat parsley, pita bread, lemon tahini sauce - again, really a lot of flavor and the falafel are huge.

 

Waves

• Oceania Cuban sandwich (lunch) - we live in Florida and this was a delicious Cuban - had had it twice.
• Matador Burger - jalapeño cheddar, applewood smoked bacon (asked for double bacon), barbecue sauce - good enough I had it twice. Best burger I've had on a ship.
• Burrata & Crudo - fresh burrata, tomato, prosciutto, rosemary focaccia (dinner) - so good paired with a freshly made Caesar salad from Terrace. And it is big enough for a meal, not just appetizer.

 

Main dining room - we actually did not have a miss here the whole trip, most everything was excellent but these were the standouts for us.

• Auguste Escoffier’s Bouchée a la Reine - chicken, truffle, mushrooms, supreme sauce - the sauce is so delicate but delicious.
• Falafel Fritters - harissa mayo, cucumber, mint, capers - perfect spices
• Colombian Sancocho Soup - chicken, beef, corn - such good flavor, not sure which herbs/spices made it so flavorful but a very nice soup.
• Mulligatawny soup - red lentils, coconut - great flavors, would not have thought a lentil based soup would be so delicious
• Chicken tikka salad - tomatoes, cucumber, mint, lime dressing - lotsa flavors going on between the mint and the dressing - delicious
• Serrano Cured Ham - marinated artichokes, pecorino romano, bread sticks (good enough I had it two nights; this is available every night)
• Cuban Casserole - I couldn't find the description for this one online but there was chicken, tomato, onion, peppers, olives maybe, and rice. A big portion and really good.

 

Terrace Cafe - lots of deliciousness here, but these were the standouts for us:

• Empanadas - served on the day they had Mexican food and they were just right!
• Mole beef - again from the Mexican lunch - this was perfect. So tender and complex spices.
• Humphrey Slocombe Ice Cream - Secret Breakfast (cornflakes and bourbon), Elvis the Fat Years (banana ice cream with bacon peanut brittle), Meyer Lemon Pound Cake, and Strawberry Chocolate. Wanted to try the Black Sesame but never saw it on our cruise.

 

What we really loved was the ability to get simpler, less fussy but still delicious food for dinner. We get tired of the 3 course meals for dinner after a week, so being able to get a salad and pizza, or that amazing burrata rather than a full meal was a life saver for us. We've got Seabourn, Regent, and Silversea cruises booked over the next year or so and I'm seeing that that's not really a thing on these more luxury lines - we may end up thinking food on Oceania is a better fit for us, I don't know.

 

Have a great time on Oceania!

 

[FolsomMike]

Excuse the tangent, but…could anyone who’s sailed in a suite on Celebrity compare the quality of the food on Oceania to Luminae ?

[Techno123]

@BioInfoLib thank you so much- this is exactlythe info that helps us with choosing 👍👍

[LuAnn]

On 5/12/2024 at 1:46 PM, FolsomMike said:

Excuse the tangent, but…could anyone who’s sailed in a suite on Celebrity compare the quality of the food on Oceania to Luminae ?

I last had food in Luminae in October of '22. And I'm just off the Marina T/A to Europe in a regular veranda. My travelling companions and I thought the food on Marina was the best we've ever had on O..and I've been sailing with them since the mid 2000's. 

 

I did enjoy the food in Luminae but I thought it was very comparable to O. I did have a filet mignon one night there that was the best I've ever had. 

 

I think, with Celebrity's vast increase in prices O is a much better value not only regarding food but in all other aspects. I've sailed on Celebrity since the early 2000s and plan on sticking with O at this point. 

[pinotlover]

18 minutes ago, LuAnn said:

I last had food in Luminae in October of '22. And I'm just off the Marina T/A to Europe in a regular veranda. My travelling companions and I thought the food on Marina was the best we've ever had on O..and I've been sailing with them since the mid 2000's. 

 

I did enjoy the food in Luminae but I thought it was very comparable to O. I did have a filet mignon one night there that was the best I've ever had. 

 

I think, with Celebrity's vast increase in prices O is a much better value not only regarding food but in all other aspects. I've sailed on Celebrity since the early 2000s and plan on sticking with O at this point. 

I am so glad you enjoyed the watermelon duck salad. It has historically been one of our favorites. However, on the Riveria last month it was neither confit nor crispy. There was no cashews , mint, nor basil. Along with the totally unripe watermelon, it was a disaster.

 

My question to you is the definition of the dish is” spicy”. Do you personally consider” fresh fish sauce” as being “spicy”. While you may enjoy sweet, does that classify in your mind as spicy? Fwiw, they originally used tamarind sauce not sweet sauce.

[BioInfoLib]

Hi @pinotlover - I think you may have been asking me those questions as I am the one who mentioned the duck salad.

Wow - your experience with it on the Riviera sounds very disappointing! I’d be asking my server for a menu and pointing out what was missing and asking for the salad to be replaced. Very disappointing that a dish so different than what it should be was allowed to leave the kitchen.

 

When is say “spicy”, I usually do mean heat. But when I say “spices”, I mean those flavorful, aromatic add-ins that can make a dish complex, layered, and region specific. They don’t have to have heat. That steamed ginger cake in Red Ginger was amazing - the ginger (and who knows what else) in the cake matched so well with the cardamom in the ice cream - definitely spices but not hot!

 

And while I don’t think fish sauce is spicy, I do think it is pungent! And the Thai beef salad I make would be nothing without it. I’ve never thought of fish sauce as sweet - that’s the wording from the Vista menu and that was a bit surprising to me. I’m not a duck girl but at least on two nights on the Vista in December that salad was amazing. It is very disappointing that it was such a poor substitute on the Riviera.

[WildWanderers]

Hi All,

 

At the risk of repeating something that someone has already mentioned, my favourite thing to eat is the coulibiac.  It is most often available on longer cruises, when there is a big Sunday brunch in the GDR.

 

On our BTB NYC-Reykjavik-NYC this past August, Chef Farid was kind enough to make it for an at-sea day, for the carvery in the Terrace Café.  It was so good, an example of something complicated that you would rarely make unless you had company and the time to make it.

 

Why am I suddenly hungry?

 

Cheers, 

Greg from the WildWanderers

[pinotlover]

23 minutes ago, BioInfoLib said:

Hi @pinotlover - I think you may have been asking me those questions as I am the one who mentioned the duck salad.

Wow - your experience with it on the Riviera sounds very disappointing! I’d be asking my server for a menu and pointing out what was missing and asking for the salad to be replaced. Very disappointing that a dish so different than what it should be was allowed to leave the kitchen.

 

When is say “spicy”, I usually do mean heat. But when I say “spices”, I mean those flavorful, aromatic add-ins that can make a dish complex, layered, and region specific. They don’t have to have heat. That steamed ginger cake in Red Ginger was amazing - the ginger (and who knows what else) in the cake matched so well with the cardamom in the ice cream - definitely spices but not hot!

 

And while I don’t think fish sauce is spicy, I do think it is pungent! And the Thai beef salad I make would be nothing without it. I’ve never thought of fish sauce as sweet - that’s the wording from the Vista menu and that was a bit surprising to me. I’m not a duck girl but at least on two nights on the Vista in December that salad was amazing. It is very disappointing that it was such a poor substitute on the Riviera.

Forgive me if my post was aggressive. We have almost always loved the dish. Just saying that Miami has a rule that the Specialty dish be served 7/365 regardless of ingredient availability. We even had a restaurant chef apologize a Specialty course because Miami dictated it be served regardless. 
 

I can love a wonderfully flavorful dish that excites the taste glands while not calling it “ spicy “. Spice does not have to indicate heat, but it is often described independently of sweetness. While I can love properly prepared key lime pie and its wonderful flavors, I don’t call it spicy. Is a beautiful crème brûlée spicy? Do NoNos get to vote?

[clo]

28 minutes ago, WildWanderers said:

Hi All,

 

At the risk of repeating something that someone has already mentioned, my favourite thing to eat is the coulibiac.  It is most often available on longer cruises, when there is a big Sunday brunch in the GDR.

 

On our BTB NYC-Reykjavik-NYC this past August, Chef Farid was kind enough to make it for an at-sea day, for the carvery in the Terrace Café.  It was so good, an example of something complicated that you would rarely make unless you had company and the time to make it.

 

Why am I suddenly hungry?

 

Cheers, 

Greg from the WildWanderers

From the unknowing like I:

 

What is the meaning of coulibiac?

 

 

noun. , French-Russian Cooking. a fish pie usually made with salmon or sturgeon combined with buckwheat, hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms, scallions, wine, herbs, and spices, and served in a brioche or puff pastry.

 

COULIBIAC Definition & Meaning - Dictionary.com

 

dictionary.com

https://www.dictionary.com › browse › coulibiac

[mbiggers]

Our favorite dinner on O is the GDR’s Halibut Viennoise. O’s Executive Chef developed it in honor of Paul Bocuse. We have canceled our reservation in a restaurant in order to be in the GDR on the night they serve it. Best fish ever!

Skimming through this thread someone had asked about comparing the food on O to Luminae on X. I think both are very good. I have to eat Gluten Free and appreciate that when in Luminae you can order off Blu or MDR menus, so lots of options. However, two problems with the suites on X: the cost (generally more than O for similar cruise) and you’re still on a ship with way too many people. Overall, we are mostly sticking with O or Viking Ocean.

[Kay S]

Ok. Halibut going on my list.