Is the Oceania menu as limited as their website says?

[1985rz1]

37 minutes ago, ORV said:

Pretty much summed up what I was thinking. Good luck with finding what suits you. 

With statements like:

 

"- if space is available. I don’t want to go on a 2 week cruise assuming we can get additional nights in the steak restaurant when that is a maybe."

 

"For me heaven is breakfast at Denny's, lunch at Fuddruckers, and dinner at Ruth's Chris' Steak House. I've never liked fancy or weird foods."

 

the OP is setting himself up for a major disappointment if he books O.

[CaptainCook808]

1 hour ago, Yesimapirate said:

Honestly,  I don't think O is right for you.  You seem to be fighting pretty hard to show there isn't enough variety and what variety there is, isn't communicated well enough for your needs.  Since good is entirely subjective,  it sounds like you would be disappointed on the ship.  O and it's competitors charge far too much for you to spend your time disappointed and unhappy.   If variety is important to you and the menus at O don't meet your needs, look at a cruise line that does.  You deserve to enjoy your vacation. 

Thank you and I agree. I find Regent exceptional and Viking fine so I know I'll like those. While the Oceania menus just don't appeal to me. As you said, not good if my meal is merely something I find ok.

 

We live in Boulder, Colorado and there are a ton of fancy restaurants there. We've tried most of them and I have never been thrilled with them. I was raised on meat and potatoes and that has apparently stuck.

 

Anyways, thank you to all that posted here. It helped me realize I should not try Oceania.

[kahuna21]

Each if us has his/her own experience. We have been three times each on Regent and Oceania. In many cases, how much one enjoys the food is due to which menu items are selected. Some are very good, some not so good. On both cruise lines. Too bad we don’t know in advance what menu items are good! We just returned from a 2 week cruise on Seven Seas Explorer, and we apparently guessed wrong a lot because we had quite a few meals that ranged from only ok to inedible. Overall, we have enjoyed dining on Oceania over Regent, by a significant margin.

[patty1955]

I love reading menus so I tend to take pictures of them on cruises. I didn't get a lot on our cruise in 2021 but here's some of them: 

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, CaptainCook808 said:

• Speaking as someone with a lot of experience and success in online marketing, they absolutely should have all their menus up on the website. You need to do it thoughtfully so it doesn't overpower the page, but yes they should all be there. (And if not, the single menu should have in the top, in red lettering, that there is a 14 day rotation and this is one of those days.)
• For me heaven is breakfast at Denny's, lunch at Fuddruckers, and dinner at Ruth's Chris' Steak House. I've never liked fancy or weird foods. With that said, I love Chinese & Korean food (the beef dishes), Mexican, & Italian food.
• As to your comment about Viking - I agree 100%.

Sounds like you may have forgotten about IHOP and Panda Express.😳

In all honesty, Oceania’s food may be a waste of your hard earned fare dollars given your apparently limited taste profile.

And don’t hold your breath about ever seeing all of O’s quite varied menus on their website. Not going to happen and O regulars neither need nor want that.

 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, 1985rz1 said:

With statements like:

 

"- if space is available. I don’t want to go on a 2 week cruise assuming we can get additional nights in the steak restaurant when that is a maybe."

 

"For me heaven is breakfast at Denny's, lunch at Fuddruckers, and dinner at Ruth's Chris' Steak House. I've never liked fancy or weird foods."

 

the OP is setting himself up for a major disappointment if he books O.

Ain’t that the truth!

[SATaxman]

I consider myself a picky eater. Some items I choose to not eat, others I do not like.

That being said, I think the only thing I would not order again after our first 10 day O cruise would be the puff pastry fish in Jacques. 

[willidc]

14 hours ago, CaptainCook808 said:

Finally I find it interesting that you think Oceania is substantially superior to Viking and Regent. You of course are entitled to your own opinion on this but I think most would agree with me that Viking is comparable to Oceania and Regent is superior.

We have not sailed Regent, but would like to in the future.  For us, it is hard to justify the higher price than Oceania at this point.

 

But as for Viking, we have sailed both their river and especially their ocean cruises.  Both were a 'one and done' for us mostly due to the ambience, service and quality regarding food.  NOT comparable for us.  Yes, we have over 20 cruises on Oceania, but we also have sailed with Cunard, HAL, Disney, and a couple mass market lines.  Until Oceania disappoints, we will continue to sail with them.

 

We have gotten excellent recommendations regarding food on Virgin, but we think we would feel like chaperones on their ships since we are in our 70s now.  But may still go ahead and try them.

[CaptainCook808]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Sounds like you may have forgotten about IHOP and Panda Express.😳

In all honesty, Oceania’s food may be a waste of your hard earned fare dollars given your apparently limited taste profile.

And don’t hold your breath about ever seeing all of O’s quite varied menus on their website. Not going to happen and O regulars neither need nor want that.

 

 

My aren't you the condescending little food snob. You'll likely never realize it but people that prefer foods different than those you like often are very discerning in their preferences.

[Flatbush Flyer]

18 minutes ago, CaptainCook808 said:

My aren't you the condescending little food snob. You'll likely never realize it but people that prefer foods different than those you like often are very discerning in their preferences.

No disrespect meant. Rather, if you’re a “meat and potatoes” person, Oceania is probably not a good choice (unless you don’t mind paying the premium fare that covers all of the complex food ingredients/preps you won’t eat).

[basenji56]

4 hours ago, Yesimapirate said:

From the Grand Dining Room description on the Oceania website:

 

"As variety is essential to your satisfaction, menus change daily with an expansive choice of at least 10 appetizers, soups and salads and 10 dinner entrées, along with healthy options such as Aquamar Vitality Cuisine, gourmet vegetarian selections and the most extensive array of plant-based dishes at sea."

 

To me, that's pretty clear.

 

Honestly,  I don't think O is right for you.  You seem to be fighting pretty hard to show there isn't enough variety and what variety there is, isn't communicated well enough for your needs.  Since good is entirely subjective,  it sounds like you would be disappointed on the ship.  O and it's competitors charge far too much for you to spend your time disappointed and unhappy.   If variety is important to you and the menus at O don't meet your needs, look at a cruiseline that does.  You deserve to enjoy your vacation. 

Virgin Voyages might be a better fit.  They have Korean BBQ in a specialty restaurant.  And while expensive, it is significantly cheaper than Oceania.

 

[EJL2023]

Could someone help me on this issue. I have checked out the Regent’s website.  For the restaurants such as Compass Rose and the Verandah cafe I seem to be able to only find one Sample Menu for Dinner and one for lunch, etc. for CR.    I am hoping someone might be able to show me where the 14 different menus show up for each day on their rotation. I must be missing it…thanks. Also I can not find them on the Viking website, even using their search feature.  Found a very generic description of The Restaurant, but no samples.  Now I’m curious what all these two lines offer. Not to good I guess on finding things on here. Any assistance welcomed. Thanks. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

14 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Could someone help me on this issue. I have checked out the Regent’s website.  For the restaurants such as Compass Rose and the Verandah cafe I seem to be able to only find one Sample Menu for Dinner and one for lunch, etc. for CR.    I am hoping someone might be able to show me where the 14 different menus show up for each day on their rotation. I must be missing it…thanks. Also I can not find them on the Viking website, even using their search feature.  Found a very generic description of The Restaurant, but no samples.  Now I’m curious what all these two lines offer. Not to good I guess on finding things on here. Any assistance welcomed. Thanks. 

This is the Oceania forum. 
That said, I doubt you’re going to find all the menus online for any cruise line’s meal rotation (which can be longer than 2 weeks). Even then, there’s occasional variation in the rotations and specials, including the regional menus in the Terrace Café at certain ports. And, remember too that, with advance notice, O chefs will make custom dishes for you if the ingredients are readily available.

[EJL2023]

17 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

This is the Oceania forum. 
That said, I doubt you’re going to find all the menus online for any cruise line’s meal rotation (which can be longer than 2 weeks). Even then, there’s occasional variation in the rotations and specials, including the regional menus in the Terrace Café at certain ports. And, remember too that, with advance notice, O chefs will make custom dishes for you if the ingredients are readily available.

Yeah, I realize that. Just thinking perhaps the OP would be able to lead me in the right direction since the issue was lack of info regarding menus on the Oceania website. So assumed the OP would be able to share where that information is on the two that he was comparing to Oceania since I was not finding any more info on their websites compared to Oceania. 😉

[CaptainCook808]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

No disrespect meant. Rather, if you’re a “meat and potatoes” person, Oceania is probably not a good choice (unless you don’t mind paying the premium fare that covers all of the complex food ingredients/preps you won’t eat).

Sorry I took it that way. And yes, I've come to the conclusion Oceania is not a good fit for us food-wise.

[clo]

11 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

And, while a “steak” restaurant has a certain degree of appeal for folks who may not “get out much” at home (or who live in a culinary desert), Oceania has far more interesting menu offerings across its full array of dining venues.

 

This.
Daddy always said "no matter what's wrong with you, a steak will make it better." But we do it and dang well I might add at home. I love to cook and I love to find menus with things I've either never cooked or want to see if it's better than mine.

[clo]

9 hours ago, CaptainCook808 said:

they absolutely should have all their menus up on the website.

But every ship has different menus and those menus change from cruise to cruise.

 

 

9 hours ago, CaptainCook808 said:

• For me heaven is breakfast at Denny's, lunch at Fuddruckers, and dinner at Ruth's Chris' Steak House. I've never liked fancy or weird foods. With that said, I love Chinese & Korean food (the beef dishes), Mexican, & Italian food.
•  

So you like chain restaurants. Aha. That explains why you want to see all the menus. Theirs' rare or never change, right? Of the other cuisines you mention are there particular dishes you like? That will explain more.

 

[clo]

8 hours ago, 1985rz1 said:

the OP is setting himself up for a major disappointment if he books O.

With all kindness, I agree. Our one dinner at Polo Grill I didn't even have steak. I had the lobster mac n cheese.

[clo]

4 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

This is the Oceania forum. 
That said, I doubt you’re going to find all the menus online for any cruise line’s meal rotation (which can be longer than 2 weeks). Even then, there’s occasional variation in the rotations and specials, including the regional menus in the Terrace Café at certain ports. And, remember too that, with advance notice, O chefs will make custom dishes for you if the ingredients are readily available.

I assumed that was humor.

[JYDCruise]

7 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Sounds like you may have forgotten about IHOP and Panda Express.😳

In all honesty, Oceania’s food may be a waste of your hard earned fare dollars given your apparently limited taste profile.

And don’t hold your breath about ever seeing all of O’s quite varied menus on their website. Not going to happen and O regulars neither need nor want that.

 

 

Wow.

 

And perhaps you shouldn't presume to speak for other people about seeing all of the menus. Perhaps I'm not an O regular, but even for land based restaurants with which I'm familiar, I check the menu before going to see what's currently offered. I could be going on my 50th cruise on a given line, and I'd still research the menus if available. Just because you, singular, don't "need or want that" doesn't mean that others don't . . . and if such offends you, you're not required to look at them.

[osandomir]

28 minutes ago, JYDCruise said:

Wow.

 

And perhaps you shouldn't presume to speak for other people about seeing all of the menus. Perhaps I'm not an O regular, but even for land based restaurants with which I'm familiar, I check the menu before going to see what's currently offered. I could be going on my 50th cruise on a given line, and I'd still research the menus if available. Just because you, singular, don't "need or want that" doesn't mean that others don't . . . and if such offends you, you're not required to look at them.

Also, probably there are more newcomers on this board than “regulars” who are interested in all different details on the O website and here on CC before making their reservations.

[clo]

56 minutes ago, JYDCruise said:

Wow.

 

And perhaps you shouldn't presume to speak for other people about seeing all of the menus. Perhaps I'm not an O regular, but even for land based restaurants with which I'm familiar, I check the menu before going to see what's currently offered. I could be going on my 50th cruise on a given line, and I'd still research the menus if available. Just because you, singular, don't "need or want that" doesn't mean that others don't . . . and if such offends you, you're not required to look at them.

We travel a goodly amount (six continents so far) and I 'research' restaurants as I'm really into food. When I look at a menu I take that as a 'guide' of the types of dishes they specialize in. A guide.

[CaptainCook808]

I want to say thank you for all the helpful replies here. About half way through it became clear to me that Oceania is for foodies. I think it's really cool that there's a line built around delivering the kind of food you all love.

 

And it made it clear to me - not the line for me and my wife. We also love food and are very discerning in our preferences. That's why I was looking into Oceania, food is a big part of the cruise for us. But it's a very different style of food.

 

Side note: I'll never know the joy you have biting into a fancy entree. But most of you will never know the joy of biting into an extraordinary cheeseburger. Or a prefect cut of filet with an amazing peppercorn sauce.

 

So anyways, we'll keep evaluating. For us Regent is awesome, Viking is decent, and we'll look into Ritz Carlton, Seaborn and Silver Sea. (And maybe Azamara because they tend to stay longer at each port.)

 

And why keep looking? Because oftentimes for the route we want, at the time we want, there's only a couple of lines available.

 

So again, thanks.

[tarhoosier]

Early on in this thread the OP stated that cancer treatment killed his saliva glands. I sympathize. My wife had oral cancer, tonsil and bottom of tongue. The chemo was with carboplatin, the oldest and most unpleasant of that unpleasant class of drugs and then the radiation to the tumors affected the taste cells and saliva production. It is an inevitable result of such treatment. She is now free of disease but her taste and saliva production are affected for the rest of her life. Foods once adored are no longer palatable or edible. Without witnessing how this changes lifelong patterns one can never realize the intensely personal effect. 

I understand his situation a bit. I know that there was no reason for him to belabor his diagnosis and treatment to this audience. I wish him the very best.

[ToxM]

We aren’t cruising for the forseeable future, as Regent killed our love for it sadly. Someone further up said that Regent was far superior to Oceania, I wish I had been able to have that experience when I was on Regent in January. 

 

When I get my taste back for cruising it will be on Oceania, I wouldn’t go back on Regent even if it was free. The food we had on Regent makes P&O look like a Michelin starred restaurant. 

 

I hope everyone has blip free cruising in the future.