Jim_Iain - Live from Oceania Regatta - September 14 Vancouver to Los Angeles

[Jim_Iain]

2 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I posted earlier that the lobster I had on the HAL Volendam last month in Canada was a whole cold-water lobster and it was excellent, probably the only good lobster I can remember on any cruise. It had to have been fresh by the quality and consistency of it. This was ordered with the $18 supplement in the MDR. My only complaint was I had to use a lobster cracker to get all the meat out myself and it was messy. I prefer the way the waiter on your cruise prepared the lobster by removing all the meat.

 

May have been due to Local Availability vs trying to store it.     When we were on Summit on the New England and cruise, the F&B manager was sitting next to me at a Zenith lunch and told us he had secured xxx Lbs of fresh Nova Scotia Lobster and would be on the menu in MDR, Luminae and Blu that evening.    He said prep would vary by venue.

 

Also on E-Class in the U.S. they had live Lobster in Eden.   I was disappointed on the two Asian cruises on E class ships they didn't have fresh lobster on their Lobster dish.   The first night it was still saying fresh Nova Scotia Lobster but later changed the menu.

[Jim_Iain]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JDPCruisers]

On 9/22/2024 at 10:28 AM, SSFrance69 said:

Good to know. I LOVED the pizza at Waves on Riviera and Vista. Hopefully they will add that to Waves at some point on the smaller ships. It requires a special oven there. I wonder if there isn't enough space for it.

Good to know about the pizza at Waves on Vista as we love true pizza oven pizza, so looking forward to that. 

[terrydtx]

7 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

May have been due to Local Availability vs trying to store it.     When we were on Summit on the New England and cruise, the F&B manager was sitting next to me at a Zenith lunch and told us he had secured xxx Lbs of fresh Nova Scotia Lobster and would be on the menu in MDR, Luminae and Blu that evening.    He said prep would vary by venue.

 

Also on E-Class in the U.S. they had live Lobster in Eden.   I was disappointed on the two Asian cruises on E class ships they didn't have fresh lobster on their Lobster dish.   The first night it was still saying fresh Nova Scotia Lobster but later changed the menu.

Last year on the Apex in Europe the only lobster in Eden were frozen warm water tails, which I passed on. Same thing this year on the Edge in Australia, frozen Australian lobster tails.

 

You are probably right about the local provisioning on the Volendam. The day we were in Halifax I saw a lot of provisions being loaded on the ship, that night was when we had the great whole lobsters.

[JDPCruisers]

17 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

No live lobster at all.   It is all either cryovac or frozen --- not sure.   I asked in Toscana.    ossibly others that have sailed on the larger ships can weigh in on whether they have live lobsters since they probably have larger storage areas.

Yes, this would be good to know if live on Vista. 

[JDPCruisers]

17 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I did.... but definitely not a tea drinker.    When we usually go to tea in London I usually order coffee... they don't even raise and eyebrow. 

 

Iain loves ----STRONG black tea.    Usually 4-5 bags to a pot.   It's as dark as coffee. 

But, I'm sure a glass of Champers is available? 🥂😀

[Harters]

46 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

It is listed as a perk for Suites I just assumed it was delivered to all guests. 

I don't know how far down the pecking order it goes, but we've had it delivered in Concierge cabins. 

[Harters]

40 minutes ago, JDPCruisers said:

Do you recall the name of the non-alcoholic wine on Oceania?

The website lists it as "Pierre Zero - Domaines Pierre Chavin" - for sparkling, chardonnay and merlot. I'm not sure if that was what was on Vista earlier in the year but, if it was, the merlot would be something to avoid - thin in body and thin in flavour. And, at $12 a glass, very expensive - that's about what I'd pay for a bottle at home. With the demise of SM, it's not something I'd pay for. 

[JDPCruisers]

3 minutes ago, Harters said:

The website lists it as "Pierre Zero - Domaines Pierre Chavin" - for sparkling, chardonnay and merlot. I'm not sure if that was what was on Vista earlier in the year but, if it was, the merlot would be something to avoid - thin in body and thin in flavour. And, at $12 a glass, very expensive - that's about what I'd pay for a bottle at home. With the demise of SM, it's not something I'd pay for. 

Thanks for this. I don't drink it but will pass on to the wife.

[flviking]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

May have been due to Local Availability vs trying to store it.     When we were on Summit on the New England and cruise, the F&B manager was sitting next to me at a Zenith lunch and told us he had secured xxx Lbs of fresh Nova Scotia Lobster and would be on the menu in MDR, Luminae and Blu that evening.    He said prep would vary by venue.

 

Also on E-Class in the U.S. they had live Lobster in Eden.   I was disappointed on the two Asian cruises on E class ships they didn't have fresh lobster on their Lobster dish.   The first night it was still saying fresh Nova Scotia Lobster but later changed the menu.

We had Lobster Thermidor on Qatar Airways recently.  It was very tasty.

[Vallesan]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

They leave it on our Bed every evening.     It is listed as a perk for Suites I just assumed it was delivered to all guests. 

 

It is!

[SSFrance69]

2 hours ago, JDPCruisers said:

Good to know about the pizza at Waves on Vista as we love true pizza oven pizza, so looking forward to that. 

My favorite was one topped with Burrata cheese, arugula and prosciutto. 

[Jancruz]

I cant believe we are getting on Thursday..Glad they provision in LA...LOL

Jancruz1

[JDPCruisers]

30 minutes ago, SSFrance69 said:

My favorite was one topped with Burrata cheese, arugula and prosciutto. 

Do they have different toppings to choose from or make a couple of different pizzas on a daily basis? Thin or regular crust?

[basor]

They have a variety of pizzas shown on the menu but you can order your pizza with what you want on it ...it was regular crust but it is rolled out for each pizza so you could ask for thin...

[JDPCruisers]

3 minutes ago, basor said:

They have a variety of pizzas shown on the menu but you can order your pizza with what you want on it ...it was regular crust but it is rolled out for each pizza so you could ask for thin...

Good to know, thanks!

[ORV]

10 hours ago, PSR said:

 

Thank you; we will ask for them next time.

I've always had them on every Oceania cruise. The upper suites get a fancier one, and I don't know about now, but they used to get a choice of various newspapers from around the World. 

[ORV]

So a few years ago I put together a cover collage for my Ipad of some of our favorite shots. Here is the top left one. LOL, 

 

 

[FetaCheese]

Philly guy here.

Finally tried the Waves Philly Cheesesteak.  Not the same, but how could it be!

[LuAnn]

Jim..Thanks for all the pictures of Astoria!! I'm even MORE disappointed that we missed that port going up last year!! It looks so charming!! Maybe another time....

[SSFrance69]

1 hour ago, FetaCheese said:

Philly guy here.

Finally tried the Waves Philly Cheesesteak.  Not the same, but how could it be!

I tried it on Vista and thought it was ok... but not the best I've ever had. Have you tried Aquamar yet? I loved their crunchy chicken sandwich! The gazpacho is very nice as well.

[SSFrance69]

3 hours ago, JDPCruisers said:

Do they have different toppings to choose from or make a couple of different pizzas on a daily basis? Thin or regular crust?

Here is the menu. You could certainly ask for a custom pizza and they will make it for you.

[FetaCheese]

17 minutes ago, SSFrance69 said:

I tried it on Vista and thought it was ok... but not the best I've ever had. Have you tried Aquamar yet? I loved their crunchy chicken sandwich! The gazpacho is very nice as well.

Aquamar kitchen has not been installed on Regatta.  Some day we'll be on Vista.

[SSFrance69]

1 minute ago, FetaCheese said:

Aquamar kitchen has not been installed on Regatta.  Some day we'll be on Vista.

Oh that's right. I apologize. I'm so mesmerized by all the food talk that I forgot what ship you're on. They will probably add it at some point. I know they added it to Marina.

[ORV]

12 minutes ago, SSFrance69 said:

Oh that's right. I apologize. I'm so mesmerized by all the food talk that I forgot what ship you're on. They will probably add it at some point. I know they added it to Marina.

They really don’t have the type of space on the R ships as they do on the larger ones. But they might be able to squeeze it in somewhere.