Dining times

[suec12]

When you make a reservation for one of the speciality restaurants is it for a specific time or is it "open dining" like the Grand Dining Room? Also what are the hours, for dinner, in the Grand Dining Room?

 

When we embark on the ship, I am thinking around 4pm, will there be any food service available, or will we just need to wait until dinner. Who knows if we will be fed on our late morning (Air France) fligh from CDG to Athens!

[martinchem]

Half all the posts today are about the food.

[debsjc]

When you make a reservation for the Polo Grill or Toscana it is for a specific time - usually 6.30pm or 8pm

 

I'm not sure about food on embarkation day, as we were on by 1pm, and had lunch in the terrace cafe.

 

Whilst we are talking about food, has anyone else tried the gorgeous smoothies available at Waves now? They are new, and come in 4 fruit flavours, and are available from 1130am to 4pm - I love the Tropical Temptation flavour

[hondorner]

The specialty restaurants do have times for which you specifically make a reservation. They are on a rolling schedule, typically 6:30, 7:30 or 8:30, but I have heard of reservations for 7:00 or 8:00 (all PM). If they have no openings for your desired times, they may be able to accommodate you at an earlier or later time. Remember, the specialty restaurants seat only about 90 in each, so they have to be a little more specific than the much larger Grand dining Room to make sure they make optimum use of the facility.

 

As for food at embarkation, we have always gone to the Terrace buffet for lunch, but we have always boarded around Noon. I'm not certain how long they keep that buffet open on embarkation day, but normally it closes around 2 PM to ready it for dinner. Even if they keep it open later on sailing day, I kind of think it would not be later than 4:00 PM. You will be pretty busy -- getting your luggage into your room, taking part in the life boat drill which is usually around 5:15, etc, so you might not have much time to eat before 6:30, anyway.

 

Maybe someone who has arrived later can say if the buffet stays open or if there is any room service before sailing.

[lcand1923]

We arrived at the ship about 3:30pm for our first Oceania Cruise. No food service was available until dinner was served. (Luckily we had some peanut butter crackers in our carry-on!)

[debsjc]

I just remembered, if you go to one of the bars and order a drink they will bring you a little tray of nuts and nibbles - nothing big, but something to keep you going maybe

[Paul123]

When you make a reservation for the Polo Grill or Toscana it is for a specific time - usually 6.30pm or 8pm

 

I'm not sure about food on embarkation day, as we were on by 1pm, and had lunch in the terrace cafe.

 

Whilst we are talking about food, has anyone else tried the gorgeous smoothies available at Waves now? They are new, and come in 4 fruit flavours, and are available from 1130am to 4pm - I love the Tropical Temptation flavour

 

Are all these wonderful bits and pieces, calorie free I'm sure, such as ice cream, milkshakes and now smoothies available 'free' as part of our overall cruise package? I ask because different cruise lines have different policies regarding charges. HAL don't charge for ice cream which is available for a good part of the day. Princess have an ice cream bar at which a charge is made and RCCL supply yogurt ice cream free during the day. I'm not aware of any main stream cruise line supplying smoothies or milkshakes free of charge.

[riversidecruiser]

Are all these wonderful bits and pieces, calorie free I'm sure, such as ice cream, milkshakes and now smoothies available 'free' as part of our overall cruise package? I ask because different cruise lines have different policies regarding charges. HAL don't charge for ice cream which is available for a good part of the day. Princess have an ice cream bar at which a charge is made and RCCL supply yogurt ice cream free during the day. I'm not aware of any main stream cruise line supplying smoothies or milkshakes free of charge.

 

There is no charge for the smoothies or milk shakes. As for the calories, that's another matter:( We tried to offset somewhat by using sherbet (or sorbet? I don't remember which one Oceania serves.) in our milkshakes instead of ice cream. Still yummy:D

[brian_uk]

I can only tell you that on our last O Cruise they offered me ZERO ZERO Ice cream......zero fat and zero sugar.

 

2 days into the cruise and the Zero Zero Revenge took hold.............Sorbitol............all I can say is that if you are offered it, take it in moderation...

 

Brian

[demo]

Hello Paul123,

 

as mentioend the mikshakes, ice cream and smoothies are for free. And I recommend you highly to try them. All is so goooooood!! They will also serve it if you are on a sunbed around the pool.

 

Dennis

[LHT28]

Are all these wonderful bits and pieces, calorie free I'm sure, such as ice cream, milkshakes and now smoothies available 'free' as part of our overall cruise package?

 

All included in the price as well as lemonade, ice tea, cappuccino & espresso coffee

 

soda, bottled water & alcoholic drinks are extra charge

 

Enjoy

 

Lyn;)

[Paul123]

Well thank you all for that rush of enthusiasm to entice me to try all those lovely free goodies when I travel on the Insignia next February. It just gets better and better reading about my experience to come.

[Paul123]

I can only tell you that on our last O Cruise they offered me ZERO ZERO Ice cream......zero fat and zero sugar.

 

2 days into the cruise and the Zero Zero Revenge took hold.............Sorbitol............all I can say is that if you are offered it, take it in moderation...

 

Brian

 

Brian....... that's very interesting and I'm forewarned. However I normally go for the 'no sugar' or 'no sugar added' options whenever possible and to date, touch wood, I haven't had to run any where in a hurry or stay up wind of my companions. But thanks for the warning. I think it will have to be moderation in all things sorbitol for me when I cruise with O.

[debsjc]

I just got back and I did put on 7 pounds on the 19 day cruise, but I had lost 12 pounds before going to allow myself to eat what I wanted on the trip without worrying :o:D

 

I didn't try any of the 'zero' options, just the calorie laden ones!!

[pacheco18]

Are you able to reserve the specialty restaurants ahead of time (as you can on Celebrity eg) or must you wait until you board?

[LHT28]

Are you able to reserve the specialty restaurants ahead of time (as you can on Celebrity eg) or must you wait until you board?

 

You have to do once on board.

 

 

Lyn

[eddmel]

The food on Oceania is so good... it's a shame that anyone would even think of deny themselves something they want to eat on an Oceania cruise. Hey, you're on vacation!!

 

I am going in about 8 weeks and will have my smoothie with ice cream...not sherbet. No zero zero for me!! My husband feels the same way.

 

We're dieting right now and will again when we return from our cruise.

 

But when we're on our cruise we will eat desserts every day...they are as good as my own and I'm a gourmet cook.

 

Everything else besides the desserts is delicious as well.

[Paul123]

The food on Oceania is so good... it's a shame that anyone would even think of deny themselves something they want to eat on an Oceania cruise. Hey, you're on vacation!!

 

I am going in about 8 weeks and will have my smoothie with ice cream...not sherbet. No zero zero for me!! My husband feels the same way.

 

We're dieting right now and will again when we return from our cruise.

 

But when we're on our cruise we will eat desserts every day...they are as good as my own and I'm a gourmet cook.

 

Everything else besides the desserts is delicious as well.

 

It's your bodies so you do what you think is right for you. Nobody else really cares what others do regarding their calorific intake....it's all about the individual's choice.

 

Have a great cruise, oh and of course the and diet afterwards.

[meow!]

No zero zero for me!! My husband feels the same way.

Give us zero zero, we love that. Unfortunately Oceania usually gives either zero sugar or zero cholesterol (?), not both, perhaps just low sugar and cholesterol, not zero zero. On one voyage aboard Silver Shadow, they had zero zero, and told us that the stuff had to be special ordered from Florida. Do you know how true is that? (We don't know, just what we were told.)

[paulista1950]

"If they have no openings for your desired times, they may be able to accommodate you at an earlier or later time. Remember, the specialty restaurants seat only about 90 in each, so they have to be a little more specific than the much larger Grand dining Room to make sure they make optimum use of the facility."

 

Let's see, 90 x 2 x 2 (sittings) = 360. So, it takes only two nights to accomodate all passengers, right?

[hondorner]

"If they have no openings for your desired times, they may be able to accommodate you at an earlier or later time. Remember, the specialty restaurants seat only about 90 in each, so they have to be a little more specific than the much larger Grand dining Room to make sure they make optimum use of the facility."

 

Let's see, 90 x 2 x 2 (sittings) = 360. So, it takes only two nights to accomodate all passengers, right?

 

That's pretty close. They are pretty flexible about the seating times, so the tables are not all full all the time -- that's part of what makes open dining work so well on Oceania as opposed to other cruise lines that have experimented with it. And, almost half of the passengers have 2 nights in each restaurant, for a total of 4 nights.

 

That means that they have to find a total of approximately 2062 seats for the number of opportunities, divided by the 180 available seats, which actually takes about 11 and 1/2 nights if they only had one sitting. Since each seat probably gets used twice each evening, it takes between 5 and 6 nights to accommodate everyone. If people eat more quickly and they get 3 servings for some of the seats, the numbers come down closer to 3 or 4 nights.

 

That's why there is plenty of opportunity for anyone to request additional nights. However, there are certain times that are more popular than others -- it's more difficult to get a reservation on sea days, for example. We have found that it's easier to get a additional reservation on the last night (although I may now regret giving away one of our little secrets). In three cruises, one of which was non-concierge, we have never been denied a reservation for the evening we requested it, but we have had to be flexible in the times. It's also easier to get additional reservations if you have party greater than 2 or are willing to share a table.

[debsjc]

I don't think they usually till Toscana and Polo totally. Every time I have been in either there have always been spare tables, even when they have been turning reservations away as they are 'full'

Maybe to keep the quality so high, they only fill 70-80% of the tables.

[LHT28]

I don't think they usually till Toscana and Polo totally. Every time I have been in either there have always been spare tables, even when they have been turning reservations away as they are 'full'

 

I think maybe people book then due to a demanding day in port they just do not show up.

 

I have thought about that on occassion myself but always drag my body to dinner then I am glad I did.

 

We have seen the tables fully booked in POLO

 

Lyn

[hondorner]

I suffer from mild OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). It is self diagnosed because I am such a detail freak. I was compelled to check my numbers, and got a little closer. If I counted correctly, there are 166 cabins in category A and above. Assuming double occupancy (which is what the ship does to advertise capacity), that would be 332 passengers, each with 4 guaranteed specialty reservations, or a requirement for 1328 seats. There are 176 cabins in category B and below, which would be 352 passengers with 2 reservations each gauaranteed for a total of 704 seats. The grand total is 2032 seats. This is skewed by singles in some cabins and the possibility of triples or quads in others (which doesn't happen often on O), but is a good working number.

 

However, my count led to an anomaly I can't quite reconcile. I counted each catgegory of cabin twice from the deck plans, checked my math twice, and still came out with 349 cabins. Oceania advertises 342, which at double occupancy is their advertised number of 684 passengers. I can't figure out what to do with the odd 7 cabins. I suspect they do not book all 15 of the category D cabins on deck 3. At any rate, I "assumed" (which is very difficult for an OCD person to do) that the 7 missing cabins were in the lower categories, and I adjusted my numbers accordingly.

 

Or, maybe despte my quest for perfection, I simply screwed up the count...

[LHT28]

However, my count led to an anomaly I can't quite reconcile. I counted each catgegory of cabin twice from the deck plans, checked my math twice, and still came out with 349 cabins. Oceania advertises 342, which at double occupancy is their advertised number of 684 passengers. I can't figure out what to do with the odd 7 cabins. ..

 

The use some of the CAT E cabins for the entertainers & lecturers so that could account for the numbers