Paradise 12/3 food review

[cathy_kearns]

I was going to review the whole ship, but I figured I'd first throw out there the part everyone wants to see so:

 

The food ranged from spectatcular to huh? When we got on the ship we had already eaten lunch, so we were just tourists on the lido. I can’t comment on the taste, but a lot of the food looked good. I did snag some apple desert thing, and it was very bland.

 

Then we were off to early seating dinner. We were a group of eight. They sat us at a table for 10, with one other couple. We all wondered how they happened to come up with that seating plan, but it worked out fairly well. The couple was very friendly, and seemed to enjoy the group. Or at least if they found us obnoxious they didn't say it to our faces.

 

The first night I ordered gazpacho, which was fabulous; smoked duck, which tasted like ham; and what was touted to be lasagna bolognaise, but ended up having a white, perhaps béchamel sauce. Had I known it wasn’t bolognaise I might have ordered it anyway, but there were people at my table that were quite disappointed. One table member ordered the prime rib from the Steak House menu. She asked for medium rare, it came out very rare. But the guy at the table who likes his meat rare thought the prime rib was amazing. And the lady that ordered the prime rib loved his pork ribs, which he thought were a bit over cooked. So everyone was happy in the end.

 

Between our meal and desert was the nightly waiter show. About one third of the waiters seemed very much into the act. The rest ranged from stepping away from the dancing to just looking embarrassed. After that we finished dinner before the show, so I’m not sure if it got less uncomfortable or not.

 

For breakfast the next morning we ordered room service. The food for the room service was good, but the timing was confusing. Each day we asked for a window of service between 9-9:30. The first day he woke our neighbors up at 8:15 knocking on our door. They finally peeked their head out and told him to knock louder. I heard him and sleepily answered the door at 8:25. The next day he was a bit later, he came only 15 minutes early, at 8:45.

 

The first full day we had Panini’s from the deli which were absolutely delicious. We also had some desert which was really not memorable.

 

That night was elegant night, and the crowd really held up that standard. People ranged from jeans to tuxes, but everyone looked very nice and the mood was quite festive. Dinner was steak, prime rib, and lobster on the regular menu, no up charge. And it was amazing. The lobster was very tender and flavorful, and the generous portions of prime rib were enjoyed immensely. The waiter brought five extra lobsters to the table without us even asking. Appetizers included stuffed mushrooms and prosciutto and melon, which were also wonderful.

 

That night I went for the chocolate melting cake which was yummy, while my honey went for the Grand Marnier soufflé. He’s a big Grand Marnier fan, and was extremely disappointed in the soufflé, that tasted a bit too eggy, and not at all like Grand Marnier.

 

The next lunch the group decided to head to the Elation dining room which was open for lunch on the sea day. I ordered a hamburger with sautéed onions and mushrooms. The waiter warned us the burgers were well done, and they were. Alone I wouldn’t have liked it, but with sautéed stuff on top, it was just fine. The crab and shrimp sandwich was very good. And they had a avocado soup that was to die for. I also ordered the California Roll, which wasn’t. It was a salmon with cream cheese roll. Now a salmon with cream cheese roll (philly roll) is perfectly good sushi, but it was not the sushi on the menu. And this was just as the dining room opened, so there was no time to run out. I’m confused why they can’t get the menu and the offerings to sync up. (This was my only beef with the lasagna also…)

 

The final dinner was again up and down. The onion soup, though not billed as French onion soup, was, in fact, French onion soup, and was fabulous. The mushroom cream soup was mushroom cream soup, and was bland. The caprese salad was okay. The crab cakes were wonderful. The veal parmesan ranged from inedible to okay. Two of the four people at the table that ordered it sent it back. Some sent back short ribs. And after discussion, most people just gave up on the main course and ordered another onion soup. The baked Alaska was good, but was not flamed. Other deserts were bland.

 

Overall, I’d say the food was good. There was the occasional flop. But my worries the new Steakhouse menu had pushed out the excellent elegant night food were unfounded.

[Haoie]

Appreciate the review. We'll be on the Paradise next week, too.

[lappy22]

Love me a food review. Thanks for posting.

[LucyR.]

I am not too crazy in love with the dinner foods on the Paradise but it is only a four day cruise and there are plenty of choices at the Buffet if I don't like the food served at the dinning room.

 

I like the Paradise because there is music everywhere and it is so much fun for single me. I cruise for fun and not for the food. Lucy

[nchikk]

The mushroom cream soup was mushroom cream soup, and was bland.

 

I'm kind of surprised to hear this. Of course it was a different ship at a different time with different chefs, but this was pretty much my favourite dish of all I ate on Fascination this spring.