Galaxy Panama Review Part 3 - The food

[LisadelRio]

Food, Glorious Food

 

The food was good overall, sometimes excellent, and really awful only once. I had breakfast on the veranda every day but one, David and Gary preferred breakfast at the buffet. On all the sea days, except one, we had lunch at the buffet. We had dinner in the Orion every night.

 

Orion

 

The food in the Orion was excellent. I don’t eat meat, so I had a lot of seafood and ordered off of the vegetarian menu a couple of times. Our waiter, Kumar, from India, offered menu suggestions every night. On the third night, he hinted that I might not want to order the risotto stuffed red pepper from the veg menu. I didn’t take his advice and ordered it. It was bland and boring. After that, I asked Kumar about every single item I ordered, and took his advice. It was always good. It helped that Kumar was also a vegetarian except for eating fish while on the ship.

 

The fish entrees were always better than the vegetarian entrees. So we ate a lot more fish that we do at home. By the end of the cruise, Gary and I were both sick of seafood.

 

On the other hand, our son David is a dedicated meat eater. He ate and enjoyed frog legs, escargot, duck, lots of lamb, beef, oxtail soup, and seafood. Kumar also convinced him to eat vegetable items he would never try at home – like spinach tart and cream of asparagus soup.

 

The deserts were excellent and never too sweet. The salads were good and the lettuce was always fresh and mostly not iceberg. The tarragon dressing was my favorite, but the blue cheese was great also.

 

However, the best thing about the Orion was the service. Kumar, our waiter, and Laurence, our assistant waiter were the best we’ve had on a cruise. They were polite, professional, efficient, friendly, and fun. They addressed us by name after the first night and were always there when we needed them.

 

We had early seating at table 515, which is a 4 top diagonal to the captain’s table. So, we had a view out the aft windows and a view of the Captain’s table, which was only occupied on the first and last formal night. Fireguy was there one night, but the captain was never there at early seating.

 

Oasis café

 

The oasis café was okay. At lunch, the salads, breads and the deserts were the highlights. The starboard aft line is a pasta station at lunch and it was very good.

 

On Fiesta day, I made the mistake of getting refried beans and rice. It was awful. The beans actually had kidney beans in them. Ick.

 

At breakfast there was fruit, eggs, meats, oatmeal, blintzes, and all kinds of pastry. I had breakfast in the room, but stopped by the Oasis for a second breakfast on the mornings I ran or went to the cycling class. (I exercise so that I can eat more.)

 

On the last sea day, I treated myself to a waffle with whipped cream and strawberries, from the waffle station by the oasis pool. It was the best waffle I have ever had. Really. I’m glad I waited until the end of the cruise to try one, or I would have gained weight on this cruise.

 

 

Overall, the food was what we've come to expect from Celebrity. It's not gourmet, but it's very good. And it is much, much better than Royal Caribbean.

 

 

Up next - Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey aka Activities

 

 

 

Link to part 1

Link to part 2

[fireguy091]

I agree that the food was very good.. But when you break it down some would barely be as good as old drive-in movie food.

 

1. Overall dining room food is very good.

2. Buffet is ok, its hard to mess up breakfast.

3. Sushi bar is great.

4. Pizza reminds me of drive-in movie pizza.

5. The hamburger station is wonderful, great fries if ya get them fresh.

6. Waffles were GREAT

7. The mexican food was a joke. Not much more you can say but hey ya can still eat it. The taco meat was horrible.

8. One night there was a pool party. It was pretty nice. The ribs that were drowned in BBQ sauce had a good flavor but were as tough as my sandles. But hey when something didn't taste good you could always find something that did.

9. The room service breakfast is great.

 

Unlike Lisa I think the food on RCL esp the Serenade is every bit as good as X. The two alternative resturants on the Serenade put every meal I had to shame but you had to pay for them.

[cruisinjudy]

We had a wonderful waiter named Kumar on our Infinity cruise in December. He was from India and had a great smile and wrote our names down so he could learn them! Could this be the same Kumar?

[Pincus]

Thanks, Lisa.

 

I'm enjoying the trip, thanks for sharing.

 

Pincus

[LisadelRio]

No, Judy that's not the same Kumar. That's a great photo though!

 

There are couple of things I forgot to mention. We sent our wine down with Ivo every day, writing our table number and room number on the label. it was always on the table. We had 2 sommeliers - one from India and one from France. They were great and they liked our wine.:)

 

On the first night, I ordered a bottle of San Peligrino for every night. My glass was always full. At the captains table, they pour Evian into the water pitchers. No tap water over there.

 

I mentioned that our table was a 4 top, but it was always set for 3 after the first night.

 

At a table for 10 near us, some of the men wore nice jeans on casual night. They looked as dressed up as the rest of us. It was only shocking to me because I read these boards.:eek:

 

On formal night, I would say that about 50% of the men wore tuxes, with the rest in suits. However, around the ship after dinner, there were quite a few casual dressers.

 

Whoops, I'm getting off the food subject,

Lisa

[LisadelRio]

And Fireguy, how did you swing that captains table invite?

 

I didn't think the Mexican food was even edible. :)

[casavaha]

Thanks for the great Galaxy reviews.

We are on the Galaxy transatlantic from Galveston, May 7. Lots of sea

days to enjoy breakfast on our balcony.

 

While the food is generally good on Celebrity it cannot compare to

RCCL's specialty restaurants. However, we enjoy the service and the

attitude.

We are traveling with 6 other adults who have never cruised Celebrity.

I think they will enjoy the dining areas overall.

[fireguy091]

Lisa, as far as the Captain's table invite I can only imagine. It's the 4th time for us. On our last cruise we shouldn't have been allowed access to the concierge club but we got an invitation on the second day. My wife asked the concierge and she just smiled at her and said someone on the ship must like you.

[wesp]

Does Celebrity still offer orange flavored whipped butter on the waffle station? I remember this from a cruise on Galaxy back in 1992. :rolleyes:

 

Wesley

[Susie]

Lisa - Really enjoying your review of the Galaxy. We're sailing on her April 14th but I'm ready to go NOW!!! Back to food . . .

 

I have yet to have good Mexican food or barbeque on any cruise line. Michael Roux (sp?) really need to take some lessons from local Texans to get this right (no offense other states and I'm originally from Oklahoma!). You just can't beat Texas barbeque and TexMex! We hit our favorite Mexican restaurant for our TexMex fix as soon as we get home from every cruise. Drop those bags at home and head to get guacamole and enchiladas!! There's only two thing I miss when cruising - Mexican food and my pets!.

[GCurry]

My wife and I are really enjoying your review, as we do the same trip next Jan..

I had to laugh about the Mexican food and BarBQue; where are those boys going to come up with some Mesquite smoke and green chilis. Refried kidney beans? We'd be heating tar and plucking a goose for whoever came up with that idea. God knows I take my own salsa when I cruise.

Just let em keep torturing me with lobster tails and Tiramisu, they hardly ever mess those up.

[newmexicoNita]

Food, Glorious Food

 

The food was good overall, sometimes excellent, and really awful only once. I had breakfast on the veranda every day but one, David and Gary preferred breakfast at the buffet. On all the sea days, except one, we had lunch at the buffet. We had dinner in the Orion every night.

 

Orion

 

The food in the Orion was excellent. I don’t eat meat, so I had a lot of seafood and ordered off of the vegetarian menu a couple of times. Our waiter, Kumar, from India, offered menu suggestions every night. On the third night, he hinted that I might not want to order the risotto stuffed red pepper from the veg menu. I didn’t take his advice and ordered it. It was bland and boring. After that, I asked Kumar about every single item I ordered, and took his advice. It was always good. It helped that Kumar was also a vegetarian except for eating fish while on the ship.

 

The fish entrees were always better than the vegetarian entrees. So we ate a lot more fish that we do at home. By the end of the cruise, Gary and I were both sick of seafood.

 

On the other hand, our son David is a dedicated meat eater. He ate and enjoyed frog legs, escargot, duck, lots of lamb, beef, oxtail soup, and seafood. Kumar also convinced him to eat vegetable items he would never try at home – like spinach tart and cream of asparagus soup.

 

The deserts were excellent and never too sweet. The salads were good and the lettuce was always fresh and mostly not iceberg. The tarragon dressing was my favorite, but the blue cheese was great also.

 

However, the best thing about the Orion was the service. Kumar, our waiter, and Laurence, our assistant waiter were the best we’ve had on a cruise. They were polite, professional, efficient, friendly, and fun. They addressed us by name after the first night and were always there when we needed them.

 

We had early seating at table 515, which is a 4 top diagonal to the captain’s table. So, we had a view out the aft windows and a view of the Captain’s table, which was only occupied on the first and last formal night. Fireguy was there one night, but the captain was never there at early seating.

 

Oasis café

 

The oasis café was okay. At lunch, the salads, breads and the deserts were the highlights. The starboard aft line is a pasta station at lunch and it was very good.

 

On Fiesta day, I made the mistake of getting refried beans and rice. It was awful. The beans actually had kidney beans in them. Ick.

 

At breakfast there was fruit, eggs, meats, oatmeal, blintzes, and all kinds of pastry. I had breakfast in the room, but stopped by the Oasis for a second breakfast on the mornings I ran or went to the cycling class. (I exercise so that I can eat more.)

 

On the last sea day, I treated myself to a waffle with whipped cream and strawberries, from the waffle station by the oasis pool. It was the best waffle I have ever had. Really. I’m glad I waited until the end of the cruise to try one, or I would have gained weight on this cruise.

 

 

Overall, the food was what we've come to expect from Celebrity. It's not gourmet, but it's very good. And it is much, much better than Royal Caribbean.

 

 

Up next - Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey aka Activities

 

 

 

Link to part 1

Link to part 2

 

one quick question: were the frog legs an appitizer or entree? Reason I ask; on the Connie a few years ago they were an appitizer and I was very disappointed in them: tough and tasteless, sorta like when I fix them at home. Overall sounds like we will enjoy our meals on the 14 day transatlantic in Oct. It seems so far away, well it is: 6 months. NMnita

[LisadelRio]

Just let em keep torturing me with lobster tails and Tiramisu, they hardly ever mess those up.

 

That reminds me, both were excellent on this cruise. I think I actually prefer Caribbean lobster, probably because we go there more often than we go to New England. It's probably the less-time-in-the-freezer factor. My favorite seafood is blue crab, caught in our back yard, and eaten within minutes of it's demise.

 

Speaking of fresh, someone asked at the Life At Sea thing if the seafood on board is fresh or frozen. That ranks right up there with "do the crew live on the ship."

 

I hope that fillet of Sole hasn't been in the refrigerator for a week. :eek:

[LisadelRio]

NMnita,

 

The frog legs were an appetizer. According to my husband and son, they were pretty good. They were not tough, they were small, and, surprise, they tasted like chicken.

 

Lisa

[GCurry]

Fishy chicken, but still chicken. When not cooking, the chefs are probably fishing off the stern for the catch of the day.

It would be interesting to find out how much fresh/frozen foods they take on a cruise. I would think everything would be loaded at the home port and little to nothing picked up at a port of call. Guess I'll have to do a galley tour on the next cruise and ask those questions.

How was room service, we are going CC so I would expect it to be pretty good?

[Tatka]

one quick question: were the frog legs an appitizer or entree? Reason I ask; on the Connie a few years ago they were an appitizer and I was very disappointed in them: tough and tasteless, sorta like when I fix them at home. Overall sounds like we will enjoy our meals on the 14 day transatlantic in Oct. It seems so far away, well it is: 6 months. NMnita

 

Wow!! Fixing frog legs at home!!! :D

[raudacruise]

I would think everything would be loaded at the home port and little to nothing picked up at a port of call.

 

Almost all provisioning is done at the home port. Ships typically carry almost 17 days of food put in the ships "stores". They can even "freeze" veggies but I think that means they have some stores that are nitrogen rich (no oxygen to cut down on decay).

 

Relying on ports of call would be very iffy, a hurricane or mechanical problem would really mess up things. That said, have seen small deliveries at ports of call. Who knows, keep the local pilot happy by buying stuff from his brother?

[newmexicoNita]

Fishy chicken, but still chicken. When not cooking, the chefs are probably fishing off the stern for the catch of the day.

It would be interesting to find out how much fresh/frozen foods they take on a cruise. I would think everything would be loaded at the home port and little to nothing picked up at a port of call. Guess I'll have to do a galley tour on the next cruise and ask those questions.

How was room service, we are going CC so I would expect it to be pretty good?

 

I bet you are 100 per cent right on where the food comes from. I have toured ships and watched the vendors load the food prior to sailing. NMnita

[sparks]

Some advise about food, don't order the veal dish they serve the first night. Tasted good, but was tough as shoe leather. Otherwise, we did not have a bad meal at dinner the whole trip. Once our table mate ordered a steak & it was really tough. He sent it back & got another one which was much better. I have sailed on Galaxy before & thought the lunch buffet has suffered some. The pasta station was great, but I can't eat pasta. Waffles were to die for & DH had them almost every day once we found the station!

[Glendakayself]

Last fall on the Summit, spa cuisine was offered by the pool and close to the hamburgers. I think it was called "Light and Lean." At lunch, plates were already prepared and portioned with grilled chicken, salmon, salads, fruits, and veges. There was also a desert station next to it, although I never tried it. I really enjoyed this choice for lunch. Does the Galaxy have this option?

[fireguy091]

By the way I gained 14 lbs so the food must have been good....:)

[LisadelRio]

By the way I gained 14 lbs so the food must have been good....:)

 

You ate the waffles, didn't you?:D

[LisadelRio]

Last fall on the Summit, spa cuisine was offered by the pool and close to the hamburgers. I think it was called "Light and Lean." At lunch, plates were already prepared and portioned with grilled chicken, salmon, salads, fruits, and veges. There was also a desert station next to it, although I never tried it. I really enjoyed this choice for lunch. Does the Galaxy have this option?

 

No, but it sure would have been nice. I was underwhelmed by the lunch food at the buffet. However, I did have an excellent lunch in the dining room on the last day. It was 3 cheese ravioli - fresh pasta filled with excellent blend of flavorful cheeses under a light tomato sauce. Yummm. I wish I had eaten more lunches there.

[LisadelRio]

How was room service, we are going CC so I would expect it to be pretty good?

 

This was the first cruise where we only had room service at breakfast. We used the card the night before. Several times, I wrote in things that weren't on the card. Ivo handled the breakfast and it was always correct, hot if it was supposed to be, and right on time.

 

I think the reason we didn't have other room service is that 1229 is in such a great location. It was a few steps from the sky bar - open only on sea days. A few steps and a flight of stairs where all it took to get to the Oasis bar, the buffet and the drink stations.

 

Another advantage, or disadvantage, of this location is that every morning upon stepping into the hall, we could smell the waffles cooking. In the afternoons, we could smell the burgers cooking.

[newmexicoNita]

thanks for answering my question about frog legs, will certainly give them a try again and yes, I do fix them at home, but of course, they are previously frozen and not as tasty as I would like. by the way, they are easy to fix; they don't jump out of the pan like some have said in the past.