Food Quality Poll

[celem]

Threads that have discussed food quality on Oceania’s cruises inspired me to take the discussion to the next level – a poll. I don't think that "excellent", "good", etc., work for rating the food quality. Food is simply too subjective an experience. There are restaurants that friends like that I do not and visa versa. People's tastes are just too varied for "excellent" or "good" or "fair" to really mean anything to someone else. My brother and I were raised in the same household yet our culinary tastes are as different as black & white. I prefer complex, well-seasoned dishes from many nationalities while he is a very meat & potatoes person, yet what each of us calls "excellent" is the opposite of the other. Thus, I wanted the poll to be more subjective so I am going to use a rating guide that compares your dining experience to well-known restaurants. Most people have should have some basis for comparison. This should be much more meaningful and useful that adjectives like "excellent".

 

Note: This survey is solely for the food quality. Therefore do not include service or ambiance into your judgment.

 

For the poll, enter your Oceania dining experience for the Grand Dining Room Only, on average, by selecting one of the numbers in the rating guide below.

 

1. Fast food chains: Mc Donalds, Wendy's, Subway

2. Hotel catered meal, such as for convention.

3. Sit down casual dining, mostly pre-prepared food chains: Chili's, Applebee's, TGIF (or any other "Chicken Ceasar Salad Roadhouse"), Olive Garden, Outback.

4. Somewhat better quality food chains that probably prepare most of their food from scratch: Maggiano's, Macaroni Grill, PF Chang's, Big Bowl.

5. Better quality hotel catered meal, such as for a wedding.

6. High-quality restaurants with national name recognition: Ruth's Chris, The Capital Grille.

7. Fine local restaurants that are worth a two hour trip from elsewhere.

8. True gourmet restaurants with highly complex, challenging cuisine of the finest ingredients and rare wines, typically for those few among us with very discriminating taste in food and wine.

[aaannnthony]

I don't believe what I just read, similar to Jack Buck's description of Curt Gibson's home-run many years ago, back in the late '80's....."I can't believe what I just saw"!

[LHT28]

I have not eaten in most of those places so I cannot rate the food according to your poll. Much much better than 1, 2, 3 .

As you say food is subjective to the person eating it and their respective tastes.

 

I did find the food to be very good quality and I never went hungry so I guess that is a good thing.

Hubby who is a picky eater also ate very well and never complained once abount the food! :D

[james j feller]

AAANNNTHONY,

 

It's KURT

[sandbag7]

Nuf' said

[sandbag7]

Godawful Buttered up steak in huge quantities does not a quality meal make

[FinelyCruising]

I am looking at this line for the first time, with pricing requests currently in with TA, and found the menus on the cruieline's web site to be creative and upscale and nothing akin to most of the selections/comparisons available as responses to this poll. Frankly I was suprised by it.

[gemini g]

Finally! I was begining to think I was the only one who felt this way. I too, after checking the menus on Oceania,s website, expected much more than I received. As I have said before, the food was good, but not the gourmet feast they promise you. Having cruised many times before, on many different lines, I find Oceania's food no better or no worse than any of the other,s.

[ARTGRL]

have you ever been to a restaurant where the menu reads like a dream, so enticing that you cannot wait to order your food? On a large line, we traveled on their "small ship" -the menus were fantastic.......and the food descriptions divine and we were so excited....- well, they must have paid a fortune to the PR person, because when it came to the food, it was inedible.......for the entire voyage. It doesn't matter how NICE it says the food is on the menu nor how well it reads, those descriptions are merely words- it is what you have on your plate and in your palate that counts!

[raffeer]

>it is what you have on your plate and in your palate that counts!

 

Definitely true Artgirl but having had Oceania's food on my plate and on my palate during a couple of cruises I was more than satisfied. The cold cream of fruit soups were just of one lovely food memories we brought home.

Beatrice

[FinelyCruising]

I haven't had anything inedible on any cruise ship so far. I can always find something to eat. ;)

[celem]

bump

[Druke I]

I'm glad you did not include the Lido Buffet, which I thought not as good in quality as Princess (although the pizza was very good).

 

Regatta's main dining room and the specialty restaurants we thought very good to excellent.

[tapawingo]

We were on Oceania Fall 2005 and loved the food. It was well prepared, well presented and delicious. We love good food and fine restaurants. They certainly did cater to the passangers with problems. We were on Celebrity this summer and Oceania was 100% better in almost every way except entertainment.

[mjmme]

on 2 oceania cruises now , I felt that I would have expected to pay 100 for dinner for 2 for the quality of the meal I ate. We booked our 3rd cruise 1 day after getting off the 2nd. The food is worth taking the cruise for.

[arizonaartie]

Having been on several Renaissance Cruises, I'd like a comparison of the Oceania to Renaissance food. I'm sure there are people on this board that haved cruised on both lines.

arizonaartie

[brian_uk]

Is there not enough discussion on many other threads about the quality of the food on Oceania...........

 

What is the point of this Poll..................

 

And if anyone actually thought that McDonalds is what we are served then Poor You.

 

Why not have a Poll on the Towels in the rooms versus those by the Pools....Or the quality of the Ice in drinks in different parts of the Ship....

 

I know its freedom of speech and all that but ..................

 

Brian

[mike35]

Right on, Brian -- cuisine is so highly subjective that a poll such as this makes little sense.

 

Mike

[Guest kcruisin]

Definitely high class restaurant quality in the main dining room. We have cruised twice on O and also on Norw, Princess and RC. Oceania is best by far and buffet is okay as well.

[susiesan]

Is there not enough discussion on many other threads about the quality of the food on Oceania...........

 

What is the point of this Poll..................

 

Brian:

I think the regular O cruisers who inhabit this board have talked every possible arcane detail of this cruiseline to death and are desperate for something to post about. I find the threads full of complaints far more interesting to read. loved ythe one over on Cunard about the free cruise-from-hell on the QM II. No one goes on and on when things go smoothly, unless you are over on the Celebrity boards posting about Xpedition. : )