On Riviera.Want my opinion on speciality restaurants?

[Pet Nit Noy]

Funny coincidence, I just watched a PBS show on Swiss rail travel shortly after reading you previous message. The host went into a Geneva bakery...guess what they showed in a short scene... those pastel macarons in your first picture.:)

 

Neat!

[LHT28]

For anyone who has been following this mini-thread with any lingering confusion, I've linked photographs of three sweet nibbles: Madeleines, French macarons, and Coconut macaroons. (The last two share a name and little else in the way of taste or texture.)

 

I have seen light green Madelaines as well as chocolate

I think the chef's/cooks on O like to put their own touch on some things :D

[LHT28]

Having eaten in the specialty restaurants nine times last week My experience is 99 % one of our party was vegetarian and O went out of their way to satisfy her , the F and B manager came to our table every night to inquire if everything was O.K and we had the best service ever.

 

I have been a CRITIC of O in the past but Praise where Praise is due !!!

 

Your experience may be different for people eating in the same restaurant the same time

 

We ate in Polo on our cruise in April

it took 3 hrs to have our meal at one point it was 1 hr between the salad & the main

our friend ordered the lobster ..great the waiter brought out the meals

then went off to hover over 2 ladies that had tried to get a table earlier

They usually come & take the lobster from the shell & remove it from the table ...she waited finally did it herself ..not that she was incapable of doing it herself but the waiter is supposed to do it for you ..part of the experience with O

 

The staff were too busy rushing to clear tables of two through their dinners so they could seat the 2 ladies that probably did not have a reservation as they were sent away for a short time TWICE then returned

two other ladies were also seated & then fawned over by the wait staff while we wait for our main courses

so if you are younger, good looking female, & flirty (which I am none of the above ) you will get excellent service

 

Sorry for the rant but it annoys me when people say others are basically lying about THEIR experience when they have had great service

 

I have had good service but also have had very bad service

Edited August 28, 2016 by LHT28

[Cahpek]

....and praise was due to Jacques and RG.

 

I never said I would not return to Polo Grill because of just the sauce.I said I would not go back because we only have 7 nights dining.Fact...!

these are the facts and not my opinions of OUR experience.

Fact...Told there was no queen steak when clearly there were for others.

Fact..only one oyster in three shells

Fact...waiter thought it was funny when told about oysters.

Fact..mash was puree

Fact...vegetables had no garnish

Fact...Sauce was creamy despite being asked for an non creamy sauce.

Fact...no peppercorns in sauce.

with that batch of facts and other opinions we decided it was not our favourite restaurant so far..

We are off to Toscana tonight and now Im nervous of the next review!!

 

I quite understand Jane. Many of us tend to be a bit more critical when we go on cruises than when we are at home .....I have been known to be guilty of that myself. Somehow, we seem to change from being "normal" humans to being "super-critical" humans!

 

I guess we think because we paid with our hard-earned money (and quite a bit of it) for each and every cruise, and since the staff are supposed to be professional, everything ought to be "ship shape"!

 

Do we have the right to do so (to be critical) ? Of course we do!

 

What we seem to forget is the poor staff in the kitchen, some of them "slaving" away in front of the hot stoves and ovens, and spending hours to prepare our meals for us.

 

Likewise in the state rooms. I just wondered how many of us appreciate how hard some of the state room stewards/stewardesses aka chambermaids, work? That's why , sometimes, if they forget to replace a towel, or replenish shampoo, we just ask for it again.

 

For us, as long as we know that the staff tried their best to please, even if they are not perfect, we give them some "slack". Just like you and I, staff are humans after all, aren't they?

 

I agree with you that it is a bit inappropriate that the waiter thought it was funny when you told him about the (lack of) oysters. This may perhaps reflect on lack of training from Oceania management?

 

I know what I said above would get some negative comments from some other cruisers on this discussion board as they would disagree with me, and they might even SCOLD me for that! It would not change my view that we all ought to try to be nicer humans and try to be understanding if possible.

(Also, if I disagree with anyone here, I will still do it with respect and not be rude to them).

 

Jane, I wish that your evening in Toscana will be a nice and an enjoyable one. I have to confess that Toscana is not one of my favorite specialty restaurants on Oceania ships. But then, as others have mentioned, food and restaurants opinions are very subjective. You may well enjoy that restaurant, and I hope you will.

 

After that meal, please give us a review of your experience - I am one of those who will be interested in reading it. Some of us may agree, or disagree, with your comments, but you have every right to say what you feel about your experience. That's what this discussion board is all about.

 

All the best and enjoy the rest of your cruise. Ours will be coming soon, and am looking forward to that.

Edited August 28, 2016 by Cahpek

[roger b]

Your experience may be different for people eating in the same restaurant the same time

 

We ate in Polo on our cruise in April

it took 3 hrs to have our meal at one point it was 1 hr between the salad & the main

our friend ordered the lobster ..great the waiter brought out the meals

then went off to hover over 2 ladies that had tried to get a table earlier

They usually come & take the lobster from the shell & remove it from the table ...she waited finally did it herself ..not that she was incapable of doing it herself but the waiter is supposed to do it for you ..part of the experience with O

 

The staff were too busy rushing to clear tables of two through their dinners so they could seat the 2 ladies that probably did not have a reservation as they were sent away for a short time TWICE then returned

two other ladies were also seated & then fawned over by the wait staff while we wait for our main courses

so if you are younger, good looking female, & flirty (which I am none of the above ) you will get excellent service

 

Sorry for the rant but it annoys me when people say others are basically lying about THEIR experience when they have had great service

 

I have had good service but also have had very bad service

 

I have never said that I have not had bad service in the past as I have !! I realized that if you have had a complaint in the past as I did on my last cruise that all complaints are logged and when I returned this time.

 

The Maitre 'D knew as soon as I entered the restaurant that I had complained on my last cruise that the food was cold, he came to the table to tell be that my food would be piping hot !!

 

So if you have to wait along time make a strong complaint and you will not have problem in future.

 

My last words on this subject is that the 7 points complained about by the instigator of this thread are completely pathetic.

 

God forbid she had a paper towel in her soup that I was served on my cruise last December !!!

[quiltingdiva]

I have never said that I have not had bad service in the past as I have !! I realized that if you have had a complaint in the past as I did on my last cruise that all complaints are logged and when I returned this time.

 

The Maitre 'D knew as soon as I entered the restaurant that I had complained on my last cruise that the food was cold, he came to the table to tell be that my food would be piping hot !!

 

So if you have to wait along time make a strong complaint and you will not have problem in future.

 

My last words on this subject is that the 7 points complained about by the instigator of this thread are completely pathetic.

 

God forbid she had a paper towel in her soup that I was served on my cruise last December !!!

 

Newbie to Oceania here, but certainly not to cruising or fine dining. I have to say...that while issues important to OP may not be as important to you as...say...a paper towel in your soup (yikes!), they are nevertheless important! They are just facts relating to her dining experience. As a newbie, I appreciate all the info. I like knowing that I should check my oysters Rockefeller before I take a bite to see if there's a real oyster in there somewhere! I'm JK, mostly.:D

 

To be perfectly honest, I don't know if it's just the last few days of posts or something strange, like y'all don't have a moderator anymore?, but can ANYBODY play nice on this board? I just keep reading over and over snippy comments from so many frequent posters.

 

Yesterday I actually thought about cancelling our O cruise and going back to Celebrity over what I read on virtually every thread until DH reminded me that very few passengers are on CC. :eek:

 

I was really looking forward to meeting fellow passengers, but I will proceed with caution thru any Meet and Greet.

 

I've never used the ignore button-didn't even know it existed! I'm actually considering it now. And no, I don't need sanitized, Oooooh isn't Oceania just the BEST, posts. Just the quick deterioration into snippy sarcasm is what's finally getting to me.

 

Thank you for reading this,

[roger b]

....and praise was due to Jacques and RG.

 

I never said I would not return to Polo Grill because of just the sauce.I said I would not go back because we only have 7 nights dining.Fact...!

these are the facts and not my opinions of OUR experience.

Fact...Told there was no queen steak when clearly there were for others.

Fact..only one oyster in three shells

Fact...waiter thought it was funny when told about oysters.

Fact..mash was puree

Fact...vegetables had no garnish

Fact...Sauce was creamy despite being asked for an non creamy sauce.

Fact...no peppercorns in sauce.

with that batch of facts and other opinions we decided it was not our favourite restaurant so far..

We are off to Toscana tonight and now Im nervous of the next review!!

 

The points you have made :

 

No Queen steak it is quite possible these were pre ordered.

 

Only one oyster you should have asked for more or another portion.

 

Mash was a puree this is the modern way of serving mash and is served like this in Michelin star restaurants.

 

Vegetables had no garnish not sure what you wanted extra here, French beans in a dish need nothing on top.

 

Pepper sauce was creamy with no pepper corns , personally mine was not the greatest but I thought that's the way they serve it.

 

No excuse for he waiter laughing hope you told him it was not funny,

 

Sorry for my rant and do sincerely hope you do that you have an enjoyable cruise and the overall experience is great !!

[janecambridge]

Thank you everyone for your support.I will write tomorrow after our meal.I feel you have lost your way this thread roger,but never mind.Thanks for the best wishes..!!

👹

[ORV]

Okay, we've got that mystery solved. Since you've identified the item you were served as a Madeleine, your clue apparently was intended to describe the texture rather than the appearance.

 

Madeleines in green, blue, and orange colors has me puzzled. I know Madeleines can have a ribbed surface to emphasize their shell-like shape or a plain surface. But color? Not so much. I guess the Riviera chefs decided to take a page from the presentation for French macarons and tint the batter according to the flavoring.

 

For anyone who has been following this mini-thread with any lingering confusion, I've linked photographs of three sweet nibbles: Madeleines, French macarons, and Coconut macaroons. (The last two share a name and little else in the way of taste or texture.)

 

Being a Oceania regular I would have thought you would be familiar with these. I've had them in two or three restaurants, they're in the lounges and in Barristas.

 

I have seen light green Madelaines as well as chocolate

I think the chef's/cooks on O like to put their own touch on some things :D

 

Yes, there are three flavors of these, plain, maybe vanilla, chocolate, and I think the light green is pistachio. The lighting must have been odd in Jacques for Jane to think the chocolate one was blue.

[LHT28]

I have never said that I have not had bad service in the past as I have !! I realized that if you have had a complaint in the past as I did on my last cruise that all complaints are logged and when I returned this time.

 

!

 

Trust me we have complained & yes of course the service improved not only for that cruise but the next one as well

We had a gift from Oceania waiting in the cabin on the next cruise

The following cruises we were moved down the list so no special gifts :D

I can beat your papertowel story if we are have a p***Ing match ....how about raw chicken served in RG and a spring roll that tasted of cooking fluid (think sterno):eek:

maybe my complaints are pathetic as well since others on the same cruise never had the same issues

[tampadee]

How far ahead of the cruise are we allowed to book the restaurants? We've been on only one Oceania cruise.

[JimandStan]

How far ahead of the cruise are we allowed to book the restaurants? We've been on only one Oceania cruise.

 

How far in advance you are allowed to make restaurant reservations depends on the type of cabin which you are sailing in:

 

In order to Reserve Online, the Booking must be paid in full.

-The Online Dining Reservation System closes out at 7 days prior to each sailing's embarkation date.

 

For All Vessels:

• -Owner's, Vista and Oceania Suites may make reservations at 90 days out until 7 days prior to embarkation.
  
• Penthouse Suites may make reservations at 75 days out until 7 days prior to embarkation.
  
• Concierge Level Veranda Staterooms may make reservations at 60 days out until 7 days prior to embarkation.
  
• Veranda, Ocean View and Inside Staterooms may make reservations at 45 days out until 7 days prior to embarkation.
  

[tampadee]

How far in advance you are allowed to make restaurant reservations depends on the type of cabin which you are sailing in:

 

Thanks

[Cahpek]

To be perfectly honest, I don't know if it's just the last few days of posts or something strange, like y'all don't have a moderator anymore?, but can ANYBODY play nice on this board? I just keep reading over and over snippy comments from so many frequent posters.

 

Yesterday I actually thought about cancelling our O cruise and going back to Celebrity over what I read on virtually every thread until DH reminded me that very few passengers are on CC. :eek:

 

 

Thank you for reading this,

 

Dear "quiltingdiva", I understand what you mean - I have personally experienced being on the receiving end of people here who have been snippy and making unkind comments about me. Because they did not agree with my views or comments, I have been accused of being "ignorant", a "troll", and being asked to go back to the Third World, or something to that effect. All very unpleasant and personal - and at least one is a regular contributor to this discussion board. Sometimes, I feel they behave like bullies and they ought to be ashamed of themselves. (They know who they are). I do wish the moderators will take a closer view on these people as their negative behaviours do not help nor encourage others to contribute and share their views and experiences here.

I will not go down to their level (of these snippy people) and I still try my best to be respectful of all contributors here even if I do not agree with their views.

You will be right to think that there are relative few passengers here on CC who make comments (considering Oceania has possibly hundreds of thousands of passengers, if not millions), and besides, there are also many other nice people here on CC. In fact, most here, are really quite nice.

Edited August 28, 2016 by Cahpek

[RJB]

Dear "quiltingdiva", I understand what you mean - I have personally experienced being on the receiving end of people here who have been snippy and making unkind comments about me. Because they did not agree with my views or comments, I have been accused of being "ignorant", a "troll", and being asked to go back to the Third World, or something to that effect. All very unpleasant and personal - and at least one is a regular contributor to this discussion board. Sometimes, I feel they behave like bullies and they ought to be ashamed of themselves. (They know who they are). I do wish the moderators will take a closer view on these people as their negative behaviours do not help nor encourage others to contribute and share their views and experiences here.

I will not go down to their level (of these snippy people) and I still try my best to be respectful of all contributors here even if I do not agree with their views.

You will be right to think that there are relative few passengers here on CC who make comments (considering Oceania has possibly hundreds of thousands of passengers, if not millions), and besides, there are also many other nice people here on CC. In fact, most here, are really quite nice.

Agree 100% :):):)

[Cahpek]

 

To be perfectly honest, I don't know if it's just the last few days of posts or something strange, like y'all don't have a moderator anymore?, but can ANYBODY play nice on this board? I just keep reading over and over snippy comments from so many frequent posters.

 

Yesterday I actually thought about cancelling our O cruise and going back to Celebrity over what I read on virtually every thread until DH reminded me that very few passengers are on CC. :eek:

 

....Dear "quiltingdiva", to add to what I had said above, I assure you, from my experience, the vast majority of Oceania passengers are friendly and pleasant, so please don't cancel your cruise. Of course, I cannot guarantee that you will never come across any "awkward" passengers, but then, you could find those sorts anywhere in the world, not just on cruise liners! You just try and avoid them if you can.

Edited August 28, 2016 by Cahpek

[blambition]

Dear quiltingdiva, I know that you are booked on our cruise in February, please do not cancel! I assure you that my husband and I are very outgoing and extremely friendly people. We are looking forward to meeting you and your husband on our upcoming cruise. My girlfriend and my sister just came off of an Oceania Cruise and founf the passengers to be very enjoyable.

I agree with you that I have thought the same thing regarding a lot of the postings on this particular cruise critic board. Rather than just answering questions, it seems to me that the followers of Oceania can be both rude, and short with their answers. If someone ask a question that has been posted before, rather than just answering it they very quickly point out that it can be searched. Most of us know about the search engine, however it does not seem to come up with very good information. I have to say I have tried to research things on here with very little results. Having always been in businesses dealing with people, I do find that you get a lot farther with honey than with vinegar.

I would say the same goes for anything posted on these boards. My attitude is try to be helpful, and give good suggestions. Obviously a great suggestion would be to tell the maître d' of problems in the dining room at the time it happens, not complain on a board later on. If it was really truly that bad I doubt you would be a repeat passenger, especially at the upscale prices.

We go on cruises to relax and have a great time. If it takes an extra hour to get through the meal, we weren't trying to get anywhere quickly to begin with, so no real problem! Remember we are on vacation, what else could be better, than that?

Please don't cancel!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[quiltingdiva]

Dear quiltingdiva, I know that you are booked on our cruise in February, please do not cancel! I assure you that my husband and I are very outgoing and extremely friendly people. We are looking forward to meeting you and your husband on our upcoming cruise. My girlfriend and my sister just came off of an Oceania Cruise and founf the passengers to be very enjoyable.

I agree with you that I have thought the same thing regarding a lot of the postings on this particular cruise critic board. Rather than just answering questions, it seems to me that the followers of Oceania can be both rude, and short with their answers. If someone ask a question that has been posted before, rather than just answering it they very quickly point out that it can be searched. Most of us know about the search engine, however it does not seem to come up with very good information. I have to say I have tried to research things on here with very little results. Having always been in businesses dealing with people, I do find that you get a lot farther with honey than with vinegar.

I would say the same goes for anything posted on these boards. My attitude is try to be helpful, and give good suggestions. Obviously a great suggestion would be to tell the maître d' of problems in the dining room at the time it happens, not complain on a board later on. If it was really truly that bad I doubt you would be a repeat passenger, especially at the upscale prices.

We go on cruises to relax and have a great time. If it takes an extra hour to get through the meal, we weren't trying to get anywhere quickly to begin with, so no real problem! Remember we are on vacation, what else could be better, than that?

Please don't cancel!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I feel bad about writing again-hijacking the thread more than one time makes me worry I'm really out of line. But thank you for posting and we are definitely going! After my husband pointed out how few of us are actually on this board compared to total number of cruisers, I saw reason! And y'all sound great-we are definitely looking forward to meeting you!

 

thanks again,

[janecambridge]

Toscana...

very warm welcome on arrival.The bread choices were one of the best we have had on a cruise.We chose Sicilian olive oil,mine fruity and my husbands,spicy.We did not have the balsamic vinegar that came with it because we wanted to enjoy the oils flavours.

We started by sharing carpaccio of beef.Extremely thinly sliced and very tasty.Dusted with finely sliced Parmesan.I had ravioli for starters and my husband had fine pasta with garlic.For mains we had rack of lamb and crusted beef.Both cooked exactly how we liked it.My husband asked for a small side of tomato pasta and there was not a problem at all.We did not have dessert.Overall a very good meal once again,

As in one or two of the other restaurants,the sommeliers seem ultra busy and it was hard to catch one to ask for wine.But they were all pleasant.

Would definitely dine here again,given the opportunity to sail on Riviera in the future.

 

Once again thank you for your kind words,when one or two got a bit off track.We have met some lovely passengers of all nationalities.Nice quiet passengers on this cruise.

Safe travelling everyone...

[roger b]

Toscana...

very warm welcome on arrival.The bread choices were one of the best we have had on a cruise.We chose Sicilian olive oil,mine fruity and my husbands,spicy.We did not have the balsamic vinegar that came with it because we wanted to enjoy the oils flavours.

We started by sharing carpaccio of beef.Extremely thinly sliced and very tasty.Dusted with finely sliced Parmesan.I had ravioli for starters and my husband had fine pasta with garlic.For mains we had rack of lamb and crusted beef.Both cooked exactly how we liked it.My husband asked for a small side of tomato pasta and there was not a problem at all.We did not have dessert.Overall a very good meal once again,

As in one or two of the other restaurants,the sommeliers seem ultra busy and it was hard to catch one to ask for wine.But they were all pleasant.

Would definitely dine here again,given the opportunity to sail on Riviera in the future.

 

Once again thank you for your kind words,when one or two got a bit off track.We have met some lovely passengers of all nationalities.Nice quiet passengers on this cruise.

Safe travelling everyone...

 

Sorry that I did get a bit off track , I do genuinely do not like to upset anyone , so pleased that you had an enjoyable meal last night and you have a great time on the rest of your cruise .

[janecambridge]

Very much appreciated Roger,thank you.

We are just getting ready to try the Terrace for an evening meal,outside watching the sun set,sailing away from beautiful Croatia.

[nvgal]

We are just getting ready to try the Terrace for an evening meal,outside watching the sun set,sailing away from beautiful Croatia.

 

Terrace in the evening is one of my favorite venues to eat. I know it is buffet, however I like to be able to pick my food and this works great for me. I also like to be waited on, but I like to know what I am going to eat.

[janecambridge]

Terrace in the evening is one of my favorite venues to eat. I know it is buffet, however I like to be able to pick my food and this works great for me. I also like to be waited on, but I like to know what I am going to eat.

 

well I have to agree.what a wonderful dinner we had last night.Tapas starter,king crab,lobster,prwans and salad...extremely fresh,well presented and tasty.We have not stepped foot in the grand dining room and will probably do the terrace again tonight.

[Paulchili]

well I have to agree.what a wonderful dinner we had last night.Tapas starter,king crab,lobster,prwans and salad...extremely fresh,well presented and tasty.We have not stepped foot in the grand dining room and will probably do the terrace again tonight.

 

We too enjoy the Terrace for all 3 meals when not in the specialties. Some lunches at Waves.

MDR is sometimes for breakfast, rarely for lunch or dinner.

To each their own :)

Edited August 30, 2016 by Paulchili

[janecambridge]

Received a private message this morning from the maitre de in Polo Grill,saying he had booked us a table for tonight ( our final night) at 6pm.

We have kindly refused.Would have taken the reservation if we were on board longer..

 

On a seperate note,lunch in Terrace is lovely except for the loud music.Screeching female singers😀