Gala dinners?

[chrismch]

In other cruiselines, usually the first and last sea days are gala dinners for the dress up nights. Since "O" doesn't have formal nights are there any nights the MDR offers a better than normal dining experience? We love the specialty dining but wonder if we are missing something we shouldn't.

[JimandStan]

Dining on Oceania is very low key. There are not any gala nights.

Menus in the GDR rotate, but the quality is always high.

[Cruseforme]

You didn't say if you are on a Holiday Cruise. If you are making your online reservations, there are no differences on which night you choose from a special dinner point of view, except for during the Holidays (and that, for the most part is personal preference). Enjoy some meals in the GDR, but also try out the terrace for more choices! Menus are delivered the night before on the R ships (Regatta, Nautica, etc), and on the Riviera/Marina, the Dinner menus are posted that day after lunch.

[Mura]

I agree with J&S. Of course, if you are traveling during a special holiday time -- like Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's -- there can be special menus.

 

What is better than a gala dinner (IMO) though are the occasional super-brunches that occur. They don't happen on every cruise! And I had been thinking that they were generally on a Sunday morning, but maybe that was because the one time we had encountered one before was on Marina, and it was Sunday.

 

But on our recent Copenhagen-Southampton cruise on Nautica we had one and I think that was mid-week. PROBABLY (if not assuredly) on a sea day, it certainly wasn't on Sunday.

 

These are really special and if your cruise has one -- bring your camera! Not necessarily to take a picture of your plate, more to take a picture of the whole set-up. It's quite spectacular.

 

Not to mention delicious ...

 

However, if you want something as basic as an omelet, you have to ask the waiter to have the kitchen make it for you! While they usually have an omelet station in Terrace, and you can always order them in the GDR for an ordinary breakfast, at least on Nautica they had to be special ordered at the brunch.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

In the early years they did have a special Captains dinner complete with the sorbet inbetween courses

 

You did not really dress up like other lines with Formal nights but it did seem a bit more special than normal nights in the GDR

Things change like everything in life ;)

[LHT28]

On the longer cruise they will have a Gala Tea

be sure to check it out the Chef's do an amazing job with desserts ;)

 

 

 

[chrismch]

I like the idea of a gala lunch buffet and would like to see one of those.

[bitob]

I am not a fan of the gala brunches but the special gala tea is spectacular, particularly on marina and riviera. Not to be missed.

 

 

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[GeorgesGal]

Even the every day tea is wonderful. Can't wait for my scones with jam and clotted cream!

 

But back to omlettes: can I order one with crabmeat and brie in the Terrace or GDR for breakfast?

[RJB]

I like the idea of a gala lunch buffet and would like to see one of those.

They do a lot of these on Crystal on sea days. They are great. Al themed from different areas of the world. Would be nice for O to do a few of them. :):):)

[Hawaiidan]

Even the every day tea is wonderful. Can't wait for my scones with jam and clotted cream!

 

But back to omlettes: can I order one with crabmeat and brie in the Terrace or GDR for breakfast?

 

 

Sorry...they have about everything else you could dream of

[LHT28]

But back to omlettes: can I order one with crabmeat and brie in the Terrace or GDR for breakfast?

 

Just ask

If they can do it they will make it for you

[Hawaiidan]

Dining on Oceania is very low key. There are not any gala nights.

Menus in the GDR rotate, but the quality is always high.

 

For Gala nights you should look at Holland America and Crystal, which is what you seek if you want theme, galas and ship wide party nights O is more casual, her passengers in the past have enjoyed such doings but moved on to more important, to them, cruising..

 

No captains welcome dinner, farwell dinner, special anything dinner or lunch or brunch... ( I can not ever remember a brunch) No waiters parade no baked alaska.... no costumes... just the pleasure of a classic ocean trave experience.

 

As jim and Stan put it so well, the meals in all venues Grand Dining room , even the Terrace are special every night and the focus is on fine cuisine and fine conversation with ones shipmates... Its not about dressing up to impress. People dress nice every meal, you just will not find them going to the great lengths . Mind you if you choose to dress to the 9's in gowns, gloves and tuxes... no one will criticize you either...Last week in Insignia about 50-60% of the men wore a blazer to dinner maybe 2% a tie.

[Hawaiidan]

Dining on Oceania is very low key. There are not any gala nights.

Menus in the GDR rotate, but the quality is always high.

 

For Gala nights you should look at Holland America and Crystal, which is what you seek if you want theme, galas and ship wide party nights O is more casual, her passengers in the past have enjoyed such doings but moved on to more important, to them, cruising..

 

No captains welcome dinner, farwell dinner, special anything dinner or lunch or brunch... ( I can not ever remember a brunch) No waiters parade no baked alaska.... no costumes... just the pleasure of a classic ocean trave experience.

 

As jim and Stan put it so well, the meals in all venues Grand Dining room , even the Terrace are special every night and the focus is on fine cuisine and fine conversation with ones shipmates... Its not about dressing up to impress. People dress nice every meal, you just will not find them going to the great lengths . Mind you if you choose to dress to the 9's in gowns, gloves and tuxes... no one will criticize you either...Last week in Insignia about 50-60% of the men wore a blazer to dinner maybe 2% a tie.

 

The menu for lunch and dinner come out in the evening the night before so you wont have to wonder, each day they feature a special menu of Taste of the World in addition to the rotating menus which never seem to repeat in a 3 week cruise... This is new having the next days offerings to read without running all over the ship to read postings

[RJB]

For Gala nights you should look at Holland America and Crystal, which is what you seek if you want theme, galas and ship wide party nights O is more casual, her passengers in the past have enjoyed such doings but moved on to more important, to them, cruising..

 

No captains welcome dinner, farwell dinner, special anything dinner or lunch or brunch... ( I can not ever remember a brunch) No waiters parade no baked alaska.... no costumes... just the pleasure of a classic ocean trave experience.

 

As jim and Stan put it so well, the meals in all venues Grand Dining room , even the Terrace are special every night and the focus is on fine cuisine and fine conversation with ones shipmates... Its not about dressing up to impress. People dress nice every meal, you just will not find them going to the great lengths . Mind you if you choose to dress to the 9's in gowns, gloves and tuxes... no one will criticize you either...Last week in Insignia about 50-60% of the men wore a blazer to dinner maybe 2% a tie.

 

The menu for lunch and dinner come out in the evening the night before so you wont have to wonder, each day they feature a special menu of Taste of the World in addition to the rotating menus which never seem to repeat in a 3 week cruise... This is new having the next days offerings to read without running all over the ship to read postings

In the past Oceania has done a gala brunch on the last sea day in the MDR. It is wonderful when they do it, but on a lot of cruises there are not many or no sea days.

[Hawaiidan]

In the past Oceania has done a gala brunch on the last sea day in the MDR. It is wonderful when they do it, but on a lot of cruises there are not many or no sea days.

 

Well on a trans atlantic with 7 sea days in a row, there was none.. in Insignia

[RJB]

Well on a trans atlantic with 7 sea days in a row, there was none.. in Insignia

Out out 10 cruises for us maybe 3 or 4. Hit or miss. Lovely when they occur. If not no big deal. :):):)

[ORV]

I've been to the Gala brunches before on Oceania. Also they generally do one Gala Tea party.

[Queen of DaNile]

A Gala Tea on Marina last year. It was lovely.

 

[RJB]

I've been to the Gala brunches before on Oceania. Also they generally do one Gala Tea party.

Thank you very much. I was beginning to think I was loosing my mind and was the only one to go to a gala brunch. :):):)

[Paulchili]

We had one of those wonderful lunches on our Nautica cruise this June/July.

It was mostly a Norway cruise with 5 sea days (none were consecutive). The lunch was towards the end on one of the few sea days between Bergen & Amsterdam - a very nice affair.

So - it doesn't have to be on a cruise with many sea days, but it is usually on a longer cruise.

[Queen of DaNile]

Thank you very much. I was beginning to think I was loosing my mind and was the only one to go to a gala brunch. :):):)

 

You're not losing your mind. :D Proof of brunch in the Marina Grand Dining Room. Not a sea day but one where she docked at noon in Klaipeda.

 

 

[RJB]

You're not losing your mind. :D Proof of brunch in the Marina Grand Dining Room. Not a sea day but one where she docked at noon in Klaipeda.

 

 

Great pictures. Thanks. Just as I remember them.

[ronrick1943]

WOW! the Brunch do indeed look good (Great), in 8 "O" cruises we've never had one. However the Gala Dinners, "O" not having those is one of the very reasons we cruised "O".

[Paulchili]

deleted - attempting picture downloads - no luck so far :D]

Edited October 5, 2016 by Paulchili