Oceania Food v. Cunard Grills Food

[Classiccruiser777]

My wife and I are top tier Cunard cruisers and we have also cruised Oceania. On Cunard we have never been in the Grills. For those that have how does the food compare to Oceania's?

[Paulchili]

Our only Cunard cruise was in Princess Grill (upgraded at boarding).

Granted, it was several years ago on the old QM but the food was not even in the same class as Oceania's - no comparison at all. You could order almost anything with 24 hour notice but what good is it when the foie gras was like shoe leather :D

Service, on the other hand, was spectacular.

Things might have changed but personally I wouldn't count on it.

NOBODY at sea beats Oceania's food - not even Regent, Seabourn or Silversea. They might be better in some respect but not in food.

This, of course, is IMO.

As always, YMMV.

Edited November 4, 2016 by Paulchili

[StanandJim]

Our only Cunard cruise was in Princess Grill (upgraded at boarding).

Granted, it was several years ago on the old QM but the food was not even in the same class as Oceania's - no comparison at all. You could order almost anything with 24 hour notice but what good is it when the foie gras was like shoe leather :D

Service, on the other hand, was spectacular.

Things might have changed but personally I wouldn't count on it.

NOBODY at sea beats Oceania's food - not even Regent, Seabourn or Silversea. They might be better in some respect but not in food.

This, of course, is IMO.

As always, YMMV.

 

+1 with the solitary exception that foie gras service has never been anything short of spectacular for us on Cunard whilst we were sailing with them.

 

Staff in the grills have worked their way up through multiple lesser assignments, and the service is impeccable.

 

If I had to give an overview, I would say that the Grills on Cunard offer a far more structured, formal experience than Oceania.

 

You won't find a jam trolley at breakfast on Oceania, for example, and when Oceania offers Baron of Beef, it's carved in the kitchen, not tableside

 

The downside is that Cunard's brand of culinary excess is brilliant for the length of a crossing, but wearing for a longer voyage.

 

Oceania puts their food buying buck in exactly the correct place for the way that people eat in 2016.

[janecambridge]

We have sailed a few Cunard cruises in a Balcony (Queen Victoria) and one Oceania cruise.

Last November,for a special treat and hard work to save,we did Princess Grill on Victoria.We were bitterly disappointed with the food.Cold,tasteless plates of food and little on them.We had eaten a lot better in Britannia restaurant.Service was poor too,having had the most miserable waitress.(our table had been the same throughout the short cruise).

On return I read a lot about the food in the Grills on CC.There had been a steep decline when we went but apparently it has improved.Sadly it will take a lot for us to try again.The separate lounge for Grills passengers was great as it was so quiet,but I would not pay all that money again just for a lounge.

We preferred general dining room food on Princess and Regent,by far.But so far Oceania is our favourite.

There is a separate outside dining area for Grills passengers but the weather was poor on our trip.

[Marmaduke]

The Grills have a set menu every night, similar to that offered in the main dining room, the main difference being that the cuts of meat tend to be superior on the grill menu e.g. filet steak as opposed to sirloin. Most nights there is also an a la carte menu available with a lot of table side cooking e.g. flambe. As Stan and Jim have said, Grills dining is a far more formal and structured experience, and you have the same table every night. There is an outdoor dining area called the Courtyard but it is very enclosed. Being in the Grill gives a small ship experience with access to large ship facilities e.g. wider range of entertainment. Although the Grills are nice I prefer cruising on Oceania as they have better itineraries and it is less formal.

[wripro]

Our only Cunard cruise was in Princess Grill (upgraded at boarding).

Granted, it was several years ago on the old QM but the food was not even in the same class as Oceania's - no comparison at all. You could order almost anything with 24 hour notice but what good is it when the foie gras was like shoe leather :D

Service, on the other hand, was spectacular.

Things might have changed but personally I wouldn't count on it.

NOBODY at sea beats Oceania's food - not even Regent, Seabourn or Silversea. They might be better in some respect but not in food.

This, of course, is IMO.

As always, YMMV.

 

And I respect your opinion but respectfully disagree. Yes, in Jacques or Red Ginger the food is excellent but I find the food in the GDR to be average at best. On the luxury lines you can special order anything you want from Foie Gras to a complete Indian feast and they will prepare it for you. Food is always a subjective matter so the on;y thing that really counts is one's own opinion.

[StanandJim]

And I respect your opinion but respectfully disagree. Yes, in Jacques or Red Ginger the food is excellent but I find the food in the GDR to be average at best. On the luxury lines you can special order anything you want from Foie Gras to a complete Indian feast and they will prepare it for you. Food is always a subjective matter so the on;y thing that really counts is one's own opinion.

 

The term average is also very subjective, and if you're calling Oceania's Grand Dining Room food "average", then you cannot be taking into consideration the offerings of RCCL, Princess, HAL, Costa, or Cunard below Grill Class.

 

I would also posite, that the vast majority who read this would be mortified at the thought of creating a brand new meal off the top of their head, and that -absent the five day transatlantic grind of erstwhile Queens Mary and Elizabeth, freshness, storage and availability make the "order anything" promise more fanciful than real.

 

Cunard offers a much grander dining experience in Grill class, but I honestly feel that Oceania's quality is significantly better.

Edited November 4, 2016 by StanandJim

[Willem Ruys]

The slop disguised as food offered to us for 31 nights in the QUEENS GRILL in the QUEEN VICTORIA in 2011 was so bad and the service so nasty in the QUEEN MARY 2 few months later from Hamburg to New York has kept us off Cunard since then. I KNOW Cunard has its fans but we are not among them any longer (We MET in a Cunard ship in 1989. Friends of ours who traveled with and without us in the QM2 and QV concur with our rough assessment of Cunard Grill food. Even one stranger, a Briton, on the last night of my 60th Birthday cruise (in QG in the QM2) stopped by us as we were about to leave the Grill to mention: "Do you KNOW that we've been eating sh*t?" I laughed and said "YUP!" and don't ask me why room service in the QV one afternoon brought us a vacuum cleaner when I clearly had ordered two cans of Fanta orange.

Edited November 4, 2016 by Willem Ruys

[kitty9]

We cruised on the QM2 in a QG suite and were very disappointed in the food. When you pay that kind of money, you expect a different menu than what's found in Britannia, but that's what we had. Yes, you have the ala carte menu in the QG, and they will make special items, but our wait staff was so curt and downright rude that we didn't bother. Actually, we found the service throughout the ship to be very lacking from the waitress in one bar admonishing a passenger for bringing an ashtray from the casino into "her" bar, to the lady at the help desk in the computer center who told me to figure it out myself when I asked for assistance in starting a computer account.

 

We've found the staff on Oceania to be wonderful and the food in all the restaurants to be excellent.

[Hawaiidan]

Our only Cunard cruise was in Princess Grill (upgraded at boarding).

Granted, it was several years ago on the old QM but the food was not even in the same class as Oceania's - no comparison at all. You could order almost anything with 24 hour notice but what good is it when the foie gras was like shoe leather :D

Service, on the other hand, was spectacular.

Things might have changed but personally I wouldn't count on it.

NOBODY at sea beats Oceania's food - not even Regent, Seabourn or Silversea. They might be better in some respect but not in food.

This, of course, is IMO.

As always, YMMV.

 

Food can be subjective...to a point. Oceania has from a professional trained viewpoint the finest quality provisions, Their kitchens are exceptional and food in every venue, for its style is exceptional. The main dining room food and service is vastly superior to the Specialty restaurants of most other top tier mainstream lines ( CELRB, HAL, Viking).... That is not subjective but a professional level objective observation based on mu observation on some 7 cruises with then, and based on professional training by Cordon Blu and Culinary Institute of America in Napa...along withbout 30 years of dining across the globe.

No other ship and darn few land based highclass dining establishments, either in Europe or America are going to come even close... I would say O rates just on the cusp of Michelin 1 star mm( remember there are only 3 stars in that system)

Having eaten a lot in UK, I am in agreement that it is a very formal or structured thing, where the theater of the meal surpasses the substance.

[janecambridge]

[quote name=

Having eaten a lot in UK, I am in agreement that it is a very formal or structured thing, where the theater of the meal surpasses the substance.[/quote]

 

Try our restaurants now.Cordon Blu is old hat and no longer exists except in low key seaside eateries.Over the last 10 years or so our restaurants have improved dramatically and can take on the best of them.The restaurant that has been awarded best in the UK for the last 4 years is run by a local lad who believes,like so many here,that local fresh organic produce is used.Providence.Everywhere..

I have no formal training in cooking,like so many really top level chefs,from all over the globe,but I was involved in a particular ratings industry.so what? As said,food is subjective all over the world.

In my opinion the Spanish being the best.

But I do agree that Cunard grills was one of the worse cruise ship restaurants we ate in and Red ginger one of the best.

[ronrick1943]

Sorry but I'd disagree also, the food on "O" is really good. But no Michellin Star for "O". And I have to say I've had better meals on SilverSeas, but don't like the formal fill.

But will be trying Regent soon - we'll see about them.

Rick

[SellaVee]

Having eaten a lot in UK, I am in agreement that it is a very formal or structured thing, where the theater of the meal surpasses the substance.

 

I would agree with both Jane and ronrick.

[Paulchili]

And I have to say I've had better meals on SilverSeas, but don't like the formal fill.

 

Rick

 

Not to nitpick, but....better meals and consistently better food overall in all dining venues are two different things.

I've had excellent meals on several cruise lines but not better food overall than on Oceania. JME.

As always, YMMV and I understand that food is highly subjective :D

Edited November 8, 2016 by Paulchili

[blondietoo]

Sorry but I'd disagree also, the food on "O" is really good. But no Michellin Star for "O". And I have to say I've had better meals on SilverSeas, but don't like the formal fill.

But will be trying Regent soon - we'll see about them.

Rick

 

I agree with you Rick...food is very good on O but better on Silversea(also more expensive!)

[Hawaiidan]

Of British changes in cooking but a lot of 8 for 8:30 does exist...

 

I reveled in John Toveys Miller Howe back in the 70's who ushered in the whole new wave along with the Box tree, Waterside and Fat Duck.... But it still is in a british traditional format as I see it. On the other hand, British tradition , ambiance and products, demand a certain stage to be set for true British experience....it is a pleasure not a detractor to so dine.

 

Cordon Blu.... is not dead and is a world standard of culinary practice...almost every Michelin star chef has been or ascribed to that quality of training Our CIA is a Cordon Blu of America...

 

As I mentioned O is not Michelin star but very much on the cusp of that level....

[Silver Sweethearts]

Cordon Blu.... is not dead and is a world standard of culinary practice...almost every Michelin star chef has been or ascribed to that quality of training Our CIA is a Cordon Blu of America...

 

We must be missing something here, as you continually refer to Le Cordon Bleu as Blu. Since you have mentioned you attended same, which is it?