Vista restaurants revealed

[DoulaAnn]

On 8/12/2021 at 10:56 AM, tvmovielover said:

I thought Jacques was a favorite of many though it is my least favorite of the 4 current specialty restaurants.  They can honor his past contributions by serving some of his favorites in the  GDR and try something else.

Concur completely. The Dover Sole is great in there, but I find little else appealing (oh, other than Crepes Suzette).  

[ChadnKate]

12 hours ago, DoulaAnn said:

Concur completely. The Dover Sole is great in there, but I find little else appealing (oh, other than Crepes Suzette).  

The Dover Sole is better in Toscana. 

[ChadnKate]

For our cruise starting on Vista on May 20th, we just made our 4 specialty dining reservations. They popped up online at midnight EST, 75 days before the cruise. Earliest available on any night was at 6:30 although on one CC forum someone said they got 6:00 time slots. Going to try Ember our first night. 

[pinotlover]

On 8/12/2021 at 12:56 PM, tvmovielover said:

I have taken classes and seen Jacques Pepin since the 80s.  I like him and his food and he certainly helped O's food reputation but ! I thought Jacques was a favorite of many though it is my least favorite of the 4 current specialty restaurants.  They can honor his past contributions by serving some of his favorites in the  GDR and try something else.

 

Last night, we did the new Bourgeoisie Dinner in La Reserve. They gave Pepin credit for the original menu but plainly said they had “ moved on” from his recipes. The new menu is fantastic and far far superior in both food and wines presented to the original menu. 
 

I’m guessing Jacques has a date stamp even on the O ships.

[ORV]

31 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Last night, we did the new Bourgeoisie Dinner in La Reserve. They gave Pepin credit for the original menu but plainly said they had “ moved on” from his recipes. The new menu is fantastic and far far superior in both food and wines presented to the original menu. 
 

I’m guessing Jacques has a date stamp even on the O ships.

Good to hear as we're doing that one next week. 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Last night, we did the new Bourgeoisie Dinner in La Reserve. They gave Pepin credit for the original menu but plainly said they had “ moved on” from his recipes. The new menu is fantastic and far far superior in both food and wines presented to the original menu. 
 

I’m guessing Jacques has a date stamp even on the O ships.

I did not think the Vista was sailing yet ??

 

 Maybe they are changing up the menus for those that have done the La Reserve a number of times 

JMO

[DoulaAnn]

10 hours ago, pinotlover said:

Last night, we did the new Bourgeoisie Dinner in La Reserve. They gave Pepin credit for the original menu but plainly said they had “ moved on” from his recipes. The new menu is fantastic and far far superior in both food and wines presented to the original menu. 
 

I’m guessing Jacques has a date stamp even on the O ships.

Was Bourgeoisie Dinner the $150 it was for us? If so, was it worth the extra $60 over what it had been last year? I know food costs have gone up, but not 66%.

[JeffElizabeth]

On 8/14/2021 at 6:12 PM, Godblessourhome said:

Red Ginger is our favourite!!  I know, everybody's taste is different!!  Our friends took the cruise with us all because of Red Ginger!!!!

We were blown away by how good Red Ginger was on our first Oceania cruise 5 years ago, better than our Asian restaurants back home. Our cruise in April 2022? Mediocre.  

[ORV]

Reading back to page 1 in this thread I see that I was wrong again. That happens. 

[pinotlover]

17 hours ago, DoulaAnn said:

Was Bourgeoisie Dinner the $150 it was for us? If so, was it worth the extra $60 over what it had been last year? I know food costs have gone up, but not 66%.

I booked it about 6 months ago, before the price hike. I believe it was around $120+ grats. It’s now $180 all in.

 

You asked a subjective question, but it is an outstanding evening. The food and wine quality surpasses that of the old Connisuer (sp) Dinner that was higher priced. 

[Divetripnow]

On 8/13/2021 at 2:41 PM, 1985rz1 said:

 

I agree with Paul that Jacques is my favorite restaurant on Oceania, and I'm saddened by its elimination on the new Vista.  Even if (some) menu items from Jacques will be on the GDR, eating in Jacques was about more than just the food.  The ambiance, the small venue, and the personalized service all contributed to a French Bistro like experience.  That will be missing in the GDR.

I agree with disappointment over no Jacques. Was our favorite specialty restaurant and difficult to add reservations even staying in penthouse suite. 

[Divetripnow]

On 3/7/2023 at 4:54 PM, pinotlover said:

I booked it about 6 months ago, before the price hike. I believe it was around $120+ grats. It’s now $180 all in.

 

You asked a subjective question, but it is an outstanding evening. The food and wine quality surpasses that of the old Connisuer (sp) Dinner that was higher priced. 

I agree, outstanding evening, great guests, worth the price!!

[ChadnKate]

Here is a copy of the Sample Embers Menu

 

 

ember-dinner-menu.pdf

[PirateShark]

2 hours ago, ChadnKate said:

Here is a copy of the Sample Embers Menu

 

 

ember-dinner-menu.pdf 77.58 kB · 42 downloads

Thank you for posting the Ember menu.  You can put me in the disappointed camp as the items on offer we can get anywhere at a dozen restaurants daily in Salem.  I mean, Cheeseburgers and French Dips? 😒

[Woofa]

But look.  Skinny fries with the fish and chips.  Maybe they read the thread where so many pressed a desire for smaller French fries...

In all seriousness, seeing this menu for the first time leads me to believe that it was created, as was the restaurant, to start bringing in a younger, monied crowd on the new ships for the future.

Its just my opinion but this reminds me of a certain type of modern restaurant which tries (not always successfully,) to please everyone.  

Of course this is only a first view and time will often bring changes and updates.  Already missing is the swordfish I had heard would be served.

Certainly those of us who enjoyed a restaurant like Jacques will not enjoy this as a substitution but I would like to think Oceania will do this well.

Time will tell but I think we can all be happy the O ships will have all four specialties.  Choices are great things to have!

[AMHuntFerry]

It looks like a brew pub style menu to me. Maybe that means they'll add some higher end beer and cider? The lack of vegetarian options may hurt when it comes to attracting the younger crowd (assuming GenX and younger), but I'm not in the cruise/food business so really have no clue.

[pinotlover]

This menu was discussed on our Marina cruise by several. The consensus is that this restaurant, and its menu, is designed for that multitude of Oceania cruisers that want to be served ( no diy buffet line), but also wants to eat in 30-40 minutes and exit. 
 

Sit Down Fast Food on Oceania. 
 

Will probably never go there myself, but I’m sure all those complaining about 1.5 + hour meals and other people ordering 4+ courses will be thrilled with this new option. Something for everyone.

[PirateShark]

37 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

This menu was discussed on our Marina cruise by several. The consensus is that this restaurant, and its menu, is designed for that multitude of Oceania cruisers that want to be served ( no diy buffet line), but also wants to eat in 30-40 minutes and exit. 
 

Sit Down Fast Food on Oceania. 
 

Will probably never go there myself, but I’m sure all those complaining about 1.5 + hour meals and other people ordering 4+ courses will be thrilled with this new option. Something for everyone.

While this makes sense, the fact they call this a "specialty" restaurant that we must use as one of our precious reservations for is a little irksome.  I may be in a minority apparently but taking time at dinner over food and conversation (with a good bottle of wine) is a luxury to us.  I just feel like this is a dumbing down of their dining.  The pizzeria/trattoria sounds much better for a quick meal and no reservations.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out but will try it once to be fair.  

[LHT28]

7 minutes ago, PirateShark said:

While this makes sense, the fact they call this a "specialty" restaurant that we must use as one of our precious reservations for is a little irksome.  I may be in a minority apparently but taking time at dinner over food and conversation (with a good bottle of wine) is a luxury to us.  I just feel like this is a dumbing down of their dining.  The pizzeria/trattoria sounds much better for a quick meal and no reservations.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out but will try it once to be fair.  

Maybe it will work like the other ships  where you might be able to get extra reservations in the other Specialties  & just skip Ember

We often do not use all our specialty reservations & some people eat in the Terrace  and never go to the GDR

I am sure  there will be people that will like the  new restaurant & others may not

 

 

[Divetripnow]

Disappointed with the menu choices. This isn’t a “specialty restaurant “. Maybe after having a delicious lunch on shore, you’ll be happy with this pub choice. Not sure what to think??

[jennybenny]

I'll give Ember a try towards the end of the cruise (when I reserved it), but if something looks better elsewhere (GDR) then I will cancel. 

[schmerl]

On 3/8/2023 at 8:25 PM, Divetripnow said:

I agree with disappointment over no Jacques. Was our favorite specialty restaurant and difficult to add reservations even staying in penthouse suite. 

 

We also love Jacques. The escargot is fantastic as is the Dover sole. I also had a wonderful veal chop there. Then there is the  mille-feuille for dessert. 

We managed to get three reservations at Jacques on our recent cruise on Riviera. 

[ChadnKate]

1 hour ago, jennybenny said:

I'll give Ember a try towards the end of the cruise (when I reserved it), but if something looks better elsewhere (GDR) then I will cancel. 

We reserved it for the first day (May 20th) of the cruise. We will have been staying and eating for 3 days in Venice and then traveling to and then exploring Vista. So we thought that this might be nice to try then. Have the others we are so familiar with later in the cruise. 
So much to eat. So little time!

[Divetripnow]

Yikes! After eating 3 days in Venice. It’s bound to be a let down. Please write and let us know your thoughts after eating in Embers.

[ChadnKate]

22 minutes ago, Divetripnow said:

Yikes! After eating 3 days in Venice. It’s bound to be a let down. Please write and let us know your thoughts after eating in Embers.

Yes and what a 3 days: the Arva at the Aman Hotel once, the Club del Doge at the Gritti Palace twice. Plus everything else …..  bringing some bigger belts. 
will post about Embers.