Food quality post COVID?

[LB_NJ]

I was wondering how the food quality has been post COVID?

 

I was on an Oceania cruise pre-COVID and thought the food was good however I wonder if it has gone downhill.

 

The reason I ask is that some other cruise lines (eg, Royal) seem to be having intermittent quality problems.

[PhD-iva]

I was very happy with the food overall in November 2021 for a transAtlantic from Rome to Miami on Riviera. It was a great cruise, and I really have no complaints about anything except the Miami airport! AUGH! 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, LB_NJ said:

I was wondering how the food quality has been post COVID?

 

I was on an Oceania cruise pre-COVID and thought the food was good however I wonder if it has gone downhill.

 

The reason I ask is that some other cruise lines (eg, Royal) seem to be having intermittent quality problems.

Most recent O cruise was this past January (2022). Food was as great as usual except for my beloved multi-grain rolls, which suffered slightly from not enough poppy seeds (due to a worldwide supply chain issue). Pictured is the traditional one. 

[firsttimers68]

I found the food as good as ever on my trip in April. I'd forgotten just how good the Colonnade evening buffet is. I did find the GDR as disappointing as ever though.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, firsttimers68 said:

I found the food as good as ever on my trip in April. I'd forgotten just how good the Colonnade evening buffet is. I did find the GDR as disappointing as ever though.

Colonnade? What Colonnade? Which Oceania ship are you talking about?

[Cruise Wonderland]

The Colonnade is the buffet restaurant on Seabourn ships.

[firsttimers68]

Apologies! Having just done 3 cruises on 3 different lines I am getting brain fuzz! Obviously I mean Terrace Cafe on Riviera!

[iowananny]

We just returned from the Istanbul to Barcelona cruise on the Sirena.  I wasn't impressed with the food.  We had been on the transatlantic with Robin in November and I thought the food was very good.  But this time I realized that Oceania's food is the same old same old every cruise and this was just our third cruise.

 

We like the Taste of the World in the Grand Dining Room but with our cruise being very port intensive it wasn't open very often.  We like the Terrace but there were two nights of Greek food and two nights of Italian food and both of them had the same menu for two nights straight.  And some of the Greek food was just plain bad.  The leg of lamb roast was inedible yet they brought it out two nights in a row.

 

Breakfasts are always the same and Waves never changes.

 

We were quarantined for six days and were offered room service and dining room food.  It was pretty much awful.  Quite a few people tested positive in Israel and I think room service was overwhelmed.  The food was always cold and we ended up eating a lot of bread and cheese.  The room service menu is fine for a day or two but past that it's not that good.  Their pizza is just plain awful.  We were offered Grand Dining Room food but the person who answered the phone often could not understand our order and we ended up with a lot of things we never ordered and not what we wanted.  

 

We did have a reservation for Tuscano and when I called to cancel it I was given an offer to order it to our room that night.  It was the best meal we had in our room but it is the same food we'd had from Tuscano on our previous cruise.  All menus on the ship were things we had before and I would like to see Oceania mix it up a bit and try something new.  I don't want to take 20 cruises on the same line just to get perks and eat the same food over and over.  I want a different experience every time I cruise especially culinary wise.

 

We'll take the cruise to the Caribbean we have booked for this January to use the credits we received for being quarantined but then we're going to look for something different.

 

We'll also not return to Europe until this Covid thing is over.  All the electronic paperwork makes it not worth it and the hundreds of dollars spent on testing.  We had 11 covid tests.  2 positive and 9 negative.  Something is just not right.

[PhD-iva]

1 hour ago, iowananny said:

We just returned from the Istanbul to Barcelona cruise on the Sirena.  I wasn't impressed with the food.  We had been on the transatlantic with Robin in November and I thought the food was very good.  But this time I realized that Oceania's food is the same old same old every cruise and this was just our third cruise.

 

We like the Taste of the World in the Grand Dining Room but with our cruise being very port intensive it wasn't open very often.  We like the Terrace but there were two nights of Greek food and two nights of Italian food and both of them had the same menu for two nights straight.  And some of the Greek food was just plain bad.  The leg of lamb roast was inedible yet they brought it out two nights in a row.

 

Breakfasts are always the same and Waves never changes.

 

We were quarantined for six days and were offered room service and dining room food.  It was pretty much awful.  Quite a few people tested positive in Israel and I think room service was overwhelmed.  The food was always cold and we ended up eating a lot of bread and cheese.  The room service menu is fine for a day or two but past that it's not that good.  Their pizza is just plain awful.  We were offered Grand Dining Room food but the person who answered the phone often could not understand our order and we ended up with a lot of things we never ordered and not what we wanted.  

 

We did have a reservation for Tuscano and when I called to cancel it I was given an offer to order it to our room that night.  It was the best meal we had in our room but it is the same food we'd had from Tuscano on our previous cruise.  All menus on the ship were things we had before and I would like to see Oceania mix it up a bit and try something new.  I don't want to take 20 cruises on the same line just to get perks and eat the same food over and over.  I want a different experience every time I cruise especially culinary wise.

 

We'll take the cruise to the Caribbean we have booked for this January to use the credits we received for being quarantined but then we're going to look for something different.

 

We'll also not return to Europe until this Covid thing is over.  All the electronic paperwork makes it not worth it and the hundreds of dollars spent on testing.  We had 11 covid tests.  2 positive and 9 negative.  Something is just not right.

Iowananny, sorry to hear things didn’t work out well for you. I’ve tried texting you a couple of times. My email is in my signature. Drop me a line!

[pinotlover]

I have a question for those recent cruisers.

 

If one is in a PH or above, and;

 

If one tests positive for Covid, and thus quarantined, then:

 

Do they lose or maintain their privileges of en-suite dining from the Specialties at dinner?

 

Seems to me their butler could deliver the food to their door regardless.

[Harters]

4 hours ago, iowananny said:

We just returned from the Istanbul to Barcelona cruise on the Sirena.  I wasn't impressed with the food. 

That's a depressing report - as we're on Sirena shortly.

 

Sorry to hear of the quarantine. We've managed to avoid Covid so far and it would be  a real pain to catch it on holiday.

 

I'm unsure what the hassle might be about the electronic paperwork. There's O's online check-in form to complete. And we need to download our vaccination status but that's it. Nothing needed to enter France or Spain, which are our ports of call. And we need to get our antigen test done for boarding as O's requirement. No further tests needed to enter EU countries unless you are from one of the handful of high risk countries. 

[LHT28]

6 hours ago, iowananny said:

We just returned from the Istanbul to Barcelona cruise on the Sirena.  I wasn't impressed with the food.  We had been on the transatlantic with Robin in November and I thought the food was very good.  But this time I realized that Oceania's food is the same old same old every cruise and this was just our third cruise.

 

 

They usually do not change up the menus often  especially in the Specialty restaurants

 maybe every couple of years they update the  GDR menus  sometimes they just add a few new dishes

 

[davencl]

Food on the Riviera in January was terrific.  Prime beef steak and maine lobster every night at Terrace cafe if you so chose...    Specialties were good also.   

[ORV]

4 hours ago, davencl said:

Food on the Riviera in January was terrific.  Prime beef steak and maine lobster every night at Terrace cafe if you so chose...    Specialties were good also.   

Not denying it's terrific, but Prime beef and Maine Lobster it's not. Not sure who told you that. 

[davencl]

18 minutes ago, ORV said:

Not denying it's terrific, but Prime beef and Maine Lobster it's not. Not sure who told you that. 

So you're saying the posted placard's in the Terrace cafe are not correct???

Note this was on the January 2022 cruise to the southern Caribbean.  Likely not always Maine Lobster.

Edited May 27, 2022 by davencl

[ORV]

16 minutes ago, davencl said:

So you're saying the posted placard's in the Terrace cafe are not correct???

Note this was on the January 2022 cruise to the southern Caribbean.  Likely not always Maine Lobster.

Historically it's been Florida warm water small lobsters and sirloin steak. The Prime beef and Maine lobster is usually in Polo, and Jacques and maybe a Toscano dish. I personally haven't been on Oceania post covid, but I'd sure love to see a picture of those placards. That would be a step up in quality from the past. Sometimes they might have a special night, but I would expect to see something like that more in the Maritimes or cruises that hit Maine. 

[davencl]

5 minutes ago, ORV said:

Historically it's been Florida warm water small lobsters and sirloin steak. The Prime beef and Maine lobster is usually in Polo, and Jacques and maybe a Toscano dish. I personally haven't been on Oceania post covid, but I'd sure love to see a picture of those placards. That would be a step up in quality from the past. Sometimes they might have a special night, but I would expect to see something like that more in the Maritimes or cruises that hit Maine. 

Yes I thought it unusual but the ship was sailing at maybe 60% capacity.  That may be one reason.  Flatbush may be able to comment as he was on that cruise.

[iowananny]

I just got off Serina a week ago and about 9 days ago I had lobster in Terrace.  It was not Maine lobster and there was no placard that said it was.  There were just cooked examples of what they could make for you at the grill.  It was good but it was small and I'm pretty sure it was a warm water lobster.  But hey, I'm from Iowa so what do I know about lobsters.

 

They best way to get a lobster and steak is at the Waves grill.  The surf and turf sandwich is really good and seasoned quite nicely which makes it even better.  The lobster comes with a remoulade sauce which is really tasty.  

[jonthomas]

We got off the Riviera in April. The food was good until half way, when staff changes were made. Then it was hit or miss and certainly service was noticeably different as well. 

 

One more comment...we had dreamed of Red Ginger as it had been a long time since we were able to experience it again. Well the dream did not come true. I found it to be very different than I had remembered. Items were very greasy, dripping oil. All food had a certain smell. Even the sea bass was not flaky and moist. Perhaps that also had something to do with the staff changes.

 

Still the best food at sea we had was  on the little Insignia, just pre covid. Amazing in all venues. 

[CruiseLibra]

We just got off the Regatta and the food and service were excellent. There was a lot of variety in both the Terrace and the MDR. The pastries were exceptionally delicious. The food on this cruise was even better than what we had on the Riviera in November. 

[Barrest24]

We were on the Riviera Jan/Feb.  Food was outstanding.  It was so good that we booked the Regatta to Mexico in May.  We were VERY disappointed with the food. Dining Room menu was poor in both choice and taste.  Service was not nearly as good as on the Riviera.  We thought we had found our cruise line for future cruises.  Now not so sure.  

[oskidunker]

2 hours ago, jonthomas said:

We got off the Riviera in April. The food was good until half way, when staff changes were made. Then it was hit or miss and certainly service was noticeably different as well. 

 

One more comment...we had dreamed of Red Ginger as it had been a long time since we were able to experience it again. Well the dream did not come true. I found it to be very different than I had remembered. Items were very greasy, dripping oil. All food had a certain smell. Even the sea bass was not flaky and moist. Perhaps that also had something to do with the staff changes.

 

Still the best food at sea we had was  on the little Insignia, just pre covid. Amazing in all venues. 

Good to know. We will stay away from Red Ginger. 

[LHT28]

7 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

Good to know. We will stay away from Red Ginger. 

It  may be fine on your cruise

each sailing can be different

it should not be but  as I have said many times  it depends on who is doing the cooking 😉

 

give it  a try  if it is not good  send it back & get something different

Make sure you talk to the Maitre'd  BEFORE  you leave the restaurant

JMO

[ORV]

19 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

Good to know. We will stay away from Red Ginger. 

Well, that is one experience, over the years there have been many postings of those that think that Red Ginger is the top restaurant on the O ships. There's a reason they put one on the Sirena. The numbers people know which most cruisers favorite is. Try them all if you're on an O ship or Sirena. Form your own conclusion. We like them all, and have had great dinners at all of them, and some average servings. 

[Hawaiidan]

On 5/26/2022 at 10:41 PM, firsttimers68 said:

I found the food as good as ever on my trip in April. I'd forgotten just how good the Colonnade evening buffet is. I did find the GDR as disappointing as ever though.

Ya.....first a buffet and the Colonnade....... on an O ship???