Help me choose please; Onda vs Ocean Blue

[Warm-Water Diver]

Cruising on the Encore this January and I have 4 specialty dining nights to select.

 

My first 3 picks are Le Bistro, Cagney's, and Teppenyaki (not really into BBQ or Mexican so didn't consider Q or Los Lobos).

 

I'm wondering what previous cruisers would recommend for my 4th night, Onda or Ocean Blue? I've attached the menus for reference..

 

 

Ocean Blue.pdf Onda (1).pdf

[jetact]

WE were on the Bliss a couple of weeks ago and Did Ocean blue and LeBistro. LeBistro is our go to once or twice a trip. Ocean blue was very good, I had the halibut and she had salmon, the menu was well done and we would go back. 

[www3traveler]

For me, no question: Ocean Blue

 

Enjoy your cruise and whichever restaurant you choose.

[Sand and Seas]

It might depend on what you would choose on each menu. 

 

For us, we would choose Onda over Ocean Blue, especially since you are already choosing Le Bistro and Cagney's.    Have enjoyed several great meals at Onda. 

 

At Ocean Blue we have had some good and some just OK meals.   (We would choose Onda and Le Bistro over Ocean Blue....but that's us) 

[BirdTravels]

I would drop Cagney’s and go to Ocean Blue and Onda. 
 

If the choice is between the two, we lean toward Ocean Blue. Partly because of our preference of the Seafood over Italian.
 

And partly because the times we have dined at Onda, it was really noisy. the floors are tile and there are no soft (cloth) wall covering so the sound just bounces everywhere and people get louder and louder to talk over the background noise. 
 

[Sthrngary]

2 hours ago, Warm-Water Diver said:

Cruising on the Encore this January and I have 4 specialty dining nights to select.

 

My first 3 picks are Le Bistro, Cagney's, and Teppenyaki (not really into BBQ or Mexican so didn't consider Q or Los Lobos).

 

I'm wondering what previous cruisers would recommend for my 4th night, Onda or Ocean Blue? I've attached the menus for reference..

 

 

Ocean Blue.pdf 174.32 kB · 9 downloads Onda (1).pdf 344.52 kB · 5 downloads

@Warm-Water Diver Your question is subjective but I think you know that.  Everyone likes different foods and dining experiences.  However, I never let an opportunity to discuss food go by.  Please remember, this is my opinion only.  

 

My personal favorites are Cagney's for the first night and Teppenyaki for the last night.  I love Le Bistro because of the lamb chops.  My family does not like Le Bistro.  We get a dinner for two on American Express to Le Bistro as a perk.  On to your question.

 

I would choose Onda.  Ocean Blue is not as good as it once was.  At first it was the place to go, now it has been lack luster the last few times.  Just my opinion.  Onda allows for lots of nice tastes and a really great menu.  

 

I can not leave this response by saying, I am going on a 7 day NCL cruise in December 2022. I also have four specialty meals.  I have chosen to go to Cagney's twice because they have better lamb chops then Le Bistro and better Prime Rib then the Haven Restaurant.  I hope my thoughts give you some of what you were looking for.

 

Cruise well and enjoy every moment. 

[FLcruisergrl]

Pre-COVID, I loved Ocean Blue. There were more selections, the bread is outstanding, and they have a really good chocolate dessert. I’d probably try Onda, as I can get seafood in the Haven and steak at Cagney’s and in the Haven. Personally, I really dislike Le Bistro and would probably drop that and do both!

[FlGoodShips]

I vote Ocean Blue

[YVRteacher]

Ocean Blue has the best dessert I’ve ever had on NCL: the vanilla raspberry cheesecake in a jar.  They also have the best bread ever.

[CruizinSusan70]

Many peoples opinions could be skewed since I believe that until the Prima debuted, Onda was only available on the Encore.   If I'm mistaken, I'll be corrected, but I know we will enjoy our meals in Onda in January on the Encore and on our cruises in October, March and April on the Prima.

[OHRiverRats]

Assuming you like seafood, no question about it. Ocean Blue is our favorite specialty restaurant, although we're really looking forward to trying Palomar.

[gknep]

YMMV, but I like Ocean Blue and Onda better than Teppanyaki. If you go to Onda the Pappardelle is excellent. 

[ziggyuk]

Seafood all the way for us, we eat a lot of pasta at home and pizza is fast food in my mind.

Due to this the Onda menu would be very limited for us.

[Coastalbreezes]

Since Onda is only on a few ships I'd choose it over Ocean Blue. Both are delicious but lately I have found Ocean Blue to be hit or miss with the food. Onda is consistently excellent.

[Warm-Water Diver]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I think I'm leaning toward Ocean Blue since we're not exactly "Italian Food" lovers

[Karaboudjan]

12 hours ago, Coastalbreezes said:

Since Onda is only on a few ships I'd choose it over Ocean Blue. Both are delicious but lately I have found Ocean Blue to be hit or miss with the food. Onda is consistently excellent.

 

Since Onda is on the Prima and Viva it appears to be on the 'go forward' list.  Ocean Blue, on the other hand might have been superseded by Palomar.

[Sand and Seas]

4 hours ago, Karaboudjan said:

 

Since Onda is on the Prima and Viva it appears to be on the 'go forward' list.  Ocean Blue, on the other hand might have been superseded by Palomar.

Interesting observation!   We are intrigued by the Palomar menu.   I would suggest those of you who haven't looked at it yet might want to compare it to Ocean Blue's menu.

 

We also find Onda and it's menu to be much better than La Cucina.  (But we will continue to enjoy La Cucina occasionally on the 'older' ships.)

[CruizinSusan70]

4 hours ago, Karaboudjan said:

 

Since Onda is on the Prima and Viva it appears to be on the 'go forward' list.  Ocean Blue, on the other hand might have been superseded by Palomar.

Onda is the improvement over La Cucina and debuted to positive reviews on the Encore.  Palomar could be seen as a similar upgrade on the Prima and if successful would replace Ocean Blue on the subsequent Prima Class builds.

[chefchick]

On 9/14/2022 at 10:24 PM, YVRteacher said:

Ocean Blue has the best dessert I’ve ever had on NCL: the vanilla raspberry cheesecake in a jar.  They also have the best bread ever.

Plllleeeaaassseee….Onda butterscotch bundino….you’ll thank me later.😜

[BirdTravels]

On 9/15/2022 at 5:30 PM, Karaboudjan said:

 

Since Onda is on the Prima and Viva it appears to be on the 'go forward' list.  Ocean Blue, on the other hand might have been superseded by Palomar.

Onda is the La Cucina replacement. Based on NCL’s track record, they will keep the Scarppeta brand for a year or two, then drop it and turn it back to La Cucina by a different name.
 

Just like Ocean Blue was an Iron Chef Geoffrey Zacharian brand until they dumped him. And dumped Iron Chef Jose Garces and the Bayamo brand. And dumped Jimmy Buffett and Five O’Clock somewhere bars and Margaritaville diner. In each case, they dumb down and NCLized the menu. 

Edited September 17, 2022 by BirdTravels

[YVRteacher]

22 hours ago, chefchick said:

Plllleeeaaassseee….Onda butterscotch bundino….you’ll thank me later.😜

Hate that dessert.  Made me want to gag.  Glad you enjoyed it though. 

[YVRteacher]

NCL’s plan moving forward is to convert the ships with La Cucina to Onda.  Jewel will be up for another dry dock soon where this will take place.