Food and dining on P&O ships

[davecttr]

Just back from the Arvia 16 April cruise.

Best place for salads is horizon buffet

Horizon head chef confirmed there are 14 different daily buffet menus with a wide variety of choices

Indian and Asian/Oriental themed nights as well. In fact the curry night was too curried with only one 'english' roast beef option. Beef Madras, Pork Vindaloo, Chicken in butter sauce, Vegetable Korma, Rice, Popodums, Naans, Onion Bhajis etc (in the veg section) Some Indian desserts as well plus normal salads of course.

 

Then if you want you can have 7 pints of lager and have more curry in the late night buffet from 11pm to 1.30pm 😁

 

More later, must go to bed, were on european time for the whole cruise.

[Cruising Nomads]

Keel and Cow opens midday till late.

[Tan210]

Hello does anyone know if the Indian dishes / restaurants are cooked using halal meat? Thank you 😊 

[Snow Hill]

1 minute ago, Tan210 said:

Hello does anyone know if the Indian dishes / restaurants are cooked using halal meat? Thank you 😊 

The vast majority of Indians are not Muslim and eating Halal meat is forbidden in the Hindu and Sikh religions, according to one of my Sikh friends I would say unlikely it is used in Indian dishes. 

[Tan210]

Ah thank you no probs, I will always  check with the restaurant / servers anyway 🙂 . Also are the paid for restaurants worth it? This is first time cruising and only a short 4 day one. 

[snaefell]

6 minutes ago, Tan210 said:

Ah thank you no probs, I will always  check with the restaurant / servers anyway 🙂 . Also are the paid for restaurants worth it? This is first time cruising and only a short 4 day one. 

Always a matter of opinion,as long as you consider it worth paying extra it usually means dining in more relaxed surroundings than you will find in the main dining room where it can be a bit of a mad house.

[Tan210]

He he thank you 😊. I’m really excited about the daily carvery in the Buffett it’s one of my favourite meals! 

[snaefell]

We enjoy buffets &,apart from the odd night in specialty restaurants we have tended to use them for most meals,we enjoy being able to see & pick bits of different items.

[Tan210]

I’m getting really  excited as the trip gets closer ! 

[zap99]

37 minutes ago, Tan210 said:

Hello does anyone know if the Indian dishes / restaurants are cooked using halal meat? Thank you 😊 

Hope not.🤔

[majortom10]

There was some publicity a few years ago that all meats on P&O were halal and caused a lot of discussion. But in true P&O style never made public whether the meat onboard their ships was halal or not.

[Snow Hill]

24 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

There was some publicity a few years ago that all meats on P&O were halal and caused a lot of discussion. But in true P&O style never made public whether the meat onboard their ships was halal or not.

From P&O website

 

https://www.pocruises.com/frequently-asked-questions

 

 

[zap99]

40 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

From P&O website

 

https://www.pocruises.com/frequently-asked-questions

 

 

That clears it up.🤣

[Bill Y]

It's probably been mentioned before, If you book a speciality restaurant before boarding do you get to peruse the menu? I believe that there are two menus for Epicurean? Also I believe that you can transfer the booking, but as that will be subject to availability can a refund be obtained if a suitable booking cannot be obtained?

Edited May 9, 2023 by Bill Y

[TigerB]

6 minutes ago, Bill Y said:

It's probably been mentioned before, If you book a speciality restaurant before boarding do you get to peruse the menu? I believe that there are two menus for Epicurean? 

Only the sample menu, which does necessarily reflect both menus.

Yes, there are two menus for Epicurean.

 

6 minutes ago, Bill Y said:

Also I believe that you can transfer the booking, but as that will be subject to availability can a refund be obtained if a suitable booking cannot be obtained?

 

To do so go to the restaurant and do it in person.  I would advise that you visit at least three days in advance of your booking to make sure you get a refund.

 

When are you travelling, on which ship, and for how long?

[jh1809]

On 5/4/2023 at 7:48 AM, Snow Hill said:

The vast majority of Indians are not Muslim and eating Halal meat is forbidden in the Hindu and Sikh religions, according to one of my Sikh friends I would say unlikely it is used in Indian dishes. 

Though I've read that most so-called "Indian" restaurants in the UK are actually owned and staffed by people of Bangladeshi origin, who are Muslim. I suspect that doesn't apply to the Indian restaurants on board P&O ships, though. 

[Bill Y]

2 hours ago, TigerB said:

Only the sample menu, which does necessarily reflect both menus.

Yes, there are two menus for Epicurean.

 

 

To do so go to the restaurant and do it in person.  I would advise that you visit at least three days in advance of your booking to make sure you get a refund.

 

When are you travelling, on which ship, and for how long?

Thanks, 27th Ventura 14 nights

 

We are tempted to try Epicurean with the 20% discount but not keen on booking without knowing the menu for the day in question.

[Snow Hill]

1 hour ago, jh1809 said:

Though I've read that most so-called "Indian" restaurants in the UK are actually owned and staffed by people of Bangladeshi origin, who are Muslim. I suspect that doesn't apply to the Indian restaurants on board P&O ships, though. 

Sindhu was created by Michelin Star Chef Atul Kochhar who was born in India.

[thornegirl]

30 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

Sindhu was created by Michelin Star Chef Atul Kochhar who was born in India.

Yes and since he parted ways with P&O the food in Sindhu is nowhere near as good. 

[zap99]

15 minutes ago, thornegirl said:

Yes and since he parted ways with P&O the food in Sindhu is nowhere near as good. 

The menu hasn't changed much since then. Time for a make over.

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, thornegirl said:

Yes and since he parted ways with P&O the food in Sindhu is nowhere near as good. 

He cooked a wonderful meal for us on one of the Strictly cruises, praise indeed as I can't normally eat anything spiced or curry flavoured.

[TigerB]

3 hours ago, Bill Y said:

Thanks, 27th Ventura 14 nights

 

We are tempted to try Epicurean with the 20% discount but not keen on booking without knowing the menu for the day in question.

 

This is Menu 1:

 

 

Photos of Menu 2 are in this post:

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2931167-arvia-k308-all-aboard/page/6/#comment-65255328

 

 

I'm sure they'll be the same when you are on at the end of the month

[Megabear2]

3 minutes ago, TigerB said:

 

This is Menu 1:

 

 

Photos of Menu 2 are in this post:

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2931167-arvia-k308-all-aboard/page/6/#comment-65255328

 

 

I'm sure they'll be the same when you are on at the end of the month

Do the Prime Grills items carry a surcharge or are they included, please?

[TigerB]

6 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Do the Prime Grills items carry a surcharge or are they included, please?

No, all included. 🙂

[Selbourne]

8 hours ago, TigerB said:

 

This is Menu 1:

 

 

Photos of Menu 2 are in this post:

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2931167-arvia-k308-all-aboard/page/6/#comment-65255328

 

 

I'm sure they'll be the same when you are on at the end of the month

Are the dishes (that state as such) now back to being carved or prepared at the table (e.g. Crepes Suzette)? I recall reading that it was one of the many “because of Covid” cutbacks, some of which have become permanent. We were on Cunard last week and a la carte dishes (inc flambé’d dishes) were prepared table side. Interestingly, there was also an evening cabin service every day (in addition to the morning) which included chocolates 🤔