Ember on Vista

[DrHemlock]

1 hour ago, jonthomas said:

Will order the slides with side of allumettes without the slides.

Didn't we already see that scene in "Five Easy Pieces"?

[pinotlover]

Here’s a humorous ( somewhat) Embers story I forgot to tell.

 

By the checkin desk, there is a table with a wine display of various new wines specially for Embers. After being seated, we get our menu and asked if I like to see the wine list. “ Absolutely “ I replied. I wanted to check out prices on those displayed wines. 
 

Well, I look and look at the wine list for those displayed wines, whilst the wine steward keeps asking me what I like. For those that haven’t been, Embers is extremely noisy, I’m a bit frustrated, and just order a glass off our package list. 
 

While I’m waiting, I continue to look for the wines and give up. After the meal, I scolded ( for a better term) the wine steward about those displayed wines. She tells me I have to ask for the “ special Embers wine list “ to see those wines. I tell her “ I’m in Embers and I asked for the wine list. How am I supposed to know I have to ask for a “ specccial” list? 
 

The Maitre de sees me having words with the wine steward and asks me what the problem is. I explained it to him while we stand next to the display table. His reply “ What, these wines aren’t on our wine list!” He looks and says “ This is really stupid!”  I agreed with him! 😂

 

So anyone going to Embers in the near future, don’t forget to ask for the secret, possibly password controlled, Embers Wine List! There are a couple of very interesting wines ( maybe) available at some unknown price to me! 🥂

[shepherd really]

26 minutes ago, DrHemlock said:

Didn't we already see that scene in "Five Easy Pieces"?

Just bring me the $^#%^ wheat toast.

[steamboats]

9 hours ago, pinotlover said:

So anyone going to Embers in the near future, don’t forget to ask for the secret, possibly password controlled, Embers Wine List! There are a couple of very interesting wines ( maybe) available at some unknown price to me! 🥂

 

I think I may have this secret wine list published 🤣 in my review. Actually I knew that Ember has some special cocktails you don´t get anywhere else and I wanted to have the Tennessee Nights so I asked for those specialty cocktails and got the extra menu.

 

steamboats

[JPGRAMI]

Sailed on Vista 7/15 to 7/25.  This was our second O cruise having previously sailed on the Regatta.  
We ate at all four specialty restaurants.  Toscana was again our favorite, everything superb.  Embers was probably our least favorite but In retrospect hubby and I agreed that the rolls were yummy, the appetizer of artichoke dip was good and my dessert of the key lime cheesecake was one of my favorites on the cruise.  We both ordered the Atlantic salmon and we’re disappointed.  I felt it was dry and not very flavorful.  But we are used to fresh Pacific Northwest salmon.  We also noticed the noise level as hubby wears hearing aides.  
Timewise, we were never rushed.

[Jayne E]

Reviews of Embers are mainly the same.....average menu and food, noisy and a step down from Jacques.  Booking Riviera/Marina whenever possible, however for Caribbean where we're at port in under an hour, only option now is Vista. 

[LHT28]

NIT PICK

 It is EMBER

THE TERRACE

 no "S"  on either

[Jayne E]

5 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

NIT PICK

 It is EMBER

THE TERRACE

 no "S"  on either

That is "Nit Pick" for sure!! Won't change the menu or noise level 🙂 

[TakingFlight]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

NIT PICK

 It is EMBER

THE TERRACE

 no "S"  on either

Thank you! I’ve been biting my tongue every time I see the plural versions. 

[Hambagahle]

Still  Ember or s doesn't sound like a place I want to eat in.   I hate noise.  And I love Jacques.  Bring back Jacques!!  (et pourquoi pas ? )

[Harters]

We've booked a Vista cruise for next year and I've been having a read of the sample menus on O's website. Have to say that Ember doesnt fill me with any enthusiasm. I've been visiting the States since 1980 and eating at a land based restaurant with that menu wouldnt fill me with any enthusiasm either. Presumably, O knows what it's doing and is addressing a market - but it isnt me. As my school teacher used to say "could do better".

[LHT28]

I do not believe  anyone is forced to eat in any restaurant

 

We do not eat in Jacques  .. no one told us  we had to go there 🤔

[Hanoj]

4 hours ago, Jayne E said:

That is "Nit Pick" for sure!! Won't change the menu or noise level 🙂 

Or the allegedly tasteless cookies, which do have an “S,” on O’s ships.

[Pizzasteve]

On 6/17/2023 at 5:34 PM, jjwoben1 said:

From those of you that have been on Ember: impressions?

Meh.   Beatuful setting.  A few nice dishes.  Attept to appeal to a younger crowd with 'upscale comfort food,' which happens to be my least favorite food trend.  Losing Jaques for this is a huge dissappointment.  So fish and chips instead of the gorgeous Pastry wrapped whole fish....a big downgrade to me. Also miss the sole and beautiful cheese trays.  Fine dining was what differentiated the brand for me.  Now less and less.  Would rather lose Prime than Jacques, but lots of steak and potato folk out there and steaks less cooking work, so that wasnt happening.

 

Loved the Aquamar food, team.  Limited menu but innovative, fun, easy to get a table.

 

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by Pizzasteve

[EJL2023]

I admit that it was quite loud in Ember, but honestly it seems anymore unless you go to a pretty intimate high end restaurant they are all loud! Between people pretty much screaming at one another while out or restaurants, particularly in larger urban area, having to have basically tables upon tables to cram as many people as possible in the space to afford the rent, the typical dining experience any more is not a quiet hushed evening. Had dinner at Red Ginger and it was loud due to a table of 8 next to us having a great time.  Toscana was noisy from the slow closing automated doors to the kitchen. 

[Pizzasteve]

On 6/25/2023 at 1:18 PM, pinotlover said:

 

Funny story from dinner on our last night aboard. One of the passengers ordered a Margherita pizza from Waves. What came out was a cheese pizza. The passenger argued with the waitress about where was the tomato and the basil! He was told this was the Oceania Margherita pizza.

 

We all chimed in then:

 

it’s really a pepperoni pizza! 
Can’t be that, no pepperoni!

 

It’s a caviar pizza!

No caviar to be found!

 

It’s a meat lovers pizza!

Not a piece of meat there on.

 

It’s a Margherita Pizza!!!

Nope, not even a dried leaf of ground basil, no less fresh basil, or a slice of tomato. Was it even real mozzarella? 🥹

 

It’s the Best Cuisine at Sea???

Wide applause and laughter! 

To end the sailing in both the Buffet and GDR, was the infamous veal piccata Marsala! 😂😂 Just like an old time Perry Como recording for the good times ! 🍷

Waves Pizza on Vista was significantly upgraded on our recent cruise.  As a certified Pizzaiolo  I was excited to chat with a pizza chef who explained the new ovens, new dough recipe and training they are receiving from Italian chefs.  He said the new pizza program is rolling out to other ships.

 

So gone are the beer addition to plain dough attempt to have some flavor, in favor of more traditional italian slower rises, better flour and better ovens for a more Naples approaching result.

 

My Margharita was much more solid than previous ships.

[Jayne E]

4 hours ago, TakingFlight said:

Thank you! I’ve been biting my tongue every time I see the plural versions. 

So now you’re not biting your tongue!
Bite your tongue again when you dine on the underwhelming food and chat with your companion who can’t hear you due to noise at EMBER.  Hope I got it right!!👍

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Pizzasteve said:

 Would rather lose Prime than Jacques, but lots of steak and potato folk out there and steaks less cooking work, so that wasnt happening.

 

Prime??

[Pizzasteve]

6 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Prime??

Sorry might have been thinking of Regent’s steakhouse.  I tend to consider Regent and Oceania cruises as pretty much similar experience, different pricing bundle.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Pizzasteve

[Snaefell3]

2 hours ago, EJL2023 said:

I admit that it was quite loud in Ember, but honestly it seems anymore unless you go to a pretty intimate high end restaurant they are all loud! Between people pretty much screaming at one another while out or restaurants, particularly in larger urban area, having to have basically tables upon tables to cram as many people as possible in the space to afford the rent, the typical dining experience any more is not a quiet hushed evening. Had dinner at Red Ginger and it was loud due to a table of 8 next to us having a great time.  Toscana was noisy from the slow closing automated doors to the kitchen. 

There is a school of restaurant design that holds that "noisy" is the same as "energetic vibe" and therefore desirable.  (a crock IMNHO but no one's paying me to design their restaurant 😉 )

 

[TakingFlight]

1 hour ago, Jayne E said:

So now you’re not biting your tongue!
Bite your tongue again when you dine on the underwhelming food and chat with your companion who can’t hear you due to noise at EMBER.  Hope I got it right!!👍

Based on the excellent information on this topic I plan on wearing ear plugs to Ember on my upcoming Vista cruise and enjoying a companionable silence with my DH. 😉

[Rumpledbumskin]

   My wife and I dined in Ember a week ago.  I think the decor is quite nice. There are some very nice design features with lots of hardwood. I can’t complain about the noise level because it was not very busy when we were there, just moderately so. But, I could see that it would be noisy because of all the hard surfaces.

   The food was good, we had no complaints. I can’t understand the American obsession with mac and cheese (even with lobster on top), but it clearly made the point that this venue was geared to American cuisine. I have no problem with that, I can make my own choices. That’s why they have a menu. We also found the portions to be very large. A bit of a waste, but again, I can decide how much I want to eat.

   I had read on the boards that at Ember they are trying to have a faster pace and that is true in spades. Our appetizer arrived and within two minutes, our salads arrived. There wasn’t room on the table for all the plates. And they were barely finished when the mains arrived. When the maitre’d stopped to ask how things were going, we commented that it was just too fast. We had a discussion in which he said they were trying to get a couple in and out in an hour, a foursome in one hour fifteen minutes. We tried to make the point that while some people like a quicker meal, serving two courses at once was not sensible. He was very nice about it and said he’d ask our servers to slow it down for us a bit, but he was clear, the intent was speed. But this was after the fact, and we’d already wolfed down our meals with hardly any time to taste them.

   So, our take on it was nice decor, good food, but too much food, served way too fast. 

   As an after thought, we took the opportunity a couple days ago to cancel our second reservation at Ember and got one at Toscana. That’s what my dad used to call voting with your feet.

   For those of you who want a very quick meal, enjoy.

 

Jim

 

 

 

[pinotlover]

6 hours ago, Rumpledbumskin said:

   My wife and I dined in Ember a week ago.  I think the decor is quite nice. There are some very nice design features with lots of hardwood. I can’t complain about the noise level because it was not very busy when we were there, just moderately so. But, I could see that it would be noisy because of all the hard surfaces.

   The food was good, we had no complaints. I can’t understand the American obsession with mac and cheese (even with lobster on top), but it clearly made the point that this venue was geared to American cuisine. I have no problem with that, I can make my own choices. That’s why they have a menu. We also found the portions to be very large. A bit of a waste, but again, I can decide how much I want to eat.

   I had read on the boards that at Ember they are trying to have a faster pace and that is true in spades. Our appetizer arrived and within two minutes, our salads arrived. There wasn’t room on the table for all the plates. And they were barely finished when the mains arrived. When the maitre’d stopped to ask how things were going, we commented that it was just too fast. We had a discussion in which he said they were trying to get a couple in and out in an hour, a foursome in one hour fifteen minutes. We tried to make the point that while some people like a quicker meal, serving two courses at once was not sensible. He was very nice about it and said he’d ask our servers to slow it down for us a bit, but he was clear, the intent was speed. But this was after the fact, and we’d already wolfed down our meals with hardly any time to taste them.

   So, our take on it was nice decor, good food, but too much food, served way too fast. 

   As an after thought, we took the opportunity a couple days ago to cancel our second reservation at Ember and got one at Toscana. That’s what my dad used to call voting with your feet.

   For those of you who want a very quick meal, enjoy.

 

Jim

 

 

 

Excellent review.

 

I pose a question for you. Do you possibly think the reason for Ember being “ not very busy” was because others had already voted with their feet?

[Jayne E]

31 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Excellent review.

 

I pose a question for you. Do you possibly think the reason for Ember being “ not very busy” was because others had already voted with their feet?

There have been several posts stating cancellations for their 2nd Ember reservation. 
Glad to know about 1 hr dinner experience. Will def let server know beforehand to “slow it down.”

[Rumpledbumskin]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Excellent review.

 

I pose a question for you. Do you possibly think the reason for Ember being “ not very busy” was because others had already voted with their feet?

Too early to say I think. After all, the experiment is only a few months old.

 

Jim