Jim_Iain - Live - comparison of Oceania Regatta - Vista Suite to Celebrity Millennium Royal Suite

[chemmo]

13 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks Gracie ---  The count down is on.      Packing is done and all i have to do is cook dinner tonight.  

 

Smothered Chicken with Creamed Spinach Bacon And Mushrooms

 

You could get a job on Celebrity offering advice on upgrading/extending their Luminae menu!

[Provence55always]

Just joining and very much looking forward to following along. I did my shopping this morning and Smothered Chicken on the menu tonight 😉. Wishing you both a fantastic new adventure. 

[Oceangoer2]

13 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks Gracie ---  The count down is on.      Packing is done and all i have to do is cook dinner tonight.  

 

Smothered Chicken with Creamed Spinach Bacon And Mushrooms

 

You cook too!  That looks incredible!  I would love the recipe, but you are VERY busy today and throughout the cruise for this.  I'll google smothered chicken and see what comes up.

[Oceangoer2]

13 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I swear a road runner run over by a truck in the desert would have been better than most of the poultry. 

That image will now stick in my mind like the song you can't stop singing....🙃

[CruseKrazy]

14 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Earlier I was asked about the comparison of prices -   I did the best I can in inclusion  of everything.  In my case my Travel Agency either applies an OBC up front or as a refundable deposit.    I usually get in the range of a 9% discount from my agent.

This of course is comparison of A Vista Suite on Oceania to a Royal Suite on Celebrity. 

 

Thanks Jim.  Is this apples to apples comparison?

 

Dave

[39august]

What was the date of the "new" final payment terms, please?   And if I have booked since that date, I should be under those new rules?

[Oceangoer2]

1 hour ago, Oceangoer2 said:

You cook too!  That looks incredible!  I would love the recipe, but you are VERY busy today and throughout the cruise for this.  I'll google smothered chicken and see what comes up.

Update....found the recipe with pics....I make a smothered chicken but this looks even better.  As someone said, this would be a nice addition to Luminae's menu, but perhaps too labour intensive.

[81Zoomie]

On 9/10/2024 at 6:18 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Well it is time for another Adventure!    We will be leaving Saturday, September 14, 2024 on our first adventure on Oceania Regatta. 

 

I will be doing a Live Post on the Oceania Thread and will post a link once I get it started.  

 

It is a difficult task to do a heads to head comparison as the two are totally different products.   

 

First up is a quick video of our Itinerary -

 

 

Hi Jim,

 

Bon Voyage!  We look forward to following along on your journey as always 🛳️❤️🛳️.

 

We have one remaining X cruise and then we too are riding the sea of variety.  Have done Atlas and then onto HAL, Explora, Viking, Azamara, and Silversea.  There are so many great options out there 🚢🛳️⛴️🛥️.  Oceania is one line we have not booked yet.  We are very interested in hearing about your cruise experience with them.

 

We hope you and Iain have a wonderful cruise!!!

Edited Saturday at 02:35 PM by 81Zoomie

[Texed]

Thanks for posting.  😊

[Jim_Iain]

16 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

I guess we have been lucky to not encounter the issues you experienced. I do wish the menus in Luminae had more options, or changed more frequently. We have had the opportunity to sail in SS most of our E-class sailings and the menu is "predictable". It is an advantage of S and M class that you can order from the MDR menus. 

 

mac_tlc

On Edge they would give us Blu, MDR and Luminae the night before and we could pre-order.    Maybe because we were onboard for a month. 

[Jim_Iain]

16 hours ago, bjahil47 said:

I have to agree with you.  We were on Beyond in March and Luminae was very disappointing.  We have never had that mediocre food in there before.  We even ate in buffet a few times as it was excellent.  

I’ve heard many say they preferred MDR.  More selections and good service. 

[Jim_Iain]

16 hours ago, shirazcruiser said:

Well that's disappointing as we'll be sailing on Apex in a few weeks and dining in Luminae. Our last Celebrity cruises were B2B in Oct 2024 on Reflection and the meals in Luminae were almost inedible. We've had better luck with Princess, but we are now looking at Oceania. 

looking forward to Oceania offering. Will be interesting to see if their hype matched reality. 
 

Here’s som stock photos I found. 

 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, Provence55always said:

Just joining and very much looking forward to following along. I did my shopping this morning and Smothered Chicken on the menu tonight 😉. Wishing you both a fantastic new adventure. 

Mine tasted great but the chicken I bought was really tough.  

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

You cook too!  That looks incredible!  I would love the recipe, but you are VERY busy today and throughout the cruise for this.  I'll google smothered chicken and see what comes up.

 

 

Smothered Chicken with Creamed Spinach Bacon And Mushrooms

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1.5 lb chicken breast skinless, boneless (4 small chicken breast or 2 large chicken breast, halved)
• salt
• ¼ teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• Creamed spinach:
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 10 oz spinach fresh
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• ⅔ cup half and half
• ⅔ cup mozzarella cheese shredded

Other Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 oz mushrooms sliced
• 4 slices bacon cooked, chopped
• 4 slices Pepper Jack cheese or Monterey Jack Cheese with Jalapenos

 

How To Make Smothered Chicken with Creamed Spinach, Bacon And Mushrooms

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Butter the bottom of the baking dish (I used an oval casserole dish measured 13 inches x 9 inches x 4 inches deep).

Generously season chicken breasts on both sides with salt, lemon pepper seasoning and a small amount of paprika. Place the chicken breasts, flat side down, into the greased baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 F.

How to make creamed spinach:

• In the mean time, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add spinach and cook for only 1 or 2 minutes, covered, until the spinach is thoroughly heated through and start to wilt. Remove from heat. Add minced garlic and half and half. Bring to boil. Add shredded mozzarella cheese and keep stirring, on high heat, until mozzarella cheese starts to melt – about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to simmer and keep stirring until you have a nice, smooth creamed spinach – about 30 seconds or 1 more minute. Season with salt to your taste. Remove from heat.

Cook mushrooms:

• In a separate pan, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Add sliced mushrooms and cook on high-medium heat for 1-2 minutes until mushroom caramelize. Do not salt mushrooms or it will prevent the caramelization.

Smothered chicken assembly:

• Remove the chicken breasts from the oven (you baked them for 15-20 minutes). Top each chicken breast with the creamed spinach, chopped cooked bacon, cooked mushrooms and broken slices of pepper jack cheese. Bake in the oven, uncovered for 15-20 more minutes, until chicken is cooked through, no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear. Broil for the last 2-4 minutes, if desired, being careful not to burn the cheese on top.

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

We ended up with time to spare.  There was a major accident and airport jammed up.   By the time we tried to check luggage the machine jammed causing us to miss the cut off by 30 seconds.   The agent couldn’t over ride so had to re-book us on the ne t flight so running 2 hours later. 
 

This is why you should fly in a day early.  Oh well we now get in at 1pm

[Oceangoer2]

1 minute ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

 

 

Smothered Chicken with Creamed Spinach Bacon And Mushrooms

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1.5 lb chicken breast skinless, boneless (4 small chicken breast or 2 large chicken breast, halved)
• salt
• ¼ teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• Creamed spinach:
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 10 oz spinach fresh
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• ⅔ cup half and half
• ⅔ cup mozzarella cheese shredded

Other Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 oz mushrooms sliced
• 4 slices bacon cooked, chopped
• 4 slices Pepper Jack cheese or Monterey Jack Cheese with Jalapenos

 

How To Make Smothered Chicken with Creamed Spinach, Bacon And Mushrooms

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Butter the bottom of the baking dish (I used an oval casserole dish measured 13 inches x 9 inches x 4 inches deep).

Generously season chicken breasts on both sides with salt, lemon pepper seasoning and a small amount of paprika. Place the chicken breasts, flat side down, into the greased baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 F.

How to make creamed spinach:

• In the mean time, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add spinach and cook for only 1 or 2 minutes, covered, until the spinach is thoroughly heated through and start to wilt. Remove from heat. Add minced garlic and half and half. Bring to boil. Add shredded mozzarella cheese and keep stirring, on high heat, until mozzarella cheese starts to melt – about 30 seconds. Reduce heat to simmer and keep stirring until you have a nice, smooth creamed spinach – about 30 seconds or 1 more minute. Season with salt to your taste. Remove from heat.

Cook mushrooms:

• In a separate pan, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Add sliced mushrooms and cook on high-medium heat for 1-2 minutes until mushroom caramelize. Do not salt mushrooms or it will prevent the caramelization.

Smothered chicken assembly:

• Remove the chicken breasts from the oven (you baked them for 15-20 minutes). Top each chicken breast with the creamed spinach, chopped cooked bacon, cooked mushrooms and broken slices of pepper jack cheese. Bake in the oven, uncovered for 15-20 more minutes, until chicken is cooked through, no longer pink in the center, and the juices run clear. Broil for the last 2-4 minutes, if desired, being careful not to burn the cheese on top.

 

 

You looked up the recipe for me on such a busy travel day!  Thank you very much.  Actually I found the exact recipe from your 'title' so I do have it.  But I truly appreciate your effort and consideration!  FYI...making the dish tomorrow, bought ingredients today....DH will be happy!  Sorry for your 'glitch'.....I'm keeping up on O.

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, CruseKrazy said:

Thanks Jim.  Is this apples to apples comparison?

 

Dave

Yes but Vista vs Royal suites. 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, 39august said:

What was the date of the "new" final payment terms, please?   And if I have booked since that date, I should be under those new rules?

 I believe it was bookings after April 1.   If booked before original days apply. 

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Update....found the recipe with pics....I make a smothered chicken but this looks even better.  As someone said, this would be a nice addition to Luminae's menu, but perhaps too labour intensive.

really wasn’t too bad.   The recipe could have been better written.  It was rather scattered and they should have broken out making the creamed spinach.     The spinach will be good on its own.  

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

Hi Jim,

 

Bon Voyage!  We look forward to following along on your journey as always 🛳️❤️🛳️.

 

We have one remaining X cruise and then we too are riding the sea of variety.  Have done Atlas and then onto HAL, Explora, Viking, Azamara, and Silversea.  There are so many great options out there 🚢🛳️⛴️🛥️.  Oceania is one line we have not booked yet.  We are very interested in hearing about your cruise experience with them.

 

We hope you and Iain have a wonderful cruise!!!

I’ve been looking at Explora saw them in HNL.  Beautiful ship. 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

You cook too!  That looks incredible!  I would love the recipe, but you are VERY busy today and throughout the cruise for this.  I'll google smothered chicken and see what comes up.

By the way we both cook but very different.   Iain is a baker and follows recipes to the letter.  Very important if you are a baker. 
 

I hate baking but was trained as an Assist Chef in a French Restaurant.    I tend to cook French but eliminate / replace Butter and Creams with other things.    I usually start with a receipt but usually modify it.    Surprisingly I mad the chicken exact to recipe even exact measurements. 

[Jim_Iain]

15 hours ago, abbydancer2003 said:

We just got off of Apex, and most of the Luminae food was fine.  Boring, but fine.  We've been on Celebrity in mostly sky suites about 70 days prior to the last cruise, and we're very tired of the menus.  (We got a move up to an upper suite and ate in specialty a lot).  I don't eat chocolate, so desserts have been a problem now that my go to vacherin has been replaced with the chocolate disaster.  Good thing I like creme brulee.

 

As I recall you also don’t eat fish which also cuts down on your choices.   Did d they still have petite filet?

[Lena11033]

19 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

By the way we both cook but very different.   Iain is a baker and follows recipes to the letter.  Very important if you are a baker. 
 

I hate baking but was trained as an Assist Chef in a French Restaurant.    I tend to cook French but eliminate / replace Butter and Creams with other things.    I usually start with a receipt but usually modify it.    Surprisingly I mad the chicken exact to recipe even exact measurements. 

 

Baking is like science - my mum used to be a baker and managed a bakery in London. Its hard to just wing it like you can with cooking because something is off it could wreck the whole thing and you need to start over.

[abbydancer2003]

32 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

As I recall you also don’t eat fish which also cuts down on your choices.   Did d they still have petite filet?

You recall correctly, and yes, they do have the petit filet.  It's on the kids menu (as well as tomato soup which is a go-to when I don't like the appetizers).  

 

The Beyond had a much smaller kids menu.  No filet.  

 

They also gave me stuff from main dining one night when I asked at lunch.

Edited Saturday at 05:16 PM by abbydancer2003

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, abbydancer2003 said:

You recall correctly, and yes, they do have the petit filet.  It's on the kids menu (as well as tomato soup which is a go-to when I don't like the appetizers).  

 

The Beyond had a much smaller kids menu.  No filet.  

 

They also gave me stuff from main dining one night when I asked at lunch.

Good to hear on Edge the had pulled the filet from kids menu.