Oceania Cruises Complete Dining Guide
Grand Dining Room
Located at the aft of the ship, the Grand Dining room is open seating for all meals with a range of table sizes and plenty of tables for two. There are large floor to ceiling windows along each side of the restaurant and lovely wake view windows at the rear. The focus of the room is the lovely grand circular chandelier which compliments the light cream decor of the rest of the restaurant. The chairs are very comfortable making it a perfect venue for relaxing over a lazy breakfast, a quiet lunch and a refined dinner.
Breakfast:
Breakfast is served every day from 7.30am to 9.00am, unless it’s a sea day or late arrival when out runs half an hour later. All meals in the Grand Dining Room are waiter service with the servers dressed in elegant attire and very attentive to diners needs. As with other ships the breakfast service tends to be quiet and makes a lovely change to the hustle and bustle of the buffet. There are a range of hot and cold dishes with an express breakfast for those in a bit more of a hurry, fruit plates and yoghurt parfaits, a lovely selection of omelettes and cooked eggs, pancakes and waffles, some healthy options such as avocado on toast and the usual delicious looking pastries, all accompanied by free flowing tea, coffee or fruit juice. This became our ‘go to’ for breakfast with Rich choosing the salmon omelette and granola with greek yoghurt while Helen loved the avocado on toast which was always lavishly topped with plenty of creamy avocado. The coffee here is very good too and the waiters were very adept at taking individual request and bringing the food out in the order requested.
Lunch:
On the days that lunch is served (sea days and occasional port days) it runs from 12 - 1.30 and serves a bistro style lunch with a choice of four starters, a soup and salad, six, main dishes and five desserts of a range of ice cream. There are also daily specials following the same theme as that of the buffet with a couple of starters, a soup and salad, five main courses and an assiette type option which showcases the flavours of the chosen lunch for that day, with a selection of the specials of the day served as a main course for one or a sampler for two to share. Although the Grand Dining Room was closed for lunch most day later on in our voyage we were glad we made the most of going there early on in the voyage when it was open. It’s a very nice place to have a refined lunch experience with the servers having the time to make sure you are well looked after, with the dining room being generally very quiet. The food is delicious with a variety of options from burgers, poke bowls, salads, and cooked main courses. We particularly loved the always available croquettes monsieur and the daily special Humprey Slocombe ice cream.
Dinner:
Dinner is served from 6.30 to 9.30pm every evening with a choice of six starters, three soups, four salads, five main courses and a range of always available side dishes. As well as these there are three Jacques Pepin signature dishes every evening. These are followed by a choice of six desserts, with a souffle of the day always on the menu, a healthy option dessert, a selection of ice creams and a cheese plate. Beside the usual menu there is always a suggested menu for either an Aquamar healthy option for all of the courses which includes calorific, fat and fibre information, a world cuisine option or a food and wine pairing option.
The Grand Dining room has open seating and plenty of table size options so you can chose to eat alone or with a larger group of people. We ate there at various times through our cruise, from early on in service until near the end of service, and only once did we have to wait for a table, waiting no more than two minutes for a table to be prepared for us. Service was always exceptional, matched only by the quality and variety of food on offer - we always struggled to make a choice from the options available. We particularly liked the tasty curries and the beef wellington and would recommend requesting the petit four which are only bought out if requested but are a wonderful finish to the meal, presented on a little two tier cake stand and offering a variety of little sweet bites. The only disappointment in the Grand Dining Room was the daily souffle. Since souffle is one of Helens favourites she was excited to see it feature on the menu daily. However, she tried it a couple of time but even though the second time mourned it was a little more rinse than the first one it times it was still too spongy rather than light and fluffy. Maybe someone should have wanted Oceania that they had a soufflé connoisseur coming on board:).
Terrace Cafe
Located at the aft of upper decks behind the main pool, the Terrace Cafe is open seating with plenty of indoor tables nicely laid out down the sides of the venue with the food stations situated at the rear of the restaurant. There is also an outdoor terrace for alfresco dining, however, there is very little shade over this area relying large on parasols which often can’t be deployed due to wind, therefore leaving this area open to both the sun and potential rain. All of the food is served to guests from the serving stations with no-one helping them selves to the food - something we like.
Breakfast:
Breakfast is served here every day from 7.00 to 10am, except seadays when it opens at 7.30am, and is served buffet style. There are cold cuts and fruits in the middle station with the usual hot fare at the rear and an omelette station at the front. There is a pastry and toasting station at either end of the rear food station. All of the food is served to you at the stations with no option to go off piste, Rich asked for granola and though widely available in the main dining room, waves cafe next door and on the room service menu, he was told they were unable to get him any. Breakfast service here can be a little busy for our liking with the made to order eggs and omelettes causing congestion from the queues of people waiting for their orders.
Lunch:
Lunch is usually open for lunch from midday until 2pm and is sometimes themed, for example we had a Mexican and seafood buffet on our voyage. At lunchtime the food offerings are mirrored on both sides of the food stations with starters, salads, sandwiches and desserts located in the middle station. The front station has the hot dishes and the rear food station acts as a grill station serving burgers, hot dogs and the daily pasta dish which are all freshly made to order. Every day the desserts included a delicious array of ice cream and these rather cute little mini cones topped with a different flavour of mousse (see image below).
Dinner:
Dinner is served every evening from 6.30 to 9pm and is again buffet style. The central serving station houses the cold starters, a wonderful sushi station and the desserts. The hot station has the main course offerings which are usually a selection of the dishes on offer in the main dining room. There are also hot starters at one end of this station and a pasta station at the other end. The rear station again is the grill station with steaks, lobster, lamb chops etc cooked to order, however like at breakfast service we did find that this caused unnecessary congestion as people queued to order their food and then wait for it to be cooked. Each cruise will usually feature a Chefs market buffet at least once - on our cruise it was a Spanish market since we were in Barcelona. There were a variety of tapas dishes, a large paella and various Spanish themed hot dishes. Despite our reservation about the Terrace cafe there is no denying it is a lovely spot to enjoy an alfresco dinner on a still, warm evening as the ship sails through somewhere like the Mediterranean or Caribbean.
The highlight of the buffet was the amazing sushi station which we would recommend trying at least once and the wonderful daily special Humphrey Slocombe ice cream which featured every day in the buffet at lunch and dinner time as well as in the Grand Dining room every evening. If we were lucky it would also be in the Waves grill the following day. We particularly liked the fat Elvis (peanut butter and bacon coated banana) and the breakfast (bourbon with cornflakes)
Waves Grill
Located at one end of the main pool, the Waves Grill is the casual dining option, offering a healthy start breakfast and the usual poolside lunches such as burger, hot dogs and sandwiches. There are a large number of tables set down the starboard side of the ship with food made to order by simply placing your order at the serving station which is then bought over to your table once it is ready.
Breakfast:
Waves is open for breakfast from 6.30am to 11am, except for seadays when it opens at 7am, offering a healthy alternative to the main dining room or the Terrace cafe. Alongside the usual breakfast pastries, fruit and yoghurt, a small selection of hot food, like hash browns, bacon, etc., there is an egg and omelette station with these made to order. But the best part of breakfast here is the smoothie, juices and power bowl station where you can order delicious and healthy freshly made drinks and fruit bowls. We would particularly recommend the sweet green juice which became a regular late morning drink following a workout or shoreside walk. We particularly loved that all of the juices and smoothies were included, on most otters cruise lines these would be a chargeable extra - very nice indeed.
Lunch:
Whilst on the face of it Waves grill seems like any other poolside casual lunchtime venue offering burgers, hot dogs and sandwiches, don’t be fooled. This is one the most popular venues on the ship during the day, offering a good choice of burgers, hot dogs and sandwiches made to order and accompanied by delicious fries and a generous helping of coleslaw. As well as the grilling station there is a rather genius street food type wagon at one end which is open for a couple of hours over lunch and serves things like nachos, jambalaya, chicken wings, pulled pork sandwich, sloppy joes, to name but a few. At the other end of the venue is the most popular station, the smoothie, juice, ice cream and milkshake station, with the ice cream and milkshakes a popular attraction throughout the afternoon. Waves is open for from 11.30 to 4pm so is the place to come to get food if you return to the ship too late for lunch in the other venues. We would particularly recommend the surf and turf burger, the salmon burger, the tuna burger and Wagyu burger. Make sure to request it how you like it - we often asked for no bun, no fries or extra coleslaw etc. And when the hunger sets in later in the day maybe try a banana or chocolate milkshake, both delicious. The only disappointment with this venue is that the veggie burger is not an impossible or beyond type burger. Despite there being an impossible burger on the room service menu the veggie burger here is a vegetable patty type burger which I’m not a fan of - they just never hold together and obviously taste nothing like a meat burger. However, as far as this type of patty goes it was quite tasty and had obviously been made in house which was nice.
Baristas
Baristas is located on the upper deck at the aft of the main pool overlooking the pool deck. There is a coffee bar with cafe bar stool style seating which overlooks the pool and some sofas behind the bar to one side off the ship, which also houses a small food station serving snacks all day long. Behind the bar on the other side of the ship is the library, another place to take your coffee and enjoy some peace and quiet, with lovely outside sofas just outside the entrance doors. The team here are trained baristas and make very good coffee indeed, all of which is included in your fare (apart from the speciality coffees). The coffee bar opens at 6.30am and stays open throughout the day until 5pm. It then closes for an hour before re-opening as Baristas Aperitivo, where alongside the usual coffees and teas, it serves speciality drinks and cocktails.
From 6.30 am until 5pm there is a small range of pastries, cakes, fruit and yoghurts laid out to enjoy with your coffee. Late morning the snacks turn into small sandwiches, cakes and cookies. When it opens again at 6pm, closing at 10pm, as Baristas Aperitvio there are evening snacks including olives, crisps, nuts, cheese and madeleines.
Toscana
Located at the aft of the ship on the upper decks, Toscana is open every evening from 6.30 to 9pm. This is the Italian speciality restaurant which although included in your fare does require a reservation and is usually only available once during your voyage. Of all of the speciality restaurants this was probably our favourite.
Dinner:
We had received at table here for 7.30 and when we arrived we were immediately shown to a table for two at the rear of the restaurant with plenty of room around it. We both chose a glass of red wine to enjoy with our meal, with Helen going full on Italian with a glass of Chianti Classico. We were then presented with a large bread basket full of breadsticks, focaccia, parmesan crisps and plain rolls. In the middle of the bread, pretending to be come-lefty innocent, was a delicious bulb of whole roasted baked garlic. To accompany the bread we were presented with a trolley full of extra virgin olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars which we were able to choose from to accompany or bread, with Helen chosing an artichoke flavoured oil while Rich one for an extra aged oil. Both of us chose not to have anything from the antipasti menu, instead opting to have a pasta dish for a starter. Rich decided on the daily special, lobster ravioli in a lobster bisque, while indecisive Helen went for the trio of pasta dishes - tagliatelle carbonara, gnocchi pesto and lobster risotto. Heavenly. Having had her full of carbs, Helen then chose the sea bass which came on a bed of fennel swimming in a delicious sea of buttery goodness. Rich went for the filet mignon with a gorgonzola crust with a rich red wine reduction, with garlic mash and roasted vegetable sides. Before dessert came out we were presented with a plate of three different flavours of biscotti biscuits. Asking for a little gap before we chose our mains we then chose the chocolate cake and the quintet of desserts - a little taster of all five of the desserts on offer. It was all delicious and we still had our biscuits to eat with our cup of tea/coffee. By the time we had finished our meal neither of us could face anything other than to roll back to our room and get into bed, full of Italian goodness.
Polo Steakhouse
Located at the aft of the ship on the upper decks, Polo Steakhouse is open every evening from 6.30 to 9pm. This is the Steakhouse speciality restaurant which although included in your fare does require a reservation and is usually only available once during your voyage. Of all of the speciality restaurants, although very good indeed, this was probably our least favourite, purely because its a steakhouse.
Dinner:
We had a 7.30 reservation and when we turned up we were immediately shown to a lovely little table for two right at the back of the restaurant, in front of the lovely floor to ceiling aft windows with a magnificent wake view. Unfortunately the sun was setting when we arrived so within half an hour of sitting down we could no longer see much from our table, but it was still a cosy little setting with nothing in our view except for each there and the dark inkiness of the sea as we sailed through the Mediterranean sea. We both ordered a glass of red wine while we perused the menu, both deciding to order the same things starting with the lump crab cake. We were both a little surprised when this arrived because unlike a traditional crab cake coated in breadcrumbs, this was simply a charred patty of pure crab meat which we both really liked. For mains we chose the surf and turf with the lobster tail arriving in its shell, accompanied by a 4oz fillet mignon, the perfect size for us. For our sides we chose the garlic mashed potato, lobster Mac and cheese, green beans and onion rings and again these were perfectly proportioned for us. The steak was accompanied by a bernaise sauce and the lobster a butter sauce. Despite not being a massive steak fan I have to say that this piece of filet mignon was cooked to perfection, not just to meet my cooking point but also with a delicious salty crust which added to the flavour and gave a contrast to the melt in the mouth tenderness of the steak itself. Since neither of us could choose a dessert and wanting to try everything we both went for the Polo quintet, a plate of desserts featuring five of the chefs favourite concoctions. Even though they were small portions of each I couldn’t manage all of them but it was nice to have a mouthful of each of them. We finished the meal with a hot drink which was served with apricot and cassis jellies. All in all we had a very nice meal in a beautifully romantic setting, with attentive yet discreet service.
Jacques French
Located mid ship near the central stairway, Jacques is open every evening from 6.30 to 9pm. This is the French speciality restaurant which although included in your fare does require a reservation and is usually only available once during your voyage. The menu is extensive, starting with chefs amuse bouche of the day, followed by a choice of either six cold or four hot starters and then three soups, two hot and one chilled. The main courses are divided into a choice of seven fish dishes, three meat dishes, and four rotissierie dishes as well as a special of the day. There is a choice from eight side dishes to accompany your meal which can be ordered individually or to share as a table. To finish off the meal there is the option to make your choice from the cheese trolley or one of the eight desserts on offer, all of which can be accompanied by cream, ice cream or sorbet. The meal ends with a plate of chocolate, pistachio and vanilla madeleines to accompany a cup of tea or coffee.
Dinner:
The restaurant itself has a very sophisticated, romantic French bistro style to its decor with delightful arched ceilings and lots of light creams and golds throughout. Although the restaurant was nearly at full capacity by the time we arrived for our 8pm reservation, we were lucky enough to be seated at a lovely little table for two by the window. After being offered the menu we were given time to peruse it and make our choices before our wonderful waiter came to take our order. Since I had chosen the goats cheese soufflé as a starter we had a little wait for our starters, but in the meantime we were served with a little plate of amuse bouche consisting of the most delicious aubergine and olive tartlet and a little fried parmesan ball. When our starters arrived my molten goats cheese soufflé looked amazing but a lot less healthy than the lump crab meat salad with plenty of delicious crab meat wrapped up in a vibrant green lettuce leaf that Rich had ordered. Nonetheless I had no regrets, it was delicious and I made sure to enjoy it in true French style, using the sourdough bread from the bread basket to soak up the remains of the cheese sauce. Next up we both chose the chilled green pea vichyssoise which was topped with little pieces of crispy Iberico ham, absolutely delicious. For main course I chose the salted scallops served with fondant potatoes and morel sauce on the waiters recommendation. Rich instead went for the roasted lamb loin with a bean purée. We chose the mashed potato, cauliflower gratin and haricots verbs side dishes to share. All of it was delicious and perfectly balanced. For desserts Rich chose the chocolate mousse and I had the apple tart frangipane, both of which were lovely, and by now we were completely full up even though our waiter bought us a plate of madeleines to have with our tea and coffee. Overall we really enjoyed Jacques, finding plenty of options on the extensive menu that we would have enjoyed. The service was attentive, if a little slow between the soup and main course, but this suited us, it gave us time to let our food go down between courses. We love that we were offered tea and coffee at the end and most of all we loved that the portion sizes weren’t too large end we left feeling full but not uncomfortable.
Red Ginger
Located mid ship of the atrium, Red Ginger is open every evening from 6.30 to 9pm. This is the Asian speciality restaurant which although included in your fare does require a reservation and is usually only available once during your voyage. The menu is quite extensive and includes some traditional sushi type dishes and a choice from eight other appetisers, two soups and six salads and a comprehensive choice of seafood, vegetable and meat main courses. The style of the venue tries to emanate a Japanese style with the decor sporting lots of black and red with a very stylish authentic atmosphere.
Dinner:
We arrived for our 7.30 reservation and were shown to a little table for two sandwiched between another table for tow and a table for four who already had some food on the table, whetting our appetite for what was to come. We were immediately offered a pot of tea to accompany our meal, alongside the menu and a hot cloth to wipe our hands. We decided to start our meal with the Vietnamese Banh Trang summer rolls, beautifully chopped fruit and vegetables wrapped up in rice paper and almost to gorgeous to eat, and the tuna tatiki, thin slices of seared tuna coated with a sesame crust and served with a wasabi cream. Next up we chose the spicy this beef salad which had a nice kick to it, and the avocado lobster salad, three little discs of lobster atop an avocado tuna mix string on a lotus crisp. For our main course we both decided to have the beef teriyaki which turned out to be one of the tastiest dishes we ate on the ship, a beautifully succulent fillet of beef cooked to perfection, sliced and covered in a delicious sticky teriyaki sauce and served with a carrot, asparagus, baby corn, mange tout and a slice of lotus. We each had the stir fry rice and a side dish of broccoli and shiitake mushrooms. But it wasn’t over yet, the desserts were equally as tasty, with Rich choosing the steamed ginger cake, a soaked ginger sponge served with an apple cardamom ice cream, and Helen choosing the bounty cake, a delicious soaked sponge cake with a creamy coconut cream in the middle and a delicate chocolate sauce.
Horizon Lounge
Horizons Lounge is the large lounge bar at the front of the ship on deck 15 with a lovely panoramic view out to sea. This is used as a lounge during the day, serving the formal afternoon tea every afternoon at 4pm, then turning into a bar in the evening and the late night entertainment after dinner, with a live band and a large dance floor.
Breakfast:
Every morning from 6.30 to 11am there are a selection of cereals, breads and pastries laid out in the coffee station located in the entrance corner on the starboard side of the Horizon lounge.
Afternoon tea:
From 4pm to 5pm every day Horizons lounge is transformed into an elegant afternoon tea lounge with the string quartet playing and all of the tables laid out with white table cloths and beautifully decorated fine bone china tableware. Upon entering the lounge you couldn’t help but be impressed with the elegance, tranquility and beautiful sea views out of the floor to ceiling front windows. Choosing a table in the window we were immediately bought over a pot of hot water each, followed by the choice of teas bought around in a little wooden box by a white gloved waitress. However this is where things became a little disappointing with the food coming round in a food trolley manned by two servers, which took some time since a lot of people had turned up for afternoon tea. We also made the mistake of just taking sandwiches on the first round expecting to be able to get cakes on the second round but this took a very long time and meant we were waiting for cakes for a long time. The food on offer was also a little disappointing overall. Although the sandwiches were nice they were quite large for an afternoon tea offering and there were no cucumber sandwiches - an absolute must at afternoon tea. Worst of all were the sweet offerings with very little choice of bite size cakes, instead with two flan type options, and whilst I chose one of them I wasn’t that impressed by it. And there were no scones on offer - very bizarre for afternoon tea. Whilst not a deal breaker, afternoon tea was a rather disappointing experience considering the standard of the food offerings generally available on this ship.
Room Service
Breakfast:
The room service breakfast menu is a edited version of the menu available at the Grand Dining Room but still featuring an extensive choice of dishes. Breakfast is ordered in the traditional way by hanging an order form on your stateroom door the previous evening. The time slots available run half hourly from 6.30am until 10.30am, except for disembarkation day when it is available from 6am to 8am. On the occasions we had room service breakfast it arrived promptly at the allotted time with our butler setting it all out on the table in our room, including a lovely white table cloth. We also always made non menu requests, such as no eggs on our avocado toast and greek yoghurt rather than plain yoghurt, and these request were always met. The coffee always arrived piping hot in an insulated jug meaning we were able to enjoy coffee on our balcony long after we had finished breakfast. We also loved that a room service breakfast was offered on disembarkation day, something we have never seen on any other ship.
All day menu:
Room service is available free of charge 24 hours a day, simply by calling the number on the in suite phone. There are a range of offerings from sushi to pizzas, pasta, burgers and cooked dishes, as well as desserts and drinks (chargeable). During dinner service it is also possible to order from the Grand Dining room, Toscana, Polo Grill, red Ginger or Jacques menu - a very nice way to enjoy the speciality dining more than once whilst in the comfort of your suite, or indeed on your balcony.
Canapés:
Canapes are available for suite guests is a daily canapé menu from which guests can make two choices from the ?8 savoury and 2 sweet options. These are delivered to your suite between 5 and 6pm and includes things like a meze platter, maki rolls, olives and nuts, spring rolls, nachos, fruit kebabs and chocolate covered strawberries. It really is a nice way to start the evening with a drink and some nibbles on the balcony before getting ready for dinner.
Thank you to our preferred travel partners Panache cruises and Oceania Cruises who hosted us on this cruise and paid our cruise fare, except for the flights and transfers which were covered by us. Neither Oceania cruises or Panache had any editorial control over any of our content, either before, during our after our voyage.
If you enjoyed this blog why not take a look at some of our other Dining Guides, including Seabourn, Windstar Star Plus , Viking Cruises and Virgin Voyages.
If you are interested in booking a cruise with these or any other luxury cruise lines then we would recommend contacting a connoisseur at our trusted cruise partners Panache cruises - please mention that you have been referred to them through Visit With Us.
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