There are those who say Oceania food is not what it once was including one review of this particular cruise. I must vehemently disagree. My wife and I both food the food to be outstanding in every venue. The only food criticisms we had was that we did not find the Thanksgiving night dinner to be to our taste or what we would have expected. Others thought it was fine. Every other meal we had was excellent in every regard save for one side dish that was not hot enough on one night, a minor issue. One could easily travel on Oceania just for the food experience.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal in La Reserve on the second night of the cruise. If someone told me in advance that I would fully enjoy a three plus hour meal, I would have thought him crazy. But I enjoyed it immensely. The commentary about the food and accompanying wines was interesting and spot on. Watching the pastry chef construct the delicious dessert was fascinating. And we made great friends at our table (there are three tables of eight in La Reserve) who became our best cruise buddies on this trip.

The four specialty restaurants were grand! If we were forced to pick a favorite, I guess we would choose Red Ginger just for the uniqueness of the menu choices. The duck was perfect. In Jacques I ordered a veal chop with trepidation because I am usually disappointed in veal chops. No worries as it was possibly the perfect veal chop. In the Polo Grill I had a rib eye that any luxury steak restaurant would proudly serve. We had solo tables in all the specialty restaurants. Read more