One of the nice features of Oceania Cruises is that while they have four specialty restaurants centered around cuisine from various countries, none of them are an extra cost. However, the specialty restaurants do require making a reservation. You can choose when you reserve whether you're willing to share a table or want a private table for just your traveling party. The length of the cruise and your cabin category dictate when and how many specialty dining reservations you can make pre-cruise. For our nine day cruise in a Penthouse Suite, we were able to make four dining reservations (only one per restaurant was allowed to be reserved pre-cruise) starting at 75 days out from the cruise. We chose to try them all and made a single reservation for a private table in each of them. Another perk of a PH and above suite is that you can arrange to have your specialty dinner served course by course in your cabin. We chose not to do that.
This post, however, will start to show you the dishes we experienced in the venues that need no reservation. We spent a lot of our meals dining in The Grand Dining Room. While it's called The Grand Dining Room on Oceania, it is the same as the typical Main Dining Room (MDR) you'd find on other lines. At least those with freestyle, my time, or anytime dining versus a set time in traditional dining. You simply walk up to the host station any time during serving hours and give your cabin number and the amount of people in your party. You will then be led to an available table that fits your group. It doesn't matter whether you are dining as a party of two one evening and a party of four the next like we had the pleasure of doing when we invited some friends on board to have dinner together. The Grand Dining Room, also much like other cruise lines, will always be open for breakfast and dinner every day but will not be open for lunch on a port day.
Unlike the specialty restaurants with a set menu, the menu changes here daily. There are some dishes in each course that are always available. We found that being asked about allergies and dietary restrictions was hit and miss so be sure to mention it yourself to your waiter if needed. The waiters are very helpful and knowledgeable to answer questions about what is in dishes or how it's prepared. Remember, these crew members are on board for months at a time seeing these same menus and most likely even sampling the dishes so they can answer guests' questions. Don't be afraid to ask for their opinions and recommendations!
Embarkation night dinner:
Appetizer Course
The Waves Grill menu - this stayed the same every day:
The Surf and Turf Wagyu Burger - Wagyu beef patty, lobster medallions, and truffle mayonnaise. The fries served at the Waves Grill are these nice thick cut steak fries. Much better than the matchstick ones at the grill section in The Terrace Cafe.
The Waves Club - Roast beef, turkey, smoked bacon, swiss, hard boiled egg, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise on white toast
The Grilled Reuben - corned beef brisket, swiss, sauerkraut, thousand island dressing, rye toast
Philly Cheesesteak - shredded striploin steak, provolone, sauteed onion, bell peppers, mushroom, and a toasted bun. Dad said he had to eat this like an open faced bunless sandwich because the bun was soaked through and too soggy to pick up.
My lunch from The Terrace Cafe on embarkation day. Such a zoo of people that I grabbed the quickest things I could and got out of the crowd. Table service with drink offerings was quick and plentiful throughout the cruise especially with water refills which I always appreciate. Another thing I would like to commend Oceania on is the multiple crew members who would step up and offer to carry the plate for you while you direct what and how much of anything you'd like to eat. I've seen crew members on other lines do that when asked or take the initiative to offer when they see someone who has mobility challenges but I've never been on a cruise where the crew members offered to help everyone they saw go by.
The only complaint I have from this meal is the odd service experience when I asked the crew member behind the counter to cut me some roast chicken. I waited for my turn behind a gentleman who was given whole slices like you would see laid out on a dining room plate that were as big as these slices of pizza. I stepped up next to request a few slices and was given these little chopped up end pieces. I tried asking for some more thinking it was just a small piece of meat he was cutting from but then he again only gave me the chopped up end pieces. Hence why I grabbed so much pizza to fill the plate.
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