Christmas Markets R322 Food and Drink

#1

How P&O make a profit when people have paid such low last minute prices I don't know. Without exception the meals produced in the MDR were superb. Hot well cooked and wonderfully presented meals.

As I said the Orangery was not up to much. The selection of food was adequate but the whole buffet area needs a re vamp so all our meals were taken in the MDR. Everyone was eager to use the gels and didn't notice any bad habits or sneezes projected into open space!!

What iIS amazing is the vast intake of food that some people manage.

We ate twice at alternative dining. The Pennant Grill was a let down. As we were on a winter cruise the tables were obviously inside. It felt as though we were at the end of the buffet section. Perhaps a screen could be used to section the tables off to make it more attractive.

The starter we chose was prawns and scallops. These were covered in batter and were either deep fried or oven cooked either way they were awful and certainly nothing special.
The lamb was delicious and the sweet terrible.
I chose seasonal berries and whipped cream topped with a hazelnut pavlova shell.
Presented before me was (I think) a large commercially produced round shaped meringue. On top thick cream with about 6 berries embedded in it and another large meringue on top. Nothing to suggest hazelnuts or a pavlova shell. Rather two thick sugary meringues which tasted like something I would buy in the supermarket.
We were then given two Belgian chocolates taken from a box of chocolates. I have had meals from speciality restaurants before and this was certainly nothing special or memorable. A complete waste of money.

Our other bad experience was Cafe Bordeaux. Loch Duart Salmon Steak. Sauce vierge with tomatoes olive oil and fresh basil.

The reality was I could do better and the vegetables were plain and ordinary. Dessert was creme caramel with oranges in Grand Marnier. Not sure where the oranges or GM were and the creme caramel must have been from a packet.

Two big disappointments so would not recommend either as the MDR meals were far superior. CB is an attractive area but a big let down.

I thought that the wines and other drinks were very good value. £13 would buy a good bottle of wine to accompany dinner.
We had one cocktail and it tasted very good.

We liked the filter coffee and this was available in the Crows Nest. Sorry to say not available in Anderson's or Carmen's which meant that we didn't go there. Not sure why the big deal over coffee as not everyone wants to keep drinking cold drinks.

If you are going on Aurora you will be well fed with a good choice of food. You will have to make up your own mind about alternative dining as your experience may be different.

Hopefully your on board spend will not be massive as prices are much better than the American ships.

I will review soon on ports of call. Wishing you all a happy New Year.

#2

Thanks for the review Felix. Look forward to reading the rest.

I'm hoping that the refit promised later next year does indeed revamp the select dining options; as things stand I'm not tempted by them.

#3

We were also on this cruise with our friends for my husbands 50th. I agree with your thoughts on the Pennant Grill, not impressed at all. There were several staff eating there during our meal, who seemed to spend the whole evening taking photos of each other. The steaks were tough and the service rather slow. We enjoyed all meals in the mdr though, good choices and good variety.

#4

Thanks for the review Felix.
The select dining is something that the cruise lines will need to keep an eye on. The food in the MDR is generally very good and therefore it is important that when a customer is paying extra that they feel they have had value for money ... so the select dining standards have to be maintained at a high level.

Cruise Community Forum