CRUISECLUES  Our Cruises Cruise Information from Passengers  
Home Shipstips Message Boards PhotoClubs Menus Port Ship Schedules Cruise Cams Packing Lists Staterooms Daily Programs Bar Lists Personal  Sites Reviews Wine Lists
  Tahiti Cruise  -  R3/R4 Food and Wine

Cruise Ships
Adonia
Adventure of the Seas
Allure of the Seas
Amazing Grace
Amsterdam
Anthem of the Seas
Arcadia
Aurora
Azamara Journey 
Azamara Quest
Azura
Balmoral

Black Watch
Boudicca
Braemar
Bremen
Brilliance of the Seas
Caribbean Princess
Carnival Breeze
Carnival Conquest
Carnival Destiny
Carnival Dream 
Carnival Ecstasy

Carnival Elation
Carnival Fantasy
Carnival Fascination
Carnival Freedom
Carnival Glory
Carnival Imagination

Carnival Inspiration
Carnival Legend
Carnival Liberty
Carnival Magic 
Carnival Miracle
Carnival Paradise
Carnival Pride
Carnival Sensation
Carnival Spirit
Carnival Splendor
Carnival Sunshine
Carnival Triumph
Carnival Valor
Carnival Victory
Celebration
Celebrity Century
Celebrity Constellation
Celebrity Eclipse
Celebrity Equinox
Celebrity Infinity 
Celebrity Millennium
Celebrity Reflection

Celebrity Silhouette
Celebrity Solstice
Celebrity Summit
Celebrity Xpedition
Columbus
Coral Princess
Costa Allegra
Costa Atlantica
Costa Classica
Costa Concordia
Costa Deliziosa
Costa Fascinosa
Costa Favolosa
Costa Fortuna
Costa Luminosa
Costa Magica
Costa Marina
Costa Mediterranea
Costa Pacifica
Costa Romantica
Costa Serena
Costa Tropicale
Costa Victoria
Costa Voyager
Crown Princess
Crystal Harmony
Crystal Serenity
Crystal Symphony
Dawn Princess
Deutschland
Diamond Princess
Disney Dream
Disney Fantasy
Disney Magic
Disney Wonder
Emerald Princess
Empress of the Seas
Enchantment of the Seas
Eurodam
Europa
Explorer of the Seas
Freedom of the Seas
Galaxy
Golden Princess
Grandeur of the Seas
Grand Princess
Hanseatic
Holiday
Horizon
Independence of the Seas
Insignia
Island Escape
Island Princess
Island Star
Jewel of the Seas
Jubilee
Kapitan Khlebnikov
Legacy
Legend of the Seas
Liberty of the Seas
Maasdam 
Mandalay
Majesty of the Seas
Marco Polo
Marina
Mariner of The Seas
Mercury
Monarch of the Seas
MSC Armonia
MSC Divina
MSC Fantasia
MSC Lirica
MSC Magnifica
MSC Melody
MSC Musica
MSC Opera
MSC Orchestra
MSC Poesia
MSC Serenata
MSC Sinfonia
MSC Splendida
Nautica
Navigator of the Seas
Nieuw Amsterdam
Noordam
Nordic Empress
Norway
Norwegian Breakaway
Norwegian Crown
Norwegian Dawn
Norwegian Dream
Norwegian Epic
Norwegian Gem
Norwegian Getaway
Norwegian Jade

Norwegian Jewel
Norwegian Majesty
Norwegian Pearl
Norwegian Sea
Norwegian Sky
Norwegian Spirit
Norwegian Star
Norwegian Sun
Norwegian Wind
Oasis of the Seas
Oceana
Ocean Princess
Ocean Village
Oosterdam

Oriana
Pacific Dawn

Pacific Jewel
Pacific Pearl
Pacific Princess
Pacific Sun
Paul Gauguin

Polynesia
Pride of Aloha
Pride of America
Pride of Hawaii
Prinsendam
Quantum of the Seas
Queen Elizabeth - QE
Queen Mary 2 - QM2
Queen Victoria
R4
Radiance of the Seas
Radisson Diamond

Regal Princess
Regatta
Rhapsody of the Seas
Riviera
Rotterdam VI
Royal Clipper
Royal Princess
Ruby Princess
Ryndam
Sapphire Princess
Sea Princess
Seabourn Legend
Seabourn Odyssey
Seabourn Pride
Seabourn Quest
Seabourn Sojourn
Seabourn Spirit
Serenade of the Seas

Seven Seas Mariner
Seven Seas Navigator
Seven Seas Voyager
Silver Cloud
Silver Explorer
Silver Shadow
Silver Spirit
Silver Whisper
Silver Wind
Sovereign of the Seas
Splendour of the Seas
Star Clipper
Star Flyer
Star Princess
Statendam
Sun Princess
Superstar Gemini
Superstar Libra
Superstar Virgo
Tahitian Princess
Thomson Celebration

Thomson Destiny
Thomson Dream
Thomson Majesty
Thomson Spirit
Veendam
Ventura
Vision of the Seas
Volendam
Voyager of the Seas
Westerdam
Wind Spirit
Wind Star
Wind Surf
Yankee Clipper
Zaandam
Zenith
Zuiderdam

  

 
groups.yahoo group Renaissance_New_Board message 8844  Drink Prices (most recent first)
groups.yahoo group Renaissance_New_Board message/3907  

Quotes (Diane and Buil's experiences follow others):

After you arrive from the airport and get processed onto the ship, they'll tell you to explore the ship and go to the buffet if you want something to eat. Don't go to the buffet--it's basically just stuff left over from lunch and is pretty grim. As long as you get there before 9 you can go to the Club for dinner instead.

The dinners were all pretty good, but the lunches were generally mediocre.

We enjoyed...freedom of eating when you want to.

The Club restaurant was the best...service was better in the Club...Panorama  buffet is quite good, too.

The food in the Panorama Buffet was very good (the pastries, rolls etc. were out of this world!) and also fast...

Excellent French fries from the BBQ.

The buffet is a little limited in choice but is still pretty good.

Food in the Club Restaurant was excellent and incredibly varied, service very good (lots of Eastern European waiters), and being able to sit with different people was wonderful...

The food ranges from good to very good, with a couple of dishes (the lamb and a couple of the dishes in the Italian restaurant) exceptional. The staff is very helpful, always friendly, and you can get anything you ask for! We ate in the specialty restaurants a few times, but enjoyed sitting with new people in the Club restaurant.

...we had to wait through their appetizers to get our one course.

...the lunch menu is exactly the same in the buffet.

(ed. the Club restaurant) I'd recommend it for breakfast if you're not in a hurry. We ate breakfast in the buffet every day (the egg-type stuff isn't that great but there are cereals, fruit, etc.) until the last one. It turned out that the Club breakfast was better; you can get bagels with smoked salmon and a number of other things that weren't in the buffet. It's also nice and quiet.

The coffee is uniformly awful. There is an espresso machine in the buffet (at the bar when you first walk in) but even that was pretty bad. However, we had a latte every morning, which was about $2. (By the way, they automatically add tips onto everything.)

Maybe...bad luck...Italian eatery didn’t work out...from New York City where...some pretty good Italian food.

The Grill is quite good, but you have to make reservations for it (and the Italian restaurant). You must call the day before you want to eat there (e.g., call Monday morning to make a reservation for Tuesday night), starting at 7:30 a.m., I believe. Just let the phone ring until someone answers. Try to get in early on so you can do it again later.

...battled with the tips ???? along with a lengthy discussion with one of the maitre d’s on our last day.  We ate...the Italian, the Grill...the Club...the Buffet...Some of the waiters were EXEMPLARY but some...were simply promoted bus boys and highly inexperienced at that...Sadly it was clear that management made no attempt to reward the Good Waiters instead tended to use them as convenient trainers and stool pigeons <<<<<<a common occurrence in far too many industries...It was also clear that inadequate training was going on along with a failure by management to ensure that for eg ....if lamb was on the menu in the club there was an adequate supply of mint jelly >>>>>we waited 15 minutes...while our waiter was sent up to the grill to get some and at 7 pm in the evening !!!!!!!!!!!  Only once were we actually offered the Black pepper grinder even in the Grill (standard procedure on Princess, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean)...Poor English and poor understanding were another bar to good service as often the wrong item was bought to the table or an item ordered rare turned up well done...clearly the rapid expansion of the cruise industry has a lot to do with this problem but when all concerned know that irrespective of how they perform they get an equal share in the tips pot the problems will continue.  We basically enjoyed our cruise and I was especially grateful to learn that everything was cooked on Stainless steel (as I am severely allergic to Aluminum)

...the corkage fee is $10...The wine markup on the menu is average. One nice thing is that if you don't finish your bottle at dinner you can ask them to save the rest for the next night...By the way, they had a wine tasting event onboard which was pretty fun for $5.

...we were never able to obtain a reservation in the Grill or the Italian Restaurant despite repeated efforts and finally just gave up!

It is virtually impossible to get a table for two at any meal. The Grill and Italian restaurants have only two tables for two and the Club tables for two are separated from the main table by only a couple of inches so that in reality you are group dining. Very little chance you’ll be able to have a romantic evening dining alone on this cruise. We found the food itself to be mediocre in quality, indifferently prepared (in the Italian restaurant inedibly prepared) and ineptly (although pleasantly and even enthusiastically) served. The menus were repetitious with only the most minor of changes during the length of the cruise. Room service is not worth discussing. A meager continental breakfast the only thing available in the morning and leftover canapés from the buffet in the evening.  

Renaissance does not use MSG in their food preparation

--------------------------------------------------------

DIANE and BUIL's EXPERIENCES on the R4:

Jeanyves, the head wine steward, was outstanding for his enthusiasm and his happy cheerful attitude.  We also enjoyed Visaluks Panorama bar service for her constant steady smile and consistent service in the face of occasional grumps.  Anita, the bar waitress was also incredible in her good-hearted handling of all circumstances and her willingness to go to other lounges on the ship to obtain a drink sometimes not offered in the current bar.  We were very pleased with the dining room waiters, Goliwar, Zelko, and Tammy.  As you can see, we felt the service was of good quality.

Everyone felt the Pizza in the Panorama buffet was incredible for the first week with it's remarkable crispy golden brown crust (we thought maybe lightly sprinkled cheese along the edge?).  The Pizza crust suddenly changed, and when we asked the pizza man, Christian, we found the crust had been hand made during the past week, but no more.  It was a genuine loss.  Many times the fish in the Panorama was not over-cooked (just right) as it was occasionally in the dining room.  In the Panorama's evening dining offering before we went to the Club, we sampled tasty huge shrimp and scallops one night and just tasty huge scallops another night .  Very good for a buffet, though the choices were somewhat limited.  The dessert choices in the Panorama and the Club were some of the best of any of our cruises.  All very good with the Club having remarkable ice cream as well.

The BBQ, just outside the Panorama buffet, made up the hamburger patties ahead of time, so they were usually a bit dry.  These practices are for the convenience of the service and the passenger suffers from the lack of freshness.   The ribs were better but just ok.  Soft ice-cream was served during 4-5pm tea time at the pool bar, but did not approach the quality of the ice-cream at dinner.

The discovery of an inexpensive but quite good French red wine, Roussillon J. Deville Rouge, $3.75 a glass, encouraged us to have wine more often in the Panorama buffet which had an outstanding bar within (unusual).  

As others, we felt the Club restaurant was better than the Italian, and we didn't make it into the Grill.  Besides the better food, the Club Maitre'd was a great guy, always doing his best with a smile.  Also we found it difficult to make a phone reservation in the upper restaurants, partly due to the slightly crusty attitude of the Ren staff when we attempted making a reservation.  We knew one couple who only dined in either the Italian or the Grill the entire cruise, as one of them always went in person early every morning to make a reservation.


NEXT    BACK TO R3/R4

 

Each of our Shipstips Cruise Ship pages (links on the left of any of our pages) generally has 1000's of mostly cruise vacation photos per ship ...100's of Cruise Reviews per ship  ... Menus, Cruise Cams, Daily Programs, Cabin Photos, Monthly Port Schedule, Deck Plans, 360 Virtual Tour, Ratings, Ship Statistics, Itinerary, Drink Menus, & or Wine Lists...and more

 

More Tahiti Cruise Pages

LAX to Faaa    R3/R4    What to Wear and Bring    Last Day   Faaa to LAX

Tahiti    Moorea    Huahine    Raiatea    Bora Bora

Cabin Breakfast Order Menu    Drink Menu

Reviews   PHOTOS    Tahiti Web Sites    Weather/Time

Travel Guide Books    Tahiti Maps     Dive Guide  

Passport/Visa      Gov Travel Advisory     Currency Conversion

Gov Travel Advisory    Message Boards


CRUISE SHIP:

Food / Wine   SPA & Workout Facilities    Tipping 

Excursion & Off Ship       Entertainment

Google
 
Web Cruiseclues
Shipstips Islesea
 
 
 
 

 

 

 
 

 
 
 
 
Home Shipstips Message Boards PhotoClubs Menus Port Ship Schedules Cruise Cams Packing Lists Staterooms Daily Programs Bar Lists Personal  Sites Reviews Wine Lists

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE