Victoria Katarina Dining

Editor Rating
4.0
Very Good
Dining

Meals are served in a single seating in Katarina's dining room on Deck 1 aft. The room is bright and cheery, though a bit institutional. A single straight-line buffet station bisects the room. All tables are identical round eight-tops, and you are assigned your tablemates, even for buffet breakfasts and lunches.

Breakfasts are primarily Western, with the addition of dim sum (Chinese filled dumplings) and teacakes. The types of eggs, breakfast meats, pancakes and waffles changed daily. One deficit was the absence of an omelet station, which would have added a cooked-to-order item to the breakfast menu. Buffet lunches were a mix of Western and Chinese dishes, weighted toward the Western. Dinners were the highlight of the food service, and were 100 percent Chinese, served "banquet style." Each table has a large glass lazy Susan in its center upon which the evening's selections are placed, typically four cold appetizers, a soup, rice, and eight or so hot main courses. Diners rotate the lazy Susan and transfer what they want onto their own plates. We found the quality and selection onboard just as good as the shoreside restaurants we experienced during our land stay in Beijing and Chonqing. For those Americans whose hometowns have Sichuan-style Chinese restaurants, the cuisine will be familiar territory; for those who are used to Cantonese food, this cuisine's pungency and spiciness will be an eye- and sinus-opening experience.

There is no specific provision for special dietary needs, though there are a couple of meat-free items offered at each meal, and the galley was happy to whip up a couple of additional all-vegetable items for a vegetarian at our table.

Room service is not available.

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