We booked the grand voyage for 70 days around Central and South America. Our 1st cruise with this company and likely our last. For 1/2 the money I wouldn’t bother writing this but for what they charge I feel compelled. The marketing and hype doesn’t match what was delivered.

The food isn’t very good on the whole. It’s monotonous, poorly conceived and executed. I could write a book about what was wrong. Serving spinach, asparagus and cauliflower on every plate for weeks tells you they don’t have a real chef. No food professional fails to realize these don’t work together nor do they go with every dish. A week or two ago they picked up a large quantity of what has to be the worst green beans you’ve ever had. Stringy, tough and absolutely inedible. They are serving them anyway and all over the menu. This is supposed to be a 6 star line. The food is dated. The specials at Atlantide the other night were chicken cordon bleu and beef stroganoff. Surely a joke. Everything is buried in butter and cream. No serious chef is cooking like this anymore. Some of the menu ingredients list items they don’t even have. Niçoise salad without the right olives, Greek salad without Kalamata olives and Latin American food without the listed cilantro. Have you ever had those tasteless California black olives? They are everywhere showing off the low food quality. Cutting corners like serving me a duck leg instead of a breast for a main course is sad. The lowlights are endless. The worst salsa and guacamole ever prepared with avocado out of a tub and salsa drowned in onions that have sat too long before serving. Carelessly cooked meats, green hard boiled eggs, dried out English and Canadian bacon and the most unsuccessful carving station (any meat) I’ve ever experienced. When you find a dish you like you can’t count on it to be good every time unfortunately. I’m going to move on even though I could write another 1000 words on the subject. It’s a huge disappointment and I’m sure I’ve conveyed the idea.

There are 2 restaurants on board that charge extra for your dining experience. La Dame is $60/person and Kaiseki is $40. Kaiseki is very good and a loose interpretation of Japanese food. The menu doesn’t change and for long voyagers loses its appeal. La Dame isn’t worth it. The plates are so hot they continue cooking your food until it’s ruined. It’s pointless since the kitchen is right there. Sauces come fused to the plate and fish overcooked. The ingredients by and large can be ordered at other inclusive restaurants on the ship. Read more