Waterfront - There's views of water and it's at the front (actually the back)
By Cruising With Honey - 17:33
"Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink"
If you're unaware of the reference, this famous line is from the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Apparently (and I just found this out today thanks to Wikipedia), "the poem may have been inspired by James Cook's second voyage of exploration (1772–1775) of the South Seas and the Pacific Ocean."
That's NOT why I quoted the poem. Neither am I trying to be witty or clever alluding metaphorically or reducing my voyage to some obscure reference. The reason is quite simple: There LITERALLY wasn't a drop (of tap water) to drink (that didn't make me gag).
I realise that this above comment puts me in the 'whingers' category, but the water at the Waterfront restaurant tasted like it was taken straight out of a highly chlorinated swimming pool. Due to my ignorance about Red Level while aboard the Eden, I was unaware that the reason the water was so chlorinated was due to the attempts to eradicate any Norovirus. On night one, the water was so highly chlorinated, my eldest (Miss 11) and my husband - who are both very sensitive to chlorine, both had mild reactions. Miss 11 got a very sore throat and hubby a migraine. As the cruise progressed, the water became more palatable - and we bought many bottles of water in our cabin.
But, now to the food.
Before I go into detail about the food, I will reveal another tip:
There are TWO shows a night - 6:30pm and 8:45pm. If you haven't booked dinner at Dragon Lady, Angelo's or Salt Grill, and you don't want to dine at the Pantry, then you will have to factor in that there will be an influx of people at around 7:30pm who are leaving the first show. You may have to wait to be seated.
I've highlighted this point above as the other common gripe I heard was the waiting times to get seated (at certain times) at Waterfront. We dined at Waterfront four times and we waited on average about 5 minutes. Only once were we given a buzzer which we took to the Blue Room as it was more comfortable to wait on a couch then standing around listening to passengers huffing and puffing about the wait. As my husband often exclaimed (only loud enough for me to hear) "What are you in rush for? It's not like you have to be anywhere."
The other complaint I (over)heard was, "Why are we waiting? The restaurant is only half full!" The explanation to this is simple - especially to those who have worked in hospitality: The number of people seated in a restaurant does not reflect seating capacity, rather reflects what the kitchen can comfortably manage.
Sorry, won't digress again. Let's talk about the food.
Despite the fact there aren't tablecloths - you would NOT believe it if I told you how many times I heard that whinged about, the tables are comfy, the colours neutral and there are a number of different seating arrangements available to accommodate most dining parties. We were given a semi-circle booth which was really nice to sit on. Also, keep in mind, the Waterfront is at the BACK of the ship - so if you suffer from seasickness, you will DEFINITELY feel it here. The waitstaff were ALL very nice and courteous, and many learned our names and even our preferences. I find that pretty extraordinary as there are 1500 passengers. Our orders were taken promptly and if there was a delay for the food to arrive, we were given sincere apologies. There is NEVER an excuse to blame the waiter for the a delay in the kitchen. That's just bad manners.
Okay, now the food.
As we have kids, we were handed both the regular menu and the Kids' menu (which I was say was geared towards the under 5s as my little ones never ordered form it. Having said that, my little munchers eat a very wide variety of food and aren't attracted to a limited menu).
I can't possibly remember all the dishes on offer, but I will give a general overview of my opinion of the various courses. There were about 40 options available.
Entrees: Soups - flavoursome and interesting. Salads crunchy yet small, and other dishes (such as the paté) would appeal to a smaller demographic. The entrees were smaller than I'm used to having at Sydney restaurants, but if you wanted more than one, there's nothing stopping you from ordering two.
Mains: The standard meat, vegetarian and fish options. I enjoyed everything I ordered, especially the Ocean Trout. The schnitzel was also yummy, but the steak was rather tough. All sides were quite generous - and there were always chips at the ready.
Plates to Share: I really liked this option as it meant we could eat more like a family - which is what I love about meal times. The servings again were generous and quite tasty.
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| Deliciously sweet! |
Dessert: I found that the desserts were similar to what was on offer at The Pantry - but I'm not complaining! Puddings, cakes and various meringue concoctions.
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| Champagne life |
Wine: I am by NO means a connoisseur, in fact I hardly every drink at
home, but when on holidays, we did indulge and shared a bottle of wine
at most dinners. There was an extensive list, but as I said I have limited knowledge. The waitstaff also had limited knowledge, which was a little disappointing - but I'm sure they'll pick it up.
If I was to rate it out of 10, I would give it a 7. I would say the Waterfront was akin to dining at any family restaurant (not Pizza Hut, but a place you could take your mum, kids and granny) or a nice Leagues/Bowling/RSL Club bistro - but remember you get table service! Nothing to complain about, and nothing to rave about. Just good, filling food that a family of five would probably pay about $180-$200 in Sydney for. Let me again reiterate, I was EXTREMELY grateful for every meal I had. I didn't have to cook, clean up or serve. The kids had whatever they fancied and all had full tummies.
However, before I sign off, there are two incidents I would like to retell.
The first was when we were lining up one night to dine. A very loud and obnoxious male passenger made is his business to tell everyone (he was shouting loud enough to startle my kids) "DON'T ORDER THE STEAK! IT IS HORRIBLE, IT'S DISGUSTING. HOW DARE THEY SERVE IT! SHAME P&O". Now, this was really uncalled for and just plain rude. Unfortunately, it wasn't an isolated incident. It made me feel embarrassed to be quite honest.
The second was when I accidentally removed the ice bucket from the table as we had only got through half a bottle of wine. I hadn't quite walked out when the 'manager' openly and loudly admonished the waiter. It was MY fault, not the waiter and I went back to set it straight.
The reason I have written about these two negative experiences is to make one point: some people are just asses.
P.S Getting to the Waterfront for the directionally-challenged i.e ME was a feat in itself. Even though it is on Deck 7, you have to go UP to Deck 8, then walk across, then go DOWN a level. By Day 11, I finally figured out how to get there.
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| Sticky date pudding |
P.P.S As it was SO nicely pointed out to me, the Waterfront restaurant is in fact AT THE BACK of the ship. I told you all I was directionally- challenged!!!
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