ONBOARD THE OCEANIA RIVIERA — When you talk the talk, you have to be able to walk the walk, right? So when Oceania confidently states its ships have the "finest cuisine at sea"…everybody involved with the cuisine has to be able to "wok the wok."
This is especially true when the ship is the shiny new Riviera, the current flagship of the fleet, a fleet that is dedicated to serving gourmet meals. On its maiden, or Christening Cruise — the first time it actually sailed with a load of passengers — Riviera delivered.
Aside from the intelligent and mostly responsible cuisine, it sailed with three celebrities whose life is food (how many of us say we live to eat?):
• Cat Cora, the Riviera's Godmother and the world's only female Iron Chef
• Jacques Pepin, the line's Executive Culinary Director whose stamp is everywhere, including the bread served in the restaurant that bears his name
• Kathryn Kelly, who teaches three classes a day in the Bon Appetit Culinary Center and who is about to be featured in the Wall Street Journal
The Riviera also has 20 sommeliers to make sure you match the right vino with the right caviar…or steak. It has 10 places to eat, but mainstream meals revolve around five of them: Polo Grill, Jacques, Red Ginger, Toscana and the Grand Dining Room. The other five are either private (you pay extra) or places where you won't order a full meal.
At each dining venue, there is different elegant china and silver. The service is impeccable everywhere and the menu items generally live up to the lofty expectations. While lobster is king on Oceania ships, there are lots of vegetable items — three or four every meal — in addition to several vegetarian options. There is a Light Cuisine Menu…appie, soup, salad and a couple of entrees.
In her cooking classes, Chef Kelly preaches smart choices, but making them without losing the flavor. And it is okay to include desserts like that trio of sherbet…or even mille feuille, at least once in a while. Canyon Ranch items with calorie counts are on menus, so if you really want to take it that seriously, you can. A note at the bottom of one menu says: "Please ask your waiter if you prefer a dish from the main menu prepared plain, low fat, low sodium, without sauce, grilled or poached."
Perhaps the food in general is not as calorie-laden as in years past, but how do we know?
If you're new to cruising, it's possible you don't know that if you order something and it's 
not enough, you can always ask for more. You really can customize a meal. One night, I wanted cannelloni and also beef wellington so I ordered ½ order of cannelloni. As much as I loved the beef wellington, the cannelloni was the star, and I'm glad I had the chance to try it.
Negatives?
For all the professed dedication to eating more intelligently, meals are still larger than they need to be. For breakfast in the Grand Dining Room, I ordered the Express Breakfast, scrambled eggs and bacon. There was about a third of a pound of bacon, and enough scrambled eggs for two. On the upside, the toast was hot, a first on a cruise ship.
We ordered room service (working cruise, you know) with one dessert (cheesecake). I was asked if I wanted two, said no, and still two were on the tray.
Sometimes, things can get lost in the translation and if it's ever going to happen, cheesecake is the right time!
Diamond Princess
7 nights
July 21, 2012
Vancouver, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay National Park, College Fjord, Anchorage
Inside: $599
Cost per day: $85
www.princess.com