REVIEW: This Small Cruise Ship Has Limited Meal Times — But You Won’t Miss a Thing!

Do National Geographic Cruises offer the culinary adventure of a lifetime, or is this one expedition that’s best skipped?

The legendary Nat-Geo — which was acquired by Disney as part of the 20th Century Fox purchase — has teamed with Lindblad Expeditions to offer voyages that “bring together the legacy of National Geographic, with its long commitment to sharing and protecting world wonders” with Lindblad’s “unparalleled expertise” in taking travelers to the “planet’s remote and wild places.” Recently, we had the chance to experience a cruise on the Orion. We sampled all of the experiences, expeditions, and food that the ship had to offer.

So, how was the food?

IT WAS GREAT!

We found Orion’s culinary offerings to be top-notch, gourmet-level, restaurant-quality food.

A word of warning, though, this is not a cruise for those who prefer fast food. Hamburgers, pizza, and chicken strips are nowhere to be found. Instead, the core meal elements included soup, salad, appetizer, and main courses, including vegetarian options.

Some of the standouts included steak frites, an exceptional Caesar salad, and some incredible vegetarian dishes made with locally sourced ingredients from the ship’s ports of call.

The meals also offered numerous bread and butter varieties, as well as included wine pairings and two end-of-meal options: a specialty dessert or a sorbet.

There are three primary meals each day: Breakfast and lunch are served buffet style in the outdoor cafe area, weather permitting, for one hour each day. Dinner is served in an indoor dining room (which will also serve breakfast and lunch in the event of bad weather). The first night was buffet style, while the following evenings featured sit-down, coursed meals where passengers could choose their table and, in turn, sit with a different group each evening, including the Nat Geo specialists on board.

In addition to those meal times, there’s a “high tea” offered in the lounge each afternoon. Small bites during this meal include finger sandwiches and charcuterie plates that feature locally sourced meats.

Some snacks, including fruit, cookies, cereal bars, breadsticks, dried fruit, and coffee, are available in the Observation Lounge.

Drinks, including sodas, coffee, tea, and alcohol, are available at the bar, which is located in the lounge. Passengers are provided with reusable souvenir NatGeo water bottles that are compatible with filling stations located throughout the boat.

With all of that being said, there are some major differences between dining on a National Geographic Cruise vs typical cruise dining that any potential passenger needs to be aware of. Some of these include:

• There was no room service option.
• Outside of these scheduled mealtimes, there aren’t many — if any — options for off-schedule meals on the ship.
• The day’s dinner entrees are posted in the morning, with cruisers asked to make a tentative selection as a way to lessen food waste and allow the crew to judge how much of each item will be needed on a given day. If you want more than one entree, you can check more than one box. Have no fear if you change your mind by dinner time; however, as doing so is perfectly acceptable and nothing is “locked in.”

If you can deal with those differences, then the food on a National Geographic Cruise is absolutely a selling point for taking a voyage. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on our NatGeo cruise experience.

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Do these food offerings sway you to consider a NatGeo cruise? Let us know in the comments below.

Disclosure: We were invited by NatGeo to take this cruise. This did not affect our reporting of the event — our opinions are our own.

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