If you are a cruiser and a foodie, or just enjoy good food, take your appetite aboard Oceania Allura from Oceania Cruises.
To show how serious Oceania and Allura are about cuisine, the ship was christened by Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs program, the first time a culinary brand christened a ship.
I spent 12 relaxing days eating my way through this ship.
Allura took its maiden voyage on July 18, 2025. She is 807 feet and 67,000 gross tons. There are 15 decks, with eleven for passengers. Allura is considered a mid-size ship. It has 625 staterooms, all with balconies, for 1,200 guests, cared for by a crew of 800.
About The Food
My interview with Allura’s Executive Chef, Justin Nell, started with a question about the ship’s galleys (kitchens in boat-speak). Chef Nell said there was humor about Allura’s design: some called it a floating kitchen with guest rooms.
This is because galleys aboard total 21,500 square feet, oversized for a ship of 1,200 guests. Galleys for ships with three times as many guests may have only 5,000 more square feet on average. Aboard are 149 chefs, giving Allura a strong chef-to-guest ratio of 1:8.
I mentioned that on a large ship a few years earlier, the main-restaurant meals were a little flat and rarely hot. He explained those ships may have 50 to 60 meals waiting when the doors open, to get ahead of the rush.
Aboard Allura, there are 18 line chefs who will not fire up your cooked-to-order entrée until you are ready for it. “No dish is cooked in advance. Each line cook gets a printout of a guest’s order, with the ingredients, so it comes out fresh and hot.”
He said to get the best service, there were 152 waiters and 57 dishwashers. As a fan of Italian red sauce, I mentioned that Toscano’s (the ship’s Italian restaurant) tastes pretty close to my Italian neighbor’s grandmother’s.
He said it takes six hours for Toscano’s sauce to cook and simmer each day.
Every Night Feels Like a Special Occasion
There are seven restaurants for dinner. Five are fine dining, and two are casual. This is like going out to a special date-night restaurant every night aboard Allura. Browse the complete menus and dining experiences on Oceania’s site.
The Grand Dining Room, considered the main restaurant, is beautiful and airy. It has a changing menu but always offers steaks, fish, chicken, vegetarian options, and an international special. The quality equals the best of land-based continental-style restaurants.
The Specialty Restaurants
There are four specialty restaurants on Allura, included in the cruise price. Generally, depending on cruise length, you can dine at each one once. On our 12-day cruise, we tried a few of them twice.
I have seen wiggle room for guests to get an additional reservation by the specialty managers if they are flexible on time and sometimes willing to share a table.
The Polo Grill is the high-end steakhouse you may see in any big city. Start with Oysters Rockefeller, Tuna Tartare, or sautéed duck foie gras, then move on to salads, French Onion Soup, classic New England Clam Chowder, or Lobster Bisque.
Your 40-day-aged USDA Choice beef can include a 20-ounce porterhouse, ribeye, strip, filet mignon, or a large tomahawk steak. They also serve fish and lobster.
Jacques is about fine French dining. For starters, I enjoyed poached scallop gnocchi with lobster and white wine sauce, the molten goat cheese soufflé, as well as traditional baked escargots with Burgundy garlic butter.
For fish, the sautéed Dover sole or lobster Thermidor should not be missed. Meat classics include herb-roasted lamb rack and Brittany duck breast in a Grand Marnier sauce. The chocolate mousse was so dark, creamy, and rich that we stopped by twice as a take-out to our cabin.
Toscano is Allura’s taste of Italy. It reminded me of places I visited in Florence and Milan, as well as favorite high-end Italian restaurants on Long Island’s North Shore. Meals start with tasty bread and breadsticks (more on this later).
This is followed by a table-side visit from the olive oil and balsamic vinegar sommelier. She explained the difference between the several olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars presented to you.
There are too many in-house pasta, veal, and fish choices to list here. As mentioned earlier, anything with the red sauce is a hit. One standout was a large chop of perfectly cooked veal Milanese with bone, along with the seafood pasta.
To be honest, you can randomly point to anything on the menu and not go wrong.
Casual Dining and Hidden Gems
Red Ginger is described as a Pan-Asian wonder. Standouts included crispy lotus, lobster, avocado, tuna, hamachi, den miso with shiso vinegar, soft-shell crab tempura bao buns, short ribs, lobster pad Thai, miso-glazed sea bass, and sushi.
You cannot call the Terrace Café a standard ship’s buffet. There is nothing bland or sitting long in chafing dishes as on some larger ships. There are too many salads to list, plus sushi every night.
There is always a carving station and a grill cooking to order lamb, shrimp, steak, fish, and chicken that is brought to your table. The pasta station is all cooked to order. The menu changes daily here.
Waves Grill was a favorite place for large salads, fresh-pressed juices, and excellent pizza when we wanted a break from all the gourmet food. They also serve ice cream with creative flavors. I had the best chocolate malted there since high school.
Coffee lovers will not be disappointed in Baristas. They cover any type of coffee you can think of. There are always fresh pastries and cookies to go with your favorite hot or cold beverage. This premium coffee shop is included in your cruise.
Cooking Class
To further immerse ourselves in the Allura food experience, we joined a cooking class led by Master Chef Thomas Griffiths and assisted by his wife, chef/Dr. Junnle Lai. Chef Griffiths is one of 70 worldwide certified master chefs.
Whether new to the kitchen or a seasoned pro looking for a new recipe to try, there is something for everyone to learn and have fun.
What I liked about the class was the chefs’ style. Rather than standing at our stations the entire time watching, they had us gather around their workstations before each course. It felt like I was at a friend’s cooking party.
From the chef’s lead station, it was back to our personal space to marinate and sauté, sear, and slow-cook three dishes. Layout and cleanup are handled by kitchen assistants who magically appear and disappear.
The class concluded with a craft cocktail lesson. Cooking classes carry an extra fee and should be reserved in advance. Chef Griffiths and Lai were approachable around the ship when they were off duty.
Wine Pairing Lunch
During a sea day, we took part in a fine French food and wine-pairing lunch dubbed “Timeless French luxury thoughtfully plated and poured.” This was six courses featuring wine from the vineyards of Gérard Bertrand.
Allura’s pairing lunches are for people who enjoy food and the fanfare that goes with it. At each course, sommeliers told details about the wine just poured. After each plate was served, the chef explained to the 25 guests what they were eating.
The pièce de résistance was last: a rare fortified 1975 vintage served from a ball-shaped Jeroboam (five-liter bottle). We learned that only 260 of these unusually shaped bottles were produced.
Anyone attending this magnificent wine lunch should plan on salad for dinner, if you are still hungry that night. Reservations are required for this surcharged event.
Beverages
Allura has several bars and lounges scattered around the ship. Depending on your cruise package, you may be entitled to wine and beer with meals. You can also purchase various drink packages ranging from $60 to $80 per day.
During our cruise, 2-for-1 specials were offered every night between 9 p.m. and 10:30. There were also a few open-bar events.
For those who do not want the drink package, Oceania has an unusual policy that allows you to bring six bottles of wine and two bottles of spirits aboard. You can drink anything you bring in your cabin.
If you take a bottle of wine to dinner, there is a reasonable $25 corkage fee.
During sea days, wine lovers can enjoy tastings with different themes. I experienced a world tour of pinot noirs and learned the history of what the sommelier called the “heartbreak” grape.
Our tasting and discussions included wine from Italy, Oregon, California, France, and New Zealand. Each wine was paired with a delicious nibble. Wine tasting carries a surcharge and should be reserved.
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Ship Tour
Taking a ship’s tour will give you a better understanding of how Allura works. The tour starts with a behind-the-scenes curtain call about the evening shows and costumes.
This is followed by a visit to the ship’s laundry center. Next, Executive Chef Nell took over, which, according to some, is the tour’s highlight: a visit to the main galley, liquor and food storage, and the meat locker.
In the galley, we learned that the bread is so tasty because of a special milled French flour that was proudly displayed. The tour moved next to the main galley where dozens of chefs were prepping.
We learned about the chefs’ tasks. For instance, we met the baker responsible for all the breadsticks. We watched him hand-trim fresh dough and then hand-roll it thin before placing it on a baking sheet.
He bakes 40 trays a day with 20 to 22 breadsticks per tray. Something to think about next time you pick up a simple breadstick aboard.
Chef Nell emphasized that nothing is prepared by just adding water, as everything is fresh and handmade. In the liquor locker, he noticed that our cruise was a little light on the drinking compared to the last cruise.
In the engineering room, we learned how the diesel generators create enough electricity to power the propellers efficiently. Large computer screens covered most walls, almost like something from a sci-fi movie.
The tour concluded on the bridge, where the captain entertained questions and showed us how navigation and radar systems worked.
Overall, Allura Is A Class Act
Allura is an elegant mid-size five-star ship. While this story specializes in its food, I would be remiss not to mention the overall experience. The service was flawless from restaurant staff and managers, bartenders, cabin attendants, guest relations, and entertainment staff.
We found the evening shows with the singers and dancers entertaining. The added magician for two nights was a bonus. A hit of the ship was a classical quartet from Ukraine. They played Bach to pop and had a good following.
The ship’s daily news listed crafts, computer/phone skills, karaoke, lecturers, and more. The ship has a small casino and two boutiques for basics, watches, and clothes.
We found the staff at the Diamond International store to be a fun, low-sales-pressure group. Each day, there were giveaways or contests to lure you in as well as educate you on the latest in diamonds.
The ship has a nice pool and hot tub centrally located, along with three hot tubs over the bow in the spa section. Dress code is “country club,” so you can leave your suits and gowns at home. New for 2026 is a no-children policy.
If You Go
The Cruise: Oceania Allura sails with Oceania Cruises. Visit oceaniacruises.com for itineraries, pricing and reservations.
Special Dining and Cooking Classes: The cooking class and wine pairing lunch both carry surcharges and require advance reservations — book these as early as possible, as space is limited.
Travel Insurance: Protect your investment with a policy from Squaremouth or SafetyWing.
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Author Bio: After 30 years in the business world, Tab Hauser reinvented himself as a journalist and professional photographer. His travels have taken him to seven continents and 100 countries or unique locations. He is an Explorers Club Friend, a member of the New York Press Association, a diver, and a U.S. Coast Guard Licensed Captain. This native New Yorker now calls Colorado home. Follow on Facebook.
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